NURTURE
Learning the
Language of
By Michelle Zhu
“If we were monolingual
in our mother tongues, we
would not make a living.
Becoming monolingual in
English would have been
a setback. We would have
lost our cultural identity,
that quiet confidence about
ourselves and our place
in the world.”
Lee Kuan Yew, 2000
Cover Illustration for Little Jay Writes an Adventure, available in all
Popular outlets, selected local bookstores, and online at
www.mandarinakids.com
As a homegrown Chinese Singaporean
who attended a regular local primary
and secondary school, I’m sure that there
are many out there whose memories
coincide with mine.
Daily xi zi (writing) homework, zuo wen
(essays) and ting xie (tests) were just
some of the aspects of Chinese lessons
which my classmates and I dreaded
most in our childhood years. I vaguely
remember getting a lashing at home
whenever I scored less than 70 per cent
for the weekly tests in primary school,
which gradually led me to master the
art of ‘wandering eyes’: deftly stealing
glances at my neighbor’s test paper
without anyone ever noticing.
This was the only ‘skill’ which allowed
me to advance from EM1 to the Higher
Chinese Language stream when I
went on to secondary school, which
I eventually dropped right before my
GCE ‘O’ levels in order to focus on
other subjects. It was a massive load off
my shoulders the day I graduated from
junior college – the first joyful thought
that came to mind was that I never had
to fret over an upcoming ting xie in class
again, or strain my eyes to peep at the
adjacent table.
Today, I am barely able to decipher
what’s on the front page of Lianhe
Zaobao. Occasionally speaking basic,
staggered Mandarin back at home
with my Chinese-educated mother in
a painfully-awkward manner, I often
wonder how many out there were
raised like me: forcefully trained in two
languages, but a monolinguist at heart.
It is harrowing at times whenever I
cross paths with a Mandarin-speaking
friend, but I have yet to consider myself
‘handicapped’ because of my linguistic
inability, and would shudder to think
of ever having to sit through a Chinese
lesson again.
Nearly five decades have passed since
Singapore established itself as the
leading supplier of multilingual citizens
through the compulsory bilingual policy
of its education system, otherwise
known as the Mother Tongue Language
(MTL). But how many who have been
raised under this policy actually enjoyed
learning to speak and write their mother
tongue, or any other language?
Remember to
have fun
communicating
with your child
and treat the
language like
a ‘living thing’.
16
Family & Life • Sept 2013
Introducing a second language to your
child doesn’t always have to be a tedious
and burdensome challenge. Young
children have the advantage of starting off
on a clean slate, so that in most instances,
they are even unaware of themselves
learning more than one language: they
simply mimic what they hear and see
during their formative years.
The key to making bilingualism (along
with life’s lessons, academic or not) last
is allowing the process to be a gratifying
one. Another crucial aspect would be
consistency; research suggests that children
need to be exposed to the language for over
30% of their waking time to successfully
Fun
acquire fluent communication skills
in the language. With the plethora of
readily-available games, picture books
and multimedia, I find it enviable that the
children of our modern era are privileged
enough to have the option of participating
in newfangled educational methods to
make learning all the more exciting. So let’s
not view bilingualism as a mere necessity
borne for the sake of our economy.
If bilingual education is mandatory for
your child, why not do it in the universal
language of fun?
Leila Lim-Lodges is one mumtrepreneur who works towards making
bilingualism an enjoyable experience, being a polyglot who grew up
speaking Mandarin, German, English and Bahasa Melayu at home. She
established MandarinaKids in 2010 with a goal to introduce Mandarin to
beginners and children below the age of three, as well as to help parents
build a bilingual environment at home.
The mother of two shares 10 simple tips to making the path to
bilingualism a more entertaining and engaging one:
1 It is easier to establish a bilingual environment for your children
through conversations, TV programs, play time and music.
2 Understand their learning style. If he or she is an interactive learner,
an iPad with games would certainly be effective.
3 Create ‘relevant’ and engaging experiences to be shared, such as
by practising role-play scenarios with them. One example would be
pretending that you are a hawker seller, and getting your child to
order food from you in the second language. Keep your conversations
with them light-hearted so that they will develop a positive attitude
towards these experiences.
4 Fix a daily activity that allows them to be exposed to the language,
such as game sessions or even watching cartoons, and be consistent
with it.
5 Always be enthusiastic about the learning process and participate in
any activities that you think can benefit in their learning.
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