Mother Tongue Languages

Head of Department:
Ms Cheng Sze Mei Carmen

Teachers:
Mr Ang Ruixiang
Ms Chen Si Si
Mdm Fazillah Binte Mohamed Ismail
Mr Lee Heng Han
Miss Liang Qidi
Mr Muhammad Irwan Bin Jamal (ML ST)
Ms Nur Nadzirah Bte Mohamed Hassan
Ms Phang Shi Hui
Ms Yu Honghong
Mdm Wang Qingzhen
Mdm Siti Sapiya Bte Mohd Sumri
Mr Amir Gany Bin Mohamed Ali (FAJT)
Mdm Sun Junmo (SRE)
Mr Watt Chan Meng (FAJT)

Vision

To nurture in our students a strong foundation in their Mother Tongue Languages and an enduring interest in their culture.

Mission

To be a value-added department that inspires the pupil love for their culture.

Objectives

Our teachers are committed to produce students who are:

Highly proficient in the use of Mother Tongue Languages
Confident and articulate speakers
Rooted in the values and appreciative of their cultural heritage

Programmes/Focus/Events

CNY Celebrations
Mother Tongue Fortnight & Cultural Camp
Cultural Performance Exposure

Other Related Links: https://zbschools.sg/

Chinese New Year Classroom Decoration Competition

The Chinese New Year Classroom Decoration Competition is an exciting event aimed at fostering cultural awareness and celebrating the rich traditions of the Chinese New Year within Hougang Secondary School. The primary objective of this competition is to engage students, teachers, and staff in a creative and educational experience that goes beyond the typical classroom setting. By encouraging participants to decorate their classrooms in accordance with the Chinese New Year theme, we aim to promote cross-cultural understanding, appreciation of diversity, and respect for the Chinese cultural heritage.
Through this competition, we hope to provide a platform for students to learn about the customs, symbols, and significance of the Chinese New Year, all while promoting teamwork and creativity. The event also serves as an opportunity for students to develop essential skills such as research, teamwork, and communication as they collaborate to design and execute their decorative ideas.

Hougang Secondary School Cultural Performance Exposure Scheme (CPES) Programme 2023

On 31 July 2023, the Secondary 1 Chinese Language students felt the charm of traditional opera up close at Tampines East Community Club through watching the Peking Opera performance “The Monkey King Borrow Treasure from Dragon Palace”.

The play was performed by Mr Guo Xuqian, Artistic Director of the Singapore Chinese Arts Centre, and his team. The play consists of performances, martial arts, tumbling skills, and interactive sessions. Students reacted with enthusiasm to the amazing martial arts scenes and interactions on and off the stage. Many students said that it was their first time watching a Peking Opera performance. Nevertheless, they found that it was very different from the performances they had seen before. The content was easy to understand, and the performance was relatively interesting.

At the end of the performance, Mr Guo gave an introduction to Peking Opera. Students get to know the types of Peking Opera and the classification of characters based on the roles. When it came to the final interactive session, students were all eager to try and experience the recitation of the main character’s monologue. Through watching the Peking Opera performance, students had an in-depth understanding of traditional Chinese opera culture, thus cultivating their interest in Chinese culture.

Mother Tongue Language (MTL) Fortnight 2023 Overview

The MTL Fortnight is an annual program designed to create an immersive environment for students to learn and appreciate Mother Tongue Languages and Cultures. It aims to make MTL learning engaging and relevant by offering a range of activities that bring language and culture to life.

The program seeks to broaden students’ horizons by providing opportunities for them to explore and experience their own cultural traditions. Through diverse cultural activities, students can deepen their understanding of their heritage, values, and cultural identity.

Ultimately, the MTL Fortnight aims to deepen students’ interests in learning mother-tongue languages, doing so in a fun setting outside of traditional classroom activities. We believe that stimulating students’ interests in the languages and cultures are key to getting students motivated in learning.

