Opening Speech by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, at Parliamentary Debate on Report of the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee on 24 November 2004

INTRODUCTION

1.      Mr Speaker Sir, I beg to move:

That this House endorses the Report of the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee, contained in Paper Cmd 9 of 2004, and supports a Chinese Language (CL) curriculum to:

(1) enthuse all CL students and develop in them an abiding interest in the language and culture;

(2) provide greater customisation and flexibility at the primary level; and

(3) place greater emphasis on oral fluency and reading for the majority of students, and for those with the ability and interest, to develop stronger competence and understanding of the Chinese language and culture. 

THE REVIEW PROCESS

2.      Members have copies of the White Paper. I will highlight the key considerations that went into this review, and the thinking behind the fundamental changes that are being recommended in the way CL is taught and learnt. 

3.      Let me first say something about the process by which the recommended changes were arrived at. The Committee was headed by  Mr Wee Heng Tin, our former Director-General of Education. Its members were mainly comprised of professional educators – school principals, academics, and heads of MTL departments. They came with extensive experience in our bilingual education system.  The educationists on the Committee have each had  an average of 25 years in the field. 8 of the 12 members have also been Chinese Language educators either now, or at some point in their careers taught the language themselves. 

4.      The Committee also consulted widely, with all our stakeholders in CL learning, including teachers and students, parents, Chinese community organisations and the media.  They held 19 dialogue sessions and visited 13 schools to observe the  learning of CL as it is today.  MOE also conducted a comprehensive survey of CL teaching and learning, involving about 10,000 students, parents, and teachers and principals.  In all, the recommendations took 9 months to be shaped. My Ministry could not have asked for a more thorough and informed review during this time, by a more credible team.

FLEXIBILITY AND ENJOYMENT

5.      There is no lack of interest in CL in Singapore. MOE’s survey of students and parents found that the vast majority recognise the importance of learning CL. Among EL-speaking homes, 92% of parents feel it is important for their child to learn CL. The interest in learning CL is founded on a desire to retain a sense of identity, as well as the increasing spur of economic opportunities in China.  But whether the reasons are cultural or pragmatic, they provide a strong foundation going forward for the learning of CL in our schools.

6.      We are not therefore crafting changes in the CL curriculum to cater to the needs of a minority with a disinterest in the language. We are seeking to help the majority of Chinese students who, regardless of home backgrounds, want to learn their mother tongue as best as they can, as part of the education they receive in school. We want them to be enthused by the language, find it relevant in their lives as they grow up, learn it to the highest level they are capable of in school, and want to keep up with the language well after they leave school.

7.      If I were to sum up the Committee’s recommendations, it would be in two words, Flexibility and Enjoyment.

8.      First, we have to recognise the fundamental shifts that have taken place in our social landscape.  The majority of those entering Primary 1 today use English as their main language, both at home and amongst their friends and classmates.  Teachers tell us that the shift in these new cohorts is striking, even compared to today’s Primary 6 cohort.   

9.      We have to regear our approaches to teaching CL to meet the needs of this new generation of English-speaking Singaporeans, and future generations after them. The bilingual approach to teaching CL that we introduced in the early primary years (Pri 1 and 2), starting with 4 schools in 2002 and another 7 schools this year, was the first step. But it did not involve any change in curriculum, only selective change in teaching methods. We have to go beyond this. We must have a curriculum that is itself flexible, and tailored to the student’s level of competence at the very outset. This is what the modular approach advocated by the Committee seeks to do. Some students will need more time, and a curriculum that helps them build confidence in a language that they have had little exposure to at home.  Others can move faster and go further, and some will be encouraged in later years to immerse themselves more deeply in the language and culture.

10.     The second principle underpinning the changes is the need to make CL an enjoyable, living language for our students. That has to be the common denominator for all students, regardless of which path or elective that they choose to take, and their final level of achievement in learning the language in school.

11.     As the Committee has observed in its report, while learning the various CL skills is important, our fundamental objective must be to nurture in our students an abiding interest in the language. 

12.     Not every student will end up working in China or using CL to earn a living.  And we cannot tell, when a child is in school, what he will do later in life, and where he will end up. But if we can make every student feel engaged in the learning of CL, to find it enjoyable and not be turned off by the way we expect him to learn it, we stand the best chance of nurturing a person who will continue to learn the language, take pride in it being his mother tongue, and want to use it after he leaves school. Or be able to brush up his skills when he needs to, for example if he has to do China business. 

KEY CHANGES

13.     To achieve flexibility and bring greater enjoyment into learning CL, the Committee has made wide-ranging recommendations. It requires a total approach, not piecemeal change. The Committee’s report proposes changes in curriculum structures, assessment systems, teaching methods, textbooks and other instructional materials, and the greater use of technology. It recommends the creative use of the informal curriculum in schools, and ways for MOE to boost the quantity and quality of the CL teaching workforce. It also calls for the support of the whole community, including parents, the newspaper and TV media, and Chinese community organisations.

