Descriptive Writing: Shared Sensory Writing with 5 Abu Hanifah and 5 Farabi

Hi peeps! Time to add that spice to my teaching 😊😊😊 This is a wonderful mini-writing that you can try in your class. I found it here -http://secondaryenglishcoffeeshop.blogspot.com/2017/04/collaborative-writing-activities.html

Anyway here's a quick guide on how to carry it out:

1. Put SS in groups of three.
2. Get each group to describe an object e.g. a pencil, a bunch of keys (preferably have the objects ready but I didn't have them ready. I had them look around the library and choose the objects they liked)
3. Revise the five senses quickly. Then get them to choose three senses.
4. Each SS will take one sense and describe the object chosen using that sense in note form. (I used sticky notes because they are colourful)
5. Then groups piece them together and write a descriptive paragraph.

A neat writing task don't you think? I wanted to share this with the Batu Pahat teachers yesterday during the workshop but didn't want to keep them in the hot room for too long sigh...Anyway give it a try teachers.

Those who can DO, Those who can do more TEACH

You Rock Muarians!

Date: 13 AUGUST 2018
Venue: PPD Muar

I was very impressed with the 46 teachers who attended the Yapeim 21st Century Learning workshop in PPD Muar. They were an awesome lot! I especially like the part when they evaluated the lesson plans in the module. One group stood out in that they were able to give a critical appraisal of one of the lesson plans and came out with suggestions on how it could be improved. We all know that no lesson plan fits perfectly for a group of learners and they were not meant to be prescriptive anyway  so it allowed us to have a professional discussion on the lesson plans in the module. 

I'm usually a bit wary when corporate sectors organise something for teachers 😜but I guess this is part of their CSR, so as a trainer I wanted to make sure teachers get something useful from the session and I hope they did. We had a good mix of young and experienced teachers. One has just taught for two years and at the other end of the spectrum, we had someone who has done thirty! (sounds like my own panel 😑). I was pleased with the teacher's participation and enthusiasm despite the small room. 

Tree of Hope 

This is the participants' Tree of Hope in which they wrote what they had hoped to gain from the workshop. At the end of the four-hour workshop I picked some "hopes" and read them aloud and asked teachers if their expectations were met. One "hope" really stood out 😂😂😂. The teacher wrote "I'd like to learn about cultures." to which I responded jokingly, "You're in the wrong workshop!" followed by laughter from the whole group 😃😃😃. The group was such a sporting lot! Think we had a successful outing here in Muar.

Thanks to YAPEIM and En Fauzi (DELO Muar) for their support. YOU ROCK MUARIANS!

Those who can DO, Those who can do more TEACH

27th MELTA International Conference in Johor Bahru, 18-20th August 2018

Calling all English teachers in Johor! There is a special rate of RM280.00 conference fees being offered to 150 teachers to attend this conference. As we all know, the Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, Permasuri Johor herself is MELTA's patron and this year's event is held in Berjaya Waterfront Hotel, Johor Bahru. 

MELTA has a special place in my heart. I won the Dr. Basill Wijasuriya Award for Best Teacher Presenter in 2009 in Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Bahru and again in 2012 in Sunway Putra Hotel. As a matter of fact, I am a life member and I enjoy reading the bulletins they have been sending me. It's a shame that I won't be able to join this conference as I'll be in Turkey (my second trip- some people can't get enough of Turkey 😆) during that time. 

I hope teachers in Johor will take this opportunity to attend this prestigious conference and perhaps present a paper or two to improve their practice as ESL teachers. You can download the letter here.

And here's the form for the special rate.

Wishing the organising committee and participants a successful conference!

Those who can DO, Those who can do more TEACH