Training Sessions for Staff at Residential College

Introduction

Staff at residential colleges are in charged to entertain students during office hours (8 a.m. till 5

p.m.)

Bahasa Malaysia(mostly used)

SPOKEN

LANGUAGE?

English Language(very few

use it)

Burhanuddin Helmi Residential College

Students Mobility Partnership

Program

English training sessions

This phenomena leads us to conduct this research….

OBJECTIVESRESEARCH

QUESTIONS

1. To assist trainees to be more confident to converse in English.

2. To educate them on ways to use English expressions correctly.

3. To prepare trainees about knowledge regarding Malaysia and current issues.

1. What can we do to make the trainees to more confident to use English?

2. How do we educate the trainees to use English expressions correctly?

3. What are the best way to prepare the trainees about Malaysia and other current issues?

Literature Review

Daniel Jones (1972), An Outline of English Phonetics

Sample

• Training Session – Burhanuddin Helmi Residential College (office), every workdays 3.30 p.m.-4.30 p.m.

• 6 staff (3 Males and 3 Females)

• Facilitators (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kadderi bin Md. Desa and his research assistant)

Observation

InterviewSimulation

Components in ResearchLiteracy

Identity

Evaluation

ICT

Research

Identity

• Topics chosen for discussion– Malaysian cuisine– Interesting places in Malaysia– Traditional games in Malaysia– Malaysian costumes

Action Research: Topics have been revised severaltimes depending on the trainees’ requests

Literacy

Reading:Newspaper

cuttingArticles

Writing:Showing ways to get

to particular buildings(in asking

and giving directions activity)

Jot down new words learnt

Listening:Pronunciation by

the speakers during discussion

Speaking:Voicing out their own opinion and articulating new

words learnt Emphasized on the listening and speaking skills

Evaluation

Interview• Intersect into 2 sections: Part A and Part B• Part A: Introducing himself/herself • Part B: Asking for opinions regarding current

issues took place in Malaysia – ‘Should a pass in English be made compulsory to get a SPM certificate?’

Simulation• Intersect into 2 sections: Part A and Part B• Part A: Responding to reports and showing

directions• Part B: Describing Malaysia pertaining

Malaysian cuisine, interesting places in Malaysia, traditional games in Malaysia, and Malaysian costume

ICT

• The spoken discourse had been audio-recorded:– During discussion– Interview session– Simulation

• Not video recorded as the staff insisted for their faces to not be revealed to public

Appendix 1

Staff Training Schedule

May 2009Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3 4 5 6 7(briefing)

8 9

10 11(introduction)

12(introduction)

13(introduction)

14(introduction)

15(introduction)

16

17 18(1st article)

19(teacher’s day celebration)

20(1st article)

21(2nd article)

22(no class)

23

24 25(3rd article)

26(3rd article)

27(4th article)

28(5th article)

29(6th article)

30

31

Introduction: Sharing their experience and newspaper cuttingFirst article: 23 proven ways to beat a coldSecond article: Malaysian cuisineThird article: Asking and giving directionsFourth article: Interesting places in MalaysiaFifth article: Traditional games in MalaysiaSixth article: Polite expressions

June 2009Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 (7th article)

2(8th article)

3(8th article)

4(recap on previous lessons)

5(no class)

6

7 8(no class)

9(interview sessions)

10(no class)

11(simulation)

12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

Seventh article: Malaysian costumeEighth article: Making and responding to reports

Some selected articles used in training session

Appendix 2

Newspaper cuttingFriday June 12, 2009Umno Youth all for English as a must-pass subject in SPM

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth supports the idea of making English a must-pass subject for the SPM, its chief Khairy Jamaluddin said.

However, he said the movement’s backing was on condition that the Government implemented several measures first.

He said retired teachers who were proficient in teaching English should be recruited, adding that language teachers from Britain, Australia and New Zealand should also be engaged to help in the effort.

Khairy also urged the Education Ministry to increase the time allotted for teaching English in schools, and wanted students to pass the Malaysian University English Test before they could enter local universities.

“Our recommendations will give the authorities more urgency in the issue of improving the teaching of English in schools,” he told reporters after chairing the movement’s meeting here yesterday.

Khairy said Umno Youth did not want a repeat of the confusion and disagreement from various quarters following the government’s earlier move to introduce the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English at primary level.

On another matter, he said he would hold a dialogue session with eight Universiti Malaya Chinese students associations next week to expand knowledge on the 1Malaysia concept. He said MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong would also hold similar sessions with Malay NGOs such as 4B Youth and Malay student groups.

On PAS’ call for Sisters in Islam (SIS) to be banned, Khairy said the party was contradicting its own so-called democratic principles.

