Penginternasionalan Bahasa Indonesia

 KBI XII Tahun 2023

Tema     : Penginternasionalan Bahasa Indonesia

Subtema : Optimalisasi Peran Perwakilan, Mitra Kerja, dan Diaspora Indonesia di Luar Negeri dalam Internasionalisasi Bahasa Indonesia

 

PENGUATAN BAHASA INDONESIA DI TINGKAT INTERNASIONAL:

POTENSI, TANTANGAN, DAN KOLABORASI DENGAN KOMUNITAS

 

Potensi bahasa Indonesia ke depannya semakin besar seiring dengan perkembangan pasar global dan minat bisnis serta investasi mancanegara yang semakin mengarah ke Indonesia. Dengan populasi Indonesia yang sangat besar sebagai bagian pasar global, peluang untuk memperluas penggunaan Bahasa Indonesia di ranah internasional semakin meningkat (CNBC Indonesia, 2020). Dalam mengajarkan Bahasa Indonesia kepada non-natif, pengajaran formal melalui program BIPA (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing) telah dilakukan di beberapa negara untuk memperkenalkan dan memberdayakan bahasa Indonesia secara internasional (Kementerian Luar Negeri RI, 2021).

Meskipun pengajaran Bahasa Indonesia melalui program BIPA telah berjalan dengan baik, terdapat beberapa aspek yang dapat dikembangkan. Salah satu hal yang penting adalah memberikan autentisitas dalam pembelajaran, di mana para pelajar bahasa dapat mempelajari Bahasa Indonesia sebagaimana adanya dalam konteks komunikasi sehari-hari. Dengan adanya kelompok-kelompok bahasa yang memungkinkan interaksi santai antara orang Indonesia di negara tersebut dan warga lokal, terutama bagi mereka yang sedang belajar Bahasa Indonesia, akan memberikan kesempatan untuk berkomunikasi dalam Bahasa Indonesia dalam kehidupan sehari-hari (Dewi & Aryati, 2020).

Salah satu upaya yang dapat dilakukan adalah dengan mengadakan kegiatan rutin mingguan atau bulanan melalui kerjasama dengan restoran atau kafe Indonesia, serta melibatkan komunitas pemuda lokal. Melalui kolaborasi dengan pemuda dan kelompok mahasiswa, para pelajar Bahasa Indonesia dapat merasa lebih dekat dan nyaman dalam berbahasa Indonesia. Selain itu, perlu dilakukan peleburan antara pelajar Bahasa Indonesia dengan komunitas Indonesia yang ada di negara tersebut (Harjanto & Saragih, 2020). Berkomunikasi langsung dengan penutur asli dalam belajar Bahasa Indonesia memberikan berbagai manfaat yang tidak dapat diperoleh hanya melalui pembelajaran formal di kelas.

Berinteraksi dengan penutur asli membantu meningkatkan kemampuan mendengarkan dan memahami Bahasa Indonesia yang digunakan dalam situasi nyata. Penutur asli cenderung menggunakan kosakata, idiom, dan ungkapan yang mungkin tidak diajarkan secara formal di kelas (Dewi & Aryati, 2020). Selain itu, komunikasi langsung dengan penutur asli memungkinkan pelajar Bahasa Indonesia untuk memahami budaya, norma, dan konteks sosial di mana bahasa tersebut digunakan. Hal ini membantu memperluas pemahaman mereka tentang masyarakat Indonesia secara keseluruhan (Harjanto & Saragih, 2020).

Dengan demikian, melalui kerja sama dan integrasi dengan komunitas Indonesia di luar negeri, pengajaran Bahasa Indonesia dapat menjadi lebih efektif dan memperkuat penggunaan Bahasa Indonesia dalam konteks kehidupan sehari-hari.

 

Daftar Rujukan

CNBC Indonesia. (2020). Potensi Bahasa Indonesia dalam Industri Global.

Dewi, R., & Aryati, I. (2020). BIPA for Language Enthusiasts in Indonesia and Abroad, 1st International Conference on Language and Literature (ICLL).

Harjanto, H., & Saragih, S. H. (2020). Bahasa Indonesia Learning for Foreigners: Perspectives from BIPA Students in Indonesia, International Conference on Indonesian Economy and Development.

Kementerian Luar Negeri RI. (2020). Program BIPA.

*Ditulis pada 21 Juni 2023.

 

 

Most Updated Schengen Visa Application to Visit Belgium for Indonesian

Are you thinking about applying for Schengen visa to visit any of European countries? You can refer to the following steps and tips. Oh, it's particularly for you Indonesian applying the visa to visit Belgium from Indonesia. 

1. Book an appointment

Considering the packed schedule of the appointment, you better book an appointment at VFS Global Application Center as soon as possible here. There are three centers available, in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali. Trust me, the slots in Jakarta and Surabaya are fully booked for the next two to three months. Even you need to pay for booking a slot there. Well, it makes sense due to the high demand. Therefore, I decided to book an appointment in Bali. It's free and I found a slot available at the earliest. In August, I received an invitation to be an interpreter at a congress on 2nd-5th of October in Belgium which means I needed a Schengen visa to go there. And, I could only apply for the visa on September 11th the earliest because I was in the UK for two months for a training there. So, more or less I had around 3 WEEKS ONLY for the whole process. Anyways, don't forget to printout the appointment letter that you've received in your mailbox. 

2. Prepare all required documents

I made a mistake here. Maybe because I was too busy, so I didn't spend some time to Google what documents required for the visa application. All that I had was the  documents that I received from the host organization there in Belgium such as 

- Invitation letter, where the organizer clearly mentioned my name to be invited for the purpose of doing an interpretation for Indonesian delegates at the congress. Here, it's also stated that all of my expenses, especially accommodation, transportation and meals are covered by the host organization. 

- Travel insurance, which states that during my visit in Belgium, I was covered by this insurance in case of any accidents or health problems. 

- Flight tickets, which indicates the flight I was going to take two ways, Indonesia <> Belgium. 

- Accommodation, that confirms where I was going to stay during the visit. Well, it's at the congress venue anyway, but still it requires a separate and direct letter of confirmation. 

3. Complete the application form

With those documents ready in hand, I started filling out the form online here. After completing the form, download it to print. It's mentioned on the page that we can apply for a Schengen visa for Belgium at the Netherlands' visa application locations in Indonesia. 

4. Attend the appointment

Get all documents printed on A4 paper, one sided and DO NOT STAPLE. Just leave them the way they are. Also, a physical PHOTO is NOT NECESSARRY, because it'll be taken there along with the our fingerprints. Oh, in Bali, the queue wasn't too long. 

After checking my documents, it turned out I missed some documents such as. 

- A copy of national identity card (KTP)

- A copy of family certificate

- Bank statements from last three months

Oh, I was asked about the employment contract, but I said that I didn't have any as I was a freelancer. If you have any, you better provide it to convince them. 

Because of the incomplete documents, I asked if I could come back later on the same day. Unfortunately, it's not possible. However, thank Goodness! The staff was really kind! He rescheduled my appointment to the next day. You know what? If he would, he could have just sent me home and let me book another appointment which I could not guarantee if any slot available was on the next day. 

