Radio for Education

From Songs to Solutions: Green Radio Teams up with Radio Idols for Tree Adoption

2008-06-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

Students at the Radio Ed Launch Event wrote powerful songs about the effects of deforestation, poverty and corruption. With the help of Green Radio, their songs also became part of the solution to these problems. Each group that performed at the launch event on May 27th at Green Radio studios on Jalan Utan Kayu (click here to see video or here for pictures) won a tree sponsorship from Green Radio's Friends of the Forest Program - and so can you! Click here to learn how it works.

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'Radio Idols' take the Stage at Green Radio

2008-06-05T12:23:00.001-07:00

There has never been a more important time for our youth to turn information into action. The way we respond to reports about issues like global warming and the food crisis will determine the fate of the world we live in - and how much longer we will even have that privileged. Students in Jakarta are taking the lead in changing the world - one song at a time - with the help of a Radio Ed activity called "Radio Idol."

Over 150 students and teachers gathered at Green Radio in East Jakarta last week to hear students from SMA3 perform Radio Idol songs that they wrote themselves after listing to news stories from Asia Calling.

Watch for yourself. Check out Video of the performances!

Click here for more photos from the big day.

And Click here to download the Radio Ed teachers packets, which includes the Radio Idol lesson plan and other activities you can use to use real radio broadcasts to practice your English while learning about the latest headlines from around Asia.

Rebecca Henschke introducing Radio Ed

2008-06-05T12:22:00.001-07:00

Rebecca Henschke is the editor of Asia Calling. She spoke at the opening ceremony of the launch event, encouraging students to use a critical mind when they listen to the news.

'Radio Idols' take the Stage at Green Radio

2008-06-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

There has never been a more important time for our youth to turn information into action. The way we respond to reports about issues like global warming and the food crisis will determine fate of the world we live in - as well as how much longer we'll even have that privileged. Students in Jakarta are taking the lead in changing the world - one song at a time - with the help of a Radio Ed activity called Radio Idol.

Over 150 students and teacher from around Jakarta last week to hear students from SMA3 perform Radio Idol songs that they wrote themselves after listing to news stories from Asia Calling.

Watch for yourself. Check out Video of the performances!

Click here for more photos from the big day.

And Click here to download the Radio Ed teachers packets, which includes the Radio Idol activity.

Wow

2008-06-05T11:45:00.001-07:00

iAnez Yolanda steals the show with a solo performance of a song called Hold On, which she wrote herself about poor children suffering from homelessness and malnutrition.

Money, Money!

2008-06-05T11:42:00.001-07:00

A crowd favorite, Money, Money, from the Green Eyes Group. As the name suggests, the song is about money. The students wrote the song after listing to an Asia Calling story about corruption.

Introducing Radio Ed

2008-06-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

John says a few words to open the program

My Earth

2008-06-05T11:34:00.001-07:00

The group Green Life is Life sings wrote a song about deforestation in Bogor, a city just outside of Jakarta, which suffers from massive urban sprawl, lack of green space and clean air.

The Sunshine Group Sings Stand up for Love

2008-06-05T11:31:00.001-07:00

The Sunshine Group kicked things off with the song "Stand up for Love," which was inspired by a radio story about malnutrition in the Philippines from milk formula

Photos from the Radio Ed Event at Green Radio

2008-06-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Members of the Sunshine group warming up for the big show

John with teachers from SMA3 Depok.

The Green Radio team!

The Green Radio gals

Patar from the School for Broadcast Media says, "Radio Ed is number ONE!"

Students from Depok show John how to dance

Members of My Earth even brought their own instruments!

Nita from Green Radio gives a presentation about Environmental Issues in Jakarta

We had over 150 students and teachers from area high schools!

Save Jakarta, Plant a Tree

2008-06-02T20:35:00.001-07:00

Each group that performed at the launch event on May 27th at Green Radio studios on Jalan Utan Kayu won a tree sponsorship from Green Radio's Friends of the Forest Program. SMU Al-Azhar Kelapa Gading also qualified for a change to win a tree when they send in their first Radio Idol song.

