Mother Tongue Languages

Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) Department strives to develop Pioneer students to become passionate and confident communicators who have a deep appreciation of their cultural heritages.

We adopt a vast array of teaching and learning pedagogies and strategies to Engage our students in joyful learning and the use of MTL beyond the classroom. Our customised school-based programmes and cultural events celebrations aim to provide authentic and purposeful learning Experiences for our students to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of their MTL and cultures, in the hope of inspiring them to Excel in the use of their MTL to the best of their ability.

Our MTL Curriculum Framework addresses 4 main areas that set the direction for the Department and guide our teachers to effectively teach and engage our students, and achieve the Department’s desired learning outcomes.

Our Key Strategies

Teaching of Chinese Language

In the teaching of the Chinese Language (CL), we adopt a thematic-based approach to foster our students’ interest in the language and build their confidence and motivation to learn the language from young.

To make language learning enjoyable for students, various strategies including story-telling, hands-on activities and role-play are used to make the learning process fun, memorable and meaningful.

We strive to develop students’ linguistic skills in CL, in terms of listening, speaking, reading and writing in a structured manner. Students are guided to achieve progressive learning outcomes throughout their 6 years of primary education with Pioneer. These outcomes are shared with parents and students through formative and summative assessments, and daily lessons.

In line with MOE’s syllabus, the teaching and learning of CL is conducted via the modular approach that caters to the different learning needs of our students.

All students take Core Modules throughout Primary 1 to Primary 6. At Lower Primary, Bridging Modules serve as a form of additional support for students who have little exposure to CL prior to entering primary school. These modules focus on building students’ listening and speaking skills and competencies, giving them more confidence in the learning of CL and helping them to cope well with the CL Curriculum. At Middle Primary, students who need additional support will be introduced the Reinforcement Modules. To give further support, we introduced the Mother Tongue Support Programme (MTSP), an in-house programme specially designed for Middle Primary students who need extra guidance and support. Students who demonstrate strong ability and interest for CL are offered Enrichment Modules at Upper Primary where they get the opportunity to hone and strengthen their language skills.

Teaching of Malay Language

In line with MOE’s Malay Language vision of ‘Arif Budiman’, at the end of the 6-year primary education in Pioneer, our students will be active and proficient in the use of Malay Language (ML) and develop deep appreciation of its culture as part of the multi-racial community in Singapore. The learning process is carefully designed to equip students with essential knowledge and skills that will make them become competent users of ML.

The ML syllabus focuses on listening, speaking, reading and writing. These skills are explicitly taught so that students are able to communicate and interact effectively and with confidence.

We adopt a student-centred approach which focuses on teaching of language in an interactive manner. Students are actively involved in the learning process where they learn to read critically, think creatively and collaborate closely with their classmates. Teachers adopt Differentiated Instruction to better cater to students with different learning profiles and abilities, and build students’ competency and understanding of the language.

Teaching of Tamil Language

We aim to nurture students’ love for Tamil Language (TL) through interesting learning experiences that are delivered in a joyful and stimulating learning environment. Various programmes and learning activities are put in place to develop students’ language proficiency and deepen their passion for the language.

Our Key Programmes

Student programmes that focus on the teaching of Oral, Listening, Reading, Writing and Interactive Skills
Programme	Levels	Key Focus
MT Thinking Curriculum	P1 to P6	Mother Tongue teachers infuse Thinking Routines and Paul’s Wheels of Reasoning - Elements of Thought and Intellectual Standards in their lessons to guide students to construct, interpret and evaluate knowledge from different perspectives. By creating such active learning situations in our classrooms, students feel motivated to learn, take greater ownership for their learning and become better learners. With such a curriculum, students develop habits of mind with respect to learning that serve them well both in school and in the real world.
Mother Tongue Support Programme (MTSP)	P3 & P4	A customised programme to support students in the learning of MTL where customised learning materials are used to create an immersive language environment to enable students to learn Mother Tongue with confidence and joy.

Student programmes that focus on Reading
Programme	Levels	Key Focus
Mother Tongue Reading Programme	P1 to P6	To inspire a love of reading in students, we have many reading initiatives/activities/resources such as “Have Enjoyment And Read Together” (HEART) Programme, Mother Tongue Language book reading on every Friday mornings, P1 to P5 weekly reading period, classroom library, newspapers and magazines subscriptions.
Cluster Magazine Publication	P1 to P6	Teaching our students to write well has benefits that go beyond the school years. To help our students improve their writing ability and develop a love for writing, Mother Tongue teachers collaborate with cluster schools to publish yearly cluster magazine with selected students’ articles.

Student programmes that focus on Culture and Values
Programme	Levels	Key Focus
Festive Celebrations	P1 to P6	Various festive celebrations to bring about awareness among students of different races and cultivate a strong cultural belief in them.
Mother Tongue Fortnight / Cultural Camp	P1 to P6	In addition to the fun, excitement and hands on activities through the language and cultural activities, students will gain a deeper insight into their own culture and learn to appreciate it better.
Cultural Performance Exposure Scheme (CPES)	P3 to P4	CPES aims to provide the necessary funding and support to expose students to MT-related cultural performances and programmes.