Muet my way!

CNY at my house... non MUET related but i like this video: Enter the dragon(s) with a huge bang(s)... :P

2012-01-25T22:09:00.000-08:00

Happy CNY to all...

2012-01-25T21:39:00.001-08:00

sorry guys.. hv been busy celebrating CNY with family and friends, so hvnt managed to check emails or blogs due to computer down in the house.. power surges problems are killing my cpu. anyway... will try to answer the comments now from the cyber cafe... pity pity...

as for when I'll be in UTHM.. I really dont know, it depends if they invite me again or not. basically this time if i go i will require each person to bring a sample of their essays and we will do a writing workshop because that is the area that i can help you the most. cheers.

catch up later k!

Sheen's Essay - Edited

2012-01-14T06:14:00.001-08:00

tq sheen for your essay that you willingly share with others so that they may avoid the same mistakes you've done. i've only edited for word class, word order and basic grammar errors (there are many unmarked) without touching on the content.. you may leave comments here about what you think of the essay. alternatively.. you may submit your essay to me (although i don't guarantee that i can mark/edit each and every one that i receive)... so what do you think of this essay?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/78240213/Sheen-s-Essay

Need help...

2012-01-14T03:21:00.001-08:00

Hi guys.. I know I'm not very tech savvy.. but does anyone know how I can upload a microsoft document (with edited comment) onto the net? I looked into google docs but it means I have to retype everything including adding new comment boxes. How can I share this essay in the simplest way? Hmmmmmm....

I edit quite a few MUET essays but have yet to figure out the best way to share them. Comments please...

MUET appeal procedures

2012-01-13T01:02:00.000-08:00

Rayuan Penyemakan Semula Keputusan Ujian MUET Akhir Tahun 2011 akan dibuka mulai 12 Januari hingga 27
Januari 2012. Rayuan yang dikemukakan selepas tarikh tersebut akan ditolak.

http://www.mpm.edu.my/web/guest/rayuan-muet

go to the link above now if you want to submit an appeal. it costs rm70. :P a lot of money? maybe, maybe not. depends on how much you desire a second marking.

My thoughts on the MUET results..

2012-01-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well the big day has come and is almost gone and I've endured a roller-coaster of emotions.. Firstly, I'm super proud of my SMK Majakir school students who took the exam and broke all records, or at least records that matter to me. Bear in mind that I taught the best class and the ahem.. 'least best' class and from the two we scaled many new heights. My star student Joanne Gan managed to garner a Band 5 (we havent had one since 2007, be reminded that we are on the outskirts of the city so for a small town school, to me that's a great achievement) and the cherry on the sundae is the fact that she scored 45/45 (perfect!!!!) scores for the listening paper. Va-va-voom! Good job, Joanne! The other class I teach has 21 students and only one obtained a Band 1 (I measure my success by eradicating hardcore failures, footnote: this is my personal yardstick and I don't expect anyone else to follow in my footsteps). Even he scored 95, 5 marks shy of the minimum target I place on them, so I'm still proud that he tried his best.

However, there were a few people who did not hit the 140 target (B3), and one person in particular whom I truly feel for as she has tried many times and fallen short, this time a single mark (139) dividing between a pass (which translates to graduation vs. non-graduation) and a fail. Sighs.. I wish the fates had been kinder to her. Never mind, as I've mentioned in an earlier post, it's not how hard you fall, but how fast you get up. In addition, consider it one of those tricky learning curves life boomerangs at you and you just have to duck faster or catch it with more precision. Anyway, time to dust off and get back to the drawing board. Good luck for the next round!

My next blog is courtesy of a blogwalker who's emailed me his essay and I've edited it. He's allowed me to share it with you all so that you can see how a person's word order and sentence order can affect your scores even if you have relatively good grammar and vocabulary. Right, so for all out there gearing up for the next MUET exam, you need to work at it starting now. Even now can be considered 'too late' as learning a language (esp one as complicated as English) is NOT an overnight phenomenon. :P Stay tuned!

MUET YEAR END 2011 RESULTS OUT ON 12TH JANUARY 2012.

2012-01-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

Head to MPM's page for your results by 9am. But I've also known students to get their results via sms at midnight so if you're dying to know u can try in the wee hrs of the morning on the 12th.

Did you get your desired result? Did my blog help you in any way? What else would you like me to blog about regarding MUET? If you're new to MUET (many ask me for advice) I'll repeat again and again that you should trawl my whole blog archive and read up on all my tips and sample answers.

Also dont forget to let me know if my reading 800/3 answers are accurate. for the mid year answers I was 2 questions out of sync with MPM's so that makes my total 43/45 which is not bad cos even I admit that some questions are tricky.

Fingers crossed esp for all my students, seminar participants (UiTM, UTHM, various schools in Sabah) n all my blog followers. God bless you all. If you did well, good job! If you didn't, just remember that it's not how hard you fall, but how fast you get up. :P

4 muet writing samples

2012-01-02T16:42:00.001-08:00

MUET Writing Question 2 sample answers for 350 word academic essay

Below are 4 samples of good essays... Band 4 or 5... Band 6 essays will demonstrate a much better command of linguistic fluency and accuracy as well as show more mature and critical thinking skills.

SAMPLE 1) YEAR END 2008: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

“People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what money can buy.” What is your opinion on being materialistic? You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks]
They say that money makes the world go round. And indeed it does as without money, life would be very difficult as in today’s society, nothing is free. The side effect however is that people are becoming more materialistic; more concerned with making money and what money can buy. But how much money is enough? Is it ever enough? To some, it will never be enough. In my opinion, I truly believe that this statement is true and that people are becoming more materialistic in nature. In this essay, I will discuss how materialism has affected modern society’s way of life on an individual level, the country’s economy as well as our spiritual and moral beliefs.

First and foremost, each individual is affected by materialism to some extent in this day and age because hedonism is becoming an uprising trend. This is because today's generation are geared towards making more and more money so that they can enjoy the carefree lifestyle that is so popular these days. Moreover, people now are striving to earn more income in order to afford things that are more expensive and branded. For example, people spend their hard earned money on material objects like genuine LV and Coach handbags, expensive gadgets like Iphones and Tablet pcs and so on which in my opinion is a waste of money when regular goods may prove to be good enough. Therefore, while individuals become more focussed on their pursuit of material wealth and improving their standard of living, they may forget that what matters most in life is quality time spent with family and friends and not the quantity of their material goods.

Secondly, when society starts spending in a materialistic manner it will surely have a domino effect on the country’s economy. This means that the spending power of society will help boost the economy and create more business opportunities for the booming trade. However, when a society overspends, using plastic money or credit cards, or when they take loans they cannot afford to repay, then the country’s debt margin will be higher. For instance, USA today is facing an economic crisis because banks have approved home loans to people who aspire to own bigger houses than they can actually afford and this is causing the collapse of the country’s economy there. Thus, while a society’s spending habits helps our economy to grow, overspending due to materialism will have an adverse effect to the country’s financial stability.

Last but not least, materialism affects our spiritual and moral beliefs. This is due to the fact people who are materialistic may become ‘amoral’ whereby they disregard their spiritual and moral upbringing and instead turn to crime to satisfy their materialistic needs. In fact, the crime rate is increasing because criminals these days have developed many ways to gain more money from society. Take for example, there are more reports of snatch thefts, burglaries, kidnapping for ransom, credit card fraud, internet banking hacking and others that are driven by materialistic criminals. Hence, when people lose sight of their spiritual and moral beliefs and believe instead in the greed of materialism, therefore the crime rate is bound to increase.

In a nutshell, materialism is a common agenda in the 21st century as more people are working hard to afford things beyond their reach. While this may spur individuals to work harder to improve their standard of living, overspending due to materialism may cause the downfall of a country’s economy and their morality. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that materialism has a strong hold on today’s society; both positive and negative effects. Our government can encourage society to be less frivolous and wasteful in spending by running campaigns such as ‘Consumer Awareness’ and ‘Buy Malaysian Made Products’ in order to educate our younger generation for the prosperity of our nation.

SAMPLE 2) MID YEAR 2010: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

The world today is turning more to electronic communications such as the e-mail, Facebook and Short Message System (SMS). What is your opinion of this growing trend? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks]

Everywhere we turn today, the world is crowded with people busy typing SMSes on their Nokias or iPhones or someone is staring unblinkingly at a Facebook or Yahoo page on the computer screen. Whether you like it or not, the age of Information Technology is upon us, and we can either learn new skills and adapt to this new technology, or be forever lost and stuck in the older generation. In my opinion, I am fully convinced that this growing trend is the way of the future, and it brings countless benefits to mankind. In this essay, I will discuss three positive effects of electronic communication, namely its efficiency, enhances communication and creates a borderless world community.

First and foremost, more and more people are relying on e-mail, Facebook, Short Message System (SMS) and other types of electronic communication tools because of its high efficiency. This is because in today's age of globalisation, we need information at the tip of our fingers. Moreover, with the use of these tools, we can increase the speed of getting the necessary and relevant information within seconds and this will increase our productivity. For example, gone are the days of using 'snail mail' or regular letters using stamps and envelopes and many more examples of 'old' technology because it is simply too slow and inefficient. Therefore, these e-communication tools increases the access to important information which is why the new generation is fully accepting this growing trend.

Secondly, this form of technology enhances communication among people today. This means that when we use SMS, e-mails and websites like Facebook, we are able to communicate clearly and directly to our target audience. Furthermore, people today find that the message is more important than the form it comes in as an e-mail in short but clear sentences is just as good or even better than a long and formal letter. For instance, an SMS can give clear instructions in just a few words and this communicates what needs to be done quickly and directly. Thus, when the intended message can be spread clearly using short and clear information like in SMSes and emails, communication can be enhanced and there will be less problems of miscommunication.

Last but not least, e-communication creates a borderless community in the world we live in today. This is due to the fact that the boundaries that separate each country becomes less relevant when information is transferred without limitations. In addition, the world would be a better place because there is a sense of 1-World commitment, respect and tolerance for the global community through efficient and clear e-communication. Take for example, we are able to connect with people on an international basis using Facebook, Friendster, Tagged, Hotmail, Yahoo and others. Hence, these tools will enhance global unity and create a more peaceful world.

In a nutshell, this growing trend has many positive effects not just to individuals but the global society in terms of efficiency, enhancing communicative skills and shaping a borderless community. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that this latest trend is the best way forward and if we do not catch up, we will be left behind by the tide of development. Our government can encourage the proper usage of electronic communications by increasing communication amenities and free broadband accessibility especially in rural areas so that they can enjoy the same facilities as city-folks therefore balancing the development of our country towards achieving Vision 2020.

SAMPLE 3) MID YEAR 2011: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

The most valuable thing in life is friendship. Do you agree? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words.
[60 marks]

It is true that no ‘man is an island’ meaning that no one in this world can live alone without friendship. That person would be very socially challenged as he or she would miss the camaraderie and life experiences that come with friendship. However, I completely disagree with the statement that the most valuable thing in life is friendship as there are certainly more important and priceless things in life besides this. In this essay, I will outline how life itself is more valuable than friendship, and elaborate on why family and the individual’s principles in life are ranked higher.

First and foremost, before one can enjoy the beauty of friendship, one must surely value life itself or in other words, we should value our health. This is because, the quality of our life is the single most important criteria in life if we are to live a meaningful and wholesome life. Moreover, without good health, we will be hard pressed to do even the simplest of tasks like feed ourselves or relieve ourselves without the help of doctors, nurses and caregivers. For example, if we are paralysed, lost our sight, hearing or ability to speak or even a simple case of a fever or allergic reactions, then the quality of our life is greatly reduced and no amount of friendship can make us healthy again. Therefore, while friends can stand by us in our time of need, pristine health is still the most valuable asset in our lives.

Secondly, we are no one without our family as indeed blood is thicker than water. This means that however you analyse it, friendships will almost always play second fiddle because family always comes first. Furthermore, if we do not value our family above others, then there must be a problem among the family members that has caused their relationship to be strained. For instance, people tend to turn away from family if the family member(s) themselves are the ones to cause them to react negatively such as divorced parents, abusive parents or siblings and so on. Thus, when people consider friendship to be the most valuable thing in life, more often than not they may come from a troubled household.

Last but not least, a person’s principles in life is by far more valuable than friendship alone. This is due to the fact that each person needs to have a code of ethics, quite often prescribed by their individual religions. In addition, this code will guide each person to live their lives according to the good and right principles. Take for example, if an individual has set his principles to do good, then no amount of friendship especially negative influence from friends, can shake his hold on his principles and cause him to commit undesirable deeds like smoking, stealing, raping, murdering and others. Hence, if a person values friendship so much to the point where he is willing to break his principles, then he has done a serious misdeed against himself and will most likely regret his actions later in life.

In short, friendship is the rainbow of life as it colours our horizons with invaluable experiences but without good health, a supportive family and strong principles, life becomes empty and meaningless. In my opinion, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that I still firmly believe that friendship is not the most valuable thing in life. Our government can encourage people to prioritise health, family and principles in life by organising awareness campaigns especially in primary schools where the younger generation should learn about priorities in life because they are the leaders of tomorrow.

SAMPLE 4) MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

The rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products. How will this affect the society? Give your opinion. You should write at least 350 words.
[60 marks]

Money is always an issue in today's era of materialism. Most people need it for basic survival while the lucky few indulge in luxuries without worrying about money. In my opinion, I strongly agree that the rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products and this will definitely affect the society. In this essay, I would like to touch on the effects this price increase has on society today, namely increasing vice activities, widening the gap between the rich and the poor and affecting the population trend in the long term.

First and foremost, society will immediately be affected by the rise in fuel prices because consumer products will be more costly and this leads to an increase of vice activities. This is because basic necessities such as rice, flour, sugar and so on will be in great demand and some warehouses will store or hoard the items to further increase the price of the product. Moreover, in the newspapers today, reports of smuggling of these items prove that this vice activity is on the rise. For example, the recent sugar price hike caused a furor among the Malaysian society as it costs more fuel to travel to and from the supermarket and when arriving, most places had run out of stock even though the government had allocated 2kg of sugar to one person. Therefore, the fuel price increase had definitely caused more hardships to society today.

Secondly, it is undeniable that the rise in fuel prices leads to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. This is due to the fact that people are greatly affected by the price of basic necessities such as food and fuel in particular. Furthermore, the rich people will still be able to afford such things but the poor will face greater challenges as the popular saying goes: "The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." For instance, when money is used to purchase consumer products that are necessary for survival, then less money will be spent on health and dental check-up, educational purposes and others. Thus, it is clear that the fuel price hike will further stress on the differences between the rich and the poor which is such a tragedy.

Last but not least, in the long term the population trend or demographics of the society will be greatly affected. This means that new families will consciously decide not to have too many children in order to increase their quality of life. In addition, society is now more aware of birth control and family planning so this will greatly reduce the population as most families will have 1 to 5 children instead of more. Take for example, new families with less children will surely spend less on basic necessities like food, clothes, transport and many more. Hence, the demographics of the whole country will be affected and this in turn will reduce our workforce which will affect our country's productivity and prosperity.

In short, there are many short term to long term effects of a fuel price increase which includes more crimes like hoarding and smuggling will occur and this leads to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor as well as a change in the society's demographics. I still strongly believe that the rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products and this will surely cause a negative impact to society. The government must find a way to stabilise the fuel price at a reasonable rate so that it does not affect the productivity of this country towards achieving the aspirations of the nation for Vision 2020.

MUET Year End 2011 resutls out by 1st or 2nd week of January 2011

2011-12-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

MPM's page

based on the link above i think that the results will be out by the 1st or 2nd week of january... those who did not pass to their expectation and minimum requirement can resit the exam in March by registering before the 19th of jan. the only difference being it will be dearer this time round as it will cost rm40 for admin and rm60 for the test, a.k.a. a whopping RM100 for MUET... plus there will be tests 3 times instead of twice a year... hope those at the top r not buying Mercedes Benzsss or whole condominiums on prime land with said loot. hehehehehhe.. ok that was under the belt. i couldnt help it.. anyway.. good luck everyone!

2011 Year End MUET Writing 800/3 answers

2011-11-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

Consumers' choice of venues for grocery shopping in 1985 and 2010

The stimuli present a bar graph on 'Places Where Consumers Buy Their Groceries' and a table on 'Characteristics of Shopping Venues in 2010'. Generally, majority of consumers prefer to shop in supermarkets that have customer-friendly characteristics compared to quarter of a century ago where people favoured wet markets.

The grocery shopping trend has evolved over the last 25 years based on the data in Figure 1. There is a significant increase of 55% of consumers visiting supermarkets in 2010 (60%) compared to 5% in 1985. This is attributed to the positive characteristics of supermarkets which are more comfortable, convenient and offering big discounts and variety. Also showing a rising trend is a 3% increase in consumers visiting 24-hour stores because of its convenience. Meanwhile, night markets seem to show a consistent trend stabilising at 11% both in 1985 and 2010. The most substantial decline can be seen in the deteriorating percentage of consumers visiting wet markets from 45% to 14% (difference of 31%) followed by 27% difference for grocery stores. The table indicates that while negotiable price and personalised service are key characteristics of grocery stores and wet markets, these venues seem to lose customers to venues that offer more appealing characteristics.

In conclusion, venues like supermarkets with better characteristics in terms of discounts, variety and services are more likely to win over customers.

(This answer is abt 200+ words... my first draft... will reduce the words later.. but u get the picture)

Writing Question 2:

"A person's career choice should be determined by his or her interest." Discuss.

Any comments on how to tackle this question?

2011 Year End MUET Reading 800/3 answers

2011-11-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

1. B: 1995 - 2005 = ten year period, not 20

2. B: 2005, 1st is fishing 43.3 million, skateboarding 12.2 mil

3. A: - get this - ...! (use of expression and exclamation mark)

4. B: percentage growth of soccer 17.5, golf 2.9 does not indicate MORE THAN TWICE THE RATE

5. C: No mention of statistics for those 'watching' big sports

6. A: kayaking is an individual sport

7. B: writer DOES NOT prefer the current trend in sports participation, he's all for the cheering crowd (meaning he likes to watch, not participate)

8. A: worried how customers perceive their brand = losing their distinctiveness

9. B: no mention of Starbucks loss of revenue/income, paragraph 2 indicates Starbucks experienced has watered down but didn't mention income.

10. B: not because of high prices but paragraph 3 states 'are at risk from growing sense that their products are indeed just commodities'.

11. C: Schulz suggests that the company needs to go back to its roots.

12. A: up-market - more appealing to the rich.

13. B: doubtful - similar to 'not sure'

14. C: health conscious because there is a growing concern about obesity.

15. A: a stronger greenhouse gas than CO2 - pound for pound methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas

16. B: difficult to control - para 2: 'it is not always easy because sometimes they are one and the same'.

17. A: 'they do exist' conveys disbelief

18. B: warming at higher latitudes

19. A: tipping point - point where something tips over/trigger a serious reaction

20. C: are easier to control than those emitted from wetlands and paddy fields

21. A: option III is not stated

22. B: women now earn almost as much as men because it stated, 'due to a narrowing wage gap'. option A is unacceptable as there is no data and option C is also not related as it is not stated who owns more property

23. B: emphasise the large numbers - biggest/twice the size of the hottest developing markets

24. B: seismic relates to earthquakes/earth shattering/something amazing, nerve wrecking means nervous, groundbreaking means pioneer/original/first of its kind

25. A: human capital - manpower

26. A: more open - more liberal

27. C: cause and effect (access to female edu therefore increase of literacy, increased labour-force participation therefore 70 percent more women work etc)

28. A: growing faster because 8.1 compared to 5.8. option B is not accurate as higher female earners in developed world is not necessarily comparing to men, could be compared to number of female earner is poorer countries and C is inaccurate as 80 percent is not the same as 'Some 80 percent' which means 'about 80 percent)

29. B: 'what the world needs at the moment' = positive attitude

30. C: conveys surprise

31. B: anaphoric reference

32. A: affects the ability to convey emotions

33. B: one consequence (stated in the question) is a delayed response to anger as given in the example in lines 42 - 44

34. C: contributes to the field : 'part of a bludgeoning field called 'embodied cognition'

35. C: using their hands to commit a moral transgression therefore they will have an urge to wash them.

36. B: because all the other statements are can be proven wrong.

37. C: all three - body, mind (thoughts) and emotions (feelings) are interrelated.

38. B: previous paragraph (anaphoric) refers to how cheap food has been and how much people waste

39. D: NOT TRUE because when more meat is consumed demand for grain increases as 8kg grain needed to produce 1kg meat

40. C: the use of maize for ethanol has increased food prices because the maize for ethanol amounts for half of the fall in the world's overall grain stocks.

