Speak Chinese, Am One

I was repulsed when I read this article in the Forum page of the newspaper today. I mean, my parents are always asking me to read so that I'd be aware of what Singaporeans' concerns are but I get disgusted everytime I read something like this. It just stinks of what is the famous, typical Singaporean style - complain, whine and expect others to make something happen. In fact I'm so disgusted that I can't put down my thoughts into words properly. But I'll try.

And I shall (try) not resort to vulgarities even though I'm very tempted to use them because the points that were brought up are ridiculous.

I've been through all the rote learning that the Chinese cirriculum mentioned has to offer and although I don't think I'm very proficient in the language, I appreciate what I've been put through. I have no regrets and I know that I've done my best in mastering the language during the course of my education. I took Higher Chinese in P5, dropped it a year later. I took it again in Sec 1 and 2, but got switched to Express Stream after that. I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't succeed but I don't see it as a failure either as I had greater opportunities to increase my exposure to the language.

I don't believe that "having a flair for languages is more the result of nature than nurture". She believes that our education system must allow students to tackle the challenge of mastering a second language at their own pace. If what she says is true then we do not require a syllabus. We can allow everyone to study Maths and Science at their own pace so as to cultivate their interest in these subjects, unless she's so narrow-minded to think that languages are the only thing that are the result of nature.

Of course I believe in nurture especially since we're not in the topic on why shorter people have a disadvantage in basketball or volleyball, but that's not the point here.

"Writing words repeatedly or weekly spelling which tests nothing except the student's power of regurgitation", but isn't that true of other subjects as well? With any damned subject, you must know its contents at your fingertips before you're able to manipulate them. You need to know your History before you can give your views on them. You need to know your Science so that you can give an explanation on the test results. Regurgitation? There's plenty of that going on in almost every subject, so why point your finger at Chinese language specifically?

"It's not the good and worthy who prosper. It's just the motivated." (Animorphs, The Ellimist Chronicles) Her suggestion to "delink mother-tongue examination results from students' progress in the education system" is preposterous. She should find a better reason for this action because it'll definitely not encourage bilingualism. If students are studying Chinese for the sake of doing well, then will taking away that reason cultivate their interest in the language?

I think not.

Having struggled with it for most of my life, I was real happy to be able to understand almost 99% of what the Taipei tour guide of the 228 Memorial Museum was talking about. My efforts in learning the language has not gone to waste. Having grown up in this batch I think that we're really able to appreciate Chinese as a language, and it's advantages as compared to English. And my point is the one that my mother has been trying to drive into me since young - English is the what I use to communicate with the world; Chinese is the way to my roots.