4 September 2026 | Kunming, Yunnan, China
HIVE Educators is pleased to share that its Vice President, Lai Mui Kyun @ Josephine Lai, was awarded the Gold Prize at the 11th International Creativity and Innovation in Education for Language Teaching & STEM Seminar & Showcase, organised by the Labuan Research, Innovation and Creativity Society (LaRIS). This is a collaborative effort together with her colleagues Siti Haslinda bt Abd Latif and Noorhasannah Bolkiah.
Josephine presented her teaching practice, “Sight Word Recognition as an Intervention for A1–A2 Learners,” which addresses the challenges faced by beginning English learners who rely heavily on decoding individual words when reading.
The project introduced a six-week intervention consisting of systematic 10-minute daily sessions designed to develop automatic recognition of 100 high-frequency English words. The intervention incorporated multisensory activities and digital flashcards, with the aim of reducing learners’ dependence on effortful phonological decoding and allowing them to devote greater attention to comprehension.
Findings from the project showed encouraging improvements. Participants recorded a 35% increase in sight-word accuracy, an 86% improvement in reading automaticity, and a 32% increase in reading comprehension scores. Qualitative observations also indicated reduced reading anxiety and greater classroom engagement among learners.
The project highlights how short, focused, and consistently implemented literacy interventions can support struggling A1–A2 learners in progressing from “learning to read” towards “reading to learn.”
Josephine received the Gold Prize following her virtual presentation at the international seminar and showcase, held on 4 September 2026 at Holiday Inn Express Kunming Railway Station, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Her achievement also reflects HIVE Educators’ continuing commitment to supporting teacher-led innovation, evidence-informed classroom practices, and the sharing of effective educational approaches beyond individual classrooms and schools.
