Excerpts of speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State for Education and Trade & Industry, at the seminar on “The Significance Of Speaking Skills For Language Development” last month at the National Institute of Education.
Our bilingual policy has been and remains a key pillar of our education system, and of nation-building. It reflects our unique situation as a young, multiracial nation.
By learning their mother tongues, our students gain not just linguistic skills but access to the deep rivers of culture and values that we inherit.
By requiring students to study their mother tongues, we retain and strengthen our identity as an Asian society, as well as our special character not just as an Asian society but a multicultural society.
We cannot tell exactly how our identity as Singaporeans will evolve, how our different cultures will interact and mesh with each other, and how they will respond to an increasingly globalised world.
But we do know that Singapore will be richer for having tapped into its mother cultures, and kept them relevant in a cosmopolitan setting. Our mother tongues, and the intermingling of our mother cultures, will be a source of vibrancy, and give us distinctiveness.
Our understanding continues to evolve on how students acquire languages. Two points are worth highlighting.
The first is about providing a context that students find familiar or interesting. Research suggests that students learn more effectively and achieve facility in a language when their attention is focused on real-life situations.
The second point is about the importance of learning through interaction. Communication - a primary objective of language learning - is intrinsically about people interacting with one another.
In the language classroom, real interaction must involve the sharing of real information. The most successful language teachers are therefore those who are able to provide an environment, which engages students in lively interaction and exchange of information.
Another area of experiment is in the use of English as a tool for effective learning of the mother tongue for certain groups of pupils, at the early stage - especially at Primary One.
Some teachers have indeed being doing so for some years on an informal basis.
The project is being monitored, but the feedback from teachers and students has been very encouraging. There has also been a fair airing of views on the merits of this “bilingual approach” to Chinese language or CL teaching.
Some are concerned that the method will result in a “sub-standard” CL. But there is also broad support for the introduction of this teaching method for Chinese students from English-speaking homes, at the beginning stage of their learning of CL.
This recent debate highlights the importance of certain basic principles that are inescapable in teaching and learning.
First, there is no longer space for one-size-fits-all teaching methods. Teachers know that students differ in how they learn, depending on their backgrounds, experiences and inherent aptitudes.
In language teaching, which method is most effective for a student will depend on his exposure to the language outside the school and especially at home.
Further, we know from research on the brain that linguistic abilities are distinct from other intellectual abilities. Some students will be strong overall, but will have difficulty in learning languages naturally. We should try to find ways to help them acquire language competence.
A second, equally important principle is that whatever we do in education, we should remain pragmatic, not doctrinaire, in our approach. We should, as the Chinese would say, “seek truth from facts”。
Where the evidence shows that we are not achieving what we set out to gain, we change methods. Where the aims are no longer relevant to circumstances, we revise the aims.
The “bilingual” approach is one experiment in teaching the mother tongue, applied to students from English-speaking homes that have little exposure to their mother tongue.
We may well be unusual, even unique, in using another language to help in the learning of a mother tongue. But we are also virtually unique in having a substantial proportion of our children coming from homes where their mother tongue is rarely spoken.
The “bilingual approach” is no substitute for the need for such parents and students to have a positive attitude towards the learning of the mother tongue. But where there is interest and a genuine desire to learn the language, we should find the most effective way to encourage students and minimise early hurdles.
It is akin to learning to ride a bicycle with the pair of small wheels at the back, that is, the “trainer wheels” that help the novice cyclist balance on the bicycle. Once the learner is able to keep his balance, the trainer wheels are removed.
