Here's the link: http://bit.ly/2YS034e
Here's a peek!
Saturday 13 July 2019
Introducing Just Kidding Toons
In an attempt ignite interest in young English language learners, I'm introducing Just Kidding Toons. These toons use puns and have explanations to aid young learners to get a chuckle.
Here's the link: http://bit.ly/2YS034e
Here's a peek!
Here's the link: http://bit.ly/2YS034e
Here's a peek!
Thursday 13 June 2019
Big Time
I finally made it on a government website (State Department), and it's not the FBI Most Wanted list either. This was taking at Thai TESOL.
 |
| My 15 seconds of internet fame! |
Tuesday 19 February 2019
JET, Terminal Jerteh, Gate SMA Ittifakiah
I apologize for the radio silence over the past few months, it wasn't a literary ploy to build suspense for the TOEFL JET story. I've been engaged in flying below the radar.The second JET program took off from SMA Ittifakiah in Jerteh, Terengganu. It was a collection of 3 schools from Jerteh and Kuala Besut. Since this was return flight for Ezani and his team, things went really smoothly. There was some unforeseen turbulence in the form of tie for first place in the group competition. Therefore, the flash decision made from the control tower was to have a shootout between the two teams to determine a winner.
During this program, we followed the same schedule:
8am - 10am Instruction
10:30am - 1pm TOEFL Junior Test
2:30pm - 5:15 pm Fun Activities
Fortunate for the students, they received proper guidance and realistic practice. The name of the TOEFL game, both Reading and Listening, is finding the keywords. Students must first locate the keywords in the questions then the answers before diving into the text. Skim/ scan reading skills were refreshed. The next step after finding keywords is thinking of similar words. The technique of crossing out wrong answers was also transferred to the students. Since the TOEFL Junior test is multiple choice without any penalties for wrong answers, student are trained to never leave the answer blank (Don't stress, guess!).
The participants enjoyed the games and the oasis to practice their English skills in an enjoyable setting. One fringe benefit of the program was I had the golden opportunity to work with 2 sterling colleagues, T. Pravin and T. Shahida, from the Access School Teacher Training. They treated me to the season's sweetest and most delectable durian that deserves mention.
If you wondering what happen next in the JET story, let me tell you. JETS had a third program in the state of Negris Sembilan, however, the program was only the test and activities. By the end of the year, we were shy of our target of 6 states. Nonetheless, there is still a happy ending. The MoE extended the program for 2019 too.
Monday 27 August 2018
American English Live: Teacher Development Series 3 (Reg. now open)
This is a public service announcement for free on-line Teacher Professional Development.
Greetings from the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur!
The American English team is pleased to offer American English Live: Teacher Development Series 3. The six online seminars of the series cover a variety of topics intended for teachers of English or future teachers of English around the world. At the end of each event, participants will have the opportunity to earn a digital badge that verifies their participation.
Participants are also encouraged to register to join the associated Ning, http://americanenglishwebinars.com, to participate in discussions, view related materials, and find recordings.
The series will take place from September 5 – November 15, 2018. The 60-minute sessions will be held every other Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. or 1:00 a.m. Malaysia Time. Participants can join the sessions by viewing the live posts at the above times on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEnglishforEducators/
Though not mandatory, registration is encouraged. Registered participants will receive email reminders with links to pre-session readings and online discussions. Prior to each session, registered participants will receive a reminder email with a Zoom link from americanenglishwebinars@elprograms.org.
