The Otai Teachers’ Teaching Strategies

The old timer teachers’ own teaching techniques, variations, adaptations and memories of the strategies employed by their own teachers in teaching them when they were still in school many many years ago, were put to use. They could have been right in their opinion that classroom teaching was a trial and error process. The pimato (alphabets) of the Kadazandusun Language follow the Romans’. A few alphabets are not directly used, like, the ‘c’, ‘q’ and the’x’. They would still be used in context when words containing such pimato are borrowed or are kadazandusunised. The alphabets were put on a chart in their natural order and the pupils were made to vocalise after their teachers each letter of the alphabets. They were made to overlearn the alphabets when they were encouraged to loudly call out each letter in a normal tone, in stacato and in a sing-song way. In fact, there was a special Penampang tune to sing the alphabets to aid hinge them to the long-term memory! Since the Kadazandusun Language was, or rather still is, basically a syllabic language another strategy and teaching technique employed were the putting up of all the possible syllables onto charts. The pupils would then be made to over-learn their combinations in shapes and sounds, true to the old and often thought-of out-dated language learning maxim, “Language learning is overlearning, anything less is of no use”. a e i o u a ba ca da fa ga ha ja ka la ma na pa qa ra sa ta va wa xa ya za e be ce de fe ge he je ke le me ne pe qe re se te ve we xe ye ze i bi ci di fi gi hi ji ki li mi ni pi qi ri si ti vi wi xi yi zi o bo co do fo go ho jo ko lo mono po qo ro so to vo wo xo yo zo u bu cu du fu gu hu ju ku lu mu nu pu qu ru su tu vu wu xu yu zu In the Kadazandusun Language, especially in the Tangaa’ dialect, the use of the /e/ sound was represented by the /i/ sound. Some of the other dialects of the Kadazandusun Language, for example, the Tagahas dialect, sometimes used the sound /e/ in speech especially. For example: (Tangaa’ dialect) : Saavi (a type of river fish) (Tagahas dialect) : Sarawi or Sarae Another overlearning techniques employed was the use of the following strategic combinations of possible sound-combinations found in the Kadazandusun Language. Ang (eng) ing ong ung Ung ong ing (eng) ang Bang (beng) bing bong bung Bung bong bing (beng) bang Cang (ceng) cing cong cung Cung cong cing (ceng) cang Dang (deng) ding dong dung Dung dong ding (deng) dang Fang (feng) fing fong fung Fung fong fing (feng) fang Gang (geng) ging gong gung Gung gong ging (geng) gang Hang (heng) hing hong hung Hung hong hing (heng) hang Jang (jeng) jing jong jung Jung jong jing (jeng) jang Kang (keng) king kong kung Kung kong king (keng) kang Lang (leng) ling long lung Lung long ling (leng) lang Mang (meng) ming mong mung Mung mong ming (meng) mang Nang (neng) ning nong nung Nung nong ning (neng) nang Pang (peng) ping pong pung Pung pong ping (peng) pang Rang (reng) reng rong rung Rung rong ring (reng) rang Sang (seng) sing song sung Sung song sing (seng) sang Tang (teng) ting tong tung Tung tong ting (teng) tang Vang (veng) ving vong vung Vung vong ving (veng) vang Wang (weng) wing wong wung Wung wong wing (weng) wang Yang (yeng) ying yong yung Yung yong ying (yeng) yang Zang (zeng) zing zong zung Zung zong zing (zeng) zang The combination of pimato + e + pimato (alphabet + e + alphabet), the like in the second column of first set and fouth column of the second set, was not taught to the pupils in those three first-ever Kadazandusun Primary Schools established in the world, as such combinations did not occur in the Kadazandusun of the Tangaa’ dialect. They were only put onto the chart to complete the big combinations picture. They were also included in the chart so as to emphasise and show the aspects of linguistic learning exclusion. When the pupils were made to chant those combinations, there were many sing-song ways employed. They were also made to say or chant each line forward and backward as fast as they could and in competitions among themselves. Such were the small language learning enjoyments experienced by the Kadazandusun Language learners in the Kadazandusun primary schools a long long time ago! Alas! Those intended first-ever Kadazandusun Primary Schools did not last very long in the hands and managements of the Kadazandusun initiators and simple Kampung friends. The initiators lacked the necessary legal minds, the argumentative capabilities and reasonings in registering their own brand of schools as Private Kadazandusun Primary Schools. They were asked to duly register their schools and, ofcourse, together with their proper registrations as primary schools, as a proper public learning institutions, there came scores of other departmental rules and regulations which had to be adhered and complied to by the school managements. At that time, only the Government, the Missionaries or a properly elected and a financially capable School Management Board with community backing were the thought-of authorities capable to manage schools. The three schools put up by the natives themselves did not even have a proper school management board each or collectively.