Games, stickers bring classroom to life

KUANTAN: Two weeks after assuming her role as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teluk Chempedak here, Lauren Parsons has begun to familiarise herself with the local culture and understand her students' abilities and needs.

Lauren Parsons having a meal with her students during recess at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teluk Chempedak, Kuantan, Pahang, yesterday. Pic by Afif Abd Halim

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 Although she had joined an orientation programme before she was sent to the school, Parsons admitted that  she still had  many new things to learn through interaction with her students.

 "During  orientation, we were taught about the culture, religion and food of the  various races.

 "However, I was not told that the  students are quite shy," said the 23-year-old American from Frederic, Maryland.

 She said she had to use music and games  to make the students open up and participate during lessons yesterday.

 "I even had my meal  with my students during recess," said Parsons, who has no problem eating rice using her hand at the school canteen.

 Holding a Masters in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the College of Notre Dame in Maryland, Parsons said she also offered attractive stickers from her country to encourage the students to speak in English and take part in the games that she organised. 

 "The stickers are rewards for those who are willing to come forward and join in the activities.

"The main aim is for them to have fun during lessons and make them more confident to speak in English," said Parsons, who developed a passion for teaching English when she spent a semester in Rome, Italy.

 Parsons is one of  16 Fulbright  ETAs from the United States who are placed in 16 schools in Pahang.

 Since their arrival in Malaysia on Jan 20, the ETAs have also met the country's leaders and those responsible for coming up with the programme.

 This year, the number of ETAs  has tripled  based on the commitment of  President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to expand people-to-people exchange programmes between the two countries.