Railway Oggler

Speaking Dually Fluently

2009-12-30T15:35:00.003+08:00

Here's an interesting excerpt from Star dated 19 December 09 on the bilingual policy in Singapore. its an interesting point to ponder - for us Chinese to learn both English and Mandarin.

It appears a person cannot master with equal fluency more than 1 language. But its still good to learn more than 1 language.

Have a read and see what you think...

"Saturday December 19, 2009

Anguish over bilingualism

INSIGHT DOWN SOUTH
By SEAH CHIANG NEE

There’s renewed debate over the decades-old language grind after surprising remarks by the architect of the republic’s bilingual education policy.

FOUR decades of bilingual education have been shaken up by its architect Lee Kuan Yew, who now says it was a mistake from the beginning.

In a rare self-criticism, the 86-year-old Minister Mentor blamed it on his own ignorance in thinking that people could easily master two languages.

It showed a side of him that Singaporeans rarely get to see or hear – expressing contrition in such harsh tones about himself for something he did four decades ago.

Over state TV, he said recently that he was “wrong” to have insisted on the bilingual policy, which was launched in 1966.

“At first I thought, you can master two languages. Maybe different intelligence, you master it at different levels,” he said, but after 40 years of learning it, he was convinced otherwise.

“We started the wrong way,” said Lee. “We insisted on ting xie (listening),mo xie (dictation) – madness!

“Nobody can master two languages at the same level. If (you think) you can, you’re deceiving yourself.”

As a result, Lee added: “Successive generations of students paid a heavy price, because of my ignorance, by my insistence on bilingualism.”

It was as close to a public apology as Singaporeans are likely to get.

Most observers saw it as his retraction of a major strategy that he introduced for his multiracial people. The republic’s bilingual system is watched with interest by many multiracial countries in Asia.

Under the system, aimed at bonding races and cultures, English is taught to all — but ethnic Chinese, Malay and Indian students need a mandatory pass in their own mother tongue.

The rationale is simple and logical. Singaporeans can communicate with each other, and the outside world, in English, as well as use it to earn a living. At home, however, they are encouraged to speak their mother tongue.

For the Malays and Indians, learning Bahasa Melayu and Tamil has not been too difficult, but among Chinese who hail from English-speaking homes, passing – let alone mastering – Chinese, a totally dissimilar language, is very tough.

Lee’s remarks were immediately taken by many Singaporeans as an indication that the government plans to do away with the policy.

This is unlikely to happen, particularly with the emerging economic power of China and Singapore wanting to serve as a bridge between Beijing and the West.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong quickly put paid to that speculation, saying: “To put it very simply, we are affirming our bilingualism policy. We have never wavered in this fundamental...”

However, PM Lee said, “We are in a dynamic situation because the position is changing, and we have been updating our policies progressively.” Lee Senior put the future this way: “It doesn’t matter what level (of Chinese) they reach, they will like the language, it is fun, and later on in life they’ll use it.”

The study of Chinese has undergone changes since 2004 that make the process less torturous for English-speaking Chinese.

The aim is for the average Chinese here to continue to be bilingual in English and Chinese, but without forcing him to master Chinese as well as English.

Those with higher abilities to do so could choose a fast and higher Chinese language track. Some have been sent to top universities in China.

The change of mind may have come too late for the hundreds of thousands who have gone through the language grind in the past four decades.

Many of them had adopted the attitude of just doing enough to pass exams, realising they wouldn’t need to use it for much of their working lives.

One out of four people surveyed said they considered it unnecessary to learn Chinese in this global world, where even the Chinese themselves are flocking to learn English.

A former Singapore scholar recently blogged: “I am a typical byproduct of Singapore: a Chinese who can speak Mandarin, passed Mandarin classes but can still barely read and write the language well enough to be considered proficient.

“Technically I am illiterate,” he declared. “And, while that may not speak for all of us, there are sufficient numbers to justify the label ‘typical’”. The worst cases are the talented children who fared so miserably in Mandarin that they had to continue their studies abroad.

An early casualty of Singapore’s bilingualism was the Golden Girl of swimming, Junie Sng, who won 10 gold medals in the 1983 SEA Games, compared to nine four years earlier.

Her English-speaking parents migrated to Australia, where she now resides. The Chinese language dilemma has contributed to Singapore’s brain drain.

Every year, about 1,000 bright students join the immigration outflow, including a fair number who want to escape the exam requirements.

