2008 is a good year....

Sez who?  Sez many who see the last number 8 as a perfect number.  The two circles on top and bottom to form the number are symbolic of wealth and proportion.  Since 8 is also an even number, this also increases its positive connotation.

With this interpretation, then we should all make use of it and make this year a real blessing not only to us but to everybody.

Happy New Year!

writing the first draft

When you have already finalized your outline, you should now be prepared to move on to the next phase which is writing your first draft.  With an outline based on the notes you have gathered, this phase of term paper writing should be like a breeze. All you need to do is follow your outline but be sure to acknowledge all borrowed ideas.

A term paper is not a string of borrowed ideas from different authors.  Of course you need these ideas from authority as springboard for discussion but should not be the main course of the paper.  It is up to you throw in some expert opinion but be sure to come in after each borrowed item by agreeing or maybe disagreeing or maybe expanding the discussion in your terms.

after notetaking, what?

When you have gathered enough ideas or notes to make you write a substantial term paper, next comes writing an outline or trying to arrange the notes you have collected.  This is an easy part since all you need to do is evaluate the value of each card containing an idea and see where each one fits.  This is fun to do since it's much like playing cards, shuffling ideas here and there until you can come up with a working order of your paper. Think of parts, topics, sub-topics and try to arrange the note cards accordingly.  Discard some that are repetitive or unnecessary.  Use only those that you will need.  Arrange and rearrange, discard, evaluate.

As the cards containing the ideas are laid out on the table in the order that you want them to appear, start drafting your working outline.

Taking down notes

Notetaking is a very crucial task in writing an honest term paper.  However, many students have not developed the proper way of taking down notes.  When the teacher asks them to submit their notes, they usually submit notes that are copied word for word from a source or two.

The first step in notetaking is reading.  Read a source one at a time and look for ideas that you could use in your paper. Each idea is to be written on one side of a note card.  Take note, do not use the back part of your index card and do not lump more than one idea on an index card.  This is done so that arranging them to make an outline would be easier for you.

See to it that you also write down the source of each idea---author, title of book, page, publishing company, place of publication, year of publication.  The source info is to be written on top of the index card.  Limit the number of ideas you borrow from each source and see to it that you get ideas from as many sources as you can.  If your teacher requires you to read 10 sources, then do so.

looking for sources

Once you have chosen your topic, it is time for you to start hunting for sources.  The more sources, the better.  Avoid limiting yourself to one, two , or three sources because this will most likely lead you to plagiarism.   Have at least 10 sources.  List them all down, the author's name, title of the book, place of publication, date of publication, and publishing company.If you find more than 10 sources, you will need to skim and scan each book or source and see which ones you will really need.  After you have chosen your sources, you can now start notetaking.  This aspect of term paper writing requires more time since notetaking involves reading.  

Next topic is Notetaking.

Find a topic that is of interest to you

The first step in writing a paper is worrying about the "topic" or the subject of your research.  What will you write about?

It will seem at first that there is nothing left for you to get started. It will seem like all the topics had been taken and there is nothing left for you to write about.  You professor will most likely encourage you to think of a "problem" that is still unsolved either in your community or on a global scale.  Now when you think of "problems" I am sure that you can come up with many broad ones such as poverty, terrorism, government, politics, religion, etc.  Now try to narrow down those topics or problems into smaller problems and see what you can come up with.  Write down as many as you can under each broad issue and see the best angle or aspect that you might want to tackle.  Let's say you are interested in the worldwide problem of poverty.  What aspect of it would you want to write about?  Try to get hold of papers related to it and find out from which angle you will be approaching the topic this time.  You can have a seemingly popular topic and still use the same but this time from a different angle.

Always make sure that the topic is of interest to you.  It is hard to write an honest paper if there is no interest on the writer.  There should be that "curiousity" to know the answers to the questions that you will be asking related to the topic in order to reach your goal of writing an honest term paper without feeling like you're being punished to do it. Make the research a learning experience that could lead to the possible solution of an age-old problem in your community.

of rats and men

2008 being the Year of the brown Rat brings to mind a lot of things like it being our year because brown is the color of us Pinoys.

Well, is this going to be OUR YEAR after all since brown is associated with the Filipino race?  But a brown rat?  This made me think.  Are rats also in any way connected with Pinoys?

Yes, I think we too are ratty in many ways.  I remember one teacher of mine in the high school who would cry in front of the class when we were not very attentive to her.  She would always use this favorite expression of hers "I am as poor as a rat".

There is no doubt about it.  Poverty is always associated with rats.  Rats, especially brown rats, live in proverty because nobody wants them.  Nobody wants  to have them as pets like the white mice that get fed and sheltered.  Brown or black rats are the most hated pests in the house.  We do everything to kill them.  We trap or poison them or hire a pest exterminator to get rid of them.

just wondering

I am wondering why my latest post here does not appear.  I am doing this blog to check.

script writing

Scriptwriting could both be fun and challenging especially if you need to do it every week.  Boy, that can really squeeze out all the creative juices in your brain!  You can't simply use the same script you used in your previous shows because then your show would look like an old shoe nobody wants.  The challenge of giving a new and different intro each time is real and one can't just ignore the challenge because even the most seasoned and successful TV shows in the world work.

I tell you, scriptwriting is not a joke.
 

my first alumni homecoming

Not really big about alumni homecoming, I attended my first ever anyway mid of this month because I was tasked to do the emceeing. Otherwise I would have skipped that too like I'd been skipping them for the past.....hmmmm.....many years. It was a high school alumni homecoming and I've finally seen once again my former batchmates no longer firm and trim but more like "mature" men and women who now know the secrets of life and living. Photos of us back in high school were flashed on screen and there we were, taut, young, all thin, and oh so innocent. We looked so unknowing and so sweet. Suddenly there's this feeling of sadness that overwhelms one when you think about how good those days were and how you wish you could have stopped time so you could have remained so young and beautiful.

Now, 35 years after that happy stage of our lives we can only pretend to smile and be happy to be able to make it to that reunion. Many are no longer able to join because they had left the world and are now situated somewhere.

Will I attend another homecoming next year or the years to come? It depends.:)

on writing the term paper

The schoolyear is almost ending and majority of our fourth year high school students in the country are now facing what they dread-----writing the term paper.

I too wrote my first and last term paper in college, not in high school. Unfortunately, I did not learn it the right way. I mean, we weren't taught the nitty-gritty steps of truly making one so I admit that there was a lot of plagiarism that went into the completion of the paper. It is embarrassing to admit but about 95% of it was plagiarized because our teacher did not exactly show us the proper way of making an honest paper.

I learned how to make one when I started teaching the subject. Of course, I had to study and master the subject to be able to teach and make my own students understand the whole procedure. I devised a way of making my students write their own term paper in the easiest and most honest fashion. I had developed a procedure that will ensure that no plagiarizing happened. I did this for a number of years and later on I noticed that teachers from other schools have adopted the same method. Of course, I am happy about it.

What are the easy steps in making your own honest paper? That will be the subject of discussion on my next blog.

provincialism

People vary in the ways they deal with things. For instance, people in smaller and slower paced cities have the tendency to take appointments for granted. The value of time never exists here. They just cancel out appointments for not much of a valid reason. This is the best example of unprofessionalism or provincialism. Even finishing a college degree does not help. The habit acquired since birth will always surface and so they break commitments and not push through with appointments.

