ENGLISH TEXT

GARDEN FOR JOYFUL DISCOVERY

The theme for this year’s Symposium is “A Garden for Joyful Discovery”. The organisers drew
inspiration from our “City in a Garden” vision for Singapore. Just like how our parks are lush, diverse
and ecologically rich, so should learning opportunities – in terms of programmes, resources and
various modes of lesson delivery. Similar to how parks, gardens, nature reserves are linked through
park connectors into an extensive network, we too need to link up the learning of MTLs, from pre-
school to lifelong learning.

To promote the learning of MTL, we organise this Symposium every year. It is a collaboration
between MOE and the education community. There are 40 sharing sessions and workshops, and 43
exhibition booths to share good teaching practices in schools as well as home. I thank all our
partners for your contribution to this Symposium, and I hope everyone will find the resources at the
Symposium useful.

I would also like to thank the three Mother Tongue Language Learning and Promotion Committees,
chaired by Ms Low Yen Ling, Dr Faishal Ibrahim, and Mr Vikram Nair, for organising a wide range of
MTL-related programmes to cater to diverse student interests and needs.

We should also recognise our MTL teachers. They have been unwavering in upholding the MTL
education policy. It has not been an easy journey working against the backdrop of globalisation,
spread of social media, and wider use of English. Today, we are recognising the contribution of MTL
teachers, including 13 outstanding pre-school MTL teachers.

LEARNING LANGUAGES FOR LIFE

Earlier this year in May, I spoke about ‘Learning Languages for Life’. I described it as a key thrust of
our Learn for Life Movement. This is the fourth thrust. Today, let me briefly recap some of the key
considerations and our strategy to promote learning of MTL and why it is important to feature this.
SMS Chee Hong Tat will then elaborate on how we are improving the MTL curriculum in secondary
schools.
There are significant benefits to learning our MTLs well:

First, extensive research has shown that learning two or more languages helps brain development
and improves cognitive abilities of the child and benefit the child in the long term.

Second, our region is the fastest growing in the world, and knowing our MTLs well allows us to
access valuable economic opportunities around the region. Many countries recognise this and they
are also pushing ahead with multi-lingual education policies. Bilingualism is no longer Singapore’s
unique advantage so we must work harder on this.

Finally, language is the window to culture, and as a young country, we must draw on our respective
rich ancestral cultures, to build our unique Singapore culture and identity. I am glad that through the
commemoration of the Singapore Bicentennial, we have raised the awareness of this aspect of
nation building.

Together with MOE’s efforts, students, parents and the society at large are increasingly cognisant of
the benefits of learning MTL.

CHINESE TEXT

总听说靠天吃饭的农民们有多辛苦，总听说认真做有机的小农有多坚持，台湾，这块土地与最
珍贵的天然美味，就靠一份份心意的传承才能继续。于是，2009 年 3 月，年轻的禾掌屋商社
在承旧创新中选择于台北成立。

突破混乱微利现况，我们自许实现商品安全承诺

稻米是广大农民敬天乐土下充满努力心意的栽种成果，但 WTO 政策开放下，面临泰国及日

本等各地进口米的大挑战，加上本土既有粮商竞争者众多且激烈，导致目前国内谷物市场成为
红海困境，不仅米及加工品商品混乱，厂商也陷入微利窘境！
 在恶性竞争下，市售稻米商品容易出现三等米外及外销米状态，或碾制包装过程不构严谨，
除了碎米充数外，也容易混杂异物或碎石，影响消费者的观感与信心，更让纯朴农民们的辛劳
成果蒙受误解。

于是，为了真正传承有机小农的辛劳心意，我们的创新从源头─米的安全开始，坚持从收
割到包装，用 15 道工序与德日等先进设备，让每一口饭都能吃得安心，同时也坚持不以混米
销售，要以品质来赢得消费者的信任。

灌注在地文化，我们认真落实稻米人文精神

“锄禾日当午，汗滴禾下土。谁知盘中飧，粒粒皆辛苦。”唐朝诗人里深的悯农诗贴切道
尽一粒米的背后故事。稻米不仅只是食品，更是农民的生命缩影，那结实垒垒的稻穗蕴含了耕
种者每一期的喜悲心情点滴，我们渴望唤醒消费大众从心感受那份原始的感动，未来，除了与
有机稻场合作举办更多主题体验活动，吸引广大消费者们从餐桌走入产地外，更加规划一系列
农民讲座，让消费者真正亲身感受大地与农民的坚持。