How Chinese Singing Contests in Chinese Filipino Schools May Show That Students Weren't Taught Chinese Properly

 

As a person who once hated his Chinese heritage, I blame it on the way Chinese was taught in Chinese Filipino schools. It didn't matter if you were in this or that school--it was the same banana. Maybe, I can say that I hated how mathematics was taught instead of mathematics itself. The books above were the old Chinese textbooks that required people to learn Chinese first before they entered the class. Today, I heard from one of my old Chinese language teachers that Hokkien is no longer used in schools. It was very unlike several years ago when teachers would get their pointing stick and say, "Speak Chinese!" in Hokkien, when someone speaks another language. Even worse, some people graduate to the next level without learning to speak Chinese.

In Chinese Filipino schools, there would be the English singing contest and the Chinese singing contest. The Chinese singing contests were spoken in Mandarin. That meant contestants were called in Mandarin. If the person was number one, the person was called, "第一好" (Pinyin: "Dì yī hǎo"). It got funny especially when it was number five. Five in Chinese is 五 (Pinyin: Wǔ) and it would be "Dì wǔ hǎo" which sounds like "Uhaw" or the Filipino word for thirst. Granted, we were only in late elementary to high school, so childish quarrels are to be expected.

If a person was in Grade 1 Chinese, they're supposedly in HSK-1. Today, we have the HSK learning system (read here). Back then, it was trying to achieve HSK but one had to learn Hokkien first. Chinese teachers were forced to teach it that way, the way the older people learned. Unfortunately, the next generation of ethnic Chinese in the Philippines, are more Filipino in their thinking. From the Chinese Learning Center--we get these six levels of learning Mandarin Chinese:

HSK (Level I)

Test takers can understand and use very simple Chinese phrases, meet basic needs for communication and possess the ability to further their Chinese language studies. 

HSK (Level II)

Test takers have an excellent grasp of basic Chinese and can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. 

HSK (Level III)

Test takers can communicate in Chinese at a basic level in their daily, academic and professional lives. They can manage most communication in Chinese when travelling in China. 

HSK (Level IV)

Test takers can converse in Chinese on a wide range of topics and are able to communicate fluently with native Chinese speakers. 

HSK (Level V)

Test takers can read Chinese newspapers and magazines, enjoy Chinese films and plays, and give a full-length speech in Chinese. 

HSK (Level VI)

Test takers can easily comprehend written and spoken information in Chinese and can effectively express themselves in Chinese, both orally and on paper.

Unfortunately, some people reach beyond Grade 6 in Chinese. However, their understanding may even be below HSK-1 up to HSK-4. If a person reaches Grade 6--theoretically they should be able to know basic Mandarin. Unfortunately, the way the teachers were forced to teach was just parroting over understanding. Back then, the schools still used Zhuyin Fuhao, something that Chinese businesses can't use to register their names in non-Chinese-speaking countries (read here). The evidence can hit really hard when a Chinese singing contest takes place in the school. The event is spoken in Mandarin. People at a higher level should even understand what "第一好" means. Unfortunately, the butt of jokes that hit during the program is proof their basic Mandarin is failing. Some people move from Level 1 to Level 2 and even go beyond Level 6 by memorizing without understanding.

If the high school Journalism teacher requires a report for the school programs--it can be a tricky thing. Somebody might ask, "Do we have to make a report for this program? I can't understand a thing!" One of the classmates would say, "We don't have to make a report for this. The program is in Chinese!" Another classmate might say, "Suit yourselves! I'm going to make a report!" However, that classmate who insisted on making a report made a badly written report. Most students don't even bother to memorize the Chinese names of the Chinese teachers. It's because the Chinese teachers don't really tell the students their proper names. The result is that the Chinese singing contest report would have incomplete names (if they knew the first name) or the designated nickname. Nicknames can be often given because students become too lazy to memorize the names of the Chinese teachers, especially if they are only part-timers. I can only imagine the mess of a report. Imagine that nicknames like Teacher Fierce, Teacher Minus, Teacher Fat, Teacher Big Buttocks, Teacher Thin, Teacher Bulldog, and Teacher Fart are written down--instead of the real names of the Chinese teachers! The reason is because the actual names aren't known. The teachers only introduce their Chinese names--which in turn too many are too lazy to memorize it! In many cases, students even pass the previous level without knowing the name of the Chinese teacher!

That's why I'm glad that the Sinjian old textbooks are gone. They're ineffective tools in teaching Mandarin. It wasn't the fault of the teacher. It was the fault of the system used in Chinese school associations. Fortunately, other batches began focusing on teaching Mandarin as a second language, moving from Zhuyin to Pinyin, and having an approach in understanding the subject. In fact, the first time I truly grasped Mandarin was in my Chinese language class in college, as part of a foreign language elective.