As practising classroom teachers, many of us would like to find engaging and meaningful methods to attract and teach English langauge to our pupils.
This news from Singapore shows that story telling and role-playing are two methods used in in their primary schools under their STELLAR programme.
The result is pupils able to speak and read better in English.
Recently, our Malaysian English language syllabus had undergone changes to include the performing arts i.e. drama into the English lessons. The feedback so far is the current approach helps students to be interested and to be engaged in English language learning.
I personally find drama to be an interesting and engaging way to get my students interested in the English language. The lower forms especially, love doing roleplays and dramas.
So, do read the article below to be inspired to try drama, story telling and role-play in our lessons.
Have fun!
Rodney Tan Chai Whatt
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By Nicole Wong |
September 9, 2011
New approach to enhancing
students' interest in English.
SINGAPORE – Story-telling
and role-playing makes learning English interesting and fun for primary school
children, according to a study conducted the Ministry of Education (MOE). These
are methods used in the Stellar programme. Strategies for English Language
Learning and Reading, better known as Stellar, aims to make English more
interactive and fun to learn. The program was first started in 2006, with
Primary 1 pupils in 30 primary school, and eventually rolled out to all other
schools in 2009.
According to The
Straits Times, pupils in the Stellar program are able to speak and read
better in English. MOE’s program director for literacy development, Dr
Elizabeth Pang, who oversees the Stellar programme, explained that the results
from the study indicated that the pupils from 10 Stellar pilot schools have
consistently scored higher in writing, reading and speaking. Children were
randomly selected to eliminate the inherent advantage of an exceptionally
bright child or good teacher, so as to conduct a fair study.
Techniques like story
telling, and role-playing were used to engage pupils during lessons. Masks,
costumes and props are used during role-playing of characters in the story.
They are also tasked with writing scripts for segments with reference to radio
or television programme as part of the curriculum.
Stellar’s program is
structured to increase pupils’ ability to express themselves confidently and
clearly. These areas were identified as weaknesses among local pupils. As such,
principals and teachers noticed the difference it has made to the pupils’ grasp
of the language before the study findings were released. Dr Pang said that the
study confirmed that the Education Ministry was on the right track to teaching
English more interactively. With these results, existing methods of teaching
English could be refined. While Stellar pupils outperform their peers in
writing in the early years, they do not seem to do the same later. This is one
question that has not been answered by the study.
Bukit View Primary’s
Stellar programme teacher-in-charge for lower primary pupils Mrs Brenda Siew,
42 said that Primary 1 students these days are more vocal and would proactively
ask questions. This is in contrast to non-Stellar students in the past.
According to Ms Rezia
Rahumathllah, 33, an English teacher at Da Qiao Primary, for children from
non-English speaking homes, Stellar increases their exposure to various reading
material that has helped in cultivating a love for reading and also increased
opportunities to speak.
The difference has not gone
unnoticed by parents. Mrs Maggie Ng, 44, housewife, whose son Willard is a
Primary 6 student in Bukit View, noted that her son writes with descriptive
phrases and speaks with clarity. Willard said he and his classmates always look
forward to English lessons. He adds that they learn a lot more due to effort
spent on research to create props and write scripts.
St. Andrew’s Junior was
one of the 30 schools involved in the pilot Stellar program. Its former
principal, Mrs Wai Yin Pryke, who now heads the newly launched English Language
Institute of Singapore, recalls how the pupils on the programme simply stood
out. The institute aims to raise teachers’ proficiency level in English by
running courses, and research in language-teaching strategies.
Would this approach pave
the way for children to express themselves in a clearer and proper English? How
do you teach your children English at home?
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