Your mission:
- Snap pictures of poor English use in public places
- Suggest corrections for these errors
- Post them in STOMP’s forum

The reward:
Every month, a $100 Kinokuniya voucher will be awarded to the Grammar Ninja who finds and fixes the most significant error(s) correctly.

To guide you in your quest for better English, a different theme will be announced every month.

Bad English can creep in almost everywhere, so do your part to eliminate bad English in Singapore — be a Grammar Ninja today!

The Straits Times and the Speak Good English Movement present the Inspiring Teacher of English Award – the first national award for English teachers in Singapore schools that acknowledges teachers who:

• ignite a love for the English language in their students
• use innovative methods to engage students and help them speak and write better
• are passionate about making English interesting and relevant to students

The Inspiring Teacher of English Award 2010 is open for nominations so nominate your teacher now!

Nominations close 24 March 2010.

Download your nomination form or find out more about the Award at the Inspiring Teacher of English Award website.

Click here to listen to the weekly episodes.

Why you should tune in

Your ability to connect with others and communicate your ideas effectively is critical to achieving success in the workplace.

Pick up hints on how you can be more effective in the workplace and discover how you can engage and inspire your colleagues to achieve their goals in Work Your Language.

Some of the topics that will be covered include how to improve rapport with your colleagues and how to set successful goals.

Who should tune in

Entrepreneurs, managers and all who want to be more effective at work.

When

Tune in to 938LIVE’s Work Your Language from 7.44am to 7.46am every Monday and Wednesday from 11 January 2010 till 28 June 2010. You can also click here to listen to the weekly episodes.

Work Your Language on 938LIVE is brought to you by the Speak Good English Movement, with the support of Sylvia Fernandes of VIA Group and Jason Chan from the National Heritage Board.

We would love to hear your feedback so that we can continue to improve the programme. Do send your comments to info@goodenglish.org.sg

STOMP’s inaugural Fix-That-Sign contest has drawn to a close. The contest had Singaporeans hunting and snapping photographs of signs in broken English all over the island.

More than 400 entries were sent in by eagle-eyed Singaporeans, of which, 10 entries were then shortlisted for public voting. Over 10,000 votes were cast and 3 photographs were voted as the winning entries.

1.

2.

3.

Click here to see who walked away with the following prizes:

• 1st prize: A Lenovo IdeaPad s10-2 netbook
• 2nd prize: A Nokia E63 mobile phone
• 3rd prize: A Canon IXUS 95 IS digital camera

Fix That Sign is brought to you by STOMP and the Speak Good English Movement.

____________________________________________________________________

15 Sep 2009

Have you seen a sign in public with broken English that makes you scratch your head in confusion or laugh out loud in amusement? We’re sure you have.

The next time you see one, remember to take a photo of it because you can stand the chance to win some great prizes when you Fix That Sign!

How to Take Part

All you have to do is email stomp@stomp.com.sg with

1. Your photo of a sign in broken English, together with

2. Your correction of the sign’s broken English

That’s it! Remember to include your full name, contact number, and where the sign you photographed can be found.

All submissions have to be in by 27 October 2009.

Prizes

10 best entries will be shortlisted for public voting from 1 November 2009.

The 3 most voted for entries will win the following prizes:

• 1st prize: A Lenovo IdeaPad s10-2 netbook
• 2nd prize: A Nokia E63 mobile phone
• 3rd prize: A Canon IXUS 95 IS digital camera

So get to work and Fix That Sign!

Fix That Sign is brought to you by STOMP and the Speak Good English Movement.

How to Take Part

All you have to do is send in:

1. Your photo of a sign in broken English, together with

2. Your correction of the sign’s broken English

to pnrcontest@starnet.gov.sg

And that’s it! Remember to include your full name, NRIC, address and contact number.

This contest is brought to you by PIONEER and the Speak Good English Movement

With Six Lives, the Movement engaged one of its key target segments – youth – through storytelling. Showcasing English as fun and creative, storytelling was used to create interest in the language and encourage youth to speak and use the language well.

Keeping in mind this group of internet-savvy young Singaporeans, the Movement took to designing an online story using a mix of social media such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook to engage and entertain its readers whilst weaving in English tips and anecdotes in an engaging and interesting way.

Said Goh Eck Kheng, Chairman of the Speak Good English Movement, “Youth in Singapore spend up to nine hours online every day, surfing the Internet and using social media. So we decided to engage mrbrown, who is a popular blogger, to show that you can write in good English, and entertain at the same time.”

mrbrown, who is a prominent blogger in Singapore’s social media scene, was commissioned by the Movement to write a story to show that the effort to improve one’s English is a reward in itself.