I brought all required documents the next day. Interestingly in Bali, the payment for visa application (IDR 1.330.000,00 / EUR 80,00) is also with the SMS service (IDR 30.000,00) and courier (IDR 29.000,00) with the total of IDR 1.840.000,00 including 11% VAT. I asked if I could collect the passport  myself but the center highly recommends all applicants to have it delivered by their courier service instead. I was given numbers to track my application online as soon as my passport is being dispatched by the courier. Oh, you can make the payment in CASH, by QRIS, or via BANK TRANSFER, so don't worry!

We're going to leave our passport for the whole visa application process, so you better not travel abroad. 

5. Track your application online 

Before tracking the delivery of your passport here, what we can do is to track the application status online here,  and I did it almost everyday because I needed the passport as soon as possible and I wanted to make sure that there wasn't any problem in the application. Well, until the day it said it's being dispatched by courier on the page, no information at all anyway if it's approved or rejected. We're left hanging. 

6. Result

In the morning, the courier will let you know that your passport's going to be delivered on that day to make sure you're around to receive it. I couldn't wait to open it as soon as it arrived. This visa mattered a lot to me because it would take me to Europe for the first time. I found a  piece of paper saying that "You've been issued a visa ....", but I couldn't find the sticker. I panicked wondering if there's any problem. It turned out the sticker was put on a blank page at the first few pages of my passport instead of the back ones. Yeay! I got it. It's C category visa to reside in a Schengen Area for 15 days with a single entry only due to my business purpose. And guess what? When did I receive it? It's on 29th of Sept. Quickly, the organizer booked the flight for me to travel on the next day 30th of Sept. 

Applying for a visa can be daunting for some people. 

Take one step at a time. 

Make a list of what actions you need to take and what documents you need to provide. 

All the best! 

What You Need for UK Standard Visa Application

For anyone of you planning to go to the UK and need a visit visa, here is what you need to know. This information is based on my experience this year, January 2022.  

1. Prepare all required documents

Why is having all the required documents the first step? It's because when you fill out the form, there are some parts which need some information relevant to the required documents. The next question is, what are the required documents? Here are the categories. 

- Accommodation - Permanent/Temporary (I was planning to stay at a hotel, so I mentioned the hotel address. Or, maybe you can put your family/friend's address if you're staying there.)

- Financial Evidence (Actually, there's no specific information or guideline of how many previous months the bank statement must be provided. However, to be safe, I submitted the last six months of my bank statement. And again, to be more convincing, I uploaded my saving statement as well. Oh, I was working and staying in Malaysia at that time and I had saving in my Employees Provident Fund (KWSP).)

- Employment Evidence (For this one, I provided some documents. First, a letter verifying that I'm an employee and currently working at the company where I was working. Second, an acknowledgement from my company that my leave has been approved for the period of my planned visit to the UK. Luckily, my company has an online system to request for both documents. Last, the pay slips of course, of the last six months. Oh, I almost forgot. Since I hold Indonesian passport working in Malaysia and applying the visa there, I needed to show a copy of my active employment pass as a proof of my residence permit in Malaysia.)

- Consent Letters and Proof of Relationship (I was applying for this visa to visit my boyfriend and of course, we needed to prove our relationship. What  my boyfriend  did was to take some screenshots of our chats on WhatsApp chats. Well, not all of them. He took some parts from the first time we started talking in August 2020 until the moment before the visa application. I put all photos together into one PDF file to be submitted.)

- Educational Evidence (Just to make my application more convincing, I attached my master's degree certificate and IELTS result.)

- Sponsor Evidence (Luckily, my boyfriend is excellent in details, so he provided all required documents from him as my sponsor by himself such as an invitation letter, a copy of his passport, his bank statements in last six months, and his pay slips in last six months. My boyfriend created a folder in Google Drive named Siti Visa and put all those documents there for me to access. So, your sponsor better do the same thing.)

- Additional documents/ Others (My boyfriend wanted to make sure that this visa application would be successful, so he tried to provide more evidence of his support during my visit by giving a clear itinerary. Believe me, he wrote every single activity that we're going to to in every single day of my stay starting from my arrival to my departure leaving the UK. In addition to that, he ordered two together rail card and made details of the trip budget. For this, I went to a photo studio for a photograph and tried to get a dummy flight ticket. The funny thing was that I forgot to upload the dummy flight ticket, but still my visa application was approved. So, DUMMY FLIGHT TICKET does NOT GUARANTEE.)

Oh, please bear in mind that all documents must be in English. If any of your document is in any other language, you must have it translated to be submitted along with the original one. Also, you'll be advised to print out a Document Checklist for your own use to make sure that you have submitted all required documents. 

2. Fill out the form accordingly

As I said, it's easier to complete the form once you have all documents, even you can do it in one go. However, another alternative is to do both, filling out the form and preparing for the documents, at the same time. It's your choice. You can find the application here.

3. Booking an appointment

Interestingly, for this UK Standard Visitor Visa, you must have completed the application form before booking an appointment. As soon as you've completed the form, you'll be directed to the appointment page to book here. On this page, you'll offered some services such as courier, SMS, etc. You can find more details here. For me, I didn't take any service offered. It's all up to you though. If you think you need any of the service offered, you better take it. Oh during this appointment, because I uploaded all required documents in the application form, I didn't need to submit any printed documents anymore. All I had with me was my original passport. At the counter, the staff asked me the purpose of my visit and I simply answered "To have a short vacation there." That's all. After that, I waited for biometrics to be taken. Surprisingly, they took my photograph in the room, too. It turned out submitting a PHOTOGRAPH is NOT NECESSARY. 

4. Submit, sit back, and relax

After around 14 working days, you'll be notified by email if your passport is ready for collection. I didn't take any courier service, so I went to the VFS center to collect my passport myself. Oh, in the email, it's not mentioned if the application is approved or rejected. We can only find out once we've open the envelope given by the center. 

By the way, for this application, I hold Indonesian citizenship working and staying in Malaysia at that time, but I'm sure the overall requirements are more or less the same for across citizenships. 

Thank you for reading and all the best. 

CELTA Experience (Day 6)

 Yeay! I finished and submitted the FOL Assignment last Saturday, so I just chilled this morning. No rush. 

Next, we learned Teaching Writing with Erin. As always, we started it with a teaching demo where we, the trainees, are the students in a writing lesson. One time each of us was asked to write on our own, then to write in a group. Then, we discussed how different it was from students' point of view. One has more pressure than the other, of course. Anyways, there are some different opinions about teaching writing, some pros and cons. However, it turns out writing task can be in some different forms and it doesn't always have to be so serious with so much pressure to students. Some types are fluency writing, writing a lone, collaborative brainstorming, and collaborative writing. Another types of writing in terms of its purpose are such as personal writing, public writing, creative writing, social writing, study writing, and institutional writing. Each has its plus and minus to consider. In teaching writing, there might be some problems come up and that's why we discussed them and thought about how we could help our learners be more confident with writing. For examples

Lack of understanding of the task -> Model it/ demonstrate it/ provide examples
Lack of ideas -> Provide stimulus/ brainstorm ideas as a group
Lack of vocabulary -> Pre-teach some vocabulary/ use Thesaurus for synonyms
And so on. 

