Singlish is a unique part of being Singaporean. I love slipping into the comfortable feel of Singlish when joking around with friends. While I cherish this part of being Singaporean, I admit that it has a huge impact on the language and grammar of children.
TODAY's Tip
This is how I like to teach students to switch to proper English:
1) Teach them grammar rules. A lot of times students guess the correct grammar by recalling how they have used it or have heard it being used before. You can find many many tools online to help you with this.
2) There are so many grammar rules. So rather than learning every single one, it is more advisable to look for what rules the student does not understand or always gets wrong and then teach that rule.
3) To find out what rules the student doesn't know, you can use worksheets that have been tailor made to check for the use of specific grammar rules.
4) listen and speak good English. Watching documentary channels, BBC, and even cartoon network (some shows) can be effective in reinforcing rules that are taught.
In my course, I place special emphasis on grammar by teaching, testing and reinforcing proper grammar. For example, I encourage students to use as much proper grammar when speaking. This gives them a conducive environment to learn the language through active use. I also ensure that I teach students 'sentence skeletons'. 'Sentence skeletons' allow students to insert whatever words they want into the correct place with the correct tense and singular plural form.
Hope today's post was informative.
Cheers
Miss Raja
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