This blog was created for students teachers to reflect on their teaching experience at school and share this experience with one another. As each shares and collaborates on best practices, successes as well as mistakes in teaching ESL, it is hoped that student teachers will benefit from such collaborative reflections on this blog platform and continue to appreciate the use of such a platform for further collaborations even after Teaching Practice.

Sunday 30 September 2012

" It's not hard to be a teacher, it's hard to be a good teacher"

Sek. Men (J) Keb. Katholik

Greeting to all! 


Four weeks ago before our teaching practice, there were so many question marks keep rolling in my mind. Will i be able to control the class? What can i do if they make fun of me and step over my head?  In the first week, I strongly felt like to go back to UM to study instead of teaching in school. It has been more than three weeks so far, now i could definitely face the class with calmness and loads of interests even there are few Challenges for me. Sorry for the late posting, recently students have already started their final exam, so I could get a proper time to clear up my mind to look back what I have been through during last four weeks.  

I was assigned to teach two form 4 science classes. After few lessons I could get to know them a little bit. the first thing which needs to be mentioned here is class discipline. As we know there must exist few jokers or entertainers in one class.In 4S1, the amount of jokers is over my expectation. A lot of boys are noisy, naughty and hardly concentrate in class. Most of the girls are quiet and shy. How I wish they could balance their personality a bit. In the class, when my eyes are not on those noisy boys, they start to chitchat and laugh. When I found it and approach them to remind them, they show me the innocent faces. When the class start to become a little bit noisy, I would make a pause and just staring at the student who is not concentrating until he or she realizes that. Because I clearly know using louder voice to make them stop talking doesn't work on me as my voice is soft and low. So I will stop talking  for a second until they realized by themselves or some other students will remind the noisy one near them. 

I also found that name list really works on students. It could also easily catch students' attention. The first few classes I couldn't get the time and chance to memorize their names, so sometimes I just walk about in the classroom and call someone randomly. But soon I realized this way could not make them focus. Calling their names is one of the effective way to get close to them. They could feel the teacher pay attention on everyone. I start to take the name list with me, whenever I pick up the name list, they start to become tense and more concentrate. As 99% students are Chinese, their names are easy to be memorized. But the spelling of their names on the list are quite different. Some names are even harder to pronounce than English names. Even though some of their family names are same, the spelling are different. So I make it short, I only memorize their given names which make them feel more genial. Don't feel memorizing the names is troublesome, it helps you to get one more step to the students and it works on class discipline.  

As my teaching peer said that the way we study to teach is so much different with the way the students used to learn. Students are used to sit all day long and absorb the knowledge without interaction and reflection with other classmates and teachers. In 4S1 class, most of them keep themselves away from English communication through conversation, debate and presentation. They are not used to present opinion in front of the class. So I made some activities which help to improve their speaking skills such as giving speeches in different occasions and doing broadcast as a broadcaster. When they said they don't know as an excuse, I just try to guide them to complete the task instead of calling someone else. One more thing I found is a wide difference of English proficiency among them. Sometimes the good students don't feel bothered to pay attention and answer the questions as the questions are so easy to them, but for the weak students they hardly cooperate as well because they have no idea what to do. So in one lesson, I try to call the good students to answer some difficult questions to make them focus and feel not all the questions are easy to them. But most of the time, i gave chances to weak students to answer questions and speak up their opinion in front of the class. 


On second week all the teachers in Katholik  high school attended one workshop which is about blended leaning in Taylor University. During the workshop, all the teacher were given a quiz to test what kinds of learners we are.  I used this quiz to test my students in order to know their learning style. The results surprised me as most of them are kinesthetic type which means kinesthetic learners understand material best when they can do it on their own. according to their result I got to know they are capable to study English well and actually they like to be involved in activities. So as a teacher we just need to stimulate their potential and interests. Providing chance to make them talk more and do more by their own. At that time the exam was around the corner, so all the students were under pressure. I gave them task to complete on the class but not let them finish as  homework because I know most of them won't take it seriously and bring it on next class. 

My supervisor has already observed me and she gave me a lot of relevant suggestion. The last thing need to be mentioned is my mentor and teachers in this school are so kind and friendly. They never feel bothered with my thousands of questions. I have learnt a lot through communicate with my mentor and some teachers. This is another way to get to know about the students and the school better. 

Best of luck to everyone, be patient and passionate ! :) 



Saturday 29 September 2012

Keep on Changing!

*erk*
i'm late!!!
it has been 4th week already!!!!

well, so far so good..my time table at the school had been "Keep on Changing" *lol*
it has been quite hectic..
on Monday I'll be teaching in the evening session.
Tuesday and Wednesday both session.
Thursday and Friday I'll be teaching in the morning session.

how did this happen?
at first, I had to teach two form 2 class which are 2K & 2H (both in evening session)
on the second week, Pn. Cristina (a  morning session English teacher) took a leave for 2 months.
So, Syam and I had been rescheduled.
I had to drop one of my form 2 class (2K) and take 4K (morning session) in exchange and that is how I got the mix timetable.
latest, both of us had been given another class, 3O. This class is taking PMR next week.
*mind blown*
but then, I think we managed to handle the changes.

So far, the school had been having some programmes ;
Climbathon (climbing Bukit Gasing while carrying Jalur Gemilang)
Marching competition.
GERKO Day (Co-Curriculum Award Day)
and we had been enjoying all of it.

Problems?

