Hand-in-hand with society
Glove-making company highlights importance of proficiency in the younger generation with English education pullout sponsorship.
A Star-NiE workshop at SMK Kuala Selangor, conducted by freelance consultant trainer Lucille Dass, kicked of with an apt quote by George Bernard Shaw: “We don’t stop playing because we are old. We grow old because we stop playing”.
“So never lose the child in you,” said Dass to the 30 teachers at the workshop.
Entering its 21st year, The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) programme has been on a mission to instil fun learning into English lessons across the country.
The NiE pullout provides readymade newspaper activities that teachers can easily incorporate into their English class lessons. Best of all, the pullout is endorsed by the Education Ministry.
The newspaper never gets old. In fact, it is updated on a daily basis!
“Reading the news is a habit that will continue long after one leaves school. Using the newspaper as a language resource is like having a living textbook. It provides authentic material and brings a slice of the real world into the classroom,” said Dass.
The workshop at the Selangor school was made possible by Hartalega, which sponsored RM42,240 worth of NiE pullouts benefiting 20 schools. All selected schools are located near the company’s operating plants in Bestari Jaya and Sepang.
Hartalega corporate social responsibility manager Melissa Abdul Majid presented the mock cheque to Star Media Group executive editor Errol Oh Boon Peng after the workshop.
“English is a bridge that connects people. To be able to speak in English is an extra point in job interviews. If you aren’t able to speak in English, there is likely a language barrier when it comes to networking,” she said. Hartalega has been sponsoring the NiE pullout since 2016 and is glad to include more schools in their sponsorship this year.
“There has been good feedback from sponsored schools. NiE is something that teachers can bring into classrooms to complement the syllabus set by the Education Ministry,” said Melissa.
Kuala Selangor district education officer Sarimah Abdul Rahim who was also present, said that NiE will enrich the vocabulary and improve grammar for students.
“All schools are now involved in the Highly Immersive Programme. Thanks to this sponsorship, we can make use of NiE as one of the activities in the programme,” she said.
SMK Kuala Selangor English panel head Faridah Kassim said that the school plans to incorporate activities from the workshop into the upcoming English school camp.
“We are working very hard to improve the English proficiency in this school. NiE can help us upgrade the proficiency standards,” she said.
English teacher Vasantha Kumari who recently transferred to SMK Kuala Selangor, said that she had used the newspaper in her previous school and the students enjoyed it.
“When teachers teach using NiE, the activities make students focus and they will retain more in their memory,” she said.
SMK Sri Tanjong English teacher Wu Hsuen Chen found the workshop very interesting. “The students in my school are not exposed to the English language. They need to read more newspapers to improve in English. Reading is very important if one wants to be able to write well.”
“I encourage them to take the newspaper home to read it,” she added.
For more information, call The Star’s Customer Care Unit at 1-300-88-7827 from Monday to Friday (9am-5pm).