14.     I will not cover each of these areas in detail. But let me lay out the basic ideas behind the major proposals -   first the customisation of learning and a modular approach in primary schools; and second, why we should place greater emphasis, for the majority of students, on building up the ability to communicate and read in CL.

CUSTOMISATION  FROM PRIMARY ONE

15.     Today, there is an adequate degree of customisation at the secondary level.  There are five CL syllabuses at the secondary level, and a student in the Express stream for instance, can choose from three syllabuses – CL, HCL, or CL ‘B’.  At the upper primary levels, we have CL and HCL syllabuses, and for the EM3 course, the Basic Chinese or Chinese syllabuses.

16.     But to maximise a child’s potential in learning CL, we need a differentiated approach from the outset, that takes into account the exposure that the child has to the language at home.  The vast majority of CL teachers, well over 90% feel it is necessary.  Every school leaders or CL teacher I meet in our schools tells me the same.  Teachers know the ground, know what the conditions are, and what it will take to motivate and enthuse their students. 

17.     The modular approach proposed by the Committee also follows what is generally known about the natural progression in acquiring a language, which begins with developing the ability to listen and speak a language. The Bridging and Reinforcement modules that will be introduced, aimed at children with little exposure to CL, will focus on developing confidence in the oral language early.  Teachers will be trained to identify students who can benefit from these modules, and will advise parents. MOE will make available simple diagnostic tools to help teachers do so.

Core Standards

18.     The Committee proposes however to maintain a common core curriculum for all students, upon which the PSLE assessment for the regular CL subject will be based. The new core curriculum will take up 70-80% of CL curriculum time. The modular approach being proposed does not therefore mean different end points within the regular CL curriculum at the primary level. Instead, it seeks to help students who do not have the background in the language by providing Bridging and Reinforcement modules in the early primary years, so that they can catch up and be better prepared for the new core curriculum. Those with the ability to go faster or further will take Enrichment modules, while a significant number are also expected to take Higher Chinese at Primary 5-6.

19.     I agree with the Committee’s approach of maintaining a common standard during the primary years, that will serve as a foundation for all CL students. It will motivate all students to achieve this foundation in the language, including those from EL-speaking backgrounds. It will be premature to ‘stream’ these students into a weaker CL course at the primary school stage, or to lower their expectations too early of what they can achieve with reasonable effort. What we must do however, is to ensure that the core curriculum is shaped so that the majority of students will find it achievable and engaging.

20.     Our challenge therefore is to make the learning of CL enjoyable, without making it unchallenging.  As with the English Language or any other subject of study, students must put in the effort and practice, to achieve real learning and progress. But it should not be tedious effort, with little sense of excitement or gain. We should do all we can to keep students turned on to CL learning, not turn them off. We will have to design a realistic workload for the majority of students, give them a syllabus that allows them to relate what they learn to their daily lives, and give teachers the flexibility to venture out of the syllabus to make learning stimulating.  

EMPHASISING LISTENING, SPEAKING AND READING

21.     This is also the reason for the Committee’s second major proposal, which is to shift the balance of emphasis towards communication and reading, for the majority of students.

22.     Ideally, we would want all our CL students to be fluent in all four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, in adult life, the vast majority of Singaporeans will more often hear, speak and read Chinese, than they would need to write Chinese.

23.     We have to be practical about what is achievable for the majority of students, within a broad-based curriculum that has English as the first language. The majority will have a total curriculum exposure time to MTL of about 20-30% in the primary years, and 15% in the secondary years.  How do we motivate them to want to use the language spontaneously, and learn it not just for their examinations but because they have an intrinsic interest in the language and feel that it is part of a living culture for them?

24.     The Committee recommends that the best approach for the majority of students is to focus, first and foremost, on listening, speaking and reading the language. It is hoped that this will encourage them to converse using CL, read stories that appeal to their imagination, and by seeing the benefits of using the language more frequently in these ways, that they will want to learn the language further.  In other words, to develop an intrinsic motivation to learn the language.

25.     To achieve greater fluency in listening, speaking and reading we have to make space in the curriculum. To do this, the Committee recommends altering the curriculum and examinations to reduce the current heavy emphasis on character stroke memorisation; removing less frequently used characters from the syllabus; and reducing the number of passages that have to be taught from the textbooks.  It does not recommend abandoning writing skills, but using it to reinforce the other language skills. Teachers should be encouraged to let students discover the art and beauty in the writing of CL script - as many teachers already do.

26.     We will experiment with new approaches to teaching. MOE will conduct a pilot study with some schools of new approaches that help students to read more in the early primary years, and to focus less on script-writing. We will study the feasibility of this approach, and whether it leads to children developing a greater competence and interest in the language.  This has to be piloted.

