Z is for Zapata

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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A 'zapata' is a flowing, drooping moustache. I wonder if the word came from Emiliano Zapata (pictured below), a Mexican who led a revolt in the early 1900s.

What other words could be named after famous people?

Y is for Year

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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A basic mistake some of my students make is with the word 'year.' A typical wrong sentence is as follows:

"I was born in year 2006."

The correct sentence simply removes the word 'year':

"I was born in 2006."

The A-Z challenge is almost finished. How are you doing? Did you achieve your goals? How many blogs did you manage to visit?

X is for Xenodocheionology

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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There is only one 'X' word that lists as a favourite, and that is 'xenodocheionology' - the love of hotels.

What a great word! I do love hotels. We spend a night at a hotel as often as we can. I love being served once in a while, enjoying the quality of the hotel, and being away from the usual routines of home for a day or two.

Our good friend and Hotel Manager at Hotel Majestic KL, Wayne Lee, with VIP co-ordinator, Anna

Are you a hotel lover?

W is for Write sentences

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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Key Point #2 is "Write sentences" and this follows on from yesterday's post about VOCABULARY.

The best way to learn a new word is to use that word in a sentence. Truly building vocabulary doesn't only include writing down a word and its meaning. It also entails USING that word by writing example sentences and then attempting to use it in your daily life.

Do you write sentences? How do you USE the new words you have learned?

V is for Vocabulary

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Vocabulary is power. Vocabulary combined with grammar is FORCE.

Building your vocabulary is an important part of mastering English. There are literally hundreds of thousands of words in the English language.

Learning new words can be fun. It's like adding salt to food - it gives your English more flavour, more taste, more enjoyment.

How do you expand your vocabulary?

U is for Uvula

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U is for uvula. What in the world is 'uvula'??? Here it is:

As you can see, the uvula is that piece of flesh that hangs down in the back of the mouth. You've probably seen it in cartoons where someone yells as loud as possible and their uvula starts swaying from side to side.

Can you make a cool sentence with 'uvula'?

T is for Think in English

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Key Point #1 is "Think in English."

I have found through teaching English in Malaysia for 7 years that it is much more effective to train students to 'think in English' rather than having them thinking and speaking in another language and then translating it to English.

I demand all of my students regardless of age or English proficiency, to speak in English during our classes. It's difficult at first but it really trains them to 'think in English.'

Think in Chinese, Speak in Chinese

Think in English, Speak in English

Has anybody else come across such translation problems between languages?

S is for Scrotum

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"Scrotum" is one of my all-time favourite words. I just love the letters, the way it sounds, and what it describes. Some people may find this funny, some may be slightly embarrassed, but honestly, I don't know of 7 other letters put together more beautifully or sounding as superb as 'scrotum.'

Scrotum - "the external pouch of skin enclosing the testes in most mammals."

The scrotum is part of the male reproductive system and is like a bag which contains the testicles. It is situated outside the male body at a lower temperature, thereby promoting a more suitable environment for sperm to be produced and available.

Do you have any favourite words?

R is for Roger Federer

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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We are huge Roger Federer fans. There is something special and perfect about the way he plays tennis.

Roger Federer speaks fluently in 4 languages: his native Swiss German, German, English and French. Being so multilingual (ability to speak in more than one language) is a great advantage for him and endears him to journalists and reporters all around the world.

And we've not even spoke about his tennis achievements yet!

How many languages do you speak?

Q is for Quietude

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Quietude (noun) means "quietness" and is something I enjoy. Finding time to just be quiet in today's busy world is difficult, but very rewarding.

How do you find time for quietude?

P is for Plural (s)

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What would the English language be without the letter "S"? It would be very singular!

And so we come to the topic of 'plurals', which a number of my students enjoy forgetting. Here are some typical sentences:

"I have two hand."

"She has three dog."

"There are many picture on the wall."

I always ask my students: "What's wrong with the letter 'S'?" and "Why don't you like the letter 'S'?" It takes many such lessons for this simple rule to stick.

What is the most difficult part of English to teach/grasp?

O is for Oh my word!

