Reflection on Presentation

This is our final task. On 2nd March 2012, we have done our presentation on how Malaysian Culture Affects English Language. Our group did the presentation on how historical influences affect English Language. We need to find in the internet and books the information needed for this task. In my views, I do believe that English in Malaysia is strongly influenced by many factors, such as multicultural society which refers to major ethnics groups and dialect groups, urban and rural settings, political and historical influences and also educational policies in Malaysia.

Based on my experience, there was a lot of information in the internet, so we didn’t encountered difficulties in compiling the information. We just need to arrange the event in sequence according to the date. For me, obviously, I can’t deny that this topic was boring. When we saw other’s group presentations, which I can say, were very interesting and well done, it affects my self esteem too as I know not everybody loves listening to History especially when it was about the development of education in Malaysia. On the day we did our presentation, for me, we did quite well as other groups tough we need to rush since we were running out of time. We just focused on the important event of English development in Malaysia and emphasize on the impact of English development to our education system in Malaysia. Though we manage to finish our presentation, I was not satisfied with my own part during the presentation. I was pretty sure that my other group members also felt the same. This was because; we had already planned to present the historical development in detail. Again, the time was not at our side and we need to skip so many parts. Through this presentation, it helps to improve my self-esteem and my interpersonal skills. Now, I felt more confident to speak in front of the lecturer and my classmates if compared to previous semesters.

In addition to that, based on my readings from the reference books, journals and internet about the development of English Language in Malaysia, I had learnt that the influence of English language in Peninsular Malaysia can be traced through history as early as nineteen century. It all began when the British Empire expanded its mission of searching for Gold, Glory and propagating of Gospel to the South East Asia including Malaysia. They took control and intervened in the local and administrative affairs of the traditional Malay states.

Nowadays, as we can see, the importance of English in Malaysia and in the world generally needs no further elaboration. The spread and influence of English has reached almost every area in Malaysia. The government has, since a long time ago, declared English as the second most important language in Malaysia after Malay Language. The Ministry of Education also makes suitable changes in its policies with the objective to arrest or reduce the declining standard of English among students.

For me, there are some challenges hindering effective use of English. First, the government policy which emphasizes the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language has discouraged the public to use English. Some people also develop a negative perception that having conversation in English rather than Bahasa Malaysia would make them less patriotic. Second, lack of qualified English language teachers or instructors is another obvious challenge in using English. Third, incompetent English teachers is an ironic situation in Malaysia that sometimes, there have been complaints made by students and parents that some qualified English teachers are, in reality, not be able to speak in English properly. They do not have the confidence to have direct conversation with other people and sometimes they prefer to speak in a mixture of languages.

I really hope that, as the English teacher-to-be, I am able to speak fluently in public using English. I do believe that practice makes perfect. Through the interactions with lecturer and through reading English books, I hope that it will help to improve my level of English. I also strongly agree that people should take the initiative to not only learn the language but also practice it as frequently as possible. Even the best English teachers could not help students who do not have interest and refuse to use the language themselves, in particular, in their daily activities. In my views, parents also should motivate and guide the students to improve their level of English.

Therefore, it is clearly shown that English is the language of progress in many aspects of life. Thus, I feel that, negative perceptions such as speaking English will make people less patriotic should be responded to.

From this task, I have a better understanding on the crucial role of English in Malaysia. However, as I said before, the understanding on the essential functions of English in communication and development of country changes nothing. All parties, including government, the society, students, teachers, should realize their parts and potential towards English language. Thank you.

Brand new friend..

hi there!

you know what, i should write down my reflections of my task in this blog. but tonight, i feel like i need to relax myself and get some inspiration.

so, what's my story during the weekend? yesterday, i borrowed a novel from my housemate, Jannet, entitled Brand new friend. what makes me attracted to read this novel is because, the writer is a male, Mike Gayle. have you ever wished you could see into the male mind? :)

in my point of views, besides Nicholas Sparks, i really like the way Mike Gayle's arrange his stories. and i feel that the vocabularies used by him are understandable.

now, let me go straight to the point. the story begins when Rob's girlfriend asks him to leave London and live with her in Manchester (Rob's girlfriend name is Ashley and she is a doctor),it means he needs to leave behind all his best mates in London. for the sake of his love for Ashley and with the hope that he'll meet new mates in Manchester, Rob takes the challenge to migrate.

six months in,and et to find so much drinking buddy, Rob realises that making friends in your thirties can be the hardest thing to do. Ashley decided to place an ad in the classifieds for him. but, it doesn't mean that rob is gay. he just need to find new mates to cheer him up. unfortunately, it didnt help much. it quite difficult for him to find new mate which has the same interests with him. he tries his very best to mix with others, though the people he meet only knows how to talk about bussiness, house prices, family and so on.

