User:Qkhuang1/Language Education in Singapore

With the exception of Mother Tongue classes, lessons in Singapore are conducted entirely in English. This continues from primary school all the way through to secondary school. In junior colleges, students who did Higher Mother Tongue (HMT) at secondary level had the choice to opt out of Mother tongue classes entirely.

Background

Singapore is a linguistically and ethnically diverse country with a population of about 5 million people (as at June 2010).English was the main language of administration during colonial times and has remained so today. However, due to the diverse population, the government has encouraged Singaporeans to be fluent in English and their Mother Tongue, which acts as a cultural anchor. As such, bilingual education has always been a cornerstone of the language education system in Singapore.

The Bilingual education policy was introduced by the government in 1966.

English

The Ministry of Education (Singapore) places heavy emphasis on English as it is the “the language of administration, education, commerce, science and technology, and global communication” and therefore “mastery of English is vital to Singapore’s pupils”. An English Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS) was set up in 2011 to provide "in-service training for EL and English-medium teachers". It is hoped that when students leave school, they would have acquired basic literacy skills.

History

Since 1987, English has been designated as the official first language within the local education system. English is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and becomes the primary medium of instruction, as well as subject of study, by the time they reach primary school. 80% of the lessons in school are taught in English.

The English Language Curriculum is designed to help pupils “pupils become independent lifelong learners, creative thinkers and problem solvers who can communicate effectively in English”. Hence apart from use in the curriculum, English is also intergrated in many co-curricular activities outside the classroom. Pupils will be required to read widely, learn how to analyse and evaluate language and the media, and respond creatively to problems and new technology. The curriculum is reviewed every 5 years. The table below lists out the main syllabus changes over the years.

Year	Main curriculum changes
1966	Bilingual education policy introduced; English to be taught as either L1 or L2
1971	Emphasis on grammar and oral skills
1981	Grammar still a focus, oral communication changed to functional literacy (basic reading and understanding)
1987	Compulsory for all schools to teach English as L1
1991	Less focus on functional literacy; children fiction made compulsory to be read by students. Grammar still important but no longer the focus
2001	Re-emphasis on grammar and effective communication as a result of increasing use of Singlish
2010	Focus on listening and speaking skills and 'systematic and explicit instruction of grammar'

Primary Education

Primary school students are assessed on their skills in English based on the following tasks:

• Cloze passage (fill in the blanks)
• Comprehension passage
• Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
• Composition writing
• Oral test (Passage reading and picture description)
• Listening comprehension

Component	Aims
Reading	Students will be able to be independent readers
Writing	Students will learn to compose and express their ideas into text
Oral communication: Speaking and listening	taught to observe social conventions and etiquette and to give socially acceptable responses

Secondary Education

Students are assessed based on the following components:

• Comprehension
• Composition writing
• Oral test (Passage reading and picture description)
• Listening comprehension

Component	Aims
Reading	Able to develop higher levels of literacy and apply reading comprehension strategies
Writing	Able to use intelligible, grammatically-sound English to write effectively to suit their purpose and audience
Oral communication: Speaking and listening	Understand internationally acceptable English, distinguish between formal and informal speech and apply oral communication strategies, will be able to speak and make presentions

Junior College

By Junior College (JC), it is assumed that the students' English language level has reached a satisfactory level. In a subject known as General Paper, students are assessed on their language skills by combining it with their knowledge of current world events in an essay.

Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese or known simply as Chinese, is the main language spoken by Chinese Singaporeans. It was also made, in 1968, one of the compulsory Mother Tongue languages that is required of every Singaporean and Singapore Permanent Resident to be included as part of their education curriculum. It was first introduced to Singapore during British colonization by Chinese schools in the 1920s, since then, it gained popularity. After Singapore gained independence, the government maintains continuous efforts to promote the language) so as to ensure that Chinese Singaporeans know about their ethnic roots, culture and maintain traditional Asian values . In addition, there are

While English is the main medium of instruction in Singapore, it is compulsory to take a Mother Tongue language, one of the 3 other official languages, and it is determined by the race of the individual. Mother Tongue is a compulsory and an examinable subject for children taking the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination), GCE 'O' and 'A' Level examinations . In addition, it is considered a pre-requisite into University admissions. However, foreign students who have been abroad may apply for an exemption to study a Mother Tongue language of Singapore (Chinese, Malay, Tamil) to study their various languages if offered.

