Language at Work

You wanna be a film producer but...

2008-01-02T12:51:00.000+08:00

You have no big stars, no million-dollar marketing campaign, and no one knows you. What should you do?

Check out Project Cloverfield. Project Cloverfield (Producers-J.J. Abrams & Sherryl Clark) is Hollywood's latest low budget, low cost horror movie without an expensive advertising and in favour of a sworn to secrecy campaign.

Only the most basic information is disclosed; very large monster terrorising New York. Even the actors are not trusted with the full script.

The suspense is a new marketing gimmick and paying off. The internet is buzzing with plenty of speculation, curiosity and heated discussion on the movie targeted to be released on January 18, 2008. Check out the movie's trailers here and on MySpace for an idea of what the monster will look like and a headless (gasp) Statue of Liberty!

The Queen of England YouTubes too?

2007-12-27T15:08:00.000+08:00

This is so interesting!
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's 81 year old monarch has launched her own Royal Channel on YouTube with about 1million hits todate. Although regarded as conventional by many, the queen has often found innovative ways of communicating with the people and "adapting the communication to suit".

The Royal Channel includes news footage of the queen's parents' wedding in 1923, modern video clips show shots of garden parties, state visits, colour image of historical events and even a day in the life of her son, Prince Charles. Buckingham Palace plans to add new clips regularly.

The queen quips, "I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct. That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us," Read more.

If the queen can upload, so can you.

Student diagnosed with tenosynovitis

2007-12-27T11:27:00.000+08:00

A few days ago I read in an online newspaper that an NZ student has been diagnosed with the country's 1st and world's 3rd case of tenosynovitis. Tenosynovitis is the medical term for inflammation of the tendons in the thumb caused by constant text messaging or texting. Texting is actually a new term going around today. In fact did you know that LG hosted its first National Texting Championship on April 21, 2007 in USA?! Participants were judged on speed & accuracy for prizes up to usd 25,000.

Anyway, the 20 year old student apparently has been texting close to 100 sms-es a day on her mobile phone. You think she's very the cheong hay ah? 100 sms-es a day, is this possible? I mean for a season's greeting period I can understand but regularly over a period of time? Aww.

Has anyone ever done what she's done? I salute you but do watch out for that dreaded tenosynovitis, whatever.

Attitude, Courtesy & Punctuality

2007-10-12T11:32:00.000+08:00

What's with students and being punctual for classes these days? Is it a Malaysian lackadaisical frame of mind to be late? Why is it so difficult to come in 15 minutes earlier instead of later?

Punctuality is common courtesy. Being punctual is part and parcel of a student's attitude. It takes effort to be punctual. It is the student's responsibility to be punctual for class. It is not an exception but a rule.

Let's go beyond the walls of the classroom. Punctuality is an important employment skill. More often than not, students who were consistently punctual for class were more likely to be referred to for jobs and not necessarily those who were better designers.

When a student consistently strolls into class late, an impression is formed:-
This student does not care for this class.
This student is disrespectful to the lecturer and to her classmates.
This student is likely to be tardy, lazy and slipshod in his work.
This student will probably carry forward this same sluggishness to his workplace.

My simple definition of punctuality?
Punctuality: Students must be in their seats, mind focused, eager to learn--with their notepads, lecture notes, dictionaries--and ready for class at the allocated time; not 1 minute later.

You have to be a Lecturer if...

2007-09-07T13:05:00.000+08:00

A brand new semester begins.These one-liners put a smile on my face so I'll share them

*When you're out in public you feel the urge to talk to rude teenagers and correct their behaviour ;-0 (all the time!)
*You refer to adults as, 'boys and girls.'
*You encourage your spouse by telling them they are a 'good helper.' (hahaha)
*Meeting a student's parents instantly answers the question, 'Why is this teenager like he is?'
*You believe 'extremely annoying' should have its own box on the report. (yes yes yes!)
*You know hundreds of 'good' reasons for being late ;-(

Enhancing Key Skills Towards Effective Administration, Aug 6-7, MIM

2007-08-07T21:21:00.001+08:00

8 Participants from clerks, senior hr executives to secretaries.

Developing Positive Attitudes & Habits For Effective Workplace, July 30-31, MIM

2007-08-07T21:15:00.001+08:00

30 participants from Accounts clerk to Senior Marketing Manager

Dr Wilson Tay, CEO of MIM

2007-08-07T21:12:00.000+08:00

Train The Trainer, PSMB: 5-day program
MIM-CPT-Train The Trainer: 18-day program

MIM-CPT Batch 5 Graduation @ MIM, 6pm

2007-08-02T00:51:00.000+08:00

A Tribute To My Husband

2007-07-18T21:55:00.000+08:00

Come August 2007, my husband will be stepping down as PAM President after 2 years at the helm. In those 2 years, he has given nothing but his best - often times at the expense of his own personal interest and family. He has brought PAM to new heights, opening doors for other architects to overseas markets and breaking ground in the local scene. He has shown not only through words but in action and example.

A job can only bring you so far but passion is something that will ignite your motivation to excel and bring you a few home runs. I see the passion in everything he does. I saw that same passion 15 years ago when we were still at university together. This passion has seen him through the difficult times when nearly all he had was at stake. Without passion, one can only go so far. His passion extends not only in the secular world. His passion has always been to bring honour to God. Passion without God is hopeless. With the Divine by your side, passion becomes alive, and the impossible becomes reality.

Congratulations to Me

2007-07-15T17:26:00.000+08:00

I've finally completed my Master of Education (MEd) March 06-June 07.
It was a journey of self-discipline, discovery, learning, internalizing, synthesizing and most of all, total dependence on the Lord. Thanks to all who've had to endure my breaking point moments! Thanks especially to my supportive family & my kids for putting up with me throughout the last year. Would I do it all over again? Yes, yes, YES.

“It's not the qualifications, titles or money that you will make or gain But it’s the people whom you will meet along the way that will bless your soul”. Prof. Allan Rodgers, Melb. Uni

MIM-CPT Batch 5: July 9-11, 2007

2007-07-15T16:49:00.000+08:00

Here's to professionalism, integrity & loads of new programs!

MIM-CPT Batch 5

2007-07-07T14:23:00.001+08:00

Train the Trainer Program
Day 6

MIM-CPT Batch 5: June 18-23, 2007

2007-07-07T14:23:00.000+08:00

Train the Trainer CPT program at MIM
Day 5

Happy 9th Birthday Matthew!

2007-04-24T17:37:00.000+08:00

Matthew means God's Gift or Gift of God. Happy Birthday Matthew! We see your life as God's precious gift to us-for us to appreciate & love. You are indeed loved. Have a blessed day cutie :-)

Research Plan

2007-02-11T23:14:00.000+08:00

1.1. Statement of the research topic

The purpose of this study is to assess the preferred learning styles of a group of adolescent students at an art and design college in Malaysia, studying English as a Second Language (ESL), in their foundation year diploma studies.
This research aims to find out how these learners respond to the concept of learning strategies, as well as to the broader concepts of lesson plans.

“Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner. Put yourself in his place so that you may understand what he learns and the way he understands it” (Kierkegaard, cited in Felder & Brent, 2005, p.57).

Boys at Gate

2007-01-09T22:19:00.000+08:00

Melvyn (5, left) Matthew (8, right)
Who needs security guards when you have these characters guarding your front gate?

Happy 5th birthday Mel!

2007-01-09T21:45:00.000+08:00

Dear Melvyn,

You're 5 today! Happy birthday and blessings today and throughout the year!

Be all that you can be! We're proud of you, son. Hugs & smooches xxx

Hols? What Hols? You mean it's already 2007!

2007-01-04T16:25:00.000+08:00

2007 is here. It seemed to have crept past me. 2006 was an amazing year. I can't believe it has come and gone. I recorded some milestones:-

1) Started this blog in July, 2006! 'Whoa woot-woot' (quoting Bea, one of my ex-students, soon to be toa graduate, 'Whoa' yourself Bea ;-))
2) Started on my MEd and completed 5 core units (all As except for 1 B+ bah)
3) Moved on to a new church GTPJ; technically not new since GT was the church I 'grew up' in since Form2-1995.
4) Moved the whole family as well!
5) Managed to keep my full time job while lecturing part time and nurturing 2 sons & being wife to a very busy husband :-)
6) Managed to be a fairly good daughter to my parents :-)
7) Managed to keep my house in fairly good order.
8) Opened my home for youth cell every fridays! (30 of them when they all come!)

I look forward to 2007 for the challenges that God brings! May 2007 really be a year of Venture (GTPJ's theme)-a time of stretching, lengthening & expanding (not physically though)!

The term 'tabula rasa' means starting on a clean slate. Each year, we all have a clean slate to work on. So, let's take the opportunities as they come, count our blessings ;-) & seek for excellence in all we do-yippee!

Light In Darkness

2006-12-28T20:30:00.000+08:00

To all my Christian friends and students: "Blessed Christmas and a Fruitful New Year" !

May Jesus be the Christ in our Christmas. You know, it irks me that some people still use the 'X-mas' greeting. IT IS NOT an abbreviation. The 'X' was inserted deliberately to take the 'Christ' out of the word 'Christ-mas' making Him an unknown quantum 'X' in the equation. These may also be people who are sincerely ignorant of what Christmas is all about. You may think I'm being really sensitive & trivialising the matter, far from it. I am not one who cares about being politically correct (only when it really matters).

Christmas is a time of giving, sharing and celebrating-certainly true BUT Christmas is all about the story of Christ coming to earth to reach a lost and helpless generation.

HE came as 'Light in darkness' & we celebrate HIM, and His Return again.

Don't miss Him out in your life equation, Say Blessed CHRIST-mas & mean it in your heart ;-)

On another note, I have been busy with a new research paper but am enjoying the work immensely. I hope to start posting new material on research and maybe some of you will be keen to do some research of your own too!

My Dear Lecturer, Do You Inspire Me?

2006-12-05T13:21:00.000+08:00

Having said so many things about students, let's now comment about teachers or lecturers, as we are called at tertiary level. Lecturers form an important factor in motivating students! This is not meant to be an oversimplified statement for it is truth!

They play a direct role in their enthusiasm and providing feedback in lesson presentations. Crookes and Schmidt (1989 as cited in Ellis, 2003) gives some advice to lecturers on how to make sure that the learning tasks pose a reasonable challenge to learners – ‘neither too difficult or too easy’ (p. 516). If a student experiences a positive learning experience then it is likely that the lecturer will see an increase in motivation and positive attitudes. The socio-cultural milieu (Gardner, 1985) embodies the lecturer as representation of the ‘target language group’ therefore the AMTB certainly combines both the attitudes (integrative & attitudes toward learning) as the underlying direction in the behavior.

Finocchiaro (1981) say that motivation is effected as a result of the lecturer’s disposition; the moment she closes the door, greets her students with a welcoming smile :-) and proceeds to interact sincerely building good rapport before the lesson proper.

Most of us can still remember that one sullen and cranky teacher we used to have, not for her positive attributes but for her grumpy, one syllable answers. We attended classes as we should but none of us could honestly say that we enjoyed any of her lessons, could we?

On the other hand, we have stories of the inspiring teachers; ones who would go the extra mile in their classes. The difference would be obvious. Let me be that kinda lecturer any day!

Personality Counts, It Does!

2006-12-05T13:00:00.000+08:00

There are several dimensions or traits which constitutes an individual’s personality.

Many different types of tests have been done to identify personality types, for example the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator Test (Myers, 1962 cited in Brown, 2000) reviving the work of Carl Jung states that people have preferences for functioning in certain ways and this is recognized as part and parcel of individual variation, especially in learning.

In Eysenck’s theory (cited in Ellis, 2003), he has chosen to investigate the extroversion/introversion dimension of an individual’s personality and have developed two hypotheses to L2 learning.

The first is that extroverted learners perform better in acquiring basic interpersonal skills; the rationale being that sociability (an element of extroversion) will see more success in communicating the L2 whereas introverted learners do better at developing cognitive academic ability mainly because they spend more time reading and writing (Griffith, 1991b cited in Ellis, 2003). I am not suggesting that each student become extroverts overnight. It must be respected that some are more reserved in nature and prefer writing down thoughts, keeping to themselves etc. I am suggesting however, that each student is partially responsible for the learning experiences that they can bring to the classroom. Go ahead, share that thought, no matter how silly you think it sounds. Who's judging? If each student keeps 'mum' & stoned faced at class then the lecturer will have to speak more! And we all know what happens when he/she goes on & on & on...zzzz...

Another researcher Strong (1983) also supported the first hypothesis that extrovert traits such as talkativeness, gregariousness were advantageous to spontaneous communication and aids in language learning. The moral for us is that we must not be afraid to articulate an idea or comment about a strongly held issue. In my classes at least, I welcome such repertoire; it lifts the spirit & provides a welcome relief from the monotony of classroom style teaching. Of course the elements of good manners & respect come into play at all times. We can say whatever we feel but do so tactfully and in good taste.

Melbourne, Best City In Australia

2006-12-01T16:35:00.000+08:00

I was back in Melbourne (Nov16-27) for a visit after nearly 15 years away! We went back to all the places we were familiar with; North Melbourne (where I lived), my alma mater Melbourne University, Carlton in the city, Richmond, Glen Waverly in the suburbs, not forgetting good old Geelong; 1 hour out of Melbourne! We covered a wide area from city to gorgeous beaches (Lorne and Torquay), peaceful forests (Sassafras in the Danenongs; my favourite was Miss Marples' tearoom where we had hot scones & yorkshire tea) and then back to the malls (Chadstone, Glen Waverly) in the suburbs.