For the 4K class, I had problems in meeting the expectation from their previous teacher but that could not stop me! I had a lot of fun with this class. We had a lot of discussion, exchanging ideas and also games. I also asked them, what do they think they had problems in? Essay! For them, 350 words are too long and they had problems in generating ideas and constructing sentences. I guess they are having problems in drawing their mind-map and YES! they do! So, I tried to teach them on how to draw an effective mind-map. So far they had been showing a very good progress but still, I think they can do better and maybe there are some other way to fix this. So guys, please...help me with this.

For the 2H class, I had problems in controlling this class. This is a very active class. All of the students love to talk, move around and again, talking. I am having quite a bad time handling this class. After times of analyzing and spectating this class, I'm getting to get grasp of their 'beat'. I change the problem into opportunity. I am actually lucky for having this class. They will definitely answer my questions and expressing their opinions. Since they are very active so I made them move around. We had games, role playing, dramas and also singing. I have plans in taking them outside of the class so that this class can have a bigger space but I need to plan  it carefully so that it wouldn't be out of control.

My supervisor, Prof. Fatimah is coming next week. I still have some few tricks up on my sleeves. Hopefully my plan will work.

For my friends out there, hang on....We can do this! Just a little bit more. Show them our love, our passion and we are here to help them. What will we get? You guys will know it later ;)

with love,
FAHRUL

Friday 28 September 2012

Teaching is a passion!!!!!!

First of all, i would like to ask apologize for the late post.. Basically, teaching in SMK Seri Hartamas is a big challenge, yet it is also very fun to accept the challenges there. The students there are superb in their English Language as it is their first language for them. When think about the problems that i face in school, its just that students are hyperactive. they love talking and talking... The only way to control the class is ask them whether they want to write an essay or keep quiet? I usually use this method when i m relieving class. Besides that, i don't think that i face any problems in the school for now as my students, teachers and mentor are really helpful and kind.

Thursday 27 September 2012

Students gonna hate.. *Flips hair*


Assalamualaikum and hello to everyone :)

To my surprise, I was actually ready for this teaching practice for us to endeavor in our final year. Despite for not coming to the briefing earlier, I went to the office on a Sunday, a day before our teaching practical started but only to found out that my name was not listed/assigned to any schools. I was shocked but couldn’t do anything as there was nobody there except for the construction workers who seemed scary to me as I was alone. Anyways, I went to the office the next day where everybody else has gone to their respective schools and tried to figure out to which school I should be assigned to. Thanks to Dr Adele for her quick response and assistance to get me into the school – Catholic High School, Petaling Jaya.  I am indeed very grateful as the school is just nearby my place. Less than RM5 per way by taxi everyday and I am not complaining.

First reflection:

First day of teaching practice was okay as I had the chance to meet the Principal, my mentor and some teachers and was given the school tour. As I was assigned to two classes, I managed to observe both classes when the English teachers were teaching them. Not forgetting that I was informed earlier that Form 4S9 is very well-known as the naughtiest Form 4 class and Form 4P1 is the cooperative class. Nevertheless, both classes have the same English proficiency level so having the same lesson plans with the same materials or teaching aids and activities will still be acceptable (right?)

Anyway.. it has been 4 weeks now and I still think the students hate me. This is based on two strong reasons:

1. The mentor assigned for me is the Head of Discipline (a.k.a The Most Fierce Teacher). Whenever she comes for observation which so far she has done twice, the students will always be scolded, especially in Form 4S9. My mentor told me if ever the students cause any problems/troubles in the class, she asked me to just submit their names to her department. I was reluctant at first because I was trying to be as tolerant as possible but unfortunately I cant control the class so I tend to “threaten” them with that most of the times and I am not proud of that. *guilty as charged*

2. Since both classes I am taking over have covered everything in their syllabus before I even came to the school, I was advised to do revisions with the students and ofcourse giving them a lot of homework for their practice. Not just that, the teachers asked me to do a lot more on any writing-related exercise! So it was mostly essays (Tell me about it!). Nevertheless, I’ve tried to make my lessons as interesting and enjoyable as I could. For example, I’ve tried doing a debate which attracted the students – “Facebook ; good or bad?”. They loved the activity not until I told them that it was a practice for their argumentative essay as homework. It was a pity for the students as I just started to get to know them but the worst part is – I had to mark their works!

Well other than that, in general, the naughty class is very rebellious. There was once when I wanted to give them a short summary writing as an exercise in class, one of the boys answered back to me “No! I don’t want to do it!” and I just had to ask him why. He didn’t reply me so without embarrassing him, I brought him outside of the class to talk about it while others continue doing their works. He didn’t have any reasons and finally he agreed on doing it anyway. To compare, Form 4S9 did the summary within 30minutes but not all submitted where Form 4P1 finished and submitted everything within 15minutes of the lesson. Amazing right? Form 4P1 even offered me to join their clubs and play some sports with them in the afternoon.

Second reflection:

It is exam week now and there isn’t so much to say but it is a shocker that I have encountered a lot of problems already. The exam just started and its good news to us teachers – no lesson plans needed! However, only the second day of exam (25th Sept) when I was invigilating my naughty class, so far I have taken 4 mobile phones and caught two students cheating during their Maths exam. I remember being a student in my prior years so I know when and the “techniques” of how the students cheat in their exams. But this does not mean that I have cheated in the past okay. I made those students cry and begged for my sympathy but I just couldn’t and shouldn’t tolerate with them because it is their EXAMINATION! So I just had to write their names down and send to the discipline room. Oh FYI, my school is really strict and they still practice the whipping as punishment. For phones, the school will confiscate the students’ phones and ask the parents of the students to be responsible for it and the phones will only be returned after 3 months. Just imagine that – 3 months without mobile phones! Am I mean or cruel?  Should I be guilty? I don’t think so. I did what I had to do.

