A is for Astronomy

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

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HLS English Classes Kuantan

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?

Preparing for A-Z April!

This April, the Horne Learning Services blog is participating in a popular blogging challenge known as A-Z April.

Thousands of bloggers participate in the A-Z April blogging challenge where on 26 days of April, blog posts are focused on each letter of the alphabet.

It's a fun yet challenging task, and I hope you'll follow along as I go from A to Z through the English language, sharing some of my favourite words on the way, and how to use them in everyday speech.

I'm working on my list now, and am looking forward to sharing this exciting month of April with you!

Reading Comprehension

Image taken from http://literacy-builders.blogspot.com/2011/11/assigning-reading-comprehension-vs.html

Yes, reading is very good for you. I used to read a lot of books, but now I find myself reading blogs a lot more often. I'd love to get back to the books ;)

This week in our English classes we are conducting a reading comprehension exercise for our students.

I am very particular about creating my own syllabus, from grammar exercises to spelling tests, essays to creative writing topics, and speaking questions to reading articles.

I wrote all of our short stories myself, one set for primary children, and a higher level set for secondary and adults. For the questions, I have formulated some comprehension questions about the story mixed with grammar questions, creative thinking requirements, word games related to the story, and various other things.

It keeps them busy and actively engaged in the very good habit of reading! This week's reading articles are about relationships and a magic badminton racquet . . .

Until next time . . . happy reading!

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!

Happy Chinese New Year, and updates

It's the 5th week of January and we are having some days free of classes, some replacements from previous weeks and some replacements for future days in February which clash with Chinese New Year.

Yes, it's a strange week and I'm glad to have a great boss who keeps me on track!

We wish a Happy New Year to all of our Chinese students and their parents, and all former students and their parents. Hoping you have a plentiful celebration and a prosperous year ahead!

We are looking forward to continue improving and teaching English during 2013, with new exercises and topics for speaking and writing activities. We have already had a very interesting time speaking about aliens last week.

By way of announcement, we are opening up a new class, which will be held on Wednesday at 4-6pm. There are 12 spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis. This class is due to start in March 2013.

We are off for a short stay at a hotel in Kuantan tomorrow. I hope that you will have an increased desire to study English and make the necessary changes for improvement this year, beginning right NOW!