41. A: farmers not the urban poor

42. D: no mention of higher wages

43. B: free up agricultural trade= less control and opening up

44. B: a catch here refers to a drawback/disadvantage

45. D: once in a lifetime chance to narrow the gap

Hi... these are only my own answers, not MPM's. There are a few questions that are open for debate as the answers are quite tricky. The others I'm pretty certain correct. Anyway, check your answers here and let me know your comments. :P

MUET 2011 Year End Exam 19 Nov 2011

2011-11-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

So this is it... what can you do for that last minute sprint to the finish line?

Well, so many have asked... and I have to answer quite simply: read up on ALL my recent blogposts as I've included samples and tips and various other guidelines like grammar fixit formulae and calculation techniques. So please search my archive!

I've also received quite a number of questions regarding counter arguments and how to go about doing this. So here are my thoughts on the matter.

Line of Argument:
Basically you can arrange your essay based on my writing template (search my blog for this) which is a basic 5 paragraph format.

MODEL A (if you completely agree)
1. intro
2. body 1 (pro-argument 1)
3. body 2 (pro-argument 2)
4. body 3 (pro-argument 3)
5. conclusion.

or

MODEL B (if you completely disagree)
1. intro
2. body 1 (con-argument 1)
3. body 2 (con-argument 2)
4. body 3 (con-argument 3)
5. conclusion.

HOWEVER:
If you want to score much higher bands (5/6) you need to have a more mature and critical line of argument. Therefore you must be able to present your counterargument and then a refutation to steer it back to your stand. What am I talking about? Here goes:

Topic: Smoking is bad for health
Stand: Strongly agree
Pro-agrument: Smoking will endanger our health and may result in death.
Counter-argument: Some people can still have a long life even though they smoke a pack or two a day.
Refutation: However, these people are not the majority as studies strongly indicate that there is a direct link between smoking and diseases like lung cancer.

Notice that we need to AVOID ASSUMPTIONS/SWEEPING STATEMENTS/GENERALISATIONS when we are writing because it affects the strength of your opinions. Therefore use the vocab in RED above to mediate your sentences. Do not use banned terms like ALL, ALWAYS, EVERYONE, NONE, NEVER, WILL & MUST unless you really have the facts to back you up. Compare to the sentences below:

Topic: Smoking is bad for health
Stand: Strongly agree
Pro-agrument: Smoking will endanger our health and will result in death.
Counter-argument: All people can still have a long life even though they smoke a pack or two a day.
Refutation: However, these people are never affected as all studies show that there is a direct link between smoking and diseases like lung cancer.

The vocab in blue indicates to the examiner that you do not know how to control the strength of your opinions and have thus made serious assumptions that can be easily disproved by facts. Therefore you are NOT in the high bands.

Words to refute:

However/Although/Even though/Nevertheless/On the contrary/Conversely/On the other hand...

Ok.. so coming back to Line of Argument, here are more essay models you can follow to get high bands. A band 5/6 person will write more than the minimum 5 paragraph format which I have introduced earlier (which is fine if you just need to get band 3/4).

Which do you prefer?

MODEL C (if you have equal pro & con arguments, 50/50)
1. intro
2. body 1 (pro-argument 1)
3. body 2 (pro-argument 2)
4. body 3 (con-argument 1)
5. body 4 (con-argument 2)
6. conclusion

MODEL D (if you agree, but would like to discuss counterarguments before refuting it with your final point)
1. intro
2. body 1 (pro-argument 1)
3. body 2 (pro-argument 2)
4. body 3 (counterargument followed immediately by refutation which is your pro-argument 3)
5. conclusion

MODEL E (if you agree, but would like to first address the counterarguments before refuting it with your first point)
1. intro
2. body 1 (counterargument followed immediately by refutation with is your pro-argument 1)
3. body 2 (pro-argument 2)
4. body 3 (pro-argument 3)
5. conclusion

MODEL F (if you have equal number of counter and pro arguments)
1. intro
2. body 1 (counterargument 1 & pro-argument 1)
3. body 2 (counterargument 2 & pro-argument 2)
4. body 3 (counterargument 3 & pro-argument 3)
5. conclusion

Anyway.. hope you can make sense out of this as I've tried to simplify it as much as possible. Please stay tuned for the reading paper answers which I will post after today's exam and there will be a discussion about the writing paper questions 1 & 2 as soon as I can generate a plausible answer. Again...GOOD LUCK TO ALL MY STUDENTS BOTH IN REAL TIME AND ONLINE. You're all in my prayers. :P

MUET Writing 800/4 Question 2 sample answers for 350 word academic essay

2011-11-13T23:46:00.000-08:00

Below are 4 samples of good essays... Band 4 or 5... Band 6 essays will demonstrate a much better command of linguistic fluency and accuracy as well as show more mature and critical thinking skills.
FYI: I'm sticking to my writing template so that the organisation of your essay is clearer and it makes writing 350 words easier. Read up on my template here:
http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2009/08/foolproof-academic-writing-template.html
Plus: Fix your grammar in 15 mins: Read my grammar notes n take the grammar test!
http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2011/10/muet-2011-grammar-tips.html

SAMPLE 1) YEAR END 2008: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

“People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what money can buy.” What is your opinion on being materialistic? You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks]
They say that money makes the world go round. And indeed it does as without money, life would be very difficult as in today’s society, nothing is free. The side effect however is that people are becoming more materialistic; more concerned with making money and what money can buy. But how much money is enough? Is it ever enough? To some, it will never be enough. In my opinion, I truly believe that this statement is true and that people are becoming more materialistic in nature. In this essay, I will discuss how materialism has affected modern society’s way of life on an individual level, the country’s economy as well as our spiritual and moral beliefs.

First and foremost, each individual is affected by materialism to some extent in this day and age because hedonism is becoming an uprising trend. This is because today's generation are geared towards making more and more money so that they can enjoy the carefree lifestyle that is so popular these days. Moreover, people now are striving to earn more income in order to afford things that are more expensive and branded. For example, people spend their hard earned money on material objects like genuine LV and Coach handbags, expensive gadgets like Iphones and Tablet pcs and so on which in my opinion is a waste of money when regular goods may prove to be good enough. Therefore, while individuals become more focussed on their pursuit of material wealth and improving their standard of living, they may forget that what matters most in life is quality time spent with family and friends and not the quantity of their material goods.

Secondly, when society starts spending in a materialistic manner it will surely have a domino effect on the country’s economy. This means that the spending power of society will help boost the economy and create more business opportunities for the booming trade. However, when a society overspends, using plastic money or credit cards, or when they take loans they cannot afford to repay, then the country’s debt margin will be higher. For instance, USA today is facing an economic crisis because banks have approved home loans to people who aspire to own bigger houses than they can actually afford and this is causing the collapse of the country’s economy there. Thus, while a society’s spending habits helps our economy to grow, overspending due to materialism will have an adverse effect to the country’s financial stability.

Last but not least, materialism affects our spiritual and moral beliefs. This is due to the fact people who are materialistic may become ‘amoral’ whereby they disregard their spiritual and moral upbringing and instead turn to crime to satisfy their materialistic needs. In fact, the crime rate is increasing because criminals these days have developed many ways to gain more money from society. Take for example, there are more reports of snatch thefts, burglaries, kidnapping for ransom, credit card fraud, internet banking hacking and others that are driven by materialistic criminals. Hence, when people lose sight of their spiritual and moral beliefs and believe instead in the greed of materialism, therefore the crime rate is bound to increase.

In a nutshell, materialism is a common agenda in the 21st century as more people are working hard to afford things beyond their reach. While this may spur individuals to work harder to improve their standard of living, overspending due to materialism may cause the downfall of a country’s economy and their morality. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that materialism has a strong hold on today’s society; both positive and negative effects. Our government can encourage society to be less frivolous and wasteful in spending by running campaigns such as ‘Consumer Awareness’ and ‘Buy Malaysian Made Products’ in order to educate our younger generation for the prosperity of our nation.

SAMPLE 2) MID YEAR 2010: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

The world today is turning more to electronic communications such as the e-mail, Facebook and Short Message System (SMS). What is your opinion of this growing trend? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks]

Everywhere we turn today, the world is crowded with people busy typing SMSes on their Nokias or iPhones or someone is staring unblinkingly at a Facebook or Yahoo page on the computer screen. Whether you like it or not, the age of Information Technology is upon us, and we can either learn new skills and adapt to this new technology, or be forever lost and stuck in the older generation. In my opinion, I am fully convinced that this growing trend is the way of the future, and it brings countless benefits to mankind. In this essay, I will discuss three positive effects of electronic communication, namely its efficiency, enhances communication and creates a borderless world community.

First and foremost, more and more people are relying on e-mail, Facebook, Short Message System (SMS) and other types of electronic communication tools because of its high efficiency. This is because in today's age of globalisation, we need information at the tip of our fingers. Moreover, with the use of these tools, we can increase the speed of getting the necessary and relevant information within seconds and this will increase our productivity. For example, gone are the days of using 'snail mail' or regular letters using stamps and envelopes and many more examples of 'old' technology because it is simply too slow and inefficient. Therefore, these e-communication tools increases the access to important information which is why the new generation is fully accepting this growing trend.

Secondly, this form of technology enhances communication among people today. This means that when we use SMS, e-mails and websites like Facebook, we are able to communicate clearly and directly to our target audience. Furthermore, people today find that the message is more important than the form it comes in as an e-mail in short but clear sentences is just as good or even better than a long and formal letter. For instance, an SMS can give clear instructions in just a few words and this communicates what needs to be done quickly and directly. Thus, when the intended message can be spread clearly using short and clear information like in SMSes and emails, communication can be enhanced and there will be less problems of miscommunication.

Last but not least, e-communication creates a borderless community in the world we live in today. This is due to the fact that the boundaries that separate each country becomes less relevant when information is transferred without limitations. In addition, the world would be a better place because there is a sense of 1-World commitment, respect and tolerance for the global community through efficient and clear e-communication. Take for example, we are able to connect with people on an international basis using Facebook, Friendster, Tagged, Hotmail, Yahoo and others. Hence, these tools will enhance global unity and create a more peaceful world.

In a nutshell, this growing trend has many positive effects not just to individuals but the global society in terms of efficiency, enhancing communicative skills and shaping a borderless community. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that this latest trend is the best way forward and if we do not catch up, we will be left behind by the tide of development. Our government can encourage the proper usage of electronic communications by increasing communication amenities and free broadband accessibility especially in rural areas so that they can enjoy the same facilities as city-folks therefore balancing the development of our country towards achieving Vision 2020.

SAMPLE 3) MID YEAR 2011: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

The most valuable thing in life is friendship. Do you agree? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words.
[60 marks]

It is true that no ‘man is an island’ meaning that no one in this world can live alone without friendship. That person would be very socially challenged as he or she would miss the camaraderie and life experiences that come with friendship. However, I completely disagree with the statement that the most valuable thing in life is friendship as there are certainly more important and priceless things in life besides this. In this essay, I will outline how life itself is more valuable than friendship, and elaborate on why family and the individual’s principles in life are ranked higher.

First and foremost, before one can enjoy the beauty of friendship, one must surely value life itself or in other words, we should value our health. This is because, the quality of our life is the single most important criteria in life if we are to live a meaningful and wholesome life. Moreover, without good health, we will be hard pressed to do even the simplest of tasks like feed ourselves or relieve ourselves without the help of doctors, nurses and caregivers. For example, if we are paralysed, lost our sight, hearing or ability to speak or even a simple case of a fever or allergic reactions, then the quality of our life is greatly reduced and no amount of friendship can make us healthy again. Therefore, while friends can stand by us in our time of need, pristine health is still the most valuable asset in our lives.

Secondly, we are no one without our family as indeed blood is thicker than water. This means that however you analyse it, friendships will almost always play second fiddle because family always comes first. Furthermore, if we do not value our family above others, then there must be a problem among the family members that has caused their relationship to be strained. For instance, people tend to turn away from family if the family member(s) themselves are the ones to cause them to react negatively such as divorced parents, abusive parents or siblings and so on. Thus, when people consider friendship to be the most valuable thing in life, more often than not they may come from a troubled household.

Last but not least, a person’s principles in life is by far more valuable than friendship alone. This is due to the fact that each person needs to have a code of ethics, quite often prescribed by their individual religions. In addition, this code will guide each person to live their lives according to the good and right principles. Take for example, if an individual has set his principles to do good, then no amount of friendship especially negative influence from friends, can shake his hold on his principles and cause him to commit undesirable deeds like smoking, stealing, raping, murdering and others. Hence, if a person values friendship so much to the point where he is willing to break his principles, then he has done a serious misdeed against himself and will most likely regret his actions later in life.

In short, friendship is the rainbow of life as it colours our horizons with invaluable experiences but without good health, a supportive family and strong principles, life becomes empty and meaningless. In my opinion, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that I still firmly believe that friendship is not the most valuable thing in life. Our government can encourage people to prioritise health, family and principles in life by organising awareness campaigns especially in primary schools where the younger generation should learn about priorities in life because they are the leaders of tomorrow.

SAMPLE 4) MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

The rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products. How will this affect the society? Give your opinion. You should write at least 350 words.
[60 marks]

Money is always an issue in today's era of materialism. Most people need it for basic survival while the lucky few indulge in luxuries without worrying about money. In my opinion, I strongly agree that the rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products and this will definitely affect the society. In this essay, I would like to touch on the effects this price increase has on society today, namely increasing vice activities, widening the gap between the rich and the poor and affecting the population trend in the long term.

First and foremost, society will immediately be affected by the rise in fuel prices because consumer products will be more costly and this leads to an increase of vice activities. This is because basic necessities such as rice, flour, sugar and so on will be in great demand and some warehouses will store or hoard the items to further increase the price of the product. Moreover, in the newspapers today, reports of smuggling of these items prove that this vice activity is on the rise. For example, the recent sugar price hike caused a furor among the Malaysian society as it costs more fuel to travel to and from the supermarket and when arriving, most places had run out of stock even though the government had allocated 2kg of sugar to one person. Therefore, the fuel price increase had definitely caused more hardships to society today.

Secondly, it is undeniable that the rise in fuel prices leads to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. This is due to the fact that people are greatly affected by the price of basic necessities such as food and fuel in particular. Furthermore, the rich people will still be able to afford such things but the poor will face greater challenges as the popular saying goes: "The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." For instance, when money is used to purchase consumer products that are necessary for survival, then less money will be spent on health and dental check-up, educational purposes and others. Thus, it is clear that the fuel price hike will further stress on the differences between the rich and the poor which is such a tragedy.

Last but not least, in the long term the population trend or demographics of the society will be greatly affected. This means that new families will consciously decide not to have too many children in order to increase their quality of life. In addition, society is now more aware of birth control and family planning so this will greatly reduce the population as most families will have 1 to 5 children instead of more. Take for example, new families with less children will surely spend less on basic necessities like food, clothes, transport and many more. Hence, the demographics of the whole country will be affected and this in turn will reduce our workforce which will affect our country's productivity and prosperity.

In short, there are many short term to long term effects of a fuel price increase which includes more crimes like hoarding and smuggling will occur and this leads to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor as well as a change in the society's demographics. I still strongly believe that the rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products and this will surely cause a negative impact to society. The government must find a way to stabilise the fuel price at a reasonable rate so that it does not affect the productivity of this country towards achieving the aspirations of the nation for Vision 2020.

SAMPLE OF ESSAY FROM ONLINE STUDENT JEFF (TQ FOR ALLOWING ME TO BLOG THIS) ON WHAT NOT TO WRITE IN YOUR ESSAYS.

On 9 November 2011 00:53, jeff lai wrote:

A university education is better than a college educaton.Give your opinion.

After the SPM examination,many students have to decide their future on which education to pursue.Some of my friends chose to enrol in college.I decided to study in matriculation college as a Pre-U qualification to enter university.My reason is university education is better than college education.
This is because university has a better education system,more dedicated lecturers and better facilities.

First,university education provides a better education system than college does.A SPM certificate is enough for you to enrol in a college but to enter a university you need a Pre-U qualification such as STPM or A-level.This simply shows that it is harder to study in university as you need some qualifications in which the college does not demand.Besides,the grading system in university is stricter than that of college.So,students have to work harder to get a good result.On the other hand,most college change their grading system,according to the overall result of their students.Moreover,the the syllabus in university is well designed.Besides giving knowledge,it helps to develop the social skills of students.For example,Students have to do survey on public about topics related to their study.This ensures that the graduates can have critical thinking skill and communication skill.

Universities usually hire more experienced lecturers with better knowledge.According to a research, these lectures possess a Master or PhD degree and some even graduated overseas.Thus,they have higher level of of knowledge which benefits the students.Besides,Most of them have years of teaching experience and so they know how to guide their students,developing their skills and exploring their potential.For instance,a Physics lecturer does not only talk on theories.Instead,he teaches the students to analyse a problem logically.They are also more caring and responsible to their students.These qualities are hard to seen in college lecturers,who are mostly bachelor degree holder and work just for money. (very serious generalisation here!)

Last but not least,university usually has better facilities,for example,the state-of-art computers.Unlike those college such as Inti College which are run by private companies,university has a better management.Thus every single thing in the university,including the infrastructure is planned and developed well.This is beneficial to students.For instance,university with advanced laboratories is beneficial to students as they can learn science better by being explored to the real situation while conducting experiments.Besides,university with better sports facilities can help the students to relax their mind.In other words,better facilities means a more conducive environment for university students.

In a nutshell,university education is better than college education for its better education system,lecturers and facilities.Despite the growing number of college in our country,I advice fellow friends to choose university education so that when you graduate,you are competitive enough to survive in this ever developing world.

(MY REPLY)

Hi...

Language wise you would score a high band 4... however your content is not very mature and there is lack of critical thinking skills so you might get only low band 3. Add the two together you may get a low or mid band 4.

Good try but i can assure u that this question will never come out in the exam as the scope is too small. if you compare spm with uni, then it would be a more viable question. comparing uni n college requires in-depth knowledge abt the two so majlis peperiksaan malaysia would never use this question as it would be too biased for some parties (urban) while the rural ones will not be able to answer it well at all.

Also, you mentioned too many assumptions and sweeping statements in your essay. I have highlighted the generalisations in GREEN ABOVE where you have stated what you consider to be a fact but is actually just your opinion. Please avoid such statements.

I do like how you've followed an academic style format.. and that you've given concrete examples. Good try.

Anyway... thanks for trying. :P

MORAL OF THE STORY: AVOID SWEEPING STATEMENTS AND GENERALISATIONS THAT YOU HAVE NO PROOF ABOUT. STAY AWAY FROM WORDS LIKE:
ALL, NEVER, ALWAYS, EVERY, EVERYONE, EVERYTHING ETC.

Guest Lectured at University Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor 12/11/11

2011-11-13T04:01:00.000-08:00

Look what I got!!! :P

I'd like to record my sincerest thanks and gratitude to the CARE Alumni (pic above)of Uni Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia (UTHMas) for organising and making my trip to Batu Pahat for a Pecutan Akhir MUET Seminar one to remember. Thank you to Engr. Ahmad Zulfadli Jusoh (Pen. Pendaftar CARE) and Mahfuzah Hj Abd Salam for hosting such a meaningful event for the benefit of all the MUET candidates who showed real commitment to attend my workshop. I hadn't been to Batu Pahat since about 15 years ago, and it remains in my mind as a very nice place with great people. The course was a 3 slot x 2hr each intensive workshop covering Grammar Formulae, Listening, Reading and Writing skills for MUET using current past year exam questions and my personal exam guidelines.

Was very pleased to be able to pen my signature on all the participants' certs. Tq for this opportunity. :P

Here's a group pic (sorry it's not clear) of students from matric, diploma, degree and even masters... some are also outsiders, all of whom hv one common goal, to improve their MUET knowledge and be able to obtain Band 3 or higher. You are all in my prayers for this 19th Nov when the actual exam will be held.

Rise n shine early in the morning in front of my VVIP accommodation. Tq for the lavish treatment UTHM. :P

My participants... :P

Thanks for your avid attention.
Two very enthusiastic teachers from a secondary school in BP.. Mdm Chow and Mdm Ellis Ria.. tq for your participation. Keep in touch!
Another pic of my accommodation... with Ms Emiliana (hope i spelt it right) as my companion throughout my stay... nice meeting you, Emi!
The huge tv kept me company on 11.11.11 with the live telecast of the opening of Sea Games 2011 in Indonesia. :P

My room... huge!

Last but not least, one cant go to BP without trying the famous Mee Bandung in their famous Parits (there were so many parits!hehe) and I even brought back some rempah bandung to share with others. :P Anyway, I was so impressed with the amazing hospitality of UTHM organisers.. tq tq tq so much for sending me all the way (4hrs each way) to KL in the Alumni's Exora... and I really hope that we will meet again, Zul, Mahfuzah and the rest... may you all pass in the coming MUET exam. God bless!