Oh great, more reasons for the students to hate me now.

Talk to you all soon and Assalamualaikum.

Regards,
Khairiah

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Aim BIG!

Sorry for this late entry, but it really has been some very hectic 4 weeks at SMK TTDI!! As I mentioned in my previous post, I am assigned to teach English in 2 Dalton, the weakest class in form 2. And oh boy, they are a handful! Noisy, cheeky, naughty little creatures, creating havoc usually at the back of the class, they can't keep still and have the attention span of a goldfish. Yes, no kidding. The first few lessons that I've prepared for them in week 1 were unfortunately too difficult for them. I really didn't expect that they have very poor, almost zero proficiency in English. That was when I discovered that most of these students are from the 'kampung' or 'setinggan' area in Sg. Kampung Penchala. I tried to speak in English with them, but that resulted with them saying, "Cikgu, tak faham! Jangan cakap BI lah." Oh dear... So I tried to amend my lesson plans. All the activities that I created for them for the past 3 weeks were all very simple. Drawings, fill in the blanks, mix and match, and story-telling are some of the activities that I have prepared for them. These kids, they LOVE it when I sit in the middle of the class and have them come sit around me. I taught them the drama, Rumpelstiltskin, looking at the synopsis, themes and characters. Not only that, I even went through all the poems that they have learnt, just as revision. They were intrigued, quieter and more focused with that kind of activity. The thing that is still troubling me is the fact that these students refuse to say any word of English. Simple words like, 'little'. 'beautiful', 'jungle' are considered so foreign to them. What I usually do in class is, I speak 95% of Malay so that they would at least listen to me and pay attention. Because the moment I speak English, they would turn away. Dr. PK who is my supervisor had already observed me once and he commented that my overall performance was good. However, he is still very concerned that I speak to much of L1, instead of the targeted language. This troubles me, as I don't want my marks to get deducted. I dream of doing so many fun and exciting activities in class for them, though I still have to consider that they are very weak in English. So now, they have finished their syllabus and is undergoing their final exam. I would resume my classes with them next week, and I hope I have more freedom in preparing my activities. Since I am not restricted to following the syllabus, I will try to come up with creative and meaningful lessons for them. They are not lazy students, just probably frustrated and uninterested in learning English because they don't understand. And friends, I am aiming to change that! Wish me luck! :) , tell us problems in teaching that you are facing at school and some of the strategies you are trying in the classroom to solve these problems. Describe the situation in class and tell us if problems are solved.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Stressed?

Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, nervous, or anxious. Stress is caused by an existing stress-causing factor or "stressor."

Source: Dictionaryonline.com

I heard from various sources and many little birds that many of you are under a lot of stress to the point of not being able to control your emotions at school. Tears well up? Tears fall?

Please bear in mind that teaching practice is an arena for you to practice teaching. Supervisors and mentors do NOT want to fail you. They are there to help you. If they are not there, who would be able to tell you that you did certain things wrongly? OR could improve here and there? So, take it easy, do you best and God shall guide you.

To those who were given very poor/weak classes to teach or classes with students from HE%%, trust me, we understand what you're going through. We shall not judge you based on your students' behaviour. We want to see you trying your best, okay?You shouldnt have been given such classes to teach in the first place. However, remember that you MAY be given such classes in schools after you've graduated. So take the ride and learn to enjoy it as much as you can.

I bet even experienced teachers cant deal with such students most of the time. Perhaps talk about their future, their aspirations, what they plan to do with their life without education and skills in the future. Speak to them about the cost of items today as compared to years ago. A box of milk? A packet of rice? How are they going to support themselves without any skills? IF academic skills are what they dont want, talk about vocational skills: mechanics, electricians, plumbers etc...MUST LOOK AT STUDENTS' NEEDS!

All in all, we dont expect you to change the world within the short time you're in school. Hang in there, Leaves!

My prayers are always with you.

Dava's Lesson at Taman Petaling Girls' School

Dava began with the comic strip on the board as Set Induction and then a Pre Reading discussion on Insomnia.  I wish the comic strip was bigger for all to see, however she read aloud the dialogues for her students when she realised they couldnt see. 
She then distributed a reading text for all. The thing is she made a few students read aloud para by para. Not only were some students' voice very soft, they also couldn't pronounce some words correctly. Perhaps, Dava can have a Speaking lesson next time focusing on pronunciation of words: vowels etc. For a reading lesson, the focus should be on reading silently.
Here's one student who was very soft...Dava had to coax her into reading further...the others? Well, they were 'unentertained' when this happened.
She distributed a vocab activity as well. Before students got a chance to read silently on their own, she began asking for answers from the class. She was good in explaining and had a clear voice. She was stern yet encouraging BUT she should've let her students read silently on their own and perhaps discuss in pairs answers to the task. 
And her single period lesson was too short for what she had prepared for the class. Here's the text. It IS very long. By the time the bell rang, they haven't gone through the whole text. Maybe Dava can shorten it to fit a single period lesson.
This second task wasn't even carried out. No time. Maybe for the next lesson? Time management is important here. Overall, when discussion happened about Insomnia, students enjoyed her lesson and laughed at her jokes. I like that. However, Dava can further improve as a teacher, just like the rest of you. Hope you can learn from her lesson, here. Good Luck!