In planning a writing lesson, the stages would be: Lead-in, Analyze the model (gist/detail), Preparing to write, Writing, Peer editing, and Error correction. In peer-marking, a structured peer feedback can be used for learners, so the feedback is more directed and constructive without discouraging any learner. Overall, writing tasks should 

- have a clear communicative purpose
- aim to produce whole texts (not isolated sentences)
- imitate a real-life task (e.g. writing an email)
- have a clear readership in mind
- be adequate for students' level

After break, we had a review of LRT, particularly in Language Analysis Form and Meaning. We were given a list of advice when completing the LRT: Research, Focus on Meaning, Clarification of meaning, Focus on form, Focus on pronunciation, Appropriacy, Problems and Solutions, and Submitting the assignment. Guess what? Even in class, we all gave it a try to do an analysis on grammar and lexis and were given the answer key after that. Trust me, it helped me so much in understanding the expectations and requirements of the assignments. Again, crystal clear. Another great thing was that Nick gave us ways of checking meaning. It's not always CCQs all the time after all (Concept Checking Questions). Another simple way is using Timelines, especially to show a visual representation of (sometimes complicated) grammar points, such as tenses. I've become more confident now in doing the assignment. 

Then, I had my TP 3. I'm starting to get familiar with the lesson plan template used during this course and able to complete it before the lesson. Good job for me! This time was Vocabulary lesson. I had learners do a matching activity of the words and their definition, and showed them some pictures on the board to identify which one is which. As a controlled practice, learners filled in blanks of some sentences, and as a freer practice, I assigned one word for each number on the dice (1-12, 2 dice) for learners to roll and ask a question using the word. It went really well!

CELTA Experience (Day 5)

 It's the first Friday of my CELTA and I can't wait today to be over because I was going to see my boyfriend. Hehe. 

As a start of the day, we had an input session on Phonology: Word and sentence stress (and drilling). Honestly, stress is my biggest problems because I need to check the dictionary most of the time, especially in words. But, for me, word stress in a sentence is less difficult because somehow we can just feel how it sounds like which is right. Teaching stress is important because it impacts on how it sounds and how people listen to it. Nick introduced us to some techniques in teaching or pointing stress in words such as using big and small dots, or a facing up arrow for a stressed part. We also had a try to identify stresses in a sentence. Guess what? It turns out, even Trainees with English as their first language found it super tricky. And, what about me? Well, same. Different from stress in a word, stresses in a sentence may have an effect on its meaning and impression. Is it asking? clarifying? wondering? doubting? And so on. There are some activities for practicing stress, but I guess the most comfortable for me is clapping or using a pen to point ups and downs. And the other most common way is drilling. I'm sure you're familiar with it, too. It's when the learners get to practice saying new words or phrases, focusing particularly on pronunciation. 

After break, we reviewed the FOL Assignment with Manuel. Overall, I'd say that all the guidelines and examples provided by this course for the assignment are crystal clear. I know really well what's expected from the assignment from A to Z. We were given two example essays on learner's profile as part of assignment and asked to analyze the differences, especially which one is written better. See? It made things clear. We were guided in identifying errors of the learner step by step and classifying the type of errors. Further, we were provided with example answers in writing the analysis. Trust me, what more to ask? I'm planning to finish this assignment and submit it as soon as possible, so I can spend my weekend with my boyfriend. I still need to have some fun!

Next is my TP 2. This time is a reading lesson. I grouped students to read different texts glued on the wall. I should have had the text on their table, so they could be more comfortable in reading and writing their answers. After finishing reading their text and answering the questions, they went to visit the other groups and let the group ask them questions to complete their form. Anyways, it's a bit complicated to explain. If you're interested in having a look at the lesson in details, feel free to drop me a message and I'll share the lesson plan to you. 

CELTA Experience (Day 4)

To start the day, we learned An Introduction to Classroom Management in our input session with Erin. We brainstormed ideas to consider in manage a classroom such as grouping, timing, monitoring and so on. At the same time, building rapport with learners are as important and it can be done by doing some simple things like using learners' names when calling them and showing interest in what learners are saying. In terms of grouping students and interaction patterns, there are some to bear in mind, but here I'd share what I think the most basic ones. First, avoid using too many gestures because they are very distracting for learners, and second, demonstrating activities is sometimes better than explaining activities. About gestures, too many will confuse learners, but some of them can be used effectively as long as it's clear and consistent, for example for "Think about .....", "Look at me.", or "Past tense/ now/in the future." Interestingly, in giving instruction, the impact was totally different when it's unclear and complicated and when it's clear, simple and easy to understand. 

And, the next assignment was coming, Language Related Task (LRT). Unlike the previous assignment, trust me, it's a lot more challenging. We were instructed to read the assignment guideline and answer some questions based on the guideline to make sure that each of us understand the instructions thoroughly. We are given some sentences with highlighted grammar and lexis used. What we do is to find out why this specific grammar of lexis might be challenging for the particular language level of the learners. After analyzing the cause, of course we should come up with proposed solutions in the form of any worksheets or activities to help the learners. I'd say it's like a mini research. To get ourselves ready, Manuel had some activities for language analysis, in terms of grammar and lexis from a text. But, before that, we had a Grammar Quiz on Kahoot. I was in a group with George and Iori, and guess what? We won the quiz! We're the Grammar Master! Then, Manuel introduced us to using student and teacher resources to help with language analysis in doing LRT Assignment. What I did right away was to find any coursebooks with the grammar and/or lexical points that I have chosen. I took some photos of them and decided which ones are the most relevant when writing the analysis.

Here comes my TP 1. I taught Grammar Lesson: Present continuous for future plans. I struggled a bit in adapting to the Lesson Plan Template. I felt that too many things to put in there starting from the Grammar Analysis up to the Lesson Procedures in details. Honestly, I was overwhelmed. As a result, I didn't manage to finish completing the Lesson Plan before the lesson. But, I got all lesson materials ready. Well, hopefully I'll do better for my next TP in writing the lesson plan. Anyways, the class ran well for the first time of teaching in this class. I got to know better what went well and what didn't as well as the level of difficulty that I need to consider in future lessons. 

CELTA Experience (Day 3)

Today, the third day of CELTA, we had an input session with Nick on Teaching Grammar: Present, Practice and Produce. I heard of this method previously in the university, but the difference here is that how we establish a context of a specific grammar focus as the target of the lesson. It's in the Lead-in stage. Also, it's getting clearer how MFP(A) is implemented in a language class. In many years of my teaching experience, I have never been aware of this MFP(A). Next, it's really insightful in the way how we should provide controlled practice for learners to try what they have just learned in class with a guidance, and freer practice for them to explore more the use of the target language. 

In other words, the stages would be Establishing a context, Presenting the target language, Practicing the target language, and Producing the target language. 

I was really nervous today because we're going to have the first session with the learners. Well, it wasn't going to be observed by our Tutor, but still first time always makes me nervous. Carys, Ethan, George and I were given a lesson plan to teach the class today. There were four parts: Warmer and opening, Places, Recipe, and Boardgame. I picked Warmer and opening activity. I always feel that I'm good at energizing a classroom. Each of us had 20 minutes only. In my part, we talked about an important person. I picked a photo of Ibu Paulina Panen from Google and shared a little bit about her. Next, I let each student to share about someone who is important to her/him. Thank goodness it all went well and I enjoyed it so much. 

After this Unassessed/Unobserved TP, that's how we call it, we were given some time to interview any of learners for FOL Assignment purpose. I decided to interview Rasna from India. We had some guiding questions to collect information such as

1. What are their interest?
2. What do they do for a living?
3. How long have they been learning English?
4. Do they have any specific reasons for learning English? (e.g. travel, work ...)
5. Do they like learning English? Why?
6. In their previous learning experience, what kinds of methods were used?
7. What did they enjoy about their previous learning?
8. Which areas of their English do they feel they need to work on?

