KUCHING: Some 110 students from 11 primary schools participated in the English Language and Leadership (ELL) camp from Aug 23-25 at Yayasan Sarawak.
The primary schools were SK Goeblit, SK Bako, SK Sejingkat, SK Muara Tebas, SK Senari, SK Semariang, SK Buntal, SK Semerah Padi, SK (A) Mdhakh, SK Bandar Baru Semariang, and SK Tun Sulaiman Daud. Ten students from SMK Santubong assisted as facilitators.
The camp was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD), Kuching District Education Office, Yayasan Sarawak and SK Goebilt.
According to SK Goebilt headmaster and camp advisor Muhammad Azizi Rahim, the objectives were to create a conducive and fun environment for students to learn English, to motivate students to use English confidently as well as to instil leadership skills.
He said the camp also served as a platform for teachers to share experience in terms of teaching and learning approaches.
“We are grateful that the camp has been a success as students have enjoyed themselves while learning to improve their English language skills, both written and spoken.
“The activities conducted allowed students to interact and socialise with each other.
“For instance, the group activities saw students working with their respective groups to complete tasks that were given,” he said today.
Azizi pointed out that the camp also helped students to cultivate new knowledge based on real life application through invited speakers’ sharing sessions.
He said this was important because students needed to be given exposure and experience learning from outside of the classroom context.
As such, he expressed hope for more similar programmes to be conducted.
“We are thankful for the support given by those who are involved.
“When it comes to organising programmes like this, financial support is crucial, so we need support from government or private agencies and non-governmental organisations.
“We look forward to organising more programmes like this because students and teachers can gain a lot from participating.”
Meanwhile, SK Goebilt’s English panel head and camp coordinator Siti Najihah Bohari said the camp was indeed helpful to boost students’ confidence in using the English language.
Describing students’ participation as very encouraging, she said it was heartwarming to see them interact and communicate with their peers from other schools.
“In fact, some of my students who are passive in classroom surprised me because they were very involved and gave their all during the activities – this is something very interesting and what teachers find rewarding.
“We want students to have the confidence to apply what they learn in the classroom in the outside world.
“Those who are shy in the classroom were excited and active during the camp with peer-assisted learning taking part.”
Siti Najihah added that educating children is a responsibility shared by the whole community instead of just teachers.
Among the activities during the camp were team building by Azizah Sulong, motivational talk, Danger Room, Dramatisation and Language Art Materials by Muhammad Nazmi Rosli, Report and Journal Writing by Sarah Hafizah Chandra, Creative Writing (Poetry) by Hazelynn Rimbar, Leadership Talk by Nur Azila Aidit, Reading Comprehension by Azmira Abdullah and Cultural Night.
