Love Letters of Great Men

It has been a few years since the movie Sex and the City came out. The most unforgettable scene in the movie is when I saw Carrie Bradshaw reading a book called 'Love Letters of Great Men' in her bed. I still remember 'google-ing' it to get hold of a copy. To my frustration, the book was not real. But the love letters however were true.

                What impresses me is that how language can be manipulated to move hearts. You don’t necessarily need to have good looks and thick pockets to win a woman’s heart, but in deed sincerity and good command of language and wide vocabulary, goes a long way. One of it was Beethoven's love letter to his immortal beloved that really moved my heart.

"Your love made me the happiest and unhappiest at the same time. At my actual age I should need some continuity, sameness of life - can that exist under our circumstances? Angel, I just hear that the post goes out every day - and must close therefore, so that you get the letter at once. Be calm - love me - to-day - yesterday.

What longing in tears for you - You - my Life - my All - farewell. Oh, go on loving me - never doubt the faithfullest heart

Of your beloved

Ever thine.

Ever mine.

Ever ours.

KBSR vs KSSR

This year our Ministry of Education had introduced KSSR syllabus to be implemented in our primary schools throughout Malaysia. The reason behind this newly introduced system is to replace the KBSR syllabus and the soft landing of PPSMI or better known as ETeMS (English for Teaching Mathematics and Science). The initial intention of introducing the plan was to increase the standard of English in Malaysia. But after having so many complaints from parents who claimed that the English Language proficiency in Malaysia is getting from bad to worse, even after implementation of ETeMs, it had been called off. But this would be done gradually, thus the official end for ETeMS is in 2016. But when you look back in 2003 when they first introduced it, everything was done in a hurry. They didn’t even wait to get the teachers ready for the massive transformation. Their experience of teaching Mathematics and Science in their mother tongue for years, didn’t guarantee the same effectiveness when they used English. Old and wise they may be but some of them had English command even worse than a seven year old. In my opinion, that led to the downfall of ETeMS.

                KSSR, being new could not be judged just yet. Recently, I was appointed as a Year 1 English teacher. In my seven years of teaching experience, this is my first time teaching Year 1. What can I say about KSSR is that, it looks promising. The syllabus is designed to help the students to acquire the four skills, which is different than KBSR which focuses more on the thematic content. The best part is phonetics is being introduced as the foundation of acquiring English Language.

Poems: Short but Powerful than Thousand Words

Poems are wonderful. some are short but very deep . They convey thoughtful and meaningful messages and touch our heart and soul.

Movies as tool of teaching

 I personally enjoy watching movies.

Songs and Literature

Are songs a form of literature? Yes, for me lyrics are written are in the same form of poems. Once they are played according to melodies, they become song.

On-line Task 4

Questions:
1. Think of at least 3 benefits of using speeches by famous figures, in the classroom.

• The speeches are always correct grammatically. Thus, these are the best authentic material for a language lesson as it easier to be taught.
• These types speech are usually cohesive and coherent easier for the students to spot the main ideas and supporting details.
• Knowing the background of these famous figures and what they had achieved in life, it is inspiring for the students and increases their motivation in learning. 
• These speeches by famous figures contain interesting facts and quotes which can be used by the studenst in enriching their speaking and writing skills

2. Go to www.youtube.com and find the audio-visual on the speech. In not less than 50 words, state would the audio-visual be of any use in helping understand the speech better? State your reasons.

Yes, an audio visual would indeed help the students to understand the speech better. when they look at it, they can clearly see the speakers expression. thus enabling them to relate better to the subject matter. for those who lack in good reading and pronunciation, this would indeed help them to know how to read certain words.

3. Who is Martin Luther King?

He was an activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights. He is an iconic figure in fights for civil rights in the United States and throughout the world. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against racial segregation and discrimination

4. Based on the questions below, analyse the features of the given written speech:

a. What is the purpose of the speech?

b. What is the tone of the speech?

c. What interesting major feature(s) can you see from the speech? (i.e.Repetition of phrases, emphasis on certain things said etc)

d. Any interesting facts that you can gather based on the background of the speech?

5. Suggest a while-reading activity that can be derived from this particular speech. 

Identifying main ideas and supporting details