More and more English-educated Chinese Singaporean parents are becoming increasingly conscious of the importance for their children to be proficient not only in the all-important English language, but also in Chinese.
The emergence of China as a potential political and economic superpower has driven home to them that, becoming bilingual will not only enhance their children's employment prospects, but also make them a man of two cultures.
This drastic change in these Chinese Singaporeans' perception of the usefulness of Chinese is quite remarkable.
Not so long ago, they would be proud to proclaim that they knew only English and some even felt somewhat contemptuous of the Chinese culture.
Today, many are regretting for not being bilingual. As if to redeem themselves, some have become ardent supporters of Chinese art and culture. They also visit China regularly in order to imbibe its splendors and rich heritage.
It is common knowledge that, to master any language, especially one's mother tongue, one must begin from childhood. But there are challenges and impediments for children of English-speaking homes to surmount in their journey towards bilingualism.
Take my family as an example. While my wife and I are products of English education, we had some grounding in Chinese which we kept up in our working life. But the language of communication in our home is predominantly English.
We are gratified that our three children had between eight and 11 years' Chinese schooling before switching over to English medium schools.
Their foundation in Chinese has become an asset in their adult life. They can hold their own in the spoken language, but would find it hard to compose a business letter in Chinese through lack of usage.
We have a grandson who will be two years old shortly. His parents have given my wife and I the unenviable task of making him bilingual. It is a very tough assignment, as we are with him only a couple of hours on most days.
For the rest of the time, he is being subjected to English sounds by his busy parents and his most devoted maternal grandparents.
Fortunately, our perseverance is beginning to pay dividends. After eight months of coaxing him to get accustomed to hearing Mandarin sounds, he can now quite comfortably identify common everyday objects and numerals in fairly distinct Mandarin, much to our unconcealed delight.
Letting him listen to Chinese nursery songs has helped in his learning process.
A recent authoritative British study has shown that a Mandarin speaker would utilise both lobes of his brain to comprehend the language, while an English speaker would use only one. It also claims that children in bilingual homes are more likely to develop their minds more vigorously, after they have attained proficiency in both languages.
Another US study finds that for a child to benefit most from language learning, he should start before reaching three years old. Thereafter, his linguistic abilities would decrease as he gets older.
As the educational experts believe that bilingualism helps stimulate a child's intellectual development, discerning Singaporean parents should take note of this sound advice.
Like it or not, bilingualism is here to stay. A good knowledge of English, coupled with a firm grounding in one‘s mother tongue, will provide a much needed cultural ballast for Singaporeans to take their deserved place under the sun.
。The writer is a retired lawyer.
越來越多受英文教育的新加坡華人父母,已經(jīng)意識到孩子在掌握不可或缺的英文的同時(shí),也通曉華文的重要性。
中國崛起成為政治和經(jīng)濟(jì)超級強(qiáng)國的巨大潛能,讓他們充分理解到孩子掌握雙語的好處——既能增加他們的就業(yè)機(jī)會,也能讓他們接觸和熟悉東西方兩種不同的文化。
這些人對華文的態(tài)度幾乎完全轉(zhuǎn)變,對華文的功能也完全改觀,改變不可謂不快。曾幾何時(shí),他們還非常驕傲地宣稱自己只懂英文,一些甚至對華族文化抱著鄙視的態(tài)度。
