Of Fasting, Hiatus and Holiday
Hello! We meet again. Ah it had been more than a fortnight since I was 'away' and though I do have lots to say, not entirely will be divulged, nor that my cohesive link will do me wonders anyway. Heh.
So here's how it goes. In the blink of an eye, I have almost completed my practicum training in SMK Seksyen 7, Shah Alam. By almost I mean that this week shall be the last week to endure with the children's tantrums and their oh-so-raging-hormones. LOL indeed. It felt short, and yet it felt long as well to endure coming to school again after 7 years of bidding goodbye to the premise that is the school. But through thick and thin, and mostly, through me mingling around with a certain bunch from my own class (1 and 2 Efektif) and the other classes (mostly of 2 Budi's, a few from 1 Gigih's), they never fail to make my smile. That oughta keep the sanity in check.
So well, wadyaknow, fasting month has arrived yet again. Have u made amends (ganti) your 'days of leave' from fasting the previous year? LOL what a community service message. So far, I have never had troubles (or twoubles, as Ming Ming from Wonderpets would say it) even though I am an asthmatic. Though there would be times when I would wake up and feel a slight tight on my chest, I would cough the notion away and clear my respiratory system once again.
The reason why I had been on 'hiatus' was perhaps largely due to the fact that I used to blog before, and, at one point, I came to the conclusion that blogging was not all that fun as I was keen on getting comments as I view of them as signs of my entries being read, so it wasn't fun >.<. Okay, that WAS pathetic. Not anymore. With the advent of chatbox (cewah), the least is I could know who's who and who's dropping by.
What initiated me to blog again was the joy and delight beaming from the atmosphere of this 'blogosphere' where friends and peers could 'mingle' at and laugh to their heart's content. So, I decided to re-join this platform in the hopes of being able to touch and be touched by some good Samaritan's pieces of writing, to chuckle me up, to de-stress myself and who knows, to be able to learn some bulls' eyes points on life and everything it is about. Okay, stop this melancholia. LOL
Most importantly, I wish that this platform would enable me to reach out the young folks of Malaysian whose command of English is below commendable, and that I could actually do something about it. Not much, tiny weeny bit would do. As I had been 'lecturing' the students of 2 Imtiyaz today (1st of Sept, 09), there are TWO aspects of learning just about any language and they are...*drumroll*
ACCURACY and FLUENCY.
Accuracy, the abstract noun from which the adjective accurate is derived, centers around being able to speak right. That is, to speak correctly. But wait, it does not revolve just around this one skill of the four. It encompasses all the four skills of LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING and WRITING of which having a good accuracy (or being an accurate speaker) would assist greatly in the organization of the discourse for the sake of communication and many more.
The question is, HOW? How to achieve the accuracy of that of a proficient language user?
Through grammar, that's how! I more often that not equate grammar to the mathematical formula in the sense that both works to serve as a theoretical framework from which the two would function as a result of. Without grammar as the BUILDING BLOCKS, you can liken the scenario to putting together the jigsaw puzzle with loadsa pieces missing and went haywire. There oughta be loopholes and there could never be sufficient patchwork that would mend the 'here and there' holes. It's like..(this is embarassing) 'gali lubang, tutup lubang'. 'Nuff said.
From my hour-long relief class with 2 Imtiyaz, I further posed question of 'what would be the second stage, after one has 'graduated' from the first stage?' I gave out the obvious hint of the F word (not the swear, that I can assure you) which in BM holds the same initial. And the doa reciter (again, does this word exist?? LOL) quickly managed to spot the signal and yes, it was FASIH or being FLUENT. After all, wouldn't it make sense that after one has mastered the grammar (or anywhere near that stage), one would have little difficulty in mixing and matching the puzzles to make sentences almost effortlessly? By right, when the first stage has been cleared, slowly one would have picked up the pace towards being AUTOMATIC.
Yes, fluency is all about being AUTOMATIC. Having the similar natural 'ability' of that of the native language, where you need not think of what to say next. It's as if the words just flow like WATER. How I love that statement. LOL.
