getting started for a new school year

7/29/2019 Getting Started for a New School Year

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Getting started .. By:

ABIDAH BTSARAJUL HAQ

EnglishLanguage Master Teacher

Sekolah TuankuAbdul Rahman , Ipoh

Another new year has arrived with heartfelt warmth embracing

the future , hoping that it will bring us more fruitful and prosperous monthsahead. This also means that the long school holidays are over now. Whether

we like it or not , as students we have to readily drag our feet to start yet

another journey to fulfill our dreams . Its back to school again and for many

I hope , are anticipating a longing for self- improvement to excel further in

their studies. As for those who are sitting for major public exams, this is

indeed a crucial year for you My advice would be , start early and do not

wait till the final hour to gear up. Do more than is required and continuedoing it. Remember , the difference between ordinary and extraordinary

effort is that little extra you put in.

This is especially so in the acquisition of the English Language.

Students should take heed in improving their language skills. The importance

of English is not how many people speak it but what it is used for. English is

the major language of news and information in the world. English is

commonly used as a medium for communication . More than ninety

percent of the computer data are processed and stored in English. It is also the

lingua franca of globalization and mastery of this language by Malaysians isessential to access information and knowledge. Press statements by ministers

of various divisions have constantly stressed that many of our local

graduates may be armed with good degrees in Information Technology but

lack the basic communication skills and a good demand of English when they

enter the job market.


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With this in mind, the reality is such, the falling standards of

English among Malaysian students are becoming a nightmare. Our former

Prime Minister , Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had constantly highlighted his

concerns regarding the declining standards of the English Language among

students. He was perturbed that Malaysia might not only lose its economic

competitiveness but also find it hard to progress in the industrial and

technical fields if its workforce is not competent in English.

Thus , as students you need to take up this challenge and prove that you

can master the language well . Besides having problems and difficulties in using

the language confidently in everyday situations , students lack the vocabulary toexpress themselves. Hence it is through reading that you can acquire the store of

vocabulary you need. The goal of reading is to provide students with the skills ,

strategies and knowledge to read fluently and to understand and construct

meaning from the text. Understandingis theultimate goal of reading. For

many students , however, reading words is not enough to make you understand..

Students need to learn specific ways :

to get ready for reading

to understand what they are reading while they read it

to summarise and reflect what they have read

In other words, many struggling readers need comprehension strategies

to use before , during and after reading. Students should also know the

purpose of reading. The purpose in this case is for learning and enjoyment,

whether you are reading a book, magazine, sign, pamphlet, e- mail message ,

or information from the internet. Here is a reading skill that uses the

K-W-L-Q Strategy. I have used this to build up comprehension skills with

my boys in STAR , Ipoh and I personally find it an effective tool in my

classroom practice. The K-W-L-Q Strategy is to help students to

become actively engaged in comprehension before, during and after reading. It

consisits of 4 basic steps :


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The K-W-L-Q Strategy

STEP1 STEP 4

Accessing What Recalling What I

I Know Learned

STEP2 STEP 3

Determining What I Formulating Thinking

Want to Learn Questions

You can use this strategy on any reading material what you

encounter and start to practice on it. Here is a simple process that you need to go

through in order to acquire the comprehension skills.

1. Read and understand the text or passage

2. Skim the text to get the general idea

3. Underline the main idea in each paragraph . Hint : The main idea is

usually found in the first sentence.

4. Underline supporting details for further understanding. Hint : You maywrite short headings on the right- hand margin to keep track with your

reading.

5. Once you have identified the main idea, recall the information from the

text

to your background knowledge

6. Finally , after reading the text , draw a table with four columns to

summarise

your understanding of the text based on the following headings :

a . What I know b. What I want to know c. What I learned


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d. Formulating thinking questions.

Here is a reading text that has used this strategy . As your first practice , you can

go through it to equip yourself on the techniques that I have discussed earlier.

You can start with a simple reading text before progressing to difficult texts.

