ABSTRACT
The emphasis of Singapore's bilingual education is grounded in the belief that English is important for the economic development of the country and the management of its ethnic diversity; and mother tongues (MTs) can help children to learn about their culture, to identify with their ethnic roots, and to preserve cultural traits and Asian values. The most recent reform places greater emphasis on listening, speaking, and reading skills than on writing Chinese characters. This chapter examines children's voices and teachers' views on Chinese language learning and Chinese instruction in Singapore. Admittedly, the foregoing results are by no means a comprehensive representation of Chinese learning in Singapore, but they do provide some understanding of how children and teachers perceive the Chinese pedagogical practices and the underlying factors that shape these perceptions. Moreover, the results also underscore the importance for the curriculum to provide adequate pedagogical support for teachers.
