Listening and Speaking: Form 1 Qayyim and 1 Kathir

This is a must activity that I will carry out if am teaching lower secondary. The students obviously have a lot to improve on when it comes to speaking English but I'm proud of them all the same. It was all their work with minimal help from me. I only provided them with some guidelines:

• imagine your Fantasy Island and draw it
• what would you like to have on the island and why
• why is your island special compared to others
• present it in class

And my cute little kiddos came up with....

Our island has a chocolate river where you can have chocolate every day!

Group 4....the winner! Love those food..these kids are hungy all the time!

hmmm...two dimensional

However difficult it is..let them speak!

1 Kathir boys in action

Creative!

Happy teaching peeps!







Those who can DO, Those who can do more TEACH

Carrying the torch..listening and speaking activity

Last Tuesday, we had a listening-speaking focus in 5 Bukhari. A much needed break from the usual lessons we've been having. The task was a consensus-seeking activity where group members must decide the last six people to board a spaceship bound for a new planet. I learned of this activity from a great book Keep Talking by F. Klippel.  This activity generated a lot of language and discussion.  In the task sheet I've added the important structures for agreeing and disagreeing for groups to use in their discussion. Here's how to carry it out: 

(credit: Amazon.com)

Language Focus: Listening-speaking

Duration: Double period

Materials: task sheet (one per student), mah jong paper, marker pen

Procedure:

1. Divide ss into groups of 4. 

2. Distribute task and go through the language structures.

3. ss discuss in 30 mins

4. Two students present their group's consensus

5. Allow two questions from the floor.

Overall, I was impressed with the students' effort particularly Zikri, Dania and Idayu. At one point, it was pretty hilarious when Bindiya and some others questioned the choice of the 70-year-old Buddhist monk! "What if he dies even before they reach the new planet?", Bindiya quipped and I played the devil's advocate by adding, "Isn't it risky choosing the old monk?" To this Idayu answered maturely, "In life we need to take risks." I was like WOW! Really happy to know that they can think on their feet :) Let's see how 5 Syafie fare when I carry this out tomorrow. Another tip is to get those who are quieter to do the presentation, not the same students who have done it before. Rotate. This way, everyone gets the chance to use the language. It is a challenge trying to get students to speak English, hence the need to have activities that require them to use the language in the classroom. Their language is by no means perfect but I love their enthusiasm. 

I love these kids!  They don't need to know that..what's important is I love being with them and preparing lessons for them :)

5 Bukhari in action...

The Thinking Teacher

Fantasy Island - 1 Qayyim

A listening-speaking lesson with 1 Qayyim yesterday. I am so proud of them! Each and everyone of them tried their best to use English in their presentations. Well-done to all and this won't be the last lesson of course. We will have more exciting ones in the future :)

1 Qayyim in action...

Winners as adjudged by their peers:


1. First Place: Cikus
2. Runner-up : Mangosteens
3. Third          : Papayas


Here's the lesson plan in case you want to try it out.

Title: Fantasy Island
Class: Form 1
Duration: Two double-periods (you may need less with older pupils)
Skills:  Listening, speaking, agreeing and disagreeing, writing, presentation skills
Preparations:    1. mahjong papers
                        2. marker pens
                        3. masking tape
                        4. ss colour pencils

Procedures:

1. Teacher explains the task for the day and ss roles.
2. Divide ss into groups of four. ( I used names of fruits and one ss earnestly asked.."Teacher, must we introduce ourselves with the name of the fruit?" Hehehe..)
3. Get one student from each group to get a mahjong paper and marker pens from the teacher.
4. In groups ss draw their fantasy island and what they would like on the island. (I had to give them a double-period as they needed more time.)
5. In the next period, get two students to present their island. (Other ss in the group will get the chance to present and practice their English in the next lesson).
6. Allow the others to ask a few questions based on the presentations.
7. Peer-evaluation and votes tallied to find the best three.