FOCUS ON LEARNING OUTCOMES

27.     MOE will also study carefully the standards that students should be expected to achieve in primary and secondary schools for each of the four language skills. The Committee recommends focusing, first, on qualitative outcomes of CL learning at each stage, say at Pri 6 and Sec 4, rather than fixing or predetermining the number of characters that a pupil should learn to read or write.  The size of a child’s vocabulary is one way of measuring a child’s language ability.  But of greater significance is how confidently and appropriately the child can actually use and manipulate the vocabulary that he has learnt.

28.     So by the end of Secondary 4, for example, the Committee recommends that students be able to read and appreciate poems and short stories, and read most articles in local newspapers and magazines.  They should be able to understand local news reports, and deliver, with some preparation, coherent views on topics of interest in front of an audience. And compose a 250-300 word narrative or expository essay with the help of a dictionary and/or assistive computer tools.

29.     MOE agrees with this broad approach. We will work out the number of characters and words that students need to learn in order to achieve these learning outcomes - such as is required to comprehend daily news articles. For example, according to Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Language Consultant Wang Huidi, knowing about 1,800 characters would provide 98% reading coverage of Zaobao. About 1300 most-frequently used characters will give 95% of reading coverage.

30.     But as recommended by the Committee, we will move away from hard and fast rules on the number of characters and phrases that students should learn to read or write. We will focus on achieving useful learning outcomes. We will keep an open mind, and adjust the syllabus requirements as we learn from experience on the ground.  Our objective will be to ensure that students retain what they learn, and are able to use the vocabulary they learn in new contexts - not just be able to recall from a prescribed list of characters for the purpose of their examinations.   How we assess our students will be adjusted to match this objective. 

31.     Further, as recommended by the Committee, MOE will also review the role of the character list that underpins the production of instructional materials, teaching practice and assessment. While the character list is useful in allowing teachers to know that they have adequately covered the requirements of the syllabus, it has tended to steer teaching and learning towards drilling in a prescribed list of characters. MOE will study how best we can provide teachers with some guide, while encouraging them to incorporate engaging materials and use their own methods to liven up learning.

32.     To sum up this point, our objective will be to provide students with the room to use and practise what they have learnt, so as to develop confidence and competence in the language. MOE will work out how to avoid overloading the syllabus so that we provide enough space and time in the curriculum for teachers and students to achieve this. Our CL Heads of Department point out that the current syllabus provides little room for this. Too much volume, leading to teachers rushing to complete the syllabus, as each chapter contains new or additional words and phrases that have to be mastered. They tell us students do not have the time to use and practise what they learn. The HODs and teachers have their own war stories. One that many recall was of a recent PSLE exam that tested students on some characters that they had learnt in Primary 4. The students were stumped. They had forgotten what they had learnt two years earlier, because both teachers and students were focused on covering the Primary 5 and 6 syllabus, which was itself a demanding load. 

33.     Teachers therefore feel that there is some trade-off between volume and the quality of learning outcomes.  MOE will focus on learning outcomes as we review the curriculum. We will set realistic targets that the majority of students can achieve, provide room for innovative teaching practices and school-designed curricula, and for teachers to venture out of the regular syllabus. And we will always ask ourselves what we hope our students can do with the vocabulary and language skills that they have learned.

ENCOURAGING EXCELLENCE

34.     The Committee also recommends encouraging students with ability and interest to develop competence in all four language skills, and obtain a good understanding of Chinese history and culture, through the Higher Chinese (HCL) curriculum.

35.     This is an important part of the flexible curriculum strategy that MOE has taken. HCL forms the base in our efforts to provide opportunities for students with the ability to engage in deeper study of the language and culture. In January this year, as members know, we relaxed the criteria required for students to opt for HCL in primary school and secondary schools. Since the change, we have had about 25% more Sec 1 students choosing to take HCL. MOE will post more teachers to schools where there is a critical mass of students who offer HCL, to make the study of the subject more convenient. 

36.     Building on HCL, we are encouraging our secondary schools to enhance the CL learning environment by offering new CL-based subjects, such as Chinese Culture and Thought, and Literature in Chinese as a Combined Humanities elective.  Literature in Chinese is already a full subject and we are introducing it also as a Combined Humanities elective.  We are extending the Language Elective Programme to a fourth JC from 2006, and rolling out the Bicultural Studies Programme next year. 

37.     At the other end of the spectrum, we must continue to address the needs of those who struggle with CL in secondary schools despite putting in reasonable effort.  The CL ‘B’ syllabus was put in place in 2001 from Sec 3 for this purpose.  In January this year, apart from relaxing the criteria for students to take HCL, we also opened the CL ‘B’ option from Sec 1.

