SEGAMAT has become the first district in Johor to host The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) workshop.
The teacher from SMK Labis, Farah Zulkifly, mentioned that the workshop has been beneficial, particularly for lesson planning.
“Being in a rural location, the primary hurdle I encounter is minimal enthusiasm towards studying English,” stated Farah, an educator with a decade of experience in this field.
One of the activities that made a lasting impact was designing an advertisement and composing a jingle, inspired by newspaper articles.
“The activities were enjoyable and engaging; I believe they will grab my students’ attention when I incorporate them into my lessons soon,” she mentioned.
For the School Improvement Specialist Coach Plus Officer Jeyavani K. Kanniappan at the Segamat District Education Office, teaching English ought to be an engaging process that incorporates the regular practice of reading newspapers.
Studying English via newspapers is not just useful; it’s an engaging method to grasp how the language is applied in actual situations.
“We anticipate that the workshop will also take place in various districts across Johor due to its value for educators,” stated Jeyavani, who conducted the session alongside her colleague Sharifah Ibrahim.
The two-day workshop led by Star-NiE instructor Shoba Rani Dev aimed to provide teachers with hands-on techniques for incorporating newspapers into their lesson plans.
On the inaugural day, 85 educators from as many primary schools took part, dividing their attendance across morning and afternoon sessions.
On the second day, 48 participants from 25 secondary schools were involved.
“We appreciate the schools’ support in permitting teachers to join the workshop during school hours,” stated Jeyavani.
There is a significant necessity for us to return to reading newspapers as we once organically learned English through reading during our youth.
Utilizing newspapers offered students an immersive, genuine learning opportunity, which was in line with the objectives set out in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages curriculum, she mentioned.
Jeyavani highlighted that Star-NiE boosted students’ reading abilities, specifically through enhancing their skim and scan techniques, improving overall understanding, and fostering an awareness of various sentence constructions.
By RHEMA SENG