My thoughts on the lesson:

1. Classroom management-  something I can improve upon. ss were used to group work but discipline was lacking. I had to remind them not to drag but carry their chairs and to sit in a circle facing their friends.
2. What can I do with the passive ones? Some were very quiet and did not make any effort to speak the language. But am so proud of Iffah...she really tried her best and it wasn't a bad presentation. She was well-prepared. Fikri and Zamri too deserve praise for their efforts. Perhaps the fear of using English was still strong.
3. Creativity and imagination- There were two groups that (almost) convinced me the volcano on their islands would spew strawberry ice-cream and chocolates!! Oh my!!! Whatever would they think of next :) I love their creative pieces.
4. Confidence- I think I raised their confidence level to use English today and this is surely something positive. A lot more has to be done before they can take off on their own confidently.
5. Potential? A lot! I must tap into that potential...that's for sure.


I rewarded the winners with Van Houten chocolates, eclairs and wafer chocs today and they were ecstatic!

Did we have fun? Yesss!!!

The Thinking Teacher

If you don't use it, you lose it!

Date: 23 Sept 2011 (Friday)
Venue: SM Sains Sembrong, Kluang

My two-hour session with 146 Form 1 students from Sekolah Tun Fatimah, Johor Bahru last Friday. I thoroughly enjoyed being with these bright children. The focus was pronunciation and speaking activities. Thanks to Pn Safiah (Senior Assistant, STF) for the invitation.

My Newspaper Story

With my students' permission, I'm uploading their photos on the activity we did yesterday. This was a double period lesson on 'My Newspaper Story' in 5S1. You were awesome girls! Here are some notes on the lesson:

Focus: Listening-speaking, writing, creativity
Duration: double period
Materials: newspapers, marker pens mahjong papers, masking tape, scissors, glue
Group work orientation
Procedure:
1. Put ss in groups of 5-6.
2. Give each group a newspaper, mahjong paper, marker pen, scissors and glue.
3. Groups choose, cut and paste pictures that they like (5-10 pictures).
4. Groups create a story based on the pictures.
5. Group reps tell story to the whole class.

Top pict: Jia Hui and her group
2nd from top: Winnie and her group
3rd from top: Mei Xin and company
4th from top: My story in progress
5th from top: Poh Yee and her story
3rd from bottom: Jia Hui, the master storyteller :)
2nd from bottom: After the presentation, display on class walls
Bottom: Qiao Wen, cooking a story

IMPROVE YOUR PRONUNCIATION

Now you can check how to say a word in English by visiting www.howjsay.com/  It is a free online dictionary that talks!

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/pronunciation.asp

PPMP Speaking Module

Date: 18-20th August 2009
Venue: BTPN Skudai, Johor Bharu

Today, I oversaw the module-building for the state PPMP (Panel Perunding Mata Pelajaran). We have decided to deal with 'Speaking' as this is a neglected skill in the classroom. Members in my group were Vasanthi (Kota Tinggi), Yusof (Muar), Mrs Jacob (Segamat), Sumila (Johor Bharu), Nuraisyah (Johor Bharu) and Sanizah(Mersing). Although we were short of members, we are confident we will do a good job once the module is pieced together.

Listening and Speaking Anyone?

Have you ever wondered why English classes are quiet? This is something English teachers need to think about seriously. If you walk into a school and just try to stay for a bit, you will notice that you hardly hear any loud reading or choral reading in English classes,let alone group work and presentations. They are basically QUIET. I'm not suggesting no teaching is taking place in these classes but isn't it strange that teaching a second language (a foreign language to many actually ) can be a very quiet affair? Small wonder our students read poorly, have no confidence in pronouncing words they've never come across and are not able to speak after 11 years of learning English in school!! This is certainly food for thought.

I think these skills have been neglected by English teachers as the emphasis usually lies in reading and writing. Teachers are always saying the need to complete the syllabus as the main reason for not doing listening and speaking but I would like someone to tell me what it means to 'finish the syllabus' really. Can you ever 'finish' teaching a language as it is skills based rather than content based? I am often lost when the school administration asks me to state (as part of a monitoring exercise) whether I've 'finished' the syllabus! Isn't language learning a cyclical process rather then a linear one? You always need to repeat and therefore when does it end? Anyway, I'd like to share a lesson I conducted recently in 4S1. Here goes...

Skills: Listening and Speaking (Consensus-seeking Activity)
Time: Double-period
Orientation: Group work (5 in a group)
Materials: mahjong paper, marker pens, a situation
Procedure:
1. Put ss in gorups of 5.
2. Give each group a situation.
3. ss discuss and come to a consensus based on the situation given.
4. Presentation adn Q and A

The situation

RESCUE !
The Earth is doomed. All life is going to perish in two days due to radiation.
A spaceship from another solar system lands and offers to rescue eight people, who could start a new world on an empty planet very much like earth. Imagine you are the selection committee and you have to decide who may be rescued.

