The document describes the experiences of the author as a participant in a teacher training course. During the first week of orientation activities, the facilitators treated the participants like children through strict rules and humiliating punishments that went past midnight. While common for orientation, the author and others found it degrading as they were older with prior jobs and responsibilities. The stressful activities made the author cry and take time to recollect. The principles of adult learning discussed later seemed true for the author, who sought practical application of lessons to their job.

1. Task 1.5
1. Think of a training course you attended when the trainer used child-
oriented approaches to training. What did the trainer do? How did it
make you feel?
In 2004, I enrolled in a Teacher Training College. Although I graduated
from university two years earlier and had a job as an audit assistant, I
applied to become a teacher as I feel the need to fill the void inside me.
During the first week of the course, we were subjected to orientation the
activities were hectic and tiring.
Our facilitators, although younger, but were senior based on residential.
They treated us like kids as they do not tolerate tardiness and inactive
participation. They held us in the field past midnight and punish us by
humiliating us in public. While these practices seemed ‘normal’ for
orientation, we find it downgrading as we were older people who used to
hold a respectable job and some of us were even married.
I felt stressed for the whole week, I cried a lot and took some time to
recollect myself and reorganised my thoughts on how to cordially treat
these juniors who were merciless on us.

2. 2. Look at the six principles listed above. How true are they for you as an
adult learner?
I find the principles are true to me as an adult learner. In essence, all the
principles point out the practicality of training in real life. In my context, I seek
the practicality of the content to my job and how is it going to make an
improvement and add value.
3. Write an implication for each principle, starting with the “Therefore, the
trainer should/should not…”
Therefore the trainer should share the objective of the training during the
introduction session in the course.
Therefore the trainer should ask the question that could lead to self-
discovery.
Therefore the trainer should cherish their experiences and highlight the ones
that are relevant to the course.
Therefore the trainer should do a gap analysis to identify what they know,
don’t know and want to know.
Therefore the trainer should ask the trainee to list out their
obstacles/challenges in the classroom then brainstorm with others for ideas.
Therefore the trainer should observe the traits of the trainee and tap into
their needs and wants in their career and highlight how the training can be
used to achieve that.

3. Task 2.5
1. Here are some common methods and activities used in training workshops for teachers.
a. Which of these have you experienced as a course participant or as a teacher/trainer? Put a tick (✅ ) in the
appropriate column(s).
b. For the ones you have experienced, indicate how much you liked them.
😍I liked it very much 🙂 It was o.k. ☹️I didn’t like it.
Method
Have you experienced it?
How do you like it?
Brainstorming
✅
🙂
Case studies
Critical incidents
Debates
✅
🙂
Group discussion
✅
🙂
Group presentations
✅
🙂
Icebreakers and energisers
✅
😍
Individual presentations
✅
🙂
Lectures
✅
🙂
Microteaching
✅
🙂
Panel discussions
✅
😍
Projects
✅
😍
Seminars

4. c. Tell your partner about one method/activity you liked and one you
didn’t like. Give reasons.
As a course participant, I love icebreakers and energisers because it
involves kinaesthetic. I love moving around and I find these activities
invigorate my senses and relax my body. It also helps to reduce my
anxiety when the course is overloaded with difficult content and
tasks.
In particular, I do not detest any activities to the core. Lectures,
boring to some can be interesting when the trainer is knowledgeable
and able to demonstrate the relevance of the content to real-life
application. However, I note that a trainer who successfully pulls this
off is someone with a sense of humour, considerate and pleasant.
2. Add any other delivery methods and activities to the above list.
Role play can be one of the activities that a trainer can use to test
concepts and understanding. It is also a safe platform for the trainee
to experience events that can occur in the real context. It helps the
trainee to gauge appropriate respond and anticipate mishaps that will
happen.
Group work can be made interesting with the use of Kagan
Cooperative Learning Strategies.

5. How do presentation slides help (a) the trainer (b) the participants?
List some characteristics of effective and ineffective presentation slides.
Task 3.4
1.
Presentation slides can serve as a prompt to help the trainer deliver the
presentation in proper order. The participants can benefit from it as slides
enhance understanding and support learning.
1.
No.
Effective slides
Ineffective slides
1
Use a simple font and be consistent throughout the slides.
Use complicated font and changes in every slide.
2
Use a contrasting background that could highlight the points.
Use loud colours in the background and disguising the points.
3
One slides contain 3 to 5 ideas.
Too many ideas are cramped into one slide.
4
Use key points to demonstrate ideas.
Overcrowded with words.
5
Use visuals and videos alternately in a presentation.
Lack of meaningful visuals to promote understanding.
6
The number of slides is timed appropriately for the target audience.
Too many slides and not timed, leaving many slides left without discussion.

6. Look at the presentation slides below and suggest ways to
improve them.
removing the cartoon because it is not meaningful and
childlike.
the contents may be split into 2 slides to show emphasis
on the points.
points must use less words and be precise.
adding another slide comparing the two can be in a visual
form where the trainer can ask the audience to recall and
compare the characteristics of fluency and accuracy.
dividing the points into several slides (3 slides, 5 points
each), reduce the crowded look
improve the font of the header by making it slightly bigger
and in bold form.
use a different colour for the ‘type of talk’ to demonstrate
the differences and highlight the results
use different colour for the ‘type of talk’ to demonstrate the
differences and highlight the results
1.
Slide 1 can be improved by:
Slide 2 can be improved by:

7. "We teach who we are: Reflective Practice and Spirituality in TESOL"
by Farrell, Lewis and Baurain (2020)
I finally came to understand the title when I finish reading the article.
As I went back to all the key points, I began my self-exploration on
who I am, and how I projected myself as a teacher. Throughout my
teaching career, I thought of myself as a proponent of fun learning
with extra energy to waste.
Being a kinaesthetic person, I designed my teaching and learning
activities geared towards incorporating movement and the element
of fun. I always believe that, when the students are having fun, they
will like me. And when they like me, they will do the things that I
asked, which is learning! If I cannot make them like me, at least they
will like my lessons and engage in them.
I like the fact that the article doesn’t shy away from discussing
spirituality. As a Muslim, keeping everything in moderation is
important and although I love doing fun things such as singing and
dancing in the classroom, I try to adhere to the teachings of my
religion when executing them. The discussion on spirituality and
reflective practice warms my heart because I feel that my concerns
are being put into place and I should not be guilty for owning to my
belief and teach the way I do.