Food, music and culture: Why some Singaporeans are choosing to learn Malay

Some adult learners are taking their Malay beyond the beginner level, while one tuition centre is seeing growing demand among younger students.

Mr Johanan Teo and Ms Marisa Lim with their Malay language tutor, Mr Yahya Hamid (right). (Image: CNA)

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SINGAPORE: For Mr Johanan Teo and his girlfriend, Ms Marisa Lim, a shared love of Malay food helped spark a wider interest in the culture – and eventually the language.

"We both really like Malay cuisine. We really like eating at nasi padang stores. We like going to Malaysia to try new food, new Malay food as well," said Mr Teo, 29, a full-time home chef.

He counts ayam masak merah, a spicy tomato-based chicken dish, among his favourites to cook and eat.

Their interest eventually led them to sign up for conversational Malay classes at their local community club using their SkillsFuture credits this year.

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Mr Johanan Teo and Ms Marisa Lim share their interest in Malay food on social media. (Image: TikTok/justcooklor)

They are among a steady pool of adult learners picking up the language, some of whom are taking their learning beyond the beginner level.

One tuition centre told CNA it is also seeing growing demand among younger students.

During his National Day Rally last month, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that given Singapore's location in the region, it would be valuable for Singaporeans to learn Malay and better appreciate Malay culture.

CONNECTING THROUGH FOOD AND MUSIC

Mr Teo and Ms Lim started with a beginner class, attending a two-hour lesson each week.

Their classmates ranged from young people like themselves to retirees, with learners supporting one another.

“Even when we make a lot of mistakes, or we don't know how to pronounce certain words. I think the spirit of the classroom was very fun. That's how we actually got very excited to learn the language over the course,” Mr Teo said.

The lessons also gave him another way of engaging with something already familiar.

"There was one class where cikgu (teacher) actually talked about the kitchen. So different words in Malay in the kitchen, how to say different ingredients in Malay,” he recalled.

For Ms Lim, 26, a project manager, music provided a connection to the language.

She was playing gigs with her band at the time she was attending Malay lessons and would turn up for class with her guitar.

"A few of the gigs that we had were actually during the Hari Raya period, and we played at a few pasar malams," she said.

The band decided to learn some Malay songs, and Ms Lim recalled the reaction they received when performing them.

"It was very heartwarming to see how our audience really lit up when they realised that we were singing a song in their language."

Ms Marisa Lim’s band performs during the Hari Raya period. (Image: Marisa and the Baristas)

CULTURAL APPRECIATION

The couple's tutor, Mr Yahya Hamid, teaches about 120 adults each week.

Besides in-person lessons at two community clubs, he conducts online classes, allowing him to reach learners across Singapore.

His students range from young professionals to seniors, and he says interest in learning the language has remained steady.

This year, he introduced an advanced course, with a second 10-lesson run already underway.

Mr Yahya Hamid, a Malay language trainer, speaking to CNA. (Image: CNA)

For Mr Yahya, language and culture go hand in hand.

"When you learn more of the culture as well, you begin to appreciate the language, because within the language also there are cultural elements,” he said.

“I think if people learn the language and also appreciate the culture, they become more motivated to even learn more of the language.”

ADAPTING TO YOUNGER LEARNERS

Interest in Malay lessons also extends to younger learners.

NUSA Language Centre, which runs classes at several locations across Singapore, says enrolment in its Malay tuition classes has grown by about 10 to 15 per cent each year since 2021.

The centre now teaches around 2,000 students in the language, ranging from kindergarten to Secondary 4.

Its principal, Ms Hayati Abdullah, said some students today come to class with less Malay vocabulary than learners in the past.

"In the past, our vocabulary was pretty much there. We just need fine tuning in terms of grammar, in terms of writing better,” she said.

“But for them, they come in with almost, not zero. Very little vocabulary. So I have to meet them somewhere in the middle."

Ms Hayati Abdullah, principal cikgu of NUSA Language Centre, speaking to CNA. (Image: CNA)

The centre has adapted its teaching methods, including by drawing on trends and topics that are familiar to younger students.

While teachers previously emphasised using only Malay during mother tongue lessons, with no English words allowed, she said they can no longer take that approach with some students, who have ideas but lack the vocabulary to express them.

For Ms Hayati, however, understanding Malay has value beyond doing well in class.

"It will be very lovely if all Singaporeans have at least some understanding of the language, at the very least to understand our national anthem because it is our shared heritage, you know, the heart of being a Singaporean,” she said.

