One important lesson I learnt from the main character , Rudolf Rassendyll , is to be brave in order to carry out our duties.
In Rudolf Rassendyll's case, because of his bravery , he was able to save the king even though it was very risky to do so especially because the traitor was the King's brother, Duke Michael. Duke Michael was a very powerful person in Ruritania and he had 6 villains working under him to do his dirty work. If he was not brave enough, he would not be able to enter the castle and save the King. In order to save the King , he had to fight and killed all the famous six except Rudolf of Hentzau who managed to escape.
After he agreed to save the King, he encountered many life-threatening experiences which nearly killed him. At one instance, at the summer house where he had entered alone after receiving the letter from Antoinette De Mauban, he was attacked by three of the famous six. They were Detchard, De Gautet and Bersonin. If he was not brave, he would not have gone there . However he was brave enough to go there and he succeeded in getting some information that would help him save the King.
So, being very brave is important to enable Rudolf Rassendyll to fulfill his promise to Colonel Sapt which is to save the king.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
LITERATURE - PRISONER OF ZENDA ... SAMPLE ANSWER
LITERATURE : PMR : ENGLISH / PAPER 2 / QUESTION 3
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA
1. What have you learnt from the story. Explain and give examples from the novel you have read.
I have learnt a lot from the novel “The Prisoner of Zenda”. Firstly, we should be loyal to our king and to our country even to the extent of sacrificing our lives. The doctor and Josef ,the servant are very brave and loyal to the King. They try to protect the king and sacrifice their lives in doing so. Rudolf Rassendyll is also very loyal to his duty. He initiates rescue plans to save the King even though he is in love with Princess Flavia and wants her for himself.
Col. Sapt and Fritz are also very loyal. They perform their duty with utmost devotion and obedience. They take full responsibility to protect the King’s throne.
This novel also taught us to be brave and confident. Rudolf Rassendyll is very brave and confident of himself. He is very bold to impersonate the King. He is also very brave to go after Rupert of Hentzau even though he is badly hurt.
I also learn that honour must come first in any situation. Princess Flavia puts honour before love. Even though she loves Rudolf Rassendyll very much , she is willing to sacrifice her love . She is a very loyal and honourable person .
2. Write about one of the themes in the novel that you have read.
Write about a moral value you can find in the novel.
One of the themes / moral values that we can find in the novel “Prisoner of Zenda” is bravery. Rudolf Rassendyll is a very brave and courageous person. He is very bold to impersonate the King. He is also very brave to go after Rupert of Hentzau even though he is badly hurt. During the coronation procession, he commands his guards to ride fifty yards ahead of him . He dares to ride alone even though he knows that it is very dangerous for him to do so.
Princess Flavia shows a different kind of bravery. She is emotionally brave. She is willing to sacrifice her love even though she loves Rudolf Rassendyll very much.
Josef and the doctor are not soldiers but they sacrifice their lives to protect the King and do not run away when there are dangers.
3. Explain why you find the novel interesting.
The novel “Prisoner of Zenda” is very interesting because it is full of adventures and I am happy to see that good triumphs over evil in the end. There is a lot of suspense as Duke Michael schemes to dethrone King Rudolf . I find his “Famous Six” bodyguards quite intimidating. They represent everything that is cruel, wicked, evil and made remarkable villains in the story.
I admire Princess Flavia for choosing duty and honour over love. It must be a very painful experience to give up the person she loves but she has done what is right and honourable. The real King needs her to help him rule Ruritania.
I find the exchange of the gift of a single red rose once a year a symbol of real love. It is a very touching and poignant moment in the story and it reminds us that true love needs sacrifices.
4 Write about a character that you dislike.
In the novel “The Prisoner of Zenda” , a character that I dislike the most is Duke of Michael. He is a very cruel person who has a secret ambition to usurp the throne and make himself the King of Ruritania.
He is merciless and ruthless towards anyone who gets in his way. He orders Rudolf to be killed. He is a devious schemer who is treacherous even to his own brother. He keeps his brother as a prisoner at Castle of Zenda.
He is also unfaithful in love, as evidenced by his courting of Antoinette de Mauban while planning to get Princess Flavia to marry him. He was extremely jealous of his brother, the King, who was betrothed to the beautiful Princess Flavia.
He is a coward and bully who hid behind his bodyguards , the Famous Six, to protect him as well as to carry out his ruthless plans.
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA
1. What have you learnt from the story. Explain and give examples from the novel you have read.
I have learnt a lot from the novel “The Prisoner of Zenda”. Firstly, we should be loyal to our king and to our country even to the extent of sacrificing our lives. The doctor and Josef ,the servant are very brave and loyal to the King. They try to protect the king and sacrifice their lives in doing so. Rudolf Rassendyll is also very loyal to his duty. He initiates rescue plans to save the King even though he is in love with Princess Flavia and wants her for himself.
Col. Sapt and Fritz are also very loyal. They perform their duty with utmost devotion and obedience. They take full responsibility to protect the King’s throne.
This novel also taught us to be brave and confident. Rudolf Rassendyll is very brave and confident of himself. He is very bold to impersonate the King. He is also very brave to go after Rupert of Hentzau even though he is badly hurt.
I also learn that honour must come first in any situation. Princess Flavia puts honour before love. Even though she loves Rudolf Rassendyll very much , she is willing to sacrifice her love . She is a very loyal and honourable person .
2. Write about one of the themes in the novel that you have read.
Write about a moral value you can find in the novel.
One of the themes / moral values that we can find in the novel “Prisoner of Zenda” is bravery. Rudolf Rassendyll is a very brave and courageous person. He is very bold to impersonate the King. He is also very brave to go after Rupert of Hentzau even though he is badly hurt. During the coronation procession, he commands his guards to ride fifty yards ahead of him . He dares to ride alone even though he knows that it is very dangerous for him to do so.
Princess Flavia shows a different kind of bravery. She is emotionally brave. She is willing to sacrifice her love even though she loves Rudolf Rassendyll very much.
Josef and the doctor are not soldiers but they sacrifice their lives to protect the King and do not run away when there are dangers.
3. Explain why you find the novel interesting.
The novel “Prisoner of Zenda” is very interesting because it is full of adventures and I am happy to see that good triumphs over evil in the end. There is a lot of suspense as Duke Michael schemes to dethrone King Rudolf . I find his “Famous Six” bodyguards quite intimidating. They represent everything that is cruel, wicked, evil and made remarkable villains in the story.
I admire Princess Flavia for choosing duty and honour over love. It must be a very painful experience to give up the person she loves but she has done what is right and honourable. The real King needs her to help him rule Ruritania.
I find the exchange of the gift of a single red rose once a year a symbol of real love. It is a very touching and poignant moment in the story and it reminds us that true love needs sacrifices.
4 Write about a character that you dislike.
In the novel “The Prisoner of Zenda” , a character that I dislike the most is Duke of Michael. He is a very cruel person who has a secret ambition to usurp the throne and make himself the King of Ruritania.
He is merciless and ruthless towards anyone who gets in his way. He orders Rudolf to be killed. He is a devious schemer who is treacherous even to his own brother. He keeps his brother as a prisoner at Castle of Zenda.
He is also unfaithful in love, as evidenced by his courting of Antoinette de Mauban while planning to get Princess Flavia to marry him. He was extremely jealous of his brother, the King, who was betrothed to the beautiful Princess Flavia.
He is a coward and bully who hid behind his bodyguards , the Famous Six, to protect him as well as to carry out his ruthless plans.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Writing it right
I find this article from the Star Online very interesting to be used by parents or teachers.....
Sunday June 12, 2011
Writing it right
By Keith W. Wright (The Star Online)
As it is difficult to unlearn bad writing habits later on, parents and teachers should work together to develop and improve children’s writing skills at home.
In this week’s Exploring English, the focus continues on suggestions for teaching English in the home. Last week, we looked at a number of ideas in relation to reading.
This week we will look at ideas to cultivate your child’s interest in writing and how to improve skills, as well as the value of the partnership between the classroom and the home.
Whether you are a parent or a teacher, when assisting children to develop or improve their writing skills, it is important to make any activity FUN!
As it is usually unwise to have to undo or unlearn something that has been wrongly learnt to begin with, correct punctuation should be used from the outset without making it a laborious and unpleasant exercise.
When writing words for your children – except for people’s names – it is recommended that lower case letters be used for ordinary words.
Capitals are only used for the start of words that are “important”, for example, the names of family members, people’s names, known places, such as addresses, streets, suburbs, towns, etc. When spelling the child’s own name, for example, spell it as “Bella”, not “BELLA” or “bella”.
Get your children to write about something they can see, feel, or like or that is known and common by using sentence starters. For example, get them to complete simple sentences:
I can see a .................
My friend is ....................
This is ......................
Our house .................
I live ........................
That is my ...................
By undertaking and completing these sentence starters, young children also feel that they can now write – just like “big people” – and they gain even greater enjoyment when they are encouraged to draw what they have written.
Graphics, pictures and drawings are excellent tools for teaching the meaning of words.
A child might not know what the word “eagle” says but when they see a picture of one in the air, they comprehend immediately that it is something that “flies”, i.e. it is a ”bird”. As it has been said for centuries, a picture can be worth a thousand words.
Here are some other positive ideas to encourage children to improve their writing skills:
·Encourage your children to write, copy and draw “special messages” such as, “I love Mummy and Daddy” as well as cards (which do not always have to say “Happy Birthday!”) to members of the family;
·Verbally and visually build on known base words, for example from “cat” to “cats”, “farm” to “farmer”, etc;
·Have rhyming-writing games where your child can learn more words and their meanings by relating words that rhyme, for example “band” > “hand” > “land” — “hat” > “mat” > “pat” > “rat” > “cat”, etc;
·Encourage the building of personal word lists, getting children to record them in a “My Special Words” booklet – e.g. the names of all their toys, the members of their family, things around the house, favourite foods, shopping lists, things they like to do, etc; and
·Start building descriptive group lists using common nouns, completing them from a list of relevant adjectives, for example, do simple “fill in the blank” exercises with your child such as the one shown below.
……………flower
…………… dog
……………knife
..…………. sky
(pretty – hungry – sharp – starry).
It is a proven fact that young learners achieve faster when their school is able to enter into an active, effective, partnership with the home and the local community, that is, with parents, carers, immediate and extended family members as well as community identities.
This is a two-way street and is recommended for both teachers and parents to get to know each other.
Helpful hints for teachers
·Involve parents in their child’s educational development;
·Get to know the parents by name, their occupation, their interests, their strengths and skills;
·Parents need to know what a child is being taught, and they usually want to know;
·Extend the “home” into the “classroom” by inviting parents into the classroom;
·Extend the “classroom” into the “home” by promoting the speaking of English at home with posters, magazines, comics, etc;
·Invite parents and relatives to talk to the class on subjects of interest, e.g. a particular sport; a place they have been to; a skill they have or just “join in” when they have the time;
·Involve parents who have English language skills as voluntary reading aides to assist in reading-related activities especially with learners who are finding reading activities challenging;
·Encourage parents to monitor, recognise, acknowledge and praise their child’s progress;
·Involve community identities in the teaching and learning process by contributing their skills, knowledge and experiences;
·Turn the community into a learning environment with
excursions and planned experiences such as visits to places of educational relevance, such as a medical centre, the weather bureau, the police station, the local council office, art galleries, museums, etc;
·Keep parents informed and involved by sending them weekly newsletters, e-mails about “What we did today”, photos, etc.
Next week, in the third and final part of this series, consideration will be given to skill of speaking.
> Keith Wright is the author and creator of the 4S Approach To Literacy and Language (4S) — a modern, innovative and proven method of accelerating the learning of English.
The 4S methodology and the associated Accelerated English Programme (AEP) mentioned in this fortnightly column are now being used internationally to enhance the English language proficiency of people from a diverse range of cultures and with different competency levels.
E-mail
contact@4Sliteracy.com.au for the second free set of five English Language Graphic Charts.
In this week’s Exploring English, the focus continues on suggestions for teaching English in the home. Last week, we looked at a number of ideas in relation to reading.
This week we will look at ideas to cultivate your child’s interest in writing and how to improve skills, as well as the value of the partnership between the classroom and the home.
Whether you are a parent or a teacher, when assisting children to develop or improve their writing skills, it is important to make any activity FUN!
As it is usually unwise to have to undo or unlearn something that has been wrongly learnt to begin with, correct punctuation should be used from the outset without making it a laborious and unpleasant exercise.
When writing words for your children – except for people’s names – it is recommended that lower case letters be used for ordinary words.
Capitals are only used for the start of words that are “important”, for example, the names of family members, people’s names, known places, such as addresses, streets, suburbs, towns, etc. When spelling the child’s own name, for example, spell it as “Bella”, not “BELLA” or “bella”.
Get your children to write about something they can see, feel, or like or that is known and common by using sentence starters. For example, get them to complete simple sentences:
I can see a .................
My friend is ....................
This is ......................
Our house .................
I live ........................
That is my ...................
By undertaking and completing these sentence starters, young children also feel that they can now write – just like “big people” – and they gain even greater enjoyment when they are encouraged to draw what they have written.
Graphics, pictures and drawings are excellent tools for teaching the meaning of words.
A child might not know what the word “eagle” says but when they see a picture of one in the air, they comprehend immediately that it is something that “flies”, i.e. it is a ”bird”. As it has been said for centuries, a picture can be worth a thousand words.