Here's how it works:

For a donation of just Rp. 108,000 ($12) Green Radio will plant a tree in your name in Gede Pangrango National Park in West Java and provide care for it during the first three years of its growth.

Gede Pangrango National Park is one of the most important national parks in Indonesia. Covering an area of 21,000 hectares, it extends over three regencies in West Java: Cianjur, Sukabumi and Bogor. Some of the land has already been deforested and is in need of replanting.

The park is the primary water source for 20 million people living in the surrounding area, including Jakarta and its deforestation will cause major problems - for the park ecosystem as well as it's neighbors in Jakarta. Deforestation around Jakarta is one of the factors contributing to its devastating annual flooding.

Before that happens, join the Green Radio Friends of the Forest program.

The land chosen as the site of the Green Radio Friends of the Forest program is in the village of Ciputri, which is in the Pacet sub-district of Cianjur regency, around two hours’ drive from Jakarta. Located right on the border of the Gede Pangrango National Park, it is an attractive, hilly area, although marred by deforestation that has resulted in the small farms that dot the area becoming prone to erosion.

Green Radio’s tree adoption program will involve around 40 farming families from the local area who will be involved in replanting the 10 hectare area, thereby not only improving the environment but also supporting the local economy.

The Green Radio Friends of the Forest program is supported by Conservation International (CI) and the Gede Pangrango National Park.

To adopt one or more trees, please send your donation to:

Bank Name: Bank BCA
Account Name: PT Media Lintas Inti Nusantara
Account Number: 5800091090
SWIFT Code: CENAIDJA

Send your proof of transfer either by fax to +62 21 8516107 or by e-mail to Nita nita@greenradio.fm.

The running total of funds raised will be announced every afternoon on Green Radio’s Green Talk radio program and published on the website www.greenradio.fm.

For further information, please contact Nita nita@greenradio.fm.

Green Radio is a Jakarta radio station that is managed by KBR68H, Indonesia’s only national radio news agency.

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Use the News in Your Classroom this Week

2008-05-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Radio Ed's Use the News activities feature a quick and easy English lesson plan or game we've from the internet or received from teachers. But to make the lesson a little more interesting, we've added a Use the News Follow-up Activity that explains how teachers can use this lesson to introduce their students to news and information from local independent media.

This week's Activity:
'What would you say if...?'

Use the News Archives

What would you say if...

2008-05-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

"What would you say if.....?"

(This lesson is from Dave's ESL Café, www.eslcafe.com)

Classroom activity
You can adjust this activity depending on the speaking abilities of your students. The activity allows the students to use the vocabulary that they may not have a chance to use otherwise. You should stress to the students that they need to be CREATIVE with their answers.

On the blackboard/whiteboard write: "What would you say if...."

On pieces of paper/index cards write some funny and crazy situations such as:...you went to the washroom and saw a kamodo dragon, your father came home with blue hair, you just won 1 million USDollars, you arrived at school only wearing your underwear, if your teacher was replaced with a robot,etc....

The crazier, funnier, and weirder the situation is the better!

Place the situations in a bag/hat then, the teacher starts by pulling out one situation and calling on a student asking, "What would you do if...(then state the situation you pulled out of the bag/hat)" The student answers then pulls out a situation and asks another student the question: "What would you do if..."

This continues onwards you can even use the same situation many times over as long as you stress that the students must give different answers to the situation.

Use the news follow-up activity

Students must write one or two new situations based on real situations from the news. Students can listen to Asia Calling on their local radio station for ideas. For example, if the story is about a volcano erupting in Java, students might want to ask the question, “What would you say if you say lava coming down the mountain about to cover your home.” Or if the story is about the assassination of a political figure in Pakistan, students could ask, “What would you hear someone talking about killing the president?”

Encourage students to first listen to the English version of but remind them they can also use the Bahasa Indonesia version if they need to. Remember to give students the time and frequency where they can hear the program in your area. You can find this information on the Asia Calling Web site (www. asiacalling.kbr68h.com) or by calling 021 851 3386. Students can also listen to stories online or read the story in print format at www. asiacalling.kbr68h.com. If Asia Calling is not available in your area, you can use this same activity with another radio program or a local newspaper.

