My Rigorous Efforts to Improving English Listening, Writing, Reading, and Speaking Skills

12:03 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
Hello there!
I am so sorry that I am actually lack of ideas (with the 'raya' mood and stuff).. I don't know what to write about this topic..but, I will try my best..please do correct me if I make any mistakes..

There are four skills in learning English which are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The most important thing I must always bear in mind is that reading and listening are inputs whereas speaking and writing are outputs. In other words, if I want to improve my speaking and writing skills I should first master the skills of reading and listening. There are some ways that I can do so, which I will try to summarize.

  • READing,

I read as much as I can..but, my reading must be active. It means that I must think about the structure, unfamiliar words and etc as I read. There is no need that I stick to some complicated grammar structures or try to understand all the unfamiliar words I come across, but the fact that I will see them for the first time and recognize them whenever I see them, for example in other passages or books is enough. It would be better to prepare myself a notebook so I can write down the important words or structures in it..hehe..actually I am working on it.

  • LISTENing,

As for listening, there are two options, I think:
a)Aside from reading, I must listen anything in English every day for at least, about 30 minutes.
b)I can only concentrate on my reading and become skillful at it, then I can catch up on my listening....
I myself prefer the latter because when you are skillful and native-like at reading, your listening skill grows automatically. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that I should not practice listening. For listening I recommend cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy and do not contain complicated phrases or slang terms. whenever I think I want to try another method of listening.. I can listen to BBC programs broadcasted every day or some useful websites that my lecturer has given to me and my friends. Again..the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes. I believe..if I follow these pieces of advice, my speaking and writing will improve automatically, and I can be sure that with a little effort they will become perfect...InsyaAllah..

I often hear people say that they like watching movies and TV programmes to learn English. I watching movies, you will have lots of clues on things that what is going on. The dialogue is not so concentrated unless it was intelectual movies. Advices from one of my friends..when reading or listening an audio book, it is better because you are completely depending on that language. The intensity of the learning experience is much greater. It is easier to repeat our listening and reading whenever and wherever we want.

I think learning English together with several people is a good idea to improve English skills. I have tried to write one essay one day forpreparing IELTS exam, but it didn't work very well, it's hard to find the errors in my own writings. So if people would learn together,exchange experience and find out each other's disadvantages in English, it would be very nice.

  • WRITing

So writing is the most crucial part..I am hardly to write if Miss Elliza's was not forcing us.. Basically, I love to do this blogging thing in need to improve my writing skills and also reading.. Besides that, its my hobby to read sample essay from any types of sources such as internet, printed materials, and etcetera..I have some sample essays that I got from one of my PPOU friends..a collection of essays made by 'Ahmad Faris' (our super senior...I guess) and also essays from my ATU friends..they have done a lot of essays..which I think can help me to improve a lot!

  • SPEAKing

I love to speak..but, I don't have the courage to speak especially when speaking in front of other people..to present my presentation and stuff like that..I am actually have stage fright too! So my strategy to overcome my weaknesses is I will put my best effort to speak among of my friends and we will try to correct each other..

Last but not least, I hope I can master this four fields; listening, writing, reading, and speaking skills in order to improve myself and of course the important mission- to success in IELTS!

Hope to see you soon in the next post!

Regards,

Nurfarahin Binti Baharul' ulum

My Eid Experience...

9:21 PM Edit This 0 Comments »








Assalamualaikum w.b.t.








First of all, I am pleased to wish you a very happy eid mubarak for the year 2007!!! I am really hoping that everyone has enjoyed the Hari Raya with all the happiness and blessing from the Almighty. To not let the chance slip by..I want to seek some forgiveness if I had made any mistake to you..' Maaf Zahir dan Batin'...












So, on this special day..I have been asked to share my eid experience..For me, its kind of 'blur'..that I dont have any idea what to share or what to write? I can feel a thought bubble coming out from my head: " I'm experiencing just an ordinary eid mubarak..I mean..there's nothing special to write about..I think so..I just dont even know how to start..how am I going to create such an interesting post.. to completing my task. I am so blurred."








Eventually, I just made up my mind..I just can share the real eid experience..and you judge it wether its dull, typical, boring, or what so ever..hehe..








Every year, I celebrate my raya at my grandparents house..for this year 2007..its my mom's turn to celebrate first day Raya at her beloved hometown, Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru..so, we turned up on the 30 Ramadhan 1428H.








My mom got 10 siblings (including her)..so when every family turned up..there were so many of them gathering in one house..and it was so happening! My cousins turn out to be more mature..some of them getting taller..some of them getting so thin and fit..they are different now..huhu..And everybody was working together preparing for the raya celebration..the 'mak2' were preparing for the scrumptious food while the 'bapak2' were helping setting the house..and last but not least, the 'anak2' were actually playing around..making the cheerful environment.








Then, on the special day itself..I mean..today ( 13 October 2007)..first thing in the morning..after taking breakfast, the men were going to the mosque to perform Raya prayer..and the ladies were preparing themselves (ladies always need more time for make-up and stuff like that)..they also busy cleaning the house and getting ready for the next session (usually after the men came back from the mosque, we will be having the forgive and forget session).








So, at about 9 am..everybody was ready and let the ball's rolling..as usual..there's cry and etcetera...hehe..after that, we were having a photo session where everyone is wainting for and get excited over it..After that, we were visiting our relatives from house to house..








At night, we were having some barbecue as the raya food (ketupat, lepat, sambal kacang, rendang and etcetera) were actually finished..hehe..and tomorrow, the second day of raya..my family will celebrate raya at my father's hometown which located in Muar.








As conclusion, its kind of ordinary things happen during raya but somehow, it is a must and every year everyone (each of the family) is over excited when the eid mubarak is coming..the family bonding is something that we cant count because it was so priceless..so, appreciate each time that the Almighty has given to us!!!

The Human Skull

5:46 AM Edit This 1 Comment »

Its human skull and it was for the last theme (I think) for this semester..but, don't worry because I love to do this blogging thing..so, hopefully in da future I can spend my time to post new theme and frequently updated..hehe..Insyaallah!
So, back to the human skull..In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones. Except for the mandible, all of the bones of the skull are joined together by sutures, synarthrodial (immovable) joints formed by bony ossification, with Sharpey's fibres permitting some flexibility.
Eight bones form the neurocranium (brain case), a protective vault of bone surrounding the brain and brain stem.
Fourteen bones form the splanchnocranium, which comprises the bones supporting the face. Encased within the temporal bones are the six auditory ossicles of the middle ear. The hyoid bone, supporting the larynx, is usually not considered as part of the skull, as it is the only bone that does not articulate with other bones of the skull.


The skull also contains the sinus cavities, which are air-filled cavities lined with respiratory epithelium, which also lines the large airways. The exact functions of the sinuses are debatable; they contribute to lessening the weight of the skull with a minimal reduction in strength, they contribute to resonance of the voice, and assist in the warming and moistening of air drawn in through the nasal cavities.

The meninges are three layers of connectivetissue surrounding structures of the central nervous system. From outermost to innermost layer, they are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. Each layer adds important protective and physiologic functions.
The anatomical position for the skull is the Frankfurt plane, where the lower margins of the orbits and the upper borders of the ear canals are all in a horizontal plane. This is the position where the subject is standing and looking directly forward. The Frankfurt plane may also be used to study the brains of other specifies, notably primates and hominids. However, this does not always equate to a natural posture in life.
It looks scary if we just watch the skull..especially in movies (scary one), but after we know how important the skull to human..what is the function and so on..we may find that..we have to be grateful for what god has created to us. Appreciate it and look after it!
See ya!