SJKC Jinjang2 Teacher Training

It was a Tuesday afternoon on the 12th of July. SJKC English teachers from all over Kuala Lumpur started to pour into the 3rd Floor Training room at SJKC Jinjang2. There were over 100 teachers representing approximately 24/42 of the SJKC schools in Kuala Lumpur. The teachers were interested in blended education and best practices. The event was arranged by the prolifically productive pair, Puan Lim, the principal of SJKCJ2, and Mr. Tiong from the Sentul Education Dept. 

The event started with a short video about learning English in China and how English is the hot and trendy topic in the entire region. Teachers were reminded how they are in the right place at the right time. We jumped into a quick demo of Frog E-bahan. Teachers were introduced to the large cache of phonics friendly and KSSR relevant teaching materials. We demonstrated Sam the Snake (S,A,T, P) for the lower primary teachers. We previewed Looking For Gold for the upper primary teachers. Teachers were intrigued about the pertinent nature of E-bahan.

I selected a few apps to demonstrate to gung-ho group of teachers. I’m still evolving my technique present apps during training. Teachers were exposed to Grasshopper Apps: Sight Words Ninja and Comparative Adjectives. We also looked at Alligator Apps Action words. These are digital savvy ways to connect the student to learning English beyond the classroom. Since mobile phones are ubiquitous feature of modern life, it is a desirable medium for continued English language learning. 

As form of best practices we reviewed the Dynamic English Days program. The feedback from the teachers and students was so good we decided to showcase. It is always important to review a concept that has been previously taught before playing games. 

Games are not meant to teach concept, their purpose is to enrich concepts. We went play by play through the event and occasionally Mr. Tiong or one of the teachers would weigh in. It was no surprise, Parts of The Speech Uno was the most popular. All the resources presented were shared with the teachers via google drive or pen drives.

I also shared my renewed enthusiasm with systematic phonics with lower primary teachers. I told them how I have been teaching online with English language learners (Ell) in China. How I have witnesses the magic of true beginners to become beginner readers in less than 3 months via systematic phonics. The teachers were reassured systematic phonics is not a perfect system, but it is the most effective system for literacy. It is not a theory, it is a fact supported by volumes of evidence. 

The teachers were introduced to a few of my favorite phonics websites as an additional resource. I could lot of support and love form Puan Lim's Dream Team of Teachers. All the teachers from the various schools shared a mutuality mindset and were poised to do more blending. You might be aware of a'bad hair' day, well I had a wonderful 'bad turban' day, lol.