AE Webinar 5-Fun with Grammar-Bringing Language Learning to Life through Games

Katie Bain and Lauren Whitaker presented the first series of AE Webinar 5. I was the moderator for Fun with Grammar-Bringing Language Learning to Life through Games. A noteworthy group of teachers gathered at 9pm at UNITAR KB for the first session. There were a few alumni of AE Webinar 4 and a couple of new faces too. It was a rainy night, no surprise there.

I want to especially thank Tuan Hj Ramlan Awang Omar, who hosted the event. The subject matter was how to use games for teaching grammar. Normally, students get stressed with grammar. Games are a fun way to use the target language. It is important to note, that games are used only after the intended grammar has been introduced and taught in class. One advantage of using games is teachers can monitor the class by walking around the room and make quick assessments. The night's discussion also included a brief Certificate giving ceremony of the teachers who completed 4 out of 6 sessions from AE Webinar 4.

Welcome New US Ambassador to KL- Kamala Lakhdir

We want to officially welcome Ambassador Kamala Lakhdir to her new post in Kuala Lumpur. Her first visit to Malaysia was in 1990. She has been a civil servant serving the State Department for 25 years. Before she worked for the State Dept., she was an English teacher in Kenya and China. I like her already. She has worked in Riyadh, Jakarta, Belfast, Beijing and DC.

Click the link below to watch a welcome-toon from the great state of Kelantan. I apologize in advance, due to some tech issues with YouTube, this toon can only be viewed from a computer. Unfortunately, pads and phones are unable to access it.

click here to view welcome-toon

Teacher Reviews From Fun With Phonics

Howdy, here are 3 reviews from teachers who attended the Fun With Phonics 5 days training session at AIIS. Please note, the training was scheduled during the first week of winter break; therefore, some teachers could not attend all 5 days due to previous travel arrangements. If anyone in the virtual world is interested in this training for their school, please contact me at:
 englishsquadconsultancy@gmail.com

1. I've attended most of the phonics training classes and I have learnt so much! Br. Khidar's teaching style is great, masha'Allah. -Teacher Aziza

2. For the first two days, Brother Khidar taught us the phonemes, the actions associated to each phoneme, methods to reinforce the knowledge, language games, resources and many more.

Since I was not properly trained to use phonics for teaching reading, I found the training to be very rewarding and meaningful. I was only briefly introduced to the concept back in uni, but after attending the training for two days, I now have much a better idea and practical knowledge to apply the phonics to teach young learners to read. I believe that when applied, students would find reading much easier or manageable InsyaAllah. 

I understand that time is limited, especially that I only went for the first two days, I would appreciate it if he could briefly talk about the limitations of phonics in comparison to other methods. I would like to know how other approaches may complement the phonics approach. However, he may have addressed this in one of his talks that I missed. Overall, the training is very beneficial and kudos to Brother Khidar for the excellent presentation. Teacher Insyirah 

3.The training really helped me. I liked how we learnt that each letter has a specific sound and action.

Teacher Mimi

AIIS, Fun With Phonics, Day 5

Today was the final day of training. It was a graduation of sorts. Keeping the mood festive, Teacher Farhana and Ustaz Muhummad baked some delectable desserts for the celebration (Thank-you very much). This group of dedicated teachers deserves a pat on the back for their wonderful progress.  We were all on the same page, they all shared the same skills. This is no small feat.

AIIS's Key Stage 1 English teachers were aligned. The birds-eye view of the learning outcomes for a synthetic phonics program in which a student who enters kindergarten to the time they leave Year 3 was comprehended. By blending 44 sounds, words could be formed, then sentences could be made. This contradicts a territorial approach where the concern is only at a specific grade level. Often teachers are so overwhelmed with duties, they can't see the forest from the tree. Like a forest or LRT, it is important to know the whole system before you specialize in your part. It unifies the purpose and strengthens the English Department as a whole.

AIIS uses a Cambridge Curriculum geared towards students taking the IGCSE upon completion of secondary. Cambridge's Key Stage 1 books support the synthetic phonics approach. Moreover, the entire UK and most of the US supports it.  Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for School Reform said, "We recognised the weight of research which demonstrates that the most effective way to teach a child to read is a robust programme of systematic synthetic phonics." Not only did the Key Stage 1 teachers of AIIS recognize it, they were prepared to apply it in helping their students along the path of literacy.

The complete system of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics and Sight Words was absorbed by the teachers. At Tamimi is private school starting at kindergarten. They are subject to many transfer students. These transfer students come in with mixed proficiencies, some above and some below the standard. Inherently in every classroom, there are students of mixed abilities. The terrific teachers of AIIS are now suited to engage all of them. By learning the whole system, every Key Stage 1 English teacher possesses the ability to help students read with speed and fluency.