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I occasionally say "Oh my word" when I've told a student a number of times how to do something, and they still didn't do it right! I have to be more patient, I know. I am slowing down my speech and simplifying things to the extent that 'broken English' is the only way to get through to some students. Proper English just will not work if their standard is very low :/

However, the phrase "Oh my word" shows that I'm a true logophile - "a lover of words." Words are great, they carry power. I often read the dictionary, scribble down new words and feverishly write sentences with them. I have piles of papers of new words in a folder. 

It is fascinating to learn new words!

What are your favourite words?

N is for Nice, and good . . .

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Being 'nice' and 'good' is great, but the words in themselves in regards to using the English language, are horrible!

I have read these words way too many times. Having a broad vocabulary means we can make these words permanently redundant!

There are so many other words that can be used instead of 'nice' and 'good' ie. pleasant, outstanding, excellent, satisfactory, amazing, great, tremendous, fabulous, fantastic, beautiful, dazzling, sweet. The list can go on and on . . .

Which words do you hate to hear over and over again?

M is for Make an effort!

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I love nothing better than to see a student join my class who has a deep desire to learn, improve and be committed to the lessons. They arrive on time, come prepared, listen attentively, contribute to the lesson and have plenty of questions to ask me.

Our key point #5 states that a 'Balanced Effort' is required to increase proficiency in the English language. That involves reading, writing, listening and speaking. We weave all 4 elements into our English classes.

Which element of English do you struggle the most with? Which do you enjoy the most?

L is for Language

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When it comes to learning English, translating between languages (ie. Bahasa Melayu to English or Mandarin to English) has produced a lot more errors than proficiency. There are also a number of words in Bahasa Melayu (BM) which have been 'borrowed' from English. Some of these include 'televisyen', 'elektrik', 'objektif', 'insurans' and 'komunikasi.' 

With my school students, this has caused a lot of problems when it comes to spelling, favouring the BM words over the proper English spelling.

So while the world has need of good translators for many worthy purposes, I believe it is NOT a worthwhile endeavour when learning English.

What do you find is an effective way of learning a language?

K is for kites . . .

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I asked one class to write down a word beginning with "K" and these were the results:

• kites
• kid
• king
• keeps
• kitty
• kissed
• key
• kick
• kind

You think "K" is a difficult letter? Think again! Check out this extensive list: Piles of "K" words

What is your favourite "K" word?

J is for Just now

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"Just now" is a very popular saying here in Malaysia. In fact, you can hear it in virtually every conversation. It is probably over-used though, and used with the wrong sense of time. Here's a typical conversation:

"Did you call Mr. T to confirm with him?"

"Yeah, I called him just now."

My problem is when exactly is 'just now'? Turns out it could be a few minutes ago as much as it could be several hours ago or even yesterday!

The term 'just now' implies something that has happened VERY RECENTLY. I would say within the last hour.

Do you know of any other words that are over-used wrongly?

I is for International class

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We were thrilled to meet up with some people from Russia when they came here for a holiday. It was lovely teaching them English every day. Now they are back home in Russia, one of them has become our international student.

We teach one of our friends from Russia via Skype every Saturday. It's been an interesting experience teaching English by a video call. Of course, the method of teaching is different to the usual classroom lessons, but it is also enjoyable.

How do you keep in touch with international friends?

H is for Horne Learning Services

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H is for Horne Learning Services. We are a licensed company founded by my wife and I, providing English training to people of all ages in the Kuantan area of Malaysia. See the "About Us" page for more info on us.

Horne Learning Services has a reputation for providing precise English training incorporating a fun approach to learning with word games, movie listening tests and creative writing and speaking exercises.

It is great to be involved in helping students young and old get to grips with the English language and opening up a world of possibilities for them in the future!

If you haven't already done so, you can show your support by taking a moment to "Like" our HLS English Classes Kuantan facebook page. Just follow the link at the top of the post ;)

How has the English language blessed your life?

G is for Giant, and Great, and Gigantic . . .

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When teaching English, I often come across the same words being used so often, like 'big'.

Building vocabulary makes the language so much more beautiful and interesting. I'm tired of hearing the word 'big' - I've already mentioned it twice in this post - so here are some other options, beginning with the letter "G":

1. Giant
2. Great
3. Gigantic
4. Grand
5. Ginormous
6. Gargantuan

And there are many more words including:

• colossal
• astronomic
• huge
• large
• enormous
• humongous
• massive

So please, go ahead and expand your vocabulary. And whatever you do, don't say 'big!'

