CFBT Short-Listed For Prestigious Innovations Award
By James Kon and Ariffin Bakar

Bandar Seri Begawan - Centre For British Teachers (CFBT) Education Services, based in Brunei as well as in other regional centres, was among the only twelve companies worldwide short-listed for a British Council Innovations Award 2003.

The focus of the award nomination is a CD-ROM named Multimedia English produced by CFBT.

The Multimedia English CD-ROM consists of a series of 80 reading passages at six different levels ranging from post beginner to post-intermediate. The Texts are classified according to themes that include famous people and places, sports and science text. Each passage is followed by a variety of exercises and activities for the user to practice reading, listening, speaking and writing. The program also features a Workbook and Answer Key to provide supplementary reinforcement worksheets for each text. The software also contains a built-in dictionary and thesaurus, an irregular verbs reference chart, and immediate feedback given upon completion of each exercise.

The CD was nominated for the award because it provides appropriate technology with customized content, specifically for this region. The program does not require sophisticated machines, as program will still be able to function effectively with older operating systems. Much of the content focuses on this region, and therefore, relates closely to students' own experience

One of the most important features of the software is how user-friendly the program is. The texts and activities are challenging, yet straightforward to use, and minimal training is required for students to become familiar with what is expected.

Two years ago, this software was used in a research project with the lower secondary students in Miri and Bario in the Kelabit Highlands, Sarawak. The students at these schools used the software once a week as part of their English language programme. After using the software, there was an enormous improvement by the year-end Penilaian Menengah Rendah examination in both schools. As a result, The Ministry of Education in Malaysia recently purchased class sets for 143 rural schools in Peninsular and East Malaysia. (Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin)

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