Higher Mother Tongue (HMT) is a more demanding subject compared to Mother Tongue (MT) as it is considered to be an L1 subject, just like English. The aim of HMT is to help students to achieve a higher level of language proficiency and cultural knowledge. The subject will require students to have a strong mastery of the language as they will be exposed to a range of texts - local texts, literary texts, news articles etc., which require a higher level of thinking and analytical skills. Students will be assessed on four components at the ‘O’ levels: Oral, Composition Writing and Comprehension.

For MT, the key aim is for students to develop skills for them to be able to continue learning and appreciating the language beyond their schooling years. As such, the texts chosen are closer to the Singapore context and the skills needed will be less demanding. The students will be assessed on four components at ‘O’ level, Oral, Listening, Composition Writing and Comprehension.