BATU PAHAT, 23rd June 2022 – The Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and the Kongzi Institute, University of Malaya (UM) collaborated in co-hosting a Mandarin singing video competition to encourage UTHM students to learn and experience the Mandarin language and pop songs.
A total number of 464 participants joined the singing video competition, which lasted for nine weeks.
The objective of this activity was to promote students’ interest in learning Mandarin and to enrich their extracurricular life.
All winners had been announced on the Centre for Language Studies and Kongzi Institute social media platforms.
The Singing Video Competition had set up one First Prize, two Second Prizes, three Third Prizes, and ten Outstanding Awards.
Six students from Group Five of Section Eight won the First Prize.
They were Adib Nawfal Yazid, Nur Fatin Syafiqah Ahmad, Muhammad Aiman Syafiq Tahrim, Uthmann Al-Syuraeem Alhadi, Muhammad Aizuddin Zulkifli and Syed Muhammad Alif Syed Mohd.
They sang a song called “The Ordinary Road” (Mandarin: Ping Fan Zhi Lu).
The students gave an excellent performance in video production showcasing their unique perspectives and a good understanding of the lyrics.
They also performed very well in singing after a long and intense practice.
The students who participated in this event worked in small groups to design their music videos based on the content of selected Mandarin songs.
“We had learned many Mandarin words and the pronunciation by remembering the lyrics.
“At the same time, we also had learned the techniques on how to produce a music video with good quality.
“We took more than a month to learn the song, practiced the pronunciation and the vocal part.
“Afterwards, we planned a storyline to match the lyrics and learned all the techniques needed to produce an interesting music video.
“Thanks to our friend, Hazizi, who helped us a lot in the audio recording section. We feel grateful and excited when we won the award,” said Adib, one of the First Prize winners.
This activity was not only to motivate the students in learning Mandarin but also indirectly let the students develop their soft skills.
The Director (China) of Kongzi Institute, Zhu Li, felt impressed with the excellent videos.
She hoped the students could feel the charms of the Mandarin language through this activity, encouraging them to continue their hard work and keep learning the language.
Albeit the students’ works are not flawless, their active participation and brain creation are highly worthy of encouragement and affirmation.
By Yeoh Li Cheng, Mohamad Radi Ahmad, Zhang Yu
Edited by Wardah Mohd Zuraimee
