English boost at primary schools

Here you go: Anderson (left) presenting some of the books to SK Nanga Balingiau pupil Beverly Eve Nawi while head teacher Fabbyn Anak Dagut looks on.

KUCHING: The British Council is donating English books to selected schools in Sarawak and Sabah as part of its efforts to promote and support literacy in primary schools.

The selected schools, which are part of the British Council’s English Language Teacher Development Project (ELTDP), were identified as being the most likely to benefit from a book donation.

Each school will receive a collection of illustrated storybooks brought in from Britain. The titles include The Bad-Tempered Ladybird by Eric Carle, The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss, The Children Who Smelled A Rat by Allan Ahlberg and The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl.

SK Nanga Balingiau in Kanowit, central Sarawak, was the first school to receive the books, which were presented by British Council country director Gavin Anderson recently.

“The British Council is committed to supporting the learning of English in Malaysia and illustrated storybooks are a wonderful way to encourage literacy in young children.

“Some of these schools have gone through difficult challenges and the book donation is our way of showing support, come what may,” he said.

Anderson added that books provided a different approach to English language learning and helped children’s language development.

“We hope that the interesting and fun stories we have selected will motivate the teachers and children and help the students improve their language skills,” he said.

The book donation was also held in conjunction with International Literacy Day, which falls on Sept 8 every year. The 2015 theme of ‘Literacy and Sustainable Societies’ underscores literacy as a key driver for sustainable development.

The British Council has more than 80 years of experience in the field of English language teaching worldwide.

The ELTDP comes under the Education Ministry’s Projek Penutur Jati Bahasa Inggeris project, which is part of the ‘Upholding Bahasa Melayu and Strengthening English’ programme.

The British Council runs the project in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.