The year 2020 marked a new year and the second half of the ETA grant. At this point in the grant, the 2019-2020 cohort of ETAs has a better understanding of Indonesia and its host sites. They started the year ready to be more productive inside and outside of the classroom. Click through their stories to read about interactive classroom ideas, local WORDS competition preparation, exciting school events and much more!
Many thanks to all of the ETAs for their wonderful stories and photos.
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Dancing for Change
During the month of January, MAN 2 Kota Malang not only ushered in the New Year but also welcomed a big change in the classroom. The school had decided that the classrooms were no longer going to be separated by gender. This brought along a series of mixed responses from students, who had grown accustomed.. Read More.
Chinese New Year House Hopping
This month ETA Said Haji placed in South Kalimantan Banjarmasin decided to celebrate Chinese New Year with his students. Said was initially invited to one of his 12th-grade students home, but what was supposed to be a morning event ended up turning into an entire day of house hopping. After completing at his first student’s.. Read More.
Circle Learning
This semester started off with ETA Madison “Maddy” Mele and her co-teachers at SMAN 1 Demak teaching simple past tense to the 10th-grade classes. Maddy led activities to help students practice recognizing, speak and write a text that is in the simple past tense. The first activity was a game called chair swap. The students.. Read More.
New Year, New Outlook
A new semester means a new opportunity to change how to run classes. After learning a lot more about each other, ETA Angela Zhu and Ibu Fransiska, Angela’s co-teacher, decided to shift the balance in the classroom, incorporating each others’ strengths and understanding each others’ weaknesses. This started from having classes say greetings with “Ma’am.. Read More.
New Semester Begins with New Opportunities
January presented exciting opportunities for students and teachers at SMK Negeri 1. During a flag ceremony, students learned about the upcoming Words Competition and the opportunity to compete with students around Indonesia in Jakarta. ETA Nathan Danielson created a registration website for students to register for the competition. Also announced was the return of the.. Read More.
Do You Want to Live Forever?
When you’re a high-schooler, being asked to think about your future is nothing new. But the topic took a philosophical twist when 10th graders at SMA Unggul Del started class with the question: Would you rather live forever or live a normal length of time? ETA Emilie Tomas and co-teacher Rohana Gultom asked students to.. Read More.
Recounting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Monday, January 20, 2020, ETA Joseph “Joe” Janik Miller led an English learning lesson about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Joe first exclaimed that it was a holiday in the US, and then explained to the class that American high schools were never in session on the third Monday.. Read More.
Rolling Down the River
Upon returning to school, one of ETA Sophia Lockwood’s goals was to explore more of her “backyard.” Because Klaten is squished between two major cities, it often receives the misfortune of being seen as an unworthy place by many. Nevertheless, Klaten is a hidden gem surrounded by temples, waterways, and good eats. This January, Sophia.. Read More.
Books! Books! Books!
This past month ETA Ammarah Rehman officially opened the English Library in her house! The English Library was created with Pak Anto, a passionate English teacher in MAN 2. Ammarah converted an extra bedroom in her house into an English Library filled with books for everyone. The students took ownership of the room and made.. Read More.
Hair Love
January was a month of exciting new beginnings for ETA Lucy Srour. After what felt like an eternity away from her site, Lucy was re-energized for a new semester at SMA N 1 Sangatta Utara. At the end of the first semester, Lucy and her co-teachers distributed an anonymous survey to their students to gain.. Read More.
