JET Programme Series: A Taste of the Carnival Experience - Christian Jalim
2021/2/15
JET Programme Series: A Taste of the Carnival Experience - Christian Jalim
In the summer of 2020, the Matsuyama Board of Education held its inaugural “English Day” for elementary school students. The aim of this event was to devise fun and engaging activities for the students with the added benefit of learning English. I saw it as the opportune moment to introduce the students to Carnival and give them a small slice of how exhilarating Carnival can be and thus created the “Carnival Mas Camp” booth with my colleagues.
Our lesson plan was created around the classic soca song “Follow the leader” by The Soca Boys. It was the perfect vessel to get the students accustomed to using left versus right and up versus down, while also including verbs like jump, clap and wave. Decorating options and resources were limited but we made the best of it to capture a bit of the essence of Carnival. The summer heat also helped emulate that Carnival heat of the streets.
All booths were allotted 15 minutes per session. For the first two minutes, we gave a welcome and brief introduction to Carnival. In the following 3 minutes, the students were given masks to decorate as they desired, a memento that was theirs to keep. While the glue on their masks dried during the next 7 minutes, we practised the vocabulary we were focusing on that were featured in the song. Finally, the last 3 minutes of the session was spent dancing to the song, following the prompts that incorporated the vocabulary we practised prior. To complete the experience, the students did a limbo dance to exit and signify the end of the session. It felt extremely rewarding to see the students enjoy themselves through the medium of sharing a bit of my culture and I look forward to many more opportunities to engage with others and show them the vibrant and euphoric culture of Trinidad and Tobago.
JET Programme Series: A Taste of the Carnival Experience (Japanese Embassy Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives
Our lesson plan was created around the classic soca song “Follow the leader” by The Soca Boys. It was the perfect vessel to get the students accustomed to using left versus right and up versus down, while also including verbs like jump, clap and wave. Decorating options and resources were limited but we made the best of it to capture a bit of the essence of Carnival. The summer heat also helped emulate that Carnival heat of the streets.
All booths were allotted 15 minutes per session. For the first two minutes, we gave a welcome and brief introduction to Carnival. In the following 3 minutes, the students were given masks to decorate as they desired, a memento that was theirs to keep. While the glue on their masks dried during the next 7 minutes, we practised the vocabulary we were focusing on that were featured in the song. Finally, the last 3 minutes of the session was spent dancing to the song, following the prompts that incorporated the vocabulary we practised prior. To complete the experience, the students did a limbo dance to exit and signify the end of the session. It felt extremely rewarding to see the students enjoy themselves through the medium of sharing a bit of my culture and I look forward to many more opportunities to engage with others and show them the vibrant and euphoric culture of Trinidad and Tobago.
JET Programme Series: A Taste of the Carnival Experience (Japanese Embassy Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives