1. MANDARIN AS MOTHER TONGUE SCHOOL LANGUAGE IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM: A CASE STUDY
Debbie G.E.HO Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences Universiti Brunei Darussalam

2. Ethnic Chinese in Brunei Darussalam
Total population : 56,000 (2006)
Region with significant numbers :
Bandar Seri Begawan
Languages spoken: Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Cantonese, Fuzhou
Religions : Buddhism, Christianity
(Pan, 1999)

3. Front entrance to Chung Hwa Middle School

4. The landscape of Chung Hwa Middle School

5. Mandarin within the school curriculum
compulsory subject for all students
incorporated into the school curriculum from kindergarten to secondary levels
serves as an additional language
acts to maintain the Chinese culture for the Chinese students
functions as bridge language for Chinese speaking children in the lower primary classes

6. Mandarin-English codeswitch as bridge language of instruction at the lower primary levels
T : wǒmen tūn de shíhòu (when we swallow) not good food huìjìn wǒmen de (will go into our) large intestine…

7. T: ná nímen de běn zi chū lái (Take out your
Mandarin-English codeswitch as bridge language of instruction at the lower primary levels
T: ná nímen de běn zi chū lái (Take out your
books.)
T: zhè me dūo huà! (So much talking!)

8. Mandarin-English codeswitch as bridge language of instruction at the lower primary levels
T : Hǎo, xiàn cài gěi nímen (O.K. now give you all) maths quiz. This is an apple [she cuts it into half and shows this to
students]. Zhè shì shénme? (What’s this?) [holds up the half
apple]
Ss : Yí bàn (Half)
T : Duìle (that is correct). Yí bàn. Half. Zài lái. (Next…)

9. Mother Tongue teachers
from Malaysia, China, Taiwan and a few locals with the bulk coming from East & West Malaysia
trained and experienced Mandarin as a subject teachers
- not employed to assist students in the other classrooms such as in Maths, Science etc

10. MT teaching & learning materials
available only for Mandarin as a subject classes
imported from Singapore Ministry of Education
may be unsuitable for local Bruneian classrooms
problems with the Hàn Yoǔ Pīn Yīng (Roman letter) used in materials to help in Chinese pronunciation

11. Community support for Mandarin in the school
MT actively promoted through various activities planned throughout the year, e.g. Chinese Week
active interaction between school students and Chinese community members
positive parental response to MT activities in the school
generous sponsorships from the Chinese associations, businessmen and influential community members

12. Assessment of Mandarin in the school
- has brought about more positive than negative results
codeswitching has not negatively affected students’ proficiency in the two school languages (Standard English & Standard Malay)
positive outlook for Mandarin MT learning in the school

13. Challenges facing Mandarin in the school
appropriateness of the current instructional and learning materials for the Bruneian classroom
no MT materials for content subject teaching and learning
no proper MT-as-bridge-language programme in the school
need for state support for a MT-based programme

14. Conclusion
- MT Mandarin as bridge language for instruction in the lower primary classrooms has been fundamental in helping students (i) maintain their Chinese culture and (ii) gain access to school knowledge.
- codeswitching phenomenon has not negatively affected students’ mastery of the two school languages.

15. Implications & recommendations
Helps a child to maintain his/her ethnic values and culture.
Offers children an easier passage through school life, particularly for those in the lower primary classrooms.
Provides opportunities for students to get access to content knowledge in school subjects such as Maths, Science, History etc.
A MT-based programme should be relevant and appropriate for the multilingual Bruneian classroom.

16. Thank you