Which eight would you choose from the list below?
• a policeman (45 male)
• a teacher (35 ,female)
• a university professor (60, male)
• an athlete (28, male)
• a popular singer(30, female)
• a novelist (45, male)
• a scientist (55, male)
• a historian (38, female)
• a politician (55,female)
• a dancer(30, female)
• an architect (42,male)
• a soldier(26, male)
• a doctor(32, female)
Happy teaching!

MGCJ Module Building Meeting, PKG Kluang, 25 June 09

Today, I chaired the state level meeting of PMR and SPM module-building session for Majlis Guru Cemerlang Johor 2009 roadshow in PKG Kluang. As a matter of fact I was in charge of the SPM English group but Suresh, the MGCJ secretary had asked me to brief the PMR module builders too. The meeting went well except for some frantic calls from teachers who did not receive the calling letter in time :) The SPM group agreed to deal with two areas namely, writing and listening/speaking where we intend to share best practices in the classroom. I personally think listening and speaking have been neglected in the English classroom for a long time. We had a great discussion on what should be included in the 6-hour course. For writing, we will look at controlled, semi-controlled (guided) and free-writing and for listening/speaking, we have decided to focus on practical pair work, group work and large class approaches. We will present our parts during the 2nd meeting on the 2nd July 2009 for team feedback and editing. My team consists of nine English excellent teachers: Adeline (Batu Pahat), Ramesh (Johor Bharu), Norziha (Pontian), Sheikh Fauzi (Mersing), Mrs Jacob (Segamat), Manymaran (Kulai), Hafiz (Kluang) and Renuka (Muar).

State Subject Consultancy Meeting, JPNJ, 18 June 2009

The State Consultancy meeting was held in SMK Taman Kluang Barat for UPSR, PMR and SPM committees. It was chaired by En Mohd Noh(Head of Academic Sector). We now have 54 members in PPMP. Mr Shanmuganathan (English KPP) emphasised on the importance of speaking as a skill that is much neglected in the classrooms. I totally agree with this. Listening and speaking skills must be brought back into the classrooms. Too much emphasis is given to the other skills and much of the fault lies in us teachers too. I hope the SPM PPMP will produce something exciting to enhance speaking skills in the classroom. I was reappointed the chairperson for the SPM English State PPMP and Pn Eva Abdullah, Principal of SMK Dato Menteri, the chairperson for PMR English State PPMP.

Some comments I got from the 'I like you slips' activity last July 11th:

"Thank-you for all the support and motivation"

" ENGLISH ROCKS! Lesson very very interesting and fun...Never know English can be lots of fun like this. BIG THANKS!" (Michelle)

" Hey, teacher...To be honest, you're the best teacher I have seen in the 13 years of my school life...Really!! You aways seem so enthusiastic and determined to teach us...And teacher, you're always so creative. I simply love your ideas in teaching. Well, I do understand about the bad attitude we have towards teacher sometimes, but I hope teacher wouldn't put it to heart and teacher wouldn't blame yourself...Because deep in my heart, I clearly know that YOU'RE THE BEST!!! You're doing an awesome job teacher...Keep it up and Love you!! (smiley)



p.s Whoever you are, thanks for the kindest words girls. You are awesome too. It's not that I ask for your praises. Most important is you are learning and improving everyday and that you enjoy our English classes!! Do you know that I learn a lot from you too?(wink, wink..don't know how to add smileys yet la...)

I Like You Slips

Today I had a lesson on friendship in 5s1. After the song activity (You've got a friend- Carole King), a rounding up activity was carried out in the last 10 minutes. Each student was asked to write something nice to their friends to end the week in a positive mood. They put the slips of paper into the right envelope bearing their friends' names. Time did not permit me to select some students to read their slips. However, the atmosphere was really great! The students enjoyed the activity and were excited to learn about what their friends had to say about them. I joined in the activity and got three slips. I truly hope everyone got something in their envelopes. Will upload the slips I got as soon as time permits! Meantime, be good and stay safe girls!!