Learning Mother Tongue should be abolished debate notes
Notes for debate~
Lee Kuan Yew insists that bilingualism is impossible and that English must take precedence over Chinese.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Mandarin is important but it remains a second language in Singapore. So parents must be realistic in their expectations.
Mr Lee was alluding to the furore which erupted after media reports that the Education Ministry was looking at whether to reduce the weighting of the Mother Tongue Language, reports that have since been debunked.
Speaking at a dialogue following a Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes in East and Southeast Asia, Mr Lee said no one can master two languages at the same level.
So if parents want their kids to have a good grasp of Mandarin, a lot of time and effort is needed.
Mr Lee also spoke about his struggles in learning the language.
He said his motivation for learning Mandarin is a matter of pride and not economic reasons.
And because he learnt it as an adult, there were several hurdles to overcome, such as nailing the different intonations.
Though he can now speak it fluently, he remains modest about his command of the language.
MM Lee said: “If my English gets an A, then my Mandarin gets a C, it can’t be helped. No two languages are the same. No one, including translators, can say their command of two languages is the same.(To be inserted in 1st & 2nd speaker scripts.)
If we do not put ultimate focus on English as a language,together with the other fundemental key subjects such as Math and Science,what makes you think that they will be able to cope and learn their mother tongue well,it will just add as a another stress factor for the child.
It is impossible to learn and flourish under a stressful enviroment,and having mother tongue stay is creating stress to students who just are not able to cope,why,is the government,who wants the best for Gen.Y,doing this?
If the downsides of mother tongue is outweighing it's benefits,why are we still clinging on to
Lee Kuan Yew insists that bilingualism is impossible and that English must take precedence over Chinese.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Mandarin is important but it remains a second language in Singapore. So parents must be realistic in their expectations.
Mr Lee was alluding to the furore which erupted after media reports that the Education Ministry was looking at whether to reduce the weighting of the Mother Tongue Language, reports that have since been debunked.
Speaking at a dialogue following a Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes in East and Southeast Asia, Mr Lee said no one can master two languages at the same level.
So if parents want their kids to have a good grasp of Mandarin, a lot of time and effort is needed.
Mr Lee also spoke about his struggles in learning the language.
He said his motivation for learning Mandarin is a matter of pride and not economic reasons.
And because he learnt it as an adult, there were several hurdles to overcome, such as nailing the different intonations.
Though he can now speak it fluently, he remains modest about his command of the language.
MM Lee said: “If my English gets an A, then my Mandarin gets a C, it can’t be helped. No two languages are the same. No one, including translators, can say their command of two languages is the same.(To be inserted in 1st & 2nd speaker scripts.)
If we do not put ultimate focus on English as a language,together with the other fundemental key subjects such as Math and Science,what makes you think that they will be able to cope and learn their mother tongue well,it will just add as a another stress factor for the child.
It is impossible to learn and flourish under a stressful enviroment,and having mother tongue stay is creating stress to students who just are not able to cope,why,is the government,who wants the best for Gen.Y,doing this?
If the downsides of mother tongue is outweighing it's benefits,why are we still clinging on to