I promise to post some pixs here, I've just been too caught up with my research readings...3 weeks behind, and that's not a joke. Later.

Emotions Amplifes Learning! Get Loud, Get Angry

2006-12-01T16:17:00.000+08:00

Researcher Schumann (1998) identifies a close relationship between motivation and emotion in application to second language learning especially in the area of neurobiology. Another researcher Silvan Tomkins (1970) argues quite convincingly that emotions function as an "amplifier, providing the intensity, urgency, and energy to propel behavior" (p.61). He says that emotions form the very basis of human drives.

Emotions certainly invade all our activities. Emotions can include anger, desire, hurts, bitterness and even envy. It is certainly better to channel the positive emotions like the desire to seek after excellence in completing a task.

Therefore given its intensity, emotions are key in energizing and directing our behavior towards a desire to learn a language or especially in completing an assignment! Gardner (1985), Crookes & Schmidt (1991), Oxford and Shearin (1994) and DÖrnyei (1994a) as cited in Robinson (2002) have discussed the difference between the engaged and unengaged learner and have all concluded that attitudes alone are not support to drive motivation.

One needs to have that additional “oomph”, to arouse emotions and accelerate the learning curve.

Self Esteem

2006-10-23T21:30:00.000+08:00

At the very heart of all affective activity is self-esteem. Imagine carrying out any of our daily responsibilities without some form of self esteem.

This is the most basic human dignity to have; self confidence, and belief in one’s worth whether in relation to self or valued to others. People need to have self esteem. [pix: Sister bear-Berenstsain bears children's book]

Brown (2000) captures the essence of self-esteem in its multidimensionality in relation to global (matured adults), situational (specific social interactions) and task (in education, it would mean a task related evaluation).

Researchers like Adelaide Heyde (1979), Watkins, Biggs and Regmi (1991), Brodkey and Shore (1976), and Gardner and Lambert (1972) as cited in Brown (2000, p. 146) have all included measures of self-esteem as an important variable in their studies of success in language learning. They found that self-esteem contributed significantly especially to oral tasks (Heyde, 1979 in Brown).

Other researchers like MacIntyre, DÖrnyei, Clement, and Noels (1998) incorporated self-confidence as an important element in their model of ‘willingness to communicate’ in a foreign language (cited in Brown, 2000). MacIntyre et al. suggested that a high level of communicative ability does not necessary imply that a learner would automatically succeed in learning, self confidence factors assumed more prominence in the overall impact.

Which one has the greatest impact?

2006-10-23T21:17:00.000+08:00

Which affective personality factor do you think has the greatest impact upon second language learning?

The affective domain refers to the emotional aspect of the way people think, feel and act. It is [pix:pocoyo & friends at play] the very heart of the development of human behavior. This affective state involves a variety of personality traits about ourselves and the people in whom we come into contact with.

Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy has been used as a framework for understanding this affective domain in human behavior. He describes the different levels of affectivity; receiving, responding, valuing and organization, resulting in the individual’s development of their value system. The underlying values here are universal in nature.

The second language learner needs to receive, respond and be willing to embrace this interpersonal exchange.

We should consider four of the commonly discussed personality factors; self-esteem, risk-taking, inhibition and anxiety and see amongst these which has the greatest impact on second language learning.

"Happy Deeparaya!"

2006-10-23T21:15:00.000+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya to all Muslim students/friends and a Happy Deepavali to all Hindu students/friends! The new word coinage applies "Happy Deeparaya!"

Mid-Autumn Festival...yeah?

2006-10-06T16:02:00.000+08:00

I had never given any serious thought to all the fuss about the Mid-Autumn Festival until my 8 year old son's National Chinese School declared the day as an official holiday.

Last year around September, my son (std 1) came home and told me that the next day was a holiday and that he could watch cartoons for one whole day. No way, I replied checking the calendar. There are no public holidays in Sept. Nope, end of discussion and that he was going to school despite his protests that all his friends told him so and they weren't going either.

The next day during my lunch break, I drove him to an empty school. The school was practically deserted! Not to be undone, I called up one of his classmate's mum to check and was cordially informed that yes it was indeed an official school hol. in a tone that implied that was I kidding that i didn't know? My son raised his eyebrow at me grinning from ear to ear...with a look that said, I told you sooo...yipeee I don't have school today...