All you need to know about MUET Report Writing

2011-11-08T04:15:00.001-08:00

So you have no clue on report writing... well I'm here to help, as always. :P

Report Writing Formula:

TITLE

I + OV

KFs

Here is what i consider to be the 'must know' tips.

TIPS:
1. WRITE THE TITLE AND UNDERLINE
2. YOU CAN WRITE 'By Audrey Koh' UNDER THE TITLE BUT THIS IS OPTIONAL MEANING NO EXTRA MARKS OR DEDUCTION OF MARKS WILL BE GIVEN.
3. WRITE IN 3 PARAGRAPHS (MINIMUM, BODY CAN BE MORE THAN 1 PARA)

4. INTRODUCTIONS CONSISTS OF ONLY 2 SENTENCES (INTRODUCTION +OVERVIEW: I + OV)
I: 1ST SENTENCE WRITE THE TYPES OF GRAPHS/DIAGRAMS/HEADLINES ETC THAT YOU SEE IN THE QUESTION.

(The stimuli present a bar graphs on ... and a pie chart on ... etc.)

5. OV: 2ND SENTENCE WRITE ABOUT THE MOST OUTSTANDING TREND THAT COMBINES ALL THE STIMULI

(Generally, ... )

5. BODY - WRITE ONLY INFORMATION THAT IS OUTSTANDING (KEY FEATURES KFs, NOT FEATURES.. FEATURES JUST MEANS EVERY SINGLE POINT, YOU NEED TO BE SELECTIVE IN CHOOSING THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES ONLY)

(According to the __graph,../Based on the ___ chart,...)

6. CONCLUSION IS JUST ONE SINGLE SENTENCE AS SUMMARY S. JUST REWRITE THE OVERVIEW (2ND SENTENCE IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH) IN A DIFFERENT SENTENCE. DO NOT ADD YOUR OWN OPINIONS.
(In conclusion, ... )

7. ALL WORDS AFTER 200 IS NOT CHECKED/READ/EXAMINED. EXAMINERS WILL NOT READ AFTER THAT SO STICK TO THE WORD LIMIT. MPM REQUIRES ALL EXAMINERS TO ACTUALLY COUNT THE WORDS AND MARK THE 200TH WORD SO BE TRUTHFUL WHEN YOU WRITE THE NUMBER OF WORDS AT THE END OF THE REPORT.

8. TRY TO LINK ALL THE INFO AND EXPLAIN IT IN A SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE WAY. DO NOT COME OUT WITH DIFFICULT AND CONFUSING CALCULATIONS AS THIS IS NOT NECESSARY.

9. USE A WIDE VARIETY OF LANGUAGE TO DESCRIBE THE STIMULI IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR VOCABULARY POWER. HOWEVER, DO NOT BE VERBOSE, AIM FOR ACCURACY.

10. GOOD LUCK, AND ALWAYS ANSWER THE ESSAY QUESTION FIRST BEFORE TRYING TO WRITE THIS REPORT. ESSAYS ARE 60% WHILE REPORTS ARE 40% AND IF U DONT COMPLETE YOUR ESSAYS WITH A MINIMUM 5 PARAGRAPH FORMAT, YOU CAN ONLY GET BAND 2 ON AVERAGE.

Here are some of my samples on good report writing.

http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2010/11/report-writing-muet-8004-question-1.html

http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2011/04/muet-report-writing-2011.html

How are reports marked?

Language - 20 marks
Task Fulfilment - 20 marks
____________________
Total - 40 marks

Any questions?

Past year actual MUET Writing questions

2011-11-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

Year End 2008
"People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what money can buy." What is your opinion on being materialistic? You should write at least 350 words.

Mid 2009
Information and communications technology (ICT) is the cause of today's many social ills. What is your opinion? Support your answers with examples. You should write at least 350 words.

Year End 2009
People commit crime for selfish reasons. Discuss. You should write at least 350 words.

Mid 2010
The world today is turning more to electronic communications such as the e-mail, Facebook and short Message System (SMS). What is your opinion of this growing trend? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words.
http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2010/04/heres-sample-model-answer-for-lastest.html

Year End 2010
In an arranged marriage, the choice of a husband or wife is made by parents or elders. What do you think of this practice in today's society? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words.

Mid 2011
The most valuable thing in life is friendship. Do you agree? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words.

Anyone wants to try to write some essays for me to grade? Send to queendrey@gmail.com

Come on people, any comments about what the next question will be this Year End 2011? :P A special prize will be given to the person who has the most accurate guess.. hehe.. yup.. i'll actually send u a present through the post! LOL... come on n comment then!

Hui Chuen wrote this:

- Every brain drain is a potential brain gain ...Do you agree or disagree ? How to write this type of essay? I definitely do not know how start it ?

Audrey Wiles
- It discusses the issue of our graduates and educated people migrating to other countries to work. You have to discuss how the country could gain in knowledge (brain) if they managed to keep these workers in Malaysia rather than working for other countries. Some suggested points: 1) leaving the country means knowlegable ppl in malaysia is reduced, 2) Malaysia is forced to hire foreigners to work (negative effect on foreign exchange), 3) country spends a lot of money on quality education through upgrade of local tertiary institutes so if when they graduate they do not serve the country (brain drain), Malaysia will lack innovative minds capable of new innovations to propel us forward because all the geniuses will prefer to work in other countries. The conclusion is that the govt must make it attractive for local brains to stay in the country and contribute back to society. The recent 2012 budget tabled by our PM includes higher allocation for human resource development esp the empowerment of women in business.

MUET 2011.. Budget 2012 & how to incorporate it in your essays.

2011-10-26T18:38:00.001-07:00

A requirement for the MUET writing paper is to show critical thinking skills in task fulfillment. This means that a candidate has to have a good grasp of local and international knowledge and know how to link it to the question in a critical and mature manner.

Here's Budget 2012 at a glance:
http://www.opf.com.my/blog/malaysia-budget-2012-summary-of-goodies-for-the-rakyat/
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/7/nation/20111007162147&sec=nation

So what aspects of Budget 2012 can be incorporated in your essays? Follow my lead below and add your comments here. I will copy and paste to my blog post so that the lists will hopefully get longer and longer.

1. Sports
1 District 1 Futsal Court. This allocation is aimed at improving the general health of Malaysians by encouraging physical activities that are good for fitness, competitiveness and improving social skills among all Malaysians.

2. Education
Free primary & secondary school education, RM100 for schoolgoing children and RM200 book vouchers for tertiary education students, RM5000 for Masters & RM500 for PhDs demonstrate the Government's seriousness in raising the level of education and emphasising the importance of a solid education background in its aspiration to achieve developed nation status by Vision 2020.

3. Women
Women will be empowered with more skills and business opportunities in order to strenghten their position in the economy and to increase their productivity for the benefit of the nation. More training programs tailored especially for women will be carried out through Budget 2012.

Using the links above, try to write your own versions of the above and I will copy and paste to this blogpost. :P

MUET 2011 YEAR END EXAM...

2011-10-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

is on 19th Nov 2011. :P Are you up for it? I'm in the midst of compiling new notes and materials for my three upcoming talks... tq SMK Pengiran Omar, Sipitang for inviting, for a course in my own school... and I'm honoured to be offered a fully sponsored trip to University Tun Hussein Onn, Batu Pahat, Johor... to do a 6 hr intensive course on the 12th of Nov. Tq to Mdm. Mafudzah for coordinating this. I'm sure I'll enjoy the experience.

As for the exam proper, please read up on my previous blogs for sample answers and see the slides here.. I am very angry with WandererSuria on ISSUU for uploading my slides WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!! TAKE IT DOWN OR ELSE!!!!

Anyway, will be uploading more sample answers for report writing and essays soon. cheers. If you have any questions post here and I will try to answer them within minutes (I love my Blackberry!)

MUET speaking 800/2 questions. (STILL UPDATING)

2011-10-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

After reading all ur comments I am both happy and annoyed. Happy because I have helped u guys prepare in some (minimal) way for this test. However it irks me to read that u expect 'spot' questions when this is not what I offer here. So stop asking for predictions, instead try ur best to speak fluently, confidently and in a mature manner in order to pass w flying colours. Oh n btw, there was no muet speaking test on monday 17th so stop asking for something that doesn't exist ok.

Hi all.. how did your speaking go... comments please!!! hehehe.... tough? nah! must have been fun! Anyway, this is an update of the questions for this end of the year MUET speaking exam. (Rough summary only, not exact words)

Day 1, Session 1
People gives the most meaningful contribution to society
a)garbage collectors
b)toilet cleaners
c)road sweepers
d)gardeners

Day 1, Session 2
Challenges of studying abroad
A) homesick
B) language barrier
C) financial problems
D) culture shock

Day 2, Session 1
Welfare club wants to help children in a hospital
a) read to the children regularly
b) organise games and activities
c) assist the children with their studies
d) collect things like toys and books for the children

Day 2, Session 2
Sex education should be taught to the young. Who should impart this knowledge?
A) teachers
B) parents
C) friends
D) the mass media

Day 3,session 1

Which is the most important in life?
(a)health
(b)friends
(c)education
(d)family

Day 4, Session 1
What are the qualities that can strengthen a relationship.
a)respect
b)honesty
c)generosity
d)tolerance

For the other sessions, read the comments below, tq to those who wrote abt their speaking questions. Keep up d good work!

So glad my students did not have to answer the sex education question. I have assigned them homework to write an essay regarding this and will blog about it soon. Will also be updating the latest questions for the following exam days so stay tuned!!!!!!

MUET SPEAKING 800/2 actual exam questions for mid year 2010

2011-10-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the questions from the mid year session last year. Try it out!

1. A person's character is often influenced by other people around him/her. Who has the greatest influence on a person's character?
A) Parents
B) Teachers
C) Friends
D) Famous personalities
Task B) Discuss which of the following has the greatest influence on a person's character.

2) If you were given the opportunity to serve as the Prime Minister of Malaysia for one term, what would be a great achievement to leave behind?
A) Economic prosperity
B) Excellence in sports
C) World class education
D) Excellent health facilities
Task B) Discuss which of the following would be the greatest achievement that you can leave behind as a Prime Minister of Malaysia.

3) What do teenagers expect from their parents?
A) Increase their allowance
B) Give them more freedom
C) Be more understanding
D) Spend more time with them
Task B) Which of the following do teenagers expect most from their parents?

4) You and your friends are deciding on the choice of universities and programmes of study available. You would like to seek the opinion of others before you make your final decision.
A) You think that it is important to seek the opinion of your parents. Why?
B) opinion of your friends
C) opinion of your teachers
D) opinion of your career guidance counsellor
Task B) Whose opinion is most important in deciding where and what to study for your university degree? Discuss.

5) You are preparing for your first job interview. There are many things that you should do. What are some of these?
A) Get information about the job
B) Obtain information about the organisation
C) Dress appropriately for the interview
D) Improve on your communication skills
Task B) Discuss which of the following is the most important preparation for a job interview.

6) Everyone has a role to play in making Malaysia a safer place to live in. Suggest what can be done at different levels to achieve this.
A) Every individual can play a role in maintaining safety. How can this be done?
B) The community
C) The school or college
D) The government
Task B) Which of the following plays the most significant role in making Malaysia a safer place to live in? Discuss.

7) Electronic media such as the mobile phone, computer and electronic games has an impact on young people of today. What aspects of their lives are affected?
A) Electronic media can affect the study habits of youths. Elaborate.
B) Daily habits
C) social relationships
D) World view
Task B) Discuss what aspect of a young person's life is most affected by the electronic media.

8) In today's society, more people arre trying to lose weight. What could be the reason?
A) For health reasons
B) To be fashionable
C) Because of their job
D) Because of social pressure
Task B) discuss which of the following is the main reason why people want to lose weight.

9) What are the costs-cutting measures that can be taken by a family to reduce expenditure? Give some suggestions.
A) Use public transport
A) Spend only on what is needed
C) Carry out their own repair and maintenance work
D) Recycle and reuse household items
Task B) Discuss which of the following is the best way for a family to reduce expenditure.

10) Who do you regard as a successful person? Give your view.
A) Someone who is very rich
B) Someone who is very intelligent
C) Someone who is very powerful
D) Someone who is very famous
Task B) Which of the following do you regard as the most successful person?

11) What factors can influence a student's academic performance?
A) Study habits
B) Sleeping habits
C) Leisure activities
D) Network of friends
Task B) Discuss which of the following has the greatest impact on a student's academic performance.

12) It is important to be a good neighbour. What are some of the qualities needed?
A) Polite and rescpectful
B) Friendly and caring
C) Helpful and responsible
D) Tolerant and understanding
Task B) Discuss which of the following are the most important qualities needed to be a good neighbour.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS? EASY? HARD? FEEL FREE TO COMMENT... I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. GOOD LUCK ONCE AGAIN EVERYONE! :D

MUET 2011 grammar tips

2011-10-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

What is it that all examiners look for be it for MUET speaking or the other papers? GOOD GRAMMAR! in fact, flawless grammar is a joy to listen to.

So you're running out of time and u need a GRAMMAR QUICKFIX.. well if you read my basic rules below & later take the grammar test... i can give u that QUICKFIX that you're in desperate need of. LOL.. so i've reblogged the rules i posted last year below. Good luck for the speaking exam ok!

>>>>>>>

GRAMMAR FIRST.
I've developed some basic rules. If you can follow it, i'm sure your writing will improve by leaps and bounds.

Firstly, you must learn (memorise) all the words in the table of tenses. There are 4 columns, all starting with 'P'.

P1 - Present tense (+s or -s) [for now, facts or habits]
P2 - Process (+ing) [takes time to complete]
P3 - Past (+ed or spelling change) [for stories that are over]
P4 - Participle (=ed, spelling change or +n) [for perfect tense and passive sentences]

Here are the common words in English according to the table of tenses.
P1 - P2 - P3 - P4
has/have - having - had - had
goes/go - going - went - gone
gives/give - giving - gave - given
chooses/choose - choosing - chose - chosen
buys/buy - buying - bought - bought
flies/fly - flying - flew - flown
sings/sing - singing - sang - sung
cuts/cut - cutting - cut - cut
puts/put - putting - put - put
becomes/become - becoming - became - become
*smiles/smile - smiling - smiled - smiled
*explains/explain - explaining - explained - explained

* if you notice P3 and P4 looks the same in smiled and explained but they are completely different meanings.
the 4 columns in Malay actually means:
p1 - sekarang
p2 - sedang (imbuhan me-)
p3 - telah
p4 - imbuhan di-
so for 'kick'
kicks/kick - kicking - kicked - kicked
is actually in Malay
tendang - menendang - telah tendang - ditendang.
Get it?

Now for the rules:

1. P1: present
1 +s, >1 -s (except for sentences that start with 'You' or 'I')

1 +s
He likes to eat. (Correct)
He like to eat. (Wrong)
>1 -s
They like to eat. (Correct)
They likes to eat. (Wrong)

1 +s
She is a prefect now. (Correct)
She was a prefect last year too. (Correct)
She are a prefect now. (Wrong)
She were a prefect last year too. (Wrong)

>1 -s
They are prefects now. (Correct)
They were prefects last year too. (Correct)
They is prefects now. (Wrong)
They was prefects last year. (Wrong)

Sometimes the verb is quite far away but the rules still apply.

1 +s
The student reading the biology book is the top student.

>1 -s
The students reading the biology book are the top students.

2. P2: Process (+ing) (imbuhan me-)
If you want to use 'ing' it cannot stand alone
It needs one of the Be5 (am/is/are/was/were)
The 5 versions of Be5 are very important words that are always lost when translating directly from Malay or Chinese as it doesn't exist in these languages.

The baby is sleeping soundly. (Correct)
The baby sleeping soundly. (Wrong)
The babies are sleeping soundly. (Correct)
The babies sleeping soundly. (Wrong)

*notice you need a combination of 2 words to make the process sentences correct!

3. P3: Past (+ed/spelling change)
There is no rule. You have to just memorise all the words in this column.

4. P4: Participle (+ed/spelling change/+n)
This is the trickiest part of English grammar.

There are 2 uses: perfect tenses and passives.

a) Perfect tenses: 3H + P4
if you see the words Has/Have/Had, it MUST be followed by P4.

3H + P4
He has eaten the cake. (Correct)
They have eaten the cake. (Correct)
The boys had eaten the cake yesterday. (Correct)
He has eat the cake. (Wrong)
They have eating the cake. (Wrong)
The boys had ate the cake yesterday. (Wrong)

b) Passive sentences: Be5 + P4 (Imbuhan di-) [kek dimakan, bukannya dia dimakan]
The cake was eaten by him. (Correct)
The cakes were eaten by them. (Correct)
The cake eaten by him. (Wrong)
The cakes eating by them. (Wrong)

Be5 + P4 (don't confuse kicked with P3)
The ball is kicked by him. (Correct)
The balls were kicked by him. (Correct)
The ball kicked by him. (Wrong)
The balls kicking by him. (Wrong)

* Passive sentences are a combination of 2 WORDS: Be5 +P4, not P3. But sometimes if the spelling it +ed, it looks like P3, but the function is actually P4.

5. Other rules:

a) to + ori
to give (correct)
to gives, to giving, to gave, to given (wrong)

b) to + be + P4
to be taken (correct)
to be take, to be takes, to be taking, to be took (wrong)

c) modals: can/cannot/may/must/mustn't/should/shouldn't/will/would etc
modals + ori
can swim (correct)
can swims, can swimming, can swam, can swum (wrong)

d) modals + be + P4
must be discussed (correct)
must be discuss, must be discusses, must be discussing (wrong)

e) by + ing
by taking the bus (correct)
by takes, by take, by took, by taken (wrong)

f) for + ing
for demonstrating (correct)
for demonstrate, for demonstrates, for demonstrated (wrong)

g)
3H + been + P2
has been taking (correct)
has been take, has been takes, has been took (wrong)
or
3H + been + P4
has been taken (correct)

* P2 is used if the process takes a long time,
P4 is used if it is a passive sentence.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE RULES, CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND TAKE MY GRAMMAR TEST. YOU WILL FIND THAT KNOWING THE RULES MAKES ANSWERING SO MUCH EASIER.

http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2010/07/grammar-test.html

WELL... WHAT DO YOU THINK?

MUET Speaking 800/2 sample question.

2011-10-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Hui Chuen via FB. (Thanks!)
"I found difficult to generate idea for this speaking question, hope you could help me. Malaysia has achieved a great deal in 50 years of independence. Discuss what has been greatest success.
A-political stability
B-economic success
C-educational excellence
D-racial harmony
especially for economic success, I totally don't know what can I say.."

Anyone wants to attempt? Please comment here. I will provide the suggested answers in my next blog post. :P

Below is a sample answer from 'Immature'. Great job. I've filled it out a bit (CAPITAL LETTERS ARE MY ADDITIONS)

immature said...
A-political stability
*investors will invest in msia economy
- BECAUSE INVESTORS PREFER STABLE COUNTRIES
- E.G. CURRENT RULING GOVT HAS SUCCEEDED IN LURING IN FOREIGN INVESTORS ESP IN ISLAMIC BANKING
*people able to live in peace
- BECAUSE THERE IS MINIMAL RACIAL TENSION
- E.G. ALL RACES LIVE UNDER ONE ROOF IN HARMONY UNLIKE WARRING COUNTRIES LIKE AFGHANISTAN, PALESTINE ETC.
*msia visited by tourists from around the world
- BECAUSE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE VISITING POLITICALLY STABLE COUNTRIES
- E.G. SUCCESS OF VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR CAMPAIGNS MOSTLY DUE TO POLITICAL STABILITY

B-economic success
*there's a lot of msian products being exported to other countries
- BECAUSE WE R ABLE TO INNOVATE NEW PRODUCTS, HIGH DEMAND PRODUCTS
- E.G. PALM OIL (ONE OF THE WORLD'S TOP EXPORTERS), PETROLEUM PRODUCTS & BY-PRODUCTS ETC.
*there's alot income/REVENUE from investors
- BECAUSE INVESTORS PREFER MALAYSIA'S ECONOMY WHICH IS STABLE AND PROMISING
- E.G. MANY INVESTORS IN INDUSTRIALISATION, AGRO-BASED, ISLAMIC BANKING ETC.
*TOURISM REVENUE CONTRIBUTES TO ECONOMIC SUCCESS
- BECAUSE MANY TOURISTS TRAVEL TO MALAYSIA AND INCREASES FOREIGN EXCHANGE INTO OUR COUNTRY
- E.G. GENTING, MEGA SALES, TRAVEL TOURS ETC.

