Third-year TESL students and JKM Kolej Tun Razak organised the Leadership Enhancement Programme for Communities (LITCAMP) from November 29 to December 1, 2022, in several secondary schools in Johor. The programme aimed to enhance the leadership values of secondary school students while providing a platform for social interaction and collaboration and was designed to meet students’ physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects.
The LITCAMP programme began at SMK Sri Pulai Perdana on November 29, 2022, with 54 students, followed by SMK Sri Skudai with 74 students on the same day, SMK Taman Sutera on November 30, 2022, with 92 students, and SMK Taman Universiti on December 1, 2022, with 95 students.
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Department of Student Affairs jointly organised this educational feat, with support from Pontian and Kota Tinggi exco members. This programme aimed to create an engaging and memorable educational experience of literature for the students through interactive activities and building and enhancing their confidence in expressing themselves using the English language.
Ahmad Mursyid bin Shahrin, Muhammad Izzat bin Ab Rahman, Muhammad Amin Akram bin Aminallah, and Santhini Arjunan headed the camps at SMK Seri Pulai Perdana, SMK Skudai, SMK Taman Sutera, and SMK Taman Universiti, respectively. Very energetic camp facilitators facilitated the sessions. They had different engaging activities that provided opportunities for students to practice English and develop a love and passion for literature in English.
The LitCamp focused on developing English language skills through fun and innovative literary elements that promoted creativity, critical thinking, and leadership skills among students. The programme’s first session involved different stations with different activities and literature components. Students were assigned into groups, and each group was required to develop a vocabulary chant in the Enchanteur activity. In contrast, in the Hopeless Romantics activity, each student was given a stanza of poems describing emotions and was required to read the poem according to the description. The Modern Legends activity involved retelling a classic Malaysian folktale in a modernised version as if it happened in 3022. In the Lit-detective activity, the students were required to listen to a mystery short story and find out who the imposter was.
The programme’s second session involved a drama activity that required students to work in groups and act in the scene “What Happened to Lulu.” This activity received positive student feedback and was deemed more enjoyable than the first session.
The respective schools were pleased with the students’ positive reactions to the activities and the programme’s overall success. The secondary school students gained knowledge about literature while improving their language skills. The Leadership Enhancement Program for Community: LITCAMP was a successful programme that encouraged creativity, critical thinking, and leadership skills among students while enhancing their love and passion for literature in English. The program’s organisers look forward to organising similar programmes and working with young learners to motivate them to build their confidence and excitement for reading literary works.
