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Lawrence Wong
Lawrence Wong
Prime Minister, Singapore
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Singapore PM Lawrence Wong Warns Of English Dominance; Unveils AI Plan To Save Tamil Language

📅 Jul 18, 2026 moneycontrol 9 MIN 36192 VIEWS 26 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS
ingapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has raised concerns over the rapid rise of English as the primary language in local households, warning that it poses a significant challenge to preserving the Tamil language among younger generations. Speaking at the 75th Anniversary Dinner of the Singapore Tamil Teachers' Union (STTU), PM Wong highlighted the shrinking natural opportunities for youth to engage with their mother tongue outside the classroom. To counter this shift, Singapore is backing a bold modernization plan that integrates cutting-edge technology into native language education. The Pr...

What Lawrence Wong said

Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.

Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore, addressed the Singapore Tamil Teachers Union (STTU) at its 75th anniversary celebration. He praised the union's growth to over 600 members, including preschool educators, and its role in advancing Tamil education. Wong acknowledged the challenge of English dominance, noting that more young Singaporeans use English as their primary language, making mother tongue learning harder, especially for Tamil. He highlighted innovative teachers like Madam Usha Krishnasamy and Madam Nomanisha Samani who use creative methods, including AI tools, to engage students. Wong credited STTU for establishing the inaugural World Tamil Teachers' Conference in 1992 and its collaboration with MediaCorp. He emphasized the government's commitment to supporting Tamil teachers and the language, calling for a whole-of-society effort to keep Tamil alive.

Key takeaways

  1. STTU has grown to over 600 members, including preschool educators, and is run by volunteers.
  2. Wong highlighted teachers using AI tools, like composing Tamil songs, to engage students.
  3. STTU organized the inaugural World Tamil Teachers' Conference in Singapore in 1992.
  4. Wong stressed the challenge of English dominance, making Tamil learning harder for young Singaporeans.
  5. The government is committed to working with STTU to support Tamil teachers and language teaching.

Numbers and commitments

FigureWhat it refers toTypeAt
600 STTU membership count metric 1:06
75th STTU anniversary timeline 0:23
1992 Year of inaugural World Tamil Teachers' Conference timeline 5:24

Chapters

  1. 0:00Celebrating STTU's 75th anniversary
  2. 0:52Growth and volunteer efforts
  3. 1:32Importance of mother tongue languages
  4. 2:05Challenges of English dominance
  5. 3:08Innovative Tamil teachers
  6. 5:01STTU's contributions and partnerships
  7. 7:41Government commitment and call to action
Lawrence Wong 0:00 ↗
Mr. Danapal Kumar, President of STTU, brothers and sisters from the labor movement, ladies and gentlemen, good evening and vanakkam.
I'm very happy to join all of you this evening to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Singapore Tamil Teachers Union.
For 75 years, STTU has stood shoulder to shoulder with our Tamil language educators, championing their welfare, strengthening the profession, and advancing the teaching of Tamil in Singapore.
You began this work even before Singapore's independence. You carried it through our nation's formative years, and today you continue this mission with the same sense of purpose and commitment.
From a handful of members in your early days, you have grown into a vibrant union. As we heard just now, the numbers have increased. And NTUC and the Secretary-General, I'm sure, is very happy to hear the news.
You now have more than 600 members, including preschool educators. And you have done all this as a union run by volunteers, full-time teachers dedicating their time and their talent on top of their regular work.
It's truly a remarkable journey, so congratulations, everyone, on this milestone.
Our mother tongue languages connect us to our roots, our values, and our cultural heritage. They help us understand where we came from, and they shape who we are. They also reflect Singapore's identity as a multiracial and multi-religious nation.
We are all Singaporeans first and foremost. At the same time, we remain deeply connected to the rich traditions of our respective cultures. And that's why the learning of mother tongue languages is a cornerstone of our education system.
But we also know that mastering our mother tongue languages is not an easy task, especially these days. More and more young Singaporeans are growing up in households where English is the primary language that's spoken. It is the language they use most often in schools, at work, and in their daily interactions.
So, this makes it more challenging for all our mother tongue languages. And for Tamil, the challenge can be even greater because students may have fewer natural opportunities to speak, read, and use the language outside the classroom.
So, our Tamil language teachers play a very critical role. They do far more than teach vocabulary and grammar. They pass on stories, values, and traditions. They help every generation better appreciate the culture and heritage of the community. And they have to do all this in ways that capture the imagination of young people amidst many competing demands on their attention.
It's not an easy task, but many of you, our Tamil language educators, have risen to the challenge. Like Madam Usha Krishnasamy from North View Primary School. She realized that engaging her pupils' senses in creative ways helped them to better remember words, especially for students with special needs. So, she started using colored sand, Play-Doh, and music in her class, and even guided the students to compose Tamil songs using AI tools. She won the President's Award for Teachers last year.
There's also Madam Nomanisha Samani from Spectra Secondary School. As a student, she didn't excel in Tamil, but she became interested in teaching Tamil, worked hard, and joined the profession to become a teacher. Now at Spectra, she uses chatbots and interactive quizzes to keep her classes engaging so that her students can experience the fun and joy of learning Tamil. She's upgrading her skills and knowledge by pursuing a degree in Tamil at SUSS, and she was one of the recipients of the most inspiring Tamil Teacher Award last year.
To these two teachers and the many others here and like them everywhere in Singapore, I would say Ungal Arumpani Todar Attum. I hope I got that right.

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APA

Wong, L. (2026, July 18). Singapore PM Lawrence Wong Warns Of English Dominance; Unveils AI Plan To Save Tamil Language [Interview transcript]. moneycontrol. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958055/

MLA

Lawrence Wong. "Singapore PM Lawrence Wong Warns Of English Dominance; Unveils AI Plan To Save Tamil Language." moneycontrol, 18 Jul. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958055/.

BibTeX 
@misc{wong2026_2958055,
  author       = {Lawrence Wong},
  title        = {Singapore PM Lawrence Wong Warns Of English Dominance; Unveils AI Plan To Save Tamil Language},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, moneycontrol. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {jul},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958055/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}