Bite an English per day

Christmas is around the corner!
Let's learn more Christmas song
Merry Christmas!

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Answer

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Answer

Free essay on ‘Organic Farming’, ‘The Uses of Forests’, ‘Traditional Medicine’;

Report/ Recount/ Account/ Story on a trip/ visit to a place;

Debate/ Discussion on ‘Uses and Abuses of Television/ Internet/ E-mail/ Computer/ Scientific Inventions’

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Answer

Account on a sport activity;

Speech on ‘Smoking Habit’, ‘How to Keep House Safe from Malaria’, ‘The Benefits of Co-curricular Activities/ Exercises’;

Letter of Advice on ‘How to stay healthy and keep a normal weight’;

Free essay on ‘The Importance of Breakfast’, ‘Healthy Lifestyle’, ‘Keeping Fit’, ‘An Outdoor Game I Play’, ‘Deeds of Kindness’, ‘Personal Hygiene’, ‘Self-esteem’, ‘Nutritious Food’, ‘Balanced Diet’

Letter of advice on handling friendship problems;

Speech on ‘The Role of the Elderly in Our Society’, ‘How to Manage Time Wisely’;
Description/ Report on society activities, gotong-royong, activities done during school holidays

Free essay on ‘My Friend’, ‘The Qualities of A Good Friend’, ‘Caring Society’, ‘Social Problems among Teenagers’, ‘Road Safety’, ‘The Importance of Leisure Activities’, ‘How to Manage Time Wisely’, ‘Ways to Build a Healthy Friendship’

Letter of Complaint on an Environmental Issue;

Speech/ Discussion on ‘Conservation versus Development’;

Story/Description/ News report about a serious flood, incident;

Free essay on ‘The Advantages/ Disadvantages of Living in the City/ Countryside’, ‘Pollution’;

Description on preventive steps of fire, outbreak of Dengue fever, flash floods, etc

Description on the person whom you admire, your mother/father/brother/friend/classmate/teacher, famous person;

Description on an occupation e.g. a teacher, doctor, nurse, sailor, soldier, housewife, air pilot, scientist, firefighter, etc

Description on the process of making a kite/ batik/ lantern/ jewellery or others;

Letter to foreign pen pal to introduce Malaysian handicrafts;
Free essay on ‘Kite-Making Industry’, ‘Pottery-Making’, ‘Batik’, etc

Patriotism
Patriotism is the respect and love we have for our country.
A way of showing Patriotism is through our work.
We are Patriotic when we recognise what our country has given us.
To be Patriotic, we need to be conscious of our laws and our history.
Being Patriotic is to know and love our history, our culture and our traditions.
We are Patriotic when we support our authorities and help them resolve a situation in conflict.
We are Patriotic when we are kind with our neighbours and keep our neighbourhood clean.
We are Patriotic when we help people who suffer from natural disasters.
We are Patriotic when in our family we follow our country`s traditions.
We are Patriotic when with our effort and work we get a fair, peaceful, and respectful society.
We are patriotic when we are loyal to our country.

Honesty

We are being honest when we think and act the same way.

Honesty is not to make promises that we are not planning to keep.

An honest person is somebody whom we trust because he or she doesn’t lie.

We are being honest when we comply with rules.

We are honest when we pay what is fair and don’t steal somebody else’s money.

We need courage to be honest.

We are honest when we tell the truth, even if other people don’t agree.

Being honest is to keep our promises to our friends, our parents, and ourselves.

We are honest when we help our friends to change what they did wrong even if they don’t feel good.

We are honest when we do our own job. When we copy in a test we are being dishonest.

We are honest when we promise a friend to play with him or her during recess and we keep that promise.

We are honest when we return things that a friend borrowed us.

We shouldn’t feel bad if people think that being honest is foolish.

We should always be honest even if people don’t recognize it.

To be honest we should report people who did something wrong.

We should always tell the truth and not tell stories that could harm other people.

We should accept our mistakes and correct them.

We shouldn’t take anything that doesn’t belong to us.

Live everyday with honesty, you will be happier and you will make happy everybody around you.