Here is the link for registration: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4460087/American-English-Facebook-Live-Series-3
Title and Presenter Information
|
Dates and Times
|
Empowering Students to Solve Local Problems: Adapting Materials for Service Learning
Presenter: Annaliese Hausler-Akpovi
|
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
8:00-9:00 pm Malaysia Time
Thursday, September 6, 2018
1:00-2:00 am Malaysia Time
|
Designing and Leading Professional Development for Teachers
Presenter: Laura Baecher
|
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
8:00-9:00 pm Malaysia Time
Thursday, September 20, 2018
1:00-2:00 am Malaysia Time
|
Embracing Social Media to Engage Students and Teach Narrative Writing
Presenter: Jennifer Borch
|
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
8:00-9:00 pm Malaysia Time
Thursday, October 4, 2018
1:00-2:00 am Malaysia Time
|
Academic Language Objectives in the EFL Classroom
Presenter: Michelle Benegas and Amy Stolpestad
|
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
8:00-9:00 pm Malaysia Time
Thursday, October 18, 2018
1:00-2:00 am Malaysia Time
|
Effective Strategies for Teaching Large Classes
Presenter: Dieter Bruhn
|
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
8:00-9:00 pm Malaysia Time
Thursday, September 1, 2018
1:00-2:00 am Malaysia Time
|
Adapting Your Materials for Use in Mixed Ability Classrooms
Presenter: Susan Iannuzzi
|
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
9:00-10:00 pm Malaysia Time
Thursday, November 15, 2018
2:00-3:00 am Malaysia Time
|
Notes:
Digital Badges
Digital badges will be issued at the end of each event. Participants will be prompted to enter their information via a link at the end of each session (similar to entering attendance at the end of previous webinar sessions). The link will have questions about the session and prompts for participants to enter their contact information.
Note: To answer the required digital badge questions, participants will need to watch the entire event. Certificates will be issued to those who attend 4 out of 6 sessions, as that has been standard practice for previous AE series.
Let us know if you have any questions.
Regards,
English Language Team
U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Friday 10 August 2018
SJKC Jinjang Tengah 2 English Jamboree
The English Jamboree at SJKC Tengah 2 has become an annual event, this third year running. It is an opportunity for me to give back to the community, an urban an Chinese school serving a population where many the students are economically disadvantaged. Huge hollers of thanks for the GB Pn. Lim Swee Lean and Mr Tiong Giong Hock (Sentul Education Dept), who have cordially hosted and arranged the event. The event occurred on the 27th - 28th of June. The event was designed for multiple sessions with students from Year 1 - Year 6 and for teachers on the Thursday afternoon.
The first session on Wednesday was Phonics based program for Year 1- 3 students. This session was more of stage setting session for Thursday. The marvellous English teachers (T. AB, T. Kwan, and T. Jesshan) at SJKC JT2 had done a fine job teaching the students the sounds of the alphabet. We reviewed by watching some Alphablocks and I began teaching the actions related to the sounds. We also practiced CVC words with CVC penguins and learned Magic 'e' and played an interactive Magic 'e' game. We introduced R-controlled words via the Bossy 'R' Farm.
The second session was for students Year 4 -6. The primary target was grammar and writing skills. In this session, we reviewed the Parts of Speech Boot Camp, played Walking Punctation Marks, and we played Parts of Speech Uno. Much to my amazement, the teachers had saved the cards for the previous year, moreover, the students were keen to play again.
On Thursday morning, when I met the Year 2 -3 students, I was feeling a bit guilty from the previous day. There first session had lots of instruction, but it was necessary to learn before we play. Games are not a substitute for learning, instead they enrich and encourage to students to apply in a competitive low-stakes fun environment. When I told the students that it was going to be game only day, the room bursted out in cheer. We played Word & Pics CVC game, CVC action races, Magic 'e' game, and 4 Corners Parts of Speech.
In the second session with Year 5-6 students, we completed a review of UPSR Paper 2 Section C. With the work completed, it was game time. We played Parts of Speech Cooties, The Dice Game, Jeopardy, and more. The students were charged an applying skills they had learned and reviewed form the previous session.
On Thursday afternoon, there was a teacher training session. This was an assortment of awesome teachers from neighboring schools who attended. It was based on evaluation versus assessment, how to write formative feedback, the trend of differentiated learning, and the merits of Game-Based Learning and Gamification. The theme was Students First. Following the theory, it was time to play some games. Teachers made Parts of Speech Cooties Catcher, Parts of Speech Uno, and the The Dice Game.
'We make a living by what we get, but we make life by what we give.' -Winston Churchill
The first session on Wednesday was Phonics based program for Year 1- 3 students. This session was more of stage setting session for Thursday. The marvellous English teachers (T. AB, T. Kwan, and T. Jesshan) at SJKC JT2 had done a fine job teaching the students the sounds of the alphabet. We reviewed by watching some Alphablocks and I began teaching the actions related to the sounds. We also practiced CVC words with CVC penguins and learned Magic 'e' and played an interactive Magic 'e' game. We introduced R-controlled words via the Bossy 'R' Farm.
