I am a typical byproduct of Singapore: a Chinese who can speak Mandarin, passed Mandarin classes but can still barely read and write the language well enough to be considered proficient. Technically I am illiterate. And, while that may not speak for all of us, there are sufficient numbers to justify the label "typical."This has become an issue because Singapore's founder, former prime minister and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew openly acknowledged last week that the 40 years of bilingual language policy he put in place was "wrong." Today, he says, that policy started out on the erroneous assumption that it was possible to master two languages – English and Mandarin, the latter for the majority Chinese community – equally well, and that Mandarin was taught at a too difficult level that "turned students off completely," he said. In retrospect, he said, Chinese language teachers should now make learning the mother tongue fun.
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