KangGURU
Travels to
Magetan, East Java in March 2005
In late March, 2005 KGRE traveled to
East Java to present a KGRE Follow-Up Teacher Workshop for English language
teachers in Magetan and a regular KGRE workshop in
Ngawi.
On Tuesday 29th March, Adi and I set off on another KGRE travel
adventure.
Do you remember Adi?Adi often helps KGRE by recording segments
of the radio program and last year he did some reports from Australia
for us.
We flew from Denpasar in Bali to Surabaya in the morning. A very nice
man from Surabaya, Pak Yudi, picked us up at the airport and drove us
to Magetan. It took about four hours to get there.Pak Yudi often drives
KGRE around in the Surabaya area. He also drove Captain Kang Guru last
week on his trip
through Madura. When we arrived in Magetan we checked into the
Hotel Imelda and had a rest.
At 5 pm the organizers of the workshop arrived to welcome
us.Ibu Emy and Ibu Rini arrived with Pak Budi from the education office
and Pak Louis A. Londowero. They brought us some wonderful welcome
gifts - a big basket of delicious fruit, many local rice snacks and
some water. I had never tried the Jrangking before and I loved it.
I bought lots to take back to Bali.We sat in the hotel for a while
chatting about the workshop the following day and getting to know
each other. It was a pleasure to meet all these people, especially
Pak Louis. Pak Louis is such a vigorous, energetic and motivated man.
He is very active in many community affairs and was constantly running
off to attend meetings. He is also a very funny man and we had a great
time with him over the two days. |
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At half past seven we all climbed into a car and Ibu Emy and the others
brought us out for dinner. Unfortunately Pak Louis couldn't come because
he had a meeting to attend! We drove on a great winding road up the mountain,
called Lawu. Unfortunately it was dark so we couldn't see much of the
view, but the town lights below were very pretty.
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We had a wonderful meal in a restaurant called Sedap
Malam in Sarangan village. One of Ibu Emy's students from SMK was
actually our chef. The student was working in the restaurant on work
experience at the time. I ate Pecel and rice, which was really tasty.
After dinner we went to see the lake nearby. It was called Sarangan
lake.It was lovely and cool and a little foggy. I was sorry that we
didn't have the chance to see it in the daytime. After that we drove
back into Magetan to visit the Head of the Magetan Education office,
Drs. Sutikno. He was most kind and invited us into his house for a
chat.
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Adi and I were exhausted when we got back to the hotel at around half past
nine that night.
It was a long and interesting day.
Pak Budi picked us up early the next morning to
take us to the location of the workshop. This workshop was what we call
a "Follow Up" workshop. The participants already had a workshop with Captain
Kang Guru in February 2004. The first workshop is always about teaching
listening using Kang Guru's teacher package and class reading set. When
teachers have used the Kang Guru packages they can then send us some information
and ask for a follow up workshop. So Adi and I were there to build on
what Pak Kevin spoke about the last time.
There was a short ceremony at the start with some welcome speeches and
information about the workshop. Drs. Sutikno spoke first and he spoke
in English. Then the Regent, Pak DRs. H. Saleh Mulyono, made a speech.
After that the workshop started. First, I spoke to all the participants
about how a competency-based curriculum is different to traditional ways
of teaching English. Then we worked on managing large classes and how
to encourage and motivate students.
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After the break the participants formed two groups.
One group came with me to talk about teaching listening and speaking.
The other group went with Adi to work on teaching reading and writing.
After an hour we swapped groups so all participants learned about
all four skills.
After lunch the participants formed smaller groups of six and
worked on using our ideas to make a lesson plan for their students. |
We ended with a quiz about Australia and we gave away some Kang Guru
merchandise to the winners. We gave out packets with T-Shirts, notebooks,
key rings, stickers, posters and flyers and KGRE's brand new KGRE shoulder
bags! It was a good day and I am sure that all participants really enjoyed
it very much. My thanks to all the participants for their enthusiasm.
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After a short rest in our hotel the organizers picked
us up again and took us out for dinner. We had a really wonderful
meal with many different dishes and lots of tasty vegetables. We went
home early that night because Adi and I were really exhausted. Thank
you so much to the organizing committee at Magetan. We had a great
time and you took such great care of us, thank you. I must also add
that I really took to Magetan. It is a really pretty town with a great
atmosphere. |
Ngawi
Travel Report -
31st March 2005
The morning after the follow up workshop in Magetan, Adi and I traveled
to Ngawi. Ibu Lilik was the organizer of this workshop and she collected
us in Magetan early that morning. This was a first time workshop in Ngawi
so we were showing the teachers how to teach listening using the Kang
Guru packages for teachers.
We started as usual with some opening speeches from
the Ngawi Regent and the head of the local Department of Education.
Then I spoke about Kang Guru and all the things we do to help teachers
and I explained all about how the Australian Government's overseas
aid program (AusAID) gives us the money to do what we do. |
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Then we started doing some activities from the packages.
We had a lot of fun and the teachers were a really great crowd. They
were so enthusiastic and really had a go. One of the ladies even got
up and sang some of a Delon song!
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During the break two teenage girls came and did a local
form of traditional Javanese dance. They were so beautiful and they
danced magnificently.It was a real treat for me and the workshop participants.
After lunch we worked with the Kang Guru in the Classroom Class
Reading Set. We talked about some interesting cultural differences
between Australia and Indonesia. We did some activities from the pack
and looked at the articles in the December 2004 magazine. Finally,
we had a quiz about Australia and gave away some Kang Guru merchandise. |
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After the workshop we had just enough time to drop into
Ibu Lelik's school for a few minutes. We met some of her students
there and they invited us to see their classroom. We talked for a
while about the students' lives, their study, hobbies and interests.
They were all really good at speaking English, I was most impressed.
Then we drove to the train station and took the train to Surabaya.
It was a really nice journey and I really enjoyed watching the beautiful
scenery going by. Adi and I stayed in Surabaya for one night and then
flew back to Bali on the Friday morning. |
It was a great week and we met so many wonderful people. KGRE sends all
the organizers a big thank you for organizing everything and inviting
KGRE. KGRE would also like to say a big "thank you" to the local Education
Departments of Ngawi and Magetan for their support. Hopefully we will
see you all again very soon.
Return to Past Travels of KGRE in Indonesia
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