Question:
Given the right environment, every child can
learn to speak Mandarin without having to
attend formal class. This is evident in Taipei
and Beijing where small kids speak Mandarin
fluently.
Not many Singaporean kids come from Mandarin
speaking background. However, they are being
taught Chinese in school as a formal subject.
Why is Singaporean kids having problem learning
the language ?
I suspect, it has to do with motivation and how
the language is taught.
Answer:
It is not the methodology of learning to be blamed but rather, the language
environment. Taipei and Beijing are places that have Mandarin speaking
environment. A child learn to speak by first hearing how other people speak
and react. Thus the language environment is important.
In Finland, they learn four languages, their official languages. They are
able to do so basically because all four langauges are latin based and they
have their language environment for them to practice their languages.
Ironically, in Singapore, though officially we claim that we have four
official languages, but we never cultivate the environment for these four
official languages to survive. I would like to learn Malay or even Tamil,
but I do not have the language environment to support this. English is over
emphasized and took over as the predominant language; in fact, it is
worrying that we may lose the other three official languages' status when
English become the monolingual dominant language in Singapore.
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