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.