KOTA KINABALU: Two English teachers from Keningau Vocational College are working on the Dau Dau project to encourage and cultivate the development of local arts and literature among students through the English language.

       Dau Dau, which means “a long time ago” in the Bajau language, was developed by Dr Sirhajwan Idek and Nurazilah Othman in May.

       It combines three areas of the arts: short story writing and poetry; performing arts such as dance and theatre; and visual arts including painting and media.

       Sirhajwan said students would be guided on how to produce material in the English language that would hone their artistic talents as well as improve their English proficiency.

       Apart from preserving ethnic culture, the project also touched on current issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, world peace and mental health, he added.

       “This project aims to revive the arts in education because it seems to be increasingly forgotten.

       “It is important in producing a young generation that is passionate about preserving artistic and cultural values, in addition to improving their ability to write and perform in English,” he said when contacted.

       Sirhajwan added that he and Nurazilah planned to create a teaching and learning module covering writing and performing arts techniques for English teachers, especially in Sabah, besides conducting a series of online courses starting in September.

       “This is aimed at encouraging teachers to continue exploring the field of arts as an alternative in English education by cultivating students’ interest and motivating them to use the international language creatively,” he said.

       The Dau Dau project was also selected as the winner of the international category of the Simon Greenall Award, which was announced via the Macmillan Education website at https://www.macmillanenglish.com/sgaward on July 9.

       The award was jointly launched by the Macmillan Education and International House early this year to honour the late prominent figure in the English Language teaching community, Simon Greenall.

       Sirhajwan and Nurazilah took home a grant worth ￡1,500 (about RM8,700) to expand their project. — Bernama