HEARD THE NEWS? - MAKES SHAH ALAM SCHOOL DEBUT - Interactive programme helps students improve English through news reading and audio learning

Aug 13, 2026

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HE “Heard the News?” initiative began its first school visits since its August launch, bringing an interactive English learning programme to students at SMK Seksyen 9. Supported by the Petaling Perdana District Education Office, the outreach aims to strengthen English proficiency while improving understanding of current affairs. Participating schools receive weekly NST newspapers and use QR codes to scan and listen to news read aloud while following printed text, supporting pronunciation, comprehension, and speaking confidence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

#### SEKTOR DOKUMENTASI PENDIDIKANBPPDP,Kementerian Pendidikan MalaysiaAras 1-4,Blok E8,Kompleks EPusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan62604 Putrajaya.Tel:03-88846425Faks:03-88846284 ### TARIKH:11 MAC 2026(RABU) #### BERITA HARIAN UTUSAN M'SIA N.STRAITS TIMES THE STAR # HEARD THE NEWS?'MAKESSHAHALAMSCHOOL DEBUT Interactive programme helps studentsimprove English through news readingand audio learning ① #### SINAR HARIAN LARAINE JUANITHA #### SHAH ALAM news@nst.com.my ## NST 11.3·202PG-1 #### HE New Straits Times'"Heardthe News?Read With Me"initi-ative made its first school visitsince launching in August last year,bringing an interactive English lear-ning programme to students at SMKSeksyen 9here. The visit last week,with the sup-port of the Petaling Perdana DistrictEducation Office,kicks off a widerschooloutreachaimedathelpingstu-dents strengthen their English profi-ciencywhileimprovingtheirgraspofcurrent affairs. Selected schools will receive aweekly copy of the NST newspaper every Wednesday,where teachersare encouraged to use them to helpstudents develop the habit of readingnews,whilegivingteachersapracticalwaytoincorporate real-worldcontentinto English lessons. Through“Heard the News?”,teacherscanuseQRcodesembeddedinselected newspaperarticles,allow-ing students to scan and listen to thenewsbeingreadaloudwhile followingtheprintedtext—enhancingpronun-ciation,comprehensionandspeakingconfidence. SMK Seksyen 9 principal MohdKamal Azizi Abdul Aziz said news-papersremainanimportantlearningresource despite growingdigital use. “Printed news helps shape accu-rateknowledgeand exposesstudents SMKSeksyen 9students with copies ofthe 'New Straits Times'. tocorrectlanguageusage,expandingtheir vocabulary and understandingofpropersentencestructure,"hesaid. The school'sEnglish Departmenthead,Deura EmarMohd Rosli,saidintegratingnewsarticlesintolessonsstrengthensmastery ofthelanguagewhile broadening knowledge of cur-rent issues. "Using newspapers in lessonsenhancescomprehensionandgener-alknowledgebeyondtheclassroom," she said. Englishteacher NurAkmalSalamhighlighted the value of authenticnews content in developing criticalthinking and language skills. "Students learn to identify cred-ible information,sharpen criticalthinking and prepare for highereducation,"she said,adding thatthe audio feature encourages activelearning and boosts pronunciationand confidence. Another English teacher,NorlizaHavati Ahmad Khalil.said the programme helps students apply cor-rect sentence structures in real-lifecontexts. “Itisespeciallyusefulforstudentswholackconfidenceinspeaking,"shesaid. Students also welcomed the ini-tiative.Assistant head prefect ArifMirza Kamarul Baharim said theprogramme boosted his confidenceand helped him understand topicssuch as politics and economics. "Ithasincreasedmyconfidenceinspeakingandhelped meunderstandcurrent issues that we rarely cover inschool,"hesaid. Form Five student Nur FarhanaMuhamad Faizal said the initiativehelpedherlearnnewvocabularyandexpress herself more confidently. "It helps me understand newwords in context,use them in sen-tences,and express myself moreconfidently,"she said. #### NSTassociateeditor(content anddigitalNaimuddin Najibsaidtheinitiative allows studentstoexperiencenews in a more engaging and inter-active way while improving theirEnglish. "The programme would not havebeen possible without partners likeDRB-HICOM,whose support allowustotakeittomoreschoolsandcom-munities,"he added.

FAQs

What is the “Heard the News?” initiative?

It is an interactive English learning programme that uses NST newspaper reading and audio support to help students improve their language skills.

How do students use the NST newspapers in the programme?

Selected schools receive weekly copies, and teachers guide students to scan QR codes in selected articles to listen while reading the printed text.

What benefits were highlighted by teachers and students?

The programme supports pronunciation, comprehension, vocabulary growth, critical thinking, and confidence in speaking, including applying correct sentence structures in real-life contexts.

Aug 13, 2026

Upload by Aurora