Huh? Can you just tell someone after you've made an agreement that you are cancelling out because of this and that reason which you failed to see beforehand? No matter how you look at it your provincial mentality is the root of it all because if not because of that you would have had the decency or common sense to see to it that everything is clear before entering into any agreement with someone or anyone.

It's annoying, you know.

COSCA & YEHS Outsourcing

Don't miss to watch our show tomorrow, Sunday, Dec.9 in my country, because it will be featuring one of the premier Catholic schools in the province.

Next week's feature will be a call center situated in a neighboring city. YEHS outsourcing will be bringing to your homes a peek into the call center industry. That's for next Sunday. You don't wanna miss that one too.

off to another town to judge

My son will be going to another city to judge and of course, we intend to do some footages there and have them shown on our show. It's a literary-musical sort of affair and I am sure it's going to take like forever.LOL. Anyway, if you want to view snap shots of the affair, just tune in to our show every Sunday, 8:00 p.m., Channel 6, Filproducts Cable TV.

On the 8th of this month he will have to go back to the place to judge another idol search competition, and on the 22nd it will be another city for a big event in which he will be judging again.

It seems like December is a season of competitions.

got shadowed

During last week's interview with the Project Manager of Firm Builders, my son who is co-hosting "at random" told me earlier to do the interview with the guest. However, when it was time for the interview he changed his mind and said that he'll do it with me. So of course I was happy about it because he is really the one in charge of interviews. I did a brief intro of the guest, an Assumptionista, and I thought I'd throw the first question as well. But just when I was about to open my mouth to ask the first question my son Mark rattled off and did it and I was like gaping 'til the whole interview came to a conclusion which was the only thing I did during the entire segment.

I got shadowed. Oh well, it is said that our children are improvements of ourselves. I cannot disagree with this.

setting the standard

People in media are actually setting the standards for us, what ought and what ain't done. Without us knowing it, viewers are bombarded with a lot of trash everyday, trash in the sense that instead of developing or improving our way of life, some shows just pull us all down into the gutter. so what's the standard? Is it locally based? Do we have our own little standard in our own little corner of this world? What characterizes quality? Do we even know it when we see one?

I think local media should exert all its efforts in raising their standards whether morally, aesthetically, or intellectually. It is part of their duty to do this because they play a huge role in shaping the minds of the young. Whether they like it or not, their programs tell the viewers that "this is it", "this is how things ought to be done". Ouch. No wonder the next generation carries on the same blunders and the same level of mediocrity. Please. Let us see improvement in this area---not just a speck of it but tons of it NOW.

discipline ain't savagery

I am all for discipline in school and at home because it is only through this that we can enjoy life and enjoy peace in our community. Without this as an important component of education, our community will soon be full of rascals and criminals. But please, discipline has nothing to do with violence or other forms of physical assault that lead to physical injuries. That is no longer discipline but savagery.

Discipline is done for the good of the person being disciplined. It has limits and its purpose is always for the betterment of the human being. If it leads to violence or worse, death, then it is not discipline anymore but murder.

A stepfather of a two-year-old kid recently killed the kid by throwing her against the wall resulting to head injuries that killed the child. The stepfather reasoned out and used the term "discipline" to explain what he did. Discipline? That's murder.

earth-shaking questions in pageants are passe

Gone are the days when beauty candidates had to memorize formulas in response to earth-shaking questions like "How do you describe the woman of the new Millennium?"

Candidates are more appreciated and better judged based on their spontaneous answers to spontaneous questions. We want to hear and see spontaneity in our contestants but how can we do this when we ask such boring questions as:

1. What is the best career for a woman?

2. What is the biggest role of women in our society?

3. What challenges do our women of today have to deal with? (I mean, this one could be better)

But questions that require big answers are just laying the ground for memorized and formulated answers.

If you have observed in international pageants, final questions now lean towards casual questions that need quick and brilliant answers. A question like "What makes you blush?" could send the woman who gives the smartest answer to the throne.

There is no need to memorize answers when questions are upbeat.

no internet

Would I ever consider living in a place where internet is inaccessible? Never. And I don't think anyone who knows the benefits of having internet access would want that either.

It might sound unbelievable but a lot of people in our place, college graduates at that, do not have internet in their homes. These people just don't know what they are missing. Or are they really missing anything?

Back in the olden times, our parents and even great grandparents would tell us of how simple and uncomplicated life was then. They didn't even have the television back then but they're fine. I can very well see many reasons why life then would prove to be better than life today.

But given the fast technological breakthroughs at present, and having no opportunity of knowing what these changes are would be like living in the dark ages. Since we belong to this generation of various technological developments, I deem it necessary for each and every one to cope or keep abreast with what's new in this world today.

Not having internet at home would be like being deprived of a lot of things.

blogging as self-expression

Blogging is the best way to express one's innermost thoughts and feelings. The blogger can even opt to choose who he or she wants to access her blog. She can make it accessible to everyone at the risk of baring her soul and personal trash or choose to make it a private thing.

I think this is one of the best features of the internet. One only needs words to empty all those heavy thoughts and feelings, pour them out the way the heavens do when the clouds get so heavy.

You can be at your best or at your worst. You can dress it up or make it simple. Your blog is basically an extension of yourself so you can do anything with it.

Haven't done any blog yet? Try www.blogger.com for your free blog and get started now.

why I'm not going to the David Pomeranz concert

It's not that I don't know the singer. In fact, many years ago when I was partly working at an FM station I used to play his albums early in the morning while everybody's having breakfast. It's just that when I heard that he was coming over to Dumaguete, my initial reaction was like, "Why only now?" I think he just came too late, that his popularity has waned and that his concert no longer sparks any interest in me. I thought I'd rather stay home and listen to more popular songs if I want to.

I have a different idea of concerts. I want to go to a concert where I can clap my hands and do some dancing in my seat. I do not want to go to a concert where I only sit to listen coz I can always do that at home. I want a concert with lots of dancing in it and where I can openly scream and laugh.

Call me a killjoy but a David Pomeranz concert isn't exactly my type of concert.

what ever happened to the word "please"?

It seems like young ones today have already forgotten manners. They ask you to do things without using courtesy words like "please" or "could you please". They give commands instead the way they do it in the military.

When do we use the word "please"? Whenever we request someone to do something for us it is important that we say "please" like "Please close the door" or "Please give me that". Requests, in contrast to a command, almost always yield positive results.

an invitation

If you're from Oriental Negros Philippines you will be able to watch our weekly show called "at random". It is aired 8 to 9 in the evening of Sundays and replays Mondays 12 to 1:00 p.m. (around lunchtime)

Advertisers are welcome, just call this number 4225823. We have very friendly rates so it is one great way of giving visibility to your business with the right market.

a click and you got money

You can actually make some extra money doing nothing. Just click and you get paid for doing so. Curious? Here's the link http://www.clixsense.com/?2144411 When you get to the site, don't waste time and start earning by signing up. It's so easy.

hosting is in the blood

There are people who are really cut and made to become the perfect hosts. They live and breathe the craft and feel like fish is into water whenever given a microphone on stage. Hosting is fun and challenging. Some people are gifted with the talent to host. Words just seem to tumble out from their mouths with ease and smoothness. It is really amazing to watch and listen to these gifted hosts and I am talking about the caliber of someone like Oprah or Ellen. Of course, there are other capable ones but so far I consider them the most natural and the most ideal.

On their plus side is the fact that both use their own native language so this by itself accounts for much of the ease and expertise these two people exhibit.

