English Class Presentations 3 - 25th - 30th July, 2016

English Class Presentations 3 was another success at Horne Learning Services, where we focus on building confidence to speak the English language. Opportunities like this are rare and we want to give our students these chances to practise public speaking and presentation skills.

On this occasion, we gave our students seven topics to choose from. They were:

1. The Benefit of Sports

2. My favourite Machine

3. Food in Malaysia

4. Music

5. Family Life and Activities

6. Special Possessions

7. Write a story of 200 words and read to the class

Here are some of the highlights from the week:

Classroom layout for English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Sharmayne demonstrated how to use her hoverboard for English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Justin entertained us with his saxophone during English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Farouq giving his well-prepared presentation at English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Ariff loading his nerf gun during English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Jing Rong showed his robotics skills for English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Eugene Tan's analysis of nerf guns during English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Isaac inviting a fellow student to try out his ukelele during English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Abby in full costume during English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Mr. Duncan writes notes about each student's performance for English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Yong Chuan showed his collection of Rubik's Cubes for English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

Kennard told us all about his hamster for English Class Presentations 3 at Horne Learning Services

English Class Presentations 2 - February 2016

Students of Horne Learning Services participated in the 2nd round of English Class Presentations during the last week of February 2016. This followed on from the first edition of English Class Presentations in August 2015.

Tuesday night class photo after English Class Presentations 2

The main goal of this exercise is for students to feel confident speaking English in front of others. They also get the chance to share with others what they are passionate about and to hopefully have a little fun in the process.

Here are some photos of the memorable moments from English Class Presentations 2:

Eng Kim showed us his robot during English Class Presentations 2

I played a bit of football with Qi Yao during English Class Presentations 2

For English Class Presentations 2, Sharmayne showed her stamp collection to the class

Joshua brought ice-cream for everyone during English Class Presentations 2

My girls thought it would be fun to show their Barbie doll's bum in English Class Presentations 2!

Justin brought another one of his lego creations to English Class Presentations 2

Aceline went roller skating around the classroom during English Class Presentations 2

Wednesday night adult class after English Class Presentations 2

Adam introduced everyone to his cat during English Class Presentations 2

Aqeel showed us some of his favourite toys at English Class Presentations 2

Ms. Lai delighted us with more of her lovely paintings in English Class Presentations 2

This is the moment where Xin Yan shared about free hugs and promptly received one from Lily in English Class Presentations 2

Enjoying some refreshments with the Thursday night adult class after English Class Presentations 2

English Class Presentations 2 saw Amanda bring along her toy poodle

Isaac shared a nice presentation about pizza and then distributed some with the class during English Class Presentations 2

Friday night class after English Class Presentations 2

Jun Hao fascinated us with a huge volume of his family history during English Class Presentations 2

Eugene fired some bullets from his nerf gun at English Class Presentations 2

Cheng Ze and his robots at English Class Presentations 2

The Saturday 4pm class after English Class Presentations 2

Looking Ahead to 2016

After a month in England, we are back home in Kuantan and ready for 2016. Mr. Duncan has been preparing the new syllabus which includes some old favourite exercises mixed with new things.

Revised monthly fees for 2016 are as follows:

Standard 1-6 = RM65

Form 1-5       = RM90

Adults            = RM110

We currently have 8 classes (6 for children and 2 for adults). Despite increasing the class size from 12 to 16, all classes are fully booked. The waiting list is also full with around 40 people waiting for classes.

One reason we have been able to expand the class size is our move to a new residence which is a landed property with a bigger classroom. We are in a nice, quiet area with ample parking space just 5 minutes from the town centre.

In 2016 we will be focused on discussion/speaking exercises with our students, with both individual and group participation encouraged. Vocabulary, grammar, sentence writing, essays and reading/comprehension will also feature. We will be holding two English Class Presentations in 2016, which was a resounding success earlier in 2015.

Thank you for registering with us and we look forward to teaching you and learning together with you next year!

Parents feedback on our English speaking presentations

As we discussed previously, our English class presentations week was extremely successful. Our focus is on building confidence in speaking English. Learning English with Horne Learning Services (HLS) will be a different experience for students both young and mature. 

Mr. Duncan prepares his own syllabus each year and tries to include at least one speaking exercise for every single class. Class presentations are a great way for students to use their creativity to prepare a speech and present their results to the class. It represents a good public speaking practise and will prepare them well for the future, whether that be furthering their studies at university or moving forward into the workplace.

HLS was delighted to receive feedback from parents of our students regarding the August 2015 English Class Presentations:

"Thank you. I hope they can do it again."

"[She] was happy and enjoyed it."

"I can't believe she can do it. Thank you so much. At home she memorised it all, but at class I think she was scared already. Next time I hope she can be even better. Your class is so interesting. Thank you."

"Thank you. [His] father said if you can, always conduct this kind of speech. Train them to speak to the public. Very good."

"Thank you Sir. It is not easy to stand up for presentation or public speaking. I feel nervous to do so at my workplace. In a meeting when all the bosses are in front of you, the words get stuck in my throat. Maybe Sir can arrange more of these activities in the future, it's good for the children. Thanks for the effort."

"It's a very good idea. I totally agree. You're really a good teacher, thanks for your effort."

"Your class is really awesome. Makes me feel like joining too. I saw that all the students brought their favourite things to present. That makes it a lot of fun and interesting. Keep it up!

English Class Presentations

English Class Presentations week was a resounding success.

HLS English Class Presentations class photos. Thank you to every student who took part!

Each student had three weeks of August to prepare a 5-minute presentation to the class on any topic of their choice. Presentations were carried out from 24th - 29th August, 2015 and we saw a variety of interesting topics and hobbies performed in our classes.

We received a number of whatsapp messages from pleased parents asking us to continue with these sort of public speaking assignments in the future. After seeing how beneficial this week was for everyone, we are definitely planning for more similar activities soon.

Here are some of the unique and memorable presentations:

Alya brought along her jewellery box amongst other things for HLS English Class Presentations

Joshua introduced us to his pet rabbit for HLS English Class Presentations

Sharmayne shared her impressive sticker collection for HLS English Class Presentations

Justin showed us his lego car for HLS English Class Presentations

We enjoyed seeing Li Yan's toy car collection during HLS English Class Presentations

In one of the adult sessions, Kelly gave a very motivational speech on the power of smiling for HLS English Class Presentations

Yahya gave an exciting demonstration of his yo-yo skills for HLS English Class Presentations

Zheng Yu took us by surprise during HLS English Class Presentations by presenting about Mr. Duncan! He reeled off an accurate biography of my life! He found it on my blog - clever boy!

Jocelyn shared some of her favourite food blogs before distributing cakes she had prepared earlier for HLS English Class Presentations

Ms. Lai showed us her fantastic painting as part of her HLS English Class Presentation

Ser Han fired his nerf gun at a couple of targets during HLS English Class Presentations

Keivin brought his awesome artwork to HLS English Class Presentations

Isaac gave an interesting speech on chocolate for HLS English Class Presentations, and then freely distributed it to us all!

HLS English Class Presentations saw Amanda bravely speak about her father who is currently ill. A very touching speech and we all wish her dad the best in these difficult times

Abby played on her ukelele during HLS English Class Presentations

Manchester United fan, Jun Hao, spoke about former manager Sir Alex Ferguson for HLS English Class Presentations

As the focus of Horne Learning Services is on developing students' confidence to speak English, this was a great week in classes. Students spoke English in front of a crowd, listened to others speak English, asked questions, gave answers, and got to know more about each other's hobbies and interests.

Looking forward to more similar activities!