View and download more Use the News activities here

What do you think about this lesson? Do you have a suggestion of how to improve it? Tell us! Just click on "Comments" below to share your feedback or suggestions...

Use the News in your Classroom this week

2008-04-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Meet the News

2008-04-17T01:52:00.001-07:00

(This lesson is from Dave's ESL Cafe)

A quick "no resource" activity that can be easily adapted...

Ask your students to draw a chart in their notebooks with the following headings on top of the page: Name, Occupation, Hometown, Age.

Students have to go around one at a time and give their own information. For "occupation" encourage your students to state their "dream job" or just the craziest job they can think of.
When they are not giving their own info, they must be listening carefully to the other students in order to get their charts filled in. Not only does it reinforce name learning, students can practice listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. They also practice asking for repetition and clarification.

You may want to ask questions at the end to check if the information is correct, ie. "Niko, what is Juni's dream job?"

Use the News Follow-up Activity (Homework)

As homework, students are to fill in their chart by listening to a radio segment from Asia Calling. For each interview they hear, they are to fill in as much information on their chart as possible (name, occupation, hometown, age) about the person being interviewed.

For an extra bonus question, add an "opinion" category. In this category, students are to write down the opinion of the person being interviewed.

Encourage students to first listen to the English version of but remind them they can also use the Bahasa Indonesia version if they need to.

View and download more Use the News activities here

What do you think about this lesson? Do you have a suggestion of how to improve it? Tell us! Just click on "Comments" below to share your feedback or suggestions...

Improve your life and community with radio

2008-04-17T00:39:00.001-07:00

Radio is not a new medium, but you might be surprised by all the new ways that people around the world are using it to improve their communities...

Creative Radio
Creative-Radio is a worldwide e-mail forum and online archive for people active or interested in using radio creatively in international development, public health and related fields. Creative Radio tries to bridge the gap between journalism and humanitarian, post-conflict and development activities. The Creative Radio list uses this unique position to help develop strategies to make the best use of the mass media, at a time when radio's role is recognized widely as key in the fight against illiteracy, poverty and disease. More.

The Community Radio Toolkit

Welcome to the Community Radio Toolkit, a place for community radio people to learn, talk, and share. Do read and join discussions in the Discussion Forums, help yourself to documents in the Shared Resources area, read up on essentials in the Toolkit handbook and find connections with other organisations on the links pages. Don't forget Spotlight On, where we cover special community radio features.

Use the News in your classroom this week!

2008-04-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

This week we're introducing a new resource for teachers called the Use the News Series.

Each Use the News activity features a quick and easy English lesson plan or game that we've selected from the internet or heard about from teachers. But to make the lesson a little more interesting, we've also added a Use the News Follow-up Activity that explains how teachers can use this lesson to introduce their students to news and information from local independent media.

This week's lesson: Reckless Taxi Driver

Reckless Taxi Driver

2008-04-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

(This lesson is from Dave's ESL Cafe)

1. Set the scene. An English speaking visitor goes out of an airport and gets into a taxi. He sits in the back. On the way to town the driver strikes up a conversation. Unfortunately he drives fast and keeps turning round to look at the passenger!

2. Now seat the students in pairs, one driver and one passenger. The driver sits in front of and to one side of the passenger, as if in a taxi.

3. Now, practice this dialogue:

For the taxi driver
A. Personal information- "Where are you from? What languages do you speak? Are you married?"

B. Present perfect: "Have you been to our country before? Have you seen...? Have you read about...? Have you tried (food etc)? Have you heard about (recent event)?"

C. Suggestions: "Why don`t you visit... you should see... You could go to..."

And for the passenger
D. Imperatives: "Look out! Keep your eye on the road! etc."

*Can you think of any new dialogue that your students might use in their city or town?

Now, use this simple lesson as a link to the news...

This Week's Use the News Follow-up Activity (Homework)

4. Take a few minutes at the end of class to review the question: "Have you heard or read about?" How did your students answer this question? What did they discuss with their "taxi driver"?