A tall eastern girl named Short long loved a big Mr. Little.
But Little, thinking little of Short, loved a little lass named Long.
To belittle Long, Short announced She would marry Little before long.
This caused Little shortly to marry Long.
To make a long story short, did tall Short love big Little less because Little loved little Long more?

Prefixes [pre (before) + fix (fasten) = fasten before]

are groups of letters placed before words or roots. Prefixes change or extend the meanings of words and roots.

A

• anti- against
• antipathy (noun): dislike, opposite feeling
• anti + path + y

• auto- self
• automotive (adjective): related to self-propelled machines
• auto + mot + ive

B

• bi- two
• biped (noun): a two-footed animal
• bi + ped

C

• contra- against, opposite
• contradict (verb) to state the opposite
• contra + dict

D

• dis- not, opposite of, exclude
• distrust (verb): to have no confidence or trust
• dis + trust

E

• e-, ex- out, out of, from
• emit (verb) to send out
• e + mit
• expel (verb): to force out ex + pel

PMR Diagnostic Test
Paper 1 (Objective Format) Total 24 questions
*Answer provided

A Mother’s Prayer
by Rachel Aldous

Verse:
My sweet baby on loan from above
no better treasure could I more love
standing beside your bed as I pray
I lay my hand on your head and I say:

Chorus:
May you grow up to serve Him
all of your days
May He lead you and guide you
in all of your ways
May His hands bless your future with
friendships that last
May you cherish your youth
and not grow up too fast

Verse:
I stare in wonder at your tiny frame
Just to think God knows you by name
knows every hair on your beautiful head
knows all your thoughts before they are said

Chorus:
May you grow up to serve Him
all of your days
May He lead you and guide you
in all of your ways
May His hands bless your future with
friendships that last
May you cherish your youth
and not grow up too fast

Prayer:
May God grant you peace
in the midst of a storm
May God give you strength even
when you’re forlorn
May you answer the door when
Jesus comes knocking
May wisdom guide when
your mouth is talkin’
May discretion protect you
and keep you pure
May you never stumble
or fall for a lure
May your heart remain humble
to the very end
May uprightness and truth
be what you defend
May the world not ensnare
or change who you are
May the light that's within you
shine like the stars
May angels surround your
body, spirit, mind
May favor and peace be yours to find
May rejection and pain
never reach you
May your spirit grow bold
for what you’re called to
As you rest in God’s care I will rest too
Knowing that Jesus is watching over you
Amen

I love you, Mommy…

A tree toad loved a she-toad who lived up in a tree.

He was a two-toed tree toad but a three-toed toad was she.

The two-toed tree toad tried to win the three-toed she-toad's heart,

for the two-toed tree toad loved the ground that the three-toed tree toad trod.

But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain.

He couldn't please her whim.

From her tree toad bower with her three-toed power the she-toad vetoed him.　

Just start being a novice Football fan?

During this hottest football season, some friends (like me) start to watch FIFA World Cup Game. However, when watching the LIVE game through FIFA.com, there are a lot terms that we may not understand.

Here, I'd like to share some of the basics of football that I had learnt:

Terms (Source: Wikipedia.org)

• Kick-off: a kick to start each period of play from the center-spot of the field; of a or a goal has been scored.
• Throw-in: awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball when the ball has crossed the touchline; over the head back onto field or with both feet on the ground.
• Goal kick: awarded to defensive team when the ball has crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the attacking team.
• Corner kick: awarded to attacking team when the ball has crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the defensive team.
• Direct free kick: awarded to opposing team when a player commits a penalty foul. A goal may be scored directly from a direct free kick.
• Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team resulted from a contact foul or hand ball by the defending team within the penalty area. The ball is placed on the penalty spot in front of the center of the goal. All players must remain outside the penalty area and the penalty arc until the ball is kicked.
  

Foul (Source: Wikipedia.org)

• occurs when a player commits an offense (listed in the Laws of the Game) while the ball is in play
• e.g of "penal fouls": hand ball, tripping, holding, pushing, jumping at, tackling from behind, striking an opponent
• punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick.
• Yellow card(Caution): the player violates a soccer rule obviously. A second caution at the same game results in a red card (sent off from the game). A player given a yellow card is said to have been "booked" by the referee.
• Red card(Sending-off): the player is sent off the field for serious offense and cannot be replaced by a substitute. The team must finish the match with one player fewer.