In Muar, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the state government supported the call for English to be made a compulsory pass subject for the SPM.

He said although the state had protested against the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English, the subject was important for Malaysians to master.

“We support the plan but students should first be given proper lessons.”

Polite Expressions

Malay Expressions English ExpressionsBoleh anda bertutur lebih perlahan?

Could you speak more slowly?

Boleh anda mengeja itu? Could you spell it?Dapatkah anda menulisnya? Could you write down please?Sila tunggu sebentar. Just a moment please.Bolehkah kami minta…? May we have…?Dapatkah saya membantu anda? Can I help you?

Interesting Places in Malaysia

KL Tower

KL TowerThe construction of the KL Tower which began on October 1991, was a 3-phase process. The first phase was the widening of Jalan Punchak and the excavation of soil from the construction site. This phase went on until 15 August 1992.

Kuala Lumpur Tower is one of the tallest concrete towers in the world, standing at 421m and built with 45,000 cubic metres of sturdy concrete. Designed with vertical ribs on the external surface, the Tower weighs 100,000 tonnes and was built on no-piling, freestanding land. Menara Kuala Lumpur opulently stands as the tallest tower in Southeast Asia.

Menara Kuala Lumpur ranks fourth amongst the tallest telecommunications towers in the world and was constructed over a period of four years and completed in May 1996. Menara Kuala Lumpur is designed to withstand wind pressures of up to 90mph. Menara Kuala Lumpur is a member of the prestigious World Federation of Great Towers.

The four tallest towers in the world are CN Tower in Canada at 553m, Ostankino Tower in Russia at 537m, Shanghai Tower in China at 468m followed by Menara Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia at 421m.

Malaysian Costume

Baju Melayu Cekak Musang Baju Melayu Teluk Belanga

Malaysian Costume• BAJU MELAYU

traditional Malay costume for men

• Baju Melayu ("Malay dress or attire") is the general term for the traditional Malay costume for the men in Pahang.

• Specifically, the traditional Malay costumes for both men and women in Pahang as well as in Malaysia, are the Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga and the Baju Kurung Cekak Musang.

• But to differentiate between the male and female attire, the traditional male costume is simply referred to as Baju Melayu while the traditional female costume is normally referred to as the Baju Kurung.

• Baju Melayu for the male Malays is generally quite the same all over Pahang or Malaysia. It has the same simple design cut, with loose fitting being the accepted concept and fashion.

• The length of the shirt dress of the Baju Melayu is about the length of the person’s arm, and it is very loose fitting, widening downwards.

Malaysian Cuisine

Nasi Lemak

Malaysian Cuisine• Nasi Lemak is traditionally sold wrapped in banana leaves.

• With roots in Malay culture, its name is a Malay word that literally means 'rice in cream'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in coconut cream and then the mixture steamed. Sometimes knotted screwpine (pandan) leaves are thrown into the rice while steaming to give it more fragrance. Spices such as ginger (common in Malay cuisine) and occasionally herbs like lemon grass may be added for additional fragrance.

• Traditionally, this comes as a platter of food wrapped in banana leaf, with cucumber slices, small dried anchovies (ikan bilis), roasted peanuts, hard boiled egg, and hot spicy sauce (sambal) at its core. As a more substantial meal, nasi lemak can also come with a variety of other accompaniments such as chicken, cuttlefish, cockle, stir fried water convolvulus (kangkong), pickled vegetables (achar), beef rendang (beef stewed in coconut milk and spices) or paru (beef lungs). Traditionally most of these accompaniments are spicy in nature.

• Nasi Lemak is widely eaten in Malaysia, even as a dish served in Malaysian schools. Nasi lemak is a common breakfast dish, sold early in the morning at roadside stalls in Malaysia, where it is often sold packed in newspaper, brown paper or banana leaf. However, there are restaurants which serve it on a plate as noon or evening meals, making it possible for the dish to be eaten all day. Nasi lemak panas which means hot nasi lemak is another name given to nasi lemak served with hot cooked rice.

Traditional Games

Wau

Traditional Games• Wau (Kite Flying)

• Kites, called waus, once played by farmers on leveled ground after post-harvesting• season, now attracts people from all walks of life. The wau or giant kite flown in the• East Coast have intricate patterns and come in all shapes and sizes. The most popular• shape is the Wau Bulan or Moon Kites, so called because it resembles the crescent• moon. There is a major kite competition held annually in Kelantan which attracts• participants from the region. Kite fighting is a popular sport and involves opponents• attempting to bring down or cut the strings of their rivals’ kites. Glass powder is used• on the strings to provide the “cutting edge” and the rest involves skill in maneuvering• the kite and use of wind power.