(All images: Hakka TV)
The regular gatherings came about when the families in the townships discovered that they were all Hakka people, but they were not very good at speaking the ethnic language, so they decided to create a relaxed environment for learning how to speak Hakka.
Tu Yu-ling (涂裕苓), the convenor of the Hakka Cooking Conversation Class, said that this kind of Hakka cooking and language course makes it easier for participants to learn the language. In the process of cooking with Hakka elders who speak the language fluently, members of the class immerse themselves in the Hakka-speaking environment. Learning to speak the Hakka in this practical way makes it more natural, and everyone encourages each other and are more willing to speak Hakka.
Tu also mentioned that in the cooking class, she even found the diversity of the Hakka ethnic group. For instance, there are different varieties of Hakka stir-fry -- a traditional Hakka dish made with squid, bean curd, and pork -- depending on the region in Taiwan. Tu said that once the theme of a cooking class was this Hakka stir-fry dish. When everyone was asked to go home and consult with the elders in their family about how to make this Hakka dish, sure enough, they came back with four or five different recipes.
Lin Hui-chen (林慧珍), a member of the Hakka Cooking Conversation Class, said that although she is a Hakka, she rarely has the opportunity to speak Hakka. By attending the classes, she can gradually get used to this language. She feels that it is very interesting and very important to cook together, eat together, and use the language together.
Luo Jie-mi (羅結米), another member of the Hakka Cooking Conversation Class, said that with this opportunity to come in contact with the Hakka, she is now a little better at speaking the language than when she first started. She is still not very good at speaking Hakka, but at least she can understand the language now.
Chiu Yi-chian (邱羿蒨), a member of the class, said that everyone would rack their brains and try to speak all the Hakka they can think of. However, when they cannot think of the words to express themselves in Hakka, they will mix in many other languages such as Mandarin, English, Taiwanese Hokkien, and Japanese. But regardless, her biggest gain is that she has become more fluent in Hakka.
Chen Jun-ming (陳君明), a teacher in the Hakka Cooking Conversation Class, said that some members of the class cannot speak Hakka at first, but they practice word by word in this cooking class and after a while, although they still may not be able to speak fluent or standard Hakka, they have the ability to speak entire sentences in Hakka.
Meeting friends through food and also practicing speaking Hakka is easy and fun. It has attracted many people who want to join the Hakka Cooking Conversation Class. But the convener, Tu Yu-ling, is worried that if there are too many members, it will dilute everyone's opportunity to practice listening and speaking. Therefore, she suggests people who are interested in attending such classes duplicate this model instead.
This spontaneous learning group breaks away from the usual Hakka teaching model. It is not in the classroom. They use fun as the premise and use cooking to create an environment where everyone can easily and naturally learn and speak Hakka. As a result of this creative approach to learning the Hakka, they’ve come up with many possibilities.