I REFER to Mr Mickey Chiang's letter last Thursday, 'Send articulate teachers to primary classes'.

Although I agree with his suggestions, I believe parents and caregivers play an even more important role in getting children to speak English properly. We cannot depend on teachers alone.

Children spend a good part of their early life with their parents and caregivers. And if parents do not speak proper English, how do we expect the children to do so? Just listen to a parent-child conversation and it becomes apparent. I am one such guilty parent.

The nature of my job requires me to write proper English eight hours a day. But when I am with colleagues, friends and family, I lapse naturally into Singlish.

However, for children in lower primary who are just starting to grasp the dynamics of the English language, speaking Singlish impedes their ability to construct a decent sentence in English.

Only recently have my husband and I started trying to speak proper English with our children, and correcting them when they speak incorrectly. It is not an easy task, but the good news is that after about two days of conscious effort, I have become more aware of the way I speak and correct myself before speaking. Now, I hope my children will get used to it as well.

One of the greatest culprits is the use of 'got'. Examples include: 'Where got?', 'I got spelling today' and 'Mummy, my soup got hair'.

The use of 'got' dominates more than half of the conversations I have with my children. Eliminate this and half the battle is won.

Children must have a good foundation in English grammar right from the start and this will carry them through their later school years and working life. Even if they lapse occasionally into conversational Singlish, they are able to switch to proper written and spoken English when necessary.

Karen Goh (Mdm)

This article was first published in The Straits Times.