The English department prepared an Oral booklet to prepare students for their oral exam. Unfortunately, or fortunately, my class isn’t the bookish type, so I had to teach them from a different perspective.

Many ideas came to me and I was able to put them together in one coherent package. I decided to sing them a song entitled “Colours of the Wind”. What better way to teach them oral skills than to perform for them?

In order to become confident speakers, they needed to go through these four layers of competency: Courage, Control, Conviction and Connection. To illustrate these four layers, I first sang the Malay version of the song. I naturally stumbled my way through because I wasn’t familiar with the words. I then switched to the English version and began the first stanza in a loud, blooming and authoritative voice. To spice things up, I sang the second stanza, striving for a cosy and intimate feel. I subsequently sang the third stanza in an upbeat and exuberant tone.

To cap things off, I serenaded a boy while singing the last few lines.

You would have thought that my class would be mesmerised by my singing and give me a standing ovation. But nope, they all just stared at me impassively. Still not interested in whatever I wanted to teach them. Today’s overstimulated students are a tough crowd to please!

But never mind, Sensei will still give himself a pat on the shoulder for trying his hardest. ;)