Mother Tongue

Vision

MT a Living Language

Mission/Goals

Develop proficient users who can communicate effectively in real contexts and active learners who appreciate their cultural heritage.

Key Programmes:

Holistic Assessment

Holistic Assessment (HA) is carried out from P1 - P5 to provide students with enhanced learning experience. Curriculum is customised to place emphasis on the development of all four language competencies: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Timely feedback and feed forward are given and serves to guide pupils towards improving themselves constantly. In particular, guided reading activities are carried out as part of P3 – P4 HA to develop in students an interest for reading as well as to impart speaking, reading and writing skills.

Mother Tongue Support Programme

Mother Tongue Support Programme (MTSP) is a customised programme that provides more individualised support for students who require additional support in learning Mother Tongue Languages. It is offered at the Primary 3 and 4 levels and is conducted during curriculum time as part of daily lessons.

Higher Mother Tongue

Students who have shown a high level of proficiency in their oracy skills and demonstrated strong foundation for literary skills will be offered the opportunity to take Higher Mother Tongue (HMT). Since 1992, HMT is offered at P5 and P6 levels. To further strengthen the learning of Mother Tongue Languages (MTLs) from an early age, our school is offering HMT across the 3 official MTLs for P3 and P4 students.

Enrichment Programmes

Enrichment programmes are organised for students so as to enhance their learning of the Mother Tongue Languages (MTLs) and to realise their potential to achieve excellence in the MT subjects. Besides the language aspect, there are also programmes to allow students to gain a better appreciation of their cultures.

Broadcast Journalism (ALP)

As part of our school’s Applied Learning Programme (ALP), the Mother Tongue department carries out the Broadcast Journalism programme for the P5 level. The programme is conducted during Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) lessons.

The Broadcast Journalism programme provides opportunities for P5 students to learn through social interaction with their peers, teachers and school staff. Through the programme, students will learn:

• The importance of keeping abreast of contemporary issues;
• Etiquette of interviewing; and
• Journalist techniques e.g. question design, storyboarding, script writing, etc.

Broadcast Journalism Plus Programme

P4 and P5 students who have shown keen interest and proficiency in the Chinese and Malay Languages will be invited to take part in the Mother Tongue (MT) Broadcast Journalism (BJ) Plus Programme. The enrichment programme is an extension of the existing BJ programme (that takes place during P5 CCE lessons) and seeks to groom student reporters to cover school-based events or embark on special projects. Some of the projects students were involved in over the years included coverages on Project SuperSpark, Camp@School, and a tribute to teachers to celebrate Teachers’ Day.

Speech and Drama (ALP)

P2 students will participate in the Speech and Drama programme . Through this programme, students learn moral values through role-playing, as well as pick up speech and performing skills.

Moo-O Reading (ALP)

To motivate our P3 students to read and speak Mother Tongue languages fluently and expressively, Damai Primary leverages on Moo-O, an online platform that allows for a fun, engaging and immersive way of reading. Students get to act as story characters and produce videos that demonstrate their reading fluency and understanding of the story.

Public Speaking (ALP)

Public Speaking (EL) workshop serves to enhance students’ ability to communicate effectively and confidently. To provide the platform for P4 students to apply what they have learnt from the workshop and deliver a speech in front of an audience, classroom activities and inter-class competitions are organised.

Reading Programmes

Various reading activities and programmes are carried out to cultivate in students the passion for reading of MT books e.g. Extensive Reading Programme (Malay Language and Tamil Language), newspapers reading and sharing of articles (Tamil Language), reading of student magazines (Chinese Language), etc.

MT Fortnight

Language and cultural activities are organised during the MT Fiesta which spans over a fortnight to create an environment conducive to MTL usage and learning. Recess activities which are open to all allow for cross-cultural learning.

Language and Cultural Camps/ Learning Journeys

Each year, Learning Journeys (LJs) and/ or cultural camps are organised to provide students with opportunities to engage in cultural activities so as to gain a deeper understanding of their own cultural roots and values.

Inter-Class Competitions

Inter-Class Competitions are organised for each level every year. Through the competitions, we wish to provide the platform for students to learn new knowledge, gain exposure and develop confidence in themselves.

Conversational Chinese and Malay

P3 and P4 students get to participate in the Conversational Chinese and Malay (CCM) Programme. The purpose of this programme is to strengthen bonds among students of different races and at the same time help them acquire languages that may enable them to operate more comfortably in the region in their later stages of life. The CCM programme will also provide students with the opportunity to have a glimpse of traditional cultures of the CCM languages they are learning.

Festive Celebrations

Our school celebrates major festivities such as Lunar New Year, Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali. Students learn to appreciate and respect different races and their cultures through an array of traditional performances and activities. One year, our P2 students recorded a performance to wish everyone in the school a Happy Chinese New Year. You may catch their performance in the next two slides.