The second session was for students Year 4 -6. The primary target was grammar and writing skills. In this session, we reviewed the Parts of Speech Boot Camp, played Walking Punctation Marks, and we played Parts of Speech Uno. Much to my amazement, the teachers had saved the cards for the previous year, moreover, the students were keen to play again.
On Thursday morning, when I met the Year 2 -3 students, I was feeling a bit guilty from the previous day. There first session had lots of instruction, but it was necessary to learn before we play. Games are not a substitute for learning, instead they enrich and encourage to students to apply in a competitive low-stakes fun environment. When I told the students that it was going to be game only day, the room bursted out in cheer. We played Word & Pics CVC game, CVC action races, Magic 'e' game, and 4 Corners Parts of Speech.
In the second session with Year 5-6 students, we completed a review of UPSR Paper 2 Section C. With the work completed, it was game time. We played Parts of Speech Cooties, The Dice Game, Jeopardy, and more. The students were charged an applying skills they had learned and reviewed form the previous session.
On Thursday afternoon, there was a teacher training session. This was an assortment of awesome teachers from neighboring schools who attended. It was based on evaluation versus assessment, how to write formative feedback, the trend of differentiated learning, and the merits of Game-Based Learning and Gamification. The theme was Students First. Following the theory, it was time to play some games. Teachers made Parts of Speech Cooties Catcher, Parts of Speech Uno, and the The Dice Game.
'We make a living by what we get, but we make life by what we give.' -Winston Churchill
Sunday 5 August 2018
The 1st Launch of TOFEL Junior JET- SMA Rompin
In November 2017, I was certified by the Test Center of Malaysia (ETS Representative) to teach TOEFL Primary Step 1 & 2 and TOEFL Junior. Last summer and this summer I have taught an abundant number of students in China (online) TOEFL Primary Step 1 & 2. TOEFL Junior and TOEFL Primary are relative newcomers to the TOEFL family.
Ezani, the head of the Test Center Malaysia, had conceived an idea to raise the profile of the TOEFL Junior test in Malaysia. He secured MoE approval for the program, but with one hitch. The JET (Junior English Test) program has one year to operate in a minimum of 6/13 states in Malaysia to receive a federal endorsement. Eva wonderfully took lead of the project for the Test Center of Malaysia and their supreme team. So that's the beginning of the story, lamentably I don't know how the story ends. It is just as much a mystery to you as it to me at this moment in time. However, you can check back the blog periodically to gage the unfolding of the plot. In summary, we have till the end of this year (2018) to run the program in 6 states. Fortunately, I do know how the story starts.
The month of Ramdhan was fast approaching, the window of opportunities to run the program was shrinking. JET was suppose to takeoff in March, although typical with big adventures the flight was delayed. In a dramatic fashion, SMA Rompin (Pahang) move forwarded their departure date and decided to be the inaugural launch site for the JET program. Big thanks for T. Yanti and Principal Husin bin Mohamad Yunus for hosting and coordinating the schools of SMA Tengku Ampuan Fatimah and SMA Bukit Ibam to attend.
The JET program consists of 3 main parts: 1. Instruction 2. TOEFL Junior test 3. English games. The TOEFL Junior is a paper based test including 3 divisions Listening Comprehension, Language Form & Meaning, and Reading Comprehension sections. The Top Gun instructors are Pn. Shahidah and myself, but I don't know why she keeps calling me Goose, lol. Anyhow, I prepared the students for the Language Form & Meaning and Reading Comprehension sections while Pn Shahidah prepared them for Listening Comprehension section. After which, the students take the approximately 2 hour exam. Now that work is out of the way, it's time to play.
The majority of the students have received no TOEFL Junior training prior to this event, it's safe to say the bulk of students don't even know what the TOEFL Junior is. It is my responsibility to illuminate them on what, why, and how we take the TOEFL Junior test, especially the Language Form and Reading Comprehension sections. My first task, is to orientate the students to concept of assessment over evaluation. You can't pass or fail, there are no grades in the TOEFL Junior, it is not like the SPM evaluation. Quite the contrary, it is an assessment tool designed to give the student accurate feedback geared for their improvement.
