Abstract: This paper offers an analysis of Singapore's Chinese language education and assessment policy. The paper is comprised of four sections. The first section outlines the structure of the paper which is followed in the second section by a general overview of Singapore's current education and examination system. The third section, which focuses on Chinese language education and assessment in Singapore, traces briefly the historical trajectory leading to the implementation of Singapore's bilingual policy. This section also examines the limitations of the current bilingual policy which, it is argued, entails an over-simplified reconceptualization of the state's internally heterogeneous Chinese population as a community with one "mother tongue" paired with a single culture and set of values. The concept of "mother tongue" in the Singaporean context is problematic as it undermines the legitimacy of the bilingual policy. Further, Singapore's bilingual policy has been accepted by the general public without critical engagement with the key issue of bilingualism itself. This paper also discusses how the underlying premise of Singapore's bilingual policy, namely that English and Chinese assume sharply different roles in society, has broken down rapidly in recent years. These limitations, as the fourth section maintains, have implications for how the Chinese language is perceived, taught and examined in Singapore.

Keywords: bilingual policy, Chinese language education and assessment policy, language testing and assessment, mother tongue, Singapore's education and examination system

Abstract: The Chinese education community in Singapore has long been lacking of a philosophy of Chinese education. With the rapid increase of Chinese influence in the world, the necessity and importance of developing such a philosophy has become increasingly prominent. This paper attempts to explore the educational philosophy of Chew Cheng Hai, a widely acknowledged pioneer in the field of Chinese language teaching in Singapore, providing an outline of his ontology of language and cultural differences.

Keywords: languages and cultures, different characteristics, coexistence, educational philosophy

Abstract: The paper investigates the effectiveness of online Google Classroom-based blended Chinese language teaching in a Singapore secondary school. With world class infrastructure and an IT savvy population, Singapore is aiming to be the first smart nation in the world, therefore ICT-supported teaching will become increasingly important. Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), one of the five future schools gazetted by Ministry of Education in 2007, strongly promotes online teaching by constantly upgrading intranet and professional sharing among colleagues. Google Classroom is the platform HCI has strongly recommended for teachers to use since 2017. This paper reports a study of how effective the online Google Classroom-based Chinese language teaching in HCI by comparing the twenty weeks online Google Classroom-based blended Chinese language teaching of two experimental classes with the blended teaching of two nonexperimental classes from Sec 3 cohort. It is hoped that this study will shed more light on whether and how to use ICT-supported teaching in Chinese lessons in particular.

Keywords: Chinese, Google Classroom, blended teaching, ICT-supported teaching, Singapore secondary students

Abstract: The evaluation of the reading ability of primary school students has been a major concern for Chinese language educators. First expounded in 2005, the "Framework of Six Types of Reading Comprehension Processes" has been applied in Chinese language curriculum development as well as instructional and assessment designs in Singapore and Hong Kong. However, there lacks research on teachers' understanding of the Framework and on how it is applied in school-based curriculum development as well as teaching and test design. This paper is an investigation of the application of the Framework in the designing of reading ability tests by primary school teachers in Hong Kong as well as factors influencing its application through an analysis of assessment policy documents of schools and teacher interviews.

Keywords: Framework of Six Types of Reading Comprehension Processes, Chinese language, reading test design, primary school teachers, assessment for learning