Instead of asking those questions exactly the way it is, I reworded them in my own ways and in my order so that the flow of the conversation would be more natural. I was glad that Rasna was open and answered all questions with a lot of information to be studied and analyzed in the FOL Assignment. 

Before leaving, we had a brief discussion with Erin to make sure that each of us was ready for our lesson to teach tomorrow. Actually, I had all the idea of the lesson in my head, but honestly, I struggled with the lesson plan template to be completed. I felt that it was too much. Anyways, I'll give it a try and do my best. 

CELTA Experience (Day 2)

Manuel started the session today on Teaching Vocabulary 1. Before reflecting and talking about the lesson, he demonstrated the lesson with all trainees as students. It's interesting to find out that in teaching vocabulary, 'eliciting' a word works so much better that presenting it. It was the first time for me to learn MFP(A) which means Meaning, Form, Pronunciation, and Appropriacy (if necessary) in language teaching. Also, another new term for me was Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) that we can use to clarify the meaning of vocabulary instead of just giving the definition of the vocabulary right away to learners. Different from the listening lesson yesterday, in teaching vocabulary, it consists of Lead-in, Contextualization of language, Clarification of MFP(A), Controlled Practice, and Freer Practice. 

Meaning - What does the word mean in a given context? Does it have positive or negative associations? 

Form - spelling, word form, word families, useful collocation, lexical grammar (e.g. countable/uncountable, irregular verb, transitive/intransitive verb, etc.)

Pronunciation - word stress, silent letters, special sounds, etc.

Appropriacy - Is the word more appropriate for formal or informal contexts? Or, does it have a neutral meaning?

After break, we continued the session with Writing a Lesson Plan. This lesson plan template is going to be used throughout this course. It consists of

Name

Date

Tutor

Level

Length of Lesson

Lesson Number

Lesson Type

Personal TP Aim(s)

Main Lesson Aim(s)

Secondary Aim(s)

Materials and Resources

Lesson Procedure

In this lesson plan, Lesson Procedure covers the activities during the lesson with the description of 'What are the learners doing?' and 'What is the teacher doing?' along with what kind of interaction is being implemented (teacher to whole class, students to teacher, pair-work, individual work, group work, or melee).

Next, we had our first live observation of experienced teacher, Erin, in Pre-Intermediate class. While observing, we were expected to prepare for FOL assignment by paying attention to Learner Name, Nationality, Grammar Knowledge, Vocabulary Knowledge, Pronunciation Knowledge, and Type of Student. From the observation, I haven't decided yet whom I'm going to interview. I was thinking about letting my peers to pick first, then I will find mine. 

CELTA Experience (Day 1)

I've been waiting for today, the first day of CELTA. I can't wait to see new faces in class and to get to know them. I'm really grateful for having my boyfriend who took a day off specially  for me today to take me to English Language Teaching Center (ELTC) of University of Sheffield. Oh, but before that, he took me to the Student Union first to have myself registered and to get a student card. 

I went to the 6th floor and I saw a girl there, but she's not one of trainees who had introduced on Padlet. And, it turned she's actually one of the trainees. My first friend of CELTA, Sama from Egypt. I decided to go downstairs to have a banana because I was really hungry. After some time, I said goodbye to my boyfriend and went to the 6th floor myself. Oh, my boyfriend spent the whole day at Peak District. 

At the registration, I met a few people, CELTA Trainees. I tried to guess which one is which according to the photo on Padlet. 

After the registration, Sama and I walked to ELTC together, and started the day. 

We briefly introduced ourselves. There're 12 of us including me. They're Colin, Simon, Kirsty, Charlotte, Ethan, George, Carys, Michael, Isha, Iori, and of course Sama. 

This first meeting talked more about the administration such as shared folders 'Trainee's Folder', and my own folder 'Siti Fitriah' with a portfolio in it. Also, the trainer told us about how to use the printer. Oh, we have three trainers, Erin, Manuel, and Nick. We had a quick chit chat with each of them to get to know them and of course to ask for their advice to make this CELTA. I took some notes of the advice from each of them. 

Nick suggested that we save the handouts, and with the diversity in trainees' background and ability, it be great to share and practice it. 

Erin told us that there's going to be a lot of information during CELTA

Right away, an assignment came, Focus on the Learner (FOL). I found this assignment interesting though, to interview and analyze a learner's challenge in learning English. But, before going further, we were introduced to language levels: Beginner, Elementary (A1), Pre-Intermediate (A2), Intermediate (B1), Upper-Intermediate (B2), Advanced (C1), and Proficient (C2), to better understand each description. This assignment consists of 3 parts: interview and summary, language and skill analysis, and interventions. In analyzing the learner's language, we are expected to identify 2 mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, with the total of 6 mistakes. When talking about skills, we should focus on both strengths and weaknesses of the learner. In the last part of the assignment, we should find any activities to help the learner improve his/her language. For me, all these details are really helpful to do it as well as I can. 

After lunch, the input session was given by Nick. Here I reviewed the terms listening for gist and listening for detail after a long time ago talking about it in university. The most interesting part from this session is the stages in planning a lesson: Lead-in/Orientation, Pre-teach, Listening for gist, Listening for detail, and Follow-up. I'm not sure if I have ever learned or been taught these stages before, but I found these stages are clear and helpful in lesson planning. 

As we have been told, this CELTA course is going to be packed. Next, we were briefed on observation and reflection as part of our portfolio. Throughout the course, I will be observing experienced teachers, which means the tutors, and my peers in their teaching and expected to give my peers some feedback.  They'll do the same thing to me as well. Also, we were given Teaching Practice Points (TP Points), what we're going to teach and in which class for the first half of the course. I've got a Pre-Intermediate class together with Carys, Ethan, and George, and Erin is our Tutor. Hopefully, I'll do well in every TP. 

Here's my Student Card. Yeay!

CELTA Experience (Day 7)

Tomorrow, I'm teaching functions (asking for and giving directions) and just today I had an input session on Teaching Functional Language. Well, of course I needed to adjust my lesson plan that I had prepared previously after this session. 

It's interesting how we started the session by having a look at two different conversations and finding out which utterance that seemed out of context and why. It reminded me of Discourse Analysis when I was doing my Master. I've always found it amazing to analyze how particular words, expressions, or sentences are used in a particular context by someone. Well, definitely we need to think about when, where, and of course who the person is actually talking to. And, it's all about the functional language teaching which basically consists of two elements, function and exponent. Function means what we are doing with the language, and exponent refers to what is said. For example, in my TP tomorrow, the function is 'asking for and giving directions', and the language used to do this is called functional exponent. It means that formality and register are necessary, for example from most direct to most polite ways to ask for or give directions. Other than than, teaching form is as important with the focus of what the expression is as a whole and what comes next in the expression.

The next session talked about Teacher Talk Time (TTT) by Erin. Honestly, this is my challenge. I find it not easy to control my TTT. I've been trying my best so far though. It's really helpful to start the session by thinking about when or the reason why a teacher talks in class. Some examples are such as giving instruction, for sure, or having a chit chat to build a rapport with students. During the session I kept reflecting on my teaching, especially in grading language. It's my first time to discuss this specific topic and have a look at a few examples of TTT, then think about the impact on the learner. Looking at TTT from learners' perspective. That's it. That's really new to be, but insightful. In the middle of the session, we had a chain dictation. It was really fun, and guess what? I thought about using it in my next lesson. Let's see how it's going tomorrow. Anyways, about TTT, it can be reduced by doing it in more student-centered way. For example, instead of me telling students the meaning of the vocabulary, I can have them do a matching activity. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and couldn't explore up to monitoring and stopping activities in a classroom. 