Program Organization and Activities:

The MTL Fortnight is organized within a designated two-week period, one week in Semester 1 and the other in Semester 2. The programme includes a range of activities to achieve its objectives. Some of the planned activities include:

Language and Cultural Workshops: Various workshops are conducted to provide students with hands-on experiences related to language and culture. These workshops can cover aspects such as traditional art, music, dance and culinary practices.
Communication Competitions: Activities like debates, speeches, and recitation contests are organized to encourage students to actively use their mother tongue language and to improve their communication skills.
Interactive Productions: Creative projects such as audio drama production allow students to collaborate, use their language skills and express themselves in culturally meaningful ways.
Cultural Appreciation: Students are encouraged to reflect on their cultural identity and share personal stories related to their heritage. This fosters a deeper connection to their roots and a sense of belonging.

In summary, the MTL Fortnight serves as an immersive platform for students to learn and appreciate their Mother Tongue Languages and Cultures. Fun and engaging activities are curated to stimulate students’ interests, motivating them to learn more.

2023 Mother Tongue (Chinese Language) Fortnight Programme

3月31日至4月6日和7月31至8月4日这两周，后港中学母语部进行了全校母语双周活动，这次活动是课堂教学延申，旨在让学生在各种活动中，体验学习华文的乐趣，使学生在潜移默化中爱上华文, 并做到寓教于乐，乐学善用。 During the week from 31 March-6 April and 31July-4August , the Mother Tongue Department of Hougang Secondary School carried out the Mother Tongue Fortnight activities for the whole school. The objective for these activities is to create the platform for students to develop interest and love for their mother tongues languages. Students get to know more about their culture through the fun activities we planned for them.

Traditional Ethnic Costumes

传统民族服装

Sec 1 闯关游戏

Sec 1 谁是推理王

Sec1 Chinese Traditional Auspicious animals 3D Model Construction

Sec 2 小组呈现《与声剧来》创作的剧本

Sec 3 茶艺茶文化

Sec 3 风筝制作

Sec3 - 5 辩论比赛

Sec4&5N 中国结

2023 Mother Tongue (Malay Language) Fortnight Programme

Sec 1: Congkak
As part of the MTL Fortnight, the Secondary 1 Malay Language students had the opportunity to experience how to play Congkak and to hold a conversation with their peers.

Sec 1: Gasing
The Sec 1’s also had the opportunity to know more about the traditional game ‘gasing’ or top and created one using a toothpick and coloured papers. It was amazing to see that it actually worked!

Sec 2: Sahibba
Sahibba (Scrabble) – The Secondary 2 Malay Language students were involved in a classic battle of wits and words where every word counts in a game of Sahibba.

Sec 2: Keris
The Sec 2’s also had the opportunity to learn about the keris; a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger used by the Malays as weapon and spiritual object in the eleventh century. They also had an opportunity to make their own keris using paper.

Sec 3 Batik Painting
The Secondary 3 Malay Language Students had a fun time exhibiting their creativity in colouring the traditional art of batik painting.

Sec 3: Khat Calligraphy
The Sec 3’s had the opportunity to do khat calligraphy; an artistic practise of handwriting using brushwork based on Jawi scripts. Jawi is written in a modified Arabic script and read in Malay. Did you know that Jawi was the official script in most parts of the Malay Archipelago, including Singapore, for more than 700 years?

Sec 4E 5N – Poetry Appreciation

Selected Reading Program School Representatives

Reading Programme (EL write-up):
In Hougang Secondary School’s MTL Reading Programme, students are exposed to a variety of reading resources comprising of articles as well as literary texts such as novels, short stories and poems. Students are kept abreast of contemporary issues when they read online newspapers like Zao Bao, Berita Harian and Gen G from their professional learning device (I-pad). For follow-up activities, students provided their viewpoints and applied critical and higher order thinking upon reading subscribed materials through platforms such as Grit Moment sessions during morning FRC.