5. Next, tell "students" that they will repeat this activity next week, however, students who can answer the question "Did you hear about....?" with a real news story from Asia Calling's weekend radio broadcast, will receive extra credit or an extra prize. Give students the time and frequency where they can hear the program in your area. For a list of stations and broadcast times, click here. Ask students to first listen and take notes on the English version of the story. But they can also listen to local language version if they need to. Students can also listen to stories online or read the story in print format on the Asia Calling Web site.

Download this lesson plan

What do you think about this lesson? Do you have a suggestion of how to improve it? Tell us! Just click on "Comments" below to share your feedback or suggestions...

Radio Passport

2008-04-04T02:57:00.000-07:00

We fell a bit behind on the blogging over the past few months because we've been busy with other things, like the new Radio Passport.

As we all know, traveling to other countries requires a Passport with information about your identity and the destinations you have visited.

A Radio Passport is very similar. Students use it to record and discuss what they learn on Asia Calling about countries and cultures throughout Asia. Teachers can use it to monitor students' progress as part of a simple step-by-step lesson plan.

Download Radio Passport lesson plan now

We introduced the activity at a recent workshop in Malang with a group of 18 teachers from throughout East Java.

An enthusiastic start for first-time passport holders

Pak Budi introduces the Radio Passport to an attentive class of fellow teachers

On track in Bukittinggi

2007-11-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

The courtyard at SMA5 Bukittinggi overlooks the majestic mountain peaks, rolling rice fields, and scenic country roads for which the area is so famous. I would have enjoyed more time exploring this bucolic beauty, but Pak Haswin, the on-sight Radio Ed guru, kept me on task during my visit last week.

Before we stepped into the classroom, however, we took a step back to consider the feedback we’ve been getting about Radio Ed’s potential as a prep tool for the national exams. As Ibu Poppy stated during my visit to Bandung:

The most important part is to relate the materials with our present (national) standards.

Pak Haswin is responsible for translating these standards into curriculum that will prepare the entire 12th grade class of SMA 5 Bukittinggi for the national exam in May. We discussed the challenges of this process with Ibu Dian, the headmaster at SMA 5.

According to Haswin, and everyone else I've talked to, listening and speaking are the areas where students struggle most.

Listening and speaking hu? Sounds like radio to me!

If only it were that easy. The strengths of our program definitely match up with the weaknesses of the national curriculum. It's just a matter of figuring out the most effective - and easiest - way to tune in to this potential. In other words, I'm the one that ended up with homework from this visit!

Inside the classroom, Pak Haswin was responding to the students' interests as well as their needs. He chose a story about volcanoes for his Radio Ed session. The first interview in the story featured a villager from Java discussing why she was not afraid to live near an active volcano. When she finished, Pak Haswin paused the CD, pointed out the window at the peak in the distance and asked with a rueful smile, "So what about you? Are you afraid to live so close to an active volcano?"

After that, the students were hooked.

And so was the mayor!

The Mayor of Bukittinggi and the head of the education department (Kepala DIKNAS) stopped by school to see (or hear) for themselves.

And a big thanks to Andrew (right), Panji (left) and Pak Cockroach (center) for their wonderful hospitality!

Radio Ed Heating Up: Students in Bandung Debate Global Warming

2007-10-15T07:35:00.001-07:00

I didn't expect much for my first school visit other than a brief introduction and question-and-answers session. If I was lucky, I thought I might walk away with a few of those delicious little snack boxes that we often receive on school visits here in Indonesia . But Ibu Poppy and and her students at SMA 11 Bandung were not serving snacks or platitudes during my visit last week. In fact, they were dishing up a hot debate on one of the most difficult topics from the Radio Ed classroom packets: global warming.

Ibu Poppy breaks the class into groups and invites them to move around the classroom for a small group discussion session.

She then explains that, whether listening to a story on the radio or having a conversation, it's important to keep moving forward by focusing what you do know.

"If you don't know a word, nevermind," says Ibu Poppy. "Just keep listening until you do!"

Here's what Ibu Poppy had to say about Radio Ed in her program evaluation:

With Radio Ed , the students experienced new kind of method, new vocabularies and new perspective. They really enjoy it and so do I. I believe breakthrough and innovations in teaching English are necessary.