On why he decided to be part of this online initiative, mrbrown said, “It was a chance to tell a good story using blogs and other social media platforms. The mrbrown show team, consisting of Marc Nair, Samantha de Silva, and I, really enjoyed coming up with the story and creating the characters.”

mrbrown added, “The other reason I agreed to work on this project is my love for the English language. Sure, I use Singlish in my podcasts and other writings, but I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without a strong foundation in English.”

Six Lives has also been receiving positive comments and feedback.

Said Jeanine Tan, Campaign Manager of the Speak Good English Movement, “We’re very heartened by the responses we’ve received from visitors to Six Lives who think it’s a creative and refreshing concept, innovative in how aspects of the language are weaved into the blog entries, and just a great online series for them to read everyday.”

About Six Lives

Six Lives is an online drama about six friends planning an event that will change their lives forever. Through the story, we hope to show that communication is more than just being understood.

The characters, through their blogs, share their innermost thoughts and feelings. Along the way, they learn and realise how important it is to impress, inspire and occasionally intoxicate with words.

Visit www.sixlives.sg to read the story.

About the Speak Good English Movement
Launched in 2000, the Speak Good English Movement is a nationwide movement to encourage Singaporeans to speak Standard English that is universally understood. Standard English is English with correct grammar and pronunciation, and is not about accent. The Speak Good English Movement and its partners provide programmes to help people learn to speak good English in fun and interesting ways. If you want to learn more, visit www.goodenglish.org.sg.

For media queries, please contact:

Ms Jeanine Tan
Campaign Manager, Speak Good English Movement
DID: 6342 4073
Email: Jeanine_TAN@nlb.gov.sg

Ms Kathleen Wong
Executive, Speak Good English Movement
DID: 6342 4267
Email: Kathleen_WONG@nlb.gov.sg

How will you react if you discover your partner is still in contact with an ex flame?

Do you think language is a barrier in a relationship?

Razor TV takes these issues and more faced by the characters of Six Lives to the streets. Check out these clips!

Do You Tell Your Partner Everything?

Would you date someone who doesn’t speak as well as you? Find out what people have to say about the role language plays in a relationship. Also, do girls generally speak better than men, and would a girl date a younger or less successful guy?




No Use Crying Over Split Milk

What’s the weirdest diet you’ve ever tried? And would you marry someone who has suddenly put on weight? Does beauty really lies in the eyes of the beholder? RazorTV hits the streets to poll Singaporeans on these irreverent, yet vital issues. Also in this clip, the meaning to a common English idiom explained.




Her Laughter Makes Me Smile

Find out how these people react to Boon Huat’s love poem to Hui Min!




Will You Fall For Someone Who’s Not Your Intellectual Equal?

What do Singaporeans think of long distance relationships? And what’s the secret to getting your parents to like your partner?




Is a Single 35-year-old Woman Past Her ‘Expiry Date’?

Have you been scoring brownie points with members of the opposite sex? And how important is a good command of English when going for an interview?




On communication:

‘Communication is subjective to the culture and environment it develops in. in a racial melting pot such as Singapore, where English is influenced by a conglomeration of other native languages such as Chinese, Malay, Tamil – much of spoken Singaporean English can be a “rojak” of these Asian (sic) languages.’

On pronunciation:

“There was on incident whereby I spoke to a taxi driver in a crisp English accent – not by deliberately putting on such an accent – but by actually abiding strictly to the phonetics of the English language. The poor bloke had a problem in understanding what I was trying to say.”

Well, to be realistic, our local taxi drivers probably aren’t quite used to hearing a request to drive to, oh let’s say the Marina Barrage, in an eloquent, carefully enunciated complete sentence.

It’s true we do need to articulate our words accurately but it’s good to sound natural as well. Adopting a foreign accent isn’t really much help if it makes it more difficult for others to understand us. Besides, we’re Singaporeans! We’re proud of it and I’m sure we can still get our message across and pronounce our words properly without sounding any less Singaporean! Our newscasters are rather good examples of this.

(By the way, I think its quite cheeky how benjaminchew110478 chose to refer to the taxi driver as “bloke”, which is actually a British slang for guy or man!)

In the end, it’s all about being understood…right?

After all those thoughts about communication and pronunciation, benjamin110478 wonders about the delicate balance of speaking accurately to a T, and speaking in a manner that will be best understood by the recipient even though it might not be in Standard English.

He writes:

“Anyway, should we be English purists and attempt to speak English in its purest, most pristine form and in so doing, risk sounding elitist? Or should we seek to communicate effectively, albeit allowing our standards of English to suit the person at the receiving end?”