Being a fast learner, I quicky made a mental note not to make the same mistake this year. For those of you still blur-ish about this festival read here. I personally don't celebrate the festival (the idea of paying homage to the moon doesn't exactly thrill me in any way) but a reunion dinner with my in-laws is common practice, rolling lil tung balls into boiling sugar syrup & eating those compact mooncakes, who can resist?!

Have you all seen how commercialised it has all become with mooncakes stuffed with ice-cream, coffee, kaya, durian eeks! But some of the packagings are to die for! Like the one I have now with the intricate embroidery of a multitude of colourful dragon flies on a light yellow cosmetic bag.

Check out the moon tonight, it is supposed to be at its brightest. pix taken from wikipedia

A cool dude from Mongolia

2006-09-28T11:56:00.000+08:00

After a morning class yesterday, I caught up with a student from Mongolia. We discussed the languages he spoke: Russian, Mongolian & English-in that order.
Halfway through our conversation, his handphone rang. He spoke a smattering of the Khalka Mongolian after which I fascinatingly told him that it really sounded like a cross between Japanese (from the basic sounds I hear-hah!) & Mandarin. Historically, there were many attempts by the Mongols to invade Japan (1274-1368) which contributed to the proliferation of cultural & identity exchanges.

He offered a keen insight that if a person knew Mongolia, it was relatively easy to learn Japanese as the sound systems/structure were closely intertwined. This student articulated well in English, maybe even better than some of our own local students considering English was his third and least spoken language.

I asked him for some feedback as to how he was getting along in the class. I must have caused him some cultural shock initially as he said that I sounded like a ‘machine gun’ throughout the lessons, compared to his other lecturers/ tutors! Hah, what a keen insight from a student. I must of course, slow down my speech. Isn’t that point on one of my Not to-do list?

Welcome to TOA, Anar! We hope you will find great satisfaction learning art, design & Manglish with us just as we from you. (pix:deco on these accessories show a combination of Tibetan, Mongol, and Chinese motifs)

2 Web Designers & 1 Interior/Graphic Designer Wanted

2006-09-25T13:39:00.000+08:00

We are looking for:-
2 Web designers (in-house): 1 for an Architectural company (Archicentre S/B, Subang Jaya) and 1 for PAM (Persatuan Arkitek M’sia, KL)

Responsibilities include: Web design, graphic promotional material design, multimedia content creation for website, maintaining websites and web applications. You may also be required to design and build great websites, develop web layout and graphical images for the websites under your charge. Qualifications: Diploma from a reputable design institute majoring in Webdesign, Multimedia Design, Art & Design or equivalent. Required skill(s): Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop. Java & Action Script, Illustrator, InDesign. Have a flair for creative designs. Must be able to work with min. supervision.

1 Interior/Graphics Designer for a small but aggressive design co. dealing with architects, the building & construction industry in Subang Jaya.
Responsibilities include: Ability to work creatively, commercially and operationally, knowledge of basic tools of interior design & CAD system will be an added advantage. Qualifications: Diploma from a reputable design institute majoring in Interior/Creative/Graphics Design or equivalent.

Only serious applicants need apply. Ensure that your resumes are complete. Salaries are based on Point-Of-Entry Competency. Please send your resumes (inc cover note etc) to me at mayann.chew@gmail.com.

Measures of aptitude correlate with language proficiency

2006-09-25T11:55:00.000+08:00

In the college where I teach, we have adapted a similar version. This test is administered to students to determine their eligibility for the different courses offered and stream them into the elementary, intermediate and advance levels.
Measures of aptitude do correlate with measures of language proficiency and achievement as stated by Ellis (2000).
In the advance levels, the students are more academically inclined and also more fluent in their language skills. The elementary students tend to struggle through most of the other non-linguistic subjects and find themselves lagging behind in the course. This test has shown to be a good indicator of the relationship between language aptitude and learning. In another study, Pimsleur, Sundland, and MacIntyre (1966) found that 20 to 30 percent of the children in their study were underachieving in phonology because they had problems with their aptitude component (cited in Ellis, 2000, p.496).

What is Aptitude?

2006-09-25T11:49:00.000+08:00

In early research, aptitude was defined as the ‘capability of learning a task’. This depends to a large extent on some combination of the characteristics of the learner (Carroll, 1981 cited in Ellis, 2000). A few researchers such as Pimsleur (1978) and Oller & Perkins (1978, both cited in Ellis, 2000) have argued that motivation is very much a part of aptitude as verbal factor is an important element in answering intelligence questions. Two main instruments used to measure aptitude were developed in the 1950s and 1960s (Ellis, 2000).
The Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) (Carroll and Sapon 1959) initially tested candidates for foreign language instruction. In 1966, The Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (PLAB) (Pimsleur) was developed as an alternative to MPLAT, especially for use in junior schools. It measures a higher range of abilities compared to MPLAT. Carroll’s (1965) MPLAT identifies four main factors in language aptitude: Phonemic coding ability, grammatical sensitivity, inductive learning ability and rote learning ability (Ellis, 2000, p.496).

