Comments, opinions and an occasional ramble
Chickening your way out of bilingualism
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, and it’s not because that I’ve been served with a gag order or something; it’s simply just that I’ve been busy doing loads of other things. I should be writing a little more often now.
There’s been quite a huge uproar over Education Minister Ng Eng Hen’s proposal to reduce the weightage of the mother tongue component in the PSLE. It seems to me that one of Ng’s priorities as education minister is to figure out how to reform mother tongue education in Singapore, and I’m most definitely against his current line of thought, which is to make the education path easier for students who are weak in their mother tongue.
The reason for me opposing his current line of thought is simple. Education is one of Singapore’s core competencies as a nation, and we cannot let education standards slide. Sure, I recognise the fact that some students have a genuine issue with bilingualism, but that doesn’t mean opening a backdoor for everyone because of a minority of students. Besides, if we have a problem, shouldn’t we solve the problem rather than changing the problem to make the problem easier or removing the problem altogether?
I’m wondering if MM Lee is privately rolling his eyes at Ng’s proposed ideas. When Singapore became independent, how many Singaporeans could speak and write English? English education was forced onto Singaporeans in order to get Singapore to succeed. Imagine if Singapore had decided to abandon learning English because Singaporeans felt that it was difficult to learn.
Besides, I think we shouldn’t be going soft on students. They have to learn that nothing in life is easy. If something is tough, then we should strive to be tougher. Imagine if your boss hands you a difficult task and you tell your boss it’s too difficult for you. Do you think he’ll make the task easier for you? I don’t think so. It’s either you find out how to do it, or he’ll get someone else to do it.
If we don’t find out how to effectively teach our children to be bilingual, other countries will find out how to do it for their own children, and guess who loses?
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about 3 years ago
good point, boy.
about 3 years ago
Aaron says: “I’m wondering if MM Lee is privately rolling his eyes at Ng’s proposed ideas. When Singapore became independent, how many Singaporeans could speak and write English? English education was forced onto Singaporeans in order to get Singapore to succeed. Imagine if Singapore had decided to abandon learning English because Singaporeans felt that it was difficult to learn.”
By your argument are you suggesting “forcing” to learn a language is a good way to go?
In any case, Mandarin has been “forced” — using your word — on students for many years but has it been any good?
I, for example, flunk my Mandarin and was equally crap in English. I was good at math and science. So I couldn’t make it to A-Level, let alone, local university because of the 2nd Language requirement. So if that is not “forcing” to learn Mandarin what is it? At one point I was almost unable to make it to poly.
Oh in any case, “forcing” to learn English hardly made Singaporean any better at English. Frankly, after all these years, Singlish still seemed to be more prevalent than English!
about 3 years ago
If we don’t find out how to effectively teach our children to be bilingual, other countries will find out how to do it for their own children, and guess who loses?
But that is the problem… how do we do that effectively for everyone? To begin with, different people have different linguistic capabilities. Many people can handle two languages, a few can handle more. But what about those who are not capable of handling more than one? Are we justified in forcing a standard examination without consideration to their innate capabilities?
Some lucky individuals are experts in all fields, some are just good in languages but terrible at maths, some are scientific geniuses but cannot grapple with a second language. The problem with the current system is that it enforces a uniform evaluation upon everyone regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. Can we entertain the possibility that, if we allow a scientific prodigy to drop his second language and focus on his subject of interest, we can better develop his talent?
That said, I admit there is no easy way around trying to get to it. Personally, I’m leaning towards a system that slightly favours the stronger subjects (but not to the extent of penalising the well-rounded students). It is far from ideal, but at least I see it as a step towards the right direction.
about 3 years ago
Ah Kow,
I know bilingualism is not for everyone; some people have trouble learning just one language, although I think a good command of one language should not be a major issue if one can seek the help of a suitably qualified person and is willing to put in effort. I don’t know how much effort each individuals put into mastering a language, but I just don’t think it is right to open a backdoor.
As for Singlish being more prevalent, yes, you are correct, but I think speaking Singlish daily isn’t a big problem UNLESS it creeps into formal writing and speech. In anycase, I have issues with the way English is being taught now, and seriously, MOE needs to re-examine how languages are being taught. We are churning out tons of people who can’t speak or write at least ONE language properly.
about 3 years ago
Jackson,
I know that it is not unfair to penalise a student from higher education because of language, but you have to bear in mind that good language ability is not an issue of exams; it will affect ability to perform in future.
I often tell my students that a person who has the brightest idea in the world but is very poor in language isn’t quite likely to succeed because he is unlikely to be able to articulate clearly to others what is on his mind (I’m willing to concede for areas like math but you should get where I’m heading).