We started the morning watching a short video on the Benefits of a Bilingual Mind. It led to a discussion. The teachers were a mix of native speakers and English as a second language speakers. We shared stories about the advantages and challenges in the classroom for teachers coming from those diverse backgrounds. In the end, our admiration for our ELL students increased.

To review sounds and actions, we played a few rounds of Phonics Hangman. There was a joyful spirit prevailing in the classroom, the wafting smell of fresh goods contributed to the positive environment. Sight Word Uno also added to the glee of accomplishment. It was a fun way to practice some of the Sight Words.

I was under the impression that experience was the best way to learn, but I stand corrected. Experience is the second highest means on the list of learning, yielding a rate of 80%. However, research concludes, topping the list, we learn 95% of what we teach. This ushered in the team teaching segment of the training. The teachers were divided into 2 groups and given a Phonemic Awareness lesson to teach. They were given some time to prepare for the lessons. Fortunately, we were able to muster up one true beginner, a 15 year old recently arrived student from China. He was good sport.

The moment of truth had arrived, will synthetic phonics fly high like a test pilot or fail miserably like a crash test dummy? Or will it go the way like many other mediocre methods and just barely satisfactorily pass the test? One group of teachers stood at the front of the classroom while the rest sat with the student and participated. The first group did a smashing job of introducing 26 sounds and actions Check out the 19 second video for yourself). They led us in a cheerful game of Phonics Charades.

The second group led us in a game of Phonics Hangman. Like the first group, their delivery was strong and enjoyable. Both groups synthesized and displayed the techniques we developed throughout the training during the team teaching activity. What was also noticeable, was the improvement and boost in confidence of the student. His teacher commented on how remarkably effective this method was in his regards.  The team teaching activity was followed by feedback. The teachers self-assessed and peer-assed each other. The conclusion was Fun With Phonics kissed the sky like a test pilot of a jet.

Break time became party time. Unfortunately, it was short lived due to an hour remaining. I thought it best to have a little story time. We read the classic, One Mole Digging Hole. We also sampled some phonic friendly graded readers like the endearing, Bob is a Bat. Reading materials like these reinforce phonics skills: decoding, fluency, speed and comprehension. Not to mention, I've personally read both titles hundreds of times and still find them enjoyable.

The printer had been raging throughout the whole session producing flashcards, games and posters. We spent the last twenty minutes taking an inventory of what has been printed and what needs to be printed. Teachers organized tasking the remaining printing.

One teacher commented, "It was fun learning throughout the course."

The Cambridge Curriculum, the talented teachers, the fine textbooks and the synthetic phonics approach were all positioned in harmonic convergence. AIIS was on track with delivering 21st Century reading techniques for the lifelong educational journey of their students.

May the Phonics be with you!

Check out these two links to see the teachers in action:
Team Teaching Activity Phonemic Awareness Vid 1


Team Teaching Vid 2- 19 seconds

Introducing The Launch Of English Squad Consultancy- Fun With Phonics Training

Welcome to 2017! Introducing the launch of English Squad Consultancy, with little pomp, but lots of passion. This is the first offer the year and it is tailored towards Key Stage 1 or Lower Primary English teachers.  The program is Fun With Phonics. It is a 5 session training to get your team of teachers up to speed with the most effective methods for teaching how to read.

Today a reader, tomorrow a Leader. 

Please contact englishsquadconsultancy@gmail.com, to arrange training at your school.



Having Trouble viewing? Click this link

AIIS, Fun with Phonics, Day 4

Going back to yesterday's analogy of a LRT system, Phonemic Awareness was the tracks and Phonics was the stations. We are almost complete with building the system. Day 4 was the session to add the trains. The trains and coaches are a indispensable part of the set-up. In this case, Sight Words are the trains and coaches. 

Choo Choo, all aboard! We started the morning with a laugh by watching a short Thai parody of an English classroom after our morning round of feedback. It relayed the importance of proper pronunciation. Please note, don't make fun a person who mispronounces words, it is usually an indicator they taught it to themselves via reading. That is a commendable feat and an easy fix. Consequently, the greater the understanding a person has of phonics, the less likely this will occur. 

As I climb down from my soapbox, the moment had finally arrived to introduce the amazing Sight Words. They are also known as high frequency words or Dolch words. Even though they number only about 220, the Dolch words comprise approximately 60-75% of what is printed in almost any piece of children’s literature. Many of the Sight Words do not follow the convention of phonics, they require explanation and demonstration. Sight Words are meant to be repeated and practiced for automatic recognition. Therefore, Sight Word acquisition is an essential building block in helping a student become a fluent reader. 

