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Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind of juvenile identity confusion
wchao37 Updated: 2004-04-01 09:53
In China today there is this unhealthy trend amongst some parents to over-emphasize the learning of English in their kids' school curriculum. From the CR chant of "I am Chinese, I don't use ABCs" to the present "I am Chinese. I regret I have an accent in my English" the pendulum has swept from one extreme to the other.
There was a TV ad on CCTV-4 about a language school in Haiding District in Beijing not too long ago. I guess the vacancies were filled faster than expected. The ad says the school caters to the need of kids of all ages from primary to high school levels to develop a noble ("gao-shan") demeanor and outstanding (tsu-tsun) foreign language (mainly English) proficiency. That means in a nutshell they have an "all-English environment" and these ignoramus even have the temerity to equate English proficiency with "gao shan" or "noble demeanor."
This kind of ad must have been placed by Creoles catering to country bumpkins or upstarts. Only folks like these would equate 'noble demeanor' with English proficiency and lump them together in one magic formula for 'success.'
These parents are sowing the wind of ignorance and reaping the whirlwind of their kids' identity confusion in the future.
The reason for their belief is that they see how people with English proficiency and foreign diplomas can fetch higher-paying jobs in cities like Beijing and Shanghai after China's entry into the WTO, with foreign firms pouring into China and paying English-speaking Chinese top dollars.
This phenomenon will correct itself when equilibrium is reached again sometime in the future when it is no longer a big deal to speak and write both languages well. Right now the danger is in belittling the learning of Chinese classics just like many young people are belittling or even trashing traditional Chinese opera in favor of American pop culture.
Unfortunately, because of the substantial difference in payscale between those working for homegrown and joint-venture companies we are going to see an entire generation of Chinese youths with this inferiority complex if they don't speak English well.
No one will marvel at you if you write Chinese well if that happens to be your native tongue -- that's almost taken for granted. But if you do so as a foreigner in China they'll look very surprised. This mental attitude is like that of colonial Hongkongers when the Brits were around. Even now schools using English as the main medium of communication in its classes are preferred by most parents in Hongkong.
The Japanese never felt this way in their drive towards modernization. No wonder they look down at us from time to time. Sometimes you can't help but wonder what would be a better way to handle this problem of slavish mentality which had been inculcated into our people by the Manchus for 267 years (1644-1911). Before them, our forbears in the Sung and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties certainly did not feel this way.
It's time to root out this slavish mentality through legislating these all-English schools out of existence except for the children of expatriates who choose to use their own languages as media for their kids' core curriculum.
Wei Chao, M.D.
HKSAR
| The above content represents the view of the author only. |
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