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Language Programmes

Tamil Language (TL)

A total of 92 schools provide TL lessons within curriculum time. This allows over 90% of secondary school TL pupils to take TL during curriculum time. Pupils choosing to study at other secondary schools will be able to take TL in the afternoons at Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre and 11 other school-based TL centres, distributed around the island. Please refer to the list of secondary schools offering Tamil (36kb .pdf).

Higher Mother Tongue Languages (HMT)

Pupils who offer Chinese / Malay / Tamil or Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil at the PSLE and:

may opt to study Higher Chinese, Higher Malay or Higher Tamil at secondary schools. They may offer English Language and Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil in the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination at the end of Secondary Four.

Schools will also have the flexibility to allow pupils who do not meet the above criteria to offer HMTL, if they are assessed to have exceptional ability in MTL and are able to do HMTL without affecting their performance in other subjects.

Pupils eligible for Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil will be invited to apply for these programmes immediately after the release of the PSLE results. If selected, pupils offering Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil will attend classes in their secondary schools if such courses are offered in these schools. If the schools do not offer such courses, the pupils will have to study Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil in designated centres outside curriculum time. Higher Tamil classes are also conducted at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC) outside curriculum time. Please refer to the list of schools / designated centres and Language Centres offering Higher Chinese, Higher Malay and Higher Tamil (140kb .pdf).

Pupils taking Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil are eligible for the following incentives. These measures are put in place to give pupils more flexibility in the study of two languages and thus help to produce a greater number of effectively bilingual pupils in the future.

  1. A pupil who passes both English and Higher Chinese/ Higher Malay / Higher Tamil at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination and who qualifies for admission to a junior college will be given a concession of two points in his application to the junior college of his choice. Priority for admission to a junior college will be given to a pupil with English and Higher Chinese/ Higher Malay / Higher Tamil who scores the same number of points as one with English and Chinese / Malay / Tamil.
  2. For entry to pre-university classes, a grade of E8 in Higher Chinese/ Higher Malay / Higher Tamil is considered to be equivalent to a grade of D7 in Chinese / Malay / Tamil respectively. Therefore, a pupil who scores at least C6 in English Language and E8 in Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil will be considered to have satisfied the language requirements for pre-university admission.
  3. A pupil, who obtains at least a grade of D7 in Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination, will be considered to have satisfied the mother tongue language requirement for admission to the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University.
  4. At the end of Secondary Three, a pupil studying Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil will be allowed to sit for the GCE ‘O’ Level Chinese / Malay / Tamil paper. If the pupil is unable to cope with both English and Higher Chinese / Higher Malay / Higher Tamil, he will be allowed to switch to English and Chinese / Malay / Tamil.

Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS)

An Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS) has been introduced in Bukit Panjang Government High School and Tanjong Katong Secondary School as a niche area. The four-year programme will be offered to pupils who take up Higher Malay (HML), and aims to deepen their understanding and appreciation of Malay language, history and culture.

Third Languages

A total of seven third languages (L3) are offered. These consist of:

  1. Chinese (Special Programme)
  2. Malay (Special Programme)
  3. Bahasa Indonesia
  4. Arabic
  5. French
  6. German
  7. Japanese

Eligible pupils who are successfully admitted via Direct School Admission (DSA-Sec) must also apply for Third Language(s) during the Secondary One Option Exercise if they wish to take up a Third Language.

Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme)

Malay (Special Programme) is offered to all Secondary One pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses as long as they have the interest and inclination and have not offered Higher Malay/ Malay as their Mother Tongue Language at PSLE.

Chinese (Special Programme) is offered to all Secondary One pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses as long as they have the interest and inclination and have not offered Higher Chinese/ Chinese as their Mother Tongue Language at PSLE.

The programme will prepare pupils for the Malay (Special Programme) /Chinese (Special Programme) examination at GCE ‘O’ level.

Pupils offering Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme) will attend lessons twice a week, two hours per session outside their school curriculum time either in their own secondary school, if their school offers it, or at the nearest Malay (Special Programme)/ Chinese (Special Programme) centre. Please refer to the list of M(SP) / C(SP) schools and zonal centres (84kb .pdf).