Having said that, I honestly believe that the grave situation befallen the young Malaysian nowadays is that of a mixture of inappropriate input and lack or almost nonexistent of output. Input comes from the surrounding, mainly from the other speakers. And what would be the benefit of having the other speakers, who are somewhat narcissistic, over-the-top (OTT) display of 'monologue' and hardly bother to slow down their pace, or use simpler language? I learn from learning linguistics back in the varsity that the 'missing' elements were the exact elements from which we learn (or ACQUIRE) or first language. The simplified speech that we heard in the early part of our lives serve as providing the right input to match our then-lack of knowledge and understanding of language. This crucial element, one that is called CHILD-DIRECTED SPEECH (not PARENT, pardon me) is called as that as it serves the main function of that to direct child to 'absorb' the language.
To compare that blissful situation and the one most second language learners is facing right now is farfetched and downright utopic to even have the slighest hope of them being able to pick up the pace of the highly-structured language that only those with considerable fluency manage to grasp, definitely not the case with us, what's with our tabula rasa blank state of mind. That's about it for now.
The effect is totally detrimental. Having been scared over the sounds of those highly 'sophisticated' bombastic lavish extravagant structure of a language, all hopes wither and fade away. Which being the perhaps main reason of the PHOBIA of the language, of mainly SPEAKING with that Malay tongue of yours to pronounce the then-colonial language of ours. Unless this vicious cycle is broken or the learners suddenly received some newfound courage and some fresh new perspectives, it is highly unlikely that the history won't repeat itself.
To end this entry, I'd like to share on how I started on my venture to speak. No I wasn't that blessed to having been living overseas and blending in with the culture and language. And I wasn't all that young and innocent (LOL) when I first started to WANTING to speak as well. I was 16 by the time a beautiful magnificent sight caught my attention, when my peer was there on the stage emceeing an English event I could hardly remember now. It was then that I started having the itch to wanting to be able to speak so effortlessly like her.
So, what DID I do?
Like any other training, I began with training my 'weapon of choice' - my TONGUE. (What were you thinking?? LOL). What I did was I trained my tongue to be able to flex considerably enough prior to me actually trying to produce the language and finding the outlet and channel to actually be able to SPEAK, and not to READ. And before long (or simply, to make long story cut short, LOL), here I am, taking B.Ed. TESL, undergoing practicum (which is almost over, o yeah!) and always looking for opportunity to speak, especially by giving 'back' the channel or outlet for the students for them to practice. The rest, the honors, well, all lie on you. YOU decide. Either you get fluent, or die trying (sounds like 50 Cent la plak, LOL).
So that's it. Any longer than I shall be deprived of my nap. Till then, later!
So here's how it goes. In the blink of an eye, I have almost completed my practicum training in SMK Seksyen 7, Shah Alam. By almost I mean that this week shall be the last week to endure with the children's tantrums and their oh-so-raging-hormones. LOL indeed. It felt short, and yet it felt long as well to endure coming to school again after 7 years of bidding goodbye to the premise that is the school. But through thick and thin, and mostly, through me mingling around with a certain bunch from my own class (1 and 2 Efektif) and the other classes (mostly of 2 Budi's, a few from 1 Gigih's), they never fail to make my smile. That oughta keep the sanity in check.
So well, wadyaknow, fasting month has arrived yet again. Have u made amends (ganti) your 'days of leave' from fasting the previous year? LOL what a community service message. So far, I have never had troubles (or twoubles, as Ming Ming from Wonderpets would say it) even though I am an asthmatic. Though there would be times when I would wake up and feel a slight tight on my chest, I would cough the notion away and clear my respiratory system once again.
The reason why I had been on 'hiatus' was perhaps largely due to the fact that I used to blog before, and, at one point, I came to the conclusion that blogging was not all that fun as I was keen on getting comments as I view of them as signs of my entries being read, so it wasn't fun >.<. Okay, that WAS pathetic. Not anymore. With the advent of chatbox (cewah), the least is I could know who's who and who's dropping by.
What initiated me to blog again was the joy and delight beaming from the atmosphere of this 'blogosphere' where friends and peers could 'mingle' at and laugh to their heart's content. So, I decided to re-join this platform in the hopes of being able to touch and be touched by some good Samaritan's pieces of writing, to chuckle me up, to de-stress myself and who knows, to be able to learn some bulls' eyes points on life and everything it is about. Okay, stop this melancholia. LOL
Most importantly, I wish that this platform would enable me to reach out the young folks of Malaysian whose command of English is below commendable, and that I could actually do something about it. Not much, tiny weeny bit would do. As I had been 'lecturing' the students of 2 Imtiyaz today (1st of Sept, 09), there are TWO aspects of learning just about any language and they are...*drumroll*
ACCURACY and FLUENCY.
