the ology of charm

Initiatives announced to improve teaching, learning of English

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/221129/1/.html

25 July 2006

I think this is an excellent initiative, as communication is very important. I am sure that Singaporeans do not want to be known as the people who made a mockery of the English language (as I have heard a friend comment before). Even though we may not be the only ones doing this e.g Singlish and slang, still it is not an excuse for us to continue that way. Sure, some people may only be able to communicate in dialects, but in the future generations, even as learning Chinese becomes popular we must not forget the language that links people around the world together. It is still one of the most widely utilized languages and if our students, the future pillars of society, do not learn it properly, it would be most embarrassing and above all, a bane towards the future of Singapore. We are a developed country, and should thus have the characteristics of one, which definitely includes good language skills.

It is good that they are starting with young children as they are at the most impressionable age. I think it would be shallow to argue that it is merely government propaganda, as I have mentioned the importance of it to our country. I myself dislike hearing bad English being spoken (though I admit I am guilty of doing so), as it makes the speaker very hard to understand. One of the things that I feel must be addressed is pronunciation and enunciation. Good grammar only gets you so far; it is the clearly spoken word that can get the message across. As it is with me learning Chinese, spoken language would be the most important as it is the root of communication. Before pen and paper, typewriters and instant messaging, there was speech, which is the most basic and convenient tool for communication.

Singapore has had various "Speak Good English" campaigns and suchlike, but still the effort has to be kept up if we want our citizens to speak at least standard English, not to mention reading and writing.

Link to related post on learning to speak Chinese:
http://charmology.blogspot.com/2006/06/get-ahead-learn-mandarin.html

posted by Charmaine @ 1:31 PM