Above all, hosting is in the blood. One can never find it when it's not there.

shifts and changes

We have recorded the 2nd episode of our show and it went on smoothly. This is our halloween edition so we had a huge spider's web on the set, a giant black spider, and masks that served as props. Guests were from some of the gimmick places in the city and they got to talk about their different gigs.

Incidentally, I am really tired of teaching. I had proven this when I was asked to tutor some Koreans and after a day, I did not want to go back there anymore. It's just that I am too fed up with teaching, having done that for 26 years, and I don't think I will ever want to do it again.

I am happy with how our TV show is moving---slowly, but surely. This is my new career and I think I am loving it. Thinking of all those years I've wasted, I think I should have done the shift much, much earlier. But anyway, better late than never.

a crude beginning

We know and are aware of our limitations right now, but we are confident that things will look better in the long run. Our set is far from what we imagine to be ideal, but we are getting there. There has got to be a start somewhere and our first episode is going to play a big role in the history of this program. Hmmmm.......so far, so good.

more or less

We're just getting started, as you can see. Everything is still temporary, the set, maybe format, etc. We are confident that things will improve in the long run. When we recorded yesterday our Oct. 21 debut edition, God, you should see and hear the blunders and bloopers. But there is always a first time, right? So this is more or less how we started as shown on photo.

age factor

I am launching my own talk and variety show middle of this month and this will be one place where young people will have the chance to develop their talents and potentials for this show is going to be primarily about students and schools.

Update will be done here as to what programs will be started, etc. My only drawback here is my age. I am not really very keen about seeing myself on TV with all my spectacles and wrinkles but I just have to do this for the benefit of all young people who badly need an avenue to showcase their gifts.

There isn't really much that I could do about the age thing but I just have to get things moving now or the rest of the talented young people will wrinkle and turn grey without being recognized.

violence on stage

Concerned viewers demand that television and movies should censor the amount and nature of violence they feature as it greatly affects or influence the minds of young viewers. Acts of killing or brutally hurting others should not be served "raw" to the audience. Moviemakers are challenged to present scenes in the most realistic fashion without hurting the sensibilities of people or without distorting the facts or without showing the "act" itself,sparing the audience from seeing gory details of spilled guts and smashed skulls. Gory details of killings or massacres should be done so artistically that the scene shouldn't look like an abattoir.

However, who censors what students present on stage? Teachers of course should be the first ones to check that student presentations onstage should not break the above rule regarding violence. Otherwise, the school will become another breeding ground for hardened and violence-tolerant individuals. When outside trainers are hired to train students in their stage presentations, the teacher usually adopts a hands-up attitude, entrusting the whole thing to the hired trainer who, at times, does not have an eye for such concern. Result? The whole student population watches an array of killings, as in a character stabbing with a knife another character right before the very eyes of student audiences. A depiction of war among gun-bearing characters on stage becomes a common sight. Rape on stage, physical fights which involve kicking, pushing, boxing, slapping are all commonly shown on stage as part of student presentations. Of course we know that some of these happen in real life but shouldn't there be a more creative way of presenting these horrid details without presenting them in an exaggerated fashion or in a way that gives more emphasis on the violence of the situation?

I think educators should teach students how to think creatively, how to transform the raw facts of life into an art form in their stage presentations. There is no real art in presenting life as it is. Education should include the teaching and learning to recognize values in what students present in the classroom or onstage.

Cool,novel vegan shirts only from the Vegan Prince. If you want to know more about the details of how you can get your shirt custom-made by the Vegan prince himself, simply log on to the link above. It's simply original!

on bookish teachers..

Teachers who are slaves to their textbooks fail to bring in real-world lessons into the classroom and are thus seldom effective. Every word they say and every example they give is from the book. They cannot live without the book as their only source of information. This habit is not really bad but students only get to see one side of the lesson. A good teacher should be able to use book information as springboard for real discussion in the classroom. A good teacher should be able to merge theory with her own experience outside of the book. Even in subjects like Math. In teaching the intricacies of formulas, the teacher should be able to connect the lessons with the students' lives. How and where can they use these complex formulations?

Always remember that books had been written by people too, some in fact by new writers who had been teachers themselves but this does not make them the sole authority on the subject. You can use their work as reference but never as the Word of God in the classroom. A good teacher does her best to have more than one reference book on any subject. She gets the ideas and opinions of as many authors or writers, say, 3 to 6 books.

Any teacher with a good many years of experience can author a book on his subject. His wide classroom experience could offer valuable information to new teachers. With a dash of information from other authors to back his own, he will be able to come up with a book that not only teaches theory but also provides practice for students.

can sing, but can't speak...

Huh? How can these kids sing beautifully and not know how to answer simple questions properly? The same is true with some old people. They go up the stage to give a song number and when asked to answer a simple question in English, they could not answer it.

Are people now giving more importance to singing than to speaking? Will people admire a singer if he could not even explain his music or say anything about himself? I don't know what you think, but if you ask me, I just think any talent is useless if you could not "sell" it well. You have a product, then be ready to sell it and when we say "sell it" we mean talk about it or explain it using words or language.

No real singer succeeds if he does not know how to promote himself or his music. So I think it is not right to just focus on a single talent. What I mean is, if you have a talent, okay, polish it but along with perfecting it, you should also learn basic communication skills for you to be able to promote yourself and your product.

the difficulty of training old teachers

The saying, "It is hard to teach old dogs new tricks" can be said of teachers who had been in the trade for a number of years. They are the most difficult to train for they have already gotten used to their old ways that oftentimes the government or any sponsoring school is only wasting a lot of its time and money teaching these "hard-to-teach" mentors.

For one, their time. Training them long term, say one semester, eats up a lot of their precious free time. What happens is you have a case of always absent teachers.

Second, teachers are no better than their students. They too are afraid of being called to do a task in front of the class. They too come in unprepared, very late, or absent for that activity.

Now if this is the kind of teachers a school has, I pity the students who are under their tutelage. Obviously, such teachers are exhibiting a "hard to train attitude" and so the students are left with no choice but to learn from these teachers with their "old bag of tricks".

It is sad that even our very own mentors cannot even be properly trained because of their own personal resistance to be trained.

Oh, well, it's their life.

more theory or more practice?

One English teacher has this dilemma on whether to teach her students more theory or give them more practice on the language.

I know that some teachers still follow the traditional approach of monopolizing class time with their talk or lectures. Not any more.

Today, modern-day language teachers only spend 10% of class time in presenting a lesson and giving feedback to her students. The rest of the time is spent in making the students use the language in various situations.

Usage is more important than theory. Knowledge of theory does not necessarily lead to effective communication. A good language teacher should spend more time in creating opportunities for her students to use the language in different situations.

speech without humor

Listening to a speech without humor is like eating food without any flavor. After one bite, that's it, you don't want anymore of it.

So what constitutes humor? How does one inject humor into his speech? Is humor just a matter of telling a joke related to the topic?Someone who wants to establish a career in public speaking expressed his concern over his inability to deliver a joke well. I mean, he feels very bad when the audience does not seem to get the joke. This happens to many speakers that when a joke or supposed to be the humorous part of the speech does not turn out as expected, it affects their entire presentation----which should not be the case.

When the audience just stares at you like that like they did not understand you, or maybe like they did not hear you when you expect them to react with a laugh or maybe smile a little, just move on and never let your own emotion show. The worst thing is for you to repeat the joke for them to understand it and at least laugh. No. Do not repeat it if they failed to get it the first time and do not point out the fact that it is supposed to be a joke and that they are supposed to laugh for they will surely find that pathetic.