Here are some other positive ideas to encourage children to improve their writing skills:
·Encourage your children to write, copy and draw “special messages” such as, “I love Mummy and Daddy” as well as cards (which do not always have to say “Happy Birthday!”) to members of the family;
·Verbally and visually build on known base words, for example from “cat” to “cats”, “farm” to “farmer”, etc;
·Have rhyming-writing games where your child can learn more words and their meanings by relating words that rhyme, for example “band” > “hand” > “land” — “hat” > “mat” > “pat” > “rat” > “cat”, etc;
·Encourage the building of personal word lists, getting children to record them in a “My Special Words” booklet – e.g. the names of all their toys, the members of their family, things around the house, favourite foods, shopping lists, things they like to do, etc; and
·Start building descriptive group lists using common nouns, completing them from a list of relevant adjectives, for example, do simple “fill in the blank” exercises with your child such as the one shown below.
……………flower
…………… dog
……………knife
..…………. sky
(pretty – hungry – sharp – starry).
It is a proven fact that young learners achieve faster when their school is able to enter into an active, effective, partnership with the home and the local community, that is, with parents, carers, immediate and extended family members as well as community identities.
This is a two-way street and is recommended for both teachers and parents to get to know each other.
Helpful hints for teachers
·Involve parents in their child’s educational development;
·Get to know the parents by name, their occupation, their interests, their strengths and skills;
·Parents need to know what a child is being taught, and they usually want to know;
·Extend the “home” into the “classroom” by inviting parents into the classroom;
·Extend the “classroom” into the “home” by promoting the speaking of English at home with posters, magazines, comics, etc;
·Invite parents and relatives to talk to the class on subjects of interest, e.g. a particular sport; a place they have been to; a skill they have or just “join in” when they have the time;
·Involve parents who have English language skills as voluntary reading aides to assist in reading-related activities especially with learners who are finding reading activities challenging;
·Encourage parents to monitor, recognise, acknowledge and praise their child’s progress;
·Involve community identities in the teaching and learning process by contributing their skills, knowledge and experiences;
·Turn the community into a learning environment with
excursions and planned experiences such as visits to places of educational relevance, such as a medical centre, the weather bureau, the police station, the local council office, art galleries, museums, etc;
·Keep parents informed and involved by sending them weekly newsletters, e-mails about “What we did today”, photos, etc.
Next week, in the third and final part of this series, consideration will be given to skill of speaking.
> Keith Wright is the author and creator of the 4S Approach To Literacy and Language (4S) — a modern, innovative and proven method of accelerating the learning of English.
The 4S methodology and the associated Accelerated English Programme (AEP) mentioned in this fortnightly column are now being used internationally to enhance the English language proficiency of people from a diverse range of cultures and with different competency levels.
contact@4Sliteracy.com.au for the second free set of five English Language Graphic Charts.
Friday, May 20, 2011
TEACHERS' DAY CELEBRATION
Our school celebrated the teachers' day and workers' day on Friday, 20th May, 2011. It was successfully planned and organized. Congratulation to Irfan Zafran, Mozaffar Zoher and all the MKPs. The sketch and winn orchestra performance were quiet entertaining. All of us in the hall enjoyed the show. The games organized by the students were a success. Teachers , workers and students participated in the games. THey really enjoyed themselves. The games ended at 11.30 and continued with lunch and prize giving ceremony.
Monday, May 9, 2011
How I learn English?
Well, I remembered learning English at the age of 7. Still the real learning started when I was in Form 1. I still remembered how "jealous" I was with my friend whose uncle was generous enough to give her English story books as presents.
So how did I learn my English. Well , I have Mr Ong as my English teacher when I was in Form Five. During his time, we would always do exercises from the text book, and he will always be sitting at the teacher's table , marking our essays, I suppose.
Still my learning didn't stop there. I think it was my informal learning that helped me improve my English. For once, i had two pen-pals from Australia. They were Mandy Leigh Vale and i have forgotten the other one. We would always be writing to one another, exchanging gifts like T-shirts and so on. I love the friendship back then, it stopped when I furthered my studies overseas , in USA. She wrote to me, but i was too busy to reply back... I regret that.. Wonder where she is now..
Another thing I remember doing was reading novels. I loved reading novels... I could finish a 300 page book in only 2 to 3 days. Imagine reading while having my lunch or dinner, or way into the night.. Couldn't imagine those days???
Well, I have acquired a wide vocabulary then but one thing that i couldn't master was grammar. It was not until I took my KPLI course that I really learn my grammar. What I can say is that nobody likes grammar but it is very important that you learn it so that you can write well.....
That's all for now.....
So how did I learn my English. Well , I have Mr Ong as my English teacher when I was in Form Five. During his time, we would always do exercises from the text book, and he will always be sitting at the teacher's table , marking our essays, I suppose.
Still my learning didn't stop there. I think it was my informal learning that helped me improve my English. For once, i had two pen-pals from Australia. They were Mandy Leigh Vale and i have forgotten the other one. We would always be writing to one another, exchanging gifts like T-shirts and so on. I love the friendship back then, it stopped when I furthered my studies overseas , in USA. She wrote to me, but i was too busy to reply back... I regret that.. Wonder where she is now..
Another thing I remember doing was reading novels. I loved reading novels... I could finish a 300 page book in only 2 to 3 days. Imagine reading while having my lunch or dinner, or way into the night.. Couldn't imagine those days???
Well, I have acquired a wide vocabulary then but one thing that i couldn't master was grammar. It was not until I took my KPLI course that I really learn my grammar. What I can say is that nobody likes grammar but it is very important that you learn it so that you can write well.....
That's all for now.....
Lesson taught today...
What did I teach the students today?
Well, today it's all revision , but i also taught this technique called Power Writing. Maybe you have heard it somewhere or you could just surf the internet for more info. Still i think that what i taught today is something unique, taken from a book that i really like referring to... but sorry to say I forgot the title of the book.
This technique teaches the students to be more organized when writing. Organization in any essay is very important to ensure they get high marks.
What students must understand is that b3fore they start their essay they must already have organized their points.
(p2)For each point, they must elaborate it, ... i.e. elaborating each point and using connectors such as "besides", "the first benefit is ","another benefit is .." , "in addition", "next", etc.
(P3)For every point, there should be examples. To show the examples, connectors like "for examples", "such as", "for instance", "in other words" are used.
There might be more than one example for every point. So for every paragraph, there might be 2 or 3 examples.
A paragraph will look like this...
P1 Internet brings many benefits.
p2 One of the benefits is we can easily search for information.
p3 For example, to find more information on Thomas Edison , we can just type the name in the search box and the list of websites will appear on the screen. We can just click on any of the websites to get more information.
P3. In other words, finding information is as easy as abc.
P4. Thus, internet definitely helps us in making our life easier.
(P4 usually appears at the end of the essay / or paragraph - if there is only one paragraph).
So, a paragraph will look like this :
P1
P2
P3
P3
p4
An essay will look like this :
p1 Topic
p2 Point 1
p3 Example 1.1
p3 Example 1.2
p2 Point 2
P3 Example 2.1
p3 Example 2.2
p2 Point 3
P3 Example 3.1
p4 Conclusion
Any questions???
Well, today it's all revision , but i also taught this technique called Power Writing. Maybe you have heard it somewhere or you could just surf the internet for more info. Still i think that what i taught today is something unique, taken from a book that i really like referring to... but sorry to say I forgot the title of the book.
This technique teaches the students to be more organized when writing. Organization in any essay is very important to ensure they get high marks.
What students must understand is that b3fore they start their essay they must already have organized their points.
(p2)For each point, they must elaborate it, ... i.e. elaborating each point and using connectors such as "besides", "the first benefit is ","another benefit is .." , "in addition", "next", etc.
(P3)For every point, there should be examples. To show the examples, connectors like "for examples", "such as", "for instance", "in other words" are used.
There might be more than one example for every point. So for every paragraph, there might be 2 or 3 examples.
A paragraph will look like this...
P1 Internet brings many benefits.
p2 One of the benefits is we can easily search for information.
p3 For example, to find more information on Thomas Edison , we can just type the name in the search box and the list of websites will appear on the screen. We can just click on any of the websites to get more information.
P3. In other words, finding information is as easy as abc.
P4. Thus, internet definitely helps us in making our life easier.
(P4 usually appears at the end of the essay / or paragraph - if there is only one paragraph).
So, a paragraph will look like this :
P1
P2
P3
P3
p4
An essay will look like this :
p1 Topic
p2 Point 1
p3 Example 1.1
p3 Example 1.2
p2 Point 2
P3 Example 2.1
p3 Example 2.2
p2 Point 3
P3 Example 3.1
p4 Conclusion
Any questions???
Monday, May 2, 2011
Can water be affected by our words?
---
|
"A Good Husband "
The Good Husband
Jack wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Party. Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't taste like alcohol at all. He didn't even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong.
Jack had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose!! Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed.
He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick: "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to get groceries to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you, darling! Love, Jillian"
He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His 16 year old son is also at the table, eating. Jack asks, "Son.. what happened last night?"
"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door. Confused, he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??"
His son replies, "Oh THAT... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and When she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, I'm married!!"
Source : SMSTSP Alumni..
Jack wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Party. Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't taste like alcohol at all. He didn't even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong.
Jack had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose!! Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed.
He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick: "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to get groceries to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you, darling! Love, Jillian"
He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His 16 year old son is also at the table, eating. Jack asks, "Son.. what happened last night?"
"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door. Confused, he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??"
His son replies, "Oh THAT... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and When she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, I'm married!!"
Source : SMSTSP Alumni..
New Technology (2)
| How is it done... ie. Sending new post from our email? Well, first thing, you have to sign in to your blog. Then click at "Design" then "setting"; Under "Setting" menu; look at the "Email & Mobile"; under "Email notification" , you have "Posting Options".Add the secret word for the email posting address.. and walla!... You will have an email address where you can email your new post without having to sign in to your blog. MAKE SURE you save before leaving the page.. Good Luck. |
New technology...
| We should be grateful living in this world where technologies has become a normal thing in our lives. I am testing this post... it is sent from my email.. |
Visit by university students from Pattani , Thailand on 29 April 2011
At 2.30 pm , Friday, 29 April 2011, a group of university students and their lecturers came to our school and listened to the briefing about the school. Later, they visited the greenhouse, mushroom hut, and the school's rest house. .. Welcome to our new friends from Pattani....
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The much awaited for news by many government servants...
New system from July to assess govt servants
NST Online ; 2011/05/01
By Maizatul Ranai
KUALA LUMPUR: A new competency assessment system for civil servants is expected to be introduced in July.
Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman said the draft of the system, which is being drawn up to replace the competency level assessment (PTK) examination, was in its final stage.
"We are gathering views from organisations and government agencies on the new system."
The system will assess civil servants' performance.
Omar said it would suit each agency it assessed.
"For instance, a health inspector should know his competency level and do his best so he can be eligible for promotion.
"If he is not up to scratch, the department will send him for courses or training," he said at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang yesterday.
He said the new system was different from the previous examination, which measured the competency of civil servants without taking into account their roles.
"This created unhappiness among some civil servants as mediocre personnel were promoted when they passed the exam.
"This affected the morale of others, especially those who excelled in their jobs but failed the exam."
Omar said Cuepacs would meet representatives of ministries and government departments as well as the Public Service Department soon to discuss the new system's implementation.
The PTK examination had caused concern among civil servants as many questioned its effectiveness in recognising their abilities and skills for promotions.
Cuepacs had said that the exam questions were irrelevant to the work scope of those sitting the examination.
Introduced in 2002, PTK aimed to eliminate apple polishing and sought to ensure that only the qualified received recognition.
Read more: New system from July to assess govt servants http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/11cuep-2a/Article#ixzz1L6XW7QX5
NST Online ; 2011/05/01
By Maizatul Ranai
KUALA LUMPUR: A new competency assessment system for civil servants is expected to be introduced in July.
Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman said the draft of the system, which is being drawn up to replace the competency level assessment (PTK) examination, was in its final stage.
"We are gathering views from organisations and government agencies on the new system."
The system will assess civil servants' performance.
Omar said it would suit each agency it assessed.
"For instance, a health inspector should know his competency level and do his best so he can be eligible for promotion.
"If he is not up to scratch, the department will send him for courses or training," he said at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang yesterday.
He said the new system was different from the previous examination, which measured the competency of civil servants without taking into account their roles.
"This created unhappiness among some civil servants as mediocre personnel were promoted when they passed the exam.
"This affected the morale of others, especially those who excelled in their jobs but failed the exam."
Omar said Cuepacs would meet representatives of ministries and government departments as well as the Public Service Department soon to discuss the new system's implementation.
The PTK examination had caused concern among civil servants as many questioned its effectiveness in recognising their abilities and skills for promotions.
Cuepacs had said that the exam questions were irrelevant to the work scope of those sitting the examination.
Introduced in 2002, PTK aimed to eliminate apple polishing and sought to ensure that only the qualified received recognition.
Read more: New system from July to assess govt servants http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/11cuep-2a/Article#ixzz1L6XW7QX5
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Ways to improve your English
I am still waiting for this year's SYTRA TRIBUNE (2011 issue) to come out. THere's still no news and it is already end of April 2011.... Well, may be I have to wait until July to see the first issue for this year. I don't blame the students , they are so busy with what not... well, for one, this year, they are having the English Month... congratulation to them. Still , I think producing such bulletin should not be left behind. Iknow, it is quite difficult to handle so many things at once, yet , there are many other students who can do the job... Delegation of jobs is also very important when you are at the top. You don't or cannot do everything by yourself, so , delegate the work.. In this way, everything can be done and you will not be exhausted by the end of the day.