Pupils can apply for Malay (Special Programme)/ Chinese (Special Programme) online upon the release of their PSLE results. In the event that the number of applicants exceeds that of vacancies at the M(SP) / C(SP) centres, selection will be based on their PSLE results.

Pupils taking Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme) are eligible for the following incentives. These measures are put in place to encourage more pupils to offer these official mother tongues as third languages in schools.

  1. A pupil who passes Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme) at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination and who qualifies for admission to a junior college will be given a concession of two points in his application to the junior college of his choice.
  2. A pupil who offers Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme) in the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination will be allowed to use the Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme) grade in lieu of a Humanities subject grade for admission at junior college level.

Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic

Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic as a third language are offered to all Secondary One pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses. Pupils with the interest and inclination may apply to study either subject. To be eligible for Bahasa Indonesia / Arabic, an applicant himself, his father or his mother must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident. Applicants for Bahasa Indonesia must not have offered Higher Malay/ Malay as their Mother Tongue Language at PSLE.

Bahasa Indonesia / Arabic as a third language is a four-year course leading to the GCE ‘O’ level examination.

Pupils offering Bahasa Indonesia / Arabic will attend lessons twice a week, two hours per session outside their school curriculum time at the Ministry of Education Language Centre at Bishan. (Refer to map of the Language Centre at Bishan.)

Pupils can apply for Bahasa Indonesia / Arabic online upon the release of their PSLE results. In the event that the number of applicants exceeds that of vacancies, selection will be based on their PSLE results.

Pupils taking Bahasa Indonesia are eligible for the following incentives:

  1. A pupil who passes Bahasa Indonesia at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination and who qualifies for admission to a junior college will be given a concession of two points in his application to the junior college of his choice.
  2. A pupil who offers Bahasa Indonesia in the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination will be allowed to use Bahasa Indonesia grade in lieu of a Humanities subject grade for admission at junior college level.

Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) [BSP(C)]

The Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) [BSP(C)] is a four-year programme offered in four schools starting from Secondary Three. These schools are Hwa Chong Institution, Dunman High School, Nanyang Girls’ High School and River Valley High School. All pupils in the BSP(C) will learn about China’s culture and contemporary society over the four years. BSP(C) pupils are encouraged to offer H1 or H2 China Studies in Chinese (CSC) at the A-Level, whilst scholars will offer either (a) H2 Chinese Language and Literature and H1 CSC or (b) H2 CSC. In addition, BSP(C) pupils can look forward to an immersion to China for up to six months and to a Western country for up to two weeks. Pupils who are successfully enrolled in the BSP(C) will be considered for the Special Assistance Plan Scholarships (SAP) for BSP(C).

Regional Studies Programme (RSP)

The Regional Studies Programme (RSP) is offered in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls’ (Secondary) and Victoria School. Pupils in the RSP will offer Malay (Special Programme) or Bahasa Indonesia as a third language and learn about Southeast Asian culture and contemporary society. Pupils who are successfully enrolled in the RSP will be considered for the RSP Scholarships.

Foreign Language Programmes

Pupils who are ranked among the top 10% of the PSLE and who have a special ability in languages are eligible to apply for approval to study a foreign language (French/ German/ Japanese) from Secondary One.

Eligible top 10% pupils can apply for French/ German/ Japanese online upon the release of their PSLE results. Pupils opting for Japanese Language are required to have passed Higher Chinese/ Chinese at the PSLE as the standard written form of Japanese uses Kanji (Chinese characters). In the event that the number of applicants exceeds that of vacancies, selection will be based on their PSLE results. To be eligible for the Foreign Language Programme, the applicant himself, his father or his mother must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident.

If selected, pupils will attend foreign language (French / German / Japanese) classes twice a week, two hours per session outside their school’s curriculum time at the MOELC at Bishan (map of the Language Centre at Bishan) or MOELC at Ghim Moh (map of the Language Centre at Ghim Moh) as follows:

Foreign Language Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC)
French / Japanese MOELC (Bishan) for pupils from schools in the east, south and north zones
MOELC (Ghim Moh) for pupils from schools in the west zone and Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
German MOELC (Bishan) for pupils from all zones

For more information on the MOELCs, please visit the MOELC website.