On the 3rd of September, a week before the Moon Festival, I attended a one-day workshop called Celebrating the Moon Festival 2022 organized by Tui Tuia | Learning Circle Facilitator Yan Yang, NZCLTA’s president Laura Deng and Auckland regional chairperson Tantan Xu. About 30 Chinese language teachers nationwide participated in lively activities, and we found them useful to include in our everyday classroom.
Mooncake-making was an exciting session assisted by an experienced Chinese pastry chef, Mr Li, as he demonstrated how to easily make a snow skin mooncake. All the teachers had a chance to make snow skin mooncakes, and I successfully got three by myself as samples for my class later.
The following session was a feast for our ears with a traditional Chinese musical instrument, Guzheng, by a professional player Ms Lin Zheng. We gained the basic knowledge of Guzheng and appreciated the fantastic performance by Ms Lin and a Y13 learner from Glendowie College.
This amazing program also had a classic paper-cutting part to present how to cut out the main characters of the Mid-Autumn Festival in celebration activities. The workshop culminated with a ‘Happy Dictionary’ cultural knowledge contest among participants using Flippity.
Based on what I learnt from this workshop, I led my Year 9 Chinese language learners to explore the Moon Festival by making snow-skin mooncakes in classes at Whangaparaoa College on 7 September. These Year 9 learners had a memorable experience of celebrating a Chinese cultural festival in the classroom. They were introduced to this upcoming Chinese tradition by learning its history and the legend behind it and by the hands-on experience of making mooncakes, enjoying their pastry creations.
My students were excited and inspired by this celebration. They were able to link the mooncakes with the knowledge of the Moon Festival, such as the connection between the shape/pattern on the surface of the mooncake and the origin of this festival when they observed the demonstration of making mooncakes. This represented the true meaning of the Moon Festival. The cultural activity provided a great opportunity for students to acquire language knowledge and naturally understand Chinese culture.
Above all, these experiences have encouraged Year 9 students to continue with their studies and Whangaparaoa will have a Year 10 Chinese class for next year, a new class at this school. “The interesting and special experience aroused students’ interest and enthusiasm in Chinese culture and language, and thus became the motivation for them to continue learning Chinese,” said Shannon Enright, the Head of Arts & Language Department, “Many learners find it’s a class with fun that allows them to learn new knowledge and skills.”
Article by Miranda Xu, Chinese Language Teacher, Whangaparaoa College
Photos above: (Top left) Students from Whangaparoa College, (top right and bottom left) Teachers of Chinese at the Celebrating the Moon Festival workshop
Chinese Cultural Perfomances by Northcote College Lion Dance Group (NCLDG)
With the advent of New Zealand Chinese Language week, members of Northcote College Lion Dance Group (NCLDG) trained to create performances to showcase Chinese culture. They put together an instructive event video, probably the first production of its kind to include the lion-dance lion with Monkey King, in a bid to showcase the symbolic meaning of a traditional character in a modern way.
During October 2022, they performed at Northcote Primary school, Pinehill School, Northcote Intermediate school, Pukekohe Intermediate School and Sacred Heart College to deliver wonderful performances, mini-speeches, and training services to students from other schools. The group has been acting as a Chinese cultural ambassador at Northcote College to embrace cultural diversity and to demonstrate the school motto of being in service of others. NCLDG’s most recent performance at Sacred Heart College Theatre featured on the website of Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Auckland. The performance video is highly recommended and can be watchedhere
The video features pre-performance practice, comments from dancers, the final performance and interactions with the audience.
By Sim Yang, Chinese and ESOL teacher at Northcote College and PhD candidate at the University of Auckland
Water Cube Cup Chinese Singing Competition - from a Teacher's perspective
“The Culture of China - Water Cube Cup” Chinese Singing Competition Final was held at The Piano in Christchurch on Sunday 24 July 2022. There were 21 participants and around 200 people there. This was the first year that non-Chinese students were included.
The Consul-General of People's Republic of China in Christchurch, Madame Ying He made a welcome speech; and unveiled "South Island Singing Club" to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. Christchurch City Councillor Jimmy Chan and other dignitaries in the community were present. The respected 101 year old calligrapher Mr Yuxun Tang gave his best wishes in his treasured scrolls of calligraphy "The pearl is round, and jade is smooth, and the lingering sound lingers around the beam" for the SI Singing Club.
