Singapore team impressed by city students' Tamil knowledge
	CHENNAI:Tamil class got star status at SBOA School and Junior College on Tuesday as students surprised visiting peers from Singapore with their knowledge of Tamil grammar and literature. It took several minutes for the applause to die down every time the primary school students quickly finished their group activity assigned by Singaporean teachers — be it making a table or a bouquet using paper or noting keywords of a song shown to them. They were tested on their creativity, teamwork and observation during the session. Twenty students and 15 teachers from various schools, deputed by the Singapore Ministry of Education, visited the school to learn about the Tamil language teaching methods and curriculum. Lessons on classical work `Silapadigaram' and advanced Tamil grammar were new to the Singaporean students, who learnt the basics of the language in their nation. They were exposed to Tamil pronunciation, basic skills such as reading and writing at the school language laboratory and classroom sessions. Jeyarajadas Pandiyan, a team member and supervisor of Umarupulavar Tamil Mozhi Mandram, Singapore, said the visit was part of the curriculum and pedagogy review programme designed by the Tamil Language Learning Committee to promote Tamil, co-official language of Singapore. S. Subbulakshmi, curriculum specialist, said "such visits help our students learn Tamil dialects spoken here and pronunciation." Teachers also got an opportunity to exhibit their skills and also learn the teaching strategies adopted here, she added. Cultural exchanges It also turned out to be an occasion for cultural exchanges between the students of both the nations. The school would also have another team visiting from two Singapore schools on a student exchange programme on Wednesday.