Falling in Love with Chinese — It All Began with a Cup of Nanyang Coffee
爱上华文，从一杯南洋咖啡开始
It was a quiet afternoon in Singapore. My friends and I met at a cosy Nanyang coffee shop — our favourite spot by the window, where sunlight danced through the leaves and the air was filled with the aroma of coffee. Its slight bitterness carried a hint of sweetness, just like life, and just like growth itself.
As we chatted, the conversation turned to a common concern — how their children struggled with Chinese.
They spoke English most of the time and found Chinese difficult or uninteresting, no matter how many tuition classes they attended.
In their voices, I could hear both helplessness and worry. Every mother knew that Chinese carries the roots of our thousand-year civilisation, yet they were watching their children drift quietly away from it.
As I listened, I began to reflect deeply.
After three decades in education, I understood that children’s problem was not that they couldn’t learn Chinese — they simply didn’t want to.
They had never truly felt the warmth of the language. In class, Chinese was just a subject; outside, it lacked emotional connection and cultural presence.
Without interest, learning becomes a burden. Without a sense of belonging, a language loses its warmth and meaning.
Interest is the best teacher. To help children learn Chinese well, we must first help them love it — because passion is the most lasting motivation.
At that very moment, surrounded by the comforting scent of coffee, I made a decision:
to establish a Chinese learning space where children could learn joyfully, feel emotionally connected, and truly fall in love with Chinese.
The name came to me naturally — “Aiwen.”
And with it, our timeless belief — “Fall in Love with Chinese.”
Like that cup of Nanyang coffee — slightly bitter, yet warmly sweet — Aiwen’s beginning was simple and sincere:
to put people at the heart of education, and to let every child fall in love with Chinese.
那是一个宁静的午后，我和几位好友在新加坡一家南洋咖啡馆相聚。我们总喜欢靠窗的位置，阳光斑驳，咖啡香气四溢，微苦里透着甘甜，像极了人生，也像极了成长。
朋友们谈起孩子学华文的困扰：平时习惯说英文，不习惯说华文，补习班也报了不少，却始终没有兴趣。她们的语气里有无奈，也夹杂着一丝焦虑。母亲们都知道华文承载着千年文化的根基，却眼睁睁看着自己的孩子渐渐与之疏远。
我听着，心里多了一份思考。三十年的教育经历让我明白，孩子不是学不好，而是不想学。他们从未在生活中真正感受到华文的温度，课堂上是枯燥的知识，课堂外没有文化的浸润与情感的共鸣。没有兴趣，学习就成了负担；没有认同，语言就失去了温度。
兴趣是最好的老师，要让孩子学好华文，必须先让他们爱上华文，热爱才是最持久的动力。就在那杯咖啡的香气里，我下定了决心：创办一所华文教育中心，让孩子们在轻松愉悦的氛围中，爱上华文,学好华文。
名字也在那一刻浮现——“爱文”。
Slogan 也随之诞生——“爱上华文”。
就像那杯南洋咖啡的味道，爱文的初心也简单而真挚：以人为本，让每一个孩子爱上华文。