Completed English Course at Mega View Hotel, Kuantan

Horne Learning Services recently completed the 12-class English course at Mega View Hotel, Kuantan. During the final class, Hotel Director Andrea Loo gave a short speech following which, we presented her with a plaque. She was accompanied by the HR Manager, Mandy.

Mr. Duncan presenting a plaque to Andrea (Hotel Director, left) and Mandy (HR Manager, right)

Mr. Duncan also presented certificates of course completion to staff who satisfactorily attended classes. The course ran from June - October, 2014.

HLS Owner, Fidelia (left) and Chief English Trainer, Duncan (centre) with staff of Mega View Hotel Kuantan, posing with their certificates

Horne Learning Services would like to place on record their thanks to Mega View Hotel Kuantan for giving us the opportunity to train their staff in the English language, and for providing us with 'roti jala' from time to time :)

Completed English Course at PC MTBE, Petronas, Gebeng, Kuantan

Horne Learning Services completed a 14-class English course with lab staff of PC MTBE (Petronas Chemicals) at the plant in Gebeng, Kuantan in June 2014.

Mr. Duncan of Horne Learning Services during an English class at PC MTBE (Petronas Chemicals) at Gebeng, Kuantan

We would like to thank Petronas for the opportunity of expanding our business and teaching reach. We have enjoyed offering our services and expertise to the staff here and building their confidence in using the English language.

Staff Training at Mega View Hotel, Kuantan

As of June 2014 we have begun a 12-class course for a group of staff at Mega View Hotel in Kuantan. Situated on the banks of the Kuantan River and just a 10-minute drive from Teluk Chempedak, this is a hotel in a great location.

Here is a photo from our 2nd class:

Letter to Kuantan Town Council (Majlis Perbandaran Kuantan, MPK)

Dear Kuantan Town Council,

After a week of discussions with children in Kuantan ranging from 7-16 years of age, and presentations from adults in my English classes, I have prepared the following suggestions to help our town of Kuantan make some much-needed improvements. I hope you will take some time to consider the following points.

I realise that not all of these points may fall under your jurisdiction, but I'll include them anyway as an insight into what young citizens of Kuantan are thinking, and how adults living here explain changes they would like to see implemented.

One of the main issues is the change in direction of a number of roads around Kuantan town centre. While many people are now adapting to it, there appears to be a desire for the roads to be returned to usual. There was also a suggestion of expanding some of the main roads to four lanes.

Remaining on the same topic of infrastructure, the majority of my students would like to see the roads in Kuantan re-laid with stronger materials. This is due to numerous pot-holes on various roads, making it difficult to drive.

We are very pleased with the inception of enhanced public transport in the rapidKuantan fleet of buses. However, it would be nice in the future to see these public transport lines expand to residential areas, making it easier for people to locate a bus stop. Perhaps in the future there may also be sufficient funds and plans to create a LRT line similar to that in Kuala Lumpur.

The next point concerns littering. An overwhelming majority of the 100 or so students I teach expressed concerns about rubbish disposal in Kuantan. It would be a welcome addition to enforce punishments on those caught throwing rubbish, and to provide a lot more rubbish bins in all areas to reduce the amount of rubbish ending up on the floor and in drains. We frequently witness the open-air burning of rubbish in Kuantan which we would also like to be halted.

During our discussions, some people brought up the desire to have more trees being planted in Kuantan and were wondering why we see a number of trees being cut down quite regularly. While Kuantan grows and more buildings spring up, we believe there should be an equal opportunity for trees to be planted.

Building more shopping malls featured prominently in our discussions in English class. This was voiced particularly by the younger people who feel that Kuantan is a little boring without a great deal of places to go during holidays and free time. Fun places for children to go like Kidzania or Kizsports were very popular suggestions. One participant who lives in Indera Mahkota also wanted to see more coffee shops opened in this area in hopes that Indera Mahkota can steadily grow and expand like the main Kuantan town area.

To improve children's education and interest in study, it was offered by people young and old that there really should be more public libraries in Kuantan. The ability to loan good books from a library is very low here and this would be a much welcomed addition. In order to obtain more information and history about our home town, we would also like to see an improved information centre which would be a benefit to locals and tourists alike.

