For 84-year-old Lim Meng Choo, age is not a barrier to learn and to teach.

She learned to conduct online classes so that she could teach the Hainanese dialect online in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The senior citizen division of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Hainanese Association started offering Hainanese dialect classes in 2002.

The class came to an abrupt stop due to the movement control order imposed to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. The classes have since been taken online in 2021.

A great challenge for Lim, she overcame all the odds to master online teaching and to redesign her teaching materials for online classes.

A Hainanese dialect teacher for more than 20 years, Lim has her own teaching materials to help students master the dialect easily.

She designed the teaching materials for the class to be lively.

“We need to help the students master the dialect easily. The teaching materials prepared by me are based on the content and the level of the class,” she explained.

Lim, who has students from seven to 70 years old, teaches students how to introduce themselves, numbers, dates, time, greetings etc. in Hainanese.

Students from all parts of the country, including Sabah and Sarawak, will now be able to learn the dialect online from her.

She also has a Hainanese student from Singapore attending her online class.

For students attending physical classes, they present their skills in speaking Hainanese on the stage at the graduation ceremony.

The Hainanese classes are open to non-Hainanese, too.

Many have joined the classes because of their interest in the dialect and the need to communicate with friends and relatives who are Hainanese, she said.

Beginner class is for people still unable to speak the dialect while the intermediate class is for those who have already completed their beginner course and have mastered basic communication in Hainanese.

Those keen to learn the dialect can contact Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Hainanese Association located at Thean Hou Temple, Kuala Lumpur, or call 03-2274 7088.