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<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Seah Chiang Nee on MT</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>fixncc <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>8:36 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>33279.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Language
Drawing a defence line
Singapore strives to prevent her local languages from being further eroded by globalisation and technology. By Seah Chiang Nee.
May 15, 2010
IN THIS fast-moving world - someone just told me - everything is either changing or is about to change, and it's not just the economy or technology.
Singapore is, of course, not an exception in this, but because of its small size and short history, the impact of globalisation has been greater here than elsewhere.
A case in point is the current debate on the status of the mother tongue in Singapore, something that was decided a generation ago.
Setting it off was the Education Minister's remarks that a lower weighting for the second language in primary schools was being considered.
A segment of Chinese reacted with emotional disapproval, seeing it as a possible downgrading of their language in future.
The government has firmly denied any intention to do away with bilingualism, which remains society's cornerstone.
However, it said the mother tongue would be taught differently to cater for students with difficulties.
These students number by the thousands, including many who are excellent in science and maths, who try as they may but just cannot cut the grade in the mother tongue. Most hail from predominantly English-speaking homes.
A few are brilliant scholars and definitely not lazy who end up being sent abroad to avoid failing in Chinese.
About 60% of the Chinese and Indian kids who enter Primary One come from homes that speak English. The percentage for Malays is lower. Hardly any one of these children can do without additional private tuition, where fees are rising.
The Government's assurance came only after an outburst from many Chinese, especially the traditionalists, teachers, clan associations and Chinese media.
As the debate on mother tongue rages, some observers see a broader reason for the erosion of interest for learning the mother tongue among the young.
As Singapore globalised, more and more of its youths embraced international values and Western norms. According to Dr Rujaya Abhakorn at Chiang Mai University, this trend also describes much of South-East Asia today.
He blamed it on globalisation which was driving people to acquire language skills “not in many, but in one language - English, seen as the key to success in the globalised age”.
Globalisation Erodes Mother Tongue
Some economists are warning that global competition and consumerism are eroding and may eventually kill off languages and cultures of smaller societies.
One historian said: “Technology now created the possibility and even the likelihood of global culture. The fax machine, satellite and cable TV have swept away the national cultural boundaries.”
The rising disenchantment in Singapore stems from frustration at being forced to learn - often by memory - a language that they feel is less useful in preparing them for the new high-tech world.
Although Singapore is predominantly Chinese, many young Chinese seem to be becoming more enamoured with Western or international values, than their own traditions.
There is one big consolation, though.
Few Singaporeans, if any at all, want bilingualism to end and most want the teaching of mother tongue to continue in order to preserve the culture.
What they dislike is letting their future to be too dependent on Chinese grades.
A friend who has operated a successful public relations firm told me: “For years I had laboured nightmarishly to pass Chinese with the help of tuition teachers. This knowledge is of little use to me now. Even in China, my clients usually insist on using English.”
To put it in perspective, Mandarin remains widely used by the Chinese among themselves, more so than English. (Lee Kuan Yew, the then prime minister ended the use of dialects years ago).
Some Chinese are fearful that any effort to lower the standard of teaching may lead to its erosion in the face of an increasingly English-speaking environment.
A large rally was organised last week for which the organiser explained online: “Mother-Tongue is as dear as mother, and should not be discarded (or) avoided. Avoidance will eventually lead to it being discarded.”
Under decades of bilingual education, society has virtually erased the distinction between Chinese and English-educated as in the past.
This explained why some of the protesters were from English-speaking families, too.
They feel that in simplifying learning, the Government is pandering to the whims of a minority of weak students.
They do not want to see this international hub turn into a society without character that is neither Asian nor Western.
Economists are also concerned about the possible dilution of Mandarin in Singapore, where standards are already low, in the face of a powerful China.
(A BBC programme said that by 2050, Chinese is forecast to become the second most powerful language next to English and its share of Internet content will rise to about 40%.)
“Many Westerners are learning Chinese to seek opportunities there, so it is suicidal for us to drop it,” said a businessman. “One day our people may have to go to China to look for jobs.”
For thousands of students with difficulties the status quo of their present dilemma is intolerable.
Their problem led to a lightening of their burden and exam pressure in a 2005 review.
For example, 12 year-olds were allowed to bring the dictionary into the exam hall and use it.
More emphasis was placed on reading and listening skills rather than on writing and memorising words and phrases.
An explanation came from Lee (now Minister Mentor) last year when he apologised publicly for wrongly assuming that people could simultaneously learn two languages equally well.
“Successive generations of students paid a heavy price, because of my ignorance by my insistence on bilingualism,” he said. Some see this as a sign of things to come.
