Newsletter English Messages January 2013

Year 2

Issue 6

December 2012 / January 2013

English Messages A Monthly Newsletter by and for teachers in Bahrain

Students from Mariam Bent Omran P. Girls' School

You will read in our sixth issue:  Let’s Celebrate the Beauty of Bahrain!  Reading Festival at Qurtuba Intermediate Girls School  Piloting New Teaching Materials  A More Flexible School Day  Training Workshops by the British Council  The Importance of Warming up Students

Happy New Year 2013… Special Edition

Newsletter Title

Let’s Celebrate the Beauty of Bahrain! By Mr. Emad Abdulla Al Sediri fascinating lights which some of my friends told me about, and what I saw there was really impressive. Well, I seized the opportunity to take some photos and even take part in some of the activities.

In addition to the National Day, December marks the true beginning of Winter, a very warm and mild season in Bahrain. I love walking or driving under the rain in the streets and roads of Bahrain.

It makes me feel alive, active and very excited. In

I love celebrations! I love seeing colorful lights,

fact, spending the winter season here in the pearl

beautiful flowers, well-designed posters and espe-

of the Arabian Gulf is an unforgettable experience

cially happy faces. Every year I wait for the month

which you may not easily find elsewhere.

of December to set in with all the wonderful mo-

As well as the National Day and the arrival of winter, December marks the end of the year, and of course this end paves the way for a new year which I hope will be more successful, happier, healthier and most importantly more productive.

ments it brings. First, every year Bahrain celebrates its National Day on the 16th of December, an event

which always reminds us of the kindness and greatness of this nation. It gives us a chance to spend great moments, to enjoy the charm of this country and definitely have some rest. Besides, I love the street decorations, and I find them really magnificent.

The other night I went with my family to

Western Refaa just to see and enjoy some lovely and Page 2

Believe me, whenever I talk about Bahrain, a very strange feeling overwhelms me. Talking about Bahrain is like talking about a very beautiful painting, a wonderful piece of art which never stops fascinating us with its magic. From the windows of your house, just raise your eyes and look at the sky. Feel the warmth of the air! Enjoy the beauty of its openness! Wake up early in the morning and spend really unforgettable moments standing by the seaside! There, you will see and smell the true essence of this magic land!

In a nutshell, Bahrain is an outstanding country, a fantastic island which never stops spreading smiles and hope on the faces and lives of both its people and visitors‌ Happy National Day! Happy New Year!

By Mr. Emad Abdulla Al Sediri Curriculum Specialist

Year 2

Issue 6

The National Day Celebration at Mariam Bent Omran Primary Girls' School The national day celebration at Mariam Bent Omran Primary Girls' School was a real success at different levels, especially in terms of organization and activities.

The 13th of December morning assembly was different at the beautiful little primary school lying on Merchants Street at the centre of the city of Muharrq. All dressed in every possible combination of red and white, the students and the school staff added a patriotic fervor to the celebratory assembly.

After the lively Royal anthem chant and a recitation from the Holy Quran, the celebration proceeded with live musical performances and national songs. Students enjoyed reciting and reading poems in the love of Bahrain and reflecting their allegiance to the country and its wise leadership. The presence of army officers and soldiers contributed to the growth of a sense of national pride and patriotism.

The school principal Mrs. Naima Abdul Rahman and the school vice-principal Mrs. Jameela Ali Alhaiki largely added to the success of the celabration by continuously encouraging students to get more involved.

Under their supervision, the students were offered the opportunity to present and enjoy a wide range of very funny and exciting activities.

After these unforgettable moments which I wished they could have lasted forever, students joined their respective classes, and lessons were carried on as usual.

Well, what I witnessed that day at that outstanding school was a real moment of true happiness. The National Day celebration at Mariam Bent Omran Primary Girls' School was a very rich learning experience especially for the students who did cherish the value of belonging and the beauty of patriotism.

