SITI HUMAIRA BINTI AHMAD KAMAL SM (TESL)/038/01/09

What did you get from the practicum? (MID TERM) WEEK 1: 09th July 2012 13th July 2012 This week I was having lots of events at school and I was given a chance to become one of the helping hands for each event. For instance, I was chosen as one of the instructors for 1 Murid 1 Sukan 1 Malaysia Senamrobik and it was a pleasure to be involved in that event. Then, I was chosen to be one of the judges for the telematch as well as becoming the participants coordinator during Sports Day. It was tiring yet I gained so much inputs as well as experiences from all of these events. WEEK 2: 16th July 20th July 2012 This week was the first week I was having my teaching and learning with my dearest pupils 4 Kreatif and 4 Inovasi. Obviously I was so nervous when I was about to enter both classes as I was given the responsibility to continue the topic that have been taught by the previous teachers. Not to forget, I was having my first observation with my mentor teacher on 20th July and I felt so blessed the class; 4 Kreatif cooperated well. Even though the classroom management was quite well during my teaching but there was a minor weakness that I think need to be taken care of for instance, my mentor teacher advise me to improvise the Poison Box game. It was because during the activity I used a pouch instead of a box in order to put all the questions provided for the pupils. Since I was using a pouch, my mentor teacher told me it would be better for me to name it Poison Pouch instead of Poison Box. By then, they will learn a new noun incidentally during the activity. Hopefully I will be able to perform for the coming weeks to come. Good Luck! WEEK 3: 23rd July 2012 27th July 2012 Teaching and learning was going on as usual but on 24th July until 26th July, my school was having a test in order to see the pupils progress in their learning. The result for each subject will be used to improve the teachers teaching as well as pupils learning. Since Year 1 and 2 pupils were having the new curriculum standard (KSSR), therefore only Year 3 until Year 6 pupils who were involved in the test. During the test, I was given a chance to be one of the invigilators for Year 3 Inovasi and Year 4 Kreatif pupils. At that time I was invigilating Mathematics Paper 2 for 3 Inovasi on

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Tuesday as well as Science paper for 4 Kreatif on Thursday. Invigilating pupils were not as fun as I thought it would be as honestly I felt a bit boring as I just sat at the back watching pupils back and the class was very quiet. However I kept walking around to see the way they were answering the test. Lots of facial expression as well as body movements done by them. Sometimes I wondered were these the way they were trying to peep other pupils answers or they just did not know the answers. Deep inside my heart I was wishing them for the best. WEEK 4: 30th July 2012 03rd August 2012 For this week, I have done some improvements with my teaching aids for instance I was using more picture cards and some other interesting activities such as riddles, amazing race chinese whisper and sing a song. I tried to integrate these language games hoping that these might help boost their interests to learn English. Furthermore, this is the time for me to experiment some techniques with my pupils so that by then I may be able to promote fun and meaningful learning in English language. I know this hope might look too ambitious but I always have hope that my pupils will be able at least grasp some inputs during my lesson. As teachers we should not lose hope with our pupils which I think that will be the key for gaining success. Furthermore, I have my second observation by my mentor teacher on 1st August and I integrated song called The Hokey Pokey Song for my lesson in 4 Inovasi. I could see that they were enjoying themselves and that the best lesson that I have ever had during this 4 weeks duration of my practicum. In my opinion, I think their interest in learning English is developing as they keep asking me when they will be having their next English lesson with me. Even though they were misbehaved in class before, but listening to such words enlighten my spirit to teach them English as good as I can. Not to forget, on 3rd August I have my first observation by my supervisor in 4 Kreatif class. Overall the behavioural objectives were achievable and the pupils were very engaging and actively participated in read aloud session. In addition, during group work session I could see that most of the pupils were able to mingle with each other but sadly they were using their mother tongue while completing the task. Furthermore, I could see some pupils were just looking at the task instead of discussing the task with the group members. Here there is a possibility that some of the weaker ones do not really understand the task. It is anticipated that my instructions are not explicit enough therefore they cannot really understand their duty in completing the task given. I learnt that I should try to use simpler English language,

