English Messages A Monthly Newsletter by and for teachers in Bahrain

March 2012 Year 1 Issue 3

With the building of the first governmental school

"Al Hidaya Al-Khalifiya" in 1919, the interest in teaching and learning English laid the foundations for successive generations of Bahraini students who really, as some historical written documents and records reveal, managed to master this lan-guage to a large extent. After the independence of Bahrain in 1971, and with the beginning of an outstanding process of sustained development, the demand for English as a popular means of communication has become more obvious. The need to raise the challenges the economy has been facing and the young nation's amazing interest in openness and the advance-ment of the whole human race have turned the mastery of the English language into a real national commitment which, fortunately, the Ministry of Edu-cation has been continuously trying to achieve by generously investing in education. It was obvious from the beginning that the English language in Bahrain was meant for communicative purposes, and therefore the inclusion of this language as a core school subject expressed the government's strong desire to establish solid ties with the whole world. (Read More on Page Two)

The history of English in Bahrain

Kingdom of Bahrain - Ministry of Education - The English Language Unit (Basic Education)… English Messages—Year 1—Issue 3

You read in our Third Issue: •••• The History of English in Bahrain •••• The 25th Educational Conference •••• Say it in English •••• The Writing Process •••• ELU News and Events •••• Free Posters •••• Teacher’s Corner: Story Time

English Messages

* It was obvious from the beginning that the English language in Bahrain was meant for communicative purposes, and therefore the inclusion of this language as a core school subject expressed the government's strong desire to establish solid ties with the whole world. Nowadays, Bahrainis could really be proud of the great achievements Bahrain has reached in terms of foreign language acquisition. Today, the country does produce a countless number of English language websites, magazines, newspapers, newsletters and so on and so forth. Wherever one heads in Bahrain English is largely heard and used by both Bah-

rainis and non-Bahrainis alike. Thanks to Bahrainis' strong will, the government's balanced vision, and teachers' great efforts Eng-lish has finally become a widely recognized language of communication in the country. This un-doubtedly has given this unique island immense opportunities to get actively involved in the world's economy, and especially show the rest of the Gulf and Arab countries that mastering foreign lan-guages, as our Arab foregranfathers used to do ages and ages ago, is not and will never be an im-possible dream. By Mr. Emad Abdulla Al Sediri Curriculum Specialist

Without teaching languages, and definitely

without learning languages, countries would suf-fer a lot in their pursuit of development. In a world where scientific and technological breakthroughs never stop surprising us -on a daily basis- as a result of the huge investments in educational and research facilities, becoming a global citizen would certainly imply learning languages. For this very reason, this year’s conference wants to fo-cus on teaching and learning languages as an essential requirement for any other learning out-come to take place and for any strategic vision to be carried out thoroughly. Actually, the confer-ence is seeking to develop a precise systematic and scientific conception about the challenge of learning languages, and ultimately provide practi-cal solutions and suggestions to help Bahraini learners acquire the necessary literacy compe-tencies since the early years of basic education.

The TwentyThe TwentyThe TwentyThe Twenty----fifth Educational Conference: WHY?fifth Educational Conference: WHY?fifth Educational Conference: WHY?fifth Educational Conference: WHY?

Participants will have a real chance to learn from some teachers' success stories in turning Arabic and English lessons into educational situations which combine both enjoyment and usefulness. By the end, organizers hope the conference will come out with down-to-earth ways to enable Bahraini students to acquire communicative competencies, achieve high proficiency levels, and master dealing with the written script through reception and production since the early years of education.