Pond Life

The plant and animal life found in a pond are determined largely by the ponds

soil, quality of water and location. Tropical ponds have different species of plants

and animals than ponds in the Arctic , in mountains, or in prairies.

Ponds constantly undergo annual and long-term changes. Water levels normally

rise and fall because of rainfall. As water levels change, the type and amount of

plant growth also change .As the numbers and types of plants change, some

animals may become numerous while others may decline in numbers.

Many natural processes help to maintain ponds for example floods and the

movement of ice may deepen ponds. Human activities, on the other hand can

seriously harm ponds. For example the quality of a pond rapidly deteriorates

when people fill it with rubbish or other wastes.

Kinds of ponds

Ponds may be formed by natural conditions or by human beings. The main kinds

of natural ponds include alpine ponds, bog ponds, ice-formed ponds, meadow-

stream ponds , riverine ponds, sinkhole ponds and tundra ponds. Many farmers

build a farm pond for flood control or recreation or to secure a supply of water.


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Pond Life

What I Know What I Want to

Know

What I Learned My Thinking

Questions

Contains

water

Has many/few plants

and animals

Water level

changes

Natural

processes

involved

Different

kinds ofponds

How does a

pond get its

water ?

What types

of plants

and animals

live in the

pond ?

What do

floods do to

the pond ?

How can we

prevent

people from

littering the

ponds ?

The types of

ponds

Therelationship

of water

level and

plant

growth

How ponds

deepen

Farm pond

How do

ponds dry

up ?

What

happen to

ponds

during the

dry season

Why are

ponds found

at certain

places?

Hence your critical thinking skills will develop simultaneously as you :

activate the background knowledge ( as you read ): thinking about what

you have already know about the topic and how your knowledge relates towhat you are reading

predict what is going to happen or will be learned from reading the text

generate and answer questions to promote understanding such as who,

what, when, where, why and how questions

As time goes by and with constant practice, I am sure you will be

able to generate actively your thinking skills I would like to conclude with this

quotation from Joseph Ross , It takes time to succeed because success is

merely the natural reward of taking time to do anything well .


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STRATEGIC COMPREHENSION SKILLS

By :

ABIDAH BT SARAJUL HAQ

English Language Master Teacher

Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman , Ipoh

The comprehension skills in the PMR English language paper are tested

through a series of different texts. These include articles, advertisements, notices,

pamphlets and short passages in different forms. The use of strategic

comprehension skills is thus, crucial as an effective tool in improving

students understanding before answering comprehension questions in the

PMR examinations.

I have written below some important steps to follow in order toenhance your understanding of a text .

STEP 1

This is also called the predicting stage. All you need

PREVIEW to do is to look out for the headings, key words,

pictures, tables ,graphs or any other key

information

in the text. In other words , this is also the

skimming process.

Hint By skimming the text , you are actually

looking out for ideas related to the topic.

Hint To identify the topic , underline or draw

circles around the topic word .This word

appears frequently in the text ( e.g water

melons in the passage provided)


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GOALS The goals ofpreviewing or skimming are for

students

to :

learn as much about the passage / text as

they can in 2 3 minutes.

activate their background knowledge about

the topic.

Make predictions about what they will read.

STEP 2

SWITCH Students switch on and off while reading each

ON & OFF section of the text. Switch on refers to the

TECHNIQUE portion of the text that you understand and

switch off are the parts of the comprehension

that are not clear ( for example students do notknow the meaning of a certain word or

phrase).Switching on and off is designed to assist

students in monitoring their comprehension. In

order

to help them to overcome their switch off

problems, you need to :

1 2

Reread the sentence and Reread the sentence

look for ideas that help you leaving out the switch off

understand the word / phrase words / phrases in it and try to

get the general idea from it.


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Another skill that will help you to improve your comprehension of

the text is scanning. In scanning, you generally have a specific question

or idea already in mind ; you scan the text to find particular information

to answer your question or to confirm your idea. This is usually the process

you go through as you locate the answers for the PMR comprehension

questions.

Below are two different comprehension texts. Use the techniques

that I have discussed earlier to locate the answers. Continue this practice when

you

identify other forms of reading text to improve your comprehension skills.

