AKADEMI TERRABACA COACHING GAMES

AKADEMI TERRABACA Coaching Station - the multimedia super gateway

AKADEMI TERRABACA Coaching Station

Introducing an upcoming Portal designed as an interactive online arena for language learners to put into practice results of their participation in the Coach-a-Coach Reading Assistance Programme or CERAP. The portal is called AKADEMI TERRABACA Coach-a-Coach Express, and is under construction with our content partners.

Applying the coaching method outlined earlier each reading group having completed the assigned reading content will now choose the best from amongst them to compete in an online language games expressing various skills in Bahasa Melayu and English based on the collection of stories published by Utusan Publications & Distributors, Himpunan 366 Cerita Rakyat Malaysia and 366 A Collection of Malaysian Folk Tales.

AKADEMI TERRABACA Coach-a-Coach Express aims to be the platform for schools to coach and produce participants in a contest to search for:

* Best Reader/Best Storyteller

In this contest students run the CERAP practice of their choice stories from the 366 short stories in the assigned book. Group members who have obtained ‘peer endorsement’ can now record their reading in the Portal. The recording is then listened to and in turn graded by other students from schools participating in the contest. The grades are then tabulated to show ranking and accessible to all.

Students can undertake repeated recording to repair and improve their reading skills within the alloted time, thus establishing the linguistic rule of Frequency For Fluency

* Best Handwriting

The best handwriting slot is to provide opportunity for the lesser qualified reader to vie for best handwriting. Students copy their story of choice and go through similar process of ‘peer endorsement’, get the work scanned and the uploaded to the portal in pdf mode, to be graded accordingly. This encourages slow learners not to quit and be discouraged from participation.

* Best Jawi Transliterator/Khat

Himpunan 366 Cerita Rakyat Malaysia being Romanised allows opportunity to draw out the artist in the student, a Khat contest preferably to showcase Mushaf Malaysia fonts. It is hoped that this would lead to a student compiled ebook of Himpunan 366 Cerita Rakyat Malaysia in Jawi.

* Best Speller

Best speller is database collection of marks achieved at school level CERAP Spelling Contest using list of words within and beyond the suggested corpus of "Buku Panduan Senarai Perkataan KBSR" for both Bahasa Melayu and English. The grades will decide the shortlisting of candidates for the state-level AKADEMI TERRABACA Coach-a-Coach Express Spelling Contest.

* Best Coach

The best coach is not just expected to be a good reader but a diligent one, to be adjudged based on the number of students so coached by him or her, and by the level of competence achieved through his peer coaching effort.

* Best Achiever

Since all participants in the contest are pre-graded to measure achievement level after x hours of drill and practice, the low achievers also compete on who moves up the levels fastest. This is to sustain the interest of the other half’ or ‘special pupils in need’ to continue with the reading practice.

This bricks and mortar via real and repeated reading practice culminating to multimedia presentation is a necessary gateway before students could be expected to comprehend the multitude of materials available online for the diligent. Like coaches on the express train, each pulling along the other, the expression of both reading and writing skills in a wider competitive environment is the best incentive for students to remain at the coaching station and thus ensures sustainability of the reading habit.

BASIC COACHING STATION IN SCHOOLS

The following is one example of a basic model English Coaching Games involving 120 Primary 6 students gearing for the UPSR. Terrabaca Management can assist in the training of 20 students (per school) as coaches to run the Games.

1. Grading and placement of students into 10 groups based on

• result of Oxford placement test/school based assessment. The same test could be used later to grade progress or assess the suitability of materials used.
• gender - students will initially be assigned into boys and girls group, except for the 2 mixed top group consisting of coaches. Our studies seem to suggest that boys compete better amongst themselves, and the gender split allows for wider spread of achievers/categories to be rewarded at the end of the programme.
• result or present grade in Bahasa Malaysia. We have ample proof from our research to show that students who obtained A or B in Bahasa Malaysia but gets a D in English will jump to A grade within a month of the CERAP games.
• for total of 120+- students, the games will be between 10 groups of 12 - 10 students each with an assigned coach.
• for a basic reading room what is needed is a cassette player and either a Japanese table or a table with chairs to fit 12. Most schools have media rooms but for the creative, sessions could be held under the tree in the school garden.

2.Scheduling and hosting- the when, where and who?

• each group meets twice a week for a maximum practice of 2 hours per session.
• ideally this shall be the only English tuition students participate in, to maximise impact, as English tuition tend to replicate the school way, which relies on rote memory, and most times are taught using a different medium of instruction.
  
