Inspiring Teachers of English Award

Award Ceremony 2011

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:38:00 +0000

Jointly presented by The Straits Times and the Speak Good English Movement and supported by the Ministry of Education, the Inspiring Teacher of English Award honours English teachers who have inspired a love for the English Language in their students and fellow teachers/colleagues. This year, a total of 88 teachers were nominated for the award by their students, parents and fellow teachers.

The Inspiring Teacher of English Award ceremony was held at The Pod in the National Library Building on 11 October 2011. Mr Lawrence Wong, Minster of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Defence, graced the ceremony as Guest-of-Honour.

Mr Goh Eck Kheng, Chairman of the Speak Good English Movement, delivered the welcome address. Highlighting the theme for this year’s Speak Good English Movement — “How you speak makes a difference” – he added that teachers are role models for their students, and the Inspiring Teacher of English Award recognises the influence of teachers in creating and maintaining an environment where good English is used in classrooms and schools.

Our Guest of Honour, MOS Lawrence Wong, added on to say in his speech that whatever the situation, audience or purpose, we must be able to communicate effectively. “Effective communication is about more than just our ability to speak the language.” In this sense, our teachers play a vital role, as standard-bearers of the language.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Karen Tan, a former thespian turned foreign diplomat, entertained the audience with hilarious anecdotes, earning raucous laughter from the all who attended.

The 8 recipients of the Inspiring Teacher of English Award 2011 were then presented with a trophy each and a personal cash award. Their schools’ principals were also present to share this significant moment with them, accepting a plaque on behalf of their schools.

These 8 winning inspiring teachers went through 2 rounds of selections and an interview before being chosen as the award winners. The panel of judges included English Language Master Teachers from the Ministry of Education, and representatives from The Straits Times, British Council and the Speak Good English Movement.

The English Language Master Teachers from MOE and representatives from British Council received tokens of appreciation at the Inspiring Teacher of English Award ceremony for their tremendous support and great help in the selection of this year’s most inspiring English teachers.

Ms Anna Mathew, Si Ling Secondary School

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:37:48 +0000

Ms Anna Mathew of Si Ling Secondary School believes that – “We don’t teach math, we don’t teach science, we teach students”. Realising her students were not motivated to study, she introduced debate sessions, incorporated newspaper articles into her lessons and allowed her students to discuss topics they were interested in.

Anna brings her favourite books to class, shares with her students the stories but leaves the endings hanging so as to pique their interest and encourage them to read – a method inspired by her own Secondary School teacher. This has resulted in even the unlikeliest student approaching her to borrow the books she shares with them, or asking to visit the library together after school.

Ms Shirley Teo, Teck Whye Secondary School

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:37:15 +0000

Ms Shirley Teo of Teck Whye Secondary School often feels that her students are the ones who taught her how to teach. She believes that a student’s learning process is affected by the mood of the teacher, and always makes an effort to come into class with a smile and lots of humour.

In line with this principle, she felt that reading should be perceived by students as fun, rather than a chore, and implemented the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) programme, which led her and her team of teachers to being voted for the MOE Outstanding Contributions Award in 2008.

Ms Suzaina Koh Nasir, Assumption Pathway School

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:07:25 +0000

Ms Suzaina Koh Nasir of Assumption Pathway School makes it her priority to help her students learn the basics of English. She uses a variety of simple activities with lessons that are easy to grasp so that her students will not be easily discouraged.

These activities include giving her students daily proverbs and reminders to jot down in their journals, exchanging morning greetings every day, and using YouTube and music to teach English – all of which help to stimulate learning, increase their vocabulary and encourage writing. Suzaina uses Mood Cards at the start of the lesson to get a better sense of how her students are feeling that day, so that she can better engage them. She also uses Learning Cards which indicate how much they have learnt at the end of the lesson.

Mrs Lee Poh Lin, Montfort Secondary School

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:07:01 +0000

Mrs Lee Poh Lin of Montfort Secondary School still feels as passionately about teaching as she did starting as a trainee teacher. She sets high expectations for all her boys and puts in extra effort to help those who are weaker raise their competency levels by conducting remedial classes on Saturdays and providing individual coaching. She also makes use of learning software such as the “Newsmaker” to teach her students.

She constantly looks for ways to create interest and a love for English in her students, a task she finds challenging but essential in order for her students to be attentive and willing to learn. Poh Lin strongly believes in imparting important social values to her students and does so by organising volunteer trips to a hospice regularly. This has made such an impact on her students that some of her former students have returned and requested to continue joining her in volunteering at the hospice.

Mr Julian Victor, Rivervale Primary School

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:05:49 +0000

Mr Julian Victor of Rivervale Primary School is constantly inspired to extend the learning process of his pupils beyond the textbook. He strongly believes in group learning and often gets his students to discuss questions in teams, before sharing their answers with the rest of the class.

Not only do his students become more immersed in his lessons, they even extended this mode of co-operative learning beyond his classes, tutoring each other and learning from their mistakes. His success stems from his view that the character development of his students comes before their grades. By reducing emphasis on “right” or “wrong” answers, and through group discussions and tutoring, his students are more willing to face challenges, and have become more confident in using Standard English to express themselves.

