Topic > Bilingual Education System in Singapore - 913

“Bilingual education is a form of education in which information is presented to students in two or more languages” (University of Michigan 2013). Nowadays, bilingual education is extremely widespread in the world. “. . .if we were monolingual in our native language, we wouldn't make a living. Becoming monolingual in English would have been a step backwards. We would have lost our cultural identity, that quiet confidence in ourselves and our place in the world." (Lee Kuan Yew, 2000). One of the countries that represents the bilingual education system is Singapore. Bilingual education offers students the opportunity to be bilingual. The bilingual education policy began in Singapore in 1966, soon after Singapore became fully independent. It has already been practiced for more than 45 years in Singapore. This essay will show that bilingual education in Singapore is mostly beneficial and will describe 3 beneficial aspects, namely allowing students to study abroad, literacy, more choices in resources and literature. Singapore is made up of 3 major ethnic groups: 77% Chinese, 14% Malay and 8% Indian (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2002); According to the department, the second language interdependence hypothesis suggests that a strong first language is the best foundation for the second. The bilingual education policy was implemented to unify different ethnic groups. Furthermore, this policy gives teachers and educational leaders the ability and access to learn from other education systems. All students are required to learn 2 of the official languages ​​English and Chinese (Mandarin accent). In 1965, English was not a native language for any Singaporean. However, then English began to become a native language the... middle of paper... speech at school in one language but at home in another says Albert Costa. However, bilingual education can be harmful for young students because they usually have some problems adapting to the second language when they start going to kindergarten, but they adapt to the bilingual policy within 2-3 years. In summary, as has been said, speaking in 2 languages ​​has many advantages especially in the globalization of the world. It turns out that being bilingual makes you smarter, can have a profound effect on your brain, improving non-language-related cognitive abilities, and even protecting you against dementia in later life. In fact, compared to satiety in Singapore 30-40 years ago, satiety has changed incredibly positively. Overall, this paper assessed 3 benefits of bilingual education in Singapore in terms of improving literacy and educational background.