User:JTAY017/sandbox

= Introduction =

In Singapore, Higher Mother Tongue Languages (HMTL) refer to Mandarin Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, which are taught to students at a higher level in schools. They are offered to students from Primary 5 till Secondary 4, if they meet the eligibility criteria. The Ministry of Education (MOE) aims to help students with the ability, aptitude and interest in MTL to achieve higher levels of language proficiency and cultural knowledge through HMTL. Over the years, there has been an increase in the percentage of students offering Higher Mother Tongue Languages (HMTL) at PSLE and ‘O’ level. In 2003, 17.6% and 16.3% offered Higher Mother Tongue at PSLE and ‘O’ level respectively. In 2012, the percentage increased to 23.1% at PSLE and 26.9% at ‘O’ level. For Higher Chinese at PSLE and ‘O’ level, the percentage of students offering this subject has increased from 21.6% to 27.4% and 18.2% to 30.1% respectively. For Higher Malay at PSLE and ‘O’ Level, the percentage has increased from 5.7% to 7.1% and 8.3% to 10.7% respectively. For Higher Tamil at PSLE and ‘O’ Level, the percentage has increased from 15.1% to 21.4% and 11.5% to 24.7% respectively. There have been mixed views about the relevance of HMTL at primary school levels. It has been debated that HMTL should only be taken at primary school levels if the child wishes to enter a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school - Pupils in the top 30% of the PSLE cohort who take Higher Chinese at the PSLE will be given bonus points for admission to SAP schools.

Qualifying for Higher Mother Tongue
Higher Mother Tongue is an optional subject offered to eligible students at primary and secondary school levels.

Primary School: At the primary level, eligible students will be able to take Higher Mother Tongue in Primary 5. In 2004, the criteria for students who wished to take HMTL is as follows:

Prior to progressing on the Primary 5, students who wish to take HMTL should opt for it by opting for the EM1 stream. Additionally, students who achieve Band 2 and above are allowed to continue taking HMTL in Primary 6 if they wish to do so. Currently changes have been made to the system in which the EM1/EM2/EM3 streaming system has been replaced. As such, parents can opt for their children who may have the ability and interest to pursue mother tongue at a higher level at Primary 5. This is subject to the respective schools’ approval.

Secondary School: For students progressing on to the secondary level, those scoring an A* grade in the mother tongue language (MTL) or at least a Merit in the HMTL during Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) will be eligible to take HMTL in secondary school. Additionally, those ranked in the top 10% of the PSLE are also eligible for HMTL.

Incentives
Students taking HMTL in secondary school will be allowed to sit for the O Level Mother Tongue paper earlier, at the end of Secondary 3. Additionally, they will be allowed to drop HMTL, and continue taking Mother Tongue in Secondary 4 if they are unable to cope. Students who pass English language and HMTL at O Levels will be given a concession of 2 points for the L1R5 aggregate for their entrance to a Junior College or Millennia Institute. Additionally, students who took HMTL at O Levels are exempted from taking Mother Tongue in JC/MI. Students who obtain at least a D7 in HMTL at O Levels are considered to have satisfied the requirements for MTL, for the admission to the three local universities - National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University.

=Syllabus= For Primary School, the focus upon Higher mother Tongue language (Chinese) was focus on the student’s ability to read and the expansion of vocabulary. Generally, across all 4 Mother Tongue Languages, HMTL would introduce more words to students per chapter taught, with the additional words taught being of a slightly higher difficulty at the lower primary levels. At secondary school levels, the focus of HMTL would be on the written component, with a greater emphasis on formal writing in examinations. Furthermore, students reading HMTL languages at the MOE-Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Levels would be given an additional deduction of 2 points if a pass is obtained. Students who pass HMTL are also offered the option of not reading MTL at the Junior College/ Millenia Institute level.

Differences in teaching style
Chinese (PSLE): There is a focus on the development of reading and expansion of vocabulary. for Chinese PSLE normal mother tongue. - There is a focus on the development of the basic fundamentals of Chinese Language for MTL students. In the case of HMTL students there is an assumption that the students have already had the fundamentals of basic Chinese and hence there is no need for fundamental development. - For example, HMTL students learn quantitatively more words per chapter- these words are also more advanced than the MTL syllabus

Malay (PSLE) The Malay and HMTL (Malay) subject syllabuses for the primary level cover the learning of proverbs proverbs. The list of proverbs fixed is different for both subjects, with HMTL (Malay) focusing on a more extensive list. They are expected to familiarise themselves with the given list.

Chinese (O Level) There is a focus on the writing component for HMTL, especially because they have 2 comprehension passages and a summary. Less emphasis is placed on speech. For eg. Weightage for the papers for HMTL is 90 marks for the essay component, and 110 marks for the comprehension component. No speech component at all. MTL however does not specialise like HMTL does. Weightage of papers : Essay : 60 marks Comprehension : 70 marks Oral and listening : 70 marks

Malay (O Level) Both the Malay and HMTL (Malay) subject syllabuses for the secondary level also cover the learning of proverbs, albeit the latter focuses them on a deeper level. A fixed list of proverbs is set for the respective Malay subjects and students are expected to familiarise with them.

Examination Structure
Chinese ( PSLE): Students readings Chinese as a mother tongue would be assessed in 4 separate formats: Composition, comprehension, Oral examination and listening comprehension. STudents reading Chinese as a HMTL would be assessed in only 2 separate formats: Composition and comprehension. (No oral and listening) (HMTL) (MTL)

Malay (PSLE): Students are assessed through an oral examination, a listening comprehension, a comprehension paper and composition. For HMTL (Malay), students are only required to sit for a composition paper and a comprehension paper. Similar the other HMTL subjects, there are no oral and listening components for HMTL (Malay). (MTL) (HMTL)

Tamil (PSLE) Students are assessed through an oral examination, listening comprehension, a comprehension paper and composition. Both higher and normal tamil had the same examination components- the only difference was complexity level. (MTL) (HMTL)

Chinese ( O Level): Students reading Chinese as a mother tongue would be assessed in 3 separate formats: Listening Comprehension, Oral Examination, and the Written Examination (which consists both of a comprehension exam paper as well as a written composition) Students reading HMTL (Chinese) are assessed only in the Written Examination component which consists of a comprehension exam paper as well as the written composition. The composition component consists of: Paper 1: 2 written compositions - writing an email (informal/formal) and one essay Paper 2: Comprehension and summary (MTL) (HMTL)

Malay (O Level): Similarly, students reading Malay as a mother tongue would also be assessed in 3 separate formats: Listening Comprehension, Oral Examination, and the Written Examination which includes a written composition and a comprehension paper) Students reading HMTL (Malay) are assessed in Written examination through 2 papers, consisting of: Paper 1: 2 written compositions - writing an email and one essay Paper 2: Comprehension (MTL) (HMTL)

=Attitudes= HMTL is viewed as an opportunity for greater advancements due to the incentives. However, HMTL is also being understood as requiring a lot more effort due to the increased rigor in comparison to the mother tongue syllabus. This results in some parents reassessing and re-evaluating the option to take up HMTL. In addition, because of the added incentive of HMTL parents are not as pleased about it as they feel that their child is shortchanged if they are not as good in their mother tongue.

Besides the opportunity provided by HMTL in terms of education progression; HMTL are also viewed by parents to be a way to improve their child’s proficiency and ability in a language.