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LUMEN | LANGUAGE EDUCATION THROUGH BILITERACY AND BILINGUALISM
Through field work , participants understood how interviews plays a pivotal role in knowledge acquisition .
• Phase III - Participation in Film-Shoot Sessions Participants learnt how the camera lens plays an important role in knowledge dissemination and the participation of students in these shoots allowed learners to appreciate the power of experiential learning .
Working behind the scene to interview important luminaries in the Malay music community like the late Mdm . Fadilah Othman .
• Phase IV - Transcribing bilingual public education videos through the writing of subtitles MHC trained SJI students to write subtitles for an MHC public learning video .
• Phase V - Participants learnt to assess the quality of video-artefacts used in public learning Through simulated learning , participants went through a set of processes to understand how to evaluate public learning artefacts .
The set outcomes of the ‘ Understanding Public Pedagogy ’ Project were enhanced through the following learning journeys :
• Learning Journey I - Watching an Angklung Ensemble Performance at Raffles Girls School
• Learning Journey II – Attending the |
‘ Batik |
Kita : |
Dressing |
in |
Port |
Cities ’ |
Exhibition |
at |
the |
Asian |
Civilisations |
Museum |
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Through this project , SJI students appreciated two important lessons . First , it is the duty of every Singaporean to not only appreciate but support , strengthen and grow heritage practices – regardless of the community the Singaporean belongs to . As the students had to interview important luminaries in the Malay music community , one of them was Mdm Fadilah Othman , whose passion they were deeply impressed by . Mdm Fadilah was eager to share her knowledge about Hadrah and the team of students learnt a lot about how music defines the beliefs and practices of the Singapore Malay community . A few weeks after the interview , Mdm . Fadilah , unfortunately , passed on . Her death , while unexpected , laid bare two questions :
i ) What would have happened if MHC and SJI students had not interviewed her ?
ii ) What would Singaporeans know about Hadrah and the lived experience of a prominent Singapore musician ?
Watching an Angklung Ensemble Performance at Raffles Girls School .
Prior to interviewing Mdm Fadilah , the project participants were supposed to interview Mdm . Fadilah ’ s Father ; Mr Othman was instrumental in developing Hadra in Singapore . This interview did not take place as Mr Othman had passed on during the early stages of this project , hence the decision to interview his daughter . With her passing on , all project participants realised that if this interview and subsequent video shoot had not taken place , a treasure trove of knowledge and experience about Hadrah in Singapore would have been lost . Therein , lies the importance of public pedagogy and intangible cultural documentation . Documenting cultural experiences and knowledge through narratives acts as a means to educate a country about its national identity . As the Singapore story continues to evolve , project participants understood how they can work hand-inhand with institutions such as the MHC to strengthen public consciousness about what it means to be a proud Singaporean .
Second , this project iterated on the importance of bilingualism and biliteracy practices in Singapore . Project participants were from different ethnic communities . Some were conversant in Bahasa Melayu – it was either their mother tongue , second or third language . Others did not speak , read or write in Bahasa Melayu . While the interviewees were comfortable in both English and Bahasa Melayu , there were occasions when Bahasa Melayu was used to emphasise the nuance and subtlety of a belief or experience . The opportunity to see students ( with limited facility in Bahasa Melayu ) ( i ) using Google translators to understand what the interviewees were saying , ( ii ) conversing subsequently with