Summary and Suggestions

While it is true that most Filipinos, especially pre-service teachers, have been exposed to the English language since time immemorial, it does not mean that they can become effective teachers outside the country. During my teaching experience at SMPN 1 Kendari, not all of my students were fluent and could not understand the English language, making it impossible for some parts of the teaching delivery to be bumpy. An effective teacher is manifested when they are able to communicate and deliver the material in a way students can fully comprehend. The vocabulary that I thought was easy to understand was unfeasible for my students because they are not familiar with the word. What I did was to simplify my vocabulary usage to make it easier for them to understand. Under the Multiple Means of Representation, teachers should recognize the level of language to be used  and intelligence of each student in their preparation for the teaching. Otherwise, a teacher can talk continuously and deliver the material but the students are unable to grasp the context of the subject matter, leading to an unsuccessful teaching. In conclusion, we learn English not only because of its technicalities but how teachers utilize the English language to successfully deliver the material according to the learners’ needs. Not only were English proficiency developed but also learning Bahasa Indonesia— where students appreciated the effort of the student-teacher to learn their culture and language.

Among all the 21st Century Skills, three were most trained whilst the student-teacher exchange program— social skills, collaboration, and flexibility. 

I was able to develop my social skills at SMPN 1 Kendari because of the different circumstances that I was able to experience. To establish rapport with my students, I ensured that I made them feel that I understand them and recognize their roles as students inside the classroom. I asked them how they are, exchanging words from Indonesian and Filipino languages, giving positive feedback, sharing experiences where they can relate from, showing positive behavior and attitude, etc. There were multiple times that I was running out of patience because the students were stubborn and not listening to instructions, but I ensured that those did not become a hindrance. I was able to manage certain behaviors that I did not know I was able to do. Hence, the teaching experience from this program trained me how to become effective in classroom management. With the help of my buddies, I was able to successfully deliver the material to my students. I asked them nicely for a favor of translating what I want to say. Also, they helped me with distributing handouts, collecting materials, etc. Thus, it became a team effort. Flexibility played its role when I had to ensure that I present the materials in various ways. Since there was technical and internet issues, the flow of teaching was disrupted. However, I came prepared by printing out the images so that the game could still proceed.

The student-teacher exchange program was why we were able to showcase our passion and talent in teaching outside the country. Our skills, knowledge, and abilities were given a stage to be known by students who can benefit from us. Despite the cultural gap between the educational systems between the Philippines and Indonesia, we were able to stand firm with the challenges inside the school and classrooms. One good example is when I studied the Indonesian language relevant to my class, searched for similar words between the two languages, and maximized educational resources  for instructional materials that are unfamiliar to the Philippines. I converted my PowerPoint Presentation into having Bahasa language only— although it made me think twice because I might forgot the content of the lesson— it was never a problem; hence, manifesting global competitiveness. I also implemented a game-based activity to simultaneously achieve a balance between student and teacher-centeredness and language barriers.