Pn. Shahidah pulled some ace moves by doing some practical demos of the Listening Comprehension section. Note, most students in Malaysia don't receive any formal examination with a listening component throughout their primary and secondary educational careers. They lack exposure and training in listening skills. Students often find the Listening Comprehension section the most challenging. After Pn. Shahidah's Listening Comprehension simulator, the young recruits are ready to take off.
We recognize the sombreness of test-taking and the scarcity of English events in the typical Malaysian students path. Therefore, we seize this occasion to create a one day English environment. Following an eye opening morning of learning how and accomplishing the taking of an internationally accredited test, it is ever so important to drive home the resonating message that learning English is fun. Since we can't add games into the TOEFL Junior, the next best thing is to have an afternoon dominated by them.
Students were divided into 8 groups. The first activity allows them to unleash their creativity in a group poster contest that includes the theme, 'TOEFL Junior JETS me to success!' Next, there are 4 stations of games where points are captured by competing teams. The 4 stations are:1. Prefix Bingo 2. Roll the Dice 3. Matching Card Game 4. One-Shot Stop. These games are followed by the final landing involving a paper plane making and group toss contest. Before the event came to a complete stop, there was brief prize giving nicety. The students takeaway from this event is a Score Report.
The students will receive their TOEFL junior Score Report, which includes scores for each section, detailed feedback on strengths and weaknesses, CEFR level, and Lexile measure (level appropriate reading list). As previously mentioned, students don't receive grades only scores. The total score ranges form 600 - 900, each section ranges from 200 - 300. A CEFR level from A2, B1, or B2 will also equated to the students performance on each of the 3 sections. Detailed feedback on all 3 sections. 'They have a good command of vocabulary typically used in everyday non-academic settings,' is a sample comment from the Language Form and Meaning section.
The Lexile measure is a useful tool for reading skills. It can be applied to find reading materials that satisfy or challenge the student's appropriate level. Lexile measures can also be used predicts a reader's development. This helpful literacy tool is just one of the many advantageous outcomes offered by the Score Report. Hence, the Score Report takeaway should clear skies and better direct the student's course to fluency and success in learning English. TOEFL JETS me to success!
Ezani, the head of the Test Center Malaysia, had conceived an idea to raise the profile of the TOEFL Junior test in Malaysia. He secured MoE approval for the program, but with one hitch. The JET (Junior English Test) program has one year to operate in a minimum of 6/13 states in Malaysia to receive a federal endorsement. Eva wonderfully took lead of the project for the Test Center of Malaysia and their supreme team. So that's the beginning of the story, lamentably I don't know how the story ends. It is just as much a mystery to you as it to me at this moment in time. However, you can check back the blog periodically to gage the unfolding of the plot. In summary, we have till the end of this year (2018) to run the program in 6 states. Fortunately, I do know how the story starts.
The month of Ramdhan was fast approaching, the window of opportunities to run the program was shrinking. JET was suppose to takeoff in March, although typical with big adventures the flight was delayed. In a dramatic fashion, SMA Rompin (Pahang) move forwarded their departure date and decided to be the inaugural launch site for the JET program. Big thanks for T. Yanti and Principal Husin bin Mohamad Yunus for hosting and coordinating the schools of SMA Tengku Ampuan Fatimah and SMA Bukit Ibam to attend.
The JET program consists of 3 main parts: 1. Instruction 2. TOEFL Junior test 3. English games. The TOEFL Junior is a paper based test including 3 divisions Listening Comprehension, Language Form & Meaning, and Reading Comprehension sections. The Top Gun instructors are Pn. Shahidah and myself, but I don't know why she keeps calling me Goose, lol. Anyhow, I prepared the students for the Language Form & Meaning and Reading Comprehension sections while Pn Shahidah prepared them for Listening Comprehension section. After which, the students take the approximately 2 hour exam. Now that work is out of the way, it's time to play.
The majority of the students have received no TOEFL Junior training prior to this event, it's safe to say the bulk of students don't even know what the TOEFL Junior is. It is my responsibility to illuminate them on what, why, and how we take the TOEFL Junior test, especially the Language Form and Reading Comprehension sections. My first task, is to orientate the students to concept of assessment over evaluation. You can't pass or fail, there are no grades in the TOEFL Junior, it is not like the SPM evaluation. Quite the contrary, it is an assessment tool designed to give the student accurate feedback geared for their improvement.