By Mr. Iyadh Labadi Education Specialist Supervised by Chief of Schools Mr. Sami Al Ammadi, Cluster Team 24 Page 3

Year 2

Issue 6

The importance of warming up students The warm up of a lesson often receives less attention than it should. Teachers spend a lot of time preparing explanations and worksheets to introduce and practice the target language. They then enter the classroom unprepared for the first five minutes. But a wellplanned, effective warm up offers more towards the lesson than just a bit of fun.

Because it's the first activity of the lesson, the warm up sets the tone for the next forty-five minutes. Therefore, an effective warm up serves as a spring-board into the topic of the lesson. It activates already held information about the topic. There's the chance, too, that students may inadvertently produce some of the key language, which you can use to present the target material. Also, a conversation-based warm up between the students allows you to assess everyone's ability.

Assessment at this stage proves useful in case you'll have to scale back the lesson objective if everyone is a bit unfocused. On the other hand, you may have to expand the scope if everyone uses the target language correctly from the get-go.

Final comments about warm ups: Don't correct the students. Assistance is fine, especially if some people have difficulty participating in the activity. In addition, correction not only interrupts the flow of the activity, it also generates a teacher-centered lesson. As mentioned, the warm up sets the tone for the next fifty minutes. If you participate in the activity, it turns the focus towards you, too.

Finally, always give equal consideration to warm up as to other steps of the lesson.

The result will be a more focused and positive group of students performing to your expectations.

By Mrs. Safiya Mustafa Jid Hafs Secondary Girls School Page 4

Year 2

Issue 6

Reading Festival at Qurtuba Intermediate Girls School I read .. You read .. We all read. That was our vision for the event we had On December 24, 2012." It was called "I READ." As the titles suggests, this event was about reading. Its aim was to encourage everyone at Qurtuba Intermediate Girls School to read and discover how reading can nourish their mental and emotional growth, taking them to other worlds where they could explore different kinds of experiences.

The entrance of the school was divided into several areas where each English teacher had her corner. Everyone in the school participated; whether students, teachers or administrators! A lot of students and teachers had a great time reading a book in the "Reading CafĂŠ" while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate in a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.

Since reading is not confined to a specific age, you could see how books and stories gathered different generations on a small cozy table.

English, oh yes! English everywhere! You know what? We did cherish our Arabic heritage & literature and this is why Arabic books were not forgotten. We also did not want the event to last for just an hour or so.

Thus, a Borrowing Corner was established there. Like queuing areas, students were jostling to borrow either English or Arabic books; and even in some cases both!

In addition to that, you could see a Story Teller Corner where some outstanding students entertained the listeners by telling stories they have read before. Besides, students and teachers gathered to talk about their favorite book explaining why they have enjoyed it.

In our "I Read festival", not only can you read, but you can also win some prizes! You could notice how competitive the atmosphere was in the Dictionary Race and Read & Guess contests, how eager, how blessed the students were! It was simply fabulous. All that happened during the event. A week before a "Champions Read" competition was held to boost the number of readers in the school. Students had to pick a story, and spend a thrilling time reading it at home, check their understanding by answering some questions and get a prize! If your imagination was strong enough, you would take part in the Writing a Short Story Competition! Participants had a sequence of pictures which they used to make-up a story. A lot of creative stories were made, but a winner had to be chosen! Thinking why a writing competition was included in our reading festival?

Well, actually, the winning stories were written on big charts and then hanged on the walls to be read by the passers-by. Ultimately, the event was a huge success. It was lively, and simply everybody loved it!

By Fatima Mohammed Habib Page 5

Edited by Badreya Al Qanber

English Messages

English Messages

Piloting New Teaching Materials

The English Language Unit (Basic Education) has decided to start piloting a new series of textbooks in different schools in Bahrain.

The new series is entitled “Family and Friends.” It is a six-level primary course which we hope will offer our teachers and students a good and strong skills training programme covering language, phonics, and citizenship and human rights education.

