Pathways
to English Language Literacy -
A Research and Teacher Development Project
to Enhance the Development of Literacy in
Primary Schools
Introduction
Currently,
three kinds of reading programmes for
enhancing literacy skills in English
are being implemented in primary schools
throughout the country by the Curriculum
Development Centre of Malaysia. The
programmes are as follows:
Structured Reading
Programme (SRP) for all lower
primary classes using the Sound
Start and the Ladybird series.
(Year 1-2)
Extensive Reading
Programme for primary 3-6.
Contemporary Literature
Programme for primary 4-6.
"Pathways
to Literacy" is a project that
is designed to help teachers with the
implementation process of the Structured
Reading Programme by enhancing teacher
skills and setting up support systems
and services.
The project will involve preliminary
visits to schools to ascertain the state
of implementation of the SRP in schools.
Based on the data collected on our preliminary
visits, the department will design a
project to support the implementation
of the SRP.
Project
Design
The project
will consist of:
Face-to-face training
Consultancy visits
to schools by ELTC staff
Building resources
in schools
Building teacher
support groups through the use
of the Teacher Activity centres
(TAC) or Pusat Kegiatan Guru (PKG)
Revitalising Teacher
Activity Centres to support schools
Building resources
in Teacher Activity Centres (TAC)
The project will depend on a high level
of collaboration from different agencies,
both within the MOE and other non- governmental
organizations to support the different
dimensions of the programme. Its success
will pave the way for future inter-agency
collaboration.
The building of resources in schools
and TAC will involve non-governmental
agencies like the British Council which
will fund resources. Schools and PKGs
will have to earn the right to be given
resources obtained from outside sources
by demonstrating to ELTC a degree of
commitment and utilisation as providers
of resources which now demand forms
of accountability.
Schools
Involved in the Project
The project
involves two groups. The first group
comprises seven schools in the Federal
Territory of Kuala Lumpur and four schools
from the state of Selangor. The schools
represent a cross-section of rural and
urban disadvantaged schools, including
National type primary schools and Chinese
and Tamil medium primary schools.
The second group of schools comprises
10 schools from the districts of Pasir
Mas and Tumpat in the state of Kelantan.
All these schools are National type
primary schools.
Each school is requested to send the
Head of the English Panel and two teachers
teaching Year One. The same teachers
are committed to attend all three phases
of the project.
Project
Structure
There are
three phases in the course design. The
teacher has to attend all the three
phases of the course. Each phase is
made up of a 4-day face-to-face interaction
with specific training foci:
Phase
One
•
Understanding
the rationale for the Structured
Reading Programme and the procedure
for the English Hour
•
Making
links to the syllabus
Phase
Two
•
Exploring
teacher and learner strategies
Phase
Three
•
Evaluating
and producing supplementary reading
materials
•
Setting
up and managing literacy corners/centres
Phase One focuses on teachers'
understanding of the English Hour and
the procedures for implementation. At
the end of Phase One the teacher is
required to implement the English Hour
in her school and document the processes
to produce a portfolio showcasing the
process. This data will be used in Phase
Two of the programme. This phase would
also see the establishment of an action
plan for a teacher support group which
will be implemented with support from
the JPN and the officer in charge of
the Teacher Activity Centre. This will
be monitored and resources will be allocated
based on performance of each support
group. It is hoped that these support
groups will meet continually throughout
the year. Monitoring visits will be
done by ELTC staff and JPN officers.
Phase Two of the project will
be carried out in July. Feedback from
the monitoring visits as well as the
portfolio assignment will be discussed.
The input in this phase will focus on
enhancing skills needed to implement
the English Hour. Among the content
areas covered will be phonics, teaching
of vocabulary and spelling, story -telling
and questioning skills. At the end of
Phase Two, teachers will be set specific
tasks on creating learning environments.
The data gathered will be used in Phase
Three.
Phase Three of the project will
be in September. The two groups of course
participants will be brought to ELTC.
Feedback from Phase Two will be discussed.
The input will focus on ways to extend
learning outside the classroom and developing
independent readers. In this phase we
hope to include visits to libraries
and literacy centres for the teachers.
"Pathways
to Literacy" is a project that
is designed to help teachers with the
implementation process of the Structured
Reading Programme by enhancing teacher
skills and setting up support systems
and services. 