Affective & Social Strategies

2006-09-25T11:40:00.000+08:00

I am a language teacher who believes in understanding my students’ motivation and personality. I believe in establishing rapport with the students. It is impossible for me to just deliver a lecture then walk out of the classroom. I want my students to ask questions, provide feedback, clarify assignment topics and challenge me if they need to (social strategies). Notwithstanding, some seem to find it hard to ask questions or work openly with others. They tend to prefer to work independently almost to the point of exclusively. Ideally, students should be put into smaller groups (3-4) for group work so that they can have each other not only for academic support but emotional support. I would like to expose them to be more open in their social and affective skills; not to be so anxious and overly competitive with their classmates (affective factors). This way they could interact beyond the classroom. They need the affective (culture) support from their classmates as this is certainly lacking. The goals would include helping students lower their inhibition, encourage risk taking and promote cooperative learning.

The essence of Motivation

2006-09-08T09:51:00.000+08:00

Students are motivated with potentially different types of motivations daily. Especially so with adolescents, their numerous motives vary or wane as time goes along. A student could tell you today that she intends to major in a specific field (say for example in Digital Animation) and she seems convinced and excited, enough for you to believe this. At the end of the same week, she could come up to you and announce that all that has changed (within the span of 4 days) and she has been inspired/motivated by so-and-so who thinks that she has the talent to be a Multimedia specialist instead!.

Gardner defines motivation as the “extent to which an individual works or strives in order to learn…because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced” (p. 46).

In his earlier work with Lambert (1972), Gardner identified two types of motivation: integrative & instrumental motivation. The integrative motivation describes the personalities and attitudes of individuals who hold the target language (TL) in esteem and desire to participate and hence identify, willingly. The instrumental motivation deals with external factors driven towards goal getting results; getting jobs with skills learnt & monetary rewards.

Gardner (1985) states that four elements must be present for a learner to be counted as motivated; having a goal, desire to achieve the goal, positive attitudes and effort.

Gardner differentiates these from the other cognitive factors such as intelligence, aptitude and other related variables (Gardner & MacIntyre, 1992, 1993a cited in Brown 2000) but in his socio- educational model, he shows how they work together. Even though motivation plays a substantial role in successful learning, both affective and cognitive variables work hand in hand.

This definition allows Gardner to discuss a wider issue under the motivation umbrella and he does so, including other variables such as emotion which we will discuss in the next post.

Happy 49 years of Merdeka Malaysia!

2006-08-31T21:43:00.000+08:00

We've certainly come a long way! May we discover more of ourselves; we should never stop learning.

WE drive language changes

2006-08-31T21:30:00.000+08:00

The needs of speakers drive language changes. Cultural differences merged together simply require new words. Cell phones and the Internet didn’t exist in Shakespeare’s time, for example. By using new and emerging terms, we all drive language change. But the unique way that individuals speak also sparks language change. That’s because no two individuals use a language in exactly the same way.

The vocabulary and phrases people use depend on where they live, their age, education level, social status and other factors. We have seen how through our daily interactions, we pick up new words and sayings and integrate them into our speech. We borrow, we add, we delete and reconstruct words to suit our needs, shown through the Manglishes. We spread these words through our community and ultimately transmit them to the next generation. Teens and young adults for example, often use different words and phrases from their parents. Some of them spread through the population and slowly change the language.

However, we can tell that children will be the main catalyst for language change. It is in the process of learning the language of previous generations that they begin to internalize and bring forth a different variation of that language. However as Graddol (2006) acknowledges in his article, this new language is rapidly ousting the language of Shakespeare as the world’s lingua franca.

The English in its new global form is not English as we have known it, and have taught. He says “It is a new phenomenon, and if it represents any kind of triumph and it is probably not a cause of celebration by native speakers”.

Learn Language Meaningfully!

2006-08-20T21:48:00.000+08:00

In Malaysian primary/secondary schools, students hardly ask questions. Only the ‘brave’ dare venture with detailed or challenging questionings. The reason is due to a well known ‘spoon feeding’ education system in which students are taught using text book materials and depend on a rote learning, drilling, and memory based learning strategy.

