Welcome to the September edition of the Fulbright ETA Monthly Highlights! Already two full months into their grant year, the 2019-20 cohort used the month of September to get familiar with their host communities and surroundings. The following highlights feature stories of ETAs using creative activities in class, leading their first English clubs and taking trips with community members.
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“Find Someone Who” was a hit with the 10th grade students at SMAN 2 Sangatta Utara. Once students understood the directions and heard the first “find someone who…” category, the class erupted into shouting, raised hands, and shuffling. They listened intently for ETA Janika Berridge to read the next category, then proceeded with the yelling.. Read More.
Kesalahan adalah Kawan: Establishing a Classroom Learning Environment
Jangan malu-malu! Kesalahan adalah kawan! Selalu mencoba yang terbaik! (Don’t be shy! Mistakes are friends! Always try your best!) These are just a few of the phrases that were solidified into the memory of ETA Nicholas Navin, who spent the initial fifteen minutes of each class during his first week of teaching blundering about in.. Read More.
In September, ETA Nathan “Nate” Kumar has learned that, at times, it can be difficult to get students engaged in class. For many students, English is their third language, they have been in class since 6:30 in the morning, and they are often in the same room all day. As such, it is understandable why.. Read More.
September in Temanggung was filled with the smell of tobacco drying along the side of the road and the final coffee cherries being picked off their trees. For ETA Lucy Faust, she spent September welcoming teachers back from Hajj, going to Singapore to get her limited stay visa squared away, getting into an English Club.. Read More.
For ETA Gabriel “Gabe” Umland, the month of September was jam-packed as, in addition to teaching over 400 students a week, Gabe has been cast as a character in the school play, is involved in a school musical performance, coaches the school volleyball team, is involved with a local badminton league, participated in a regional.. Read More.
It was another typical day in the English Club at SMAN 1 Tana Toraja. The lesson started off with students reading then analyzing and hearing “Little Did She Know (She’d Kissed a Hero)” by Kristy Jackson. With some guiding questions from Bapak Paulus and ETA Angela Zhu, students discussed their ideas surrounding this song. The.. Read More.
ETA Tessa Sontheimer had the opportunity to explore more of her new home of Java with her colleagues and co-teachers when she was invited on the FunTrip Guru & Karyawan Bromo-Batu excursion on September 20-22. All of the teachers at SMAN 2 Demak were invited to celebrate the recent retirees and the new headmaster joining.. Read More.
On September 13, 2019, ETA Madison “Maddy” Mele held her first kid’s English club for the children of teachers and community members. Maddy was very excited to receive 17 kids from ages four to 11 for their first meeting. She taught colors in English, had the kids watch a fun video about colors and then.. Read More.
During the week of September 16, the grade 11 students at SMAN 2 Bukittingi studied intentions, with a focus on using the phrase “will be going to.” In an attempt to make the topic fun, ETA Jillian Castoro and her co-teacher, Ibu Mursida, presented the class with the game “Around the World.” For the activity,.. Read More.
This month, ETA Michael Walsh prioritized helping students at SMKN 1 Tana Toraja learn how to both read and write descriptive texts. To help strengthen students’ English reading ability, Michael and his co-teachers designed a game called “Designing a Dream House.” Students were divided into six groups. Eight descriptive texts were posted around the classroom.. Read More.
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