“STEP up to the starting point, everyone. Now, the first player rolls the dice,” Norfarahana Faznor Fadzil said as she smiled encouragingly.
The four pupils of Year Six SK Sungai Berua, an Orang Asli school in Hulu Terengganu in Terengganu, looked hesitantly at each other. Then a boy picked up a giant dice on the giant snake and ladders board, and threw it and got a four.
“That’s four,” said Norfarahana. She then prompted the pupils to count in English as the boy moved four steps. The boy was then asked to draw a card from a pack which has either a question in English to be answered or an instruction in English for a task to be performed to move ahead in the game.
“Imagine you are a rooster. What sound does a rooster make early in the morning?” Norfarahana read out slowly and clearly. After an explanation, the boy shyly crowed like a rooster, drawing giggles from his schoolmates. He then got another chance to throw the dice before the next player got his turn.
The giant snake and ladders board game is part of the English Theme Park (ETP) in Kuala Berang, Terengganu developed by Terengganu State Education Department and ExxonMobil to provide a fun learning environment outside of class for primary and secondary school students to improve their English language proficiency.
Attractions at ETP include an interactive pond where students learn about the lifecycle of plants and animals that live on land and in the water, a mini theatre for drama activities, a storytelling corner and a mini library with self-learning materials.
Norfarahana is one of the selected English teachers from primary and secondary schools in Hulu Terengganu trained to be a facilitator at the ETP and the pupils from SK Sungai Berua are one of six groups selected as participants for the day to undergo activities that are aimed to create an atmosphere where they communicate and interact in English freely — an opportunity which they will never have in class or at home.
Terengganu Education Technology Division assistant director Ahmad Jadid Jusoh said the ETP in Kuala Berang — like those at Kemasik in Kemaman and Tok Jiring in Kuala Terengganu — is open from Sunday to Thursday, from 8am to 5pm.
“At the beginning of each year, English teachers/facilitators from schools in the district hold a brainstorming session on the sort of activities, content and modules that can be carried out at the ETP that will be different from classroom activities,” he said.
“Each school will then schedule to send their students to the ETP to experience the activities. There are spots for 40 students each session which comprises seven activities. Students truly enjoy it here at the ETP as they perceive it as a fun place and therefore feel more at ease speaking and interacting in English, without the pressure of getting everything right.”
Other than the ETPs, the Terengganu State Education Department collaborates with ExxonMobil to organise an annual English language enhancement course conducted by Fulbright English Teaching Assistants for secondary school students.
Teachers are also trained at the Terengganu English Resource Information Centre to not only have a good command of English but also teach well in English and make it fun for students.
These are just a few of the many efforts the state has made to enhance the mastery of English language skills among students in Terengganu, said Terengganu State Economics Planning Unit Datuk A. Rahman Yahya.
“While Terengganu has consistently been among the top performers in national exams, our performance in English is not up to par. We recognise that we have to drive initiatives that will help students gain a better proficiency level in English and not just in the academics so that they can communicate and articulate well and be marketable in future,” he added.
To address the issue of lack of confidence in using English, Terengganu has launched the Terengganu English or TRENGLISH programme with the cooperation of Terengganu Foundation. Graduates in English Language from local public institutions of higher learning are appointed as Terengganu Hired English Language Personnel (T-Help) at 37 schools to enhance students’ participation in the teaching and learning of the English language, as well as co-curricular activities.
The Sultan Mizan Royal Foundation and non-government organisations continue to hold the annual dikir barat in English competition for rural schools to make English language more fun and closer to home.
“We are hoping to work with the East Coast Economic Region Development Council to create programmes for students, who are not academically-inclined, to improve English language proficiency and raise their potential as future human capital,” added A. Rahman.