Empowering global educators in the Republic of Kiribati

14 December 2021 I The Queensland Institute

Supporting bilingual education goals through Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

Everyday when our colleagues in Kiribati logged on to their online class, our greeting songs and word puzzle warmers were met with broad smiles and positive energy. This warm classroom culture, full of enthusiasm for professional learning, is the enduring memory of our teacher training experience in the stunning island Republic of Kiribati (pronounced kee·ruh·bas).

Kiribati is an independent republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, located in the central Pacific Ocean, about 4,000 km (about 2,500 mi) southwest of Hawaii. It is part of the division of the Pacific islands that is known as Micronesia. Source: KNTO

Learn Te Kiribati phrases

Supporting Professional Development in CLIL

From May to September, 2021, the Queensland Institute Pty Ltd (QI) was proud to support the Kiribati Education Improvement Program (KEIP) to deliver online teacher training for 35 pre-service teachers completing an Advanced Diploma in Education and 16 lecturers and teacher educators from Kiribati Teachers College (KTC). KTC was our exceptional host for the series of customised training modules in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).

The highly successful program was most certainly a team effort. Members of the KEIP Academic Advisory team based in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, together with the Principal and support staff at KTC, worked with the QI team to design and deliver more than 60 hours of CPD training over the course of the year.

Bilingual education is an important development goal of the Republic of Kiribati Ministry of Education. The QI training modules were designed to support the targeted knowledge and skills-based outcomes of these bilingual education goals. Applying the CLIL approach in local Kiribati classrooms was a key objective of the program.

Photo Journalists Project 1

In the initial training module, Advanced Diploma students and KTC staff completed a ‘Photo Journalists’ project. The participants shared pictures and stories of their home with their QI trainers. They also compiled digital displays to describe their learners and classroom setting. These context-setting activities formed part of their later CLIL lesson planning portfolios. Students continued sharing photos and reflections from their school practicum experiences in their classrooms throughout the year (see below).

Micro-Teaching Project 2

Through the wonders of technology, the final modules of the program provided an opportunity for QI trainers to join Kiribati teachers virtually in their physical classrooms. Participants demonstrated their learning from the training modules through demonstration lessons using Kiribati textbook materials. It was a true delight to learn about ocean currents, human resources in Kiribati, biodiversity, hygiene practices, the human digestive system, coral growth, photosynthesis, and many more topics from the Kiribati school curriculum.

*Advanced Diploma students teaching in their classrooms during one of the micro-teaching rounds.*

Promoting Accessibility and Sustainability

Hosting the training program online also provided opportunities to enhance participants’ digital literacy and expand professional networks. For example, one of the highlights of the year was having the Kiribati teachers join our QI Global Educator Networking (GenQI) event in June, which brought together more than 90 English language teachers from Hong Kong, Chile, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Since completing the program in September, participants have continued to put their CLIL skills into practice in their own classrooms in Kiribati. The QI team keeps in touch with the Kiribati teachers and their students via Facebook groups. It’s not surprising to see that the smiles and positive energy the QI team witnessed during the program continue in the Kiribati classrooms today.

Thank you to the dedicated team of Teacher Educators and Advanced Diploma students at KTC. We hope your students continue to be happy, healthy, active in class and enjoy their lessons in English and Te Kiribati.

Kam rabwa ni kabane go kam na tekeraoi!

The Queensland Institute Pty Ltd gratefully acknowledges the support and program coordination by Cardno Emerging Markets (DT Global) and the Kiribati Education Improvement Program, sponsored by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Blog shared with permission from sponsors (13 Dec 2021).