In a bid to promote Traditional Chinese characters, the Northern California Chinese School Association will be hosting the “Traditional Chinese Characters Cultural Festival K-song Competition” on March 2nd (Sunday) at the South Bay Overseas Chinese Education Center. The event aims to invite all Chinese language learners in the Bay Area to participate.
The competition is sponsored by the Overseas Community Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) with the goal of allowing students to learn language through Chinese songs, fostering confidence, and gaining a deeper understanding of Taiwanese culture.
Director Zhuang Yashu of the Overseas Chinese Education Center expressed gratitude to the Northern California Chinese School Association for responding to the Traditional Chinese Characters Cultural Festival organized by the Overseas Community Affairs Council. Through a fun and engaging way of learning and singing songs, the competition aims to introduce Taiwan to more young students and foreign friends. With Taiwan being a hub for Mandarin pop music, winners of the K-song competition will have the opportunity to participate in the “Global Overseas Chinese Students and Scholars Singing Contest” organized by the Overseas Community Affairs Council. Participants selected from Northern California in 2023 and 2024 secured the TCML Global Championship for two consecutive years, encouraging friends in the overseas Chinese community and TCML students to join in.
President Li Naya of the Northern California Chinese School Association highlighted that singing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to learn Chinese. Through melodies, students can easily remember vocabulary and sentence structures while also experiencing Taiwanese culture through lyrics. The K-song competition not only allows children to enjoy learning through singing but also trains their performance skills and the confidence to speak Chinese. She encourages all adults and children learning Chinese to participate.
High school and below Chinese school students, high school student assistants, students enrolled in Chinese elective courses at mainstream schools, or TCML students are eligible to register. Students studying Chinese at home are also welcome to participate, choosing “Non-Member Schools” during registration.
Additionally, the competition is divided into individual and duo categories. The individual category is further split by grade level into elementary, middle school, high school, and TCML groups. The duo category allows any kindergarten to high school students to form pairs with family, friends, classmates, or teachers. Participants can compete in both the individual and duo categories simultaneously.
Participants are required to choose a Chinese song of their preference and provide their own backing track or sing acapella. Microphones and sound systems will be provided at the competition venue, and participants can incorporate dance movements, though dancing will not be evaluated. The judging criteria include pitch accuracy (70%), Mandarin pronunciation (20%), and performance style (10%).
Winners stand a chance to receive a maximum $100 gift card and a certificate. Following the competition, an award ceremony will immediately take place to announce the winners. The schedule and award ceremony will be broadcast live on the ANCCS official website, ANCCS Facebook page, and YouTube.
Registration is now open until February 23, 2025.
Registration fees: $15 per person for students from member schools, $20 per person for students from non-member schools (duo category fees are calculated per team).
Payment method: Please use Zelle to make payments to Celine.lee@anccs.org; for more details, visit: https://www.anccs.org/