I've now had the chance to look at something I have wanted to do since a few weeks back. That's the Kadazandusun teachers' responses to the questionnaire I distributed through a kind, recently met neighbour (Thanks C :)). This is part of a small scale project I've been working on this year. To evaluate the teaching and learning of KD in Sabah schools after over a decade.
It is not easy to offer a minority language, any minority language as a formal subject in school. And I think the KD community has done well with that. From a mere trial phase in 1997, the language was officially offered in schools in 2000. With very little resources and a lot of obstacles. Salute to the pioneers.
One of the biggest obstacles was that KD is a so-called standard language that no one speaks, and there was no reference grammar to help the teachers taught then. So the teachers who speak real dialects got so confused, some of them even stopped teaching. Who could blame them anyway?
But the resilient ones hung on. They went to workshops, courses, brainstorming sessions and textbook meetings, and produced teaching and learning materials. Maybe the materials were not perfect, but it's the efforts that count. I'd say to anyone who criticize them without thinking, to go produce better ones. (I, myself ended up trying to figure out the grammar of my dialect because...somebody has to? Nah, because I want to).
Anyway, more than a decade later, KD is still there in schools. Yes, there definitely is room for improvement, but I believe in acknowledging and appreciating sincere efforts. If anything, sincere efforts that might be not so perfect are worth a thousand times more than pompousness.
And so I am so happy to discover in the questionnaire that all of the teachers who responded say that they are happy teaching KD, that they would deepen their knowledge on KD, and that they would continue to teach the language in years to come. Teachers, I am in awe of your dedication. It's a journey, of which, no one knows where it will end.
Note: No, I have not been involved in the preparation of KD teaching in schools, nor have I ever had the pleasure of teaching KD in schools. But I have been an accidental KD instructor (material developer mostly) in UMS since a few years back, and now even an occasional teacher when we have enough students to distribute among us three teachers (two of them are language teachers employed to teach KD). Despite having another set of job description teaching something else (my tugas hakiki real job), I always welcome the opportunity to conduct a KD class. We adopt a slightly different approach than the one in schools, and I'd like to think that we are improving gradually in UMS :)
8 comments:
I'd love to teach BKD, alas, I was never given the chance to do so when I was still serving as a school teacher.
Do you notice our younger generations somehow have started to err..how do I say this... 'feel embarrassed' to be conversant in Dusun language? (betul kah ayat saya tu? Sia antam saja! he he)
I have never been taught of BKD in school, neither speak that language at home. But I'm proud to announce that I'm nevertheless very fluent in Dusun language, thanks to my grandparents who persistently refused to speak in other languages with me. Mungkin kalau ambil peperiksaan BKD, tidak yakin lulus lah. Pasal tidak tahu peraturan grammar yang standard.
Oruol no da ginawo ku Verone, momusorou dilo sukod wagu tokou. Au nodi koilo mimboros Dusun. Nung otilombusan diolo, oligoggon oku no kopio do opudsoh iti boros tokou do suai tadau. :-(
Gunaqz...maybe one day when you are back to Sabah you can help us teach in UMS? :)
It is quite true that most younger generation amu opinogot do mimboros do boros tokou. Oikuman matuu dii ko' au po koilo sabab au nabarasan do molohing mantad di tanak po :(
On the other hand, there's an encouraging phenomenon of these young people trying to learn what they have missed in their childhood. I've met quite a number of such young people and I am so happy for them :)
feeling nice to know that there are teachers out there that could actually continue what was started REALLY from scratch do what is needed to strenghten it .
God bless you all..........:)
So nice to read your blog, Veron! Good on you, and keep writing! (looking forward to reading you during those long lonely nights in Oz!)
Luv,
Trix
azamain- I think the teachers would be grateful to know that people do appreciate them :) Thanks for the support.
Trix- you know I am mostly rambling hehe but let's stay connected via blogs when you are back to OZ :).
It'll probably take several years before people truly realise the good work and contributions the KD teachers are doing/giving to our society. These teachers are keeping the language alive and preventing its extinction.
If only all KD parents speak to their kids in KD!
I grew up speaking Malay and I'm ashamed I can't speak decent Dusun. I'm trying but it's embarrassing when my effort produces just child-level Dusun. *sigh*
Tina- it's not your fault that you didn't manage to complete your Dusun acquisition. I know from your book that you did not grow up within the Dusun community. So of course you did not get the chance to acquire the language consistently, unlike some of us who spent the childhood listening to our grandparents pure Dusun even when we didn't speak then. (I'm not saying that my Dusun is perfect- only 'enough' for basic teaching purposes maybe, and I have the advantage of being able to bluff because of the years spent on studying the features of Dusun). But one thing for sure, I am not able to speak consistently to my kids in Dusun. Sad but true. I often find myself at a loss for words when I try to do so :(
@verone - that's a good suggestion! What qualification must I possess to be able to do that?
Post a Comment