Press Releases
Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre to Provide Training Programmes for Tamil Language Teachers
From February 2010, the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC) of the Ministry of Education will serve as a centre for the professional development of Tamil Language (TL) teachers. It will provide training programmes for TL teachers to enhance the teaching and learning of the Tamil Language. Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Education, announced this at the Tamil Language Coordinators’ Meeting-cum-Sharing Session today.
Key Training Areas
UPTLC has been playing dual roles as a national resource centre for the Tamil Language and as a Tamil Language teaching centre for students, since 2001. In the context of a more challenging and dynamic language environment, where more students are coming from households where English is the dominant language, TL teachers have to constantly upgrade their skills and find innovative ways to enthuse their students to learn and speak TL. While UPTLC has been conducting workshops and sharing sessions for TL teachers over the years, it will now provide structured training programmes in curriculum, teaching methods, assessment and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Tamil Language lessons.
UPTLC will provide mentorship programmes for new teachers and Senior Teachers. It will also provide guidance and consultancy for teachers to carry out action research projects to help them reflect and draw learning points from their classroom teaching experiences. In addition, UPTLC will involve the TL teachers in the development of teaching resources including ICT-based lessons. This will give the teachers hands-on practice in customising resources that cater to the differing needs and abilities of their students.
The planning and implementation of the training programmes by UPTLC will be led by the Centre’s Supervisor, Mr Jeyarajadas Pandian, and supported by a team comprising a Master Teacher and Senior Teachers. UPTLC plans to conduct over 40 courses and workshops per year, drawing from a team of experienced teachers, who are passionate and strong in pedagogy. Suitable local and overseas trainers would also be engaged to run courses, seminars and workshops for Tamil language teachers. All TL teachers will have an opportunity to attend at least one professional development event per year.
A Purpose-Built Centre that Complements the Role of UPTLC
Currently, UPTLC is being redeveloped into a purpose-built centre, incorporating up-to-date facilities such as a master class studio, learning experimentation classrooms, training rooms, an auditorium and a computer laboratory. In the master class studio, new teachers can learn different teaching methodologies by observing model teaching by experienced and expert teachers. The learning experimentation classrooms have educational tools and resources that allow teachers to explore different methods of instruction and observe how students can be best immersed in cultural activities. The training rooms and auditorium can be used for sharing sessions and the computer laboratory will house a collection of TL software to facilitate computer-assisted teaching and learning.