The main purpose of this bulletin is to give students the experience of reporting the events that happened every day in SMSTSP. Students will be exposed to journalism at an early age. This is a good exposure to them and of course it is one of the methods that can improve your English.
In Malaysia, an average student learns English for at least 11 years. If you are a Form 5 student, you have learnt the language for 11 years, but why aren’t you proficient in the language? Well, one main reason, in my opinion, is you never really use the language. You just learn it in class, but you don't practise it outside the class, at home, or at the hostel. . Of course, that is the main reason why students cannot improve on their proficiency level.
There are many theories that suggest this. Given below are proofs to my statement :
* Based upon the principles of Skinnerian behaviorism, RFT posits (suggests) that children acquire language purely through interacting with the environment.
RFT = The relational frame theory (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, Roche, 2001)
* “Children learn on average 10 to 15 new word meanings each day, but only one of these words can be accounted for by direct instruction. The other nine to 14 word meanings need to be picked up in some other way. “
source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition
This means that a language is acquired not only by learning it but also by practising it . To acquire a language , you need to be good in these four skills - Speaking, Reading, Writing and Listening.
So today, I would like to suggest to my students to use the language all the time. What you can do will be :
1. Read materials in English - story books, magazine, newspaper etc
2. Write as much as possible - I would suggest that you keep a diary - a journal of your thought or what happened to you.
3. Listen well, especially when you watch movies, try to listen and understand the dialogue.
4. Speak the language - what else are you going to use the language for - except to communicate with others.
Lastly, we should always remember a quotation from a chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu , "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" which means that you should take that first step to achieve what you want even though every step is painful or just too difficult for you. You should start now ! You should also practise using the language every day as mentioned in the idiom "Practice Makes Perfect" which means the more you practise, the better you will become.
So, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, keep taking steps.... even if they feel like baby steps! Good Luck !!!
The main purpose of this bulletin is to give students the experience of reporting the events that happened every day in SMSTSP. Students will be exposed to journalism at an early age. This is a good exposure to them and of course it is one of the methods that can improve your English.
In Malaysia, an average student learns English for at least 11 years. If you are a Form 5 student, you have learnt the language for 11 years, but why aren’t you proficient in the language? Well, one main reason, in my opinion, is you never really use the language. You just learn it in class, but you don't practise it outside the class, at home, or at the hostel. . Of course, that is the main reason why students cannot improve on their proficiency level.
There are many theories that suggest this. Given below are proofs to my statement :
* Based upon the principles of Skinnerian behaviorism, RFT posits (suggests) that children acquire language purely through interacting with the environment.
RFT = The relational frame theory (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, Roche, 2001)
* “Children learn on average 10 to 15 new word meanings each day, but only one of these words can be accounted for by direct instruction. The other nine to 14 word meanings need to be picked up in some other way. “
source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition
This means that a language is acquired not only by learning it but also by practising it . To acquire a language , you need to be good in these four skills - Speaking, Reading, Writing and Listening.
So today, I would like to suggest to my students to use the language all the time. What you can do will be :
1. Read materials in English - story books, magazine, newspaper etc
2. Write as much as possible - I would suggest that you keep a diary - a journal of your thought or what happened to you.
3. Listen well, especially when you watch movies, try to listen and understand the dialogue.
4. Speak the language - what else are you going to use the language for - except to communicate with others.
Lastly, we should always remember a quotation from a chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu , "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" which means that you should take that first step to achieve what you want even though every step is painful or just too difficult for you. You should start now ! You should also practise using the language every day as mentioned in the idiom "Practice Makes Perfect" which means the more you practise, the better you will become.
So, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, keep taking steps.... even if they feel like baby steps! Good Luck !!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Rukun Negara or Principles of Nationhood
The Rukun Negara or Principles of Nationhood consist of 5 principles.
It was officially introduced on 31 August 1970 in the hope that it would strengthen national unity in Malaysia's multicultural society. The declaration of the 5 principles has been formulated as follows:
Rukun Negara in English:
Our nation Malaysia is dedicated to
* Achieving a greater unity for all her peoples
* Maintaining a democratic way of life
* Creating a just nation shall be equitably distributed
* Ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural traditions, and
* Building a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern science and technology.
We, her peoples, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends guided by these principles:
1. Belief in God
2. Loyalty to King and country
3. Supremacy of the constitution
4. Rule of Law
5. Mutual respect and morality.
Rukun Negara in Malay:
Bahawasanya negara kita Malaysia mendukung cita-cita hendak:
* mencapai perpaduan yang lebih erat di kalangan seluruh masyarakatnya;
* memelihara satu cara hidup demokratik;
* mencipta satu masyarakat adil di mana kemakmuran Negara akan dapat dinikmati bersama secara adil dan saksama;
* menjamin satu cara liberal terhadap tradisi-tradisi kebudayaannya yang kaya dan berbagai corak; dan
* membina satu masyarakat progresif yang akan menggunakan sains dan teknologi moden.
Maka kami, rakyat Malaysia, berikrar akan menumpukan seluruh tenaga dan usaha kami untuk mencapai cita-cita tersebut berdasarkan atas prinsip-prinsip yang berikut :
* KEPERCAYAAN KEPADA TUHAN
* KESETIAAN KEPADA RAJA DAN NEGARA
* KELUHURAN PERLEMBAGAAN
* KEDAULATAN UNDANG-UNDANG
* KESOPANAN DAN KESUSILAAN
It was officially introduced on 31 August 1970 in the hope that it would strengthen national unity in Malaysia's multicultural society. The declaration of the 5 principles has been formulated as follows:
Rukun Negara in English:
Our nation Malaysia is dedicated to
* Achieving a greater unity for all her peoples
* Maintaining a democratic way of life
* Creating a just nation shall be equitably distributed
* Ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural traditions, and
* Building a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern science and technology.
We, her peoples, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends guided by these principles:
1. Belief in God
2. Loyalty to King and country
3. Supremacy of the constitution
4. Rule of Law
5. Mutual respect and morality.
Rukun Negara in Malay:
Bahawasanya negara kita Malaysia mendukung cita-cita hendak:
* mencapai perpaduan yang lebih erat di kalangan seluruh masyarakatnya;
* memelihara satu cara hidup demokratik;
* mencipta satu masyarakat adil di mana kemakmuran Negara akan dapat dinikmati bersama secara adil dan saksama;
* menjamin satu cara liberal terhadap tradisi-tradisi kebudayaannya yang kaya dan berbagai corak; dan
* membina satu masyarakat progresif yang akan menggunakan sains dan teknologi moden.
Maka kami, rakyat Malaysia, berikrar akan menumpukan seluruh tenaga dan usaha kami untuk mencapai cita-cita tersebut berdasarkan atas prinsip-prinsip yang berikut :
* KEPERCAYAAN KEPADA TUHAN
* KESETIAAN KEPADA RAJA DAN NEGARA
* KELUHURAN PERLEMBAGAAN
* KEDAULATAN UNDANG-UNDANG
* KESOPANAN DAN KESUSILAAN
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
English...o...English...
Below is an extract from a newspaper article...
An average of six out of 10 Malaysian graduates could not communicate effectively in English during interviews, she says.
“We have encountered many graduates who cannot speak or write proper English. Many are not able to transfer their academic knowledge or articulate their thoughts during interviews due to poor command of English and this has cost them jobs in the corporate sector.”
Graduates here also commonly make gross grammatical errors in their resumes, and some even use text messaging slang in their job applications, Norman adds.
An average of six out of 10 Malaysian graduates could not communicate effectively in English during interviews, she says.
“We have encountered many graduates who cannot speak or write proper English. Many are not able to transfer their academic knowledge or articulate their thoughts during interviews due to poor command of English and this has cost them jobs in the corporate sector.”
Graduates here also commonly make gross grammatical errors in their resumes, and some even use text messaging slang in their job applications, Norman adds.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Why invest in GOLD
Why invest in GOLD?
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/24/nation/8526721&sec=nation
Jamaluddin Khalid, the managing director of Saudagar Emas says many are turning to gold because of the higher returns.
The former bank officer of 20 years got into gold trading in 2009 after some research on the Internet. He recalls his friend making fun of him for selling “one-cent” coins (one dinar) for RM440 back then. But last year, his friend bought a dinar from him for RM580. Today, that one dinar is worth RM690.
“During the time of the prophets, one dinar could buy you a goat. Now, it can still buy one goat. After 1,500 years, it has still retained its value. Even gold dust is sought after these days,” he quips.
Jamaluddin got into the business after researching articles on the Internet. He borrowed money from close friends to start the business and has no regrets.
As a gold trader who doesn't have his own shop, Jamaluddin is wary of meeting anyone and only does it at places with CCTV cameras such as banks. He recalls an occasion when someone wanted to buy 1kg gold bars.
Jamaluddin suggested conducting business at a police station, but the person declined.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/24/nation/8526721&sec=nation
Jamaluddin Khalid, the managing director of Saudagar Emas says many are turning to gold because of the higher returns.
The former bank officer of 20 years got into gold trading in 2009 after some research on the Internet. He recalls his friend making fun of him for selling “one-cent” coins (one dinar) for RM440 back then. But last year, his friend bought a dinar from him for RM580. Today, that one dinar is worth RM690.
“During the time of the prophets, one dinar could buy you a goat. Now, it can still buy one goat. After 1,500 years, it has still retained its value. Even gold dust is sought after these days,” he quips.
Jamaluddin got into the business after researching articles on the Internet. He borrowed money from close friends to start the business and has no regrets.
As a gold trader who doesn't have his own shop, Jamaluddin is wary of meeting anyone and only does it at places with CCTV cameras such as banks. He recalls an occasion when someone wanted to buy 1kg gold bars.
Jamaluddin suggested conducting business at a police station, but the person declined.
That Special Edge
That special edge
The Star Online / Sunday April 10, 2011
COMMUNICATING in English is not the biggest concern for Universiti Teknologi Mara third year Law student Karl Rafiq Nadzarin when applying for a job or going for an interview.
“I am more worried about having the special edge over other interviewees,” says Karl.
Woon King Chai, a former student leader at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), also has no problem with English. His biggest concern when applying for a job is his level of readiness to work, he says.
“I worry about whether I'm well equipped with the knowledge to take on work responsibilities. To me, passing the communication test' (in job applications and during interviews) is just the first step in securing a job. More important is the ability to walk the talk' and actually perform in one's job.”
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan disagrees.
“While it is important to have a well-rounded set of skills, English proficiency is perhaps one of the most important criteria if you want to venture into the global market. If you do not have a good enough command of English, I think you have almost zero chance of succeeding in the global market. Increasingly, even local companies are demanding English proficiency too,” he argues.
He has seen many job applicants who sent in beautifully written application letters and resumes but when they attended interviews, their communication skills proved wanting, he elaborates.
“I start thinking that maybe they paid someone to write the application for them!”
The problem is the general communication skills, he adds.
“For an organisation that operates in both English and Malay like IDEAS, we are in double difficulty because it is very rare to have graduates who are competent in both English and Malay.”
Thus, he is advising graduates to brush up on their “professional” communication skills.
“If you can only speak in Malay, then make sure you can write professional Malay too.”
According to Barisan Nasional Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, employers who participated in the recent BN Youth Job Fair 2011 have found that the standard of English among the young is getting better.
Throngs of hopeful job seekers had the opportunity to attend “on-the-spot” job interviews at the fair, which saw some 650 companies and organisations offering more than 40,000 vacancies.
While agreeing that the standard is acceptable, one exhibitor who declines to be named nevertheless feels that it could be improved.
“As you can see, there are more who are communicating in Bahasa Malaysia. Many answered in BM even when I talked to them in English,” he says.
Khairy opines that we need to go back to school to boost the standard of English in the country, and subsequently the competitiveness of young Malaysians.
“The problem needs to be tackled at source. The teaching of English in schools needs to be improved. At the same time, universities need to offer free English classes to their students,” says Khairy.
For Karl, having a dynamic setting on campus that encourages critical thinking and a university management that is open to discussing current issues intellectually will do wonders in improving students' marketability.
This will naturally instill leadership qualities as well as expand students' minds, making them more attractive to future employers, he says.
Karl believes that while English is one of the most basic things for employability, students also need to be creative, inventive and bold to succeed in the job market.
Fortunately, although this (conducive environment) is lacking in most universities, students can still achieve it outside university, he points out. “It just depends on how much you want it.”
Woon agrees, saying: “I've always believed that a student's university life should not be judged solely by the degree obtained at the end of their studies, but rather by the various experiences or knowledge they pick up through co-curricular activities on and off campus.”
Ultimately, he adds, it is the student's responsibility to prepare for the competition in the global market.
Related Stories:
Minding our language
Top jobs only for those who know the language well
The Star Online / Sunday April 10, 2011
COMMUNICATING in English is not the biggest concern for Universiti Teknologi Mara third year Law student Karl Rafiq Nadzarin when applying for a job or going for an interview.
“I am more worried about having the special edge over other interviewees,” says Karl.
Woon King Chai, a former student leader at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), also has no problem with English. His biggest concern when applying for a job is his level of readiness to work, he says.
“I worry about whether I'm well equipped with the knowledge to take on work responsibilities. To me, passing the communication test' (in job applications and during interviews) is just the first step in securing a job. More important is the ability to walk the talk' and actually perform in one's job.”
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan disagrees.
“While it is important to have a well-rounded set of skills, English proficiency is perhaps one of the most important criteria if you want to venture into the global market. If you do not have a good enough command of English, I think you have almost zero chance of succeeding in the global market. Increasingly, even local companies are demanding English proficiency too,” he argues.
