E.T.E.M.S.

Salam and Hi everyone,

I feel like writing something today. This is about one of the lessons that I went through. It's about teaching Maths and Science in English. Actually, this is one of the hot issues occurs in Malaysia. Before this, I assume that it is quite difficult for teachers to teach Maths and Science in English especially for newcomers like me. It also applies to the experienced teachers who never teach Maths and Science in English as they have gone through the old system for years. It is a pity for these teachers as they have to be trained and learnt new things and improve their proficiency in English. Becoming a teacher for primary school students is a hard job. We are not only teaching the students but also trying our best to make them understand and apply what they have learnt in the real life situations.

For me, there are some advantages and disadvantages if Science and Maths are taught in English. I can see there are a lot of problems for suburban students and those who come from low-social economy background. They are not exposed to English compared to students who stay in urban areas. I'm not trying to generalise this statement. There are some students who live in urban areas but still have a low proficiency in English. I am sure they have to struggle very hard in order to cope with the new system. I pointed out this question in class. Fortunately, I got a great respond from Mike, my lecturer. He said it is not impossible to train these students especially who are from rural areas in learning Science and Maths in English.

The major issue here is not the abilities of the students though it might be one of the important factors in achieving the target. It relates to teachers' proficiency in delivering the knowledge in classroom. Besides that, by using materials in classroom is hoped to support the teachers' teaching processes in making the lesson more interesting and meaningful. He said it is possible for the rural's students to achieve the target as teaching ways and approaches are different from traditional approaches. I am surprised with what he had said as I did not think about that before and I did not see how things can work especially for slow learners.

Now, I feel more confident if I was given an opportunity to teach both subjects in English. I hope I can face all the difficulties though they might challenge me in a lot of aspects such as my patience and my credibility. A noble teacher who is the one who can face obstacles without ever trying to give up. It is not easy to build a nation if we do not have courage and spirit to educate our new generation.
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