Buddy guiding Adik at SK Tatau.
IF it weren’t for their ‘Study Buddy’ programme, they might still be unable to read now.
Previously,
they had problems with reading but today, although they may not have
reached a satisfactory level yet, they know how to read — thanks to the
Buddy Read With Me Programme from the Dyslexia
Association of Sarawak
(DAswk).
“I have improved in my reading. Letter sounds and bottle
caps are helpful. I am happy to have joined this programme because it
helped me read in English,” said Jerryfer Tevay Awan from SK Long
Loyang.
Another participant Jennifer Edik from SK Tatau said not only was her reading better but she could also write now.
“Bottle caps and letters sounds are good. I learned the most through these two methods.”
Ryand
Lanying, who also followed the programme, said he could read English
now but admitted his writing in English still needed improvement.
“I
like the letter sounds method which is easy for me to remember. Bottle
caps are interesting too,” said this Adik from SK Batu Keling.
Harisson Natanil Seliman, a former pupil of SK Ba Kelalan, has also benefitted from the letter sounds and bottle caps method.
“I
couldn’t read and write until I left school but my reading and writing
in English became better when I joined the programme in May this year.
The use of letter sounds and bottle caps has helped my reading
immensely. I learned a lot through this method and I am glad I took up
this programme,” said Natanil who flunked his UPSR because he was weak
in reading and writing.
The 14-year-old was brought to Kuching by
DASwk president Dr Ong Puay Hoon after she discovered Natanil’s
disability. Subsequently, Ong sent Natanil for special education class
at SMK Tabuan Jaya State Sports School every Monday, Wednesday and
Friday, and for the intensive reading intervention programme in maths,
English and Bahasa Malaysia on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Before coming to Kuching, Natanil could not even do his alphabets properly, let alone spell and read.
Buddy guiding Adik at SK Batu Keling.
Buddy and Adik benefit
The Buddy Read with Me Programme benefits not only the Buddy but the Adik as well.
Buddy
Geovanni Julan from SK Batu Keling said he has improved in his reading
and writing skills, adding that the letter sounds and bottle caps were
easy to follow and understand.
“I’m so happy I joined the programme because it has enabled to teach an Adik who needed help l like I once did.”
Vivien
Junior from SK Long Loyang enthused: “My English has improved since I
became a Buddy. I now know how to say and write a long word. Learning
through letter sounds and bottle caps was really good. I not only
learned to read English words correctly but also helped to teach the
Adik.”
Rundy Batok Batang from SK Batu Keling concurred, saying
the programme not only taught him to read and write but exposed him some
to teaching experience as well.
“My Adik can read now. I find the experience very rewarding,” he added.
Another Buddy Irmynna Marcela from SK Tatau has also improved her reading and writing in English since joining the programme.
She credited the use of letter sounds and bottle caps for her progress.
Pairing of students
The
Buddy Read With Me Programme pairs older students with younger ones in
reading activities. The idea is to provide one-on-one guidance to help
the latter improve their reading and comprehension abilities, their
vocabulary and overall command of English.
Teacher-facilitators have also found the programme effective in helping students with writing and reading disabilities.
According
to Mohd Muizzudin Mohdzain from SK Tatau, the programme not only helps
to improve the Buddy’s reading proficiency but also the Adik’s grasp of
both reading and writing.
“The use of bottle caps and sound
letters is really useful. For one, it helps to speed up the learning
process,” he said, noting that activities such as solving puzzles were
also good as they prevented the students from feeling bored.
According to Enggan Embi, a teacher at SK Long Loyang, the use of letter sounds is both practical and beneficial.
“As an English teacher, I find it is easy for pupils to understand more by using bottle caps,” he said.
He hoped the programme would continue and teachers would apply this method in teaching weak pupils.
Enggan,
who is also the school’s senior assistant (pupil affairs), believed the
programme is appropriate, especially for students in rural schools to
improve their English.
He said as facilitators, teachers could also gain more knowledge in teaching English from the programme.
“SK
Long Loyang is so fortunate to have been selected for the programme.
The English used is simple and basic. The presentation techniques used
by DASwk are very interesting. The students can understand them quite
easily.”
Enggan said overall, the programme has kept the students interested in learning and improving their English.
Progressive test for Adiks.
Fun way of learning
Azimah Abdul Rahman from SK Batu Keling also praised the programme, saying it helped weak students learn English in a fun way.
“The
use of letter sounds is interesting. It helps the students to remember
the sounds of letters. Using bottle caps is creative as it can keep
students interested in learning English,” she added.
According to Chin Hui Chiat from SK Ba Kelalan, the programme uses different techniques to help weak pupils with reading.
“Letter
sounds give students a basis for reading and writing, especially in
spelling words. Bottle caps encourage students who are weak to start
reading as it involves phonetic reading.
“The programme is an
eye-opener. Although schools have been teaching phonetics in class, this
programme has given me the motivation to work further with the
students’ reading skills,” Chin said.
School administrators are grateful to DASwk for selecting their schools for the programme.
SK
Tatau headmaster Janudin Abdul Rahman thanked Ong, the DASwk staff and
the State Education Department for choosing his school, saying the
programme had proven successful in helping students weak in English to
improve in reading and writing the language.
“On top of that, it helps the Buddies to teach their Adiks with confidence.”
Janudin
said his school would extend the programme to all its pre-school
teachers and Literacy and Numeracy Screening (Linus) teachers.
He revealed the school was also planning to organise a special workshop with DASwk, parents and children involved in Linus.
Head
of the programme Wallace Lee said he was proud of the team for coming
up with a workable, cost-effective and structured educational programme
in English not only for dyslexics but also all children with learning
difficulties.
He said witnessing the programme evolve from infancy
in the MIUSA Empowerment Programme to the present Buddy Programme had
been very exciting.
“Now we have a good and effective teaching and learning method for children with problems reading, spelling and comprehending.
“We
like to thank the US State Department and the US Embassy Kuala Lumpur
for their on-going support and assistance in the development of this
programme.”
Lee said the programme’s continuity and constant development would ensure children receive the best learning method.
“The
best present for a child is literacy and what better way to provide
this gift than through an easy and proven programme developed to suit
us. I would like to thank the trainers, teachers and participants
undertaking this programme which has seen so much improvement over the
duration of the programme,” he said.
Training session at SK Long Loyang.
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