Defense of language as a life skill aside, I do think that it’s important to allow students to be able to appeal on account of special talents or strengths in lieu of exam results, and this has been done for local universities. As long as educational institutions have the flexibility to decide who to admit, it’s fine to attempt to make our kids learn their languages well, even if a little force is required.
about 3 years ago
@Aaron Ng
Aaron: “I don’t know how much effort each individuals put into mastering a language, but I just don’t think it is right to open a backdoor.”
I must admit I don’t understand what you mean by the term “backdoor”?
If you look at the issue at hand. I think the controversies about the Mandarin thing stems from the so call weighting of exam scores, which as Yawningbread clearly points out, many “conservatives” types conflate to mean demeaning of culture.
As far as these group are concerned they don’t see exam scores as a means to an end — which is to get people to love learning a language.
Aaron: “As for Singlish being more prevalent, yes, you are correct, but I think speaking Singlish daily isn’t a big problem UNLESS it creeps into formal writing and speech.”
Well if you extend the same logic about not conflating Singlish and formal English than you could say the same about exam scores and ability to speak/write Mandarin.
So if one score badly on Mandarin but is prepared to improve through informal means than it is ok right?
Conversely, if being able to score well in Exam because it has been lowered in weight-age should not be a signal to improve.
about 3 years ago
Sorry last statement:
“Conversely, if being able to score well in Exam because it has been lowered in weight-age should not be a signal to improve”.
Should read:
Conversely, if being able to score well in Exam because it has been lowered in weight-age should not be a signal to mean I am good so no need to improve.
about 3 years ago
Ah Kow :
What about students that are bad in Science but great in the other 3 subjects? Are we forcing Science on them then? What if the student intends to go humanities or finance – are we not forcing science down their throat?
So should MOE come out with a system that allows every student to ‘devalue’ or drop their weakest subject? Then why should anyone do 4 subjects instead of focusing on 3?
about 3 years ago
Ah Kow,
By backdoor I mean that students should not be given an avenue where there’s an incentive to put in less effort than they should. If the weight of mother tongue drops significantly, then there’s little incentive to put in as much effort to study it compared to other subjects.
As for extending the logic between Singlish and formal English to exams and ability to speak/write mandarin, you have a good point, but if you read my post carefully, the implied precondition is that one must be good enough in English in the first place so that one can make the transition between Singlish and English effortlessly. A good number of Singaporeans are unable to do that, at least in my humble opinion.
This means that going back to your original point, forcing the study of English is ineffective for many Singaporeans, but then, my question is, what alternative do we have? It’s not like we are sitting on top of a never ending oil reserve. By forcing mastery of two languages on Singaporeans, we will at least get some people who are competent in both languages to help Singapore gain a competitive advantage.
From an educator’s viewpoint, though, the previous sentence is not what I personally would like to endorse, because I think study should be enjoyable. I think it is hard to reconcile both economic goals and education goals, and well, this is just life. If only there’s an SOP for life.
about 3 years ago
I came from a dialect speaking family. My parents, relatives and friends don’t speak English. I struggled with English throughout my primary and secondary schools. I had to put in extra efforts and luckily for me, I managed to get acceptable grades.
I purposely put myself into an English Speaking JC (yes, there are Chinese speaking JC in my days), so I can learn the language better. For the 1st 2 weeks in JC I don’t dare to speak because everybody speaks English. My English teacher forced me to go through extra tuitions so I can pass.
Am I good in English now? No. But am I better? Yes. English was forced upon me. No difference from all the others who say that “Mandarin, Tamil, Malay” is forced upon them.
Other than unique cases (e.g. Eurasians and PR), I really don’t see why we should make an exception.
A better way would be to emphasis on learning rather than grades. That however needs a mindset change and overhaul of policies. Don’t think that will happen just yet.
In meantime, if the weightage is reduced, it should apply uniformly for the weakest subject, regardless of the subject. Anyway, why would someone aspiring to be a linguistic profession need to be a genius in Maths? Else, status quo please.
A child should not be placed at a disadvantage compared to another, just because the father doesn’t know how to speak English.
about 3 years ago
@AC
Aaron, AC:
Personally, I am not in favour of weighting anyway and to me that’s the problem the PAP government got themselves in.
The point I am trying to make is this: much of the debate/row about the “mother tongue” issue whether one like it or not, as YawningBread so accurately noted, is about cultural parity and resource allocation (i.e. School Places) — not about (a) economic competitiveness and (b) promoting lingustic skills. Suggest you read YawningBread essay for other points. I’ll focus my argument on my (a) and (b).
