I am a product of the "much-debated" bilingual policy of this country but before I go on, let me first clarify - I HATED mandarin classes. ok, maybe HATE is too strong a word but I really had no affinity with the language nor the teachers that taught it. the methods used still leave a bitter taste in my mouth because I have such a goldfish memory (no '听写' & '墨写' for me pls!). I practically slept through all the classes then - I can still vividly see my teachers shaking their heads vigorously at me because of my learning attitude towards the language. in the end though, I still got a distinction for the subject. Coming from a supposedly '华校' (or chinese school) where taking higher chinese is the norm, rather than the exception and many even taking an additional foreign language for the 'o' levels, I have to say that this 'exposure' to the language is something I am proud of. Up till today, I can still read, write and speak fluent...