History

Education in the period between 1965-1978 was otherwise known as 'survival-driven education' as the adoption of the bilingual education policy was an attempt to integrate the various races and ethnicities in Singapore.. In 1966, students were given a choice to be schooled in any of the official languages of Singapore, and schooled in one other official language. In 1968, Chinese was made a compulsory subject in the PSLE. By the 1970s, the English language was perceived to be the key to global success and opportunities, it saw a rapid rise in enrollments for English-stream schools. Non-English- stream schools were facing difficulties maintaining enrollments and resources while some faced the brink of extinction. Mathematics and Science were taught in English and students in non- English-stream schools had difficulty coping, causing learning English to be more desirable. Civics subjects were taught in the various Mother Tongue languages based on the student's race as the administration emphasized the importance of teaching moral education in Mother Tongue. In 1979, a streaming system was introduced. Students who were able to cope with the study of 2 languages would be in the "Bilingual" stream, while those thought to be more suited to focus on 1 would be streamed into "Monolingual" . By the 1980s, the education board began addressing shortcomings of the then-system by tightening second-language entry requirements into tertiary education. In addition, further efforts to encourage the use of Chinese included the 1979 "Speak Good Mandarin, Speak Less Dialects" Campaign as well as Chinese-medium SAP (Special Assistance Plan) schools- these schools teach both English and Chinese as first-language standard. Education in the period between 1978-1997 was the 'Efficiency-driven' phase- where the bilingual policy took a "one size fits all stance". Streaming was introduced. At the primary level, students would be streamed in to EM1 (students with strong aptitude for learning), EM2 (average students) and EM3 (students with a weaker aptitude for learning). However, in 2004, this streaming system was removed . Currently, education in 'Ability-driven', where IT skills are emphasized and used to enhance language learning.

Primary Education

Primary school consists of 6 compulsory years- the first 4 years are foundational and the last 2 years are orientation stages. This is to ensure students will have a good grasp of their foundation by the time they take the PSLE before proceeding to secondary school. Currently, Mother Tongue is given 20% of curriculum time . By Primary 4, subject-based banding allows the students to have a mix of standard and foundation-based subjects that caters to their individual learning need. Students who are found to be good in the Chinese language, is encouraged to take up Higher Mother Tongue Currently, Mother Tongue shares equal weighting as other subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science of 25% in the PSLE

The table below states the primary aims of the chinese language syllabus

Syllabus	Aims
Primary 1 & 2	Able to recognize and read 600-650 characters and write 300-350 characters out of this list
Primary 3 & 4	Able to recognize and read 1200-1300 characters and write 700-750 characters out of this list
Primary 5 & 6	Able to recognize and read 1600-1700 characters and write 1000-1100 characters out of this list

The following table summarizes the changes made with regards to the Chinese Language policy.

Year	Revisions made to Syllabus	More Information
1972	Second language weighting at PSLE doubled	-
1979	"Monolingual" and "Bilingual" Streaming removed.	-
1980	Second language requirements relaxed	Second language given equal weighting to other subjects
1999	Increase number of students to take HCL (Higher Chinese Language)	HCL (Higher Chinese Language) introduced to encourage students' with a strong aptitude for Chinese to develop their skills further.
1999	Admission to SAP Schools	Increase intake from top 10% of PSLE cohort to 30%
2001	Introduction of CLB (Chinese Language 'B' Syllabus)	CLB (Chinese Language 'B' Syllabus) introduced to encourage students' with a weaker aptitude for Chinese to strengthen their foundation.
2004	EM1-EM3 Streaming removed	-
2006	Chinese handheld dictionaries allowed into examinations	-
2008	Introduction to Modular approach	For Primary 1 to Primary 4 (see below for details)
2010	Revision in PSLE examination format	-

