By Malini Nathan

STUDENTS are strengthening their command of the English language by reading The Straits Times (ST).
More than 600 of them from schools which use the newspaper in class said their general knowledge has also improved.

Secondary and primary school students subscribe to the Monday and Tuesday editions of ST in order to get the educational magazines IN and Little Red Dot, which come bundled with the newspaper on Monday and Tuesday respectively.

A majority of these young readers say they have graduated to reading the broadsheet.

A survey by Singapore Press Holdings' research, analysis and planning department found that eight in 10 primary school pupils and nine in 10 secondary school students now read ST along with Little Red Dot and IN respectively.
They spend 10 to 30 minutes on either news magazine and an average of 25 minutes reading ST in school. Their interest is also piqued enough for them to read the newspaper the rest of the week.

The survey, done in July, polled 336 pupils in Primary 3 to 6 for Little Red Dot, and 299 students in Secondary 1 to 4 for IN. Young readers said they favoured ST's front page, Life! and Home sections.

Holy Innocents' High School student Shirlene Tan, 15, for example, used to think newspapers were boring. She now says: 'After reading IN, I feel like reading The Straits Times to find out more.'

Young readers like her found the news magazines - which they go through between classes and use during reading periods and English lessons - interesting, useful and relevant. Three-quarters of those polled rated the content 'good' or 'very good'.

The magazines' features, designed for classroom discussions and activities, encourage critical thinking, media literacy and language skills.

About three-quarters of Little Red Dot's readers said their English had improved. Among IN readers, more than half thought the same. A majority of the 66 teachers polled - 27 primary and 39 secondary - thought well of the articles in both magazines.

Mrs Smitha Rao of St Margaret's Secondary School said the newspaper catered to all levels of learners, and IN's vocabulary exercises were useful.

Madam Kamalnoorzaman Osman, a Primary 6 English teacher at East View Primary, has used Little Red Dot in class for two years. She mines ST to teach vocabulary and narratives. 'The topics are varied, which helps them learn a lot of things from one source,' she said.

To subscribe to Little Red Dot (for primary schools) or IN (for secondary schools), please call Ms Angeline Ng on 6319-1005 or e-mail cirschool@sph.com.sg
malini@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sep 19, 2008.

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