LEARNING the English language goes beyond just reading textbooks and doing written exercises.
It involves practising real-world communication, such as expressing oneself verbally, continuing conversations, and collaborating to accomplish tasks.
Recognising the need to expose his students at Keningau Vocational College, Sabah, to such opportunities, English language teacher Dr Sirhajwan Idek (pic) came up with an initiative named Virtual, Remote, Live (VRL).
An internationalisation project, VRL enables both students and teachers to interact with their counterparts from other countries through various online activities, such as masterclasses, conference presentations, exchange programmes, cultural camps, and virtual chats.
“Seeing most students still struggling to master the English language is my greatest motivation.“The ever-changing world is becoming harder for them, so they must develop their soft skills to help them thrive,” Sirhajwan told StarEdu.
His brainchild recently earned him a finalist spot in the Local Innovation category of the British Council ELTons Innovation Awards 2024 for English language teaching.
One of five categories, the Local Innovation Award recognises innovations created to meet specific local needs of learners and teachers.
VRL will be competing for the award alongside three other initiatives, one each from Malawi, Somalia and Benin.
The winner will be announced at the ELTons Festival of Innovation in the United Kingdom on Nov 20.
According to Sirhajwan, VRL has connected over 2,000 students and teachers from Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries.
“It has also provided educational opportunities to many marginalised Sabah students and those who are disadvantaged socioeconomically.
“The online sessions offer them an easily accessible platform to learn about various topics and present their work in English,” he said.
Sirhajwan, who has a string of accolades to his name, including the Youth Achievement Record from the Asean Future Generation Business Forum last year and the National Charismatic Youth Icon in 2022, said he initiated the VRL programme during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“While guiding my students to present their final-year projects at an online conference, I saw how online learning platforms could be a valuable educational opportunity for all students,” he shared.
He described the nomination for the ELTons Award as a testament to the project’s impact on students.
“It has helped them practise English in real-world settings,” he said.
In fact, VRL has already won recognition – it earned Sirhajwan the “20 to Watch Award” earlier this year from the International Society for Technology in Education based in the United States, and was recognised as one of the best practices by Seameo Voctech, an organisation specialising in vocational education in Brunei, in August last year.
“These recognitions boosted my motivation to stay consistent in carrying out and expanding the project.
“They increased the project’s visibility, enabling collaboration with several associations and individuals from Malaysia and abroad,” he said.
Moving forward, Sirhajwan plans to enhance students’ participation by using artificial intelligence tools to assist them in preparing materials and practising presentations.
On the advice he would offer other educators looking to conduct similar projects, he said assessing students’ needs and evaluating the project’s impact on their individual growth is crucial.
“It helps us revise our approaches to be more effective for the students’ learning,” he said.
He added that educators need to be prepared to devise solutions to any challenges that arise.
He shared that in the early stages of developing VRL, he often had to help his students with the “time-consuming task” of familiarising themselves with online platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet.
Developing a checklist and gradually entrusting students to learn independently helped, he said.
Sirhajwan also emphasised that access to learning opportunities should be democratised to ensure equal empowerment and enrichment of all students’ learning experiences.
“This is what educational projects should accomplish,” he concluded.
An annual event, the ELTons Innovation Awards celebrate courses, publications, projects, apps and platforms that are transforming English language teaching for learners and teachers alike.
This year’s edition drew over 200 entries from 60 countries across the five award categories: Innovation in Learner Resources, Innovation in Teacher Resources, Excellence in Course Innovation, Local Innovation, and Innovation in the Use of Technology.
Eu Kenn, 17, a student in Kuala Lumpur, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. For updates on the BRATs programme, go to facebook.com/niebrats.
