Ventriloquist fires up pupils’ reading interest

PETALING JAYA: In a move to stir interest in reading, a school here has engaged a ventriloquist who tells pupils about the joys of reading.

The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of SRJK (C) Puay Chai 2 in Bandar Utama made the move to spur pupils to read instead of spending time on their digital gadgets.

PTA member Wendy Cheah said the ventriloquist gave his first performance on March 15 and it was well received by the pupils.

Cheah said the school brought in the ventriloquist after conventional methods like setting up reading corners, displaying attractive books and having quizzes did not achieve the desired results.

“He appeared to have had some success.

“The response from the pupils was good and they enjoyed the session, especially with the added jokes and humour during the session.

“The ventriloquist and his puppet talked about their reading adventures, which can stimulate the children to read books,” Cheah said.

Alex the ventriloquist and his puppet, Thomas the Hippo, related their reading adventures in Mandarin and English.

Cheah said the parents also came up with an idea to conduct quizzes with prizes while having a ventriloquist do a show at one of the reading corners.

School principal Pang Lai Cheun said the school is grateful to the parents who helped to sponsor the books at the reading corners as well as the ventriloquist show in the school.