Singapore Kids & Bilingualism

It was just a normal discussion. Yet it hit me hard. My belief in bilingualism shattered. Yes, as Singaporeans, we have been ingrained that bilingualism is good, but here in rural Cambodia, I started to realise that bilingualism is not good enough.

In a recent discussion, someone began speaking in English, then the discussion drifted away in Arabic, returned in Malay, before culminating in the Khmer language, with me smiling politely, looking blur. Have you been in a discussion where it was impossible for most participants to understand what was said unless it was translated into a few languages? Our discussion was not a formal event but an informal and common one. 4 languages used in one sitting! Everyone was patient when the language he could not understand was used; he gave his undivided attention.  It was an impressive display of multilingualism.

In my opinion, Singapore should embrace multilingualism, which simply means that the average Singaporean should strive to be able to fluently speak at least 3 languages, not just 2. But this is a difficult order. In fact, those who know the true situation on the ground would think that this is a ridiculous idea. What is the real situation? Aren’t most Singaporeans bilingual, meaning they can fluently speak 2 languages – English and Mother Tongue? Let’s see.

Percentage Of PSLE Students Who Scored C grade & above for Standard English

Percentage Of PSLE Students Who Scored C grade & above for Standard Mother Tongue

From the PSLE statistics, it looks that Singaporeans are effectively bilingual. 90 percent of us can speak English and Mother Tongue rather well. But this is a far cry from the reality. I have met with and taught so many students, Chinese, Indians and Malays, who no longer feel comfortable or fluent in speaking their mother tongues! They prefer speaking in English. An ex-Malay teacher, currently a Malay tuition teacher for the past 2 decades, testified that this phenomenon is indeed true for the Malay community. Very recently, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong testified that “We need to acknowledge that that we are losing our bilingual competitive edge.” 71% of Chinese families with Primary 1 child/children use English as the main language at home.*

When Singapore first promoted Bilingualism, it was a time when many Singaporeans did not speak English and therefore, it was an encouragement to speak English. Today, it is a different situation. Promoting Bilingualism today means encouraging the young ones to speak their Mother Tongues. This is why it seems crazy when I am suggesting Multilingualism over Bilingualism. Why?

In bilingual Singapore, a significant number of Singaporeans are becoming monolingual. Mastering only the English language, these Singapore students struggle with the mastery of their so-called mother tongue. I use the term “so-called” because the term “mother tongue” refers to the language a person spoke growing up. But in Singapore, it refers to the spoken language of our ethnicity. As a Primary 6 student, I first saw my so-called mother tongue, Malayalam. I highlighted to my teacher that I did not (and still do not) speak Malayalam. However, she insisted that Malayalam was my mother tongue.

Back to that informal discussion, my eyes rested on my new friend with admiration. Having mastered a total of 5 languages (Arabic, Cham, English, Khmer and Malay), he could understand what everyone in the discussion shared. In the job market, he has a clear advantage over the common Cambodian who only knows one language, Khmer. Somehow this prompted me to reflect on the state of affairs in Singapore. Could you imagine the potential we possess as a country if most of us were multilingual? How much more stronger would our economy be if Singaporeans had mastered the many languages of Southeast Asia? Picture a Singaporean businessman who is fluent in English, Mandarin, Malay and another 2 Southeast Asian languages. He is open to many more business opportunities from our neighbouring countries than a businessman who only knows English (with all other factors kept constant of course).

Would this new friend of mine know 5 languages if he were born and educated in Singapore? Perhaps not. Economics and religion drove him to master 5 languages. What factors drive our kids in Singapore to master languages? Are they even driven? Maybe because our kids do not go to bed with a hungry stomach and they live in a peaceful and rich country, maybe such conditions do not produce bilinguals, what more multilinguals.

*This is taken from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/speak-mandarin-campaign-bilingual-edge-lee-hsien-loong-12024398

What Makes A Great Teacher

In my life as a student, I have met only a few great teachers. Who is a great teacher to me? First of all, a great teacher need not be working as a teacher. A great teacher transforms some of his students positively and inspires many more to new and greater heights. He cannot but be passionate about teaching, and it is likely he is always in a permanent learning mode. A great teacher creates impact although he may sometimes steer off the syllabus. If you were to ask him why he steered off track, perhaps he would tell you that positive transformation is at the core of the curricula, and therefore, he has stayed true to the purpose of teaching and the curricula.

Mr David Fahy, an Irishman in my secondary school, was more a lion than a school teacher. Much larger than most adult Asians, his size, voice and antics scared the hell out of my classmates. Thinking logically and being articulate in our thoughts was the path that led to a well of knowledge the lion protected. One not to shut his mouth in class, I asked intelligent questions and queried about many things. The lion nodded to me kindly. He knew I was hungry for the knowledge in his well, and he allowed me to lap up. This was about a decade before the birth of the global internet. The lion spewed knowledge, spoke about Aristotle, current world events, major events in history and many other new worlds to me. That single year in 1987, I was a chrysalis, in a bright cocoon, consuming knowledge and envisioning my future and the books I would write (although I could not yet write well!).

From CJC Facebook (2015)
– he still looks youthful!

A positive transformation was taking place, causing the class clown to become analytical and a serious designer of his future. To me, Mr David Fahy was a window to a new world. His knowledge, enthusiasm and thinking methods were what I needed then.  By the way, I just checked the net, and he is currently a senior English teacher at Catholic Junior College. Lucky CJCians!

Azul Terronez, the guy giving the speech below, collected more than 20 thousand responses from students in over 2 decades. He wanted to know from them what makes a good teacher great. Note the distinction between good and great teachers. (It is my belief that Singapore schools are full of good teachers but there is a severe lack of great teachers. By this, I mean that most of our teachers are competent to teach subjects and they may even empower students to score. But only some of them make a positive and transformative impact on the lives of their students.) Anyway, Azul presents students' perspectives on what great teachers are and dissect their statements to arrive at a finer truth. Insightful. Just by hearing what he shares, we can infer that Azul Terronez is probably a great teacher himself, a positive and transformative force in the classroom.

If you are a school teacher, a good question to ask yourself is – are you a good teacher or a great teacher? And if you are not yet great, maybe it is time to scratch your head and seek the path  of becoming a great teacher. Why? Our kids, like kids all over the world, are in need of great teachers.