C-educational excellence
* CONSTANT REVISION & UGPRADE OF PRIMARY & SECONDARY SYLLABUS
- BECAUSE WE NEED TO KEEP ABREAST WITH THE LATEST IN TEACHING & LEARNING
- E.G. KBSM REPLACED BY KSSR (STANDARD CURRICULUM FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION)
*many studs achieve great success in SPM & able to further their studies in universities
- BECAUSE STUDENTS HAVE RECEIVED EXCELLENT EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN GOVT SCHOOLS AS THEIR FOUNDATION & SUPPORTED BY MANY SCHOLARSHIP & LOAN (PTPTN) PROGRAMS
- E.G. NUMBER OF TERTIARY EDUCATION INTAKE INCREASES EVERY YEAR, MORE STUDENTS CHOOSING TO CONTINUE STUDIES
*many international stud came to study in msia uni
- BECAUSE MALAYSIA AIMS TO BECOME THE REGIONAL EDUCATION HUB
- E.G. BOTH GOVT UNIS (UM, UPM, UKM ETC) AND PRIVATE COLLEGES (TAYLOR'S, INTI, TAR ETC) HAVE MANY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

D-racial harmony
*the many races in msia respect and tolerate each otherS' customS & religionS
- BECAUSE MALAYSIAN REALISE THE NEED FOR TOLERANCE & HIGH RESPECT FOR ALL CULTURES
- E.G. MAY 13, 1969 RACIAL RIOTS ARE A GOOD REMINDER WHY WE SHOULD LIVE TOGETHER PEACEFULLY AT ALL TIMES.
*open house during festive seasons(Hari Raya,CNY,Deepavali) are celebrated together
- BECAUSE RACIAL HARMONY PROMOTES MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT FOR ALL RACES
- E.G. THE ATMOSPHERE DURING FESTIVE SEASONS IS GREAT BECAUSE EVERYONE CELEBRATES ALL OCCASIONS
*food-Malay,Chinese,Deepavali enjoy eating each races' traditional food
- BECAUSE THERE IS A HUGE VARIETY OF DELICIOUS FOOD SHARED BY ALL RACES
- E.G. EVEN CHINESE USE HAND TO EAT 'ROTI CANAI', MALAYS & INDIANS ABLE TO USE CHOPSTICKS WELL SHOWS RACIAL HARMONY & ACCEPTANCE OF OTHERS' CULTURES IN TERMS OF FOOD.

"idk what's going on my head?!! the question is difficult.from the 2nd point onwards, i was just typing w/out thinking whthr the elaborations are correct or not"

October 9, 2011 3:56 AM

COMMENT:
1. ALWAYS THINK OF 3 MAIN POINTS AND FOR EVERY POINT, GIVE REASONS AND EXAMPLES.
2. IF YOU CANT ELABORATE ALL WITHIN 2 MINS & U DONT HV CONCLUSION, THERE IS NO PENALTY.. EVEN IF U TALK ABT 1 POINT FOR 2 MINS BUT SUBSTANTIATE IT WELL WITH GOOD JUSTIFICATION AND EXAMPLES, THEN YOU CAN STILL SCORE HIGH MARKS.
3. IMMATURE: WELL DONE... GOOD JOB WITH MOST OF THE POINTS! I'VE JUST ADDED MORE 'MEAT' BASED ON 'FACTS' TO UP THE LEVEL OF YOUR ANSWERS TO BAND 5 & 6 (PERFECT GRAMMAR & AMAZING VOCAB EXPECTED OF BAND 6)

TO THE REST OUT THERE... GOOD LUCK!

MUET SPEAKING 800/2 TIPS

2011-10-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2011/04/speaking-tips-sample-scripts.html

the above is a link to my archive on sample scripts...

anyway, to get your speaking juices going, here are my top tips.

1. Dress well. Smart and neat.
2. Don't forget your IC and slip.
3. Memorise the list of words/phrases that are useful for tasks A & B.
4. When you enter the quarantine room, decide who in your group will start the group discussion and who will end. The one who concludes my start making a conclusion on the 9th minute so pay close attention to your own watch.
5. You will be given one minute to read the question. After that you can ask anything you want. You MUST ask something even if you think you understand because the examiner will try to give you more ideas and you can HEAR the words being spoken so you can adjust your pronunciation.
6. Always smile and look confident even though you feel like a lump of nerves.
7. Divide the blank paper given into 4 quadrants for A, B, C & D. Write your 3 points in your section. Always give 3 main points with reasons and real examples. If you cant describe all 3 points and u have no conclusion, don't panic. NO MARKS WILL BE DEDUCTED. All you have to do is to speak continously for 2 minutes and give as much elaboration as possible. Think of mature ideas. Think of what the individual can do, then what society can do and finally how the government can address the issue if this is relevant to your question.
8. Take notes in the remaining 3 quadrants when your fellow candidates are speaking. You can 'borrow' their ideas for task B.
9. Use the 2 mins prep time for task B to rank your opinions. Which is more important? Example, D, A , C then B is the last choice. Give reasons why A, C & B are NOT THE BEST.
10. Fight (politely) for a chance to speak during the discussion by interrupting in a gentlemanly way. (may i interrupt, can i add something pls.., sorry to intterupt but, pardon me but...etc). However, do not be a control freak and talk too much. On the other hand, do not be a mouse without a voice. Equal opportunity for all to speak and you will get bonus marks for teamwork. If you friend runs out of ideas or forgets a word, offer your opinion. This is what a good discussion is about, sharing ideas and thoughts.
11. When you are blank just 1) repeat what your friends have just said. OR 2) tell your friends you didn't understand their point and could they please repeat it. NEVER be silent for a long time. 3) Just ask the next person what they think instead.
12. If there is plenty of time left, and you have already come to a decision, ask the others their opinion on why the other points ARE NOT SUITABLE. (Why dont we consider candidate A's point? Why do you think it isnt suitable? etc)
13. If your group manages to do a conclusion within 10 minutes, it will be a better discussion. 4/4: we all agree that.. 3/4 most of us agree tha... 2/4 some of use agree that... while others think that... 0/4 NONE of us agree that...
14. If your group DID NOT MANAGE to make a conclusion, dont panic. NO MARKS WILL BE DEDUCTED. In real life, not all conversations have a conclusion.
15. Smile politely and thank the examiners before you leave.

Ok... my next post will be some sample questions from past years. Here is one below for you to practice.

Task A: What makes a good leader?

Candidate A: Knowledgeable
Candidate B: Disciplined
Candidate C: Trustworthy
Candidate D: Visionary

Task B: Which is the most important quality of a good leader?

MUET Writing 800/4 Factual Writing Part II

2011-09-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all.. as promised here are some government policies that are useful facts for you to use when writing your academic essays. You will get higher marks for task fulfillment when you have concrete facts as your content. I truly demonstrates to the examiner that you have good critical thinking skills. :P

Thank you to Joanne Gan, Upper 6 Science, SMK Majakir for submitting this. :P

1.HEALTH

Health is very important in our lives as we cannot carry out daily activities efficiently without a healthy body. In Malaysia, mass vaccination is practiced in public schools. The vaccines may be administered by school nurses or a team of other medical staff from public sectors. For instance, children may receive the oral polio vaccine in Year One of primary school, the BCG in Year Six and the MMR (measles, Mumps and Rubella) in Form Three of secondary school. In 2010, the government will provide all 13-year-old girls three doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. This policy aims to prevent illness, disability and death of Malaysian citizens which can be triggered by various diseases.

2.EDUCATION

The Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said according to PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) about 2000 students qualified for scholarship worth RM73 million. So far, PTPTN had approved loans amounting to RM38.69 billion for 1.75 million students and waived loan repayments totaling RM277.99 million for 9545 students with first class honours last year. This shows that the government is serious in raising the standard of human capital in Malaysia so we may achieve developed nation status by Vision 2020.

3.SPORTS

Sports should be integral to a person’s life. This is due to the benefits in health that can be derived from it. In addition, skills such as strategic thinking and teamwork can be emphasised among Malaysians. The Ministry of Education had introduced the 1 Student 1 Sport policy (1 Murid 1 Sukan) to encourage students to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Making participation in sports compulsory helps student develop a more holistic and balanced approach in life while sharpening the skills of talented individuals in various sports such as badminton, football, athletics and so on. Our government can improve this program by providing subsidized sporting equipment for each student so that they can afford racquets, bats, balls, spikes that are essential to the development of the sporting standard of the country.

4.AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in Malaysia makes up 12% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). 16% of the population of Malaysia is employed through the field of agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry (MOA) serves as an agency for private agriculture businesses in Malaysia to get advice by experts that specialize in agriculture, fishing and livestock. The statutory body under MOA, Agrobank also helps farmers and fishermen by offering financing packages and loans so that they can start their businesses without life-long savings.

5.INDUSTRIALISATION

The major industries in Malaysia are rubber, textiles, basic metals, food processing, petroleum and electronic goods. In 2007, Malaysia was the 3rd largest economy in South East Asia. The Malaysia New Economic Policy (NEP) was created in 1971 with the aim of achieving a 30% Bumiputera share of the economy of Malaysia while eradicating poverty amongst Bumiputera. After 30 years of program, the NEP had achieved its goals where Bumiputra ownership increased to 18.9% in 2004 against 2.4% in 1970, while poverty decreased to 8.3% in 2004 from 64.8% in 1970.

6.ICT

Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had distributed a total of 285332 laptops to secondary school students in Malaysia to help educate and engage poorer students in information and communication technology (ICT). The aim of the ‘1Malaysia Computer’ program was to benefit 65% of the students in government and government-aided schools. The conditions to receive free laptops were: only household incomes below RM3,000 in rural areas (below RM5,000 in urban areas), the family did not own a computer, and the children were in Forms 1 until 5, each family was limited to one computer. Free laptops would help students improve their learning skills as they could search for extra information independently by using the internet access. This program can be improved as the government should provide free internet access through portable broadband connection so that all students could do self-learning conveniently at home.

MUET Writing 800/4 tips : Factual Writing

2011-09-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hey all... I'm back.. hehe sort of. Anyway, I've recieved some great emails and messages on facebook (add me as Audrey Wiles) about my blog and the good stuff you've gained from it. Hopefully I didn't disappoint.

Right, I've been thinking about why my students cant score higher than band 3 and 4... and I've finally hit the nail on its head. It's because students these days include too many generalisations and sweeping statements which are not backed up by facts. So then I sent them of a fact finding research and they have come back with key facts that can be used in their essays. I've then compiled (the first batch below) the info and written MUET style academic sentences which addresses key issues. I then printed out the samples below and got them to highlight whichever parts they considered as factual. Then in my next lesson, I will give them some sections with fill in the blanks activity (fill with facts) and some sections where they have to write their own sample sentences using the facts they can recall. Anyway, whichever style you use to present is not the issue but the fact that Band 5 & 6 students are expected to have a very HIGH LEVEL OF CRITICAL THINKING and maturity of ideas is reflected based on the content of their academic essays.

So students out there, read the examples below and highlight the facts. Teachers, get your students to do it. An enrichment activity is you can give them more issues and they can write their own samples, maybe one group one issue.

My next blog will be on using Malaysian government policies as content for factual and academic writing. So stay tuned and don't forget to comment about this technique. Was it effective for you? Your students? :P

FACTUAL WRITING

1. WAR
In terms of world peace, we should never repeat the mistakes of World War I in 1918 where we lost about 5 million people and World War II in 1945 that took the lives of more than 61 million. These wars are concrete examples of why killing and death are not acceptable. Instead, we should find a way through the United Nations and other such organisations to conduct peace talks at all costs because wars give nothing but negative impact to the human race.

2. ENVIRONMENT
Mankind is doing irreparable damage to mother nature to the extent that more and more natural disasters have occurred in recent times such as the undersea earthquake a day after Christmas in 2004 which unleashed multiple tsunamis in 14 countries killing over 230,000 people. More recent are the earthquakes in New Zealand last year and this year Japan was hit full force by a tsunami that almost destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant and caused a nuclear meltdown similar to the radioactive disaster in Chernobyl, Ukriane (1986). Therefore, we must reduce our negative impact to the environment because it will definitely affect mother nature.

3. NATIONAL UNITY
There are many lessons we can learn from our own history including the May 13 1969 racial riots between the Malay and Chinese especially in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Almost 200 people were killed and this really emphasised why we need to be more understanding, tolerant and respectful of each others’ cultural differences. Otherwise, another terrible racial riot will occur and this will destroy the national unity that we have worked so hard to achieve for the past half century of independence.

4. TERRORISM
World peace is threatened when terrorists launch attacks such as the 9/11/2001 hijacking of two 767 jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City. This is such a tragedy because it took 2,753 lives but there are uncountable more lives, maybe millions, that have been shaken by this terrible event. This has led to more lives lost through the hunting down of Saddam Hussien and Osama bin Laden, both of whom were influential leaders that commanded troops of terrorists. Hence, the governments of each country need to work hand in hand to protect its citizens from further terrorist threat.

5. PATRIOTISM
In recent times, the world has seen a number of tragedies that are unbelievable and atrocious such as the bombing in Oslo, Norway where Anders Brevik went on a shooting rampage and killed at least 77 youths because he was against multiculturalism and Muslim immigration. Thus, although we should be patriotic at all times, there must be moderation because the extremism showed by Norweigian Anders Behring Breivik is very unhealthy and this does not create peace, but instigates world wars.

6. PROUD TO BE MALAYSIAN
We should be proud to be living in a peaceful land as there are no wars, enough food and opportunity to improve our standard of living. On the other hand, places like Palestine face the uncertainty and horrors of war every day, while there are many crisis elsewhere such as in Somalia, Afghanistan and even in Thailand which is our direct neighbour. In short, we need to defend our peace and freedom not just for this generation but for our children, and our children’s children.

7. ENDANGERED ANIMALS
Datuk Michelle Yeoh from Perak is an international actress most famed for her role in action movies and being the Bond girl in ‘Tomorrow never dies’ is also known for her full support of the anti-smuggling of endangered animals campaign. Along with celebrities such as Jackie Chan, they both support the saying, “When the buying stops, the killing will too.” Therefore, we should also support this campaign to stop the buying of illegal animal products such as ground rhino horn, ornamental elephant tusks and animal fur and skin to make clothes and accessories.

8. INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed is an extremely inspirational man as he was the longest serving prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 during which he was called the ‘Father of Modernisation’. We have a lot to thank him for including our aspiration to achieve the developed nation status through Vision 2020. He was also behind the successful programs such as Multimedia Super Corridor, Proton cars, KLCC and KL towers, Formula 1 Sepang Circuit and many more which have brought prosperity and countless opportunities to fellow Malaysians. Therefore, to me he is truly inspirational as even today he has his own website, blog and Facebook page where he shows eloquence and critical thinking even though he is now 86 years old.

9. SPORTS
Malaysia has a lot to be proud of in terms of sports as today we have two individuals in racquet sports that are ranked No. 1 in the world. They are Datuk Lee Chong Wei for badminton and Datuk Nicol Ann David for squash, both hailing from the island of Penang. The two are prime examples of a combination of hard work and good upbringing because they have managed to divide their time to be a successful sportsperson. Datuk Nicol is 28 years old and been playing squash intensively since young but she still managed to score flying colours in her SPM where she obtained 7As. This is evidence that with the right attitude and diligence, anything is possible.

10. BUSINESS
Malaysia is proud to have businessmen who have carved a name for themselves in the international arena. Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes, CEO of Air Asia, owns the world best low-cost airline (2009-2011) which has created countless opportunities for Malaysians to travel around the world for business and leisure. With his amazing tagline, “Now everyone can fly”, it is truly wonderful that we can experience international travel because travelling is now affordable for all. Another famous Malaysian entrepreneur is Datuk Jimmy Choo, famed for his exquisite handmade heels which are sought after by all the celebrities in America and the whole world including the fashionista Sarah Jessica Parker, a famous Hollywood actress. Therefore, we should always look for opportunities to expand our business not just in the Malaysian market but penetrate the international market as well.

UiTM Reading 800/3 seminar. :P

2011-09-09T07:35:00.001-07:00

Blog on Marcella..
Ex-Majakirians! :P
They survived a tiring day! hehe..

Thanks for paying attention guys.. send your essays to queendrey@gmail.com, and add me to facebook if you like 'Audrey Wiles'

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150366156156095.405502.530476094&l=9ae6ba8b36&type=1

Some pics of my MUET seminar at UiTM today. :P

Hello I'm Back!!

2011-09-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long absence ... life got in the way. Also been on Raya mode n went to KL for a short break with the kids. Fun!!

Anyway, the MUET speaking exam is around the corner. I will be writing more tips about that in the next blog post. In the mean time, here is an essay submitted by Chin Hong, a fellow MUET lecturer from Taiping, Perak. Everyone is welcome to submit essays for me to publish but I reserve the right to edit and 'doctor' it for accuracy and fluency. :P

There are important issues relating to consumerism. Discuss the various ways whereby we as consumers leave an impact on the environment, society and our nation. Support your view with examples. You should write at least 350 words.

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

As a nation progresses, so does the level of consumerism among its citizens. The changing lifestyles of people have increased the market demands for more sophisticated products and lifestyles. All said, such demands have improved our general lifestyles in certain ways but they too do leave behind some negative impacts on the environment, society and the nation.
Firstly, consumerism has affected the environment in such ways that if not resolved will greatly affect the world that we live in. Due to our hectic lifestyles, many people have forsaken their task of cooking and eating at home. Generally, most working people opt to buy ready-prepared food outside and these foods are packed in disposable plastic boxes or bags. As we all know, such boxes are non-biodegradable and thus will cause environmental degradation if they are disposed of and buried in landfills. The overdependence on plastic shopping bags instead of using shopping baskets while shopping by consumers also contributes to the degradation of the environment therefore we must support the ‘No Plastic Bags’ campaigns. The use of aerosol sprays by consumers and CFCs-based products will have a detrimental effect on the environment. It will deplete the ozone layer in the atmosphere exposing mankind to the harmful effects of the ultra-violet rays of the sun. The affluent lifestyle of people nowadays has seen an increase in the ownership of private cars and this has caused air pollution to the environment to increase dramatically.
The changing spending habits of consumers too have an impact on society and the nation as well. The greater demands of consumers for luxury goods such as electric appliances and modern gadgets have caused an artificial demand of such goods and this has pushed up the price of such products. Thus consumers will be at the losing end as they need to pay more for such products causing inflation to rise. The widespread use of plastic money or credit cards too produces a negative impact on our society and the nation. The uncontrollable use of credit cards to purchase products has caused many a person to be heavily indebted to credit companies and banks. This has affected the saving power of the people and the country will be short of money with which to generate its economic growth. There will be a slowdown of the economy of the country as consumers will have no more money to spend or save due to the debts incurred from the overuse of credit facilities.
In short, although the increased level of consumerism has improved our lifestyles to a greater extent but the long term negative effects it has on the environment, society and nation needs to be looked into so that we as consumers can learn to be smart consumers benefitting not only ourselves but the society and nation at large. Our government needs to step up efforts to acquaint consumers with their rights and responsibilities by carrying out more consumer awareness campaigns nationwide. Smart consumers, prosperity for all.

MUET seminar at SMK Putatan...

2011-07-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

Just a short post to tell u guys I had a brilliant time helping SMK Putatan's pre-uni students with MUET at their academic seminar. :P Hope u guys had fun while learning some invaluable stuff.

Haven't had much time to update blog as have been real busy with the 1st Sabah Interschool MUET Colloquium held in Yayasan Sabah Mini Theatre last 14th. If anyone in Malaysia would like to organise a colloquium competition for MUET please contact me and I'll share some info with you.

Will put up the colloquium pics in my next post.. keep posted k!

Can't seem to comment on my own site.. argh!

2011-06-15T02:46:00.000-07:00

Great job guys... now I know that my answers are almost 100% accurate compared to MPM's. Yippee!

Mich... no need to aim for B6. Only 1% of Malaysians can actually score B6 so a B5 is already a great achievement. Mind you, even English teachers cannot be sure of getting a B6 if they take MUET as the level is excruciatingly high. :P

Chew.. as for appealing, well I haven't had any experience regarding this but you are welcome to appeal if you really need a B4 to advance in your education. If you can do so with a B3 then there is no point. If you appeal, do let me know how it turns out. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Once again, thanks guys for all the compliments. My greatest joy is to be able to give back to the people what my teachers have given me along the way. An open mind, and more importantly, an open heart. Cheerios!

Results are in!!!

2011-06-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hey guys... sorry I have been so busy relaxing that I haven't touched my blog in ages!!!

Great work for those who got the bands they targetted... Proud of you guys...

Need a favour.. can you check your reading comprehension marks and compare to the answers that I published here.. I need to know how close or far my answers were from MPM's. If u scored 40/45 on mine and on your slip it says you scored 41/45 then i know that my answers are 1 question out of sync... If u cant figure out the math.. just tell me your result and i'll work it out.

Cheers all!

Good luck in your future undertakings!

MY ANSWERS FOR MUET READING PAPER MID-YEAR 2011

2011-04-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

View 2011 Mid Year MUET paper here.
SPECIAL THANKS TO SINGER YOON FOR SCANNING & EMAILING THE READING PAPER TO ME. MUCH APPRECIATED.

