Month: August 2021

Interview with Director of Educational Psychology Ms Low of SHINE Children and Youth Services on 10 May 2021

I was also given the opportunity to meet with the director of educational psychology of an NGO called SHINE that, similar to inlingua, also aims to support the educational sector by providing language and literary support. As an NGO, their primary focus is kids from vulnerable backgrounds – either with social behavioural issues or minimal family support (low income, less supervision, unqualified, lacking support). A large component of what they do is offer diagnosis to manage expectations and support the children, as Ms Low noted a lack of diagnosis or misdiagnosis often leads to much larger social issues in mainstream schools and difficulty to access funding.

The significance of language and literary skills is that learning and social development is very much interrelated. These skills affect their integration into the wider society and their personal well-being. Prior to 1973, the MOE offered little services and school-based support for those with special needs. SHINE’s ‘ground up’ and not ‘top-down’ approach by partnering with other NGOs, schools, hospitals, and working closely with the parents of the students make it easier to offer the appropriate support that fits each student’s needs.

Ms Low also mentioned the importance of a change in attitudes and mindsets from the community. Parents play a huge influence and most commonly perpetuate a competitive study culture and traditional mindset toward disability. Ms Low emphasized the importance of reframing perspectives – focusing on strengths and needs rather than weaknesses/what their child is diagnosed with. There are many uphill struggles with parents coming to terms with their kids’ progress, and this affects how they can offer their child support and how they envision their child contributing to society in a dignified manner.

SHINE works to support the government through various policies, such as campaigns to promote language competencies and accurate communication. They engage with the National Council of Social Service and other SSAs through annual conferences to discuss key thrusts and desired outcomes. As with any organisation, funding and support from volunteers are vital to ensuring they can run their programs. While this may affect the efficiency and quality of their programs, they are able to cater to the most vulnerable of society.

Conducting this interview has allowed me to understand what  SHINE does and the programs they run. This also allows me to see the effects and roles of NGOs compared to private institutions (like inlingua) when it comes to supporting government policies and the educational sector.

Pre-Internship interview with MD Mr Siew of inlingua School of Languages on Monday 3 May 2021

I had an opportunity to reach out to my contacts and conduct an interview with Mr Siew, the managing director of inlingua School of Languages to better understand what the organisation does and the programs they offer. Through this, I learnt that inlingua is a 100-year-old language school initially set up in Europe, where there was a need for language education. In Singapore, it was initially tied to a secretarial school but gained independence in 1978. It gained success as more MNCs and foreigners generated new language needs for communication, and there was few international brand schools or schools which offered multiple languages. The organisation’s mission and goals encompass cultural understanding too, in order to provide a more holistic understanding of language.

inlingua offers 21 languages and dialects including Hokkien, Cantonese, and Teochew. The range of needs from its students include healthcare (particularly nurses dealing with the elderly), general/personal use, business and trade for MNCs, government/ministry or statutory boards, students applying to private or international schools, leisure/travel, etc.

The rationale behind the languages inlingua chooses to provide are for personal, business, and government needs. Through government initiatives such as Skills Future, inlingua helps to address government language policies. The significance of learning a second language in a multicultural country like Singapore was demonstrated through the relevance of learning English during the period of economic growth and poverty alleviation. Now, languages serve to maintain the culture and connections which Singapore has to others and within their country.

Singaporean culture places a large emphasis on education, evident in competitive university placements, after-school tuition, and what is jokingly referred to as kiasu culture. An aspect of this emphasis on education is language planning through various government policies. These policies are not without their controversies, such as the “Speak Good English Movement” which aimed to reduce the use of colloquial English (Singlish). With Singapore being a multilingual country, I was curious as to how these policies were enforced, and more broadly, the role of the private sector in supporting government policies.

A notable case is China’s recent ban on private tuition, reason being the inequality created amongst students and unfair opportunity. Similar topics of contention related to the relationship between the government and private institutions is the privatisation of the NHS in the UK. Applied to a Singaporean context, I could analyse the education system as well as the role of private institutions in providing access to education and fostering a certain type of study/work culture. Furthermore, with the influx of not only local but foreign students engaging with private education institutions, I could explore the effects of globalisation on equality and conflict. My political issue therefore could be along the lines of to what extent should the private sector interfere with government policy. This is of significance as there are mixed opinions regarding collaboration between the public sector and the private one. Criticisms include potential government bias, increased profit-incetive (leading to exploitation), and unequal access to opportunities across various communities. However, it is also argued that government partnerships with the private sector increase efficiency and drive the economy. I would be keen to further explore this relationship through the language education sector as education and language play a tremendous role in the success and opportunities of individuals.