As a matter of fact, we have decided to pilot this training programme because it includes a focus on real speaking and writing output. It also provides students with real opportunities to learn, excel and develop their communicative competence. Well, we hope that the balanced package of integrated print and digital resources will suit all teaching situations and learner types, by taking into consideration students‟, teachers‟, and parents‟ needs.

This packages comprises the following components:  Class Book with MultiROM, Teacher's Book, Workbook, Audio CDs, iTools, and Readers

Joining Efforts: Cooperation between the English Language Units As you have noticed, this new issue of “English Messages” is published in cooperation with the English Language Unit (Secondary Education). We have decided to join our efforts and work together so that we could better communicate with all teachers in Bahrain, and consequently get constant feedback from all schools in the country.

Publishing a newsletter on a regular basis definitely requires a lot of time, expertise and effort. And as we have already explained in our previous issues, our major aim is to improve educational practices in Bahrain. Therefore, we call upon all English language teachers working both in basic and secondary education cycles to actively participate with their ideas, comments and recommendations to enrich our newsletter and ultimately provide more opportunities for our students to improve their communication skills. We do believe that there are several voices within our schools which deserve to be heard and taken care of.

We are grateful to all those schools and teachers who informed us about some of their school activities. We are also grateful to all our partners for their continuous help and support.

By Mr. Emad Abdulla Al Sediri

English Messages

A More Flexible School Day The title that I chose for my article has nothing to do with the decision that the ministry of education has taken to extend the school day and the debate that it has created. However, I am going to tackle a serious issue that I consider vital as it is one of the reasons that contribute to the deterioration of students‟ performance and achievement at school. I would like to express my own views regarding the early start timings in our schools.

Most schools in Bahrain, whether private or public; KG, elementary, intermediate and high schools start their classes at around 7 AM, and this according to many educational specialists is a very early time which may have some negative implications on students‟ mental capacities and psychological abilities. Parents often complain about the way their children wake- up in the morning. The students have to wake up every day, except weekends and holidays, at around 5.30 am to get ready for their long school day. This lazy start is an indication that most students wake up lacking enough sleep and interest to go to schools, which reduces their willingness to start over a new school day and actively get involved in school life.

By this, the state of lethargy that many of our students feel when they begin their school day is mainly due to the lack of sleep that they had the night before. Their attention spans in class will be reduced to their minimum and students will eventually fail to learn or even lose interest in what they are supposed to study. This problem has created an intense debate in many countries renowned for their high educational standards such as the USA, Canada, Germany and many others.

Many would say that students should organize their sleeping habits to meet with the average number of hours required by the human body and brain, which is around 9 hours per day. This target is obviously hard to achieve due to many reasons, a

fact which results in poor concentration in class and thus poor exam results. We cannot expect a student who is 14 or 15 years of age to sleep at 9 pm to get enough sleep. We know as experienced parents that it is almost impossible to force teenagers to go to bed at 9 pm. Unlike little children, they would tell you: “We are not chicken.”

So what is the solution to this? Many studies in the USA, for instance, have proved that later start times by one hour have many positive effects on students „performance at school and even on their cognitive and physical health. One more hour of sleep can indeed make a big difference to the better. That time change definitely leads to a decrease in lateness, absenteeism and even nurse consultations during the school day.

In short, if we change the time schools start from seven to eight, for example, I‟m thoroughly sure that this will improve the physical and mental health of learners and eventually their performance at school.

It‟s a simple thing which I think may lead to huge positive results.

Mr. Sami Ben Abdulhammed Zaguia Al Jabiria Secondary Technical School

Year 2

Issue 6

Training Workshops by the British Council for Primary Teachers 24 primary teachers enjoyed attending a series of training workshops organized by the British Council in Bahrain. As a matter of fact, these workshops are part of the exciting reading programme Kids Read, which is sponsored exclusively by HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd & Affiliates.

