Day In, Day Out

This has been the most extended blogging break I have ever had. Let's not line up excuses for why such a long break, yet, as usual, let's make promises that this comeback is the restart of a longer-lasting blogging effort. 

Every year, in schools, an amount of money is spent on mahjong paper. It has become a need of many teachers especially for presentation purposes. Though with the advancement of technology, Prezi still cannot work without an internet connection and obviously without a laptop. In Malaysia, many are teaching if not learning in classes which most of the plug points are not working as the buildings might be a decade old and its electrical wiring has been wired and re-wired for countless times, that nothing could make it work again! With or without technology, classroom presentations should go on because they are usually the proof of a learner-centered teaching approach. There are movements to ban the use of plastic, there are movements to introduce 21 st century teaching so there should be movements to ban the use of mahjong papers in classrooms.  First, mahjong papers are expensive considering its one-time use. Second, mahjong papers are weak and easy to tear. Third, i...

So this year I rename the usual English note book as Rocket Pocket Book. Why? There is no reason behind the renaming. It is just that rocket rhymes well with pocket! My year starts a bit later than usual but I am happy that I manage to catch up. So, this year, instead of having one, each student of mine has two books: a hard-covered book and a small book. This hard-covered is obviously for note-taking whilst the smaller one is for Vocabulary Bank. What is Vocabulary Bank? It is basically a book where you deposit new learnt or gained words or phrases. The vocabulary can come from teachers, books or even their surroundings. Is it important to have Vocabulary Bank? Since I have one my own, I always believe that having one is helpful. However, it is only helpful if used intelligently. And that requires practice. A lot of practice. These are how I usually use my Vocabulary Bank. 1) Replace words with its synonyms. After I have written an essay, I would go to my Vocabulary Ban...

I was having my morning drive when I listened to Teaching With Jillian Starr Podcast. I simply clicked on Episode 14. Morning Meeting The Most Important Part of Our Day because it was yeah, morning and because I like to rekindle the memories I had observing classrooms when I was a teacher student in the UK. I remember a period I spent in an elementary school. The class was busy, students were here and there, but it was structured. Perhaps it was a thing they usually did every morning. The teacher would be at the front, welcoming kids, sorting papers, checking attendance. And the teacher assistant would be at the back sitting, waiting to be greeted by the kids who sometimes came in with reply letters, money or even messages such as the father had a change of work schedule hence could join the class trip the next week. Then from the front door, came in the class monitor with a bag of baby carrots. Everyone was given one, including me who had the least interest to finish it.  ...

Respecting students is one of the classroom cultures that is less discussed among teachers. This results teachers to be inclined to treat their students at times with little to no respect. Worst, in many schools and classrooms, little commitment has been taken  either by administrators or educators to foster an environment of respect in school which should start with teachers respecting the students.  Classroom culture: a culture when the members of the classroom the physical environment, the schedule and the approaches to instruction work together in harmony (Children's Literacy Initiative, 2017) Malaysian students, for instance, are frequently reminded to give respect to teachers because many of Malaysian cultural practices which are inherited from the past emphasis on the need to look upon elders and teachers with respect . However, none is mentioned about respecting the young as the Malay saying goes; Yang tua dihormati, yang muda dis...

Parking Lot has been considered as one of the best practices in the 21st century classrooms besides the famous group seating arrangement. In Malaysian public schools especially in Sekolah Amanah, it is a mandatory  to prepare a space or an area in the class to put up a Parking Lot. Per contra , to date, teachers are having a lack of proper guidance on the use of Parking Lot as a consequence of  the non-existence of a blueprint or a printed guide from any Malaysian education departments on this practice . Worst, the knowledge of Parking Lot is succinctly dismantle to teachers while they are having courses on 21st century classroom or learning, during Professional Learning Communities (PLC) sessions or during department meetings. It is through these short sessions or meet-ups that Malaysian teachers are made aware of the benefits of Parking Lot. Even the practice could benefit both teacher and students, the lack of understanding on the practice  results failur...

The debate on the use of L1 in L2 lessons has been going on since forever. Different scholars come out with different theories and hypotheses yet no one theory or hypothesis has become the most significant. After all, it all depends on the teaching context. The use of L1 has always been a contentious issue. Teachers have choices whether to: ban L1; minimise L1; or maximise L2. Again, it all depends on the context the teachers are in. It is best to also mention that even so, teachers who resort to the L1, despite their best intentions, often feel guilty for straying from L2 path (Cook, 2001). However now, let's not talk about teacher's use of L1.  Let's look at student's use of L1 in L2 lessons.  Should we ban the use of L1 among students in L2 lessons? If not, why are there a lot of suggestions given to cut or limit the use of L1 in L2 lessons? I remember when I once made it a rule that students should only talk to me...