Of course, there are challenges in Radio Ed application. First, I will listen to the materials several times to get the ideas and to have better understanding with the materials for further activities. Then, I will try to recognize new words gradually from the easiest to the hardest words for the students. the most important part is to relate the materials with our present (national) curriculum. Meanwhile, as the main idea of Radio Ed is "listening",you must improve or at least maintain the quality of the sound. Try to bring more "casual"materials that fit the students' interest at their age. You can try "story telling' as well as the "news". You can try topics such music or movies . I believe you will agree with this. There still is a lot of room for improvements. However, Radio Ed is indeed very helpful. Thank you very much for that!

Turn on the Radio, Tune in to Learning, Radio Ed Kickoff Workshop

2007-10-15T07:24:00.001-07:00

True or false: Most classrooms in Indonesia have access to relevant, up-to-date, and exciting teaching material? True - if you know where to look, or listen, according to teachers at the Radio for Education kickoff workshop in Bandung.

The workshop marked the official launch of Radio for Education, a partnership between Putera Sampoerna Foundation and KBR68H’s Asia Calling radio program, encouraging teachers to Turn on the Radio and Tune in to Learning.

It was the first time I met our teaching team. But after just one session it was clear that - as Jim Collin's would say - we have the right people on our bus!

To my surprise, the idea of using radio as a teaching tool clicked immediately with the group. After a brief introduction of our teaching component, RICE (Radio Informing Creative Education), the teachers took over, adapting and customizing the program to fit their teaching styles and classrooms.

Overall, I was very pleased with the workshop. If I could do it over again, however, I would have spent less time on cheesy acronyms and more time taking notes on all the teachers' great ideas and improvements. This will definitely be the focus of my upcoming school visits. (I'll be visiting each of the nine schools in our pilot program three times in the coming six months.)

Guest speakers included Radio Ed partners Tessa Piper from the Indonesian Association for Media Development and Ronald Stones, Director of the Putera Sampoerna Foundation United Schools program, as well as the host of Asia Calling, Rebecca Henske. These classy guest appearances were a breath of fresh air after my clip art charades.

“It’s exciting to be doing something new with what’s already there. That’s innovation and that’s what we want to see happening in our schools.” -Ronald Stones, Director of PSF United Schools program. Read full official press release here.

Teachers received certificates of appreciation (and John received the giant award)

Contact us

2007-10-05T07:14:00.001-07:00

If you are a teacher in Indonesia and would like to be added to our mailing list to receive program updates and a monthly teachers packet, please contact Is Islamiati at iisasiacalling@gmail.com or by phone at 0812 19 36872.

Radio and Literacy: Hello Radio, Goodbye Mel!

2007-10-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

The tipping point was when a 10th grader asked me who movie star Mel Gibson is and whether he actually is, as the "Cool News" section of her textbook stated, “the most beautiful man in the world.”

No joke. The headline actually read: “Mel Gibson: The Most Beautiful Man in the World.” The rest of the article would be best described as an ode to Gibson in the key of Gag Me.

Finding a bootleg copy of a Gibson blockbuster like Mad Max or The Passion of Christ in Indonesia is easy; finding relevant teaching material is another story - a story that, for me, started with a Fulbright teaching assignment in a remote district of Sumatra, called Sekayu, and - in just five months - has evolved into a national Radio for Education (or Radio Ed) initiative in classrooms throughout the archipelago.

Searching for answers and information in Sekayu

Despite its rural location (see map), my school was one of the lucky few in the country with its own library. However, I still struggled to find reading material that was interesting, accessible and substantive.

View Larger Map

Of the more than 220,000 schools in Indonesia, less than 10 percent have libraries, according to a recent Jakarta Post article (Out Of Reach, October 16, 2007).

Books are simply too expensive for most schools struggling to make payroll. This is a frustrating fact for teachers, especially given the fact that, according to the Indonesian Constitution, 20 percent of the government's annual budget should be allocated to education.

"In the time-honoured Indonesian tradition of disregarding laws that are inconvenient, that constitutional requirement has never been met," writes Patrick Guntensperger in a recent Jakarta Post article. "One of the results of this neglect of education – which has the tendency to instill the habit of reading in children – is that Indonesians simply don’t read much."

Unfortunately this years budget validates Guntensperger's critism.

