KangGURU
Travels to
Makassar in March 2004
Kevin travelled to Makassar, South
Sulawesi, in mid-March together with Kathryn Elliott from AusAID Canberra
and Valerie Haugen, an educational specialist from Sydney. They went with
Kevin to find out more about KGRE activities in the area and in
Indonesia generally. Together they visited to visit the Pioneer
and Best Forum Connection Clubs in Makassar and
also met members of MAKES Connection Club. On Monday the 22nd of March,
Daniel Hunt from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta joined us for a full
day journey to Wajo to visit the KG Lovers Club. Kathryn
and Valerie also met with people from the Makassar Tourism and Training
Project at both SMK 4 and SMK 6. Many hours
were spent talking with English language teachers in the area as both
Kathryn and Valerie were very keen to find out more about their situation
in schools and how KGRE can better help them in the future. The visit
to Makassar concluded with a full day KGRE Teacher
Workshop.
KGRE Travels in South Sulawesi
March 19 - 23, 2004
It was a little bit different going to Makassar on Friday March 19th.
Instead of traveling on my own, as I usually do, I had traveling companions.
They first arrived at the Bali office of the IALF a few days before heading
for Makassar. Kathryn Elliot from AusAID in Canberra and Val Haugen from
Sydney went to Makassar with me. They were with me to collect information
about the work of KGRE in Indonesia. They were interested in just what
KGRE was doing in Indonesia and how it was helping Indonesian students,
and teachers, with the English language. Their findings will be important
for the future of KGRE. Both Kathryn and Val began working immediately
after they arrived in Bali and on Wednesday and they continued to work
fulltime while we were away.
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Just after
arriving in Makassar we went along to SMK
6 Makassar for lunch in the school's restaurant. It was
Final Assessment Day for the students in the food production classes
supervised by Hubert Amann from the Makassar and Tourism and Training
Project. The restaurant was full of guests and we were lucky to
even get a seat. The service and the food were wonderful. The students
were attentive and helpful. The restaurant was running well and
so was the kitchen. Kathryn especially enjoyed the pumpkin soup.
Valerie thought the dessert was superb. Warren and I thought everything
was great. Warren is from the same project as Hubert but he works
at MTTP’s
SMK 4 Tourism School. We enjoyed the food and the professional
service provided by the restaurant workers and congratulations to
them all and the staff at SMK 6 Makassar.
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After lunch Warren took us across town to SMK 4. In the
Tourism Office there we met with one of SMK 4’s dynamic teachers, Pak
Rahman. Kathryn and Valerie were keen to meet him and discuss issues such
as the work being carried out by English teachers at the school and how
MTTP and KGRE were assisting them. The discussion lasted for several hours
and a lot of very interesting information was presented and discussed.
Kathryn and Valerie also visited some of the classes at the school before
we left.
We bumped into Tony Michener in the lobby of the hotel. Tony is
the Counsellor - Education and Training at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta
and a keen supporter or KGRE. If you are interested in scholarships to
Australia then look at the website
from Tony’s department.
On Saturday Kathryn, Valerie and I met with Francis De Silva from MTTP
to find out more about his experience with teachers and teaching English.
Francis is involved with English language teachers in the tourism industry
in many parts of Indonesia including Bali, Makassar, Manado and Jayapura.
Francis believes the major problem in teaching English in vocational schools
is that the school curriculum and the teachers give too much emphasis
to English grammar rather than to verbal communication. With
the introduction of Competency Standards for English in Tourism and Hospitality
studies, the Makassar Tourism Training Project had been able to introduce
innovative methods of teaching and learning English in the classroom.
The key to success is the ability of the teachers to produce interesting
and interactive teaching and learning activities utilising the basic
materials available for teaching English. Teaching packages produced by
the Kangguru Radio English iare a good example of learning English with
fun and games.
| At 12.00pm we met with 6 teachers
from SMU and SMK schools in Makassar and over lunch discussed their
involvement with KGRE, their jobs and the situations they face on
a daily basis. The very informative but informal meeting lasted
for almost 4 hours and both Kathryn and Valerie learnt a lot about
teachers and teaching English in the Makassar area. Many thanks
to the teachers who participated that day. |
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Sunday in Makassar was KG Connection Club Day in
Makassar. In the morning we visited Fort Rotterdam. In this very popular
tourist spot in Makassar the Pioneer
Connection Club meets every Sunday morning. We arrived at 10.15
to see the banner of the club waving in the wind. Underneath the banner
there were probably 60 club members getting ready for their weekly meeting.
After everyone was seated the meeting began. The meeting was opened by
a rather nervous, but very good, Master of Ceremonies - Pak Leo Kasim.
The first activity was the introduction of newcomers.
