The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Singapore Education Department will give prominence to spoken Tamil, says official

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Singapore Education Department will give prominence to spoken Tamil, says official

A.V.Ragunathan

“Number of households conversing in Tamil language has come down significantly”

VILLUPURAM: The Singapore Education Department has decided to give prominence to spoken Tamil in its new curriculum now in the offing because a situation has arisen in which the number of households conversing in Tamil language has come down significantly, according to N.Subramaniam, Curriculum Planning Officer, Ministry of Education Department, Singapore.

Mr.Subramaniam led a 12-member team comprising Tamil teachers from Singapore to Theivanai Ammal College for Women here on Saturday to interact with their counterparts to know about the teaching methodology.

He told The Hindu that Singapore had English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil as its official languages. In the past 15 years a trend was noticed in which the English-speaking families were on the rise but the number of households (even that of Tamil origin) conversant in Tamil language was on the decline.

Therefore, it had come to such a pass that Tamil language was spoken only in the classrooms by the students who had opted for Tamil as the second language. When asked whether it would be a balanced approach in developing language skills, Mr.Subramaniam said at the same time reading, listening and writing skills would also be given due importance but the primary focus would be on spoken Tamil.

Asked whether the number or percentage of students preferring Tamil as second language was on the decline Mr.Subramaniam said though he did not have statistics available with him he could say that the number had almost reached a plateau.

Were there any other non-Tamil speaking candidates desiring for Tamil as second language? He said certain Japanese students were choosing Tamil because they found certain similarities between the two languages.

He further said that every sixth year the department was revising the syllabus for the secondary level (for students in the age group of 13 to 16 years) and in the current review under progress spoken Tamil would get a dominant place.

Distinguishing between the two educational systems Mr.Subramaniam said in Tamil Nadu content-based teaching got priority, whereas, in Singapore skill-based methodology was adopted.

It included imparting life skills such as problem solving, oratorical skill and how to interview personalities or how to give interviews. As for evaluation he said about 30—40 per cent of marks would be allotted for spoken language.

Mr.Subramaniam underscored the point that there was a flexibility now for the candidates who have chosen Tamil as a second language to switch to Tamil as main language but it could be done only after consultation with the parents and teachers, and, assessing the aptitude of the candidates.

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