Enabling Students to Learn Their Mother Tongue to the Highest Level Possible

We thank Aletheia Chan ("Time for people to regain passion and purpose for their mother tongue", 7 Dec) and Lee Yim May ("Have more reasonable expectations for level of Chinese proficiency here", 9 Dec) for their feedback on learning Mother Tongue Languages (MTLs).

Bilingualism is a cornerstone of our education system to help students remain connected to their heritage, strengthen their Singaporean identity, and connect with native-speaking communities worldwide.

Hence, students are encouraged to learn their MTL to as high a level, and for as long as possible.

Our schools adopt a multi-pronged approach to enable this. First, emphasis is placed on starting language learning from young, where seeds for fostering stronger identity, motivation and aptitude for the MTLs can be sown. MOE has strengthened support for MTL learning in the early years by establishing a framework for best practices in MOE Kindergartens, and developing resources that are shared across centres.

Second, to better support students from different background with diverse learning needs, differentiated curriculum is offered from primary to pre-university levels. The Mother Tongue Support Programme and the Higher MTLs at Primary 3 and 4, for example, engage students with different proficiencies at the appropriate levels.

Third, we continue to develop a wide range of immersive, fun and interactive learning resources and activities to pique students' interest in MTL. This includes using games, animations and authentic situations. We also collaborate with community partners, such as the MTL Learning and Promotion Committees, to organise activities such as songwriting competitions and learning journeys to promote the use of MTLs beyond the classrooms.

Learning MTL effectively requires the support of the entire society. MOE will continue working closely with parents, schools and communities to create a more conducive environment to help our students experience the joy of learning their MTLs.

Mdm Heng Boey Hong
Director, Mother Tongue Languages Branch, Curriculum Planning and Development Division
Ministry of Education