TASEK GELUGOR – For one particular retired schoolteacher who grew up in a village in Penang, the current Chinese New Year season is a time to not only celebrate the hopes of prosperity that it is meant to usher in.
Instead, Ropia’ah Othman also sees the occasion as an opportunity to reminisce about the unique and charming multi-cultural environment that this country has allowed her to grow up in.
The 62-year-old mother of six has been using her ability to speak Mandarin to hold free classes in the language for the past three years.
Her adult students are mostly Malays from her native neighbourhood of Tasek Gelugor.
However, Ropia’ah said when the movement control order was enforced in March 2020, she had to temporarily postpone the classes until she was allowed to start again.
With the gradual reopening of the economy and permission granted for SOP-compliant gatherings after months of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ropia’ah is now able to resume her passion for teaching the language after a long time.
Ropia’ah has been holding informal Mandarin classes every Friday from the moment local acquaintances found out about her ability to speak and write the language well.
“Actually, my friends and I were taking classes to recite the Qur’an. One day, we were asked to write numbers in Arabic on the whiteboard, but I absent-mindedly wrote in Mandarin.
Since then, they realised my abilities and asked me to hold a Mandarin class because they were interested and wanted to learn to speak the language,” she said, when met by The Vibes recently.
She recalled that she did not face any difficulty in teaching nearly 40 of her friends, as they always showed eagerness and cooperation in the learning process at all times.
“I also only teach casually, but sometimes I do try to revise with them and ask them questions to ensure they remember what I teach,” she said.
Ropia’ah, who received full primary and secondary education in Chinese schools, said that currently she only teaches words and phrases, as well as how to construct sentences and practise basic diction correctly.
Her ability to be fluent in Mandarin, she said, was largely the result of her late father’s efforts, who wanted her to master a third language to give her an advantage in life and career.
She said that she never went against her father’s will and managed to get through it well until the end of Form 5.
My father was a policeman and had many Chinese friends,” she said. “Maybe that was where the idea came from to send me to a Chinese school.”
The former teacher at SJK(C) Chin Hwa, Pinang Tunggal also recounted her interesting experience when she was not considered a Malay teacher by the students just because she was fluent in Mandarin. She used to teach Malay and English.
She added that there were a handful of Chinese teachers at the school who felt ashamed of themselves for not being fluent in Mandarin when they saw her.
“Actually, I am happy because more people want to learn Mandarin. Our country is multi-racial.
“It would be good if we could master the language of other races. It can further strengthen our unity as citizens of this wonderful country.” – The Vibes, February 1, 2022
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