SINGAPORE - From 2024, Normal (Technical) students sitting the basic mother tongue language (MTL) examination will type their answers using laptops for one section of the paper, instead of manually writing their responses.
This change will be for the functional writing component of the paper, in line with an update in 2021 to the MTL curriculum for secondary schools, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB).
According to the SEAB website, the new format for the Chinese paper, for example, will require candidates to key in their responses to questions in at least 75 words.
MOE and SEAB said in a joint reply to The Straits Times that the latest MTL curriculum places greater emphasis on developing students’ information and communications technology skills such as text input, and encouraging “self-directed and collaborative learning”.
About 30 per cent of the curriculum will feature technology-enabled lessons and resources.
For example, lower secondary Chinese-language textbooks now include a section containing activities for teachers to facilitate the teaching of digital text input.
Students can also access learning resources like audio and electronic texts, teaching animation and videos, as well as interactive resources on the Student Learning Space (SLS), which is MOE’s learning platform. Students can use SLS features such as text-to-speech and the e-dictionary to learn independently at their own time and pace.
The MOE and SEAB said examination syllabuses, including the paper formats, are revised to reflect learning outcomes of the updated curriculum, with practical considerations taken into account.
Since 2023, the English-language paper for Normal (Technical) students has also introduced typing for a writing component.
