谈华文

最近，华文又成了城中话题。教育部鉴于过往华文教学方式过于墨守成规和呆板(<海峡时报>, 2009 年11月18日, "MM Lee wants learning of Chinese to be fun", 见文如下)，将来个大改革(<海峡时报>, 2009 年11月22日, "Okay to use English to teach Chinese",见文如下)。

Recently, the teaching of the Chinese language has again become a talking point. Spurred by MOE's revelation that Chinese education had consisted too much of boring and ineffective rote learning such as 听写 - spelling - and 默写 - memorisation of passages in the past (see The Straits Times, 18 Nov 2009, "MM Lee wants learning of Chinese to be fun"), the time has come for a wind of change (see The Straits Times, 22 Nov 2009, "Okay to use English to teach Chinese") in the way Chinese is taught.

几年前，当教育部宣布在初级班里以汉语拼音代替汉字时，已引起一些人的不满。我还记得，去年当我出席我儿子恺文就读的学校的一个一年级家长会时，就有一位家长非常担忧为何听写时孩子们只须书写汉语拼音而不是汉字。她那时可能不知道，那只是一个阶段。到了下半年，渐渐地，听写的汉字越来越多。到了二年级，听写单里的都只是汉字了。

A few years back, when MOE announced that hanyu-pinyin is to replace Chinese characters at the start of the Chinese education, there were dissenting voices. I remember in one of the meet-the-parents sessions I attended when my son Cowen was in primary one, a parent raised her deep concern questioning why 听写 (spelling) consisted of hanyu-pinyin and not Chinese characters. Perhaps she wasn't aware that it was a passing phase. Gradually, more Chinese characters would show up in the spelling list, which was indeed the case.

我不晓得这次的回响会有多大。华文难学是一个不争的事实。教育部长黄永宏提出华文教学的三个R: realistic (实事求是)， relevant (切题)，和 responsible (负责)，当中的realistic， 就道出了我们必须面对现实。 说它是妥协也好，是策略也罢，总得想个法子鼓励和激发学生们学习华文的兴趣。就以恺文来说，灵活性的教学方法，和趣味性的教材，正是提高了他对华文的兴趣。我还要强调一点的，就是好的老师，可以让学习更加事半功倍。因此以我个人立场来看，求变是必须的。

I wonder how's the reaction this time. Difficulty in learning Chinese is beyond doubt. Mr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education, in highlighting the 3 R's in the new Chinese education: realistic, relevant and responsible, is a tacit admission of this reality. I am in support of the necessary changes, as Cowen has benefited from the flexible teaching style and fun-filled materials and environment. However, I must add that a good teacher is an important part of the equation as well.

一个好的策略，需要一个好的施行来配合。比如说，如何实行用英文来教导华文，将决定这策略的成败。当中必定要拿捏得精确，因为如有差错，可能就会弄巧反拙，功亏一篑。是成是败，有待见证。

At the end of the day, a good policy takes a good implementation to work. For instance, like anything else, the effectiveness of using English to teach Chinese remains very much on how it is actually conducted. We will just have to wait and see.

Aaron Tan
22 November 2009

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Nov 18, 2009
MM Lee wants learning of Chinese to be fun
By Clarissa Oon & Cai Haoxiang

CHINESE language teachers should pull out all the stops to make learning the mother tongue fun for children, a rising number of whom are not speaking it at home, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said last night.

They should also teach listening and conversation skills first, rather than the reading and writing of Chinese characters which could potentially turn off young Chinese Singaporeans from the language, he added.

Reflecting on some 40 years of bilingual education in an off-the-cuff speech at the official opening of a Chinese language centre, he said Singapore's policy on the learning of Chinese started on the wrong footing because he believed in the past that it was possible to master two languages equally well.

As a result, Chinese lessons in the old days were pitched at too difficult a level and 'successive generations of students paid a heavy price because of my ignorance', he said.

He was addressing an audience of 250 policymakers, academics and educators at the opening of the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL).

'I wasn't helped by Ministry of Education (MOE) officials. They were basically two groups of people, one English-speaking, the other Chinese-teaching,' he quipped.

Chinese teachers in the 1960s and 1970s were Chinese-educated purists who emphasised character-writing and dictation in the teaching of Chinese as a second language, which 'turned the students off completely', he recalled.

As Prime Minister, he intervened successively over the years to fine-tune Singapore's bilingual policy.

Eventually, MOE decided in 2004 to teach Mandarin through a modular system, allowing each child to go at his own pace.

The policy, he acknowledged with a laugh, is still 'not completely right but I will get it right if I live long enough'.

