The new dormitory residents at Gardens

I was a little disturbed by the fact that fences will be built around the dormitory to prevent any access to the local residents. Though I am a local resident, I feel sympathetic towards the foreign residents. The fences will make them feel as if they are outcasts stricken with a contagious disease and thus cannot have any contact with others. It is a terrible feeling to have.

Now that it has been ascertained that the foreign workers are those in the manufacturing and service industries, any xenophobia should be considerably reduced. Some of the reasons for such a restriction are valid, like traffic congestion, but a loss of privacy is not really as valid, I feel. I think it works both ways, actually.

The Miss Singapore World organizer's true colours.

There is a contradiction between what ERM World Marketing did and what it told the papers. It had clearly written a letter to Ris's probation officer to gain permission for her to travel for the Miss World Pageant before the report of her crime but the event director claimed that she knew about the fraud only when the papers reported it.

The director even influenced Ris to agree that she had informed the organization of the fraud only after the report when in actual fact Ris could have told the organization after her crowning.

Obviously, the director did not dare to say anything about these discoveries when she knew that her deviousness had been uncovered. What I wonder is whether Ris is sworn to say only what makes the organization and its director looks good, since she is on a year's contract with it.

The organizer is in hot soup again. A local jewellery designer has revealed that she had failed to keep her side of the contract between them. The crown the designer had designed for the winner of the Ms Singapore World competition was to have been used from 2008 to 2012 but it had been done so only in 2008. They had exchanged emails and the organizer had assured the designer that the crown would be used this year, but this did not take place at the competition. It seems that the organizer had asked her lawyer to send another email after the one assuring the designer, which stated that the crown would only be used if the designer booked places for the competition. The designer declined to do so and this explains why the crown was not used at all.

The organizer seems to me, to be a person who is materialistic and disregards contract terms in order to attain that goal. She is also contradictory in her dealings with others.

Changes in the way English is taught.

MOE is planning to bring back the systematic way of teaching grammatical skills in schools. I definitely condone that. The students I interact with lack such basic linguistics in their work. They are heavily influenced by the media which may not be proper channels of language usage.

When this method was removed from the teaching syllabus, that was very much a mistake, I feel. Using a more subtle method to teach grammar, in terms of contextual setting, does not make it as clear and easy to understand.

I have heard of trainee teachers majoring in the English language using improper English and speaking worse English than those who choose to major in other subjects. How ironic and sad. I disagree with a tuition centre director who feels that such mangled English learnt from the media and technological communication is really an evolution of the language rather than a deterioration.

A retired English teacher does not have any qualms about code-switching from English to Singlish at appropriate times. I am glad to know that. I am a code-switcher but I know that I must not deviate more towards the latter in general. Another teacher recommends reading and listening to the BBC channel as tools towards speaking good English. I do read but must strive to listen to more narration from documentaries on television. I use the Internet far too much and it does not have such natural narration. It is mostly made up of written linguistics, and the music and videos on it have verbal language which may not be grammatically correct.

Compromise in service standards just to please celebrities?

David Gan, celebrity hairstylist, complained about the fact that a high-end boutique had turned away movie star Zhang Ziyi, as it was going to close for the day. What did the boutique do wrong? It was merely maintaining its regulation and service standard. Does being a celebrity entitle one to such unnecessary privilege? A celebrity is still a human being. I feel that he is being overprotective of her and letting fame get to his head, since he himself is famous.

He contradicts himself too when he said that he did not want the shop to let her enter it due to her status, but that the act made it give our country a bad name. He suggested that the shop should go for retraining. Does doing what it should be doing to any customer warrant such a effect? I am sure that it turned her away in a polite manner. That should be the real issue here.

Apparently, his outspoken view has had an effect on a retail outlet chain. Club 21 has agreed to ensure its stores allow customers to enter past the opening hours.