If students willingly master Japanese and French, why not Chinese? (Wu Wenyu, ST Online Forum, 15/1)

老师今天刚告诉你们要争取每一个学习的机会，不要轻易放弃任何一个学习的机会。老师是真的有感而发啊！

如今，世界各地的人都在力争上游，因为“学如逆水行舟，不进则退。”

这么巧，老师就看见这一篇短文，愿与你们共勉：

I refer to Monday's commentary by Ms Clarissa Oon, 'English home, Chinese class'. While I understand the Government's concern with the current system of teaching Chinese, I strongly share Ms Oon's view that an English-speaking family background is not a 'handicap' to learning the language.

The truth is, coming from an English-speaking background did not become an obstacle for many students who chose to study a third language (Japanese, German, French or Arabic) at the Ministry of Education Language Centre. As a student who studied French at the centre for the past six years, I have seen many friends take the initiative to speak French outside class and listen to French news online; they perfected their language skills with unwavering passion and determination; and they never gave up learning, even when the examination included an oral and a written test where dictionaries are not allowed. Yet ironically, some of these students who speak a third language fluently lack confidence speaking Mandarin.

Is there a difference between learning a second and a third language? Going by the logic that the right linguistic environment makes studying a language easier, shouldn't learning Chinese be easier than French since opportunities to speak Mandarin come much easier in a bilingual country like Singapore?

The real difference lies in the mentality of the students. Learning a third language is a privilege, a rare opportunity that many treasure. But with Chinese, the learning opportunity is always taken for granted. Students view the learning process as a chore, a job to be done, but never as an opportunity that should be cherished.

While the Chinese in Malaysia once fought for Chinese to be taught in schools, Singaporean students now complain about the privilege of learning a language which is part of our cultural identity.

Refining the methods of teaching Chinese may help to spark interest in students and cater better to their needs. But if the root of the problem - the mindset of students - is not taken into account, Singapore will only find itself with more students who view Chinese as an impractical subject to be learnt.

记住，在新加坡，人人都有机会接受双语教育，在国外，人们得争取机会，才得以学习自己的母语。有些地方和国家则是一向就让人民使用三种，甚至四种语文。每学习一种语文，就等于打开了一扇新的窗户，让你们以那种语文的角度来看世界。