Of the many community engagement initiatives ETA Luke Losie has done, few have been as enjoyable as the dormitory English course at SMAS Nurul Ilmi in Padangsidimpuan, North Sumatra.

Every Thursday and Saturday, throughout February and March, Luke and his counterpart Ibu Ade have led extra English classes for the asrama (dormitory) students for an hour before Maghrib prayer.

This course aligns with Nurul Ilmi’s long-term goal of creating an English-speaking atmosphere at school. The canteen was often packed full of students excited to learn.

On March 2, for example, students reviewed how to answer the question: “What are you doing?” By using fun roleplay activities where a student acts out some activity and the other students must guess what they are doing, as well as focusing on examples that the boarding school students regularly encounter on a day-to-day basis, Luke and Ibu Ade were able to bring life to the lesson material. The constant enthusiasm and high turnout of the students were very encouraging.

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