Makan Bajamba
One Saturday this month, ETA Daniel Knoll was invited to his school Makan Bajamba ceremony. This event is held this time every year as a senior’s farewell lunch. The senior female students dress in beautiful traditional Minangkabau dresses, while the boys wear baju Koko (collarless loose shirt), a sarung, batik pants, and sandals. Their parents.. Read More.
New Heights
For as long as he can remember ETA Conor Jackman has been afraid of heights. So when he first arrived at SMAN 1 Seluma early last August he paid little attention to the climbing wall prominently located in front of the school. Several of the student members in the climbing club, called ‘Novema,’ repeatedly invited.. Read More.
A Sweet Victory For All
Eight talented students spent the month of February writing and illustrating storybooks for the 2020 WORDS storytelling competition. ETA Emilie Tomas was so touched to see the hard work they put into their stories. Even though only one student would move on to the national competition in Jakarta, she wanted each student to leave the.. Read More.
Going Once….Going Twice….
The month of February was packed for ETA Natasha Anis with planning for the WORDS English Storytelling Competition, Black History Month Activities, and new adventures around Samarinda! One highlight this month in the classroom that was particularly memorable for her and her students was running an auction to teach oral and written advertisements to her.. Read More.
Ash Wednesday
It’s springtime, meaning some ETAs will be celebrating Easter with new-found loved ones in Indonesia. This month, ETA Emma Muth celebrated Ash Wednesday in a Javanese Christian Church in her community. She attended the service with her co-teacher, Bu Suko. Bu Suko is a busy woman, dividing her time between teaching at SMAN 1 Temanggung.. Read More.
New Year, New Semester
In early January, the American Indonesia Exchange Foundation (AMINEF), the Fulbright Commission in Indonesia, hosted the 2020 Fulbright ETA Mid-Year Enrichment Conference. The 2019-2020 cohort of ETAs and their co-teachers arrived in Jakarta on January 7 for three and a half days of programming. Sessions during the conference focused on teaching strategies to increase reading.. Read More.
New Year’s Evolutions
Starting a new semester and a new year, ETA Nathan “Nate” Kumar is excited to continue building on the successes from the past semester and to make improvements in other areas. As such, Nate is eager to incorporate different methods of English learning into his clubs and classes. For example, Nate recently introduced “Cool Word”.. Read More.
“Digital Literacies for English Language Learning: What, Why, and How” in Demak, Central Java”
What are digital literacies and why do they matter to Indonesian high schoolers and high school students? How has technology changed English teaching in Indonesia? Well, English teachers in Demak had a unique opportunity to learn about this with and from a US English teacher and researcher. On January 17, 2020, a workshop was held.. Read More.
Strong Winds in Sulawesi
ETA Michael Walsh focused on Narrative Text with his 10th-graders. Students learned about storytelling adverbs and worked in groups to analyze a story called “Strong Wind” in English. The group had to then depict their portion of this fantasy story and summarize it to their classmates in Indonesian. The classes had to work collectively to.. Read More.
Californian Pen Pals!
January comprised of a Temanggung Madrasah 5K, a trip with the hilarious Pak Husni to Jakarta for the AMINEF Mid-Year Conference, and lessons about climate change, MLK Day, and a recount text about a bule eating durian for ETA Lucy Faust. The highlight, for ETA Lucy Faust, her counterpart Bu Atik, and 86 students, was.. Read More.
