STUDENT'S REFLECTIONS
TEACHER'S REFLECTIONS
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The CLAP project which we participated in enabled us to learn and understand a lot of things which would not be found in the books, for example, the technique of acting. Through this project, we gained a lot of precious experiencessuch as how to cooperate well with one another and as a team in order for the project to go smoothly. Besides that, it made us more confident than before and English lessons became more fun, intersting and enjoyable. Thus it made us look forward to English lessons as CLAP brought the joy and laughter to the class.
I enjoyed myself acting in the CLAP programme. It was fun and interesting. It was my first time acting. I felt proud when my video was shown in front of the whole school. Through this programme, we learnt the importance of speaking good English. Acting in this project was a fun and unforgettable experience and I hope to get a chance to act again.
We did your CLAP programme under the guidance of our English Teacher. We explored values like perseverance in our Literature text. This gave us a great opportunity to learn something new beyond the classroom. It was the first time the whole class worked together to finish a project. It was fun as we got to know each other better. The production boosted our confidence as we got to show our teacher our nice drawings.CLAP taught me a lot of things that can't be learnt from the textbooks
CLAP is an interesting and creative method to teach students English. Instead of the usual boring writing of compotisions and letters, we were given roles of actors, actresses and directors - something not many students in other schools get to do. For me, the actual filming of the movie was the most enjoyable. We made interesting discoveries of each others' wacky and weird personalities as well as their 'interesting' habits. Through CLAP, we bonded and got to know each other better as a class.
I enjoyed myself in the CLAP programme, although I did not take part in the acting part of it. The Digital workshop we had to attend on Videography gave us great insight into this industry.
It had been a really fun and enriching experience. I felt a sense of achievement when I saw my script and storyboard came to life. The fruits of our labor were indeed sweet as I heard the applause of the audience when the clip ended.
Rehearsing was not an easy task, but it went smoothly as all my group members were not only cooperative, but also very supportive of each other and took crtiticisms in their stride.
This CLAP Programme has allowed me to have the experience of being a director, as well as a script writer. It was really enjoyable and unforgettable.
Acting in front of a camera is not my cup of tea but this CLAP project made me come out of my shell. On the day of filming i was very nervous. I was lucky to have great group members who cheered me up and encouraged me. After a few minutes of filming, I got the hang of it and my nervousness reduced. I thank my teacher for helping me open up.
Drawing and making up stories for the storyboarding was fun. It helped me express my feelings on paper in an artistc and creative way. It also made me more aware of the surroundings as well as myself. I would not have known how well I could draw if not for the storyboarding assignment. In addition, it also helped in my interaction skills when group discussions were held.
A CLAP lesson is different from a normal lesson, as this is the first time we actually acted and were filmed. It was also the first time that we did scripting. The entire process was very enjoyable and interesting. We were also able to dress up and act. Memerozing the script was quite difficult and we felt very nerous when we were being filmed. Ofcourse, there were some blunders when we forgot our lines or acted wrongly. We were able to experience how other real media corp actors worked, but ofcourse, they had more lines compared to ours.
Our teacher combined Literature and English lessons for the CLAP programme and through that, we were able to understand our text better. Characterisation was made a lot simpler for us and our language skills improved a lot because we had to voice our thoughts very often in discussions. We also learnt the importance of teamwork.
The CLAP programme has taught me many things not covered in our textbooks. One example is the experience of acting in front of cameras and being the star of a show. There are many stages in CLAP, from brainstorming, storyboarding, scripting to filming. I enjoyed the storyboarding and scripting as it was during this time that our group gelled. In total, CLAP is definitely a more fun and innovative way to learn English.
I enjoyed myself acting, although I was only given a small role, I learnt that every role is important and required commitment from all involved for the film to be a success. CLAP was a tough process, from storyboarding, to filming and editing of our film and we would not have achieved anything great without the teacher's guidance. I have learnt a lot from the process and hope that there would be more opportunities to take part in other CLAP productions.
CLAP is a new way of teaching. Now, I really understand the words "teach less, learn more". CLAP has helped me to be more sociable and more confident in my speech. CLAP is about brainstorming and filming, which makes it different from the typical English lesson. In a way, CLAP has trainedme, unconciously, to speak well, significantly reducing my use of Singlish. It has also made me more outspoken, expressing my ideas and opinions openly. CLAP is the future of English language teaching.