Remember to put your heart and mind in this practice ,for that is the secret ofsuccess. Good Luck

Read the recipe below carefully and answer the questions that follow

BAKED CRAB

140 grams crab meat

1 medium onion (sliced)

4 button mushrooms (sliced)

can of Campbell Mushroom Soup

1 slice cheddar cheese

50 ml white vinegar

10 g unsalted butter

1 crab shell

1. Fry sliced onions and button mushrooms in butter till soft.

2. Add in crab meat followed by white vinegar. Stir on low heat.

3. When the vinegar is almost dried up, add in the mushroom soup

and mix well. Remove from heat.

4. Scoop the mixture neatly onto the crab shell and top with

cheddar cheese slice.

5. Place in a baking dish and bake in pre-heated oven at 200C until


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the cheese covering melts(for about 1-2 minutes). Serve hot

1. How much of crab meat is required in the recipe ?

a. 240 grams of crab meat

b. 70 X 2 grams of crab meat

c. 140 grams of crab meat

d. 340 grams of crab meat

2. The word pre heated oven means

a. the oven is heating up

b. the oven has been heated

c. a hot oven

d. a heavy oven

3. When do you put in the mushroom soup ?

a. When there is no more vinegar

b. When we remove the vinegar from the heat

c. When we stir on low heat

d. When the vinegar is about to dry up

4. Why must we fry the onions and button mushrooms ?

a. To make them tenderb. To mash them later

c. To heat them

d. To make them crispy


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Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

A watermelon is a large, sweet fruit. Watermelons consist of about

93 per cent water. They have a smooth rind ( hard outer skin) and juicy,

edible flesh. Most watermelons also have many seeds. The rind is striped or

solid and ranges in colour from grey-green to dark green. The flesh of ripe

watermelons is white, greenish-white, yellow, orange, pink or red. Most

watermelons weight from 2.3 to 18 kilograms, but some weight more than 45

kilograms.Their shape ranges from round to oblong.

Watermelons provide a good source of potassium and vitamins

A and C. They are eaten fresh , often in salads or as a dessert. The rind is

sometimes pickled and used to make relish.

Watermelons grow on vines. For this reason- and because they

must be replanted annually- watermelons are considered by horticulturists to

to be vegetables.

5. Watermelons

a. consist of less than fifty percent of water

b. are usually between 18 kg 45 kg

c. are of the same shape but of different sizes

d. have juicy and edible flesh

6. A dessert refers to

a. a spicy gravy eaten with rice

b. a sweet course eaten after a meal

c. a waterless place

d. a hot drink


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7. Which of the following is NOT the colour of watermelons ?

a. Dark green

b. Greenish white

c. Greyish white

d. Yellow

8. Why do you think horticulturists regard watermelons as vegetables ?

a. Because they are replanted every two years

b. Because they grow on vines

c. Because they are like salads

d. Because they are green in colour

***********************************

ANSWERS

1. b

2. b

3. d

4. a

5. d

6. b7. c

8. b


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MANAGING PHRASAL VERBS ANDIDIOMS

By :

ABIDAH BT SARAJUL HAQ

English Language Master TeacherSekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman , Ipoh

A section in the PMR English Language Paper 1 requires

students to be equipped with the skills of recognising and understanding

the use of phrasal verbs and idioms in sentences. This is quite a difficult

part of the question paper whereby students have substantial reason

to believe that it can be exhausting at times. This is especially so , if

they are not able to comprehend the given phrasal verbs and idioms in theexam questions.

To enlighten students on this aspect , let me explain the term

idioms. An idiom is a phrase or expression whose total meaning differs

from the meaning of the individual words, for example to blow ones top means

to get angry . Another example would be under the weatherwhich means not in

good health. These are only some examples of English Language idioms. Idioms

come from language usage and generally cannot be translated literally ( ie word

for word).

A phrasal verb refers to the conventional way of joining words to

express

a particular idea. Often in English, specific prepositions must follow certain

verbs ( action words) or adverbs ( words that give more information about verbs).

