Mother Tongue

Department Brief

The Mother Tongue department aims to instill in the students the love for their Mother Tongue and attain proficiency in the languages. Through organizing academic and enrichment programmes, the department nurtures self-directed and life-long learners who can communicate effectively and embrace their own Mother Tongue culture and  the diversity of the various cultures.  

The MT teachers seek to create an immersive environment and provide authentic opportunities for students to use Mother Tongue Language and experience their own Mother Tongue culture. Activities such as the Mother Tongue Cultural Camp and Mother Tongue Fortnight provide platforms for students to enjoy using Mother Tongue language in authentic situations and participate in meaningful and engaging activities and cultural/linguistic competitions. Besides this, the celebration of the various traditional festivals (Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali) and the commemoration of Racial Harmony Day are also platforms for our students to lead in the organizing of the events. The department also seeks to enhance the students’ motivation in reading by having an Instagram account “iyuedo” to promote engaging reading activities. The Twinning Programme with Chongqing Nankai Secondary School provides further opportunities for students to interact with students from China and experience their local culture, widening their global perspectives. Besides that, this programme also helps to deepen pupils’ commitment and build a stronger sense of rootedness and belonging to Singapore. In the Covid times, the ties continue to be strengthened through the virtual twinning programmes.

Students are also given the opportunities to stretch their potential in the language. This can be seen in the Higher Chinese interest group formed to engage the Higher Chinese students in more cultural activities. Some of the Malay students are also given the opportunity to be Malay Ambassadors to further promote the use of Malay in our daily lives. Our Tamil students also have the opportunities to showcase their talent in the variety of external competitions.

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