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Whenever I try starting a conversation with a stranger, my greatest fear is that they reply with the following;

讲中文吗？

You speak chinese?

Not too difficult a question, but it always poses a huge dilemma. Should I attempt to communicate in a language of which my mastery would be generously described as ‘mediocre’, or admit to a stranger my lacklustre control of my ‘mother tongue’?

Usually, I swallow my pride and reveal my ineptitude, because the alternative would be a conversation full of guesswork, clarifications, English spillovers and embarrassment.

What happened to bilingualism?

I did my time as the Ministry of Education decreed. I breezed through countless Chinese tests and examinations, memorising thousands upon thousands of Chinese characters and their uses. I wrote essays, deciphered lengthy passages and discerned meaning from convoluted phrases. So why then, a scant 3 years after my last Chinese examination, have I lost my Mandarin?

Here’s the thing; I never had it.

A kid from an English speaking family, in an English speaking school, surrounded by English speaking friends and teachers, how much use did my Chinese get?

Let me give you a hint : None.

Yes, Chinese lessons were the hour a so each day dedicated to the language, but everyone got by with the simple context mastered in childhood, interspersed with English to fill the gaps in their mastery. For the tests and examinations, we pored through the vocabulary lists with single minded intensities,  committing vast quantities of information into short term memory. Alas, after said examinations, we gladly let the language slide back into oblivion. You know how a child, after learning a new word, uses it in every sentence? He tries it on for size, finds where it fits in a sentence, and soon after pieces it into his long term memory.

However, for a kid from an English speaking family, in an English speaking school, surrounded by English speaking friends and teachers, does he go through the same process? No, Chinese is denied the same treatment that a toddler would grant his words, simply because there is no need for it in the current educational atmosphere.

So what CAN be done? How can we reverse the trend of our neglected Mother Tongue?

If I knew the answer, I’d probably be the Minister of Education. All I know is, bilingualism has to start with the young, and without a sustained presence in throughout our lives, will likely be lost far more quickly than it was learned.

English-speaking Chinese boy David Ang has just completed his International Baccalaureate studies at the Anglo-Chinese International School in 2009. The 20 year-old is moving on to do his medical studies at Newcastle University.

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