After lunch, I observed Carys, Ethan, and George. After sharing the feedback, Erin shared some ideas about the stages in teaching Functions and Writing because tomorrow Ethan and I are doing the lessons. 

Teaching Writing

1. Lead-in
2. Model text (read for context)
3. Look at the features (language, organization, genre features)
4. Planning time
5. Writing task
6. Peer feedback

Teaching Functions

1. Lead-in
2. Contextualization
3. Meaning, Form, Pronunciation, Appropriacy (MFPA)
4. Controlled practice
5. Free practice (more)
6. Error correction/feedback

Also, Erin gave us some advice in setting up tasks such as to give clear instructions and pauses between each one, to use Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs) to help, to grade the task from easy to more difficult, and to stage the instructions (For example, do the task in pairs (how to do the task), (show the task on the handout), in 5 minutes (time), and go!).

CELTA Experience (Day 8)

This morning Manuel distributed a different coursebook to each group. After having a look at the coursebook, in groups, we discussed what aspects that make a good coursebook. Also, we shared our thoughts about the coursebook that we have been using in our TPs so far, anything we like or don't like as a teacher and as a student. In teaching, there are some criteria to consider when evaluating ELT materials such as content/topics, layout and design, syllabus/language work, promotion of independent learning, and teacher's guide. There are some guiding questions in each criterion which can help us teachers to think about when evaluating. In using coursebooks in class, there are some ways to do like adding, adapting, replacing, and removing. However, we were suggested that we try to 'add' and 'adapt' as much as possible, rather than replace and remove. It's interesting to learn that commonly coursebooks provide the main content for a lesson such as situation/context, pictures, dialogues and text, and tasks and exercises, but materials that need to be more personalized can come from the teacher such as warmers/personalization, instructions/tasks, roleplays/pair-work activities, homework tasks/opportunities for learners to get to know each other better. 

The second input session was a workshop where Erin helped us with our portfolio and told us to make sure that we complete all required sections. 

After lunch, I had my TP4. This time I taught for 60 minutes, and it's going to be the last session with this intermediate class. I'm going to miss them, I'm sure. Unlike other days, Col and Michael were in my class to observe my teaching. Ethan and Carys observed another class as well. I taught functions today, how to ask for and give directions. I started the class by a warmer instructing students to step forward, backward, to the right and to the left. Then, we had a dictation chain activity. It's fun, but I felt like it took so much time. As a result, I skipped one freer practice activity because I ran out of time. Anyways, I'm happy it's over and I received a lot of positive feedback from Col and Michael, especially about my energy and excitement in class. 

CELTA Experience (Day 9)

It's surprising today because unlike the other days when we had input sessions with Erin, Manuel and Nick, we had a new one today. Her name is Josie and she talked about Speaking and Communicative Activities. As always, we learn a new teaching approach and method by being students while the Tutor demonstrates it. The very first impression that I had about Josie is that she's a kind of excited teacher with full of energy. I could tell that from the first step of the lesson, describing some pictures that she showed us. After describing and familiarizing ourselves with those pictures, we put them in order and discussed in groups how the story might be like. It was fun how each group could come up with different stories out of exactly the same pictures. From here, we listened to a song 'A Perfect Day' which actually the pictures are from and put the all in order. From there, we started preparing to share how our version of a perfect day looks like. It was fun, I'd say! So, overall, the procedures consist of Lead-in, Language work, Preparation for speaking, Speaking, and Follow-up. Honestly, it's my first time learning this method in detail by combining the language input lesson, in this case is listening, and the language production lesson, speaking. 

After breaktime, Nick delivered an input session to review the language analysis assignment (LRT) to check our understanding. Well, actually this assignment is quite tough and requires careful analytical thinking skills supported by relevant references. Believe me, this session made things a lot clearer for in the way how I would present my analysis. In finishing my assignment, I decided to copy and adapted some examples provided to make sure that I meet the assignment requirements. This review session showed me clearly what I should and shouldn't do in my analysis. 

Today was very special. I observed CELTA trainees in the other group, Sama and Michael, in an upper-intermediate class. I was in there with Iori. It was fun to see other trainees teaching in class, not only trainees in our group, so I can learn and reflect for my own TPs. I wish we all could have a chance to see everyone teaching in class. 

CELTA Experience (Day 10)

Today was the due date for Language Related Task (LRT) assignment. It's the second assignment of CELTA. Unlike the first one, it's a lot tougher and required a lot of research to support the analysis. I tried reading a lot of sources such as textbooks and coursebooks to help me. I didn't want to rush in the last minute, so I decided to finish and submit it yesterday. Let's see how result shows later. 

Today wasn't too busy. We had an input session on Continuous Professional Development (CPD) with Erin. We started the session by finding someone who ..... (with a list of strengths and weaknesses). From here, I learned that I am one of CELTA learner who has a good rapport with the students. Next, we were given a list of options for CPD. They are either formal or informal, and immediately or later in career. We all had a look at the list and shared which options that we'd prefer. Oh, we're given a list of websites for CPD as well for more references. 

From the input session, we moved to the assignment description for Lessons from the Classroom (LFC). We read the guidelines and answered some questions about it to make sure that we had understood each aspect such as aims, parts, and deadline. For me, this way was really helpful. I would say that this assignment is a lot easier than the previous one, LRT. I need to reflect on my TPs so far by thinking about my strengths and weaknesses as well as any further development required for specific areas . Well, at least I don't have to find references such as textbooks or coursebooks. 

It's just half day today. I was excited. I went home right away and did an independent study, observing a video of teaching beginner students. In the evening at around 5 pm, we went to Nando's in West Street for dinner. We all enjoyed the food and shared a lot of stories about our life. It was a lot of fun!

(Beautiful people - Col, Sama, Ethan, Charlotte, Kirsty, George, Iori)

CELTA Experience (Day 11)

I have gone through the last two weeks. Yeay! I finished and submitted the assignment Lessons from the Classroom (LFC) last Saturday, so I wasn't worried about it last weekend or this morning. 

Well, we are moving on to the next input session, Exploiting Texts and Authentic Materials delivered by Erin. We were introduced to any texts, spoken and written from our surrounding, and how we can make use of it in our classrooms. Well, of course it is for a reason. We got the next assignment, Language Skills Related Tasks (LSRT). On one side, I am excited because it's going to be last assignment in this CELTA, but it's the toughest one I'd say. As always, they always give us clear descriptions and guidelines. Personally, I found them all really helpful to understand the expectation from the assignment and to make sure that I meet each of criteria. So, I read it carefully. 

Starting from this week, my TP group is teaching a new class and Nick is our Tutor. At first, I was really nervous knowing that Nick is a kind of teacher who is super organized (knowing how he always prepares a note on a piece of paper for every thing he uses on the board during input sessions) and looks into details of stages in class, as far as I could see it. However, I couldn't wait for learning more from him. I'm sure that I'd learn a lot from him. Oh by the way, again, this time I'm going to teach Grammar for my first lesson. Oh my God!