Monday 24 September 2012

Wang Siting's reflection


Reflection (third week)

Time flies! We have taught in school for three weeks. I was assigned to school, Taman Sea, with Wang Lin, Rou Jin and Awatif. Rou Jin and Awatif are teaching Form 4 in the morning session, and Wang Lin and I are teaching Form 2 in the afternoon session. I teach two classes. One has good English ability, another is relatively weaker. The first two days, we two (Wang Lin and I) did not go into the classroom because we were waiting for our timetables. During this time, other teachers in the school gave us so many useful suggestions such as Madam Tang. They told us some possible situations what could happen in the classroom, and the ways to solve. For example, our mentor said that students are quite naughty; the first thing we should learn is that we should control our class well. This makes me anxious and worried.

There is another interesting thing. Students have to assemble on the playground in their last period on Monday. My first day in school was Monday. So, I had the opportunity to take participate in this ‘meeting’. One of the principals, Madam Julie, introduced us to all the students. It made me feel nervous immediately. All the eyes were looking at us. Since then, when we step into campus each time, we can hear some students call us ‘Miss Wang’. (When I have relief class, students always asked me that if Wang Lin and I are sisters because we are both ‘Miss Wang’).

Started from third day, we came into the classroom. The first thing I did was to know my students. I prepared ‘ice break’, it did not work well. Some of the girls were afraid of speaking. So, I made it simple. I just asked them to sit in pairs and introduce each other such as their hobbies and personalities. It worked better than ice break. It made me know that some of the students are good at handwriting, drawing or singing. One more thing is that it is really hard for me to pronounce and memorize their names. I really have no idea. The only way for me is to memorize their names from the name list…(Should I ask students to write their names in Chinese on the name list I prepared? Because most of students are Chinese, when they spell their names using letters, it is really hard to pronounce…)

When you start to teach, choosing the suitable material is very important. In order to know my students’ level, I played a vocabulary game in the class with good English ability. This game is named “what is the meaning”. Teacher should provide an unfamiliar word to students and divide them into groups. Students should write down the definition of the word and how they guess the meaning. So, I wrote “warmonger” on the board. Unexpectedly, they all knew the meaning of this word. How can I continue the game! (I did not prepare another word…) I asked that in what ways you knew this word. Some of them said that they learnt the word “fishmonger” so that they can guess out the meaning of this word. How smart are they! So, I decided to give them more challenging work next time.

I selected a relatively difficult reading passage to them, they still had no problems with it. I even gave them writing tasks in order to get to know them. I found that they are really good at English. Most of them have good writing skills and rich vocabularies. However, some of them have grammatical problems. This class is really challenging for me. I must improve myself.

About another class, their English level is intermediate. Some girls are not good enough. Sometimes, when they ask questions, they would like to use Chinese. So, the tasks I gave to them are much easier.

So far, I gave writing tasks to both of the classes. I think writing is a good way to communicate with your students. Besides that, I found that many students like to read short stories. I will select some stories and use literature circles in the classroom.

Control your classroom! It is still a problem to me. I have to promise that I am a soft person. I cannot pretend to be strict even I remembered what you told us. Fortunately, the discipline in my class is not too bad. When I stop speaking, students will know that teacher is unhappy and can keep quiet for a moment, but just a moment… another problem is that I cannot fully attract my students’ attention. This is what I should improve.

By the way, I felt happy that I had a relief class in Form 1. One of the girls gave me a gift. Haha~~



Teaching practice really helps me build my confidence. It even made me speak more. I know that I am not a good communicator. Now, I am trying my best to make change. Sometimes, we may feel frustrated, please hang in there and work hard. Hope all my friends can enjoy your teaching practice and get more from it.

siting

2nd reflection

2nd reflection

After 3 weeks of my teaching practice in SMK T.T.D.I. I had submitted the schedules to my supervisor and he already observed us once. I am teaching two Form 1 classes and the level of these two classes are very low proficiency. Some of them cannot even speak a complete sentence.

During these three weeks, I feel class management is very important for the low proficiency class. As the two classes I have, each class has one boy sleeping during the class; some of the boys were fighting with each other, I was supervised that when one boy was bullying his friends and he was placated his friend by touching his head and tried to find something inside his hair after he cried. (Like the monkey mum always find the louse for her baby - -!!); many of the students just walk around during class if they want to go somewhere and talk with their friends; all in all, they are so sosososo naughty!

I told the situation to the school English teacher who is the discipline teacher as well. He went to the class and scolded them (in Bahasa Malay) and told me if any of them naughty just report their names to him. After that, the whole class was so quiet and everyone followed my instruction; they finished their work so fast and were very active in class. If the same situation happened before, there will be no one answering my questions. The problem is that they don’t want to learn, they are so lazy to think, to speak. 

Now, if any of them talk, sleep or walk around in the classroom I will point out their name and ask them to pay attention. I like them because they are listening to me; form 1 is still easy to control.

