NUTP: Use of new English textbooks not a big problem

PETALING JAYA: The National Union for the Teaching Profession (NUTP) has sought to reassure parents that English teachers have the necessary skills to make good use of new textbooks imported from Europe.

Referring to a complaint about the alleged absence of teaching guidelines for the use of the books, NUTP secretary-general Harry Tan said those trained to teach English should have no problem adapting their lessons to the new materials.

Tan is an English teacher.

“Textbooks are just aids,” he told FMT. “A language teacher teaches skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing.”

However, he acknowledged that the lack of guiding materials might present a problem to so-called “non-optionist” English teachers. These are teachers who are not trained to teach English but are assigned to do so because the country does not have enough English teachers.

Tan said such teachers tended to teach English like they would other subjects, heavily emphasising the learning of facts found in textbooks.

A teacher from a secondary school in Petaling Jaya has been reported as saying that secondary and primary school teachers had undergone training on using the European textbooks.

Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari recently pointed out that the education ministry’s website did not mention the availability of a standard curriculum and assessment document (DKSP) pertaining to the English textbooks that Form 1 and Form 2 students will use next year.

DKSPs for textbooks serve as references for teachers in their lesson planning as well as in setting examination questions.

“As for primary schools,” Zairil said, “only the DSKP for Standard 1 English seems to be available while the DSKP for Standard 2 appears to be missing.”

Parent Action Group for Education (Page) chairman Noor Azimah Rahim recently urged the government to provide teachers with guidance on the use of the books before school starts this January. - FMT