Difficulty Communicating In English Due To Lack Of Confidence, Says PTP CCO

JOHOR BAHARU, March 13 (Bernama) -- Many people still find it difficult to communicate in English despite their understanding of the language due to lack of confidence.

Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) Chief Corporate Officer Azharuddin Nordin said, difficulties arise from a lack of confidence among those who felt that their level of proficiency in the language was not good enough compared with others.

"Many people understand English very well but find it very difficult to engage in a conversation due to their lack of confidence," he said.

Azharuddin said due to such reasons PTP launched its English Development Programme to boost the confidence of secondary school students when using the language, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Speaking at the launching of the programme here Thursday by Johor Baharu Deputy District Education Officer Ab. Hafith Ismail, he said 100 Form Four students from SMK Gelang Patah, SMK Taman Nusajaya, SMK Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar and SMK Tanjung Adang, all from the Gelang Patah area, were selected to participate in the programme. Organised in collaboration with the Johor Baharu District Education Department and University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the programme runs from March to November and comprise three major intensive activities, namely English Tutorial Classes, English Boot Camp and English Communication Workshop.

The tutorial classes will be conducted once a month by experienced tutors selected by the District Education Department while PTP and UTM will be coordinating a two day-one night English boot camp in June.

PTP's management team will conduct an English Communication Workshop from June to November in order to expose students with real-life purposes of the language and at the same time improve students' acquisition through basic communication skills.

"A lot of opportunities will be available to students who can comfortably communicate in English. We hope this programme will show the students that learning English can be fun," he said.

Azharuddin said the PTP also has the UPSR, SPM Motivational Camps, Education Trips to Local Universities and distribution of schooling aid, in the pipeline for its education related CSR.