Right, so here are the much awaited answers that I've done on my own, so I don't guarantee it will be exactly the same as MPM's answers. To me, there are only two ambiguous questions but I will not mention which ones. If the comments I recieve touch on those then maybe I will change my answers. Compared to last year's answers, this paper is more straightforward. :P Good luck you all... and if you want to know a 'predictive' band, just multiply your mark by 300 and divide by 45. This will give you an estimated 'band'. Band 1 = 0 - 99, B2 = 100 - 139, B3 = 140 - 179, B4 = 180 - 219, B5 = 220 - 259 & B6 = 260 - 300

1. B (new answer thanks to Adrian Lee)
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. B
6. B
7. C
8. B
9. A
10. A
11. A
12. C
13. C
14. A
15. C
16. A
17. B
18. C
19. A
20. C
21. B
22. B
23. A
24. C
25. A
26. A
27. B
28. C
29. B
30. B
31. D
32. B
33. C
34. B
35. D
36. A
37. B
38. D
39. A
40. A
41. D
42. A
43. D
44. B
45. B

Well? What is your estimated band based on my answers? Hope it's good news!

NEED READING PAPER!

2011-04-19T16:53:00.001-07:00

Hey all.. I can't seem to access the paper on scribd. So someone needs to scan the exam paper and email to me asap!!! argggh.. so frustrating.

Anyway, please take a look at my two sample answers for the report in a previous post.

Anyone wants to attempt the friendship question again and let me mark and publish it? :P Cheers ya'all!

MUET REPORT WRITING 2011

2011-04-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here are my sample answers.

BAND 3 - 4:

Profile of Professionals & Main Goals

The stimuli present a table on the profile of professionals and another on their main goals. In general, the two groups have very different profiles and goals where the younger group aims to make more money while the other focuses more on health.

According to the first table, most professionals aged 18 to 27 are junior executives and earn an average of RM3000 with 5 years of work experience. Only 40% of young professionals are married while almost all senior professionals are married (95%). Senior managers aged between 46 to 55 have an average of 20 years work experience. They earn more than triple the salary of a junior executive.

Based on the second table, both groups have very different goals for the year ahead. The younger group ranks making more money as top priority followed by improving technology and communication skills. Meanwhile, the older group focuses more on health, saving money and prioritising family time while goals related to money, improving skills and new friends are not as important to them.

In conclusion, priorities change depending on age group where the younger generation focuses on making money while the older generation cares more about their health and saving money.

(200 words)

BAND 5 - 6:

Profile of Professionals & Main Goals for the Year Ahead by Age Group

The stimuli present a table on profiles of professionals and another on their main goals for the year ahead. In general, the youngsters focus on accumulating wealth while the more affluent older group can afford to concentrate on health.

Based on the information provided, the profile of a professional from the 18 to 27 years age group are mainly junior executives who have worked an average of 5 years and 40% are married. They only earn RM3000 so and their main goal is to make more money. Also top on their list is to improve their technology and communication skills rather than saving money or spending time with family.

The profile of an older professional is completely opposite as these 46 to 55 year olds hold the position of senior manager with 20 years experience and earn more than triple a junior executive’s salary. 95% are married therefore their priorities have changed to focus on being more healthy, saving money and spending family time rather than on new friendships.

In conclusion, the two groups have very different goals for the year ahead as the juniors prioritise money and skills while the mostly married seniors concentrate on health, savings and family.

(200 words)

So this round is finally over. :P Had fun?

2011-04-16T02:16:00.000-07:00

Well today seems to be a momentous day... for MUET candidates and Sarawakians & all and sundry. We will just have to wait for the results patiently. Anyway, I have no access to the reading paper as my students are only sitting for the exam at the end of the year. Can someone give me a link or upload their exam paper to www.scribd.com or google documents? I also want to see the questions for the report and academic essay, preferably verbatim. So anyone who can post the question with exact phrasing, could you do so immediately. Looking forward to analysing the reading paper.. :P Cheers you all... time for some R&R. xxx Audrey xxx

Using the MUET SPEAKING questions to develop your academic essays.

2011-04-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

The quality of the speaking questions this year indicates the level of questions that might be asked in the other 3 papers on the 16th. As an exercise, you can use the speaking questions to write academic essays to show your linguistic and critical thinking skills. My readers hve contributed the latest speaking topics.. so you can try writing using any 3 of the points given. For example: Write 350 words on what can be done to produce more world class sportsmen and sportswomen in Malaysia. Use 3 of the 4 points given: parents, public, school or ministry of youth and sports. or Write 350 words on your suggestions for new compulsory subjects for form 6 students in malaysia. choose 3 of the 4 points given: sex education, financial management, personal health or religious education. There are more speaking topics in my previous blog post= http://http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2011/04/muet-speaking-april-2011.html#comments So if you have tried to write one, I will post it here... but WITHOUT CORRECTIONS as I dont think i hve the time to check it.. but I can give you an estimated Band so you can know your standard. Email to queendrey@gmail.com Happy penning everyone!

Responding to Erin's email

2011-04-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

hi dear Teacher Audrey Wiles: my name is Erin. i come from China and study in ukm. i read ur blog http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/ ,it is really good and helps me a lot. my muet will be on 16 Apr. this is 1st time i paticipate in muet. i got ilets 6.0 last year n very worried about whether i can get band 3 of muet. now i m working on it. may i ask you some questions plz? 1. i ve finish my speaking part on 11st Apr. my topci is that when we should seek advice from parents? a.to find a life partener; b.to live by your own; c.to go abroad; d. to by a car. i got c. in group discussion part our group ran out of time n didnt make a decision.may i ask is this situation bad? are we going to be cut a lot of marks? There is nothing wrong with not coming to a decision. The examiners will not mark down because even in real life conversation sometimes we end a discussion without coming to any real decisions. 2. i bought 2 books 'effective text for muet by koh soo ling' n 'muet model tests by koh soo ling'. i ve almost finish these two books about the listening n reading part. but i dont know how to count marks for the model tests so i still dont know which band im in now. there are 20 questions in listening but totally 45 marks. n there are 45 questions but totally 120 marks in reading part. so could u tell me how to count points for each question plz? Check out my older posts, I have already blogged about the calculations twice. I've also included the slides with all the tips. Those who asked for the slides, I will not email, just hv a look here. If you can't see it it is probably because of your firewall settings so please adjust them, 3. about the listening process: in the cds that given by two books. every passage is speaking for just once. so i m not sure the exactly timing for each question n how long time do i get to look at the questions before the speaker starts. The commercial books don't waste money recording twice so you have to physically press playback in order to hear the passage again. beside,how long time do i get to copy all answers from scratch paper to exam paper plz? (is it 5 min?) There is no exam paper or answer paper. You are required to write all your answers and circle the objective answers on the question paper itself. There is no OMR to fill in. After you listen to each passage you will have 1 min to choose/check your answers. is the whole listening process like this: 1min to read all questions. speak reads 1st passage. 1 min to answer question 1-8. speaker reads 1st passage again. 1 min to answer n check question 1-8. speaker reads 2nd passage. 1 min to answer question 9-14. speaker reads 2nd passage again. 1 min to answer n check question 9-14. speaker reads 3rd passage. 1 min to answer question 15-16. speaker reads 4th passage. 1 min to answer question 17-18. speaker reads 5th passage. 1 min to answer question 19-20. speaker reads 3rd passage again. 1 min to answer n check question 15-16. speaker reads 4th passage again. 1 min to answer n check question 17-18. speaker reads 5th passage again. 1 min to answer n check question 19-20. listening test ends. YUP 4. about listening part III: when i do the book of 'muet model tests', it is much easier in this part because there are original sentences in the listening passage. eg.1. corrective maintenace is usually done to restore the____________________. in the listening passage,the speaker says,"corrective maintenance,on the other hand, refers to maintenance done to correct a problem when something has failed, or is failing. this is usually done to restore the facility to an acceptable standard, for example,..." the answer is "the facility to an acceptable". but in book "effective text for muet",model test 1 part III, there are 3 out of 6 answers cannot originally found from the passage but the answer should be summerised by the meaning of text as a whole. eg.2. looking great on the outside is simple. on the contrary,_______________. the answer is "it is difficult to achieve". but the whole passage in cd script doesnt show any sentence contains the words"it is difficult to achieve". my question is:does this kind of questions will accour in muet?because when the answer is by summarising, there going to be plenty of different correct answers. besides, the two books are both model test which means more or less same like real muet paper?but questions from these two books are quite different,so im confused. The answers in model tests books vary in quality because they are commercial. I have researched the actual exam papers and found that for section III, quite often the students have to PARAPHRASE meaning to say, they have to listen for the answers, understand the gist then write a maximum of FIVE words in their own 'phrasing' in order to get it right. There are no half marks allocated, so this section is the hardest to score in because any error (grammatical, logical, punctuation etc) is considered wrong. This section is designed to be super difficult in order to discern the band 5s from the band 6s. So don't be surprised if you cannot answer directly from the passage. 5. is there any previous muet paper from 2008 to 2010 plz? where can i find it? i m thinking maybe i can test myself for identifying which band i m in. The papers are online in www.scribd.com I think.. but I'm not sure. Oxford publishers are the official printers for the collection of actual MUET exam papers and the new format starts from end of 2008 till now. the collection includes mid 2009 and end of 2009 so there are 3 sets. dear teacher, im very nervers about this muet.because lots of my seniors say it is very difficult, some of them even attend it for 4 times.may also because we are from china, english to us is like foreign language,but here it is as 2nd langage to local students. so could u plz give me some advice plz? thank you sooooooooooooooo much for your time!!!!! My final bit of advice is that you research my blog thoroughly.. read all the samples and memorise any nice phrases that you can use in your writing. Good luck! & thanks for writing in, I'm sure our sharing will be useful to everyone out there... 16th April.. haha bet it's like doomsday to most MUET candidates. The good news (is it?) is that you can take the exam 3 times starting next year (March, May and Oct) LOL... but I hope you guys won't need to cos you'll pass with flying colours with my help. :P

MUET SPEAKING APRIL 2011

2011-04-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

Hi faithfuls,

I'd like you guys to contribute for a change. Those who already sat for the speaking exam, pls leave a comment about any of the questions you remember. When I get enough responses, I'll show you how you can write essays from the questions. so those of you who sat for session I on the 6th: what was the question about and what were the four choices given? How about all the other questions last week? Can anyone recall?

i know there was something about sex education but i dont know which session. so pls LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS, URGENT! thanking you guys in advance.. cheers!

SPEAKING TIPS & SAMPLE SCRIPTS

2011-04-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

Speaking... is freaking you out I bet! haha.. Stress is normal.. in fact there are two types: Eustress (the good stuff) and Distress (the one that makes you have a heart attack and die!)

Anyway, I'm re-posting this previous blog of mine so that you can practice speaking on your own. You'll also have a better idea of the speaking discussion involved.

Practice makes perfect, don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

Candidate A

Instructions to candidates:

Task A: Individual presentation

* Study the stimulus or topic given.
* You are given two minutes to prepare your responses.
* You are given two minutes to present.
* Listen to the others while they are making their presentations and take down notes for the group discussion in Task B.

Task B: Group discussion

* You are given two minutes to prepare points to support or oppose the other candidates’ views.
* After you have listened to everyone, try to come to a decision as to which of the four suggestions is the best.
* Your group is given ten minutes for the discussion.

Task A and Task B will be carried out consecutively.

Situation

Your brother has been given the opportunity to study in England on a government scholarship. You and your family are very proud of him. Decide on a special gift for him to prepare for his trip abroad.

Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.

i. cash

ii. a computer

iii. some suitable clothing

iv. some Malaysian foodstuff

Candidate A

Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.

Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. I’m very happy that my brother has just received a scholarship to study in England. My relatives and I would like to give him a special gift. We all think that the best gift is money because it will be very useful for him.

The first reason is with cash he can buy the things that he needs when he gets there. There will me a lot of things that he will need like new books, stationery, clothes and food. He will also need to pay for transportation like taking the bus or train to go to the university campus. As we know, it is very expensive in England so any money we give him will be very useful.

Secondly, my brother can use the money to buy a mobile phone when he gets to England. I think this is very important in case of emergencies so we can contact him easily. Furthermore, he can sms us and keep us updated with his progress in his studies there. Hence, if we really miss him we can just give him a call.

Finally, I also think giving him money is the best choice because it is light and doesn’t take up a lot of space. If we were to give him a computer, books or winter clothes it will be very heavy and bulky for him to bring to England. Therefore, I think that it is much easier to bring money and buy those things when he gets there.

In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why I think giving him cash is the best choice. To me, it is the most useful gift we can give him. Thank you.

Candidate B

Task A: You suggest that they give him a computer. Say why.

A very good morning I bid to one and all. My relatives and I are very proud of my brother. He has just received a scholarship to study in England and so we would like to give him a special gift. We believe that the best present for him is a laptop computer.

Firstly, as a university student, my brother will have to do many assignments. If he has a laptop computer he can bring it everywhere and consequently, do his work anytime and anywhere. Thus, he will not have to share the computers at the computer room with other students and he will be able to do his work more quickly and efficiently.

Another point is that when he boards the plane from KLIA to London, he will be able to bring the laptop with him easily because it is compact and light compared to a desktop computer. Hence, it will not be too much trouble to transport it to England.

Last but not least, if he has a laptop he will be able to connect to the internet. This has two main advantages as firstly, he can do a lot of research online. The world wide web is a fountain of information so it will be very useful for him to make full use of this technology. Furthermore, he can keep in touch with friends and family here in Malaysia by e-mail.

In short, a laptop computer will prove to be very useful to my brother. He can do his assignments, research for information and keep in touch with us using it therefore it will make the best gift. Thank you for listening.
Candidate C

Task A: You suggest that they give him some suitable clothing. Say why.

To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. My brother was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to study overseas. We want to send him off with a nice gift so we have decided to buy him some suitable clothing.

The main purpose for buying him some suitable clothing is because the weather in England is very different from the weather in our country. There are four seasons there so he will need to have different clothes for different situations. For example, we can buy him some sweaters, cardigans, scarves, snowcaps, thick socks and gloves and many more. These will definitely keep him warm in winter.

The second reason is we think that he should have clothes that reflect our Malaysian identity. This is because he will be a young ambassador for our country so if he has a few sets of traditional clothing like the Baju Melayu or formal Batik shirts, I am sure he will not only look good but promote our culture overseas.

Lastly, neat clothes make a good impression. For instance, if we buy him some everyday clothes like jeans and trousers with nice shirts and matching ties, this will give him a good feeling about himself so he will walk a bit straighter and talk a bit wiser. Moreover, people will look at him and have a good impression about Malaysian students.

To conclude, I think that the best present to give him is some suitable clothing because it will be very useful and will reflect positively on him. Thank you very much.

Candidate D

Task A: You suggest that they give him some Malaysian foodstuff. Say why.

I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know, my brother has won a scholarship to study in England. Therefore, some relatives and I have decided to give him some Malaysian foodstuff as a going away present.

First and foremost, one of the main problems Malaysians face when studying overseas is that it is hard to find Halal food. We feel it is a good idea to give him some Malaysian foodstuff because it will take time for him to get used to the place and find out where to buy Halal food. Thus, in the meantime he can enjoy the Malaysian foodstuff that we have given to him.

The next reason is because some of the foodstuff we are used to having here in Malaysia is quite hard to find in UK. Most students studying overseas really enjoy eating Maggi Mee and sambal belacan. For instance, it is also hard to find the right spices for curry and rendang and so on so if we supply him with enough Malaysian foodstuff, he can eat it whenever he misses home.

The final point I have is that he can use the Malaysian foodstuff we give him and cook it for the Westerners there. Sometimes, universities organise events like Malaysian Night and so he and his friends can cook some Malaysian specialities for them to taste a bit of our way of life. Hence, the Malaysian foodstuff will be very useful to promote our culture.

In a nutshell, giving my brother Malaysian foodstuff to take with him to England is a good idea. This is because he will have some familiar food to eat when he misses home and he can also share it with his new friends. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.

i. Cash

ii. A computer

iii. Some suitable clothing

iv. Some Malaysian foodstuff

* Work together in your respective groups and complete the following discussion.

A: Good morning once again to everyone. We are here to focus on the issue at hand which is __________________________________________________________. I would like to invite anyone of you to kickstart this discussion by giving us your point of view.

B: Allow me to begin. First of all, I’m happy that our brother has won the scholarship to study in England. Therefore, we must decide what would be the most useful gift for him. In my opinion, I strongly believe that _______________ _________________________________________________________________. This is because I think he can _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

For example, ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: I see your point but how about getting him ______________________________. In this way, he can use it to ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

D: I don’t quite agree with you because ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. I think it would be more useful if we bought _______________________ for him. Does anyone agree with me?

A: Yes, I agree with you. To add to your point, I feel that ______________________ _________________________________________________________________.

This is so he will ___________________________________________________.

C: I’m afraid I don’t see eye to eye with both of you. Buying that as a present for him is not the most useful gift because __________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

Moreover, ________________________________________________________.

Can you all understand what I’m trying to say?

B: Indeed, I do see your point of view but I still feel that the most useful gift is __________________ because it can ___________________________________. Another reason is ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For instance, _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

D: That’s an interesting perspective and I agree with you that ___________________ _________________________________________________________________. However, I think we should consider other points. We should also think about buying him _______________________________________________________.

If he gets this as a present, he can ______________________________________ and ____________________________________________. Wouldn’t you agree?

A: I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. Can you explain it again, please.

D: What I mean is we should buy him _____________________________________ because it will me more useful for him when he is studying in England. This is because ___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

A: Aaah… I see. Yes, I think it would be a very useful gift too. This way, he can _________________________________________________________________.

C: That’s a good point, but don’t you think if we gave him _____________________ it will be the most useful for him as a student. I still believe that this is the most useful because _____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

Remember, we need to think of the best and most useful choice.

B: I agree with you, Candidate C. In addition, he can use this gift to _____________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________. So candidates A & D, what do you guys think?

D: Now that you’ve explained it like that, I also agree that it will be the most useful. In fact, he could also use it to _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

A: As for me, I feel that it is also the most useful. When he arrives at his university in England, he will be able to ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: That’s right. Well, after listening to all the points on the four choices we have, I think it is time to make a conclusion.

D: Yes, I think so too. Does everyone agree that we should give our brother _______________________________________ as a special going away present?

All: Yes, I agree.

B: In a nutshell, we all agree that _______________________________ is the best choice because firstly, he can _________________________________________, secondly, ________________________________________________ and finally _________________________________________________________________.

Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What to conclude if after 10 minutes of discussion….
A) Agree = 3, Disagree = 1

Conclusion: To conclude, MOST OF US agree that ______________________

is the best choice because ________________________________.

___________________________________________. Thank you.
B) Agree = 2, Disagree = 2

Conclusion: In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because

SOME OF US stongly believe that the best choice is __________ because _______________________________________________ while THE REST OF US think that giving him _______________ is the most useful because _________________

___________________________________________. Thank you.
C) All Disagree

Conclusion: In a nutshell, we were unable to come to an agreement on which of the four options is the best choice. It seems ALL OF US strongly believe in our own points so as we have run out of time, we think that we should each buy him a gift individually. Thank you.

MUET BANDS & SCORING CALCULATIONS

2011-04-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well it seems that this year's speaking exam is around the corner and the MUET buzz is in the air again. Most of you reading this blog would be curious to knowing the scoring system and the descriptors for each band. Here's a brief summary. If you don't understand, just ask.

Good luck for the speaking test!

MUET Power-Point Slides

2011-03-22T01:10:00.000-07:00

Hi all..

As you can see I've decided to make my slides public. But it comes with a warning.

1. Do NOT spread the slides and claim ownership as if you were the one who came up with it. ASK MY PERMISSION FIRST if you would like to use it in your classes or at a seminar.

2. You may share the info from the slides but do NOT use the info for any commercial purposes without my knowledge.

3. If you have queries ask me, do NOT find a way to alter any of my slides without my knowledge.

I'm putting them up because I believe there is power in knowledge, not just any knowledge but the shared type, not the selfish kind. So since I have uploaded, I welcome any feedback be it positive or otherwise. More importantly, it is crucial to get you MUET minds thinking critically about issues related to this test. I don't proclaim to know everything, but what I do know, I'd like to share.

God bless us all, especially in this time in the world where nothing seems safe, not in Egypt, Japan, Libya... and with the rumours of a possible coming election, not even us in Malaysia.

xxx

MY MUET Writing Slides: Ask My Permission before Spreading!

2011-03-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

MY MUET Reading Slides: Ask My Permission before Spreading!

2011-03-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

MY MUET Speaking Slides: Ask My Permission before Spreading!

2011-03-22T01:01:00.000-07:00

My Listening Slides.. CopyRight: Ask My Permission before Spreading!

