February 14 was the date of the presidential election in Indonesia. Many of ETA Natalie Suh’s 11th-grade students were excited and passionate about voting for the first time, as the voting age in Indonesia is 17. Given the excitement, she thought it was only fit to have a fun English lesson around elections.

Students learned about the differences and similarities between US and Indonesian elections. Some students were surprised to learn that in the US, voters fill out their ballots with pens rather than the nails that Indonesian voters use to “poke” their favorite candidates. Other students were surprised to learn that election day in the US is not a holiday like in Indonesia.

After learning about election processes, students imagined what they would do if they were president by creating conditional sentences. Students wrote three statements that were creative and thoughtful solutions to the problems they wanted to fix. Responses included, but were not limited to, building houses for people without homes, providing free food to communities facing hunger, giving free skincare, and getting rid of corruption.

Initially, Natalie simply wanted the students to share their answers with the class. However, the students innovated and turned the class into a mini mock election. Three students went up at a time to share their conditional statements. Students then thought about whose statements were the best and then voted on the best presidential candidate. Overall, it was a great way to connect current events and active English learning.

Natalie Suh is currently teaching at SMKN 3 Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.