Players

• A match is played by two teams.
• Each team consists of not more than eleven players including the goalkeeper.
  

Duration

• A football match consists of two periods (known as halves) with 45 minutes each .
  
• Each half runs continuously, the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play.
  
• Players are entitled to half-time interval which is about 15 minutes.

Matches (FIFA world cup)

• First Stage: Group matches
• Second Stage: Round of 16
• Second Stage: Quarter final
• Second Stage: Semi-final
• Second Stage: Match for the third place
• Second Stage: Final
  

Referee and Assistant Referee Signals (Source: FIFA.com)
Referee Signals


Assistant Referee Signals


Last sweet reminder:
the best way to learn about the football match is to watch the football matches.


Credits to the following Sources:
Wikipedia.org
FIFA.com

My favourite tools / sites:

1. howjsay.com
-It's a free online Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation with Instant Sound
-How does it work?
#Enter the word you want and click Submit
#When it appears in pink, mouse over it to hear it spoken as often as you want

2. Dictionary.com
-It's a free online Dictionary with meaning provided
-How does it work?
#Enter the word you want and click Search
Then, the meaning of the word will appear. You can click on the 'speaker' icon to listen to its pronunciation.
The special thing of this site is its 'Word of the Day'. You can learn a word per day.

Here, let me share a fun material designed and created by me.

It's a board game. Two players are needed to play the game.
#To download it, just click the image below, then right click and save target as, lastly print it.


It is specific for advanced students. The topic is about counseling (You may adapt it to other topics if necessary). It focuses on grammar practice, that is, asking questions or answering (using the words given). The students are required to use different word forms in correct context. It is a fun and communicative activity. Hope you enjoy it.

Read the rules given before playing.
#To download it, just click the image below, then right click and save target as, lastly print it.

The hottest 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa now, starting from 11/6-11/7/10.

Here, we've the 2010 FIFA World Cup Anthem. Sign of A Victory by R. Kelly.

It's really a motivating, inspiring song that is going to accompany us throughout the matches of this World Cup Season.

Here's the lyric:
Let's learn the song together:

Sign of A Victory by R. Kelly

I can see the colors of the rainbow,
and I can feel the sun on my face,
I see the light at the end of the tunnel,
and I can feel heaven in its place,

and that's the sign of a victory (x2)

I can feel the spirit of the nations
and I can feel my wings ridin' the winds, yeah
I see the finish line just up ahead na
and I can feel it risin' deep within

and that's the sign of a victory (x2)

Now I can see the distance of the journey,
high and fought with all your might,
you open your eyes to global warming,
been through it all, sacrifice your life

and that's the sign of a victory (x2)

If we believe, we can achieve anything
including the impossible
this I know
so let's lift up our heads and
raise the flag yeah yeah
and scream like you're born to win
now let the games begin!

that's the sign of a victory (x4)

when you keep on fightin' ,
after you lost your strength

that's the sign of a victory

when darkness is all around you,
you still find your way

that's the sign of a victory

You've got the victory

come on and sing,
lift up your voice and sing,
stand up, fight it down (x2)
sign of a victory
ooooohh ohh ohhhh
That's the sign of victory

#Highlight:
In this song, there are really a lot of signs/symbols of 'Victory' that bring the positive messages and hope.
At the beginning we have the Natural images of Hope, like rainbow, sun, light and heaven.
Then, we can see, sense and even touch Hope, such as "feel my wings ridin’ the winds", "see the finish line just up ahead", etc.
The mood is getting inspiring when People are called to fight for Victory "with all your might", "been through it all", "sacrifice your life".
It leads to the key message "If we believe, we can achieve anything, including the impossible".

Be brave to HOPE, BELIEVE, FIGHT, SACRIFICE to achieve VICTORY!

I like to search and explore sites that provide free English materials:

1. Very CD Sharing Site [in mandarin Very CD分享互联网]

-Go to Material[资料], then foreign language[外语].
There are a lot of free e-books, software, magazines, etc to be downloaded.


