About 70 school teachers and private educators from the northern region attended the recent workshop on the teaching of second cycle literary texts in the KBSM English Language syllabus to Forms 1 and 4.
The workshop, held at the WOU main campus, aimed to help participants familiarise themselves with the new set of literary texts introduced into the English Literature component beginning this year.
It was jointly organised by the university’s School of Education, Languages and Communications (SELC) and the Penang English Language Learning and Teaching Association (PELLTA).
WOU VICE CHANCELLOR PROF WONG TAT MENG WELCOMES THE PARTICIPANTS.
In his welcome speech to the participants, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Wong Tat Meng stressed on the role of WOU as a strong advocate of lifelong learning. “This workshop is part of our community service to teachers to help them in their professional development,” he added.
Dean of SELC, Assoc Prof Dr Malachi Edwin Vethamani, a renowned expert in the teaching of the English language and literature, conducted the workshop open to PELLTA members only.
He urged the teachers to play their roles in encouraging students to develop a lifelong reading habit and not just read the texts for examination purposes.
ASSOC PROF DR EDWIN CONDUCTS THE WORKSHOP.
The half-day session began with the reading of two poems, after which the participants were introduced to the different teaching activities they could carry out in the classroom.
Teacher Zarina Hashim from SMK Mak Mandin in Butterworth found the workshop to be an eye opener as it gave her a better idea of teaching the texts using the concepts taught in the workshop.
Steven Grumach, a retired civil servant and former journalist from Bukit Mertajam, derived a greater understanding about the teaching of literature through the workshop. A private tutor now, Grumach said that he could use the strategies to help his students relate better to the literary texts.
PARTICIPANTS LEARN HOW TO TEACH LITERATURE.
SELC, with the collaboration of WOU’s Centre for Professional Development and Continuing Education (PACE) based in Kuala Lumpur, regularly conducts training workshops and seminars in specialised areas of teaching English.
