The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Tamil teachers from Singapore on a learning curve

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Sunday, Nov 29, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil teachers from Singapore on a learning curve

A.V. Ragunathan

— Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy

Sharing views: A Tamil teacher from Singapore interacting with her counterparts at the Theivanai Ammal College for Women at Villupuram on Saturday.

VILLUPURAM: A 12-member Tamil teachers’ team from Singapore, on a mission to improve teaching methodology and language skills, visited the Theivanai Ammal College for Women here on Saturday.

Umamaheswari, a member of the team, sought to know how teachers here were helping out slow learners. She was told that through special coaching such students were taken from stage to stage until they picked the nuances.

Another member asked whether the topics for essays were decided by teachers or students. Pat came the reply that initially teachers chose the topics. After acquiring certain degree of mastery, students would start choosing.

Part-time course

According to Tamilarasi, leader of the team, mostly the members had obtained degrees from Tamil Nadu. Till 2006 no institution in Singapore offered degrees in Tamil language. Now, SIM University was offering part-time undergraduate courses.

Ms. Tamilarasi said that the objective of the visit was to ascertain from their counterparts here on how best the Tamil language skills could be imparted among Class 7 to 10 students in Singapore. It would also provide an opportunity to the team to know more about Tamil culture and imbibe best teaching and learning processes.

She underscored the point that there was no separate school for teaching Tamil or Tamil- medium schools as such and Tamil was taught only as a second language.

A milestone

Founder and Correspondent of the E. Swamikkannu said that the interaction would further the cause of Tamil language. He viewed it as a milestone in promoting Tamil language in cooperation with Tamil teachers from Singapore.

College Secretary S. Sentil Kumar said that during the recent visit to educational institutions in Singapore and Hong Kong, he and Principal Kasthuri Bai Dhanasekaran had showcased the infrastructure and highly qualified faculty available in the Tamil department of the college. The team’s visit was in pursuance to the endeavour.

The Principal hoped that the Singapore team’s visit would help in formulating collaborative projects and exchange programmes.

Teachers from educational institutions run by the E.S. Educational Trust gave a power-point presentation on the teaching methodology followed from the primary school to Ph.D. level.

After witnessing a cultural programme Ms. Tamilarasi said that the team members were overjoyed by the warm reception.

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