ETA Programme Brings Change in English Proficiency Among Students - US Ambassador

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 (Bernama) -- United States Ambassador to Malaysia, Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir says the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) programme has brought about a change in the English language system in Malaysian secondary schools. Speaking to the media at the farewell ceremony of some 98 teaching assistants from the United States, she said the English language programme at local secondary schools nationwide had encouraged Malaysian students to communicate more in English and improved their level of proficiency. “I was very happy to meet the teachers and students under the ETA programme, it was wonderful to see these students being encouraged and motivated to speak English by their teaching assistants. “It was great to see the engagements that went on between the students and their English teachers, I feel the students have benefited from various talents brought in by their teachers,” she added during the event held at the ambassador’s official residence here Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (MACEE) executive director Dr James Coffman, when asked how the programme helped strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, said both countries now had a better understanding of one another. “I think it is very easy. We sent 100 teaching assistants back to the US after each ETA programme, with a good knowledge of Malaysia, and they go back and talk about the country, rather than just reading about Malaysia. “On the other hand, a lot of Malaysian students in rural areas have never met an American...through the ETA programme, they get to start to have a truer idea of one, rather than just watching Americans on the television,” he said. Meanwhile, teaching assistant Matthew Ian Miller, 23, said students under his guidance managed to raise RM53,000 for the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) fund through a film festival for which the script was fully written, directed and produced in English . “The students where I taught at, in SMK Bandar Sri Semarang (secondary school), Kuching (in Sarawak state) did a film festival, where they had worked for a year. “They made five films, which eventually turned into a community festival. They wrote their own scripts, created the characters for their film and handled the lighting, cameras and editing.” Under the Fulbright ETA programme, American teachers are placed in various public secondary schools in the states of Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Sabah, Sarawak, Kedah, Kelantan and Perlis where they assist teachers and students with English-language learning. -- BERNAMA