Languages and your family in Singapore

Singapore is the easiest place in Asia to live in English. The catch for families is two words you'll hear at every school open day: Mother Tongue.

The short version

English is the language of school and work. Local Ministry of Education (MOE) schools teach in English, and every child also takes a Mother Tongue Language (MTL) as a second language [7].
The three official MTLs are Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil [3]. Children whose own language isn't one of them, including most British children, can request any of the three, subject to approval [3].
Children coming from abroad can apply for an exemption, decided case by case, or take French, German or Japanese (or Arabic, Burmese or Thai) in lieu, with private study [2][3].
The AEIS entrance test for international students covers English Language and Mathematics only, so Mother Tongue isn't a hurdle to getting in, but it is once your child is in [4].
International schools set their own language rules; most teach Mandarin as a subject.

Singapore's languages in daily life

Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay (also the national language, heard in the anthem and military commands), Mandarin and Tamil. English runs the government, the courts, the MRT announcements and the office. Around it you'll hear Hokkien and Cantonese from older hawkers, Singlish everywhere, and, at home, whatever your helper speaks. Our guide to hawker centres, Singlish and local life has the "can lah" side of things.

Language	Where you'll meet it	What it means for your family
English	School, work, government, signs, shops	The working language: you're sorted
Mandarin	MOE schools, most international schools, some shops and food courts	The MTL most British children end up learning
Malay	The national anthem, place names, MOE schools	An official MTL; a few words go down well
Tamil	Little India, MOE schools, signs	An official MTL
Singlish	Hawker centres, taxis, the playground	Your kids will speak it within a term; don't fight it
Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese	Your helper's home language	See our helper language guide

Mother Tongue at school: the rules

Who learns what

MOE's position is simple: "Your child will need to learn a Mother Tongue Language (MTL) as a second language in school" [7]. How the language is chosen [3]:

Chinese, Malay and Indian pupils take their own MTL.
Pupils with a double-barrelled race are assigned the MTL of the first part, and can apply to switch.
Eurasian pupils and "other races" whose mother tongue isn't an official MTL can request Chinese, Malay or Tamil through the school, subject to approval. This is where most British children land.
Non-Tamil Indian languages (Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu) are taught outside MOE, through the Board for the Teaching and Testing of South Asian Languages, usually outside school hours [3].

For a British child, the practical choice is usually Mandarin, because it's widely taught and useful, or Malay, which many English speakers find easier to pronounce and spell, since it's written in the Roman alphabet.

The exemption for children from abroad

MOE lets you apply for an MTL exemption if your child "had no opportunity to learn an official MTL" or an approved language "for a sustained period of time" while overseas [2]. Each application is weighed on:

how long your child lived abroad, and where
how much exposure they had to an official MTL or approved language
how demanding the MTL curriculum is at the level they're joining [2]

You apply through your child's school, before the first quarter of the year they sit the national MTL exam (the PSLE, O or N levels, the SEC, A levels or the IB Diploma) [2]. MOE encourages children to try an official MTL for at least one semester first, and says trying "will not prejudice" an exemption application [2]. Children exempted at PSLE, or taking a foreign language instead, are given an assigned MTL score for secondary school posting [2].

A foreign language in lieu

The other route is a language your child already has. Children who've lived abroad for a long time, fallen behind in an MTL and studied one of these formally can take it instead [2][3]:

Route	Languages	What you arrange
Approved Foreign Language	French, German, Japanese	Private lessons with a provider who can prepare for O level, A level or SEC exams
Approved Asian Language	Arabic, Burmese, Thai	The same

A child who did French at a prep school in Hampshire may be in luck. A child who did two years of Spanish isn't: Spanish isn't on the list. And note that MTL requirements still apply for moving up to the next level of study [2].

At an international school

International schools aren't bound by MOE's MTL rules. Most teach Mandarin from the early years, often with separate beginner sets. Ask how many hours a week, whether late arrivals start in a beginner group, and whether Mandarin is compulsory or one of several languages on offer. Our guide to schools in Singapore covers fees and admissions.

What it means for a British family

Age of arrival. A five-year-old starting Primary 1 will cope with Mandarin far better than their parents ever will. A child joining an MOE school at Primary 5 or Secondary 2 with no Mandarin faces the PSLE or O levels against classmates who've done it since nursery: that's exactly the case the exemption exists for.

Catching up. If your child does take an MTL from scratch, budget for tutoring in the first year or two. Tuition centres are a national institution here, and you won't be the only parent paying for Saturday Mandarin.

Planning ahead. If you think you'll stay long term, perhaps as a permanent resident, MTL becomes part of the long game, and starting early is far easier than an exemption later.

Grown-ups. Mandarin is easy to find in classes and online. For Malay and Tamil, live online lessons are hard to find, so a local class or tutor is usually the better route, with apps for the basics. A handful of words goes a long way at the hawker centre: terima kasih (thank you, in Malay), xièxie (thank you, in Mandarin), and tapau (takeaway), which Singaporeans of every background use.

Keeping your family's English strong

Singapore's English is excellent, but your family's English story may be more complicated than it looks.

Bilingual homes. If one parent speaks another language at home, keep doing it. Children cope with two or three languages well when each has a clear place: one parent, one language, or one language at home and English at school.
Cambridge English Qualifications. For children whose strongest language isn't English, Cambridge University Press & Assessment runs exams for schools, including A2 Key for Schools, B1 Preliminary for Schools and B2 First for Schools [5]. Younger children can start with Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers.
IELTS. Many universities accept IELTS from applicants not educated in English, and some versions are used for UK visas. Check which version is needed before booking.
A partner and the UK later. If your partner isn't British and you might move home, the UK family visa needs English at CEFR level A1 for the first application, A2 in speaking and listening for the extension at two and a half years, and B1 for settlement after five years, with exemptions for some nationalities, over-65s and people with a degree taught in English [1]. See our guide to bringing a non-British partner to the UK later.
Your helper's English. The Ministry of Manpower encourages employers to let helpers sign up for NGO courses, including beginner English and Mandarin classes run by ACMI [6]. That's a benefit for her, and for your household.

Parents in our community group for Brits in Singapore have been through MTL exemptions and tuition centres, and you can join here.

If you'd rather learn with a live teacher online, our language partner is below.

Languages and your family in Singapore: Mother Tongue, exemptions and keeping English strong