Learning and mastering a Mother Tongue Language can be engaging and meaningful for both young children and parents, as this year’s Mother Tongue Languages Symposium (MTLS) will show.

The MTLS 2022 is themed “A Garden for Joyful Discovery” as the goal is to create a joyful, nurturing and vibrant learning environment beyond the classroom.

As the 11th MTLS is a hybrid event, there will be an Opening and Award Ceremony at The Republic Cultural Centre, Republic Polytechnic. The ceremony will be live-streamed on the website. You can also access the sharing sessions and a variety of other online activities from Aug 27. For those who were not able to register for the Storytelling Sessions, Engagement Sessions and Interactive Workshops due to over subscription, these sessions will be available for viewing from Aug 28 at www.mtls.edu.sg.

Here’s how parents and their young children can be a part of the Mother Tongue Languages Symposium this year. 

1) Learn the Hands-on Way with Interactive Workshops 

Best for: Parents and Nursery 1 to Primary 2 students

What you can expect: Parents and their children will interact with one another and course instructors in Mother Tongue Languages, and be treated to age-appropriate stories, hands-on games and activities.

The instructors: 

• Ms Ong Peiying, Senior Manager (Education), Mandai Wildlife Group
• Ms Nurain Syakirah Binte Nordin, Founder, The Bambini Sg
• Ms Yogeswari Preshant, Founder, Think Tamil Academy and Artistic Director, ThinkTheatre

2) Discover How to Use Mother Tongue Languages in Daily Routines through Engagement Sessions 

Best for: Primary 1 to Primary 4 students

What you can expect: These sessions aim to help students use their Mother Tongue Languages more readily in everyday life and daily routines. For instance, they will get to take part in online activities including making Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns, being involved in language activities and learning more about adjectives through the use of Augmented Reality. 

The instructors:

• Madam Jiang Yanyan, Senior Teacher, Chinese Language, Princess Elizabeth Primary School, Recipient of Distinguished Chinese Language Teachers Awards 2021 
• Ms Sajini Naidu, Television Personality, Actress, Anchor 
• Ms Nurain Binte Tajudeen, Malay Language Teacher, Changkat Changi Secondary School 
• Mr Djohan Bin Abdul Rahman, Lead Teacher, Malay Language, Changkat Changi Secondary School

3) Sit in for a Storytelling Session 

Best for: K1 to Primary 2 students 

What you can expect: Librarians from the National Library Board will be reading specially selected stories in different Mother Tongue Languages online. They will also engage you with interesting activities tied to the books.

The instructors: 

• Ms Melissa Choo See Check, Associate Librarian, Chinese Language, Collection Planning & Development, National Library Board
• Mr Muhammad Shahril Bin Shaik Abdullah, Associate Librarian, Malay Language, Collection Planning & Development, National Library Board
• Ms Zainab, Associate Librarian, Tamil Language, Collection Planning & Development, National Library Board

4) Search for Words and Hunt for Images to Redeem Prizes

Best for: Parents and K1 to Primary 1 students

What you can expect: On the MTLS website, you can take part in the Explore@MTLS Activity Package with eight fun activities ranging from word search to scavenger hunt. For the latter, you will surf the website to look for selected images. After completing each activity, you will be rewarded points which are accumulated to let you redeem limited-edition prizes, while stocks last.