TELL2 Workshop...WE DID IT!!

The daunting task of creating a presentation in a foreign language and being judged by a room full of your peers combined with having to drag yourself into work on a Saturday after a long week of mid-terms and classes forms a pit in the stomach of anyone. However, on Saturday May 17, 2014 the level one English teachers of Bentong did just that. What’s more? They achieved it with flying colours!

The Brighton Education TELL2 Teachers Workshop, the first of its kind in the district, was designed to share and circulate the ideas being presented in the TELL2 classrooms. The entire workshop was presented at Bentong’s new PPD office. By showing teachers that English can be fun to teach, TELL2 is allowing room for innovation. Classes and activities with adaptable templates can be used to help students at all levels.

Bentong is no stranger to the TELL program, which places native English speaking mentors in Malaysian schools to help create a more learner centered classroom environment for students, and Saturday was a chance for the new TELL2 teachers to demonstrate activities they have been using in their classrooms. Each school in the current program arranged a 20-minute presentation, covering a specific teaching method, to present to the English teachers of the non-TELL2 schools. The schools presenting included SK Bukit Piatu, SK Sulaiman, SJKC Ketari, SK Tuanku Fatimah, SJKC Bukit Tinggi, SK Janda Baik, SJKC Khai Mun Pagi, SK Sungai Marong, SJKC Perting and SJKT Bentong.

"This gives us more ideas," said Tan Beng Tatt an English teacher from SJK(C) Perting—this was very much the overall consensus for the workshop.

The teachers in attendance made for a lively, enthusiastic crowd. They happily volunteered to participate in all activities creating uproarious laughter and an overall positive learning environment.

The TELL2-teachers presented on different methods; ranging from songs in the classroom to language arts, phonics activities and much more. One activity had the teachers playing the roles of a farmer, a herd of sheep and a mama sheep. The farmer’s job was explaining to the herd how to find their mother. The directions needed to be specific or the herd would get lost. From there, the mother and the herd needed to follow directions to the correct shed/coop. Needless to say, the room echoed with the laughter of all in attendance. The confident teachers executing this activity proudly proclaimed, “Our activity is the best!”

Confidence! A key element that any good teacher puts into practice. This workshop not only helped Brighton’s TELL2 teachers with their teaching and presentation abilities, through peer acceptance and approval they also built the confidence that is so important to teaching. It is no secret that many public school English teachers throughout Asia are coy when demonstrating their language abilities, resorting to bland worksheet based lessons and rote memorization. It is exercises like the Brighton Education TELL2 Workshop that give teachers that chance to build self-approval, which they can then take to the classrooms.

Another favorite activity reinforced shapes, adjectives, vocabulary, and the moral value of working as a team. Participants were divided into groups and handed two envelopes filled with shapes of different colors. For the first activity they had to follow the directions given by the presenters, i.e. “paste the big red circle in the middle of your paper.” When finished, the students compare their final picture with the picture the teacher has. The second envelope was a test of creativity. The teacher tells the students to make a person using all the shapes, and the students work together to figure out which shapes should go where. Mustaffa Bin Said of SK Simpang Pelangai said, “I’m going to use [this method] in my class.”

The entire workshop was overseen by Bentong’s ELO Cik Nurmasnita Binti Kamaluddin and Brighton’s Pahang manager Ryan Harb. Nurmasnita has shown great support for Brighton’s TELL2 mentors and teachers, always keeping the lines of communication wide open and motivating the teachers to keep an open mind. Mr. Harb showed equal support and a motivating attitude for all the teachers and mentors.

Brighton’s mentors, Charlotte Lewis, Stephen-Peter Jinks (Jerantut), Michel Demyen (Pekan) and Evan Eames mediated the event. The mentors made sure that all the presentations had smooth transitions. They were also assisting with material creation in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s workshop.

The workshop also gave Brighton’s mentors a chance to display the English fun fair games and activates they have been building over the last two months.

These games will be exchanged between the TELL2 clusters of Pahang and Terengganu throughout the duration of the TELL2 Program. During break time the teachers had a blast trying the activities and various language challenges.

All those involved rose to the occasion and delivered beyond expectations. TELL2 teachers and mentors worked together making the entire event a complete success! 

If you would like to offer feedback, share your opinion or photos of the day please get in touch.  Your input is appreciated and always welcome!