One may have to think of learning Chinese as an intellectual challenge. A modern world citizen can no longer rely on one language. United Nations has once said global citizens need to know a second language, perhaps a third language.
The structure of Chinese language is very different from major international languages, e.g. English or Spanish. It is not only different in characters but also in the thinking and values. Hence, it is a good tool for intellectual challenge. Mastering Chinese as a second language can help to improve the exchange of left and right brain. Chinese philosophy and values can be quite opposite to western philosophy and values. One is more emotional and the other more logical.
The era of monolingual intellectuals is gone or nearly gone, so do their advantages. USA and China have signed agreement to send thousands of their students to each other universities. They want to provide their future leaders the opportunities for intellectual exchanges and brain storming. Future leaders in other part of the world, therefore, need to have more exposures and must be willing to take up the challenges to learn a second language.
Singapore aims to be the top in the world. However, in order to achieve highest level achievements, we can no longer rely on one culture one language. Global cities, like New York, London as mentioned in the ERC report, have multi-culture and language environment. They also provide opportunities and recognised the learning of second, third languages and cultures. The success formula of the past in Singapore is not a guarantee success for the future.
We need to challenge our young talents to learn a second language. We also do not expect giving equal status for the first and second languages. The past inequality may not be the same inequality in the future. This is the changing world. Many job opportunities in Singapore are very likely created by Chinese, Indian and other Asian investors, rather than the traditional investors from the west and Japan.
The selection of core and other passages in the P6 Chinese textbook is not concentrated on teaching Chinese values. If you look at the 10 core passages, only 3 are directly related to original Chinese writings. They are
• The transformation of the yellow dragon
• Mr. Cha Bu Duo
• Thinking of something others have not
The other 7 passages teaches universal values like, forgiving, hardworking, caring, differentiating, sporting, learning, and travelling. Even the 3 Chinese passages, they are all related to common and practical values like sacrificing, seriousness and wisdom. The selection committee has tried their best to discard articles
Below are the summaries of the last 5 passages in the P6 Chinese textbook. Parents can share their experiences and perhaps stimulate the intellectual thinking of their children.
In Lesson 6, Cha Bu Duo is a very common saying in Chinese for excusing. When Chinese makes mistakes, Cha Bu Duo is used as reasons to excuse oneself. This shows Chinese is not serious in small difference.
第六课Lesson 6: Mr. Cha Bu Duo
Mr. Cha Bu Duo is careless in book-keeping. He mixes up the words “十” and ”千” and writes them wrongly. His supervisor was very angry, but he says it is only a small difference. One day, he needed to travel by sea to Shanghai. He was late by two minutes. The departure time was 8.30, but he arrived at 8.32. Another day, Mr Cha Bu Duo fell sick. He asked his servant to bring a doctor. However, a vet came. Even though he knew the mistake, he thought a doctor and a vet is no big difference and allowed the vet to treat him. In less than one hour, Mr Cha Bu Duo was dead.
In Lesson 7, the passage touches on Singapore Sports School. Besides having good sports facilities, the school also nurtures students' character and academic learning.
第七课Lesson 7: The Sports School’s Open House
Yong Kang met his junior at primary school, Zhi Ling, during the Open House. Yong Kang said the sports school specialises in training sport talents for the country. Yong Kang said that the sports school has a covered swimming pool so they can train regardless of the rain. The school also has first-class running tracks and other sports facilities; they even have a hostel. Besides sports, the school also nurtures character. They also discipline students by giving white, yellow and red cards. Red card recipients cannot participate in competitions. Yong Kang said although they have busy schedules, once they have better time management, it should be okay.
In Lesson 8, it is related to confidence building. After realising the student’s difficulty, a teacher encourages him to use both hands to solve his learning and confidence problem.
第八课Lesson 8: Thank the Left Hand
The writer was transferred from a rural school to an urban school at Primary 3. He couldn’t understand the lessons. But even then, he still put up his hand to show he wanted to answer. One day he did the same thing for the new Chinese teacher. The teacher asked him to answer, but he couldn’t, and many classmates laughed at him. After understanding the writer’s problem, the teacher suggested he put up the right hand if he knew the answer and the left hand if he didn’t. The next time the teacher asked questions, she would look at which hand he put up. She would only call the writer when he raises his right hand. Progressively, he raised his right hand more often.
In Lesson 9, one needs to think beyond the drawing to figure out the number of horses. Students must think out of box to imagine the wisdom of the drawing. To understand Chinese philosophy, imagination is required.
第九课Lesson 9: Think of Something Others Have Not
A famous artist has three students. He gave each of them one piece of paper to draw as many camels as they can. Student A used the whole paper to draw camels. Student B drew only the head of the camels. However, Student C caught the attention of the artist. He drew a few mountains where there is one camel walking out, followed by one which only revealed half a head. The artist commented that we should think of something different. Although students only see two camels on the picture, but with many mountains, no one can tell how many camels there are. This shows the wisdom of the person who drew it.
In Lesson 10, an unusual geography is told through a travelling story. Red Sea is a tourist attraction which can float the tourists rather than sinking them. One can lie on the sea and enjoy reading a book.
第十课Lesson 10: Reading While Lying On the Waves
The writer travelled to the Red Sea in Jordan. The sea is an inland lake with a high density of salt, nine times higher than normal seawater. It makes animal survival impossible. Due to the high density of salt, one can float on the water. The writer jumped into the water and floated like a leaf. A friend passed him a magazine and took a photo as souvenir. Unfortunately when the friend tried to take the photo, a strong wave came towards the writer and he was forced to swallow the seawater, which was bitter and salty. The Dead Sea is also the pool that provides the best healing effect.
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