TRAINING OF FACILITATORS SERIES 1

23 September 2022 – “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn”. This quote by Benjamin Franklin has been tried and true for educators. For the teacher, facilitation entails a more active classroom, and students’ live participation confirms progress in the learning outcomes. Discourse on students as facilitators and its practice, however, has not been given much focus.

For that reason, the Language Support Unit, Centre for Modern Languages (CML), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) designed a facilitator training programme that will allow active participation and communication between students through structured exercises.

Apart from being able to assemble a group of capable facilitators that can assist in language programs, these participants will also get to improve their language proficiency as well as sharpen the necessary skills of undergraduates such as teamworking and active listening skills that are very much demanded by the industry.

Training of Facilitators Series 1 therefore was held on 23rd September 2022 in UMP Pekan campus involving 51 diploma students who were on campus studying in their preliminary semester.

Activities involved an online forum with current facilitators, a motivational talk and a simulation for a language program called Engliscape on the Go where the students-in-training simulated their assigned tasks for a language program under CML that will involve close to 150 secondary school students.

The participating students would be from secondary schools around Pekan and would be spending the whole day in UMP Pekan campus to participate in a fun and interactive English language program.

One of the students attending the training, Ahmad Idlan Bin Ahmad Rafee said “For me, this event was definitely a first. Learnt many things especially from our training day, and I would personally love to be part of future events like this”.

Training of Facilitators organised by Language Support Unit, CML plans to continue to train students to become excellent facilitators in its following series; producing well-rounded, confident, and proficient UMP students equipped with facilitating skills useful for their future. In return, we hope that these trained facilitators will pay it forward by helping others and promote the culture of volunteering.

Prepared by: Farah Liyana Ahmad Azmey dan Dr. Ezihaslinda Ngah