Yale-NUS profs ready!

The Straits Times, 28 April 2013, Singapore

I was so tickled when I read this article. The Yale-NUS partnership has been long in the planning. They will finally open their doors to students in August 2013, when the university academic year begins. Yale University is a global brand known for the best and brightest minds. NUS or the National University of Singapore, has made a name for itself in the Asian scene, and the world as well. Of course, for such a strategic partnership to take place, the best and brightest of Yale professors must be part of the faculty.

Their job is simply to bring out the best in each student. Language of instruction? English. Will these top minds then confine themselves to the ivory tower of learning and never venture out into the real Singapore? According to this article, a flat "no".

Why, they are preparing themselves for the complete cross-cultural experience! These professors are not just coming to impart knowledge, they want to be immersed in the total Singapore experience, local language and all. While they may never have a chance to use Singlish, they can at least understand the casual chatter of the local students. It will help when they go about the chores of daily life like going to the market, ordering a meal at the local hawker centre, etc. "Be prepared" like any good Scout will tell you. What can they expect? Take a look here.

While the professors are excited about moving to Singapore, the Singapore community in Yale is just as excited to showcase Singapore culture to them. The class was free of charge. Everyone was enthusiastic. Way to go! It takes both the local and the expat to make the cultural experience fun, smooth and a little easier.

Welcome to Singapore!

If you're going overseas very soon, be prepared! Read up on the new place. You will enjoy the cross-cultural experience so much more!

Have a wonderful time soaking in the language, culture, sights and sounds!

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3 countries, 1 piece of history

Piece of Berlin Wall on display in Singapore

This headline caught my eye when I saw it. Three countries were involved in this display: former East Germany, Singapore (where Bedok is located) and USA.

Former East Germany: piece of Berlin Wall that was on display.
Singapore: welcomed the piece of Berlin Wall to be displayed in Bedok, where the then-Member of Parliament (MP) was personal friends with the owners of the piece of Berlin Wall.
USA: where the owners of the piece of Berlin Wall are from and will be returning to shortly.

Is this multi-cultural? Certainly. Singaporeans living in Bedok (an everyday, ordinary neighbourhood) got to appreciate a piece of world history, plus the artwork that was painted on. Some of the elderly who have never been to school may not even know where Germany is, or that there once was an East and a West Germany, divided by a large wall. Yet, thanks to the generosity of the American owners and the innovative thinking of the MP and personal friend, ordinary folk were exposed to a piece of world history that would enrich their lives for a period of time.

Well, the display period has come to and end, but the people who have seen this piece of art will have their lives forever changed. One cannot walk past a piece of world history and not be affected by it. Similarly, one cannot come into contact with a person of another language and culture and not be affected by it.

Let's embrace another language and culture, instead of waiting for another language and culture to affect us. Our lives will be so much richer for that.

Let's celebrate each other's language and culture!

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Fluenz to get fluent

Fluenz Language Learning Software

Fluenz is considered one of the luxury brands of language learning software available in the market today. Six languages are currently available, with more being added at a slow pace. This move is deliberate as each language offered has been carefully researched and pulled apart before the curriculum is designed for the English speaker who is learning the new language.

The instructor for each language offered uses a different approach for each language. Fluenz does not assume that the way to learn every language is the same. Each instructor has put in great effort to learn the language himself/herself. They do not claim to be perfect, native speakers. The goal of Fluenz is simply to get you communicating orally with a native speaker as quickly as possible.

Here's an example of a Mandarin lesson: The lesson is about ordering a drink at a restaurant. The conversation begins with simple greetings and then Lisa orders coffee and water. As you listen to the spoken words, the Hanyu Pinyin or official pronunciation guide appears on the screen. No Chinese characters are used in the lessons, as the focus is on conversation, not reading and writing.

Go through teach short lesson at least three times or until you are comfortable with speaking each phrase. After that, the instructor comes on to break down each phrase word by word and translates each word into English. She also explains the sentence structure and grammar from an English standpoint. This way you can use the individual words in your own sentence later on.

Once that part of the lesson is learned, then comes the review. Here's a screenshot of the review section:


Repetition is the best way to learn a language well. Somehow the correct word order will automatically pop up in my head when the time comes to use it. So this is a tried and true method of learning to speak a language well.

Very soon, you will be able to order food and get around in China on your own. Once you are hooked, you can go for the Pimsleur Series and use it together with Fluenz to go full on in learning Mandarin.

Get started today with a package from Fun Language Tools!

Happy learning!

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Our childhood language

Japanese food ordered in English

My classmate from primary school was ordering dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Since she frequented the place, the rest of us classmates decided to leave the ordering to her. As she was talking to the waitress, my ethnically Indian, Singapore-born and raised, and educated in the UK, friend commented, "You can tell she's a convent girl because she's ordering (food) in English."

