TR EMERITUS

By Darren Feng

Singapore’s education system has seen itself being consistently placed among the top ten in international comparison studies. However, many analysts and commentators have stated that Singapore’s education follows an excessively rigid and specialised system, with emphasis on performing well during assessments instead of creative learning. One major point of debate regarding the education system surrounds the Ministry of Education’s Bilingual Policy, which has been parodied in the popular local film I Not Stupid 2 as boring and ineffectual.

At the official opening of the new Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, MM Lee commented that the Chinese language syllabus during the 1960s was poorly executed; comprising of a structured program focusing on literacy and being too difficult for young learners to grasp. During his opening speech, He took responsibility for the adverse reactions of successive generations towards learning Chinese at schools, and commented that it should have been carried out differently from the start.

Several key points were raised by MM Lee:

Intelligence does not necessarily translate into a flair for languages.
The Singapore education system has achieved top grades in its scores for Maths and Sciences, both subjects related to the human faculties of logic, abstraction, and numerical understanding; which form a significant component of human intelligence. However, studies have shown that language ability is an innate function of the human brain, one that is a system of its own, rather than a manifestation of human intelligence. The Ministry of Education’s Chinese Language Curriculum followed a system of memorisation and writing based upon a student’s logical capabilities and understanding, which was a flawed path towards language learning.

Mandarin was being taught in isolation to English-Speakers
The Chinese curriculum was taught by Chinese teachers only via the use of Mandarin Chinese, and this posed a challenge towards the growing trend of children who spoke English at home. MM Lee remarked that English-speaking children entering Primary education with no knowledge of Mandarin Chinese will quickly lose interest due to the communication barrier between teachers and students.

The Mandarin Chinese Curriculum was ineffective

The emphasis of Dictation and Memorisation of words further isolated students who were already being taught mathematics and sciences via similar methods. The failure to bridge their understanding of the Chinese School Curriculum with experiences outside the classroom (especially among English-Speaking Children) meant that students were having difficulty realising the importance of Mandarin Chinese usage. Furthermore, students of different language abilities and backgrounds were compelled to learn the same curriculum, which resulted in different rates of progress.

From these points, several courses of action could be taken to correct the bilingual policy:

Engage students towards the use of Mandarin Chinese at an early age
As more and more Singaporean children use English at home; the curriculum must be redesigned to ensure that Mandarin Chinese remains relevant and engaging. MM Lee has suggested that this could be carried out via the use of IT and drama in lessons; and this will help students like the language, resulting in greater use of Mandarin Chinese outside the classroom, regardless of the learning level.

Pedagogical Reform

The joint agreement between 4 major institutes (SEED, MDA, SIM and HKU) towards the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language; together with the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee will help towards training teachers who will directly address the linguistic needs of Singapore’s demographic patterns. Furthermore, the importance of tailor-made curriculums and modules to adhere to specific school needs will be addressed by training teachers in curriculum design. Another important aspect of pedagogical reform would be to train teachers in the use of the English language during Chinese lessons, thus eliminating any potential communication barriers.

Curriculum Reform

A new curriculum system implemented in 2005 has seen increased academic performance among its respective pilot schools. The focus has shifted from textbook dictation towards Chinese for everyday practical use. Chinese usage in mainstream media (from newspapers and music) has been incorporated into classroom activities. Furthermore, the modular system has been implemented which will address the different learning paces and language abilities of various students. From these two advancements, the Ministry of Education should embark on further experimentation and assessment of results to obtain the optimum Chinese Education Policies for Singapore’s demographic mix.

Standards/Assessment Recognition

The practice of relegating poor performers in Chinese to the Chinese “B” stream should be reconsidered, as lowering the standards for poor academic performance might translate towards an incentive for students to perform poorly in that subject, especially with a lack of interest for Chinese amongst the student population, and concerns about a poor Chinese Academic grade affecting assessment results (and thus hindering streaming, promotion and tertiary school entry).

Retention of English as the Primary Language

Despite the increasing relevance of China in international communications, English still remains the dominant language of the Global marketplace. Care must be taken to avoid students losing track of the English-language syllabus. The usage of a second-language medium to teach content-based subjects (such as maths, sciences and humanities) must be reconsidered, as this will have the potential effect of alienating minority groups, as well as decreasing Singapore’s competitiveness via a pre-dominantly English-speaking workforce.

With the increasing role that global non-English-speaking economies are playing (such as India, China, and the EU), Singapore has to ensure that its bilingual policy meets the goals of creating a linguistically diverse population, ensuring the competitiveness of Singapore’s future workforce. The recent admission of error by MM Lee and subsequent policy changes over the last ten years has shown MOE’s dedication towards a creating a holistic education system.

About the Author:

Darren Feng is a freelance writer, who has studied at Fairfield Methodist Secondary School and has recently graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelors in Engineering. He has written Technical documents for the Defence Science and Technology Association (DSTA), the Technical University of Munich, and the University of Melbourne.

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