Well, learning vocabulary is not restricted to these 4 techniques. But by identifying the techniques help teachers to focus on the TnL and give the students something to hold on to.

I find explicit training in vocabulary works because it made you aware of the process and how to go about in doing it. No more time wasted on try and error method that frustrate a lot of our students. In this post, I will identify the techniques and elaborate on how to do it.

You can choose to apply one technique at a time or try all in the chronological order of my elaboration.

Okay...

Let us look at the first one

WORD MAGNET

You need 4 items, I left out the fridge magnet

Write and draw the words you want or need to learn

Stick it on the fridge door.

When you put yourself in a spotlight, then only you know how much is your worth. 

There are a lot of things you can learn from the novice. First of all, you can admire their curiosity. They are curious just about anything and they are not afraid to ask. Secondly, these people are highly motivated. They go all over for knowledge and don't take no for an answer.

Hello!

These qualities exhibited in the teachers that I came into contact yesterday. A friend from the Microsoft Education requested for a session with his teachers. In my mind, I thought they were those young bubbly just about school leavers who will be in attendance. I got the shock when I realized that most of them were not as I imagined them to be, I was sorry for myself for being a stereotype.

Hi guys!

The session went for 30 minutes with Q&A about my whereabouts (MYSTERY SKYPE, in action!) and a lengthy discussion about the cultures of both countries. We also shared some ideas on how to use technology in the classroom and how it may benefit students.

Isn't she lovely?

This session helped me and the students of Mr. Tien Mai to connect, and Skype helped to personalized that connection. By having a video call, the presence can be felt as we were able to look at each other, understanding cultures by observing how people act and react.

Have you ever Skype in your classroom? Give it a try, you will feel the difference!

This happened during Karnival Kreativiti dan Inovasi PdPc Peringkat Kebangsaan 2019 held at IPGM Kampus Sultan Mizan last month. It was an eye-opening event for both of us. Mind you, although Perky Piung is a doll, I always considered her as a separate entity from me. Haha

Our humble booth

Ready for the judges!

We came into the event with no expectation to win prizes, we only hope to spread words about our programme and get people to participate. We also wanted to learn about others' innovation and make contacts and broaden our networking.

The 2-day event began with judging on the first day and the result came out on the second day. Participants were located in the same hall with some separation between the categories. Perky Piung and I contested in the teacher category.

What amazed us were the contestant from the students' category. They exhibited maturity in their presentation about the product they have invented. Both of us grilled them with questions! Most of them said that their project was a product of classroom teaching and learning activities which was further developed into something better. Some of them were able to secure a partnership with universities to develop and market their product. AMAZING.






We were glad we took a leap of faith and try our hands in this event. The people who took part in this event were supportive of others and highly motivated. You can feel the air of positivity in the hall and the excitement to share ideas and possible collaboration.




Looking back, Perky Piung and I understand that we have a long way ahead of us. We need to do a lot more to keep up with the current trends of education in this era. It is not easy to keep learners motivated by doing just one thing because this generation has traits so dynamic that you can't even foresee where it is going to go. Until then, keep on innovating!

Fans of Perky Piung

It is not in Japan, but the closest we can get

I was nervous when a Skype guest speaker request came into my inbox the other day. I understand that when I signed up, someday the first request will come. People say, the first time will always be the hardest but I say the first time is always mind-boggling. I didn't know where to start, although the teacher did mention that his students wanted to learn about Malaysia. Being born and raised in Malaysia suddenly made me an expert?


I love this song! Her voice was enchanting!

The realization of having to describe Malaysia in a short amount of time was certainly is not my choosing. I want to tell a lot of things, about my hometown, how we do things every day, how much we love being Malaysian. After some deliberation, I chose to share about Malaysian never-ending penchant for food and the glorious sandy beaches stretches that made Malaysia an island and a peninsular combined.

Picture taken by Mr. Alper Cifti

Ain't they cute?

The session went smoothly and judging by their body language, I knew they had a great time and I knew I certainly did. Although they seemed shy, the questions flowed at ease as they were teenagers with high curiosity (or it was their teacher's prompt? haha). I thought they were bright too.

I learned 3 things from the session:

The world is not defined by borders or ethnicity. Those students that I talked to came from the middle east with their family. Living in Australia, adopting the new country as theirs, adapting to new cultures and traditions made them into a world citizen. These days we should not stereotype countries with certain ethnicity but to be open to accepting people regardless of their religion or skin colour.

You don't have to be an expert at everything. What I think important in today's world, as people say living in the 21st century, is to be able to learn, unlearn and relearn. By embracing these three things, we can be optimistic of change and humbled by the knowledge we can learn from others.

Take pride in who you are. This is a value that I struggle to have, which only arrive as I grew older. The idea of the other side is always greener or taking pride is sin made me wonder about my true self, whether it is worth it. Now I do believe that everybody brings value into this world, therefore it is important to be proud of who you are and learn to own it. This will help you understand how you can contribute to the people around you.

I hope to be part of this guest speaker session sometime soon. Maybe it will teach me more about myself that I'm still discovering (I talk like a 20-year-old girl with a whole lot of possibilities! haha).

So, how about you? Have you tried being a Guest Speaker on the Microsoft Edu? 

Alhamdulillah. Give thanks to Allah, the Most Gracious.

There were a lot of great things happened during our Skype session. I wish to highlight 10 of it. The order of writing doesn't mean I favour no. 1 over no. 10. It is just in the order I remember it. However, no. 1 is everlasting because my tastebud fell in love with it.

1. The teachers gave me a box of cheese tarts as a token of appreciation. I believe the baker did a great job, as the cheese was soft and fluffy. Yummy! Cheese tart and Skype? Aha!

2. The students understand the flow of Skype without having to be reminded. And, I loved the way they navigate themselves and help each other out.

4. I am eternally grateful to the teachers of SK Seri Berang. All of them were blessings from God and I wish them the very best in life. Thank you for having me at your school.

I am so excited about our Riddle Skype this year. Alhamdulillah, we have the opportunities to do so. Thank you to Mdm Haruka and her students from Saitozaki Elementary School for reaching out to us.
#skypeintheclassroom   #skypetolearn

The Skype session which will be on schedule tomorrow has undergone 2 training sessions prior to the real session.

In the first training session, students were brief on the flow of the Skype and designation of roles. The students learned how to go about based on their roles. During the second training, the students experienced mock Skype which requires them to simulate the flow of activity. They portrayed their understanding of their roles and were positive throughout the training.

I hope everything will turn out well for Skype and students will gain valuable experiences and ideas about the world around them. I also hope that this activity will motivate them to speak and learn English better. In order to understand this, I have prepared a debriefing activity which I hope to discover new things about the programme and the participants.


Debriefing activity

Hi and Welcome. Below is the survey for the Perky Piung Words Adventure Programme. If you have joined our programme, kindly provide some feedback in the form below. Thanks!