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Becoming proficient in English has come at a cost for many Singaporeans
Use your mother tongue – or lose it.
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The new 2024 mother tongue languages curriculum aims to make learning more enjoyable.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Teo Kay Key
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Singaporeans pride themselves on their bilingualism. From the 1960s, our schools have taught us English along with a mother tongue language – Mandarin for Chinese, Bahasa Melayu for Malays and Tamil for Indians who speak the language. Other than language lessons, the main language of instruction in Singapore schools is English.
It goes without saying that in a world where English is such a common currency, this has given us a competitive edge. One can even argue that learning and speaking English has helped to integrate our multiracial society.
