ETAs Janika Berridge and Lucy Srour joined a local private middle school’s two-day English camp. For two hours on a Friday night, the pair led 60 students through a series of interactive activities. They kicked off the night with a game of “Guess Who! Miss Lucy or Miss Janika?” Students then learned more about each other with “Find Someone Who.”

For the main activity, Janika and Lucy read six statements (twice) all beginning with “My America is…” Students then worked in groups to put together the sentences – color-coded and scrambled inside balloons. Once all groups completed the activity, the duo followed up with a presentation including the six statements, their Indonesian translations, and images. “My America is… Big. There are 50 states from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific ocean. Diverse. Americans are all races, practice different religions, and speak many languages. Originally home to Native Americans.” They recounted.

At the end of the presentation, students were able to recall the seasons and the number of federally recognized Native American tribes in the USA, among other bits of information. To complete the activity, students then created their own “My Indonesia is…” statements. “My Indonesia is friendly.” “My Indonesia is many resources.” “My Indonesia is countries of many histories of colonial by Netherland.” They responded. A few students read aloud their statements before Janika and Lucy ended the night with the “Cotton-eyed Joe.” While students had fun learning the dance, Janika and Lucy enjoyed teaching it even more.

Janika Berridge is currently teaching at SMAN 2 Sangatta Utara, East Kalimantan.