SEGAMAT is the first district in Johor to host The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) workshop.
SMK Labis teacher Farah Zulkifly said the workshop has been helpful, especially towards planning lessons.
“Since my school is in a rural area, the biggest challenge we face is low interest in learning English,” said Farah, who has been teaching the subject for 10 years.
“One of the activities that left an impression was creating an advertisement and jingle, based on newspaper content.
“The activities were fun and engaging, which I think will capture my students’ attention when I use them in my classroom soon,” she said.
For School Improvement Specialist Coach Plus officer Jeyavani K. Kanniappan from Segamat District Education Office, teaching English is an immersive experience that should include the habit of reading newspapers regularly.
“Learning English through newspapers is not only practical, it is a lively way to understand English in real-world usage.
“We expect the workshop to be held in other districts in Johor, given its usefulness for teachers,” said Jeyavani, who facilitated the workshop with her colleague Sharifah Ibrahim.
The two-day workshop conducted by Star-NiE trainer Shoba Rani Dev was designed to equip educators with practical strategies to integrate newspapers into classroom teaching.
On the first day, 85 teachers from 85 primary schools participated, with sessions split between morning and afternoon.
The second day saw 48 representatives from 25 secondary schools taking part.
“We are grateful for the schools’ support in allowing teachers to attend the workshop during school hours,” said Jeyavani.
“There is a strong need for us to go back to newspapers just like how we used to naturally learn English through reading when we were younger.”
Using newspapers provided a hands-on, authentic learning experience for students, aligning with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages syllabus, she added.
Jeyavani noted that Star-NiE enhanced students’ reading skills, particularly in skimming and scanning techniques, improved comprehension and built awareness of different sentence structures. — By RHEMA SENG
