Anderson presents books to SK Nanga Balingiau pupil Beverly Eve Nawi. Also seen is Fabbyn.
KUCHING: The British Council is donating a selection of high quality English books to selected schools in East Malaysia as part of its efforts to promote and support literacy in primary schools.
The schools, which are part of the British Council’s English Language Teacher Development Project (ELTDP), were identified as being the most likely to benefit the most from a book donation.
A statement by the British Council said each school will receive a collection of illustrated storybooks specially brought in from the United Kingdom.
Some of the titles include ‘The Bad-Tempered Ladybird’ by Eric Carle, ‘The Cat In The Hat’ by Dr Seuss, ‘The Children Who Smelled A Rat’ by Allan Ahlberg and ‘The Magic Finger’ by Roald Dahl.
SK Nanga Balingiau in Kanowit was the first recipient of this programme, following the presentation of books by British Council country director Gavin Anderson to school headmaster Fabbyn Dagut on Thursday.
The book donation was held in conjunction with International Literacy Day, which falls on Sept 8 every year.
This year’s theme ‘Literacy and Sustainable Societies’ underscores literacy as a key driver for sustainable development.
“The British Council is committed to supporting the learning of English in Malaysia and illustrated storybooks are a wonderful way to encourage literacy in young children.
“Some of these schools have gone through difficult challenges and the book donation is our way of showing our support, come what may,” said Anderson in the statement.
“Books provide a different approach to English language learning and aid in language development. We hope that the interesting and fun stories we have selected will motivate the teachers and children and help the students improve their language skills,” he added.
The British Council has more than 80 years of leadership and excellence in the field of English language teaching worldwide.
The ELTDP forms part of the Malaysian government and Ministry of Education’s Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English programme, which in turn forms part of the 10th Malaysia Plan.
The British Council runs the project in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
For more information, visit www.britishcouncil.my or look for the council on Twitter or Facebook.