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.