Languages

At Tanglin, we value the learning of a language and recognise the increasing relevance of modern foreign languages in today’s global economy and for tomorrow’s global citizens.

Our guiding principles are to encourage a love of languages and an appreciation of diverse cultures, as well as to equip our students with essential language-learning skills that form a strong platform for fluency and further study beyond Tanglin.

Children are introduced to Mandarin Chinese in the Nursery, where the singing of Chinese rhymes gives way to topic-based learning as children move up through the Infant School and into the Juniors. In the Senior School, Chinese is offered alongside French and Spanish. Students who are native speakers of a language other than English are encouraged to develop this through our Mother Tongue programme, working towards appropriate first language qualifications and possibly the prestigious IB Bilingual Diploma. In-classroom learning is also supported by engaging Languages-focused clubs, as part of the Co-Curriculum programme.