Seven of our Lincoln High School students were accepted for the Finals. A great experience and rewarding day for all students. Congratulations to all the participants.
Article by Terina Yee, Teacher in Charge of Chinese, Lincoln High School
Water Cube Cup Chinese Singing Competition - from a student's perspective (Sonya Li – McHenry)
I am a theatre kid who loves performing. I love to take every singing opportunity I can! But when my Chinese teacher asked me to compete in a Chinese singing competition, I was hesitant. I started learning Chinese at the age of seven but stopped, so when I began learning the language again in 2021, I had study at the same level as my peers. So, singing a Chinese song in a competition sounded very daunting. But the performer inside me said yes.
When prepping for the competition, I decided to sing the song ‘Qian Qian Wan Wan’ which I had previously sung nine months prior for a small online competition.
I then found out that I had to learn another Chinese song and the organisers of the Christchurch division wanted me to sing ‘On The Wings of This Song’. This originally was a German opera song but many Chinese singers have sung it. I was very nervous in the beginning because I have only dabbled in opera in my singing lessons. Thankfully, the organisers connected me with a Chinese singing teacher who helped me learn the song and properly pronounce the lyrics.
I competed on 24 July. In the end I got the award that let me compete in the world competition! I was extremely surprised, and it didn’t fully hit me that I did it until later when I was in a café, pulling the trophy out of a box.
The next few weeks went by and the next thing I knew, I was driving to the place where we would film the World Chinese Water Cube Cup Songs Competition. Due to COVID-19, the competition was held online which in some ways was less scary.
After I performed my song on 12 August, the judges gave me some wonderful feedback. Overall, I am very thankful for this experience because even though I didn’t win, getting the chance to represent New Zealand was an honour. Doing the Worldwide Chinese Water Cube Cup Songs Competition helped me develop my speaking skills because I had to really focus on pronouncing my song lyrics correctly. I would highly recommend others to compete and give everything a chance!
Article by Sonya Li – McHenry, Year 11 Lincoln High School Christchurch
Water Cube Cup Chinese Singing Competition - from a student's perspective (Conrad Goddard)
Recently, I was lucky enough to participate in the Water Cube Chinese Singing Competition. This year was the first year that the competition has been opened to foreigners, and I was really keen to enter. I have been learning Chinese for about seven years, and I began taking singing lessons a year and a half ago, so this was a great opportunity to do two of the things I love at once! For the competition I decided that I would sing a song we had looked at in class called Dui mian de nu hai kan guo lai. This roughly translates to “Girl opposite me, look over here”, and it was really fun song to sing.
On 24th July we had the regional performance at The Piano with about six other people in the youth, non-native division. The crowd there was wonderful; really supportive and happy, and it was a great experience. Unfortunately, I had to leave immediately after my song, so I didn’t know my result until the next day, and when I found out that I got through to the next level I nearly couldn’t believe it.
Next, I was busy recording a one-minute self-introduction video, and I was pressed for time because I only had one day to submit the video to the organizing committee. Then there are weeks of waiting for news. On 16th August, I received the news that I entered the top ten in the world! I was thrilled.
Then a whirlwind of rehearsing and sound tests to prepare for the world finals. At first, I was really nervous about setting up the technology and sound, but the people in the house that I did the final performance in were lovely and had everything already organised. During my first tech-run I found out that one of the people helping me prepare was also doing the world finals in the adult, native-speakers division, and the morning after my performance she did the finals and came first in the world!
I had my performance at about 9:00 at night on 23rd August, and because I was the second-last competitor to appear on stage, I found out my placing shortly after that. It was such an amazing experience, and I was so happy to even participate in the finals, let alone to come fifth. Everyone sang wonderfully, and the judges were very kind, making sure to speak slowly enough that we could understand! I believe my Chinese has improved a great deal in these past few weeks. I had so much fun doing this, and it is something that I will remember for the rest of my life!
