Classical Chinese poems long ago: The written form (Chinese characters) of classical Chinese poems have passed down generation by generation. Without audio recording machines in ancient time, we do not know the exact oral form of these poems in ancient time. The most popular oral form of these poems is to read aloud in the present day. However, classical Chinese poems were probably in a singing style as their oral form in ancient time, which can be inferred by the strict rules of syllables per line, tones (e.g., “平仄”), and rhymes.

Reviving classical Chinese poems in Cantonese singing: Cantonese tones are preserved in speaking and singing. The main difference between speaking and singing is that speaking tones are associated with a declination intonation effect, while singing is showing an anti-declination effect. A reversed application of this linguistic observation is to turn the classical poems into a Cantonese singing style, which can enhance the memorization of the poems.

Mobile-APP-assisting teaching of classical Chinese poems: With the APP, the teaching materials (demonstration of the singing poems) are more easily to be obtained, the practicing methods can be more fun (e.g., Karaoke a poem), and there are more peer interactions (e.g., uploading for sharing and “likes”).

Feedbacks from students: most of them like the APP and appreciate the learning of tones.