New P1 mother tongue curriculum to start next year

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-p1-mother-tongue/1326776.html

A new curriculum will be introduced in primary schools next year to improve students' proficiency in their mother tongue. Primary 1 students will be the first to take on the new syllabus, which places greater emphasis on spoken and written interaction skills.

The syllabus will be progressively rolled out to the Primary 6 level in 2020.

The new curriculum will feature human characters, with names such as Adi, Kayal and Xiaoan, who will make their appearances in textbooks as well as ICT resources.

The characters will also go through real-life situations and "grow" with the students - to better engage them in learning.

At the start of this year, 42 schools were given at least two weeks each to test out the new syllabus. The Education Ministry said there will also be a greater use of videos, animations and games to enhance the teaching and learning of mother tongue.

The Education Ministry said the new syllabus is in line with recommendations of the 2010 Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) Review Committee.

Minister of State for Education Sim Ann also said one of the recommendations is the importance of building oral skills.