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People who were attending for the first time introduced
themselves to the other members. Even Val and Kathryn had to introduce
themselves to the club. I gave a report to the club and told them
some of the latest news from KGRE. There were lots and lots of questions
from the members. Some of the questions were about scholarships, club
activities, Australia and even more personal questions to Val and
Kathryn about their lives. It was all in good fun and the question
and answer sessions was fantastic. Members spoke feely and were not
afraid to speak up. This was great to see. |
| This Pioneer Club (Club of
the Month for Jan. 2003) is very active indeed. They are currently
contacting other clubs by letter to further develop the KG Connection
network. They even suggested that maybe clubs in different areas
of Indonesia could get together and asked if KGRE would support
such an idea. That would be great wouldn’t it? Clubs from different
provinces meeting together – a great idea indeed. I told them that
they need to think about their idea more and then contact KGRE with
their plans. |
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In the afternoon we went across town
to SMK 1 to once again visit the Best
Forum Club. Under the guidance of Pak Syahrir and his committee
the club continues to grow and develop. Members from the KGCC MAKES
Club and the Pioneer Club attended too and their participation was
fantastic to see. After introductions were over we had a quick KGRE
Music Quiz. That was fun. Daniel Hunt from the Australian Embassy
in Jakarta joined us for this visit and he was put to work talking
to members about their club and their English language studies.
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Then people moved into three groups and spoke with Val, Kathryn and
Daniel. These were lively discussions with discussion topics including
KGRE, the clubs, life in Australia and teenage issues. They groups
stopped their chatter around 5pm after almost 90 minutes of lively
and very informal chatting. We all left the Best Forum Club very happy
with what we saw and what we learnt. Many thanks to Pak Syahrir and
his club members and also to members of
MAKES and the Pioneer Club. It was a good day and I know that
the three visitors really enjoyed their time with KGCCs in Makassar. |
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On Monday the 21st the three of us went to Wajo. Dan
Hunt from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta went with us. He arrived the
night before from Surabaya and is very interested in education issues.
He and Kathryn have known each other for quite some time. It was good
to have Dan with us on the 5 hour journey to Wajo. The drive was very
interesting and KGRE’s guests were particularly thrilled by the remarkable
scenery. Just north of Makassar there are a series of majestic mountains
and rocky outcrops. They are basically composed of limestone and provide
the raw materials for 3 cement factories in the area. Other economic activities
include fishing, especially in the Maros and, and farming. Rice is a major
agricultural activity in this area. Another interesting thing were the
houses. They were often painted in very bright colors and looked so beautiful
in the rice fields by the side of the road. It was a public holiday (Hari
Nyepi) and yet the roads were busy and the market areas were busy.
| Pak Muksin from the
KG Lovers Club in Wajo waited patiently for us in Sengkang
and we finally arrived there to pick him up at around 12 midday.
Pak Muksim is a keen KGRE promoter and helper and he has been involved
with KGRE fro many years. |
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After picking him up we went onto
visit two of his schools, SD 299 and 366, in Salobulo. Although
it was a holiday, his students were waiting for us. It was their
English Competition Day and they were keen to go through their activities
in front of visitors. |
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At SD 299 there were 60 children
prepared to show just how clever they are with English. Muksin took
them through 10 activities including vocabulary and counting activities.
One of the most interesting things to see was the interest that
the children had in the activities going on in front of them. As
groups of children completed English language activities at the
front of the class the other children were intrigued with what was
going on. Their interest in their school activities is so strong.
Pak Muksin should be very proud of his work with them and KGRE is
very happy to help him. Even though KGRE is not really designed
for SD level students, Pak Muksin says that his school’s association
with KGRE has motivated his children to study harder. |
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They love the KGRE magazine even though they cannot read it fully.
They love the books, the cassettes, the games and the souvenirs
that KGRE gives them. Val, Kathryn and Daniel joined in with the
activities by teaching songs, conducting language activities and
just generally chatting with the kids.
At SD 366 similar activities were done and the children were just
as keen and just as happy. That school was smaller than the first
but he children were just as loud and just as clever. My three companions
once again joined in with the activities. |
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The final day of the visit to South Sulawesi was
a Teacher Workshop held at the Australia English Course,
Jl. Lamaddukelleng 60 in Makassar. Approximately 80 teachers attended.
It was first time that I was able to show teachers the 2004
Revised KGRE Teacher Package. They were keen to see it and many
of the participants ordered the package for use in their classrooms. Many
thanks to the Organizing Committee under the leadership of Pak Mustamin
Sain and the Chairman of MGMP Bahasa Inggris (State Senior High School
Teacher Assoc) SMU/MA Makassar, {ak Hamzah.
For news of future KGRE Workshops
in Indonesia - Click
Here
Return to Past Travels of KGRE in Indonesia
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