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| The writer believes that a beautiful camaraderie makes life a wonderful journey. |
One of the most common excuses my students give when asked to use English during lessons is: “Why should I speak English when I
was born Malay?” And, everyone else in the class would agree with their friend
in no time. That is the power of peer influence. They don't foresee the challenge awaiting them in the
future.
Lately, the issue of English proficiency has been taken more seriously, and new changes have been made in the education system to enhance the level of
proficiency in students and teachers alike.
Previously,
it was announced that starting from 2016, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia candidates need to pass English in order to get their certificate. Just recently, it was announced that English
would be made a must-pass subject for students in public universities and that they
must be able to communicate effectively in English.
All these policies are carried out for a long-term objective of making Malaysia a developed country with a high quality
workforce. It is deemed essential for us to have good communication skills to
go further and higher. To make these plans work well, we
should not just sit back, relax and play the wait-and-see game. Instead, we should
put every effort and help in any way we can.
I have several suggestions
that may be useful for English lessons.
Before we get the students to read, write and think in
English, we need to get them out of their fear of using English words.
Students need to repeat after their teachers for correct pronunciation and
enunciation. This drilling process will help learners get familiar with English
words before they proceed with a harder task. From a psychological point of view,
psychologist B.F. Skinner supports this idea of learners learning through
imitation and practice
For
weak learners, teaching English through songs is effective. I used to teach Form 1 students to sing My Favourite Things from the movie Sounds of Music. The song was catchy so I took this chance to teach them some
body movements based on the lyrics. The activity lifted their mood and interest
to learn the subject.
Teachers also need to provide extrinsic rewards. I
remember buying my student Jeff Kinney's book Diary of a Wimpy Kid for his achievement in maintaining good grades in English tests. He finally managed to obtain an almost perfect
score in his final exams and I couldn’t be any prouder.
Teachers should also give compliments and positive feedback for students' effort. When learning a second
language, extrinsic motivation is important to create a stress-free learning
environment. They will develop their intrinsic motivation when the pleasure of
learning takes over. At this stage, they will start seeking knowledge out
of curiosity for self-improvement.
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| Choral Speaking Team of 2013 |
Another
effective way is through English
competitions. Students who participate in English programs are more likely to
perform better in oral communication and written tests.
My experience training students from different levels of proficiency for various English
competitions has proven that participants manage to gain new vocabulary
and improve their articulation skills. Above all, they begin to build
confidence conversing in English with their classmates. Here, it is important
for teachers not to correct too many grammatical mistakes the students make in
their speech. Otherwise, students will become de-motivated and lose their
confidence.
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| Speech Choir Team of 2011 |
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| English Drama Team of 2014 |
For
weaker learners, teachers should provide scaffolding to help the students
expand their idea. This is supported by psychologist Lev Vygotsky who
introduced the concept of Zone of proximal development (ZPD). This concept
explains that children need guidance and assistance from more-skilled adults to
master a difficult task.
We
need to get students ready for the new requirement to pass English before they leave school and university.
22 September 2014
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