很多人已經(jīng)開始后悔沒有學(xué)好雙語?；蛟S是為了彌補(bǔ)過去所不珍惜的,一些人已開始積極支持華族文化和藝術(shù)。他們也不時(shí)走訪中國,欣賞壯觀的自然風(fēng)景和認(rèn)識豐富的文化遺產(chǎn)。
眾所周知,要掌握任何一種語文,特別是母語,必須從小就開始學(xué)習(xí)。因此,在以英語為溝通用語家庭里成長的孩子,在掌握雙語的道路上,必須克服許多困難和阻礙。
以我自己的家庭來說,我和太太都受英文教育。不過,我們的華文有一些基礎(chǔ),也一直努力維持我們的華文根底。但是,英語卻是我們在家中溝通的主要用語。
我們的三個(gè)孩子是在接受了8至11年左右的華文教育后,才轉(zhuǎn)入英文源流學(xué)校,對此我們感到非常欣慰。
他們的華文基礎(chǔ)在他們長大成人后,成為一項(xiàng)重要的資產(chǎn)。他們完全有能力用華語同他人溝通,不過,因?yàn)槭栌诰毩?xí),要用華文書寫商業(yè)信件便力不從心。
我有一個(gè)就快兩歲的孫子,他的父母給了我和我太太一分艱難的差事——教育他掌握雙語。這可不是一件容易的事,我們和他在一起的時(shí)間,多數(shù)時(shí)候不超過兩三個(gè)小時(shí)。其他時(shí)候,他所聽到的全是他忙得不可開交的父母,還有非常疼愛他的公公和婆婆所說的英語。
幸好,我們鍥而不舍的努力總算慢慢有了點(diǎn)成績。我們非常開心,經(jīng)過8個(gè)月的時(shí)間,他已經(jīng)比較習(xí)慣聽華語,也能夠以相當(dāng)準(zhǔn)確的發(fā)音,用華語說出一些日常用品的名稱和數(shù)目字。
讓他多聽些華文兒歌,對他的學(xué)習(xí)過程也大有幫助。
根據(jù)英國最近的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查,理解英語時(shí)只需用左腦的顳葉,要理解華語卻需要同時(shí)使用左右腦的顳葉。調(diào)查也指出,來自雙語家庭的孩子,在掌握了兩種語文后,腦部活動有可能會更活躍。
另一項(xiàng)美國的調(diào)查顯示,孩子在三歲前開始學(xué)習(xí)語言效益。年紀(jì)越大,掌握語言的能力相對的也越低。
教育專家相信雙語能力能夠激勵孩童的智力發(fā)展。這一點(diǎn)家長們應(yīng)該注意。
無論如何,我們的雙語政策將不會改變。在掌握英文的同時(shí),如果也有堅(jiān)固的母語基礎(chǔ),新加坡人將有扎實(shí)的文化根基,在瞬息萬變的環(huán)境里穩(wěn)步前進(jìn)。
。作者是一名退休律師。葉琦保譯。
The emergence of China as a potential political and economic superpower has driven home to them that, becoming bilingual will not only enhance their children's employment prospects, but also make them a man of two cultures.
This drastic change in these Chinese Singaporeans' perception of the usefulness of Chinese is quite remarkable.
Not so long ago, they would be proud to proclaim that they knew only English and some even felt somewhat contemptuous of the Chinese culture.
Today, many are regretting for not being bilingual. As if to redeem themselves, some have become ardent supporters of Chinese art and culture. They also visit China regularly in order to imbibe its splendors and rich heritage.
It is common knowledge that, to master any language, especially one's mother tongue, one must begin from childhood. But there are challenges and impediments for children of English-speaking homes to surmount in their journey towards bilingualism.
Take my family as an example. While my wife and I are products of English education, we had some grounding in Chinese which we kept up in our working life. But the language of communication in our home is predominantly English.
We are gratified that our three children had between eight and 11 years' Chinese schooling before switching over to English medium schools.
Their foundation in Chinese has become an asset in their adult life. They can hold their own in the spoken language, but would find it hard to compose a business letter in Chinese through lack of usage.
We have a grandson who will be two years old shortly. His parents have given my wife and I the unenviable task of making him bilingual. It is a very tough assignment, as we are with him only a couple of hours on most days.
For the rest of the time, he is being subjected to English sounds by his busy parents and his most devoted maternal grandparents.
Fortunately, our perseverance is beginning to pay dividends. After eight months of coaxing him to get accustomed to hearing Mandarin sounds, he can now quite comfortably identify common everyday objects and numerals in fairly distinct Mandarin, much to our unconcealed delight.
Letting him listen to Chinese nursery songs has helped in his learning process.
A recent authoritative British study has shown that a Mandarin speaker would utilise both lobes of his brain to comprehend the language, while an English speaker would use only one. It also claims that children in bilingual homes are more likely to develop their minds more vigorously, after they have attained proficiency in both languages.
