KUALA LUMPUR: When 1,200 rural children were asked to attend speech and drama classes in 2016, little did they know what was in store for them.
Enfiniti Vision Media course director Joanna Bessey helped design a workshop for this to enhance communication and soft skills, as well as to present exercises that would boost the students’ self-confidence.
One of the hallmarks of the Highly-Immersive Programme (HIP), which is in line with the government’s education initiatives, was its use of innovative ways to keep students keen on learning.
One of the activities is a speech and drama course conducted outside of classrooms involving students from 20 schools in four states.
As part of the workshop, the students plan, produce, and stage their own skits.
In the process, they learn to adjust, work as a team, deal with pressure, share their ideas, tell stories and speak grammatically correct English — with clarity, confidence, and emotion.
Mohd Jamil Ismail, the father of Nurul Huda Najihah, who is a student of SK Pengkalan Baharu in Perak, said: “My daughter found that this workshop made it easy for students to learn English.
“She enjoyed attending the workshop.” SK Pengkalan Baharu was one of the 20 schools in the workshop.
Jamil said the workshop was a good programme, which could later be extended after school hours.
Student Richard Mark Ricky from Pahang said he found the workshop enjoyable and wished that there could be more such activities in English.
He said he practised English with his schoolmates.
His adoptive mother, who wished to be known only as Roha-ya, said she believed that he had shown signs of improvement.
“He had never sung in English, but now I often hear him doing so at home.
“I hope that he will understand the language better through this and other initiatives in school.”
Bessey said speaking in English for many of the students was a daunting task, but it became exciting when they could use the language in situations relevant to them.
“For many of them, it is about building self-confidence and engaging them in a fun way as that’s when they absorb the knowledge the most.
“When they can write and tell their stories, they have a sense of accomplishment. It is a matter of practical use.”
She said many who were expected to fail their English exam in Form Five, obtained As after the programme.
Taking on the challenge to use English as a viable language to be taught outside of schools, SK Sungai Lesong (SKSL) was selected for a pilot project under the Dual Language Programme and HIP.
The programmes were measures in the National Transformation Programme (NTP).
Former SKSL headmaster Zamri Abdul Rani took on the challenge of implementing both initiatives.
“It required a shift in thinking for stakeholders, especially students.”
Zamri said he did not find it easy to build confidence among teachers and parents.
Financing the DLP and HIP initiatives was a challenge as SKSL had to approach the school’s Parent-Teacher Association for assistance to buy the necessary teaching and reference materials.
He recounted providing constant help and support to his teachers, including attending their classes to demonstrate solidarity and his commitment to the project.
“I had to expose them to the ‘bigger picture’, academically speaking.”
In doing so, he engaged parents by inviting them to meetings and discussions to convince them that students who learnt Science and Mathematics in English had a good future.
His efforts were not in vain as SKSL became the third-best HIP school in 2016, as its students used English beyond their classrooms.
“We used Scrabble (the board game) to increase students’ vocabulary and created a ‘HIP-Zonia’ area with English educational games for students to experiment during break times.”
As a measure of its success, students involved in the DLP classes have a 100 per cent pass rate for English and Science subjects, and the weekly school assembly is now conducted exclusively in English.