He has seen many job applicants who sent in beautifully written application letters and resumes but when they attended interviews, their communication skills proved wanting, he elaborates.
“I start thinking that maybe they paid someone to write the application for them!”
The problem is the general communication skills, he adds.
“For an organisation that operates in both English and Malay like IDEAS, we are in double difficulty because it is very rare to have graduates who are competent in both English and Malay.”
Thus, he is advising graduates to brush up on their “professional” communication skills.
“If you can only speak in Malay, then make sure you can write professional Malay too.”
According to Barisan Nasional Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, employers who participated in the recent BN Youth Job Fair 2011 have found that the standard of English among the young is getting better.
Throngs of hopeful job seekers had the opportunity to attend “on-the-spot” job interviews at the fair, which saw some 650 companies and organisations offering more than 40,000 vacancies.
While agreeing that the standard is acceptable, one exhibitor who declines to be named nevertheless feels that it could be improved.
“As you can see, there are more who are communicating in Bahasa Malaysia. Many answered in BM even when I talked to them in English,” he says.
Khairy opines that we need to go back to school to boost the standard of English in the country, and subsequently the competitiveness of young Malaysians.
“The problem needs to be tackled at source. The teaching of English in schools needs to be improved. At the same time, universities need to offer free English classes to their students,” says Khairy.
For Karl, having a dynamic setting on campus that encourages critical thinking and a university management that is open to discussing current issues intellectually will do wonders in improving students' marketability.
This will naturally instill leadership qualities as well as expand students' minds, making them more attractive to future employers, he says.
Karl believes that while English is one of the most basic things for employability, students also need to be creative, inventive and bold to succeed in the job market.
Fortunately, although this (conducive environment) is lacking in most universities, students can still achieve it outside university, he points out. “It just depends on how much you want it.”
Woon agrees, saying: “I've always believed that a student's university life should not be judged solely by the degree obtained at the end of their studies, but rather by the various experiences or knowledge they pick up through co-curricular activities on and off campus.”
Ultimately, he adds, it is the student's responsibility to prepare for the competition in the global market.
Related Stories:
Minding our language
Top jobs only for those who know the language well
WHY ENGLISH IS VITAL NOW AS BAHASA MELAYU IS TO MALAYSIAN......
Minding our language
By HARIATI AZIZAN and LEE YEN MUN
Sunday April 10, 2011
sunday@thestar.com.my
Proficiency in English is vital in today's world and Malaysia needs to arrest the decline urgently if it wants to remain competitive.
IT used to be easy for Malaysian students in Britain to get a part-time job or internship there.
An Engineering lecturer at a local public university who only wants to be known as Mar recalls how it was back then.
“Mention you are Malaysian and you will get one foot in the door. I remember one manager saying, Ah, we like Malaysians. They can speak English well, have no problem understanding instructions, not like other foreign students.'
“In fact, we spoke better English then than most Europeans. But, of course, that was in the 1980s.”
It was a different story when she went back to the UK to do her postgraduate studies in the late 1990s, she says.
“My thesis supervisor kept moaning about how the new batch of Malaysian students could not write or speak English well. He kept asking me what happened.”
The declining standard of English among the young in Malaysia has been well documented. For many years, many concerned stakeholders from employers, educationists and linguists to parents have voiced their concern.
However, with English being an important language of knowledge and global competition now, the need to arrest this decline has never been more urgent.
Recently, even former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad returned to the English soapbox, urging young Malaysians to master the language if they did not want to be left behind.
Steady decline
According to former Human Resource Minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, the decline in English among the young has been happening for more than two decades.
He relates his experience as an external examiner for Utar for Economics and Accountancy.
“In the 1980s, the standard of English in most of the answer scripts was still good but in the 1990s, there was a marked decline, so much so the examiners agreed to only assess the facts and leave the writing style and grammar alone. If they had marked the language as well, many of the students would have had low marks.”
While the declining standard of English in the country can mainly be attributed to policies that have not emphasised it in the education system, what is surprising is the lack of interest among the young to master the language, notes Dr Fong.
“Students need to realise that when they go out into the world, English is important and unless they brush up their skills, they will lock themselves from a big source of information and the latest developments in knowledge.”
Recently, the Higher Education Ministry's plans to increase the number of credit hours in English on campus were met with opposition from some students.
At Universiti Malaya, a group of students even called vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ghauth Jasmon a traitor for pushing for English and sent him a memorandum demanding for an apology and his resignation.
During his tenure as minister, says Dr Fong, the main complaint from employers was the standard of English among graduates.
This is confirmed by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
“The communication problem among school leavers, especially in English either in oral communication or writing is the biggest grouse among employers,” says MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan.
Various surveys on graduates' employability have found that English is their main weakness: many cannot speak or write proper English (Higher Education Ministry Survey 2008; World Bank Report 2005 on Malaysia Firm Competitiveness, Investment Climate and Growth among others).
This, he believes, is one reason they have difficulty getting jobs in the private sector.
Highlighting the Salary Survey for Executives 2010, which showed good communication skills as the main attribute sought by employers (68%), Shamsuddin says employers preferred to hire staff who could communicate well in English as globalisation has changed the current nature of jobs.
Today's workers have to deal with foreign companies and clients from all over the world, where the main language of communication is English.
“Today, we are not just talking about being proficient. Work demands have changed; you need to sell your company's products.
“In the old days, if you didn't want to talk so much, you could take courses like engineering. You just needed to do your work without talking to people. Now, even if you become an engineer, you will need to talk to clients and normally the common language is English,” he adds.
Shamsuddin describes students who oppose the use of English as being in denial.
“They refuse to see the importance of being proficient in the language. Instead of embracing it, they are saying it is not important.”
Malcolm Poole, director of multinational recruitment agency MRI Network Sdn Bhd, says a large firm or multinational is definitely more likely to hire an individual with better English communication and written skills.
“Employers look for talented people who can grow with the company, so business-level English becomes not just a preference, it makes it a must-have,” Poole explains.
With English being widely used by the business community both in Malaysia and internationally, it is important for Malaysian workers to master the language, notes Melissa Norman, managing director of Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd, one of the top headhunter agencies in the country.
She highlights the Kelly Global Workforce Index survey released in 2010, which also revealed communication skills as one of the top five most desired skills within the corporate sector.
The ability to converse adeptly in English has become a valued asset in today's world, reinforcing the importance of mastering English, stresses Norman.
But, she laments, “In today's labour market, waning communication skills are among some of the unspoken concerns among employers.”
The agency has found that an average of six out of 10 Malaysian graduates could not communicate effectively in English during interviews, she says.
“We have encountered many graduates who cannot speak or write proper English. Many are not able to transfer their academic knowledge or articulate their thoughts during interviews due to poor command of English and this has cost them jobs in the corporate sector.”
Graduates here also commonly make gross grammatical errors in their resumes, and some even use text messaging slang in their job applications, Norman adds.
The price of ignorance
Someone who knows too well the language problems among the younger workforce is Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur.
“In manufacturing, proficiency in English may not be as important as for someone working in the legal or financial field but we still need people who can communicate well because sometimes we need to send people out to negotiate deals and get contracts signed. If they cannot communicate well in English, we will lose out,” says Mustafa.
Unfortunately, many of the younger workers are not able to conduct a simple conversation in English, he laments.
“This leads to them having low confidence in using the language so they don't get involved in the discussions during meetings because they are afraid to talk.”
It makes them appear as “not as intelligent as they might be”, adds Dr Fong.
“Local employers complain that when our graduates attend interviews, meetings or conferences, they cannot put across their ideas, so they are made to look less smart when actually, knowledge-wise, they are comparable to any graduate from the rest of the world.”
Lacking in communication skills is no longer acceptable in today's world, Shamsuddin stresses.
“Basically, before the advent of the Internet and ICT, we (business community) communicated by letter. It took some time, so those who were not proficient in the language could ask someone who was more fluent to write their letters and notes.”
Now, correspondence is immediate, direct and fast. “So, you need to be proficient. If you cannot communicate in English, then possibly it will be some time before you can get a reply out and you will lose out in today's world.”
It is also essential for young workers to keep up with the latest developments in knowledge especially in science and technology, and unless they know another foreign language Mandarin, German, or Japanese for example the young need to know English, adds Shamsuddin.
“English is the language of knowledge as well as of the Internet. There is translation but it will take some time and before they can reach the targeted audience, the knowledge would have changed.”
More importantly, he adds, when employers recruit someone, they expect the new employee to hit the ground running and contribute straight away.
“They cannot afford to hire someone who is not able to communicate well. It is costly.”
Across the board
While the worry is over graduates and undergraduates, says FMM past president Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, there is an even bigger group that needs to be addressed.
“We need to be reminded that the vast majority of school leavers who are not equipped with a satisfactory level of competency in English enter the labour market and are mainly absorbed into the services, manufacturing and public sector, including as teachers of our young in schools.”
Yong, who is also co-chair of Pemudah (Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business), reminds that effective communication is crucial not only in the corporate and business world but also in the government sector.
Long a moot point, particularly for those in the diplomatic circle, the opening of borders due to the advent of technology means that more and more public sector workers need to interact as global citizens.
We need civil servants who can articulate Malaysia's stand on issues internationally, including conducting negotiations on important agreements such as trade agreements, says Yong.
“Civil servants today do not only need to interact with overseas customers, visiting experts or delegations but must also attend overseas conferences, seminars as well as trade and technical fairs, all of which are in English.
“Their low proficiency in English has affected Malaysia's ability to compete in global markets as well as a destination for investment,” argues Yong.
Mustafa agrees, saying: “We are losing out in the global arena. We definitely need more good communicators who can negotiate for better trade deals and investments. As it is, our global competitiveness is low.”
More worrying, says Dr Fong, is we are even losing out to our neighbours who seem to have improved their level of English in the last decade.
“Our representatives used to be first choice to head committees at international events. But I have noticed that at many international events I attended, representatives from Thailand, Indonesia and China are beating us as they speak better English.”
Related Stories:
Top jobs only for those who know the language well
That special edge
By HARIATI AZIZAN and LEE YEN MUN
Sunday April 10, 2011
sunday@thestar.com.my
Proficiency in English is vital in today's world and Malaysia needs to arrest the decline urgently if it wants to remain competitive.
IT used to be easy for Malaysian students in Britain to get a part-time job or internship there.
An Engineering lecturer at a local public university who only wants to be known as Mar recalls how it was back then.
“Mention you are Malaysian and you will get one foot in the door. I remember one manager saying, Ah, we like Malaysians. They can speak English well, have no problem understanding instructions, not like other foreign students.'
“In fact, we spoke better English then than most Europeans. But, of course, that was in the 1980s.”
It was a different story when she went back to the UK to do her postgraduate studies in the late 1990s, she says.
“My thesis supervisor kept moaning about how the new batch of Malaysian students could not write or speak English well. He kept asking me what happened.”
The declining standard of English among the young in Malaysia has been well documented. For many years, many concerned stakeholders from employers, educationists and linguists to parents have voiced their concern.
However, with English being an important language of knowledge and global competition now, the need to arrest this decline has never been more urgent.
Recently, even former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad returned to the English soapbox, urging young Malaysians to master the language if they did not want to be left behind.
Steady decline
According to former Human Resource Minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, the decline in English among the young has been happening for more than two decades.
He relates his experience as an external examiner for Utar for Economics and Accountancy.
“In the 1980s, the standard of English in most of the answer scripts was still good but in the 1990s, there was a marked decline, so much so the examiners agreed to only assess the facts and leave the writing style and grammar alone. If they had marked the language as well, many of the students would have had low marks.”
While the declining standard of English in the country can mainly be attributed to policies that have not emphasised it in the education system, what is surprising is the lack of interest among the young to master the language, notes Dr Fong.
“Students need to realise that when they go out into the world, English is important and unless they brush up their skills, they will lock themselves from a big source of information and the latest developments in knowledge.”
Recently, the Higher Education Ministry's plans to increase the number of credit hours in English on campus were met with opposition from some students.
At Universiti Malaya, a group of students even called vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ghauth Jasmon a traitor for pushing for English and sent him a memorandum demanding for an apology and his resignation.
During his tenure as minister, says Dr Fong, the main complaint from employers was the standard of English among graduates.
This is confirmed by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
“The communication problem among school leavers, especially in English either in oral communication or writing is the biggest grouse among employers,” says MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan.
Various surveys on graduates' employability have found that English is their main weakness: many cannot speak or write proper English (Higher Education Ministry Survey 2008; World Bank Report 2005 on Malaysia Firm Competitiveness, Investment Climate and Growth among others).
This, he believes, is one reason they have difficulty getting jobs in the private sector.
Highlighting the Salary Survey for Executives 2010, which showed good communication skills as the main attribute sought by employers (68%), Shamsuddin says employers preferred to hire staff who could communicate well in English as globalisation has changed the current nature of jobs.
Today's workers have to deal with foreign companies and clients from all over the world, where the main language of communication is English.
“Today, we are not just talking about being proficient. Work demands have changed; you need to sell your company's products.
“In the old days, if you didn't want to talk so much, you could take courses like engineering. You just needed to do your work without talking to people. Now, even if you become an engineer, you will need to talk to clients and normally the common language is English,” he adds.
Shamsuddin describes students who oppose the use of English as being in denial.
“They refuse to see the importance of being proficient in the language. Instead of embracing it, they are saying it is not important.”
Malcolm Poole, director of multinational recruitment agency MRI Network Sdn Bhd, says a large firm or multinational is definitely more likely to hire an individual with better English communication and written skills.