Another US study finds that for a child to benefit most from language learning, he should start before reaching three years old. Thereafter, his linguistic abilities would decrease as he gets older.
As the educational experts believe that bilingualism helps stimulate a child's intellectual development, discerning Singaporean parents should take note of this sound advice.
Like it or not, bilingualism is here to stay. A good knowledge of English, coupled with a firm grounding in one‘s mother tongue, will provide a much needed cultural ballast for Singaporeans to take their deserved place under the sun.
。The writer is a retired lawyer.
越來越多受英文教育的新加坡華人父母,已經(jīng)意識到孩子在掌握不可或缺的英文的同時(shí),也通曉華文的重要性。
中國崛起成為政治和經(jīng)濟(jì)超級強(qiáng)國的巨大潛能,讓他們充分理解到孩子掌握雙語的好處——既能增加他們的就業(yè)機(jī)會,也能讓他們接觸和熟悉東西方兩種不同的文化。
這些人對華文的態(tài)度幾乎完全轉(zhuǎn)變,對華文的功能也完全改觀,改變不可謂不快。曾幾何時(shí),他們還非常驕傲地宣稱自己只懂英文,一些甚至對華族文化抱著鄙視的態(tài)度。
很多人已經(jīng)開始后悔沒有學(xué)好雙語?；蛟S是為了彌補(bǔ)過去所不珍惜的,一些人已開始積極支持華族文化和藝術(shù)。他們也不時(shí)走訪中國,欣賞壯觀的自然風(fēng)景和認(rèn)識豐富的文化遺產(chǎn)。
眾所周知,要掌握任何一種語文,特別是母語,必須從小就開始學(xué)習(xí)。因此,在以英語為溝通用語家庭里成長的孩子,在掌握雙語的道路上,必須克服許多困難和阻礙。
以我自己的家庭來說,我和太太都受英文教育。不過,我們的華文有一些基礎(chǔ),也一直努力維持我們的華文根底。但是,英語卻是我們在家中溝通的主要用語。
我們的三個(gè)孩子是在接受了8至11年左右的華文教育后,才轉(zhuǎn)入英文源流學(xué)校,對此我們感到非常欣慰。
他們的華文基礎(chǔ)在他們長大成人后,成為一項(xiàng)重要的資產(chǎn)。他們完全有能力用華語同他人溝通,不過,因?yàn)槭栌诰毩?xí),要用華文書寫商業(yè)信件便力不從心。
我有一個(gè)就快兩歲的孫子,他的父母給了我和我太太一分艱難的差事——教育他掌握雙語。這可不是一件容易的事,我們和他在一起的時(shí)間,多數(shù)時(shí)候不超過兩三個(gè)小時(shí)。其他時(shí)候,他所聽到的全是他忙得不可開交的父母,還有非常疼愛他的公公和婆婆所說的英語。
幸好,我們鍥而不舍的努力總算慢慢有了點(diǎn)成績。我們非常開心,經(jīng)過8個(gè)月的時(shí)間,他已經(jīng)比較習(xí)慣聽華語,也能夠以相當(dāng)準(zhǔn)確的發(fā)音,用華語說出一些日常用品的名稱和數(shù)目字。
讓他多聽些華文兒歌,對他的學(xué)習(xí)過程也大有幫助。
根據(jù)英國最近的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查,理解英語時(shí)只需用左腦的顳葉,要理解華語卻需要同時(shí)使用左右腦的顳葉。調(diào)查也指出,來自雙語家庭的孩子,在掌握了兩種語文后,腦部活動有可能會更活躍。
另一項(xiàng)美國的調(diào)查顯示,孩子在三歲前開始學(xué)習(xí)語言效益。年紀(jì)越大,掌握語言的能力相對的也越低。
教育專家相信雙語能力能夠激勵孩童的智力發(fā)展。這一點(diǎn)家長們應(yīng)該注意。
無論如何,我們的雙語政策將不會改變。在掌握英文的同時(shí),如果也有堅(jiān)固的母語基礎(chǔ),新加坡人將有扎實(shí)的文化根基,在瞬息萬變的環(huán)境里穩(wěn)步前進(jìn)。
。作者是一名退休律師。葉琦保譯。