On (a), there is really no significant proof that an effectively bilingual country is going to make the nation more competitive. Case in point are Germany and Japan. In cases where countries that are bilingual but neither of the two languages is a English, such as Switzerland, where bilingualism is such a hot potato issue, that has not blunt competitiveness. So we can effectively put paid to the bilingual education == national competitiveness.
Of course, individually, it would be good to at least be able to appreciate, if not master, more than one language. But that at the end of the day, it is really individual choice, really. In any case, you will find how remarkable individual can be when individual find learning another language a joy. For example, when working in Germany, I came across man in that Country was an immigrant from China who spoke no German but became a successful restaurant owner (German and Chinese ones). He has been there for almost ten years and as far as I could tell he spoke very little German. Of course, I am sure life would be more enriching for him if he spoke German.
(b) Promoting linguistic skills, well frankly I don’t think doing it through on size fit all exams ain’t going to help. Throw in all these nonsensical score averaging mechanism, what you have is a receipt for turn-off. This don’t just apply to language but also other subjects too. The best approach is to let individual develop their own skill in the best ways that best suit there own (or community) needs.
On this point if I were the Government, I would have let people decide to how far the wish to stretch their own strength. For example, I would have gone so far as letting Nanyang University continue to teach in the medium of their own choice. Likewise for people who would like to do it in Malay. Of course there will be some practical difficulties making such an arrangement but that is something that could be work out.
So in that arrangement if people choose to study not just language but any subject in the language they think the are strong in so be it. Ok now, I hear you going to say this is going to cause a polarised nation. Well, we could overcome that by having a common national competency test, say a test of functional competencies in another language. Such functional test should not be a barrier, a one shot deal. People can take it as many time as they like. The point of such test is much like driving test, where you are test on your ability to meet a benchmark — i.e. pass or fail, not how good you are relative to others.
For example, if you choose to say study in a chinese medium school and your progress should be measured on your ability to operate in that language. The national competencies test should be separate design to give recognition to an individual to operate in a common environment. It should not impede the progression of an individual in their chosen medium of education.
Oh in case, you think my suggestion is new, this is roughly what Swiss education operates in.
In conclusion, the “mother tongue” issue is a cultural and political one not an economic one. Therefore any solution one is going to craft must take that cultural and political factor into account. Masking it as an economic or trying to suppress those factors is not going to solve the problem. If the issue is about lingustic capabilities than let’s be creative or enterprising about the solution.
about 3 years ago
Sorry in my last post this phrase:
“He has been there for almost ten years and as far as I could tell he spoke very little German. Of course, I am sure life would be more enriching for him if he spoke German”.
Should read:
He has been there for almost ten years and as far as I could tell he spoke very little German. Of course, I am sure life would be more enriching for him if he spoke German. And when at the time I spoke to him in his restaurant, he said he was taking German lesson. If nothing else, he now find it a joy to be able to communicate with his grand children.
about 3 years ago
The discussions on the Mother Tongue Language is more of an emotional/cultural attachment of one to his/her ethnic roots.
As for the commercial and mercantile advantage make possible by knowing popular foreign languages, all businesses are awared of it since time immemorial. BUT WHY ARE THE ANG MOES(WHITES) NOT LEARNING CHINESE AND INDIAN LANGUAGES?? THEY HAD BEEN IN THE ORIENTS FOR CENTURIES AND THEY CERTAINLY KNOW HOW GIGANTIC THESE REGIONS ARE.
Dare I say only the STUPID and ROTTEN ASIANS think in pragmatic and silly ways. Me am sick of perverted arguments by pragmatist and convertibles.
patriot
about 3 years ago
The only thing I love about Singapore is its food. It has the best variety, taste and price in the world. Singapore is also efficient where necessary paper work are concerned. Being a small island, it is much easier to move from point A to point B. But therein lies the pseudo aspect of its efficiency: its size. A small island definitely easier to get around. And a small island makes you reach boredom sooner than you imagine. When I was working in Singapore, I got so bored I had to go to Geylandg to seek fun. That’s how boring it was. I fucked so many malaysian, thai and chinese gals that I lost count. At least, where penetrative sex is concerned, Singapore is easy but expensive. I once remembered seeing a middle-aged Singaporean Chinese guy who I’m told comes in every week day after lunch to these Geylang brothels as he was extremely bored to death in this tiny island. Here in Tokyo, sex is more like a fetish. But you practically have a hell of a time to get a brotherl here as penetrative sex is illegal. If you work in Tokyo, you’d know why I use the term “penetrative”. At least, pornography is everywhere here in Tokyo. And it’s nice to return from a hard day’s work and drop in to 7/11 and get a drink and a japanese porn magazine to go. This is something I can’t do in Singapore. I can’t go to a strip club in Singapore because there aren’t any. We’re lucky we’re close to Thailand. I can imagine how much harder it is for women to get sex. The chances are virtually zero for a shy lady. At least a shy Singaporean man could learn about sex in Geylang. I’m not exactly big on gambling. Playing in the back alleys in Geylang once upon a time, got my $100 burned in 2 mins. And I never looked back to it since. Hey skeptic, are there any similar entertainment of the like I’m talking in Vegas?
