cat stevens

Somethings are easier said in a song, especially a song that encompasses everything that you want to say. It doesn't really matter if the song is an old one. Since a song is supposed to be universal, it's main function is to entertain and at the same time, educate.

Sometimes it also takes a good listening to the lyrics of a song to get you to understand yourself and the people who matters most around. The answers and justifications you seek are all around you, but when it happens to be in a song, it seems to have more impact. A song, in this case a video, leaves an even deeper impression because you can hear how the singer expresses every single sentence in the song and at the same time you can see his facial expression with the articulation of every single word.

And once a while, you come across a song that says vividly want you cannot say, mostly because of your own ego. To people who matter most to me, thank you for being a part of me.

Doris Day - Que Sera Sera

Another song chosen for my Form 6 students' listening activity during the semester holidays. For my students reading this blog, please make sure you get the lyrics of this song, then paraphrase this song in prose form in about 150 words using your own words. Remember also that you will be giving an oral presentation of the prose on the 23rd of June 2010 during your MUET 2 slot. Happy listening and happy holidays!

Engelbert Humperdinck - Spanish Eyes 1969

This is another classic song that no other singer can sing as well as the original singer. The singer has left such a tremendous mark on the entertainment world, no one can even hope to imitate him. And when you talk about classic songs, that is the very reason why no one can even hope to write a song that comes even close to the beautiful melody in this song.

"The Lucy Show" Joan Crawford Guest Stars PART 1

Another favourite of yesteryear. I didn't really know how to speak English Language when this show was shown on television here in Malaysia more than thirty years ago but surprisingly I think i understood what the laughter was all about. I knew where the humour was. Some comedies do not need long scripts to reach the punch line. With Lucy, it was punches all the way.

Tom Jones - It's not unusual (This Is Tom Jones - 1969)

I went for a course last week and met some old friends, some of whom I have not met for many years. It was a nice, warm feeling reminiscing with them about old times including some very old songs; songs we used to hear in our teens. One of these songs is this one sung by Tom Jones titled 'It's Not Unusual'. Indeed, it is not unusual to get to meet old friends once again. Here's to many more meetings in the future!

The Fruitcake Special III

This is the third installment of resource materials for the form 4 literature component. This task is suggested to be used for Set Induction and suitable for students with lower proficiency. I am happy to say that you will not be able to find the picture used in the resource material from any image in the internet because I had drawn the picture myself. It was just too difficult (and utterly impossible!) to find a picture suitable enough to be used for this particular activity. But feel free to use the material with your students. It's fun and allows students some creativity albeit difficulty for them to generate a vocabulary list. Happy teaching!

The Fruitcake Special - A Resource (Part 2)

This is the second Resource Material for teaching 'The Fruitcake Special'. I used this interesting video for my Set Induction as a prelude to teaching the idea of the effects of perfume on a man. I used this video with my proficient students, who found it interesting, not because of the content of the video, but because of the unthinkable effect that a perfume can have on a man. The fact that the video is in French also garnered some interesting discussion about what was being said in the video. Have fun using this video in your lesson. Be warned that I used it with my group of students whom I am sure is matured enough to accept the content of the video!

The Fruitcake Special - A Resource (Part 1)

I've finally decided to write about what I am most passionate about and that is Resource materials, especially those that I produce myself. This first entry for my Resource collection is for teaching the Literature component 'The Fruitcake Special'. I used this activity for my set induction as a prelude to teaching the short story. Of course, this is for the lower proficiency students, who would find an activity that requires them to merely match pictures related to 'Nice Smell', not too challenging. I always stick my Resource inside my Record book. If you would like a copy of this activity, do leave a comment with your e-mail.