Kan Tang. Potatoes. A term referring to Westernised Singaporeans who have, in varying degrees, lost touch with our Chinese language skills. Who have returned the 成语 or 听写 to our teachers after we left school. Who feel that Chinese is not important / useful / meaningful (or, at least, not as important / useful / meaningful as English) in our lives.

 

Kan Tang also refers to that feeling of inadequacy when we have no other choices but to use Chinese. Hence the awkward pauses as we try to speak Mandarin (ermm.. 这个.. 那个.. ) or the mad scramble to think of other words as substitutes. Cue gestures and sign language. Then there is the even more difficult task of writing Chinese (他们去XX / 今天我很XX). Cue crosses, crosses and more crossed faces.

 

If you can relate to these experiences, this website is for you. If you have ever wondered, why can’t learning Chinese be more interesting, then this website is for you. Here, I want to simplify the learning by showing the underlying patterns and structures within the Chinese language system. I also want to capture the fun and interesting aspects. The contents are organised into bite-sized nuggets of info so you don’t have to worry about being overwhelmed. Use this site to increase knowledge. Use it for topic starters with friends & colleagues who are as kan tang as you. Through sharing and group learning, we’ll improve our kan tang experiences together.

 

 

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My boy is 1 year old this year. One day, it will be his turn to do 听写 or memorise that 词语手册 in school. While I can’t change the system, this website is my gift to him, many many years later, to show that there is more to the Chinese language than rote learning. I hope he gets to appreciate its intrinsic beauty and enjoy the satisfaction from mastering the language.

 

To fellow parents looking for materials to teach Chinese to your children, feel free to use the website to engage them. The contents are organised by themes. I welcome feedback & thoughts on how to improve the site.