In this age of electronic games and hi-tech toys, we often forget that it is often the simplest of inventions that

can entertain a child for a long period of time. The inventions are called traditional games. They are not just mere games since they were designed by our ancestors in considering the enjoyment during their leisure time. However, most urban folk do not get the opportunity to see people playing traditional games nowadays. Truthfully, traditional games, such as giant top spinning, congkak, stilt walk and giant clog, should not be forgotten since they are our own identity. The Director of the Terengganu State Museum, Mohd Yusof Abdullah, in Utusan Online October 28, 2011, said that traditional games are being told from mouth to mouth. Therefore, the name and also the rules for the games will not be the same for every area. However, the excitement that had been instilled in every game would remain the same no matter where the games are played. It is very important to keep this precious identity as our ancestors have inherited this from generations to generations and we should appreciate their efforts. One of the famous traditional games in Malaysia is Elephant Steps or in Malay is called Tapak Gajah. It is very popular in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, especially Terengganu. The game is so exciting and students would love to play it. For the original version of the Elephant Steps, the basic thing that we need is a pair of half coconut shells. People merely said that to play this game, we have to walk on the coconut shells, but it is not meant that we step on them. Instead, we used the coconut shells as a tool to walk. The shell is derived from the old coconuts that have been cleared of the fibers. Then, the shell is split into two parts and the fill is excluded from them. The coconut shells that have been split up will be polished on the outside so that the foot could rest on the comfortably. Then, a hole would be made on top of the both shells. After that, 1.5 to 2 meters long rope is penetrated into each of the hole and being hooked to makes sure that the shells would be connected tightly by the rope. Therefore, a pair of coconut shells is ready to be used in Elephant Steps game. This game is very simple yet enjoyable. Usually, six to twelve people will participate in the game, so there would be two to four groups for each game. Each group will consist of two, three or four members. To play the original game, the coconut shells are worn as our footwear and the strings between our toes. Then, we

have to stand on the shells and try to make ourselves comfortable. While standing on them, we have to hold the middle of the strings tightly to make us stable. To start walking, we have to lift up one of our feet forward while the other one still relies on the ground (Diagram 1). After that, try to step forward just like we are walking, but our feet should always be on the shells. Then, we have to walk to our group members very fast to compete with the other groups. When we reach the destination, the shells will be given to our friend and this will continue until all the members have taken their turns.

Diagram 1 Traditional games have their own specialties that could give us a lot of advantages. In order to prevent them from lost through time, as teachers, we should instill the love towards traditional games in children. They are the future generations that will hold the responsibility in keeping them so that the traditional games will always be appreciated. To inculcate this spirit in them, having a teaching and learning process that involves the games would be very interesting. Not all children nowadays acknowledge the names of the games and some of them have never seen how the games are played. Therefore, in considering with what have been told by our Deputy of Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (2011) about the 1 Student, 1 Sport policy, teachers should try to make some innovations in the traditional games, so that the games could be used during the teaching and learning process. Since the game is simple and interesting, we could play Elephant Steps game for our class. Students would feel boring having lessons in class every day, so we could ask them to play this game, but at the same time they learn something. As we

all know, playing is also one of the way for them to learn something indirectly. It is not just merely they sit in class and we force them to pay attention to the lesson, so they could learn. Instead, playing games will also involve learning if we know how to innovate the games. As English teachers to be, Elephant Steps game could be innovated in order to be used in our English teaching and learning process in the future. Therefore, we had chosen the Year 2 English lesson to be inserted in our traditional game, Elephant Steps. The theme for the lesson is Vehicles. The things that we need for the innovation of Elephant Steps game are a pair of coconut shells which have been tied together, pails and the flashcards. The procedures are very simple and understandable. Pupils could play well if the teacher explains the instructions clearly. The procedures are the same as the original version of Elephant Steps game, but we have made some innovations by involving the vocabulary lesson in this game. We have created two obstacles which we called pit stops where their vocabulary about Vehicles theme is tested. Firstly, the pupils are divided into group of six. Three of them will stay at one side and the other will wait at the other side (Figure 1.1)

Pupils

Figure 1.1 The groups that consist of three members each Then, the first member from the first side will start to move forwards to his or her group members when the whistle is blown. The method to make the steps using the coconut shells is just like the original version of Elephant Steps game. When he or she reaches the line, it means that he or she has reached the first pit stop. (Figure 1.2)

Pupils

First line Figure 1.2 The first pit stop Then, stop there and take one of the cards in the red pail which contains the initial letters for some words. Match the letter that has been taken with the picture from another pail. For example, if the letter is c, take out the picture of car from another pail. After that, steps forward till reach the next line, which is the second pit stop. (Figure 1.3)

Pupils

Second line Figure 1.3 The second pit stop When he or she arrives at the other side, the other member will take turn. He or she will do the same thing. Continue until all the members finish their turns. The group that reaches the ending point the first and all the members have completed their turns will be the winner.