21 september 2012

Saturday 22 September 2012

There are always room for improvements

It been 3 weeks i've been here in S.M.K Seri Hartamas. But every times i entered the class it still give me butterflies. This would be my main problem. There are always room for improvements - Madam Jeet (my mentor) Somehow she always give me positive comments and suggestions for what to do in class whenever i felt down and made me want to do better for the next class. I got form 2 Ikhlas which is very noisy and divided into few groups in class. They have high proficiency and low proficiency students and some like to talk Bahasa with me. Group works doesn't fit them as they always talk in groups and i unable to control the class told my mentor. They also have little respect for teacher. So I changed my method from being nice to strict. They still like to talk though but i will constantly remind them to be silent. My mentor also commented my teaching where i always concentrate the front row because they always answered my question and forgot about students sitting at the back and made them lost interest to learn. I've tried role play in group but only the high proficiency seem to participate. I still need to figure more methods for them that complements everyone in the class. While for my form 4 Zuhal they are very passive and somehow reminded me of my high school class. It is always the same person that answered all the questions i asked them. They don't like to do group work and if yes only the same person did all the tasks while others will chat or sleep. Because of this i will always ask people who sleep, chat and sitting at the back to answer questions or give their comments in class. Every comments and experiences i faced made me stronger and i'll to do it better next day. And feel free to comment if you have any suggestion or comment to help me. Aby <3

Friday 21 September 2012

The Boys

Bukit Bintang Boys, of course.

Since the first day I came in to this school, I can say that all of them see us like we are nobody, not a real teacher. The best thing is that I was assigned for 1 U, 2nd best class. But still,  I was assigned for the last class, 1 T as well... I never give up but give my best to cater both classes. I can say that all, yes, ALL of the classes are super active, like Syazwan said in his post. They can never sit still, always talking, and moving around for no reason. By putting on ground rules and implementing them straight away when they mess up, it did help me to gain class control. Anyway, for 1 T, I can say that, all of my colleagues are shouting to them. only our Penyelia Petang managed to control their behavior with soft-spoken words.

Problems I Faced
All of them are super active. They always giving us excuses to go out e.g toilet, see other teacher. I rarely entertain them. 
1T - they have very low proficiency in English. I have to mix my English with BM every now and then. they make loud noises, even when i'm teaching them. I can't even rely on their monitor as he makes more noise than others.However, there are a few of them who really like to learn are giving full concentration.
1U - they have better proficiency than 1T. however some of them don't give full co-operation, perhaps they don't really like my style, only 10% of them are like that.
2B (Moral) - first class, but same problem (loud noises, reasons to go out). 

Strategies
1. Ground rules that I have set and implementing it right away. at least it give them that "don't mess with me" mindset. I have to do this since they don't have any fear/respect towards their regular teachers, what more from me?
2. Mahjong papers, manila cards, pictures are essential as it attracts them. the classroom are not equipped with projectors and plug points are not working. thus, Syazwan and I have to opt traditional teaching aids.
3.  for better classes, I can use a lot of student-centered methods like discussions, presentations. but for 1 T, I choose to be more of traditional-type because of their level. However, I still include games and fun to attract them.

so far, strategy 2 and 3 have worked well. but for num 1, it is not really working to all of them. But still, me and Syazwan always discusses about giving them harsh punishments only when they went overboard. this is because our Penyelia Petang doesn't really like the shouting and harsh punishments like our colleagues did as she feel pity with the students' background, problems etc. But still, if we don't take care of ourselves, they will stepped on our head, right? (sorry for literal translation). 

However, my motivation is still high as before not for grades but for my classes. I really want to share and spread the knowledge to them.

If you be nice to me, i'll be nice to you!

Hi peeps,

How are you? And your teaching practice? I personally hope that everyone is doing just fine and are enjoying their teaching practice. You know what, I really can't believe it. Time flies so fast and here we are, the third week of our teaching practice. Yet next week is the final exam for my school, Catholic High School.  Which this also means that my friends and i have to rush and finish all the syllabus before the final exam. OMG! It's a real challenging task for me and for them, i guess.

Honestly, many good and not so good things (i can't consider it as bad though) had happen through out this three weeks of teaching. However, i just bare it in mind that everything that happen is just a part and partial life of becoming a teacher.

The first week - Gabe, Muni, Ellina and i were assigned to teach in the afternoon session which starts from 1.00 pm to 6.30 pm everyday. However, we have to be in school before 12.30 pm. I'm okay with that but it's just that we are not given our own table where we can actually seat, put all of our stuffs and do all our works on it. Mdm. Wong, the senior assistant told us that they don't have enough place for us, trainees as most of the place have been occupied by the permanent teachers and we have to wait until the morning session teachers go back to get our place. Isn't that annoying? But, luckily she promised to find us a place before the week ends. Later on, she gave us our timetable where i have to teach 1 Form 1 class and 3 Form 2 classes. I am quite lucky as i do not have any class on Monday. So, i am a free bird every Monday. Since i do not have any class on the first day, i took the opportunity to walk around the school to get familiar with the places as well as to get to know some teachers. My mentor, Mdm. Ow Siew Har is a discipline teacher. She looks really strict but friendly at the same time. She told me on what i should cover up and even invited me to her class to see how she conducts her lesson. The next day, i entered my first class that is my form 2 Moral class. I feel as if i'm an alien from outer space as every single student is staring at me and whispering to each other. I introduced myself to them by saying that i am their temporary teacher. As soon as i finish talking, the class started to make a lot of noise and they don't even bother to hear what i am about to teach them. It's getting on my nerves as no one is listening to me. I yelled at them for the first time and to my surprise everyone straightaway shuts their mouth and look at me. However, i did not continue scolding them but i use a strategy that i learnt from the other teachers. I made a deal with them that is if they be nice to me, i'll be nice to them as well but if they are trying to be funny, i'll be even more funny than them. Everyone agrees to follow the rule and i'm happy with that. My next class is Form 1 English class. I entered the class and yes, the same thing happens where everyone is looking at me and the next moment, they started talking to each other, ignoring my presence. I didn't wait long to start my lesson as i have been assigned to teach them comprehension on the first day. I can see some of the students are not happy with me but i tried my best to tackle them. Without realizing it, the first week is almost over and yet we have Saturday school. My mentor observed me for the first time today as she wouldn't be around for quite some time. I got a positive comment as she told me that my voice is loud enough and to her surprise, i manage to control the whole class which she regards them as hyperactive and cheeky students.

