More incentives for students to complete third language programmes

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/295068/1/.html

The newly added incentives for students to continue with their Third Language programmes all the way up to O levels have much relevance towards pupils in RI, especially towards Sec 1 or 2 pupils whom may very presently be considering dropping their third language.

It is a very prevalent phenomenon in RI, and indeed amongst other schools too, that newly enrolled Secondary 1 students sign up to take a Third Language with much enthusiasm, only to drop it in time to come, their enthusiasm greatly doused by failed exams and busy timetables.

As such, to encourage students to continue with their Third Language, those who pass their third language at the O levels will now receive two extra points, though this is now only limited thus far to students taking the Malay or Chinese Special Programme.

The rationale behind such a move is obvious: Singapore lies in the immidiate vicinity of many Malay speaking and Muslim states. To be able to speak Malay would thus be an obvious advantage in the region.

Furthermore, the rise of China and the Middle East as an economic power means that being able to speak their languages will allow one to better communicate in these countries and thus be able to better exploit economic opportunities in these regions. Singapore being a globalized city, it has to be able to relate to various countries if it hopes to attain success.

However, will such incentives be effective in boosting the rates of Third Language enrolment, and for the vast majority of students in Singapore's educational system, is the need for a Third Language that important?

Adding another language to the myriad of subjects already on a student's timetable places much added stress on him; what more, students generally do not speak this language anywhere other than the classroom. Such limited education of a language will not serve well at all to endow a student with the ability to speak it; in the end, it amounts to grand waste of time unless a pupil is academically capable and well inclined.

The adding of a Third Language as a boost to a student's O language points may potentially create a problem similar to that facing Higher Chinese now: students taking up the subject for the sake of the extra points and promptly dropping it after admission into a JC of their choice. Even if more students take up Third Language because of this, it will still ultimately not grant them the competitive edge, and this initiative will have failed in its objective.

Also, as not all of Singapore's future workforce will be based overseas, not all students will pursue careers which require them to speak multiple languages.

At the end of the day, what we must remember is that taking a Third Language is ultimately a trade off; if we are willing and able to pursue another language in spite of the stress it brings, then well and good. Otherwise, any number of addded incentives will still not encourage students to take it up.