Pn. Shahidah pulled some ace moves by doing some practical demos of the Listening Comprehension section. Note, most students in Malaysia don't receive any formal examination with a listening component throughout their primary and secondary educational careers. They lack exposure and training in listening skills. Students often find the Listening Comprehension section the most challenging. After Pn. Shahidah's Listening Comprehension simulator, the young recruits are ready to take off.
We recognize the sombreness of test-taking and the scarcity of English events in the typical Malaysian students path. Therefore, we seize this occasion to create a one day English environment. Following an eye opening morning of learning how and accomplishing the taking of an internationally accredited test, it is ever so important to drive home the resonating message that learning English is fun. Since we can't add games into the TOEFL Junior, the next best thing is to have an afternoon dominated by them.
Students were divided into 8 groups. The first activity allows them to unleash their creativity in a group poster contest that includes the theme, 'TOEFL Junior JETS me to success!' Next, there are 4 stations of games where points are captured by competing teams. The 4 stations are:1. Prefix Bingo 2. Roll the Dice 3. Matching Card Game 4. One-Shot Stop. These games are followed by the final landing involving a paper plane making and group toss contest. Before the event came to a complete stop, there was brief prize giving nicety. The students takeaway from this event is a Score Report.
The students will receive their TOEFL junior Score Report, which includes scores for each section, detailed feedback on strengths and weaknesses, CEFR level, and Lexile measure (level appropriate reading list). As previously mentioned, students don't receive grades only scores. The total score ranges form 600 - 900, each section ranges from 200 - 300. A CEFR level from A2, B1, or B2 will also equated to the students performance on each of the 3 sections. Detailed feedback on all 3 sections. 'They have a good command of vocabulary typically used in everyday non-academic settings,' is a sample comment from the Language Form and Meaning section.
The Lexile measure is a useful tool for reading skills. It can be applied to find reading materials that satisfy or challenge the student's appropriate level. Lexile measures can also be used predicts a reader's development. This helpful literacy tool is just one of the many advantageous outcomes offered by the Score Report. Hence, the Score Report takeaway should clear skies and better direct the student's course to fluency and success in learning English. TOEFL JETS me to success!
 |
| Notice my picture with Abdu Rahim, in the backdrop is a poster with his picture on it. |
Wednesday 18 July 2018
SMA Ampuan Siti Fatimah, Speak Yourself
For 2 days the on 14-15 of April, the first annual English event was held at SMA Tengku Ampuan Fatimah. It was geared to Form 3 students on Saturday and Form 2 students on Sunday, with a combined total of 250 students. It was a pleasure to band together with T. Faizah, T. Hannah Hanina, T. Ein, and T. Arifah to put legs on this aspiration of theirs, Speak Yourself. Although all 4 main skills would be engaged throughout the event, the main focus was on learning, eliciting, practicing, and improving listening skills.
Saturday had a slow beginning with a damp rainy morning, but after some fine tuning of the Audio Visual equipment the event's Geist steadily rose until it reached the level of guided ruckus. The first was a Find Someone Who? game on synonyms/ antonyms. Students used their dictionaries and learned some new vocabulary words. The Form 3 students learned Confidence in Public Speaking via a training module to prepare for their national exam known as the PT 3.
On Sunday, the Form 2 students had a different learning profile compared to their Form 3 peers. It is the result of them being the first class to be raised under the KSSR syllabus. Hence, we replaced the PT 3 workshop with some Advanced Phonics (Bossy 'r', soft 'g/c') After learning new speaking skills, it was time for the first set of 4 stations. The girls were split into 8 competing groups who win prizes at the end pertaining to their team's performance during the stations.
In the first round of stations, the students played Reading and Responding to Text Messages, Interpreting Body Language, Speaking Role Play, and Grammar Jeopardy. Before we commenced the next round of games, we had some minor instruction by Grammar Andy on The Past Progressive Tense to level the skills of the students. Games are great tool for enhancement, enrichment, and practice, but they are never substitute for leaning. In the afternoon sessions, the 4 stations included: Living Sentences, Past Progressive Freeze Game, Oral Dice Game, and The Story Telling Game.
The team of teachers was amazing and the bunches of students were fabulously loquacious!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)