WHAT? NEW CURRICULUM WITH SAME TEACHERS?

screening of sound-box and quarantining local dialects for MEMPERKASA purposes

THIS METHOD AUTOMATICALLY GET TEACHERS TO READ FIRST, AND BE GRADED FOR IT, TO BE REGRADED AS LANGUAGE TEACHERS.

It is the taught curriculum (English as taught) that compounds the problem and breeds learning disability, and not the quality of the official curriculum or the various suggested tools of instruction available. Language is not taught as language is to be taught.

"Non-English language teachers or even volunteers from amongst parents (e.g. where it is done off school hours) could conduct the supervision of the coaching. Thus from one perspective the method should be able to produce a pool of English Language support-teachers who would have acquired enough reading skills to be able to run the programme from constant repetition and contact with the language.

An interesting spin-off could be an impact on the tuition business run by teachers in their spare time as there are bound to be parents prepared to pay for private tuition operators simulating the CERAP programme."

"One of the 4 objectives of the KBSM English language programme states thus:

'At the end of the secondary school English language programme the students should be able to read and understand prose and poetry for information and enjoyment'.

For this to happen under present English teaching and learning circumstances, the Ministry has once published a Compendium Bahasa Inggeris KBSM outlining, inter alia, on the need to introduce Class Readers, suggesting that one-fifth of the teaching hours be slotted for this. And to date, that suggestion has remained in the Compendium.

The number of class students and the lack of time, books and competent teachers plus general apathy to anything which is not examination business have turned reading into a foreign element in the educational and teaching process. And the price for that could be seen in the fall in the standard of language fluency and proficiency, thus perpetuating learning disabilities. What is most troubling is the sure prospect of a continuous 'tikus baiki labu' scenario in the attempts to remedy the situation.

We have looked at the reading disability problem in the schools at close range, and have drawn certain conclusions that coincide with the comments made in the Compendium. It is the taught curriculum (English as taught) that compounds the problem and breeds learning disability, and not the quality of the official curriculum or the various suggested tools of instruction available. Language is not taught as language is to be taught."

"The programme that we envisage, and whose worth has been proven in our rural and suburban 'laboratories' basically underline basic aim of CERAP; to enhance/boost/ supplement/develop reading and learning skills among low achievers in English (especially among students whose academic records tend to veer downwards), via an approach to pedagogy that is simple, practical and yet effective. And more importantly, to ensure that the high-achievers be put on an extensive enrichment practice, for it is from their lot that the quality coaches come from."

"An enforced literacy programme such as CERAP is able to raise literacy and the appreciation of the written word, allowing them to acquire a sustainable second language leading to post-SPM level.More importantly teachers are now forced to polish their basic language skills via their participation in the programme"

"Language is taught without sound recognition, without students use of the tongue. Therefore both pronunciation and grammatical errors and confusion arising from use of first language 'sound box' and grammar/nahu by teachers and students leaves a vicious trail that plagues school-leavers for life. This is compounded by the fact that many teachers, though aware of the idiocy, obediently use modules prepared and sold to schools by the State Education department. And which modules perpetuate the notion that mute testing upon mute testing is language teaching. And when asked, the notion that Jabatan rules immune to linguistic logic and common sense "

"The term 'bilas' or rinse is used to describe CERAP's proposed module to assist TEACHERS relearn correct English and thus enhance their language skills up to High-Intermediate level. Thus, Bahasa Inggeris-Latihan & Ajar Semula means relearning English through practice. And this is most useful REFRESHER PROGRAMME for teachers unable to cope with the language yet required to teach it. From our experience the paradigm shift created from a never-asked-to-read-before to a must-read environment is enough to propel progress."

"This bricks and mortar approach based on actual and repeated reading and writing practice culminating to multimedia presentation is a necessary gateway before students could be expected to comprehend the multitude of materials available online, especially for the diligent. Like coaches on the express train, each pulling along the other, the expression of both reading and writing skills in a wider competitive environment is the best incentive for students to remain at the coaching station and thus ensures sustainability of the reading habit."

"Since the nature of the sessions requires actual reading and active participation, the excitement and joy of competition provide the impetus for students to excel. This we have been able to observe at close range, the paradigm shift produced by the CERAP way. Compare that to the staid, passive and multiple-choice rote manner English is being taught!"

"We propose a minimum of 2 sessions per week, each lasting 90 minutes (1 hour of reading + 30 minutes of writing, spelling & other exercises per session), so that each student does 6 minutes of reading while being read to for the remaining 54 minutes, strictly speaking. Thus on a weekly basis, each student would have actually read for 12 minutes and listened for 108 minutes, making a 2 hour weekly diet of ongoing reading practice and 1 hour reinforcement activities. Compare this to virtually zero hour reading in most schools, where language is taught sans the sounds!"


"Since all participants in the contest are pre-graded to measure achievement level after x hours of drill and practice, the low achievers also compete on who moves up the levels fastest. This is to sustain the interest of the other half’ or ‘special pupils in need’ to continue with the reading practice. They also pose a challenge to coaches assigned, and are generally more appreciative of the effort."

"The content of the module is a selection of materials designed with a remedial cum enrichment approach that seeks to screen students in the four areas of language skills, i.e. listening, reading, writing and speaking. It is an "interventionist curriculum" to ensure all the gaps in skills, gaps produced by the examination/testing approach in schools, are now filled. It basically employs a student-driven, peer learning approach geared to solve the "stuck on the language" malaise that is the product of years of distorted language teaching."


Early Reading Stage UPSR (PMR/SPM remedial)
1- Grading of first language skills using Utusan's Himpunan 366 Cerita Rakyat Malaysia

2- Hidden Grammar in read aloud mode- Ladybird's Key Word reading scheme 1 a - 12 c
3- Basic Literature in storytelling mode- Utusan's 366 Collection of Malaysian Folk Tales
4- Grammar Practice- Times Educational Primary English for Malaysians 1A - 6
5- Writing Practice- Longman's three-level Ready to Write series

Further Reading Stage UPSR (PMR/SPM remedial)
Barron's Maths and Science Wizardry
Usborne's Puzzle Adventure Omnibus
Ladybird's Classic Collection
Oxford Bookworms
Puffins Roald Dahl audio books
and thousands more freely available on the net for the diligent