November 2025 Edition
Welcome to the October–November edition of the Fulbright AMINEF ETA Monthly Highlights, where we celebrate the remarkable efforts and achievements of our English Teaching Assistants across Indonesia. This publication spotlights the impactful work ETAs are doing in their classrooms and communities. In October and November, the ETAs settled into their sites and new routines. This aligned with the changing of the seasons in the US and the cross-cultural exchange of America’s autumnal traditions.
AMINEF American Program and Communications Teams
We welcome your thoughts and reflections.
Share which stories stood out, what teaching approaches sparked ideas, or which activities you’d like to explore further. Feel free to write to us at communications@aminef.or.id. Selected feedback will be featured in the next edition—and you may even receive a small token of appreciation from us.
RUS Students Celebrate Halloween!
On October 29, nearly one hundred students in SMK Raden Umar Said’s English Club gathered in the auditorium to join ETA Alice Rodi in celebrating Halloween. The meeting kicked off with an impressive fashion show, during which students from the animation- and design-centric vocational school showcased their immense creative talents. More than half of the.. Read More.
On November 20, 2025, Fulbright ETA Andre Edmond hosted an Education Abroad Fair for 12th-grade students interested in pursuing higher education in the United States at the university level. The event involved 29 student attendees who have the goal of taking their studies overseas. To celebrate International Education Week and America250, the fair aimed to.. Read More.
During the last week of October 2025, ETA Aurelia Tan brought the spooky Halloween spirit to SMK Negeri 9 Padang—along with lots of treats, of course! During English Club on October 27, Aurelia gave a presentation on Halloween traditions while dressed up as a scarecrow. She explained the origins of the holiday, including the traditions.. Read More.
On November 12, Brianna Adu-Kyei was invited to SMA Muhammadiyah 1 Taman’s sister school, which catered to pre-K through kindergarten. The goal for that day was to participate in an English cooking class. She was quite nervous—although she adored children, she wasn’t very experienced with such a young demographic—but accompanied by her co-teachers, she greeted.. Read More.
Two Days at the Lampung Selatan (LampSel) Festival
Lampung Selatan celebrated its 69th anniversary in November, and ETA Charlie Cushman enjoyed the festivities with his fellow teachers and students from SMAN 1 Kalianda. Charlie watched the opening ceremonies on Friday night at the town square with several fellow teachers. The town square was buzzing with excitement as people from all across the province.. Read More.
School Anniversary Celebration
Christina Stoll, ETA at SMAN 2 Palangkaraya, dove headfirst into preparations for her school’s anniversary upon her arrival. Leading up to the anniversary, students participated in SMART Fest, where they demonstrated their entrepreneurial spirit by hosting a student-led pasar (market) every evening and planning for the school anniversary on October 28. Christina was asked to.. Read More.
Landmarks and Laughter in the Classroom
ETA Emiko Wu employed a variety of interactive activities during her first few English classes with students. Along with her co-teacher, Ibu Maya, the 11th-grade students practiced using descriptive text to talk about well-known places. Class began with a game of “Hot Seat,” where one student had to guess a city based on clues provided.. Read More.
During October, tenth-grade classes at SMA NU Al Ma’ruf practiced English deliciously by baking chocolate chip cookies. Just a week prior, students learned about simple present tense, imperative sentences, and procedure texts. To put their knowledge to the test, ETA Iyesha Belgrave provided them with a fun challenge—following a recipe. Before starting, the students went.. Read More.
On October 29, SMKN 1 Kokap held its annual Bulan Bahasa celebration, a schoolwide event dedicated to promoting language learning, creativity, and cross-cultural engagement. ETA Jackson Harris was invited as a special guest for the event, which featured competitions in book review, poem reading, and an English-language news anchor performance. Along with the SMKN 1.. Read More.
Where Words Float and Worlds Form: English Club in Virtual Reality (VR)
In November 2025, Fulbright ETA Jasmine Coley introduced VR to her English Club at SMK 3 Kendari. The students were eager to try on the headset and experience virtual reality for the first time. They took turns playing Mondly: Learn Languages in VR. In this game, you practice speaking English and engaging in dialogue in.. Read More.
