January marked ETA Ruby Mead’s return to the classroom—as well as that of her students at SMK 10 Makassar—following their two-week break. To counteract holiday fatigue and help students return to the mindset of actively producing simple English sentences, Ruby and her counterpart, Ibu Elly Fatmasari, led a lesson on self-introductions. Following a tongue-twister warm-up to motivate, 10th-grade students reviewed concepts such as basic greetings and farewells before learning new grammatical structures to share their names, ages, general hobbies and interests, favorite colors and foods, and future dreams with their peers.

Through various matching worksheets as well as a spirited game of Two Truths & One Lie, the class ended with students successfully introducing themselves to rotating partners using four to six simple sentences in English. Ruby rewarded their hard work and ongoing bravery with celebratory Dum-Dum lollipops and a Chicago Bulls sticker she brought with her from America.

Ruby Mead is currently teaching at SMKN 10 Makassar, South Sulawesi.