“Employers look for talented people who can grow with the company, so business-level English becomes not just a preference, it makes it a must-have,” Poole explains.
With English being widely used by the business community both in Malaysia and internationally, it is important for Malaysian workers to master the language, notes Melissa Norman, managing director of Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd, one of the top headhunter agencies in the country.
She highlights the Kelly Global Workforce Index survey released in 2010, which also revealed communication skills as one of the top five most desired skills within the corporate sector.
The ability to converse adeptly in English has become a valued asset in today's world, reinforcing the importance of mastering English, stresses Norman.
But, she laments, “In today's labour market, waning communication skills are among some of the unspoken concerns among employers.”
The agency has found that an average of six out of 10 Malaysian graduates could not communicate effectively in English during interviews, she says.
“We have encountered many graduates who cannot speak or write proper English. Many are not able to transfer their academic knowledge or articulate their thoughts during interviews due to poor command of English and this has cost them jobs in the corporate sector.”
Graduates here also commonly make gross grammatical errors in their resumes, and some even use text messaging slang in their job applications, Norman adds.
The price of ignorance
Someone who knows too well the language problems among the younger workforce is Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur.
“In manufacturing, proficiency in English may not be as important as for someone working in the legal or financial field but we still need people who can communicate well because sometimes we need to send people out to negotiate deals and get contracts signed. If they cannot communicate well in English, we will lose out,” says Mustafa.
Unfortunately, many of the younger workers are not able to conduct a simple conversation in English, he laments.
“This leads to them having low confidence in using the language so they don't get involved in the discussions during meetings because they are afraid to talk.”
It makes them appear as “not as intelligent as they might be”, adds Dr Fong.
“Local employers complain that when our graduates attend interviews, meetings or conferences, they cannot put across their ideas, so they are made to look less smart when actually, knowledge-wise, they are comparable to any graduate from the rest of the world.”
Lacking in communication skills is no longer acceptable in today's world, Shamsuddin stresses.
“Basically, before the advent of the Internet and ICT, we (business community) communicated by letter. It took some time, so those who were not proficient in the language could ask someone who was more fluent to write their letters and notes.”
Now, correspondence is immediate, direct and fast. “So, you need to be proficient. If you cannot communicate in English, then possibly it will be some time before you can get a reply out and you will lose out in today's world.”
It is also essential for young workers to keep up with the latest developments in knowledge especially in science and technology, and unless they know another foreign language Mandarin, German, or Japanese for example the young need to know English, adds Shamsuddin.
“English is the language of knowledge as well as of the Internet. There is translation but it will take some time and before they can reach the targeted audience, the knowledge would have changed.”
More importantly, he adds, when employers recruit someone, they expect the new employee to hit the ground running and contribute straight away.
“They cannot afford to hire someone who is not able to communicate well. It is costly.”
Across the board
While the worry is over graduates and undergraduates, says FMM past president Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, there is an even bigger group that needs to be addressed.
“We need to be reminded that the vast majority of school leavers who are not equipped with a satisfactory level of competency in English enter the labour market and are mainly absorbed into the services, manufacturing and public sector, including as teachers of our young in schools.”
Yong, who is also co-chair of Pemudah (Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business), reminds that effective communication is crucial not only in the corporate and business world but also in the government sector.
Long a moot point, particularly for those in the diplomatic circle, the opening of borders due to the advent of technology means that more and more public sector workers need to interact as global citizens.
We need civil servants who can articulate Malaysia's stand on issues internationally, including conducting negotiations on important agreements such as trade agreements, says Yong.
“Civil servants today do not only need to interact with overseas customers, visiting experts or delegations but must also attend overseas conferences, seminars as well as trade and technical fairs, all of which are in English.
“Their low proficiency in English has affected Malaysia's ability to compete in global markets as well as a destination for investment,” argues Yong.
Mustafa agrees, saying: “We are losing out in the global arena. We definitely need more good communicators who can negotiate for better trade deals and investments. As it is, our global competitiveness is low.”
More worrying, says Dr Fong, is we are even losing out to our neighbours who seem to have improved their level of English in the last decade.
“Our representatives used to be first choice to head committees at international events. But I have noticed that at many international events I attended, representatives from Thailand, Indonesia and China are beating us as they speak better English.”
Related Stories:
Top jobs only for those who know the language well
That special edge
I am in tears.... LOL
I am in tears !!!!............from LOL.
________________________________________
Ah Beng bought a new mobile.
He sent a message to everyone from his Phone Book & said,
'My Mobile No. has changed. Earlier it was Nokia 3310. Now it is 6610'
Ah Beng: I am a Proud, coz my son is in Medical College.
Friend: Really, what is he studying?
Ah Beng: No, he is not studying, they are studying him.
Ah Beng: Doctor, in my dreams, I play football every night.
DR: Take this tablet, you will be ok.
Ah Beng: Can I take tomorrow, tonight is final game.
Ah Beng: If I die, will u remarry?
Wife: No! I'll stay with my sister. But if I die will u remarry?
Ah Beng: No, I'll also stay with your sister.
Ah Beng: People consider me as a 'GOD'
Wife: How do you know??
Ah Beng: When I went to the Park today, everybody said, Oh GOD! U have
come again.
Ah Beng complained to the police: 'Sir, all items are missing, except
the TV in my house.'
Police: 'How the thief did not take TV?'
Ah Beng: 'I was watching TV news'
Ah Beng comes back to his car & find a note saying 'Parking Fine' He
writes a note and sticks it to a pole 'Thanks for complement.'
How do you recognize Ah Beng in School?
He is the one who erases the notes from the book when the teacher
erases the board.
Once Ah Beng was walking he had a glove on one hand and not on other.
So the man asked him why he did so. He replied that the weather
forecast announced that on one hand it would be cold and on the other
hand it would be hot.
Ah Beng in a bar and his cellular phone rings. He picks it up and says
'Hello, how did you know I was here?'
Ah Beng: Why are all these people running?
Man - This is a race, the winner will get the cup.
Ah Beng - If only the winner will get the cup, why others running?
Teacher: 'I killed a person' convert this sentence into future tense.
Ah Beng: The future tense is 'u will go to jail'
Ah Beng told his servant: 'Go and water the plants!'
Servant: 'It's already raining.'
Ah Beng: 'So what? Take an umbrella and go.'
source : unknown
________________________________________
Ah Beng bought a new mobile.
He sent a message to everyone from his Phone Book & said,
'My Mobile No. has changed. Earlier it was Nokia 3310. Now it is 6610'
Ah Beng: I am a Proud, coz my son is in Medical College.
Friend: Really, what is he studying?
Ah Beng: No, he is not studying, they are studying him.
Ah Beng: Doctor, in my dreams, I play football every night.
DR: Take this tablet, you will be ok.
Ah Beng: Can I take tomorrow, tonight is final game.
Ah Beng: If I die, will u remarry?
Wife: No! I'll stay with my sister. But if I die will u remarry?
Ah Beng: No, I'll also stay with your sister.
Ah Beng: People consider me as a 'GOD'
Wife: How do you know??
Ah Beng: When I went to the Park today, everybody said, Oh GOD! U have
come again.
Ah Beng complained to the police: 'Sir, all items are missing, except
the TV in my house.'
Police: 'How the thief did not take TV?'
Ah Beng: 'I was watching TV news'
Ah Beng comes back to his car & find a note saying 'Parking Fine' He
writes a note and sticks it to a pole 'Thanks for complement.'
How do you recognize Ah Beng in School?
He is the one who erases the notes from the book when the teacher
erases the board.
Once Ah Beng was walking he had a glove on one hand and not on other.
So the man asked him why he did so. He replied that the weather
forecast announced that on one hand it would be cold and on the other
hand it would be hot.
Ah Beng in a bar and his cellular phone rings. He picks it up and says
'Hello, how did you know I was here?'
Ah Beng: Why are all these people running?
Man - This is a race, the winner will get the cup.
Ah Beng - If only the winner will get the cup, why others running?
Teacher: 'I killed a person' convert this sentence into future tense.
Ah Beng: The future tense is 'u will go to jail'
Ah Beng told his servant: 'Go and water the plants!'
Servant: 'It's already raining.'
Ah Beng: 'So what? Take an umbrella and go.'
source : unknown
Life is a gift
Life Is a Gift
Today before you say an unkind word -
Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food -
Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife -
Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life -
Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
Before whining about the distance you drive
Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job -
Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down -
Put a smile on your face and think:
you're alive and still around.
Today before you say an unkind word -
Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food -
Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife -
Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life -
Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
Before whining about the distance you drive
Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job -
Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down -
Put a smile on your face and think:
you're alive and still around.
Life is a gift
Life Is a Gift
Today before you say an unkind word -
Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food -
Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife -
Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life -
Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
Before whining about the distance you drive
Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job -
Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down -
Put a smile on your face and think:
you're alive and still around.
Source : unknown
Today before you say an unkind word -
Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food -
Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife -
Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life -
Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
Before whining about the distance you drive
Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job -
Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down -
Put a smile on your face and think:
you're alive and still around.
Source : unknown
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Good Samaritans
A week has passed... What did i do this week. Well, on Monday, Pn Zarina and I went to SMK Putra. It was a very pleasant day there, being well received by the teachers there even though our visit was not planned, actually we just went there to observe the "Titian Kasih" Programme. We were supposed to hold the same programme here, but when we got there, after making our rounds, we were told by one of the teachers there that the 'visit" to our school "might" be cancelled. Luckily we went to the school, if not, we would be preparing for something which would be cancelled. What can we say... nothing... . Still I am quite happy to be able to go there and watch the preparations. Another thing is i am also happy that i got to know a fellow teacher whose daughter is in our school, and i am teaching her daughter. Well, now i get to know her better, coz by knowing her mother, i feel closer to the daughter, my student. Before this i didn't really notice her because she is a quiet type of person, but now i can recognize her, know her name, even "see" her as I should. Actually nowadays teachers are too busy, having too many students, and too many teaching hours that they could not do everything as perfectly as they would want to do.
Another good thing that happened to me was now I realise that there are still many good samaritans in this world. My daughter's car had some problems along the Changlun Arau highway and if not for 2 good samaritans, she would be crying alone at the highway. It was a very lucky day for her.
Another good thing that happened to me was now I realise that there are still many good samaritans in this world. My daughter's car had some problems along the Changlun Arau highway and if not for 2 good samaritans, she would be crying alone at the highway. It was a very lucky day for her.
Choosing which question to answer in CW, paper 1 SPM English
For me, if you are teaching weak or average students, may be it would be easier to teach and ask them to choose Narrative Essay. There are a few reasons why I say this..........
As mentioned by Fatimi Estar in her blog, it is better if you write a story because your errors (grammar, spelling, sentence structures and so on) will not be so glaring in a story compared to a factual essay.
In addition to that we should also write about something real and close to us. This is also true if we are going to write a speech. The best speech would be the speech that tells about our own experience and perception. By doing this , we will be able to touch the heart of the listeners since we are telling what we , ourselves, experience.
There is a related technique called Sheikh Fadzir's characteristic which we usein our school. Students are asked to memorize certain descriptions of the weather, night, day, stormy weather, characteristic etc. Then they are asked to think of certain stories .. then when you are given the CW question, you already have a general idea of what your essay is going to be, with all the description of the characters involved, the description of the weather - be it night or day, stormy weather etc.. You have to memorize all this. Given any phrases (intro or ending of a story), you just have to adopt the phrases that you have memorised and adapt them to your story. Walla.... now you got a very good narrative essay complete with detailed descriptions of the characters, weather ,etc...
This is similar to what Fatimi Estar said in her blog "Prepare a story in advance. Write a story about two pages length; do not write to long because it will make the examiner spend longer time to read and mark your essay, which is quite annoying. Ask your teacher to check the grammar and the sentence structure. Then, memorize everything. Make sure that when you enter the exam hall, you have a story in your mind. Do not go there empty-headed; you will waste a lot of your precious time thinking on what to write on the spot. When you get the question paper, what you have to do is to adjust and adapt the story in your head to the question. Usually the question will ask you to write "a story beginning with..." or "a story ending with...". So, be smart and creative."
But then, if you choose to answer the one word essay. It is also the next choice. The one-word essay is quite flexible as it allows you to decide which type of essay you are going to write about.
Take the topic ‘Beauty’. If you choose to write an expository essay, you can write about what women do to look beautiful, e.g. women’s quest for beauty through plastic surgery.
If you choose to write a narrative essay, you can narrate a story related to loss of outer beauty. And if you choose to write a descriptive essay, you can focus on describing things of beauty.
ref: The Star Online, http://fatimiestar.blogspot.com
As mentioned by Fatimi Estar in her blog, it is better if you write a story because your errors (grammar, spelling, sentence structures and so on) will not be so glaring in a story compared to a factual essay.
In addition to that we should also write about something real and close to us. This is also true if we are going to write a speech. The best speech would be the speech that tells about our own experience and perception. By doing this , we will be able to touch the heart of the listeners since we are telling what we , ourselves, experience.
There is a related technique called Sheikh Fadzir's characteristic which we usein our school. Students are asked to memorize certain descriptions of the weather, night, day, stormy weather, characteristic etc. Then they are asked to think of certain stories .. then when you are given the CW question, you already have a general idea of what your essay is going to be, with all the description of the characters involved, the description of the weather - be it night or day, stormy weather etc.. You have to memorize all this. Given any phrases (intro or ending of a story), you just have to adopt the phrases that you have memorised and adapt them to your story. Walla.... now you got a very good narrative essay complete with detailed descriptions of the characters, weather ,etc...
