Colleagues,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. A very good morning to all of you.
- 大家早上好。
- Selamat pagi.
- Unggal Anaivarrukum Vanakkam.
- I am delighted to welcome all of you to the 14th Mother Tongue Languages Symposium.
Mother Tongue Languages Symposium
2. This biennial symposium brings together our educators, parents and partners with a shared commitment to support the learning and the use of our Mother Tongue Languages.
- Over the years, it has become an important platform to present good practices, exchange ideas and for us to learn from one another.
3. This year's theme, "A Garden for Joyful Discovery", reminds us that children learn best when language feels alive, meaningful and joyful.
4. We see this spirit across today's exhibitions, sharing sessions and workshops, from games and digital experiences, to dance, drama, technology and picture books that bring our Mother Tongue Languages closer to our children.
5. Today, we also recognise teachers who help our children discover joy in their Mother Tongue Languages through the Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Languages Teacher Award.
- Our award winners show how creativity and dedication can shape our children's early experiences of language and spark a lasting appreciation for their own mother tongue.
- Thank you, and congratulations to all our award winners today!
Strengthening Mother Tongue Language Learning Across Levels
6. Bilingualism is a cornerstone of our education system and a key part of our Singaporean identity.
- Our Mother Tongue Languages connect us to our culture, heritage and values, and anchor the rich diversity of the multicultural, multilingual society that we are today.
- With each new generation, we must continue nurturing this important part of who we are.
7. Bilingualism also gives Singapore a practical advantage. Our ability to operate in English and our Mother Tongue Languages has helped us connect with both the East and the West, while bilingualism also supports cognitive agility as well as focus.
8. Research has found that bilingual children have greater mental agility and are better able to switch between different tasks. There are even findings suggesting it may delay the onset of dementia in older people.
9. Over the years, we have been strengthening Mother Tongue Language education, from preschool to secondary level.
10. At preschool, we have been piloting more Mother Tongue Language exposure at six of our MOE Kindergartens, increasing it from one hour to 1.5 hours each day.
- Early results are encouraging.
- Our teachers have observed that our students have become more confident, and some parents have seen their children taking the initiative to use their mother tongue at home.
- We are studying the pilot further to assess whether it should be scaled up.
11. At the primary level, our Mother Tongue Languages SOAR reading programme helps our students see that reading in their mother tongue can be just as exciting as reading in English.
- For example, Primary 3 Malay Language students read a reimagined legend of the swordfish attack on Singapore.
- Instead of casting the swordfish as villains, there was a twist. Students have to consider why they attacked humans and whether people might have failed to care for our oceans.
- Such stories connect children to heritage while encouraging critical thinking and environmental stewardship.
12. We also refreshed our primary school curriculum in 2024 to emphasise joyful learning of mother tongue through songs, animations, games and interactive experiences.
- Primary 1 Tamil students, for instance, use Augmented Reality to discover animals at the zoo, before exploring animal habitats independently through a virtual zoo in Primary 2.
13. This year, MOE has also collaborated with the Science Centre to launch a new badge - a Young Scientist badge in mother tongue.
- Through curated tasks, students explore the world around them through the lens of their Mother Tongue Language and culture.
- For example, students are asked to name plants used in traditional cuisines, and parents and grandparents are strongly encouraged to support them too – using plants, botany and their Mother Tongue language and culture!
14. We also want to create pathways for students who want to learn Mother Tongues more deeply.
- So, I am glad to announce that from next year, we will expand the Language Elective Programme to enable more students to pursue mother tongue at an advanced level and deepen their engagement with culture and literature.
- The Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) at the pre-university level will be expanded to a sixth school, Anderson Serangoon Junior College.
- The Tamil Language Elective Programme (TLEP) at both the secondary and junior college levels will be expanded through a centre-based approach at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC).
15. In addition, students who wish to learn Malay as a third language can look forward to the expansion of Malay (Special Programme) to a fifth centre at the National Junior College.
Technology in Education
16. We are also tapping technology to open new ways for students to practise and deepen their language abilities.
- LangBuddy, an AI conversational chatbot, encourages our students to converse in their mother tongue on topics both within and beyond the curriculum at their own pace.
- I would like to invite you to visit the exhibition hall later to give it a go!
17. I am also glad to share that from this September, we will launch a new AI Essay Marking System (AIMS) that will support our secondary school Chinese Language teachers.
