It's been three years since I graduated from high school both in English and Chinese. Our curriculum here in the Philippines consists of English subjects in the morning and two and a half hours of Chinese lessons in the afternoon. All in all, I spent almost twelve years studying the Chinese language, starting from kindergarten and ending in the fourth year of high school. Finishing fourth year is enough here, although a two-year college education is being offered.

Finishing Chinese up to fourth year high school is a feat here. Along the way, many students drop out because of lack of interest and motivation. I myself felt this way for sometime but I chose to finish my study because I consider it a personal achievement. Among my brothers and sisters, it was only I that was able to complete the whole Chinese education.

Twelve years is a very long time and it is expected that we should at least be able to read, write, and speak fluent Mandarin. Aside from that, it is expected that we should have a thorough knowledge of Chinese culture and history. Having been born here in the Philippines, third-generation Chinese like us should at least learn about the life, culture, and history of China in order to appreciate our identity. I believe that the latter objective has been somewhat met. We are at least aware of our rich culture, something that everyone of us should be proud of. Unfortunately, the former objective, learning to read, write and speak fluent Mandarin wasn't met.

The method of teaching has always been the same. We are taught one lesson from the book and are asked to memorize sentences. Without even understanding what we are studying, we can pass the course by simply memorizing everything outlined. Sad to say, this method is so ineffective that even after finishing twelve years of study, I can not read a Chinese newspaper or speak fluent Mandarin. I am not alone in this predicament. Out of the 45 students in our class, only about five can read and understand a Chinese newspaper. The remaining students are like me. Yes, we finished up to fourth year Chinese but our level might just be compared to an elementary student in Taiwan.

Third generation Chinese in the Philippines have mostly assimilated with the local culture. It is therefore not surprising to see Chinese unable to speak their own language. While a few Chinese values are still intact, all these will be lost as time passes. Here, we are called Chinoy which is short for Chinese Pinoy (Pinoy is short for Filipino). We speak fluent Filipino, eat Filipino foods and mingle with Filipinos. Even among our Chinese friends, conversations are usually conducted in Filipino. We prefer reading materials written in English and we write in English. The Chinese language has become a second language spoken only when talking to our parents and grandparents.

Looking back, I am so disappointed with the teaching method employed by Chinese teachers here in the Philippines. It is simply ineffective. As I interact more with the outside world, I realize how important it is knowing how to read and write Chinese, especially Mandarin. One-fifth of the world's population is Chinese and the only way to interact and do business with them is to be able to read and write our own language.

I am actually planning to study the Chinese language again on my own. This time around, I would like to focus on the more practical side, that is conversational Mandarin. It will be difficult and will require effort but I am now more motivated to do so. I am proud of being a Chinese and I am proud of the values that we are known for. I want to preserve my identity, and one of the best ways to do that is by speaking our own language.

Robert John Oh, shown here at his high school graduation, feels that his chinese is not good enough and is planning to work on it.