LEARNING OF CHINESE IN SCHOOLS

LEARNING OF CHINESE IN SCHOOLS: 1.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Acting Minister for Education following the introduction of Chinese Syllabus B and subsequent media announcements, (a) what message is the Ministry sending with regard to the learning of Chinese in schools; (b) how will the Ministry re-present its views on the learning of Chinese in schools such that students will no longer see it as an obsolete language; (c) will the comment by the Senior Minister about nurturing 200 students a year with a deep understanding of China result in the nurturing of a group of "Mandarins" who may excel in the Chinese language but are not well-rounded academically; and (d) what criteria should be considered to ensure a proper admission qualification for this group.

The Acting Minister for Education (Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam): Mr Speaker, Sir, the learning of the mother tongue is and will remain a key part of the national curriculum in schools and junior colleges. The Government is committed to preserving these languages, helping students recognise their importance, and

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encouraging them to use the language. The reasons are clear. Singapore has always benefited from being a bridge between East and West, and we must sustain that position. China's ascendance in the world makes this role indispensable for Singapore's future. We have to engage with China and be part of the flow of ideas, business and culture between China and the world. Equally fundamental is the fact that we are an Asian society. Our mother tongue languages give us our sense of identity and confidence as a people.

Our objective is to encourage every Chinese Singaporean to study the Chinese Language (CL) in school for as long as possible, and to as high a level as he is capable of. Students are required to study the language throughout their school years, and in junior college. We recognise that not all students have the same natural abilities in the languages, or the same home language backgrounds. By providing the option of taking the language at the Higher Chinese (HCL) or CL 'B' level, the curriculum allows different groups of students to go as far as they can achieve with reasonable effort.

We provide incentives for students to take the language at the Higher Chinese (HCL) level if they are capable of doing so. These incentives are working well. Following the easing of the eligibility criteria for HCL earlier this year, we now have about 6,900 students taking HCL at Secondary 1 this year, an increase of 24% compared to last year. More students are also taking HCL in primary schools. This increased interest does not support Mdm Ho's perception that students see Chinese as an obsolete subject.

In the junior colleges, fewer students are choosing to repeat their examinations in CL at the 'AO' level, after their first year, following the change in university

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admission requirements. However, more students in JC1 are now taking CL as a full 'A' level subject (CL 'A') and HCL, both of which count like any other 'A' level content subjects for university admission. As part of the new JC curriculum in a few years' time, MOE is also studying the introduction of a 'China Studies' elective, which could cover economic and social issues in contemporary China, besides Chinese culture.

Beyond the examinations, incentives and entry requirements, we have to do more to help students develop an intrinsic interest in the Chinese Language and culture. They must be motivated to learn the language for its own worth, enjoy learning it, and want to continue using it after they leave school. We are shaping an appropriate curriculum and innovative teaching strategies in schools to help students develop this interest. But it will also need the active support and encouragement of parents, to help our children recognise the usefulness of the language to their children's future.

The Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee, chaired by Mr Wee Heng Tin, is taking a thorough look at our CL curriculum. It is studying new approaches to learning of CL - including the syllabuses, textbooks, assessment and teaching methodologies - aimed at helping students learn the language effectively and to want to use it.

Besides developing a base of competence in CL and a basic grounding in Chinese culture, we have to expose more of our young to developments in contemporary China. Several of our schools are already providing students with this exposure, through their informal curriculum and immersion trips to China, and we intend to expand this base in coming years.

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This broad base of students with competence in CL and an interest in China will not however be sufficient. As mentioned by Senior Minister recently, we have to nurture a group of students in each generation who can engage China in depth. It is critical that we develop an elite group of students who not only have a strong command of the language, but a deep understanding of Chinese culture and history, including contemporary China.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked if this scheme will result in a group of students who may excel in the Chinese Language but are not well-rounded academically. I can assure her that this will not be the case. The aim is to develop an elite core in each generation who can effectively operate in more than one 'channel' - able to engage with China and have a deep understanding of Chinese thinking and society, and able to relate to the West. We will provide these highly able students with a foundation of China-related studies and exposure to China, integrated within a broad-based curriculum comprising the sciences and humanities.

We are working out the details for this new scheme. The criteria for selection, structure and content of the programme, scholarships and expected career options will be announced later.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo (West Coast): I would like to ask the Minister how long it will take to work out the criteria.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: We should be able to announce the details within the next three months.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: I would like to ask the Minister, with regard to the fact that we are trying to encourage more students to pick up Mandarin by making the Chinese Language easy, what kind of programmes will be put in place to ensure

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that certainly the level of interest, the standard of Chinese as well as the number of Singaporeans being schooled steeply in the language, will continue to be sustained and, if not, grow over the years.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: I share Mdm Ho's sense of what our objective should be. The aim is not to lower interest or standards but to raise interest. What we have been doing so far is not to make Chinese easy. What we have been doing is to allow for a differentiated approach, recognising that students come from different home language backgrounds and have different linguistic intelligences and abilities. So we have a more variegated curriculum in place now.

The upshot of the changes that we have recently introduced is that they have allowed a larger number of students to now take Higher Chinese. There is also a small number taking CL 'B' and we should allow them to do so and not hold them back from doing so. Those who have real difficulty and despite great effort are unable to cope with the regular syllabus should be allowed to go further using CL 'B' rather than be turned off. But the main change that we have introduced in the last several months is to open the doors wider to students to do Higher Chinese, and it is working. Many more students are now taking Higher Chinese compared to before.

I think we can be quite encouraged by the response from our students and parents to the changes. It is clear that they take the language seriously. They are encouraging their students to go far and we should continue to push this along by reforming our curriculum, teaching methods, assessment system, so as to ensure that it is not just a matter of passing examinations and meeting entry requirements but of enjoying the language, taking a real interest in it and wanting to use it after they leave school.

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Mr Ang Mong Seng (Hong Kah): Sir, can I ask the Minister whether MOE will consider issuing special scholarships for students who want to study Chinese Language in China?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: This is one of the features that we are studying very carefully as part of the new scheme to develop an elite group of students who are strong not just in their command of the language but also in their depth of knowledge of Chinese culture and society. It is one of the features that we are looking at and we will announce the details later.