TAMIL teacher's interactive 'touch and feel' big book will be available for schools to order at the end of the month.

Mr Mohammed Yousoff Shaik Mohd, 45, said he came up with the book as a way to get his students enthusiastic about learning the language.

There are very few such Tamil books, especially those with a local context, he said.

So, the Blangah Rise Primary School teacher came up with a storyline last year about two brothers and a toy bear, and made his own.

He created illustrations and included textured surfaces that students can touch and tabs that students can pull to make objects move.

His students loved it, and he presented his idea at a Tamil language teachers seminar last year. He was later approached by the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee to get the book published.

The printed version is almost a replica of his original idea, said Mr Yousoff.

'I am very encouraged because there's a shortage of such resources in Tamil. This provides a kind of material that can be used in the classrooms,' he said.

Mr T. Venugobal, a specialist at the Ministry of Education's Tamil Language Unit, said schools will be encouraged to use the $30 book, which is targeted at pre-schoolers, Primary 1 and 2 students.

ANG YIYING

This article was first published in The Straits Times.