(This article was published in The Star on May 15, 2010).
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Drawing a defence line
Singapore strives to prevent her local languages from being further eroded by globalisation and technology. By Seah Chiang Nee.
May 15, 2010
IN THIS fast-moving world - someone just told me - everything is either changing or is about to change, and it's not just the economy or technology.
Singapore is, of course, not an exception in this, but because of its small size and short history, the impact of globalisation has been greater here than elsewhere.
A case in point is the current debate on the status of the mother tongue in Singapore, something that was decided a generation ago.
Setting it off was the Education Minister's remarks that a lower weighting for the second language in primary schools was being considered.
A segment of Chinese reacted with emotional disapproval, seeing it as a possible downgrading of their language in future.
The government has firmly denied any intention to do away with bilingualism, which remains society's cornerstone.
However, it said the mother tongue would be taught differently to cater for students with difficulties.
These students number by the thousands, including many who are excellent in science and maths, who try as they may but just cannot cut the grade in the mother tongue. Most hail from predominantly English-speaking homes.
A few are brilliant scholars and definitely not lazy who end up being sent abroad to avoid failing in Chinese.
About 60% of the Chinese and Indian kids who enter Primary One come from homes that speak English. The percentage for Malays is lower. Hardly any one of these children can do without additional private tuition, where fees are rising.
The Government's assurance came only after an outburst from many Chinese, especially the traditionalists, teachers, clan associations and Chinese media.
As the debate on mother tongue rages, some observers see a broader reason for the erosion of interest for learning the mother tongue among the young.
As Singapore globalised, more and more of its youths embraced international values and Western norms. According to Dr Rujaya Abhakorn at Chiang Mai University, this trend also describes much of South-East Asia today.
He blamed it on globalisation which was driving people to acquire language skills “not in many, but in one language - English, seen as the key to success in the globalised age”.
Globalisation Erodes Mother Tongue
Some economists are warning that global competition and consumerism are eroding and may eventually kill off languages and cultures of smaller societies.
One historian said: “Technology now created the possibility and even the likelihood of global culture. The fax machine, satellite and cable TV have swept away the national cultural boundaries.”
The rising disenchantment in Singapore stems from frustration at being forced to learn - often by memory - a language that they feel is less useful in preparing them for the new high-tech world.
Although Singapore is predominantly Chinese, many young Chinese seem to be becoming more enamoured with Western or international values, than their own traditions.
There is one big consolation, though.
Few Singaporeans, if any at all, want bilingualism to end and most want the teaching of mother tongue to continue in order to preserve the culture.
What they dislike is letting their future to be too dependent on Chinese grades.
A friend who has operated a successful public relations firm told me: “For years I had laboured nightmarishly to pass Chinese with the help of tuition teachers. This knowledge is of little use to me now. Even in China, my clients usually insist on using English.”
To put it in perspective, Mandarin remains widely used by the Chinese among themselves, more so than English. (Lee Kuan Yew, the then prime minister ended the use of dialects years ago).
Some Chinese are fearful that any effort to lower the standard of teaching may lead to its erosion in the face of an increasingly English-speaking environment.
A large rally was organised last week for which the organiser explained online: “Mother-Tongue is as dear as mother, and should not be discarded (or) avoided. Avoidance will eventually lead to it being discarded.”
Under decades of bilingual education, society has virtually erased the distinction between Chinese and English-educated as in the past.
This explained why some of the protesters were from English-speaking families, too.
They feel that in simplifying learning, the Government is pandering to the whims of a minority of weak students.
They do not want to see this international hub turn into a society without character that is neither Asian nor Western.
Economists are also concerned about the possible dilution of Mandarin in Singapore, where standards are already low, in the face of a powerful China.
(A BBC programme said that by 2050, Chinese is forecast to become the second most powerful language next to English and its share of Internet content will rise to about 40%.)
“Many Westerners are learning Chinese to seek opportunities there, so it is suicidal for us to drop it,” said a businessman. “One day our people may have to go to China to look for jobs.”
For thousands of students with difficulties the status quo of their present dilemma is intolerable.
Their problem led to a lightening of their burden and exam pressure in a 2005 review.
For example, 12 year-olds were allowed to bring the dictionary into the exam hall and use it.
More emphasis was placed on reading and listening skills rather than on writing and memorising words and phrases.
An explanation came from Lee (now Minister Mentor) last year when he apologised publicly for wrongly assuming that people could simultaneously learn two languages equally well.
“Successive generations of students paid a heavy price, because of my ignorance by my insistence on bilingualism,” he said. Some see this as a sign of things to come.
(This article was published in The Star on May 15, 2010).
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