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integrating body language or demonstration while giving instructions so that they can be delivered and understood effectively. In addition, based on my observation I started to realise that the story was having lots of difficult word lists. Even though most of the pupils seemed actively participated during interactive aloud session, it was more likely because I used to ask them some general questions about it but when it came to act out the amused they were having difficulty to do it. I believe that they may not be able to do so as the word is quite difficult for their proficiency level. Therefore in future I should be more sensitive towards pupils proficiency level and first I should try to improvise the story before I deliver it to my pupils. WEEK 5: 06th August 2012 10th August 2012 This week all of the TESOL student teachers were having an interim for a week. It involved some of the lecturers in the language department, practicum unit as well as cooperating lecturers while we were in Sydney. Generally this interim session was done to get us in group once back and share our thoughts and experiences regarding our teaching and involvement in school for the past few weeks. Obviously so much knowledge I gained during this week and it was very useful for me not only for the sake of my practicum but also can be applied in my daily life as well as in my teaching context in future. Our lecturers were really helpful in dealing with some classroom management problems faced by us as well as in planning our lesson plans. We were very grateful to have them that always guide us in developing our teaching skills. Not to forget, we were having a whole day meeting with the practicum unit as their duty was to check on the progress of our Rancangan Pengajaran Harian as well as our portfolio. Since this was our first and the last practicum for our course, I would say lots of improvements need to be done in order to improve our RPH and our portfolio. WEEK 6: 13th August 2012 17th August 2012 There was nothing much on in our school but on Wednesday, the school was organising Majlis Penutup dan Majlis Khatam al-Quran starting at 8 oclock in the morning and ended at 2.05 oclock in the afternoon. Reciting al-Quran was done during the fasting month and I was chosen as one of the helper hands to be the mentor for the pupils. The duty was I needed to monitor pupils recitation of the Quran and I needed to correct them for any mistake that they did while reciting it. I was so pleased to have this duty as for me it trains me to be a

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multitask teacher as it help me to be not only an English teacher but also a Muslim who is also can teach her pupils to recite the Quran well. WEEK 7: 27th August 2012 31st August 2012 I believe people will never ever forget this date; 31st August as this is such a Big Day for Malaysian as on this day we will be celebrating our Independence Day. In the year of 2012 it is already 55 years we achieved our independence from the colonisation of other countries. Even though our school will be celebrating the Independence Day at school level on 14th September but the spirit of celebrating the Big Day could be seen in my school. Some teachers had started hang out Malaysian and the states flags at the assembly area. For the pupils, I could see every class had started to put the Malaysian flag on top of each pupils desk. They also hung some Malaysia flags on top of the classroom blackboard. It is anticipated that the school is trying to instil patriotism among the pupils as well as the teachers. I think it is because nowadays I could see that some young people do not really know about our country and not even try to find out how our country achieved her independence. The saddest thing is sometimes they do not even feel grateful with what we have today the goodness and prosperity that we acquire now. Therefore, by instilling patriotism since the first year in school, hopefully the pupils mainly will be able to be future generations who love the country as well as not even forget once on the hardship faced by our ancestors to break away our country from the colonisation of other countries. As one of the Malaysian citizen, I feel grateful with what I have and what I get today. Hopefully our country will be at peace not only today but forever will be. WEEK 8: 03rd September 2012 07th September 2012 I was observed by my lecturer for the second time on the 5th September 2012 and the results were not as good as the previous one. Last time my lecturer observed me for 4 Kreatif class but this time she entered 4 Inovasi which was the weaker class in the school. I have high expectations on them as I believe they will be able to master English language one day but days by days it fades away slowly. Sometimes I was not so sure whether they will be able to make it or otherwise as after the sixth weeks of my practicum teaching, I just saw some improvements among them. For instance, they were able to ask permission to go to the toilet in English, and then they could give response when I greet them.

