Welcome to the first edition of the Fulbright ETA Monthly Highlights from the 2019-20 cohort! Twenty-eight new English Teaching Assistants arrived in Indonesia on July 28, 2019. This year, the ETAs will be teaching across Indonesia in the following provinces: North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Central Java, West Java, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, and South Sulawesi.
Many thanks to all of the ETAs for their wonderful stories and photos.
Be sure to get next month’s newsletter!
AMINEF American Program and Communications Teams
We’d love to get your feedback.
Please share with us your favorite stories: which stories struck you as interesting, which teaching method is the most fun or you’d like to apply, or which activity you’d like to hear more. Email us at socmedia@aminef.or.id and we’ll post your feedback in the next newsletter and you may win a special thank-you gift from us
In Solo
In Solo, people do not mess around with their food. When it comes to eating, there is not a separation of when to eat savory and when to eat dessert. On July 30, 2019, ETA Maria Isabel “Isa” Nieves realized this quickly when she had dinner with a co-teacher, Asri, who ordered a hot chocolate with her.. Read More.
Two ETAs are better than one!
On the lovely afternoon of August 28, ETA Daniel Knoll was joined by ETA site-mate Nicholas “Nick” Navin at SMAN 2 Payakumbuh. Daniel gave Nick a quick tour of his school before taking him to his afternoon class with counterpart Ibu Ernawati “Bu Erna” Msrna. Bu Erna and Daniel taught a lesson on congratulations and compliments while Nick came to observe.. Read More.
Starting Out on a Good Foot
As the school year begins with an exciting whirlwind of new experiences and adjusting to the new environment, ETA Angela Zhu starts to teach her 10th-grade classes. Setting expectations became the focus of this lesson. Angela set the first three expectations, “Try your best!”, “Making mistakes is fine!”, and “Raise your hand.” When forming expectations, students’ voices.. Read More.
Flag Ceremony
Every Monday morning, SMAN 2 Bukittinggi holds a flag ceremony. ETA Jillian Castoro was in awe throughout her first attendance and looks forward to this weekly tradition. The event includes the raising of the flag, speeches, and songs. A group of students march toward and raise the flag, each of their movements in tune with the next… Read More.
Imagining Political and Social Responsibility at the Erlangga English Speech Competition!
ETA Natasha Anis has had a memorable first few weeks at her site in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, diving into co-teaching and tutoring. Her second week at the site, Natasha started tutoring two students who were chosen by the school to enter the Erlangga English Speech competition, hosted in Samarinda by the Erlangga book and educational material.. Read More.
Starting Off Right!
August was a collection of “firsts” for both SMAN 1 Seluma and ETA Conor Jackman. For starters, it is the first time SMAN 1 Seluma has hosted an ETA through the AMINEF program. In fact, it is the first time an ETA has been hosted by a school in Bengkulu province! On the flip side, this.. Read More.
What Motivates You?
The first month at MAN 2 Bukittinggi flew by for ETA Ammarah Rehman. Ammarah has learned about the Minangkabau tradition and culture while hiking through the mountains and rice fields of Bukittinggi. When she’s not hiking through the mountains, Ammarah is trying to find ways to motivate her students who expressed a lack of self-confidence when.. Read More.
A Whirlwind Welcome
ETA Kush Mansuria spent his first month in Indonesia doing a lot of introductions and a substantial amount of orientation and training. After arriving at his school in Kudus, Central Java, Kush participated in a small ceremony with his headmaster, co-teachers, and students to symbolize welcoming him into the school community. After his first week,.. Read More.
Ayo Lari! (Let’s Run)
During her first week teaching, ETA Lucy Srour was overwhelmed by all the eager smiling students of SMA N 1 Sangatta Utara in East Kalimantan. Learning all of their names presented enough of a challenge, but on top of that, the desire to get to know them all personally was incredibly daunting! Luckily for Lucy,.. Read More.
Flipping the Narrative
ETA Gabriel “Gabe” Umland spent his first English club meeting introducing himself and the Fulbright ETA program. Upon introducing the program, Gabe also showed photos of all the current ETAs in Indonesia and the group discussed their many similarities and differences. Then, Gabe, had the students fill in the blank for the phrase “all Fulbright.. Read More.
