[Photo: Ms Lim Pei Jing, South View Primary School, and Mr Tan Peng Chee, Loyang Primary School, used various methods to help their pupils learn Chinese more effectively.]

By Serene Luo

IF HER pupils cannot find the right Chinese words to use in their essays, this Chinese Language teacher allows them to try alternative means of communication to get their points across.

These can be words in other languages or even drawings to describe the words they grapple with communicating.

When she marks the compositions, Ms Lim Pei Jing, 30, will write the correct characters in place of the words her pupils cannot express.

It is one way of lowering the barrier to writing and giving children more confidence, Ms Lim said of the pilot project she was part of at South View Primary School in Choa Chu Kang Central, where she has taught Chinese for six years.

Participating in additional projects like this one outside her regular teaching workload helped her clinch one of the Inspiring Chinese Language Teachers Awards this year.

Ms Lim and 12 other teachers received their trophies from Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew yesterday in an award ceremony at Suntec City.

These teachers showed 'exemplary effort' and 'inspired students to develop an appreciation of the Chinese language and culture', Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui said.

'I hope the awards will motivate you to strive even further for excellence and innovation in helping our children better learn the Chinese language,' he added.

Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, together with the Singapore Chinese Middle School Teachers' Association and the Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union, organised the event.

Principals, teachers and parents sent in about 1,000 nominations. A panel, comprising judges such as National Institute of Education's Associate Professor Chan Chiu Ming, who specialises in Asian languages and culture, and a top officer from the Education Ministry, conducted interviews with the shortlisted awardees before deciding on the final line-up.

Loyang Primary School's Mr Tan Peng Chee, 51, another of the award winners, said he was 'a little embarrassed' to win.

Speaking in Mandarin, he said 'it's a prize with a burden because it is a reminder for me to do my job even better now and in the future'.

The teacher of 25 years said he tries to make lessons more interesting for his young pupils with stories, and even giving English translations, particularly as many students increasingly find Chinese a bit difficult for them.

The award ceremony was held in conjunction with the launch of the Singapore Book Fair, now in its 24th year.

The fair, which is on till June 7 at Suntec convention centre, showcases more than 100,000 book titles from 100 exhibitors from 11 countries.

For the event, the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple in Waterloo Street sponsored $30 vouchers for 1,000 needy children, which they can use to buy books during the fair.

The book fair is organised by Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese Newspapers Division and publisher Marshall Cavendish Business Information.

More than 500,000 people visited the fair last year.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.