2011-03-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

Another good example for the internet crimes essay.

2011-03-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

THANKS SZE MEING FOR YOUR SUBMISSION. SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN VOCABULARY SELECTION BUT OTHERWISE A GREAT PIECE. *Note that it is ok to have two paragraphs for points and one for solution/suggestions etc.

In this era where everything is just a click away, the advanced technology available has provided mankind with loads of convenience and the invention of internet access allows people to do various kinds of job sitting in front of the computer. In my opinion, I believe that the increasing cases of internet crime has brought about many disadvantages. In this essay, I will discuss two bad effects of internet crime which include loss of personal properties and disturbance in personal life as well as a prevention method which is to increase self-awareness and alertness in the society.

First and foremost, the victims will suffer from loss of personal properties such as a huge amount of money and some official data. This is because the personal information of the people who have been cheated such as bank account number is abused by the criminals. Moreover, the number of hackers who know well how to access to people's personal online account illegally is also on the rise. Take for example, many opportunist parties send emails to people telling them that they have won cash prizes and require their bank account number to bank in the money to their bank accounts but the criminals actually derive all the money from those bank accounts. Therefore, internet crime has caused people to lose their personal properties.

Next, internet crime threatens the personal life of the victims. This means that their personal security, safety and privacy are challenged. Furthermore, their family members probably will suffer from deep depression too. For instance, some irresponsible people spread rumours on the internet that will ruin the victim's reputation and some even post the personal details and inappropriate photos of the victim out of hatred or grudge for the victim and many more. Thus, the victims will experience an ordeal which people around will look down on them or make fun of them over a long period due to internet crime.
In order to prevent the internet crime from escalating, one should avoid giving others their email addresses and especially their account passwords. People should also sign up for trusted websites only. Besides that, the crime prevention department can collaborate with schools and government to teach people how to increase their online account protection such as Facebook account and to report as spam when they receive junk emails. All in all, all these strategies can help to lower the number of internet crime cases by increasing the self-awareness and alertness of the society.

In conclusion, the disadvantages of internet crime that I mentioned are loss of personal properties and disturbance of personal life while increasing the self-awareness and alertness of society is one of the preventions. I still agree that internet crime brings a lot of bad effects to people and the society. I hope that the government can impose stricter laws so that less people will become the victim of internet crime in the future.

Materialism essay

2011-03-09T19:16:00.000-08:00

Hi all... exam week in school so everything is a bit quiet. I've just given a course on grammar at KK high school, got a MUET reading seminar this Fri, hv a second part of the KK high school seminar on MUET this 23rd, and then a reading and speaking seminar at Likas Tek n Voc school... busy busy bee... hehe

Anyway, here is the test question we used in my school this week. It was the question MPM used in 2008 if I'm not mistaken. Give it a go and email me your essays. I'll blog it if it's good enough. haha.. a good challenge eh?

"People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what money can buy." What is your opinion on being materialistic? You should write at least 350 words.

Happy penning.. :)

INTERNET CRIMES SAMPLE ESSAY curtesy of Cheong Qween Ling

2011-03-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks for submitting this sample essay. The red zones are added by me to bulk out the essay so that it follows an academic essay format. Every introduction must have a thesis statement or what I prefer to call an outline whereby the three points are listed. At the conclusion section, you should show critical thinking skills by adding a recommendation for the readers to consider, a proposal that is worth looking into.

Internet crime refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. It is a criminal exploitation of the internet. As more people are being cheated by irresponsible parties using it as their scam tool, it is indeed a serious matter that we should look into. There are many aspects of internet crime but here I will touch on the three main examples, namely credit card fraud, get rich quick schemes and stalkers on the internet.

One of the most well known cyber crimes would be the credit card fraud. Credit cards are meant to make life easier for us as we would not need to carry cash when we do our purchasing. Nevertheless, easy life can sometimes cause us to be careless. Online purchasing has been made possible using the credit card. However, people are still not aware that it could be very dangerous. We have been warned countless times not to reveal our PIN numbers and passwords easily. We have also been advised to change our passwords regularly to avoid falling prey to these irresponsible parties. We should be aware that just at the click of the mouse; our savings would be wiped out in seconds if we are not careful.

Another common internet crime that we often read about would be the get rich quick schemes. As our country is improving in its economical sector, our society seems to see a decline in its moral values. People are getting greedier as everyone wants to get rich the fastest and easiest way. This is when we see people becoming victims of these get rich quick schemes. So often we read about victims being lured into revealing their banking account PIN numbers and passwords or merely banking huge amount of money into a stranger’s banking account so that they could ‘claim’ whatever that has been promised to be released from the authorities. Reading about these stories in the newspaper really angers me as by now we should know that there is no such thing as free lunch!

We also read a lot about stalkers and paedophiles who operated in the cyber world and often prey on young people. Teenagers should be educated on the dangers of posting photographs and videos of themselves online. What was meant to be a joke had turned out to be something more serious as private photographs and videos had been known to circulate around. Cyberstalking and sextortion have been linked to it. Users would face online threats once their identity has been known to the stalker. This is serious as we have so often read related stories of teenage suicides to cyberstalking. We should only share photographs, videos and information that we want to make public as there is a good chance that it will spread beyond our control.

In conclusion, internet crime is very serious and it is something that you and I should ponder about. Therefore, we should be aware of the negative effects that it could bring. Our government can help create awareness about internet crimes by doing roadshows and campaigns so that the public will not be too easily cheated by irresponsible scam artists.

Thank you Cheong, hope your students can benefit from our cooperative input. :) Happy penning you all!

Latest format for Report Writing MUET Writing Paper 800/4 Question 1

2011-02-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

Hi all... I've received a few emails and messages about the report writing question and there appears to be some confusion. In recent posts (late last year) I did provide two samples with the revised format but I haven't shown you the new formula. So here it is.

NEW FORMULA:

TITLE
INTRO + OV
KFs
CONCLUSION

Compare this to the old formula:

TITLE
OV + CI
KFs
Pi + Pii

Actually the ONLY difference is that they require only ONE sentence for the conclusion and this conclusion does not include any prediction (Pi) or proposal (Pii).

As for the first paragraph, it consists of ONLY TWO sentences and it is exactly the same as the old format, just that MPM has decided to rename it (just to confuse us!!!!!). Therefore, the first sentence is now called the 'Introduction' where you just mention what stimuli you see (graph, chart, diagram etc) while the second one is now called 'Overview', not Controlling Idea (CI). I think this is much better because it was so hard to explain to students what a controlling idea really means. In fact, most of the MUET teachers I have trained also have problems coming up with a good OV/CI. The trick is to be able to find a trend or a connection and the most outstanding Key Feature (KF) that links ALL the stimuli given.

Anyway, click the samples link above and re-read the tips for writing a good report. If you have any questions, just ask. Happy penning!

Forgot to mention, those of you who have asked for the powerpoints, please be informed that I'm currently revising the content based on the updates in format and marking schemes. Will be presenting my first MUET seminar at KK High on 23rd next month so you can have it then but you'll have to email me closer to that time cos I've already forgotten who I need to forward it to. You know... old lady now. hehe..

Feeling touched... cos I've touched a life.

2011-02-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

When I first started teaching, I was posted in SMK Inanam, Kota Kinabalu. It wasn't a premier school and yet it wasn't a rural school. So you can imagine that while the level was average, it was the students who made the difference. Being young and energetic and filled with positive vibes, teaching there brought back many good memories. But the days almost 10 years have passed in a snap of a finger and now I've moved on, become better at being a teacher with every new batch of students I teach.

Facebook is fantastic... it connects people, really and truly. Through it I've 'been found' by ex-students... and it is only then that you find out that although the past is the past, but it is a profound past when my ex-students chat with me now, and let me know how much I meant to them, how much I've helped to shape their lives. It's an amazing feeling. Anyone contemplating becoming a teacher, well, it pays grand dividends although not monetary. It enriches the soul and births contentment. Definitely worth the effort. :)

Jerung's blog blew me away. To know that I played a part in his early life where his perspectives were a reflection of mine, knowing that he learnt through observing me and remembers me in a good light, well it is enough to make me smile stupidly the whole day. haha. so sharky, thanks for making an old lady happy. :)

Anyway, am in the midst of preparing the students for their first trial exam this year. Here's an interesting question that you may try. Email me with your replies, pls use microsoft word so that I can edit it for you if I can find the time.

Internet crime is on the rise. People are being cheated by irresponsible parties who use the internet as their scam tool. What is your opinion on this matter? Your composition should be at least 350 words.

Go on.. have a go.

Certainty in Uncertainty...

2011-02-21T09:30:00.001-08:00

Those of you out there who've just passed another milestone in your life, i.e. your SPM or STPM results have just been announced, well all I can say is that there is certainty in uncertainty. What exactly does that mean, I hear you ask silently.

A famous saying states that there is nothing constant in this lifetime except the inconsistent. That the only predictable thing about life is that it is highly unpredictable. We may assume we know what will happen in the next chapter but let me tell you that Fate has many tricks up her sleeve.

If you're jumping for joy now, and you can see your future roll out in front of you like a red carpet, then all is well and fine. You'll strive ahead confidently, taking each stride at ease, making your way to the graduation stage with your robe flowing against the carefree breeze. You'll get to wear that symbolic mortar and hold that precious scroll in your hands, proof of all the toil and sweat that you've poured into your dream. Then one fine day after that, you might walk down the aisle and tie the knot with the partner of your dreams.. and you'll be blessed with children, a great career and a blissful life.

BUT if you didn't get the results you prayed and hoped for, and you feel somewhat lost right now - well, let me tell you this. It's ok to not know. It's not a crime to not be able to figure out where the path of life will lead you from here. And it's more than fine to feel insecure because at the end of the day, we're only human; driven by the tides of our emotions - one minute happy, the next sad.. and the whole kaleidoscope of feelings from pleasure to fear that we often can't control.

Does the exam result determine your whole future? In some ways, yes. But the main determinant factor is YOU yourself. If you're uncertain about your future, unsure about what to do now and don't know how you will cope; all I can say is that you should embrace the unknown. We should rejoice in the fact that we CANNOT predict the future, only the creator can do that. We cannot expect to know how the chapters in our life will unfurl and more importantly, we SHOULDN'T know because what would be the joy in life if we knew every single thing that would happen to us? Life is great because it is so unpredictable, so unforseeen.

Okay, so now you agree with me that we know for certain that life is uncertain. So what now? Well now, you deal with the 'certain' aspects of your life, aspects which you have the power to control. In your own life there are many variables like if you get a scholarship or not, if you can find a boyfriend or girlfriend or not, if you can get rich or not. But if you look closely, there are also many constants. And these constants stem from your own personality and outlook on life. We can't control the uncertain aspects of life, but we can deal with making ourselves a better person so that we can bravely face the many challenges and barriers that we are bound to slam into.

What are these constants I'm talking about? Well first up is your personality. Adopt a positive attitude. Believe in yourself because if you don't, people will read the negative vibes and believe that you are not worth believing. If you have confidence issues, now is the time to say: "To hell with what people think, I will do the best that I can at the best of my ability." The door of opportunity will open to those who are confident enough to reach out and pull the doorknob. Not those who don't believe in themselves enough to make the first move. I can tell you to do it, but at the end of the day, only you can command yourself to make that change. So change. Believe in yourself, believe that the impossible is possible.

Next is to arm yourself with knowledge. Do you know why Madonna is so famous? Because every new single she comes up with shows a different version of her. And you can tell that she's done her homework, put in the time and effort in learning something new all the time. If you go through life thinking that you know everything there is to know, then you've shot yourself in the foot and this journey will be short and pointless. But if you tell yourself, make a conscious effort to learn new things all the time, or learn old things again but in new ways, then you're changing yourself for the better all the time. You're evolving in a dynamic way and this will bring you a measure of success and contentment. Thus, you have to make a concerted effort to learn a new skill, go for courses and conferences, and experience new things that you would NOT normally do. Like bungee jumping. Or simply learning to type with all ten fingers. When your heart is open to learning, you'll realise that knowledge is power. Believe me, it empowers you like nothing else in this world can.

So Step 1 was to believe in yourself and Step 2 was to embrace all forms of knowledge. So what is the third constant that we have the power to control? Well Step 3 is simply sharing, to share what we have gained in this lifetime. It seems like such a simple concept, but trust me, not many people can master it. Why don't people share their knowledge or share their ideas freely? Because they are afraid of being judged. Remember that it is not our duty to judge others, only the one above has that right. So set this worry aside, and make a conscious effort to share everything you can (not your spouse though!!!). If you believe in yourself, inspire others to do the same. If you've learnt something new, plant the seeds of knowledge in another so he may nurture it and watch the flower of enlightenment bloom in all its glory. If you can change one person, and that person can change another.. before you know it, you've touched the lives of millions. You've made this world a better place.

Right, what a long winded way to tell you that even if life is uncertain, you can be certain of success if you change yourself first. Change is good; change is inevitable which means that you cannot avoid it. If you fail to move forward, you're not standing motionless but you're actually moving backwards as the tide of humanity surges ahead and leaves you behind. Do you want to be left behind? Of course not. So embrace the unpredictablity of life, make as many aspects of your life predictable, and I predict that wherever the roads in your life diverges, you'll end up taking the road you're meant to travel. And in the words of Robert Frost, that, my dear, will make all the difference.

With all my love,

Audrey...xxx

22 Feb 2011

Fear is Fantastic!!!

2011-01-24T09:02:00.000-08:00

With a title like this, it's hard to just look away. Just like the fact there is something gruesome in staring at a road accident - what the Americans call rubber-necking - stretching your neck forward just to catch a glimpse of a dead body or a pool of blood so you may recount the sordid tale to whomever you meet next. Anyway, I digress.

So why was my title worth a second look? Simply because it had an element of 'surprise' or the unexpected woven into it. We don't normally associate fear with positive emotions, so how can fear possibly be fantastic? Well, as the saying goes: Mind Over Matter. What the mind perceives to be true, the heart believes. Therefore, if we can reprogramme our mindset, and make it accept that fear is a good thing, fear challenges our boundaries and fear makes us excel, then indeed, the statement might hold water.

The way I see it, both students in general and the teachers in my profession have one thing in common: Fear of Change.

Teachers fear the tide of change will wash over them and make them lose their footing. The internet, digital technology, student-centred learning, mobile phones as something more than a communication gadget, overhead projectors, all of these things point the way forward, they are the inevitable learning tools that our new generation are empowered with, gadgets which are like the compass leading the way northwards.

Yet almost all the seminars and teacher gatherings I go to seem to tell me something about the average Malaysian teacher. And their message is clear: Teachers fear the new education revolution because they are ill equipped to face the challenges of IT in the classroom. I have given talks and tried to show how easy it is to use a simple digital camera to take pictures, record video clips of students doing work in class, uploading to YouTube and FaceBook... and yet the majority of teachers resist. If only they could feel what I feel, see the euphoria on each student's face as soon as they see they've been published online, that their teacher values their work so much, she'd like to share it with the world. If only today's teachers would stop with the 'I don't know how...' and 'It's too complicated..' and replace them with two simple words: "I'll try." Then the floodgates of knowledge would burst open, and there would be a whole new world to explore and their students would benefit from the wave of new information that would raise the tide of motivation to learn and embrace English.

Ok, maybe that sounded too surreal, but you get my point. The students can only be as good as their teacher. If the teachers don't try to be more creative in their teaching techniques, they will start to fall out of favour with the new age students. Teachers fear change, and this fear paralyses them towards accepting and implementing new technology in classrooms today. So who ultimately loses out? The teacher who doesn't want to try? No. The victims are the students because without such exposure, they grow up in a state of ignorance. They plod through the chalk & talk, sadly and surely, never knowing the difference. In the end, they find English boring, repetitive and unchallenging. And whose fault is it? Definitely not the students.

So what now? Well teachers out there, please hear my plea. Change your ways. Even if it instills the deepest fears in you, and makes you shiver to your very marrow. Take on the bull by both his horns, face him head on. Or take baby steps, learn one new thing at a time and pace yourself. Make fear your friend for fear is truly fantastic. It challenges your boundaries, makes you push your limits, dares you to dive into the deep end, gives you strength to freefall without a safety net if your life depended on it. It's all about your attitude, mind over matter. Adjust your mindset, put into place a paradigm shift and embrace the impossibilities.

So is fear fantastic?

Of course it is.

Simply fantabulous.

Invention Prototype Project

2011-01-12T19:02:00.001-08:00

A good lesson for any MUET class to combine the four skills is to get them to form groups and invent something useful. First they brainstorm and plan it out, the next lesson they bring recycled products to make the invention and prepare a poster advert for it (writing). Then they practice their 'sales pitch' (speaking). Two reps for each group stay with the product and become sellers, while the others are buyers. Each buyers asks questions and can only buy TWO products. They 'buy' by writing their names and comments on the poster (evidence of speaking, reading and understanding). After 10 mins, change roles and allow the sellers to become the buyers. At the end of the time limit, the group that made the most sales wins a prize.

Writing is put into authentic practice with the poster advert. It also makes students read in an authentic situation.

Students can be as creative as you allow them to be. As a teacher, expect that they CAN do it, instead of ASSUMING they CAN'T do it. You'll be surprised what they can do.

Mechanical fold machine.. folds t-shirts automatically.. fantastic idea! The boy eating the Choc-Stick is because it was a free gift to lure the customers to buy the product, so you can brief your students on what makes a good salesman and a great sales pitch, after all, Malaysians love free gifts right!

Live demo makes all students enthusiastic and motivated to use the language.

My student explaining the product. :P Language (broken or otherwise) usage in its most authentic form in class.

The point is, any lesson which heightens motivation and gives students a purpose for speaking English cannot be a bad lesson. Steer clear of chalk and talk, my message is that a teacher's core duty is to EMPOWER HER STUDENTS. Trust that they can do it and you'll be impressed with the outcomes. :P

Congrats!

2011-01-07T00:27:00.000-08:00

Well you guys are well aware that the results are out for end of last year's MUET. Seems like the exam itself was harder than any i've encountered previously and the essay question about arranged marriages was simply an 'un-spottable' question. All of my students have been drilled on all the hot topics and current issues but we didn't talk about this. Consequently, a lot of you out there had to rely on your own ideas and opinion to answer it. Never mind, it turned out all right in the end. If there is one thing I've learnt from this, it's grammar and vocabulary makes all the difference. You may not be able to 'spot' questions accurately, but if you have impeccable grammar and a wide vocabulary, Bands 5 & 6 can be within grasp, I assure you. So strive for Zero-Error!

As for my school... I'm happy to report that SMK Majakir, Papar, Sabah has had a slight increase in quality (more band 4 this year than previously) although the number of band 3s have reduced marginally. Of the four classes, there were a significant amount of band 2s compared to band 1, so the overall quality also shows an upwards trend. And for the first time in my personal record, NONE of my students from the two classes I taught scored Band 1. For a suburban school, I find this to be an excellent achievement. Congrats to Upper Six Science & Upper Six 2, Class of 2010. You've done an old lady like me proud.

Anyway, the new year has begun, I'm in the midst of organising a Kota Kinabalu Level 1st InterSchool Colloquium Competition for MUET and will be busy designing modules for SPM English & MUET Students' Handbook soon. If I'm successfully published, you guys will be the first to know. Wish me luck.

All hell will break loose next week as activities in school heat up with meetings after meetings and my part time lectures at University Malaysia Sabah twice a week on Mondays & Wednesdays start. I'll try to keep the blog rolling with what I do in class. Will blog soon about my students' "Prototype Presentation" project which they will be doing next week. Cheers for now!

Life, through my eyes.. Dedicated to my children and students.

2010-11-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

Everyone writes stuff everyday that is meaningful, and I guess it's time to jump on the bandwagon. This is for Besra & Lanner.. and all my 'external' children who weren't sired in my womb, but have a room in my heart nonetheless.

Here's 10 lil gems from me. Read it. Do it. Feel it. Don't let this life slip you by. Now.

1. At the top of the list is: Do Good. Anywhere, everywhere, all the time. But don't expect anything in return. As simple as opening the door for someone, paying the car park fee for the car behind you, never killing, stealing or sleeping with someone else's partner. Do Good, not Evil.

2. Air Asia.. Now Everyone Can Fly. See the world.. it is so affordable these days that you should pack your bags and go.. even if it is just for a weekend. And even if you go alone. Guys no prob.. girls, read everything you can before you go; check out maps, book hostels/hotels, plan your holiday so that you look purposeful, and no one will dare to cheat you. Or go with close friends, they will show you a different spin on the things you see. Friendships are priceless.

