COURSE: FIK3042 ENGLISH FOR COMMUNICATION 2 An Interview Report GROUP: EL-M04 LECTURER: CIK HEMA VANITA A/P KESEVAN

NAME: FARIZAN BINTI SULAIMAN D20102042555

Contents

Page 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Introduction Biography of Interviewee .. The Interview Report ............................. Interview Questions .......................... Pictures During The Interview Session 3&4 5 6 -10 11 12

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Introduction

Oral communication is one of the main ways people interact with each other. Good communication skills are an invaluable asset in any walk of life. People who communicate well find doors open and opportunities come their way. While some people seem naturally good communicators, anybody can improve his or her skills. It just takes commitment and practice. The first step is to recognize our own strengths and weaknesses and to resolve to take steps to work on our oral communication skills. Oral English, also known as spoken English, is the form of English that is used when people are speaking to one another. Students who are learning English as a Second Language (ESL) often feel uncomfortable using oral English because they fear that they will not be understood. It is important that a person who is learning to speak English practice using the language. The more a person practices their skills, the more easily spoken English will come. During the past twenty years, the explosion in business and communications technology has revolutionized the field of English language teaching, and has radically shifted the attention of course designers from teaching English for academic purposes to teaching English for more specialized purposes. In the last few years, first and second language acquisition research into language teaching have led to an increased interest in investigating the most effective ways of improving the ability of workers in using English for specific purposes in the workplace. Several recent studies of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) have provided evidence that learning English for specific purposes play important roles in workers and administrators success in their fields of work and business environment.

(3) Although English is not the language with the largest number of native or first language speakers, it has become a lingua franca. A lingua franca can be defined as a language widely adopted for communication between two speakers whose native

languages are different from each others and one or both speakers are using it as a second language. It is not necessarily the case that English will remain dominant among world languages. However, there is no doubt that it is and will remain a vital linguistic tool for many business people, academics, tourists and citizens of the world who wish to communicate easily across nationalities for many years to come.

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Biography of Interviewee Mr Othman bin Hamzah is a Headmaster in Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Bahagia,

Pontian, Johor. He is 52 years old and has been a headmaster for almost seven years. He has vast experience in teaching before appointed as the head of a school. He received his teacher training at Temenggong Ibrahim Teaching College from 1972 to 1974. He was trained to teach Bahasa Melayu subject but at the same time he was able to teach Mathematic too. During his teaching career, he had a lot of experience in teaching young children from Standard One to Standard Six which is between seven to twelve years of age. As a headmaster, Mr Othman managed to get all his members of staff in school to give their full cooperation to ensure the school run smoothly. Under his supervision, his school has performed well either in curriculum and co-curriculum activities. He is a dedicate headmaster and always give support to his staff and motivate them to perform their best in their work.

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The Interview Report This interview is done at Mr Othmans house in Taman Damai, Rengit, on 8th

June 2011 at about 9 p.m. I had asked six questions for him to be answered. For the first

question I asked him on how he decided to become a teacher. He said that his father was a carpenter. He was also supposed to be one someday. He even applied for the vocational school two times but didnt get in. At the same time, he also had this idea of becoming an educator. He realized that he actually wanted to work with the people and not with the all kinds of tools or wood work. Then he got into the Teaching College. He soon realized that this is what he wants to do. He has always been interested in everything. It was nice to be able to study a little bit of this and a little bit of that. He always says that primary school teachers know a little about everything but nothing really about anything. The second question is on the most exciting part of his work as a headmaster. He has been working as a headmaster for 7 years now. It has been really interesting time in his life. He has learned new things every single day. Not a day is similar to another. Thats what he enjoys the most. He enjoys creating and innovating new approaches for teaching. As a headmaster he has the opportunity to discuss things with people, learn from others and then put it all together in a new form in his own school. He admires teachers a lot. He respects their professional and personal skills. He sees himself as a coach or as a playmaker who tries to make the teachers find their strengths and make them shine. The third question is on his personal view of what make a successful teacher. In his view, a teacher should like working with children.They should always be well prepared and know more than they'll need in class. This gives them self-confidence, a positive feeling that makes the job pleasurable and a trait pupils cherish. Of course, it can always happen that a teacher doesn't know an answer, but it shouldn't happen too often. A teacher who knows the subject well, will also more easily find an answer than an insecure one. The technical side of teaching, how to structure a lesson etc., is a trade that can be learnt, how a teacher stands in front of a class can only be improved but not really learnt. (6) He added that pupils can be cruel, if they feel that a teacher doesn't feel good in front of a class, is even afraid of young people, they'll utilise this remorselessly. Strange as it may sound to outsiders especially pubescent pupils, who don't accept limits and always try to test out how far they can go, react positively to a teacher telling them where to stop. It's not advisable to ask them to do something or not and discuss this in class, if the issue is reasonable it's absolutely acceptable to inform them about a rule and tell them

