Watch more TV to learn English
BY GAVIN GOMEZPUTRAJAYA: Watch more television. That is the Education Ministry’s advice to students who are having trouble coping with the learning of Mathematics and Science in English.
Its director-general Datuk Dr Ahamad Sipon said students should turn on the TV, regardless of whether to watch educational programmes or cartoons, to understand and speak better English.
“We cannot underestimate the role of television in educating our children,” he told reporters after chairing a special meeting with senior ministry officials on the effectiveness of the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English yesterday.
The TV-watching advice was among eight initiatives put forward by the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) to help students and teachers who had trouble with English.
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Director-General Ahamad Sipon |
than primary school pupils.
An Education Ministry study on the teaching of the two subjects in English over the past two years revealed that while primary pupils showed encouraging progress, secondary students – especially those from rural schools – were producing “just average” test scores.
Dr Ahamad said the time had come to “produce results, not excuses.”
“We must never be satisfied with the way we do things. There always has to be improvement. We need more commitment from the teachers now,” he added.
CDC director Mahzan Bakar, who was also at the press conference, said there were various training and support programmes for teachers, including a “buddy system” where teachers with a good grasp of the language were paired with those who were weak.
He also said that the structure of state and district education departments were being revamped for them to provide better support for the teaching of the subjects in English.
Dr Ahamad said that in addition to the CDC’s initiatives, an action plan had also been drawn up by the ministry’s Teacher Training Division on this matter.
Among the other measures outlined by the CDC were for Form Three teachers to network and plan lessons together to ensure better delivery and for school heads to play a leading role in instilling a culture of improving the level of English in schools.
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