|
Age need not be a barrier to learning to speak English well, and Madam Lo Khuen Neong, 76, is proof of this.
'I love to learn and I think it's very important to speak English well, especially when my 12-year-old grandson stays with me five days a week,' said the retired bus conductor.
She has spoken Mandarin and Cantonese for most of her life, but started taking English lessons seven years ago.
She joined the Women Learning English (Wish) programme, an adult literacy programme run by the Society for Reading and Literacy, one of the partners of the Speak Good English Movement.
'I wanted to learn proper English so that I could pass the good habit to my grandson,' Madam Lo said.
Despite having only Primary 5 education in a Chinese school, she now speaks grammatically correct English, even if a little haltingly.
She practises what she learns each week by volunteering as a cook at an old folks' home and communicating in English with those she helps, as well as with her fellow volunteers.
She also goes to the Marine Parade library regularly to borrow books on English.
'When I first started, I mixed up simple terms. I would say 'Come and eat your Milo' instead of 'drink', but I think I have improved,' she said with a laugh.
She has also mastered the past and present tenses.
Not one to rest on her laurels, she will continue to take English lessons.
She said: 'My grandson used to correct me, but now I can correct him and teach him a thing or two. I want to keep on improving.'
Shuli Sudderuddin
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
| 