PRE-SCHOOL

38.     MOE will also work with the preschool sector to support the objectives of the CL review. We will collaborate with them in developing a curriculum framework for CL learning in the early childhood years that makes learning fun and allows children to gain confidence. This will be particularly helpful for children who get limited home exposure to CL. By creating natural situations for preschoolers to build up their listening and speaking skills, the sector can prepare them well for the revised curriculum and teaching approaches at the primary school in future. 

ML AND TL REVIEW

39.     We will also review the learning of Malay Language (ML) and Tamil Language (TL) in our schools. This year, 58% of our Indian Primary 1 students came from homes that spoke predominantly EL.  The initial feedback from Tamil parents suggests that the issues facing TL students are fundamentally not different from those encountered in learning CL. For ML students, the issues are less severe. The ML shares the same script as EL. The majority of Malay students entering Primary 1 still use ML as their dominant home language, with just 22% using EL.  However, among Primary 1 ML students with at least one parent having a university qualification, the proportion using predominantly EL at home is much higher, close to 60%.

40.     MOE will set up two high level committees to review the ML and TL curriculum respectively.  The composition of these committees will be announced in early Dec.  Work should start in Jan 2005, and we expect to complete the two reviews around Aug 2005.

MAKING BILINGUALISM SUCCEED

41.     Sir, the changes we will make to the CL curriculum are part of how we make sure that bilingualism thrives in Singapore.  We cannot let new generations of Singaporeans gradually lose their competence in MTL, or lose their instinctive sense of identity with the cultures that the MTLs represent.

42.     Our English-speaking capability, combined with our competence and feel for the MTLs, is our source of competitive advantage, allowing us to stay relevant to both Asia and the West.

43.     And beyond this, our MTLs will always be essential to give us our identity.  Our cultures, languages, and values give us roots, a quiet confidence in who we are. Keeping our mother tongue languages and cultures will give each new generation of Singaporeans a sense of connectedness and resilience.

44.     This is why our bilingual policy remains a key feature of our education system, and why we now have to regear and adapt our strategies to make sure it succeeds. 

IMPLEMENTING THE CHANGES WELL

45.     I have described the key thrusts of the proposed changes to the CL curriculum. Success in these changes will lie in thorough and well-coordinated implementation in all areas, from curriculum design to teacher training and the development of instructional materials.  This will be a major priority of the Ministry of Education in the next 5 years. We will dedicate the necessary resources to achieve the objectives set out in the White Paper.

46.     The most critical factor to the success of the reforms will be our CL teachers. They are also our best asset. The majority are keen on change, and many are already putting into practice new strategies to help their pupils develop a love for the language. And there are numerous examples on the ground, of teachers who inspire their students to love the language, including classes of students who would normally be considered weak in the language. So we will focus above all on helping our teachers, on preparing them to implement the changes about to come with vigour and imagination. We will provide teachers more space, through our syllabus and examination reforms, to bring in new teaching techniques.  MOE will work to recruit more teachers, from both local and foreign sources, without diminishing the quality of recruits. We will also invest more in training both new and current CL teachers, to ensure that they are confident in delivering a new, more flexible curriculum.

47.     Mr Wee Heng Tin will chair a steering committee to oversee MOE’s implementation of the White Paper’s recommendations, which include the curriculum development, research and testing of new teaching and assessment techniques, and ways to develop the teaching force.  MOS Chan Soo Sen will serve as Adviser of that committee.

48.     MOS Chan Soo Sen will also head another committee, a community taskforce that will set out to garner the support of the Chinese community for these changes, and to facilitate a continuing process of collaboration between our schools, parents, community organisations and the media.  When parents got together to organise a Mid-Autumn Festival at Chua Chu Kang Primary School, 1500 people turned up. We will need the support of our community organisations, industry partners and the media as we seek to develop new learning materials, songs and resources, as well as providing opportunities and platforms outside the school for our young to enjoy using the language.

49.     Whether in school or in the community, we want CL to come alive. Whether high-brow or low- brow, we have to find every way to make the Chinese Language fun for our children, as with the other mother tongues.  For example, all of us with children learning CL know the emerging power of Asian pop culture.  When Jurong JC got its JC1 students involved in Chinese Pop culture recently, the students were enthralled. When zbNOW, the lifestyle section in Zaobao,  recently launched a song as part of its Popcorn programme, it was tremendously popular in schools. And that’s also why the third-last round of Singapore Idol, which required Taufik, Sylvester, Olinda and Daphne to sing Asian pop songs, struck such an endearing chord.  Likewise, when Olinda Cho dedicated Teresa Teng’s song “Endless Stream of Words” or 千言万语to her grandmother, everyone felt the emotion.

50.     I would now like to invite members to share their views on the proposed changes to Chinese Language Curriculum.

51.     Sir, I beg to move.