Staff Meeting SK Lubok Temiang Tuesday 15 November 1:15 to 2:15 Materials Whiteboard and pens; ICT projector; computer

Introduction by Cathy Ive been working in your school since May this year, and Im aware that some of you are not really sure exactly what it is Im doing here. I know that this is a busy time of year for you, and Im very grateful for your attendance today. I plan to take up no more than an hour of your time today talking a little bit about what Lela, Marjima and I have been doing this year, in the hope that next year you will have a better understanding of this project, and perhaps, hopefully, get you more involved in what we are doing. So today I will cover the following points: Background to the project Aim and objectives of the project The way in which we have been working this year Presentations from Lela and Marjima Thinking about next year

There will be time for questions and comments from you at the end, so please make a note of anything you would like to say and we will take questions later. 1. Cathy gives background to the project.

The name of this project is the ELTDP. This project has been introduced by the Malaysian Ministry of Education to support English teaching in the new KSSR curriculum by providing professional development to Malaysian primary school teachers of English from English-language teaching professionals. Across East Malaysia there are 120 British Council teachers working closely with Malaysian primary school English teachers. Each BC teacher is responsible for 5 schools and 10 Malaysian teachers. The BC is using a system of profession development called Mentoring. I am a mentor; the teachers I work with are mentees. The role of the Mentor is not to train teachers; the role of the mentor is to support English teachers in finding solutions to the problems they identify. The British Council believes that encouraging teachers to solve their own problems in a way that suits their local environment is more effective than imposing on them a training model.

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Cathy goes through 4 aims of ELTDP.

The project has one overall aim and 4 objectives. The aim of the project is to improve the ability of primary school English teachers to plan and deliver quality English lessons based on the new KSSR English Language Curriculum in 600 schools across East Malaysia.

Objectives by September 2013 1. To improve classroom teaching and learning 2. To improve the English language of the participating teachers 3. To improve the teachers ability to find, develop, use, and share a range of teaching and learning materials. 4. To share the project with other members of the school community (pupils, teachers, parents, education authorities), so that English teaching will continue to develop and improve after September 2013. 3. Cathy explains the way we have been working this year.

So, the purpose of the ELTDP is not to train English teachers, but to support teachers in identifying and solving their own problems. This year, my group of mentees have been working on individual Classroom Research projects. Classroom Research simply means finding out what happens in classrooms by investigating classrooms and the learning environment. By looking at what is happening in our classrooms, in our schools and in our communities, we can identify problems and start thinking about the best way to solve them. To carry out classroom research I went through the following process with each mentee: 1. 2. The mentee identified a problem she was having (e.g.: I am not sure how to get my Year 1 pupils to really read.) The mentee made a research question that would help her start thinking about possible answers to this problem (e.g.: What activities do teachers use to teach beginners in English how to read?) The mentee made a list of ways in which she could research the answers to the question she had made (eg: lesson observations; interviewing other teachers; interviewing pupils; reading books; experimenting with new activities in lessons; Internet research) The mentee presented her findings at a year-end meeting of mentees.

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These are the classroom research projects carried out this year by the 10 mentees I worked with: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. What activities do teachers use to teach beginners in English how to read? How can I get three naughty boys to behave in my lesson? How do teachers keep pupils attention? What do parents think about their childrens English lessons? How do teachers retain pupils attention during a lesson? Which listening and speaking activities are most effective in the English classroom? What are the different types of activities that take place in the English classroom?

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What do teachers do when pupils finish an activity quickly? What do pupils do when they finish an activity quickly? How do teachers establish good boundaries between teacher and pupil? How do teachers teach reading to beginners in English?

Interestingly enough, 4 classroom research projects were related to the issue of classroom control, and it was classroom control that your colleagues Lela and Marjima decided to focus on this year. Im going to ask them to each do a short presentation about their project to you, and at the end of each presentation you will have a chance to ask questions. 4. Lela: Talk about how you felt at the start of the project and how you feel now Presentation (in Bahasa or English) Questions Marjima Talk about how you felt at the start of the project and how you feel now Presentation (in Bahasa or English) Questions Cathy will suggest to teachers some of the ways in which we could keep other teachers more involved in the project next year? Invite them to cluster meetings Invite them to individual mentor/mentee meetings Present our work to you more regularly? Lela and Marjima have meetings to share what they have learned, particularly with other English teachers? Any other ideas?

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