Article by Conrad Goddard, Y12 Lincoln High School Christchurch
To view the Water Cube Cup 2022 competition, check out the YouTube video below:
On the 3rd of September, a week before the Moon Festival, I attended a one-day workshop called Celebrating the Moon Festival 2022 organized by Tui Tuia | Learning Circle Facilitator Yan Yang, NZCLTA’s president Laura Deng and Auckland regional chairperson Tantan Xu. About 30 Chinese language teachers nationwide participated in lively activities, and we found them useful to include in our everyday classroom.
Mooncake-making was an exciting session assisted by an experienced Chinese pastry chef, Mr Li, as he demonstrated how to easily make a snow skin mooncake. All the teachers had a chance to make snow skin mooncakes, and I successfully got three by myself as samples for my class later.
The following session was a feast for our ears with a traditional Chinese musical instrument, Guzheng, by a professional player Ms Lin Zheng. We gained the basic knowledge of Guzheng and appreciated the fantastic performance by Ms Lin and a Y13 learner from Glendowie College.
This amazing program also had a classic paper-cutting part to present how to cut out the main characters of the Mid-Autumn Festival in celebration activities. The workshop culminated with a ‘Happy Dictionary’ cultural knowledge contest among participants using Flippity.
Based on what I learnt from this workshop, I led my Year 9 Chinese language learners to explore the Moon Festival by making snow-skin mooncakes in classes at Whangaparaoa College on 7 September. These Year 9 learners had a memorable experience of celebrating a Chinese cultural festival in the classroom. They were introduced to this upcoming Chinese tradition by learning its history and the legend behind it and by the hands-on experience of making mooncakes, enjoying their pastry creations.
My students were excited and inspired by this celebration. They were able to link the mooncakes with the knowledge of the Moon Festival, such as the connection between the shape/pattern on the surface of the mooncake and the origin of this festival when they observed the demonstration of making mooncakes. This represented the true meaning of the Moon Festival. The cultural activity provided a great opportunity for students to acquire language knowledge and naturally understand Chinese culture.
Above all, these experiences have encouraged Year 9 students to continue with their studies and Whangaparaoa will have a Year 10 Chinese class for next year, a new class at this school. “The interesting and special experience aroused students’ interest and enthusiasm in Chinese culture and language, and thus became the motivation for them to continue learning Chinese,” said Shannon Enright, the Head of Arts & Language Department, “Many learners find it’s a class with fun that allows them to learn new knowledge and skills.”
Article by Miranda Xu, Chinese Language Teacher, Whangaparaoa College
Photos above: (Top left) Students from Whangaparoa College, (top right and bottom left) Teachers of Chinese at the Celebrating the Moon Festival workshop
Chinese Cultural Perfomances by Northcote College Lion Dance Group (NCLDG)
With the advent of New Zealand Chinese Language week, members of Northcote College Lion Dance Group (NCLDG) trained to create performances to showcase Chinese culture. They put together an instructive event video, probably the first production of its kind to include the lion-dance lion with Monkey King, in a bid to showcase the symbolic meaning of a traditional character in a modern way.
During October 2022, they performed at Northcote Primary school, Pinehill School, Northcote Intermediate school, Pukekohe Intermediate School and Sacred Heart College to deliver wonderful performances, mini-speeches, and training services to students from other schools. The group has been acting as a Chinese cultural ambassador at Northcote College to embrace cultural diversity and to demonstrate the school motto of being in service of others. NCLDG’s most recent performance at Sacred Heart College Theatre featured on the website of Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Auckland. The performance video is highly recommended and can be watchedhere
The video features pre-performance practice, comments from dancers, the final performance and interactions with the audience.
By Sim Yang, Chinese and ESOL teacher at Northcote College and PhD candidate at the University of Auckland
Water Cube Cup Chinese Singing Competition - from a Teacher's perspective
“The Culture of China - Water Cube Cup” Chinese Singing Competition Final was held at The Piano in Christchurch on Sunday 24 July 2022. There were 21 participants and around 200 people there. This was the first year that non-Chinese students were included.
The Consul-General of People's Republic of China in Christchurch, Madame Ying He made a welcome speech; and unveiled "South Island Singing Club" to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. Christchurch City Councillor Jimmy Chan and other dignitaries in the community were present. The respected 101 year old calligrapher Mr Yuxun Tang gave his best wishes in his treasured scrolls of calligraphy "The pearl is round, and jade is smooth, and the lingering sound lingers around the beam" for the SI Singing Club.
