Siew In's First Reflection for Teaching Practice

First of all I want to say welcome back to school of all my classmates! We are back to school again but this time with a different title, a TEACHER. Sorry for the late posting because I don’t have internet connection since me, Pei Pei, Fifi and Yasmin just moved to a new place near our school. Me and fifi were posted at SMK Damansara Utama. I have started to feel nervous about my practical 1 week before the briefing on 29th October since I knew it was just around the corner. I can't sleep well and there are butterflies in my stomach since then. After I knew where I was posted my biggest challenge began. I started to think how am I going to go there since me and partner fifi don’t have any transport. What if the school is very far from our college? The faculty should have informed us earlier because those who don’t have any transportation can search for a house nearby earlier and have more times to look for alternative ways to go to the school. Luckily we were in the same school with Bunmi so before we officially started our practical we went to school with Bunmi to introduce ourselves to the Principal and get to know the exact location of the school.
My first impression about the school was the teachers were nice and they were really helpful because they treated us nicely after we introduced ourselves. I hope that kind of attitude will remain until the final day of my practical. During our meeting, the principal did mention about PBS since I was given form1 classes and I was like what the hell is PBS??? I don’t have any idea about it. I think that will be my biggest challenge, second is classroom management. I'm afraid that I can't control the students when they are too noisy. For the first week I just plan to do an ice breaking session during the first class, ask the teachers what they have taught before I take over their class and also observed other teachers’ class if possible. I will try to be nice to every staff and ask for as many tips that I can. I think it’s very important to have a good relation with all the staff at the school. Now my first task is to google what PBS is. I hope I will manage to overcome all the obstacles in these 10 weeks. GOOD LUCK buddies!

Pei Pei's First Reflection for Teaching Practice

I came back to KL a week earlier before teaching practice so that I can look for a place to stay which is near to my designated school, SMK (P) Taman Petaling together with my partners; Yasmin, Ashilla and Dava, also together with some friends. We look for rooms and houses online but most of them are so costly and is not near to the school. A day before the briefing, we went back to the faculty and found out that my partner and I got transferred yet again (for the third time) to SMKDJ and are no longer in SMK Taman Petaling. It saddens me as I was already expecting four of us to go to school together and planning our lessons together. Nevertheless, I also feel grateful at the same time for not having found a place near SMK Taman Petaling as it would mean that my partner and I will have to travel quite some distance everyday is we are to stay there.

On Thursday, Yasmin and I went to the school to report ourselves to the Principal and to see our mentor. The principal were stressing on our dressing and on how we should see ourselves as a real teacher rather than a trainee teacher. It’s ironic how they say that we will be treated as real teachers in this school, but when it comes to getting MC/exemption from class, they say that we MUST only get it from the government hospital as we are ONLY trainee teacher. Challenge accepted, we will be good teachers and stay positive and give all we can offer to stay out of trouble and to uphold our Uni and supervisors’ name. Anyway, the principal seems kind, but strict at the same time. We also spoke to the Senior Assistant who showed us around the school and introduced some of the teachers and other Senior Assistants & Head of Departments to us. We met our mentor too and she is a very kind and helpful lady, passionate with her job and she told us to be prepared as the English proficiency in this school is very high as majority of the students speak English as their first language at home. We were told that we are getting Form 4 classes but will only get to know our schedule on Monday.

After speaking to the Principal and our mentor, I think that my biggest challenge is how to attract students’ attention and make them concentrate in my English lessons as they consists of high proficiency students who might feel that English is nothing to them, because they are already good in it and think that have more important subjects to focus in because they are the pure Science stream students. Another thing that worries me is how to communicate with them as we were told that we should not be too strict or too friendly towards the students. As they are high proficiency students, I am also worried that my knowledge and my proficiency level is not good enough for me to deliver my lessons effectively. There is so much to be worried about yet, I do not know what to prepare myself for. Kids these days are different, they are more opinionated than our generation and I think it is important for us to let them have the chance to express themselves. Therefore, I think one of my strategies is to let them have the chance to express themselves during the lesson, through the activities. It will be good to see what the students have to say or what are their opinions on some issues, rather than having being spoon-feed all the time.