The expressions ran out , ran into , ran from , ran over and ran up have

different meanings from each other.

You will have a clearer picture as you read the sentences below :


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1) Mother has ran out of sugar . Please go and buy some requested Nuri.

2) The lorry ran into a tree after it skidded off the road.

3) The teenage boy ran from the bully who was chasing after him.

4) The driver who did not see the cat, ran over it on the slippery road.

5) Edwards ran up to his teacher to inform him of the theft.

For your information , phrasal verbs are often idiomatic and they tend ,

like other idioms , to cluster together. When you find one phrasal verb in a

passage , you are likely to find others. Below is such an example. Locate the

correct answers from the box below and try the following exercise for further

practice.

An argument had broken out (1)between

my friend , Rose and I at our apartment .

I became very upset and decided to

get away (2) for a while. I called my

brother, Nazmi and he turned up (3)

a few minutes later. Then we set off in his

car and I began to break into tears (4)

When I came round (5) , we had already

reached home. Mother was taken aback(6)

at what had happened.


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arrived shocked leave

regain consciousness cried started suddenly

Read the conversation in Situation A and choose the best meaning for the

phrases that are underlined.

Situation A : Syafiq is helping his sister, Shahira to find her

lost pen.

Shahira : Did you manage to find my blue pen , Syafiq ?

Syafiq : Sorry sis, Im still looking for it but I came across (1)

this old vase instead.

Shahira : Well ! let me study closely (2). It looks like a piece ofantique to me. I bet it must be expensive. Where did

you find it ?

Syafiq: I wasgoing through(3) some old stuff in the

wooden box.

Shahira : Hm ! I think it belongs to mum. Why

dont we tell herright away(4). I know she has been

looking for it.


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1.came across 3. going through

A sold A. searching

B bought B. digging

C found C. throwing

D brought D. packing

2. study closely 4. right away

A. wash A. tomorrow

B. clean B. the next hour

C. examine C. later

D. touch D. immediately

Situation B : Syamim and Deva are discussing about their

neighbour, Ah Watt.

Syamim : Look at Ah Watt. He works very hard to make ends

meet (5).

Deva : Yes, I really pity him . But he is a diligent person.

Sometimes his fruits sell like hot cakes(6).

Syamim : We seldom see him having any free time for

himself. Once in a blue moon(7) he would go

fishing with his son.

Deva : Although he works everday from morning to late in

the evening , he looks as fit as a fiddle (8).


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5 make ends meet 7 Once in a blue moon

A make a living A often

B manage financially B every now and then

C set up a business C rarely

D do a part time job D always

6 sell like hot cakes 8 as fit as a fiddle

A sell quickly A very sickB did not sell well B muscular

C sell cheaply C in good health

D sell fresh cakes D unhealthy

HELPFUL TIPS

An approach that would be useful for students in understanding the use of phrasal

verbs and idioms is designed below .

Identify and underline phrasal verbs andidioms whenever you read a book,newspaper or any materials in English

Write them down in a special notebook

Copy out the phrasal verbs and idioms in

the sentences that they appear

Locate meanings of phrasal verbs andidioms

Practice writing up your own sentences

using the same phrasal verbs and idioms

but in a different context

Ask your English teacher to check the

sentences

Find THREEphrasal verbs or idioms a day

Remember to go

through your list

EVERYDAY


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I have used this approach with my students and it has created opportunities for

them to explore their knowledge on idiomatic expressions. You may find it

tedious at

first but after much practice I am sure you will find the joy of doing it. The best

part of this approach is that you will have your very own store of phrasal verbs

and idioms. This is indeed a bonus when you use them in your essay writing.

Malesherbez once said : We can accompolish many things if we did not

think of them as impossible. Good Luck.

*******************************************

ANSWERS SITUATION A

1 started suddenly 1 C 3 A

2 leave 2 C 4 D

3 arrived 3 A

4 cried

5 regain consciousness

6 shocked SITUATION B

5 B 7 C

6 A 8 C


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getting started for a new school year

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