Seven of our Lincoln High School students were accepted for the Finals. A great experience and rewarding day for all students. Congratulations to all the participants.
Article by Terina Yee, Teacher in Charge of Chinese, Lincoln High School
Water Cube Cup Chinese Singing Competition - from a student's perspective (Sonya Li – McHenry)
I am a theatre kid who loves performing. I love to take every singing opportunity I can! But when my Chinese teacher asked me to compete in a Chinese singing competition, I was hesitant. I started learning Chinese at the age of seven but stopped, so when I began learning the language again in 2021, I had study at the same level as my peers. So, singing a Chinese song in a competition sounded very daunting. But the performer inside me said yes.
When prepping for the competition, I decided to sing the song ‘Qian Qian Wan Wan’ which I had previously sung nine months prior for a small online competition.
I then found out that I had to learn another Chinese song and the organisers of the Christchurch division wanted me to sing ‘On The Wings of This Song’. This originally was a German opera song but many Chinese singers have sung it. I was very nervous in the beginning because I have only dabbled in opera in my singing lessons. Thankfully, the organisers connected me with a Chinese singing teacher who helped me learn the song and properly pronounce the lyrics.
I competed on 24 July. In the end I got the award that let me compete in the world competition! I was extremely surprised, and it didn’t fully hit me that I did it until later when I was in a café, pulling the trophy out of a box.
The next few weeks went by and the next thing I knew, I was driving to the place where we would film the World Chinese Water Cube Cup Songs Competition. Due to COVID-19, the competition was held online which in some ways was less scary.
After I performed my song on 12 August, the judges gave me some wonderful feedback. Overall, I am very thankful for this experience because even though I didn’t win, getting the chance to represent New Zealand was an honour. Doing the Worldwide Chinese Water Cube Cup Songs Competition helped me develop my speaking skills because I had to really focus on pronouncing my song lyrics correctly. I would highly recommend others to compete and give everything a chance!
Article by Sonya Li – McHenry, Year 11 Lincoln High School Christchurch
Water Cube Cup Chinese Singing Competition - from a student's perspective (Conrad Goddard)
Recently, I was lucky enough to participate in the Water Cube Chinese Singing Competition. This year was the first year that the competition has been opened to foreigners, and I was really keen to enter. I have been learning Chinese for about seven years, and I began taking singing lessons a year and a half ago, so this was a great opportunity to do two of the things I love at once! For the competition I decided that I would sing a song we had looked at in class called Dui mian de nu hai kan guo lai. This roughly translates to “Girl opposite me, look over here”, and it was really fun song to sing.
On 24th July we had the regional performance at The Piano with about six other people in the youth, non-native division. The crowd there was wonderful; really supportive and happy, and it was a great experience. Unfortunately, I had to leave immediately after my song, so I didn’t know my result until the next day, and when I found out that I got through to the next level I nearly couldn’t believe it.
Next, I was busy recording a one-minute self-introduction video, and I was pressed for time because I only had one day to submit the video to the organizing committee. Then there are weeks of waiting for news. On 16th August, I received the news that I entered the top ten in the world! I was thrilled.
Then a whirlwind of rehearsing and sound tests to prepare for the world finals. At first, I was really nervous about setting up the technology and sound, but the people in the house that I did the final performance in were lovely and had everything already organised. During my first tech-run I found out that one of the people helping me prepare was also doing the world finals in the adult, native-speakers division, and the morning after my performance she did the finals and came first in the world!
I had my performance at about 9:00 at night on 23rd August, and because I was the second-last competitor to appear on stage, I found out my placing shortly after that. It was such an amazing experience, and I was so happy to even participate in the finals, let alone to come fifth. Everyone sang wonderfully, and the judges were very kind, making sure to speak slowly enough that we could understand! I believe my Chinese has improved a great deal in these past few weeks. I had so much fun doing this, and it is something that I will remember for the rest of my life!
Article by Conrad Goddard, Y12 Lincoln High School Christchurch
To view the Water Cube Cup 2022 competition, check out the YouTube video below:
