Some foreigners who come here are rather impressed by what they think is “bilingual education”. Actually, I will not really consider Singaporeans in general to be really effectively bilingual. They are normally stronger in one language, and even then, they are not that proficient in that language as well, as evidenced in spelling and grammatical errors.
What an irony, as those who were born in the seventies started bilingual education the moment they entered school, as compared to our parents’ time. During my parents’ time, people could choose whether they want to go to the English stream, Chinese stream, Malay stream or Tamil stream.
English stream students would study all their subjects in English, and their Mother Tongue would be their own respective Mother Tongues. These students were normally from mission schools and schools established by the old European settlers.
These students would later go on to the then University of Singapore (the current National University of Singapore), where everything would be taught in English, and able to snag high-flying jobs after that.
Chinese stream students would study all their subjects in Chinese, with English as a second language. These students were normally from schools set up by those old Chinese merchants and settlers and ran by the various clan associations.
They would later go on to the then Nanyang University (the current Nanyang Technological University, my alma mater, as well as the alma mater of most of my foreign friends), where everything would be taught in Chinese, and go on to work in less glamourous jobs as most jobs would prefer to hire graduates who could speak English.
Which was why my parents, despite being Chinese-educated, opted to go to the University of Singapore rather than the Nanyang University, as they would be assured of a better future upon graduation.
My dad was better off as he had a firmer grounding in English education, since he spent a few years in a mission school, but my mum really has to struggle as initially, she could not even understand what the lecturers were saying.
These streams were abolished back in the seventies? eighties?, and now all schools have English as the language medium with the various Mother Tongues. So students go through a rather solid grounding in English as well as Mother Tongue.
But the tradition is still there. Those mission school students nowadays still come from mostly families who speak only English, so their Mother Tongue standards are pretty minimal compared to others (just like mine).
Those schools that offer Special stream education, ie Higher Mother Tongue (essentially Higher Chinese) are schools that used to have pure Chinese streams. And the graduates from the National University of Singapore are still considered as better choices for employment rather than the graduates from the Nanyang Technological University, unless one happens to be a scholar.
Yet people in my parents generation seem to be more proficient in their languages than us. Those who were English-educated really have very powerful grasp of the language, and those who were Chinese-educated really have a very high standard of Chinese. My parents are considered bilingual as they can speak, read and write both languages well.
But not me, nor my brothers. Perhaps my first brother is considered bilingual, but after so long in China, I wonder if his English standard has dropped. And my youngest brother has also always been more geared towards the English side, until recently when he played a part in a Chinese drama in his school and started watching MTVs and variety shows from Taiwan that he is now speaking more Mandarin to others.
And me? Speaking, reading and writing in English are no problem, but not Chinese. I can read and recognize the Chinese characters better than I speak the language, which everyone finds it strange. Probably reading and writing is easier as one only needs to recognize the words, but speaking is harder because I have to take note of all the different inflexions of the various syllables. A mispronunciation can mean a totally different thing.
This is really incredulous, because if we are brought up on a bilingual education, then how come most of us are proficient in neither language? I have seen my ex teaching colleagues teaching students all the wrong grammar, spelling and sentencing structure, and my aunt also said that there are Chinese teachers in her school writing all the wrong characters for the students. I fear for the students!
Or is it because we take our so-called bilingual education for granted? I always thought that if one cannot be effectively bilingual, at least be proficient in one language. But I see people from my generation and below who can neither speak nor write nor read either language well. Wonder what really triggered that?
I really envy my foreign friends as they are really effectively bilingual, some even tri-lingual or multi-lingual, who can speak, write and read all the languages they know very well. I wish I can be like that too, but since I am not cut out to be a linguist, I have to just settle for being proficient in one language.
What an irony, as those who were born in the seventies started bilingual education the moment they entered school, as compared to our parents’ time. During my parents’ time, people could choose whether they want to go to the English stream, Chinese stream, Malay stream or Tamil stream.
English stream students would study all their subjects in English, and their Mother Tongue would be their own respective Mother Tongues. These students were normally from mission schools and schools established by the old European settlers.
These students would later go on to the then University of Singapore (the current National University of Singapore), where everything would be taught in English, and able to snag high-flying jobs after that.
Chinese stream students would study all their subjects in Chinese, with English as a second language. These students were normally from schools set up by those old Chinese merchants and settlers and ran by the various clan associations.
They would later go on to the then Nanyang University (the current Nanyang Technological University, my alma mater, as well as the alma mater of most of my foreign friends), where everything would be taught in Chinese, and go on to work in less glamourous jobs as most jobs would prefer to hire graduates who could speak English.
Which was why my parents, despite being Chinese-educated, opted to go to the University of Singapore rather than the Nanyang University, as they would be assured of a better future upon graduation.
My dad was better off as he had a firmer grounding in English education, since he spent a few years in a mission school, but my mum really has to struggle as initially, she could not even understand what the lecturers were saying.
These streams were abolished back in the seventies? eighties?, and now all schools have English as the language medium with the various Mother Tongues. So students go through a rather solid grounding in English as well as Mother Tongue.
But the tradition is still there. Those mission school students nowadays still come from mostly families who speak only English, so their Mother Tongue standards are pretty minimal compared to others (just like mine).
Those schools that offer Special stream education, ie Higher Mother Tongue (essentially Higher Chinese) are schools that used to have pure Chinese streams. And the graduates from the National University of Singapore are still considered as better choices for employment rather than the graduates from the Nanyang Technological University, unless one happens to be a scholar.
Yet people in my parents generation seem to be more proficient in their languages than us. Those who were English-educated really have very powerful grasp of the language, and those who were Chinese-educated really have a very high standard of Chinese. My parents are considered bilingual as they can speak, read and write both languages well.
But not me, nor my brothers. Perhaps my first brother is considered bilingual, but after so long in China, I wonder if his English standard has dropped. And my youngest brother has also always been more geared towards the English side, until recently when he played a part in a Chinese drama in his school and started watching MTVs and variety shows from Taiwan that he is now speaking more Mandarin to others.
And me? Speaking, reading and writing in English are no problem, but not Chinese. I can read and recognize the Chinese characters better than I speak the language, which everyone finds it strange. Probably reading and writing is easier as one only needs to recognize the words, but speaking is harder because I have to take note of all the different inflexions of the various syllables. A mispronunciation can mean a totally different thing.
This is really incredulous, because if we are brought up on a bilingual education, then how come most of us are proficient in neither language? I have seen my ex teaching colleagues teaching students all the wrong grammar, spelling and sentencing structure, and my aunt also said that there are Chinese teachers in her school writing all the wrong characters for the students. I fear for the students!
Or is it because we take our so-called bilingual education for granted? I always thought that if one cannot be effectively bilingual, at least be proficient in one language. But I see people from my generation and below who can neither speak nor write nor read either language well. Wonder what really triggered that?
I really envy my foreign friends as they are really effectively bilingual, some even tri-lingual or multi-lingual, who can speak, write and read all the languages they know very well. I wish I can be like that too, but since I am not cut out to be a linguist, I have to just settle for being proficient in one language.
2 comments:
Well, as one of the "multi-linguist", I would like to add my 2 cents.
One: What I find is that in general, the skill of expression, that is speaking and writing, is more difficult than the other two. Of course, there are always exceptions.
Two: Use it or lose it. And with multiple languages, this poses an extra problem as usually only one can be used at a time. My writing skill is pretty much nonexistent aside from English. Plus, everybody has different linguistic strength, depending on the language, and mode.
What I can get in 1 hour's worth of 'practice' for Japanese, someone else might need 2-3 hours. It might be the reverse if the language is French or German for example.
True, speaking and writing is always more difficult than reading or hearing, unless you are really proficient in the language.
And yes, one needs to use the language in order to continue being proficient in it, which explains why my Chinese has deteriorated so much, not that it is any that good in the first place.
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