THE STAR ONLINE

Sunday March 18 2012

Back with a bang

By JEANNETTE GOON educate@thestar.com.my and ANNA CHIENG

The Star-Pizza Hut mini magazine contest returns as previous participants relate its benefits and relevance in promoting the English language among schoolchildren. IN FRONT of an audience that included a minister, senior company executives, teachers and other students, four fifth formers from SMK Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya, presented a skit with the ease and confidence of veteran performers. The skit related how the Star-Pizza Hut annual NiE (Newspaper-In-Education) contest transformed the introverted Debbie, played by Lim Shiang Qian, over the years from being a reluctant, behind-the scenes participant to one who has come out of her shell when it came to that time of the year. Marissa Yasmine Azril narrated the story while schoolmates Priyanka Nair, Ting Xiao Yan and Shiang Qian acted out the tale reflective of their real life experiences of participating in the contest.

Its official: From left: Wong, Dr Wee and Jamaludin at the launch of the Star-Pizza Hut Mag Inc 2012 contest themed Why English?.

Getting involved in the contest means helping us become more proficient [in English], especially among the less articulate students. The improvements are remarkable! Look at what happened to Debbie, explained Shiang Qian at the contest launch held at the Pizza Hut restaurant in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya. From someone who was considered an introvert, Debbie suddenly swung into action and was constantly looking out for materials that were relevant to the magazine they were putting together, she added. Her team mates joined her in recalling the benefits of participating in the contest, citing it as an outlet to tap into students talents and encourage them to express their views in English, as well as providing more opportunities for students to carry out independent learning while promoting teamwork. The girls, who have been long time supporters of the Star-NiE programme, ended the skit by thanking all teachers for their continuous support and encouragement to pursue the NiE programme. They then presented flowers to the educators who were present at the launch. Fortifying the language The Mag Inc 2012 contest, like the ones held over the last three years, will require students to create a three-page mini magazine. This year, with the theme Why English?, students are to explore the importance of the English language and how it applies to them. There will also be an optional video clip category in which teams may submit a threeminute video clip, advertisement or public service announcement based on the theme.

In full bloom: (Clockwise from front left) Marissa, Xiao Yan, Shiang Qian and Priyanka holding out the mini bouquets that were prepared for the teachers who attended the event. Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong who officiated the event said that programmes like Mag Inc fortify the English language while encouraging schoolchildren to be team players. Ingraining a value like that promotes unity and growth, both personally for the students and as a whole for the school and the country, he said. He also commented on the pertinence of the contest theme. The contest this year ties in with Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English (MBMMBI) policy. Addressing such a current and pertinent topic in line with the policy makes this contest all the more exciting, he said. Dr Wee later added that students who participated in the contest would be awarded extra co-curricular points for their achievements. He also said that by participating in this contest, students could develop critical and creative thinking skills. He urged principals and teachers to encourage their students to participate in events like Mag Inc as it provides a fun learning process. QSR Brands Bhd managing director Jamaludin Md Ali added that Star-NiE helps students learn English in a stimulating, dynamic and fun way. I cannot stress enough the importance of English in todays global climate, he said.

Teachers with their bouquets: Badieah (left), Rajeswary, Nurliza and Nurulaini (right) proudly showing off their flowers. Even during the World Cup, the referee uses English, said The Stars executive director and group chief editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai. As Star-NiE turns 15 this year, its only fitting that we revisit our roots and address that which we have been championing all these years the English language. This year, Pizza Hut and The Star will be giving away a four-day, three-night allexpenses paid trip to Hong Kong Disneyland to the grand prize winners from the Upper Secondary, Lower Secondary and Primary categories. The runners-up from the three categories will win a three-day, two-night trip to Genting, sponsored by Resorts World Genting. On top of the trip, the Upper Secondary grand prize winners will also get scholarships worth a total of RM150,000, courtesy of Taylors University. This is our fourth year supporting this contest. We believe that every child has equal rights to education. This contest is very meaningful as it provides a different perspective because its an out-of-school learning process, said Taylors Education Group chief marketing officer Lydia Wang. It cultivates research skills, teamwork and analytical thinking while promoting the use of English, she added. In addition to the scholarships, Taylors University will also be sending lecturers from their School of Communications for the Mag Inc workshops in Malacca, Seremban, Ipoh and Penang, as well as at the Taylors University Lakeside Campus.

