What would happen if robots ruled the world?

What would happen if robots ruled the world?

What would they make humans do?

How would the world be different?

Is it possible for there to be a robot uprising, and how would the earth and life on it appear if that happened? This is the topic of our speaking time in English class this week. We are looking for lots of creative ideas from our students

Have fun and we look forward to hearing your views!

July Agenda

I prepare each month's agenda pretty much at the end of each month and rely solely on inspiration to guide me in what sort of activities to do. There are a few exercises like a popular word game that we do each week, but other than that, it goes by inspiration.

Once in every two months we will watch a movie with our students, complete with questions, to test their listening skills.

Once in every two months we will conduct a specific reading exercise, usually a short story written by myself, including a number of writing, comprehension and grammar exercises, all related to the story.

At least twice a month I will have the students stand up in front of the class and speak about a certain question or topic.

I'm very excited for this month and the exercises we have lined up. Here's what's going on at Horne Learning Services in July:

JULY AGENDA

WEEK 1

• word game and sentences
• Speaking exercise
• Creative writing

WEEK 2

• word game and sentences
• A-Z list of words, story writing

WEEK 3

• movie week

WEEK 4

• word game and sentences
• Speaking exercise
• Creative writing

Looking forward to a great July. There is also a 5th week this month, so there will be no classes from Monday 29th July - Friday 2nd August. (On Saturday 3rd August we will be conducting replacement classes for the two groups on Saturday).

C is for Creativity

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

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HLS English Classes Kuantan

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?

Alien invasion!

Are there aliens out there? Would they ever discover earth? What would they look like?

This week we are asking our students the following questions: "What would aliens do if they came to earth? How would we communicate with them?"

The children have the opportunity to think creatively on a topic where there is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer. They are only limited by their imagination and creativity of thought.

After some preparation time, our students then have the task of standing at the front of the class and sharing their ideas, thoughts and opinions about a possible alien invasion.

We have had a variety of different ideas mentioned; some said aliens will destroy us and the earth, others think that aliens would help us repair things that have been destroyed and be a tourist attraction to certain places!

Perhaps there are no aliens at all out there. I suggested to my classes that maybe there are other 'earths' with other humans like us, somewhere out there.

I hope I've got you thinking!

Remember: Think in English, Speak in English

Essay writing - a pain in the posterior?

Essay writing is generally viewed by students in Malaysia as a pain, and most probably because it involves a lot of creative thinking and lots of writing!

Our key point #1 "Think in English" applies to essay writing very much. Along with a good command of English and understanding of grammar skills, creativity is what is needed in essay writing.

On the second week of each month, our classes write essays. Form 1-5 students (age 13-17) will be expected to write an essay of over 200 words while Standard 1-6 students (age 7-12) will write an answer to a question of between 70-100 words.

The task is getting students' minds stimulated to think creatively and come up with more than one idea on a certain subject. Then they need to be able to explain all of those ideas in greater detail. That's the challenge.

When writing essays, most especially for students in Form 1-5, I have devised a criteria which I believe makes up a great essay.

#1 - PLAN

Every great essay begins with a plan. Typically in answering an essay question, one should think of 3 main points (or 4 or 5, as the question may request), and then come up with 3 sub-points to further describe each main point. This should be brief. This plan provides the frame for the entire essay.

#2 - CORRECT GRAMMAR

Using correct English grammar is vital in writing a great essay. Good sentence structure, correct use of tense and spelling makes an essay easy to read with good flow.

#3 - VOCABULARY

Possessing a wide vocabulary is an important part of writing a great essay. Nobody wants to read a couple of pages littered with the same words, repeated again and again and again throughout the essay. Instead, a student should demonstrate a knowledge of synonyms (words which have similar meanings to each other), and how to use them appropriately.

#4 - PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

In essays where general issues or topics are discussed, a student can really bring his essay to life by writing about his own personal experiences related to the question. This will set his essay apart from the others and make it more interesting to read. It will be his own essay, and not merely a copy or one which is full of cliches (often-repeated phrases or words).

#5 - OPINION

A truly great essay should also include the writer's opinion on whatever subject or issue is raised in the question. Like point #4, this will further personalise the essay and make it more unique.

In our classes, we strive to emphasise these five important points students may follow in writing great essays.

Essays don't need to be a pain in the posterior when they are planned with creative thinking, good grammar and vocabulary, and include personal experiences and opinions.

What do you think? Do you enjoy essay writing? What is the biggest challenge in writing essays?

Monday night class

Here's our Monday night class as of yesterday. During week 4 of September we are having a number of activities including: word game, writing sentences, speaking, creative writing, a grammar check and wordsearch. Looking forward to the rest of the week!