October in the United States is often marked by cooler temperatures and pumpkins. Autumn in Indonesia looked a bit different than what our 2019-20 cohort of Fulbright ETAs is accustomed to. In this batch of the Highlights, you’ll find ETAs introducing their host communities to the seasonal tradition of Halloween as well as participating in the Indonesian school tradition of Bulan Bahasa. The ETAs also share some of their most successful activities to create engaging, student-centered classrooms. Click through the following links for specific stories!
Many thanks to the ETAs for their wonderful stories and photos.
Be sure to read next month’s newsletter!
AMINEF American Program and Communications Teams
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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.
What Our Readers Say
Thank you to Kristy Jackson who emailed after reading ETA Angela Zhu’s article “Love is all you need” in the September 2019 Monthly Highlights.
I was researching usage of the song, “Little Did She Know” and found your site. I am so honored that you chose to use my song in your program. As a songwriter, you hope to have one of your songs have an impact on the world however it has been a bittersweet journey to be associated with the tragedy and enormity of 9/11. I wrote this song as a way to grieve myself never knowing it would travel the world.
Thank you again for embracing it.
Kristy Jackson
Songwriter & Performer
www.kristyjackson.com
Flickering Flashlight
Halloween was coming up and ETA Angela Zhu had a lot to prepare for her first spooky Halloween in Tana Toraja. Starting with a lesson on basic Halloween vocabulary and figurative language, Angela eventually built up to forming a scary story. The students drew things that scared them as other students guessed the students’ fears… Read More.
Making Announcements
During October, ETA Blake Lapin has been having lots of fun in the classroom. During the second section of Announcement, he and his co-teachers focused on listening activities. The beginning of the lesson allowed students to draw the answers to questions by using a graphic organizer. They were asked to draw an example of public.. Read More.
Masterpieces All Around
As ETA Shannon Pinzon has gotten to know her students better, she has realized the jump in excitement levels when lesson plans include an artistic component. This was especially true during the weeks of teaching “Advertisements.” During this lesson, students were separated into groups and each group was tasked to create their own advertisement from.. Read More.
Tom and Jerry
After a challenging group writing activity, the 10th-grade students of SMAN 1 Seluma were in need of some heart-pumping excitement. Fortunately, ETA Conor Jackman and counterpart Pak Oki had planned the perfect game. At the mention of a game, the students jumped up and pushed the desks aside. The 10th graders stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a.. Read More.
Everyone Gets a Turn
One of the most difficult parts about the Indonesian classroom is navigating the Malu culture–or shyness within the classroom. For ETA Sophia Lockwood and her co-teacher, Bu Endah, there has been a lot of trial and error, but they have found that the students are their most confident while working in small groups. They feel.. Read More.
Despacito
On Wednesday, October 16, ETA Maria Isabel “Isa” Nieves held her fourth English Club meeting. She had been preparing for this meeting for a long time with the help of teachers and her school SMK Negeri 7 Surakarta. The school allowed her to have an English Room in which students could meet up, chill out,.. Read More.
Run and Shout: Making a Lively Classroom
The 11th-grade students at MAN 1 Payakumbuh are an utter joy to work with and the four classes throughout the week in which ETA Nicholas Navin teaches them often end up being little highlights from that day. As the studying frenzy of midterms began wrapping up by the middle of October, a different kind of.. Read More.
Being Muslim American in Indonesia
In October, ETA Shanze “Aisha” Tahir was invited to speak about her experience being a Muslim American at a local school in Malang. For the past three months, she has become close to Wafa’ Hanim, a young woman in Malang who Aisha was connected through one of the speakers at the orientation in Jakarta. Hanim.. Read More.
Halloween Spirit at SMAN 1 Demak
This month at SMAN 1 Demak, ETA Madison “Maddy” Mele celebrated Halloween with her kid’s club and English club. On October 25, the weekly kids club met in the library where they picked out a paper mask or a crown to color and create a Halloween costume. Students then walked around the school to the.. Read More.
Designing our Dream Cities! Kota Impian!
To finish the descriptive text unit the students in Class X at SMAN 2 Demak wrote about their “Dream City” or “Kota Impian”. In the three weeks before the classes had discussed descriptive texts about objects, people, and places so this was an opportunity to combine this knowledge and previous lessons! Students discussed in groups.. Read More.