Elephant Steps game not only benefits the children in physical, emotional and intellectual development, but also social development. Parents nowadays complain about their children spend too much time playing computer games, play station and online games. This is because children at this age are bombarded with tons of online stuffs and hi-tech toys until their social skill is not well-developed. If social skill is not being instilled in the children, they might lack of connection with human souls someday. It means that they would be just like a robot without souls. Therefore, our traditional game, which is Elephant Steps game, could help a lot in childrens social development. First thing first, in Elephant Steps traditional game, children could enhance their social skills in cooperating in groups. This is what we called cooperative learning. According to Teed, McDaris & Roseth, cooperative learning involves structuring children to work in groups in such a way that the group members should depend on each other to succeed (serc.carleton.edu, n.d.). In other words, cooperation is about sink and swim together. Whenever they fail in a task, it means they fail to cooperate with each other and if they want to succeed in the task, they have to cooperate well. In Elephant Steps game, planning great strategies is very essential in order for them to win where children have to cooperate together to create a well-planned strategy. For instance, in this game, before the game starts, in a group, children have to decide who should be the first to walk on the coconut shells. They should make a decision for their turns, so that they could win the game. This is where cooperation in creating strategies involves. The cooperative learning that is inculcated in Elephant Steps game is very significance for children to be used in the future. The strategies which the children create actually could be used to solve their problems in the future, but maybe in other ways. Cooperating in groups also teach them to appreciate each other as a team where in Elephant Steps, the children could learn to support each other, especially when the member is trying so hard to finish the race. Therefore, we could see that cooperative learning is very important for the childrens social development and it involves in the Elephant Steps game. Next, Elephant Steps game could also develop the spirit of competition among children. According to Erikson (1963), children at primary grades struggle the psychological crisis of industry versus inferiority which means children are struggling for success and competence while avoiding the sense of failure

(Wellhousen, 2002). This kind of feelings should be avoided since children will develop low confidence and self-esteem in them. Therefore, in Elephant Steps game, they will be given the opportunities to compete among them, but in a healthy way. In this game, it is not about searching for a great athlete or the fastest runner, but it develops healthy competition among groups. Sharma & Sharma (2006) said that when a group of children is competing with others, they will exert energies among them to secure victory for their own group. This kind of competition could be seen while children are trying so hard to walk faster than other groups although walking using coconut shells is actually not so easy. This is because their determination towards winning is stronger than the wariness that they feel. It is also the same when they match the letters with correct pictures. Healthy competition involves when children from every group try to find the correct match very fast so that they could continue the race quickly. If the children lose this game, they will not lose their selfconfidence. Instead, they will realize that they could have another chance to do better than other groups as long as they have the spirit of healthy competition. Apart from that, friendship among children could also be strengthened by playing Elephant Steps game. During primary school years, friends become very important for children since most of their time is spent among their peers. Therefore, playing Elephant Steps Vocabulary during class is so beneficial for developing childrens friendship quality. During English class for example, children that involve in the game must be classmates and maybe teachers could combine with other classes. Children should be taught to befriend with everybody without taking into account the other childrens abilities, genders, ethnics and socio-economic backgrounds (Hill, 1997). By playing this game, children could develop good relationship among them, especially in a group. If the game is played with the other classes, children could also create new friends. Children should not be taught to befriend with their classmates only, but they should also make friends from other classes, from their neighbourhoods or even from other schools. For instance, during the race, support from friends is the most important thing and good relationship among friends, especially in a group will give them higher opportunity to win. In addition, quoting the words from Overton & Rausch (2002) and Richardson & Schwartz (1998) in the research made by Yu, Ostrosky & Fowler (2011), successful friendship in childrens childhood life will contribute to childrens quality of life and it is

considered as very important to ones life adjustment. In other words, childrens good friendship during childhood will portray good characteristics in them in the future. Hence, playing Elephant Steps game is not just merely to have fun, but also a platform to build strong friendship among children. Other than that, playing Elephant Steps game also allows children to develop their social interaction. According to Henniger (2009), the skills such as listening, speaking, taking turns, leading and following are all guided by some rules and all of these involve in social contact among them. For example, in a group, if there are many ideas to be contributed, especially the strategies, children should understand that only one person could speak at a time. The skill in taking turns to speak in a discussion could be implemented in children by playing this game. Too many members speak at a time may lead to confusion or maybe quarrelling among them. Then, since Elephant Steps is a game that has rules to be followed, listening skill is very important to avoid misunderstanding while playing the game. If they do not understand, they are allowed to ask questions and this is where interaction skill with others could be learned by the children. Besides, Elephant Steps game also teaches children the social interaction skill to respect the leader and never look down on the followers. In the game, every group must have a leader to lead them to create the strategies. However, it does not mean the others are not important. The followers should understand that it works best to have only one leader at a time and they actually practice negotiating and compromising. Therefore, we could see that Elephant Steps game involves social interaction skill which is very essential in childrens social development. Then, Elephant Steps game could build trustworthy among children. According to Roternberg, McDougall, Boulton, Vaillancourt, Fox & Hymel (2004),