The teacher’s role is to explain as much information as possible, cramp in the syllabus in order to ‘prepare’ students for examinations. For those who do ask questions; they are more often dismissed away as unimportant and making the inquisitive student feel insignificant. The students get the picture very young. They become exam-oriented and rely on their memory skills to help them excel. What transpires is a generation of students who become exam oriented. They care little about acquiring knowledge. Then at colleges, learning objectives are suddenly different. Lecturers only give brief overviews and expect the students to research on their own, find out for themselves. Lecturers want to know what the students think but the students have not been taught how to think. They have no idea how to critically think through a process let alone clearly argue a point. They expect the lecturers to do what their secondary teachers have done, spoon-feed.
In adopting the Communicative Learning Technique (CLT) in class has interesting implications for the learner. The second language learner is given the opportunity to take part in meaningful communicative interaction in realistic situations. They are required to research a given topic, engage in group discussions and present their findings to the class. In the beginning, they can’t. Firstly it is because of the switch from the secondary school mentality. Secondly, the target language is hardly use at home or amongst their peers. Eventually however through the fun activities, the learners loosen up and embrace the learning. This is an important factor in a CLT approach. Secondly, the CLT approach is designed in such a way that it encourages learner motivation in grammatical forms as well which seems to be a bane in learning for them.
These learners are likely to be motivated by materials which replicate as precisely as possible the type of language environments they will encounter in their new speech community. Researchers have shown that students who are uninterested and frustrated in grammatically organized program definitely benefit from emphasis on using language in a meaningful way.

Vocabulary changes over generations

2006-07-26T22:42:00.000+08:00

It is certainly no secret that languages change over the years. Usually the most noticeable differences between generations and times are in vocabulary. What one generation recognize may be a blur for the next. In examining some of the top 100 advertisements between the years 1852-1958, we saw the evident difference in words used. In a famous Sunkist ad “drink an orange” by copywriter Claude Hopkins in 1916, he describes an orange drink as “healthfulness”, which aids in the “proper assimilation” of food. The students found these words unusual as they’re use to a “healthy drink” and “proper digestion” of food. In another ad written in February, 1935 on Etiquette, we read of a dress being called a “frock” a term not commonly used these days, at least not in Malaysia, revealing our “crudities” to mean to lack in social graces and to be popular is to be a “better mixer” which according to the students, sound more like a bar tender or a ready to use cake mixture!

And in consumer advertising, “hosiery” for stockings in the early 1900s, “darn good washing product” writes Raymond Rubicam, a famous writer, for a 1949 soap ad or a phrase like a “wretched looking shirt” in 1928. Bruce Barton and Roy Durstine wrote about “ingenuity begets ideas” and describe a journey as “thence down a canal” in the 1935s. One student says she has only heard of the word beget use in the Bible, where so and so begets someone and a generational lineage is introduced.
In the 1955s we were told to “see the fine fat mountain yonder” in a Chevrolet ad.
What an interesting class that had been and it brought on more discussions about the advent of the internet and new terms like technobable, cyberspace, java, spam and mouse potato among many others!

As English as they come

2006-07-21T22:51:00.000+08:00

Languages are continuously changing. This is indisputable. Language is used by people and people change therefore it is instinctive that languages assimilate into social communities in order to co-exist with mankind. It is said that in order to know and use a language is to know and identify with the culture of the people. Each new generation has to learn the language taught to them. Languages simply cannot and do not remain stagnant hence to possess language is to possess a part of life. No two speakers will ever speak alike.

Take the English language for example. McArthur’s Circle of World English defines an idealized standard as the World Standard English or Standard American English (SAE). The SAE is really purely an idealization because nobody can really speak it since it is a not even properly defined. This idealism may be far from applicable in this day as the English language has burgeoned into many varieties; freely evolving into regional dialects such as our own Manglishes and Singlishes.

According to David Crystal, author of “English as a Global Language”, non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers 3 to 1 and in Asia alone, the number is 350 million! (the total population of America, Britain and Canada, cited in Power, 2005). Another statistic show that there are now about 100 million Chinese students studying English in China, more than there are Britons!

It’s like a whole new world in the linguistic sense. The fact is, we as Manglish speakers aren’t just passively learning the language but we are ‘transforming’ it with our infusions of “lahs”, “mah”, “lor” and “ah”...They have become a part of us; innately formed, solidified.
Can we say then that Manglish is only a language work in progress? Is there a right or wrong in English usage? Or should we relearn to speak as how Shakespeare or Chaucer would have wanted us to?

