TheLivesTheyLive

The Lives They Live: A man of many vocations

From civil servant, K. P. Sivam went on to provide and create language courses and later ventured into teaching

Dr Sivam with the self-study language handbooks that he came up with at the Europhone Institute, which offered languages such as French and Vietnamese. Dr K. P. Sivam at his home in Serangoon with a Mandarin language kit comprising guides, textbooks
Dr K. P. Sivam at his home in Serangoon with a Mandarin language kit comprising guides, textbooks and audio cassettes that he and native speakers created for his language course company, the Europhone Institute. ST PHOTOS: ALVIN HO
Dr Sivam with the self-study language handbooks that he came up with at the Europhone Institute, which offered languages such as French and Vietnamese. Dr K. P. Sivam at his home in Serangoon with a Mandarin language kit comprising guides, textbooks
Dr Sivam with the self-study language handbooks that he came up with at the Europhone Institute, which offered languages such as French and Vietnamese. ST PHOTOS: ALVIN HO
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

For anyone wanting to learn a language in the 1970s, there was one person who would be guaranteed to be able to help: The Man With The Golden Tongue.

Dr K. P. Sivam picked up this nickname when he sold language courses for a living.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 04, 2018, with the headline The Lives They Live: A man of many vocations. Subscribe