• mass coaching - e.g. a primary school in Kuantan, armed with complete CERAP proposed set donated by local politician, once ran the programme thus; 150 Primary 5 & 6 students gather on Saturday in school canteen for a 2 hour coaching session, and the other session is done during school hours under supervision of assigned teacher.
• as CERAP is strictly method, allowing for dynamic and spiral-effect of language acquisition, it is very important that there be present a teacher to maintain discipline and to ensure all coaches fulfill tasks.

3.The basic module and costs

• firstly the books/modules chosen must not pose a financial burden to schools. The books will have to be in sets of 12 per title. From our experience raising the necessary funds have never been a problem, and the PIBG/PTA network is available for the creative.
• 1 -Basic Literature in Storytelling Mode - Ladybird's Favourite Tales & Classics Collection for Remedial and Enrichment (listening skills)
• 2 -Hidden Grammar via Key words in Read aloud mode using Ladybird's Key Words Reading Scheme, (the grading scheme to help place each student in his or her respective level). This grading enables teacher to arrange team according to achievement, 10 teams ranking from A, B, C and D onwards. The team members are encouraged to vie for the A and B team to qualify as coach.
  
• 3 -Times Educational's Primary English for Malaysians. This structured module allows for transition to authentic second language sentence patterns and grammar.

4. The basic method practice

• though we use the term reading each session requires reading practice (pronunciation, diction, frequency for fluency) and writing (spelling, dictation, sentence writing leading to composition).
• after each take-a-turn read aloud reading practice, the writing practice follows where mistakes are instantly corrected and graded.
• false beginners or false starters are fished out. We have discovered in one MRSM that about 70% of students who obtained A for their UPSR English are false starters, and were unable to cope with the secondary syllabus.
• difficult students and students with difficulty are identified and regrouped accordingly. Students who lag behind or unable to complete the modules in time for the 'graduation ceremony' shall continue beyond that.
• after the UPSR students can now run games competition for Primary 4 & 5 before end of year holidays, or continue with the English conversation practice module.
• eventually the literacy level of the school is reflected from the books selected as the coaching progress to Further Reading stage, and the examination results will show proof of concept.
  

English Coaching Games 2009 - Teaching Reading First! CERAP Coach-A-Coach Extensive Reading Assistance Plan

tarrabaca in the context of pidgin self-deprecatory

confession of inability to read,

terrabaca like an offer from CERAP in context of TRY READ! or traibaca

terrabaca in kid's jargon, the cry of joy after having reached "terror" level

and leading front runner in the......

English Coaching Games 2008

We offer schools an opportunity to overcome students' poor performance in English via an extensive reading programme called CERAP and we guarantee the outcome. We provide coach training and assistance in implementation and installation of Coach-A-Coach Extensive Reading Assistance Programme.

Contact us for details at terrabaca@hotmail.com

About us: This blog in English & Bahasa Malaysia offers parents and schools a Self-Help Approach to Excellence in Education via CERAP, which is designed to install a reading culture in schools and homes. TERRABACA MANAGEMENT is established to provide language coaching and educational consultancy and training for adults and learners vying for UPSR, PMR, SPM and pre-University examinations, and for the development of a franchisable school and home tuition method.

BAGAIMANA AKADEMI TERRABACA BOLEH MEMBANTU ANDA?

Kami mensasarkan blog ini khusus kepada para guru dan ibubapa yang sedang mencari ikhtiar tentang bagaimana menaikkan tahap penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris anak-anak mereka atau yang sedang mencari kaedah yang boleh merumuskan kebelengguan serta yang tertanya-tanya kenapa tiada pencapaian walaupun berbagai program dilakukan.

Kami tidak menjual produk tetapi boleh membantu mengenalpasti bahan yang sesuai untuk memulakan inisiatif Akademi Terrabaca. Kami menawarkan satu program "capacity building" bagi membantu pelajar menguasai bahasa kedua yang lebih berkesan sebelum mereka meninggalkan bangku sekolah.

Yang paling penting pelajar dapat mengatasi kesan negatif diakibatkan dari momokan betapa sukarnya Bahasa Inggeris, mula berkeyakinan diri lebih tinggi dan dengan secara mendadak mengubah perspektif pembelajaran mereka.

Matlamat utama AKADEMI TERRABACA ialah

1- membantu sekolah mewujudkan mekanisma pembacaan atau "install an ongoing reading mechanism into the learning culture" melalui CERAP yang merupakan aktiviti latihan berstruktur dan berdasarkan kaedah "the student is the syllabus". Ianya satu kaedah yang mencari tahap sebenar pelajar kerana bahan bacaan yang dipilih merupakan "automatic diagnostic aid", yang kemudiannya memudahkan pemilihan bahan dan latihan yang tepat ke sasaran, serta mengubah pelajar dari sikap tidak minat membaca kepada mereka yang dipanggil "avid readers".