教育部兼貿(mào)工部高級政務(wù)部長尚達曼上個月出席了國立教育學院舉辦的常年淡米爾文教學與學習講座,以下是他致詞的摘要。
雙語政策一向是我們的教育制度和建國歷程的一大支柱,也反映了新加坡是一個年輕、多元種族國家的特殊環(huán)境。
通過學習母語,學生不但掌握了語言技巧,也接觸到各自的文化和價值觀。
規(guī)定學生學習母語,讓我們保留也加強了身為一個亞洲和多元種族社會的特性。
我們不能明確的知道新加坡人的認同感將如何逐步形成、不同的文化將如何交流和融合、及對日益環(huán)球化的世界作出反應(yīng)。
但我們卻知道,熟悉母語文化并確保它們跟得上國際環(huán)境發(fā)展的步伐,對新加坡有利無害。我們的母語和母語文化的交流,是我們的社會朝氣蓬勃的源泉,也是我們的特點。
我們還在繼續(xù)探討學生到底如何學習語言。這里有兩點值得注意。
第一是為學生提供熟悉和有趣的環(huán)境。研究結(jié)果顯示,如果學生的注意力集中在活生生的現(xiàn)實環(huán)境,能使他們更有效地學習和掌握語言。
第二是通過交談來學習的重要性?；ハ鄿贤ā獙W習語言的基本目的——本質(zhì)就在于人與人之間的交談。
上語文課時,交換有實際用途的信息才是真正的交流。成功的語言教師都能夠為學生提供適當?shù)沫h(huán)境,讓他們興致勃勃地交談和交換意見。
我們正在試驗通過英文教導母語,對象是一些低年級學生,特別是小一學生。事實上,一些教師多年來已經(jīng)在非正式的情況下采用這樣的方法教學。
我們正密切注意試驗計劃的進展,教師和學生的反應(yīng)令人感到鼓舞。
一些人已經(jīng)對雙語華文教學法的利弊提出意見,他們擔心這會導致“低水平”的華文。不過,也有很多人支持為來自講英語家庭的學生,在一開始學習華語的時候,推行雙語華文教學法。
對這個課題的辯論,讓我們注意到教學和學習的一些基本原則。
第一、“一視同仁”的教學方法已經(jīng)落伍了。教師知道學生們因為背景、經(jīng)驗、和天資不同,學習的方式也不同。
在教#英語翻譯資格考試# #減少學習母語的初期障礙#言時,方法是否有效取決于該學生在校外,特別是家里,有沒有機會使用所學習的語言。
從對大腦的研究,我們也知道學習語言的能力有別于學習其他知識的能力。一些整體學習能力強的學生,在學習語言時卻往往舉步艱難。我們應(yīng)該探討幫助他們掌握語言的方法。
第二、教育應(yīng)該講求實際而不是空談理論,就像中國人所說的“實事求是”。如果證據(jù)顯示我們無法達到所要的成果,就應(yīng)該改弦易轍。如果目標和環(huán)境不符,就應(yīng)該修訂目標。
試驗性的雙語母語教學法,對象是來自講英語家庭,很少機會接觸母語的學生。
利用另一種語言來協(xié)助教導母語,可能是不尋常甚至獨特的作法。但是,我們面對的情形也是獨特的——大部分學生在家里鮮少使用母語。
雙語母語教學法并不意味著這些家長和學生,對學習母語不必再抱有正確的態(tài)度。然而,如果學生確實有學習的欲望,我們就應(yīng)該探討有效的方法,鼓勵他們和減少學習初期的障礙。
這就好像利用腳踏車后輪旁的兩個小輪子來學習騎腳踏車一樣,一旦學習者能夠保持平衡,就能把小輪子拆除。
Our bilingual policy has been and remains a key pillar of our education system, and of nation-building. It reflects our unique situation as a young, multiracial nation.
By learning their mother tongues, our students gain not just linguistic skills but access to the deep rivers of culture and values that we inherit.
By requiring students to study their mother tongues, we retain and strengthen our identity as an Asian society, as well as our special character not just as an Asian society but a multicultural society.
We cannot tell exactly how our identity as Singaporeans will evolve, how our different cultures will interact and mesh with each other, and how they will respond to an increasingly globalised world.
But we do know that Singapore will be richer for having tapped into its mother cultures, and kept them relevant in a cosmopolitan setting. Our mother tongues, and the intermingling of our mother cultures, will be a source of vibrancy, and give us distinctiveness.
Our understanding continues to evolve on how students acquire languages. Two points are worth highlighting.
The first is about providing a context that students find familiar or interesting. Research suggests that students learn more effectively and achieve facility in a language when their attention is focused on real-life situations.
The second point is about the importance of learning through interaction. Communication - a primary objective of language learning - is intrinsically about people interacting with one another.
In the language classroom, real interaction must involve the sharing of real information. The most successful language teachers are therefore those who are able to provide an environment, which engages students in lively interaction and exchange of information.
Another area of experiment is in the use of English as a tool for effective learning of the mother tongue for certain groups of pupils, at the early stage - especially at Primary One.
Some teachers have indeed being doing so for some years on an informal basis.
The project is being monitored, but the feedback from teachers and students has been very encouraging. There has also been a fair airing of views on the merits of this “bilingual approach” to Chinese language or CL teaching.
Some are concerned that the method will result in a “sub-standard” CL. But there is also broad support for the introduction of this teaching method for Chinese students from English-speaking homes, at the beginning stage of their learning of CL.
This recent debate highlights the importance of certain basic principles that are inescapable in teaching and learning.
First, there is no longer space for one-size-fits-all teaching methods. Teachers know that students differ in how they learn, depending on their backgrounds, experiences and inherent aptitudes.
In language teaching, which method is most effective for a student will depend on his exposure to the language outside the school and especially at home.
Further, we know from research on the brain that linguistic abilities are distinct from other intellectual abilities. Some students will be strong overall, but will have difficulty in learning languages naturally. We should try to find ways to help them acquire language competence.
