Some time ago, I remember doing the act of exonerating the Chinese language teachers (siansi), saying the lesson wasn't their fault but the fault of the system. It became absolutely necessary to remove Hokkien from the Chinese classroom if one expects Chinese to be learned better.
Right now, I still remember my lesson from who many considered the strictest Chinese siansi we had at Bethany Christian School. I remember the old language textbook, considered Chinese Language Arts during her time (called 華語, Huáyǔ) how Chinese was getting over a billion speakers. Until now, I exonerate her because the lesson wasn't her fault. She was just doing her job, including coloring my report card red. She was right about Mandarin's rise in the global market. She was just stuck with being told to use the wrong methods.
As I was watching this video, seeing that even America's richest are now learning Standard Mandarin. Why is that? The China Daily gave this news that made me (1) regret not taking Chinese seriously, and (2) criticize the system the siansis were forced to use:
Experts suggested that US elites want their children to learn Chinese due to the links and opportunities connected to the world's second-largest economy.
"My guess is many people think that being able to speak Mandarin will lead to more job opportunities in the future," Seth Wiener, an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University, told China Daily.
"Learning Mandarin, or any new language, has many benefits. These include increased professional and social opportunities, access to new culture and media, and a broader perspective on the world," he said.
Mandarin is the official language of China, while Cantonese is widely spoken in southern China, mostly in Guangdong province.
Sure, the days of the old Xinyong Network, where Chinese-Filipino businessmen didn't hire people who can't speak Hokkien, are over. However, what can never be denied is the global opportunity with Mandarin. I thought about why I even took FOLA-Mandarin at the University of San Carlos for one semester. Sadly, I didn't get the fluency I wanted. However, I started thinking of raising awareness of Mandarin.
Right now, the Philippines is near Taiwan and China. It's good that the Chinese schools in the Philippines removed Hokkien in exchange for an "open house approach". It was decades of treating Mandarin like the way the Chinese treated martial arts back in the day. However, the Bruce Lee approach was moving from the rigid ways (often called si-thak) to the open house approach. Bruce taught a mixed martial arts approach, where he decided martial arts needed to evolve with the times.
It's no longer Chinese vs. Other Races. Today, it's all about anyone who's willing to speak Mandarin. Teaching Mandarin as a second language, instead of that same hermetic subject that I passed through, is the practicla way.