PEOPLE IN LIA: The Interview (part one)

(An activity of ET-7 students concerning Lesson 8/"People in Our School", page 57 of STAR 3 Book)

Learning is somewhat painful to some students. Being trapped in a small cubical room of 4 to 4 meters is contributing a lot to the boredom. Not to mention the teachers lacking of creativity will eventually  turn the students into learners of the least motivation. We should finally be thankful if they are still willing to stay and continue to study in LIA despite their disappointment and frustration. We surely need a breakthrough; we definitely call for an out of the box idea. 

We had this idea. When we came to Lesson 8 of STAR 3 Book (the book used in LIA for SMP students), we had this topic: PEOPLE IN OUR SCHOOL. The lesson tells of stories depicting job descriptions and daily routines of staffs (both academic and non-academic) in a school. We decided to make it different from other classes of ET-7. 

FIRST THING FIRST

We are going to interview people who are working in LIA (teachers, excluded). Firstly, we are discussing on what questions to ask. We end up with the following simple topics of questions (since most of the non-academic staffs in LIA haven't mastered English yet) such as: 

• Personal identity (name, address, family)
• Job or position in LIA
• Responsibilities (job descriptions)
• Hobbies (likes/dislikes)
• Dreams in the future (what they want to be in the future)
• Etc. 

THE STUDENTS INTERVIEWING THE CANTEEN KEEPER, KANG ODOY
(Can you tell which one is the canteen keeper?)

The students are then divided into groups of threes and they are doing the followings:
First, they make up the questions and then they practice the questions with their peers. 

THEY ARE MAKING QUESTIONS TO ASK THE INTERVIEWEES

In the meantime, the teacher is contacting those people who will be interviewed and telling them that the students will need their time for a simple interview. The teacher gives them excerpts of the questions that the students will ask.

INTERVIEWING THE LIBRARIAN, MR. AHMAD

LAST MINUTES PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEW

The teacher tells the groups (of threes) to assign their members with a special assignment. 

One student will act as an interviewer. His/her main duty is to interview the interviewees.

Another student will take note the answers given by the interviewees. He/she may also ask questions to the interviewee.

The last student will have to take pictures and record the activity during the interview.

WRITING THE REPORT

WRITING THE REPORT IN PARAGRAPHS

COMPARING THE REPORTS

THE REPORTS 

The last activity is making reports. The reports will be in two types: written report and digitally recorded report. The written reports will be in a form of a simple paragraph describing the interviewees based on the answers they have given during the interview. While the digitally recorded report is in the form of pictures and videos of the interview. 

THE TEACHER POSING AFTER THE INTERVIEW WITH THE INTERVIEWEES AND THE STUDENTS

FIRST DAYS OF "OYEP STUDENTS" (In Speaking One Class)

Preparing Questions and Anwers

First days in class seem fine and full of energy. Yet there are some students who still look worried and in a process of putting themselves together in class and try to fit in. In such circumstances there are not expected to make up a tricky and complex conversation. They are still testing the water. 

Practicing their English, introducing themselves one another

Today, they are only to introduce to one another asking simple questions such as:

1. What's your name?
2. Where do you live?
3. Where do you come from?
4. What do you do?
5. What're your hobbies?
6. What do you want to be someday?

These are the same questions we ask to one of our janitors in our institution (SEE: A Multi-talented janitor who speaks English)

The questions somehow develop to a next stage when the answers are given. The students instinctively ask questions related to the answers they get, making the conversation much longer and more complex since they have made new questions out of the questions we ask them to ask one another. 

The class was fun. Laughter heard everywhere contributes to a less pressure condition making the students feel comfortable and easy to practice their English. 

 

A MULTI-TALENTED JANITOR WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH

A janitor who speaks English? What's so special about it? Well, it is special indeed knowing that this janitor is an Indonesian (and he never goes to an English course) and his education is also very much mediocre but somehow he loves to learn things all by himself. He is an avid learner who wish to always upgrade his skills and knowledge. 

In his leisure time, he indulges himself in shaping his drawing skill. Everyone knows .... the teachers, the staffs, the students, and the parents of the students that he is the one who always sit patiently sketching his ideas to formulate patterns, lines, dots, and colors to form and shape wonderful pictures that amaze the whole people who see it. He is, we think, somebody who deserves more respect and with a better luck and a little hard work, he may end up in a much better place with a better opportunity.  

He was interviewed by one of our students

(just click the video to view)

FERRY ANTONI: AOO AND PRESENTER

Click to  ENLARGE if you think it's not LARGE enough to see

Ferry Antoni currently an AOO (Academic Operator Officer) and a senior teacher teaching in LBPP-LIA Martadinata, Bandung since 1995, is also an avid reader of matters concerning ELT (English Language Teaching). To channel his thoughts and breakthroughs in ELT, he frequently shares his tremendous ideas through presentations held by notable institutions. He presented his papers in several cities in and outside Indonesia: Bandung, Jakarta, Bali, Malaysia, and others.

Here are some of his papers that he is kindly willing to share in order that you can consult when in need of references: 

(Just Click the cover to download)

Enhancing Learners' Critical Thinking Skills through Argumentation Writing (presented in Jakarta, 2005))

Teaching Grammar and Topics Integratedly Revisited: An Alternative for Tomorrow's ELT in Indonesia (presented in Bandung, 2003)

Teaching Our Very Own English Ideas on Making It Not Look Foolish (first presented in 2010 in Bali, Indonesia, then in Malaysia)

if you need more of his meticulous works, please feel free to contact him via his FACEBOOK (Please, click!)

FINALISTS OF LEC 2016

LIA ENGLISH COMPETITION (LEC) has come to an end. These are finalists who are going to compete on Saturday 3rd, 2016. We hope the winners are those who can perform the best and showing great attitudes as the winners. Congrats and see you all in the competition.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

CLICK TO ENLARGE TO SEE THE FINALISTS