Making Mother Tongue more fun

SINGAPORE — Teachers looking for ways to make Mother Tongue classes more lively for pre-schoolers will now have more resources to turn to, with the launch of new guides by the Ministry of Education (MOE). 

These guides, available in Chinese, Malay and Tamil, will provide practical lesson ideas aimed at igniting the children’s love for the language and to pique their interest about the local ethnic culture. For instance, the Educators’ Guide for Chinese Language uses familiar local terms such as “ba sha” for wet markets here. 

The guides will also offer strategies for customising learning to children with varying language abilities. For example, the Educators’ Guide for Malay Language includes tips for teachers when guiding children with less exposure to the language. 

Called the Nurturing Early Learners Educators’ Guides for Mother Tongue Languages, they will also include a common set of professional terms for teaching and learning to be used by all pre-school Mother Tongue Language teachers. 

The guides were launched today (Sept 25) by Senior Minister of State (Law and Education) Indranee Rajah at the Early Childhood Conference and Carnival. “Bilingualism is a cornerstone of our education system and an important part of our cultural and national identity ... It is our goal that the Mother Tongues will be living languages for our children,” she said.

Copies of the guides will be distributed in phases to all pre-school centres.