If there’s one thing that a good handful of Singaporeans might have in common, it’s that they’re probably more proficient in English than their mother tongue.
And it seems like such an issue isn’t just limited to children or people of a particular group, for even Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong himself recently talked about his experience with being less fluent in Mandarin.
Just yesterday (4 June), DPM Wong, who is also Singapore’s Finance Minister, gave his speech at Ang Mo Kio Public Library as part of the launch of the tenth anniversary roving exhibition of Thumbs Up Little Junior (TULJ), a Chinese-language newspaper aimed at preschool children.
In his speech, he revealed that he came from an English-speaking family.
Hence, even though he is well-versed in English and can “absorb [information] quickly” when reading English, he admitted that he is less proficient in Mandarin.
He added that although he is unable to return to his formative years and “redo [his] learning experience”, he has to continue putting in the effort to try and become more fluent in speaking Mandarin.
Harped on the Importance of Bilingualism and Exposing Children to Mandarin
During his address at the event, DPM Wong also highlighted that even though English is an important language for Singaporeans to master, parents of young children should also ensure that they cultivate their children’s interest in their mother tongue.
In particular, he said that parents should start exposing their children to their mother tongue “from a young age” instead of only doing so when their children are in primary school.
According to him, one way for parents to expose their children to bilingualism from a young age is to create an environment at home where children can communicate with their parents in their mother tongue.
This environment can also be created through resources such as TULJ and other sources like the Lee Kuan Yew bilingualism fund and SPH Media.
“Hopefully, that will give them the best chance to grow up with the ability to be equally conversant in both English and their mother tongue,” he explained.
He added that even though English is important, especially in a multicultural society like Singapore, cultivating children’s interest in their mother tongue will allow them to be more connected to their cultural roots and have an advantage regarding language-related opportunities.
DPM Wong Previously Addressed the Nation in Chinese for NDP 2022
And for those who have been keeping up with the National Day Messages over the past few years, you might recall that Mr Wong addressed the nation in Chinese during his National Day Message last year.
In the video, which lasted over 12 minutes, he spoke about various issues Singapore has faced entirely in Mandarin.
After the video of him speaking in Mandarin for the National Day Message was uploaded on YouTube by the Prime Minister’s Office, many netizens left comments praising Mr Wong for making an effort to address Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans in their mother tongue.
For the unaware, TULJ is a publication managed by ZBSchools, which is under the Chinese Media Group of SPH Media.
Issues of TULJ, which is funded by the Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism, are published once every fortnight.
In total, over 30,000 preschool pupils of kindergarten age in Singapore receive issues of TULJ for free.
The roving exhibition for TULJ will be going on from now until 25 August at the following libraries:
- Ang Mo Kio Public Library
- Jurong Regional Library
- Punggol Regional Library
The exhibition includes various activities like an interactive cardboard play structure, animated videos and multimedia games.
Workshops and story-telling sessions will also be held on selected weekends.