Sekolah boleh menggunakan CERAP sebagai persediaan pelajar mewakili sekolah dalam mana-mana aktiviti, misalnya mereka yang akan menyertai RHB-New Straits Times SIR Spell-It-Right Challenge (Sila baca petikan akhbar di bawah). Selama ini sekolah begitu terikat dengan sebilangan kecil pelajar cerdas, apakala orang yang sama juga yang selalu disuakan mewakili sekolah dalam pertandingan-pertandingan sebegitu. CERAP memperluaskan pilihan sekolah dan memberi ruang kepada pelajar lemah untuk menyertai setelah kelemahan diatasi.

2- membantu ibubapa mengambil langkah pemulihan melalui kaedah yang memudahkan mereka memantau kemajuan pelajar kerana bahan yang digunakan digred mengikut tahap pelajar dan boleh ditambah beransur-ansur mengikut peningkatan keupayaan. Pelajar yang tertinggal dengan itu akan diberi perhatian lebih oleh rakan koc.

Malah kerjasama PIBG dan sekolah melaksanakan CERAP merupakan prinsip teras program, iaitu tidak boleh membebankan kewangan sekolah, dan tidak juga mengganggu jadual sedia ada.

3- membantu sesiapa yang ingin memulakan tuisyen ala 'franchise kampung' untuk menambah pendapatan atau untuk ditawarkan di pusat tuisyen sedia ada mereka. Malah surirumah yang berminat boleh dilatih mengendalikan kumpulan tuisyen di rumah untuk menampung pendapatan atau untuk mewujudkan kumpulan belajar bersama anak yang culas belajar. Aktiviti kumpulan penting untuk mewujudkan "group dynamism".

Sila email pertanyaan ke terrabaca@hotmail.com

PETIKAN BERITA

NST Online » Local News

2008/02/22

KUALA LUMPUR: If you are in love with the English language and think you are a good speller, here's the chance to prove your worth.

The RHB-New Straits Times SIR Spell-It-Right Challenge, a joint effort between the two organisations taking off in April, will be the ideal forum to pit your skills against others with a similar bent.

Not only will two student spellers be judged winners in the primary and secondary categories, they will also go home with handsome cash prizes.A total of RM200,000 has been set aside for prizes.

Four students each from 36 government-funded schools will participate in preliminary rounds at state level before winners go to state finals to determine the state champion.

The contest is divided into two categories: primary (Year Four to Six) and secondary (Form One to Five). A separate spelling contest will be held in due course for Year One to Three students.

The state primary champion will receive RM1,000 and the runners-up RM800 and RM500 respectively. Winning schools at state-level will receive RM1,000, RM800 and RM500 respectively.

The national challenge in August will see 14 state champions at primary and secondary levels vying to become winners in their categories. The winner in the primary category gets RM3,000 with the runners-up receiving RM2,000 and RM1,000 respectively.

The winning primary schools will receive RM3,000, RM2,000 and RM1,000 respectively.

The winner at secondary level will receive RM6,000 with runners-up taking home RM4,000 and RM2,000 respectively. Their schools will collect RM6,000, RM4,000 and RM2,000 respectively.

Schools topping both categories will receive challenge trophies.

Fourteen pre-recorded episodes of the contest will be aired on TV3 every Saturday from May.

SIR will ideally attract independent learners who enjoy a competitive environment and want to have fun in using the language.

The contest is also aimed at challenging young Malaysians on their verbal and intellectual prowess in mastering English and raising the bar in its usage.

More than that, the ideal contestant can recognise individual words as the building blocks of language besides celebrating the intellectual value of every word.

Only British English will be used as the New Straits Times uses only British English.

Apa itu CERAP?

Coach-a-coach Extensive Reading Assistance Plan, CERAP, ialah suatu kaedah yang mampu membawa penyelesaian dalam masalah pengajaran dan pembelajaran Bahasa Inggeris.