3. On the same note, here are some places you MUST visit and experience. The canals of Venice are gorgeous. Stonehenge is magnificent and so is the Colosseum in Rome. The Eiffel tower and the river Sien beckons the romantic in all of us. The fields of golden sunflowers in Italy are simply breathtaking. The pastel coloured buildings in Florence and the rest of that country is spellbinding. Walking down the streets of La Ramblas in Spain was amazing.. and so was Athens.. where orange trees permeated the sweetest scent perfuming the air. Travel to Inverness in Scotland to see the elusive Loch Ness monster and go stay a night in the hostel on the Isle of Skye. I haven't done much of Asia yet.. except for Singapore and Thailand.. even if you're not Buddhist, visit a temple in Bangkok and feel the peace, calm and contentment awash you. The beauty of travel... it makes you realise that life is so short, we must grab joy with both hands lest it slips from our fingers and disappears into the transient nothingness. Promise yourself - One Country Every Year. I myself will get back to that promise once the kids are older.

4. Spend time with the people you love. Your mother loves you. And your father does too, sometimes quietly. They and your siblings wouldn't mind hearing the words 'I love you' once in a while. Declaring your love doesn't make you weak but stronger. This world needs more love to make it spin on its tilted axis. Anger, greed, envy, hatred... we should never gravitate towards the forces of evil. We could all do with less of these negative emotions and more of love, care, giving, generosity, helpfulness, tolerance and bliss.

5. On that note: call your mother now! Or write your friend a real letter with a real stamp. Drive or take the bus and visit an old aunty today.. To sum it up: Nothing; nothing beats your personal touch. One day you might be able to afford a personal assistant to buy presents and send cards or flowers for you.. but it wont mean as much as if you yourself put in the time and effort to show someone you love them.

6. Get a job you really love. There is no point waking up every day dreading the day ahead. Even if you don't earn much money (like being a teacher).. think of how satisfied you are when you do a job well. Think of all the lives you have touched by committing to your profession and giving it your best. If you hate your job.. get up and get out! Dare to make that change in you by trying something new.

7. Children need time - quality time and quantity time if you can spare it. When you have kids and you hear them laugh out loud for the first time, you'll know what a gorgeous lil piece of creation you helped to make. Read to them. Sing nursery rhymes with them. Play lego or dolls with them. Sit them on your lap and make them feel like your time is their time, your love is all theirs and hold them tight like you'll never let them go. Children feel it if you love them and want to spend time with them, listening to their never ending questions. Children know if you don't care. So please, find the time for them no matter what you're doing. PRIORITIZE!

8. Take picture. Make memories. Life if not just work, work and more work. I try to make sure I never bring my work home with me. Finish it all at the office. And when you come home, plan something simple but nice or extravagant but meaningful. Take a picnic basket and enjoy the beach, river, mountaintop etc. Plan family holidays. Have a bbq or potluck with friends. Nothing beats enriching our lives with soul-feeding experiences. Don't retreat into your own world, thinking nothing is worth the effort. Life is worth the effort, don't let it go down the drain and dissipate into oblivion.

9. Read. I love romance novels. Erotic and moving love stories with a happily ever after. But read everything and anything. Roadsigns, articles, newspapers... I love John Grisham (laywer stories), Jeffrey Archer (incredible storyteller) and Dan Brown (you don't know intelligent until you read him.. then you wikipedia it and and be goggle-eyed by the sheer amazement of the true things he writes about). I really respect people who buy books. Books will live long after you have left this mortal world. They are the footprints of all the loud heroes and quiet victors... And maybe one day, if I am so blessed, I will write a book and seal my footprints in the sands of time.

10. Be good to yourself. If you don't love and appreciate yourself, no one will. Whatever you look like now, I'm pretty certain you are the best person you can be cos everyone gets old and then the bones start creaking and the skin starts becoming friends with gravity and a spare tyre is the norm. By that time, you'll be wishing you were 10, 20, 30 years younger. So no regrets, love yourself now before it is too late. Change your dressing style once in a while. Colour your hair. Wear torn jeans. Learn something new. Pick up a new hobby or try something different. Don't keep ordering the same menu when you get to the same restaurant. Be adventurous. Really enjoy the things that you do for yourself. Even if you do it all by yourself. If you're still single, enjoy the freedom of having no one to answer to but yourself. Sooner or later someone will pop into your life. And if they don't, there is no crime in not getting married or having children. If you do tie the knot, make the best of it. Be good to your spouse, be considerate, loving, compassionate and verbal about how much your life has changed for the better just by being together.

And so we return to the essence of my ramblings. Be good. To others. Even your enemies. Kill hatred with love. And most of all, be good to yourself because the rest will follow.

With all my love,

Audrey

30 Nov 201

END 2010 MUET Reading 800/3

2010-11-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

Here are my answers.. MPM's may vary but only slightly, I think.

1.A
2.A changed to B or C, but definitely not A
3.B
4.B
5.B
6.A
7.A
8.A
9.A
10.B
11.C
12.B
13.B
14.C
15.C
16.A
17.C
18.B
19.A
20.B
21.B
22.A
23.A changed to C
24.C
25.A changed to C
26.A
27.B
28.C
29.C
30.D
31.C
32.A
33.B
34.B
35.D
36.A
37.A
38.D
39.A
40.B
41.C
42.A
43.B
44.D
45.C

Phew.. I've got to say that the MUET exam is getting harder every year. Each question raises doubts.. I can tell the difference but i'm sure many of you out there can't. Ah well.. as long as you all tried your best. So how many did you get right?

I've ammended a few answers thanks to Scott and Naomi. Keep up the good work guys.

Grammar Test Answers

2010-11-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Hi.. if you've taken the grammar test in a previous post, here are the answers. if you haven't tried it, attempt them first before u check the answers. :) don't cheat yourself!

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

If you want to know how to improve your grammar.. read, understand and apply the rules. I've written abt grammar rules 3 blog entries ago. pls check.

again... good luck everyone, two days and counting!

MUET WRITING 800/4 ACADEMIC ESSAY

2010-11-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to check out the archives for samples of essays for the writing question. This blogger program won't let me copy and paste from Microsoft Word.. so I can't be bothered to retype more sample essays. Good Luck for Saturday!!!

REPORT WRITING MUET 800/4 QUESTION 1

2010-11-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

TIPS:
1. WRITE THE TITLE AND UNDERLINE
2. WRITE IN 3 PARAGRAPHS (MINIMUM, BODY CAN BE MORE THAN 1 PARA)
3. 1ST SENTENCE WRITE THE TYPES OF GRAPHS/DIAGRAMS/HEADLINES ETC.
4. 2ND SENTENCE WRITE THE MOST OUTSTANDING POINT
5. BODY - WRITE ONLY INFORMATION THAT IS OUTSTANDING (KEY FEATURES, NOT FEATURES.. FEATURES JUST MEANS EVERY SINGLE POINT, YOU NEED TO BE SELECTIVE IN CHOOSING THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES ONLY)
6. CONCLUSION IS JUST ONE SINGLE SENTENCE AS SUMMARY.
7. ALL WORDS AFTER 200 IS NOT CHECK/READ/EXAMINED. EXAMINERS WILL NOT READ AFTER THAT SO STICK TO THE WORD LIMIT.
8. TRY TO LINK ALL THE INFO AND EXPLAIN IT IN A SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE WAY.
9. TITLES ARE CONSIDERED 1 WORD (BUT I COULD BE WRONG)
10. GOOD LUCK, AND ALWAYS ANSWER THE ESSAY QUESTION FIRST BEFORE TRYING TO WRITE THIS REPORT.

SAMPLE 1:

The Various Types of Cooking Oil Used in the Kitchen

The stimuli present a line graph on 'Global production of cooking oil (2000-2006)', a bar graph on 'Fat content in commonly-used cooking oils' and an article excerpt on the healthiness of oils. In general, palm oil is the most produced oil while the least produced but healthiest option is sunflower oil.

According to the line graph, the highest world oil production is palm oil increasing steadily from 25 million tonnes in 2000/01 to 35.5 million in 2005/06, beating soya oil by a small margin. Among the 5 types of oil, sunflower has the lowest production stabilising at just under 10 million tonnes from 2000 to 2006. Based on the bar graph, the healthiest oil is sunflower because it contains the second lowest fat (12%) content and the highest healthy polyunsaturated fat (71%). This is followed by other healthy oils with lower fat like canola (7%), olive (15%) and soya (16%). The unhealthy oils are very high in fat and very low in polyunsaturated fat such as palm oil (51%) and coconut oil (91%). The article states that we cannot be sure about how healthy the oils we eat are because it may contain too much trans fats leading to heart diseases and cancer.

In conclusion, coconut and palm oil should be avoided because fo the high fat content while the healthiest oils are sunflower, canola, olive and soya.

SAMPLE 2:

Crimes Involving Foreign Workers in Malaysia

The stimuli show a line graph on 'Number of crime cases involving foreign workers (2006-2008)', a bar graph on 'Types of crime committed by foreign workers (2006-2008)' and a newspaper headline on 'Overworked and Underpaid foreign workers'. In general, the number of crimes are increasing steadily from 2006 to 2008 especially petty crimes like robbery and snatch theft by underpaid foreign workers.

According the the line graph, every year the number of crimes increases by about 200 cases which is 1535 in 2006, 1780 in 2007 to 1926 in 2008). These crimes can be divided into petty crimes including robbery and snatch thef and hardcore crimes like rape and murder. Based on the bar graph, the highest incidence of crime is robbery that rose from 65 in 2006 to 75 cases in 2008. This is followed by snatch thefts from 15 in 2006 to 18 cases in 2008. Conversely, rape and murder cases have reduced drastically by 50% or more from 2006 to 2008. The reasons given for the increase of crimes in the headline are that foreign workers are unhappy with their meagre incomes which result in them being overworked and underpaid.

In c onclusion, foreign workers are committing more petty crimes like robbery and snatch theft because they are overworked and underpaid.

Good luck 13th Nov! LOL

2010-11-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

ok it's been a while since i updated and i'm sure everyone is itching to know more tips.

GRAMMAR FIRST.
I've developed some basic rules. If you can follow it, i'm sure your writing will improve by leaps and bounds.

Firstly, you must learn (memorise) all the words in the table of tenses. There are 4 columns, all starting with 'P'.

P1 - Present tense (+s or -s) [for now, facts or habits]
P2 - Process (+ing) [takes time to complete]
P3 - Past (+ed or spelling change) [for stories that are over]
P4 - Participle (=ed, spelling change or +n) [for perfect tense and passive sentences]

Here are the common words in English according to the table of tenses.
P1 - P2 - P3 - P4
has/have - having - had - had
goes/go - going - went - gone
gives/give - giving - gave - given
chooses/choose - choosing - chose - chosen
buys/buy - buying - bought - bought
flies/fly - flying - flew - flown
sings/sing - singing - sang - sung
cuts/cut - cutting - cut - cut
puts/put - putting - put - put
becomes/become - becoming - became - become
*smiles/smile - smiling - smiled - smiled
*explains/explain - explaining - explained - explained

* if you notice P3 and P4 looks the same in smiled and explained but they are completely different meanings.
the 4 columns in Malay actually means:
p1 - sekarang
p2 - sedang (imbuhan me-)
p3 - telah
p4 - imbuhan di-
so for 'kick'
kicks/kick - kicking - kicked - kicked
is actually in Malay
tendang - menendang - telah tendang - ditendang.
Get it?

Now for the rules:

1. P1: present
1 +s, >1 -s (except for sentences that start with 'You' or 'I')

1 +s
He likes to eat. (Correct)
He like to eat. (Wrong)
>1 -s
They like to eat. (Correct)
They likes to eat. (Wrong)

1 +s
She is a prefect now. (Correct)
She was a prefect last year too. (Correct)
She are a prefect now. (Wrong)
She were a prefect last year too. (Wrong)

>1 -s
They are prefects now. (Correct)
They were prefects last year too. (Correct)
They is prefects now. (Wrong)
They was prefects last year. (Wrong)

Sometimes the verb is quite far away but the rules still apply.

1 +s
The student reading the biology book is the top student.

>1 -s
The students reading the biology book are the top students.

2. P2: Process (+ing) (imbuhan me-)
If you want to use 'ing' it cannot stand alone
It needs one of the Be5 (am/is/are/was/were)
The 5 versions of Be5 are very important words that are always lost when translating directly from Malay or Chinese as it doesn't exist in these languages.

The baby is sleeping soundly. (Correct)
The baby sleeping soundly. (Wrong)
The babies are sleeping soundly. (Correct)
The babies sleeping soundly. (Wrong)

*notice you need a combination of 2 words to make the process sentences correct!

3. P3: Past (+ed/spelling change)
There is no rule. You have to just memorise all the words in this column.

4. P4: Participle (+ed/spelling change/+n)
This is the trickiest part of English grammar.

There are 2 uses: perfect tenses and passives.

a) Perfect tenses: 3H + P4
if you see the words Has/Have/Had, it MUST be followed by P4.

3H + P4
He has eaten the cake. (Correct)
They have eaten the cake. (Correct)
The boys had eaten the cake yesterday. (Correct)
He has eat the cake. (Wrong)
They have eating the cake. (Wrong)
The boys had ate the cake yesterday. (Wrong)

b) Passive sentences: Be5 + P4 (Imbuhan di-) [kek dimakan, bukannya dia dimakan]
The cake was eaten by him. (Correct)
The cakes were eaten by them. (Correct)
The cake eaten by him. (Wrong)
The cakes eating by them. (Wrong)

Be5 + P4 (don't confuse kicked with P3)
The ball is kicked by him. (Correct)
The balls were kicked by him. (Correct)
The ball kicked by him. (Wrong)
The balls kicking by him. (Wrong)

* Passive sentences are a combination of 2 WORDS: Be5 +P4, not P3. But sometimes if the spelling it +ed, it looks like P3, but the function is actually P4.

5. Other rules:

a) to + ori
to give (correct)
to gives, to giving, to gave, to given (wrong)

b) to + be + P4
to be taken (correct)
to be take, to be takes, to be taking, to be took (wrong)

c) modals: can/cannot/may/must/mustn't/should/shouldn't/will/would etc
modals + ori
can swim (correct)
can swims, can swimming, can swam, can swum (wrong)

d) modals + be + P4
must be discussed (correct)
must be discuss, must be discusses, must be discussing (wrong)

e) by + ing
by taking the bus (correct)
by takes, by take, by took, by taken (wrong)

f) for + ing
for demonstrating (correct)
for demonstrate, for demonstrates, for demonstrated (wrong)

g)
3H + been + P2
has been taking (correct)
has been take, has been takes, has been took (wrong)
or
3H + been + P4
has been taken (correct)

* P2 is used if the process takes a long time,
P4 is used if it is a passive sentence.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE RULES, CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND TAKE MY GRAMMAR TEST. YOU WILL FIND THAT KNOWING THE RULES MAKES ANSWERING SO MUCH EASIER.

http://muetmyway.blogspot.com/2010/07/grammar-test.html

WELL... WHAT DO YOU THINK?

MARKING SCHEME MUET 800/4 Q1 & Q2

2010-09-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

As requested here is the marking scheme for the writing paper.

Q1

Task Fulfilment
(critical thinking skills, answered the requirements of the question, clear introduction and overview linked stimulus, synthesise info, many accurate key features, good conclusion etc)
B6 : 18 -20
B5 : 17 - 15
B4 : 14 - 11
B3 : 10 - 7
B2 : 6 - 4
B1 : 3 - 0
Total: x/20

Language & Organisation
(Grammatical accuracy, vocabulary, relavant phrases, arrangement of report (intro, key features and conclusion), word count does not exceed 200 words (ignore 201 onwards) etc.)
B6 : 18 - 20
B5 : 17 -- 15
B4 : 14 - 11
B3 : 10 - 7
B2 : 6 - 4
B1 : 3 - 0
Total: y/20

So for question 1, x + y = a/40

Q2
Same as above, Task Fulfillment (x/30) + Language & Organisation (y/30) = b/60
B6 : 30 - 26
B5 : 25 - 21
B4 : 20 - 16
B3 : 15 - 11
B2 : 10 - 6
B1 : 5 - 0

TOTAL FOR WRITING PAPER Q1 (a) + Q2 (b) = z/100

CONVERT TO 30% weightage
90/300 = z x 0.9

example: 50 x 0.9 = 45 marks from maximum 90 for the writing component.

Does anyone have any issues about how to calculate the marks for muet?

It's a bit tricky but here are the breakdowns.

Listening : students' mark x 45 / 20 = i
Speaking : students' mark x 45 / 54 = ii
Reading : students' mark x 120 / 45 = iii
Writing : students' mark x 90 /100 = ix
TOTAL MUET MARKS : i + ii + iii + iv = Z/300

B6 : 260 - 300
B5 : 220 - 259
B4 : 180 - 219
B3 : 140 - 179
B2 : 100 - 139
B1 : 0 -99

Ok.. i know what you're dying to know now. haha.. how do we calculate the speaking marks right. This is even more complicated at the real exam level. Here goes.

Task A
a) Task fulfilment (relevant answers) maximum 18 marks
b) Language max 18 marks
c) Communicative ability (gestures, eye contact, convincing style, confidence, fluency etc) max 18

B6 : 16 - 18
B5 : 13 - 15
B4 : 10 - 12
B3 : 7 - 9
B2 : 4 - 6
B1 : 0 - 3

So task A, a + b + c = x/54

Task B is exactly the same breakdown of marks.. max 18 each category
a) Task fulfilment (understands topic, relevant response)
b) Language
c) Communicative ability (fuency, interact confidently, manage a discussion, displays initative etc.)

So task B, a + b + c = x/54

TO GET THE TOTAL U HAVE TO AVERAGE TASK A & TASK B = total x/54

In the actual exam, it gets extremely complicated cos after every group the two examiners must have a discussion about the performance of each candidate and standardised their marks. so there will be adjustment of marks on the spot according to performance and discussion of examiners, and they will double check if they agree with the marks by ranking the four candidates. when they are satisfied with the marks awarded, then the examiners will call in the next group. quite a tedious process if you ask me, but very necessary.

HOWEVER,
for school exams. I use an 18 point system for Task A & B, then I average the marks and convert to 54 by multiplying by 3. Youc can use this system if you like or simply ignore it if you find it is not accurate enough.

low - mid - high
18 - 17 -16 = B6
13 - 14 - 15 = B5
10 - 11 - 12 = B4
7 - 8 - 9 = B3
4 - 5 - 6 = B2
1 - 2 - 3 = B1

I find this to be the best method cos it's not as complicated and as an examiner you always have to consider if the candidate is low, mid or high band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6.

CONGRATULATIONS if you have understood everything I have written thus far. Any questions? Please feel free to ask.

Latest on MUET marking scheme

2010-08-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well.. we never cease to learn.. today I was conducting a course for district level trainers in KK for MUET.. and I learnt so many new things... so just a short note here to clear the air...

Apparently, for report writing (question 1 in the writing paper), they don't use the terms 'overview' and 'controlling idea' anymore.. the concept and content is the same but now overview is called introduction and controlling idea is the overview. confusing but i suppose this is slightly easier to understand rather than the term controlling idea. :)

Also, I found out that contrary to what they told us the last time I went for a course, it would seem that you CAN'T write MORE THAN 200 words for Q1. Examiners have been given strict instructions to ignore every word written after that... Yikes! Now I have to review and modify all my samples for Q1 in order to conform to this new ruling. Ah well, at least I know now. Thanks Suzie for the juicy info.

I've also gotten confirmation that every single error in grammar, spelling, vocabulary and what not is deducted in the listening paper.. and examiners don't even award half marks, therefore it's either 1 mark or 0.

Anyway, tomorrow is the second part to this 2 day course. I'll upload some pics later. Have a nice week everyone!

The week that was.. SMK Inanam & UiTM MUET Seminars

2010-08-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

Was a really hectic week thus far. I started it off with a MUET seminar in SMK Inanam, thanks to Mainie and Suzana for inviting me. If you didn't know, I first started working at this school and you can imagine what fun it was to see and chat with all my ex-colleagues. :) Was a great time and I hope the students enjoyed my talk.

Then I rushed over to present the Reading Component workshop at UiTM from 10am to 1pm at the KK campus and the crowd was extremely good and cooperative. The reading workshop with sample questions from past year exams were a hit going by the responses from the students. If you're a UiTMn student reading this now, I'm happy to have helped you and I hope you'll explore the archives of my blog to read up about MUET. Good luck to everyone!

Thanks to Suzie and team for inviting me for my third seminar here.. may we have a long lasting professional and personal relationship.

Some really enthusiastic uni girls.. try your best ok!

Some smart looking and hopefully smart thinkin agricultural boys... Well done!

Workshop style for teaching reading comprehension. I've received some feedback pertaining teaching reading by other MUET teachers. I'll detail how to do this best in the next blog entry. At the end of the day, the onus is on the teacher to be creative, adopt or adapt, and the students to read, read and read some more!

Happy teaching and learning everyone! :)

Busy bee!

2010-08-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

My bunch of crazies! hehe.. but I love them all!

