ELTIS District Trainers TOT Course

Two groups of District Trainers have now completed their specially-designed six-week Training of Trainers course conducted by the Teacher Training Department at IALF Bali. The 64 Trainers were chosen from among ELTIS beneficiary English teachers from East Java, NTB and South Sulawesi.

Teacher Training Component

The aim of the teacher Training component was to further expose the participants to communicative methods and approaches to teaching, as well as to introduce them to some new topics, such as Adapting Materials from the Internet for their own Context. Other input sessions which had not been previously covered during the series of five CELTT modules included:

• Techniques for teaching pronunciation, intonation and stress
• Texts and genre
• Presenting language through texts
• Integrating the 4 skills
• Using songs in the classroom

In addition, they undertook assessed peer teaching practice over 4 weeks, each teaching three lessons.

In Week 4, the focus was on Materials Design and Adaptation. Participants worked in pairs to design a listening task suitable for MTs level learners, complete with teachers’ notes and a lesson plan. These were trialled and assessed and compiled into a booklet with an accompanying CD for each participant to take back and use in their schools.

The Listening Activities Booklet produced by ELTIS District Trainers during their training course.

Cambridge ESOL Teaching Knowledge Test

As part of their training, all participants were prepared for and sponsored to take the TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test), a test from Cambridge ESOL about teaching English to speakers of other languages. It aims to increase teachers’ confidence and enhance job prospects by focusing on the core teaching knowledge needed by teachers of primary, secondary or adult learners, anywhere in the world. This award helps teachers to understand:

• different methodologies for teaching
• the ‘language of teaching’
• the ways in which resources can be used
• the key aspects of lesson planning
• classroom management methods for different needs

Training of Trainers Component

The 64 ELTIS District Trainers participated in a Training of Trainers Component which included workshops on the following:

• HIV & AIDS
• Trainers as Agents of Change
• Monitoring & Evaluation Training
• Gender and Health

In addition, they also joined two further workshops:

Discipline That Makes Sense

The aim of the one-day workshop was to provide capacity building in behavioural management techniques that do not have a negative impact on the self-esteem of teenagers.

Topics covered included:

• Understanding teenagers
• Good teachers
• Human needs as goals of behaviour
• Towards Discipline that makes sense

Participants enjoyed the participatory approach of the workshop and at the end of the day they expressed an eagerness to apply what they had learned in their classrooms. The workshop facilitator reported that the following outputs were achieved:

• Participants understand the developmental tasks of teenagers
• Participants understand the importance of self-esteem for learning and
• Participants understand the goals of misbehaviour
• Participants are now able to identify disciplinarian techniques that do or do not make sense

Teacher Support Groups

The aim of this workshop was to provide participants with an explanation about their future role within the revitalization of Teacher Support Groups, as well as give them an opportunity to plan ongoing MGMP programs within ELTIS for 2009 — 2010.

The Islamic Schools Adviser and MGMP Coordinator provided an overview on current MGMP activities within ELTIS, and participants also discussed which topics would be relevant to teachers’ needs and technical support for the meetings.

Assessment and Evaluation

The overall performance of the participants was very strong and progress in all areas was solid. Assignments were generally completed to a high standard. Results of evaluations by participants indicated that they were extremely positive about their TOT course with all participants rating the course either very good or good. However, there was a common theme in the feedback that they felt the course was too short and would have liked to have studied for at least 8 weeks.

The District Trainers will be awarded an IALF certificate for their participation in the TOT course, and Cambridge ESOL will award modular certificates for successful completion of the TKT test, providing external validation for their achievement.

Upon completion of the course, the District Trainers will become involved as facilitators and presenters, working in conjunction with the ELTIS Islamic Schools Adviser and Master Trainers to support the operation of the English Teacher Support Groups (MGMP).

In addition to their role in MGMP revitalisation, these District Trainers will also play a role in delivering Resource Pack training to current ELTIS MTs teachers as well as those from LAPIS Integration Activity Schools.

A second six-week TOT course is scheduled for an additional 32 District Trainers in July-August this year.