Retired teacher develops English module

ONCE a teacher, always a teacher. Although Tengku Fathillah Tengku Zainal retired as a teacher five years ago, she has never stopped being an educator.

In fact, the mother of three has been active in developing various English modules to help local students to improve their English proficiency.

In her first year of retirement, Tengku Fathillah developed her first English module, which she called “the learning kit” and shared it with several schools.

She said the modules, which contained various techniques to acquire and master the English language, was developed based on her 30 years’ experience as an English teacher.

“The overwhelming response I received for the first module became a morale booster for me to further improve the module and develop a new one called the ‘Guidance to Help Develop Good Writing’ in 2005,” she said at the launch of the English Proficiency Programme for Rural Secondary School Students in Kota Baru.

Tengku Fathillah said the improved module had so far been used at over 50 schools, including 30 in Kedah, two in Sarawak and the remaining in Kelantan.

“A total of 20 students from SMK Kulim scored A for English in the 2015 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, while the two schools in Sarawak saw major improvement when 19 students from SMK Bakun and nine from SMK Belaga scored A for English in the 2017 SPM,” she said.

The 58-year-old teacher said the module, which had also captured the attention of Yayasan Sarana Pendidikan Malaysia (YSPM). would be used at two rural schools in Kelantan, namely, SMK Badang and SMK Penambang.

Tengku Fathillah said she has submitted a proposal to the Education Ministry for the module to be included in the national education system.

“I do hope that the module will be accepted by the ministry to help more students, especially those in the rural areas, to acquire and master the English language,” she added.