Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Highly Improbable Programme

Star Q


Some time back I wrote about the importance of providing students with a more purpose use of English Language for them to continue using them in their future lives; where they really use the language to carry out transactions in some aspects of life, if not all.

The lack of this environment has indeed been proven yet once again, sadly in an international award presentation.  On one hand I applaud the recipient's concerted effort in preparing a speech text in English (while bravely fumbling through his cellphone to locate the text) and then again bravely (struggled) reading the text.

On the other hand, the recipient would not have struggled with his speech if he had had a substantial amount of real life experience using English language in his daily life, which in our Malaysian setting is practically next to nothing.

You can give young students the best education; you can teach them using the best strategies, but if they don't have an avenue for them to practice what they have learnt, then every thing would merely go to waste.

Which incidentally is the case of the Highly Immersive Programmed which was launched somewhere in June last year in several schools in this district.  The excitement (if one call it that) fizzled out after just a month or so after the launch and it sadly will die a natural death.  It is still troubling and funny at the same time, when you ask the teachers in these schools about the programme, they insist that it is alive and well.  But when asked for documentation, it is there the true colour is revealed.

If it is any consolation, perhaps the teachers themselves are resigned to the fact that these students will not be able to practice using English language, no matter how immersed they get in school, until and unless the government does something to allow this to happen in real life outside of school.

Maybe we should all be looking towards Sarawak and Johor!


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