The past 2 days, I facilitated a group of new students taking Interpersonal Skills course, which is a part of the skills enhancement programme. The 2-day-session was conducted in English. And the participants must also use the language for communication. (though some of them flouted the rule!).
There were 16 people in my group, they come from all over (Malaysia, of course). Most of them hold a degree and some possess a diploma in various disciplines. As a normal practice (I believe) in every event like this, the first activity must be the ice-breaking session.
(fast forward the story)
At the end of the ice-breaking, a student asked me a question which went something like this:
'Madam, majority of people from Kelantan and Trengganu cannot speak English properly. They use their Kelantan slang. Is that ok?'
I answered that question with a question.'Do you mean their 'accent'?
Everybody rhymed : 'Yeeeeeessssssssss'.
I continued: 'Do you understand them when they speak English with Kelantan or Trengganu accent?
They answered: 'Noooooooooo'.
I felt like I was in a primary school class, with this kind of answer. Or probably that was influenced by my question itself. (???)
I asked them: 'What do you think my accent is?'
One said: 'Selangor'. I replied: 'I am Johorean'.
A girl said: 'Javanese!'
and that answer made me LOL!!!
To sum up, I really enjoy the programme, all group members were cooperative, creative, and most importantly, they have managed to speak much more than before, and that they are not afraid to use English to communicate their views. Above all, the team WON the TALLEST & STRONGEST TOWER competition, leaving the other 9 groups envious of that. Well Done!
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