SINGAPORE - More than 3,600 students took part in the National Chinese Challenge, a nationwide Chinese language quiz for primary and secondary school students this year, setting a new record for participation.
Participation for the challenge has been growing over the years, with 1,700 students from 75 schools taking part in 2017, to about 1,900 students from 92 schools last year.
A total of 104 primary schools have registered their pupils for the contest, which is double the number from 2019.
Secondary school students from 65 schools participated in the preliminary round, which was held online on Saturday morning (July 11). Students from 43 secondary schools took part in last year's preliminary round.
The contestants were tested on their knowledge of Chinese language, which includes translation skills of commonly used terms from English to Chinese, figuring out Chinese proverbs and idioms from pictures, pronunciation, literature, current affairs and general knowledge.
For Raffles Institution student Ryan Chen, 14, who has been taking part in the National Chinese Challenge since Primary 5, the competition has been exciting and fun so far, despite some initial jitters as there were more questions to tackle in a shorter amount of time this year.
"The questions are comprehensive, ranging from local language to Internet lingo, and also Chinese literature," he said. "It is a real test of students' Chinese language (abilities)."
Organised by Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) Chinese Media Group and Nanyang Girls' High School, the National Chinese Challenge is an annual event which aims to promote Chinese culture and cultivate an interest in learning Chinese among students.
It also provides a platform for participants to showcase their language abilities and interact with other Chinese language learners.
The challenge is co-presented by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, supported by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning, the National Translation Committee and the Speak Mandarin Campaign, with Huawei International as technology partner.
As there will be no semi-final round, the top four secondary and primary schools move directly into the finals.
The finals will be streamed live on Aug 15 from 2pm to 4pm via various digital platforms, including Lianhe Zaobao website, zbCOMMA's Facebook page, ZBSchools and SPH's #StayHome website.
Viewers can cast their votes to support teams in a segment of the finals in which the finalists are asked to create their own story on the spot based on pictures shown.
Additional points will be awarded to the team whose story clinches the most number of votes.
The finalists for the challenge will be announced on July 17, and participants can check them at https://bit.ly/ncc_2020