2. ESL-Free Material For Teachers

There are free instructional materials for teachers. Learners can also download. Links to other English sites are also available.

3. Onestopenglish

It is part of Macmillan Education Group. There are worksheets, audio, video, lesson plans, flashcards, etc available.

4. Oxford Bookworms: Read Your Way to Better English

There are free reading resources for teachers or learners.

5. ESL Printables

It's a platform for instructors to exchange lesson plans, materials, worksheets, activities, etc.

6. UsingEnglish.com

You need to be member of this site before you do anything like downloading. Don't worry, registration as member.

7. Sites For Teachers

There are 100++ sites for teachers. You can explore each of the sites linked.

#To me, it's a humourous poem (read with mysterious tone, creating mischievous mood)


Mr. Nobody

by Anonymous

I know a funny little man,
As quiet as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody’s house!
There’s no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr. Nobody.

’Tis he who always tears our books,
Who leaves the door ajar,
He pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pins afar;
That squeaking door will always squeak,
For prithee, don’t you see,
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody.

He puts damp wood upon the fire,
That kettles cannot boil;
His are the feet that bring in mud,
And all the carpets soil.
The papers always are mislaid,
Who had them last but he?
There's no one tosses them about
But Mr. Nobody.

The finger marks upon the door
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blinds unclosed,
To let the curtains fade.
The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying round you see
Are not our boots,—they all belong
To Mr. Nobody.

Glossary
mischief-damage
cracked-broken
ajar-slightly open
scatters-put here and there
afar-at a distance away
squeak-make a short and high-pitched sound
damp-slightly wet
mislaid-misplaced
tosses-throws carelessly

I Wonder
by Jeannie Kirby

I wonder why the grass is green,
And why the wind is never seen?

Who taught the birds to build a nest,
And told the trees to take a rest?

And when the moon is not quite round,
Where can the missing bit be found?

Who lights the stars, when they blow out,
And makes the lightning flash about?

Who paints the rainbow in the sky,
And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?

Why is it now, do you suppose,
That Dad won’t tell me if he knows?

Glossary
wonder-feel curious about
flash-sudden bright burst of light
fluffy-soft and light
suppose-assume

Analysis of poem

[I Wonder by Jeannie Kirby]

Literal meaning
A child is wondering about the natural happenings, asking why the grass is green (instead of the other colours) and why the wind is invisible. He or she continues to ponder the person who teaches the birds to build nest and the trees stop growing. He or she also wonders when the moon is in crescent shape, where the other part of the moon is.
He or she proceeds to question about the person who makes the stars shining and how the lightning flash about. He or she keeps on asking who colours the rainbow and puts the clouds high in sky. He or she cannot get the answers, thus, directs the questions to the other. Lastly, the child wonders why father doesn’t tell him or her if he knows the answers.

Persona(Speaker)
-a naive child
Point of view
-First person (‘I’ Wonder)

Setting
-Day to night, outdoor

Theme
-Curiosity
-The Power of Creator

Structure
-6 stanzas (6 couplets)
Rhyme Scheme
-regular (aa bb cc dd ee)
Tone
-questioning, curiosity
Mood
-reflective

Language
-simple, Wh-words/questions
Imagery
-nature (grass, wind, bird, moon, stars, lightning, rainbow, clouds)
Poetic Devices
-Personification ("trees...take a rest")
-Alliteration ("grass is green", "birds to build")

Moral Values
-We should be observant and sensitive to out surroundings
-We should always cultivate a sense of wonder in our heart
-We should appreciate and take care of the nature created by our Creator

#Bite Eng's Review
Reading through the poem, the questions are those common questions asked by most children. These questions are identical to our questions that we asked when we were child. For example, "Why the sky and sea are blue?", "Why I can smell it but can't touch it?", "Why we grow taller each day", "Can I pluck the shining star?", "Why the sky is bright during daytime and yet dark at night?", etc. Most children are curious in nature. Adults might find their questions naive and funny. However, the sense of wonder is essential as the motivation to drive them to seek for the answer. With the questions in mind, their curiosity urges them on finding the solution. Thus, they are those scientists-to-be, doctors-to-be, geologists-to-be, astronomers-to-be, teachers-to-be, etc. Thus, the message here is to cultivate the sense of wonder in our children's heart and avoid killing their interest to know about their surroundings.