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However when it came to English lesson, their faces were not confidently enough to say that they understood what I had taught in their class. Was it my entire fault that they could not grasp the input very well or was it their attitude towards the language also contributing to this matter? I noticed that sometimes my teaching was quite dry and a bit boring but for me it could not be the main reason to misbehave or for not paying attention in my class because sometimes learning language could be so boring as lots of drillings involved. I worked so hard to think of ways and activities for them so that they could see English language is very important nowadays. However they just could not see it. How I wish one day during my practicum teaching these pupils will appreciate not only me but also English lessons done by me. Furthermore, based on the feedbacks given from the observation, the most important aspect that I needed to improve as soon as possible was my classroom management for 4 Inovasi class. I noticed that it is quite tough to handle these pupils as they are having short attention span during my English lesson, it does not mean that I have given up to have well control for this classroom. I will strive for the best to achieve this target. For now what I have done is I am using behavioural card for each pupils in classes that I am teaching during my practicum session. For those who behave well, I will stamp on the column provided with a very good stamp. For those who misbehave in my class, they will not receive anything. During the final week of my practicum session, I will pick the top three pupils who are behaving very well in my class and I shall grant them with a mystery gift as a token of appreciation. WEEK 9: 10th September 2012 14th September 2012 This week starting on 11th September until 13th September, Year 6 pupils were having the biggest challenge in their life which was the UPSR exam. Hopefully they were able to go through it well. Furthermore, since some of the classrooms were used for the UPSR avenue, therefore there were alternate holidays for each standard done by our school during the UPSR exam. In addition, on 14th September which was on Friday, my school was having an event called as Merdeka Raya which on that day we were celebrating the Independence Day as well as celebrating Aidilfitri. Pupils were asked to wear their traditional clothes and it was such a sight to see all pupils were wearing wonderful and colourful clothes on that day. The best part was I could see how pupils minds were not polluted with racism as all races without even

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bothering about whether you are a Malay, or a Chinese or an Indian they mingled with each other really well. How I wish all adults would think the same way like the young fellows here in school. We are multicultural and please do not pollute our own mind as well as our next generation with this contagious virus and value each others difference. WEEK 10: 17th September 2012 21st September 2012 On 21st September which was on Friday, I was having the final observation by my supervisor for PR1 and Alhamdulillah praise to Allah the Almighty that the feedbacks received were totally unbelievable because I did not expect to gain such results. I got flying colours for it. Honestly, during my first and my second observations, the feedbacks received were not that pleasant but for this final one I was so surprised with what I have got. However I must say that lots of room of improvement need to be taken next time. For instance, classroom management skills in terms classroom discipline, I think I should be focusing more on this as I believe for pupils who behave well in class will be able to acquire knowledge better and they are potentially to be successful for the next stage of learning. In addition, the class that I was teaching during the observation was done I would say that they were not having major problems with their behaviours. Just sometimes I need to be aware of their attention span while in class as pupils tend to misbehave if the teaching is fully teacher centred or if they cannot understand the topic that need to be learnt by them. In my opinion, one alternative ways to solve this problem is it is anticipated that incorporating language game while teaching and learning would be good to expand pupils attention span as they are given opportunities to practice the language instead of act of pouring the water in an empty vessel. But I need to ensure that the games should not overtaking my lesson as to much of playing games as the skills that need to be learnt may not be well acquired by pupils. WEEK 11: 24th September 2012 28th September 2012 Another two weeks more before I am leaving this school and I have a mix feeling regarding this. I feel happy as the practicum is almost come to an end however at the same time I feel quite sad as I will be leaving my pupils soon. I started to feel some kind of bond or connection between me and my pupils. Seeing my pupils faces that were very happy when I was entering their classes; 4 Kreatif and 4 Inovasi as well as kept asking me when will I be coming in to their classes made me feel so good. I felt like my presence was appreciated by them.

