WHAT a disappointment to read that our Deputy Prime Minister is planning to reward educators with cash incentives for boosting the academic performance of their schools, “Muhyiddin announces performance incentives for teachers,” (Sunday Star, May 16).
It is common knowledge that not all students are academically bright. Granted that some students need prodding and encouragement and this is where the teachers, head teachers and principals will play a pivotal role in their academic success.
However, not all schools are blessed with an enrolment of academically-inclined students. Besides, why is it so very important to be academically-inclined? Again, it is common knowledge that one can be a success in life without having a string of academic degrees after one's name.
Is academia all there is to education in Malaysia?
What has happened to our education philosophy where teachers have to see to the all-rounded development of the individual?
The STAR, Letters to the Editor (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)
Introspection
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Why turn to Australia for English language teachers?
I REFER to Hussaini Abdul Karim's letter “Get it right, it'll speak volumes for our English” (The Star, April 6) in which he says, “The best, practical and cheapest way to teach or re-teach our students the English language at primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities is to bring back retired British-trained English teachers.”
What about British-trained Malaysian teachers or even Malaysian students who have been trained in Britain or those who have been trained by the British-trained Malaysian teachers? There is a plethora of English language expertise that the Government can tap on.
It is difficult to comprehend why the Government is turning to Australia for help with the English language in Malaysia. The Australians speak English with an accent which is difficult to understand. They use slang and idiomatic expressions which are not commonly heard of in the rest of the world.
Can you imagine how a person from China would sound if he had learnt English from a Frenchman?
That is exactly how out-of-place our Malaysians would feel if they learnt English from the Australians.
English has become a foreign language in Malaysia. To learn English in Malaysia, however, Malaysians are fortunate to have an abundance of resources for all ages, especially in the form of entertainment.
Our local English language teachers should make use of all these resources like websites, TV shows, radio, newspapers and magazines, and not depend fully on the textbook and workbook with the sole aim of getting students to score As in the examination.
Making use of the listening skill is imperative, too. Give students practice so that they are aware of how words are strung together and pronounced.
I think that getting British trainers to teach the trainee teachers to use these resources will see better results in the long run than getting a few Australian teachers to teach a handful of students on a short-term basis.
The STAR, Letters to the Editor,(Wednesday April 7, 2010)
What about British-trained Malaysian teachers or even Malaysian students who have been trained in Britain or those who have been trained by the British-trained Malaysian teachers? There is a plethora of English language expertise that the Government can tap on.
It is difficult to comprehend why the Government is turning to Australia for help with the English language in Malaysia. The Australians speak English with an accent which is difficult to understand. They use slang and idiomatic expressions which are not commonly heard of in the rest of the world.
Can you imagine how a person from China would sound if he had learnt English from a Frenchman?
That is exactly how out-of-place our Malaysians would feel if they learnt English from the Australians.
English has become a foreign language in Malaysia. To learn English in Malaysia, however, Malaysians are fortunate to have an abundance of resources for all ages, especially in the form of entertainment.
Our local English language teachers should make use of all these resources like websites, TV shows, radio, newspapers and magazines, and not depend fully on the textbook and workbook with the sole aim of getting students to score As in the examination.
Making use of the listening skill is imperative, too. Give students practice so that they are aware of how words are strung together and pronounced.
I think that getting British trainers to teach the trainee teachers to use these resources will see better results in the long run than getting a few Australian teachers to teach a handful of students on a short-term basis.
The STAR, Letters to the Editor,(Wednesday April 7, 2010)
A step closer to unity
FINALLY, the powers-that-be are beginning to see the light in not making it a necessity to state our race in official forms. This is definitely a step forward towards achieving 1Malaysia.
At the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia office in Ipoh recently, I saw the 1Malaysia concept epitomised.
The female Indian officer at the information counter adeptly spoke in English and Bahasa Malaysia to most of her clients and when a Tamil-speaking client was at the counter, she skilfully switched to Tamil.
If she only knew Mandarin, she would have been the envy of many.
Language then could be the other step we should take towards a 1Malaysia. Why limit ourselves to Bahasa Malaysia as the lingua franca in Malaysia? We are in a country where a host of languages and dialects are spoken.
As true Malaysians, we should each try to have knowledge of these languages and dialects and use them to foster unity.
The STAR, Letters to the Editor (Thursday, August 20, 2009)
At the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia office in Ipoh recently, I saw the 1Malaysia concept epitomised.
The female Indian officer at the information counter adeptly spoke in English and Bahasa Malaysia to most of her clients and when a Tamil-speaking client was at the counter, she skilfully switched to Tamil.
If she only knew Mandarin, she would have been the envy of many.
Language then could be the other step we should take towards a 1Malaysia. Why limit ourselves to Bahasa Malaysia as the lingua franca in Malaysia? We are in a country where a host of languages and dialects are spoken.
As true Malaysians, we should each try to have knowledge of these languages and dialects and use them to foster unity.
The STAR, Letters to the Editor (Thursday, August 20, 2009)
Ipoh's public transport system driving us all nuts
IT IS indeed admirable to read that South-East Asian countries are learning from each other. South Korea emulated Malaysia in deciding to teach Mathematics and Science in English (The Star, June 13).
Malaysia plans to implement the gantry toll collection system used in Singapore and Hong Kong (The Star, June 13).
Now Perak wants to learn Singapore’s method of conserving heritage sites (The Star, June 13).
