Singapore, Nov 17, 2009 - (ACN Newswire) - The Media Development Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) sign a Memorandum of Understanding today at the official opening of the SCCL to collaborate on researching innovative teaching and learning strategies of the Chinese language, including a joint effort to launch a Call-for-Proposal (CFP).

The joint CFP for the development of Chinese language learning and teaching will primarily be on three areas; oral training, mobile learning and news in education (utilization of textual news articles, audio and visual news clips for the enhancement of Chinese language teaching and learning).

The CFP aims to encourage local developers to research and develop a technology with a suitable network infrastructure that can assess the students who are learning Chinese as a second language, be able to diagnose their oral skills and systematically improve their skills through different pedagogical approaches and training in areas that are lacking.

Signingon the MOU on behalf of MDA is Mr Michael Yap, Executive Director of the multi-agency Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office. He said, "The MDA and SCCL collaboration hopes to apply Interactive Digital Media to uncover innovative applications to promote and transform the learning of the Chinese language. Through this collaboration, the industry will be able to tap on domain expertise and funding to explore and develop compelling ways to learn and teach Chinese."

Dr Chin Chee Kuen, Executive Director, SCCL said, "ICT in education is not new, but ICT with research-proven pedagogy and rigorously-tested learning strategy makes all the difference in further elevating ICT-assisted Chinese Language learning. SCCL's collaboration with MDA hopes to bring together the best of the government, industrial and educational sectors in the field of ICT-integrated Chinese Language learning."

Interested parties are welcome to submit their proposals by 18 December 2009 using the designatedapplication form downloaded from www.mda.gov.sg or http://www.idm.sg/cfp/futurebooks/. The guidelines and offerings by the partner network can also be found on the websites.


Sinagapore 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. 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 will also strive to promote the developmentof Chinese culture and language in Singapore. The Centre also focuses on researching innovative teaching and learning strategies, and through the promotion of effective Chinese language pedagogy in a bilingual environment, the Centre 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. SCCL had begun its in-service training courses in June 2009.

Interactive & Digital Media (IDM) Sector

The development of the IDM sector requires the collaboration of a diverse range of public sector agencies, educational institutions, industry players and other stakeholders. To achieve this, the National Research Foundation has allocated$500 million over the next five years from 2006 to fund the development of a strategic IDM research programme and the set-up of a multi-agency IDM R&D Programme Office within the Media Development Authority of Singapore to oversee R&D initiatives inthe IDM space. This multiagency team coordinates a cross-disciplinary effort to deepen Singapore's research capacity in IDM. More information on IDM can be found on ww.idm.sg

The National Research Foundation (NRF)

The National Research Foundation (NRF), a department under the Prime Minister's Office, sets the national direction for research and development (R&D) by developing policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and enterprise, funds strategic initiatives, builds up R&Dcapabilities and capacities through nurturing our own and attracting foreign talent, and coordinates the research agenda of different agencies to transform Singapore into a knowledge-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy. It provides secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by the Prime Minister. A five-year budget of S$5 billion has been allocated to the NRF in 2006 to achieve this mission. For more information, please visit www.nrf.gov.sg.

About MDA

Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Global Media City and positioning it at the forefront of the digital media age. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote developments in film, video, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation, media services and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a pro-business environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg.

Source: MDA

Contact:

Ms Jasmine Wong
Manager, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: +65 97263158
Email: Jasmine_Wong@mda.gov.sg

Ms Lea Shu Hui
Project Officer
Singapore Centre for Chinese Language
Tel: +65 6467 5667 ext 222, +65 9786 2580
Email: shuhui.lea@sccl.sg