I know it's been stressful on you, and that you are looking forward to having a complete rest. Yes, you should!!! Take a couple of days (not weeks!) off work, go out and simply have some crazy fun with your pals.
After you had your fun, time to come back to reality ok??!!! You can cross this hurdle, expect a grade 3 or 4 for yourself for 'N' level English, alright??? You CAN do this... Believe.
To kickstart your oral revision, start by reading aloud newspaper articles or some sections of a magazine you are reading. Do it religiously, day to day, so that you get the hang of it and the confidence in reading. REMEMBER: Reading a passage is a little like singing - vary the tone, pitch and intonation!
I'll continue with the revision advice in a couple of days. I'm heading off to my Sailing course tomorrow, you people enjoy yourselves, doing what you like yeah!!!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
IMPT!!!! 'N' Level Examination - English Language
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER!!!
Oral Examination: 7 to 20 July 2009 (Term 3, 2nd week onwards)
Written Examination (Paper 1 & 2): 9 September 2009 (Note: You have Mother Tongue & Basic Mother Tongue papers on 7 & 8 Sep)
I don't think I really need to remind you how short a time we have!!! Stay focused and work hard during this period ok??!!!
You should buy some assessment books and keep practicing comprehension and grammar work throughout the holidays.
If you need any clarifications about your 'N' level examinations or if you want to check the timetable, you can click here to find out.
Oral Examination: 7 to 20 July 2009 (Term 3, 2nd week onwards)
Written Examination (Paper 1 & 2): 9 September 2009 (Note: You have Mother Tongue & Basic Mother Tongue papers on 7 & 8 Sep)
I don't think I really need to remind you how short a time we have!!! Stay focused and work hard during this period ok??!!!
You should buy some assessment books and keep practicing comprehension and grammar work throughout the holidays.
If you need any clarifications about your 'N' level examinations or if you want to check the timetable, you can click here to find out.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Your compositions...
It's not your writing that will KILL me, but rather, it's your handwriting that will BLIND me!!! Congrats to the majority who passed and to those who failed, work harder. The 'N' level examination is your goal!!!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A word a day.
querulous \KWER-uh-luhs; -yuh\, adjective:
1. Apt to find fault; habitually complaining.
2. Expressing complaint; fretful; whining.
Querulous Oscar rattles on, never more or less than himself, but never much more than the content of his grumpy rattling.-- Sven Birkerts, "A Frolic of His Own", New Republic, February 7, 1994
Mam is a tragic figure when transported to New York by her successful sons -- querulous, unable to get a decent cup of tea.-- Maureen Howard, "McCourt's New World", New York Times, September 19, 1999
Men who feel strong in the justice of their cause, or confident in their powers, do not waste breath in childish boasts of their own superiority and querulous depreciation of their antagonists.-- James Russell Lowell, "The Pickens-and-Stealin's Rebellion", The Atlantic, June 1861
1. Apt to find fault; habitually complaining.
2. Expressing complaint; fretful; whining.
Querulous Oscar rattles on, never more or less than himself, but never much more than the content of his grumpy rattling.-- Sven Birkerts, "A Frolic of His Own", New Republic, February 7, 1994
Mam is a tragic figure when transported to New York by her successful sons -- querulous, unable to get a decent cup of tea.-- Maureen Howard, "McCourt's New World", New York Times, September 19, 1999
Men who feel strong in the justice of their cause, or confident in their powers, do not waste breath in childish boasts of their own superiority and querulous depreciation of their antagonists.-- James Russell Lowell, "The Pickens-and-Stealin's Rebellion", The Atlantic, June 1861
Thursday, May 14, 2009
On your mid-year examination...
I'm halfway done with marking your free writing.
Just one thing to say: if you don't pay attention to me for a particular module, then don't attempt that text type. Since when did I mention that introductory & concluding paragraphs only consist of ONE SENTENCE??? These people should be slaughtered, you know who you are.
If I'm marking a Primary School student's essay, then I will expect to see only 3/4 page. I don't understand why you can't write beyond that.
Some of you buggers - PUT MORE EFFORT INTO YOUR HANDWRITING!!! I'm going blind by the end of the week. Let me say this: if I can't decipher what the word is, then IT IS WRONG. No arguments on that.
Correction tape/ fluid used!!! I think you need me to paint your face white with correction tape!
Now for the good part: Some of you have improved, in the sense that you do take extra care in the way you write. It shows in your essay. For a few of you who constantly fail your free writing, I could tell that you did write with more care, and I think that helps your language a bit more. Keep it up, yo!!!