After lunch, we had a chance for observing an experienced teacher, in this case is Nick, as our Tutor. I paid full attention to how he staged the lesson and took some notes on some aspects that I found important there. His lesson stages were well structured and I was aware that his Teacher Talk Time (TTT) was very less. I liked the way how he gave clear instructions to students before every task, short, simple, direct, and of course clear. Also, he always made best use of the board to support the lesson and help students. I stole all of those points for my next TPs. 

CELTA Experience (Day 12)

Today's input session was very interesting for me. We talked about Correcting Learner Errors (spoken and written) delivered by Manuel. I think this is one of areas that I need to improve in my teaching, to pick up what, when, and how to correct errors. We started the session by having a discussion in groups about our opinion on error or mistakes that students make in class. In short, it definitely is important for students' learning progress. In correcting errors, first thing first, as a teacher, we need to be able to identify the type of errors, e.g. grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, or form, and think about any possible reason for the error such as L1 interference, Overgeneralization, or Lack of knowledge. By the way, there's a slight difference between error and slip. An error is mostly more consistent. Next, we were introduced to some correction techniques like reformulation, asking a question to check understanding, prompt using terminology, prompt (the teacher starts the sentence for the student to finish it), finger correction, and delayed error correction. It's my first time learning all of those techniques and I found them all relevant and useful in my future classrooms. And as always, we had a chance to practice those techniques in some errors to be corrected. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to discuss written error correction, so I reviewed it myself. Oh, before we started the session, we had a fun activity on Kahoot about English Grammar in groups. I was in a group with George and Iori. Guess what? We won the game!

Starting from tomorrow, I'm going to teach an upper intermediate class. That's why we had a session on Teaching The New Level with Manuel. We started by ordering a few pieces of grammar exercise from different books, from the lower level to the higher one. It's to understand the differences in levels in terms of receptive skills, productive skills, and grammar. Overall, the levels are pre-intermediate, intermediate, and upper-intermediate. Anyways, I taught intermediate level class in my previous TPs. It's definitely important to be aware of the level of students so that as a teacher I can apply effective approaches and methods in class. Before ending the session, we were invited to have a look at the assessment criteria of CELTA for the next TPs (5-8). I highlighted a few points there, the ones were not paid attention to or focused on in the previous TPs. They are variety and balance, terminology, error correction, and register (appropriacy - formal or informal), portfolio, and participation in feedback. It's to help me make sure that I'm going to meet all of those criteria. 

Just like what we did previously, we, Carys, Ethan, George and I, had an opportunity to have an unassessed/unobserved teaching practice to get to know the students better. The lesson was given and it was about Being Green. I got the last part where students did a whole class survey and presented the results. As always, before I started my part, I tried to make a connection with the part before me, taught by George. Also, from the first part, I had been observing and learning if anything I needed to anticipate or manage. Well, I did a great job in my opinion!

CELTA Experience (Day 13)

Today I had my first TP with a new class, the upper intermediate. Of course, I was nervous. However, I still needed to have an input session in the morning and forget about the TP for a while. 

This time Nick demonstrated how to teach grammar using Guided Discovery. After the lesson simulation with us being the students, we had a discussion comparing and analyzing the difference between this method and the previous method, Presentation, Practice, Produce (PPP). Well, the stages are different anyways. In PPP, it goes Lead-in, Contextualization of language, Elicitation and clarification of MFP(A), Controlled Practice, Freer practice, and Error correction or feedback. Meanwhile, in Guided discovery, it consists of Lead-in, Set context of the target language (through reading or listening tasks), Discovery (a worksheet with guiding questions about the rules of the structure is given to students in pairs, small groups, or alone first followed by pair-checking), Feedback, Controlled practice, and Freer practice. 

In this new class, I tried to do something different by providing a handout for students step by step or task by task. I think that was how Nick would do in his class. Nick was really helpful in guiding me to plan the lesson. It's a grammar lesson today 'be used to ' and 'get used to'. I started it by having students differentiate the meaning of both in two different sentences. Then, I continued introducing them to the form. I provided controlled practice task by changing the form of sentences in different situations. For the freer practice, I distributed small pieces of paper containing a question in each of them for each group of students, such as 'are you used to shopping online? What do you buy and how often?'. Also, I gave some small pieces of blank paper for students to ask questions on their own by using the target language. I could tell that students had a lot of fun. 

Oh, before we started the lesson, I got a surprise from Martha, a student from the previous class. She's a lovely student and always excited to learn in class. I found her gift really beautiful and special.

CELTA Experience (Day 14)

Today, Manuel gave an input session about Phonology 2: sounds, pause and intonation, connected speech. This input session brought me back to my experience in learning English in the past and how even now I sometimes still struggle and feel unconfident in pronouncing certain words. English is super tricky in sounds anyways. Same writings or spellings sound such as ough (tough, bough, cough), ea (dear, fear, bear, pear), and many more. It's interesting how we all could learn and review the phonetic symbols by using pictures, for both vowels and consonants. I'd never thought of that before. I guess it'll be helpful for learners as well in class. Analyzing how each sound is produced in the phonemic chart in the phonemic script reminded me of Pak Soepriyatna, a lecturer in Sampoerna School of Education. Trust me, I had no idea what I learned at that time, but it makes more sense now. We didn't discuss too many terminologies, unlike when I was at the university, such as plosives, nasal sounds, and fricatives. These are the fundamental of all I guess. I can still remember clearly the time when I needed to describe in detail how certain sound was produced in one of the exam paper in the university. Then, the session was getting more fun when we tried analyzing and noticing the differences in pausing and intonation which may affect the meaning. We had a lot of discussion in our group. The session was closed by practicing intonation with Banana Dialogue. Col took some time to get how we did it, but he had a lot of fun once he got it and kept doing it all over again and again to everyone. 

Another session today was about Giving Feedback by Erin. We mostly had discussion in group starting from the purpose of feedback, and problems of feedback such as Teacher Talk Time (TTT) in feedback, dealing with less confident students, timing and pace, and checking students' understanding. I think I still find some of these problems myself. Sometimes I can be out of control in speaking when I give feedback, but it turns out that giving feedback doesn't mean I talk much. I can use any of the feedback techniques introduced to us today. Actually, those techniques were not only introduced to us today, but also been implemented by all tutors throughout this CELTA program, so I can have a picture of how it looks like if I use any of them in my classroom in the future. 

TP 6 was the last thing I did today. It's my first time teaching Writing in this program. I was nervous, but I tried to manage my time and plan the lesson carefully, so the lesson aims could be achieved. I wrote the simple version of my stages and instructions on a piece of paper to keep me on track. I started my class by a warmer swinging hand to the right and left, to the front and back. It's somehow related to the lesson anyway. At the end of the lesson, I distributed two stars for each student to stick on to their favorite writing. Also, students suggest the best title for each writing by sticking a note. Overall, the lesson went really well and fun. You can see some of students' writing below. 

CELTA Experience (Day 15)

I love Fridays during CELTA because normally we're not too busy on this day. We watched a video of teaching general English today and took some notes on the stages of the lesson, a Task-Based Learning (TBL) lesson. Nothing much to share here, but what I remember well from the video was that there were some students being silly but active throughout the lesson. The lesson was for students to give a short talk recommending a tour of their country. The teacher provided a model talk, introduced some useful language and gave students enough preparation time and guidance before the task. The talk was given in the next lesson anyways. I've come to understand that giving a presentation or talk is better  in small groups than in the whole class with the student presenters standing in front of the class.