Teluk Chempedak beach is one of the most popular places in Kuantan but we fear that it has lost some of its beauty and charm with the addition of so many new shops and stalls along the beach front. These stalls obstruct the view of the beach and sea and diminish the experience somewhat. We wonder if these sort of stalls could be cut down so that visitors can simply enjoy the view of the beach without having things being sold at every step.

Regarding public safety issues, voice was raised in favour of more dynamic lighting along roads and residential areas thereby decreasing the risk of accident and theft. Installation of CCTV cameras in strategic areas could also be something to be considered.

Some of my students would like to see the Kuantan Town Council organise special seasonal festivals. Such festivals could bring the people of Kuantan together, help us learn and appreciate each other's religion and culture, and provide much enjoyment.

Finally, as Kuantan is growing steadily and becoming a more prominent place on the map of Malaysia, we see it fitting to have a certain landmark to distinguish our town and to be symbolic of Kuantan. A Kuantan Tower similar to those in KL and Alor Setar would create a new tourist attraction and be a symbol of pride for the people of Kuantan.

I hope you have found some of our suggestions to be worthwhile. We have certainly had an inspired time thinking about and discussing these possible improvements to the beautiful town of Kuantan. We await your response.




Yours sincerely,

Mr. Duncan D. Horne
Chief English Trainer at Horne Learning Services,
comprising contributions from all the students of Horne Learning Services.

H is for Horne Learning Services

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

We'd love your support by 'like'-ing us on facebook. Just click here: 

HLS English Classes Kuantan

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?

One year on . . .

Horne Learning Services was officially formed in February 2012. It came after deciding to make a proper business out of Mr. Duncan's English skills, and a lot of hard work to make it happen.

Forming the company, writing and submitting a formal offer letter and invitation to work letter, gaining a long-term visit pass and receiving permission to work from immigration were all stepping stones to settling down and getting to work with Horne Learning Services.

One year on, we couldn't have imagined the number of people who have contacted us to learn English here! We have opened more classes, filled them up, had 4 successful English Workshops at Vistana Hotel Kuantan, and started 2 adult classes per week. We have also enjoyed teaching English to the staff of Vistana Hotel during 2012, whilst creating 100% our own syllabus.

We're really thankful to our students and their parents for putting their faith in Horne Learning Services, and look forward to many more successes and improvements to come in the future!

English Workshop @ Vistana Hotel, 10th Nov, 2012

We held our 4th English Workshop of the year at Vistana Hotel on Saturday 10th November, 2012. The English Workshop was attended by 37 children, some of them our English students, some joining one of our activities for the first time.

Group photo of a session of the English Workshop held at Vistana Hotel Kuantan

The children enjoyed a number of exercises including:

• The shoe game
• Word Cloud (Creative writing)
• Map of Malaysia comprehension activity
• (Separate worksheets for the kindergarten children)
• Listening Test
• Pictionary
• Treasure Hunt

Refreshments were provided afterwards, as usual.

Tucking in to the food

9AM SESSION

Leah takes a seat at the back as the children get to work at the Treasure Hunt

Children trying to solve the Treasure Hunt clues and questions:

Treasure Hunt 9AM session:

Treasure Hunt winners

2nd place

3rd place

4th place

Group photo of the 9AM session of the English Workshop at Vistana Hotel, Saturday 10th November, 2012

1PM SESSION

Children participating in the Treasure Hunt:

Treasure Hunt winners from the 1 PM session:

2nd place

3rd place

The 1PM session group photo at English Workshop, Vistana Hotel Kuantan, Saturday 10th November, 2012

4.30PM SESSION

Children doing activities at the English Workshop:

Treasure Hunt winners at the 4.30PM session of the English Workshop

2nd place

3rd place

Group photo of the 4.30PM session of the English Workshop at Vistana Hotel, Saturday 10th November, 2012

Thank you to all those who attended the English Workshop. Hope you had a lot of fun learning English through games and fun exercises. 

Until next time . . .

From Russia With Love

We had the privilege of teaching English to a Russian family who were on vacation in Kuantan for the past few weeks.

Eduard, Tatyana, Tomiris and Rianna found our blog and contacted us. We ended up having nine English classes almost every day at the hotel where they were staying.

English class photo

Here is a photo of our English class with the Vistana Hotel staff in Kuantan. We taught the second lesson of a 12-class course last night.