Accuracy, the abstract noun from which the adjective accurate is derived, centers around being able to speak right. That is, to speak correctly. But wait, it does not revolve just around this one skill of the four. It encompasses all the four skills of LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING and WRITING of which having a good accuracy (or being an accurate speaker) would assist greatly in the organization of the discourse for the sake of communication and many more.
The question is, HOW? How to achieve the accuracy of that of a proficient language user?
Through grammar, that's how! I more often that not equate grammar to the mathematical formula in the sense that both works to serve as a theoretical framework from which the two would function as a result of. Without grammar as the BUILDING BLOCKS, you can liken the scenario to putting together the jigsaw puzzle with loadsa pieces missing and went haywire. There oughta be loopholes and there could never be sufficient patchwork that would mend the 'here and there' holes. It's like..(this is embarassing) 'gali lubang, tutup lubang'. 'Nuff said.
From my hour-long relief class with 2 Imtiyaz, I further posed question of 'what would be the second stage, after one has 'graduated' from the first stage?' I gave out the obvious hint of the F word (not the swear, that I can assure you) which in BM holds the same initial. And the doa reciter (again, does this word exist?? LOL) quickly managed to spot the signal and yes, it was FASIH or being FLUENT. After all, wouldn't it make sense that after one has mastered the grammar (or anywhere near that stage), one would have little difficulty in mixing and matching the puzzles to make sentences almost effortlessly? By right, when the first stage has been cleared, slowly one would have picked up the pace towards being AUTOMATIC.
Yes, fluency is all about being AUTOMATIC. Having the similar natural 'ability' of that of the native language, where you need not think of what to say next. It's as if the words just flow like WATER. How I love that statement. LOL.
Having said that, I honestly believe that the grave situation befallen the young Malaysian nowadays is that of a mixture of inappropriate input and lack or almost nonexistent of output. Input comes from the surrounding, mainly from the other speakers. And what would be the benefit of having the other speakers, who are somewhat narcissistic, over-the-top (OTT) display of 'monologue' and hardly bother to slow down their pace, or use simpler language? I learn from learning linguistics back in the varsity that the 'missing' elements were the exact elements from which we learn (or ACQUIRE) or first language. The simplified speech that we heard in the early part of our lives serve as providing the right input to match our then-lack of knowledge and understanding of language. This crucial element, one that is called CHILD-DIRECTED SPEECH (not PARENT, pardon me) is called as that as it serves the main function of that to direct child to 'absorb' the language.
To compare that blissful situation and the one most second language learners is facing right now is farfetched and downright utopic to even have the slighest hope of them being able to pick up the pace of the highly-structured language that only those with considerable fluency manage to grasp, definitely not the case with us, what's with our tabula rasa blank state of mind. That's about it for now.
The effect is totally detrimental. Having been scared over the sounds of those highly 'sophisticated' bombastic lavish extravagant structure of a language, all hopes wither and fade away. Which being the perhaps main reason of the PHOBIA of the language, of mainly SPEAKING with that Malay tongue of yours to pronounce the then-colonial language of ours. Unless this vicious cycle is broken or the learners suddenly received some newfound courage and some fresh new perspectives, it is highly unlikely that the history won't repeat itself.
To end this entry, I'd like to share on how I started on my venture to speak. No I wasn't that blessed to having been living overseas and blending in with the culture and language. And I wasn't all that young and innocent (LOL) when I first started to WANTING to speak as well. I was 16 by the time a beautiful magnificent sight caught my attention, when my peer was there on the stage emceeing an English event I could hardly remember now. It was then that I started having the itch to wanting to be able to speak so effortlessly like her.
So, what DID I do?
Like any other training, I began with training my 'weapon of choice' - my TONGUE. (What were you thinking?? LOL). What I did was I trained my tongue to be able to flex considerably enough prior to me actually trying to produce the language and finding the outlet and channel to actually be able to SPEAK, and not to READ. And before long (or simply, to make long story cut short, LOL), here I am, taking B.Ed. TESL, undergoing practicum (which is almost over, o yeah!) and always looking for opportunity to speak, especially by giving 'back' the channel or outlet for the students for them to practice. The rest, the honors, well, all lie on you. YOU decide. Either you get fluent, or die trying (sounds like 50 Cent la plak, LOL).
So that's it. Any longer than I shall be deprived of my nap. Till then, later!
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