His luck changes when he met Jo! Jo Richards. and she is a girl. what's wrong with the opposite sex become best friends? is it possible not to fall in love? Rob have been lie to ashley. he never told ashley that Jo is a girl and ashley always thought that JO is J-O-E and he is a male. (hehehe)

but, when ashley gets to know the real Jo, her heart turn into pieces. Rob was scared World War 3 might occur when girlfriend meets girlfriend and he asked Jo to leave the house. but then, everything comes back to normal as Rob promised ashley that he will never ever fall in love with Jo. they were just good friends. and that's it. well, ashley agreed and she realised that Rob didnt need her permission to make new friends. "Just do what makes u happy." said ashley.

when i read this novel, deep in my heart, i want to switch the story. if i am given a chance, i will let Rob to fall in love with Jo, and he broke up with ashley. seriously, based on the story, Jo seems to be more attractive and pretty than ashley. and she is a simple minded and simple lifestyle.

anyway, I haven't finish reading it.and i don even know how is the ending.;0)

"He doesn't fancy her, she doesn't fancy him. so what's wrong with her being his."

wait until i finish my reading..:)

Love,

Endun.

The Odd One

Today, we have conducted language games in the class. what can I say about it?it was really interesting! For this task, each group must prepare a language game and do a little bit of demonstration on how to play the game.

we (my group) have decided to create a language game known as "the Odd One". The name seemed terrible,but I assure you, this game was really enjoyable. anyway, this game was suggested by one of my group members, Mr Nicky (thanks to you for giving such a brilliant idea!)

let me explain here, how our game looks like. first, I will explain about the rules and regulations.

This game is all about spotting the odd one from the list given. Marks is given to the odd answer (The answer MUST be appropriate and acceptable). The same answers will be eliminated. I think that some of us might familiar with this type of game before. below are the rules and regulations:

1. 1. Players are divided equally into groups. Each group will be given:

a. A4 paper

b. Marker

c. 10 sweets

2. 2. Every group has chance to choose the question by clicking the number displayed on the screen.

3. 3. The question will be presented on the screen using the power point. Before the question is presented, each group has to bet for the question using the sweets given earlier by the organizer. The amounts of sweets depend on the group themselves.

4. 4. The instruction for each question will be shown on the power point. Questions has four types which are:

a. Three objects/items are given. The players have to spot the “odd” one from the list. Then, they have to state reason why it is different from the other two.

b. Three words are displayed on the screen. The players have to spot the word that does not belong to that group. Then, they have to state reason why it is different from the other two.

c. One word is displayed on the screen. The players have to add suffixes, prefixes or affixes into the word to create new word

d. One word is displayed on the screen. The players have to create new word (for example, for letter words), using ONLY the alphabets of the base word as many as they can.

5. 5.In 15 seconds, all groups have to write their answer on the A4 paper without let other group know their answer.

6. 6.After 15 seconds, each group have to show their answer to the organizer.

7. 7.The group with “odd” or different answer from others will be given the same amount of sweets mortgaged earlier. Meanwhile the mortgaged sweets from other groups who have same answer will be taken by the organizer.

8. 8. The group with highest number of sweets will be declared as the winner.

anaafter that, we divided them into 4 different groups. we didn't group them according to assignments group. This is because, according to Mr Nicky, this is to encourage more co-operation among group members as well as to generate competition among groups. below is a list of group members.

Group 1

· Abdul Hadi

· Hisyammudin

· Muhammad Azam

· Nurr Azreen

· Hishafinaz

Group 2 :

· Ahmad Muslim

· Khairul Azlan

· Tiong Kung Ling

· Lydia Bunsu

· Dayang Narzeriah

Group 3:

· Fadzillah

· Kelvin Andreas

· Tan Siang Eing

· Juliza

· Dayang Khairunnisa

Group 4 :

· Hubert

· Mohd Shahrol

· Normaliza

· Jessica Jannet

· Christine Jane

Thus, from what I have seen, everyone enjoyed the game so much. and same goes to Madam Ira too.at the end of that day's lesson, she got confused which group should be awarded as the winner for this language game activity. as for me, every group is the winner.every one has done a very good job. to be frank, I really enjoy naja's group games, but I forgot the name of the game..sort of...Listening and memorize..though I feel that this game is quite challenging, since my memorization is not-so-good, but in my point of views, this game is suit for any level of age.