The rule in not being able to effectively deliver a joke is this: Never force the issue. Just move on with your speech like nothing happened. Just be spontaneous and cool.

ideas, content, subject

Reading regularly increases or builds your wealth of ideas which are the very stuff that your speech will be made of. Trust me, people who read regularly will have less to worry when it comes to making a speech with or without preparation. Words and ideas will just tumble out of her mouth efforlessly, flawlessly while those who never read nor do research will be at a loss for words and will need to grapple for ideas that do not come.

One can't hide the presence or absence of ideas especially in making a speech. It will always have a way of showing itself in the blunders made, long gaps or dead air, and in stuttering. Beautiful words delivered in perfect diction and good voice can never hide the emptiness of a speech. A speech without substance or content falls flat or hollow. It does not deliver nor persuade nor convince. It just falls flat.

Content, content, content-----what we're looking for in a speech, the meat, the substance, the what. Without it, it's just sounds, a voice, and words. A speech is meaningless without meat.

choosing a proposition for debate

Some topics may be too broad or too narrow for a debate. It is important that the proposition or resolution should be timely and controversial enough to allow the debaters to put into maximum use their argumentation skills. No topic is too elementary for debaters so long as the issues are debatable. If it is for academic exercise tackling issues that are of direct concern to the audience will naturally attract a bigger crowd of listeners.

Issues related to health, work, family, communication, education etc. are never too small for any debater. One wrong notion debaters have in choosing the topic is to only choose issues related to law and politics, such as political dynasties and republic acts that only concern a few and which majority of the audience cannot relate.

A word of advise: if you have not tried debating on what to you are small topics meant only for "grade schoolers" or "high schoolers", then, don't attempt to jump into big topics that do not directly affect you lest the debate will turn out to be one big bluff.

the worst things that could happen on stage

There are events that are beyond anyone's control and they could happen at times when they should not. I am talking about problems and inconveniences that occur during a major program or show. What can be done?

1. power failure or blackout ---- if there is a generator, no problem, but when you only depend on the city's power supply, then I think the show has to wait or if the brownout will take the whole day, it has to be postponed to another date which sucks

2. natural calamities --- strong rains, wind, thunder, lightning, earthquake, fire or what-have-you----if you're safe inside a sturdy building maybe you can go ahead with the show after you have consoled the audience that everything is all right and under control

3. stampede --- which leads to people getting hurt or killed----should you go on with the show?

4. bomb scare----a bomb scare is suddenly announced in the middle of the show, should you go ahead?

5. performers collapsing on stage --- I've seen one dancer falling to the floor in the middle of a dance number and the other members just went on with their gig unmindful of what happened.

6. no audience----a singer appeared to a concert where he was supposed to perform only to be told that the show is cancelled because only 5 people bought tickets. Did the performer cancel the show? You bet he didn't. He went ahead and performed in front of these 5 people.

when you have nothing to say..

They call it "mental block" or "mental black-out". Whatever. It happens when you stand in front of many people and you just don't know what to say to them. Eeeekk! This can be truly embarrassing! What do you do when it happens?

Hard question. When you are right there in front of a big crowd and you don't know what to say, do the following:
1. Smile, wave at the audience, and say something. Say "Hi" "How are you?". This will slowly flush out the jitters that are making your mind go blank.
2. Start talking about why you are there. What are you supposed to do there in front of them? Talk about it. Are you supposed to sing? Deliver a speech? Tell them.
3. By this time you should already be able to warm your mind so that your thinking juices will start flowing.
4. Let go of all inhibitions. The audience won't bite you. Just let your mind go and try to focus it on the topic of the moment.

Never, never allow mental block to rule you and cause you undue humiliation. Pick up yourself and simply focus.

when there are two hosts

In a show or program with two hosts the organizers should make sure that these two people who will take charge of the show can very well work together or have beautiful chemistry together. Otherwise, they could turn the show into a disaster.

This is what happened to a show we watched last night. The two hosts weren't in synch with each other, they were working their own separate ways, and they merely followed the flow of the script in their most lifeless style.

The show had a lot of waiting or gaps. In cases like this the hosts, especially if there are two of them, should come in and fill in the gaps. One of the two hosts tried to do this by doing some adlibs but his co-host just killed him each time and was very poor in responding to his attempts to save the show.

The emcee makes or unmakes a show. In this case, the show failed dismally for getting the wrong hosts.

The master of ceremonies is key to the success of a show. Poor or lousy hosting equals flop. The two hosts last night obviously failed in these areas:

1. They had no teamwork, they did not know what they were doing.
2. Poor audience contact. They were not there.

With that I say, when you can hire one good host, do it. But make sure he is a good one. Never sacrifice the quality of your show for unprofessional or amateur hosts.

scheduled for an interview?

Expecting an interview can be like awaiting a bomb to explode----scary. How do you prepare yourself for it? Here are simple tips:

1.Consider what you will wear. You have to look your best in order to make a good first impression. But keep everything simple, neat, and appropriate.

2. Know what the interviewer or company is like and what it wants. Be ready to answer questions related to its product or service.

3. Review your own credentials or qualifications. Be ready to sell yourself using your qualifications.

4. Practice your walk and your talk. Face the mirror and flash your most sincere and intelligent smile and look.

5. Be confident and positive that you will be able to pass this interview.

There you go my basic tips for you to remember when appearing for any life-changing interview.

the read speech

A speaker, especially a beginner, may opt to read his speech before the audience. This is all right provided he knows how to read it effectively. Reading a speech effectively means being able to deliver the message in an effortless and spontaneous manner. The audience does not notice that you are actually reading the entire speech because you have done it with maximum audience contact.

Reading a speech is not just plain reading a speech. The speaker has to engage his whole being in conveying the message in the most effective way. He stops at the right time and looks at the audience much of the time. He uses gestures and lots of eye contact. He sees to it that everything is understood from start to finish.

A read speech is not at all that simple because it requires that the speaker who uses this method knows how to really read well.

speaking is a bit like driving

Speaking or communicating, whether publicly or privately, is much like driving. You need FOCUS or full undivided attention while doing the task in order for you to achieve a unified and well-substantiated speech.

A speaker shouldn't stray from the main topic. He should be able to stir every line of his speech into a unified piece by staying focused. There are, however, speakers with very little concentration span. They flutter from one idea to another without connection or repeat one idea over and over again for obviously lack of what to say. It takes practice and the ability to listen to the advise of professional speakers to make one become a very focused speaker.

Only two things should occupy the mind of the speaker while giving a speech:

1. the message

2. the audience

So you have a message to deliver----- do it sincerely from the bottom of your heart and mind. Look at your audience and give them the message.

flaws in extemporaneous speaking contests

Extemporaneous speaking is one of the best methods of speech delivery. The speaker here is given enough time to do research and read exhaustively about the topic. However, there are flaws to this when this method is used in inter-school contests. One, the student might not understand that preparation is not memorization. Extemporaneous speaking is not oratorical because the latter is memorized. While it is true that speakers are given ample time to prepare for an extemporaneous speaking activity, it should not result to the memorization of any piece based on the given theme. The general theme is where the sub-topics will be based and not the topic itself. The contestant should talk about the sub-topic that she picks and not about the general theme which serves only as guide while preparing for the said activity. Failure to work on the picked sub-topic will make the contestant off-topic.