The second and last input session today was a lot of fun, Warmers and Games. We tried a variety of games and warmers that can be used in our classroom for various purposes. Some games that we tried were Categories (finding people with the same category and sit with them), Taboo/describe the object, 5 Things that (against the clock, teams think of 5 things that are.....), Back to the board (one person has their back to the board and their team explain a word to them), and Guess the missing word in teams. The use of games might help some classroom issues such as teacher/learner rapport, learner energy levels, learner motivation, difference in learning style, difference in level, and quiet/noisy learners. Last, we also had a chance to think about a game or activity which could work well with some language points, such as the second conditional to refer to a hypothetical situation. 

As soon as I got home, I started working on my LSRT assignment (Language Skill Related Task) because I still hadn't worked on it at all. I kept changing the reading and listening materials that I would use. Thank to Nick who reminded me today to choose one, so I decided to start working, finish, and submit it as soon as possible. I don't want to spend my whole weekend for it only. I have life here!

CELTA Experience (Day 16)

 Today was the deadline of LSRT assignment (Language Skill Related Task). Well, I finished and submitted it last Saturday, so I didn't need to rush this morning. Oh, I decided to finish and submit it earlier so that I could enjoy my weekend without any thing bothering my mind. I'd say this assignment was the toughest one compared to the previous assignments. Thank goodness it's the last assignment. In this assignment I needed to an authentic material to teach either reading or listening with a follow up activity, either writing or speaking. It's fun though. 

This morning, unlike the other days, we had our input session on our laptop or in the computer room because we talked about Teaching Online. I found it interesting to see and learn how an online teaching would be like in the perspective of Cambridge Assessment. I learned some techniques and tips on how to keep the class student centered despite its online setting. One of tips that I can do is to jump in in every Breakout Room once in a while to monitor how the student discussion is going and take notes if necessary. By the way, in teaching online, there's no way for us the teachers to have students work in pairs. It may waste of time by arranging the Breakout Room or cause a chaos in the main room if every one speaks at the same time. Oh, it's a bit funny though to experience that actually some of us joined from the same computer room, but we communicated, interacted and discussed on Zoom. 

After breaktime, it's shocking when Nick asked as to write down and copy some scripts in Bengali. We all had no idea. From here I could understand that some of my students in the future, the may have no literacy in English, struggling to read and write, or even no literacy in their first language. As a result, what the students do is to guess here and there using the clues, just like what we did to find out what the story was from a series of codes talking about 'Death on the Prom' story. Some of the clues are Semantic (clues of meaning, derived mainly from context), Syntactic (grammatical clues), Phonic (clues from the sounds of letters), and Graphic (visual clues). 

I did my TP 7 today. I wrote on a piece of paper the summary of my talk and instructions in every stage of the lesson. Based on the feedback given by Nick in the previous TP, I  must give feedback after every task, not echo what students say, and give clear and demonstrate the instructions for task. So, I wrote these three points in uppercase letters on top of my piece of paper to keep me reminded. Well, it's really helpful and I did great I guess.  

CELTA Experience (Day 17)

The class today looked different. Instead of setting the chairs around the table as usual, the chairs were organized in a horse shoe shape today. Ang guess what? We had a Hungarian lesson today. Never had I though about learning Hungarian in my life. I was excited actually during the class by following every single thing that the teacher, Zsofi, said, explained, and instructed. No wonder I understood everything fast. Anyways, I actually just guessed. Haha. 

Having this Hungarian class for zero background or experience of students showed us how it felt like teaching English for beginner students. Trust me, it's tough. Oh, I still remember a few stuffs. 

Szia. Siti vagyok. Mi a neved? .... vagyok. Hodg vadg? Jol vagyok. koszi. Es te? Enis, koszi. Szia. Szia. 

I might've made a lot of spelling mistakes here and there. Well, that's what we learned today. I can't imagine how hard it is teaching English for beginner students. But wait, I think I've got experience. Maybe I can share in a different post later. 

In the afternoon, we had a chance to meet the CELTA Assessor Alastair Douglas (I wrote his name down and Googled him). Nothing much to talk about. We shared how our experience has been going so far and if we have any comments or concerns to share. Everything was great anyways!

I was not too busy in the afternoon because I had no TP today. Carys, George and Ethan had their TP today. Well, as usual, I observed their teaching and took some important notes. I don't want to tell every single thing that I wrote from each of their lesson, but I'd just like to share some important notes I got from the feedback session after the TP. 

- In teaching, it's important to think about the distribution of students in grouping.

- Natural language, especially the weak form or sound of some words, needs to be emphasized.

- Make students notice the grammar focus of the lesson.

- In showing the answers of vocabulary practice or any practice, show the whole sentence to tell the context of its use. 

- Overall, the steps would be Doing the task > Checking > Meaning > Drilling > Form > Practice.

- Always give a task every time we ask students to watch a video, or listen to an audio, or to look at a picture.

- In revealing the answers on the board, do it one by one so students are focused and don't get distracted by other numbers.

- In writing lesson, make all stages clear. Planning (take notes, with who, for how long). Writing (what to write, for how long).

- In the freer practice stage in every lesson, many things might happen (micro stages), and that's why it's important to write everything in nice and clear detail. 

CELTA Experience (Day 20)

 I had a mixed feeling today. I was excited CELTA is over, but I was sad for not seeing all of my CELTA fellows and tutors. 

We started the morning session today Teacher Wellbeing by looking back our journey in the last 4 weeks attending CELTA. I could see that most of us had ups and downs with more or less similar reasons like assignments, TP, changing level of the class to teach. Anyways, we're all relieved that we had been through this together. 

Teacher Wellbeing still sounds a bit new to me maybe because I don't read much about it or attend any seminars on this topic. Despite the fact that it's really important to take care of teacher wellbeing, unfortunately I can still see that in my surrounding in Indonesia it's forgotten and neglected. It's like teachers are super humans with super powers who can do anything without any help or support from their surroundings. 

It's interesting to have the Job Hunting session after that. We had a look at some job opportunities abroad one of which is in Vietnam, the one interested me the most. We though about what makes a CV good and even had a job interview role play with some possible questions asked by the interviewer when we apply for a job as a teacher of English. 

We had some group photos and I received an award as The World's Greatest Human. I was surprised. 

Sayonara, amazing people! I'll see you in another part of the world at another time!

 

CELTA Experience (Day 19)

 Nothing much to do today. I had an English class to observe. It's an Upper-Intermediate class with around 17 students and most of the them are Japanese. Only one student is Polish. The teacher was fun. She started the class by reviewing the previous lesson about British art. And, the topic of today was 'Taking a Break'. Students had a discussion in pairs about holidays in their country and what they usually do to spend their holidays. Oh, I joined one of the pairs. It's interesting to find that as far as I observed, Japanese students are quite shy in class to speak, but the teacher was great in encouraging them to share ideas. 

After the observation, I had an input session on 'Teaching in different context' and it was particularly teaching one-to-one and business class. Well, it's surprising to find that teaching one-to-one class has more challenges than its advantages. But anyways, I 've learned a few lessons from there, one of which is measuring progress, and I guess I can take those lessons  into my consideration in teaching more one-to-one classes in the future. 

