Kadazan children urged to learn mother tongue
Published on: Monday, December 03, 2018
Penampang: Kadazan Society Sabah (KSS) President Datuk Marcel Leiking recently urged Kadazan children to learn and love their mother tongue because losing it will make them "become foreigners in their own land". He said this at the closing of the two-day Kadazan Language Camp at Kg Penapah-Kondis here Saturday.The event saw children between the ages of 9 and 13-years-old from Putatan, Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran, Papar, Tambunan, Tawau and Sandakan, among others, taking part.ADVERTISEMENT "We the elders speak Kadazan for the love of Sabah as it is the only place for us," he said. At the same time, Leiking also urged the youths to master Bahasa Malaysia and English for their future progress sake. "No doubt the camp created friendship, unity and good memories for you to tell your parents at home in your own language," he said. Earlier, prominent teacher Evelyn Annol said the camp was sponsored by KSS and organised by newly formed Kadazan Language Tutors Association chaired by Village Chief Irene Malitam. ADVERTISEMENT Evelyn said the objective of the camp were for the participants to learn and speak Kadazan, to increase their vocabulary where every students will have at least 50 words in their notebook, to learn Kadazan cultures, to nurture the love of their mother tongue, eating and identifying Kadazan traditional dishes.The language teaching methods is applying methods used in the past where children will not just read, write, hear and speak the language but smell, touch, taste and eat in the language.
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In one instance, she brought a durian into class and taught the students its name in Kadazan. They then touched the sharp thorny skin, smell and then eat it, while at the same time using Kadazan vocabulary so that they will better remember what the have learned. Even the preparation of a common drink is described in the Kadazan menu book, which made the students excited to attend the next class session. In one of the nights, the children slept in an outdoor camp under the stars but fully supervised by their tutors. All of them raised their hands when asked if they want another camp in the next school holidays. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Also present at the closing ceremony and certificate presentation were three senior members of KSS, parents and tutors. The participants were informed that their certificate will enable them gain extra 10 points in their school's extra-curricular activities. - Oswald Supi