My First Class In Indonesia

Today marked my first day of teaching Indonesian students about English conversation. Most of the time was spent getting to know my students and establishing their skill in the English language. While most of the work was somewhat complicated for my students today, it was a good way to "kill two birds with one stone". As some of my students may now know, killing two birds with one stone is an English idiom that suggests you can handle two tasks at once. Introductions and conversation were intertwined, allowing students to learn about myself and one another while also acquiring some new words and concepts in English.

I find teaching immensely satisfying, and it is my hope that my students feel empowered in my class. What is meant by the term "empowered"? In English, it's often useful to consider the root of a word. Within the word empowered is the word "power". To have power is to have control or authority. I want each of you to feel in control of your English language acquisition and expression. In other words, I want each of you be "empowered" or in control of your education.

English is a living language, something that you "get" through your use of English. Therefore, since I mentioned root words, can you add some root words that are useful for English language education? Here are some examples for you to discuss:

FIRE
FIREMAN
FIRED

FREE
FREEDOM
FREED

BIOLOGY
BIOHAZARD
BIOSPHERE

SOCIAL
SOCIETY
SOCIALIST
SOCIALIZE

POLYMORPH
MESOMORPH
MORPHINE

In these examples, if you can understand the meaning of the shared root, you have some grasp of the other words. So, in effect, mastery of one word can lead to mastery of multiple words. This will increase your vocabulary. Discuss some of the words above. Don't worry if you don't know the words, the important thing is discussing these words to get to the meaning.