Supporting bilingual development goes beyond language lessons in school – it requires a strong ecosystem where research guides practice, teachers are attuned to their students’ diverse language backgrounds and families actively foster meaningful language experiences. Dr Sun Baoqi, from NIE’s Centre for Research in Child Development, Office for Research, and Education Research Funding Programme Office, shares how Singapore’s language curriculum is moving beyond exam-focused learning and highlights key strategies that support bilingual development both inside and outside the classroom.

Shifting The Focus Beyond Exams

“In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift in the language curricula for both English and the Mother Tongue Languages (MTLs) in Singapore,” Dr Sun Baoqi says. “We are moving away from an exam-focused approach towards one that places greater emphasis on holistic language development and lifelong language use.”

One key aspect of this shift is the early cultivation of a love for reading. She notes that primary schools are implementing morning reading sessions, in-class guided reading, curated booklists and enrichment activities – all thoughtfully designed to enrich students’ reading experiences.

“It is important to make the reading experience engaging and rewarding. When children find joy in reading, they will begin to associate the language with pleasure and discovery, rather than with pressure or rote learning,” she explains. 

Early reading also builds a strong foundation for later literacy and academic achievement. “I’m especially encouraged by how reading is being used as an early intervention strategy at Admiralty Primary School, as highlighted in the ‘Classroom Perspectives’ article,” she says.

In addition to traditional methods, schools are also leveraging technology to spark students’ interest in language learning. E-platforms such as the Mother Tongue Language Learning Portal and Student Learning Space have been integrated into classroom practice.

“The digital tools on the e-platforms offer videos, games and quizzes, which are developed in alignment with curriculum content and help reinforce language input,” she shares. “Many activities on the e-platforms are also designed to accommodate different learner profiles, support differentiated learning and make language more accessible to all students.”

The Challenges of Teaching Mother Tongue in the Singapore Context 

However, challenges in MTL learning remains. Baoqi outlines three reasons that account for the decline in students’ MTL proficiency as compared to English.

“Firstly, as English becomes the dominant home language in many households, children receive less MTL input outside of school,” she shares.

The second reason is that in schools, English typically receives more curriculum time than MTL. “At the preschool level, some children may not even be taught by a teacher who speaks their specific MTL,” she adds.

Thirdly, high-quality and engaging MTL materials that match children’s proficiency levels are less readily available compared to English. Thus, this makes it harder for students to access suitable content and build confidence.

“Some students may perceive learning MTL as more difficult than English, and in turn, feel less motivated,” she comments.

This presents two key challenges for teachers – sustaining students’ motivation while also addressing the diversity in their language backgrounds.

“As more children grow up in English-dominant homes, teachers increasingly face wider variation in students’ MTL proficiency within the same classroom,” she explains. “This poses great pedagogical demands for teachers to design differentiate instructions and materials that cater to a broad spectrum of language abilities.”

The Important Role of Education Research 

Baoqi stresses the importance of keeping up to date with the latest evidence-based and effective pedagogical strategies that enhance teaching efficacy.

“For example, neuroscience research helps us understand how bilingual brains develop and process multiple languages. In the ‘People’ article, clinical neuropsychologist Professor Annabel Chen shares how neuroscience research has been pivotal in shaping more targeted, evidence-informed strategies that support students with neurodevelopmental conditions,” she elaborates.

She also stresses the need for education research to move beyond monolingual instructional approaches, pointing out that MTL and English instruction have traditionally been delivered in isolation, with little reference to each other.

“While this helps with language-specific development, it overlooks the fact that bilingual children naturally draw cross-language connections as they process and acquire both languages,” she remarks.

She cites an ongoing NIE project that explores the effectiveness of a synchronized bilingual reading programme. The project uses thematically matched books in English and MTL to give children rich opportunities to acquire context-specific vocabulary in their two languages concurrently.

“By intentionally drawing connections between the two languages, the programme aims to strengthen vocabulary development, especially in the child’s weaker language. Preliminary findings suggest that this approach not only boosts curriculum-related vocabulary knowledge but also promotes greater use of their weaker language,” she shares.

Looking ahead, Baoqi expresses the need for more robust and inclusive local research that reflects the realities of Singapore’s multilingual context. “To provide evidence that is truly relevant to our learners, more research attention should be given to Malay- and Tamil-speaking children, and studies that include all three MTL groups are especially valuable,” she asserts.

Supporting Bilingualism at Home 

Beyond the school and classroom, Baoqi emphasizes that parental involvement is critical in sustaining bilingualism. When parents demonstrate a positive attitude toward a language, children are likely to model that behaviour.

“Parents’ beliefs and attitudes towards a language can significantly shape how a child perceives and engages with it,” she notes.

To help foster a rich language and literacy environment at home, Baoqi encourages parents to build simple, consistent habits – such as regularly borrowing books from the National Library Board (NLB) and weaving bilingual elements into daily routines.

“For instance, cooking traditional dishes while explaining the process in the MTL can provide practical and contextual learning. Similarly, reading stories or watching shows and films in the MTL can enhance vocabulary and comprehension in a fun and engaging way,” she adds.

She also urges parents to be open to learning alongside their children. “There is a Chinese proverb that goes ‘言传不如身教’, which means ‘actions speak louder than words’,” she remarks. “By actively participating in the learning process and overcoming language barriers themselves, parents not only enhance their own language skills but also serve as powerful role models.”