Oh My English! (vocabulary Practice)

Vocabulary practice.
Choose the correct animal or object.

1. A __________ is an object. This is similar to a rope that a person might use when walking his/her dog in city/town areas.
(A)  lion
(B)  leash
(C)  leopard
(D)  llama

2. A _________ is an animal. This is a crustacean that people eat around the world.
(A)  lip
(B)  lamp
(C)  lobster
(D)  locket

3. A ________ is an object. This is usually made of glass or plastic and a person might put a liquid, such as water or juice, in it.
(A)  bottle
(B)  bear
(C)  crab
(D)  buffalo

4. A _______ is an object. People often eat soup with this type of utensil.
(A)  seal
(B)  stork
(C)  spoon
(D)  swordfish

5. A ________ is large, carnivores animal that in swamps. You can find this animal in Florida and Australia.
(A)  cap
(B)  cart
(C)  can
(D)  crocodile

6. A _____ is an object. This is a writing tool.
(A) penguin
(B)  peacock
(C)  piranha
(D)  pencil

7. A _______ is an animal. This is a gentle bird and is a symbol of peace and love.
(A) dove
(B)  desk
(C)  drill
(D)  dime

8. A _______ is an animal. This is an insect that people often find annoying and bothersome.
(A)  file
(B)  fork
(C)  fly
(D)  fixture

9. A ______ is an object. This is a door-like structure that can be opened or closed. many fences include this type of object as an entrance.
(A)  gazelle
(B)  giraffe
(C)  gorilla
(D)  gate

10. A _______ is an animal. This is a furry, small rodent that a person might buy as a house pet for hie/her child.
(A)  hammer
(B)  hamster
(C)  handle
(D)  hamper





















Answers:
1. B
2. C
3. A
4. C
5. D
6. D
7. A
8. C
9.D
10.B

SPP interview

Assalamualaikum..
This was the final step for me as KPLI students. The SPP interview.
After the final exam, i got another two weeks before the interview. But I didn't take it as the opportunity to study for the interview. At last, as usual, the night before the interview then I went through about the education issues and the current issues.
Then, on December 5, I just sat and relaxed. Hhahaha. Feel like I was load with all the knowledge.
10.00 a.m. at bilik temuduga 2, 6 of us, Heveldy, Kak Hasnah, Kak Hasti, Indra, Kalai and I confronted the intreviewer. Hehehe I just gave a non-stop smile like "kerang busuk".
The first question was
"Ok Hasimah, please introduce yourself" (in bahasa melayu)
Then, I started my engine until I felt no more point to talk. Hahahah. Two important things, smile and confident. Hehehe
Than next question,
"Please state 5 principal in Rukun Negara"
It's "kacang". Shame on you la if you could not recite the Rukun Negara.
Second question accomplish.
Next,
"Please differentiate Perlembagaan and Undang-undang, can perlembagaan be amended, how many "dewan" in Perliament?"
What?!!!
Hehehe luckily I could recall about that when taught Pendidikan Sivik dan Kewarganegaraan Form 3 and form 4.
Fuhhh lega when he said "ok, bagus"
Then,
the questions about education, the learning outcomes, the evaluation etc....
final question about the current issue, sex education, how far is it important for young children...
he read the newspaper articles. hurmmm

Some tips for you guys:
The procedure;
1. Please wear a very formal attire (follow the dress code)
    a) long sleeve with plain colour kemeja (for men)
    b) plain colour of baju kurung if possible, if not make sure there is no blink2
    c) wear blazer (to feel more confident)
    d) wear name tag
    e) court shoes (dark colour preferably black)
2. Smile =) always whether can answer or not
3. Be confident. If you are not sure for the answer, tell them that you're not sure. If you do not know, tell them also that you do not know. Don't lie!
4. Please answer in the same language as the interviewer ask you. If in English, please answer in English, if in Bahasa Melayu, please answer in Bahasa Melayu. If not, they will think you rude.