That set off a conversation about our transition from primary to secondary school. All seven of us at dinner have been classmates and schoolmates from primary to secondary school, spanning 10 years in all. In primary school, we spoke English all the time, even at home. We laughed at those who were good at Chinese, or who came from predominantly Chinese-speaking homes. We were the despair of our Chinese teachers of every class till we left school.

When we entered secondary school, we were placed in classes with girls from another convent school. As one of my classmates put it, "We were all wondering who these girls were. They were all speaking Chinese all the time. So 'cheena'." ('Cheena' is a derogatory term for Chinese-educated people who can't speak proper English.) In reality, these girls were more comfortable speaking Teochew 潮州话 to each other because that's what they spoke at home. Somehow England and China in the same school just don't mix well. To this day, we still have a bit of a divide between us, even though we may have been in school together for four years. When trying to trace former classmates, one of the questions we ask is, "Which school was she from?" Looks like the divide will continue to stay for a long time yet.

I think I've come a long way since then. Today, I am comfortable with English, Chinese, Indonesian, Cambodian, even Thai, though I may not be as fluent in it as with the other four languages. I love being around people of different cultures, who speak different languages. They enrich my life so much. I don't think I can go back to the days of being monolingual (speaking and understanding only English) again.

Do I fit in with my classmates? Of course I do! I spent many precious growing-up years with them. We share tons of good memories that still leave us in stitches today, as we recount the fun and carefree days of childhood and teenage years together. But my life has taken on a richer flavour for all the multi-cultural friends I have made since my childhood. I would not want to trade this for anything in the world. These friends are precious treasure of a lifetime.

Enrich your life today by learning a new language and opening up a whole new world!

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Be kind today

Kindness is a universal language

A smile. An act of kindness. A touch. These are universal and always welcome. No common spoken language of communication is needed. We all understand a friendly face.

While we set out to learn a new language, let us not forget that body language speaks so much louder than words ever can. So, give your best smile today! Go make someone happy!

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Just say it like you think it

Tamil language education still going strong

There are many ways to teach and learn a language. Some insist on 100% immersion into the language without the use of any other language to explain the words or grammar. The theory is that if you get thrown into the deep end of the pool, you will somehow learn to swim to survive.

Others say that you learn best when everything in the new language is explained using your native language, so you fully understand what is going on and how the new language works. Some disagree with this method, saying that you end up not learning anything because you rely entirely on your native language, using it as a crutch to fall back on too often.

The article above is a study of school children learning Tamil, a Southern Indian language. Both the theories I stated earlier are shown to be wrong. School children in Singapore are taught Tamil as a second language. They may get stuck on a word, but if they use English, Chinese or Malay to fill in the blank, they are not penalised. In reality, the children end up learning and speaking more Tamil this way than if they were forced to speak only Tamil. I think the children get excited if they are given a chance to express themselves without fear of being reprimanded if they make a mistake or use a foreign word in a sentence. After all, it is better for them to speak up than not at all.

I tell all my students who are learning any language that they need to have "thick skin" to learn. Go ahead and keep talking. Don't be afraid of saying the wrong thing. Someone will correct you along the way, and you learn something new very quickly. Say it in the way you think is right, mixed with other languages. You will learn very quickly.

Have fun learning languages!

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Need a seat. Any tissue pack handy?

MPs are not above everyone else

Trying to find a seat at a crowded food court during lunch hour is a common scene anywhere in the world. Singapore is no different. We seem to spend more time trying to find a seat than to buy our food and eat it. An hour lunch break is sometimes more stressful than the work day.

Enter the tissue packet. Everyone's got at least one pack of tissues with them. Serviettes or napkins are not provided by the food stall. You need to bring your own tissue to wipe your mouth after eating. They're also cheap enough to not cry over if lost or stolen.

So, some Singaporean started using the tissue pack to reserve seats during the busy lunch hour. And the trend went viral, way before "viral" was word used in this way. Empty tables with tissue packs evenly spread out on top are a common sight in any crowded food court. Tourists would be puzzled as to why there are so many people walking around trying to find a seat when there are so many empty tables and seats. Unwritten code? Maybe. Certainly a unique cultural quirk of the Singaporean!

So here came the coffee shop owner showing initiative when the Member of Parliament (MP) was scheduled to visit his food place. "The MP is an important person. I must make sure there are enough seats for his entourage when they come" is probably what was going on in his mind. So, he did what every true-blue Singaporean does: lay out the tissue packs on the tables, much to the chagrin of the customers!

In the end, the tissue packs were removed. The MP didn't need special treatment. If there were no seats when he arrived, then so be it. He is, after all, a public servant, which means he is not above everyone else, but at the same level to serve, not to lord over anyone.

Kudos to the MP for dismissing with all formalities. He wants to be treated just like anyone else. Don't we all? Shouldn't we all? If the MP is coming, then he needs to bring his own tissue packs to reserve seats like everyone else! I think that's a great idea.

What do you do in your country to reserve a seat at a crowded place?

Here's to celebrating everyone's unique culture!

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