Ia dirangka sebagai program tambahan yang sekaligus mempunyai ciri-ciri pemulihan dan pengkayaan bagi mengisitambun kekurangan dan kelemahan dalam ‘kurikulum yang diajar’ hari ini. Pengalaman telah mengajar kita bahawa punca utama pelajar merosot dalam pelajaran ialah kerana ketiadaan kemahiran membaca. Ini mungkin berakar umbi dari kepincangan yang diwujudkan akibat sikap kita ingin menghabiskan kehendak kurikulum atau berburu-buru mengejar sesuatu peperiksaan. Terlalu kerap berlaku kes di mana pelajar yang lemah tertinggal atau pelajar yang bergeliga diabaikan. Akhirnya pelajar yang sederhana diheret beramai-ramai melalui cara belajar sedemikian, yang belum tentu boleh melahirkan pelajar yang membanggakan.

Suatu program percubaan CERAP telah dilakukan oleh Terrabaca Management (di Terengganu dan di Pahang antara 1996-2004) membuktikan tanpa kecuali bahawa pelajar yang bermula dengan kemahiran membaca yang betul, dengan menggunakan bahan bacaan menarik dalam suasana yang tidak mencengkam jiwa, berupaya melonjak keupayaan belajar mereka dalam masa yang singkat. Kami rasa sudah tiba masanya dikembangkan ‘silibus kaedah campur tangan’ ini dengan menggunakan pendekatan kemahiran membaca berstruktur, yang pasti menaikkan tahap kebolehbacaan serta pencapaian pelajar secara umumnya dalam pengajian mereka.

Bahan yang dipilih boleh dirancang untuk digunakan dalam acara English Coaching Games 2008 UPSR/PMR/SPM, bermula dari Mac hingga Mei 2008. Faedahnya bagi persekolahan awal ialah pelajar apabila meninggalkan sekolah rendah akan berbekal dengan “takeoff value” yang lebih tinggi, dan dengan itu melahirkan pelajar di sekolah menengah yang memiliki tahap Bahasa Inggeris yang berfungsi dan boleh diguna.

Kaedah coach-a-coach ini bukan sahaja dapat mencerna kemahiran membaca, malah telah sedia terbina dalam kaedah ini sistem penambahan automatik bilangan koc apakala program semakin matang. Dengan cara ini program dapat melegakan sistem pengajaran bahasa dari keperluan perbelanjaan tinggi atau kos latihan untuk guru.

Dari pengalaman kami salah satu manfaat yang timbul dari kaedah ini ialah bagaimana koc-koc yang diberi tugas melatih berjaya menaikkan kemahiran bahasa diri sendiri tatkala melaksanakan program ini. Kami dapat juga perhatikan bagaimana gembiranya dan cerianya pelajar-pelajar yang mendapat kemahiran baru ini, bagaimana mereka mula menyayangi buku, sehingga ramai yang menawarkan diri untuk terus menjadi koc walaupun sudah selesai masa yang ditetapkan buat mereka. Ini sekaligus mewujudkan perubahan mendadak dalam sikap mereka terhadap pembelajaran.

BAGAIMANA AKADEMI TERRABACA BOLEH MEMBANTU PELAJAR MENDAPAT A DALAM SEMUA MATAPELAJARAN

trybaca sebelum terrabaca!

CERAP Rules

1. Each group of ten students will vie to complete the recommended reading kit under the guidance of a coach and assistant coach chosen by the class teacher from amongst the group members.

Setiap kumpulan bersepuluh akan beradu menghabiskan set bacaan yang ditetapkan di bawah bimbingan seorang koc atau pembantu koc yang dipilih oleh guru kelas dari kalangan ahli kumpulan.

2. Each group in the class shall compete to produce the best readers, and the better readers may then choose to join a better group graded into A, B, C and D respectively.

Setiap kumpulan dalam kelas akan bertanding untuk melahirkan pembaca terbaik, dan mereka yang meningkat pembacaan boleh memilih masuk kumpulan lebih baik yang digred ikut tahap A, B, C dan D.

3. Each student shall have the chance to be appointed either as coach or assistant coach based on their performance in reading and the number of hours they have spent assisting the poorer readers in their group.

Setiap pelajar akan berpeluang dilantik koc atau pembantu koc berdasarkan pencapaian dalam pembacaan serta jumlah jam yang mereka sumbangkan membantu rakan kumpulan yang masih lemah.

4. The grading shall include fluency, diction, effort and spirit of cooperation shown by each individual student towards group achievement.

Penentuan markah akan berdasarkan kefasihan, penyebutan, usaha dan semangat kerjasama yang ditunjukkan setiap pelajar dalam menentukan tahap kumpulan.

