GLOBAL LANGUAGE

By G.K. Cheryl Brenda
educate@thestar.com.my

Source: Sxc hu

A banking group promotes proficiency in English among primary schoolchildren by sponsoring the NiE and Step Up pullouts to 65 schools nationwide.

AS THE global language for trade and commerce, proficiency in English is an essential requirement in the workforce today, and it is important for students to master the language to be competitive globally.

“Having mastery of the English language prepares students for the rapidly changing globalised world,” said EON Bank Bhd senior executive vice president and Group Business and Investment Banking head Peter Y C Chow. Chow, who presented a sponsorship worth RM68,640 towards The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) pullouts at SK Cheras Indah, Kuala Lumpur recently, said it was the group’s mission to develop youth to be better equipped for the future. “We hope to change the world through our youth,” he added.

The Star deputy group chief editor (I) David Yeoh received the mock cheque on behalf of the newspaper. Under the sponsorship, 65 schools nationwide will receive the NiE and Step Up pullouts throughout the year. NiE is an English language supplement catered to primary and secondary school students, while Step Up is designed specifically for students in Chinese primary schools. Chow said newspapers were an excellent tool for improving the command of students’ English. He added that NiE fostered learning in a fun manner and this could increase and sustain students’ interest in the language.

Chow also said English was the lingua franca of the banking industry, adding that having a good grasp of the language was essential as it was the medium of instruction for international and global transactions.

In his speech, SK Cheras Indah headmaster Mohamad Thani Abdullah said the sponsorship of the newspapers was timely and consistent with the implementation of the Education Ministry’s Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English (MBMMBI) policy. “We will make full use of this contribution to upgrade the standard of English in the school, especially in terms of the students’ achievement,” he said. The school’s English teacher Donna Kwan Wai Mun said the sponsorship gave students, particularly those in Year Six, the opportunity to improve their English. “NiE helps students develop their creative writing skills, which will help them in their UPSR examinations,” she said.

Year Six student Adi Danish Muhd Amin said he liked the colourful NiE pullout and enjoyed using it in class. “I have improved a lot in English especially in sentence construction,” he said. “I also enjoy learning poetry through the pullout,” he added. The schools benefiting from the NiE sponsorship are SK Monfort in Johor, SK Jenun, SK Langkawi and SK Sungai Korok Lama in Kedah, SK Ismail Petra 1, Kelantan, SK Bandar Hilir, Malacca, SK Abdul Rahman Taib, Pahang, SK Perempuan Bukit Kuda and SK Bandar Setia Alam in Selangor and SK Sultan Sulaiman 1, Terengganu. The other schools in the Federal Territory benefiting from the sponsorship are SK Seri Perak, SK Brickfields 2, SJK (T) Vivekananda, SK Cheras Indah, SK Taman Bukit Indah, SK Kepong (3), SK Putrajaya Presint 11 (3) and SK Kampung Baru.

For more details on The Star’s NiE corporate sponsorship programme, call Alvin Liew (019-210 0319) or Kumaran (012-923 3395) from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.