Practising Chinese in everyday situations

Image adapted from Xin Zhong Wen & @bijou_juli3

Chinese New Year is a period where our ability — or lack thereof — to speak Chinese is distinctly highlighted. It can be a tad embarrassing if the only New Year’s greeting we know is Gong Xi Fa Cai, Hong Bao Na Lai (Wishing You Wealth, Hand Over the Angbao).

Here to remedy such situations for this new generation of Chinese speakers is Xin Zhong Wen, a specialist Chinese language education provider. With the launch of Project 开心点 (Kāi Xīn Diǎn), they are encouraging students to build conversational skills through every child’s favourite food: the Happy Meal.

Xin Zhong Wen Presents: Project 开心点 (Kāi Xīn Diǎn)

Picking up a language is infinitely easier when it’s practised from a young age. That said, many kids today aren’t inclined to speak Chinese due to a multitude of reasons. From lack of interest to being raised in a non-Chinese speaking household where there are few opportunities to practice the language; the list goes on.

Image credit: @bijou_juli3

To encourage kids to try their hand at speaking Chinese and show them that it’s actually fun to use, Xin Zhong Wen are holding a special event in conjunction with McDonald’s where free Happy Meals are the incentive. The event is part of their initiative to encourage kids to practise Chinese outside the classroom.

The premise is simple: Kids order in Chinese, and their Happy Meal is 100% on the house.

Because it may be unnerving the first time, especially if you don’t happen to know the Chinese phrases for food items such as French fries (shu tiao) and cheeseburgers (zhi shi han bao), Xin Zhong Wen has released a fun, upbeat jingle that teaches them the Chinese words for various Happy Meal items.

Image source: Xin Zhong Wen

Taking it one step further, they’ve also produced a cute and colourful guide to teach children how to use specific vocabulary, quantifiers and simple sentence structures to order a Happy Meal in Chinese.

These are free and available for download here.

Project 开心点 – Free McDonald’s Happy Meals for kids

Happening from 12 noon onwards on 16th and 17th February 2019, Project 开心点 employs a practical learning approach that gets children excited about learning and speaking Chinese in everyday situations. It’ll be held conveniently at malls near Xin Zhong Wen centres (Great World City, Jem and NEX) as well as at United Square.

To make the lesson even sweeter, kids will get a free ice cream cone on top of their Happy Meal. There’ll be smiles all around and the little ones will be raring to hold Chinese conversations left, right and centre!

Now that their interest in the language is piqued, kids participating in Project 开心点 also get a voucher for one free lesson at Xin Zhong Wen to kick-start their journey in mastering the Chinese language.

Find out more about Xin Zhong Wen here

Xin Zhong Wen | Project 开心点
Date: 16th & 17th February 2019
Locations: McDonald’s outlet at Great World City, NEX, Jem and United Square
Time: 12 noon onwards
For kids aged 12 and below

This post was brought to you by Xin Zhong Wen.