Fund Supported Resources

Since Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism’s inception in 2011, it has supported numerous initiatives to promote the using and learning of MTLs among young children and young adults. In FY2022/23, the Fund supported various proposals to develop print, audio and multi-modal resources, and programmes that encourage bilingualism and the learning of our MTLs/bilingualism as living languages and a lifelong endeavour.

Some of our fund-supported resources are as follows:

Thumbs Up Little Junior《小小拇指》

The Fund supported Thumbs Up Little Junior, a fortnightly periodical that comes with an online learning guide, a mobile app, workshops for preschool teachers and parents, and a nursery rhymes competition.

Bringing Kindergarten 1 and 2 children through familiar local settings while introducing key Chinese vocabulary words, the periodicals are now enhanced with an online learning guide. The learning guide further encourages young children to pick up reading and speaking in Chinese in fun and creative ways. The periodical also explores young children’s day-to-day experiences to inculcate good habits and values, such as consideration for the environment and kindness. Replete with colourful visuals and fun facts, TULJ also depicts Singapore’s unique social and cultural experiences, such as enjoying local food or showcasing ethnic costumes. The periodical engages young minds through mini-games, craft activities and wordless comics to help young children build content-specific vocabulary.

The TULJ mobile app, a complementary learning tool to the periodical, is updated periodically with selected content from the print periodical to facilitate young children’s Chinese language learning on the go.

Targeted at parents and preschool educators respectively, two workshops were held to equip participants with simple tips and tools to make Chinese language learning fun and interactive for young children.

The parents’ workshop was conducted on 11 June 2022 by Dr Cheng Wan-Ni, the Dean of Early Childhood Care and Education from the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. On top of learning useful tips, parents were guided to create simple yet interesting toys to stimulate young children’s Chinese language learning.

Over 150 preschool educators attended the online workshop that shared more about tapping on outdoor environments for young children to have more opportunities to use Chinese language and be introduced to new vocabulary. The online workshop was conducted by Ms Qian Xiaoli, Senior Language Specialist from PAP Community Foundation.

Smart Kids Magazine (Cilik Cerdik)

The Fund supported SPH Media Limited, Berita Harian, in the development of Smart Kids Magazine, a bilingual monthly periodical in Malay and English language. Targeted at K1 and K2 preschoolers, each issue of the periodical focuses on exploring and teaching a good value. Designed for young children to reinforce the value of the month, the periodical features short stories, simple language games, art and craft and poetry. Each issue also ends with a photo story segment that exposes young children to local bite-sized current affairs.

The periodical is well-received by preschool educators who have incorporated the use of Cilik Cerdik in their Malay language lessons.

Balar Murasu

Balar Murasu by SPH Media Limited is a Fund-supported monthly periodical in Tamil language for preschool children. The attractively illustrated and colourful periodical takes preschool children through theme-based articles with relatable local content close to their hearts, such as celebrating festivals in Singapore.

Expanding the periodical’s reach beyond preschoolers, the Fund also supported the digitalisation of selected content from the periodical. Digitalised articles include tools such as voice-over reading, art & craft demonstration videos and 2D animated stories for parents and educators' use in enthusing young children in the use of Tamil language learning. These are accessible for free at Tamil Murasu’s website or through scanning the QR codes in the physical periodical.

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