I wish the best for all of my fellow comrades, together we learn and deliver!

Wang Yi's First Reflection Before Teaching Practice

Hello guys, long time no see.

Tomorrow is our first day~ Good luck to eveybody

Yahya and I, we got form two in Assunta. We will get our schedule tomorrow morning~ We went to Assunta on Thursday with Alia, when she talked with the scurity guy by using Malay,to be honest, I wish I can understand it, speak it more than ever before. Assunta is beautiful and clean. Althouth a little bit small, it got everything. It even has a small computer lab in the cantin. The teachers there are kind and patient, one of a teacher called Ms. Chan, she showed us the whole campus. Most of the girls said hello to us, so sweet~ We made our own name tag, easy for others to know us. Until now, so far so good. Anyway, fighting~ guys ^_^

Bunmi's First Reflection Before Teaching Practice

On my mind ! positive and negative .Positive in the sense that we have visited the school on Thursday and we got a warm welcome by the teachers and the coordinators ,we spent roughly an hour talking with the coordinators and we were told to come to them if we are facing any difficulties or problem with the students or teachers, between, one of the teacher was already showing us round and introducing us to some other teachers and few students .I am have negative thinking for the fact that i haven't meet the students and we have already been told by the coordinators that the students are really active "positively active" on the other hand ,I was told straight away that jeans is not allowed because ,I was putting on jeans trouser ,while George was gorgeously dressed-up like China prime Minister. Above all, the visitation shows a positive sign ,i wish it will be like that till the end of our practice there .At the moment,i cant figure out what will be the challenges but maybe my accent :) and also having serious cough at the moment ..too much drinking during the holiday might have caused that for me not teaching practice pressure .I think the only way to face my new 'abode' is to be humble and listen to corrections from the teachers and coordinators because experience is higher than knowledge ,respect all the rules and regulation of the school ,such as don't wear jeans, don't be too close with the girls ;),come to class on time dont be late, knot tie for Monday assembly .

For the coming week am just going to do some games and diagnostic test with the students to get to know them well but My teaching strategies are based on sports, Culture ,movies ,songs,drawing , role play ,and debating.I will still browse for more as time goes-on but i think i can still win the heart of the students with all these and share knowledge together . Everything is going to be fine i guess and it will be happy ending after the 2months , i want to have a positive mind and thinking towards my teaching practice and it shall be positive till the end .

Wendy's First Reflection before Teaching Practice

First Reflection-Pre-teaching (September 2, 2012)

Hello everyone, I wish you all had a great long holiday. For me these two months passed so rapidly. Without realizing it, our training is ahead of us. In the beginning, I felt scared, confused and worried, but after receiving the guidance book prepared by Dr. Adel and the faculty, I felt so relieved. Gradually those negative emotions were gone because I’ve known what I should do step by step. As a novice teacher, I believe certain things are crucial for us.

First of all—Punctuality. It’s not just entering the classroom on time; it’s also about reaching the school on time or even earlier. In this way, we have enough time to prepare for ourselves and are able to deal with unexpected incidents.

Second—Preparation. A teacher should never enter the classroom without any preparation. This does not just apply for the new teacher, but for all teachers, no matter you are experienced or not. We need to know every bit of the thing we are teaching. When we stand in the front of the classroom, the students look up to us. They believe we know everything and we can answer every question they ask. What if a student asks a very simple question, and we don’t know? Situations like this are common in teaching and learning. It may happen once or twice, it’s fine, but not many times. We should never find excuses for ourselves for not knowing the stuff we are teaching.

Third—Confidence. One, confidence comes from a good preparation. Second, it comes from ourselves. We have to believe ourselves. Many of our seniors did a good job in training and had a fantastic time with the school teachers and students. We need not be afraid; instead, let’s think about those cute, lovely and simple students.

