Language boost for teens
There has been a refreshing change to English lessons at a Kuala Selangor secondary school, thanks to its new learning tool.
SCRAPBOOKS and collages made from newspaper cutouts were laid out on the conference table in the school’s meeting room.
SMK Kuala Selangor had initiated a project that saw its students using the The Star and its Newspaper-in-Education (nie) pullout, to their benefit – proof that the newspaper is still a powerful tool in language-related activities. The Kuala Selangor school set up five years ago is among 17 schools receiving a year-long nie sponsorship from gloves manufacturer Hartalega Sdn Bhd.
The school’s English panel head Faridah Kassim said that the newspaper and the nie pullout which comes with it every Wednesday, had come in as an excellent resource for its English camps and lessons. It has also been used extensively for various activities to enhance learning during the school’s “academic month”.
“I encourage them to carry out nie activities. The aim is to make English learning fun,” she said.
The scrapbooks, she explained, were on topics from the school syllabus.
“Students were given the freedom to choose a topic and then prepare a scrapbook. She added that the handbooks could be used as references for teachers in the future.”
The groups with the best scrapbooks were then chosen to take part in this year’s nie contest Game4Life.
The star-nie contest, launched in April, required students to work in teams of four to deliver a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on how sports could be a vehicle for social change.
The contest closed in June. Participating schools will soon know if their entries have been shortlisted for the finals and merit awards.
The school’s Team Sparks of Fire, comprising Form Four students Nishanthiny Balachandran, Preeshaa Muniandy, Sharmila Sri Balasubramaniam and Sujithra Rajendran, had submitted a PSA that touched on safety issues and the art of self defence for girls.
Nishanthiny, a karate exponent as well as model for her group’s PSA, said the martial art was a male-dominated sport.
The team’s PSA message encouraged girls to master karate as a form of self defence.
Sujithra said that there was good teamwork among the girls. “Everyone volunteered to do something. It was fun working together, even though we had to spare some time after school hours.”
Participating in the competition also improved their English, Preshaa explained.
“We had to write (the concept) and explain our PSA message. Puan Faridah helped us with the grammatical errors. She has given us a lot of support.”
Agreeing, Sharmila said that their teacher encouraged everyone to converse in English, whether in or out of class.
“We talk to each other in English most of the time now.”
Sharmila also added that nie gave them something new and exciting to work on.
“We’ve been using the textbook most of the time but we are now using different resources.”
“Flipping through the newspaper helps us stay in touch with current issues. Although our scrapbook topic was on wildlife, we read about other news too while going through the newspaper,” she said.
Other SMK Kuala Selangor students who took part in the nie contest had nothing but praise for the initiative.
Form Five student Huvinesh Rajendran, said his team’s PSA was about obesity.
“I learnt a lot about social issues when doing this PSA. We can find a lot of information in the newspaper.
“This contest helps unleash our other talents too. We took some photos for our PSA, and they were good shots. It was also challenging to come up with a slogan that was short and to-the-point.”
His classmate Muhammad Nabil Mirza Norzi also enjoyed the process thoroughly.
“We had fun making the scrapbook and PSA. It wasn’t stressful because it was on a topic we liked and we did not have to think so much. It was also easy as we divided our tasks.
“But most importantly, we improved our knowledge and grammar in the process. It will help us in our SPM paper, especially when writing essays.
“We also tried conversing in English while working on the project. Being more fluent in English can definitely help us when we venture into the working world in the future,” he added.
Another classmate Jeredraj Yaacob also expressed the same sentiment. “It is important to learn English to communicate with others. When we go overseas, we will have to speak in English. It is a universal language.”
Faridah said that this is her second year teaching in this school. “I was using nie in my previous school in Kedah. I love how pictures make students more creative.”
“nie not only fosters teamwork among students but among teachers as well. We learn new ways to use the newspaper from each other.”
Faridah said that teachers should try to find out what students’ talents and interests are, so that they can be encouraged to take the right path in life.
“In nie, students have some freedom to express themselves and teachers will have some inclination on the choices they make.”
In carrying out their project, shy students could use their creativity to put their thoughts and ideas on paper.
“They become confident and are able to speak up after being involved in nie activities. We also encourage them to make presentations when they do group work.”
“While the nie was one of the many activities lined up during academic month, singing and public speaking were also part of it.
SMK Kuala Selangor principal Abd Hamid Takat said that the newspaper is an affordable and easy-to-use resource.
“It is easily available and you don’t have to depend on Internet coverage or electricity.”
“Using the newspaper in class may seem old-fashioned, but the knowledge one gains from it is simply immense ... useful and relevant for essay writing,” he said.
He said that he noticed a change in student approach and behaviour with the introduction of the pullout.
“I can see that they are confident and enthusiastic when speaking in the global language.
“The 21st century learning emphasises group work and the nie activities focus on this area. It teaches students how to access and present knowledge. Teachers are only facilitators.”
When he heard that the school was receiving the nie sponsorship, Abd Hamid said he was thankful.
“Being a new school, we appreciate all forms of help and resources and what better way than The Star and the nie pullout.
As a sign of appreciation, the school prepared a big handmade thank you card for Hartalega. It was signed by the students and teachers.
The company’s human resource director Kuan Vin Seung was delighted to receive the card. He said that the company was proactive when carrying out its corporate social responsibility projects especially those involving The Star’s nie programme.
“We’ve been talking to some teachers from the schools and all of them have given positive comments.”
“It was the confidence and enthusiasm – two major changes that stood out among their students.
“They were indifferent during English lessons but that’s all changing. They are more motivated and that is an encouraging sign,” added Kuan.
Human Resource (Community Affairs) head Mohd Ridzuan Kunjan said that the newspaper has opened up opportunities for students to be creative.
“In some schools, they do not read the English newspaper, and the sponsored newspaper is their first contact with an English daily.”
“From our discussion with some schools, it would seem that they are more receptive to the English language,” he added.
Kuan said that the feedback from schools has been very encouraging.
“English is a window to the world. Once they have acquired sufficient proficiency, they would have unlimited access to information and knowledge.”
“One good thing about nie is it not only encourages students to learn English in a fun and interactive way; it also helps students to keep abreast with current affairs by reading the newspaper,” he said.
For details on the star-nie school sponsorship programme, call The Star’s Customer Care Unit at 1 300 88 7827 from Monday to Friday (9am–5pm).