KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Hi Everyone

I have a indonesian maid who has been working for me since Jan 2012. She mainly takes care of my 8 month old baby as well as house chores and cooking. So far she's been great. She can't speak english altho she understands some very basic english words. I speak fluent malay so we have no issues communicating with her.

I've bought her a Indonesian-English dictionary which she uses alot but I can't find any better books around here as most of the language department in book stores have learn Indonesian instead of Indonesian ---> English. She has expressed interest in learning to speak English and I would like her to learn as well otherwise she would be speaking a lot of Malay to my baby (not that i have an issue with but as a side/2nd language it would be better).

Has anyone sent their Indonesian FDW for English classes or know of a good book/resource to share? I even resorted to buying her some of those P1 English workbook but it doesn't help in the speaking department.

Any thoughts/suggestion is most appreciated! Thanks!

My maid goes to the mosque at queens town there for English and computing on Sunday, the mosque specifically conduct classes for fdw, you can google the mosque

Can share which mosque she goes to? Coz I stay at strathmore and I am very interested in letting my maid learn English too. Thanks

Can share which mosque she goes to? Coz I stay at strathmore and I am very interested in letting my maid learn English too. Thanks

Can share which mosque she goes to? Coz I stay at strathmore and I am very interested in letting my maid learn English too. Thanks

I am starting a small group to teach Indonesian maid on basic conversation English in my church. PM if you are interested, I will let you know the details. My church is located near Commonwealth MRT.

pinkybear wrote:I am starting a small group to teach Indonesian maid on basic conversation English in my church. PM if you are interested, I will let you know the details. My church is located near Commonwealth MRT.

Can you share a bit more info on this? Like timing and days in a week, etc.

Thanks Pinkybear

pinkybear wrote:I am starting a small group to teach Indonesian maid on basic conversation English in my church. PM if you are interested, I will let you know the details. My church is located near Commonwealth MRT.

The intention is good, but the venue may not be ideal. Most Indonesian FDWs are Muslims - although they may not seem very religious, walking into a Christian church (voluntarily) might be too much to ask for. And my personal experience is that while it may be norm for a Christian to visit a temple and a Buddhist to visit a Cathedral, it is very different for a Muslim to hear, view, or see another religion. Anyway, all the best.

Take a look at MOM's new guide on maids' rest days. It has a list of courses inside. http://www.mom.gov.sg/Documents/MPE%20P ... st-day.pdf

Seunggi wrote:Hi Everyone

I have a indonesian maid who has been working for me since Jan 2012. She mainly takes care of my 8 month old baby as well as house chores and cooking. So far she's been great. She can't speak english altho she understands some very basic english words. I speak fluent malay so we have no issues communicating with her.

I've bought her a Indonesian-English dictionary which she uses alot but I can't find any better books around here as most of the language department in book stores have learn Indonesian instead of Indonesian ---> English. She has expressed interest in learning to speak English and I would like her to learn as well otherwise she would be speaking a lot of Malay to my baby (not that i have an issue with but as a side/2nd language it would be better).

Has anyone sent their Indonesian FDW for English classes or know of a good book/resource to share? I even resorted to buying her some of those P1 English workbook but it doesn't help in the speaking department.

Any thoughts/suggestion is most appreciated! Thanks!

a few years ago, i sent my Indonesian maid to attend English classes at Bishan ITE. After spending a year or so, she graduated with a "Certificate in English" from ITE. With this cert, next time when she return to Indonesia, she can show her future potential employers that she'd studied English before in SG. Hopefully, it'll help her land a job.

ITE Bishan do conduct English lessons in the evening, for working people (born local & foreigners) who're interested in picking up English. My maid told me that inside her class - besides working adults (some come from Thailand, Myammar, etc), some of her classmates are also local Singaporean uncle / aunties in their late 30s / 40s / 50s who can't speak English - they also go there & learn together with her.
The trainer sometime crack jokes, to liven up the classroom atmosphere.

you may ring up ITE Bishan, find out more detail:-
http://central.ite.edu.sg/index.php?opt ... 2&Itemid=8

at home, i bought this book from Popular bookstore to let her practise / polish up her English at home, & to supplement the evening lesssons she attending at ITE.

http://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/p ... d001=90003

inside this book contain many useful exercises. After she finished doing, i'll mark her answers and correct her mistakes. From there, slowly she picked up. When she first came to my house, she couldn't speak English. Now she's quite fluent.