Reading the questions posed, effort is made to answer the questions:

I wonder why the grass is green, (The grass has chlorophyll which is green pigment.)
And why the wind is never seen? (The wind is moving air [gas] which cannot be seen.)

Who taught the birds to build a nest,
And told the trees to take a rest? (Our creator of nature did that.)

And when the moon is not quite round,
Where can the missing bit be found?
(We have Phases of moon. As the moon circles the Earth, its shape seems to change depending on the sunlight.)

Who lights the stars, when they blow out,
And makes the lightning flash about? (Again, our creator of nature did that.)

Who paints the rainbow in the sky,
And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?
(These are the art of work done by our creator of nature.)

Why is it now, do you suppose,
That Dad won’t tell me if he knows?
(Our Father..Almighty Lord would want us to be self-aware and able to appreciate his hard work.)

The message is that Our Father (The Creator) is almighty. We, as human being, are naive to understand the hard work done by Him. Instead of asking Him for answers for our doubts, we are obliged to carry on our mission to seek and gain the borderless knowledge and message conveyed by Our Father. Our Father may not give the whole knowledge directly, but He will guide us. One day, we will be enlightened with His knowledge for us.

Use: To substitute for a noun

Types:

1. Personal Pronouns
2. Reflexive Pronouns
3. Interrogative Pronouns
-used to ask questions
e.g.
who-person (Who are you?)
whose-possession (Whose book is this?)
what-things (What is the thing red in colour?)
which-choice (Which colour you prefer?)
where-place (Where is your house?)
how-method/procedure (How to make jelly?)

4. Demonstrative Pronouns
-to demonstrate/show
e.g.
this-to point nearer singular thing
that-to point farther singular thing
these-to point nearer plural things
those-to point farther plural things

Use: To substitute for a noun

Types:

1. Personal Pronouns
a. Nominative Pronoun
- replace nouns and used as the subject
e.g.
First person singular-I,
First person plural-We;
Second person singular/plural-You;
Third person singular-He, She, It;
Third person plural-They

Sharon has a pencil. She buys the pencil.

b. Accusative Pronoun
-takes the function of an indirect object of a verb and used as the object
e.g.
First person singular-me;
First person plural-us;
Second person singular/plural-you;
Third person singular-him, her, it;
Third person plural-them

Sharon's mother gave a pen to her.

c. Possessive Pronoun
Possessive Adjectives
-takes the function of an adjective
e.g.
First person singular-my;
First person plural-our;
Second person singular/plural-your;
Third person singular-his, her, its;
Third person plural-their

Sharon lost her pencil.

Absolute Possessive Pronoun
-takes the function of a pronoun and an adjective
e.g.
First person singular-mine;
First person plural-ours;
Second person singular/plural-yours;
Third person singular-his, hers;
Third person plural-theirs

Is this pencil yours or mine?

2. Reflexive Pronouns
-the pronoun is the subject of the verb
e.g.
First person singular-myself;
First person plural-ourselves;
Second person singular-yourself
Second person plural-yourselves;
Third person singular-himself, herself;
Third person plural-themselves

I cook the dish myself.

#highlight:
We can find this song is blended with both abstract and concrete nouns.
E.g.
Abstract-dream, wish, fantasy, hope, love, comfort, protection, pleasure
Concrete-mountain, sea, sky, star
The abstract nouns are used in relation to the intimate feeling and essential part of life, while the concrete nouns are mostly the natural imagery which is also the essential part of our life.
The message could be that the lover declares to be the essential part of his partner's life. At the same time, he needs her 'truly madly deeply' too in his life. They are the essential part for one another's life.

Harry Chapin's Flowers are red
Someone might think this song is lullaby. It is not merely a lullaby. It conveys a message "Restriction limits Creativity". Special to parents or teachers, let the child grows and makes full use of his/her creativity. We don't have solely one rule for whole.

