Hi boarders!
I’m Erika, another crafting-obsessed ALT. I often have downtime in between lessons and planning, and use it to work on my English board. Here’s what my board usually looks like:
I have a few regular features:
☆ Mailbox
My school is pretty low level, and many students are too shy to speak with me. In an attempt to overcome this fear, I made a mailbox where students can write letters or notes. I respond to each with simple sentences and many stickers. A small but dedicated group of third years (that I don’t teach) became regular pen pals, and one even gave me her home address to continue correspondence after she graduated!
☆ About me
I only teach the ichinensei and some ninensei, so I made a little self-introduction poster. I take it down if I need space for other posters and put it back up as a filler.
☆ Seasonal Poster
Many students are interested in American culture, so I make posters about holidays, culture, and other fun things. I always try to include something about how I celebrate the holiday – my students loved the pictures of me standing next to my Christmas tree!
I’m from Texas, so during sakura season I made a poster about Texas bluebonnets:
In December, I told students that if they wrote me letters, I’d give them a snowflake along with my reply letter:
☆ Word of the Week
Inspired by Claire’s amazing vocabulary boards, I decided to make my own. With limited space, however, I decided to capitalize on my love of penguins and make a Pingu themed Word of the Week poster with an interchangeable voacbulary page:
A Japanese teacher told me that some students are embarrassed to be seen looking at the English board, so I made flash card handouts in case it really is a social kiss of death to be seen looking at an English board.
My bulletin board is on a stairwell, so I also sometimes use the window for seasonal decorations:
Now that my school’s exams have started, I hope to make some new updates to the board!
~ Erika
