Teacher Nuha's English Blog

PMR exam is just around the corner. I couldn't help but feeling so worried with my students' competence in writing compositions. I have gathered some ideas from my friends, who are also teaching English in other schools, on how they  go about drilling essay writing to their students as a preparation prior to PMR/SPM. Here are some of the approaches that could be adopted/adapted based on the proficiency level of our students: Idea #1: Get a good essay which is neither too long nor too short.  Give 1 copy to each student.  Ask them to read and understand the essay. Maybe you could get students to find the meaning of difficult words or focus on a certain grammatical item (Wh words / verb / noun / tenses / etc.)  Next, tell students to put the essay out of their sight.  The teacher then carries out a dictation activity in which he/she reads aloud the essay with the correct pronunciation and enunciation. At the same time, students need to listen and write down what they hear. T

I did some analysis on the PMR English Papers from 2005 - 2010. Here are my findings. Paper 1: Section D and E (Literature) Topic 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Life’s Brief Candle ✓ ✓ The Dead Crow ✓ ✓ The Lake Isle of Innisfree ✓ ✓ Of Bunga Telur and Bally Shoes ✓ ✓ The Pencil ✓ ✓ How Dalat Got Its Name ✓ ✓ Paper 2: Section A and C Section A (Guided Writing) Section C (Literature) 2005 Description of an event Moral Value 2006 Informal letter – invitation letter Opinion – Like/Dislike a story 2007 Story – bad experience Characters – Two characters who work together to obtain success 2008 Speech

The author William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939) was born in Dublin. He fell in love with Maud Gonne, an Irish Nationalist who fought for social justice. His love was not returned. He remained heartbroken till he was 52 years old, the age when he finally got married.  Even though he was of English origin, he loved Ireland very much and thought of himself as an Irishman. His father, John Butler Yeats, was an artist and encouraged him to write poetry. Being a patriotic Irishman, he wrote many poems on the beauty of Ireland, its magic, folklore and political scenario. Apart from that, he wrote many poems for Maud Gonne, hoping for her love in return. He was referred to as the greatest Irish poet. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. He was appointed as the Member of the Irish Senate (1922 - 1928) The poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles mad

The author The Dead Crow is a poem written by Dato' A. Samad Said , whose real name is Abdul Samad Muhammad Said. Dato' A. Samad Said A. Samad Said was the first Malay author to successfully unite craft with art in his writing. The literary excellence of his work is a product of his consciousness in craftsmanship. He pioneered a new style of writing, simultaneously continuing the idealism of the Generation of the Fifties and renewing its approach to literature. Born in Malacca in 1935, A. Samad Said is great Malaysian writer and has been honoured with the title of Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate). He has worked as a writer and journalist and now devotes himself completely to writing. The English translation of his novel, Salina (1975), achieved international recognition. A. Samad Said was awarded national recognition as a Literary Pioneer in 1976 and received the Anugerah Sastera Negara (National Literary Award) in 1985. The Poem The