Ogden Nash's poem, 'Laments for a dying language' put things into a cutting perspective:-
“Coin brassy words at will, debase the coinage; We are in an if-you-cannot-lick-them-join age, A slovenliness provides its own excuse age, Where usage overnight condones misusage. Farewell, farewell to my beloved language, Once English, now a vile orang utanguage”
In this day & age, Mr Nash may need to reevaluate his minuscule perspective.

Why Blog???

2006-07-20T23:08:00.000+08:00

This blog has arisen out of a necessity more than a need. I was contented to read students' blogs, chuckle to myself and comment generously but was soon asked where was MY blog? 'You mean YOU don't have a blog?! How unfair, how reserve, how un-friendly...' They said that I should have a blog they could comment on, be inspired by, grumble at, take their woes to etc etc ...nag nag nag so I decided to take on their challenge of establishing my own little space for my personal rantings & ravings. And of course that wasn't quite enough. I teach about a single message coming out loud & strong in communication, so I had to think of a theme, a sub theme and a single message coming out from here and knew that it would make more sense to post some educational learnings as well too. Hahaha. Well, you all asked for it.

Paper-less Society?

2006-07-20T14:19:00.000+08:00

Last week I went online to a major bank's portal to open two new trust saving accounts for my kids and another one for myself. After a few unsuccessful attempts in which I thought very long and hard as to how a secondary trust account for children below 12 years had a part which asked for their ID number (well okay), profession (?!), monthly income range (duh, the younger one is 4 years old), and marital status too (I give up)...I tried to ignore the questions and left blanks but the portal was cleverer than I. It rejected my whole application and requested politely that I go back to the start again....patience (grits teeth). I decided to fill my own details into those blanks to comply and hey guess what the computer accepts!

A good 30 minutes later, I was pleased to be given a 'thumbs up' and 3 reference numbers for each application with an instruction to go to the branch of my choice to activate the accounts bringing along the relevant documents & deposit. Fair enough.

During lunch today, I went to the bank's customer service explained to the lady my mission and showed her the reference numbers. She replies without a smile or a blink that I needed to refill all those forms and thrust at me 3 sets of the same and insist that the bank cannot accept the reference numbers without the proper papers. Hmmmm...So are we going paper-less or not? Time to throw out the excess. Save a tree or two.

Slips of the Tongue

2006-07-20T13:36:00.000+08:00

A student should be passionate about learning a language. Once the learning becomes mundane, tedious, and a drag, the language teacher should seriously evaluate the present teaching methods. I often do. Language learning should be fun & enjoyable; a time of discovery, a time of “escape” away from the other more languid and duller subjects!
I had never really differentiated between my students’ linguistic competence and linguistic performance.
Fromkin et. al (2003) tells us that there is a need to. There is a need because there is a difference between having the knowledge (competence) and actually applying the knowledge (the application part in performance).The authors also say that often our speech is garbled, we stammer and produce slips of the tongue. In presentation skills I teach the students a phrase called “speech anxiety” or “stage fright”. I tell them that often even the best of us experience this difficulty when we feel as if our confidence is eroded merely by standing before an audience. However, there are practical ways to overcome this. It becomes a problem only when it affects our performance. Speakers who are linguistically competent may also experience speech anxiety! They usually have the knowledge to produce complex sentences but due to this fear, they fumble and slip.

What is Language?

2006-07-20T12:04:00.001+08:00

I would describe language as a beautiful tapestry; in which the human expression, emotions and creativity are woven to communicate meaning, understanding, instruction and acceptance through an efficient system of sounds and gestures. Language must be 'highly organized systems' in order to be truly effective as a communication means. If this were not so, listeners would face a difficult task of trying to unravel the mysterious 'codes' of speaking.

Fromkin, Rodman & Hyams (2003) declares that each person speaks a language in order to be understood by others who know that language. And this is the essence of what language is all about. This sound system of a language or knowledge must be learnt and exercised otherwise it can serve no purpose. In addition to the knowledge of sounds that a speaker should have, we can highlight the different components of knowing a language into having the ability to understand the 'phonology (sounds) syntax (structure) and semantics (meaning) aspects' of the language.

Language is dynamic and ever changing. It can realistically form pictures and music in a human mind. It can refer to a moment in the past, rejoice in the present or anticipate the future. It is definitely uniquely human. It is spontaneous, part of a person’s biological makeup. It cannot be suppressed because of its innateness. It stresses cognitive abilities from birth, certainly a God given characteristic to enjoy.

Language is powerful as the spoken word can bring instant rapport, it can build and it can be creatively used. Language can unite a nation. On the other hand, language can be use to destroy, to slander and to accuse. It can harm another person if not handled intuitively. Language move boundaries!