The ‘hip’ way of learning English
FOR about 30 minutes, the “students” huddled together in groups, poring over the materials on their desks while working to design a poster based on a theme.

The materials in this English language lesson were not the usual textbooks and workbooks used in schools.

Instead, they had a copy of The Star newspaper, a pair of scissors, a bottle of glue, a few sheets of paper and some marker pens.

Having familiarised themselves with the contents of the newspaper, they discussed the theme they wanted to highlight and set about completing the task – cutting and pasting relevant words, information or articles to make a compelling poster.

Representatives then presented the posters on behalf of their groups.

This could easily be a scene out of a classroom. The only exception was that the students were in fact teachers from 32 primary and secondary schools in Selangor.

As the Highly Immersive Programme (HIP) coordinators in their schools, the teachers had been selected to attend the HIP workshop organised by the Selangor State Education Department (JPN) on May 14. The HIP – an initiative by the Education Ministry – is aimed at increasing students’ exposure to English through English-supportive activities in schools.

The poster-making activity was part of a session conducted by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) freelance trainer Chang Siew Juen as one of the features of the workshop.

The Star-NiE session was aimed at encouraging teachers to incorporate the newspaper in the classroom.

English language teacher and former Star-NiE content contributor Eugene Morais, who took part in the session, described the activity as “very interesting and fun”.

“My group members really enjoyed themselves. We had Science teachers giving the scientific point of view and English language teachers pulling it all together,” he told StarEdu.

His team had chosen to highlight the recent heatwave that swept across the nation in their poster. “I have used the newspaper with my students many times. One great thing about the newspaper is that teachers can use it not only for English lessons, but for other subjects as well.

“It’s very good for the HIP, which integrates other subjects like History, Geography and Moral Education,” said Eugene, who is also the senior subject teacher at SMK Taman Sea in Petaling Jaya.

(From left) Eugene, Rosilawati and Chang.

Earlier during the workshop, held at SMK Bandar Saujana Utama 2 in Sungai Buloh, he shared best practices from his school, which had achieved Level Four in the HIP.

The newspaper, he said, is a useful tool that enables teachers to add “a breath of fresh air” to their lessons.

“It can make the class come alive, especially for group work, where students get to communicate and bond with each other,” he said.

Welcoming the collaboration with Star-NiE, JPN Selangor assistant director (Learning Sector) Rosilawati Muanam said it is important to introduce teachers to different techniques for teaching the English language, such as using the newspaper.

“In a classroom, students have different abilities. We want to encourage teachers to implement differentiated teaching and learning. This NiE session is part of it.

“The newspaper will broaden teachers’ thinking and add more fun to the students’ learning process.

“I hope this collaboration will continue,” she said, adding that Star-NiE is one avenue through which students can engage in project-based learning and in turn achieve better classroom-based assessment results.

She also said JPN Selangor aims to enhance the HIP in the state, increasing the percentage of schools achieving Levels Three and Four from 95% to 100%.

Chang, who taught at SMK Seksyen 3 Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, before her retirement last year, said she started incorporating the newspaper in her lessons in 2007.

“We utilised Star-NiE until the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted everything.

“We had very good response from students. We encouraged the whole class to subscribe and had our own NiE crew, as well as exhibitions and tours where students went from class to class to see the exhibits put up by other classes,” she recalled.

“It was fun, the interaction was there, students had a lot of room to explore and enjoy learning,” she added.

Describing the newspaper as an authentic tool that adds variety to classroom learning, she urged teachers to create an environment where students can benefit from it.

“It is not only for language teachers but also for other subject teachers, who can use it as a good source of information and knowledge.

“Once students get connected with this, there is a big chance they will come back and read more newspapers, which have a lot to offer,” she said.

Since its inception in 1997, the Star-NiE programme has aided English language teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools nationwide.

Star-NiE activities are available in StarEdu on Sundays, and in StarLifestyle on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

For Star-NiE enquiries, email starnie@thestar.com.my.
Star-NiE,English,learning
Selangor teachers get a taste of Star-NiE’s engaging approach.