Malaysia - Speak up, Malaysian students told

KUALA LUMPUR - If you don't understand something, speak up and ask questions.

Stand-up comedian and actor Harith Iskander said that this was the best way to gain knowledge and master new languages.

"Every time you come across a word you don't understand, write it down and ask your teacher for its meaning.

"And the more languages you learn, the more opportunities you will have to communicate with people beyond your own circle of friends," he told a Form One class in SMK Segambut here yesterday.

Harith also engaged the class by playing improvisation games and handing out notebooks to students as prizes during the hour-and-a-half he spent teaching English as part of the Teach For Malaysia Week.

He had led the class with Teach For Malaysia fellow Ratnadewi Lim Sani Sukiman Lim , and promised to come back to the school in a month's time.

"I want you to keep a record of all the new English words you've learnt in your notebooks and when I come back in May, I want to see at least 50 new words," he told the students.

Harith later told reporters that his main aim during the session was to encourage students to speak up and be confident.

"I think that a lot of students spend so much time just listening, writing and regurgitating information.

"They don't have enough opportunities to voice out their thoughts, and while I can't do a lot in just one session, maybe this is a good start," he said.

Harith said he was "blown away" by the commitment of Teach For Malaysia fellows.

He was joined at the school by Egraduate.Net Sdn Bhd chairman Satinah Syed Salleh and Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia rector Datuk Dr Haili Dolhan.

Other personalities involved in the Teach For Malaysia Week from Monday to today include Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala, Sunway Group chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, actress Lisa Surihani, Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 Deborah Henry, Miss Universe Malaysia 2012 Kimberley Leggett and veteran journalist R. Nadeswaran (Citizen Nades).

Teach For Malaysia is a non-profit organisation set up in 2010 by social entrepreneurs Dzameer Dzulkifli and Keeran Sivarajah to address education inequity in the country.

Inspired by Teach For America founder Wendy Kopp, Dzameer and Keeran took the challenge of starting a similar programme here where participants, known as fellows, commit themselves as teachers for two years in "high need" schools around the country.

Priya Kulasagaran | The Star/Asia News Network

Business & Investment Opportunities 
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com