Interactive Workshops, Sharing Sessions at Flagship Symposium to Promote Lifelong Interest in Mother Tongue Languages

The Ministry of Education and the three Mother Tongue Language Learning and Promotion Committees will hold the flagship Mother Tongue Languages Symposium on Saturday, 14 September 2024, at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

2.Now in its 13th year, the theme of this year's symposium "Our Mother Tongues as Living Languages" focuses on encouraging children to use their mother tongue language in real-life scenarios, where they will complete tasks related to the work of community heroes that they may encounter in daily life: Xiao Tao, the friendly grocer; Sani, the fearless firefighter; Kavin, the vigilant lifeguard; and Peppy, the helpful bus captain.

3.This year's symposium will feature 45 sharing sessions and interactive workshops, as well as 45 exhibition booths that draw perspectives from academics, educators, curriculum specialists and media personalities on ways to promote Mother Tongue Language learning and appreciation. For example, parents can learn how artiste Fann Wong creates a conducive home environment for her child to learn the Chinese language. They can also hear from Mediacorp DJ and writer Hafeez Glamour how they can use anecdotes, songs, and traditional games to support their child's learning of the Malay language and culture. Host and content creator S P Ravi Gunan will share how he integrates Tamil language and culture into daily home activities. Curriculum specialists and teachers from the Ministry of Education will also share about the mother tongue language curriculum, and how educational technology can be incorporated into mother tongue language learning. (Please refer to Annex for more details).

4.Parents and children can sign up for the sharing sessions and workshops via the symposium's website from 13 August 2024, and register for entry into the event venue from 20 August 2024. Parents may also visit the symposium's Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for updates.