Findings and Policy Implications

English could be used as a resource in mother tongue language classes, as research indicates that the language of a child’s home can be used as a resource to learn a target language. Children from lower income homes need additional language support in their primary years to make a smooth transition from home to school. An intervention plan in which bilingual support staff assist primary school teachers may be suitable. Mother tongue language classes should aim to inculcate lifelong reading practices. The development of reading materials (including multimedia texts), for children of all ages, should be encouraged. THIS SURVEY OF LANGUAGE USE and users in Singapore sought to find out who speaks what language, to whom, in what context, with what attitude, with what level of fluency, and to what end. This project surveyed 716 students from the Primary 5 cohort of Singapore schools, randomly selected on the basis of ethnic group (i.e., Chinese, Malay and Indian) and socioeconomic status, using a bilingual survey instrument. In its qualitative phase, follow-up studies were conducted with 12 participants who were randomly selected from the three ethnic groups, across a broad spectrum of social classes