What's your pick of these 'large' words?

F is for Fingers...you have TEN fingers?

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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Apparently, the vast majority of my students have ten fingers. That's strange because I always grew up with only eight!

As can be seen in the above picture, a normal pair of human hands has 8 fingers. A large number of my students were not aware of the word 'thumb' in English.

A popular sentence they liked to write was: "I have ten fingers."

After introducing their thumbs to them with some laughter, they now write: "I have eight fingers and two thumbs."

How is your A-Z challenge doing after the first week?

E is for Entrepreneur

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"Entrepreneur", pronounced {ON-trup-un-err} is "a person who organizes and manages a commercial undertaking, especially one involving commercial risk."

In other words, an entrepreneur is a person who sets up their own business and is their own boss. They don't work for anyone else, and they don't rely on an employer to pay their salary. They can earn as much as they want in proportion to their creativity, hard work and selling prowess. But of course, if they are unable to sell to enough people, there is the risk of not earning enough money to survive.

At Horne Learning Services, we are entrepreneurs. We formed this company with my wife Fidelia as the Managing Director, and myself as the Chief English Trainer.

I've made it a point to create our very own English teaching materials. We haven't copied or borrowed anything from anywhere. Our word games, spelling tests, reading articles, essay questions etc have all been created by us.

Is there anybody reading this who is an entrepreneur? What's the best part of being an entrepreneur?

D is for Do something different to learn a new language

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If you are serious about mastering a new language, you must 'do something different.'

In regards to learning English,  Key Point #4 at Horne Learning Services is "Change of Behaviour." We believe that learning takes place when behaviour changes. And this can apply to all languages, subjects and principles being studied.

Some of the things we suggest our adult students try are:

1. Read English books
2. Watch English movies
3. Watch the news in English
4. Listen to English music
5. Listen to an English radio station on the way to work
6. Read English magazines
7. Write a daily diary
8. Always write sentences with new words learned
9. Read an English newspaper every day
10. Speak English with a friend for at least 15 minutes every day

What has helped you learn English better?

C is for Creativity

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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At Horne Learning Services, we promote 'creativity' in our lessons and in our students.

Instead of doing routine grammar work with ABC answers, we try to inspire our students to think much more creatively.

Creative Writing is conducted once or twice per month where students are given three random words and are asked to write a short story based on those three words. This in turn, stimulates creative thinking.

We often give students the opportunity to speak to the class on a variety of topics, encouraging them to think creatively and not just go for the 'textbook answers'.

Word games and making sentences are a lot more fun and creative than circling correct answers in a grammar book.

Importantly, when searching for creative ideas in our classes, there are no wrong answers. There is no pressure to be right, and at the same time, more is learned!

Whatever you may do in life, what does 'creativity' mean for you?

B is for Bring and Take

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

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'Bring' and 'Take' are two English words which often get confused by learners of English. Some people think they have the exact same meaning and can be used interchangeably, while others just have no idea of the rules of using these two words.

'Bring' and 'Take' explained simply:

'Bring' is used when something from a different place is coming to where we are. For example:

"Can you bring the tuition fees to the class today?"

'Take' is used when something where we are is going to some other place. For example:

"Don't forget to take your things with you!"

Put simply, 'bring' is used to describe something that is coming, while 'take' is used to describe something that is going.

Which words do you often get confused with?

A is for Astronomy

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Astronomy is "the scientific study of the stars and planets and their movements."

I have always been fascinated with astronomy. It was not something I was ever taught deeply at school but it has been a pleasure teaching myself, particularly through the early pages of my atlas - " a book of maps."

In Malaysia, satellite television is called 'Astro', a term which literally means "of the stars; relating to outer space." As much as I love learning of our universe, I have never warmed to the idea of being an astronaut - "a crew member of a spacecraft" - I'm doing just fine with my view of space from the earth!

Michio Kaku is a physicist who deals with astronomy and has presented a very compelling lesson on the universe in a nutshell. If you have the time, I advise you to listen to this:

If only they could have taught these complex matters so simply at high school!

Are we alone in the universe?