Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manifesto NUSTLS Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manif | Page 35

Issue
5: 5:
Increasing
the
Usage
of of
Tamil
by by
Students
Outside
Classroom
Issue
Increasing
the
Usage
Tamil
Students
Outside
Classroom
3. Role of parents in promoting Tamil usage outside classrooms
• Teachers and parents are both equally important during primary schooling as they create
the interest in Tamil and introduce it as a fun subject. In secondary school, Tamil is
studied purely for academic grades. At tertiary level, there is not much exposure to Tamil.
Thus, the students have to rely more on outer circle, parents, friends and CCA to keep the
language going.
• There is no pull factor for students to learn Tamil as there is not much economic benefit,
career opportunities. There is also a lack of awareness on Tamil related modules in
Universities.
• Parents are worried that children in schools might not be able to cope with English
especially at a young age and thus there is an increased emphasis on English.
• Parents can choose to speak one language each to the child to give equal emphasis on
English as well as Tamil. The concept of bilingualism should be enforced by parents.
• Events like Family Day organized by Tamil organisations help to promote family cohesion
in a Tamil setting. The parents should inculcate the Tamil culture and values at home as
well.
4. Should there be a speak Tamil campaign similar to Speak Mandarin campaign?
• If current measures like Mother Tongue Language week, Tamil Language Festival are not
achieving their purpose, a campaign with similar methods might not add much value.
• We should instead focus on making Tamil and Higher Mother Tongue more available for
the students, since not all Primary or Secondary schools offer them now.
• The Tamil Campaign should be specifically targeted at youths and not the general public.
Issue 5: Increasing the Usage of Tamil by Students Outside Classroom
PAGE 35