JOHOR BARU: Newspapers can provide additional resources for students who wish to increase their knowledge and improve language skills.
This was the opinion of SMK Medini Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) chairman Dr Othman Ibrahim, who said that youngsters should keep abreast of current affairs.
He said by reading newspapers, students could gain deeper insight into issues affecting Malaysians and the rest of the world.
The printed medium also served a dual purpose in strengthening language mastery and promoting critical thinking skills.
“Reading newspapers brings tremendous benefits to everyone, especially students since they are continually being assessed throughout their life in school.”
Dr Othman said this when launching the Johor English Language Teaching Association's (Jelta) workshop titled "Newspapers for English Language Enhancement” for 100 fifth formers at SMK Medini near here recently.
The half-day workshop was conducted by Jelta president Vincent D’Silva, an English lecturer who has been conducting similar workshops for principals, teachers and parents for almost 20 years.
SMK Medini is subscribing to the New Straits Times for a period of one year.
Dr Othman urged for similar English workshops to be conducted in other schools because he felt the newspaper was a tool that facilitated the learning process.
The school’s principal Marsitah Mohd Noor said textbooks alone were insufficient for students to improve their English, and materials from newspapers could bring current affairs discussions to life in the classroom.
"When students in government schools further their studies overseas, they will need a good command of English.
“Textbooks are limited in content but newspapers open the doors to various fields of knowledge that are valued in the international community.
“Reading the NST helps the students to become well-informed and understand issues from various vantage points,” said Marshitah.
D’Silva said reading newspapers encouraged students to read about what is happening in other countries and other cultures and it bridges the gap between people of different cultures in various locations.
The students who participated in the workshop started with a choral reading presentation.
This was followed by a scavenger hunt, where they were divided into small groups to skim, scan and locate key words and pictures from the New Straits Times.
Other activities included matching headlines with stories, searching pictures depicting various facial expressions, and dissecting articles in the NST's Letters section.
Sharvienaa Karan, 17, said the workshop introduced her to the various content available in the NST.
She said that discussions were spurred by current affairs.
“It was an eye-opener for me. The newspaper is a goldmine of information. I am certain that this information would improve my general knowledge and mastery of English.”
Her schoolmate Chang Yu Feng, 16, found the newspaper to be an effective tool in the learning of English, too.
“I enjoyed the fun-filled activities and now I’m able to understand how a newspaper is organised and produced,” he said.