Teachers embrace fun newspaper lessons

The Star

03-07-2025

Pasir Gudang teachers taking part in the Star-NiE workshop at SMK Taman Daya 2 in Johor Baru. — Courtesy photos
OVER 100 teachers immersed themselves in fresh and engaging English language activities during The Star's Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) workshop.
One of the participants, SMK Seri Kota Puteri teacher Siti Nadia Saff'ai Hanan, said she had never used newspapers in the classroom.
'It was our first time being exposed to activities like a newspaper scavenger hunt and even making songs from articles.
'We never knew such creative teaching methods existed.
'It really opened our eyes to how fun and flexible English lessons can be,' she said.
Inspired by the workshop, Siti Nadia said she wasted no time in putting into action the ideas she had learnt.
On that very day, she went on to conduct the same session with all six English language teachers at her school in Masai.
'I decided to share what I had learned from the session with English teachers from my school as I believe it will also help them make learning the language fun,' she said.
Siti Nadia has shared what she learnt at the workshop with her fellow teachers.
B. Subash, from SJK (T) Ladang Mount Austin, Johor Baru, expressed hope for similar sessions to be made available to all English language teachers.
'I've always heard about the NiE workshop, and we have been requesting for it since last year after having getting positive feedback from teachers in other districts.
'True enough, the workshop activities captured everyone's attention and got both senior and new teachers on our feet.
'The only drawback was the limited time of the workshop, as we only managed to try out two activities together,' said Subash, who has been a teacher for 20 years.
Pasir Gudang School Improvement Specialist Coach Plus officer Nurulha Abd Rahman, who invited The Star to conduct the workshop, said the training was especially relevant for new teachers working with students struggling in English.
Subash hopes all English language teachers can benefit from Star-NiE.
'With 21 years of teaching experience, I have seen how difficult it can be for students with Tahap Penguasaan 1 or mastery level 1 (TP1) and TP2 for English, especially those who cannot read or write in the language.
'NiE is practical and engaging as it offers real-world content that makes learning meaningful.
'It is helpful especially for teachers who need a different approach,' she said.
Held at Dewan Imtiyaz in SMK Taman Daya 2, Johor Baru, the workshop was organised in collaboration with Pasir Gudang District Education Office (PPD).
The morning session was attended by 37 secondary school teachers while 75 primary school teachers joined the afternoon session.
Nurulha: Teachers are eager to put what they have learnt into practice.
Nurulha also noted the importance of incorporating newspaper-based English teaching, especially with the growing number of new teachers in the district.
'The hands-on activities introduced by Star-NiE trainer Shoba Rani Dev created a fun and interactive environment.
'Even the teachers were as excited as children. They are eager to try out what they have learnt with their students,' Nurulha added.