Organizers of extemporaneous speaking contests should have concrete rules and guidelines that the contestants will follow. For instance, part of the rule should be the contestant's reading of the topic picked. This can even be tricky you know because there could be some unscrupulous contestants who might pretend to read out a topic that wasn't given by the committee. To prevent this kind of fraudulence from happening, a member of the committee should, after the 3-minute preparation, get the piece of paper and read the topic to the audience before the contestant starts his speech.

In a recent extempo contest a few constestants "forgot" (?) or missed to read their topics so that the judges while listening to their beautiful speeches weren't guided as to the relevance of the speeches. In order to avoid this, a member of the organizing committee should do the reading of the topic itself when their 3-minutes' preparation is up.

stage jitters

We all have them whenever we face a big crowd. The knees shake, the hands tremble, our brows sweat even if the aircon is high, and the tongue is tied------stage fright! What better way to end the ordeal than to die or melt right in the very piercing eyes of those people in front of you. But no, you have a grade at stake, or a job, or a speaking career that could crash before it even took off. How do you deal with stage jitters?

I have actually discussed this in one of my blogs (now in archive) but I would like to do it again for the benefit of those who feel that their life is about to end because of a scheduled contest or speech which involves speaking in front of many people, as in a crowd in a gymnasium that could hold 2,000 people! This could really blow you off!

First, settle down. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Repeat this several times while awaiting for the moment when the emcee or host will now call you on stage.

How do you deal with stage fright? In order to minimize the impact of nervousness, prepare for the event. If it is a speech contest or any speaking engagement, make sure that you thoroughly prepare for this long before and not just at the last minute. Little or no preparation will always give us maximum jitters so avoid that. Prepare by reading, reading, reading about the subject that you will be discussing like a pro. Yes, good preparation will give you authority and will make you more or less an expert on the area. You should be the only person stocked up with much information on the topic. There is nothing more nerve-wracking than to know that there is someone in the audience who knows the subject far better than you do. No way should you let this happen. Be overly prepared and by this I mean researching and reading.

After doing the first part, the most gruelling part in public speaking, write out an outline or a speech draft. Follow an order in your speech like how do you want to start it or end it? Make sure that your outline is exhaustive enough to cover all the areas you need and that there is unity in it. Then PRACTICE. Using your outline, deliver your speech in front of the mirror and try to be your own critic. Do this thrice. When you feel you are doing well, you are now ready to face your audience. One thing to bear in mind always is to relax and not to forget to give your message to your audience. Feel nervous? Relax. That's normal. It will go away after the first few lines.

You and only you can conquer your own stage jitters. Amazingly, the best antidote for this is not a secret----preparation.

answering the phone

Companies usually have their own spiel, especially call centers, in receiving phone calls. However, they revolve around one and the same formula. Usually, the catch is to sound pleasant and accommodating. You are the company's emissary and therefore are expected to make a good impression. So what do you do when the phone rings? Pick it up of course after the 2nd or 3rd ring and say the company ID, your ID, greet and offer help. This happens quite fast you are not even aware that you have given four steps in doing it. Let us have a real phone call. The phone rings. You pick it up and say:

Pinoy Bodies, this is Joan, good morning. How may I help you?

Glitter World, this is Anne, good morning. Is there anything I can help you with today?

Dozen Roses, good morning. This is Jane, may I help you?

You could concoct your own combination but the items are basically the same---ID, greeting, offer help. If it is a residence the formula could change a bit like this:

Hill's residence, this is Jill, good morning.

Wayne's residence, good morning, this is Shanti.

The phone is still one of the most reliable methods of communicating with someone. If we know how to use it properly in business, it could bring in huge revenues for your company.

Communication

Communication is a very powerful tool. It can make or unmake mankind. Wtihout it, all the inventions and advancements in technology wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be enjoying the phenomenal success of the virtual world in making nations just a click away from each other. Had the likes of Bill Gates kept their discoveries to themselves, we would not be enjoying all these comfortable advancements in communicating with people in other countries the fastest possible way.

People who have the power to communicate with others effectively will go a long way. They will have the best jobs and the best positions because people who can communicate well will be able to sell themselves effectively.

Companies and even individuals spend much in training their new hire the proper ways of interacting or connecting with people aside from the traditional newspaper or television style.
People are now getting online as an interactive way of marketing products and services. The internet is the most amazing communication tool to date. It has changed many areas of people's lives. It has changed the traditional concept of advertising. Advertising today using the internet is less costly and more targetted. Advertisers can now access the homes of people who need their products or services.

Topics for Extemporaneous speaking (Part 1)

Topics for any extemporaneous activity vary depending on the theme or occasion. If it's for a class use, there could be plenty of issues that you may want to include in this activity like the advantages of disavantages of the internet, the risks of child abuse, globalization issues, divorce, gay marriage, animal rights, saving the environment or global warming, junk food and so on and so forth. When I used this method in my classes I was able to come up with 62 different topics which I individually wrote on small pieces of paper which I rolled for my students to pick. It is so easy to think up of topics for this activity. It's anything goes from garbage to religion to reincarnation.

It is different when there is an occasion like English Week, or Accountancy Day, or Nutrition Month and you have extemporaneous speaking contest as one of the highlights of the celebration because you need topics that revolve around the theme of the affair. This is what I am going to start here-----a series of suggestions on possible themes to be used on certain occasions especially done in school.

If you have any occasion in which you might want suggestions as to theme and topics, you may leave your comment here or use the message box for your concerns.

Here are some suggestions. I would like to work on one occasion at a time. Around this time schools have just celebrated Nutrition Month and are now preparing for the celebration of Linggo Ng Wika (Pilipino Week). My suggestions will be in English of course.

Theme # 1: How do we make the Pilipino language more relevant to the fast-changing time?

a) How can the Pilipino language adapt to the language used in the internet?

b) With the sudden influx of call centers requiring good English from our graduates, do you think our national language should support and give way to the schools' efforts to respond to the demands outside?

c) More and more Filipinos are becoming exceptionally good in the Universal language but very poor in their own native tongue. What do you think of this? Is this good or bad for the individual and for the country?

d) Our very own telenovelas and TV shows are the best places to learn Pilipino. React to this. What happens to the classroom?

e) There is a need to revamp the Pilipino language in order to make it more responsive to the demands of the time. Discuss.

f) One of the best ways to improve our economy is making Filipino as our medium of instruction. Discuss.

g) Let us be more nationalistic. Instead of encouraging our students to speak a foreign language or English, schools should encourage students to speak our very own language on campus and off.

oratorical vs. extemporaneous style of speaking

There is a big difference of course. Oratory is more formal in language and overall body movement while the extemporaneous style allows for blunders in words and deed. Oration is something memorized and which takes at least a month to master and synchronize the mastery of the piece with appropriate gestures. Everything is studied, every move and every word and there should be no mistake about the purpose of the speech which is to convince or persuade. The extemporaneous method has more freedom in that nothing is memorized. The speaker here of course has had enough time to do research or study the topic to be discussed but how the goods will be delivered (language and style) will be determined at the moment of delivery. Errors in language and public speaking skills are seen in the second method. There is the tendency to be choppy in the course of delivering the speech extemporaneous style because connecting ideas into a harmonious piece is not like a walk in the park. As the speaker labors and struggles for the next thought, gaps and breaks flaw the speech and if the speaker is just beginning to learn the tricks, this can be one laborious experience for the audience.

One who is good in oratory may turn out an imbecile in the other style and vice versa. It takes hard work, long training and practice to be adept at both.

some flava here, please!