Some popular questions;
1. Perlembagaan and undang-undang (constitution and law)
2. PIPP (implementation and result)
3. Mission and vission of IPG, Schools
4. Wawasan 2020
5. Governement policy
6. Sex education
7. The evaluation (formative and summative test)
8. The criteria in constructing the learning outcomes
9. The economic factors in Malaysia
10. Tourism Malaysia
opss i forgot the most popular and a must question is Falsafah pendidikan Kebangsaan (FPK)

Ok, that's all guys. Good luck.

Weekly Journal ~week 9~

WEEKLY JOURNAL

WEEK 9 (12^th September – 16^th September  2011)

1.0       Masalah / Isu

Teaching is regarded as a noble profession. In Malaysian society, people usually look up to teachers, especially kids. They seem to think that whatever the teachers say is right, even sometimes teachers get it wrong. The profession itself is maybe not as glamorous as doctor, engineer or architect, who pays lucrative salary, but it is a teacher who helps in shaping a child's future. The demands for teachers in Malaysia are still high, especially for critical subjects such as English and Mathematics, and the government is working hard to make sure that the demands are met. I myself is a teacher trainee, and on my way to becoming an English teacher. I always question myself how to be a good teacher seems there is much workload for teachers. Teachers do not only need to perform in the class, but they need to be mothers or fathers to their pupils when the pupils are seeking for attention, they need to be a clerk to do so many administration work and they need to be a planner to plan their pupils’ potential is academically inclined or not.

2.0       Analisis (Apakah punca masalah)

Teachers are burdened with so many tasks and need to be completed in the minimum time duration. Time constraint is the major problem faced by the teachers to complete the task within the range time given. As for example, an English teacher will not only be a teacher who teach English in the class, but she will be a head of English panel, a librarian, a committee of Nilam programme, a committee of Standard Kualiti Pengurusan Malaysia, a committee of discipline, a class teacher, advisor of Uniform unit, advisor of club and a committee of school’s sports day. Sometimes teachers need to come to school at night for activities such as Solat Hajat, school’s camping and tuition. As for teachers, pupils and school are their first priority. My mentor was a ‘Guru Cemerlang’ before and she told me tasks and works will not come to end.

3.0       Cadangan untuk memperbaiki / Alternatif

I myself experienced it when I was a Guru Sandaran Tidak Terlatih before. I had a lot of job specifications and really understand this situation and regarding to this, I will always seek for the best time management to accomplish the entire task within the time given. In house training focusing on the time management for teachers is such a good way to improve teachers’ time management because teachers are not only responsible to their duty at school but also at home. Teachers are always asked to do the task in teamwork. Teamwork does help much to accomplish variety job specification. Tony Swainston (2008) in Effective Teachers in Secondary Schools state that teamwork between school colleagues, including support staff and others in the school community, is necessary to ensure an integrated and coherent approach that make sense to pupils and facilitates their learning. United we stand, divided we fall means that we should cooperate to ensure the things that we work on will meet the expectation. Besides that, teachers should always think positive of their responsible and sincere to carry out their duty. This will help teachers to be more motivated to carry out their duty and will not feel they are burdened with the tasks. 

4.0       Tempoh masa

The tasks will not be reduced or thrown away. It must be completed as told to do so. During my practicum, I should complete all pending work before final week of my practicum to prevent a heap of work load that I need to carry on my shoulder. I knew that if I fail to do all the pending tasks, I am going to feel so stressed out due to the work load that I need to fulfill during my practicum. My failure could affect me physically and emotionally because I need to double up my effort to finish all urgent work.

5.0       Tindakan susulan

As the teacher-to-be, I should prepare myself to enrich my knowledge and my skills to ensure that I would be ready to face the challenges in the education field. As mentioned earlier, it takes time to be a great teacher. I will continue to do more research from the reference books and the internet to find the best way to prepare myself to be a good teacher. I will also continue to seek help and support from my lecturer, my mentor, the senior teachers or those who are more experienced, to discuss on how to carry out the tasks effectively..

6.0       Kesimpulan/ Harapan

As for me, I really hope that I will gain as much experiences as possible during my practical programme. After I finish this KPLI programme, I will adapt the experiences and the knowledge that I collect during my practicum. I hope that I could be a good teacher and carry out my responsibilities along my journey as a teacher.

