Embracing Our Mother Tongues

The first Symposium on Innovative Teaching and Learning of Mother Tongue Languages (SITLM) was held at NIE on 8 March 2018. Themed “Innovative Practice, Practice Innovation: Re-visioning Mother Tongue Languages Education in Singapore”, the forum brought together over 500 teachers of Singapore’s three Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) to share and exchange ideas.

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Social and Family Development and Ministry of Education was the guest of honour. In his speech, Associate Professor Faishal recounted a childhood song that inspired him to discover more “words of wisdom” in the Malay language. He encouraged all MTL teachers to create opportunities for the future generation to discover the authentic experience that comes from speaking and embracing their mother tongues.

Dr Stephen David Krashen, Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California, was the first keynote speaker. He believed that language competence is determined by comprehending the language and therefore, teachers should encourage students to read more. Dr Krashen also explained how captivating contents, coupled with good storytelling, resulted in optimal language acquisition. He added that learning becomes a by-product for students who acquire languages with a context in mind.

The second keynote speaker was Dr Soh Kay Cheng, a senior educator and research consultant at the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. According to him, the primary objective of MTL education should be to impart cultural knowledge and skills, and that the learning of language takes place naturally with cultural awareness. Dr Soh also reiterated the importance of placing equal emphasis on all cultures in order to develop mutual understanding, appreciation and respect.

Two salient observations emerged during the panel discussion chaired by Associate Professor Hadijah bte Rahmat, Head of NIE’s Asian Languages & Cultures Department – the possibility and benefits of learning from other cultures, and the use of culture in the teaching of MTL. The panel lists included Mr Anbarasu s/o Rajendran, Dr Chan Chiu Ming, Associate Professor Mohd Mukhlis Abu Bakar, Associate Professor Sivakumaran Ramalingam, Associate Professor Tan Chee Lay and Mr Yatiman Yusof.

The closing speech was delivered by Associate Professor Tan Chee Lay, Chairman of the ALC Organising Committee, who thanked all collaborators and participants from the three MTL groups for making the multicultural, multilingual SITLM a roaring success.