Brighton Kids English Club XIII

Our latest Kids English Club meeting was delightful! The children are speaking more spontaneously than ever, and the children’s behavior is wilder than ever! They wrestle, laugh, and chatter, quite often in English! It seems they are becoming fantastically confident, and are willing to take some pretty amazing chances with the English language.

Today’s content focus was an extension of last meeting: What I Want to Be (When I Grow Up). We played a darts game which required the children to ask: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and the answers varied interestingly from what I had prepared (doctor, astronaut, pilot, etc.), including answers like “mechanic” and “chef”, and also extended to family members, which proved a bit too difficult (for now) because the “he/she” structures are unknown, as well as some specialized occupation vocabulary. We also did the geography game once again (“Where is it?”) to find countries and capitals in Southeast Asia! The prize for the winners was real Cambodian riels.

Next, we read “Fizzkid the Inventor” (by Linda Strachan), a very funny book with some challenging vocabulary (pterodactyl, quicksand) and lots unknown of past tense verbs (hid, grabbed, peered, zoomed, flew, crossed). But the illustrations were really fun, and everyone had a good time piecing the story together in among the very noisy sound effects.

Finally we had snack time, a time for cool drinks and lots of random Q&A. This part of the Club is always special because we can see some very interesting, independent, expressions of language, and get ideas for where to go in future. Also, the children have a chance to practice their manners, of course.

We had a lot of fun today, and are looking forward to our next meeting in April!

-Marshall
 ELC, Maran

Fun English Lessons @ SK Jengka Batu 13

Umi Zuriati Bt Ab Rahman, TELL2 English Teacher at SK Jengka Batu 13, is leading the way with Fun English Lessons! She noticed that her students lacked motivation to study English. My advice was simple, "make it fun for them!" When English is fun for the students, retention is higher, students are motivated to complete class activities and it is fun for the teacher to facilitate the activities. Fun activities in class can also enhance students' Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) by combining multiple intelligence, ICT and kinesthetic activities.

Umi has shown a true dedication to her students and to her teaching practice.  Great work Umi!

--Tom James, Chenor

PAL Reading In Class @ SK Kertau

Engku Aishatul Ruhi Bt Engku Arif, TELL2 Teacher at SK Kertau in Chenor, Maran, has embraced PAL Reading in her teaching practice. One concern she had when she joined TELL2 late last year was how to teach reading to a mixed ability class, that included more than a few remedial students. She found it difficult to give individualized attention and differentiate her lessons, until I helped her discover Peer Assisted Learning. By using PAL in her reading instruction, all students can benefit from having one-to-one interaction and improve their reading fluency.

--Tom James, Chenor

A Special Thank You

I would like to give a special thank you to all my teachers in Jempol cluster and my 'little sister', Coco.  Everyone made a huge effort to make my birthday special and I am truly humbled by the spirit of family I feel.  I am thankful to call you my friends and appreciate all the effort you went to for me!

Thank you!

--Sarah Higgs, Jempol

A Lively Evening at SJK(C) Maran

On Thursday evening, March 12, SJK(C) Maran hosted, for the first time in sixty years, SJK(C) Pei Min and SJK(C) Jerik for a lively dinner event “MALAM SEMARAK KASIH SESAMA INSAN” that included pupil dance performances, singing, guest speakers, awards, mountains of food and drink and, as a special treat, a whole roasted goat!

Originally intended as a Chinese New Year celebration, the goal of this somewhat-belated gathering was to promote inter-school communication, to recognize the flood-relief efforts of local business leaders, and to promote cooperation and “brotherly love” among members of the community. Guest speakers included PPD representative Haji Jalani bin Haji Ludin as well as Tuan Haji Zuraidi who was recognized for his generous donations to those schools and people who were worst affected by December 2014’s disastrous flooding.

Maran mentors Sarah, Tom and Marshall, as well as the Maran Fulbright ETAs Katherine and Hannah, joined in the festivities, and everyone had the opportunity to make new connections with members of staff from both the schools and the PPD. Madam Wi, SMK English education supervisor welcomed us warmly, and spoke with us at great length on the issues and challenges of English education in Malaysia.

In addition to meeting English teachers from all three Chinese schools, we were fortunate to meet and exchange ideas with Fulbright’s ESAs who are working in the SMK English-language programs. They described their unique challenges and provided valuable insight into the methods they employ in their work.

The evening’s food and festivities, combined with the community blending and exchange of ideas, gave everyone the opportunity to make some new friends, create business contacts, and simply have fun. We are all grateful to SJK(C) Maran and its headmistress Mrs Teoh, as well as to all those whose donations and hard work made the evening possible. We are all looking forward to an amazing and productive year, and hope to develop all our English language programmes to further pupil development in fun, communicative English.