Today is Ethan and Carys's TP8, their last TP. George and I observed them and took some notes during the whole lesson. Before students left the class, we invited students to take a group photo for our memory. Just like what we did yesterday, we share 1 thing that we liked today, 1 thing that we'd steal from them, and what has improved since the first TP. Personally, I find how each of us has been progressing from TP1 to TP8 really amazing. Well, we're all done now. Congratulations for all us! YEAY!

(Jin, Anna, Fatih, Ekin, Maria 1, Maria 2, Mauro)

CELTA Experience (Day 18)

I was super busy this morning because I needed to finish my lesson plan for my last Teaching Practice (TP) today, TP8. Yeay! I did start planning the lesson last night, but there were some parts of it which were not completed yet. 

Coincidently, I didn't have to reach the campus at English Language Teaching Center (ELTC) at 9:30 am as usual, so I could take a remote interpretation assignment for two hours for Asian Football Confederation. 

It wasn't too busy today since we had only one input session 'Teaching in different context', and it turned out to be about teaching English exams, one of which is IELTS (International English Language Testing System). I've had some experience in both taking and teaching the exam to share with my CELTA colleagues. It's interesting how the Tutor delivered the lesson by assigning to have a look at the real IELTS exam paper to be analyzed and discussed guided by some questions. 

For TP8, I did it today with George. He taught a lesson about going to space and it was very interesting. Students were all excited and engaged in the discussion. After him, I started my lesson by playing a guessing game briefly. Overall, my lesson today is about making speculations about what happened in the past (must/may/might/can't have + past participle). As always, I did my best at all stages of the lesson. In the Freer Practice stage, I had Students practice the Target Language by using dice to be rolled and some pictures to be described. 

Unlike the previous TPs where we also talked about what to work on in the next TP, this time we talked about how George and I have improved from TP1 to TP8. I received a lot of positive feedback from the Tutor and Colleagues. Also, I was thrilled for passing my 4th Assignment Language Skill Related Assignment. It wasn't an easy one. 

Congratulations for me!

Struggling With Night Shift Work? Try These Tips and Tricks

Anyone of you might have ever worked or even now be working night shift. Did you find troubles to manage your routines? YES! I can feel you. I worked in shift for 4 years and experienced working night shift for some periods of time. Each period normally lasted for about 3 moths. 

Well, at work, my company provided some wellness programs one of which is a group session where a coach or counsellor, that was how we called him or her, to provide some ways in handling night shift work. This topic was repeated all over again and again, but guess what? Still many colleagues complained about their problems with their sleep during night shift. Some of them were lack of sleep. Some others had some sleep, but with low quality, while the others could not even sleep at all for 2 days which ended up with he or she took one or two days of sick leave to have some sleep at night time. Trust me, even though we had 2 day off every week, it was a kind of dilemma. Well, it felt good to spend the night by sleeping, but if we did, we would ruin the routine we had built before for staying up at night during work.

Anyways, if we talk about problems, it is never going to end, but here are what I did to make myself stay positive, healthy and happy during night shift work. 

Eat and drink properly and healthily

Trust me, working night shift makes us lazy to prepare our own meal. And, we can get hungry at anytime unexpectedly, for example in the middle of the night during work. As a result, only fast food store is available for 24/7 to be an option such as McDonald. That is what I see on the pantry table every day.

But then, we can do something about it. We can cook something in the evening for let's say an early dinner and spare half of it in a meal box, carry it to the office and eat it later. By cooking or preparing our own meal, we can manage what we eat. We can have some vegetables with any dish you like, maybe chicken, beef, fish. We don't have to cook something complicated which takes a long time as long as it suits our taste and healthy. We can also have some little snacks with us such as some biscuits or fruits to bring to the office. In the morning after we finish work, we can have something light before sleep such as one or two slices of bread with some spread before sleep. Oh, stay hydrated. Drink, drink, drink. Sometimes we might be lazy even to drink some water, but our body needs it. DRINK!

Decide when, I mean what time, we have our meal and have it regularly everyday. For example, I normally had an early dinner at around 7-9 PM. At work, I had another meal maybe at around 3-4 AM. Then, as soon as I finished work, I ate something light before sleep, a slice of bread. That's all. 

Exercise even a little

Before working night shift, I had already had a routine. By the way, I worked mid shift from 1-10 PM previously. I used to start my morning with 30 minutes to 1 hour of yoga under morning sunlight and it always made me feel really good. Then, what about night shift work from 11 PM to 8 AM? I couldn't do my morning routine anymore. I was lost. I love morning sunlight and enjoy it so much that I do yoga under it. In the first few days, I tried doing this morning yoga routine, but what happened was I struggled to sleep. My body became active and fully awake due to the exposure to sunlight, and I had a difficulty to get my body calm down to sleep. So, I stopped it and changed my routine. 

I went to bed as soon as I got home. I had warm shower and went to sleep. I was thinking about doing yoga at another time, but when? A coach at the office mentioned that the exposure to sunlight could be done in the evening and any exercise was not necessarily to be done in the morning. I took this advice and decided to do short and simple yoga in the evening after I woke up. Trust me, working night shift makes our mood so bad that all we want is to be in bed and not to do anything at all for the rest of the day. That's why, at least doing a yoga would do something good for our body. Well, it doesn't have to be yoga, we can choose any exercise which is exciting for us such us Zumba or weightlifting at the gym. Don't let laziness hold ourselves back from keeping our body healthy. 

Schedule your sleep and get yourself ready to rest

How can I schedule my sleep? My sleep is messed up. You must be thinking this way, but trust me, I cant agree more. Now, let's take a moment to talk to ourselves that we do need some sleep. It is for our health. We may not be able to have a good sleep at night, but still we and our body deserve some rest and sleep. That's why decide and tell our body to slow down, calm down, and get to sleep. You could do the following steps to help. 

I started to commit to sleep right away as soon as I got home from work. Sometimes I took warm shower before sleep, sometimes not. The point is that I had to go to sleep as soon as possible. To do this, we need to get ourselves ready first. 

A coach once told me that we need to reduce the exposure to sunlight before going to sleep, and that's why I kept my hoodie on on the way home. If we like, we could even wear sunglasses. But, I wouldn't do that. 

My window was covered by 3 layers of clothes to make it completely dark inside as soon as I got into my room. I kept it dark. No light. Turned the AC on. Let the room cool down.

Oh, NO PHONE, please. If it is too hard for you to not play with the phone, reduce it at least. Put it away. Or, turn it off. Or,  put it in silent mode. Or, put it in time for bed mode. Believe me, once you are engaged with your phone, you will never get to sleep. If it's not never, at least a lot harder. Enjoy the cool and dark room on the cozy bed, with no trigger or attraction to your phone. We will have a nice sleep.

Also, NO ALARM, please. Sleeping in the day time is not easy, so shocking ourselves with an alarm, maybe in the middle of our nice and deep sleep, would be irritating. Better not set it on. Let our body wake up at its own time. 

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I know and I can totally understand that everyone handles this situation differently. I am here not trying to say that all those tips and tricks I did would work for everyone, but there is no harm in giving it a try, right? One more thing, the most important thing is that to manipulate our mind a little bit.

"It is okay to work night shift. Days are still in 24 hours and we have them all. It is not going last forever. It will be just for a while. All is well. We will be okay."

Well, I hope our mind and perspective are always positive. May God bless us all. Stay safe, happy and healthy.