Building confidence with #eKelasEnglishDrama
For six weeks from March to April, eKelas students were introduced to role playing and storytelling during their English live tutorial sessions. They learned about characters and roles, and practiced various expressions and intonations during script reading. As the scripts were based on well-known local tales and folklores such as the Sang Kancil series of adventures, Si Tanggang, and other popular local classics, students were able to understand the stories better. Once the students went through all the modules, they were given scripts to practice their lines. Working in groups of four, they used their imagination and creativity to bring the stories to life with their performance.
As part of #eKelasEnglishDrama competition, students would then record their performance on mobile phones and submit their videos in the eKelas portal. This year, 400+ students participated in the drama competition, a 100% increase from last year. With eKelas being recognised by the Ministry of Education as an initiative under its Highly Immersive Programme (HIP), these students are eligible to receive co-curriculum points for their participation in #eKelasEnglishDrama.
Ilyanatasha bt Rohaizan, a Year 6 student from Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Lui, Negeri Sembilan who attends the eKelas programme at Pusat Internet Felda Sg Lui, shared her experience: “I was shy when the Pusat Internet Manager first asked me to participate in the English Drama competition. I didn’t have the confidence. I found English to be difficult and most of my pronunciations were wrong. However, with the encouragement and support from the Pusat Internet Manager, eKelas teachers and friends, I developed the confidence to do my best including memorising my script. It was not easy at first but in the end, I had fun and am proud that I had participated in this competition.”
We found that students seem to learn faster when ‘play’ is part of the lessons. Students learn and discover together and by the end of the competition, grow in their confidence to better speak the language. Drama also helps students learn how to express themselves not just through words, but through facial expressions and body language.
#eKelasEnglishDrama is a national level competition with participation by eKelas students across 10 states. Guided by the Ministry of Education’s rubric for speaking tests, the judging criteria include creativity of play, coordination and performance, as well as speech and language. Winners will be announced this coming June.
