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10 Pre-School Teachers Recognised at the 10th Mother Tongue Languages Symposium

Published Date: 30 August 2021 10:00 AM

News Press Releases

Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Mr Heng Swee Keat, launched the 10th Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) Symposium on Saturday, 28 August 2021. Held annually since 2012, this year's event took on a hybrid format with a physical event involving a small audience, while members of public were invited to attend virtually via live stream on www.mtls.edu.sg.

2. The Symposium aims to enhance the ecosystem for the learning of MTLs by strengthening the nexus between families, schools and the community. This year, the theme is "Our Mother Tongues as Living Languages", which seeks to encourage daily usage and lifelong learning of MTLs in children. The Symposium is co-organised by the Ministry of Education, Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC), and the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee (TLLPC).

Outstanding Pre-School Mother Tongue Language Teacher Award

3. This year, 10 pre-school teachers received the annual Outstanding Pre-school Mother Tongue Language (OPMTL) Teacher Award – six received the Outstanding Award and another four received the Merit Award. The award recipients were selected from a total of 99 nominations. Please see the Annex for the list of award recipients.

4. The OPMTL Teacher Award – jointly presented by the CPCLL, MLLPC and TLLPC – recognises the contributions of our pre-school teachers in making the learning of MTLs engaging and nurturing a love for languages among pre-school children. The selection panel for the award recipients comprised nine experienced pre-school educators and academics, who conducted online lesson observations and interviews with the teachers as part of the selection process this year.

Highlights of MTL Symposium 2021

5. A highlight of this year's Symposium was the live panel discussion with Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of CPCLL, Ms Sun Xueling (moderator), as well as education experts and educators1. Themed "Sparking Rich Conversations with Young Children in Mother Tongue Languages", the panellists shared their views, experiences and tips on how to create an immersive environment for the learning of MTLs within our homes and in the community.

6. In addition, members of public can take part in an MTL Challenge via the Symposium website, where they can take part in an online quiz and stand to win attractive prizes. Children can also join an Online Quest on the website, where they get to learn MTLs by joining the four Symposium mascots on an immersive adventure and taking part in interactive task-based games.

7. The website, which will be available till April 2022, also features a virtual gallery with more than 40 digital exhibits set up by pre-schools, schools and community partners on practices, platforms and programmes related to the learning of MTLs. The public can also view 30 pre-recorded and live-streamed sharing sessions by education experts, renowned speakers and celebrity parents on creative ways to inspire children to learn MTLs.


Footnotes
  1. The panellists include Mr Anbarasu Rajendran, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Indian Development Association; Mdm Kunawathyammal d/o Kaliannan, Senior Teaching Fellow, Policy, Curriculum and Leadership, National Institute of Education; Ms Foo Wan Yueh, Lecturer, National Institute of Early Childhood Development; Mdm Iryamaya binti Amin, 2020 Outstanding Pre-school Mother Tongue Language Award Recipient and Ms Otelli Edwards, Presenter, CNA.