Reader Response Draft Four

In his article “Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?”, Lu (2013) advocated the recognition of English as Singaporean mother tongue. He observed that there was an increasing proportion of Singaporean speaking mainly English at home and having English regarded as their core identity. As English had become a dominant language in Singapore, the government and communities had been struggling to revive the diminishing presence of mother tongue languages. Moreover, the conflicting “linguistic interests” by different groups of generation had caused a language divide in Singapore, and Lu claimed that this gap would shrink in oppression. Lu also highlighted in his article that “The notion “native speaker of English” is tied to particular nationalities and ethnicities — that is, Anglo-Saxons”. He argued that Singaporean students were not substantially recognized by international colleges for their proficiency in English, and therefore there was a need to acknowledge English as Singaporean mother tongue so as to gain acceptance from the world. English should not be recognized as Singaporean mother tongue because it would devalue the current mother tongues that promote culture awareness and intergeneration bonding. 

A Language divide has evolved in Singapore over the years due to the conflicting linguistic desires and beliefs between the pioneer generation and the younger generation. I would certainly disagree with Lu (2013)’s assumption that the conflict would diminish in “aggression and regularity”. It is important to understand that Singapore is a multi-ethnic nation and everyone has different potential and ability. It would be an infeasible approach if we were to forcefully insist one language to fit all. Furthermore, if we were to designate English as our mother tongue, I foresee that the younger generation would lose faith in learning their current mother tongues. This implication would consequently reduce the intergeneration interaction and weaken the “generationship”. Therefore, I feel that it is vital to acknowledge our own ethnic language as our mother tongue instead of English. In a sense, it reminds us of our unique culture and roots, as well as strengthens the bond between the youngsters and the elderlies.

Singapore has been a leading country in the world in many aspects and yet the nation has not attained substantial international recognition for proficiency in English. According to Lu (2013), Singaporean students had not been granted for exemption by the universities in international test in aptitude for English despite their seniors having achieved consistent and remarkable scores in that test. However, we should not be misled by this information and conclude that Singaporeans are overall good in English as it only reflects the performance of our fellow pre-university students. In his article, Lim (2014) stated that most Singaporeans were observed to have poor standard of English and they were accustomed to speak the localized form of English particularly known as ‘Singlish’ with negative connotations. Thus I think it is inappropriate for us to expect any global acceptance. We still have a lot more to do to refine our English before we can actually appeal for external recognition or even consider English as a mother tongue in our internal social dynamics.

English has long been the core language in our education, government administration, commerce and judiciary. Despite the dominance of English in our everyday lives, we must not deny the essentials of our mother tongues. In my opinion, transforming our mother tongues to English literally means converting our own race to "English". I hereby strongly oppose the idea of having English recognized as our mother tongue. We Singaporean must stand tall with our rich heritage and preserve our mother tongue to keep our unique and vibrant island culturally alive.

 

 Reference

Lu, L. (2013, July 15). Today Online. Retrieved from Today Online: http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/can-english-be-singaporean-mother-tongue?singlepage=true

Lim, P. (2014, May 28). Today Online. Retrieved from Today Online:

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/speak-good-english-movement-launches

Essay Draft Two

Information and communication technology (ICT), particularly the internet, has become increasingly ubiquitous in the social context in recent decades. Singapore has emerged among the leading countries that has outstanding ICT infrastructure (World Economic Forum, 2014). However, the utilization of internet among the elderly is relatively low. According to the figures in year 2012 provided by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) (n.d.a), only 16% of the elderly aged 60 years and above had used internet in the previous 12 months compared to 98% of the individuals aged 7 to 34 years. This difference reflects a digital divide in Singapore between the younger and older generations.

Internet provides individuals an avenue for continuing education, personal growth, new social network, hobbies and leisure pursuit, and redefining careers. Elderly who do not engage on internet are deprived from these benefits. In addition, relationships within the family would be jeopardized as there might be a conflicting communication between the younger and the older generations due to the different knowledge capacities in Information Technology (IT) (Lim & Tan, 2003).

Internet allows the elderly to form social networks that can alleviate the possible psychological concerns such as isolation and depression that they might have. A recent research by Michigan State University indicates that internet use can reduce the incidence of depression among the elderly by about 33% (Cotton, Ford, Ford & Hale, 2014). Depression is a major health concern and economic burden. The approximate costs of depression to society in United States are US$100 billion annually in healthcare expenditures and lost incomes and production (Ford & Ford, 2009). Additionally, the economic costs include the missing valuable inputs that senior citizens can contribute to online communities since these people in their golden years have vast amount of knowledge and experience in life.

Due to the economic burden resulting from a deficient usage of internet among the elderly who are mostly ignorant and illiterate in ICT, the IDA should provide infocomm training and digital facility to the elderly, as well as create an extensive digital awareness among the elderly.

To bridge the age digital divide in Singapore, the IDA launched Silver Infocomm Initiative programmes in 2007 to promote IT awareness and knowledge learning among the elderly aged 50 years and beyond (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, n.d.b). Silver Infocomm Hotspots have been established at various locations such as Community Clubs and Senior Citizen Connect areas to provide the elderly with free access to computer and internet service. Several IT learning hubs termed as the Silver Infocomm Junctions have also been established across the island to provide infocomm training and customised course for the elderly. Through the training, senior citizens learn the basic skills in using a computer and surfing the internet. They also acquire intermediate digital lifestyle skills such as performing online transaction, editing digital photo, and creating social networking.