Tn Hj Zuraidi

Hj Jalani bin Hj Ludin

   

A whole roasted goat!

PAL Reading Funfair @ SK Jengka 2

Today SK Jengka 2 hosted the PAL Reading Funfair, coordinated by Sarah Higgs and Tom James, TELL2 Mentors from Jempol and Chenor respectively, and assisted by Zamri Shamsuddin, Syed Narolhisa ( A non-TELL2 teacher), Noriza Bt Yaacob, Faridah Bt Jaaffar and a few other SK Jengka 2 non-TELL2 teachers.  PAL reading is an excellent technique to increase reading fluency, but more importantly a fun way for students to engage with reading skills.

The event was a huge success and students had a great time.  The morning started with a PAL reading session.  Students were paired according to years (year 5 with year 3 & year 4 with year 2) read short books from the library.  They followed this process:

1. Senior student reads a page to younger student

2. Younger student re-reads the same page

3. Senior student ask younger student to find and spell a word from the page

4. Repeat

After the first session of PAL reading, the fun activities began.  The event has 3 PAL Reading Stations: (1) Jumping Words, (2) Expressive Reading Relay, and (3) Punctuation Skittles.  You can see the programme for the event and activity lesson plans by clicking here.

Please take a look at the photo slide show below and I hope to have the same event in all the schools!  If you are interested in hosting this event, please invite us to join you at your school!

--Sarah Higgs, Jempol

EdCamp #2 in Jempol

Today teachers from Jempol continued in the spirit of collaboration and information sharing in EdCamp #2.  Today's presenters were from SK Jengka 3, SK Jengka 4 and SK Jengka 5.  All the topics presented today were relevant to our teaching practices and very informative.  I am very impressed with the professional attitude and effort teachers have put into our EdCamp sessions.  It makes a huge difference when we work together and help each other grow as professionals.

5 Ways to Get More Students into  Your Classroom Sarina Binti Ab Hamid

6 Active Ways to Learn Language in the English Classroom Suhaiza Binti Asiran

4 Tips for Making the Best Student Pairs Suhaiza Binti Asiran

4 Amazing Techniques You Cant Live Without Siti Azura Binti Abu Seman

5 Great Activities that Involve a Combination of Intelligences Noraziah Binti Jelani

Top 10 Benefits of Group Work for ESL Classrooms Mazni Binti Daud

 http://store.busyteacher.org/esl-books/esl-edge-2

Please note that the topics and content for this EdCamp have been selected from "The ESL Edge 2: How to Teach English as a Second Language Like a Pro" handbook published by The Busy Teacher.  The Busy Teacher website has a large amount of useful resources for teachers to use in class, as well as exercises teachers can use to improve their own English abilities.

Thank you to today's presenters and for a wonderful session!  And a special thank you from me for the surprise birthday party!

--Sarah Higgs, Jempol

EdCamp #1 in Jempol

Today teachers from Jempol participated in EdCamp #1.  An EdCamp is type of professional development where teachers share information about a topic.  Collaboration and information sharing are key to developing existing pedagogical skills and learning new techniques for the classroom.  The best resources we have, as teachers, are ourselves and each other.  When we share information with other teachers, we expand our own knowledge of the topic and help our colleagues to grow as well.  In a world where information is so available online, it can sometimes be overwhelming, however, when we participate in EdCamp style  conferences, we can share information in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere.

Today's Presenters

Today's presenters were from SK Jengka 6 and SK Jengka 2.  All the teachers did an amazing job preparing for this EdCamp and gave us all a lot to think about.  I truly appreciate the hours of work each teacher made to make this a successful event.





Please note that the topics and content for this EdCamp have been selected from "The ESL Edge 2: How to Teach English as a Second Language Like a Pro" handbook published by The Busy Teacher.  The Busy Teacher website has a large amount of useful resources for teachers to use in class, as well as exercises teachers can use to improve their own English abilities.

Please find the supplemental materials from today's presenters below.

Who am I? 7 Creative Ways to Introduce Yourself to Your Class Norhayatunnupus Binti Mohd Sam

8 Simple Learning Centers Great for Grammar Class Zamri Shamsuddin

Learning Centers for Writing Classes Naziha Binti Awant Mahat

Kick Start Your Students' Creativity: 9 Tips for Using Images Noriza Binti Yaacob

9 Ways to Correct Students Without Correcting Them Faridah Binti Jaaffar

6 Great Warmers for Any ESL Level Mohd Amin Bin Abd Rahman

A great group!  Thank you to everyone for your participation in EdCamp #1!