The symbolic national language of Singapore is Malay. Other official languages of Singapore are English, Mandarin and Tamil. English is the language of choice because it is the language that everyone in Singapore knows and uses. It is the first language taught in schools and the language used by the government and in court. Students are also usually taught the language of their ethnicity. This means that the Chinese will learn Mandarin, Malays will learn Malay, and so on. Students can also choose to learn a third language in secondary school. As a result, most Singaporeans are bilingual.