WATCH TV TO IMPROVE ENGLISH

TV THE SOLUTION

STAR FRONT PAGE REPORTS: 9TH MARCH 2005

Watch more television. That is the Education Ministry’s advice to students who are having trouble coping with the learning of Mathematics and Science in English. Its director-general Datuk Dr Ahamad Sipon said students should turn on the TV, regardless of whether to watch educational programmes or cartoons, to understand and speak better English.

“We cannot underestimate the role of television in educating our children,” he told reporters after chairing a special meeting with senior ministry officials on the effectiveness of the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English yesterday.

The TV-watching advice was among eight initiatives put forward by the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) to help students and teachers who had trouble with English.

The theory of educational success from Nur Amalina goes like this:

"I did my homework first before sitting down for any revision work."

"School hours were crucial to learning and understanding the subjects, while homework reinforced what she picked up in the classroom. I usually finish all my schoolwork and revision by 1am," she said.

Nur Amalina usual activities include: hanging out with friends, chatting on the Internet, listening to chart-toppers and watching television, and a special diet.

Did she improve her English because of TV?

I can't discount the contributions of TV to the improvement of English language as proferred by Datuk Dr Ahamad Sipon. But, this method would not work in isolation. To improve english, first, we must read books and make sure we understand the vocabulary and the spellings. Then, we need to use the language by writing essays. At the same time, students must create the opportunity to speak the language more often. Students must make every effort to speak to their family members and friends in the language and at the same time master the vocabulary and the choice of words used in the oral and written form. Reading a lot of books, understanding the sentences and choice of words used in the books and attempting to use and apply the language knowledge in writing exercises will definitely help to master the language.

So, my advice is, TV will not help you in isolation. One of the disadvantages is that those in the TV often speak in "TONGUES" which is hard to grasp. Students may not be able to capture the spoken language in TV as it is often spoken in certain slangs and speedily blutted out by the person on the screen. Therefore, books and lectures will be more helpful. But do our teachers had the required competency in teaching English?