The second week - This week i am quite busy, as i have to relief many classes. Even though so, we are still not given our own table. But, its okay. I still manage to keep myself calm. Besides, i have made many new friends and they are all so friendly, helpful and nice. Everything is going on just fine until i entered my form 1 English class again, that is 1A1. Today, i am teaching them on how to write an announcement. I divide them into groups and divide the task as well. I choose the group leader by myself to save time but to my surprise something unexpected happens. Mr. Loga, my moral lecturer once told me that "we should try to involve every student in our lesson and if we see someone that does not get along well with everyone, we as a teacher should take action to solve it". I choose a boy named 'Tan' to be the of the group leader but to my surprise the whole class refuse to be in his group and they even dare to utter the word "we hate him" and "we don't like him". I really don't get it but after some serious discussion and by playing rock, paper, scissors, at last i manage to put him in one of the group. All of them cooperate really well, except for one group which consists of 7 boys. Every time i walk pass by their group, they will straight away block my way and wouldn't let me pass or look at their work. I think that is fine because by hook or by crook they still have to pass up their work to me by the end of the class. As the class almost over, i collected all their works and head off to the staff room. I go through their works, some of them did really well but for that particular boys group, i was really shocked to see what they have done. They did not follow my instruction to create an announcement but they are creating something else but using all sort of dirty and disgusting words. They are just form 1 but they have such a dirty minded mind. I didn't wait long and i proceed to meet the discipline teacher, Mdm. Cheam. However, i feel like giving them a chance and who knows perhaps they can change. I bumped into one of the boys and told him that i am really pissed off with their group and straight walk away. His face immediately change. On Saturday, we have to attend LADAP that is Latihan Dalam Pengajaran at Taylor's College. It is a new experience for me and it is also the first course for me to attend as a teacher. Interesting! But, i still can't manage to solve Tan's problem.

The third week - Today, as soon as i drove my car into the school compound, i saw all 7 of the boys are waiting for me. I am really nervous and scared at the same time because i really don't know what they are up to. As i proceed to the staff room, they stopped me and each and every one of them starts apologizing and begged me not to report them to the discipline teacher. They are pulling my hands like babies and i decided to forgive them if only they cooperate with me and behave nicely in my class. They agreed and that's it, i forgave them. Yes, they behave properly but we can't expect them to totally transform themselves, they are still kids. But, i can feel that i am getting closer to them day by day. They started being open with me and we can joke around together. Same goes to the other classes. However, before i forget, during the assembly on Monday, one teacher told me something that i myself really can't believe it until now. They said that i am one of the fierce teacher in school. Really ah?? What a surprise?? But, i doesn't matter as long as the students respect me and we can get along together. That's all i need. One more thing, i have got my own table. Yes! At last! Unfortunately, not for Gabe, Muni and Ellina. They still have to share tables with other teachers. Ouwww!

As mentioned above, the main problem that i faced at school is the students themselves. As for the problematic students, i tried to find ways that can attract them to listen to me. Some of my classes really enjoy group work and some of them need us to pay more attention to them. I did many series of group work and also try to get closer to my students by sharing something in common such as our interest. One close example is in my 2B1 Moral class. There is a group of boys who always make noise, create trouble and didn't bring their books to school. At first, i was very angry at them but then i remember one of the teacher once told me "not every thing will turn out as you wish for". Then, i change my strategy. Every time i entered the class, i will ask them to answer my questions and give more attention to them. I stop scolding them as i realized that is no use as they will hate me even more. Sometimes, i will just walk to their desk and try to chat with them about anything. Thank God, in just 2 weeks, i have manage to grab their attention in class. One day, I entered the class and asked who didn't bring their books. They raised up their hands and said "Teacher, today we got bring our book lor. Good boy right? Extra mark for PEBEL okay?" I really can't stop smiling the whole day as i manage to solve that problem by just becoming more patience. Even some of the teachers told me that they had already give up with that group because of their rude behavior. I am really proud of myself! Yeeppiii. :)

I really hope all of us can keep being cool and calm in facing any kind of problems. Just be patience, everything will be alright. After all, they are still kids. Just don't let it get over board.

ADIOS! <3

Teacher and Microphone..


Honestly, I already give up on my first week of teaching. However, the school counselor was my life saver. She does open up my eyes and make me realized that everything does not comes as we wish for. Thank You Cikgu Ayu.. =D

I was assigned to teach Form One and Form Two.
Allow me to introduce my students.. =)

1A3: At first, I really had hard time to tackle them. Their teacher told me that they are really passive. They won’t respond to any question or movement..HAHA.. But their English was really good.. Sometimes I can feel that their English are better than mine... *face palms* But as usual, first impression is not always the best. I managed to grab their attention in the second class. They really love to work in group. They will finish their homework in time, submit their work and put effort in every activity that I conduct in the class. In the second week, all of us had been comfortable with each other. And, unexpectedly, they had shown their true colour. They become talkative and really active in class. For me, it was a good changes. =)

