From the last week of November through the first weeks of December, the students of Nurul Ilmi in Padangsidimpuan were hard at work preparing for various upcoming competitions. Not only were they preparing for AMINEF’s upcoming WORDS competition, but there was also an upcoming local competition where students could choose to participate in speech, storytelling of an Indonesian folktale, or poetry recitation.

For this preparation period, ETA Luke Losie helped get his students, who were also in English Club practice, to feel confident presenting their chosen text. While most students worked on speeches on the topic of the future of Indonesian youth, two others did a retelling of popular Indonesian legends, and one brave student recited “Faith” by Louis Untermeyer. Nurul Ilmi, of course, performed fabulously.

Starting December 4, with the local competition out of the way, Nurul Ilmi’s English Club dove straight into preparing their stories for AMINEF’s storytelling competition. All regular English club activities have been on pause while students meet with Luke twice a week to develop their original stories. Worksheets outlining the structure of narrative texts in which students can fill in characters, settings, and plot ideas have been immensely helpful in organizing the unmatched creativity of the students. The students have been buzzing with anticipation, with the local WORDS competition rapidly approaching.

Luke Losie is currently teaching at SMAS Nurul Ilmi Padang Sidimpuan, North Sumatra.