that you expect them to follow it. This doesn't mean that they're patronised, patronising or even insulting pupils should be avoided at all costs. A teacher should take their job seriously and show the pupils that they care, this doesn't mean, however, that they should bare their souls in front of the class. A certain distance is healthy for both sides. If it comes to an open conflict and a pupil or a group of pupils attack a teacher verbally (hopefully not physically), it can sometimes be hard to keep in mind that the job occupies only a part of one's personality. There must always remain a private sphere which doesn't belong to the school or the pupils; if there isn't, a teacher can't survive sane and sound. This distance also allows a teacher to be cool and take things easy. Of course, a teacher wants their pupils to learn what they're taught, but if they don't for some reason or other, the teacher won't feel personally insulted and get enraged. Humour is a great asset for a teacher, a lesson which passes by without some laughter is a sad one indeed. Nobody is perfect and a teacher isn't, either. They shouldn't pretend to be smooth operators, they'll be loved if they've got kinks and quirks like anybody else and can laugh about them. This includes also that if the teacher is rightfully enraged, they should show it. Regular shouting fits are ridiculous and ineffective, an occasional shout can work miracles. Patience should be a teacher's middle name, nerves of steel and a thick hide are indispensable.

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He suggested that it's easier to take things easy if a teacher understands that they're not lone warriors, it's always advisable to speak openly with one's colleagues about problems in a class. Maybe they have the same problems and then a common strategy can be found to overcome them. It's also advisable to be in contact with the parents, but not to wait until something has happened, better react before. If there are disciplinary issues, it's a good idea to invite the pupil in question together with the parents so that they don't get the impression that something is discussed behind their backs and they're treated in an unjust way. A successful teacher must possess a wide variety of qualities. Working well with students and their parents as well as colleagues and administrators requires a different

type of expertise than lesson planning. The successful teacher also uses organization, management, and critical thinking skills. Creativity is also an essential teaching talent.In order for a teacher to help children learn, he or she must develop a good working relationship with them. Showing them that they are cared about by asking them questions about themselves and their interests is one way to build relationships. He said that consistent and fair treatment is important when working with children. Teachers should have high expectations for all students and be able to clearly express those expectations. They also need to be able to impose consequences when expectations have not been met.Teachers need excellent communication skills. Sharing ideas with colleagues and telling parents about their childs progress are just two areas where teachers must be proficient with exchanging information. Classroom management skills are essential to the successful teacher. Teachers must be able to keep the classroom organized so that materials can be easily accessed by everyone. An orderly classroom is one way to ensure optimum learning. When the room is not neat, students and teacher alike will waste learning time looking for what they need. Another aspect of classroom management is directing student behavior. As mentioned earlier, clear expectations and consistent enforcement of those expectations will help create an effective learning environment. (8)

Patience is another quality of a successful teacher. Lessons sometimes need to be repeated, often in different ways, until all students understand what has been taught. Each student has different needs and a great teacher must recognize this. Children learn at different paces and in different ways. Teachers need to create lesson plans that encompass different learning styles. For example, some children learn best through movement. Including role-playing activities in a lesson would help these students understand it much better than reading a textbook and answering questions about the reading. Creativity plays a key role in effective lesson planning for the best teachers. Creative lessons that involve activities for multiple learning styles help all students learn and achieve. A successful teacher will be a facilitator of learning. He or she will teach students how to learn rather than simply telling them what they need to know. The teacher may

explain a concept to students then have them complete different activities or projects to apply or use that particular concept. The ability to challenge students to reach their fullest potential is something every great teacher possesses. Asking a student to do more than she thinks she is capable of increases confidence and achievement. On this third question, he concludes that teaching is a profession that involves much more than imparting knowledge. Successful teachers know how to work with people from all walks of life. They also know how to creatively plan lessons so that all students can learn to their fullest potential. The most successful teachers also understand the importance of organizing and managing the classroom environment so that optimum learning can occur.

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The next question, which is the fourth question of the interview is on his opinion of that social media and technology can be successfully integrated in education. He thinks that social media and social networks are part of the world now and school cant stay out of the development. So, now they have to integrate these tools to the learning process. The social media give a teacher huge possibilities to put the pupils work together, collect the information together and create new knowledge. Then after the process the teacher can still follow the tracks and see the process from the beginning to the end. He has also tried students self-evaluation on the net. He gave a group of students 13 points and asked them to share the points. They had to have the discussion of the rules in the learning network and then come to a conclusion. It was amazing how well they could share the points that couldnt be shared even. For teachers, social media give possibilities of creating their own PLN (personal learning network). For him, Facebook for example, has been a great tool for that for the last few years. The fifth and sixth questions are on his view of the Malaysian educational model and the most important points that have led to it success. He said that many people from

all over the world come to Malaysia, make notes and find different answers for that question. For sure, there are many reasons for the success of the Malaysian educational system. What he thinks is that much of it lays in the Malaysian educational culture where teachers are respected professionals, who all have college or university level education. All the people in Malaysia get a free education for 11 years and after that it still doesnt cost almost at all, even in the universities. One really important issue is that they have quite small economical differences in the income of the people if they compare them to most of the countries in the world. So, the welfare is good. Malaysians have strong scientific evidence that where the economical differences between people grow too big, the learning goes down.

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Interview Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. How did you decide to become a teacher? What is the most exciting part of your work as a headmaster? In your opinion, what makes a successful teacher? Do you think that social media and technology can be successfully integrated in education. 5. 6. What do you think of Malaysian educational model? What do you think of the most important points that have led to the success of Malaysian education system?

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Pictures During the Interview Session at his house

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