- AIMS will help teachers to more quickly mark essays and provide feedback.
- Teachers can review, refine and customise the feedback before sharing it with students.
- This will free up time for our mother tongue teachers to focus on supporting students who need more guidance, while ensuring that our teachers remain firmly in the driver's seat to guide their students on how to improve.
Parents As Key Partners
18. Language learning does not happen only in the classroom. Regular use and immersion, especially at home, are just as important.
19. Research also reinforces the value of early Mother Tongue exposure at home.
- Studies have found that early book reading contributes to long-term oracy and reading comprehension, and that adult interaction during reading further promotes literacy.
- These benefits go beyond mother tongue! Preliminary findings from a local study found that reading in mother tongue had lasting positive effects to help children flourish academically and cognitively.
20. At the same time, home exposure has become more challenging as fewer families use mother tongue predominantly as the main language at home.
- Still, it is encouraging that many Singaporean families continue to use both English and their mother tongue, because every bit of effort matters.
21. Raising a bilingual child in an English-dominant environment is not easy at all.
- Some parents worry that their own mother tongue is not strong enough for them to model the language to their children.
- But we do not need to be perfect speakers. Don't let perfection be the enemy of good.
- What matters is effort and consistency.
- There is a Tamil saying: Thaayai pola pillai; noolai pola selai.
- Translated, it means a child's character is shaped by the mother, just as the quality of a sari is determined by its thread.
22. As parents, we are our children's first teachers.
- We can start small — reading a picture book at bedtime, talking about our day in mother tongue, or listening to a song together.
- Each simple interaction plants a seed in our children.
- With time, love and patience, these seeds can grow into a lifelong relationship with the language, creating a garden that flourishes for our Mother Tongue.
23. Schools and parents can also work together.
- At Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary) and St Joseph's Institution Junior, parent volunteers read mother tongue stories to students during recess.
- I hope more parents and schools will come together for such meaningful efforts.
Extending the ecosystem of Mother Tongue Language learning
24. Beyond the home and classroom, the wider ecosystem for mother tongue learning has also grown steadily.
- For the past 20 years, our Mother Tongue Language Learning and Promotion Committees have worked with community stakeholders, the media and cultural institutions, to support exposure and learning from preschool to pre-university.
- Last month, the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning launched a new programme with Tengah Grassroots Organisations to help parents engage infants in Chinese through sight, sound and touch.
- We will be developing similar programmes for Malay and Tamil as well, in collaboration with the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee and the Tamil Promotion Committee.
Closing Remarks
25. Let me now say a few words in Chinese.
26. 参加这次的母语学习论坛让我想起自己中四的华文老师 —— 郑老师。
- 34年前，她让我们写信谈自己的人生志向。
- 去年，我们办师生聚会时，她竟然把信一一交还给我们。
- 今天的课堂，师生或许不再写信，但言传身教之中，那份关怀，一直没变。
- 感谢所有坚守岗位的母语老师！
27. 母语教育，传承的不只是语言，更是情义，是价值观。
- 母语不只属于课程和考试，它活在代代相传的故事中，也藏在一个个方块字里。
- 它教会我们如何看待自己，如何对待他人。
- 我们会继续推广母语和新加坡各族文化，让下一代珍惜它、亲近它、使用它。
- 让我们一起努力，守护这份共同的身份印记。
28. Let me thank everyone who has made this meaningful Symposium possible — our MOE colleagues, the Mother Tongue Language Learning and Promotion Committees, and our community partners.
- A special thank you to all our Mother Tongue Language teachers.
- Teaching a language takes heart, and I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to strengthen Mother Tongue Language education.
29. I will end with a Malay pantun:
Cantik berseri bunga di taman
Dijaga pekebun setiap hari
Bahasa Ibunda penyatu watan
Disemai bersama kekal lestari
30. Translated loosely into English, it goes:
Flowers adorn the garden fair
Tended by the gardener with loving care
Our mother tongue, a bond we share
Sown together, it will bloom beyond compare
31. Like the gardener in the pantun, let us work together patiently, consistently, and with heart. Plants take time to grow, flourish and bloom. Sometimes, you need to move them around, give them tender loving care and talk to them. Let us work together patiently and consistently to help our children love their mother tongue, appreciate their cultures and heritage, and strengthen their Singaporean identity.
32. Thank you very much. 谢谢大家。Terima kasih. Mikka Nandri.