Umayalambigai d/o Ramakrishnan

Designation: Teaching Fellow

Department: Asian Languages & Cultures (ALC)

Office Location: NIE3

Education

• PhD (Nanyang Technological University)

• M.Ed., (Nanyang Technological University)

Email [email protected]

Office Telephone Number 67903497

Research Interests Classroom Discourse, Tamil Language, Spoken Tamil Language, Tamil Literature, Drama, Drama in classroom.

PROFILE

Dr Umayalambigai started off her journey as Tamil Language teacher in a secondary school having taught Higher Tamil Language, Tamil Language & Basic Tamil Language across all levels and streams for the past 20 years. Apart from teaching academics, she is a strong believer of values. She enjoys organizing and being part of service-learning projects for her students which led her to receive a Commendation note from ex-Minister of Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam in 2005. Subsequently she was attached to a HQ stint with Educational Technology Branch for four years which allowed her to pursue her passion of working with media. Thereafter, she taught Tamil Language and Literature and Project Work at Eunoia Junior College across all streams and levels.

Her interest and passion have revolved over Tamil Language and Theatre for the past 20 years. In the field of Arts, she started acting in Tamil stage plays in 1997 when she was a youth volunteer for the Singapore Tamil Youths’ Club. She was then recommended to Ravindran Drama Group to act and has acted in various stage plays for Ravindran Drama Group, Avant Theatre and Language and Athipathi International Theatre. She has directed her own plays and paved the first children’s theatre in Tamil in Singapore. She has a flare for scriptwriting and won Best Script Award as well

as steering her students to clinch the challenge trophy for three consecutive years. She was also awarded Creative Theatre Contribution for Playwriting in 2021.

AWARDS (Academic)
•2008, Long Service Award (5 years)
•2013, Long Service Award (10 years)
•2015, One-off Incentive Award (Completion of PDCM Masters)
•2021, Long Service Award (15 years)

•2023, Certificate of Appreciation (Appreciation of service with Eunoia Junior College)

 

Achievements/Accomplishments
• Commendation from ex-Minister of Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam :
SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE SEMINAR FOR TAMIL LANGUAGE TEACHERS ON MONDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2005 AT 9.30 AM AT THE EDUTORIUM, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
“This is just one of many ways you can make your classroom a lively place where students are inspired to speak Tamil freely and confidently. There are many other ways – camps, courses and outings for your students. Service opportunities for them. I have heard of one such example. Ms Umayalambigai Ramakrishnan of Chua Chu Kang Secondary School brings her students to the Sree Narayana Mission Home for the Aged Sick, to volunteer there on a regular basis. The students are happy to brighten the lives of the residents and they also practice their Tamil. The residents at Narayana Mission Home are themselves Resource Persons teaching the students Tamil language and culture.”
(Source: https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/20050905997.htm)