All I can say is, it takes practice and hard work to do well in English. Don't be complacent and rest on your laurels. Work harder - your final 'destination' for this year is the N Levels Paper!!!
Just one thing to say: if you don't pay attention to me for a particular module, then don't attempt that text type. Since when did I mention that introductory & concluding paragraphs only consist of ONE SENTENCE??? These people should be slaughtered, you know who you are.
If I'm marking a Primary School student's essay, then I will expect to see only 3/4 page. I don't understand why you can't write beyond that.
Some of you buggers - PUT MORE EFFORT INTO YOUR HANDWRITING!!! I'm going blind by the end of the week. Let me say this: if I can't decipher what the word is, then IT IS WRONG. No arguments on that.
Correction tape/ fluid used!!! I think you need me to paint your face white with correction tape!
Now for the good part: Some of you have improved, in the sense that you do take extra care in the way you write. It shows in your essay. For a few of you who constantly fail your free writing, I could tell that you did write with more care, and I think that helps your language a bit more. Keep it up, yo!!!
All I can say is, it takes practice and hard work to do well in English. Don't be complacent and rest on your laurels. Work harder - your final 'destination' for this year is the N Levels Paper!!!
Overworked.
Think you are overworked??? It's time to reflect again. I don't think you are on the brink of death... Read the news below.
May 14, 2009
Girl 'overworked to death'
DHAKA - A BANGLADESHI teenager who died in a garment factory that supplies cheap jeans for export to Europe was 'overworked to death', a rights group said.
May 14, 2009
Girl 'overworked to death'
DHAKA - A BANGLADESHI teenager who died in a garment factory that supplies cheap jeans for export to Europe was 'overworked to death', a rights group said.
Fatema Akter, an 18-year-old garment worker in the port city of Chittagong, died during her shift in December last year, according to the US-based National Labour Committee (NCL).
'Forced to work 13 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, Fatema was sick and exhausted, with pains in her chest and arms,' the report said, adding that her job was to clean 90 to 100 pairs of finished jeans per hour.
'Rather than grant her a sick day (her supervisor) slapped her face very hard and ordered her to continue working.'
The committee said an investigation showed that 14-hour shifts with few breaks were common at the factory, overtime was compulsory and workers were regularly beaten by their superiors.
The report, released earlier this week, said 80 per cent of garments produced at the factory were supplied to German-based retail giant Metro Group.
NCL has called on Metro Group, which sells bargain jeans across Europe, to guarantee the legal rights of the workers.
A statement issued by Metro Group said the company was 'deeply saddened' by the death and had immediately terminated its contract with the Bangladeshi supplier that used the factory.
Rights groups have long questioned the working conditions in Bangladesh's thousands of garment 'sweatshops', which provide some the cheapest labour in the world.
Last year Spanish fashion firm Zara forced the closure of a supplier's factory in the capital Dhaka after workers said they were being abused. -- AFP
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
A word a day.
iridescent
adj.
adj.
- Producing a display of lustrous, rainbowlike colors: an iridescent oil slick; iridescent plumage.
- Brilliant, lustrous, or colorful in effect or appearance: "The prelude was as iridescent as a prism in a morning room" (Carson McCullers).
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Mid-Year Examination 2009
Ladies & gentlemen,
Kindly treat this examination seriously. It models after the real N-level examination very closely. Use this as a gauge to see how you would fare in the actual thing. Don't think of this as NOTHING... because every 'formal practice' counts towards your N-level examination, alright?!!
Revision: It's good to do some practice from the N level trial examination beforehand. If you need some answers, let me know which passage you intend to try, and I will photocopy the answer scheme for you.
Your N level is a marathon run. Keep your stamina up. You don't have to sprint, just make sure you keep running till the end!
ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR MID-YEAR EXAMINATION!!!
cheers
Ms Q
Kindly treat this examination seriously. It models after the real N-level examination very closely. Use this as a gauge to see how you would fare in the actual thing. Don't think of this as NOTHING... because every 'formal practice' counts towards your N-level examination, alright?!!
Revision: It's good to do some practice from the N level trial examination beforehand. If you need some answers, let me know which passage you intend to try, and I will photocopy the answer scheme for you.
Your N level is a marathon run. Keep your stamina up. You don't have to sprint, just make sure you keep running till the end!
ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR MID-YEAR EXAMINATION!!!
cheers
Ms Q
Monday, April 27, 2009
Which School Do You Come From?
