American English Live: Teacher Development Series

There is still time to signup for free teacher's professional development online. The series has already started, there are 6 sessions. The second session is on Wednesday. If you attend 4 out of 6 sessions you are eligible for a certificate. Follow the link to register.



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Access School Teacher Training 2.0 - Sabah

Access School Teacher Training 2.0 was sponsored by the US Embassy KL (thanks Intan) as a follow up to an Access School Teacher Training that occurred about 3 months earlier in Langkawi. It was organized byYanti, Hasilah, Rafek, and Iza Bakhtair of SMA Rompin. Currently they are the sole providers of an Access School in Malaysia. They have recently started with a new batch of students after successfully concluding the 2 year program with a different set of students. The goal was to inspire a select group of remarkable teachers to considering hosting an Access School in their states. Professional Development was an inevitable benefit of the training.

The site of the venue was a remote resort located on the coast outside of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The environment was conducive to severing the on-site triggers of stress, promote team building and aide in thoughtful reflection. The trainers were: Alice, Madam Farah, Rose, Sirhajwan and AB. Every participant was a presenter of their own personal progress report of developments since the Langkawi training. The kindles this group generated here are going to spark educational forest fires throughout Malaysia and beyond. Not to mention that this event quickly turned into an educational Lollapalooza of Educational Rockstars.

Let's get down the nitty-gritty of the training. 


Alice presented an outstanding and groundwork laying session on:
1. Review of Phase 1 of Access Teacher Training in Langkawi

Madam Farah presented 3 excellently engaging sessions on:
1. The Word Whisperer’s Spell
2. Dazzlingly Digital Literacy Works (Part 1)
3. Mini Projects to Boost Language Arts 

Rose presented some fab sessions on:
1. American English Pronunciation 
2. Helping Students Enjoy Reading
3. Speaking Activities to Get Students Talking 

Sirhajawan presented some awesome sessions on:
1. Motivational Talk 
2. The Reinvention of Literacy

AB presented some amazeballs sessions on:
1. American English- Your One-stop Shop For Resources & Training 
2. Dazzlingly Digital Literacy Works (Part 2)
3. Knock Knock! Who’s There? Humour In The Classroom 

One of the highlights of Sabah 2.0 was each Educational Rockstar (participant) did a 15 minute presentation on How's It Going? They shared what skills they applied from Langkawi into their classrooms, including any adaptions to fit their specific needs. Not only did they give a progress report, they shared some of their experiences and aspirations since the Langkawi catalyst. Everyone was up to amazing things. A brief sample, Pravin and Shahida won a highly competitive (only 5 granted nationally)  YTL digital initiative grant. 

In keeping with the Access School's community service spirit, Team Rompin organised an English activity with a local orphanage. The youngsters were mixed boys and girls and ranged from 7 -15 years in age. Luckily the children humored us with their participation in our group rendition of BabyShark Dance (DooDooDoo). Afterwards all the Educational Rockstars worked their finesse on small groups students doing various fun level appropriate English activities. As with any grassroots community project, there is a synergy. We were rewarded with 2 performances by students. The farewell got a bit emotional on sides. 

All in all, Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it the best, 
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no pathand leave a trail."