A more pressing area that the Perak government should look into is Singapore’s efficient transport system.
Even though Ipoh has achieved city status, it has a deplorable public transport system. Traffic is heavy and roads are congested mainly because the people do not have confidence in the buses and taxis which look old and ramshackled.
Why can’t Ipohites have the pleasure of enjoying a comfortable ride on buses, and which run on a regular basis?
New housing areas are sprouting up like mushrooms and yet no buses service these areas. Residents need to have their own transport or resort to taxis which do not use the meter to move within the city and nearby areas. The result is traffic congestion.
Another bone of contention is the bus terminals. The Inter-city bus terminal at Medan Gopeng is dark and dingy. It is so obvious that it was never meant to be a bus station.
The covered car park is dimly lit and the whole building needs sprucing up and regular maintenance.
The intra-city bus station at Medan Kidd has been in existence for ages. The town has grown into a city, but the premises have remained unchanged. It looks drab and definitely needs a fresh coat of paint.
Ipoh only recently began enjoying the shuttle train service to Kuala Lumpur, and shuttle flights to Singapore are beginning in July.
Can the Perak government improve the road transport system as well to make it safe and secure for residents? While at it, it should also investigate ways and means to coordinate the various modes of transport so that places in Ipoh are more easily accessible.
The STAR, Letters to the Editor (Monday, June 15, 2009)
Malaysia plans to implement the gantry toll collection system used in Singapore and Hong Kong (The Star, June 13).
Now Perak wants to learn Singapore’s method of conserving heritage sites (The Star, June 13).
A more pressing area that the Perak government should look into is Singapore’s efficient transport system.
Even though Ipoh has achieved city status, it has a deplorable public transport system. Traffic is heavy and roads are congested mainly because the people do not have confidence in the buses and taxis which look old and ramshackled.
Why can’t Ipohites have the pleasure of enjoying a comfortable ride on buses, and which run on a regular basis?
New housing areas are sprouting up like mushrooms and yet no buses service these areas. Residents need to have their own transport or resort to taxis which do not use the meter to move within the city and nearby areas. The result is traffic congestion.
Another bone of contention is the bus terminals. The Inter-city bus terminal at Medan Gopeng is dark and dingy. It is so obvious that it was never meant to be a bus station.
The covered car park is dimly lit and the whole building needs sprucing up and regular maintenance.
The intra-city bus station at Medan Kidd has been in existence for ages. The town has grown into a city, but the premises have remained unchanged. It looks drab and definitely needs a fresh coat of paint.
Ipoh only recently began enjoying the shuttle train service to Kuala Lumpur, and shuttle flights to Singapore are beginning in July.
Can the Perak government improve the road transport system as well to make it safe and secure for residents? While at it, it should also investigate ways and means to coordinate the various modes of transport so that places in Ipoh are more easily accessible.
The STAR, Letters to the Editor (Monday, June 15, 2009)
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Importance of Computer Literacy in Education
The development of the modern day computer is the result of advances in technology. Today, nearly every student has a computer because a computer is very useful in education.
Using the computer gives us easy access to information via the Internet at the click of a button. Besides that, we can find any information we need to know via the Internet. This information could be from books, newspapers and magazines and they can be found in websites and webblogs. Anybody with Internet access can upload and key-in information, whether it is reliable or not. So we must be careful when we make use of the information found online.
Nowadays the computer has become very important to everyone. Its advantages are immense, for example, the computer has a wealth of information. It contains many text documents and millions of videos and pictures that can help us to learn more. We can therefore get more data from a source besides books. So we could buy a computer and have Internet connection instead of buying millions of books to get information.
With the computer which has Internet access, we can also learn with students from other places. They need not be in the same class or school or country. With an e-mail account, we can share information about what we learn in school. We can also exchange examination papers. By sharing information, we will know more about education in other countries. We can also learn from the experiences of others.
The computer is like our assistant. We can carry out research for assignments, essays and reports. The information can be stored, edited and retrieved easily. Without Internet access, the computer can be used to make our assignments, essays and reports look more professional, if we decide to print out our work, rather than write by hand.
Thus, the computer is very important in the life of a student. Every student should have one, and get assess to the Internet. We should be computer literate to become better students today.
Using the computer gives us easy access to information via the Internet at the click of a button. Besides that, we can find any information we need to know via the Internet. This information could be from books, newspapers and magazines and they can be found in websites and webblogs. Anybody with Internet access can upload and key-in information, whether it is reliable or not. So we must be careful when we make use of the information found online.
Nowadays the computer has become very important to everyone. Its advantages are immense, for example, the computer has a wealth of information. It contains many text documents and millions of videos and pictures that can help us to learn more. We can therefore get more data from a source besides books. So we could buy a computer and have Internet connection instead of buying millions of books to get information.
With the computer which has Internet access, we can also learn with students from other places. They need not be in the same class or school or country. With an e-mail account, we can share information about what we learn in school. We can also exchange examination papers. By sharing information, we will know more about education in other countries. We can also learn from the experiences of others.
The computer is like our assistant. We can carry out research for assignments, essays and reports. The information can be stored, edited and retrieved easily. Without Internet access, the computer can be used to make our assignments, essays and reports look more professional, if we decide to print out our work, rather than write by hand.
Thus, the computer is very important in the life of a student. Every student should have one, and get assess to the Internet. We should be computer literate to become better students today.
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