5. The method used for coaching shall be the coach-a-coach method .

Kaedah yang digunakan untuk latihan hendaklah kaedah coach-a-coach.
_______________________________________________________________

KAMI MENGALU-ALUKAN MEREKA YANG PRIHATIN MENGENAI MASALAH PEMBELAJARAN DAN PENCAPAIAN ANAK-ANAK SUPAYA MENCUBA 'CERAP ENGLISH COACHING GAMES' SEBAGAI PROGRAM 'SUPPLEMENTAL' ATAU TAMBAHAN DI SEKOLAH.

KAEDAH ATAU CARA CERAP MEMASTIKAN MEREKA BELAJAR DALAM SUASANA KOMPETITIF KERANA ADA UNSUR PERLUMBAAN BAGI MENCAPAI TAHAP YANG DITENTUKAN, SERTA SUASANA SERONOK DAN GEMBIRA KERANA KESAN DARI KEMAJUAN KETARA SELEPAS MENU MODUL DIHABISI!

APATAH LAGI ADA HADIAH UNTUK 'BEST READER, BEST COACH, BEST STORYTELLER, BEST MIMIC' dsbnya.

CERAP atau Coach-a-Coach Extensive Reading Assistance Program ialah satu kaedah yang telah dicuba dan terbukti berkesan kerana ia berlandaskan pemakaiaan tepat kaedah linguistik yang dipadankan dengan masalah logistik sekolah seperti bilangan murid terlalu ramai dengan tahap pencapaian berbeza-beza, guru tidak terlatih, persekitaran dan sebagainya.

Di bawah program CERAP Bahasa Inggeris, pelajar berpeluang melalui proses BILAS (Bahasa Inggeris-Latihan & Ajar Semula). Apa yang penting ialah diakhir setiap tahap modul buku yang ditetapkan, pelajar bukan sahaja akan berjaya menguasai jumlah 'corpus' bahasa yang ditetapkan, misalnya minima 1000 'word count' untuk Murid Tahap 2 sekolah rendah, tetapi juga dari segi kebolehan pembacaan dan kelancaran penulisan.

Selain modul yang kami telah cadangkan, kaedah ini boleh juga digunakan secara kreatif sebagai serampang dua mata sekiranya buku teks sains dan matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris juga digunakan sebagai bahan bacaan dan untuk 'spelling and writing activities'.

Yang amat penting ialah melalui kaedah ini pelajar dengan mudah mendapat A dan boleh mendapat keputusan peperiksaan mengatasi 'national average' sehingga membawa mereka ke tahap pemahaman nahu yang lebih tinggi, berbanding dengan rakan pelajar lain yang tidak pernah dilatih menggunakan "lidah" sepanjang pembelajaran bahasa tersebut. Bayangkan ada pelajar yang mendapat 5 A lalu layak ke sekoah asrama penuh, ramai diketahui adalah "false beginners" dalam Bahasa Inggeris mereka, dan tidak berupaya menangani keperluan kurikulum menengah.

CERAP through BILAS First!

• We mentioned in our earlier posting 'tools' used in our proven research amongst pupils from Malaysian schools. In most rural or semi-urban setting schools are rushed in completing the 'testing' or 'examination' curriculum so that the taught syllabus distorts from the necessary lesson requirement, both in content level and pedagogy.
• Therefore we introduced the term BILAS, (adopting the Malay word bilas for 'rinse'), to propose that pupils go through a language rinsing process before the move to secondary education. Our BILAS or Bahasa Inggeris Latihan & Ajar Semula tools refer to books that could be used as practice sets. These are recommended supplemental materials other than the present books used by teachers as practice-for-examination sets.
• We recommend a foreign set here, as we believe that the transition from foreign language to second language mode can only be achieved once pupils have gone through enough drill practice and structured usage. Language is still about sounds, and CERAP removes the confusion flowing from present situation where first and second language share the same script or alphabet.
  
• In the present learning environment pupils' only contact with the language is from the adhocism generated by lessons meant to beat the examination system, which produced dysfunctional English for the majority.
• The better ones manage due to exposure from usage at home or because their parents introduce them to correct practice at an early stage-the rest are false beginners.
• terrabaca management offers you an opportunity to catch up and make the quantum leap using CERAP.

BILAS 1
Basic Literature in Storytelling Mode
We have experimented using Ladybird's Favourite Tales & Classics Collection for Remedial and Enrichment (for listening skills) in rural Malay schools effectively. The book and audio segment, the logistics nightmare, as some teachers put it, has to be addressed. For a basic reading room what is needed is a cassette player (optional) and either a Japanese table (UPSR) or a table to fit 10 chairs (PMR). Most schools have media rooms but for the creative, sessions could be held under the tree in the school garden.