The history of English in Bahrain The history of English in Bahrain The history of English in Bahrain The history of English in Bahrain

The title above certainly means a lot to many teachers here in Bahrain. They would not only recall the contents of the books they used to work with, but mainly the focus shift from "language study" to "language use". What I liked about those books at that time was that they reduced the complex language learning process to the students' ability to use the lan-guage as a vehicle to communicate messages in the target language. Thus, stressing the very reason a language is made for; communica-

tion. However, it is completely different when students use their mother tongue to ask about how to say things in English! The use of the mother language has certainly become a clutch both students and teachers cannot do without. This easy simple and quick way to introduce new vocabulary and lexical items has always lured teachers. No need for visual aids or monolingual dictionaries. It's a kind of magic! Just say it in Arabic! For students, the mother language has be-come a comfort zone, assuring a safe "linguistic adventure" and ironically heightening the cultural and linguistic gap between mother and target languages. We teachers are taking advantage of their need to fight back this feel-

ing of "linguistic homesickness". Many years ago, my friends and I were at the movies watching Steven Spielberg's film "Full Metal Jacket". Suddenly, an emergency door next to us got wide open. Two men dressed in uniforms came in. I remember that for twenty sec-onds, through the dazzling daylight, I had a close up view of 'life" outside the cinema. It was about 4 P.M. There were passersby looking at the win-dows of busy shops. There was a Boy Scout march on the other side of the pavement and we had some curious peeping heads before we had that door closed. Because of this incident, I had lost every interest in watching the film. 'It is a pity that we live in a real world" I thought to myself as I decided to leave. Why am I telling you this story? It is just to tell you how easy it is to spoil the fun students may have learning a language. If you are speaking in Arabic in class, you are having that door wide open. If you cannot see the problem, you are probably giving lessons which contradict your stu-dents’ expectations. If you want your students to enjoy your lessons and learn English, remember why they have come to your lesson. Remember what they ex-pect from you and your lessons. Let them realize how enjoyable learning the English language is.

By Mr. Iyadh Labadi

English Language Teacher, Tariq Ben Zeyad Intermediate

Boys School, Muharraq, Bahrain

Say it in EnglishSay it in EnglishSay it in EnglishSay it in English

English Messages

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“The use of the mother language has certainly become a clutch both students and teachers cannot do without.”

Why Writing as a Process? Writing as a Process is an approach to incorpo-rating writing skills from the very beginning of the English learning process. It was developed by Gail Heald-Taylor in her book Whole Language Strate-gies for ESL Students. Process writing focuses on

allowing students - especially young learners - to write with plenty of room left for errors. Standard correction begins slowly, and children are encour-aged to communicate through writing, despite lim-ited understanding of structure. Writing as a Process can also be used in an adult ESL / EFL setting to encourage learners to start working on their writing skills from an early age. If you are teaching adults, the first thing learners need to understand is that their ability to write will be well below their native language writing skills. This seems rather obvious, but adults are often hesitant to produce written - or spoken - work that is not up to the same level in their native language. By easing your students' fears about producing written work, you can help encourage them to improve their writ-ing abilities. Only mistakes made in grammar and vocabulary that have been covered up to the current point in time should be corrected. Process writing is all about the process of writing. Students are striving to come to terms with writing in English by writing in English. Allowing for mistakes and refining based on materials covered in class - instead of "perfect Eng-lish" - will help students incorporate skills at a natu-ral pace, and improve their understanding of materi-

als discussed in class in a natural progression.

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English Messages

The five steps of the writing process The five steps of the writing process The five steps of the writing process The five steps of the writing process STEP 1: PREWRITING THINK

• Decide on a topic to write about.

• Consider who will read your work.

• Brainstorm ideas about the subject.

• List places where you can research infor-mation.

• Do your research.

STEP 2: DRAFTING WRITE

• Put the information you researched into your own words.

• Write sentences and paragraphs even if they are not perfect.

• Read what you have written and judge if it says what you mean.

• Show it to others and ask for suggestions.

STEP 3: REVISING MAKE IT BETTER

• Read what you have written again.

• Think about what others said about it.

• Rearrange words or sentences.

• Take out or add parts.

• Replace overused or unclear words.

• Read your writing aloud to be sure it flows smoothly.

STEP 4: PROOFREADING CORRECT

• Be sure all sentences are complete.

• Correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

• Change words that are not used correctly.

• Have someone check your work.

• Recopy it correctly and neatly.

STEP 5: PUBLISHING SHARE

• Read your writing aloud to a group.

• Create a book of your work.

• Send a copy to a friend or relative.

• Put your writing on display.

• Illustrate, perform, or set your creation to music.

