First English Literature Conference For Students
By JuLeZz & Joanna Kwan

Bandar Seri Begawan - "English Literature is a very challenging and thought-provoking subject. It requires not just an in-depth knowledge of the contents but the skills of research and reflection as well as literary skills, creativity and wide reading."

All of this is "undoubtedly useful to [the] overall educational development and progress", said Awangku Abdullah Pg Hj Tengah, Acting Director of the Curriculum Development Programme at the Closing Ceremony of the first ever English Literature Conference for '0' Level students held at STPRI on Saturday afternoon.

The guest of honour also acknowledged the significance of English literature as a subject and hoped the conference would achieve its objective to create more interest for the subject in other schools.

The conference, which was jointly organised by Sekolah Menengah Perdana Wazir and Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri, was aimed to give students of English Literature in Form 5 an overview of the main literary genres and to provide students with a platform to practise and hone their literature knowledge and skills in a non-classroom environment.

The opening ceremony was held earlier in the morning, in which STPRI's Acting Principal, Mrs Cheong Poh Lian, gave a welcome address to 115 students and teachers from the nine participating schools.

The students attending the conference were fifth form English literature students from Brunei government schools who would be sitting for their 'O' Level examination this year.

Ten speakers, all of whom are English literature teachers from various schools in Brunei, were invited to give talks on the introduction of the literary genres as well as on the texts that the students have been or are currently studying in their literature classes. Among the texts presented were Into the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Things Fall Apart, Pride and Prejudice and the Shakespearean texts that are on the literature syllabus.

When asked, the students have said that the conference was very helpful in that it helped to simplify and sum up the texts that they have studied and proved to be very useful in giving them greater understanding.

Many of them expressed their hope that the conference would be made an annual event as it would give a chance for future students of literature to share and exchange their opinions on the texts with other literature students from all over Brunei as well as receiving valuable tips for the exams from the presenters. They also said that the presenters and their activities have made the sessions particularly enjoyable.

Participating schools were SM Perdana Wazir, Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri, SM Sayyidina Hassan, SM PDSM Mentiri, SM SMJA, Maktab Sains PSBS, SM PIHM Serasa, SM PAP Hjh Masna and SM Sufri Bolkiah. The conference lasted the whole day.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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