This is similar to what Fatimi Estar said in her blog "Prepare a story in advance. Write a story about two pages length; do not write to long because it will make the examiner spend longer time to read and mark your essay, which is quite annoying. Ask your teacher to check the grammar and the sentence structure. Then, memorize everything. Make sure that when you enter the exam hall, you have a story in your mind. Do not go there empty-headed; you will waste a lot of your precious time thinking on what to write on the spot. When you get the question paper, what you have to do is to adjust and adapt the story in your head to the question. Usually the question will ask you to write "a story beginning with..." or "a story ending with...". So, be smart and creative."
But then, if you choose to answer the one word essay. It is also the next choice. The one-word essay is quite flexible as it allows you to decide which type of essay you are going to write about.
Take the topic ‘Beauty’. If you choose to write an expository essay, you can write about what women do to look beautiful, e.g. women’s quest for beauty through plastic surgery.
If you choose to write a narrative essay, you can narrate a story related to loss of outer beauty. And if you choose to write a descriptive essay, you can focus on describing things of beauty.
ref: The Star Online, http://fatimiestar.blogspot.com
Common Errors when writing essays..
Common errors
Some common errors with directed and continuous writing are long introductions. An introduction should be one paragraph long. Some students tend to write two or three paragraphs. Sometimes you have many ideas but you have to be selective. You need to decide which to include and which to discard.
Some students often use incomplete sentences in their essays. Remember, every English sentence must have at least a subject and a verb, e.g. He ran. However, some students forget this and often use sentences without a subject or a verb.
Here are some examples:
i. The major cause speeding.
We can use such sentences in spoken English but not in the written form as the latter is more formal. This sentence can be written in several ways. One example: Speeding is one of the major causes of road accidents. (‘Speeding’ - subject, ‘is’ - verb, one of the major causes of road accidents - complement)
ii. My mother never lets me do the things I enjoy. For example, swimming, mountain climbing.
The second part of the sentence is incomplete. This sentence should be written, My mother never lets me do the things I enjoy such as swimming and mountain climbing.
iii. His partially grey hair and half moon glasses.
In this sentence, obviously something else is missing other than the verb. It should read, His partially grey hair and half moon glasses reminded me of my grandfather.
> Inconsistent use of pronoun
You should always check the expiry date of any food item you purchase. We must make this a habit whenever we go shopping.
Here the pronoun you is used in the first sentence but in the second it is changed to we. Remember to use the same pronoun throughout your essay.
> Incorrect placement of adverb ‘also’ with a modal verb
You also can cut down on sugar intake./ They also must get approval from the authorities/ We also should inform the authorities.
Here the adverb ‘also ‘ should come after the modal verb. It should read You can also…/ They must also…/ We should also…
> Incorrect usage of adverb ‘In conclusion’
Many students and adults make the mistake of using the phrase ‘As a conclusion’.
It should be ‘In conclusion’.
Source : The Star, Sunday September 21, 2008
SPM ENGLISH WITH JUGDEEP KAUR GILL
Some common errors with directed and continuous writing are long introductions. An introduction should be one paragraph long. Some students tend to write two or three paragraphs. Sometimes you have many ideas but you have to be selective. You need to decide which to include and which to discard.
Some students often use incomplete sentences in their essays. Remember, every English sentence must have at least a subject and a verb, e.g. He ran. However, some students forget this and often use sentences without a subject or a verb.
Here are some examples:
i. The major cause speeding.
We can use such sentences in spoken English but not in the written form as the latter is more formal. This sentence can be written in several ways. One example: Speeding is one of the major causes of road accidents. (‘Speeding’ - subject, ‘is’ - verb, one of the major causes of road accidents - complement)
ii. My mother never lets me do the things I enjoy. For example, swimming, mountain climbing.
The second part of the sentence is incomplete. This sentence should be written, My mother never lets me do the things I enjoy such as swimming and mountain climbing.
iii. His partially grey hair and half moon glasses.
In this sentence, obviously something else is missing other than the verb. It should read, His partially grey hair and half moon glasses reminded me of my grandfather.
> Inconsistent use of pronoun
You should always check the expiry date of any food item you purchase. We must make this a habit whenever we go shopping.
Here the pronoun you is used in the first sentence but in the second it is changed to we. Remember to use the same pronoun throughout your essay.
> Incorrect placement of adverb ‘also’ with a modal verb
You also can cut down on sugar intake./ They also must get approval from the authorities/ We also should inform the authorities.
Here the adverb ‘also ‘ should come after the modal verb. It should read You can also…/ They must also…/ We should also…
> Incorrect usage of adverb ‘In conclusion’
Many students and adults make the mistake of using the phrase ‘As a conclusion’.
It should be ‘In conclusion’.
Source : The Star, Sunday September 21, 2008
SPM ENGLISH WITH JUGDEEP KAUR GILL
Writing a Speech
Source : The Star Online Sunday October 3, 2010
SPM ENGLISH: By JUGDEEP KAUR
Sample question.
You recently won the ‘Best Student Award’ in your school. You have been asked to give a talk during assembly to share tips with the other students on what they need to do so that they too can become successful students.
Use the following notes to write your speech.
Suggestions
•set goals
•be motivated
•pay attention
•ask questions
•be organised
•complete homework on time
•prepare well for exams
•take part in co-curricular activities
•obey school rules
•respect everyone
Avoid
•wasting time
•skipping school
When writing out your speech, you should remember to:
•address your audience
•state the purpose of the speech
•use all the points given
•end your speech appropriately
Here is a sample answer.
A very good morning to our beloved principal, Pn Laila Mohd Noor, senior assistants, teachers and friends. On this glorious morning, I, Gary Tan the recipient of this year’s “Best Student Award” am going to give a talk on “How to Become a Successful Student”. In my speech, I am going to share with you some tips on how you can be a successful student.
If you want to be successful, you must set goals. Research shows that people who set goals accomplish more than those who do not. In deciding your goals, ask yourself “What do I want to be?” and “What do I do to get there?” Besides, you must be motivated. When you are motivated you will have a strong desire to do well and to achieve your goals. In addition, you must pay attention in class. Listen actively and focus on what the teacher is teaching. If you have disruptive classmates, sit in front of the classroom, away from them. Always ask questions if you do not understand. Seek clarifications from your teachers or your friends if you are shy to approach the former.
Another important tip to being a successful student is to be organised. You can use a planner or notebook to write down all your assignments when they are given. This way you will not forget your homework, dates of tests or projects. Remember, if you are organised you will be well- prepared and you will have less stress. Moreover, you must complete your homework on time. Homework helps reinforce what you have learnt. It helps you understand and remember the information. You must prepare well for exams. A successful student is one who prepares for exams well in advance, and not at the eleventh hour. If you study consistently, you will have ample time for revision.
Friends, to be a successful student you must have diverse interests. You should take part in co-curricular activities in order to become a well-rounded person. These activities help develop leadership skills and teamwork besides instilling values like cooperation and tolerance. Discipline is an important aspect of our lives. No matter where you go or what you do, you will be subjected to rules and regulations. Hence, it is crucial that you obey the school rules.
Dear friends,
What is success if you lack the common courtesies in life? Remember, you must respect everyone. You must respect your parents, your teachers, the school staff and also your friends. You must respect other people’s feelings and opinions.
There are also several things you must avoid if you want to be a successful student. You must avoid wasting time. These days many teenagers spend hours on social networks such as Facebook or playing computer games. These are a waste of time and will not benefit you in any way. Remember, ‘Time and tide wait for no man’. Also, avoid skipping school. Some students feel that school is a waste of time as they can learn better from their tuition teachers. This is not true. The teachers in our school are experienced and well qualified. They are also experienced examiners and they know how to impart knowledge effectively.
I have to stop here. I hope you have found my talk helpful. Thank you for listening attentively.
SPM ENGLISH: By JUGDEEP KAUR
Sample question.
You recently won the ‘Best Student Award’ in your school. You have been asked to give a talk during assembly to share tips with the other students on what they need to do so that they too can become successful students.
Use the following notes to write your speech.
Suggestions
•set goals
•be motivated
•pay attention
•ask questions
•be organised
•complete homework on time
•prepare well for exams
•take part in co-curricular activities
•obey school rules
•respect everyone
Avoid
•wasting time
•skipping school
When writing out your speech, you should remember to:
•address your audience
•state the purpose of the speech
•use all the points given
•end your speech appropriately
Here is a sample answer.
A very good morning to our beloved principal, Pn Laila Mohd Noor, senior assistants, teachers and friends. On this glorious morning, I, Gary Tan the recipient of this year’s “Best Student Award” am going to give a talk on “How to Become a Successful Student”. In my speech, I am going to share with you some tips on how you can be a successful student.
If you want to be successful, you must set goals. Research shows that people who set goals accomplish more than those who do not. In deciding your goals, ask yourself “What do I want to be?” and “What do I do to get there?” Besides, you must be motivated. When you are motivated you will have a strong desire to do well and to achieve your goals. In addition, you must pay attention in class. Listen actively and focus on what the teacher is teaching. If you have disruptive classmates, sit in front of the classroom, away from them. Always ask questions if you do not understand. Seek clarifications from your teachers or your friends if you are shy to approach the former.
Another important tip to being a successful student is to be organised. You can use a planner or notebook to write down all your assignments when they are given. This way you will not forget your homework, dates of tests or projects. Remember, if you are organised you will be well- prepared and you will have less stress. Moreover, you must complete your homework on time. Homework helps reinforce what you have learnt. It helps you understand and remember the information. You must prepare well for exams. A successful student is one who prepares for exams well in advance, and not at the eleventh hour. If you study consistently, you will have ample time for revision.
Friends, to be a successful student you must have diverse interests. You should take part in co-curricular activities in order to become a well-rounded person. These activities help develop leadership skills and teamwork besides instilling values like cooperation and tolerance. Discipline is an important aspect of our lives. No matter where you go or what you do, you will be subjected to rules and regulations. Hence, it is crucial that you obey the school rules.
Dear friends,
What is success if you lack the common courtesies in life? Remember, you must respect everyone. You must respect your parents, your teachers, the school staff and also your friends. You must respect other people’s feelings and opinions.
There are also several things you must avoid if you want to be a successful student. You must avoid wasting time. These days many teenagers spend hours on social networks such as Facebook or playing computer games. These are a waste of time and will not benefit you in any way. Remember, ‘Time and tide wait for no man’. Also, avoid skipping school. Some students feel that school is a waste of time as they can learn better from their tuition teachers. This is not true. The teachers in our school are experienced and well qualified. They are also experienced examiners and they know how to impart knowledge effectively.
I have to stop here. I hope you have found my talk helpful. Thank you for listening attentively.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Mom, Dad... You're the best...
This is something posted by my friend in her fb wall, I am putting it here so that it can be shared by more people , hopefully by reading this we'll appreciate our mom and dad for what they have done to us when we knew nothing about life. Mom, Dad , you are my everything, I love you both for loving me, supporting me, understanding me, and helping me whenever I am in trouble, or unhappy. I'll always pray for your happiness, in this world and also in the hereafter... I know both of you have done a great deal to me , and i know i couldn't repay them ... What I can do is to pray for your happiness ..always... Both of you are always included in my prayers or "doa" every time I perform my prayers or solat.. I hope you will get the best of everything , I know you are getting it, and i know that both of you are always happy, and I am glad of that... Syukur, Alhamdulillah.... Thank You Allah for blessing my mom and dad.. by Mdm
A Post in my friend's wall read like this...