This blog needs some kind of flava to attract people to stay-----this, according to a blog reviewer plus all the other stuff I need to do which simply implies total overhauling. LOL---that would be overly hard for me to do considering my "expertise" in the area of design and lay-out. But I am going to do a few adjustments here like devote more time in discussing youth lingo. Yeh, I will stretch the coverage of this blog to include the different varieties of a language like maybe throw in some new gay words or maybe punky words to add flava and color to this seemingly formal and classroom type blog.

Okey. I give in. I will shed off the long gown and wear my jeans and t-shirt as I am wont to do when I go out of the house. Honestly, I'm more comfortable in everyday clothes. So this is it, this blog will still talk about the same subject-----communication-----but in more informal manner. No more the long face of an earnest school teacher.

I need some spicing up and some blood in this blog----I really need to do a little snooping around to hear the latest youth slang.

magazines, pocketbooks, textbooks

In college a student is privileged to borrow a certain number of books for a certain number of days. If a book is only good for two days and you haven't read it within the period allowed, one can always have it renewed. One simply has no reason not to be reading in college. Magazines, newspapers, books of all sorts are available for borrowing but it seems that some books have gathered dust and remained untouched all these years. Why? The internet. Students seldom borrow books nowadays because of the internet which has made them lazy actually. Some have not even seen what a book looks like. One particular student of mine did not know how to locate the name of the author and publication company. It's just incredible but this is what is happening to most of the students now. They always use the internet as ready excuse to not go to the library or to not borrow any book.

Okey. Libraries have updated their facilities and services and have, inside its area, a special room for those who would like to surf or do research online. Yes, libraries have computers available to students who have work to do online. But this fact still does not make students borrow books. Students always opt to use the easy way and you will notice them flocking in the computer area while the periodicals and the card catalogues sections now look like they're facing extinction. The rows and rows of book shelves with myriads of knowledge stored and locked within the pages of books now look like tombs in the middle of the night----dead silent and seldom visited.

I belonged to a generation of students who actually got hold of real books to gain information. We carried these heavy books from school to house and vice versa. It was a different kind of time because the search for knowledge seemed to be more challenging and more real.

Today's students pride themselves of being able to gain access to knowledge the fastest way through the internet. All sorts of cheating can happen with this method of seeking knowledge where there is very little or no control at all in the materials one can get his hands on. Verifying and checking is not easy as there are innumerable sites that offer free information and materials. In short, students coming up with dishonest papers would become common. Learning will thus be greatly diminished.

Magazines, pocketbooks, books.....I prefer those in which I can use a page marker and in which I can highlight and write some notes on the margins.

I discovered reading quite late

I was already in Grade V when I discovered the world of reading---not by myself, but from other classmates who would not stop talking about those Grimms' Fairy tales. They'd borrow and take home books from our small public school library and talked about them the following day. I became intrigued so I got into the fad and borrowed my first book. I read it in one sitting for everything was so captivating. I borrowed my second book the next day and finished it again on the same day. From then on, I got myself hooked. I could no longer stop myself from borrowing a new book each day until the day came when I had already borrowed and read all the books in English. Now that was a real letdown, so I turned my attention to books written in our own native language. Yes, I borrowed all of them too because of this "thirst" which I needed to quench everyday.

From books, I have switched my attention to magazines which I'd buy from time to time. I did not buy them regularly because that would be too expensive. Sometimes I'd just read them in the library. (more next post)

booringg.....yawn

I have to admit that the niche I have chosen for this blog here lacks the "flava" and coolah that characterize personal blogs. Ho-hum--I get sleepy myself talking about almost the same thing----communication---day in and day out. But this is the path I have chosen this blog to follow---it's a blog about all aspects of communication---there are different areas there, right?

And about the title "Everydaywear"----please don't take it literally and start looking for clothes or garments. This is the story. This blog is my first blog. I wanted it to be the catch-all of everyday happenings in my life---a sort of personal journey. I wanted it to contain a record of the most mundane events in life. However, just lately, I have heard about making niches and so I have created other blogs to contain different items about life. I have decided to make this a blog on anything having to do with COMMUNICATION. For my personal gripes, I have Offbeatmom, for any money concerns I got Speak4money, for party ideas there's Coolkidsparty, and for other sites I got Clix4pay and finally for pet concerns I got Petloverscafe---a total of 6 blogs. Just recently I became a member of Helium and had written 11 articles. Need a life? But this is my life! Need I ask for more? Oh, I've done that and seen them all. When one reaches a certain age, one can choose to sit on a rocking chair to knit, crochet, or read a nice book. I have chosen to have some online presence and so far am not regretting it.

Life? This is it.

on reading reports

Teachers who assign the regular submission of reading reports to her students risk being secretly cursed and receiving dishonest work. It is a known fact that reading, especially when it is forced upon them on a regular basis, is no fun to many students. Result? They use all silly tricks to be able to "comply" for the purpose of passing the subject. The only way to ensure that they actually read and understand the story or selection is to ask them to give or share with the whole class its summary or synopsis.

I believe that the good old method of assigning reading tasks to students and asking them to give written reports of the readings is still one of the most reliable ways of improving student learning of the English language.

We should make our students read regularly whether they like it or not and it is only us teachers who can make this happen.

English tests

One of the best speakers I've listened to recently spoke in almost flawless English and he was only in his early twenties. Fresh from college he went on to work as a language training officer conducting seminars to those who aim to improve their command of the English language. What amazed me was the fact that his field of study was not even English. He finished a BA in political science but was tapped to be an English language trainer because of the excellence he exhibited in using the English language.

In that seminar among English teachers of the country my theory that giving oral exams is the best method of improving the language facility of students was affirmed. "We were never given any written exam in English in that school where I studied from Kindergarten and we all are doing great in the field of communication," said the young trainer.

This is not to undermine written tests, but they are not the only measurement to a student's capability. The best way to find out how much a student has learned about the language is to make her use it in actual setting.

The written type of tests still have their own function but they do not accomplish much. Tests in English should be centered on the student's capability to use the language with ease and spontaneity.

formal vs. everyday language

Do you dare wear a sequined gown while shopping at Walmart or wear your hottest shorts with matching hanging top at a Luciano Pavarotti concert?

Like clothes, language too differs according to function or use. You wear your very best at formal functions and switch to casual or conversational style when in less formal situations. Donning your tuxedo while in a ballgame is inappropriate and you don't expect people to be at their very best all the time. The best of language---flawless in style, grammar, and diction---could not always be expected of everyone all the time.


Language purists may do better if they adjust to trends of the time. As kids now need a lot of coaxing to make them read, requiring them to read highly scholastic materials may instead discourage rather than make them appreciate reading.

What I am saying is, kids prefer to be addressed to in their own easy language if we have to get their attention. Nothing of the buttoned up typed of language will entice them to take reading seriously. They want the more updated, upbeat, rappy kinda lingo which never happens in formal language.

What should be the stance of English language teachers? Resistant? Pliant? or Blending?

do you love Harry Potter?

Many are crazy over the book series by Rowling. Are you one of them? This post is open to all those who want to express or share their views regarding these phenomenal book. People, young or old, are into this mania. Are you scrambling to look for the latest H.P. series or are you one of those who haven't yet touched a single copy of the books.

