Handwritten Chinese characters can be beautiful. Living in a digital era with smartphones and computers, most students sooner or later ask themselves this question:【小题1】

Knowing how to write Chinese characters by hand is just cool. It feels like magic when you write a few strokes (笔画)on paper that don’t normally make sense, but they suddenly come together and create a meaning.【小题2】

Handwriting characters trains your muscle memory, making characters stay longer in your memory and improving your reading and speaking skills. 【小题3】However, without knowing how to write characters by hand, you are very unlikely to reach a level above intermediate (中级的).

【小题4】Handwriting characters is a form of meditation. Once you learn how to stay focused, you will not only notice that your concentration skills improve, but you will also find yourself feeling calm and relaxed when writing characters.

Most people agree that we should learn to write last least some characters at some point as a student of Chinese, although not necessarily straight away and not necessarily all the characters that you can say. But unless you don’t care about written language at all, you should learn the basics of handwriting.【小题5】You don’t need to be a calligraphy master, but you do need basic handwriting skills to do this. Simply looking at things is, as usual, a bad way of learning.

Believe it or not, English has become the global lingua franca (世界通用语) in the 21st century. The ability to speak English fluently has become a necessity for individuals and countries to participate in the global economy. This is particularly true for countries that heavily rely on international trade and investment. Singapore is a perfect example of such a country.

Singapore is a small city-state located in Southeast Asia. Despite its small size, it has become one of the most prosperous and innovative economies in the world. This nation has gained a reputation for having a good quality of life, well-developed infrastructure (基础设施), and a favorable climate for businesses. While there are four official languages in Singapore, English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, English is the most commonly used language in business, education, and government.

English has played a crucial role in Singapore’s economic development. The country’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, acknowledged the significance of English in the international business environment and made it a priority to promote English learning in Singapore. He saw English as a tool to connect Singapore to the world and attract foreign investment. The government carried out policies to promote English learning, such as making English the medium of instruction in schools and providing financial support for teachers to teach English.

As a result of these policies, Singaporeans have become proficient in English, and this has given them a competitive edge in the global economy. Singapore is home to many multinational corporations, and English proficiency is a critical factor for these companies when selecting employees. Singaporeans’ proficiency in English has also made it easier for them to conduct business with other countries, particularly those in the Western world. As a consequence, the country started marching forward steadily towards prosperity.

Miriam Mitchell, 12, started to learn Chinese five years ago. “My parents want me to have more work opportunities(机会). I also want to learn Chinese,” says Miriam.

Lily Rabb, 14, started to learn Chinese in 2011. “I think Chinese is a beautiful language. China has a beautiful culture and a colorful history. I want to learn about it,” says Lily. And she would like to study fashion in China when she grows up.

These teenagers are from Chicago Intercultural Montessori Language School. They’re learning Chinese out of love for Chinese culture. The school started teaching Chinese in 2009. It has students from the ages of 2 to 14. Of the 300 students at the school, more than 100 are taking Chinese classes.

At first, interest came from their parents of Chinese origin(出身), but then some non-Chinese Americans asked their children to study in the school, because they were doing business. “They want to make sure that their children know how to speak Chinese,” says the school headmaster Roderick Shaw.

The school celebrates Chinese Spring Festival every year, and the students have all kinds of activities. The school also asks all students to taste mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Roderick says, “We don’t want just to teach the language, we want the students to taste the culture of China.”