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

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 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!

Notice my picture with Abdu Rahim, in the backdrop is a poster with his picture on it.