Wong (third right) receives a souvenir from the three Toastmasters clubs, presented by Chek, as (from left) Lau, Sia and Chung look on.
SIBU: Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh has encouraged students to have the willpower and determination to master the English language.
Speaking at the ‘Joint Exco Installation of Sibu Swan City, Rainbow and Rejang Toastmasters Clubs’ at a hotel here on Saturday, he said it was vital to use the correct approach coupled with hard work to learn the language.
“There are no born public speakers; one has to learn to communicate by breaking the ice, like getting over stage fright and building one’s vocabulary. Then, it is all about practice,” said Wong, who is also the Minister of Local Government and Community Development.
Wong recalled that he hardly knew any English when he was in secondary school here.
“When I went to Australia for further studies under the Colombo Plan, I went through a hard time. The Australian accent made it all the more difficult for me to cope,” he related.
Wong shared his learning experience, saying he had kept a notebook so that whenever he came across an unfamiliar word, he would write it down and look it up in a dictionary later.
From there, he would use the words in phrases to familiarise himself with them.
He said pronunciation was another crucial part of learning the language.
Wong admitted that while the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary had helped him, there were also other key sources, such as listening to news in English on the television or radio.
“I used to tell others to ‘sweat for a goal’ for three to five years so that they can taste the fruits of success for the rest of their lives,” he added.
Among those present were the Sibu Swan City Toastmasters Club president Eddie Chung, Rainbow Toastmasters Club president Lau Hui Mee, Rejang Toastmasters Club president Mary Sia, Toastmasters International district director D87 A. Richard Tsen, Rejang Toastmasters Club distinguished toastmaster Dr Clement Chen, Sibu Swan City Toastmasters Club and Rejang Toastmasters Club advisor Joseph Chong, and organising chairperson Patricia Chek Rima.