What you do here is to tell us why.

why most students hate reading

It's been my observation for the past 26 years of teaching that students today hate the idea of reading. It is therefore a big mistake to assume that students actually read any assigned reading given by the teacher. In college,for instance, teachers would assign selections to be read at home in preparation for the discussion that will happen in the class the following meeting. This would often turn out into one futile exercise because in a class of say, 40, a teacher would be lucky to have two or three students who read and understood the assigned selection to be read. Chances are, no discussion involving majority of the students will happen because nobody bothered to read the assignment. The teacher then could not expect any class discussion to happen. Frustrated, she makes the students read the selection silently. This method of making the students read the articles silently can be tricky. Students who do not like to read will always find a way to avoid reading even when the teacher is around. Why? Why do some students just hate reading?

The onset of modern technology has made life faster and easier for us. Everything can happen so fast that any activity that requires much time and attention will be deemed boring and laborious. This is what is happening now with reading. It is therefore one challenge a teacher must face--- to make students appreciate reading. How do we do this? Aren't students in college hard to teach the habit of reading?

It is really hard to make students develop appreciation for reading, especially students in college who have already their own set of fixed habits in which reading is unfortunately not one of them. Is it too late then or do we have a hopeless situation? The answer depends on the teacher's initiative and creativity. A good teacher should be able to make this happen.

Speech is habit-forming

Students who enter college have already developed speech habits which English teachers in college will need to correct. However, the habits are so fossilized that there is very little that the college English professors can do to perform something like "magic" to turn these college students into excellent speakers. It is assuming too much that a 3-unit course in Speech would effect such magic. Speech is habit-forming and habits formed from a very early age are those that stick and are hard or impossible to eliminate. But of course, with an effective Speech teacher there should be some improvement especially in the production of problem sounds. The most that college teachers can do at this stage is to encourage students to communicate in English or boost their confidence is using the language. It is futile to expect wonders in so short a time---one semester against many years of wrong usage? That's expecting the impossible to happen.

I am not saying that a 3-unit subject in Speech is useless. It does help but not much. The most that teachers of this subject can do is to develop students' confidence in communicating with others, especially communicating with a big crowd like in public speaking. After all, correct pronunciation is just one tiny aspect of communication. I've known a number of great public speakers whose way of pronouncing words will make native speakers squirm in their seats but have succeeded in winning the hearts of people through their charm, wit, humor, and spontaneity.

English as a foreign subject

Teaching English to adults who never had any exposure to the language may be the most arduous task for English teachers. Take the case of Koreans who never had any background of the subject. It takes a real good English teacher to make these foreign students who do not know any English speak the language after two months. The teacher has to deal with many problem areas such as correct production of sounds, grammar, reading, and handwriting. A teacher will be missing the whole point if she thinks her only concern is grammar which is just one small aspect of the game. Making the learner communicate in the target language does seem impossible but it can be done by a good, creative, and well-meaning mentor who acts out concepts, draws objects, writes down words, spells out everything, and spends some extra time making the learner say words, phrases, and sentences. She takes time to explain one thing in many different ways and should not assume anything. In this way the student will gain maximum knowledge of the language and be able to use it around the world.

The challenges of being an English teacher

If you finished a degree in teaching with English as your major you will be faced with a number of challenges which your school had never prepared you for.

Any English teacher is expected to be able to handle any or all of the following subjects:

Speech, Public speaking, debate

Grammar

Literature

Term paper writing

JOurnalism

Creative writing

Composition, etc.

The reality is, any school's curriculum for English majors is never sufficient enough to give those majoring the subject the right preparation and training to enable them to teach all of those subjects given above. This being the case, the quality of our educational system will thus continue to degenerate if nothing is done to revise or upgrade the present curriculum. Schools should look long and hard at the subjects that these English majors are expected to teach and start building a more robust curriculum on this field of study.

debate in grade school

Grade school would be the best training ground for effecting good communication skills among students and one of the best methods of doing this is by making students argue and talk about issues that concern them and the world.

Start small. Start with topics that they can tackle even without any research. Just allow them to express themselves in simple English. Take the activity one step at a time until they get used to the language using it in presenting their views, and in asking and answering questions. As the pupils get more and more at home with the language and the method, they will be gaining more and more self-confidence and by the time they go to high school your students will be well-versed and language competent.

The problem here is this. Not all teachers can teach debate. Ergo, there is a need to train grade and high school English teachers into knowing the mechanics of debate as a teaching methodology. By doing so, students as well as teachers will be able to optimize teaching-learning situation.

a misconception

Students studying literature usually think of the subject as a study of the past, period. It needs some amount of explanation for them to see that literature not only embodies or reflects the sentiments and soul of the past but also those of the present as well as the future. It is a subject that knows no time nor boundaries because it is a study of life. To say that it will not profit you in the future is pure ignorance. For there is no other subject that tackles universal issues on love, gender, kindness, sensitivity, pride, etc. than the subject of literature. Math, Philosophy, Psychology, Accounting, Bookkeeping are nothing without the basic human values learned in literature subjects.



Literature softens the rough edges of human nature. It humanizes the merchant when he learns that money is just money and that life and relationship weigh greater in the hierarchy of values. One is missing the whole point in saying that it is of lesser value compared with other sciences and fields of study.

Life is all-encompassing. It embraces man's reasons for being. It is the most universal topic that incorporates with it man's struggles with numbers, money, love, philosophy of life, psychological phenomena, scientific breakthroughs and what-have-you. No other subject tackles such gigantic subject as life than literature. To say that it is of lesser importance compared to any major subject in school is simply missing the beat. And there is only one way of changing this misconception---through a deeper and more meaningful study of literature.

Strategies used by teachers in teaching Literature

At the outset, there is only one way to study or teach literature and it is through reading. Students should know what to expect in such a subject so that they will be able to adapt to the teaching method that the teacher will use during the entire year or semester.

Let's face it. Not all students like to read. In fact, in a class of 40, a teacher will be lucky to have 10 students who will appreciate a reading class. So a literature teacher who faces her class for the first time may be facing students who look at the teacher and the subject as enemies. To break this wall and make the students open up to the idea of reading is therefore the first task that the teacher will have to tackle. The rest of the time would be motivating students to like or appreciate each selection so that at the end of the semester or year, the students will have a more positive attitude toward reading and literature.

So how does a teacher approach such a situation? What are the different methods of making the subject as interesting as possible to learners who hate the subject at the very least?

Below are some suggestions of how best to handle students who hate the subject long before you have started your first meeting:

1. Start the class with a very good motivation for reading. Why should they read? What do they get from reading? Discuss all the benefits.
2. Give them a bird's eyeview of what to expect every meeting and a sample of the selections you will be reading.
3. Make sure that the first literary piece that your class will take up is one that will surely arrest their attention. There are many interesting selections to choose from. Choose one that is of interest to you first of all.
4. See to it that each student has his or her own copy of every selection you will be reading. Students should be holding their own copies while you are discussing and analyzing the selections with them.
5. In reading the selections, the teacher should vary her methods. She may--
a. read the selection to her students---doing this successfully needs extra effort on the part of the teacher for she has to give life to the characters in the selection.
b. ask the students to read silently and to be ready to discuss the story or poem with her in the class---but there is a lot of time wasted in doing this for not all the students will do the task as assigned
c. assign students to read the parts one at a time and stop to discuss important areas
d. dramatization or role play---students are grouped to perform certain parts of the story
e. interpretative reading----can be done individually or in groups
f. term paper--analysis sort of at the end of the course
g. narration/storytelling of one story or essay assigned

There could be other ways that the literature can use to make any literature class an interesting subject. Feel free to share your techniques here.