He’s definitely got a point there. Hmm.

What do you think?

Last Thursday, The New Paper met up with 11 of the women from WISH (Women Learning English) for an interview session at the Queenstown Public Library. Joan (our very helpful PR representative) and Jeanine were there to get the scoop on these women who have a passion for learning English.

WISH? What’s that and what do they do?

Launched in 1989, Women Learning English, also known as WISH, aims to help women pick up basic language skills over a period of two years through weekly courses and fortnightly reading lessons. Run by the Society for Reading and Literacy (SRL), WISH is made up by volunteers who put in time, hard work and patience to teach women who were previously denied the opportunity to learn the English language.

Meet the students!

• Madam Tan Peck Hua, retired Chinese Teacher, aged 70.

In school, Madam Tan often remembers failing the subject of English. During her time, she recounts, people were generally uninterested in learning English, and she didn’t have the motivation to do so either. After retiring, Madam Tan found time on her hands and decided to take up the reading classes offered by WISH. Besides having Mrs Lau as a good and encouraging teacher, another plus point about WISH is the relaxing and less intimidating atmosphere of learning English as the other students share a similar non-English background like her.

• Madam Tee Poh Eng, cleaning lady and devoted grandma, aged 66.

Besides the English lessons in primary school and the set of $550 English cassette tapes she bought in 1979 (which she admits put her to sleep), Madam Tee had no other opportunity to learn or practice the language. After being introduced to WISH by her son, Madam Tee is making steady progress. Probably the best benefit about learning English is that Madam Tee can now communicate with her 4-year-old grandson. Through the shared language of English, they have grown closer. This newfound knowledge is also helping her at work where can now better communicate with her non-Chinese colleagues and understand simple questions.

• Madam Lim Bee Lay, Housewife and youngest student at WISH, in her 40s.

Previously working as a florist, Madam Lim handled many enquiries over the phone. While she could understand customers who spoke in simple English, Madam Tee always had to pass the phone to her boss when she came across more difficult words and complicated requests. Reflecting back on these times when she was unable to communicate with her customers, she feels sad. After joining WISH for two years, Madam Tee is now able to speak to her in-laws who speak English most of the time. Madam Tee also used to bring her daughter for the classes, something that has benefited both mother and daughter in learning English.

Meet the teacher!

• Mrs Lau, full-time housewife and dedicated teacher at WISH.

To Mrs Lau, there is no end to learning no matter how old one is. During the classes, Mrs Lau teaches the ladies basic conversational English that includes consonants and vowels. She also uses library resources and books related to each topic during her lessons. The popularity of Mrs Lau is evident as she shared that some of the ladies’ husbands are also eager to join her reading lessons, however she has to turn them away as the classes are strictly for ladies. What’s more, the 11 students who were there for the interview read out a prepared speech to Mrs Lau as a surprise halfway through the interview! “Mrs Lau has volunteered a lot of her time and effort to help us learn English. She is a good teacher. We would like to thank her. Thank you! Mrs Lau!”

Enthusiastically reciting their prepared and heartfelt thank you speech for Mrs Lau.

Mrs Lau (standing) making sure that her students receive all the guidance and encouragement they need to learn the basics of reading. Seated from left: Madam Tee Poh Eng, Madam Lim Bee Lay and Madam Tan Peck Hua.

Shree Ann Mathavan (left) from The New Paper interviewing the students of WISH.

Do you know of anyone who would benefit from the WISH programme? Contact WISH at 6455 1218 or email wish@srl.org.sg.

Language Master is the first collaboration between T-Net Club and the Speak Good English Movement, and supported by the National University of Singapore’s English Literacy Society. The competition encourages students to converse in proper English.

Guest Judge, Dr Gilbert Yeoh, senior lecturer from the English Language and Literature department at the National University of Singapore, presided over the contest.

The participating schools competed in two categories, Upper Primary level and Lower Secondary level, as part of T-Net Club’s own Educational Series, which is an annual feature on learning.

The Primary School participants went through 3 rounds of competition, and were tested on spelling, similes, idioms, classifiers, synonyms, anagrams, and quantifiers. The Secondary School participants were also tested on polysemy, morphology, homophones, and analogies.

Yew Tee Primary School won in the Upper Primary level, dominating the final and answering all their questions correctly. Jing Shan Primary School was the runner-up and teams from Clementi Primary School taking third and fourth place.

For the Lower Secondary level, Hua Yi Secondary School emerged as the eventual winners after a nerve-wracking tiebreaker with the favourites, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. River Valley High School took third place while the T-Net Club @ Marine Parade came in fourth.