Weekly Journal ~week 8~

WEEKLY JOURNAL

WEEK 8 (5^th September – 9^th September  2011)

1.0       Masalah / Isu

The co-curriculum is referred to the activities that are conducted outside the classroom. There are many activities that known as co-corriculur activities such as Uniform Unit, sports, academic clubs and hobbies. Outside school or classroom activities are equally as important as those inside classroom, as they supplement curricular activities. Nowadays co-curricular activities have been accepted as an integral part of a school’s programme because they provide scope for democratic living, develop social skills, a sense of cooperation, team spirit and self discipline, which are important for a citizen to function activities.

2.0       Analisis (Apakah punca masalah)

Some of pupils make the effort to attend the activities and some are not. This is due to the some excuses such as outside tuitions, music lesson, homework and transport problems. The excuses were always use for the pupils that believe co-corriculur activities do not give any advantages for them. Then, they always skip to attend the meetings that normally conducted on Saturday.

           

3.0       Cadangan untuk memperbaiki / Alternatif

Teacher plays an important role to get pupils to participate in co-curricular activities. As for example in Uniform unit, Teacher in charge must have capability to organize the unit and at least the teacher must posses the knowledge in conducting the activities in every meeting. Sports and games should be properly organized in school. Activities of the entire year have to be planned out and also termwise charts should be prepared. Teachers should get appropriate representation in sports’ committee. They should prepare pupils for inter-school competition. This will encourage the pupils to take part in the sports activities because they will know that they will be rewarded if they won the competition. Lardizabal A.S. & Campos M.A. (1999) in Theory and Practice in Student Teaching state that whether the teacher aware of it or not, he plays an important role in guidance programme. Because of his daily contact with his pupils, he is in a strategic position to guide them.

4.0       Tempoh masa

The co-curricular activities must be conducted throughout the year. It should be integrated in the school’s curriculum so that the pupils will not feel that the co-curricular activities are not important.

5.0       Tindakan susulan

As the teacher-to-be, I should prepare myself to enrich my knowledge in conducting the co-curricular activities and organizing the co-curricular units or clubs. I will always attend the course that organized by the school for the co-curricular purposes.

6.0       Kesimpulan/ Harapan

As for me, I really hope that I will gain as much experiences as possible in conducting co-curricular activities such as Uniform Unit camping, school’s sports day and the weekly activities on Saturday during my practical programme. After I finish this KPLI programme, I will adapt the experiences and the knowledge that I collect during my practicum.

Weekly Journal ~week 7~

WEEKLY JOURNAL

WEEK 7 (22^nd August – 26^th August  2011)

1.0       Masalah / Isu

Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan Sekolah (SAPS) or Web based school assessment system is a new system that introduced by Ministry of Education to key in pupils’ examination marks. It is an online system to replace Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan  (SAP) that is used by all the teachers before. It should be the best way to collect and analyze examination data. But due to some problems, it causes some of the teachers face difficulties to at least log in into the page. Some of the teachers need to woke up at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. just to key in the data and it will interrupt their focus teaching on the following day.

2.0       Analisis (Apakah punca masalah)

           

The problems may arise because of the insufficient computers in school and resort to using the computer with an Internet connection at home. Some of the teachers do not have internet connection at home and they can only use internet at school. But sometimes during day the system is busy and they can not log in into the system to key in the data. Other problems may be because of the insufficient processing capacity, system instability and lack of security. The number of online users is displayed on the log in page of the system. Some of the teachers said that when the number of users exceeds 500, the system starts to crawl and then crashes. Sometimes, the data already entered into the system goes missing after a crash and has to be keyed in all over again. The login page and subsequent pages are not secured as every web page is presented in “http:”. This means that the data transmitted by these web pages can be intercepted. According to Nancy Sehgal, the URL begin with http means the page is not secure while the URL begin with https is in the secure page. It presents a frightening security issue, especially since they are entering personal and sensitive pupils’ data via unsecured web pages.

