KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Leading child enrichment centre, Scholar Base, introduces new summer literacy programmes designed to improve English proficiency and motivate children to form positive reading habits during their break from school. Scholar Base's new approach aims to combat Malaysia's growing trend toward aliteracy in children, as demonstrated by recent figures from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), wherein Malaysia scored below the global average in reading - more information about Scholar Base's summer programmes can be found at http://scholar-base.com/.
Where the focus of childhood education has traditionally been on the transition from illiteracy to literacy, attention has recently turned to the worrying shift from literacy to aliteracy. Aliterate children are able to read, but are reluctant to do so. This alarming trend can be attributed to a growing dependence on digital devices and a rise in visual mediums including YouTube, movies and games, as children are more likely to focus their time on visual, responsive devices than pure words in the books.
Malaysia's score of 396 in reading in the most recent PISA results is well below the global average of 496 and is indicative of a broader deterioration in English proficiency in Malaysia. It is for this reason that child development centre, Scholar Base, has introduced an approach aimed at tackling the root of the problem. Scholar Base's programme director, Poh Lee, explains:
"The rise of aliteracy in Malaysian youth is a concern for parents who want to set their children up for future success in both their academic endeavours and later career." She continued:
"However, in this case, preventative measures are better than a cure. Parents must start to expose their children to English books from a young age and create an environment that allows them to develop their English language skills."
Mainstream education systems emphasise reading for assessment purposes and, as a result, contribute to the problem of aliteracy, where children don't choose to read for knowledge, despite having a wealth of informative books at their fingertips. Explaining that poor English proficiency is caused by poor reading habits, Ms. Tan highlights the need for an alternative to a culture of education that assess memorizers, rather than thinkers and turn storybooks into workbooks for the sake of assessment. This de-motivates students as books are no longer read for pleasure, but for pressure.
By encouraging children to learn by listening, speaking and acting, Scholar Base's teachers create an academic environment conducive to the formation of positive reading habits. With Scholar Base's faculties-based approach, children become involved in the stories they are reading in an exciting and engaging way and learn to read for enjoyment. As children participate in the stories they read, bringing the characters to life on stage, they develop an enjoyment of reading that transcends electronic mediums.
William Chin, director, commented:
"In order to form positive reading habits, children need to experience the world depicted in the books with their imagination, and most importantly that they read for pleasure, not for pressure."
Scholar Base's holiday literacy programme includes reading and writing courses, along with excursions for the children. The holistic programme launches this month, giving children the opportunity to explore, learn and develop during their extra time in school break. For more information about the programme, visit the Scholar Base website at: http://scholar-base.com/june-holiday-reading-and-writing-programme/
About Scholar Base:
Founded in Malaysia in 2005, Scholar Base takes a holistic approach to learning, offering children supplementary English Literature education with an emphasis on the creative side of literacy.
Scholar Base's teachers use a range of faculties to ensure that children enjoy learning and developing reading, writing and thinking skills. Now with three chapters, Scholar Base is gaining reputation in Kuala Lumpur as an enrichment centre, which develops skills in children for long-term academic success.
More information can be found at http://scholar-base.com/.
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