8 teachers honoured for exemplary effort in teaching Chinese language

SINGAPORE - Eight teachers were recognised on Saturday for their exemplary effort in teaching Chinese language in schools.

They received the Distinguished Chinese Language Teachers Award at a ceremony at the SPH News Centre in Toa Payoh.

The winners were chosen from a pool of 474 teachers from 155 schools. They are Chinese-language teachers from primary and secondary schools, pre-university and junior colleges eligible for nomination by schools, parents or students.

The award, in its 25th edition, recognises teachers who have made an exemplary effort to teach Chinese, as well as cultivate students' interest in the language and culture through creative teaching methods and activities.

It is organised by Lianhe Zaobao and ZBSchools - the newspaper's website for students - and co-organised with the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, the Society of Chinese Education Singapore, the Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union and the Singapore Middle School Chinese Teachers' Association.

The eight award winners each received a trophy and $1,500 in cash from Minister of State for Education Gan Siow Huang on Saturday.

"I hope that together with the community, with partners, with parents, we will be able to support mother tongue learning for our children," said Ms Gan at the award ceremony, adding that the recipients are role models for other mother tongue teachers.

One of the award winners is Ms Charline Ang, 37, who teaches at Bukit View Secondary School.

She said she tries to engage students through various methods such as having them perform rewritten story endings and creating her own audio picture books for them.

"I often tell the students that my English is not good, but I can give presentations in front of the school. If I can do it, so can you," she said.