If we were given a chance to re-do this game, we will let everyone to try every questions in the games, provide a clearer instruction to the player and do a well done demonstrations for them. due to the lack of time, we were not able to do these. However, I was satisfied with our group work.

My opinion is, this type of activity should be done more frequently, since games are good for mental development. For me, language learning is hard work. Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period of time. Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work.

Besides that, games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. The students want to take part and in order to do so, they must understand what others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information. According to Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Michael Buckby, Cambridge University Press, 1984; If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher's repertoire. They are thus not for use solely on wet days and at the end of term!'

Twist your tongue

Good morning all.

on the 16th February 2011, we were asked to prepare 3 types of tongue twister. I am sure everyone knows what is tongue twister. A tongue twister is a phrase,sentence or rhyme that presents difficulties when spoken because it contains similar sounds-For example, Whistle for the thistle sifter. To get the full effect of a tongue twister, you should try to repeat it several times, as quickly as possible, without stumbling or mispronouncing. Tongue-twister test your skill in quickly pronouncing carefully contrived utterances that run you through a gauntlet of common slips of the tongue.

This task was fun as all of us were busy to practice our tongue twister phrase. There were a lot examples of tongue twisters in the internet. I can see that everyone enjoyed doing this task. some of my friends even practice the tongue twister phrase at the cafe, in the toilet, and at home.

below is our group's tongue twister phrase:

our first tongue twister phrase is:

I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish,

but if you wish the wish the witch wishes,

i won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

our second tongue twister phrase is:

the thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

our third tongue twister phrase is:

Chester Cheetah chews a chunk of cheep cheddar cheese.

as we can see, the first tongue twister phrase is more complicated than the second tongue twister. To make it easier, we transform the second tongue twister into a very cute song. Then, it was easier for us to pronounce and memorize it. Actually, we should present 3 tongue twisters in the class. However, we just present two tongue twisters, which are the first and the second tongue twisters.

For me, this task was enjoyable as we can practice our pronunciation. Everyone loves to play with language. Thus,there were so many ways to play with it; rhymes,songs, palindromes and many more. I feel that among the most enjoyable language games are tongue-twisters. In my opinion, if you are an actor or radio announcer, these are great exercises of enunciation and articulation. I feel that I can teach my students to say some tongue twisters during my coming first practicum. I am sure they will enjoy it too as I do!

Last but not least, I am sure that Mdm Ira also enjoyed this activity to the fullest. Once again, our group was chosen as Winner of Tongue-twister activity. Thank you madam! i love you more!

Off for now!

here, i want to share tongue-twister website which i like:

http://thinks.com/words/tonguetwisters.htm#D

http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm

enjoy it everyone:)

Reflection on the worksheet

On the 14th February 2012, we were given a task to prepare a worksheet with two sentences for analysis using tree diagrams and its suggested answers. For me, this task was quite challenging since I need to know how to make a tree diagram. I had created two sentences; my first sentence was “the children in the class play the musical instruments skilfully. My second sentence was, “the train stopped at this junction for two minutes.”

In analysing these two sentences, I need to know which word class the word belongs to, such as the noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase and other word classes. We had learnt about word classes during our foundation in semester 3, so, I felt that it was not so difficult for me to identify the word classes in the sentence. For me, drawing tree diagram is not an easy task. I realized that, the longer your sentence is, the more difficult for you to draw your tree diagram because a long sentence require a large space to draw.

Since Madam Ira was not around, so we just send in our draft through e-mail. However, since the time is not at our side, Madam Ira asked us to discuss it with our group members and do the necessary corrections in our draft. Thanks to Madam Ira as she was able to check my draft and did some corrections. With the help from my friends too, I was able to improve my sentences to a better one. We were able to collaborate with each other and learn from our mistakes.

I have chosen Beremas to do my worksheet questions and I was impressed as she managed to answer almost all the questions with the correct answer. And same goes for me too. I was able to answer all the questions in her worksheet. Excellent!

Non-verbal communication

We are asked by Madam Ira to prepare 3 minutes mime ( non-verbal communication). at the beginning of the lesson, we have discussed about the definition of communication. according to the notes given by Mdm Ira, communication is a two way process between 2 parties, which are the sender and the receiver.

communication can be divided into two; non-vocal and vocal. anyway, from today's class, i have learned two new words. the words are:

1) tactile: From Online Oxford Dictionaries,the meaning of tactile can be read from http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tactile?q=tactile

2) olfactory: The meaning of olfactory also can be read from http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/olfactory?q=olfactory.

though these two words might not new to others, but for me, these are the new vocabularies which I have learned during English class.