2A2: There are 43 students in this class. The environment of this class is really suffocating. There is no space for me to walk around the class. The student’s table is really close with each other. You can find the last student is sitting really near with the wall. Because of that, it’s hard for me to have a look on the student’s work. However, I love this class. They are eager to learn something new in every lesson. Most of the students are really active, cheerful and friendly as well. They really love to laugh. Sometimes I don’t understand the real reason that makes they so happy..They always make me wonder…HAHA.. ^_^

2B2: There is one group of boy that is really naughty and noisy. They like to speak in mandarin with me. Sometimes I just pretend that I understand what they are talking about. But sometimes I can’t avoid myself from asking them what does it means. HUHU.. But those boys are nice; they respect me and like to make fun of each other. They are so funny. =D All the girls in this class are sweet.. They like to smile and respond to every question that I ask.. One thing about them, they always ask me to write on the blackboard..NO! My handwriting is terrible.. But they still love it.. So sweet of them.. <3

2B6: My worst class ever.. HAISHH..! =.= The biggest problem that I faced in this class is that they really hate group work.. They refuse to do any activity in class. I had tried to do one activity in class, but FAIL..! First, I’m having difficulties to divide them into group. “Teacher, I don’t want..! I don’t want..! I don’t want..”  Second, they don’t want to cooperate with their group members.. They waste their time doing their own work. Even though they had been assigned to discuss in group, but none of them put effort in it. I feel so disappointed with them. Beside that, they don’t want to learn at all. They always said that there is no use in learning Moral in class. They can use their own logic thinking to answer the exam question.

Since Allah has gave me such a soft voice, so it is quite hard for me to control the class. They always ask me to talk louder.  Sometimes, my student’s voice is louder than me..HUHU.. The solution for my problem is…, I’m using microphone in class..HIHI.. xp


Best regards,

Muniroh Mansor (^^,)

Surprises


It has been three weeks since I started teaching at SMK (L) Bukit Bintang. Monday, 3rd September 2012 (first day of being a trainee teacher), approximately 1.25 p.m.: assembly, the school hall. The principal announces, “Kita ada menerima seorang guru baru, Cikgu Amin (we have got a new teacher, Cikgu Amin)”. The teacher stands and waves to the students. The students give him a round of applause and not even one of them says anything. I thought “this is great, they welcome the new teacher”. The principal continues her speech, “Kita juga ada menerima 2 orang guru pelatih Bahasa Inggeris……..(we have also got two English trainee teachers……)” and all of the sudden the students went crazy. They were screaming, booing and definitely not a single student gives us an applause. The principal had to yell to the students, telling them to behave before calling out our names and we stand. A teacher behind me whispered “tengok tu, budak-budak dah mula dah (Look, they have started)”.

Upon the event, I embraced myself for the ‘treatment’ that is waiting for me. For my first class, I introduced two rules.
1)      When I am in class, nobody speaks unless I ask you to speak and if you have any question, raise up your hand with your mouth shut.
2)      If you need to talk, please stand on your chair and talk, and don’t sit unless I tell you to sit.
Well, the cruel rules rule! I have the class in control and avoid being the victim of the bullies.

Next problem. “Sir, I can’t read and write, how am I going to do this?” At first, I really thought they really can’t read and write and that is going to be a real problem for me. So I used basic and simple materials from the primary school to teach them (my mentor gave the suggestion). But, on one very fine day of the first week, I’m having a class with 1 Ikhlas, a period before the recess. I gave them a short essay to write despite I’m aware of their incompetence. I said, “I don’t care if you can’t read or write, you will not go for recess if you don’t finish this essay”. To my surprise, the ones with “Sir, I can’t read and write, how am I going to do this?” finished first with minimal grammatical error. Those are the SMK (L) Bukit Bintang students for you. They have been fooling their teachers so they may be excused from doing work. Problem solved.

I have been observed a couple of times by my mentor and she said I’m doing fine. From what I’ve been through, I’ve realised that the boys are super active. They need to move around. They want to play games. They love to draw and do role play. They are really smart unless you ask them to copy notes on the board or write essays and definitely crazy about money, gadgets and girls from Assunta. So I let them be a bit noisy for some times by introducing games and group work activities before asking them to do their work.

So far, I’ve only been warned by the Penyelia Petang for high fiving the boys and being too friendly with the boys outside of classroom. The boys like to stick their hands out of the window to high five me when I walk past their class. The senior teachers are worried about that. They said the boys might lose their respect towards me and will not see me as their teacher but more as a friend.

To all my friends, no matter how bad your students are, find a way to bring the best out of them. 

Of everyday's pressure and love

     Hello warriors. We have been in our teaching practice for almost 3 weeks already. As I was assigned to teach Form 1 Cekal and Form 2 Sabar, I started my teaching since the first day of practical. I could not make any class observation as the class teacher was on maternity leave. For the first weeks, I made some activities to test their language skills.
        Let me begin with my form 1 class. They are the best class. Their proficiency are average-high intermediate. They have settled with all the syllabus when I came in. So, I told them that we are going to make revision for the final exam. Based on all the activities that are being done with them, they are really capable of doing all kinds of activities. However, they keep on talking and move around. Although some teachers remind me not to let them talk too much in the class, I didn't stop their conversation with their friends in the class as in my own opinion, they are undergoing process of learning as they converse in English. Honestly, there are not much problems that came up while teaching them. For next week's class, I 've prepared a lesson plan that is quite challenging for them as I don't want them to be too confident that they can handle everything. On last Tuesday, two of my form1 students made a public speaking in front of the whole school.I am really proud of them and honestly, there's no words can describe how happy I am when they get down from the stage podium, the first face that they look at was at me with a smile :). These are some pictures on activity that is done with them 






