Wednesday, June 13, 2012
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY: Those who are passionate will inspire students to success
A group photo with event organising chairman Vincent D’Silva (seated, third from left) and NST group editor Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun (seated, fifth from left). Pic by Roslan Khamis
JOHOR BARU: TEACHERS who are passionate about a subject matter and can engage students have an upper hand when it comes to the teaching of English.
New Straits Times group editor Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun said teachers must combine these traits with leadership, classroom management and be up-to-date with the trends in the teaching of the language.
“Students are not only looking for knowledge from a teacher, they are looking for someone to inspire and care for them.
“It’s in having a passion for what you do, what you believe in and what you care about that will bring you back each day ready to inspire, care and share,” he said in a keynote address at the opening of the 4th English Language Conference here yesterday.
The three-day event, themed “Revitalising the Teaching-Learning Link”, was organised by the Johor Baru English Language Teaching (Jelta), a non-governmental organisation, and the Johor Education Department.
More than 350 educationists are taking part in the event to gain ideas on the teaching of English in secondary and primary schools.
Syed Nadzri said having passion, leadership, classroom and content management skills were bases for revitalising the teaching-learning link between educators and students.
Once the communication lines between teachers and students were strong, these would help teachers bring about the best in their students.
He said there was a serious need to improve the standard of English as there was a marked declined in its proficiency, especially among fresh graduates.
“We still have graduates struggling to give employers what they need because they are handicapped by poor English language proficiency.”
He said NST was among the hundreds of publications in the world that promotes the use of newspapers as learning tools through its Newspaper-In-Education programme.
Present were state Education Department deputy director Md Hasidin Zaini, event organising chairman Vincent D’Silva, M Suites hotel executive director Datin Dr Maimunah Abdul Rahman and Jelta managing director Adib Esa.
Earlier, Jelta presented awards to five veteran and still-serving English teachers for outstanding services.
They are Salina Hussain, Tengku Norishkin Tengku Ahmad, Hamzah Abdul Hamid, Senevahisan Naidu and Amy Wong.
M Suites hotel is sponsoring the venue, meals and accommodation for the event’s speakers.
Read more: ‘Teachers who care bring subject alive’ – General – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/teachers-who-care-bring-subject-alive-1.93810#ixzz1xdGOEuRz
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