The facilitators will give the students ideas on how to publish a mini magazine, said Wang. Many other prizes are also up for grabs. Members of the winning team in the video clip category will win an iPod Nano per team member while two runners-up teams will win RM100 worth of Pizza Hut vouchers per team member, courtesy of Pizza Hut. Six schools within the four categories (based on student enrolment) - Primary, 500 students and below, 501 to 1,000 students and 1,001 students and above - which submit the highest number of entries stand to win sports equipment vouchers worth RM1,000, courtesy of Pizza Hut. At the state level, 75 teams, which consists of five winning teams from each state (except Selangor, which will have 10 teams), will be given merit awards. Each of these teams will be rewarded with Pizza Hut vouchers worth RM200 per team.

Happy faces: Students from SM Vokasional Sungai Buloh with English teacher, Nurulaini enjoying the scrumptious pizzas at the launch held at the Pizza Hut restaurant, Kota Damansara. Positive feedback Among the English teachers present at the launch was Nurulaini Muhammad from SM Vokasional Sungai Buloh, Selangor, who has been using Star-NiE for the last four years. She said that using the pullout as well as taking part in Mag Inc has helped to improve the standard of English in her school. I see improvements in the students SPM results every year. Last year, our school managed to get 100% passes for SPM English something vocational schools had never achieved before,she said.

Every year that the school takes part in the contest sees the students becoming more interested in the English language. I gain satisfaction from seeing them becoming more positive towards the language, said Nurulaini. All international sports and contests are conducted in English. The students need to be good in the language so that they can use it in life and in their careers in the future. She added that the concept of NiE was good because newspapers have a lot of sections including sports, which the students in her school, most of whom are boys, are interested in. When they are interested in something, they will be positively influenced to read about it. The students enjoy themselves in class with NiE, she said. SK Kampung Tunku, Petaling Jaya English teacher Rajeswary S. Rajaratnam thinks that the standard of English in Malaysia has deteriorated because of the lack of a reading culture. Children are all on the computer these days and with the Internet, they dont even use the dictionary anymore. When you look a word up in the dictionary, you would remember it better, she said. To tackle this situation, I think its necessary to create English speaking environments for the students and have activities, such as Mag Inc 2012, that will require them to speak English, she said.

A token of appreciation: A SMK Damansara Jaya student showing her appreciation for the teacher who supported and encouraged students in their NiE journey.

Teacher Badieah Mustakin from SMK Seksyen 4 Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya echoed Rajeswarys sentiments, owing the low proficiency of the English language among her students to their background. They dont speak English at home, she said. However, four of the more English-proficient students from Badieahs school attended the launch. One of them, Nisha Qistina Mohd Sharil, 13, said, When we go to other countries, well have to speak English. So English is important. Her senior, Nur Amira Natasha Hassan, 14, added, English is important for us to get more work opportunities. Some Malaysians who are not fluent in English tend to just brush the language aside. The theme this year Why English? will be able to explain why its important to learn to speak it, said Simon Timothy Sitepu Michael, 14, also from SMK Seksyen 4 Kota Damansara. Even schools with students fluent in English have been able to benefit from Star-NiE and Mag Inc. Despite the fact that most of the students in my school come from English speaking backgrounds, Ive found that there were still slight improvements in their English, especially in writing, said Nurliza Hamzah from SMK Damansara Jaya. Using NiE has definitely improved their general knowledge, she added. The contest templates will be out on April 13 and 25. Teachers may place their orders of the template with The Stars circulation representatives closest to them (names and contact numbers listed on contest roadshow table on page 12). Weekly updates of the contest and the NiE programme appear in StarEducate, published every Sunday. The NiE programme is sponsored by The Star and its partner in NiE, Pizza Hut.