SPEECH BY DPM LEE HSIEN LOONG AT THE

TAMIL LANGUAGE COUNCIL FUND RAISING TEA

9 OCTOBER 2000 AT 5 P.M AT SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

I am very happy to join you this evening at this fund raising tea in aid of the Tamil Language Council. The funds raised today will be used to promote the use of Tamil, and heighten the appreciation of Tamil culture, especially among young Tamil-speaking Singaporeans. This is a worthwhile objective. It will strengthen the multi-cultural foundation upon which Singapore has been built.

In May last year, the Prime Minister launched the Singapore 21 Vision. Among other things, S21 envisioned a multi-racial Singapore comprising four over-lapping circles, where each community would retain its cultural space and distinct identity, but over time we would widen the overlapping areas.

The S21 Vision takes this approach because we are convinced that our different cultural identities are important strands of our national identity, and that this diversity is a source of strength for Singapore. The Government has therefore consistently supported the efforts of the various communities to retain their cultural identities.

One key area is the teaching and learning of mother tongues in schools. Our common working language is English – the language of global business, commerce and technology. But our mother tongues give us crucial values, roots and identity. It gives us a world-view that complements the perspective of the English-speaking world. Proficiency in our mother tongue will also enable us to absorb the richness and vigour of the original legends, stories and literary works, which are lost in translations, and thus appreciate more deeply our cultural heritage and moral values.

In teaching mother tongues in schools, therefore, our objectives have been two-fold: to develop the pupil’s linguistic skills, and at the same time to transmit the relevant culture and traditional values. Over time, as our society has evolved, we have modified and improved the teaching of mother tongues in schools. We have taken into account changes in our external environment, as well as new research on language learning.

Thus in 1998, in response to feedback from the Indian MPs and SINDA, the Ministry of Education set up a Tamil Language Review Committee chaired by Minister Teo Chee Hean, to review the teaching and learning of Tamil in schools. In February this year, MOE accepted the Committee’s findings, and announced changes to the teaching of Tamil in schools. The Committee recognised that language habits of Singaporean families were changing. Many more Indian families speak English at home, instead of Tamil. Children from these families would find learning Tamil much harder than those from Tamil speaking homes. The Committee recommended setting realistic demands on pupils learning the Tamil language, so that parents and children are stimulated to achieve their best, and not discouraged and caused to lose interest in the subject.

MOE is now revising the primary school TL textbooks to bring them to a level of difficulty that is more appropriate for the majority of Tamil language students. It is also correspondingly adjusting secondary TL textbooks, to suit students who have completed the revised primary TL syllabus. The new materials for both primary and secondary students will be ready progressively, by levels, from 2002. In the interim, guidelines have been issued to teachers on reducing the content of the current textbooks.

We need to strike a balance among the different language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. In adult life, most Tamil Singaporeans will more often speak and hear Tamil than read Tamil, and more often read than write Tamil. Tamil language teaching and examinations in schools therefore will be adjusted to emphasise more on listening and speaking skills, and also on reading skills.

We also introduced TL ‘B’ for the minority of students who face exceptional difficulties learning standard TL. Some of these students have high cognitive ability and do well in their other subjects, but struggle with TL. As their numbers are small, it is would not be practical for MOE to have a TL ‘B’ teaching programme at the secondary or JC level, as we have a CL ‘B’ teaching programme for Chinese Language. Instead, MOE will allow eligible students to sit for the TL ‘B’ examination papers in the ‘O’ and ‘A’ level examinations from 2001 onwards.

We will not ignore students who have the talent and inclination to offer TL at a higher level and eventually take on the role of cultural transmitters in areas such as teaching, journalism and the arts. Students who wish to continue with Tamil language studies at the university level can take up the South Asian Studies Programme (SASP) in NUS, which offers two Tamil language modules as electives at an advanced level. To encourage students to take up these courses, those who meet certain criteria and commit to offer the two Tamil language modules in the SASP will be eligible for bonus points when they seek admission to NUS from Academic Year 2002/2003.

MOE is also upgrading the existing Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC) into a national Tamil language resource centre to support teachers and students in the teaching and learning of Tamil language. The upgrading is progressing smoothly and will be completed by the end of this year.

These changes, which MOE will roll out over the next few years, will improve the teaching and learning of Tamil language in schools. It will still not be an easy task to maintain the proficiency of the younger generation in the Tamil language, but we must give it our best effort.

The Government will play its part. Beyond the classroom curriculum, we are organising enrichment activities to promote the use of TL in schools, and develop interest among pupils in learning TL. The Tamil Language Unit in MOE is actively involved in providing resources to schools and helping them organise the activities. These include annual school, zonal and national level Tamil Language competitions for primary TL pupils in areas such as singing, story telling, oratorical and essay writing competitions, and annual school and national Tamil Language camps for secondary TL pupils.

With these developments, it should be clear that the Government is committed to maintaining the status of Tamil as an official language and to doing its part to keep the language alive. But the nurturing of the language cannot be left to the Government alone. Nor can the teaching and learning of the Tamil language be just confined to the school environment. The family, the community and the media must also play their part, to keep the language vibrant and relevant to Singapore, to hold the interest of the younger generation and help them to master their mother tongue.

I believe the Tamil/Indian community and grassroots organisations recognise this need. Many Tamil/Indian organisations in Singapore have been promoting the language and its culture. The varied activities are almost entirely volunteer-driven.

This free play of individual initiative within the Tamil community has been a positive factor that has helped create the active cultural scene. But at the same time the various groups should also coordinate their efforts, so that we conserve scarce resources and get the maximum results. They should work with one another, as well as complement the efforts of the Government.

The Tamil Language Council, formed this year under the auspices of MITA, plays an important role in promoting Tamil in Singapore. It can be a focal point bringing together the efforts of the various Tamil/Indian organisations, helping the community and grassroots organisations to expand their reach and maximising the synergies of their programmes.

I understand that many organisations are already working jointly with the TLC. Its activities have received strong support from the community, as can be seen in the success of the TLC’s fund raising effort among Indian businessmen, professionals and community groups.

This is a good start. I thank all those who have contributed so generously to this fund raising, and wish the TLC and its partner organisations every success with your programmes.

======