Literature as a reading class

We know the value of reading and the huge role it plays in the development of students' communication skills in English. However, when you look into the curriculum of most courses in college, you will be brought to the fact that courses in business, IT, nursing, and even education require only one literature subject throughout their 4-year stay in college. In one course, students enrol in Philippine literature without any background or introductory course to the subject. Students miss out on how the world's great classics came to be known as such and how the great thinkers and writers of ancient Greece have shaped the standards of today's works of art.

There is only one way to study the literature of any country or any period and it is through reading. Literature, so far, is one of the most comprehensive subjects in the curriculum which aims to teach sensitivity at the most and communication skills as well. It is gravely pathetic that our students, who are paying much to get a well-rounded education, are only exposed much of their time to subjects that won't be of much help to them in the future. Why this seemingly lopsided focus on this matter? It is because the deans and heads themselves are products of the same curriculum and are not really qualified to assess and revise such outdated and weak curricular offerings.

Assessment and revision of the curriculum to include more literature subjects should be done immediately if we are to prevent the further deterioration of our educational system in this country.

benefits of reading aloud

Yesterday I opened a discussion on reading at Mylot and I was amazed to discover that only a few, one or two, find time to do loud reading. Majority of the members read silently and do not see the value of reading aloud.

Of course, if loud reading is to be done, it is either in public (with an audience) or alone in the cozy nook of your room where no one will be bothered by the noise you create.

Loud reading is one of the best ways of training for effective speaking. You get to practice you tongue to say words correctly or properly. Loud reading enables you to give life to the story, poem, essay, or what-have-you and could lead to better comprehension.

This is especially effective in literature classes. The best service a teacher can do to her students in teaching literature is to give life or drama to the literary pieces the students are reading and this can be done through interpretative loud reading wherein the teacher reads the selection aloud in the most dramatic fashion using the voice and a minimum of body language.

Literature is meant to be shared and enacted. It started out as something that needs to be heard rather than read. Today, much reading is done in silent mode.

To be better appreciated and understood, literature should be shared, heard, and understood through the use of a simple method called "reading aloud"----choral, solo, by pairs---it is all up to the literature teacher.

"Speak English Only" policy in schools

It is a fact that students' opportunities to use the global language in school have become very limited or even non-existent. Even in the classroom where English is supposed to be actively used by both students and teachers, one overhears them discussing lessons or issues in the dialect or native language.

Why? What's wrong with that? What's wrong with using our own native language? Those who ask these questions are those who do not help improve one's command of the target language. So what? It is hard to deal with those who are skeptical about using English as medium of instruction, especially if these skeptics are teachers who argue that students must be given freedom to express their answers in any language they are more comfortable to use.

I beg to disagree because these students are paying to learn in school and if they do not get proper training in effective communication skills then the school has failed these students. Schools, and this includes mentors, should have policies that support the efforts of English teachers to improve students' facility of the language. One way of doing this, and which is being done by many schools today, is by assigning "English Only Zones" wherein students automatically are required to use the language the moment they transact business or do any activity in these places. For example, places which will be best for such purpose are: the library, classrooms, offices, clinic, canteen. What happens if students do not follow such policies? The schools should craft their own ways of penalizing or punishing these students who break the rules. After all, these policies are made for their own good.

I'm a non-native speaker of English

How can a non-native speaker of English expect other non-native speakers to speak or write in perfect or flawless English? I don't. I am not a purist and I always believe that nobody is perfect, not even native speakers can claim perfect knowledge of the international language. We know that language is alive and it evolves everyday, so.

English, as is true with other fellow Filipinos, is only second language to me. I learned the language when I first went to school but it was so easy to learn it because by nature English is so built that it comes out handy like a laptop that you can carry or use anywhere.

Later in Grade V I discovered the beauty of reading and that was when my interest in the language reached its peak. I read voraciously and English became my favorite subject back then. It was so easy to get good grades in the subject and so I thought maybe this was where my future career lay. Pursuing a degree leading to the further study of my favorite subject became a matter of course.

As an English teacher now I know it is next to impossible to expect perfection from students. Minor problems in grammar and pronunciation may be overlooked in favor of communication which is the end-all of language learning. Developing the students' interest and confidence in using the language is one agendum that English teachers need to accomplish first and foremost.

Let our students speak and use the language naturally without being bogged down by technical difficulties. As soon as they have acquired this good habit of using it wherever they are inside the campus, then you can move higher. But first, help them get started.

How did I get into English?

When I first enrolled in college I was clueless as to what course would fit me. I tried a general course that could lead to anything that came up during the schoolyear.

After the second year I knew that I wanted to learn more about the English language so I finally decided to have it as my major.

Since we were only around 6 English majors at that time we had to campaign for more enrollees in our majors for the subjects to be offered. This made me decide to take up most of my major subjects at another university as a cross-enrollee.

The interesting reads required of us convinced me that I was on the right track. In short, I was at that time finding my passion and I found it in WORDS-----reading them, writing, speaking, listening to them.

This passion has since become my "bread and butter" which has opened up other opportunities related to this passion for words.

vowel problems among Visayans and Tagalog speakers

Filipinos from the Visayan part of the country give themselves away when they speak Pilipino or Tagalog because unlike the national language which has five vowel sounds /a/, /E/, /i/, /o/, & /u/, the Visayan dialect has only three of these vowel sounds and they are /a/, /i/ & /u/ so that explains the funny way some Visayans say certain words like "pira" for "pera" or "ati" for "ate" or instead of saying "opo" one hears "upu" which similarly sounds incorrect.

However, I have this to say. I am a Visayan but I never make such regional speech blunders because I know these vowel nuances and I practice the proper way of producing these sounds. I know of many other Visayans who do the same. Unfortunately, a great majority of Visayans do need more time to unlearn wrong speech habits acquired in earlier years.

Pilipino or Tagalog speakers are neither perfect for they too have their own problems. You notice that the original Pilipino alphabet (alpabeto) does not contain the sound /f/, /th/, and /v/. That is why Pilipino speakers speaking English usually have to grapple with words having those problem sounds. For instance, the word Philippines. Instead of saying it correctly, we might hear the word being said in many wrong ways like Pilifins or Filifins. Words with /th/ like three may be pronounced like tree.

English as supplemental subject

English as a subject should be made relevant to the learners' needs, taking into account their course and how the subject may be used or applied in the workplace.

Teachers of English seem to be engrossed in teaching the subject only, neglecting to see the relevance of the subject in the context of the learners' course. For instance business students, so different from nursing students, would need more exposure to business jargon and the whole business commmunication process. Engineering as well as computer students will be more empowered and more hireable if they know how English works in their own fields.

It is about time that English teachers need to refocus their strategies toward the strengthening of their English program by making it more responsive to the needs of the workplace.

lesson guide for English for Koreans Part 11

Koreans who come to the country to learn English only have a month or two to learn the language. The teacher should use all her creative power inorder to make lessons achievable within the targetted time frame.

Based on a personal experience I had with Koreans, most of them either have little or zero knowledge of the English language. This being the case, the teacher must work on where they are:

1. Start with the English alphabet making sure that the sounds of each letter is said correctly. Do the same with numbers. Then start every lesson with this until the learner has mastered the correct production of sounds.

2. Vocabulary building. Build his vocabulary every single day. Start with simple words then move on to more complicated ones. Start with words that he encounters everyday.

3. Start teaching him simple sentences. Always make him say orally the sentences he writes.

4. Have reading time every session. Make him read a paragraph every meeting and see to it that you give feedback and corrections when necessary.