We jumped into the subject by exploring one of my favorite Sight Word teaching aids. It is a set of flashcards with succinct pictures conveying meaning to some abstract words. We discussed different methods to teach sight words in the classroom. We gave a couple examples on how to explain Sight Words who don't follow the rule of phonics. Let's take the word 'be' as a sample. 'Be' should be pronounced with a short vowel by the rule of phonics, not a long vowel. Let's break it down. The 'b' is behaving according to phonics, but the 'e' is not. The 'e' should be short, but it is acting long. Due to its irregularity and high frequency, we must use automatic sight recognition for this word.

Lists were distributed with all the Sight Words. The list of words were divided into groups by grade level. They are the benchmarks for student's mastery of Sight Words. Sight Words are meant to be practiced often. So we played 2 amusing rounds of Secret Sight Words. Teachers were shown a list of pictures. Each picture in the list represents a letter. They must identify the picture and use the first letter from the picture's word in making a new word. Guess correctly, you'll have gotten a Sight Word for an answer.  The teachers got a kick out of the task.

We explored a resource that doesn't just isolate the sight words, but puts them in a context. When you present sight words in short sentences rather than in isolation students are more likely to remember them because they develop an understanding of the word’s significance and meaning. This eye-catching resource is printed on multi-colored paper and is accompanied with recording sheets to track student progress.

We managed to squeeze in a little theory on Day 4 by discussing 5 Myths of English Language Learners (ELL). Our understanding of a second language acquisition has developed significantly over the years and it continues to be refined. Unfortunately, they are a few outdated ideas still floating around in the field and lingering in the literature. We had a healthy discussion on some of the facts of language development. It concluded another productive day with a dynamite bunch of teachers. 

I was fortunate to run into a former student Aziz at the end of the day. Man, time sure does fly when you are having fun with phonics.

AIIS, Fun With Phonics, Day 3

AIIS is conveniently located one block away from a new LRT station named Wawasan, USJ 19. When I taught at AIIS, I witnessed the construction of the elevated tracks of the new Putra Heights line. It was reshaping the landscape of Subang Jaya. The station was no way near complete then; moreover, it was not recognizable. After a few years with effort and progress, I was enjoying the fruits of that labor by riding the new LRT line daily. The teachers development was similar. The first two days we spent laying the track, today was the day when we were going to build those stations. Our target was to get the Phonics line operational for passengers by Friday.

It just so happen that this day (21/12), 20 years ago, Malaysia opened its first LRT line. The Ampang line was debuted for public use. They continued to develop the system by adding new lines and expanding existing ones. Till 20 years later, the new USJ line interconnected the Ampang line with the Kelana Jaya line. Nowadays, the LRT extensively covers KL and the Klang valley. This analogy can be applied to teacher's professional development. 

Through continuos professional development, teachers can acquire new methods and expand existing ones. They can become a developed system, instead of a meager line. Students are like passengers, with their mixed abilities they get on at different stations. They all want to be transported to their goal. The goal of the students is: accuracy, comprehension, fluency and expanding vocabularies. With continuos development, teachers will be able to shuttle thousands of students onto the destination of academic success regardless of their mixed abilities starting points.

The teachers began the morning with a quick round of feedback. There were lots of positive comments on the training. A couple of the teachers EBI turned into a discussion about the possibility of this methodology being applied to learning other languages. By the start of Day 3, the teachers were fully recruited into the Phonics family. The effectiveness and appeal of this approach was glaringly apparent.

We started this morning with a toon and a message from Kid President. Before we listened to the presidential address, teachers had to select one word to describe what kind of teacher they wanted to be. They came up with many good answers like: effective, skillful, inspirational and others. After the fireside chat with Kid President, we all agreed we want to be 'awesome'. Hail to the Chief for the inspirational message.

Next, we couldn't avoid an interruption by bossy 'r'. He had postponed his activity from the day before. We played NCAA inspired hoops game called March Madness R - Controlled Vowels. It is a board game. This is a game with 5 game mats for R-Controlled Vowels AR, OR, IR, ER, and UR. Each mat has a spinner. The goal is to spin the spinner and read the words you land on. If you can’t read the word, you have to go back to the space you were on. It was a delightful and surprisingly challenging way to review r-controlled vowels.

We reviewed blending digraphs and diphthongs with Stretchy Snakes. The teachers proficiency in long vowels continued to increase so the Magic 'e' phase began. Magic 'e' is also known as Silent 'e'. The letter 'e' is the most occurring vowel in the English language. Magic 'e' appears as the last letter in word preceded by a single vowel and consonant construction. Magic 'e' is never pronounced, it impacts the single vowel by making it go long. Here are a few samples of Magic 'e' in action: rake, ride and wrote. 

We used a few Hooked on Phonics Videos as a demo to practice the concept. We also had a visit from the cheerful Alphablocks to reinforce the idea. Teachers were given a activity to sort words according long and short vowels. The recognition of long and short vowels is vital to phonics. The Phonics line was almost complete, soon the train will leave the station.