For the third consecutive years, the government is deemed having ignored the Constitution requirement to allocate at least 20 percent of the state annual budget (APBN) for education spending. Ironically, the violation against the Constitution is approved by the majority of the political parties’ factions at the House of Representatives (DPR). -Kompas (10/09/07), sited here by Putera Sampoerna Foundation Online

(So where does the money go? Among other things, election insurance like motorcycles for teachers, but that's another story... See The Zen of Motorcycle Democracy).

Guntensperg's second claim, that Indonesians "don't read much," is certainly a gross generalization. It does, however, point to the more fundamental issues of literacy.

The most recent study on literacy in Indonesia, according to the Jakarta Post, found that18.7 million people over the age of 10 (8.86 percent of the population) could not read or write.

The economic and bureaucratic excuses for this alarming statistic don't stand up to the reality on the ground. And the reality is that - from handbags to Harry Potter - Indonesia is the bootleg copy capital of the world. If there were a demand for reading material, we would see as many bootleg book stands lining the roads as DVD vendors peddling copies of Mel Gibson's latests block buster pulp.

Like many other societal trends, the best way to describe literacy and readership in Indonesia is with the old supply and demand model. More readers equal more books, which - in turn - of course leads to more readers. Except, in this case it's a downward spiral, and it's Indonesia's teachers who find themselves in the middle of the downward spin cycle looking for a way to pull their classrooms out of it.

But why all this talk about books and literacy anyway? Isn't this program, and this blog, called Radio for education?

Tuning in to classrooms

All students have at least one thing in common: They love a good story. This is especially true here in Indonesia students, which has an immensely rich oral story telling tradition. Audiences prefer spoken stories to their printed literary accounts—and who wouldn’t in the land of wayang puppetry and masked theater!

A Wayang Lemah performance in Bali

These vocal and visual art forms are the mediums of social commentary and critique, as well as education in many areas, writes translator and columnist Kadek Krishna Adidharma.

“Our oral traditions are strong,” wrote Adidharma in a recent Jakarta Post article (A Leap from Oral Traditions, September 30th). “Writing is catching up, but book sales figures loudly broadcast the fact that not enough people are reading. Discussions and readings are very well attended by people who prefer to listen and ask questions rather than having to read up on the topic.”

Most students (at least most of the students I taught) had never opened a news paper or tuned in to news on the radio before, but, as Adidharma suggests, they love telling and listening to stories.

Radio for Education builds on the strength of this oral story-telling tradition, allowing students to spend their time analyzing meaning before wresting the medium. Vivid story telling, personal interviews and ambient sounds, help students listen for ideas and understand concepts beyond their vocabularies. The roar of a crowd in protest, buzz of a chain saw in the jungle or splash of waves against the parched skin of a beached wale, speak to every student in the class regardless of his or her English proficiency or grade level.

Student in Bandung drawn in to the story and sounds of global warming

As an Fulbright English teacher at SMA2 Sekayu I used segments from a bi-lingual current affairs radio program called Asia Calling to substitute the textbook’s “cool news” with real news and information. To my surprise, real news turned into real debate and discussion. The more I used Asia Calling, the more critical thinking, analysis and questioning (in other words learning) actually took place in my classroom. And all I had to do was turn on the radio, prepare a few questions and define some vocabulary. Asia Calling's engaging content and the kids' curiosity take care of the rest.

Asia Calling is a bi-lingual (English-Bahasa Indonesia), pan-Asian current affairs program with a heavy focus on Indonesia, which menas the voices, issues - even the accents - are all recognizable to students.

Drawing the students in with sounds and story creates a critical buffer of curiosity, questions and information that empowers both teachers and students with the confidence of ideas and intellectual incentives to face the more challenging and less familiar structural barriers to literacy, as well as those of learning teaching foreign language like English. In other words, radio and literacy are actually closely connected.

General ESL resources for teachers

2007-10-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a list of Web sites for English teachers. The lesson plans activities on these sites don't necessarily incorporate the news - but you can always add that yourself!

Kang Guru (English Radio lessons)

Dave's ESL cafe

Teaching English (general) from BBC

English Club.com

ESL Games

The Internet TESL Journal