The China Post
Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said that the city started ‘completely wrong’ in Chinese language learning, admitting that it is a mistake to teach Chinese by enforcing rote learning.
“A language is first listened to, heard and then spoken. It’s not read or written — that follows later,” Lee said as quoted by news Web site Asiaone.com, “We started the wrong way. We insisted on spelling and dictation.”
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/singapore/2009/11/20/233508/Singapore-admits.htm