It's no secret that I had bad grades in elementary and high school. There's always this distinction between huan-a (which may no longer be offensive, and refers to anybody of the Malay-Indo race) and the lan-nang (our people). However, I prefer to call myself hua-lang (華人, Huárén) over lan-nang. Early last year, I wrote about why the old Sin Jiang textbooks were written the way they were. Barely anything can be understood by the non-Chinese speaker! It's funny but true! Honestly, we were even forbidden from romanizing, and we had to use Zhuyin Fuhao--something no longer applicable with Standard Chinese! Taiwan is still left using Zhuyin. Zhuyin may be best rendered as obsolete as the Alibata for standard writing or inputs.
The Chinese schools in the Philippines all operated under a single standard. Learning Chinese was often characterized by the "死記硬背 sǐ jì yìng bèi" or "Memorize to the point of death" mentality (read here). People had to learn Hokkien first, learn to read Chinese in Hokkien first, before they could learn Mandarin. I was told that I should focus on my Hokkien first before I learn Mandarin. However, that begs the question, "What about non-Chinese or non-Hokkien, who want to learn Mandarin? Do they need to study Hokkien too?" It became a big problem when non-Chinese students entered a Chinese Filipino school. Heck, some older generation even say Pinyin is "too easy" or "not as accurate as Zhuyin." However, try registering a Chinese business with Zhuyin, and the City Hall will not accept the document. This is the Philippines, not Taiwan or China!
I developed an identity crisis. If I were in the Philippines when why am I forbidden from marrying anyone who's not Chinese? The usual answer is, "It's tradition!" I was more fluent in speaking huan-a oi (which was often used to signify a Southeast Asian dialect). What I never knew was that the word huan-a wasn't just exclusive to the Philippines--it's also used in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia! Singapore used to be part of Malaysia, mind you! Eventually, I hated my Chinese blood when I got into a Chinese school. All we did was memorize and memorize Chinese, without understanding what we memorized. It doesn't help that Chinese teachers are stereotypically strict. It's no wonder cheating is so prevalent. Even worse, it's typical that Chinese Filipinos get into hot water whenever they fall for someone considered non-Chinese. Never mind that some of their relatives may be married to a worthless ethnic Chinese spouse!
Learning Chinese in the Chinese class required people to learn Hokkien, before learning Mandarin. Lines were read in between Mandarin and Amoy. Sadly, my Amoy isn't proficient. Some older Chinese generation think, "It should be automatic." What made them assume that their children will never be assimilated with those they call "huan-a"? Let's face it that they'll go to college and maybe, their best compatible partners would be from the huan-a. Don't know how to read in Hokkien? Tough luck! Some people secretly broke rules, like using false romanization (since Chinese romanization requires the use of Pinyin) or memorizing without really understanding. Some people have better memorization skills than others. Eventually, cheating is plain inevitable.
Based on my experience, it becomes more and more common for new-generation Chinese-Filipinos to speak in the local dialect. Right now, I even speak more in Cebuano than I do in Hokkien. However, I still communicate in Hokkien with some Chinese. I go to Jolly Bubble and try practicing Hokkien with the Taiwanese couple. I would tell people Chinese has many dialects, not just Mandarin. I would tell them that Hokkien is the dialect spoken my most Chinese Filipinos. I would tell them Cantonese is what's spoken in Hong Kong. The Malay Filipino is bound to say, "Pretty much like how we have several dialects like Tagalog, Cebuano, Surigaonon, Waray, and Ilonggo." If they had to learn Hokkien before they can learn Mandarin, eventually non-Chinese Filipinos will suffer the same burden.
That's why when I heard that Mandarin is no longer taught in school--I felt it was a relief. I took a Chinese language class in University of San Carlos. I found it more effective if Mandarin was taught as a second language, unlike what the Chinese schools did. Those who grew up with the traditional Chinese education may remember the dread of memoring bon toi (question and answer). However, think what if the bon tois were taught this way:
Standard Chinese should've been taught this way--as a second language. It could be understood if Mandarin were taught in Hokkien, if the region were a Hokkien-speaking area. Hokkien is a minority language in the Philippines! However, I witnessed how a Chinese language teacher taught basic Chinese in Cebuano. She would say something in Mandarin in one moment, then translate into Cebuano. The people she communicated with didn't speak Hokkien. These people needed some basic Chinese because they were handing Chinese MBA students. By that time, I was already aware that 1.3 billion (or more people) actually spoke Standard Chinese! Even one of my Chinese teachers told me, "Now you already see the importance of Mandarin in the global market!"
Basically, the aim is to learn Mandarin, not Hokkien. That's why the Chinese language class I had in college (I was around 21 years old) was taught in English. There were translations of Chinese and English in-between texts. By then, Pinyin had become what some call the new Bopomofo. In fact, I would say, "We have two types of Bopomofo. One is the Zhuyin and the other is the Pinyin." Basically, we had to learn not to recite Pinyin at face value. The rules can be confusing at first, but not too much, if you take time to learn it. As a Chinese language teacher told me, I need to master Pinyin. Pinyin is often misread because they read it at face value.
When the focus is Mandarin taught as a second language, comprehension is built up. Pretty much, it starts with introducing a second language, in the language you're most familiar with. Since this is the Philippines, Mandarin should be slowly introduced in English. Eventually, people should start talking in Mandarin and Mandarin only in the higher levels.
The fault is more systemic in nature. We can have effective communicators, but systems do matter. Teachers had to use Hokkien because it was required. Take away that requirement, and the teachers will start introducing Mandarin, for the better.
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