WHAT a difference a year has made in the language abilities of Stella Kwek and Wong Choon Lin. Twelve months ago, English was almost Greek to them.
Stella, 11, had been failing English since she started pri-mary school. Her friend, Choon Lin, 10, was barely passing her English examinations. They did not speak English
at home and were averse to using the language with friends in
school. Other than cyber-counselling, our internet-surfing students
are also educated on cyber-risks, through the CRUSH programme
(Cyberspace Risks & where U Seek Help), conducted by TOUCH
Community Services in schools.
But now, the girls are so at ease with English that not only
have their grades improved, they are teaching the language to
family members.
For their remarkable progress, Stella and Choon Lin have Lorna
Whiston study centre and Touch Community Services to thank.
The girls come from less-fortunate families - to whom Touch
extends its community services. Touch sends children from these
families to Lorna Whiston study centre, which sponsors the English
classes.
Although the girls were daunted at first, they were encouraged
by their teacher, Ms Patricia Pietrunti, whose friendly smile
melted their fears.
With her help, Stella, who is in Primary Six and due to sit
for her PSLE at the end of the year, passed English. Choon Lin,
in Primary Four, has improved her grade from 50 to 76.
Since March last year, the girls have been attending two-hour
lessons at the school every Monday under the tutelage of Ms
Pietrunti.
"Most children come from Mandarin-speaking backgrounds
so their exposure to English might be quite limited," Ms
Pietrunti said about the barriers to learning English.
She added that English-learning was hampered by lack of confidence.
She tried to counter the trend by being positive in the face
of failure.
"If they make a mistake, we try not to focus on it,"
she reasoned.
"Instead, we tell them they are almost there and encourage
them to try again."
Although the Touch children may be less academically able, Ms
Pietrunti said they showed an enthusiasm that she tried to channel
into learning.
"A lot of them are quite lively and energetic so the coursework
I prepare needs to cater for that. We do a lot of oral work
before we settle down to written work," she explained.
"In this way, we expose them to conversing in English with
the focus on vocabulary building," she said. "Unless
you have the words, you won’t be able to talk."
Her strategy worked for the girls, who correspond with their
teacher.
"It started as a class exercise but it's a great way for
them to get to know me as well," she explained. "Not
just as a teacher but as a person."
They write to her about their school life, friends and the activities
they participated in at Touch.