Reading Programme (ML write-up):
Dalam Program Membaca Bahasa Ibunda di Sekolah Menengah Hougang, pelajar didedahkan kepada pelbagai sumber bacaan yang terdiri daripada artikel dan teks sastera seperti novel, cerpen dan puisi. Pelajar sentiasa mengikuti perkembangan isu kontemporari apabila mereka membaca akhbar dalam talian seperti Berita Harian dan Gen G daripada peranti pembelajaran profesional (I-pad) mereka. Untuk aktiviti susulan, pelajar memberikan pandangan mereka dan menggunakan pemikiran aras kritis dan lebih tinggi apabila membaca bahan yang dilanggan melalui platform seperti sesi Grit Moment semasa FRC pagi.

阅读计划（Reading Programme）

通过阅读，培养学生的学习兴趣。学生可以获取课堂之外的知识和信息，提高语言和思维能力，培养学生的逻辑思维、判断力、分析能力。为今后的学习、工作和生活打下坚实的基础。

通过阅读，在校内举办各种活动，激发学生学习的兴趣。

校园早报

推动和鼓励学生利用晨读或业余时间阅读课外书以及网上《校园早报》，丰富和扩大学生们的知识面，增加阅历和见识。

GRIT MOMENT

GRIT 是我们后港中学五个学校价值观的首个字母缩写，即： GRIT（Gratitude、 Respect、 Ingenuity、 Trustworthiness、 Grit ）代表感恩、尊重、独创性、可信赖性和坚毅。

学生们在偶数周的早上以华语的方式进行有关学校价值观的分享与心得。

20周年的校庆，本部门第一次推出华文作文集

为了配合20周年的校庆，本部门第一次推出华文作文集，让学生记载在学校的点点滴滴，同时也借这一个机会让已经毕业的学生回顾一下在学校的时光。作文集的出版旨在发表学生的佳作，鼓励他们积极以华文创作，同时带动本地校园华文写作的风气。

封面标题为后中家作，从谐音来说，可以说是回来后港中学这个大家庭坐坐，也将佳作记录下来，成为后中这个大家庭的“家”作。借着校庆的主题，“ 后中-我的家”，希望后港的莘莘学子都能秉着一日后中人，终身厚忠人的精神，体现出后港中学的价值观之一: 饮水思源, 带着感恩的心，造福身边每个人。

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# Malay Language

Curriculum/Subject Offered

Sec 3 Exp: Malay Lit (Elective)

Programmes and Activities

1. Academic Programmes

Applied Learning Programme

Reading Programme (Sec 1 to 5)
GRIT Moment Sharing (Sec 1 to 5)
MT Fortnight Programme (Sec 1 to 3)
Virtual Video Showcase (Sec 1 and 2)
Sharing & Presentation of opinions through Video Production (Sec 3)

2. Enrichment Programme

Toastmasters cum Debate Workshop (for Sec 2 & 3)
Script-Writing Workshops (for Malay Lit students)
Words Go Round Workshop (for Malay Lit Students)
Dramatisation E-Dari Pena ke Panggung (for Malay Lit Students)

3. Competitions

Essay Writing Competition Pena Emasku
4PM Debate Competition 2021
Rentas Pentas 2021- A Malay Language and Cultural Competition

HS MALAY LANGUAGE PROGRAMME/ACTIVITIES

ML Scrabble 2023 @ Pei Hwa Secondary School
On 17 October 2023, 2 teams of Secondary 2 and Secondary 3 ML students took part in the N3 ML Scrabble organized by Pei Hwa Secondary School. While both teams walked away with certificates of participation, the Secondary 2 achieved second place overall with Muhammad Ismail Bin Jumadi from 2E winning second in the individual category.

Malay Literature Dari Pena Ke Panggung (DPKP) 2023
Literature In Malay students did a dramatisation showcase of a poem entitled ‘Tidak Senang Dengan Duduk-Duduk’ on 7 September 2023. The DPKP dramatisation which is held at the Republic Cultural Centre, Studio at Republic Polytechnic, is aimed to deepen students’ understanding of the literary texts and to provide an avenue to interpret and adapt the text into a theatrical performance.