Mother Tongue

Vision

Effective Mother Tongue Language Communicators

Philosophy

The Mother Tongue department believes that with the creation of a conducive environment that promotes listening, speaking, reading, writing and cultural values, every pupil would love and excel in his/her Mother Tongue Language to the highest level that he/she is capable of.

The department has always been ingenious in instilling the passion for heritage and culture in our pupils while nurturing them to be effective communicators of their Mother Tongue Language. For the past eleven years, with the support of the school’s Alumni Association and the School Advisory Committee, our pupils have not only been sharpening their writing skills and improving on their oral and aural competencies, they have also been immersed in the rich heritage culture while visiting the various states in China through the department’s Footprints Programme.

With the love of one’s culture ignited, the interest of our pupils to learn more about their Mother Tongue Language follows naturally. Moreover, geared with knowledge of the places visited, our pupils share their learning experiences explicitly with their peers through various expressive genres such as comic strips and reflective writing whereby enhancing their language proficiency.

Knowing about one’s roots makes language learning meaningful while understanding about others’ languages makes life exhilarating. With a global view in mind and drawing on the “Silk Road” concept of an East-West network, the department rolls out her Multilingualism Programme where pupils learn about the three national languages, namely the Chinese, Malay and Tamil Languages. In addition, the pupils learn about the Japanese Language which facilitates the communication between our pupils and those of our twinning schools. Learning about the national languages of Singapore strengthens the cohesiveness of the multi-racial ties among our pupils while learning about the Japanese language, further prepares our pupils to be universal conversationalists along the “Silk Road”, across the globe. Throughout the years since 2005, this customised curriculum has gradually expanded in scope and depth, leading to vibrant language learning and heightened multi-cultural awareness in the school.

With the belief that each pupil is unique with different language learning needs and potential, the department embarks on multi-modal learning platforms riding on various teaching pedagogies like the Constructivism Theory, Multi-Intelligences and Multi-media Learning to enliven language acquisition and culture cultivation in the school. Learning spaces, like the Comic Fantasia Corner and Multiple Intelligences Base Programme Room, utilises comic as a learning media to enhance the interest for language acquisition and promote experiential learning and self-directed learning where pupils are actively engaged to either discover the fun of language learning or enhance their language proficiency. Active learning through multi-modal exploration makes language acquisition appealing and enjoyable in the school.