This is the most effective component, as pupils tend to progress rapidly once they recognize sounds from words they are familiar with but never asked to say out loud. This familiarity is now enforced through constant writing, through copying of all words pronounced, through spelling drills etc. And the audio component is a favourite amongst students as they get the chance to mimic and all.

The storytelling mode draws out students from their shell of "abashment" and brings out the “literary types” where fluency is concerned. This component is to fill one of the missing gaps in language teaching - the development of listening skills leading to reading skills.

There are abundant photocopiable material from the web for the creative student or teachers to compile a set of class readers. We hope to provide the links to some of these sites later.

BILAS 2
Hidden Grammar - Key words in Read aloud mode
By using Ladybird's Key Words Graded Readers scheme, we are then able to place each student in his or her respective level, or to use present parlance, to discover their take-off-value. This grading enables the teacher to arrange the team according to achievement, thus having 4 teams made of A, B, C and D ranking. The team members are encouraged to vie for the A team to qualify as head coach to be assigned to the other 3 teams.

Here the class is involved either in remedial stage (Book 6 below) or enrichment (Book 7 onwards). In a dream setting, a teacher supervises the ongoing practice of 4 teams, one doing the storytelling component whilst the other 3 the Hidden grammar component. It is possible to bring down each team's voice level so that the humming is at the same sound level.

We have experimented with this using Ladybird's Key Words reading scheme as an experimental set, and found that it is designed for just this kind of logistics, besides having been in the market for more than 20 years. The formula to note here is that using a 3000 word corpus as a guide, a target, the drill and practice requires a constant brush of these 3000 words as students pored along to achieve target; applying outcome based learning as credo by requiring students to read aloud, spell and write them, and usage (ability to produce written essays or speak the language when required).

The reading practice helps students understand and master the school English language syllabus more easily. The progress to a second language mode, we noticed, is faster once students go through a foreign language approach in language learning i.e. through an enforced reading programme. Thus as a supplemental programme it does not interfere with the ongoing lessons and reduces the exam-phobia and “examicide” for English.

Bilas 3 Grammar Practice

Using Times Educational's Primary English for Malaysians Books 1-6 as drill and wrting practice set, allowing for systematic correction of grammatical and common errors. Since each session comprises of a writing component, instant correction and recording of exercises solve present problem of unmarked exercise books!

Akademi Terrabaca tools for CERAP

The four content components – sets of books selected and used for CERAP activity are meant to cover the following areas of activity:

1. Basic Literature in storytelling mode (designed to detect listening skills problems and to determine suitable materials to overcome difficulties)

2. Graded readers / keywords in read aloud mode (reading for grammar skills enabling students to master through practice diction and correct grammar)

3. Grammar Practice/structural words and sentence patterns ( writing skills using structured materials leading students to confident composition writing or prose)

4. Conversation practice (include speaking skills and formal English usage using graded materials leading to confident usage).

The Content Module

The proposed content modules consist of 4 components; each component complements the other, being tools for the main method component, which is practice. The books and audio may be sourced as meets our initial requirement on quality and practicality. The internet has vast materials for the creative web-miner. What is most important is to be able to assemble a group of 10 coaches to compete in a CERAP English Coaching Games 2008, each coach willing to push group to the finals, so to speak.

Students are put on a 3-stage reading programme. The stages are tagged Remedial, Enrichment and Further Reading for students from Primary Four to Secondary Three category. This is an important grading element for the home tuition part - for sibling coaching. There will be instances where siblings from different grades end up with same module level and this acts as a catalyst for the elder one to remain ahead, or else be coached by the younger brat, so to speak. The Further Reading stage would include read aloud sessions using science and mathematics textbooks, which will eventually generate enough interest matter in the subject.

Presently the teaching of mathematics and science though officially in English are not so taught in the 'taught curriculum'. It could be designed to run as an ongoing coach-a-coach book club/class library scheme so that students who have achieved progress post-CERAP do not wane on their reading. Recorded versions of Best Reader, or students’ reading selected for in-house use for new entrants to the programme, provide ample opportunity for the creative to put up online blogs or youtube it, and also to record progress in a group email alert.

The other element suggested by CERAP is the passing out in June/December where awards will be given to the best reader, best coach, best coaching team, best storyteller, best speaker, best speller, best effort etc., which needless to say, provide the impetus for the progress and success of the students. As a highlight, a state-wide competition could then be held after the UPSR and PMR exams where selected students represent their respective school before the school year-end. Scenes of students whiling and idling while waiting for UPSR and PMR results will be a thing of the past as schools could put them to good use as coaches to run ongoing CERAP activity.