Since 2007, the Silver Infocomm Initiative had helped many elderlies embrace a digital lifestyle (Chan, 2011). One of the elderlies was 56-year-old Mr Abdul who benefited from the IT course and used social media interfaces such as Facebook and Skype to keep in touch with his children and grandchildren living abroad. Another elderly benefited from the IT course was Madam Cheow Chin Wang, aged 60, who enjoyed a better bond with her grandchildren because she had understood and spoke the similar IT language as them.

Despite the increasing number of elderly adopting to ICT, the proportion of elderly accessing to internet remains comparatively low. The proportion of elderly aged 60 and above who accessed to internet in year 2007 was 12% (National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, 2009). From year 2007 to 2012, the proportion of elderly accessing to internet merely increased from 12% to 16%. Majority of the elderly were staying offline and their main reasons for not using internet were “lack of knowledge” and “no interest” (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, 2012). Therefore, publicity is necessary to promote the potential benefits of surfing the internet and the available IT classes in the neighbourhood to the senior citizens. The IDA should organize extensive outreach activities such as exhibitions and practical workshops at void decks across the island. It should also seek traditional digital media such as television and radio to reach out to the senior citizens and convince them to participate in cyberspace. In addition, school should encourage children to share and impart their computer knowledge and skills that they have acquired in school to their grandparents.

Internet is now dominant in the economy, culture and society, used as a tool for personal communication, delivery of public services, and as a vast source of information and entertainment. With substantial effort by the IDA and community to expand internet utility among the elderly, the overall living conditions of the elderly can be improved and the nation can shift ageing from an economic burden to a potentially valuable resource.

 

Reference

Chan, C. S. (2011, September 17). Silver Infocomm Initiative to benefit senior citizens. Retrived October 1, 2014, from http://www.mci.gov.sg/content/mci_corp/web/mci/pressroom/categories/speeches/2011/speech_by_mr_chan_chun_sing_at_the_silver_infocomm_day_2011.mnews.infocomm.html

Cotton, S. R., Ford, G., Ford, S., Hale, T. M. (2014). Internet use and depression among retired older adults in the united states: a longitudinal analysis. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 69(5), 763–771.

Ford, G., Ford, S. (2009, October). Internet use and depression among the elderly. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies website www.phoenix-center.org/pcpp/PCPP38Final.pdf

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. (2012). Annual survey on infocomm usage in households and individuals for 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/Infocomm%20Landscape/Facts%20and%20Figures/SurveyReport/2011/2011%20HH%20mgt%20rpt%20public%20final.pdf

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. (n.d.a). Infocomm usage – Households and individuals. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures/Infocomm-Usage-Households-and-Individuals#3

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. (n.d.b). Silver infocomm junctions and hotspots. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Individuals-and-Community/Community-Development/Silver-Infocomm-Initiative/Silver-Infocomm-Junctions-and-Hotspots

Lim, S. S. and Tan, Y. L. (2003). Old People And New Media In Wired Societies: Exploring The Socio-Digital Divide In Singapore, Media Asia, 30(2), 95–102.

National Volunteer & Philanthropy Center. (2009, October 7). Fundraising: Research on “donation friendly” website. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://booksreader.net/ppt/salt-survey-2009-nvpc-49557300.html

World Economic Forum. (2014). The global information technology report 2014: The networked readiness index rankings. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-information-technology-report-2014

 

Essay Draft One

Thesis

The economic burden in Singapore resulted from the deficient internet access among the elderly could be reduced if the elderly understand the benefits of internet access and overcome their resistance attitude toward it.

Introduction

Singapore is one of the top countries in the world that has outstanding Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure (World Economic Forum, 2014). Despite the advances in electronic communication and benefits of internet, utilization among the elderly is relatively low. According to the figures provided by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA, 2014), only 16% of the elderly aged 60 years and above have used internet in the past 12 months compared to 98% of the individuals aged 7 to 14 years. This statistic reflects a digital divide in Singapore between the younger and older generations.

Problem

The older generations are not born in digital era and so they do not have experience with the use of ICT. As such, the elderlies do not understand the benefits of accessing to internet and often feel that this modern creation is for the younger generation. Due to the lack of IT knowledge, the elderly people are unconfident and afraid to engage themselves in ICT. One frequently studied area of impact focuses on the effects of Internet use on mental well-being. A study conducted by Michigan State University shows that internet use among the elderly can reduce the chance of becoming depressed by more than 30 per cent. Depression is a significant health and economic concern.

Solution

The first major approach to get the elderly engage in internet is to convince them that ICT can be relevant to them if they want it to be. The community organization should launch programs to promote the benefits of internet access to the elderly. The next step is to set up workshops (free-of-charge) in the community centres to teach the elderly how to use computer and access to internet. The interfaces and input and output devices should be modified to make the use of computers less troublesome for elderly people. The entire learning process should be enjoyable for the elderly by enhancing their personal interests and recreational activities through the access to internet (e.g. playing online chess with people around the world, watching Korean drama on Youtube.

Conclusion

The increasing usage of ICT among the elderly would be beneficial to the society. The depression rate in elderly will be considerably reduced and economic costs will be reduced as a result. Moreover, elderly people have a vast amount of knowledge and experience in life and thus they are able to share valuable information to the online community.