Singapore Press : ’ Chinese Media Group and Singapore Centre for Chinese Language sign MOU to promote development of Chinese culture and language in Singapore

Singapore, 29 September 2017 - Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) Chinese Media Group (CMG) and Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL), a centre of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote the development of Chinese culture and language in Singapore, and to enhance the effectiveness of teaching Chinese as a second language in a bilingual environment.

The two organisations will work as strategic collaborators in pursuing the following:

1. To collaborate on the integration of SCCL's content grading system with CMG student publications' digital platform and CMG's education centres.

2. To explore the feasibility of integrating SCCL's composition teaching and learning technologies with CMG's student publications and education centres.

3. To develop and implement a 'media in education' programme in local schools,

for Chinese Language teachers to gain an in-depth understanding of Singapore and international media companies.

SCCL and participating teachers can leverage on CMG's media platforms, publications and education centres to educate students more effectively.

CMG's education team launched ZBSchools.sg, an adaptive learning platform for students, and a quality resource for Chinese Language teachers, in August this year.

The highly personalised platform will make learning Mandarin more interactive and engaging for students. Each student's language abilities will be assessed, so that the system can recommend suitable content. The practice questions accompanying these materials will also be matched to their ability. As they progress in their learning process, they are continually assessed. The text-to-speech functions will also boost students' oral learning. For teachers, the system will give feedback on the performance of their students and the difficulties they face, so that they can track the students' learning progress.

The MOU is signed by Ms Lee Huay Leng, Head, Chinese Media Group, SPH, and Dr Foo Suan Fong, Executive Director, SCCL.

Ms Lee Huay Leng, Head, Chinese Media Group, SPH, said: 'SPH's CMG plays a unique role in Singapore - not just as a media organisation but also as a key participant in the eco-system of promoting the Chinese language and cultural heritage; CMG also employs talents who are educated under the Singapore's education system. We are fully aware of our role and mission, and SCCL is our important partner in this eco-system. Our student publications and education centres provide an ideal platform for SCCL educators for their training and research purposes. I look forward to our partnership with SCCL and its collaborative efforts which will benefit our students.'

Dr Foo Suan Fong, Executive Director, Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, said: 'This is an opportune time for SCCL and SPH to become strategic partners. Set up for close to 10 years, SCCL has achieved some good outcomes in educators' training, education research and resource development. Coupled with SPH's resources and media outreach, both organisations will further promote Chinese language teaching and research works, as well as create more learning opportunities for our parents and students.'

Translations:

● Lee Huay Leng, Head, Chinese Media Group, SPH - 李慧玲, 新加坡报业控股华文媒体集团 主管

● Dr Foo Suan Fong, Executive Director, Singapore Centre for Chinese Language - 符传丰博士，新加坡华文教研中心院长

Attached: Media release in Chinese and photos of MOU signing

Photo credits: Singapore Centre for Chinese Language

Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Co. Regn. No: 198402868E

For more information, please contact:

Loh Woon Yen

Vice President, Culture, Education & New Growth

Chinese Media Group

Singapore Press Holdings

DID: 6319 1469

Email: lohwy@sph.com.sg

Vanni Cheong

Assistant Manager

Corporate Communications & CSR

Singapore Press Holdings

DID: 6319 1553

Email: cvanni@sph.com.sg

About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.

Media
The English/Malay/Tamil Media group (EMTM) comprises the print and digital operations of The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian and their respective student publications. It also includes subsidiaries Tamil Murasu Ltd, which publishes Tamil Murasu and tabla!; book publishing arm Straits Times Press; SPH Data Services, which licenses the use of the Straits Times Index in partnership with the Singapore Exchange and FTSE-Russell Ltd; financial data company ShareInvestor; the two English stations of SPH Radio - Kiss92 and ONE FM 91.3, and SPH Golf (including SPH Pacom Ltd).

The Chinese Media group (CMG) publishes three Chinese newspapers in print and digital format - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News; four student weeklies - zbCOMMA, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Up Junior and Thumbs Up Little Junior, and ZBBZ Newsgazine. It also operates SPH Radio's Chinese radio station, UFM100.3, and Focus Publishing, which produces a range of books and magazines including U-Weekly.

SPH's other digital media initiatives include AsiaOne, Stomp, zaobao.sg and zaobao.com.
On an average day, 2.5 million* individuals or 59 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications in print copies or one of our digital platforms. (* Nielsen Media Index 2016, Monday-Sunday, read any SPH newspapers in print or digital format)

SPH Magazines, SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, publishes and produces about 100 magazine titles and has various online sites, like hardwarezone.com, herworldplus.com and luxuryinsider.com in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. It has also invested in digital newsstand Magzter.

SPH also provides out-of-home (OOH) advertising options where it manages large format screens and static billboards at key locations in the Central Business District, Orchard Road, City Fringe as well as major heartland hubs.

SPH Buzz is a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around the island.

SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today.

Properties
SPH REIT is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. SPH REIT comprises Paragon, a premier upscale retail mall and medical suite/office property in Orchard Road and The Clementi Mall, a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town.

The Seletar Mall, located in Sengkang, is SPH's latest retail development. This property is a potential asset to be injected into SPH REIT. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

Other Businesses

Online Classified

SPH's online classifieds include the leading online marketplace for jobs (STJobs, FastJobs), property (STProperty), cars (STCars) and general classifieds (STClassifieds,Trezo), sgCarMart and StreetSine.

SPH's regional joint venture online classified business has a number of leading online classified sites in the region.

Events and Exhibitions
Sphere Exhibits, Sphere Conferences, Exhibits Inc and Bizlink Exhibition Services organise innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in Singapore and the region.

Healthcare

SPH owns Orange Valley which operates nursing homes.
Education
SPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

For more information, please visit www.sph.com.sg.

About Singapore Centre for Chinese Language

The establishment of Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 6 September 2008, and was opened by Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on 17 November 2009.

The objective of SCCL is to enhance the effectiveness of teaching Chinese as a second language in a bilingual environment and to meet the learning needs of students from non-Mandarin speaking homes.

Through the provision of quality training, SCCL hopes to enhance the teaching literacy, competency and professionalism of Chinese language teachers. It further strives to promote the development of Chinese culture and language in Singapore.

SCCL also focuses on researching innovative teaching and learning strategies, and through the promotion of effective Chinese language pedagogy in a bilingual environment, hopes to develop unique and effective teaching methods to strengthen the position of SCCL as the regional teaching and research centre for Chinese as a second language.