Learning Chinese Through Songs

Only when you truly experience an encounter of the authentic Chinese style with the Mozambican style, can you acquire a deep understanding of the saying "Music Without Borders".

As a designated Chinese language teaching site, the choir of Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique, differs from other teaching sites in that the only teaching it offers is singing Chinese songs. There are two classes per week, each class lasting two hours. Each time, the head of the choir will lead the students to warm up their voices for half an hour before Chinese song lessons start. Given the fact that the students only have two classes a week with limited class hours, long intervals of attendance and high mobility of attendees, the Chinese language teaching in the choir focuses on the recognition and reading of Pinyin and the emotional grasp of Chinese songs with less emphasis on Chinese characters and grammar.

Some volunteer Chinese language teachers said: "Despite the slight language barriers, our common love for music greatly facilitates our communication. The students' new interpretation of Chinese songs has also made me feel the enthusiasm of the Mozambican people for the Chinese language."

Excelling at their learning performance, the students have integrated their own creativity into learning Chinese songs, and interpreted the songs in a local Mozambican style. They rearranged the brisk children's song "Singing and Smiling", added a saxophone solo, and performed it into a magnificent jazz rock style.

When learning the song "The Roaring Yangtze River Flows Ever Eastward", the Mozambican students applied a local musical instrument to their performance, that is, a long wooden pipe sealed on both sides, which contains some sand and gravel. When turned up and down, the wooden pipe makes the sound of sand and gravel sliding down the inside wall. The students think that this kind of voice expresses a feeling of time passing, which conveys a tone of vicissitudes and great enlightenment that fits the song.

Upon understanding the lyrics of the songs "Kang Ding Love Song" and "Half Moon Climbs", the students said that the passionate or euphemistic way of expressing love in Chinese songs was similar to that in Mozambican love songs, and the image of the "moon" was expressed beautifully in Chinese lyrics.

When practicing the two parting songs "Farewell" and "Unforgettable Tonight", they tactfully applied a broad range to the songs to interpret a melodious and joyful atmosphere, so that parting no longer sounded melancholy, but brimmed with blessings and peace. They could also feel the sincere love and eulogy of the Chinese people for their motherland while learning the songs "Ode to Motherland" and "Descendants of the Dragon" , and their singing was imbued with strength and courage.

"Jasmine" and "Sweet Honey" are the students' favorite songs, the lyrics of which are easily understood and the melody simple and cheerful. From time to time, they couldn't help singing these two songs.

The teaching of Chinese songs has motivated many choir members to learn the Chinese language systematically and to obtain a better knowledge of the Chinese culture. At the same time, the students' excellent performance of Chinese songs has brought many opportunities for them to appear in commercial shows and to gain considerable economic benefits.

About the author: Wang Han, a volunteer Chinese language teacher in Mozambique.