SUMMARY OF PROJECT GOALS

Our project - IT’S FUN TO LEARN MANDARIN was generated in order to build interest in learning Mandarin in the non-Chinese students’ self in order to improve the young generations’ education level. This project is to help the non-Chinese students understand that learning mandarin is not as hard as they think it is and to help them view it as an opportunity not a burden as we understand that the students may feel small being surrounded by all the Chinese speakers student which are already good on their own. Our project is not just guiding the students in learning Mandarin, but to motivate and spark the learning and positive spirit in them, in hope that they will never give up on challenges but face them with educated bravery.

Project Fund Raising efforts

Our project has received fund raising from variety of sources such as companies and parents. We would specially like to thank Royal Langkawi Yacht Club for the fund given as it had helped us to make this project even more successful. The help of random people and parents that contributed funds for this project also will not be forgotten. Each little contribution of funds or even just a supportive word in the route of this project completion is much appreciated.

HOW THIS PROJECT WORKED

Our project IT’S FUN TO LEARN MANDARIN turn out as a success due to various contribution factor, from the students great grit to learn, the school’s unlimited support, the caring parents that believed in their children and also our super energetic advisor, Ms Chong Peng Hwa.

Our schedule on the project was close according as planned which made the flow of this project even more smoothly. Along the way, there was no budget constraints for us as each expenses were handled thoroughly and wisely by our advisor and treasurer. Moving on, there also wasn’t any language or cultural barriers as all of us, the facilitators are Malay-Chinese speakers which made the students more comfortable in communicating and sharing their problems with us.

Even though the project weren’t facing any major or unexpected issues, we do had one problem that all of us has forgot to prepare ourselves with – handling children. As we know, children are hyperactive and always curious not to forget loud which makes them quite hard to be handled or even get them to sit down.

At that time we thought, how are we actually going to teach and reach to them if everybody is talking at once. We cannot be raising our voice all the time, and we definitely would never quit. Alternatively, we ask the teachers on how they do it, how they clam the kids down, and they told us the key is to keep trying, use a different tone , different expression and it finally worked.

At that moment, we just had a whole new level of respect to all teachers across the world, for their patience and love towards what they are doing. The teachers there will helped us along each program and help building passion in the kids with us. We knew they were tired, but they are surely satisfied as the tired but proud smile on their face showed it all.

Beneficiaries, impact and future from our project

There are around 140 people that have directly involved and benefited from our project. This includes students of SJK© Chee Tong, student’s parents and the school teachers. This project of Fun to Learn Mandarin has benefited these beneficiaries in ways where firstly, the students are now braver in class and view Mandarin on a whole new perspective. We also reminded them that to never let anything define who they are as these students are more than just a crowd, they are magical and they will form a better tomorrow.

Moving on, our project has benefited the parents by giving them a whole new overview in their children education on how they should be guiding these students as these students have a bright future and opportunity that every children deserves to have. We carried out a Motivation session where we invited the parents to join along this session and surprisingly, we received tremendous positive impact from them. The parents are in awe when they witness their children all great in reading the Chinese poem and answering questions in Mandarin. It was also shocking for us to see how hard the students are trying to make their parents see how good they are - the students were double hyper and responsive!

When the Motivation session ended, a few parents came to our facilitators and some even talked personally to our advisor about how they had seen changes in their children, and they even asked for tuition! This is where we know that we had done something right.

Our project has achieved the outcomes that we had targeted and also the outcomes that we never expect! This is where we know that there will be a future for this project where the students could see a new light and have grown new hope, we always knew that they could pull this off. After two weeks of the project completion date, we checked on the students and the teachers told us that they had improve so much, from Mandarin empowerment to confidence and the need for learning.

We strongly believe that this project will have a great future due the positive impact that we had received. This potential Learning is Fun can be applied not only in Mandarin subject, but also other subjects and even just learning in general. We know that this project will not just stop here as there is a big scope and variety of areas this project are able to penetrate such as for teenagers and also adults. One can never stop learning no matter who you are, how old you are or how successful you had became.

PROJECT CONTRIBUTION TO HAPPINESS

As many had wonder on what is happiness, I believe it comes down to millions of definition. It depends on what one had gone through.

My happiness is being there for others when they don’t even realize that they need help. Happiness is what we share, and witnessing one slowly embrace themselves, and accepting what they have and turn it in to a miracle.

This project had given lots of happiness that effects the short and long term. During this project, we came out with strategies where each students had been taught interesting ways to learn Mandarin in order to get them engage with us throughout the sessions. Learning isn’t just about knowing it exist, it is about understanding, feeling, engulfing, loving, and most of all accepting. We observed that the students now find learning Mandarin is fun and were eager to learn more things in future with other subjects. We could feel their happiness and excitement when they were learning and to us, that is the most important thing to have in the process of learning, because without excitement, there won’t be interest and without interest there won’t be passion.

With this guided burning passion, in the long term, the students will be able to be independent and had their own urge to learn without actually being forced. We expect that the students result performance will improve in the upcoming years. As for the parents, we know that this project had greatly affect them too and in future, they will have more time spend with their children despite having to run business and going to work. This project has also open their eyes on how great their children is and these parents will definitely want a better future for their children.

This project had helped and supported the community by educating and building interest in the younger generations in improving their education level for them to have a clear path in mind or at least a vision of what they are able to be in this evolving and advance world in the upcoming future.

THE NEW ME

This project had opened my eyes and helped me view things in a better more rational perspective.

I had grown throughout this project where I had witness how these students have the capabilities to learn but not fully supported to do so, I had seen how these students live through hardships but still plaster smiles on their face. This makes me want to be a kid again, where problems don’t concern them, and saddest are just momentary.

I learn to appreciate life more, where i should stop complaining about the things that I don’t have and start appreciating on what I have. Along the project, I sometimes get tired with my university projects but amazingly, this students make the tired fade, and I realize, they need us, the full of us in order to improve themselves. The students thought me that to help others, you have to help yourself first, and through that, one will definitely grow.

Lastly, I learn to have a whole new level of love and respect to teachers, not that I didn’t respect them before, but now, I realized that teachers are the one who helped you when you were at your worse, the one who wouldn’t complain when you complain, the one who motivate when the world is against you, the one who teaches with passion and only wishes to see their students success without hoping for anything in return but remembrance. I even might be a teacher someday.

This project for happiness is a great initiative that had changed life not only to the beneficiaries, but also us, the participants. It has open many eyes, even the eyes that we think are already open.

“Happiness is not just about receiving, it is about giving, learning and going through each step, together. Slowly but surely moving forward.” -FaezahSamberi