Unique teaching placements
Teaching assistants under the Fulbright programme return home after helping students in rural schools with their English proficiency
OVER the last 10 months, more than 90 English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) from the United States have left a mark on the lives of almost 20,000 Malaysian students.
However, it wasn’t only the students’ lives that were touched as the ETAs themselves will be taking home some precious memories.
Most of the ETAs agreed that it wasn’t the fact that the students improved their language skills that was heartfelt, but it was watching them grow to become more confident.
Soophia Ansari, 23, who was based in Perlis says her most memorable experience was breaking fast with the students at SMK Syed Saffi’s hostel.
“Every day I would go to the school’s hostel and I would break fast with the students and pray together.
“I was definitely getting a little bit homesick being away from my family because Ramadan is definitely a family-oriented activity,” she adds.
Soophia says the school is in a small town in Perlis and that the community’s livelihood centred around driving lorries, fishing and farming.
This posed a problem to her as she had to convince her students that English communication skills were necessary for success in today’s world.
“Many students basically believed that they will be working their parents’ jobs after they finish schooling.
“They had kind of set limits on what they will be able to do,” she adds.
To overcome this, she says she spent her time convincing the students that “they were brilliant and have opportunities.
“I also told them that it’s never too late to begin learning the English language and that being able to speak in English can take them places,” she adds.
She says she would give examples of how the nearby jetty to Langkawi always had foreign tour-
ists around and how they would not understand Bahasa Malaysia.
“I would tell them how with English, they could get jobs as tour guides or open tourist attractions,” she adds.
For Linda Halfacre, 23, the most memorable moment was when she jointly organised an international camp with 20 Thai students and 22 Malaysian students in Kuala Lumpur for three days.
She says that watching these students form friendships with their counterparts across the border was something that makes being part of the ETA programme worthwhile.
“They had to bond with the common language of English as they could not communicate with each other using their native languages,” adds the New Jersey native.
“This will help ensure that they continue to practise using English in a social context in the years to come (with their new friends).”
Halfacre says that the ETAs spent a lot of time persuading their students to speak English outside of classroom hours, and it worked.
Ayah Issa, 24, says one of the most impactful moments for her happened while she was conducting a creative writing session for her students in SMK Seri Kota, Perak. She says that she asked them to discuss a particular song and its meaning to them.
“I left the class for a little while and when I came back, the girls were in an intense debate in English on what they thought about the song ‘Cantik’ and how it was about women empowerment.
“Generally, my students will switch back to talking in Bahasa Malaysia when I’m not around,” she says with a smile.
“What I wanted was for them to continue in English and that was amazing.”
Samuel Lee, 23, felt that the connection he built with his students gave him much joy.
He says he went into SMK Bukit Payung, Terengganu, with some “pretty big plans” but soon realised that they would not work as there was no personal connection with the students.
Their command of the English language was quite poor, he says.
“It definitely helped me realise that it wasn’t the programmes I had planned for them but that bond with them that has had the most impact on me,” he adds.
Peter Arnold, 23, says that he hopes what he taught his students will continue to stay with them throughout their lives.
He adds that the sustainability of the ETA programme is what will ensure its efficacy long after the ETAs have left.
Based in SMK Sindumin, Sabah, he says: “I want to see the successful continuity of programmes we started at the school.”
“The biggest hurdle was definitely the language level,” says Katherine Quinn, 24.
Although her students from SMK Bukit Mendi, Pahang, could speak a little English, very few of them were brave enough to talk to her when she first arrived.
She believes the students wanted to build a connection with her but were too shy to speak in English for fear of embarrassment.
To help them, Quinn took it upon herself to learn a little bit of Bahasa Malaysia so that the students will feel more at ease.
“It helped them relax around me because they saw my efforts to make a connection with them and respect part of who they are.
“It also helped us meet each other halfway,” she adds.
She says she would also find the Bahasa Malaysia translation of English words and put them side by side during her lessons.
The ETAs are part of the 2018 Fulbright ETA programme, which is now being run in nine states with Melaka joining the list this year.
The programme is a joint bilateral programme administered by the Malaysian American Commission on Educational Exchange (Macee) and the Education Ministry, and supported by the US Embassy.
The ETAs taught nearly 20,000 school students in 2018 and conducted 210 English camps including three international camps, six at the national level and six statewide camps.
During the 2018 Fulbright ETA showcase, US Ambassador to Malaysia Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir says that the programme helps boost English language skills for thousands of Malaysian students each year since its inception in 2006.
“Most importantly, it exposes these students to American culture, American ways of thinking and the American attitude.
“There is this large world out there that Malaysian students can access through English.
“To the ETAs, I hope your lives are also enriched by having this relationship (with your students),” says Lakhdhir.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching says the ETA programme not only promotes English language learning, but also cross-cultural exchange.
She adds that the Prime Minister has also expressed his concern over the poor command of the language among Malaysian students.
“I believe one way (to overcome this problem) is to increase exposure time to the language.
“I believe ETAs and the teachers have creatively carried out activities to make language learning more meaningful to our learners,” she adds.