English lessons come to life with these six

Using everything from old-fashioned writing principles to gadgets such as smartphones, six teachers went the extra mile to make lessons resonate with their students and were recognised.

They won this year's Inspiring Teacher of English Award, which honours outstanding teachers of English Language, English Literature and General Paper annually.

The recipients, chosen from a pool of 105 nominees, include Mrs Anne Kingsley-Lee, 36, from CHIJ St Theresa's Convent.

The teacher of 15 years gets each of her students to pick an article or text, which they must speak about for five minutes in class, addressing its purpose, context and cultural concerns, among other things, to help them think critically.

"If it's frivolous or if it doesn't have content or substance, they notice it very quickly when they start thinking about the piece," she said.

She also shows video clips to get students thinking about topics such as stereotyping.

Another recipient, Ms Laureen Toh, 31, who teaches at Catholic Junior College, has her students whip out their smartphones to read newspaper articles online, check Google Maps, or look at images, such as that of Syria's recent chemical warfare attack.

She also incorporates themes from novels, for instance, using Greek mythology hero Prometheus to explore how science may benefit society. "Many students have a distaste for reading because they have no time to sit, absorb and read... You need to give them a reason to be deeply engaged," she said.

The other winners were: Mrs Sangeetha Sivanesan, 32, from Da Qiao Primary School Ms Vanessa Heng, 35, from Nanyang Girls' High School Mr Patrick Sum, 38, from Anglo-Chinese Junior College Mr Tan Wah Jiam, 40, from Hwa Chong Institution (College section)

Senior Minister of State for Education and Law Indranee Rajah presented the awards at a ceremony at the National Museum of Singapore. She said: "A true effective role model inspires by making the learning of English interesting, relevant and achievable. She must be able to engage the students and imbue in them the confidence to launch themselves into discussions, debates, role plays and other activities with all the zest and desire to learn."

The award is jointly presented by the Speak Good English Movement and The Straits Times, and is supported by the Ministry of Education.

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