A Parent-Child Activity: Can You Spot the Mistakes? Many Singaporeans have a tendency to lapse into non-Standard English in casual conversations. The dialogue between Hui Ling and Ahmad is a good example of this.
A Quick Friendly Competition for the Family Have a go at challenging yourself and your children (7 – 12 years) to identify the common mistakes made by Singaporeans in everyday conversations. Make it a friendly competition to see who can spot the most number of mistakes and correct them in 10 minutes.
Are You a Bad Influence? “I tell you how many times already?” Many parents say this in exasperation when their children or domestic help make the same mistakes repeatedly. This is a common non-Standard English phrase that has steadily crept into everyday language at home.
Are You a Good Role Model? Have you ever asked your child to speed up what he or she is doing by saying, “Faster can or not?”
Asking Your Child Questions in Standard English Watch how you ask your child a question. You may be passing bad language habits to him/her.
Avoid Saying “Everytime Also Like That” There are no short cuts to speaking English well. Even if you are in a hurry, you need to remember that slipping into non-standard English out of convenience is unacceptable.
Be Natural When Telling Stories It’s a common misconception that storytelling requires some sort of a special dramatic talent. Well, since each and every one of us is unique, the way we tell our story differs too.
Common Mistakes in Grammar and Choice of Words Mistakes in everyday conversations often carry on in your child’s work in school. You should find ways to help your child identify common mistakes made in casual conversations so as not to repeat them in school and formal communications.
Conversations Gone Wrong Take the time to help your child be sensitive to common mistakes made in spoken English. You can have him or her tell you about the things that happened in school. This will help sharpen his/her senses to spot common mistakes made in everyday conversations.
Don’t Kill Your Child’s Love for Reading It is only natural that you want your child to start reading as early as possible.
Finding Out if Your Child has Eaten Are you a parent or a childcare provider? If you are, here’s a challenge for you.
Fun with Phonics Practice While it may be one of the oldest clichés, practice really does make perfect. The more your child familiarises herself with the different components of Phonics, the faster her reading and spelling skills will improve.
Get Your Kids Talking! One of the most effective ways to get your kids to improve the way they speak is to get them to talk more. There are many things you can do with them. But the point here is for you to get it started, and you need to be involved.