The Method Module

The content of the module represents a selection of materials designed with a remedial cum enrichment approach that seeks to screen students in the four areas of language skills, i.e. listening, reading, writing and speaking. It is an "interventionist” curriculum that would ensure all the gaps in skills, gaps produced by the examination/testing approach in schools, are now filled. It basically employs a student-driven, peer learning approach geared to solve the "stuck on the language/sangkut atas bahasa" malaise that is the product of years of distorted language teaching.

The method module for schools in turn is designed to resolve classroom problems in teaching English to a big and mixed ability crowd of 40 students by using the big numbers to advantage. The key idea behind the method is firstly, to get the students to read as many books as fluently as possible via a graded reading programme consisting of books and audiocassettes. It is an enforced reading programme conducted on a regular basis by 4 coaching teams per class under the teacher's supervision.

The method of coaching is called coach-a-coach because it is peer teaching with effort as part of the evaluation and grading component. The reading practice is conducted by groups of ten students on a read aloud take-a-turn reading, with the coaches continuously correcting each and every mistake. The stress on frequency for fluency, or fluency from frequency, produces the necessary reinforcement needed for retention of subject matter in a tongue-tied environment prone to the disincentives caused by the rule of disuse (lidah dah berkarat) and issues of cultural permission (bahasa kapir) of the English language.

And with the daily diet of written exercises completed in each session, to be peer marked and corrected on the spot, parents need no longer worry about present state of affairs where teachers are too busy to mark and supervise pupils’ written work, and where mistakes get uncorrected and undetected for life.

The assigned teacher/head coach will be supervising 4 coaching teams, each team ensconced to a component of the content module, competing to complete and move on to a higher level, or switching to a different component, say from reading to storytelling to writing mode. The flexibility is there to maintain group dynamism by allowing students to excel by having games and competitions, using the underlying content-woven 3000 word corpus target.

We propose a minimum of 2 sessions per week, each lasting 90 minutes (1 hour of reading + 30 minutes of writing, spelling & other exercises per session), so that each student does 6 minutes of reading while being read to for the remaining 54 minutes, strictly speaking. Thus on a weekly basis, each student would have actually read for 12 minutes and listened for 108 minutes, making a 2 hour weekly diet of ongoing reading practice and 1 hour reinforcement activities. Compare this to virtually zero hour reading in most schools, where language is taught sans the sounds!

Non-English teachers or even volunteers from amongst parents (e.g. where it is done off school hours) could conduct the supervision of the coaching. Thus from one perspective the method should be able to produce a pool of English para-teachers who would have acquired enough reading skills to be able to run the programme from constant repetition and contact with the language.

An interesting spin-off could be an impact on the tuition business run by teachers in their spare time as there are bound to be parents prepared to pay for private tuition operators simulating the CERAP programme. And Terrabaca management is willing to offer franchise opportunities to the aspiring entrepreneur.

Since the nature of the sessions requires actual reading and active participation, the excitement and joy of competition provide the impetus for students to excel. This we have been able to observe at close range, the paradigm shift produced by the CERAP way. Compare that to the staid, passive and multiple-choice rote manner English is being taught!

The Method Solution

The method solution lives out the philosophy of "Blessedness in Togetherness" (Muafakat Membawa Berkat) and the basic Malay adage on a life of learning as encapsulated in the “Buah Cempedak Di Luar Pagar” pantun - the philosophy of a more caring, cheaper and better learning strategy through a simple student-centred approach.

One of the 4 objectives of the KBSM English language programme states thus:
“At the end of the secondary school English language programme the students should be able to read and understand prose and poetry for information and enjoyment ".

For this to happen under present English teaching and learning circumstances, the Ministry has once published a Compendium Bahasa Inggeris KBSM outlining, inter alia, on the need to introduce Class Readers, suggesting that one-fifth of the teaching hours be slotted for this. And to date, that suggestion has remained in the Compendium.

The number of class students and the lack of time, books and competent teachers plus general apathy to anything which is not examination business have turned reading into a foreign element in the educational and teaching process. And the price for that could be seen in the fall in the standard of language fluency and proficiency, thus perpetuating learning disabilities. What is most troubling is the sure prospect of a continuous tikus baiki labu scenario in the attempts to remedy the situation.

We have looked at the reading disability problem in the schools at close range, and have drawn certain conclusions that coincide with the comments made in the Compendium. It is the taught curriculum (English as taught) that compounds the problem and breeds learning disability, and not the quality of the official curriculum or the various suggested tools of instruction available. Language is not taught as language is to be taught.

