Make these sites places you visit regularly

Daily Writing Tips - For grammar tips etc. A little every day goes a long way.

A Word A Day - New vocabulary to build your range. Most are words that we seldom use, but you may come across a gem or two.

BBC Learning English - For many of us English is a second language, so learn it through second language methods.

As per request:

To get the mp3, please email me at patricia.lkr@gmail.com

DON'T SPREAD THE MP3 AROUND! I don't wanna get in trouble :p

Homework 21 Aug

2E4: Journal - "Strength"

• What does being strong mean to you?
• Which is the most important:
  Physical strength, mental strength, emotional strength, financial strength, moral strength?

Homework 20 Aug

2E4: Vocab Worksheet (MCQ and Fill-in-the-blank)

3E3: Journal - "Strength" + Who are these people?

• Mohatma Gandhi


• Ong Teng Cheong


• Mother Theresa


• Anita Roddick


• Nelson Mandela


• Angelina Jolie


• Martin Luther King Jr.

Poems Are...

Poems are
Songs without music
Art without colour.

Poems are photographs of a moment measured in emotion.

Poems grab you by the cerebellum and make you think.

Poems grab you by the heart and make you feel.

Poems open up a new world
reveal a secret
share a thought
widen your horizons
With every line.

Poems are like warm ice cream on a cold day (or vice versa).

Poems are about stars and moon and sun and sea and trees and flowers and buildings and streets and people and Life Hate Death Love Thought Feel Nothing Everything RaceReligionLanguage OpeningsBarriers NowThenFuture MaybesCertainties HomeAwayFarNear StrangersLoversAgeYouthBlissDespairWorldHereUniverseThereYouMeUsThem
LifeLoveDeathHate

'Poems are also for examinations,' says the teacher with a sigh of practicality.

A Woman of Strength

She is the legitimate leader of Myanmar.

She is physically rake-thin, with large eyes and a gentle smile.

She has been kept under house arrest for the most spurious* of reasons for over a decade.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most respected women in the word today, and she did not attain the level of respect by being rich, being stylish, or being famous. She is respected because she lives according to her beliefs.

Imagine:
Imagine not being able to leave your home for a simple stroll.


Imagine not being able to bid your husband goodbye as he lay dying.


Imagine fearing to leave the country because the government would never let you back in.


Imagine wanting to help your people and being unable to help.


Imagine knowing that, day by day, you are one step further from ever rejuvenating your nation and your people.





This is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Read her story here, here and here.

*spurious: false, not authentic, not genuine

Think, people, think!

It's come to a point where I desperately need divine intervention.

I wish - I really wish - I could just pour my brain's contents into yours. But there are 124 of you, and only one of me. Please use that awesome brain of yours to think.

Think for your present.
Think for your future.
Think for yourself.

I wish I could think for you, but I cannot. I don't need you to do exactly what I say, but please think why I am asking you to do the things I ask you to do.
It's not for my pleasure, but for your learning.

HOMEWORK:

2E3: Complete the PAST TENSE/PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE worksheet. You guys are becoming more motivated and focused - good for you!

2E4: Complete the PAST TENSE/PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE worksheet. Getting a leeeeeeetle too chatty: you have only a few weeks before exams, do pay attention!

Homework for 14 August

3E3: Read up on Aung San Suu Kyi.

• Who is she?
• Why is she in the news recently?
• What is her significance to ASEAN and the world?

2E3 & 2E4

• Based on class reading & discussion: Impossible Puzzles
• Write a narrative essay on: An Unanswered Question
• INTRO: Flashback
  BODY: Event that led to the question
  CONCLUSION: the Unanswered Question

Which student are you?

Copyright: Matt Groening

Which one are you?

I'm definitely the cher right at the front :D

Creative Writing

Gonna wait for my girls to send me photos of the topics... but this is what we did in 3E3 today.

1. You and a friend break into your neighborhood swimming pool late one night to go for an after-hours dip. While splashing around in the pool, you go into shock when a dead body floats to the top. Worse yet—it's someone you know. Write this scene.
   
2. You forgot to submit an important assignment this morning and your teacher is on the prowl, ready to hand out punishment. In an effort to avoid detention (or worse), make up an excuse (no matter how absurd) as to why you were unable to complete and submit your assignment.
   
3. When you were little, you could swear there was a monster under your bed--but no one believed you. On the eve of your 30th birthday, you hear noises coming from under your bed once again. The monster is back and has an important message to deliver to you.
   
4. You wake up to the smell of glorious roti prata. You have to have some, but it's coming from your neighbor's house and the two of you aren't on speaking terms. How do you get the roti prata?

So yup, this is what happens when the cher gets bored of the same ol' topics from school everyday.

Synonyms for said

I said you said he said she said we said they said....

Blegh.

Sometimes you need the word, but in a narrative essay, try to limit the amount of 'said'-s you have. Because it becomes B-O-R-I-N-G when you have multiple saids, often within the same few paragraphs.

Refer to the synonyms links below if you can't think of one right off the bat :)

• Synonyms for Said: These are very basic ones and most of which you already know
• Said Synonyms: Jump directly to those that you find suitable for the emotion you wish presented

Keep Writing

Keep writing.

Keep doing it and doing it.

Even in the moments when it's so hurtful to think about writing.



So here's a link to writing prompts: use them to upgrade your writing through forums with other potential writers.

Why am I an English cher*?

I get asked that a lot.
I wonder why too - most of my students have trouble forming an error-free sentence. Usually, the error comes from verb tenses or sentence construction. It's frustrating, because I'm sensitive to language and the way it sounds.
But the fact remains that I love teaching, and I love languages and especially the English language. I'm not a perfect writer or speaker; heaven knows I need people to check my grammar for my personal writing and I often mispronounce words. On the other hand, I'm willing to learn and share whatever I'm learning.
After all, everyday I learn something new.
Have fun :)

*cher is the student shorthand for teacher