A bill that would make the teaching of Mandarin compulsory in all schools in Panama has passed the first of three readings in the Panamanian National Assembly.<\/p>\n
In looking for details on this, I found a document on the Panamanian National Assembly’s Web site from September 5, 2005: Que Establece la Ense\u00f1anza Obligatoria del Idioma Mandar\u00edn, en los Centros Educativos Oficiales y Particulares del Primer y Segundo Nivel de Ense\u00f1anza y Se Dictan Otras Disposiciones<\/a> (PDF).<\/p>\n If that represents the draft that was passed yesterday, here is a quote that may provide important information: <\/p>\n El Ministerio de Educaci\u00f3n establecer\u00e1 la carga horaria necesaria, que garantice el aprendizaje efectivo del idioma desde los primeros niveles de ense\u00f1anza, lo cual implica que el estudiante que culmina el bachillerato pueda comunicarse verbalmente y por escrito en mandar\u00edn<\/strong>. (emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So this isn’t just for spoken Mandarin. Students who gain a bachillerato<\/em> would be expected to be able to not only speak but also write<\/em> Mandarin. (Can someone help clarify just what level a bachillerato<\/em> represents?) <\/p>\n As much as I would like for more people around the world to learn Mandarin, it’s necessary to be blunt here: If the legislators and educators of Panama expect all of that country’s students to achieve literacy in Mandarin through Chinese characters, they are not only living in a fantasy world but also setting up what will certainly be a monumental and expensive failure. If this means, as it probably does, literacy in Chinese characters, the students of Panama have a whole world of frustration waiting for them. <\/p>\n Certainly some students will succeed. But the percent who do will never make it into double digits. Moreover, requiring Mandarin for everyone is not practical but a massive overestimation of the need for Panamanians to be able to communicate in Mandarin. I do not say that is how things ought to be, just that that is how they are<\/strong> … and how they will remain for many years to come. From a practical<\/em> point of view, which is what legislators ought to be taking when imposing universal requirements, having a high level of English matters much, much more than having a high level of Mandarin, though certainly programs need to be widely available to provide students with the choice<\/em> to learn Mandarin. <\/p>\n For another approach to the question of achieving literacy in Mandarin, let’s look at the case of Singapore. The majority of those in the city-state are ethnic Chinese, many of whom are native speakers of various Sinitic languages. There’s no shortage of money for education; and there’s no shortage of Mandarin classes or teachers. Official statistics there state that in the year 2000:<\/p>\n If nearly 20 percent of Singapore’s literate<\/em> ethnic Chinese population is not literate in Mandarin, and less than 1 percent of the literate ethnic Malay and Indian populations is literate in Mandarin, what chance does Panama think it has of having this succeed with its own decidedly non-Chinese population? <\/p>\n Note: It’s going to be a little tricky to figure out the details of some of Panama’s plan because references to “China” may well be to Taiwan, which Panama recognizes as the Republic of China. So sometimes “China” will mean China (PRC), and sometimes “China” will mean Taiwan (ROC). Expect confusion in news stories about this. <\/p>\n additional sources: <\/p>\n A bill that would make the teaching of Mandarin compulsory in all schools in Panama has passed the first of three readings in the Panamanian National Assembly. In looking for details on this, I found a document on the Panamanian … Continue reading \n
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