In 1989, a Singaporean mother, Pauline Tan, wrote a passionate letter toThe Straits Times criticising the way Chinese was being taught.

She said her Primary 3 son was having suicidal thoughts because he hated having to study Chinese every day. “He was constantly ridiculed and scolded by his Chinese teacher. He felt ashamed and shunned his classmates.

“He found Chinese boring. It is spelling, dictation, writing, tests and more spelling, dictation, writing and tests,” she said. Finally she and her husband migrated to Australia “to spare our kid further misery with Chinese.”

Today, her son – aged 29 – is an IT specialist, while his younger brother is doing his doctorate in mathematics at Oxford University.

It is partly such losses that have forced Singapore to import talent from abroad – and probably explains Lee’s feeling of anguish."

Source: http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?col=insightdownsouth&file=/2009/12/19/columnists/insightdownsouth/5334472&sec=Insight%20Down%20South

Napoleonic War Craze

2009-06-07T13:11:00.003+08:00

I have fallen in love with 18th century warfare!

Yes, you might disagree with me when it comes to having an army of men lining up to face each other at a certain distance and fire pot shots at each other.

"Stupid" or "ridiculous" you say?

...This was the way how men fought from ancient times up till the end of the 19th century, even for those American Civil war buffs out there might be familiar with that.

People at war in those days fought in line formations and soldiers or what were known collectively as battalions marched in unison and moved with utmost precision to ensure an effective push towards the enemy.

Enemies are dealt with blows from the might of volley fire coming from muskets. Battalions had to stop at a certain distance and fire at point blank range as musket balls are not effective after a certain distance and almost always miss their target.

This is where artillery comes into play with the use of cannons to "break enemy lines". Cannons range from the weight of cannon balls to the range and distance of fire, which includes those that have to be pulled by 5 armed men or drawn by a cart. Among them which we sometimes hear are 6 pounders, 12 pound howitzers, and 3" ordnance rifles.

Artillery is pivotal in breaking enemy lines as once an enemy battle line is broken, its very easy for the advancing army to "pierce through" the defence lines and "take the field".

Taking the field would mean to conquer the space much like a chess board and once an army has ran over enemy grounds, the enemy would have to retreat or suffer the slaughter of the victorious battalion.

Calvary is used with great effect when doing sweeping attacks and is
particularly powerful in attacking the flanks

or the "corner" or "side" of battalion lines.

Calvary is also used to kill off broken enemy lines and is particularly powerful when it comes to causing fear in enemy morale. In many movies or literature, you would have come across Calvary being sometimes known as Dragoons. The name originated from soldiers who were originally trained to fight as infantry on foot but deployed by horse, and was considered separate from the original calvary unit.

However over time, as "Dragoons" name came from the French term "dragon" or a type of firearm carried by French Dragoons;

eventually merged with the calvary unit as one, thus the calvary unit was also known as Dragoons in many European armies during the Napoleaonic wars.

Dragoons are also used to destroy or eliminate artillery as cannons are heavy and taking them out significantly hampers their advance.

We have mentioned about armies moving in lines. There are also several other battle formations which were employed during this period, one of the famous ones is the square formation. This is a defensive position employed normally when threathened or cornered at different points at battle.

However, square formations are vulnerable to calvary attacks eventhough they open fire on all 4 sides.

Pictures above show some sample battle formations once employed in the past. First picture on left hand are sample Chinese formations whereas the on the right is the formation used at the Battle of Blenheim in 1635. The bottom picture is that of Battle of Luzen.

You'll notice in every battle line, there will be an officer busy swinging his sword and calling the shots by his continuous screaming throughout the battle to unleash the armies fury at its front lines.

Armies in those days also moved and operated totally uniformed and only react upon command, so precise and formidable were they that other European nations decided to adopt the code and formations throughout much of that period and perfected it.

WHO IS THIS PRUSSIA?

The Prussian army is known to be a model army who's fame and fury was much feared and admired by many throughout Europe. The American revolutionary army even adopted Prussian army standards when they fought the Independence war with the British.

The British in turn, got the help from the Prussian army to fight against the American colonists.

You might be wondering "Where is modern Prussia right now?"

Prussia was a mighty European nation that was around for 422 years (1525-1947) that became powerful in the 18th-19th century during the reign of Frederick the Great.

