Mother Tongue Languages

Philosophy:

The bilingual policy is a cornerstone of our education system. At SCGS, we believe in nurturing every girl to be effectively bilingual in both English Language and her Mother Tongue Language (MTL). To ensure that our girls stay effective and relevant with the changing language environment in Singapore and around the world, our MTL curriculum aims to equip our students with the competencies required in using their MTL to communicate proficiently in everyday life. In addition, we want to help our students gain awareness of their cultural identity, find their roots as well as develop in them an appreciation for the richness of the culture and history of the respective MTL.

Programme:

Our teaching is focused on developing oracy skills at the lower primary before the learning of reading and writing. Oracy learning begins with listening activities (e.g. listening to a story narration, watching an animation or video), followed by oral practices set in authentic contexts. Interactive oral practices (e.g. role-play, pair/group discussion) encourages students to use the oral vocabulary and sentence structures that they have learnt and thus helps to build up foundational language skills. As students progress to upper primary, learning progresses from reading to oracy and writing. Reading activities will be supplemented by oral presentations and similarly writing activities could be preceded by oral activities which allows students to verbally present their ideas before expressing them in writing.

Our school-based curriculum aims at developing the cognitive processes of our students, leading them to enhance their 21st century competencies, nurturing them to be critical thinkers and confident speakers.

The development of language skills has to work closely with the development of cultural awareness. In order to foster a more conducive environment for students to learn MTL, our department has developed the Cultural Exposure Programme. This programme familiarises students with the language and culture through interactive activities such as speech and drama, Chinese opera and cultural camps. Activities during the MTL Fortnights also serve to further enhance the students’ appreciation for language and culture. Selected students will also have the opportunity to participate in an overseas cultural research project such as the Overseas Immersion Programme in China for Primary 5 students.