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Furthermore, now I started to see that some of the pupils English proficiency is improving and obviously I feel great about it. Even though at first it was quite hard to gain pupils trust as well as to manage the classroom wisely but I think now it started to pay off. Just that sometimes the pupils tend to challenge my patience then I started to scold them. Not really scolded them actually but just wanted them to see and realise that they were making mistakes and they needed to be warned so that by then they will learn from their mistakes. In my opinion, that is why pupils should not be pampered too much as they will not learn from their mistakes and by then there is a chance that they think that they are always doing the right thing even though actually it was wrong. Hopefully my pupils will become better people in future. WEEK 12: 01st October 2012 05th October 2012 On the 3rd October, this was the date when my lecturer came to my school to have for PR2. I only knew this news on that morning and obviously I was so scared at that time. In addition as soon as I realised that she will be entering my 4 Inovasi class, I was far way more nervous as previously when she observed this class for the second observation for PR1, the result was such a disappointment. However, everything turned out to be just fine as I was not sure what made the pupils behaved well this time. I have a feeling that this was because most of the aggressive ones were absent this morning therefore the classroom was not that hard to control. Overall, the pupils were paying attention and they were cooperating well during the lesson. Thinking that I will be leaving soon, there is a possibility that the pupils tend to behave well while my remnants of the time available here is getting shorter. Hopefully my pupils English proficiency level will keep improving with the help of the wonderful English teachers in this school. WEEK 13: 08th October 2012 12th October 2012 This week was the final week for me at the school. The pupils especially from 4 Kreatif and 4 Inovasi kept asking me to stay a bit longer and do not leave them so soon and I felt so blessed to have such pupils that really appreciate me. I did not expect my leaving would impact them badly. However what could I say as I was only having my practicum here and the duration was only for 3 months therefore there was nothing much that I can do. Just that, most probably I will be coming to the school to finish the mural as well as to be involved in some events as one of the helpers. I think most probably this had happened to all the practicum teachers where the pupils were having hard time to let them go and the precise rationales were still unsure.

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However I have a feeling that since the practicum teachers are having their time in school for only 3 months and while teaching they are usually integrating wonderful teaching aids and language games therefore these are most probably affecting pupils interests to learn. Furthermore, it is anticipated that practicum teachers tend to assemble good rapport with the pupils they are teaching in order to attain maximum control of the pupils in the classroom. These are some of the rationales that I could think of which make pupils are having hard time to let go their practicum teachers. However it is crucial to acknowledge that although some of the rationales may be common to many, what I have written regarding the issue of reasons of why pupils tend to have hard time to let go their practicum teachers, to a large extend based on my personal experiences and my teaching practices. In addition, the best memory that I will never forget in my entire life was the surprise enthronement ceremony organised by the teachers and it was totally amazing. I did not really know when was the time the teachers altogether worked on the seating of the bridal couple on a dais. Then, the teachers somehow prepared the yellow rice and scented pandan for the sprinkling ceremony which traditionally as a sign of blessing. Each guest even received a bunga telur (egg flower), a decorated egg with a fabric flower after they sprinkled us with the yellow rice and scented pandan. If I am not mistaken, my partner and I had been enthroned for three times if the previous ones during our wedding ceremony were counted in. It was such a great pleasured and honoured to be celebrated that way. Even though my partner and I were having our practicum session for only 3 months at SKAI but the relationship built between us and the teachers seemed like we had known them for years. For me, they were really professional at school as they treated us well and they were very cooperative as they did not see us as practicum teachers but more to as their colleagues. These are the good behaviour portrayed by the teachers in our school which made me feel comfortable with the school environment. Just that the pupils somehow a bit naughty but it was still under school control and supervision. Overall I would say that I was lucky to be in SKAI and all memories and experiences will be kept forever in my mind.

~THE END~