why all the negativity?! i am so mad!!

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :)

So this weekend, my college is organizing Za'ba English Language Campaign 2008 and this is an inter-college event whereby there will be competitions in the form of Jazz Chant, Poetry Recitation, General Knowledge Quiz, Scrabble, Storytelling, Sketch and Spelling Bee.

I am only the coordinator for storytelling (supposedly I was in charge of Scrabble but a friend of mine wanted that experience so I yielded) and in charge of protocol but I’m pretty enthusiastic about this campaign. This is because it’s about creating awareness in the university students that this is the many various fun ways to learn English and to instil a stigma in the university students that learning English is fun.

I was the one who gave the catch phrase for the event and that is, SMILE AND SPEAK ENGLISH *beaming*

I am really fervent about this whole event but not everyone is…

Because this is an inter-college tournament, all 5 colleges are compelled to participate in all events. So we as the JMK use our network to cooperate with all JMK’s from the 5 colleges. Even though I am not even the vice program manager of this campaign but I feel so frustrated at the way people shuddered at the thought that this is an English program. I get so annoyed at the way they respond saying that they have given up looking for participants because many are afraid or just not interested.

Additionally, there’s even a college that hasn’t send even one contestant for any events. I am so mad that I use all the connections I have in that college to practically force them to participate. I don’t even want to force them, let alone make them hate me for pushing them but I can’t just sit back and be contented that every college has sent at least one and that college (just because that college doesn’t have TESL students) hasn’t send anyone at all.

What puzzles me in all of this is the much negativity that we (the workforce) received throughout the process in making this event work. All we ask is to help us look for participants and they themselves can be contestants but no, they just want to have that perception that English intimidates people. And to say that all of us are future teachers. Urgh, I am soooo mad!!!!

To be continued…