The Importance of Bilingualism 双语能力的重要性

by Aaron Chew
周士彦

This article was first written in English and then manually translated into Mandarin by the writer.

THE English language seldom fails me but I am currently facing difficulty in finding an appropriate word to describe my reaction towards the possibility of reducing the weighting of Mother Tongue in the Primary School Leaving Examination. Aghast, mortified or horrified don’t seem to cut it.

Singaporeans are practical people. Reducing the weighting will lead to less attention being paid. The value of learning Mother Tongue to parents and students will be diminished. The competence of students in their Mother Tongue will undoubtedly be significantly reduced.

As Social Studies has taught us since young, Singapore is puny, with no natural resources apart from its geographical location, and its people (an artificial resource refined by education). In a nutshell, bilingualism is one of the few competitive advantages that will keep Singapore ahead in an increasingly globalized world dominated by what is now popularly called the G2 – the United States of America and China.

Full disclosure: I spent 10 years studying in SAP schools, obtained A1 in English language, Chinese language as well as Higher Chinese at the GCE “O” Levels. Looking back, I hated studying Mandarin. It was difficult, time-consuming, and frankly, I thought it was rather useless. It is only now that I see the folly of my opinion and look back in gratitude at the edge that I have gained by virtue of my bilingualism.

I spent two months of the summer in 2008 studying at Harvard Summer School in the USA. People I met – Americans, Europeans, Koreans alike – are always impressed with the standard of English spoken and written by Singaporeans. While I am unequivocal about the importance of bilingualism, I do believe Singapore’s education system is doing a great job in the teaching of English. The focus of this piece is therefore on the importance of the Mother Tongue. I can only speak for my own and hence, I will be focusing on Mandarin.

Last year, I spent seven months in China – five studying and two on internship. It was an eye-opener for me. China is a place of great potential. It is the only major economy in the world that has been recording annual growth of around 10 percent. Business opportunities abound. Top-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing do not lag far behind Singapore in terms of being modern and cosmopolitan.

Chinese people are brilliant. Singaporeans must remember we are the descendents of poor peasants seeking a better life outside China. The wealthy and scholarly remained in China. Having said that, one thing the vast majority of the Chinese lack is competence in the English language. As I was studying at Tsinghua University, I realized that fluency in English was the edge I had over the Chinese. My ability to speak and write in Mandarin also gave me an edge over the Americans and Europeans.

During my internship stint in Shanghai with a foreign company, it was this very edge that aided my work performance. I was able to translate pieces written in Mandarin quickly into English. I was able to communicate with both the European bosses in English, as well as potential Chinese business partners in Mandarin. Singapore with its bilingualism is uniquely and perfectly positioned to be a bridge between China and the West.

Recognizing the importance of China on the world stage, Westerners are also picking up Mandarin. A case-in-point would be Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is fluent in the language. My internship supervisor, Dr. Zhang Xiaolu, was previously a professor at the East China Normal University (which trains teachers), who specializes in “Teaching Mandarin to Speakers of Foreign Languages”. There is a big and growing market for it out there!

I met a Chinese teacher from a high school in New Jersey, USA, Dr. Wu Weiling, who played a recording of her American students speaking Mandarin. Their enunciation would put most Singaporeans to shame!

The world wants to learn Mandarin. In Singapore, we are yellow-skinned Chinese people. Do we really want to throw our heritage down the drain? If the West can learn Mandarin, so can Singaporeans!

Along with the language comes its culture and value system. Traditional Chinese values like filial piety, loyalty to country, diligence and the ability to take hardship should be treasured and imbued into Singaporeans via the teaching of Chinese language and culture.

Reducing the weighting of the Mother Tongue at the very initial stage of education would be a myopic decision that would cause detriment to Singapore as a whole. I urge the Ministry of Education to consider carefully before making any hasty decision.

报章报道，教育部考虑减低母语成绩在小六会考的比重。本人觉得惊讶与遗憾。新加坡人很实际。一旦减低母语成绩的比重，父母以及学生就会轻视母语。母语能力自然降低。新加坡学生从小就学到新加坡除了地理位置和人口没有资源。在今天这个国际化的世界里，美国与中国越来越强盛。国人的双语能力能让我们占优势。

本人在特选学校读了十年书，在中四会考英文，华文，以及高级华文都考A1。回想当年，本人非常讨厌读中文。读中文难度较高，需要稍微多一些时间精力，而当时，我还觉得中文根本没用。到了今天，我才发现当年多么天真无知，非常感激双语能力给我的优势。

2008年，我在美国读了两个月的书。无论遇见美国人，欧洲人或韩国人，他们都认为新加坡人的英文能力较高。我虽然注重双语教育，谈到英文能力，新加坡的确给国人打了很好的基础，所以我将把焦点放在母语。

去年，我在中国读了五个月的书，花了两个月在外企公司实习。这七个月可说是让我大开眼界。中国的潜力非常大。中国的经济增长得非常快，每年大概增长百分之十。上海与北京不比新加坡落后，和新加坡一样国际化。

中国是一个卧虎藏龙的地方，中国人非常厉害。新加坡人要记得，我们的祖先是平民百姓，到新加坡寻求更美好的生活。富裕的，受教育的都留在中国。但中国人虽然机灵，他们的英文能力欠佳。在鼎鼎大名的清华大学读书，唯有我的英文能力让我占优势。而我的华文能力让我和美国人，欧洲人相比时，占优势。

在上海实习的时候，我的双语能力派上用场。我能够很快的把中文翻译成英文。我能够用英文与来自欧洲的老板沟通，也能够用华文跟中国生意伙伴交流。新加坡，因为有双语能力的优势，特别适合成为中国与西方之间的桥梁。

面临一个越来越强盛的中国，西方人开始学中文。澳大利亚陆克文总理是一个很好的例子。我在上海实习的上司，张晓路博士，之前在华东师范大学教书,从事对外汉语教学和师资培训。对外汉语教学的市场正在增长。我也遇见了在美国中学教华文的吴葳玲博士。她播放了她的美国学生的朗读，发音还比我们新加坡人标准呢！

世界各国的人都想学中文。身为华人的新加坡人真的要把中华文化的优良传统就这样放弃吗？如果西方人能够学华文，新加坡人也能！学华文不但学会语言，中华文化的美德，如孝顺，爱国，刻苦耐劳都通过学语言而灌输。

减低母语成绩在小六会考的比重会影响新加坡的前途。我恳请教育部慎重考虑。