Since many of you would be graduating in less than two years' time, I thought this article may be useful to you.
April 27, 2009
School's a journey, not an end in itself
By Jessica Jaganathan
I KNEW I was from a different school of thought when my colleague, with a perplexed look, asked me what the word gatal meant.
I tried my best to put across an explanation in proper English. I told her gatal, literally 'itchy' in Malay, is also slang for being perverted or lewd. Offended that someone had used the word to describe her, she angrily declared she was no such thing.
It was now my turn to be confounded.
Singlish is second nature to me. I went to a neighbourhood school where my classmates and I exchanged jokes that would have probably made little sense to those who hail from the more 'elite' schools. I had assumed everyone else was as well versed in everyday patois.
Which leads me to the elite and non-elite divide, or as I like to call it, the atas versus the non-atas. (That plain enough for you?) In fact, I was oblivious to this distinction until I joined my current company, where the majority of workers are Singaporeans.
One of the first conversation starters was always, 'Which school did you go to?', and never 'What work experience do you have?'. That second question comes only after I reply to the first: Commonwealth Secondary School.
You see, it was an unfamiliar name to the alumni of schools like Raffles Girls', Methodist Girls' and River Valley High. They have, so to speak, brand recognition, sparking an entire debate I did not quite get.
In my previous workplace, a multinational firm, it did not matter if you were from ABC secondary or XYZ college. What my colleagues and employers, mainly foreigners, were interested in was my work experience.
Is it a Singaporean phenomenon then to have an elitist mentality? Would one rather be considered average in an atas school or above average in a neighbourhood school?
According to a Facebook quiz, I belong to Singapore Chinese Girls' School, and like to bake and dream about boarding schools, British aristocrats and American high society. Yeah, right.
The closest I have come to a British aristocrat was walking past Buckingham Palace.
Does it matter which school you went to if the destination is the same? I am doing the same kind of work and trying to meet the same deadlines as my colleagues who have a company scholarship.
In fact, if anything, my neighbourhood school background has given me the social skills to relate to more people on the ground.
Instead of a homogenous environment where everyone speaks the same colloquial English, I come from a school where your mother tongue prevails, whether you are speaking or cursing.
I would never ask someone, 'Which school did you go to?' because, as the atas person would say: 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.'
April 27, 2009
School's a journey, not an end in itself
By Jessica Jaganathan
I KNEW I was from a different school of thought when my colleague, with a perplexed look, asked me what the word gatal meant.
I tried my best to put across an explanation in proper English. I told her gatal, literally 'itchy' in Malay, is also slang for being perverted or lewd. Offended that someone had used the word to describe her, she angrily declared she was no such thing.
It was now my turn to be confounded.
Singlish is second nature to me. I went to a neighbourhood school where my classmates and I exchanged jokes that would have probably made little sense to those who hail from the more 'elite' schools. I had assumed everyone else was as well versed in everyday patois.
Which leads me to the elite and non-elite divide, or as I like to call it, the atas versus the non-atas. (That plain enough for you?) In fact, I was oblivious to this distinction until I joined my current company, where the majority of workers are Singaporeans.
One of the first conversation starters was always, 'Which school did you go to?', and never 'What work experience do you have?'. That second question comes only after I reply to the first: Commonwealth Secondary School.
You see, it was an unfamiliar name to the alumni of schools like Raffles Girls', Methodist Girls' and River Valley High. They have, so to speak, brand recognition, sparking an entire debate I did not quite get.
In my previous workplace, a multinational firm, it did not matter if you were from ABC secondary or XYZ college. What my colleagues and employers, mainly foreigners, were interested in was my work experience.
Is it a Singaporean phenomenon then to have an elitist mentality? Would one rather be considered average in an atas school or above average in a neighbourhood school?
According to a Facebook quiz, I belong to Singapore Chinese Girls' School, and like to bake and dream about boarding schools, British aristocrats and American high society. Yeah, right.
The closest I have come to a British aristocrat was walking past Buckingham Palace.
Does it matter which school you went to if the destination is the same? I am doing the same kind of work and trying to meet the same deadlines as my colleagues who have a company scholarship.
In fact, if anything, my neighbourhood school background has given me the social skills to relate to more people on the ground.
Instead of a homogenous environment where everyone speaks the same colloquial English, I come from a school where your mother tongue prevails, whether you are speaking or cursing.
I would never ask someone, 'Which school did you go to?' because, as the atas person would say: 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.'
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