Centre Director's Message in English
Dear Teachers,
It has now been two years since COVID-19 first started. The world education system including Singapore have been affected. We have successfully overcome the challenges in our effort to ensure continuous learning for our students. The challenges also did not deter our educators in striving for excellence. Instead, it resulted in a shift in our educational landscape where our educators are actively exploring new skills and adapting to the new norms.
The many challenges faced also did not dampen the spirit of our Malay Language (ML) educators. In their effort to improve teaching and learning (T&L) in the classroom, they have been continuously seeking new knowledge and proactively attending the courses offered by the Malay Language Centre of Singapore (MLCS). My sincere appreciation and thanks to all our ML teachers for their continuous commitment to upgrade themselves so that they can provide a meaningful and enjoyable learning experience for our students.
The COVID-19 pandemic also saw rapid changes taking place in our education landscape, which are aligned with the current changes and development in education and technology. As a teacher training centre, MLCS has also adapted accordingly with the changes brought about by COVID-19. Almost all our core courses and professional development programmes are offered online through the OPAL2.0 portal. The courses structure have also been improvised using Malcom Knowles’ adult learning theory of andragogy. The new structure also ensures that teachers are continuously supported in their learning. From this year onwards, all courses offered by MLCS will comprise of 3 parts that has been specially designed to provide a more structured learning experience for our teachers.
MLCS will also look into producing e-publication or e-books for our T&L resources. This move is necessary in our effort to realise MLCS vision to be an excellent training centre for ML teachers. In addition, this change will be well-aligned with the skills and comfort level of our ML teachers in accessing information using various technological affordances. The various e-publication will also further facilitate the sharing of resources among teachers and allow greater accessibility by teachers for their use in the classroom.
In conclusion, may 2022 gives us the strength to bring excellence and success in the T&L of ML in Singapore. For us in MLCS, we will be committed to stay relevant with the changes in the education landscape. We are also determined to work closely with all parties to cultivate the professional development excellence of our teachers. With that spirit in mind, we welcome suggestions and feedback in order to uphold the Malay language so that it will continue to be our pride and glory.
Thank you.
Mdm Norhayati Awang
Centre Director
Malay Language Centre of Singapore (MLCS)
Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST)
Ministry of Education Singapore (MOE)