A total of 140 Form Four and Form Five students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Medini, Johor attended a one-day SPM English Workshop sponsored by Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) to help them excel in the subject’s exam paper.
Johor Education Department principal assistant director of English Language Rokiah Ahmad carried out the workshop focusing on giving a comprehensive guide to approach the exam paper through interactive and engaging group activities.
With Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) just around the corner, the workshop was also the Form Five students’ final sprint towards the big exam.
According to IIB chief executive officer Datuk Ir. Khairil Anwar Ahmad, IIB is committed to support the national education agenda and strive hard to ensure young minds will benefit from its Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.
“This year, we encourage our adopted schools including SMK Medini to intensify the use of the English language so that they can produce quality English readers and speakers.
“As students advance to higher education, they will need to have a good grasp of English language. I am sure they will find proficiency in the language a clear advantage when it comes to their studies and towards developing social skills,” said Khairil Anwar.
He further added that education is one of the company’s four CSR pillars along with the other three being community, environment, and stakeholder.
Participants recapped basic grammar items before being exposed to identifying common errors in writing and how to avoid them during the workshop.
They were also equipped with useful techniques on scoring Paper 2 in different sections followed by detailed insights into tackling literature components on poems and novels.
“In the beginning, I focused on the basis of grammar in writing since it is crucial for students to be aware of mistakes they make as to avoid them in their writing,” said Rokiah who also writes for School Times, a pullout for secondary school students that is published in New Straits Times on Tuesdays.
“We also had a session in constructing sentences using words which are more creative, vivid and expressive.
“Students must adhere to the correct format and have a collection of merit sentences to practice using them when writing essays. I hope they follow the guidelines I shared today since they have displayed great enthusiasm to learn English along the seminar,” added Rokiah who has 28 years of teaching experience.
Form Five student Chang Yu Feng said: “Personally I enjoyed the learning environment. Since the teacher conducted the seminar fully in English, I was able to pick up the correct way of using the language as I paid attention.”
“It was eye-opening when the teacher walked us through a long list of new vocabulary in the module since I often use repeated words in my essay,” said the SMK Medini head prefect.
Another student Nur Aliyyah Abdul Rahim, 17 said the workshop offered great tips for SPM students like her.
“I was enlightened when Madam Rokiah revised the singular and plural parts of English Grammar in a lucid manner. It was confusing before but now I can differentiate the usage better.”
“When the teacher highlighted certain words or content points that can cost us marks, we make sure to note all of them for revision,” said Aliyyah.
A Form Four student Jacinta Ez’rina Kanageswaran said: “A thorough guideline on the format was outlined by the facilitator. It’s good to know because we are not particularly aware of the format in detail.”
Noting that the module for the seminar is very helpful, Praveen Karan Baskaran,16 said: “Apart from the list of words, the module includes complete exam questions for all sections which I can refer to.”
Ilyana Natasha Isham, 16 said: “As we did the gallery walk activity, we discussed the errors and exchanged insights on the sentences written by our friends while walking around so it was fun.”
SMK Medini principal Marsitah Mohd Noor said that the workshop has boosted students’ motivation to pursue their academic goals.
"The facilitator was able to dissect the different components of SPM English Language papers while allowing students to engage in practical exercises. This one-day programme has provided an opportunity for the students to study closely each sections and topics listed in the module.”
“I am very thankful to all parties especially IIB and NSTP for organising this workshop and providing students with more professional guidance on exam-based questions. I hope there will be more programmes that can be conducted from the beginning of the year in the future,” she said.