But more importantly we have found a method solution for English language teaching and learning in schools, which in a manner of speaking, is a method of 'down-right-sizing' the logistics for implementing the recommendations of the compendium and beyond. We have tested the method, obtained paper proof of results rating and now seek the attention of all concerned parents and teachers alike to hear us out on the proposed method and observe its practical implementation on the school system.

The method module is called in layman's jargon, the Coach-a-Coach extensive reading assistance programme, or CERAP, and its implementation calls for the involvement of another form of P.I.B.G. i.e. PELAJAR, INSTITUSI, BAPA & GURU in a concerted, fun-filled competitive environment, an outcome-based approach aimed to ease language acquisation process whilst conditioning the learning activity to be more humane, with a sense of camaraderie and peer respect.

IF YOU STILL ASK, WHY CERAP?

Coach-a-coach Extensive Reading Assistance Programme, CERAP, is a method solution in English language teaching and learning. It is designed as a supplementary remedial cum enrichment programme to fill the gaps found in the present taught curriculum, for experience has taught us that one of the main reasons why students fail in learning is their lack of reading skills. This may be rooted in learning discrepancies acquired in the rush at schools to complete a curriculum, or to target a specific examination. There are too many instances of slow learners who are left behind whilst exceptional, gifted ones are ignored. Only the “average” ones are led along to go through this system of learning, which may or may not produce students of an acceptable standard.

An early CERAP experimental programme conducted by Terrabaca Management (in Terengganu and in Pahang between 1996 -2001) proved beyond doubt that students who have an early initiation in proper reading skills using interesting books in a non-threatening environment improved their learning capacity by leaps and bounds within a short period of time. We feel that there is a need to further develop this into a remedial cum enrichment "interventionist" method syllabus using a more structured reading skills approach which will uplift reading standards as well as improve students’ general academic achievement in schools.

The selected materials could be run as a English Coaching Games for UPSR, running from February to April. Schools will have the advantage of lifting their takeoff value from higher level, and producing students to enter secondary school with a functional and working English.

This coach-a-coach approach not only enhances general reading skills, but have an in-built scheme whereby more coaches are trained internally as the programme develops. In this way the programme feeds itself without the need for onerous funding and training programmes for teachers.

An interesting spin-off - from our experience - is that coaches themselves improve their own language skills along the way in the course of implementing the programme. We have also seen how delighted the students were with their new-found skills and also their new-found love for books that many offered to stay on as coaches beyond the designated time, creating an almost instant shift in their outlook to learning.

We have tested this peer coaching method, albeit on a small scale at primary, secondary, post-SPM and university level since 1996. We now feel that there is a need to incorporate this dynamism into the present school system so that low achievers will not fall by the wayside while their better classmates are being dragged more and more into complex IT-based learning methods, so that the number of quality students coming out of the system are increased whilst the late-bloomers catered for. The UPSR module is perfect for implementation at the the community college level (Basic PMR or SPM with low English). Such an enforced literacy programme as CERAP is able to raise literacy and the appreciation of the wrtten word, a sustainable second language leading to post-SPM advanced level.

Low achievers can be taught to excel by the simple approach of enhancing their reading skills and also by boosting their interest in learning with suitable supplementary modules. And for low achievers, we discovered, there is more pleasure for them to be coached by their peers, to be huddled whilst the head coach whisper correct pronounciation, or spelling, or assist them as their written work are being done.

These modules could also cover the core areas of science or mathematics without the need to change the tools of instruction. Here is where a creative school might want to add the science and mathematics textbooks as reading materials, to ensure each student compete, and end up reading the whole book before June. June onwards revision exercises, and the likes.

The programme that we envisage, and whose worth has been proven in our rural and suburban 'laboratories' (research done in Terengganu and in Pahang from 1996 to 2001, and amongst university students in 2002-2007) basically underline basic aim of CERAP; to enhance/boost/ supplement/ develop reading and learning skills among low achievers in English (especially among students whose academic records tend to veer downwards), via an approach to pedagogy that is simple, practical and yet effective. And more importantly to ensure that the high-achievers be put on extensive enrichment practice, for it is from their lot that the quality coaches come from.

Terrabaca Management has developed a package for the training of 20 coaches from each school, and oversee the coaching of 200+ more students by the accredited coaches. Any school interested in installing a reading mechanism in their school calender and interested in a demonstration do email us at terrabaca@hotmail.com. We also offer free consultation on CERAP, especially from schools anxious to overcome similar learning disabilities amongst their students.