Assalamualaikum Semua, Last weekend ada sahabat dengar ceramah Dasyatnya Doa Seorang Ibu oleh Ustaz Abdullah Mahmud. Dia ustaz untuk angkatan tentera malaysia last time. Mungkin boleh jadi panduan kita sebagai ibu dan kita sebagai anak kepada i...bu. Ibu Kita dan Kita Sebagai Ibu * Lapangnya masa kita ada kaitan dengan keberkatan hidup kita. Kita adalah di bawah siksa Allah bilamasa ada masa untuk buat benda tak baik tapi takdak masa nak buat yang baik * Jika kita tak pernah kecukupan duit maksudnya kita disiksa Allah * *** Setitik air mata ibu jatuh, 10 kebajikan anak hilang so ibu2 jangan jatuh air mata ye and anak jangan bagi ibu jatuh air mata. Menangis kerana anak berjaya dan bukan sedih kerana angkara anak * Kalau balik tengah malam, buka lampu tengok dan tatap muka ibu, sebab wajah orang tidur akan menampakkan segalanya * Ada 3 mata yang tak dijilat api neraka Ø Melihat kaabah sehingga menitis air mata Ø Membaca quran sehingga menitis air mata Ø Memandang wajah ibu yg sedar tidur / sedar hingga berlinang air mata * 3 orang yg kita kena tengok dan selalu pandang dalam hidup, tengok masa tidor! Ø Anak Ø Ibu Ø Suami Selingan: kata ustaz kalau kita ada perselisihan faham dgn suami / isteri sampai nak bercerai, tgk laa muka bila dia tidor kalau masih terbit perasan kasih, saying, cinta, rindu atau simpati, janganlah bercerai tapi jika tiada rasa tu semua maksudnya jodoh dah memang takde, boleh proceed pi mahkamah J * Orang yang selalu menatap and memandang ibunya takkan menangis di hari kematian ibunya… kira tak menangis teruk laa.. Bagi siapa yg masih ada ibu, pandang laa selalu * Adalah menjadi satu dosa jika kita mengguna jari telunjuk untuk menujukkan sesuatu pada ibu * Kalau ada niat yang baik teruskan laa..Allah akan bersama, jangan takut * Kalau tak mampu lakukan sesuatu, pasang niat pun mencukupi e.g. tak mampu tolong org, niat nak tolong pun dah memadai * *** Kalau kita tak mampu letakkan diri kita di tempat yang terbaik, Allah akan letakkan kita di tempat terbaik dengan syarat letakkan ibu kita di tempat yang terbaik *Ada kaedah yang mana kita boleh minta pada Allah, “ungkit” kebaikan yang menimpa dengan tujuan untuk makbulkan doa kita. Kaedah tu dipanggil “wasilah amal” Ø “Ya Allah semalam aku sudah bersedekah sebanyak RM1, kalau itu satu kebaikan jadikanlah ia penyebab makbulnya doaku ini”*** Paling banyak buat baik dengan ibu kita, lagi mustajab. Makna dia wasilah amal ni sangat berkesan kalau yg dituntut tadi adalah hal-hal yang berkaitan kebaikan yang dibuat kepada ibu kita * Antara lain yang boleh dituntut adalah apabila kita ditimpa sakit / musibah * Kalau ditimpa sakit, baca laa Innalillahiwainnaillaihirojjiun, then cakap dengan Allah Ø “Ya Allah, berilah pahala besar untuk sakit yang aku tanggung ini” Ø “Ya Allah, bagilah aku keampunan dosa atas sakit ku ini” Even suapkan anak pun kita boleh tuntut, apatah lagi sedekah kepada ibu dan orang yang memerlukan. * *** Barang siapa yang tidak mendoakan ibu selepas sembahyang buat ibu yang sudah meninggal maka dikira dia anak derhaka walaupun pada waktu ibunya hidup dia tak pernah menderhaka. Maksudnya jika ibu masih hidup atau telah tiada, selepas setiap solat kita mesti doakannya! *Doa orang yang masih hidup makbul untuk orang yang hidup dan mati. Jadi doakan ibu kita yang telah tiada! *** Doa orang yang mati makbul untuk orang yang masih hidup * Masa ni ustaz tu bagi contoh sadis sket..sedeh gak laa.. pi ke pusara mak kita cakap..“Mak, esok anak saya nak kawin, kalau mak ada tentu mak bahagia tengok cucu mak kawinkan” atau “bapa saya nak kawin esok, kalau bapa ada, pasti bapa akan gembira tengok sayakan..” Ustaz kata luahkan kepada ibu / bapa yang telah tiada kerana mereka mendengar dan mereka boleh mendoakan kita dari sana . * Bila lalu kubur, perlahankan dan beri salam! Mereka akan doakan kita “berkatilah si A ini” dan jika tak bagi salam, mereka akan kata “celakahlah orang ini” Jadi, jangan lupa bagi salam next time * Tanda tanda siksa Allah atas muka bumi ni antara lain simpan harta sampai mati tak pernah keluarkan * Sesiapa yang bersedekah selalu, takkan miskin orang itu selamanya.. * Bila nak berbelanja @ shopping always spare duit untuk sedekah kerana dalam duit kita tu ada hak org susah. Jadi bila orang buta datang masa makan, bagi laa duit sebab kita nak cari org susah untuk sedekah dah amat susah masa sekrg and takde masa jadi Allah hantarkan org2 susah ini untuk kita dapatkan pahala! **** Jika mak kita sudah meninggal dan semasa hayatnya kita ada peruntukkan wang untuk dia, bila mak kita dah takde teruskan memberi peruntukkan tu sebagai sedekah. Jangan kurangkan peruntukkan!! “Ya Allah, aku sedekahkan bagi pihak ibuku, semoga pahala sedekah ni sampai kepada ibuku”. Itu yang yang buat ibu kita bahagia di sana . * Kalau kita susah nak bersedekah, bayangkan wajah ibu kita baru kita ringan tangan nak bersedekah * *** Allah panjangkan usia ibu dan bapa supaya dia sakit dan nyanyuk untuk beri syurga pada anak anaknya. Jagalah mereka dengan baik insyallah, syurga balasanya. Jadi kalau tahu ibu / bapa sakit, berebutlah menjaga ibu / bapa kita. Besar sangat pahalanya. * Allah kalau boleh taknak kita masuk neraka jadi Allah takkan matikan seseorang dalam keadaan kotor dan berdosa jadi dia bagi kita sakit / malu / miskin untuk membersihkan kita sebelum dia mengambil kita * Kalau ada penyakit was was, bacalah surah al-ikhlas.. “Qulhuwallahuahad…” 1000x sehari Anak Lari Dari Rumah *Kalau anak lari dari rumah, gantungkan bajunya dihanger dan anginkan dan hadiahkan surah al-ikhlas setiap hari * Masa lauangan azan yang pertama, panggilah nama anak kita, insyallah akan sampai panggilan kita kepadanya Anak Degil * *** Bila anak dah tidor, duduk di hujung kepala pangil ROH ANAK **** Ni seram sket masa nak buat hehehe.. mula2 je lepas tu ok..e.g. Wahai roh anakku "nama anak", jadilah kamu roh yang baik, roh yang bertimbang rasa pada ibu dan bapa, roh yang taat pada Allah, roh yang sayang sesama manusia. You can ask anything! Nak anak senang bangun ke sekolah.. just try and see. Wallahualam.., marilah kita sama2 praktikan mana yang bolehkan. if x cube x tau...so why not ..no harm done.....insyaALLAH.....niat kita suci & ikhlas.... See More
By: Zubaidah Bidin
A Post in my friend's wall read like this...
Assalamualaikum Semua, Last weekend ada sahabat dengar ceramah Dasyatnya Doa Seorang Ibu oleh Ustaz Abdullah Mahmud. Dia ustaz untuk angkatan tentera malaysia last time. Mungkin boleh jadi panduan kita sebagai ibu dan kita sebagai anak kepada i...bu. Ibu Kita dan Kita Sebagai Ibu * Lapangnya masa kita ada kaitan dengan keberkatan hidup kita. Kita adalah di bawah siksa Allah bilamasa ada masa untuk buat benda tak baik tapi takdak masa nak buat yang baik * Jika kita tak pernah kecukupan duit maksudnya kita disiksa Allah * *** Setitik air mata ibu jatuh, 10 kebajikan anak hilang so ibu2 jangan jatuh air mata ye and anak jangan bagi ibu jatuh air mata. Menangis kerana anak berjaya dan bukan sedih kerana angkara anak * Kalau balik tengah malam, buka lampu tengok dan tatap muka ibu, sebab wajah orang tidur akan menampakkan segalanya * Ada 3 mata yang tak dijilat api neraka Ø Melihat kaabah sehingga menitis air mata Ø Membaca quran sehingga menitis air mata Ø Memandang wajah ibu yg sedar tidur / sedar hingga berlinang air mata * 3 orang yg kita kena tengok dan selalu pandang dalam hidup, tengok masa tidor! Ø Anak Ø Ibu Ø Suami Selingan: kata ustaz kalau kita ada perselisihan faham dgn suami / isteri sampai nak bercerai, tgk laa muka bila dia tidor kalau masih terbit perasan kasih, saying, cinta, rindu atau simpati, janganlah bercerai tapi jika tiada rasa tu semua maksudnya jodoh dah memang takde, boleh proceed pi mahkamah J * Orang yang selalu menatap and memandang ibunya takkan menangis di hari kematian ibunya… kira tak menangis teruk laa.. Bagi siapa yg masih ada ibu, pandang laa selalu * Adalah menjadi satu dosa jika kita mengguna jari telunjuk untuk menujukkan sesuatu pada ibu * Kalau ada niat yang baik teruskan laa..Allah akan bersama, jangan takut * Kalau tak mampu lakukan sesuatu, pasang niat pun mencukupi e.g. tak mampu tolong org, niat nak tolong pun dah memadai * *** Kalau kita tak mampu letakkan diri kita di tempat yang terbaik, Allah akan letakkan kita di tempat terbaik dengan syarat letakkan ibu kita di tempat yang terbaik *Ada kaedah yang mana kita boleh minta pada Allah, “ungkit” kebaikan yang menimpa dengan tujuan untuk makbulkan doa kita. Kaedah tu dipanggil “wasilah amal” Ø “Ya Allah semalam aku sudah bersedekah sebanyak RM1, kalau itu satu kebaikan jadikanlah ia penyebab makbulnya doaku ini”*** Paling banyak buat baik dengan ibu kita, lagi mustajab. Makna dia wasilah amal ni sangat berkesan kalau yg dituntut tadi adalah hal-hal yang berkaitan kebaikan yang dibuat kepada ibu kita * Antara lain yang boleh dituntut adalah apabila kita ditimpa sakit / musibah * Kalau ditimpa sakit, baca laa Innalillahiwainnaillaihirojjiun, then cakap dengan Allah Ø “Ya Allah, berilah pahala besar untuk sakit yang aku tanggung ini” Ø “Ya Allah, bagilah aku keampunan dosa atas sakit ku ini” Even suapkan anak pun kita boleh tuntut, apatah lagi sedekah kepada ibu dan orang yang memerlukan. * *** Barang siapa yang tidak mendoakan ibu selepas sembahyang buat ibu yang sudah meninggal maka dikira dia anak derhaka walaupun pada waktu ibunya hidup dia tak pernah menderhaka. Maksudnya jika ibu masih hidup atau telah tiada, selepas setiap solat kita mesti doakannya! *Doa orang yang masih hidup makbul untuk orang yang hidup dan mati. Jadi doakan ibu kita yang telah tiada! *** Doa orang yang mati makbul untuk orang yang masih hidup * Masa ni ustaz tu bagi contoh sadis sket..sedeh gak laa.. pi ke pusara mak kita cakap..“Mak, esok anak saya nak kawin, kalau mak ada tentu mak bahagia tengok cucu mak kawinkan” atau “bapa saya nak kawin esok, kalau bapa ada, pasti bapa akan gembira tengok sayakan..” Ustaz kata luahkan kepada ibu / bapa yang telah tiada kerana mereka mendengar dan mereka boleh mendoakan kita dari sana . * Bila lalu kubur, perlahankan dan beri salam! Mereka akan doakan kita “berkatilah si A ini” dan jika tak bagi salam, mereka akan kata “celakahlah orang ini” Jadi, jangan lupa bagi salam next time * Tanda tanda siksa Allah atas muka bumi ni antara lain simpan harta sampai mati tak pernah keluarkan * Sesiapa yang bersedekah selalu, takkan miskin orang itu selamanya.. * Bila nak berbelanja @ shopping always spare duit untuk sedekah kerana dalam duit kita tu ada hak org susah. Jadi bila orang buta datang masa makan, bagi laa duit sebab kita nak cari org susah untuk sedekah dah amat susah masa sekrg and takde masa jadi Allah hantarkan org2 susah ini untuk kita dapatkan pahala! **** Jika mak kita sudah meninggal dan semasa hayatnya kita ada peruntukkan wang untuk dia, bila mak kita dah takde teruskan memberi peruntukkan tu sebagai sedekah. Jangan kurangkan peruntukkan!! “Ya Allah, aku sedekahkan bagi pihak ibuku, semoga pahala sedekah ni sampai kepada ibuku”. Itu yang yang buat ibu kita bahagia di sana . * Kalau kita susah nak bersedekah, bayangkan wajah ibu kita baru kita ringan tangan nak bersedekah * *** Allah panjangkan usia ibu dan bapa supaya dia sakit dan nyanyuk untuk beri syurga pada anak anaknya. Jagalah mereka dengan baik insyallah, syurga balasanya. Jadi kalau tahu ibu / bapa sakit, berebutlah menjaga ibu / bapa kita. Besar sangat pahalanya. * Allah kalau boleh taknak kita masuk neraka jadi Allah takkan matikan seseorang dalam keadaan kotor dan berdosa jadi dia bagi kita sakit / malu / miskin untuk membersihkan kita sebelum dia mengambil kita * Kalau ada penyakit was was, bacalah surah al-ikhlas.. “Qulhuwallahuahad…” 1000x sehari Anak Lari Dari Rumah *Kalau anak lari dari rumah, gantungkan bajunya dihanger dan anginkan dan hadiahkan surah al-ikhlas setiap hari * Masa lauangan azan yang pertama, panggilah nama anak kita, insyallah akan sampai panggilan kita kepadanya Anak Degil * *** Bila anak dah tidor, duduk di hujung kepala pangil ROH ANAK **** Ni seram sket masa nak buat hehehe.. mula2 je lepas tu ok..e.g. Wahai roh anakku "nama anak", jadilah kamu roh yang baik, roh yang bertimbang rasa pada ibu dan bapa, roh yang taat pada Allah, roh yang sayang sesama manusia. You can ask anything! Nak anak senang bangun ke sekolah.. just try and see. Wallahualam.., marilah kita sama2 praktikan mana yang bolehkan. if x cube x tau...so why not ..no harm done.....insyaALLAH.....niat kita suci & ikhlas.... See More
By: Zubaidah Bidin
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Victory not all that sweet - Star Online April 17, 2011
Sunday April 17, 2011
Victory not all that sweet
Analysis
By Joceline Tan
Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud was returned to power in the 10th Sarawak election but it was a bittersweet win because it came with unprecedented losses in the Iban and Chinese seats.
IT was not quite the perfect storm that some people had predicted but the Sarawak election is a signal that the political landscape in the state has shifted in a way that its leaders had not foreseen.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud was returned to power with a two-thirds majority but his victory was punctured by unprecedented losses.
