How to kill the interest to learn Chinese in schools?

 Learning Chinese has become too difficult for kids today, and that’s not okay

Is it just too hard for kids to learn Chinese in Singapore schools? This mum-of-two explains why she thinks the answer might be yes – and why that bodes ill for young Singaporeans trying to develop a love for their mother tongue. Vivian Teo, CNA

When I read the title of this article, my first impression was that of a non Chinese speaking family struggling with learning Chinese. But when I see the list of Chinese words below, I was dumbfounded. I too could barely read a few words though I could easily get around in China during my travel there. To read and understand these words would mean one is highly proficient in the Chinese language, can write and converse in Mandarin like a native Chinese speaker.  Oops, I think the ordinary native Chinese speakers would also have difficulties knowing and using these words. You need to be a literati in Chinese language to know and understand these words. This is definitely too much for a 15 year old Singaporean, probably doing her O level, a non native speaker, taking the language as a second language.

I agree with the author that this is killing the desire to learn Mandarin. It is not easy for a 15 year old non native speaker in Singapore. Whoever raised the standard of Mandarin teaching in schools here needs to rethink again.  The intent to raise the command of the language is noble but too demanding at this stage. This list of words would floor many students and kill their interest in learning Mandarin. In my view, learning these words would also be too demanding for Higher Chinese at A level.

The standard of Mandarin at O or A level should be appropriate to what a 15 or 17 year old needs to know, to be able to read and write and conduct a decent conversation in Mandarin, not to the extend or level of a native Chinese speaker. There is no comparison between a native Chinese speaker swimming in a Chinese language environment versus a Singaporean in an English language environment.

 

I must say this is a sure way to kill interest in learning Mandarin for good. It is just too much and too demanding and unnecessary. The number of Chinese words and syllabus need to be greatly toned down if MOE wants more students to learn Mandarin as a second language in schools. Many of these words can be acquired at later stage of life when there is a need for them. At O and A levels, do not demand so much from the students. There is no need to know all these words to conduct a decent conversation with the Chinese counterparts, to read the Chinese news. Many of these words are hardly used in the main media, in Chinese newspaper. 

Wanting to raise the standard of knowing Mandarin is one thing, killing the desire to learn the language is another. I would suggest that these words should be learnt at university level for those who want to specialise in the Chinese Language, in Mandarin, to be fluent Mandarin speakers, maybe to work as a translator or doing Chinese majors.

How could this syllabus even be approved for O and A level students is itself a big question. There is no need to know all these words to read and understand the Chinese newspapers. I am really shocked beyond belief. Many native Chinese speakers would also have a hard time reading and knowing these words. Are they really necessary at O and A levels?

What do you think?