At the start of Term 3, my 3E1 class and I embarked upon the C.L.A.P. journey. Our mission -- to highlight both 'positive' & 'negative' customer service in four typically Singaporeancontexts: the hawker centre, taxi service, the restaurant scene and last but not least, departmental stores. The class was divided up into eight groups, with each group made up of five individuals
We started off with the 'brainstorming' process whereby, collectively, we listed all of the favourable and not so favourable aspects of these four main areas of service. For example, many students put forward that they hated it when they came to hawker centres and saw tables littered with left over food. However, they loved it when they were able to have a really good chat with a taxi 'uncle' about the world at large. The groups then had to draw lots to determine which service area they were going to focus on and whether they would be portraying this level of service in a negative or positive light.
The scripting process came next, closely followed by storyboarding. I explained to the students in depth what was involved in each stage and they were also provided with fairly comprehensive notes. I was pleasantly surprised when i recivied their first drafts as a great amount of attention had been given to detail, the message had been clearly conveyed and best of all the storylines were most enjoyable. By the thrid draft, many of the groups had put together a 'sound' piece of work
When the students learnt more about storyboarding, they realized that it really helped them to fine tune certain areas of the script, in particular, the more difficult scenes. They also supplemented their storyboarding with appropriate camera angles for each scene and there was wonderful information provided on this topic in their English textbook in a chapter entitled, "Film Study"
Finally, it was time to film, The first few groups really went beyond the call of duty. For example, the two groups highlighting the negative and positive service within a restaurant brought in amazing props, and actual food, cool & hip attire and even their own music to create the required ambience. The filming process was fairly smooth because the students had memorized their lines and were also very keen to put their best foot forward. We have not filming as yetbut havehad a most memorable time thus far. I must also add at this point that it is wonderful having our very own 'Scene One Studio' to film in.
This unit of work has been most enjoyable because it is something 'different' and 'unique'. The students have certainly enjoyed every part of this learning journey as have I and we are all keen to do so much more of this!!!
EL Teacher of 3E1
2006
I was first introduced to the highly-acclaimed Camera, Lights and Action Programme (CLAP) in Greenridge Secondary School within a few weeks of my joining the school. During the orientation. I remember being wowed by the fact that the school possessed a spaking new film studio, fifth generation editing computers and even a blue wall for filming special effects. The only other time I had seen a blue wall was at the Movie World in Gold Goast, Australia.
Of course, I was also eager to see what the students could produce from such a studio that not many organizations have and how exactly one could teach English through film production. I was not disappointed. Students were introduced to different film genre, the differences between book and film and taught how to storyboard and write scripts. They were also taught different film techniques to incorporate into their storyboard cum shot list
It is a joy to see the lawyers-to-be animated in their discussions, budding authros critically revising their scripts, Vincent van Goghs meticulously sketchin, and the technologically-inclined only too eager to check out the camera. Every member contributes in his own way and plays a special role. I too have thoroughly enjoyed this journey of teaching and learning with the students
EL Teacher of 3E1
2007
I embarked on a CLAP journey with my form class 3E2 this year. Overall, it was rewarding for the students and myself as a teacher. It is a classic example of TLLM carried out in everyday classroom teaching
The class of 3E2 consists of bubbly and talented students who were elated at the thought of appearing and acting in front of the camera. This got them excited about English lessons and it came as a treat for them - a break from the norm of daily classroom teaching, like going out of the school for outdoor filming.
Most students felt that this was a good experience and I personally felt that it forced them out of their comfort zone to be better speakers of English. A lot of brainstorming and discussion took place in the process, which helped hone their oral skills too. CLAP also promotes teamwork and collaborative learning.
EL Teacher of 3E2
2006
The greater student engagement and interaction from CLAP in lessons gives us the confidence to incorporate it into our Overseas Community Involvement Project (CIP) to Cambodia 2008. We believe that CLAP is a useful tool which can be also be used to support teaching and learning beyond normal classroom lessons and curriculum:
During the pre-Cambodia workshop, CLAP comes in handy in ensuring students understand what they are expected to learn. Students were given video project with themes that are aligned to our learning objectives and as they are writing and storyboarding, they carried out research on Cambodia and the issues faced by its people, bringing about greater understanding of Cambodia and their learning objectives for the trip.
While going through the community service experience in Cambodia, students will also be made consciously aware of their learning points during the directing and filming of the news stories. Following our overseas CIP, CLAP will act as one of the means of reflections (other than journal writing) for our students to be used as a presentation to the school about their learning points and activities done during the trip.
EL Teacher of 3E2
2006