by GD-ELT Editorial Team

Nurfadzilah Nek Kamal, or more fondly known as Teacher Dilla, certainly needs no introduction. Her Facebook page Teacher Dilla's English Lessons - which has over 38k followers to date - is popular not just within the ESL teaching community but also among parents, academics, researchers, educationists, and anyone passionate about elementary-level English language education. The Facebook page, where Teacher Dilla shares her fun and innovative classroom activities and materials on a regular basis, has been a major source of inspiration for many school teachers as well as parents with young children all over Malaysia and beyond.  

Teacher Dilla is a multiple award-winning teacher. She was the winner of the Best Presentation Silver Award  at the International Conference of English Language Teaching in 2015 and the recipient of PPD Kota Setar's Innovation Award and 21st Century Teacher Award in 2016.  Her works have also been widely featured at local and international levels, in various news media and academic publications.

In addition to her inspiring teaching approaches and innovations, Teacher Dilla is also well-known for her loveable and congenial personality. Following her posts on social media is pure fun - her love for K-Pop hunks is infectious, and so is her wicked and often self-deprecating sense of humour (e.g. she doesn't see herself as a tech-savvy teacher because she sometimes gets logged out of her own e-mail and can't figure out the password). But underneath the jokes and the trademark "why-so-serious" attitude is a visionary educator - an educator who takes pleasure in breaking stereotypes, to challenge the norms, and to constantly improve herself. She cares deeply not just about education, but also about the teaching profession (she wants to be "a primary school teacher with a PhD" because she wants people "to stop looking down at teachers").  

Teacher Dilla has recently received the Hadiah Latihan Persekutuan, a scholarship award from the Malaysia Ministry of Education to sponsor her doctoral research on children's literature at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. GD-ELT is lucky to have been blessed with the precious opportunity to get up close and personal with this very inspiring educator.

Summary

The Blog editorial team has recently launched a new series known as Interviews with Going Digital ELT (GD-ELT Inspirers). This series will be featuring outstanding English Language educators who have made significant contributions in the field of digital technology in language education in Malaysia. These educators have gone above and beyond their calls of duty to provide meaningful learning experiences for their students. They have also helped and inspired fellow teachers from all over Malaysia and around the world with their determination, selflessness, ingenuity, and generosity in sharing their knowledge with others. 

The GD-ELT Inspirer featured in this issue is the amazing Audrey Koh Sui Ean, who is well-known not only in the field of ELT but also through her involvement in charities and various humanitarian causes. In this interview with our team member Abdul Aziz Arsyad, Audrey talked about how she has turned  stumbling blocks into stepping stones, and offered tips and advice on how other teachers can do the same.​

by Cynthia C. James

Summary

Interviews with Going Digital ELT (GD-ELT) Inspirers is a new series on this blog, created specifically to acknowledge outstanding English Language educators who have made significant contributions in the field of digital technology in language education in Malaysia. These educators have gone above and beyond their calls of duty to provide meaningful learning experiences for their students. They have also helped and inspired fellow teachers from all over Malaysia and around the world with their determination, selflessness, ingenuity, and generosity in sharing their knowledge with others. 

The GD-ELT Inspirer featured in this issue is none other than Dr Sirhajwan Idek from Keningau Vocational College, Sabah, Malaysia. In this interview with our team member Cynthia C. James, Dr Sirhajwan talked about his latest projects, his teaching philosophy, his views on teaching during the pandemic, and most of all, what inspires him and keeps him going.