How about a lingua franca for SE Asia?
In rapidly transforming Southeast Asia, culturally sensitive attitudes are essential, respecting indigenous values and beliefs with healthy curiosity and tolerance, not arrogance and fear.
Becoming Asia-literate helps to bridge the alienating socialisation gap, creating an interactive living experience that is immediately deep and personalised. Your ability to learn and communicate in the basics in another language is a polite sign of courtesy and dignified awareness, which demonstrates a valuable willingness to get to know more and become better informed about the traditional culture.
Regarding languages and cultures of this dynamic-growth region, one must appreciate the importance of multiversity, which enriches the future economic prospects, people-to-people links, creative mindset and innovative concept formation. Cooperative decision-making will help solve problems, overcome challenges and forge an innovative and inspiring future that is prosperous and peaceful.
Most informal communication exchanges, intellectual discourse and policy debate, as well as economic transactions within Asia, occur in languages other than English. Why not make an assimilated blend of Bahasa Indonesia/Malay the major Asean language? It is relatively simple, easy to learn, and uses the Roman alphabet. It is not tonal, has few exceptions and facilitates English mastery due to the large number of borrowed vocabulary words, uniform pronunciation and consistent spelling rules.
The key to success is to make it achievable and enjoyable for average students by providing interactive “edutainment” exercises, songs and games to arouse motivation and sustain interest. Equally important is to enlist parental supportive guidance and active community involvement to ensure that desired educational outcomes are met.
Charles Frederickson
Bangkok
