As the Singpore Education Ministry reviews the weighting of mother tongue languages in the Primary School Leaving Examination, the 10 Singaporeans with working experience in China whom MediaCorp spoke to felt that the current weighting of 25 per cent - which is similar to that for English, mathematics and science - should remain.

Most felt a reduction would send mixed signals about the importance of mother tongue languages, and in this instance, the Chinese language.

This is especially so when the rest of the world is trying to learn Chinese with the rise of China as an economic power.

Kindergarten teacher Ng Chui Ying suggested "learning through play", such as watching cartoons and putting up performances instead of reading from textbooks.

"Radicalise our teaching methods and have our teachers inspire with their passion for the languages. Language is alive and evolving. It needs to be used and enjoyed. Studying a language just to make the grades becomes its demise," she said.