Relating Chinese to English: An Interview with MM Lee's Chinese Language Tutor, Dr Goh Yeng Seng

When and under what circumstances did you start to teach MM Lee Chinese?

I Obtained my BA in Chinese Language and Literature from the National Taiwan University in 1985 and a PhD in Linguistics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in 1996. I am also specialising in the training of learners of all levels in Chinese language and have been Foreign Minister BG George Yeo's Chinese language tutor for 15 years. With the recommendation of Professor Chew Cheng Hai and the support of BG Yeo, I met up with the then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in April 2001. From June that year, I was the "relief teacher" of MM Lee when Prof Chew was out of town. After about a year, MM Lee proposed taking time off his hectic schedules to have weekly lessons with me. However, my hands are full with teaching and administrative work in the National Institute of Education, as well as teaching other government leaders Chinese. I began to give MM Lee monthly lessons after some adjustment…