Joshua Yardley - Local Values in English Teaching Material (Curriculum 2013 Perspectives)

     The information below is my task to conclude the material of the seminar, this kind of seminar was hold on Hotel Grand Mahkota, Pontianak. I'm sorry if my English is not quite good, it is the maximum knowledge that I can apply here (:p)..hehee..., but, as long as the point in this writing understand by you, I believe I've been success in delivering the message.

Joshua Yardley, M.A.

Personal Information:

English Language Fellow at U.S. Department of State, Manager of Teacher Certification Programs at Bridge Linguatec Past: Research Assistant at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Instructional Supervisor at Berlitz, English Instructor at Freelance Education: Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Northern Illinois University Summary: he now serve as an English Language Fellow for the Human Resources Development Office of Aceh in Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Topic: Material Development In Teaching Materials

Summarize

           When we summarize the material, Joshua actually wanted to say, creating an English material teaching is not as long-prepare as that we commonly did. He emphasized on how to use the students’ knowledge or experience to develop their writing especially in relating the English teaching and learning process with technology particularly in tech-based learning. The process that he stated could be explained as below:

a.       When in a situation teacher don’t have enough time to prepare the material, he suggested, “don’t be panic”. Teaching is not only refer to book but teacher can be creative by design    the material by himself.

b.      First, ask student to tell their experience, what ever the story is, just write it down in a paper

In this presentation he gave many references for blog or website that has writing teaching orientation. They are:

- www.mindmeister.comwww.ning.com
- www.wordle.com
- Academic Word Highlighter
- Education.skype.com
- www.indonesiaful.com
- www.mengajarenglish.com

Approach: Communicative Approach

Opening

           Joshua opened his presentation by firstly introduced himself to the audiences. Telling his story during the journey across country, such as when he was in Mexico and Germany. He told the audiences by giving unique approach, using a series of traditional food of each country he visited. The writer noticed that Joshua attempted to close himself to the audience that all Indonesian, by stating for his last picture that “it was the spicy food that I ever ate” for the Mie Aceh that is the Aceh traditional food.

 Whilst

           Joshua realized that he was a native speaker that is in fact totally know even the most difficult word of English. In presenting his material to Indonesian participants that consist of many elements lecturer, teacher or students, he knew how to deliver the material by avoiding the usage of difficult/academic word. The writer noticed that actually during his presentation he almost didn’t use any difficult word.

           While the presentation, he successful to make the people gave attention to him, he

even never stayed at one place, instead, he always moved to all side of the place. Sometimes, he also involved the audience by making them as a part of his example and by addressing his question to all of audience.

Closing

      In the writer perspective, Joshua didn’t do any special technique in closing, even, it was flat. Than, continue by asking and answering section.

Knowledge that I got from the presenter:

An important point that Joshua stressed in his presentation was about how to make a very powerful teaching material without any dependence to packet book or certain material. Teacher can be creative in order to develop the lesson, because today, the teaching and learning process more focus on students center learning, means that all of lesson activity more doing by the students, here, the teacher only as facilitator.

One of the examples of this method is about how create an incidentally material is involving students’ experience in creating the material itself. The way how to do it can be by order students to make a writing about their experience then trying to expose it into other students, can be by Mading (Majalah dinding)/blog (here Joshua give an example to use blog), make the other students give a suggestion/criticism. It must doing until all of the students have done the same thing.

Here, some key points of Joshua Yardley presentation that can be as a good example:

1. Use very short keyword on slide

2. Interactive communicative – Involving audience as a part of his presentation

3. Always, explain whenever he thought that a word difficult to understand

4. Use louder voice to explain

5. Well-mannered in organizing his position during the presentation, he almost explore all of the place  

    on the stage.

Source : Joshua slide's

Bapakdodo

Pontianak, 4 April 2013

It has been raining .......................