A second, equally important principle is that whatever we do in education, we should remain pragmatic, not doctrinaire, in our approach. We should, as the Chinese would say, “seek truth from facts”。
Where the evidence shows that we are not achieving what we set out to gain, we change methods. Where the aims are no longer relevant to circumstances, we revise the aims.
The “bilingual” approach is one experiment in teaching the mother tongue, applied to students from English-speaking homes that have little exposure to their mother tongue.
We may well be unusual, even unique, in using another language to help in the learning of a mother tongue. But we are also virtually unique in having a substantial proportion of our children coming from homes where their mother tongue is rarely spoken.
The “bilingual approach” is no substitute for the need for such parents and students to have a positive attitude towards the learning of the mother tongue. But where there is interest and a genuine desire to learn the language, we should find the most effective way to encourage students and minimise early hurdles.
It is akin to learning to ride a bicycle with the pair of small wheels at the back, that is, the “trainer wheels” that help the novice cyclist balance on the bicycle. Once the learner is able to keep his balance, the trainer wheels are removed.
教育部兼貿(mào)工部高級政務(wù)部長尚達曼上個月出席了國立教育學院舉辦的常年淡米爾文教學與學習講座,以下是他致詞的摘要。
雙語政策一向是我們的教育制度和建國歷程的一大支柱,也反映了新加坡是一個年輕、多元種族國家的特殊環(huán)境。
通過學習母語,學生不但掌握了語言技巧,也接觸到各自的文化和價值觀。
規(guī)定學生學習母語,讓我們保留也加強了身為一個亞洲和多元種族社會的特性。
我們不能明確的知道新加坡人的認同感將如何逐步形成、不同的文化將如何交流和融合、及對日益環(huán)球化的世界作出反應(yīng)。
但我們卻知道,熟悉母語文化并確保它們跟得上國際環(huán)境發(fā)展的步伐,對新加坡有利無害。我們的母語和母語文化的交流,是我們的社會朝氣蓬勃的源泉,也是我們的特點。
我們還在繼續(xù)探討學生到底如何學習語言。這里有兩點值得注意。
第一是為學生提供熟悉和有趣的環(huán)境。研究結(jié)果顯示,如果學生的注意力集中在活生生的現(xiàn)實環(huán)境,能使他們更有效地學習和掌握語言。
第二是通過交談來學習的重要性?；ハ鄿贤ā獙W習語言的基本目的——本質(zhì)就在于人與人之間的交談。
上語文課時,交換有實際用途的信息才是真正的交流。成功的語言教師都能夠為學生提供適當?shù)沫h(huán)境,讓他們興致勃勃地交談和交換意見。
我們正在試驗通過英文教導母語,對象是一些低年級學生,特別是小一學生。事實上,一些教師多年來已經(jīng)在非正式的情況下采用這樣的方法教學。
我們正密切注意試驗計劃的進展,教師和學生的反應(yīng)令人感到鼓舞。
一些人已經(jīng)對雙語華文教學法的利弊提出意見,他們擔心這會導致“低水平”的華文。不過,也有很多人支持為來自講英語家庭的學生,在一開始學習華語的時候,推行雙語華文教學法。
對這個課題的辯論,讓我們注意到教學和學習的一些基本原則。
第一、“一視同仁”的教學方法已經(jīng)落伍了。教師知道學生們因為背景、經(jīng)驗、和天資不同,學習的方式也不同。
在教#英語翻譯資格考試# #減少學習母語的初期障礙#言時,方法是否有效取決于該學生在校外,特別是家里,有沒有機會使用所學習的語言。
從對大腦的研究,我們也知道學習語言的能力有別于學習其他知識的能力。一些整體學習能力強的學生,在學習語言時卻往往舉步艱難。我們應(yīng)該探討幫助他們掌握語言的方法。
第二、教育應(yīng)該講求實際而不是空談理論,就像中國人所說的“實事求是”。如果證據(jù)顯示我們無法達到所要的成果,就應(yīng)該改弦易轍。如果目標和環(huán)境不符,就應(yīng)該修訂目標。
試驗性的雙語母語教學法,對象是來自講英語家庭,很少機會接觸母語的學生。
利用另一種語言來協(xié)助教導母語,可能是不尋常甚至獨特的作法。但是,我們面對的情形也是獨特的——大部分學生在家里鮮少使用母語。
雙語母語教學法并不意味著這些家長和學生,對學習母語不必再抱有正確的態(tài)度。然而,如果學生確實有學習的欲望,我們就應(yīng)該探討有效的方法,鼓勵他們和減少學習初期的障礙。
這就好像利用腳踏車后輪旁的兩個小輪子來學習騎腳踏車一樣,一旦學習者能夠保持平衡,就能把小輪子拆除。