Mrs. Noora Al Sabah, the workshop trainer, chose to focus on practical ways to develop studentsâ€&#x; reading skills both inside and outside the classroom.

Through the various activities she presented, teach-

different primary schools in Bahrain. Both the

ers had a chance to discuss various issues relating to

Ministry of Education in Bahrain and the British

the advantages of reading and the need to establish

Council are coordinating their efforts to success-

early good reading habits. Other important topics

fully and effectively implement the project, a

such as storytelling techniques, strategies for read-

partnership which we hope will motivate our chil-

ing, reading assessement and class management

dren to read more, improve their communicative

were also discussed in deep. At the moment, the

competence, and eventually secure a bright future.

Kids Read Programme is being implemented in

Page 9

By Mr. Emad Abdulla Al Sediri

English Messages

Page 10

English Messages

Make it easy!

I still remember that although we had to stop at every single word in the French newspaper, it was more fun than challenging. Do you know why? We only had to Underline the letter A and circle the letter B! We can change, skip, omit and differentiate. We can adapt texts to meet specific needs and we can make them more challenging. We can make worksheets portraying not only our ability to analyze With reference to the team's class visits and lesson

text content, but also our own interpretation of the

observations, one of the common challenges facing

reading tasks. This is, in fact, emblematic not only

teachers is using textbooks. Complaints about

of the flexibility with which a text can be handled,

textbooks such as:" the reading texts are difficult!",

but also of the teachers' need to free themselves

"too many things to do and so little time" and " they

from textbook ties.

need to take into consideration that students are weak!" are very common.

I do agree that texts of unfamiliar content can be "difficult" to read. A text about the Anglican Church, for example, wouldn't mean much to many students in Bahrain! Also, the multiplicity of new vocabulary - often referred to as "difficult words"would make students think twice before taking up reading as a hobby! However, when it comes to text-

In his book, Developing Criteria for Textbook

book readings and skill development, I think that

Evaluation, David Williams expresses this same

text difficulty is left to reading tasks to decide.

idea most strongly when he talks about text book

I had my first French lesson at the age of seven. Be-

"tyranny" to those who think that they have to

fore leaving the class, our French teacher asked us to

teach every item as the textbook writer presented

bring a French newspaper! My parents were taken

it. What is ironic as Williams points out is that "‌

aback and thought it was time for my old French

those teachers who rely most heavily on the text-

teacher to retire. On our part, proud and motivated as

book are the ones least qualified to interpret its in-

we were, we filled our bags with all French newspa-

tentions or evaluate its content and method."

pers we could have.

By Mr. Iyadh Labadi, Education Specialist, Chiefs of Schools Cluster team 24

MO E

English Messages

The Lion and the Mouse (Primary Level) Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon the Mouse and opened his big jaws to swallow him.

"Pardon, O King!" cried the little Mouse, "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, but you may need my help one of these days?"

The Lion was so excited at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go away. Sometime later, a few hunters captured the King and tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on.

Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing how sad the Lion was, ran up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said the little Mouse, very happy to help the Lion.

Recommended iPad Application

MORALE: Little friends may prove great friends.

Storytelling Techniques:  Ask students to sit on the floor and listen carefully to an amazing story.  Before reading the story, use visuals to introduce and explain some key lexical items in the story.  While reading, make sure that you vary your voice, change your facial expressions and use gestures to attract students‟ attention and let them imagine the scenes.  Don‟t forget to ask your students questions relating to the importance of friendship.

Writing (Secondary Level, Course 102) “Reading is food for thought”, says a famous scholar. Write a review of a book/story you have read recently.

Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry of Education Directorate of Curricula English Language Units (Basic and Secondary Education) curriculabh@hotmail.com Tel +973 17 27 86 16 Fax +973 17 24 34 72

Editorial Team Dr. Nawal Al-Khaja Mr. Emad Al-Sediri Mrs. Ameera Al Balushi Mrs. Shafeeqa Daddi