trustworthiness was found to be positively associated with peer preference, which means whenever a child chooses to befriend with another child, he or she has put some trust on his or her friend. Through Elephant Steps game, we could see that children believe that, in a group, each of them would try their very best to win the game. It means that they would never look down towards their members since the trustworthiness already exists among them. For example, during the Elephant Steps race, there must be their group member who is quite weak, but as long as they put their trust on him or her, this kind of weakness could be overcome. When one of

them fall down while running on the coconut shells, the support and motivation are the ways they show their trustworthiness towards their friend. Gaining and putting trust is not easy because it usually takes time. However, through Elephant Steps game, children could have the trustworthiness among them. Actually, children could learn a lot during play. It does not mean having fun while playing is wasteful, but children are actually gaining new knowledge and experiences. Social skills cannot be developed if a child plays alone. As what Hill (1997) said in her book, human being is a socialize creature. We cannot live alone and every person around us is very important. Therefore, for children, playing with the people around them like classmates, neighbours or even their cousins will never make them wrong as long as they experience good values. Every experience that they gain will be the greatest teacher for them to be used in the future.

NOR NARJIHAH BINTI MUSLIM Alhamdulillah Thanks to Allah (SWT) for giving me a good health so that I could work on this Learning & Learner assignment very well. We are required to choose a traditional game and make an innovation on the game so that it would suit the teaching and learning process in class. We also have to record a video to show that the innovated traditional game could be used in class. Therefore, we chose the Elephant Steps game and after it was being innovated, we called it as Elephant Steps Vocabulary. In order to complete the tasks, I had faced a lot of challenges and I also experienced and learned many things. First thing first, during the process of completing this assignment, I have done some researches on the traditional games that are suitable for children. I suddenly realize that there are a lot of traditional games which I have never known and I actually have played some of the games, but I do not know the real name for the games. Doing this assignment somehow or rather brings me back to my childhood memories. The feeling of surrounded by childhood friends suddenly makes myself happy and seriously I really miss the old times. I already had the experience playing this game, but I never knew its real name before this. However, when I did search for the some information, then I knew that it is called Elephant Steps. Doing these tasks make me realize that I should appreciate more on our traditional games and I should always promote them so that they will never lost through time. Other than that, to demonstrate the game and record the video, I had personally asked my beloved father to make the main tool for this game, which is a pair of coconut shells which are being connected by a rope. Thanks a lot to my father for making the coconut shell shoes for me to complete this assignment. I also interviewed some elders at my village, including my mother to get more information about Elephant Steps game. It is so interesting to interview the folks since they know a lot about the game and this is the new experience that I could gain from during the process of completing this task. Therefore, I could improve my communication skill as it is not easy to talk to the elders. I learned to be more polite while interacting with them. Now I realize that the proverb, experience is the best teacher is true because all the skills that I learn from my experiences could be applied in various conditions in the future.

Apart from that, there is also a problem that I have to go through during the completion of the assignment. Actually, the game would work best if it is played by the children since we have made the innovation on the game according to the primary school syllabus. However, as we were all having our holiday and after that, we were having our School Based Experience (SBE) at different schools, we could not record the video played by the children. Then, we decided to ask some of our friends to take part in our game. I am so grateful for having such good friends who are willing to cooperate in our activity. Finally, we could overcome this problem and there is still cooperative spirit being fostered in ourselves as group mates. Besides, this kind of game could also improve my creative thinking since I have to make the innovation for a traditional game in order to be used in teaching and learning process. I realize that to be a versatile teacher, I should know how to attract students to be interested in learning. Teaching them using old methods sometimes could make them bored and that is why they are not interested to learn in class. By doing this task, we finally have found a new method that can be used in class in the future. Apart from making the lesson fun and interesting, I actually could create something new and I realize that this is one of the ways I could improve my creativity. Traditional games are not so lame, but they could be applied in class if I could be creative and make some innovations in the games. Last but not least, now I realize that innovation is very essential in education. I do not criticize the traditional education, but in order to achieve our goal, which is to be a developed country, we should change our perspective and try to make some innovations in the educational system. From my understanding, traditional games are still relevant, but we need some innovations to suit the childrens needs in this era. The innovations like what we did to the Elephant Steps game actually could attract students more on the lesson. In our traditional educational system, I realize that we should make some innovations so that we could produce the students who are not only excellent in academic, but also in their personality and their way of thinking. Indeed, everything should start with teachers. In conclusion, this assignment has taught me a lot. I realize now that everything that I do will reflect my future. Therefore, if I am trying hard to be a better teacher-to-be, it is not possible I could be a great teacher in the future.