The empire territory of the Kingdom of Prussia included "Prussia proper" (West and East Prussia), Brandenburg, the Province of Saxony (including most of the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt and parts of the state of Thuringia in Germany)

It doesn't stop there. Pomerania, Rhineland, Westphalia, Silesia (without Austrian Silesia), Lusatia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Nassau, and a small detached area in the south Hohenzollern, the ancestral home of the Prussian ruling family are the other areas that covered much of modern day Russia, Germany and parts of Eastern Europe.

HOW WAS FIRING A MUSKET LIKE IN THOSE DAYS?

Firing a musket during its hey day was an ardous task for the soldier and drills are constantly needed to ensure perfect precession in order to deliver a significant blow to the enemy.

The video below describes how muskets are fired as demonstrated by a professional.

Interesting huh? Though as you would seen, reloading, and firing takes a whole lot of time and in the middle of all the thick white smoke, the boom of cannons, people howling and screaming and not to forget the enemy aiming his musket right at you must have been quite something.

This sort of war if compared to modern day standards was an absolute waste of human life as victories were measured by the number of dead and how much ground you manage to conquer or cover.

The commands when giving fire normally were given as can be seen (in English) typical from the British as follows:

Make ready........Present.........FIRE!!

Or the American equivalent:

Make ready.........Take Aim.........FIRE!!

(Priming or pouring gunpowder on the pan....)

So there you have it...my review and comments on my latest "fandom"...

Some of the shows that I have watched that feature fantastic reenactments (if you are a fan of this war period) they are:

1. The Patriot

2. Gods and General

3. All reenactment films from Lion Heart Filmworks (http://www.lionheart-filmworks.com)

4. Gettysburg

5. Waterloo

6. Red Badge of Courage

...and many more films out there that feature period reenactments from the time of Napolean to the American Civil War.

Here's a youtube video I found online which I hope you'll enjoy which features dramatised war scenes of how these wars were carried out at the thick of battle. (Redcoats is a name given to the British army due to the red coats that they wear that symbolises blood and courage)

In this next video, its taken from a soldiers view during battle from a favourite game which I love play during my free time - Empire: Total War

Other PC games which are my favourite (and of course, they revolve around this genre as well) are "Cossacks:Battle For Europe" and "Imperial Glory"

So, make ready lads, to fire 3 shots, and then give 'em the bayonet!!

End of a turn. To the Next Chapter

2009-04-14T14:34:00.004+08:00

The end of my stint in my dept has come...sooner than I expected as I thought it'll be on the 15th. Tomorrow, just for a day, it'll be back to the "nest" for 2 weeks before flying off to do research.

I mentioned "just for a day". I'll be flying overseas on the 16th for the first time ever on a plane! Yippee-do and bound for HK! I'm gonna be so lost with all the cantonese since I'm a Hokkien speaker mostly. Well, its a former British colony, wouldn't hurt for them to converse in English, wouldn't it?

Though, sure kena katok one when buying stuff. cis.

Gotta start packing tonight... so excited already, even at work. Don't even think of dieting or being frugal. Spend spend spend! Eat eat Eat! ...

... and be Pippin.

Easter on Rails

2009-04-09T16:54:00.006+08:00

Hey,

Now that Easter's just round the corner, fancy spending the holidays on rail? Attend Mass and fulfill all the religious obligations that you're suppose to attend to and then hop on a train for the rest of the day, enjoying the breeze...and the smoke if you will.

Ok, I have to admit this post is more of nonsensical ramblings of mine than anything else, but hey, this is my site, so I can do whatever I want right? hehe....

Would definitely love to hop on one of those minis that puff away with over sized buffaloes sitting on the carriages trailing back there....absolutely silly but fun. If they only had those in Malaysia... Anyway, Happy Easter and don't forget to stop eating yeah...we're not hobbits you know

HAVE A GREAT EASTER ON RAILS!

TV Inauguration

2009-01-24T13:26:00.024+08:00

The world's fascination with Obama came to a climax last Tuesday on 2oth January 2009 when after a years' journey campaigning and winning the Presidential Elections in 2008, everyone's eyes glued to TV screens all over the world (some flew all the way to ground zero where all the action took place) to celebrate with the man whom everybody hopes to see what he has been advocating for all along...Change & Hope for America and the world over - Mr Barack Hussein Obama II.

Though I ain't American, but its really interesting to see how a world's superpower White nation, is now led by an African American, who's image now is currently second (or first) to that of American Idol by popular vote.

Here below caught on CNN was the coverage of the inauguration - a chapter added into pages of history... a day we shall always remember.

(page will load slowly as lots of graphics have been uploaded here. Please be patient ye...)