     Let's move on with form 2 students. I was assigned to teach form 2 Sabar. All teachers and school admins always remind me to be really patient with them. On my first class, I did ice breaking activity by giving them a blank sheet of paper and ask them to draw pictures that describe about themselves. The rationale that I did this so that I could get to know them better and I could be able to test their language skills. When they start presenting their drawing, I know that they proficiency are very weak. There is one student who asked me what's the purpose of learning English as he only wants to work at a car wash. I was really speechless at that time. Besides that, they are very noisy and always move around. At that time,I really don't know how to control them. Even if I scold them, they will only keep quiet for 3 minutes before they become noisy again. I was really pressured. 
     On the first week itself, I try to do activities that I could see their ability in reading and writing. I did a summary with them. I got to know that they are unable to find their own main points.They need to be spoon feed all the time. I talked to my school mentor about it and she asked me to translate the words as the students are very weak. On second week, their attitude still haven't changed. I keep on scolding them but as again, they will only be quiet for 3 minutes. There was one female student who is quite rude. There was one time where she shouts and said ' Wey, teacher, come here'' ( in Malay Language). I told her is that the appropriate way you call your teacher. I was very angry and speechless when she said 'It's up to me on how I want to call you''.  I was very fed up at that time.
    
     Moreover, there's one male student in the class who's going through dyslexia learning problem. He takes some time to do the task given but at the same time he cannot sit still on his seat.  I ask for the class's teacher advice about the them and the teacher asks me to always threaten them. On the next class, I try to understand them by talking softly to them but at the same time I threatened them when they are naughty. There was one time where I'm already in the class but one of the student went to other class. I went to that class and called my student but when I go in front, he went to the back,when I go to the back,he goes to the front until I told him that if he keeps on doing that, he can just stand for the whole 80 minutes. Honestly, each of them have their own attitude which is very hard for me to tackle each of them. Only around 10 students who are okay in the class.

 On the learning part itself, I try to simplify my activities based on the basic level. Honestly, I could not really made interesting activity or use a lot of teaching aids with them as they are unable to even make sentences on their own. I go through each activity with them one by one. I am still learning and try many ways to tackle their attitude. I really need some tips from all of you.

      For the coming class, I have some plans to be done with the students. For the form 1 students, I will do more intensive exercise as they are going to sit for their finals soon. Meanwhile, for the form two students, I will start the intensive exercise earlier with them as I need to go through with them one by one. 
      After being commented by my supervisor about the form two students, I could say that I let God decide what's best for me. Although my first evaluation was not good as I could not do any interesting activity with them, I believe that I have tried my best to guide them. Before, I was worried about my marks, but now what matters to me is not my marks anymore, but on the guidance that I have try to give to them so that they could improve even I need to guide them on each step  although they are still naughty until now. I believe that the satisfaction of teaching came when they learn and understand  even a bit although my method is traditional. There was never a day that I was not angry with them but I've started to love them no matter how naughty they are. Right now, I really  don't know how to do any interesting activities while at the same time they are unable to make their own sentences......

Breathe Easy

Assalam and greetings! I've been missing each and every one of you. For real! =)

How have you been? I’ve read amazing and exciting stories from all of you. Surely I know you're more than fine! I miss Uni though. Anyhow, I’ve been great in SMK Assunta. The girls in general are excellent and the teachers are the best ever. All of them are nice and friendly! You do need friendly people when you're in a new place. I love to bits the healthy environment, Assunta defines One Malaysia. They do not discriminate, judge nor racist towards anybody. To be honest, I wish I was an Assuntarian, they are simply astounding.

I've been into a great number of classes (relief classes) and they will always want to get to know me. As usual, fresh faces get the extra attention. Winnie gets it all the time, teehee. The students easily open up to me, asking for love, friendship and all kinds of advice, you name it. I don’t mind spending time talking to them because I see them as sisters.

As for teaching, I start to find passion in doing it. The senior assistant once said to me, "it's never really about how much money you make, it's about being passionate of what you do and what changes can you bring into your students' life". As for classes, I’ve been assigned to teach 4 Science 3 and 4 Accounts 1. You can tell the differences between these two classes the second you meet them. The students in 4S3 are talkative, active, enthusiastic and responsive. Meanwhile, my students in 4A1 are quite reserved and afraid of making mistakes but they are indeed good listeners and writers. I can get the 4S3 students to talk about themselves in a blink of an eye. However, 4A1 prefers to listen attentively and get the work done, thus that leaves me unknowing of their backgrounds and etc. I’m still trying to adapt and keep in mind that these two classes are very dissimilar than one another.

My mentor had observed my teaching and she always makes me feel good about myself, which is a good thing because sometimes when you doubt your capabilities, you do need some confidence boost. My mentor really is like a mother and I feel more than comfortable being around her.  My supervisor came the next day after my mentor’s observation. Truth be told, though she gave some positive feedbacks, I personally believe that I have not done my best and I know I could have done better.

Class control is not a problem, though 4S3 has talkative students, they do listen to instructions and 4A1 will never cause problems. I love being in Assunta, I love teaching, love the students and I appreciate the support from family, best friend and friends who have always been there through thick and thin. God wants us to persevere and I know He listens to our prayers. We can survive this! Dear friends, I miss you badly!

Activities – try discussion, role play, drawing and don’t forget about the formative assessments.

Best regards,

Farha Alia