Pre-schools

PCF committed to offering all three official mother tongue languages

More than a quarter of the 360 pre-schools operated by PAP Community Foundation now - 95 - offer all three official mother tongue languages.
More than a quarter of the 360 pre-schools operated by PAP Community Foundation now - 95 - offer all three official mother tongue languages. PHOTO: PCF SPARKLETOTS PRESCHOOL

We read with interest the article, "Lack of mother tongue options in pre-schools: An issue of supply, demand and cultural heritage" (June 14), which highlighted the challenges in attracting mother tongue language teachers to join the early childhood sector.

As the largest pre-school operator in Singapore, PAP Community Foundation (PCF) believes that the early years of a child's life are a golden opportunity to lay a strong foundation for bilingual learning.

Despite the challenges, there are strategies which can be adopted to ensure that young children can be exposed to their mother tongue language in pre-school.

For example, we have employed a roving system to deploy qualified mother tongue language teachers to PCF Sparkletots pre-schools that may require support.

This lets the children continue having mother tongue lessons if the pre-school is in the process of hiring qualified teachers.

When Covid-19 struck, we adapted accordingly, and some mother tongue language lessons are being carried out synchronously for children in two or more pre-schools over videoconferencing platforms like Zoom.

Through our mother tongue curriculum, our teachers foster children's interest in their mother tongue language through stories, songs, rhymes, games, cultural celebrations and more.

These activities also help to develop our children's listening, speaking and early literacy skills, and can be conducted regardless of whether the lessons are held virtually or in person.

Our teachers are also constantly encouraged to challenge themselves in designing activities to help children connect with their ethnic values and heritage, and instil an appreciation for cultural diversity in multiracial Singapore.

Every year, many of our mother tongue language teachers are recognised through various awards and accolades.

We continue to provide opportunities for our teachers to be recognised for their efforts, and we believe this has motivated and encouraged them to explore and employ more innovative teaching strategies to spark children's interest in their mother tongue language.

Today, more than 230 PCF Sparkletots pre-schools offer the Malay language, and more than 100 offer the Tamil language. The Chinese language is offered across all our pre-schools.

More than a quarter of the 360 pre-schools which we operate now - 95 - offer all three official mother tongue languages.

There will always be challenges, but we are firmly committed to implementing our plans to provide all three official mother tongue languages in more of our pre-schools over the next few years.

Angela Yang

Deputy Director, Professional and Education Development

PAP Community Foundation

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 18, 2021, with the headline PCF committed to offering all three official mother tongue languages. Subscribe