English Language Teaching & Learning International Seminar 2013
I was very honoured & blessed to have been personally invited to conduct a workshop at the English Language Teaching & Learning International Seminar 2013 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Kuching. It was a conference for Primary School teachers organised by IPG Batu Lintang & Brighton Education Learning Services.
This is my FIRST ever conference presentation!
The focus was on activities that the participants could take back & immediately apply to their classroom so I decided to share some of the activities I have been doing in my own classroom. I gave examples of project-based activities which would allow students to practice their language skills (Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking) in a meaningful context. It was nothing special or out of this world. It was something simple that any teacher could replicate. I will probably write a dedicated blog post about them in the future.
I am in no way an expert. But I am willing to learn & share what I know. I believe that, together, we have more.
I don't have a problem speaking in front of my students but it was a whole different thing speaking to a room full of adults/teachers. Fortunately, I had a really good crowd who participated & contributed. I sincerely hope that I had added something of value to them & I wish them well in their classrooms.
I learned a lot from this experience even though I do not feel that I have something so unique & special that I had to share it at a conference. But this has a great encouragement for me in the direction of innovation & creativity in the classroom. This also makes me feel that my work in the jungle is noticed & appreciated by people miles away. I am motivated to do what I'm doing & improve on it.
Also, seeing what some of the trainees were able to do was really humbling & I can never in my wildest dreams produce such excellent work. I do hope that they bring their creativity into their classrooms & have the determination to weather the challenges of being a teacher in Malaysia.
You may view all my pictures of the conference here.
Footnote: Dear teachers, at times, we have to invest our own money in our own professional development. Did you know that I had to foot the bill to attend this conference? My conference fee was waived because I was a presenter but there was still the cost of travelling from my school in the jungle to Kuching and back.
I did request for my transportation costs to be claimable with PPD Kapit but I was ignored after continuous requests with the necessary paperwork. It was easy to ignore me because I was so far away & could only be in contact via phone. I guess teachers in Kapit are not encouraged to present their work at conferences.
Nonetheless, no teacher should let cost stand in their way. If you want to attend a course/conference & your PPD is not supportive, do not be discouraged, you are not alone &, if you go at your own expense, it will be even more meaningful.
We have the power to empower ourselves.
This is my FIRST ever conference presentation!
The focus was on activities that the participants could take back & immediately apply to their classroom so I decided to share some of the activities I have been doing in my own classroom. I gave examples of project-based activities which would allow students to practice their language skills (Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking) in a meaningful context. It was nothing special or out of this world. It was something simple that any teacher could replicate. I will probably write a dedicated blog post about them in the future.
I am in no way an expert. But I am willing to learn & share what I know. I believe that, together, we have more.
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| Many interesting speakers & presenters were present. I had a good time building my network & learning from these great minds. |
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| I met up with a past course-mate, juniors (some of which are lecturers), a past teacher & many talented trainees. |
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| I was very impressed with the work displayed by the trainees from IPG BL. As I visited their booths, I had a sense that they will make a big difference in our education system. The future looks a bit brighter for the children in Sarawak. |
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| More of their impressive work. My prayer & hope is that their spark will never die out. Instead, it would spread & grow into uncontrollable passion. |
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| I conducted a workshop entitled "From Students To Students". I shared activities I used in my classrooms to make the practise of language skills more meaningful. I.e. Pen-Pal Project, Show & Tell, Tell Me A Story. I'll write a dedicated post in the future. |
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| The teachers in Sarawak who kindly attended my workshop & contributed produced material that I will share with my students after the holidays. Do you know any of them? |
As promised, here are my Power-point slides. Feel free to use it for whatever positive ends.
I don't have a problem speaking in front of my students but it was a whole different thing speaking to a room full of adults/teachers. Fortunately, I had a really good crowd who participated & contributed. I sincerely hope that I had added something of value to them & I wish them well in their classrooms.
I learned a lot from this experience even though I do not feel that I have something so unique & special that I had to share it at a conference. But this has a great encouragement for me in the direction of innovation & creativity in the classroom. This also makes me feel that my work in the jungle is noticed & appreciated by people miles away. I am motivated to do what I'm doing & improve on it.
Also, seeing what some of the trainees were able to do was really humbling & I can never in my wildest dreams produce such excellent work. I do hope that they bring their creativity into their classrooms & have the determination to weather the challenges of being a teacher in Malaysia.
You may view all my pictures of the conference here.
Footnote: Dear teachers, at times, we have to invest our own money in our own professional development. Did you know that I had to foot the bill to attend this conference? My conference fee was waived because I was a presenter but there was still the cost of travelling from my school in the jungle to Kuching and back.
I did request for my transportation costs to be claimable with PPD Kapit but I was ignored after continuous requests with the necessary paperwork. It was easy to ignore me because I was so far away & could only be in contact via phone. I guess teachers in Kapit are not encouraged to present their work at conferences.
Nonetheless, no teacher should let cost stand in their way. If you want to attend a course/conference & your PPD is not supportive, do not be discouraged, you are not alone &, if you go at your own expense, it will be even more meaningful.
We have the power to empower ourselves.