3.0       Cadangan untuk memperbaiki / Alternatif

Teachers must aware the procedure to use this system. They should refer to the “manual penggunaan sistem SAPS” to avoid any mistakes and difficulties during the process of entering the data. Teachers can share the broadband with other teachers or rent the broadband modem from the other teachers for the sake of this task. The ministry also should take further action to solve the problems as soon as possible. The system needs to be upgraded in terms of memory and processing capability, to handle the many thousands of simultaneous users. The system’s database needs to be looked into and replaced with a robust version that can handle high volumes of simultaneous transactions. Changing the programme to validate the data and providing an online message to correct the data before updating will solve this issue. At the very least, the site must be equipped with secure web pages, most often denoted by “https:” which encrypts the data, similar to what is being offered by all Internet banking sites.

4.0       Tempoh masa

This system will be used by all the teachers in government’s school. This system will be used in every examination time. As informed by NKRA unit, this system is not developed to burden the teachers, but it is developed to gain fast and direct information about the examination marks. The NKRA unit realizes the problems and takes action to solve some of the problems. The duration to enter the data has been lengthening until September 2, 2011. So, the teachers still have time to enter the data and complete their task.

5.0       Tindakan susulan

Although the practical teachers are not allowed to use the system, but I have the opportunity to take a look the system while one of the teachers log in into the system to enter the data. The system is more to same with the older version of Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan v2 and v7 and also SAPHC that I used to use during my service as Guru Sandaran Tidak Terlatih before but this is an online version. “Manual penggunaan sistem SAPS” provides step-by-step guidance for teachers to use the system. This can help me to use the knowledge in the future. Teachers can update the data and also print out the analysis of the examination for further action. Some of the teachers share the broadband to key in the data and all the teachers in SK Kulai complete the task before 26^th of August.

6.0       Kesimpulan/ Harapan

As for me, I really hope that this system can give positive effect to the education sector as the data can be access everywhere and at any time. After I finish this KPLI programme, I will adapt the experiences and the knowledge that I collect during my practicum.

Weekly Journal ~week 6~

WEEKLY JOURNAL

WEEK 6 (15^th August – 19^th August  2011)

1.0       Masalah / Isu

This week, Panel of Pendidikan Sivik dan Kewarganegaraan of SK Kulai launched the 54^th Malaysia’s Independence month. Merdeka anniversary was one auspicious occasion where all quarters regardless of race, religion and political ideology should gather to celebrate it. It is including the young children in schools. The merdeka spirit should be inculcated since there are young because they will be leader in the future. So they will not forget the difficulties of their ancestors whose fight for the Malaysia’s independence.

2.0       Analisis (Apakah punca masalah)

The spirit of independence should not be reminded only once a year.  It should be with us all the time, moment to moment. It is not only on 31^st August for Malaysian to remind the word of Merdeka, it should be all the time. Perhaps the rather quietness of Merdeka this year is simply a reflection of our state of mind currently. To inculcate love for the country among young children is not an easy task because they must know the true meaning of merdeka. For them, they only know that merdeka is the time to celebrate the happiness for Malaysian.

           

3.0       Cadangan untuk memperbaiki / Alternatif

The trend of celebrating a month-long Merdeka continues this year as what have been done by SK Kulai. Various events have been slated. The theme of “1 Malaysia, Transformasi Berjaya Rakyat Sejahtera” have been selected for Merdeka celebration this year. Simultaneously on this day, the national flag raising campaign begins throughout the country. It has become a tradition for Malaysians, including those in rural areas, to display the nation’s flag at their houses, office premises, shopping complexes, and also schools. SK Kulai will organize many programmes and activities this month. The programmes and activities are Quizes such as “Kenali Perdana Menteri Malaysia”, “Ingati Tarikh Kemerdekaan” and “The Secret Independence Code”, poetry declamation contest, drawing and colouring contest, slogan invention contest and a project of “Pintu Gerbang Kemerdekaan”.

4.0       Tempoh masa

The programmes and activities will be conducted from August 16 until September 15 2011. The 54^th Malaysia’s Independence month will come to end on the 15^th September 2011 which the closing ceremony will be held on that day. I will encourage my pupils to take part in the programmes and activities to instill their merdeka spirit and to show their love to Malaysia.