Use: To name a person, place, thing, quality, state or action

Types:

1. Common Noun
- a name common to all members of a large class of people, animals, things
e.g. man, cat, table

2. Proper Noun
- the name of particular person, place, thing (capitalise)
e.g. Helen, New York, Delio

3. Collective Noun
- a name for a group of people, animal, things as a whole
e.g. jury, government, crowd

4. Abstract Noun
- name of a quality, state of mind, physical condition, idea or an action
e.g. belief, happiness, sadness

Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a particle which can be preposition or/and adverb. The preposition/adverb used can totally change the meaning of the verb.

E.g.:
get in=enter a small, closed vehicle
get over=recover from an illness
get up=leave bed after sleeping

There is no shortcut to learn phrasal verb. Learn more by reading more.

Here, I'd like to share some phrasal verbs (sorted out by alphabets) with meaning and sentence.


Start with A!

A1. act like=behave in a way like...
Why is she acting like a clown? Does she feel ashamed of herself, doesn't she?

A2. add up=logically fit together
The preset perception is questionable, but its evidences add up.

A3. add up to=to total
The utility bills of this month add up to RM1,334.96. We really have to cut down the usage of the utilities.

Topic: Christmas
Language point: Past tense
Vocabulary: Christmas, card, stamp, pen, dinner

It was two weeks before Christmas, and Mrs Smith was very busy. She bought a lot of Christmas cards to send to her friends and to her husband's friends, and put them on the table in the living-room. Then, when her husband came home from work, she said to him, 'Here are the Christmas cards for our friends, and here are some stamps, a pen and our book of addresses. Will you please write the cards while I am cooking the dinner?'
Mr Smith did not say anything, but walked out of the living-room and went to his study. Mrs Smith was very angry with him, but did not say anything either.
Then a minute later he came back with a box full of Christmas cards. All of them had addresses and stamps on them.
'These are from last year,' he said. 'I forgot to post them.'

Comprehension questions:
1. When was Mrs Smith very busy ?
2. What did she do ?
3. Why did she buy the cards ?
4. Where did she put them ?
5. What did she say to her husband ?
6. What did Mr Smith say ?
7. What did he do ?
8. How did Mrs Smith feel ?
9. What did she say ?
10. What did Mr Smith do a minute later ?
11. What did he say ?

(Source: Elementary Stories For Reproduction 1, Oxford University Press)

Music is soothing. In relaxed mode, most of the time, we can learn effectively. With the melody, we can easily remember the lyric of the song. In contrast, we take long time to remember a text even though it is short. That's the power of music. Thus, music is always one of the effective ways of learning English.

Here, I attached a pop song. Let's learn together.



#Highlight:
I want nobody nobody, but you.
but is a conjunction used to introduce contrasting qualities.
Thus. The line above means the persona wants no person. In contrast, she only wants 'you' (the lover in her heart).

Correct the errors

Day 1:
The Amy has just teached her brother english.
Amy has just taught her brother English.

Day 2:
She made her own cloths, plant flowers and reading books every day.
She makes her own clothes, plants flowers and reads books every day.

Day 3:
She tell we how to made bookmarks.
She tells us how to make bookmarks.

Day 4:
He playing badminton in primary school.
He played badminton in primary school.

Day 5:
The teahcers had a race with the childs during the sports day.
The teachers had a race with the children during the sports day.








Answer:
Day 1:
Amy has just taught her brother English.

Day 2:
She makes her own clothes, plants flowers and reads books every day.

Day 3:
She tells us how to make bookmarks.

Day 4:
He played badminton in primary school.

Day 5:
The teachers had a race with the children during the sports day.

To write does not mean start writing away.

We need to follow the writing process.

Here is the outline of the writing process: (Have a glance through it.)

1. Read other resources – choose most appropriate texts relating to the task requirement
2. Select relevant areas of texts
3. Take notes on relevant areas, paraphrase & summarise the relevant points
4. Combine the available sources
5. Structure for the outline of the essay
6. Organise & write introduction
7. Organise & write main body
8. Organise & write conclusion
9. Read & re-write critically
10. Final proof-reading