• Congratulate yourself on a job well done! By Imad Mansoor Belaanes Teacher of English The Religious Institute, Juffair, Bahrain

Writing as a Process: “Hatching” new ideas is what writing is all about!

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Year 1 Issue 3

New Specifications for final exams

Members of the English Language Unit (Basic Educa-tion) at the Directorate of Curricula are working to-gether these days to come out with clear and precise guidelines or specifications for the construction of final exams. Through this project, the senior curriculum specialist Mrs. Nawal Al Khaja hopes that teachers will develop a critical awareness of English language tests so that they can better reflect on and evaluate the wide range of tests their students take.

Building on the past to achieve a better future

In cooperation with a big number of experienced and well-qualified teachers and senior teachers here in Bahrain, the ELU (Basic Education) is planning to gather some structured feedback from schools con-cerning the quality and usefulness of the current teaching materials and course books.

Regular meetings are being held at the Directorate of

Curricula to deeply analyze the current textbooks and

evaluate the impact of some previously implemented

programs on the general learning outcomes of stu-

dents.

Workshops for Basic Education Teachers

After analyzing the data we collected from the teach-ers' feedback forms, the English Language Unit at Ba-sic Education has planned a number of workshops for Semester 2. Actually, there will be a wide range of workshops taking place. Both primary and intermedi-ate teachers will have a chance to attend these work-shops.

Group/Pair Work: This workshop will be done by cooperative areas in coordination with the Directorate of Curricula. Each teacher attends one session only as it is the same workshop repeated each day. It will take place on April 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

TEYL Teaching English to Young Learn-ers for Cycle 1 (Grades 1-3) 45 hours This is a 45 hour methodology course spread over

one semester for teachers currently teaching in Cy-

cle 1. The general aims of the course are to deepen

and strengthen teachers’ understanding of key is-

sues surrounding the teaching of English to young

learners in Cycle 1 and to explore these issues in

relation to practice in the classroom. Topics in-

clude: How children learn, Individual differences,

Approaches to teaching English to young learners,

Classroom management, Initial literacy develop-

ment, Practical techniques for working with stories,

games, songs & rhymes, Classroom English. The

course is very practical in nature and hands-on.

Happy iTools Orientation (Cycle 1) 3 hours

The 3 hour orientation is a practical hands-on work-

shop for teachers in Cycle 1. It aims to familiarise

participants with the contents of the Interactive Digi-

tal Resources that accompanies the Happy Series

in terms of the interactive materials and the work-

sheet builder. We look at the features of the iTools

and experience different types of tasks, very much

in hands-on way.

ELU News and Activities

Any teacher who would like to join one of the workshops mentioned in this page could con-tact the English Language Unit at the Director-ate of Curricula for more information concerning registration procedures.

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English Messages

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Year 1 Issue 3

Kingdom of Bahrain

Ministry of Education

The English Language Unit (Basic Education)

Ask students to look at the picture and ask them a few ques-tions about the mouse. Introduce some key words in the story.

A mouse was having a very bad time. She could find no food at all. She looked here and there, but there was no food, and she grew very thin. At last the mouse found a basket, full of corn. There was a small hole in the basket, and she crept in. She could just get through the hole. Then she began to eat the corn. Being very hungry, she ate a great deal, and went on eating and eating. She had grown very fat before she felt that she had had enough. When the mouse tried to climb out of the basket, she could

not. She was too fat to pass through the hole. " How shall I climb out?" said the mouse. "oh, how shall I climb out?" Just then a rat came along, and he heard the mouse.

"Mouse," said the rat, "if you want to climb out of the basket, you must wait till

you have grown as thin as you were when you went in."

Read and say whether the statements are True or False.

1– The mouse felt sad because she was hungry.

2– The mouse jumped into the basket.

3– The mouse ate the basket.

4– It was very easy for the mouse to climb out.

5– The rat refused to help the mouse.

Kingdom of Bahrain

Ministry of Education Directorate of Curricula English Language Unit

(Basic Education)

curriculabh@yahoo.com

Tel +973 17 27 86 16

Fax +973 17 24 34 72

Editorial Team

Dr. Nawal Al-Khaja

Mr. Emad Al-Sediri

“What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” By Alfred Mercier

English Messages