26 May 2010. IALF Surabaya was awarded with international accreditation from NEAS. While little is known about NEAS in Indonesia, the organization is an internationally respected accreditation service, which aims to establish and uphold high standards of educational service provision in English language teaching.
NEAS was established to provide rigorous standards or benchmarks by which English language training organizations can measure their performance, and for IALF this is beneficial in reinforcing a guaranteed level of service provision for clients and customers and ‘best practice’ standards for its teaching and support staff.
Now, all three IALF branches are recognized under the NEAS International accreditation scheme and IALF Surabaya is the 7th international centre to receive this award. Other international centres include: ACE - Phnom Penh and Siam Reap in Cambodia, UD-UQ ELI - Danang and ILA - Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. NEAS accredited centres in Australia include Insearch UTS, Taylors College, AMES International and Monash University English.
Alex Gough attended the NEAS Conference in May and was invited to present as part of a panel discussion on ‘The International Experience’ and the benefits of NEAS International accreditation to IALF Surabaya. Alex presented alongside Christine Bundesen, Director of ICTE - University of Queensland and Louise Fitzgerald, Director of ACE, Cambodia.
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IALF Jakarta recently ran a second round of teacher development workshops for English teachers from the IPEKA Christian schools in Jakarta. There were two one-day workshops, both led by teacher trainer Simone Samuels (IALF Jakarta). On the first day of the workshops, the content was focused on teaching English to teenagers in middle and secondary school, whilst the second day was related to teaching English to young learners in primary school and kindergarten.
The workshops were specially designed for the IPEKA English teachers. Topics covered over the two days included: using modern media in the classroom including podcasts, YouTube and weblogs; using the news; using cartoons and comics; using music and songs; and ideas for integrating the four skills into classroom activities. Of particular fun for the young learner teachers was preparing the performance of a scripted drama that could be adapted for use in the classroom. It was amazing to see the teachers’ creative flair flourish as they created simple props, and then showed off their natural talents in acting as they performed the short English language plays. The teachers from both the workshops found the days fun and useful, and they were all inspired to try using the new media and materials presented to them in their classrooms.
Simone Samuels showing the IPEKA teachers how they can motivate their teen students through incorporating YouTube in the English language classroom |
IPEKA Junior and High School English teachers at the end of the workshop |
Simone Samuels leading the first day of the IPEKA teacher development workshops |
IPEKA Young Learner teachers preparing props for a short scripted drama, modelling what they might do with their own students |
IPEKA Young Learner teachers practiced and performed scripted English dramas that can be used with young English learners
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The IPEKA Young Learner teachers at the end of the second day of the development workshops |
Grades 3 and 4 students dressed up in their Bali best |
Ketut Sri Handayani (Han), from IALF Bali, flew to Australia on 25 January to start her year as an Indonesian Language Teaching Assistant for the NSW Department of Education. Han is based in Scott's Head Primary School, but will be visiting other schools during her time there. In a recent email, Han said:
I am good. Last week was very busy for me. I had to help the teachers to supervise some students and at the same time teach them some Indonesian.
Last Friday was awesome. I showed them my picture collections about ceremonies in Bali and dressed them up with some traditional Balinese costumes. The students were very excited and loved the clothes. Here I attach some pictures of them.
You know that Scotts Head Primary School was chosen by the NSW Department of Education and Training as one of the bilingual schools specializing in Indonesian. Thus, next week, 2 local teachers and I will be attending a training in Ryde, Sydney about Bilingual syllabi. We will be given some insights about what the program is like and hopefully we can implement it in our school. I think it's gonna be interesting. |
IALF Surabaya promoted the IELTS test as well as its English language courses at two leading schools in Surabaya last month. The first was at SMA Al-Hikmah, a prestigious Islamic school in Surabaya, which held its first education exhibition to coincide with the school reporting day. The second was at SMA Negeri 2, one of the leading public schools in Surabaya, which also used the reporting day to hold its annual Education Expo to introduce alternative and future education options to students and parents.
Prior to the expo at each school, IALF delivered a presentation on IELTS and how to prepare students for their future studies in English. The presentation introduced IELTS to students who were not so familiar with the test and its format. The presentation was followed by a Fun Quiz, in which students answered questions about IELTS and IALF. The ten best students from each school were selected as winners, and they later came to the IALF booth to take their prizes.
It was a fun and useful time for IALF and, hopefully, for the students also. We are looking forward to further cooperation with high schools and universities in Surabaya as they prepare students for the English language requirements of further study.
Two students of SMA Al-Hikmah answering the Fun Quiz
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Faishal, Akbar and Erlangga from SMA Negeri 2
Surabaya, holding up their prizes at the IALF booth.
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IALF Jakarta recently conducted a 3-day pre-departure training program for Indonesian teachers preparing to visit Australia as part of the BRIDGE project. BRIDGE stands for Building Relationships through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement.
The BRIDGE project is an activity of the Australia Indonesia Institute (AII) and is funded by The Myer Foundation and AusAID, with support from the Asia Education Foundation (AEF).
The program aims to increase Australian students' knowledge and understanding of Indonesia, particularly the role of Islam in contemporary Indonesian society and further Indonesian students' knowledge and understanding of contemporary Australia.
One of the main activities is a Visiting Indonesian Teachers program – providing opportunities for teachers from Indonesia to spend time in Australian schools, to build their capacity and skills as teachers and to foster school-to-school and personal relationships.
The training conducted at IALF Jakarta was for teachers selected for visits to Australia in early 2010. The training was conducted by Ayu Kusumastuti and Reny Mulyaningsih from IALF Bali. Ayu and Reny have been involved with BRIDGE from its beginnings as a pilot project in 2008 and they have both visited Indonesian participants during their time in Australia. Ayu and Reny were able to provide valuable advice to the group and prepare them for the cross-cultural and educational experiences that lay ahead for them.
Reny and Ayu leading the training session for
BRIDGE participants at IALF Jakarta |
BRIDGE participants getting to know each other –
and practising their English! |
| IALF Jakarta recently ran a two-day teacher development workshop for English teachers from the IPEKA Christian schools in Jakarta. The workshops were led by two teacher trainers- Simone Samuels (IALF Jakarta) and Ayu Kusumastuti (IALF Bali) - with the first day of the workshops focusing on teaching English to teenagers and the second day on teaching English to young learners |
Simone Samuels working with the participants on ‘ice-breakers’ |
The workshops were specially designed for the IPEKA English teachers. The sessions would be hands-on and practical, and would introduce new ideas and techniques for use in the classroom, while confirming and reflecting on their existing knowledge and skills.Topics covered over the two days included teaching grammar communicatively, teaching vocabulary, classroom management and rapport, speaking activities, developing resources for the classroom and storytelling. This last topic was a favourite for the young learner teachers, who showed their skill in this area by performing some traditional folk stories for their peers. The two days were not only informative, but also fun and inspiring. Teachers walked away with goody bags, as well as many good ideas, to implement in their classrooms.
IALF trainers with IPEKA participants |
Ayu Kusumastuti leading a session on classroom management and rapport |
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