Mind the language
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Mind the language
Foreign service staff at airport must wear tags indicating the language they are fluent in
By Leow Si Wan
ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
A GLANCE is enough to tell if the foreign-looking waiter or salesgirl at some of Changi Airport's restaurants is proficient in English.
The airport - which has about 300 retailers and restaurants - recently made it mandatory for foreign frontline staff to wear tags specifying the languages they are fluent in so as to tap the native language abilities of staff to serve international tourists.
While it is not compulsory for the tags to spell out English ability as the airport maintains all its staff have 'minimum proficiency' in the language, some restaurants have gone ahead to indicate if their staff can converse comfortably in English. Some have also extended the tag-wearing scheme to Singaporean staff.
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_458364.html -
English to teach Chinese
Education Minister's message to teachers: It is effective for kids from English-speaking homes
<!-- by line -->By Goh Chin Lian
Nov 22, 2009
Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said that it is not taboo to use a mix of English and Chinese to teach children from English-speaking homes.
USING English to teach Chinese has proven to be effective for children from predominantly English-speaking homes.
So, teachers should not be hung up on whether it is taboo to use a mix of English and Chinese for these children, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Saturday.
He also revealed that a task force is due to make proposals soon on how this group of children can be taught the language.
'We think we've to make certain significant changes,' he told reporters after a conference on dyslexia, adding that parents would be given ample notice of the changes.
As for worries that Chinese standards would slip, Dr Ng pointed out that the education system allows children who are able to pursue the language at a higher level to do so.
'It's not that you have one method that you can teach the whole population,' he said, suggesting different strokes for different folks.
Read the full story in The Sunday Times.
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Balakrishnan says integration of new citizens needs everyone's effort
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 23 November 2009 1826 hrs
SINGAPORE: Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Monday that integration of new citizens is a long term, multi-dimensional challenge that requires the effort of all stakeholders.
The government is working on various initiatives to help new immigrants integrate better into society.
Dr Balakrishnan, who also chairs the National Integration Council, said that Singaporeans must understand the need for immigrants and be comfortable with the various social adjustments needed to maintain an open society.
He also urged newcomers to subscribe to Singapore's core values of multi-racialism and meritocracy.
"Both locals and newcomers must realise that integration is a two-way process and it does not come about by accident," said the minister.
"Much effort and commitment will be required from all of us in order to make integration work, and I encourage the newcomers to be proactive in learning about Singapore, widening their social circles, participating and contributing to the larger Singapore family."
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...020007/1/.htmlST reports on stompers idea towards immigrants test!
IMMIGRANTS may one day have to pass a test on Singapore before they are given citizenship.
The idea of a citizenship test - already used in countries such as the US, Britain and Australia - was raised in Parliament on Monday by Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC).
In response, Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan called it an ' interesting and quite sensible suggestion' and said the Government will study it.
The exchange in Parliament came at the end of a discussion on the integration of new immigrants, one of the most debated topics this year.
This time, Mr Christopher De Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) and Nominated MP Teo Siong Seng asked for an account of the measures that have been taken to integrate newcomers.
Dr Balakrishnan obliged, with a detailed rundown of the multitude of ways the Government and other organisations are tackling the problem. For instance, he said that groups such as the People's Association, grassroots volunteer groups and other community organisations had devised a whole host of activities to foster community bonding.
courtesy of ST Nov 23
Yea!!!! our voices have been heard!!
previous link:
http://talkback.stomp.com.sg/forums/...79#post2492479New immigrants may need to sit for citizenship tests in future
By Zul Othman, TODAY
Posted: 24 November 2009 0651 hrs
SINGAPORE: Integration through volunteering opportunities is emerging as a key response to challenges posed by Singapore's immigration policies.
About 4,500 new immigrants are now grassroots leaders and Integration and Naturalisation Champions, the latter a People's Association programme to welcome newcomers to neighbourhoods.
And the National Integration Council (NIC), formed in April, is exploring ways to enable students from national and Foreign System Schools to take part in joint community involvement projects.
NIC is also working on increasing the awareness among new immigrants about volunteering opportunities and volunteer matching services on a national and neighbourhood scale, said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday.