The SCCL, located at Ghim Moh Road, was set up by the MOE in February to train existing Chinese-language teachers and research how best to teach Chinese in a bilingual environment.

At its official opening last night, it signed agreements with four partner institutions to conduct joint research and offer degree and training programmes for teachers. Its partners are the Media Development Authority, SIM University, the University of Hong Kong and NTUC's Seed Institute.

Bilingualism has become a major concern of MM Lee's in recent years, amid fears that the Chinese language is losing currency. Latest MOE data show that 59 per cent of the Primary 1 cohort this year came from families that speak mainly English at home, compared to 49 per cent just five years ago and 10 per cent in 1982.

Earlier this month, in an interview carried in the People's Action Party magazine Petir, he cited bilingualism as the most difficult policy he had to implement, and the one which should have been done differently from the start.

This was because he did not realise that a child's intelligence and language ability were two different things, something which his daughter, a neurologist, confirmed late in his life.

Yesterday, he urged parents and educators not just to expose children to the Chinese language from a young age, but also to stimulate the child's interest in the language, beyond just 'passing exams'.

'I want to get this message into the heads of the younger generation of teachers: Use IT, use drama, use every method to capture the interest of children,' he said.

One example of how the SCCL is making the learning of Chinese fun is through mobile phone technology. This was shown at a conference yesterday afternoon by one of the centre's lecturers.

Dr Wong Lung Hsiang directed an experiment in which students used camera phones to take photos of anything they wanted to outside of class. They then uploaded their pictures onto the Internet, incorporating a Chinese idiom into the picture caption.

Their Chinese teacher then guided the class in a discussion on the accurate use of those idioms, which Dr Wong said works better than the direct correction of mistakes.

The conference on how to teach Chinese in an interesting and effective way was attended by more than 400 teachers and researchers from here and abroad.

The three-day conference ends tomorrow.

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Nov 22, 2009
Okay to use English to teach Chinese
Education Minister's message to teachers: It is effective for kids from
English-speaking homes
By Goh Chin Lian

Using English to teach Chinese has proven to be effective for children from predominantly English-speaking homes.

So, teachers should not be hung up on whether it is taboo to use a mix of English and Chinese for these children, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said yesterday.

He also revealed that a task force is due to make proposals soon on how this group of children can be taught the language.

'We think we've to make certain significant changes,' he told reporters after a conference on dyslexia, adding that parents would be given ample notice of the changes.

As for worries that Chinese standards would slip, Dr Ng pointed out that the education system allows children who are able to pursue the language at a higher level to do so.

'It's not that you have one method that you can teach the whole population,' he said, suggesting different strokes for different folks.

'Just as (we have) our ability-driven and customised approach to other subjects, whether English, mathematics or science, you also have to apply this to mother tongue.'

The challenge facing educators is what he called a 'seismic shift' in the language environment: Six in 10 of this year's Primary 1 cohort came from homes where mainly English is spoken, up from one in 10 in 1982.

Their ranks look set to swell in one or two decades, warranting a relook at the way Chinese is taught so that children are not put off by the language, said Dr Ng.

His remarks follow Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's call last week for Chinese language teachers to make learning the language fun.

Mr Lee observed that Singapore's policy on learning Chinese started on the wrong footing because he had believed it was possible to master two languages equally well.

Chinese lessons were pitched at too difficult a level and 'successive generations of students paid a heavy price because of my ignorance'.

Dr Ng suggested teachers tap infocommunications technology to make learning more interesting and relevant by, say, creating a virtual restaurant that immerses students in a Mandarin-speaking environment.

Asked about the people who had to bear with the old way of teaching Chinese, he said it was still possible to pick up the language, citing Mr Lee and himself as examples.

Dr Ng took tuition in Chinese so that he could speak to his residents at Meet-the-People sessions and deliver speeches at community events.

Similarly, pupils from English- speaking homes may not be proficient in Chinese, but they should be able to converse and take an interest in Chinese culture.

'If we can teach them to use it, I think we have succeeded. If they can perform in the exam but hate the language, what have we achieved? We have not achieved anything.'

Ms Natalie Mah, 40, who speaks English to her two children aged nine and seven, welcomed any innovative way to help them grasp the Chinese language.

Said the public relations consultant: 'When you are trying to break through to the child, using a language familiar to him will help.'

Madam Lye Choon Hwan, head of mother tongue at Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), said it introduced the bilingual way of teaching Chinese in 2002, with some success.

Teachers gave instructions in English and Mandarin initially to Primary 1 pupils who had no prior exposure to Chinese. They let pupils use some English in class, but taught them to say the same thing in Mandarin. 'They were more bubbly and confident to speak up because they were not afraid to express themselves,' she said.