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一些成年学习者正在将他们的马来语学习提升到初级以上水平，而一家辅导中心则发现，年轻学生的需求正在不断增长。

Johanan Teo先生和Marisa Lim女士与他们的马来语老师Yahya Hamid先生（右）合影。（图片来源：CNA）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：对于张约翰南先生和他的女友林玛丽莎女士来说，对马来美食的共同热爱激发了他们对马来文化的更广泛兴趣，并最终发展出了对马来语的兴趣。

“我们俩都很喜欢马来菜。我们很喜欢去巴东饭店吃饭。我们也喜欢去马来西亚品尝新美食，包括马来菜，”29岁的全职家庭厨师张先生说道。

他最喜欢烹饪和享用的菜肴之一是红咖喱鸡（ayam masak merah），这是一种以番茄为底料的辛辣鸡肉菜肴。

他们的兴趣最终促使他们今年使用技能创前程培训补助金，在当地社区俱乐部报名参加了马来语会话课程。

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Johanan Teo 先生和 Marisa Lim 女士在社交媒体上分享了他们对马来美食的兴趣。 （图片来源：TikTok/justcooklor）

他们是众多学习这门语言的成年学习者中的一部分，其中一些人正在将学习提升到初级以上的水平。

一家补习中心告诉亚洲新闻台，他们也发现年轻学生的需求正在增长。

上个月，总理黄循财在国庆群众大会上表示，鉴于新加坡在该地区的地理位置，新加坡人学习马来语、更好地了解马来文化将很有价值。

以美食和音乐连接彼此

张先生和林女士从初级班开始，每周参加两小时的课程。

他们的同学年龄跨度很大，从和他们一样的年轻人到退休人士都有，同学们互相帮助。

“即使我们犯了很多错误，或者不知道某些单词的发音，我认为课堂氛围也非常好。正是这种氛围让我们在整个课程中对学习这门语言充满了热情，”张先生说道。

这些课程也让他以另一种方式接触到他已经熟悉的事物。

“有一节课，老师竟然讲到了厨房。讲了厨房里一些马来语的词汇，以及不同的食材用马来语怎么说，”他回忆道。

对于 26 岁的项目经理林女士来说，音乐让她与语言建立了联系。

她当时一边和乐队一起演出，一边学习马来语，经常带着吉他去上课。

“我们有一些演出实际上是在开斋节期间，我们在一些夜市表演过，”她说。

乐队决定学习一些马来歌曲，林女士回忆起他们表演这些歌曲时得到的反响。

“看到观众们意识到我们用他们的语言唱歌时，他们眼中闪烁的光芒，真的非常令人感动。”

玛丽莎·林女士的乐队在开斋节期间进行表演。（图片：玛丽莎和她的咖啡师乐队）

文化鉴赏

这对夫妇的家庭教师叶海亚·哈米德先生每周要教大约 120 名成年人。

除了在两个社区俱乐部进行面对面授课外，他还开设在线课程，使他能够接触到新加坡各地的学习者。

他的学生涵盖了从年轻的职业人士到老年人的各个年龄段，他说人们对学习这门语言的兴趣一直保持稳定。

今年，他开设了一门进阶课程，第二期 10 节课的课程已经开始了。

马来语培训师亚希亚·哈米德先生接受亚洲新闻台采访。（图片：亚洲新闻台）

在叶海亚先生看来，语言和文化密不可分。

他说：“当你更多地了解一种文化后，你就会开始欣赏这种语言，因为语言中也蕴含着文化元素。”

“我认为，如果人们学习了语言，并且也欣赏了文化，他们就会更有动力去学习更多关于这门语言的知识。”

适应低龄学习者

对马来语课程的兴趣也延伸到了年龄较小的学习者。

新加坡国立大学语言中心在新加坡多个地点开设课程，该中心表示，自 2021 年以来，其马来语课程的报名人数每年增长约 10% 至 15%。

该中心目前教授约 2000 名学生该语言，学生年龄涵盖幼儿园到中学四年级。

校长哈亚蒂·阿卜杜拉女士表示，如今一些学生的马来语词汇量比以往的学生要少。

“过去，我们的词汇量已经相当不错了。我们只需要在语法和写作方面进行一些微调，”她说。

“但对他们来说，他们虽然并非完全没有词汇量，但词汇量非常有限。所以我必须找到一个折中的办法来帮助他们。”

NUSA 语言中心首席 CIKGU Hayati Abdullah 女士接受中央社采访。 （图片来源：中央社）

该中心调整了教学方法，包括借鉴低年级学生熟悉的趋势和话题。

她说，虽然教师们以前强调在母语课上只使用马来语，不允许出现英语单词，但他们不能再对一些有想法但缺乏词汇来表达的学生采取这种方法了。

然而，对于海亚蒂女士来说，了解马来语的价值不仅仅在于课堂上取得好成绩。

“如果所有新加坡人都能至少对新加坡语有所了解，至少能听懂我们的国歌，那就太好了，因为这是我们共同的文化遗产，你知道，这是新加坡人精神的体现，”她说。

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