5.0       Tindakan susulan

Since the Quiz of “The Secret Independence Code” will be conducted by English Laguange Panel, I will distribute the handouts year 1, year 2 and year 3 pupils. 15 contestants will be selected at random to win the prizes. The program will be held on September 5 until September 9 2011. For the other activities and programmes, I will also give my support and help other panel to conduct the activities and the programmes. All teachers must cooperate to make sure the all the programmes and activities will run smoothly. Teachers must show their merdeka spirit as the role model to pupils. With only a small Jalur Gemilang attached at the cars it can give a deep meaning to inculcate the merdeka spirit and love for the country.

6.0       Kesimpulan/ Harapan

Every Merdeka day brings back fond memories for me, from my carefree days as a child like my pupils to my days of understanding the true meaning of merdeka. It continues to be a special day of the year for me. We may celebrate it for only a month every year but the fruits of merdeka are enjoyed for a life time. I am proud to be Malaysian because I can live in this peaceful and harmony country. So, I want my pupils to feel the same. We should thank to Allah for giving us peace. And we should appreciate the independence and thank to our ancestors who’s fought for this independence.

Weekly Journal ~week 5~

WEEKLY JOURNAL

WEEK 5 (8^th August – 12^th August  2011)

1.0       Masalah / Isu

This is my fifth week of practicum in SK Kulai. The issue that I would like to highlight is the importance of English language in Malaysia. As we all know that English language is the number one language used in the world. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin launched an initiative of the Education Ministry to improve the quality of English Language teaching. He said that teachers should take the initiative to develop their professionalism. It shows that Malaysian must also know to speak and communicate well in this language for better rapport with other countries in the world. Some of my pupils have tendency to speak in English but they were afraid and shy.

2.0       Analisis (Apakah punca masalah)

Unfortunately, I found out that not all of us are interested to learn English language may be because there is no force for them to use the language in daily life. It is because English language is not their mother tongue. Through my observation in my 4 Ceria class, I would say that most of them are not really focus and show great desire to learn English. I am not sure whether my techniques of teaching is the cause of this phenomenon happened in the class.  I have use variety of technique in conducting my lesson. I could say that the problem may arise because of they lack of confidence to speak and talk in English.

3.0       Cadangan untuk memperbaiki / Alternatif

There are several ways that could be done to overcome the problem:

a) I need to make my pupils love English language's learning process. I should encourage them to be interested in what I am teaching them and they want to improve their skills in English because love is the key to success.

b) Before I begin my lessons, I should begin by a motivated warm-up that could help my pupils to be more familiar with new words, grammar rules or writing skills.

c) I will try to vary my teaching's tips, to ensure my English class is not a boring place where ideas are repeated, otherwise; it should be an environment of innovation and creation. For example, I could use colourful illustration to engage their attention towards the lesson.

d) Most of my pupils enjoy doing group activity, so I need to encourage them to participate in the group activity. They could share their ideas and they will be able to at least speak a few of English words among their group members.

4.0       Tempoh masa

Planning an activity for pupils of different abilities and dealing with pupils’ attitudes and weaknesses are not an easy task. However, I am sure that all these problems can be overcome if I continue to work hard to conduct activities during my lesson. I plan to change a bit of my teaching method in order to attract the pupils to focus and enjoy in my class starting this week.

5.0       Tindakan susulan

I always ask help from the senior teachers in the school to vary my activities in the class. I have addressed my problems to my mentor. She advised me to try new method of teaching and be sterner to the pupils. May be some activities on reading the story, speak the unfamiliar words and role-play by using dialogue could help them to add their vocabulary and use their vocabulary in their daily life. Some of them could say “Teacher, may I help you?” and “Teacher, I want o answer” and it shows improvement in their effort because before this they like to speak those words in Bahasa Melayu

6.0       Kesimpulan/ Harapan

As for me, I really hope that my pupils will change their attitude and be more focus during my English class. I will encourage them to at least speak 2 words in English in the class. I want everyone to excel in English and at the end of the day they can speak, write and read English language in correct and proper way.