Reflections from Perky Piung’s Wonderful Words Island

Every teacher knows this phase.

The exams are over.

The bags are lighter.

The routines are looser.

And suddenly, attention, motivation, and even attendance begin to dip.

The post-year-end examination period is often treated as “filler time,” but I’ve always felt that how we end the year matters just as much as how we begin it. So in 2025, with my Year 2 Zamrud learners, I decided to try something different.

Instead of worksheets or disconnected activities, I designed a small project-based learning experience called Perky Piung’s Wonderful Words Island: Sharing Stories and the Things We Love.

Why This Project?

The intention was simple.

I wanted my learners to:

• stay engaged after exams

• continue learning without pressure

• feel happy and safe using English

And since Perky Piung had already become a familiar and well-loved learning mascot in our classroom, it felt natural to bring her along on this journey.

If learning had to continue, it had to feel friendly, meaningful, and manageable.

What Did the Project Look Like?

Learners worked in groups of three, but here’s the important part:

👉 each learner completed the task individually.

Every group produced three sets of work — one from each learner.

However, groups could only submit their work once everyone had finished.

This small condition made a big difference.

• Learners supported one another

• No one could “opt out”

• Everyone stayed accountable

The tasks themselves were intentionally simple and familiar:

• copying words and short sentences

• talking about things they love

• creating visual and written project outputs

The focus was never on perfection — it was on participation, effort, and confidence.

What Did the Learners Tell Me?

After the project, I collected feedback through a simple learner survey.

The results were encouraging:

• All learners said they enjoyed learning English with Perky Piung

• Most learners reported feeling happy and engaged during the project

• Nearly all enjoyed talking about themselves, their families, and familiar topics in English

All learners reported enjoying learning English with Perky Piung. This suggests that the use of a familiar learning mascot helped maintain positive emotions and engagement during the post-examination period.

For young learners, these responses matter.

Before accuracy comes confidence.

Before confidence comes emotional safety.

And this project created that space.

What Did the Assessment Show?

From a skills perspective, most learners demonstrated:

• basic to developing writing ability, which was expected for Year 2

• high levels of participation, even among quieter learners

• strong creativity, especially in visual elements

The majority of learners achieved the highest participation score, suggesting that the project design successfully encouraged active involvement. The combination of individual accountability and group responsibility helped prevent passive participation.

Writing confidence remained an area for growth — and that’s okay.

This was never meant to be a high-stakes academic intervention.

It was a bridge — keeping learners connected to English at a time when disengagement is common.

While some learners felt confident writing simple sentences, a significant number still required support. This highlights the importance of continued scaffolding and reinforces that the project prioritised engagement and confidence over writing accuracy.

What I Learned as a Teacher

This project reminded me that:

• engagement is a learning outcome

• joy is not a distraction from learning — it enables it

• young learners need emotional safety before academic risk-taking

Using a familiar mascot and familiar topics wasn’t a shortcut — it was a pedagogical choice.

And perhaps most importantly, I was reminded that post-exam periods don’t have to feel empty or rushed. With the right design, they can be meaningful, gentle, and deeply human.

Moving Forward

If I were to refine this project in the future, I would:

• include short oral recordings for richer evidence

• add more scaffolded writing support

• compare before-and-after samples more intentionally

But as it stands, Perky Piung’s Wonderful Words Island achieved what it set out to do:

👉 keep learning alive, joyful, and purposeful — even after exams.

And sometimes, that’s exactly what our learners need most 💚