This past Saturday concluded the final week of instruction for the semester. Final examinations at my school take place this week and the next, followed by a week of student meetings and competitions. Three semesters down; only one more to go! The second semester of English Club has officially ended as well. We found loads of success with English Club this semester. I would like to share what I did with teachers and students to make the Club so successful this semester. We had enough interested students at the beginning of the school year to divide them up into four separate English Clubs; each met for approximately one hour on a weekly basis. The three tenth-grade English Clubs met from 2-3pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. The twelfth-grade English Club gathered from 3-4pm on Thursday. There are four English teachers whom help with English Club; each teacher is assigned to one Club. Similar to the previous semester, over one hundred students came to the initial introductory meeting. Last semester we started with close to 125 students, but ended the semester with only a dozen students who attended on a weekly basis. The English Club teachers, however, made it a goal this semester to keep attendance as high as possible. We improved organization in hopes that English Club could be more structured and enjoyable for the students. My counterparts also hoped that we could involved activities that students could use to bolster their resumes for future jobs and college applications. We divided our English Club semester into two themes. The weekly meetings related to those overarching themes: environment and professional development. The first half of the semester pertained to nature and the environment. We listened to Michael Jackson’s Earth Song, working to identify new vocabulary words. We organized a nature scavenger hunt, where teams had to compete to take pictures of the most items from the list. We also played bingo, using new words to fill in the spaces instead of numbers. We ended our environment theme with a fun day: community trash cleanup. Students ventured outside of the school and cleaned up the surrounding roads. Each English Club was assigned a different street, leaving the neighborhood much cleaner than we found it. The professional development theme was equally exciting. Students read professional cover letters, practicing plenty of new vocabulary. The students later used the new words to write their own professional “elevator pitch” introductions. We spent two weeks at the end of the professional development theme to prepare for the fun day at the end of the semester. Students worked in groups of four or five to design English lesson plans. Our school partnered with two neighboring schools for the English Club students to teach the elementary kids. This was the most exciting part of the semester for me. It was great to see all of our hard work accumulate to this fun English Camp. The counterparts introduced lesson planning to the students. Having introduced Peace Corps 4MAT lesson plan to the English Teachers a year and a half ago, it was encouraging to see them pass the information along to their students. The English Club participants designed their lesson plans around a variety of simple topics: colors, numbers, fruits, vegetables, and hobbies. We spent time during our weekly meetings working with the smaller groups to design fun and engaging activities for the elementary school students. I listened to my counterparts pass along ideas of games and teaching strategies that we have worked to implement over the course of our past three semesters working together. During the last meeting before our Camp, the groups of English Club students took turns presenting their lesson plans, teaching their fellow classmates the activities that they would use to practice new vocabulary, sentence structure, etc. This provided an opportunity for me and the other teachers to compliment their ideas, which increased their confidence. We met at our school on Sunday, November 4th at 7am. The English Club students brought their handmade supplies (posters, vocabulary lists, and pictures) for the big day. The English Club students spent thirty minutes going over their plans with one another, and assigning tasks to each group member, before we walked together to the neighboring school. The elementary school students were eagerly awaiting our arrival! We started English Camp at 8am with quick introductions. Mas Wendhi and the other counterparts took the lead with the megaphone. I tried to stick behind the crowd and out of the mix. I spent most of my time trying to get the kids to listen. I tried to play as little of a leadership role as possible, because I wanted my counterparts to see how much they can accomplish on their own. We played a group game out on the field in front of the elementary school. Mas Wendhi asked me to lead the game, which we called “Shark Numbers.” The elementary school kids, along with English Club students, ran around the field, pretending to swim. I shouted a number, and the students had to get into groups of that many. The students certainly enjoyed running around. I hoped that it would expel some of their energy before they went into the classrooms. I don’t think it had that much of an impact. Each English Club was assigned one grade of students. There were three or four groups of English Club students, with their respective lesson plans, per grade. The English Club students set up different stations in the classroom, and the kids rotated between lessons every fifteen to twenty minutes. This setup allowed the English Club students to go through the same lesson plan four times, ideally improving their delivery with each rotation. Each counterpart stayed in the classroom with their respective English Club. I roamed from class to class to check out how everything was going. It was very exciting for me to see English Club students use activities in their lesson plans that I led in my own English classes with them. It shows that they are paying attention! Everyone gathered back out on the field after the lessons were over. We played one last group game, and then took pictures, before everyone returned home. The most exciting part about the English Camp project was the positive reactions from my counterparts, English Club students, elementary school teachers, and their students. Everyone hopes that we can do it again this coming semester. The high levels of enthusiasm among all participants, and the relative ease of putting the English Camp together, gives me hope of the long-term sustainability of English Camp. The counterparts and English Club students are already discussing ways to improve English Camp for next semester. I hope that English Club continues to organize the event after I leave next year. It seems that this semester’s organization has helped improve the overall experience of English Club. We ended the semester with close to eighty students attending meetings on a routine basis, which is far higher than with what we had at the end of last semester. The meetings have been fun, engaging, and most importantly, effective. The students are learning English! I hope that they come back to English Club next semester. Now that final exams are in full swing, the English Club students are looking forward to an extra-special meeting on Saturday, December 22nd. My mom and grandma will visit my village for a few days when they arrive in Indonesia next month, and my English Club students are preparing a fun day for them. I look forward to seeing my two worlds collide! I’ll make sure to share the details later on of what will likely be a memorable experience. Shout-Outs:
HSO to my sister for sending a package filled with toys. The English Club students and elementary school kids loved them! SO to the holiday season. It’s so refreshing, yet overwhelming, to think of everything for which I am grateful. ASO to missing out on friends and (most of) my family this time of year. HMFSO to finishing my third semester of teaching. Only one more to go! HSO to the one race on November 6th that garnered my undivided attention. ASO to football in Wisconsin. Both of my teams are having rough seasons. EASO goes to the Badgers for losing Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the first time in fourteen years. BSO for my Gopher friends who get to enjoy the victory. Congratulations! Another ASO for your joy coming at my expense. SO to my friend for turning 30! And HSO to his wife for throwing the best surprise party! I wish I was there to celebrate with you both. ASO to rainy season. Everything is wet; it’s humid, and I cannot escape the sweat.
1 Comment
|
AddisonHometown: La Crosse, WI Archives
May 2019
Categories |