A total of 16 seats fell in the rural heartland where Barisan Nasional used to hold sway while Deputy Chief Minister and SUPP president Tan Sri Dr George Chan's 30-year political career came to a crunching halt.
Dr Chan's stunning defeat by a young DAP lawyer topped the trail of losses of other SUPP candidates, leaving the party with a big question mark over its future.
Taib's party PBB remained on top of the game, retaining all the 35 seats it contested.
But even before the night was out, it was evident that Sarawak's politics would never be the same again.
Taib's coalition crossed the two-thirds margin shortly after 6.30pm, by which time five seats were confirmed to have fallen to DAP and PKR.
Before that, tweets from opposition politicians claimed they were on the way to smashing the Barisan's two-thirds majority.
A Perak leader tweeted that he had received a call to ask Pakatan Rakyat to get ready to form the Sarawak Government.
But it was one of those “Sept 16” claims.
However, there has been a Chinese tsunami of sorts in the urban centres where DAP took 12 of 15 seats contested.
The DAP was the big winner in Sarawak and scored astonishing victory margins in several seats.
DAP also made a clean sweep of all the seats it contested in the capital.
The Chinese in Kuching have made themselves heard loud and clear.
In fact, Dr Chan's defeat was a metaphor of the Chinese rejection of SUPP which they see as too much of a yes-man to Taib.
But the earth-shattering reality for Taib and his government was the erosion of support in the rural Iban seats.
Barisan not only lost Iban-majority seats but saw its victory margins in other Iban seats slide to an all-time low.
Politics in the rural hinterland is no longer what it used to be.
The Iban support can no longer be taken for granted.
Ba'Kelalan fell to Baru Bian, the indigenous lawyer who has been such a thorn in the side of Taib's administration.
PKR's win in Ba'Kelalan was expected but the party's win in Krian, another Iban seat, was a big blow because the defeated incumbent Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie is the deputy president of SPDP, a Barisan component party.
DAP's ceramah in Kuching, Miri and the central basin of Sibu, Sarikei and Lanang had drawn massive crowds night after night.
Their Ubah mascot, a cute soft toy in the form of the Sarawak hornbill, was sold out and every night, there were more and more people wearing the signature red T-shirts at their ceramah.
Their grand finale in Kuching was the biggest rally that local folk had ever seen and the opinion that night was the Chinese tsunami would reach the shore the next day.
It was not the da xuan or big change that the party was hoping for but it has been DAP's most successful outing in Sarawak.
SUPP, the party that has represented Chinese interest all these years, will have to do a lot of soul-searching on how to recover and remain relevant.
Voter turnout has been quite low in the last few elections.
It was no different this time around despite the most intense electioneering in Sarawak history.
Some saw the low turnout as a form of silent protest.
The perception was while many voters did not want to vote for Barisan, they were also not keen on voting for the opposition DAP or PKR and definitely not for PAS which lost all the seats it contested.
This election has been all about Taib or Pa Mao the name by which he is known to all and sundry.
His 30 years in power, unfortunately, coincided with the ouster of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
His overstaying became such an awkward issue for his coalition government that he could not even celebrate his three decades in power.
The results suggest that the power transition will definitely take place.
Taib may even have to bring forward his transition plan to perhaps next year when PBB, of which he is president, is scheduled to hold its party election.
Taib has seen how he was openly criticised and ridiculed throughout the campaign, something which had never happened in any state election.
There is no denying the groundswell and it is not only against him but also those around him who have overstayed their welcome.
The Iban change of heart is also a slap in the face for PBB deputy president Tan Sri Alfred Jabu who represents the indigenous Pesaka wing of the party.
Jabu, who won narrowly, is the only top leader of Taib's generation who has yet to indicate whether he is making way after the polls. Regardless, he will be under great pressure to go after this.
In overstaying, Taib had given the basis for others to cling on. Those who have overstayed are what is known as the Ming Court generation, the group which came to power with Taib in the 1980s.
The signs of what would happen last night were already in the 2006 election and the Sibu by-election but those in power chose not see it.
The outcome in Sarawak is not exactly a disaster for Barisan but it spells trouble in time to come.
The political transition after this becomes more crucial than ever to Barisan's hold on Sarawak.
How Taib handles the transition which will impact the coalition's ambitions in the general election.
Victory not all that sweet
Analysis
By Joceline Tan
Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud was returned to power in the 10th Sarawak election but it was a bittersweet win because it came with unprecedented losses in the Iban and Chinese seats.
IT was not quite the perfect storm that some people had predicted but the Sarawak election is a signal that the political landscape in the state has shifted in a way that its leaders had not foreseen.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud was returned to power with a two-thirds majority but his victory was punctured by unprecedented losses.
A total of 16 seats fell in the rural heartland where Barisan Nasional used to hold sway while Deputy Chief Minister and SUPP president Tan Sri Dr George Chan's 30-year political career came to a crunching halt.
Dr Chan's stunning defeat by a young DAP lawyer topped the trail of losses of other SUPP candidates, leaving the party with a big question mark over its future.
Taib's party PBB remained on top of the game, retaining all the 35 seats it contested.
But even before the night was out, it was evident that Sarawak's politics would never be the same again.
Taib's coalition crossed the two-thirds margin shortly after 6.30pm, by which time five seats were confirmed to have fallen to DAP and PKR.
Before that, tweets from opposition politicians claimed they were on the way to smashing the Barisan's two-thirds majority.
A Perak leader tweeted that he had received a call to ask Pakatan Rakyat to get ready to form the Sarawak Government.
But it was one of those “Sept 16” claims.
However, there has been a Chinese tsunami of sorts in the urban centres where DAP took 12 of 15 seats contested.
The DAP was the big winner in Sarawak and scored astonishing victory margins in several seats.
DAP also made a clean sweep of all the seats it contested in the capital.
The Chinese in Kuching have made themselves heard loud and clear.
In fact, Dr Chan's defeat was a metaphor of the Chinese rejection of SUPP which they see as too much of a yes-man to Taib.
But the earth-shattering reality for Taib and his government was the erosion of support in the rural Iban seats.
Barisan not only lost Iban-majority seats but saw its victory margins in other Iban seats slide to an all-time low.
Politics in the rural hinterland is no longer what it used to be.
The Iban support can no longer be taken for granted.
Ba'Kelalan fell to Baru Bian, the indigenous lawyer who has been such a thorn in the side of Taib's administration.
PKR's win in Ba'Kelalan was expected but the party's win in Krian, another Iban seat, was a big blow because the defeated incumbent Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie is the deputy president of SPDP, a Barisan component party.
DAP's ceramah in Kuching, Miri and the central basin of Sibu, Sarikei and Lanang had drawn massive crowds night after night.
Their Ubah mascot, a cute soft toy in the form of the Sarawak hornbill, was sold out and every night, there were more and more people wearing the signature red T-shirts at their ceramah.
Their grand finale in Kuching was the biggest rally that local folk had ever seen and the opinion that night was the Chinese tsunami would reach the shore the next day.
It was not the da xuan or big change that the party was hoping for but it has been DAP's most successful outing in Sarawak.
SUPP, the party that has represented Chinese interest all these years, will have to do a lot of soul-searching on how to recover and remain relevant.
Voter turnout has been quite low in the last few elections.
It was no different this time around despite the most intense electioneering in Sarawak history.
Some saw the low turnout as a form of silent protest.
The perception was while many voters did not want to vote for Barisan, they were also not keen on voting for the opposition DAP or PKR and definitely not for PAS which lost all the seats it contested.
This election has been all about Taib or Pa Mao the name by which he is known to all and sundry.
His 30 years in power, unfortunately, coincided with the ouster of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
His overstaying became such an awkward issue for his coalition government that he could not even celebrate his three decades in power.
The results suggest that the power transition will definitely take place.
Taib may even have to bring forward his transition plan to perhaps next year when PBB, of which he is president, is scheduled to hold its party election.
Taib has seen how he was openly criticised and ridiculed throughout the campaign, something which had never happened in any state election.
There is no denying the groundswell and it is not only against him but also those around him who have overstayed their welcome.
The Iban change of heart is also a slap in the face for PBB deputy president Tan Sri Alfred Jabu who represents the indigenous Pesaka wing of the party.
Jabu, who won narrowly, is the only top leader of Taib's generation who has yet to indicate whether he is making way after the polls. Regardless, he will be under great pressure to go after this.
In overstaying, Taib had given the basis for others to cling on. Those who have overstayed are what is known as the Ming Court generation, the group which came to power with Taib in the 1980s.
The signs of what would happen last night were already in the 2006 election and the Sibu by-election but those in power chose not see it.
The outcome in Sarawak is not exactly a disaster for Barisan but it spells trouble in time to come.
The political transition after this becomes more crucial than ever to Barisan's hold on Sarawak.
How Taib handles the transition which will impact the coalition's ambitions in the general election.
Teaching A Description of A Process - Form 1
Recently , i tried this technique when teaching description of a process and i find that it become a successful lesson for this topic.
Form 1, Chapter 4 : Theme : Environment
Activities:
1. set induction -
a. ask the students how many times do the garbage truck come to their housing
area to collect the rubbish.
b. How many garbage bag do they throw every day?
c. Can we reduce the waste thrown.. how
d. Answers given by students - recycle, or reuse the waste material..
2. Content
a. Ask them about the 3R programme - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
b. Ask them to explain the three Rs, giving example , eg. Reuse bottle, recycle
newspapers, reduce the use of electricity, water etc.
c. Lead students to the topic that we want to introduce - Let's say we want to
REUSE some of the things that we want to throw for eg. Greeting cards
i. How to produce a new greeting cards out of old greeting cards.
ii. Students are taught the use of linking words - sequence connectors to
describe a process.
iii. Teach them how to write introduction.
a. There are a number of things needed to make a greeting card.We
need......
b. It is important to recycle , reduce or reuse things to save our
environment. This will help to reduce land pollution. Things that
we can do to help this 3R campaign is....
iv. Ask students to work in groups of three to write an essay -
a description of a process... for example to make a greeting card.
d. Essay writing : Write a letter to your brother asking the way to make
fried chicken.
e. Presentation by groups.
Form 1, Chapter 4 : Theme : Environment
Activities:
1. set induction -
a. ask the students how many times do the garbage truck come to their housing
area to collect the rubbish.
b. How many garbage bag do they throw every day?
c. Can we reduce the waste thrown.. how
d. Answers given by students - recycle, or reuse the waste material..
2. Content
a. Ask them about the 3R programme - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
b. Ask them to explain the three Rs, giving example , eg. Reuse bottle, recycle
newspapers, reduce the use of electricity, water etc.
c. Lead students to the topic that we want to introduce - Let's say we want to
REUSE some of the things that we want to throw for eg. Greeting cards
i. How to produce a new greeting cards out of old greeting cards.
ii. Students are taught the use of linking words - sequence connectors to
describe a process.
iii. Teach them how to write introduction.
a. There are a number of things needed to make a greeting card.We
need......
b. It is important to recycle , reduce or reuse things to save our
environment. This will help to reduce land pollution. Things that
we can do to help this 3R campaign is....
iv. Ask students to work in groups of three to write an essay -
a description of a process... for example to make a greeting card.
d. Essay writing : Write a letter to your brother asking the way to make
fried chicken.
e. Presentation by groups.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Visits by the inspectorate..
Two groups of Inspectorates visited our school this week... such a coincidence... well, i was the "lucky" or for some people , the "unlucky" ones... because I was observed twice, by two different groups.
As a teacher who has served for quite some time, 21 years , to be exact, i don't really feel the anxiety as what i felt many years ago.. For me, it's okay if you choose to come to my class. It is just that i regret that i couldn't use ICT in my lesson, and i have to "survive" with just some handouts to be distributed to my students.
Still i feel that any teacher would get high marks - marks filled in the inspectorate forms - if they had used ICT, be it power points, videos etc. This is because the lesson would be more interesting, of course, but that doesnt happen in our school coz the use of LCD is limited, only 4 rooms are available to use ICT... Pity the students, how unlucky of them to bear with us teachers who teach using chalk and talk...
Another thing that would make inspectorate happy is for us teachers to begin our lesson with a good set induction and since mine is an english lesson, make sure students talk a lot..ie. do most of the things(writing, talking, reading etc) done in the class. It should be students' centered, not teacher centered.
Last but not least, make sure your record book is up to date. It should be complete with all the syllabus, scheme of work, students' name list, marks...etc.. you name it.
Well , good luck ... and be happy and ready always to be observed :-)
As a teacher who has served for quite some time, 21 years , to be exact, i don't really feel the anxiety as what i felt many years ago.. For me, it's okay if you choose to come to my class. It is just that i regret that i couldn't use ICT in my lesson, and i have to "survive" with just some handouts to be distributed to my students.
Still i feel that any teacher would get high marks - marks filled in the inspectorate forms - if they had used ICT, be it power points, videos etc. This is because the lesson would be more interesting, of course, but that doesnt happen in our school coz the use of LCD is limited, only 4 rooms are available to use ICT... Pity the students, how unlucky of them to bear with us teachers who teach using chalk and talk...
Another thing that would make inspectorate happy is for us teachers to begin our lesson with a good set induction and since mine is an english lesson, make sure students talk a lot..ie. do most of the things(writing, talking, reading etc) done in the class. It should be students' centered, not teacher centered.
Last but not least, make sure your record book is up to date. It should be complete with all the syllabus, scheme of work, students' name list, marks...etc.. you name it.
Well , good luck ... and be happy and ready always to be observed :-)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Interesting matching exercises....
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