By Lim Sau Pui, Coreen Tan Chuan Shian, student reporters of XMUM Chinese Studies Programme

On Nov 15, 2017, well-known linguist Prof. Chew Cheng Hai from Singapore, invited by XMUM, gave a public talk on “GlobalHuayuand Malaysia” in the second XMUM Humanities Forum, a forum series held by the Chinese Studies programme.

In this talk, Prof. Chew focused on issues relating to Chinese teaching and testing, as well as the mobilization of education resources in the Chinese Language field.  

GlobalHuayuis a lingua franca for Chinese all around the world based on Mandarin Chinese. As a developer and promoter of this concept, Prof. Chew argued that it could strengthen the bond among Chinese, enhance recognition towards their identity, and promote Chinese Language education globally. He also pointed out that Malaysia has been playing an important role in the promotion process.

During the speech, Prof. Chew suggested that language test examiners take the language habits of candidates from various regions into consideration, and in terms of teaching, Ancient Chinese and Modern Chinese can be combined systematically with their content as a guideline.

In the end, Prof. Chew pointed out the significance of emphasizing and maintaining the common core aspects of language from the perspective of language policy, at the same time encouraging cultural exchange and mutual absorption, thus promoting the concept of GlobalHuayuuniversally.

With an audience of more than 110 people, the talk was well received by staff and students. Mr. Fan Zhiquan, the advisor to the president of XMUM, and Dr. Chen Zhong, the Director of Confucius Institute in University of Malaya, also attended the event.

About the Speaker

Professor Chew Cheng Hai is currently the Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore, the Counsellor of the Centre for Chinese Language and Culture and the Director of the Confucius Institute of Nanyang Technological University. He has made enormous contribution in the training of Chinese language teachers in Singapore and gained great achievements in the Chinese language research since 1960s. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, commented him as “a ‘junzi’, a gentleman” and “a pioneer in the Chinese language teaching”.