For 3 minutes mime activity,our group have created a short video entitled The X-factor. This short simple scene takes place during the X-factor audition. Nickelson and I were the participants while Beremas and Edward were the judges. The video was very interesting. We love acting! In the previous semester (for ELE subject), we have already learned how to make video and how to edit the video. The most difficult part was when inserting sound effects, such as a song, since we just do a mime action only. For me, we have acted very well. I really enjoyed the process of acting it out! Special appreciation I would like to dedicate to all my group members.

I really enjoyed watching Lydia’s group mime. It was so funny and enjoyable. What we did during the whole class presentation was laughed and laughed. It was fun. I feel that this type of activity should be done very often to encourage students’ involvement in the class. Before this, I seldom involve actively during the English class, but in this semester, I feel that this subject is very interesting. I admit that I fall in love with language study in this semester. Also, I feel that Mdm Ira is really capable in teaching language!

Function of Language

Hye all..On the 6th February 2012, we were asked to do our first tutorial (a part of our assignment too). It is about to role play a dialogue. we were asked to include at least 5 language functions in our dialogue. my group members(Beremas, edward,nickelson and me) have decided to choose a dialogue based on a social setting.

Below is our text:

Setting : Imperial Shopping Mall

Nickelson	: Hey, Priscilla. (to greet) Let us go to Guardian. (to suggest) I want to buy a bottle of hair shampoo there. (to explain)
Priscilla	: Sure I will go with you. (to agree) I would like to have a look at some facial products.
Priscilla & Nickelson are walking around Guardian.
Priscilla	: What type of hair shampoo do you want to buy? (to ask)
Nickelson	: I used PANTEEN before. But, I still have hair fall problems. My hair becomes thinner from day to day. (to complain)
Priscilla	: I suggest that you use another type of shampoo which is more suitable for your hair. (to suggest)
A few moments later, two promoters are approaching them.
Edward	: Welcome to Guardian. (to greet) May I help you, Sir? (to ask)
Nickelson	: I want to buy a bottle of shampoo which can help me to control my hair loss. I used PANTEEN hair fall control before, but I feel it is not effective. (to complain)
Edward	: I think that you should try CLEAR hair shampoo to strengthen the roots of your hair. A lot of customers prefer this product, Sir. (to recommend)
Beremas	: Excuse me. (to interrupt) I would like to introduce to you a new product from LOREAL brand. I’m sure that this hair shampoo will help you to restore your hair condition. It will make your hair look smooth and silky. (to explain)
Priscilla	: Can both of you let him think and choose by himself? Which one do you prefer, Nick? (to ask)
Nickelson	: Hmm… (Thinking) Do you have other types of hair shampoo which are more affordable since the product that you introduced to me just now is quite expensive? (to ask)
Edward	: You can use SUNSILK Hair Fall Control. If you buy this hair shampoo, you will get a free hair conditioner. The price is only RM 6.60. I am using this product too. Look at my hair. It looks spiky and easy to manage. (to support) What do you think, Berry? (to ask opinion)
Beremas	: I agree with you, Eduardo. (to agree) Anyway, why don”t you have a try ? (to recommend)
Nickelson	: Okay then. Thanks for your help. (to thank) Let us go, Pris. (to invite)
Edward & Beremas	: You’re welcome. Please come again. (to show pleasure)
Nickelson & Priscilla	: Okay, bye. my-thinking: I feel that this task was not so difficult since in the previous semester, we have learned the type of language functions. Based on our group's text, we can see that there were many types of language functions used in the conversation. Learning the types of language functions are very useful. A lot of what we say is for a purpose, such as expressing a wish, apologizing, asking for help and others. In my view, we did our role-play in a very spontaneous way. Thus,everyone enjoyed when Nickelson and edward make some jokes during the role-play. Though there might be minor imperfection, but I feel satisfied. We have done a very good job. However, if we were given a chance to re-do our role play, we will be more serious and try to act like a professional actresses and actors. Thanks also to Mdm Ira, who have chose our group as dialogue winner. It will motivate and encourage us to do better in the next task!Lastly,I feel that, to know the language functions are important as it helps to improve my english as my second language. enough for today...;)