about 3 years ago
aaron,
even mm lee admits it’s a mistake to force bilingualism on the past generations of kids. you can be sure he definitely has all the relevant stats and info regarding MT.
for simplicity, “bilingualism” shall refer to the equal weightage of the 2 languages in PSLE.
the problem could be in the way the language is taught and the environment. personally, i’ve seen so many kids agonize over MT. and they grow up hating the language and couldn’t wait to finish the last exam so that they can get it over with. none of the kids i know (even those with good MT grades) actually carry on to read books or the papers in mandarin once they finish school. hmm….. so the purpose of bilingualism is ?
about 2 years ago
The issue here is that English is our first language and master language. So we cannot do away with English. It is the language 90% of our subjects are taught in. It is our language we work, govern, write our laws in.
Mandarin to Singaporeans is just an extra foreign language. Therefore, it can be reduced and done away with.
about 2 years ago
The native language of the Republic of Singapore has always been English.
Your parents and many of the older generation don’t speak English because they are illiterate. Education standards were low back in the days and hokkien + pasar malay was the mother tongue back then. Talking about 1960s-70s here.
Even today, many of these illiterate Singaporeans still cannot speak or write standard English. They are a disgrace to Singapore really.
English is the republic’s native language. So if you can’t speak English in Singapore, you are illiterate. Go back to Primary school to get an education and stop making pathetic excuses for your illiteracy. No one cares and no one bothers. If you want to live in a Mandarin speaking country so badly, go to PRC China.
about 2 years ago
“AA@AA
“AA said (The issue here is that English is our first language and master language. Mandarin to Singaporeans is just an extra foreign language. Therefore, it can be reduced and done away with.)”
Excuse me AA, are you an Englishman, is your mother an English woman? Are you not a Chinese Singaporean? Is your mother not an ethnic Chinese?
Mandarin is a foreign language? Are you kidding? English is YOUR mother tongue? Your mother is English woman? You must be out of your mind. Go see a psycho.
about 2 years ago
@ABC
“AA said (Singapore’s native language is English)”
Are you kidding? English was S’pore’s colonial language, forced onto us. Our true native languages were Chinese dialects for the uneducated, and Mandarin for the educated Chinese. Other “native” languages were Malay, Tamil, etc.
English was never the “native” language of Singapore. It was a totally foreign language, forced onto us by the colonial Britain. After independence other native languages became recognised as official Singaporean languages.
about 2 years ago
Okay, firstly, mother tongue is the language we grow up speaking. The term has nothing to do with the traditional language of a race.
Increasingly, our mother tongue is English. How many people can say that they read and write Chinese, for example, better than English?
Secondly, colonial Britain didn’t force English on us, the Singapore government did when we gained independance. During colonial times, English schools were in the minority, and most Chinese chose to send their children to schools where the main medium of instruction was Chinese. Now, we don’t even have that option.
And for the record, Singapore native language is Malay. Everyone else were immigrants who brought their language and dialects with them.
about 2 years ago
Just came across this post and had a good laugh.
If you need to have English ancestry to claim English as your native language, then 90% of British and Americans would not qualify as native English speakers because they are mostly Germans, Welsh etc.
You seem to confuse the colour of your skin with your citizenship and upbringing. One very confused insecure man you are.
If a Singaporean who has been educated for 15 years in mainly English cannot claim English as his native language, then he really is a confused and insecure fellow, like you are.
And the word is psychiatrist not pyscho. Pyscho is someone like yourself. Psychiatrist is someone who has finished his PSLE (something you will never do in this life) and attended University.
Hope that helps.
about 2 years ago
YES I TOTALLY AGREE.
What Singapore is trying to do is to give in to the complaints from students and parents who deems Chinese as ‘too difficult’. This is not doing the students a favour because it’s only encouraging the incorrect mindset that chinese is unimportant enough for it’s teaching techniques to be reconsidered and importance in examinations to be stripped away.
I face difficulties learning Chinese in a bi-cultural school but persist in doing my best to face it with a positive attitude. If there are no challenges in learning then what is the meaning of education. The next generation can go indulge in their zero Chinese, extreme singlish life…
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