HIP and better way to learn English

THE Trenglish Programme in Terengganu, “The Trenglish way to better English” ( Sunday Star, July 2) is undoubtedly a programme that needs to be emulated as the progress claimed to be shown by students seems pretty promising. It’s heartening to see the seriousness shown by the individuals involved in their effort to improve English proficiency among the students.

This brings me to yet another attempt to improve the declining standard of English in Malaysia – making English a compulsory pass in SPM. As it’s being mulled over, some feel it is high time to put the foot down on this matter. The others, however, are more concerned about the number of students who will be made to leave school without a certificate if it is implemented. This debate has consumed a fair amount of time, energy and expertise. Unfortunately, it often gets deadlocked and is then left to hibernate.

By now one should be aware of the fact that some serious flaws do exist in our system. Teachers’ unpreparedness is identified as one of the main reasons for the delay in implementing some of the intended policies.

So the root cause has been identified and now what? If a systematic selection process, one without partiality, was executed and only the deserving candidates were granted the chance to be in the profession, we would not be grappling with this issue now.

I do appreciate the attempts taken by the Education Ministry to upgrade the proficiency level of teachers by constantly offering various courses and making some of them compulsory. But how have these courses helped in solving the issue at hand? Do we have data to support the claim of improvement achieved? If so, how is it reflected in their teaching and the results obtained? How is their progress monitored and by whom? Are the ones monitoring and assessing the progress competent and credible enough? What if a teacher failed to reach the required level despite numerous attempts? And what about those who refuse to budge from their comfort zone?

Let’s leave the matter to the experts and start focussing on the students who deserve more attention.

Before taking the big leap (making English a compulsory pass sub- ject), let’s rectify the damages done by changing the perception towards the language and the way it is being taught.

Arresting the declining standard in English has to begin by creating interest among the learners. This has to be done before the importance of the language is brought in. Once interest in the language is created, learning will be effortless. I have seen students with zero exposure to the language outside class succeeding in conversing in impeccable English!

Teachers often stand behind these students with their power in initiating the first spark. So powerful is a teacher’s influence! The interest created then becomes the fundamental factor which pushes the students forward.

Interest should be an inherent factor instilled on the first day the language is introduced to a child. Creativity of a teacher plays a significant role here.

Games and activities which involve the participation and involvement of students will surely draw their attention. Among those for whom English is a foreign language, even reciting simple rhymes and poems in English would give them pride and confidence. It’s an undeniable fact that the ability to converse in English gives students great confidence.

Repetition is the mother of all learning, we are told. If that was to be practised, we wouldn’t have students conversing with mangled sentences in later years. If a child fails to comprehend the fundamental rules of sentence structure by the time he completes six years of primary education, if he failed to master the basic list of vocabulary to engage in a decent conversation, something is seriously flawed in our system.

One of the innovative ideas introduced with the above in mind is the Highly Immersive Programme (HIP) which is being implemented in schools all over the country. It’s a programme that is expected to replace some of the outdated practices used in teaching and learning English, thus changing the way English is perceived by students as well as teachers.

It allows schools the freedom to engage in activities which suit the proficiency level of students and is totally against the one-size-fits-all technique. The programme is systematically crafted and begins with the identification of the level of English proficiency among the school community as a whole. It then moves on to deciding the activities based on the level identified. Each activity is planned with the main objective of creating interest towards the language without unnecessary external pressure.

The activities are then monitored and evaluated and finally the progress is recorded. An analysis and outcome of the progress decides the next step.

Throughout the journey, schools are assisted and guided by the officers from ELTC and also by the district as well as state level language officers.

Now that we have a plan, we have ample resources and assistance to realise the ultimate objective of the programme, which is to immerse the students into the language and is the first step at improving the proficiency level. With close and genuine involvement of all parties, the damage can be rectified. Let’s stop pondering and start plunging into this issue for the future of our children. SR2 Tampin, Negri Sembilan