Notice the plaster ceiling, downlights and chandelier in my school's meeting room.. haha.. not even in KK but million times more posh! Hidup Majakir! Here you can see the kids enjoying the karaoke session 'I believe I can fly' at the end of my seminar. :)

Here the teachers from all over Sabah have come to 'THINK' for our tank. ;-) English Teachers Unite!

Sabah Think Tank Exco Members .. thanks Pn Hjh Nuri & Pn Jenifah from SPA for empowering me to empower others.

Guest lecturing in SMK Putatan, KK.

Thanks for having me, Pn. Haribala & Pn Balvinder... for inviting. ;-)

As you can see, I've been super busy and the cog is still spinning as we speak. :) So far, I've presented a MUET Seminar in SMK Putatan last week, and created the module for the Sabah Think Tank English Language Task Force which I presented at a full day seminar in KK Highschool for English language teachers all over Sabah, some as far as Nabawan.

You can see from the uploaded video clips below the MUET seminar I did yesterday at my own school. It's very rewarding when students come up to me and thank me for teaching them. My eyes actually watered when I read a post in facebook where my student said: "I love MUET". This came from a student who at the start of this year was completely freaked out about the whole subject. Hehe..

Next week I'll be presenting in SMK Inanam and UiTM on the same day. It's a lot of hard work and travelling but I have to admit that I do it because of the joy it brings me. Not the glamour mind you, but the reaching out to help those who need my help most. :)

Anyway, Lydia (thanks, dear!) has kindly agreed to share the essay she has written which I have reviewed using Microsoft Word (the review application is soooooo cooool!!! I can't believe I just found it!!!!) Anyone who would like to read it please email me at queendrey@gmail.com. If anyone knows how I can upload documents onto this blog.. pls let me know.. I'm savvy but apparently not that savvy. Hehe.. cheers ya'all!

SMK Majakir MUET Strategies 2010 Seminar

2010-08-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

MUET Speaking Task B

2010-08-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Powerpoint Presentations in the MUET Classroom

2010-07-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the video clips below, I've been using multimedia in the classroom.. but instead of me preparing and presenting, I've empowered my students to work in groups to gather materials and develop their own presentations. I believe that when you give students the room to grow, indeed they will. Of course the presentations are far from perfect, but as the old saying goes: it is not the destination that counts, but the journey itself.

Therefore, I'm sure my students will agree with me when I say they have learnt a lot from researching the topics using traditional referencing in the library.. and internet access where they collected most of the materials. What is more important is the process of reading and synthesising for a purpose.

For teachers, the basic instructions I gave were:
1. Divide each group into 3-4 students and provide a social ills topic (eg smoking, vandalism, gangsterism, drug abuse, free sex etc.)
2. Each person develops 5 - 7 slides using only POINT FORM (to avoid reading) and PICTURES/GRAPHS etc.. with NOT MORE THAN 20 WORDS per slide (to avoid over-congestion).
3. Students divided the content according to definition, examples, causes, effects and solution or recommendation.
4. Take lots of pics and record sections to be uploaded into Youtube, Facebook & Blogs.

So MUET students out there reading this, would you have liked doing this activity in your own class? Would it increase your motivation to present if you knew you would be published online?

Would be interesting to get your feedback on this as I will be explaining in my next blog the Action Research related to motivation that I'm conducting right now. :)

6A2 Majakir MUET 2010

2010-07-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

6A2 Majakir MUET 2010 Vandalism

2010-07-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Grammar Test

2010-07-22T06:31:00.001-07:00

Curious to know your grammar proficiency percentage by just completing a simple quiz? I've designed 10 multiple choice questions for my Grammar Formulas workshop... have a go here.. and email me your answers to queendrey@hotmail.com and i'll tell you your overall proficiency. hehe.. if you're lucky i'll even share my grammar secret formulas in the next blog! let's see if i get over 50 replies... :)

1. A) The child is talking to a boys.
B) The child are talking to boys.
C) The children is talking to a boy.
D) The children are talking to a boy.

2. A) She take him to school every day.
B) She takes him to school every day.
C) She taking him to school every day.
D) She taken him to school every day.

3. A) The instructions is give by the teacher.
B) The instructions is given by the teacher.
C) The instructions are given by the teacher.
D) The instructions are giving by the teacher.

4. A) The lady has sing a sad song.
B) The lady has sung a sad song.
C) The lady had singing a sad song.
D) The lady have singing a sad song.

5. A) His results have improved by take extra tuition.
B) His results have improved by takes extra tuition.
C) His results have improved by taken extra tuition.
D) His results have improved by taking extra tuition.

6. A) These ingredients are for make some cupcakes.
B) These ingredients are for made some cupcakes.
C) These ingredients are for makes some cupcakes.
D) These ingredients are for making some cupcakes.

7. A) You should dress neatly.
B) You should dresses neatly.
C) You should dressed neatly.
D) You should dressing neatly.

8. A) The victim must be take to the hospital immediately.
B) The victim must be takes to the hospital immediately.
C) The victim must be taken to the hospital immediately.
D) The victim must be taking to the hospital immediately.

9. A) I like to shop.
B) I like to shops.
C) I like to shopped.
D) I like to shopping.

10. A) The books has been return to the shelves.
B) The books has been returned to the shelves.
C) The books have been return to the shelves.
D) The books have been returned to the shelves.

Well.... do you think you can score 10/10 = 100% :P

email your answers asap.. hehe... good luck!

Results are out!

2010-07-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

Why have I only heard from a few about their results? hmmmm... this is not a good sign. I'd like to know how you guys did.. do email me at queendrey@gmail.com if you'd like a more private discussion.

Personally I love exams.. the flow of adrenaline, the excitement of competing against others and more importantly, raising your own standards. So my opinion of abolishing UPSR and PMR? Well, I am sure you can guess that I am dead against it. We need some form of benchmarking and sense of rivalry, stress is good, it challenges us to rise above ourselves. ;-) In the same breath, I've come to know that OUM has made a pass in MUET NON-COMPULSORY. Sighs... this is really disheartening as I can imagine that the real reason behind this is that it has a whole lot to do with monetary gains, or more to the point, profit loss due to the huge number of failures amongst OUM students. again, huge sigh.

How is everyone doin? Keep the faith, ok!

MUET Speaking topics for mid year 2010

2010-06-12T02:24:00.000-07:00

Just for your info, I'm having a black month... haha.. that means that i'm super annoyed with my other half for literally destroying my laptop and all the info that's in it. Some of you have asked for my power points from my previous lectures but I'm not sure if i still hv them. Will look around and check when I get my hands on a new laptop hopefully soon.

Anyway, i've been asked about the listening and speaking questions that came out in the recent MUET exams. I don't hv access to the listening transcript or the questions so I can't help there... but if you do remember the speaking topic given to you, write it in the comment here and i'll devise the best 3 points that befits a Band 6 answer. ;-)

As for when the results will be out, i'm not sure exactly but the results should be announced in the first two weeks of July if i'm not mistaken. Fingers crossed for all you guys out there. ;-) Remember to let me know your results by leaving a comment here ok.

MUET Speaking 800/2

2010-05-11T19:16:00.001-07:00

The speaking test is divided into two sections: Task A & Task B, groups of 4 usually. Here is the timeframe breakdown:

Sit down clockwise, A to D. There will be two examiners for each exam. Once seated, they will check your exam slips and ICs. Handphones, notes, stationery etc not allowed as a pencil, a piece of paper and the question will be placed on the table for each student.

1st minute - just read the question and make a mental note of the words you would like to ask the examiner about. (you should ask the examiner EVEN IF YOU UNDERSTAND the terms to get the right pronunciation and 'borrow' ideas from the examiners. most examiners are very helpful and will give you some ideas if you ask nicely) (say: Excuse me but what is the meaning of ... DO NOT SAY: What means of...? which is horrendous grammar!)
2nd minute - examiners ask all candidates (A-D) one by one if they understand the question or not. (again, make sure you ask about any word/phrases during this time)
2 minutes to write your notes on the blank A4 paper given (tip: divide the paper into 4 sections, label A, B, C and D, then write only in your section. think of three points and for every point give reasons and examples, make sure it's in note form only to avoid reading)
2 minutes for each candidate to present Task A - MUST AGREE WITH POINT GIVEN (advantage for candidate D cos will hv 8 mins to prepare but the point is generally harder to elaborate than candidate A's point, so there are always pros and cons. MAKE SURE YOU SPEAK FOR THE FULL 2 MINS, and it is ok to just elaborate 1 or 2 points well instead of 3 points but not well explained.)
Speak according to this format:
1. Greetings (Good morning to the examinerS and my fellow candidateS, etc.)
2. Repeat situation (Today we are talking about...etc.)
3. Main Point (The point I would like to discuss is... etc.)
4. 1st point (Firstly,.. , This is because,.., Moreover,..., For example,.. , Therefore,... )
5. 2nd point (Secondly,... , This means that,... , Furthermore,... , For instance,... , Thus,...)
6. 3rd point (Finally,... , This is due to the fact that... , In addition, Take for example..., Hence,... )
7. Conclusion (In a nutshell, etc.)

2 minutes to prepare notes for Task B (now you can write notes for all candidate's points, have a ranking system 1,2,3 and 4, 1 is for best choice and 4 for the least favourite, this will help you with your discussion)
10 minutes to discuss. In the quarantine room, pre-decide who will do the introduction, and someone to do the conclusion (this person MUST PAY ATTENTION TO THE TIME, as some examiners will NOT ALLOW you to do a conclusion if you go beyond the 10 min timeframe.)
YOU MUST MEMORISE THE LANGUAGE PHRASES LISTED BELOW if you want to score a high band.

TEST ENDS

Make sure you train your brain to think of 3 points with supporting reasons and examples. Always write in point form, not full sentences as 2 mins goes by way too fast!

Use your hands to gesture and explain your points. Marks will be awarded for 3 categories:
1. Task fulfillment - Did you understand the question and give a relevant and mature response?
2. Communicative ability - Did you have good eye-contact, body posture, gestures, cooperation?
3. Language - Do you have good command of the language with extended vocabulary?
Marks are given for Task A and Task B then added and divided to find the average.

LIST OF USEFUL LANGUAGE

TASK A:

1. Good morning to everyone.

2. Good morning I bid to one and all.

3. Good morning to the examiners and all my

fellow candidates.

4. A very good morning I wish to all examiners

and fellow candidates.

5. Today we are talking about…

6. The situation I have been given is…

7. According to the situation…

8. Based on the situation given

9. I have 3 reasons to justify my point.

10. First and foremost,…

11. Firstly,…

12. Secondly,…

13. My second point is…

14. Another reason is…

15. Finally,…

16. Lastly,…

17. Last but not least,…

18. Moreover,…

19. In addition,…

20. Furthermore,…

21. Therefore,…

22. Hence,…

23. Thus,…

24. However,…

25. Other than that,…

26. On the other hand,…

27. Conversely,…

28. Consequently,…

29. Subsequently,…

30. In contrast,…

31. For example,…

32. For instance,…

33. Take for example,…

34. … and so on.

35. … and many more.

36. … and others.

37. In conclusion,…

38. As a conclusion,…

39. In short,…

40. In a nutshell,…

TASK B:

1. Let’s kickstart this discussion by starting with..

2. Allow me to begin…

3. May I begin by saying…

4. I agree with you. (NOT:I’M agree)

5. That’s a great idea!

6. I see your point!

7. That’s an interesting perspective.

8. I like your suggestion.

9. Indeed!

10. I concur with your point of view.

11. I’m sorry but I disagree.

12. I’m afraid I have to disagree with your idea.

13. I don’t see eye to eye with you.

14. That’s not a good idea/suggestion.

15. I beg to differ.

16. I’m sorry for interrupting but…

17. Excuse me, may I interrupt please.

18. Pardon me for interrupting but..

19. I’d like to add something please.

20. May I say something?

21. Could you please hear me out?

22. So what do you think, Candidate X?

23. How about your point of view?

24. Candidate X, what is your opinion?

25. Does anyone agree with me?

26. Why don’t we consider the other points?

27. I don’t understand, can you please repeat?

28. I’m sorry I don’t understand, can you please elaborate again?

29. In conclusion, ALL OF US agree that…

30. To conclude, MOST OF US agree that…

31. In a nutshell, SOME OF US agree that… while the rest prefer…

32. As time is running out, it seems that ALL OF US can’t seem to agree on a single point so…

33. That’s the end of this discussion, thank you.

MUET SPEAKING 800/2 TIPS - SAMPLE ANSWERS

2010-05-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

Candidate A

Instructions to candidates:

Task A: Individual presentation

Study the stimulus or topic given.
You are given two minutes to prepare your responses.
You are given two minutes to present.
Listen to the others while they are making their presentations and take down notes for the group discussion in Task B.

Task B: Group discussion

You are given two minutes to prepare points to support or oppose the other candidates’ views.
After you have listened to everyone, try to come to a decision as to which of the four suggestions is the best.
Your group is given ten minutes for the discussion.

Task A and Task B will be carried out consecutively.

Situation

Your brother has been given the opportunity to study in England on a government scholarship. You and your family are very proud of him. Decide on a special gift for him to prepare for his trip abroad.

Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.

i. cash

ii. a computer

iii. some suitable clothing

iv. some Malaysian foodstuff

Candidate A

Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.

Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. I’m very happy that my brother has just received a scholarship to study in England. My relatives and I would like to give him a special gift. We all think that the best gift is money because it will be very useful for him.

The first reason is with cash he can buy the things that he needs when he gets there. There will me a lot of things that he will need like new books, stationery, clothes and food. He will also need to pay for transportation like taking the bus or train to go to the university campus. As we know, it is very expensive in England so any money we give him will be very useful.

Secondly, my brother can use the money to buy a mobile phone when he gets to England. I think this is very important in case of emergencies so we can contact him easily. Furthermore, he can sms us and keep us updated with his progress in his studies there. Hence, if we really miss him we can just give him a call.

Finally, I also think giving him money is the best choice because it is light and doesn’t take up a lot of space. If we were to give him a computer, books or winter clothes it will be very heavy and bulky for him to bring to England. Therefore, I think that it is much easier to bring money and buy those things when he gets there.

In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why I think giving him cash is the best choice. To me, it is the most useful gift we can give him. Thank you.

Candidate B

Task A: You suggest that they give him a computer. Say why.

A very good morning I bid to one and all. My relatives and I are very proud of my brother. He has just received a scholarship to study in England and so we would like to give him a special gift. We believe that the best present for him is a laptop computer.

Firstly, as a university student, my brother will have to do many assignments. If he has a laptop computer he can bring it everywhere and consequently, do his work anytime and anywhere. Thus, he will not have to share the computers at the computer room with other students and he will be able to do his work more quickly and efficiently.

Another point is that when he boards the plane from KLIA to London, he will be able to bring the laptop with him easily because it is compact and light compared to a desktop computer. Hence, it will not be too much trouble to transport it to England.

Last but not least, if he has a laptop he will be able to connect to the internet. This has two main advantages as firstly, he can do a lot of research online. The world wide web is a fountain of information so it will be very useful for him to make full use of this technology. Furthermore, he can keep in touch with friends and family here in Malaysia by e-mail.

In short, a laptop computer will prove to be very useful to my brother. He can do his assignments, research for information and keep in touch with us using it therefore it will make the best gift. Thank you for listening.

Candidate C

Task A: You suggest that they give him some suitable clothing. Say why.

To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. My brother was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to study overseas. We want to send him off with a nice gift so we have decided to buy him some suitable clothing.

The main purpose for buying him some suitable clothing is because the weather in England is very different from the weather in our country. There are four seasons there so he will need to have different clothes for different situations. For example, we can buy him some sweaters, cardigans, scarves, snowcaps, thick socks and gloves and many more. These will definitely keep him warm in winter.

The second reason is we think that he should have clothes that reflect our Malaysian identity. This is because he will be a young ambassador for our country so if he has a few sets of traditional clothing like the Baju Melayu or formal Batik shirts, I am sure he will not only look good but promote our culture overseas.

Lastly, neat clothes make a good impression. For instance, if we buy him some everyday clothes like jeans and trousers with nice shirts and matching ties, this will give him a good feeling about himself so he will walk a bit straighter and talk a bit wiser. Moreover, people will look at him and have a good impression about Malaysian students.

To conclude, I think that the best present to give him is some suitable clothing because it will be very useful and will reflect positively on him. Thank you very much.

Candidate D

Task A: You suggest that they give him some Malaysian foodstuff. Say why.

I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know, my brother has won a scholarship to study in England. Therefore, some relatives and I have decided to give him some Malaysian foodstuff as a going away present.

First and foremost, one of the main problems Malaysians face when studying overseas is that it is hard to find Halal food. We feel it is a good idea to give him some Malaysian foodstuff because it will take time for him to get used to the place and find out where to buy Halal food. Thus, in the meantime he can enjoy the Malaysian foodstuff that we have given to him.

The next reason is because some of the foodstuff we are used to having here in Malaysia is quite hard to find in UK. Most students studying overseas really enjoy eating Maggi Mee and sambal belacan. For instance, it is also hard to find the right spices for curry and rendang and so on so if we supply him with enough Malaysian foodstuff, he can eat it whenever he misses home.

The final point I have is that he can use the Malaysian foodstuff we give him and cook it for the Westerners there. Sometimes, universities organise events like Malaysian Night and so he and his friends can cook some Malaysian specialities for them to taste a bit of our way of life. Hence, the Malaysian foodstuff will be very useful to promote our culture.

In a nutshell, giving my brother Malaysian foodstuff to take with him to England is a good idea. This is because he will have some familiar food to eat when he misses home and he can also share it with his new friends. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.

i. Cash

ii. A computer

iii. Some suitable clothing

iv. Some Malaysian foodstuff

* Work together in your respective groups and complete the following discussion.

A: Good morning once again to everyone. We are here to focus on the issue at hand which is __________________________________________________________. I would like to invite anyone of you to kickstart this discussion by giving us your point of view.

B: Allow me to begin. First of all, I’m happy that our brother has won the scholarship to study in England. Therefore, we must decide what would be the most useful gift for him. In my opinion, I strongly believe that _______________ _________________________________________________________________. This is because I think he can _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

For example, ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: I see your point but how about getting him ______________________________. In this way, he can use it to ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

D: I don’t quite agree with you because ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. I think it would be more useful if we bought _______________________ for him. Does anyone agree with me?

A: Yes, I agree with you. To add to your point, I feel that ______________________ _________________________________________________________________.

This is so he will ___________________________________________________.

C: I’m afraid I don’t see eye to eye with both of you. Buying that as a present for him is not the most useful gift because __________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

Moreover, ________________________________________________________.

Can you all understand what I’m trying to say?

B: Indeed, I do see your point of view but I still feel that the most useful gift is __________________ because it can ___________________________________. Another reason is ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For instance, _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

D: That’s an interesting perspective and I agree with you that ___________________ _________________________________________________________________. However, I think we should consider other points. We should also think about buying him _______________________________________________________.

If he gets this as a present, he can ______________________________________ and ____________________________________________. Wouldn’t you agree?

A: I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. Can you explain it again, please.

D: What I mean is we should buy him _____________________________________ because it will me more useful for him when he is studying in England. This is because ___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

A: Aaah… I see. Yes, I think it would be a very useful gift too. This way, he can _________________________________________________________________.

C: That’s a good point, but don’t you think if we gave him _____________________ it will be the most useful for him as a student. I still believe that this is the most useful because _____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

Remember, we need to think of the best and most useful choice.

B: I agree with you, Candidate C. In addition, he can use this gift to _____________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________. So candidates A & D, what do you guys think?

D: Now that you’ve explained it like that, I also agree that it will be the most useful. In fact, he could also use it to _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

A: As for me, I feel that it is also the most useful. When he arrives at his university in England, he will be able to ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: That’s right. Well, after listening to all the points on the four choices we have, I think it is time to make a conclusion.

D: Yes, I think so too. Does everyone agree that we should give our brother _______________________________________ as a special going away present?

All: Yes, I agree.

B: In a nutshell, we all agree that _______________________________ is the best choice because firstly, he can _________________________________________, secondly, ________________________________________________ and finally _________________________________________________________________.

Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What to conclude if after 10 minutes of discussion….

A) Agree = 3, Disagree = 1

Conclusion: To conclude, MOST OF US agree that ______________________

is the best choice because ________________________________.

___________________________________________. Thank you.

B) Agree = 2, Disagree = 2

Conclusion: In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because

SOME OF US stongly believe that the best choice is __________ because _______________________________________________ while THE REST OF US think that giving him _______________ is the most useful because _________________

___________________________________________. Thank you.

C) All Disagree

Conclusion: In a nutshell, we were unable to come to an agreement on which of the four options is the best choice. It seems ALL OF US strongly believe in our own points so as we have run out of time, we think that we should each buy him a gift individually. Thank you.