Fourth—Stand in students’ shoes. We were once in the middle school studying, so we should think what kind of teacher we liked and why we liked certain teachers and why sometimes we even hated some. Humans are similar. Our students have the similar thinking as us. Moreover, when students make mistakes, don’t do their homework, sleep, chat or be passive in the class, we shouldn’t scold them immediately, but look for the reason of their behaviors. Why do they do that? Give them a chance to speak for themselves first, then help them. We can’t think of ourselves as a superior to them, no. We are there to help those students. So be tolerant and understanding.

Fifth—Be fair. I told myself many a time: “Wendy, you don’t like your primary school teachers and until now, you still dislike them because they are biased and they have their elite students on their mind and give them special care. So you should never be a teacher like that. Don’t be judgmental.” Whether the students like English, whether they are polite, hard-working, pretty, lovely or lazy, ordinary-looking, bad in English, let’s not judge them and give everyone equal attention. I know it’s very hard in practice because we are human, and we have feelings. So do our best.

Furthermore—Patience. I don’t think I have to describe the significance of this point. But just one more thing, however angry you are, never show your long face to the students. Don’t even frown, sigh. Students can feel it. Students can feel whether this teacher is willing to teach them.

Lastly—Keep learning. Try to minimize our grammatical mistakes in the classroom and continue learning English and enhance ourselves on a daily basis. Because having a good command of English is the key to a good English teacher.

There are many other things important to us. But the above mentioned are my thoughts before our training that I’d like to share with all of you.

All in all, I wish the best luck for everyone!

Rou Jin's First Reflection

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken

joy in creative expression and knowledge.

Albert Einstein

Future Teachers,

Our time has come. We've been through three years of theory practice. Now it's the time for us to go to the real situation in the school. It's been sleepless nights for me. After the briefing for our practical, I became more nervous. I read through the seniors Reflections and their activities. I don't know whether I can be as good as them. They are so creative and outstanding with their lessons. I've been assigned to SMK Taman Sea. Since last Thursday, most of us had been assigned to specific schools and form. My partner, Awatif and I called the school to meet the management on Thursday but they said they're busy with some activities. Until now, I can't stop thinking of which Form I will teach. But they said, morning classes will usually be Form 4 and 5 class. I read my friends posts in The Many Leaves of A Tree, their facebook statuses and I feel like I was left behind because they already know their schedule, met the teachers, and so on. I googled about the school and went to look for the school. Apparently, it is quite far from 9th Residential College, UM. I guess I need to wake up maybe around 530 am. This Monday, we will be going for morning session. I hope the Principal and teachers are good to us trainees. Most important part is, I hope the students will be nice to me. Based on my size, I might be seen as a potential victim of bullying. But I will try my best to be a sporting teacher and at the same time, a strict teacher. For the first week, I may want to be a lil bit serious with my students. Personality and our attire are important aspects to gain their attention. I think I might use that strategy as well. After I break the ice for that first week, I will start with my teaching strategies. I prefer to get the students more involved in T&L activities. But.. but.. I need to know my students level of English proficiency. I repeat. "My students".. Haha. I'm so excited for this. Butterflies everywhere in my stomach. Last but not least, I wish everyone all the best for the practicum

Rou Jin

Welcome back to theLushTree!

It was good to have met all of you just awhile ago at Arif although a few faces were missing. Still on holiday I suppose. As the briefing for Teaching Practice went on, many questions popped from you about many things related to Teaching Practice. I'm really glad we had the chance to have the discussion just now. For those who missed the session, do speak to others who were present. Whatever it is, I know how you feel: be calm, stay positive, stay focused, plan, plan plan. To fight the enemy, you must know the enemy well. Not that the students or teachers are enemies but..you need to go with such a mind. The more prepared you are, the better it'll be. I promise you.

Okay. For your first reflection, share with us, what is in your mind. What are your expectations? What do you think will be the biggest challenge for you? How do you think you will face your new 'abode': the school? What kind of strategies do you have in mind in preparation for the coming week as you begin Teaching Practice? Shahrul...relax..take it easy..a lot of prayers and be positive. You WILL be fine. After all, they are just kids who need a lot of support and help.

I wish everybody a lot of luck and love. Prayers with you always! Have fun!