Myrel – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2018-03-242018-04-26

Goducate’s Sing Your English welcomed in Samosir, Sumatra

Goducate’s Sing Your English (SYE) program has now been introduced into public schools in Samosir, the island in the middle of Lake Toba in Sumatra. The government plans to develop the places around Lake Toba and Samosir into a tourist destination. So making the place English speaking, like Bali, has to be part of its plans. Hence the SYE program has been warmly welcomed in Samosir, and Goducate is working closely with the Mayor and the education department.

SYE has been running for 4 years in Indonesia. During this time we have taught over 11,000 students in private schools in Batam, Pekanbaru, Medan, and Bandung. The program teaches English through catchy songs and lots of actions. The “fun” nature of the program has made it very popular with students, and even parents have been impressed to hear their children at home mouthing what they have learnt.

Principal and teachers enjoying an SYE class

By Myrel, Head of SYE

2016-11-252016-12-09

Goducate brings Sing Your English program to Sabah

On Nov 7-10, for the first time since Goducate launched its Sing Your English (SYE) program in 2012 in Indonesia, we brought it abroad, to Sabah in East Malaysia. There, an SYE team from Indonesia held 4 SYE camps on 4 days, one day each for pre-school students, primary 1-3 students, primary 4-6 students, and high-school students.

We had been told to expect, at most, about 50 students per camp and maybe a few more for the high- schoolers. To our surprise, we were greeted by almost 100 participants per camp from villages nearby and even from villages an hour away from the camp venue.

At first the campers were timid and shy, but it wasn’t too long before they all got the feel of an SYE camp and had the time of their lives. Even the parents and guardians were enjoying the fun.

The primary level campers went through the “It’s All About Me” SYE camp theme, shouting their cheers and yells, singing the camp theme song, playing games that made them learn English words that related to themselves, and participating in active fun-filled games.

The teens were led through the “Express Yourself” theme that reminded them to be themselves because they are unique individuals, and that encouraged them that they can do whatever it is they dream to do —all the while learning English through these activities.

The SYE team that went to Sabah found it a very fulfilling experience to bring smiles to people of a different country and hope for opportunities to return there in the near future.

Primary 1 - 3 students — Primary 1 – 3 students

*Our guest writer is Myrel Herrrera, who leads the SYE program.

2016-08-122016-08-16

Goducate teachers in Indonesia train how to facilitate Sing Your English Level-Up Program

Every year, Goducate in Indonesia holds a teachers’ training session for our Sing Your English (SYE) and eTalk (EnglishTalk) teachers, to refresh them with teaching methods and classroom management topics, and to empower them with inspirational topics. This year, our training was held from July 11 to 16 in Batam.

The SYE program, offered in Batam. Medan, Bandung, and Pekanbaru, was introduced 3 years ago. SYE Phonics Adventure is for kindergarten students, and SYE levels 1-3 covers basic English. We are about to launch SYE Level-Up, which aims to develop English-speaking skills and self-confidence through stage performances, English-language competitions, and fun workshops. The program covers SYE levels 4,5, and 6, and is packed with competitions in Expressive Reading, Storytelling, Poetry Recitation, Newscasting, Drama, and Musical presentations. Our teachers went through simulated classes of SYE Level-Up to learn how to facilitate the teaching of the lessons.

Our teachers’ training also offers a time of refreshment and fellowship with each other. There were sessions dealing with cases encountered in our actual classes and finding out how to manage these cases. This year our teachers were also taught to be sensitive, to observe and spot special-needs children and how to manage and deal with them properly.

We desire to deliver an excellent program for Indonesian students and we can only do this by regularly training our teachers and facilitators.