The new Chinese language curriculum aims to make language learning more enjoyable, in hope that the students would take Mandarin beyond the classroom. Key learning areas include listening and speaking more as well as building a firm foundation in Chinese character learning skills in lower primary before developing essay skills in upper primary. The Ministry of Education has taken on a differentiated approach to ensuring each student will learn the language to the best of his abilities via a step-by-step process:

• Bridging Module
  • For students with little or no Chinese language background
  • Aims to provide support and foundation in basic speaking and writing skills
  • Once the student is ready, he may then continue with the Core Module

• Core Module
  • For students who have an interest to Chinese
  • Aims to develop and build literacy
  • Makes up 70%-80% of curriculum time throughout primary school
  • Is examined at PSLE

• Enrichment Module
  • For students, in the Core Module, who have a higher ability and interest in pursuing the language further
  • Aims to encourage extensive reading

As of now, the education board is looking into making language learning more interesting and IT-based. For example, language learning through the use of smart phones and online computer games (Source: MyPaper) .

Secondary Education

Secondary school education comprises 4-5 years of education. Students are streamed into 'Express' and 'Normal (Academic/ Technical)' based on their PSLE results. At the end of their course of study, they would be required to sit for the national exam Cambridge 'O' levels or 'N' levels. They will be tested on listening, oral, reading and writing during the examination. Students are offered Higher Mother Tongue as well as the standard Mother Tongue during the GCE 'O' level examination. Students who have passed their Higher Mother Tongue are then exempted from learning Chinese in junior college.

The Secondary school Chinese syllabus focuses mostly on developing a student's linguistic skills and reinforce their literacy skills. The following table shows the basic aim at the end of the course of study. .

The following table summarizes the changes made with regards to the Chinese Language policy.

Syllabus	Aims
Higher Chinese Language	Able to recognize, read and write 2700-2800 frequently-used characters
Chinese Language (Express Stream)	Able to recognize and read 2400-2500 characters and write 2000-2100 characters out of this list
Chinese Language (Normal Stream)	Able to recognize and read 2200-2300 characters and write 1800-1900 characters out of this list
Chinese Language (B)	Able to recognize and read 1600-1700 characters and write 1100-1200 characters out of this list

Year	Education Changes	More information
1999	Nan Hua Secondary School added to list of SAP schools	-
1999	Introduction of 'Introduction to Appreciation of Chinese' enrichment programme in SAP schools	-
2004	Introduction of CLB Syllabus	Eligibility criteria relaxed
2006	'Literature in Chinese' offered for 'O'-level examinations
2006	Changes in exam format	emphasis on memorizing decreases while context-understanding is greater emphasised
2007	Choice of additional Mother Tongue	Requirements from previously (top 30% of PSLE cohort) relaxed. Students are offered another Mother Tongue subject that is not their native Mother Tongue so long as they have an interest.
2007	Bicultural Studies Programme	Students interested in pursuing studies in two cultures are allowed to take up electives such as Chinese History and Chinese Philosophy

Currently, the list of SAP schools include:

• Anglican High School
• Catholic High School
• CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School
• Chung Cheng High School (Main)
• Dunman High School

• Hwa Chong Institution
• Maris Stella High School
• Nan Hua High School
• Nanyang Girls' High School
• River Valley High School
• Nan Chiau High School

Evaluation

Early bilingual education policy in the 'Efficiency-driven' period (1978-1997) was based on a 'one-size fits all' approach. This has resulted in numerous present-day Singaporeans not having a good grasp of both English and Mother Tongue well. The Ministry of Education constantly reviews curriculums and policies to ensure their students develop their languages to the best of their ability with a more customized and differentiated approach.