Week 6 - ULBS Part 2 & Feedbacks

So today was the second day of me judging the kids' ULBS. 

2E was awesome! We didn't manage to get everybody to present, mainly due to the kids (audiences) asking too many questions. It was like a debate. I had to remind some of the boys to, "calm down" when one of the girls got a bit out of hand with the questioning. But, I guess it's a nice change to see a girl doing the talking. 

Though one group didn't manage to present theirs today. Apparently their mahjong paper was stolen! True story,...so they had to re-do the whole thing. 

And the highlight for 2E's presentation was this! 

Behold the prototype of a handphone/camera/iron (???) from ZAS technology!!!! 

Seriously, they made a prototype of their presentation subject just for the sake of this oral test (which took them only about 10 minutes to perform). And they gave me the prototype as, "a souvenir".

(^__________^')

And remember 2B? The two boys that didn't do their presentation the day before?

They were first up today and, boy were they ready! And to my utmost surprise, they were really good!

They spoke well, they were able to FACE the audience, they were able to answer questions rationally and fluently (though thickly accented) - so it was all good. 

The girls who presented last weren't bad either. One of the girls seemed really reluctant to speak. But I've noticed that about the girl for a while. She's okay when she spoke to me individually, but I guess having to stand in front of everybody was a bit out of her comfort-zone. Nothing I can do about that. At least, she spoke.

 And after they finished their (2B) presentation, I told them that I won't be having them continuously  for the next coming weeks as I have other classes I have to focus on. So, before I get to their classes again, I wanted them to comment on my teaching. I told them that I'm still in practice, so I've a lot to improve on, so I asked them to be totally honest.

They need not to write their names. But some of the kids did anyways...

I guess since they're still young, they're not so critical of my teaching yet. A lot of the comments were very positive (and I think some of them misunderstood me and thought I was leaving them for good). The most negative comment would be, "smile every time" or "your face looks angry" which I find to be very cute.

(^ w ^) 

Below is a sample comment that really gave an impact to me.

"you can make me to be confident while talk in front" and "you make me like English subject"

I almost cried when I read this :')

but check out the "BAD COMMENT" TOO

HAHAHHAHAHA

Week 6 - ULBS Part 1

This week I was given the task to allocate marks for the kids' second ULBS. They were to do it as a group, through presentations. Each group were given a different topic (prepared by Kak Dee) and they were given the chance to prepare their presentations the week/a few days before. Each member of the group has to speak as the marks were for  their individual  performances within each group.

My 2B did their preparation the week before (week 5). I was not supposed to be with them for the presentations but due to Kak Dee having to go to a Pandu Puteri Camp in Lenggong, I was entrusted with the marking job. 

Most of the kids from 2B did ok. I had to remind them, 

"Remember, respect the presenters and respect the audience. This is a presentation, not a discussion, so make sure that AT LEAST I can hear you."

But the highlight of this class' session was when one group 'forgot' to bring their mahjong paper to class and wasn't able to complete the presentation. I don't think they forgot, I honestly think they didn't finish it. But, it's pretty understandable as they had some trouble with the preparation the week before. I tried to help, but there's just so much that I could do. 

So, when it was their turn, I realized that they weren't anywhere near me. The two boys would usually sit close to where I sit. But, for some reason, that day they were sitting in the far corner of the room (oh, we did it in the media room so they were sitting on the floor). It was then that they told me, 

S1: "...*mumble*..*mumble*..in the dorm". 

Me: "what?"

S2: "left in the dorm"

Me: "why did you leave it there?"

S1: "forgot"

Me: "ok. go get it"

S1 & S2: (0 . o)

Me: "are you allowed to go back and get your things?"

Other S: "dunno"

Me: "so what am I supposed  to do with you guys now? what should I do with your marks?"

S1 & S2: (-__-)

Me: "S1, tell me what should I do with you now?" "S2, do you think it's fair that you're not doing yours today?"

S1 & S2: ".............."

Me: Get back to your places. I don't want to waste any more time.

So, I continued with the other groups. While the next group was preparing, I went back to the boys and told them, "I want you to speak today. I don' care. You can prepare your presentation in a small paper if you want to. I WANT YOU TO SPEAK TODAY". And they stumbled along, trying to get their presentations done while the others were presenting.

But the kids were awesome sports. I told them to ask the other groups questions about the presentations and they did. And they were pretty good at coming up with the questions too. I could see that they're able to become critical thinkers - high level of thinking, but too bad about the language. No worries, plenty of room and time for improvement (^w^). Unfortunately, the two boys weren't able to do their presentations since we were out of time. I had to continue their tomorrow, along with the last group's.