The pupils and teachers from SK Taman Sungai Besi Indah pose for a group photograph with Kalaimathy.
THE Educational Studies Department of the Institute of Teacher Education Kuala Lumpur recently organised a one-day English is Fun programme for 197 Year Six pupils from SK Taman Sungai Besi Indah, Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
The hands-on based activities were part of the Highly Immersive Programme (HIP) of the school that exposes pupils to more extensive use of the English language. The team comprising lecturers Kalaimathy Irene George and Dr Saguna Sankaran used The Star newspaper as a tool to teach the subject matter.
As most of the pupils did not use the language in their daily lives, the programme provided them with an avenue to enhance the usage of English language in a fun learning environment.
The programme also unleashed the creative thinking elements among the pupils. In one of the activities, pupils were asked to create stories using only five pictures. The speed at which the pupils became instant storytellers amazed the teachers present. Pupils overcame stage fright and built self-confidence through this speaking skill. Certain activities carried out also required pupils to look for letters, words, pictures or sentences to complete their assignments.
The English teachers headed by the panel head, Amudha Paliah were also on hand to assist the lecturers.
“The Star newspaper was an excellent choice for that. When the pupils needed explanation on certain words, their English teachers were there to help out.
“The school would like us to conduct a workshop with the teachers to enable more meaningful lessons, using the newspapers,” said Kalaimathy.
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