Strengthening Efforts for Students to Learn and Use Their Mother Tongue Language from Young

At the 13th Mother Tongue Languages Symposium (MTLS) on 14 September 2024, Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing announced the following initiatives to uphold bilingualism in the education system, and to help students learn and use their Mother Tongue Language (MTL) as a living language:

1. More opportunities for secondary school students to offer Higher Mother Tongue Language (HMTL) to nurture more students who are proficient in their MTL.
2. A new structured MTL reading programme in primary schools to cultivate positive reading habits in students from young.
3. Pilot the increase of MTL exposure in MOE Kindergartens (MK) to develop an interest in MTL in pre-school children.

Increased Opportunities to Offer HMTL

2. At the National Day Rally 2024, it was announced that more students will have the opportunity to offer HMTL in secondary schools. Currently, HMTL eligibility is tied to students' overall PSLE Score to ensure that students can cope with the overall curriculum load¹.

3. From 2026, students who do well in their MTL at PSLE will be able to offer HMTL at Secondary 1, regardless of their overall PSLE Score. Secondary 1 students who obtain AL1/AL2 in MTL or Distinction/Merit in HMTL at the PSLE will be able to take HMTL as a subject in secondary school². This will better recognise and develop students' unique strengths and interests, and allow more students to learn their MTL to as high a level as possible.

Cultivating Positive Reading Habits from Young

4. MOE will introduce a new structured reading programme, MTL SOAR³, in primary schools from 2025. Primary 1 and 2 students will have 30 minutes of their MTL curriculum time set aside for reading and library activities. MTL SOAR will be progressively rolled out to all levels by 2029.

5. As part of MTL SOAR, teachers will use age-appropriate supplementary readers from the 2024 Primary MTL Curriculum. Schools will also be provided with resources such as reading passports, guides for teachers, students and parents, as well as recommended reading lists curated with the National Library Board, to enhance existing efforts in developing positive reading habits in students from young.

Pilot Increase of MTL Exposure in MOE Kindergartens (MK)

6 To build a firm MTL foundation for learners and nurture their love for the language from young, MOE will conduct a pilot at MK@Hougang and MK@Elias Park to increase MTL exposure by 30 minutes per day, starting with the 2025 K1 cohort. Under the pilot, the daily MTL curriculum duration will increase from 1 hour to 1.5 hours, providing more opportunities for MK children to learn and use their MTL with their peers and teachers. The pilot will be gradually scaled up the pilot to more MOE Kindergartens.

Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Language Teacher Award

7. At the symposium, 14 dedicated preschool teachers were recognised as recipients of the annual Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Language (OPMTL) Teacher Award – seven received the Outstanding Award and seven received the Merit Award. The award recipients were selected from a total of 171 nominations. (Please see Annex A for the list of award recipients).

8. The OPMTL Teacher Award – jointly presented by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning, the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee, and the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee– recognises the contributions of our preschool teachers in making the learning of MTLs engaging, and in nurturing a love of MTLs among preschool children. The selection panel for the award recipients comprises nine experienced educators and academics, who conducted lesson observations and interviews with the teachers as part of the selection process.

Highlights of MTLS 2024

9. A highlight of MTLS this year was the focus on integrating nursery rhymes into the learning of MTLs for young learners. Children took part in activities at the nursery rhymes challenge station as part of the MTL Quest. Parents and educators also participated in various sharing sessions on the effective use of nursery rhymes in language learning. Speakers included:

1. Ms Lu Xiaoyan and Ms Liao Sulian, lead teachers from My First Skool, who will share how they teach vocabulary and make Chinese Language learning engaging for young learners through nursery rhymes.
2. Mr Muhamad Shahril Bin Samri, a Malay and English Language teacher at PCF Sparkletots @ Marsiling. During the workshop, participants will explore inter-related vocabulary and cultural elements to cultivate phonemic awareness skills in children and make Malay language learning a fun and enriching experience.
3. Mdm Rani Kanna, a professional storyteller & founder/director of AKT Creations. During the workshop, she uses interactive tools and games for storytelling, creating rhymes, and connecting with Tamil-speaking communities for practical language use.

10. The exhibition at this year's symposium also showcased the teaching and learning of MTLs through Educational Technology, as well as culture and games-based learning. Visitors could also explore various MTL activities at the exhibition booths (Please see Annex B for the list of exhibition booths at the symposium).

11. The MTLS website, which will be available till June 2026, will feature slides from the sharing sessions and interactive workshops, as well as exhibition boards from the various booths, after the symposium. Parents can also visit the Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism website for recommendations on MTL books and resources suitable for young children.

Footnotes

1. Currently, students must either obtain (i) Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) overall score of 8 or better, or (ii) PSLE overall score between 9 and 14 (inclusive) and PSLE MTL score of AL1/AL2 or HMTL score of Distinction/Merit to offer HMTL in secondary school.

2. Students in secondary schools that do not offer HMTL classes may attend lessons at centralised locations.

3. Acronym for Spark interest, Open minds, Appreciate cultural roots and Rise as bilingual readers.