Dignitaries, politicians, and the crowd all set for the man of the hour.

Capitol Hill all decked for the occasion in striking red, blue and white - The American colours...Picture perfect!

Obama making his way to the podium, ready to take on the world officially as America's 44th President

Vice President Joe Biden seated on President Obama's right listening in on Aretha Franklin's ""My Country Tis of Thee"

Vice President Joe Biden taking the oath of office as he swears in to be Obama's "sidekick"

Miles and miles of crowds descended upon Washington to witness the historic event.

Obama deep in prayer before oath taking ceremony

Yo yo Ma, comprising not only him but also with a few world class musicians making history with their masterpiece before Obama takes his oath

yesseree-do... he likes it. Mr President flashes his smile of approval for the musical piece

Finally, he takes the oath.

Michelle Obama, America's First Lady looks on lovingly as her husband is sworn in as president.

Its now official. America goes wild now that Obama is formally made president. Make note of the multiple screens showing different parts of America celebrating.

Obama enters into pages of history as his face appears on Time Magazine and is forever immortalised. Here's to a successful and hopeful year of reform and progress that he has been advocating throughout his campaign. Yes, Mr Obama...yes, we can!

Make way......The Ox is coming

2009-01-24T10:17:00.026+08:00

The Year of the Ox is just round the corner!

House is all painted red, relatives down from Ipoh and mum is already busy in the kitchen for Sundays big makan (25 Jan 09) - and me busy blogging all about it :o)

2009 is the Year of the Ox. A "bull run" year for some they say in the financial world...When Chinese zodiac calendar goes through a cycle, so does the stock markets. Ironically, everytime the year of the Ox arrives, things go haywire for the world market too. Chinese astrologers say due to the animals nature (slow and steady/stubborn) occurences of such world events tend to correspond to it.

Well, this is just superstition (or belief for some) but its interesting anyway. We make the best out of our own fate.

Many have asked, how do Chinese keep track of months and animal signs in sequence? Easy, there's a Hokkien poem I learnt it when I was young by heart to memorise how we actually we can gauge the year, and remarkably...accurately guess the age of a person who does not want to tell you how old they are!

Hehe... enjoy the poem below and don't blame me if someone kills you for finding out their age!

(below is the english pronunciation equivalent in colloquial terms, translation follows right after below; the last line is just the finishing verse for the poem, not part of the calculation )

Eet Choo,
Jee Goo,
Sah Haw,
See Thaw,
Goh Leng,
Lak Chuah,
Cheet Beh,
Peik Iaow,
Kao Kaao,
Chap Keh,
Chap Eet Kao,
Chap Jee Too Boh,
Tuei Lang Chao!

One - mouse,
Two - Ox,
Three - Tiger
Four - Rabbit
Five - Dragon
Six - Snake
Seven - Horse
Eight - Goat/Ram
Nine - Monkey
Ten - Chicken/Rooster
Eleven - Dog
Twelve - Pig
Follows people home!

Well, hope you enjoy your Chinese New Year weekend ahead (Chinese New Year 2009 falls on January 26 & 27 in the lunar calendar this year) and here's to a prosperous, wealthier and a healthier you. Chinese Astrologers have forecasted that a number of animal signs will enjoy a bountiful year even in the Ox year... well, or so they say in the papers just to keep everyone happy!

KEONG HEE HUAT CHYE!

Pictures are courtesy from http://www.sinopaperart.com - visit Sino Paper Art website to see some of the most beautiful ancient art of paper cuts. Sino Paper Art specialises in handcrafted Chinese folk art, based in Hackensack, New Jersey USA.

Hello Out There!!

2009-01-22T23:45:00.005+08:00

"Oggle": to stare, to look at with great interest

Ok, don't worry - we're not gonna oggle at anything illegal here. Browse thru my blog and see for yourself ;o)

Its 11.45pm now here in Malaysia and we're just a quarter before midnight on 22nd Jan 09. This blog contains just my ramblings and nonsense on my fascination with the "iron dragon" (i.e.; railway, trains) my journals and other cool stuff which some of you might be interested. (so... its not only about railway, for those of you who are reading and concerned out there!)

I know its still a "a little" empty, as it's still under construction, but over time, I'll put up more stuff as I go along. Have you noticed the URL hoaychiah.blogspot.com? "Hoay Chiah" is Hokkien for "train" :o)

So, stick around and I'll show you more stuff to oggle at soon.

Cheerio!
Aaron