M A N D A R I N S U P E R S T A R
M A N D A R I N S U P E R S T A R
M A N D A R I N S U P E R S T A R
.png)
Finlay Kirrane
St Thomas of Canterbury College
When did you start learning Chinese? What inspired you to take up the language?
When I was a kid I was obsessed with different countries, their cultures and their languages. Also, in my year 6 class I had a Chinese teacher who would teach us phrases and Chinese characters over a video call. I really enjoyed her lessons and when I started high school I found out I could take Chinese class and I didn’t hesitate to do so.
Tell us about your Chinese language learning journey. What has been the most unexpected or rewarding part of the experience?
Definitely the awesome friends I have made. I’ve made great bonds with incredible people all because we shared the same interest of studying Chinese.
What opportunities have opened up for you as a result of your Chinese speaking ability?
The opportunity to go to on a school trip to China and being able to have conversations with Chinese people felt surreal to me.
Why do you think other New Zealanders should learn Chinese?
I encourage New Zealanders to learn Chinese because it is such a valuable skill to have. Having knowledge of Chinese can give you the edge over anybody. Whilst there are academic benefits to learning Chinese, there are also cognitive benefits. For example, it can boost cognitive skills such as memory and creativity. I think it is also important because New Zealand has built a very good relationship with China over the years. If New Zealanders are given the opportunity to learn a language like Chinese, it would put New Zealand ahead in trade, education and international relations. Learning to understand Chinese can be daunting at first but once you get the gist of it, it’s like a rhythmic pattern of understanding an interpretation and it is so much fun.
Do you have any tips for anyone thinking about taking up Chinese?
Use flashcards. If I had to restart my whole Chinese journey, I would start off by making flashcards. The reason for this is because it can improve essential Chinese language skills such as character recognition. My Chinese teacher provided me with a website named Education Perfect, and this website helped me a lot because of the option to use flashcards.
Do you have a favourite Chinese word or expression? Why do you like it?
I like the saying 享受生活, which means enjoy life. This saying resonates with me most and it’s something I have stood by for a long time in my life. I also like the characters for the word life (生活).In my life I want to accomplish a lot of things, meet new people, learn new skills all whilst enjoying my life.