Ms Gladys Ng, River Valley Primary School

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:05:21 +0000

Ms Gladys Ng of River Valley Primary School takes a keen interest in making a difference in the lives of her students. To improve her students’ command of the English Language, she established a classroom environment where the stronger students help weaker ones during lessons. Her key belief is that to motivate her students, one should focus on engaging students in the classroom, rather than to focus solely on achieving perfect grades.

She incorporates interactive games like “Taboo” into her lessons to encourage her students to appreciate the English language. With the “Newsmaker” programme, her students discuss news articles – developing their speech and thinking skills with oral presentations in class. To reinforce the enjoyment of reading and learning English, she introduced an innovative programme called “JEWEL”, where storybooks are used to teach grammar to students instead of textbooks.

Mr Edwin Tan, First Toa Payoh Primary School

inspiringteachers — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:55:15 +0000

Mr Edwin Tan created an environment that promotes Standard English not only in the classroom, but in the whole school. Coming from a dialect-speaking family, he attributes his English language skills to his own school environment – including his interactions with teachers, students and friends. He believes that teachers need to understand that they are role models to their students, and should always speak in good English.

To achieve this, he devised a programme to improve the level of spoken English in both teaching and non-teaching staff. With his students, he started a reading recovery programme and engaged language facilitators to improve their pronunciation. In order to be a better role model himself, he made personal efforts to improve his own language skills by attending English language courses with British Council.

Ms Pamela Kiew, Bukit View Primary School

inspiringteachers — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:20:03 +0000

Ms Pamela Kiew believes in making English interesting and relevant to her students. She brings the English language to life in her school through a variety of methods – one of which is a “Performing Arts Studio”, a room filled with props to spur teachers and students into scripting plays and putting on drama performances.

Another of her programmes, “Mad about English”, gets students to complete tasks related to the four English Language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Recognising that students look to adults as role models, she initiated a programme for all non-teaching staff, including canteen vendors and security guards, to be trained to speak in Standard English.

Award Ceremony 2010

inspiringteachers — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 08:58:06 +0000

Jointly presented by The Straits Times and the Speak Good English Movement and supported by the Ministry of Education, the Inspiring Teacher of English Award honours English teachers who have inspired their students and fellow teachers/colleagues in one way or another. Now into its third year, a total of 66 teachers were nominated for this year’s award by their students, parents and fellow teachers.

From left:
1. Mdm Kamisah Yusof – Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School
2. Ms Karen Kang – Kent Ridge Secondary School
3. Mrs Lynette Sivakumar – North View Primary School
4. Mrs Sng Mee Lian – Catholic Junior College
5. Mr William Grosse – Roysth School
6. Ms Lajwanti Thakurdas Melwani – White Sands Primary School
7. Ms Angela Quek – Tampines Junior College
8. Mrs Sky Frank– CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity
9. Mrs Esther Chia – CHIJ Kellock
10. Ms Rachel Poh – Ngee Ann Secondary School

The Inspiring Teacher of English Award ceremony was held at The Pod in the National Library Building at 6pm on 19 October 2010. Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minster of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education graced the ceremony as Guest-of-Honour.

Mr Goh Eck Kheng, Chairman of the Speak Good English Movement, delivered the welcome address. Highlighting the theme for this year’s Speak Good English Movement — “Get It Right”, Mr Goh said that the focus is on “cultivating an environment where good English is widely spoken and heard”. He added that teachers are role models for their students, and the Inspiring Teacher of English Award recognises the influence of teachers in creating and maintaining an environment where good English is used in classrooms and schools.

In his speech, Mr S Iswaran stressed the importance of English, which is “the principal channel through which we interact with the world” and “the ability to be concise and precise in communication is key to competitiveness”. He also announced the “Whole-School Approach to English Language” that MOE is planing to roll out at 40 pilots schools. This aims to encourage both teachers and students to strive continuously to improve their English and aspire towards new levels of proficiency.

Ruby Pan, a former English teacher turned civil servant, performed a stand-up comedy which earned raucous laughter from the audience.

Nominess from the primary schools

Nominess from the secondary schools

Nominess from the junior college/ centralised institutions

The 10 recipients of the Inspiring Teacher of English Award 2010 were then presented with a trophy each and a personal cash award. Their schools’ principals were also present to share this significant moment with them, accepting a plaque on behalf of their schools.

These 10 winning inspiring teachers went through 2 rounds of selections and an interview before being chosen as the award winners. The panel of judges included English Language Master Teachers from the Ministry of Education, and representatives from The Straits Times, British Council and the Speak Good English Movement.

Ms Laraine Bamrah, British Council, receives a token of appreciation.

Ms Connie Seng, Ministry of Education, receives a token of appreciation.

Ms Jeyalaxmy Ayaduray, Ministry of Education, receives a token of appreciation.

Ms Shirley Yeo, Ministry of Education, receives a token of appreciation.

Mrs Joy Lee, Ministry of Education, receives a token of appreciation.

Mrs Audrey Ting, Ministry of Education, receives a token of appreciation.

Mr Philip McConnell, Ministry of Education, receives a token of appreciation.

“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”
— Kahlil Gibran