But how many of them subscribe to Singapore's core values, asked Member of Parliament (MP) Halimah Yacob. Could those who apply for citizenship sit for such a test, as is the practice in many countries?
In reply, Dr Balakrishnan said it was an "interesting" and "quite sensible" suggestion which would be studied.
As for permanent residents (PRs), an average of 74,500 foreigners applied for PR annually between 2000 and 2008, and about 46,300 were successful each year, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said in reply to a question by MP Chiam See Tong.
An average of 2,200 PRs renounced their status over the same period.
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...020144/1/.htmlVivian happy that there are 4,500 new immigrants serving as grassroots leaders
November 24, 2009 by Our Correspondent
Filed under Top News
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Written by Our Correspondent
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan revealed in parliament yesterday that there were about 4,500 new immigrants serving as grassroots leaders.
He was replying to a question posed by fellow PAP MP Christopher de Souza and and Nominated MP Teo Siong Seng for the measures taken to integrate the newcomers.
According to Dr Vivian, groups such as the People’s Association, grassroots volunteer groups and other community organisations had devised a whole host of activities to foster community bonding.
“We encourage locals and newcomers alike to participate in these community activities and expand their social circles to include one another,” he said.
The PAP has been organizing activities for PRs and new citizens such as HDB block parties to make them feel “welcomed” in Singapore.
Dr Vivian has no qualms “splurging” on the immigrants. A $10-million Community Integration Fund paid for by taxpayers was set up lately to help the newcomers “integrate” into Singapore society.
However, when asked by MP Dr Lily Neo a few years ago to ensure three meals a day for Singaporeans on Public Assistance (PA), Dr Vivian retorted:
“How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?”
While other countries like Australia and Canada require prospective migrants to pass an English proficiency test, the Singapore government will give provide language classes for the immigrants for free.
PAP MP Halimah Yacob raised the idea of a citizenship test which was described by Dr Vivian as an “interesting and quite sensible suggestion”.
Dr Vivian said one of the best ways to plug newcomers into the community though is to get them to volunteer in grassroots organizations like Residents Committees (RC) and Citizens Consultative Committees (CCC) under the ambit of the People’s Association (PA).
Grassroots organizations are quasi-government organizations which are firmly controlled by the ruling party.
The Chairman of the People’s Association is none other than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself.
Grassroots volunteers are often mobilized to organize PAP events which includes campaigning during the elections.
The ruling party has opened the floodgates in a desperate bid to boost Singapore’s declining birth rates via immigration.
There were over 20,000 new citizens and 90,000 PRs in 2008.
The increasing number of new citizens will form a powerful voting bloc to keep the PAP in power for the next few decades or so since they tend to support the incumbent government.
Despite rising resentment and frustration on the ground at the relentless influx of foreigners, the ruling party is adamant that immigration is essential to the future of Singapore.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong mused publicly whether to allow immigrant “enclaves” to emerge in the HDB heartlands.
MM Lee Kuan Yew urged Singaporeans to bear with the “tide” of foreigners which has now become a “flood”.
Singapore’s ruling party controls all state institutions and organs such as the police and media.
The weak and feeble opposition is no challenge to its hegemony and it is almost impossible to vote them out of power.
Unlike earlier immigrants from Malaysia and Hong Kong, the latest immigrants from China and India show little willingness to integrate into Singapore society and prefer to mix among themselves.
Citizens now made up only 64 per cent of Singapore’s 5-million population. The percentage of citizens born in Singapore will probably decrease to less than 50 per cent if the current immigration rates continue unabated.
Singaporeans may soon find themselves a minority in their own country and have to take up language classes to “re-integrate” into a new Singapore dominated by foreigners.
Source: The Temasek Review -
This looks ... ridiculous.
Wearing the tags that is.
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hope its not of the "宫�鸡�=The Temple Explodes The Chicken Cube" variety of english.
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Seriously, who are the clowns making policies in government these days?
Show face leh.
Make bullshit stuff, don't shy shy leh.
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And I do believe there is an error in the sakae sushi tag.
It should be wo hui JIANG hua yu.
Not shuo hua yu.
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Originally posted by charlize:
This looks ... ridiculous.
Wearing the tags that is.
In the future, all service personnel in Singapore will need to wear tags to show the kind of language they are proficient in.
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i think so