Helping E M'sians boost command of English
Published on: Saturday, March 07, 2015
Kuching: English Language Teacher Development Project (ELTDP) through its mentors has implemented various English language programmes throughout the schools in East Malaysia to boost the command of English language among locals.Among them were the formation of English Conversation Club as well as the "Speak English! Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday" programmes in schools to enhance English speaking among teachers and pupils, including the communities.According to British Council English Language Teacher Development Mentor Jared Kubokawa, most teachers and pupils are reluctant to speak the English language outside of the classroom due to the lack of opportunities and low confidence in the language.
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"People want to speak English. They are not shy but it's because they don't have the chance to speak the language," he said during the three-day English Language Development Project (ELTDP) Symposium 2015 held at Hilton Hotel here.Therefore, Kubokawa along with his mentee, Gerald Unan Anak Meru, a teacher at SK. Nanga Pedai, Kanowit came up with the English Conversation Club at their school."Everyone is welcome in the club...teachers and even parents. The only requirement is that they must speak English and we had meetings during the weekends. We had a meeting last Valentine's Day and everyone was talking about love in English. It was fun. Everyone had a great time," he said.Gerald on the other hand said that before the ELTDP was introduced, he would face problems in teaching the English language among his pupils as English is not his option.
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"This is because in Sarawak, people tend to speak in their native languages and we don't really have the opportunity to speak English with one another, except in class."Therefore, we came up with the English Conversation Club to help the people, especially teachers, improve their command in the language," he said, adding that they had also made full use of the social media by creating a Facebook page as a platform for teachers to share their resources and ideas.
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An English teacher of 16 years at SK Sacred Heart, Eleanor Ak John Ganjos together with her colleague, Lucy Ak Hassan under the supervision of their mentor implemented the "Speak English! Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday" programme to encourage pupils to speak more of the English language."The programme was initiated after the introduction of the ELTDP project and everyone in school was cooperative and excited about the whole thing," she said."We have record charts in our school where pupils will mention when, where and with whom they speak English to. They will be given each a photo of the person they are supposed to speak English as well as questions," she said, adding that the programme received support from all the parents.Eleanor also said pupils will not be evaluated in terms of their accuracy and fluency in the language but instead their focus is more towards their pupils conversing in English with one another.Pupils, ever since the programme, have improved in their command of the language and even scored well in their oral examinations, she said."It would be a good idea that teachers implement this programme in their schools for the benefit of the pupils," she said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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