WEEK ONE SEMESTER MARCH 2025-JULY 2025

 Week One has ended on Friday,28th of March 2025. It was conducted fully online as all the students are still at home. It was such a short semester break, and I did not get the chance to go anywhere. I will reflect and document my teaching activities again.

I'm glad that I'll be teaching the same codes as the previous semester; LCC402 English for Oral Reporting,2 classes of degree codes, and 5 classes of diploma classes, ALS252 Creative Writing, 2 classes and 3 classes of BBM157 Introduction to Malay Linguistics. So, there are 7 classes. When I teach the same codes, I have the opportunities to improve on my teaching contents rather than preparing for the new materials. I aim to take the time to give feedback and monitor my students learning progress. 

This semester, I am supervising two students and both of them have given me interesting proposals. It's a good start!

I hope to write consistently and able to reflect on my teaching and my students learning journey.

For each class that I'm teaching this semester, I have given them the instruction to create their own blog to reflect on their learning journey. Although most of them just started without writing any contents, there were a few that have started writing. I've enjoyed reading their posts and that's when I decided to continue writing again. I wish to respond personally to those who have made the effort to write.

Teaching Codes for Semester March-July 2022

 ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading

Degree in Accounting

ELC501 JAC2203E-27

Degree in Digital Marketing

ELC501 JBA2522D-15

ALS252 Creative Writing

Diploma in English for Professional Communication

JLG1204A/5A-27

JLG1204C-23

BBM157 Introduction to Malay Linguistics

Diploma in English for Professional Communication

JLG1202A-23

JLG1202B-23

Week Seven

 I need to unload the clutter in my mind. 

I need to reflect on my teaching online activities and issues that surround me.

I want to document my online teaching activities here.

This week is already the 7th week of the semester. 

Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

 Don't we do this all the time?

When you come across this blog, you are already making inferences when you read the topic. Most likely, you are here because you are one of my students from my English for Critical Academic Reading class from my degree courses. Or perhaps, you are here because you are searching for the skills on making inferences and drawing conclusions. You might be thinking why I said that we have been doing this all the time. Well, don't we read all the time? Of course the reading materials vary. It also depends on your purpose and levels of education. 

My focus here is on academic reading.

What is the logical inference that you can draw based on the evidence and information that you have?

Based on that the author has stated, what is presumed to be true?

In order to remember the points for making inferences and drawing  conclusion, I'd like to share a chant created by Professor Kathleen Riley, Polk Community College (Winter Haven, Florida). 

Please read aloud repeatedly.

"Making inferences is one name;

Drawing conclusions means the same.

Details are things that authors write.

Inferences are out of sight.

Details: underline  in ink.

Inferences: you've got to think.

Inferences make you a star.

Don't pick a choice that goes too far!

Base inferences on what you've read.

Not on the ideas in your head!

Source: Exercise Your College Reading Skills (p223)J.Elder

What is an  inference?

"Inference is a logical conclusion that is based on what an author has stated."

What is a definition of conclusion?

     "Conclusion is defined as a decision reached upon careful consideration of materials  that you have read.

What is the logical inference the author aims to convey?

Inferences and conclusions exceeds what is stated in the paragraph by the author.

What are the differences between imply and infer?

Imply means to hint while infer refers to understand a message that has been implied.

A simple example to give better comprehension is when you receive a message through your smartphone now, imply is given by the sender of the message while infer is done by the receiver of the message.

Got it?

Short Story Outline

The students have limited time to write the full short story. Although I had the tendency to give comments and to correct all the grammatical errors, I've decided to restrain myself from doing so. I keep reminding myself that this is not a grammar class and I should focus on the contents of the story. 

However, frequent grammatical errors can be distracting and hinders the enjoyment of reading. I'm glad that I did not have to use my red pen in correcting or commenting the hardcopy of the outlines. Using red pens will make the process of marking slower as I tend to automatically underline or circle the errors. 

Well, in online version, I highlighted and typed the comments to the outlines that were submitted earlier before the deadline. There weren't many. Only 5 of them. The rest submitted just before the due date. 

Codes, Subjects and Responsibilities for October 2020-February 2021

1.  ELC231 Integrated Language Skills III - JBA1113B - 25
2.  ELC231 Integrated Language Skills III - JBA1143B - 19
3. ALS252 Creative Writing              - JLG1204 - 23
4. BBM157 Introduction to Malay Linguistics-JLG1202 - 17
5. ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading-JBC2513A-22
6. ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading-JAC2203F-10
7. JLG 1201 Academic Advisor JLG1201A-25
8. ELS 304  Professional Communication Exercise 2

Welcome October 2020

Welcome new semester! It's better late than never. 

Here I am, blogging again at the end of Week 2 of the new semester; October 2020-February 2021. It's an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode of learning again due to the recent increasing cases of Covid-19. Last semester has been a mixture of excitement and struggle for me. Excited as I got the chance to implement my area of interest in delivering my teaching through distance learning mode which I had gained in 2000. 

Wow! That's 20 years ago. I have attended a seminar and workshop to create self-learning module for distance learning. Then, I continued this interest by doing a research on instructional designers practices for e-Learning of English for my masters thesis. 

Well, why was it a struggle? Perhaps it was the readiness aspect and the expectations from different stakeholders. I'll reserve this point of view for now and will elaborate further later. My aim for this semester is to write and document my teaching activities and reflections more consistently.

It was indeed a therapeutic activity for me especially when I also wrote poems and got them published too. I'll share about my workload for this semester in a separate entry.

I'll call this my Thursday night reflection

Online Grading on Google Classroom

What I love about online grading is the speed of grading. I feel that I can grade faster as compared to using a red pen as I don't need to underline,circle or mark the errors while evaluating. The red marks help me to decide the marks that I will give but I often spend longer time to do that. I know that the students are not usually interested to know the explanation of the errors that they have made.

Warm Up for YouTube Creation

I'm a bit reluctant and hesitant to create content on my teaching and learning activities although I have a lot of materials. I have been observing and watching other Edutubers sharing their contents.

I should start as soon as possible.

Shouldn't I?

Somehow,I'm more confident to share my YouTube Channel as an artist as compared to as an educator. That's where you can watch the other side of me. The side of my childhood dream becomes a reality. You can watch my creative process of creating my artworks till the part they are being exhibited at various exhibitions.

Now, shouldn't I be more able to share my 29 years of teaching experience?

Well, we'll see!

I just need to start.

SOON!

WHY LATE ZONE?

Welcone June 2020!

It's time to blog again.

I've changed the previously  'mouthful blog name' which was 'learningandteachingenglishthroughmyeyes' into 'latezone'.

It's the acronym of  'Learning and Teaching English' (LaTE) which sounds more catchy and easier to remember.

I've decided to make full use of the blog again for several reasons:

1. The content is still relevant
2. I'm still teaching this code 
3. I'm still the LIC (Lecturer-in-Charge) for ELC501

However, I also teach other subjects that I need to develop the content from scratch which are 'Creative Writing' and another one is 'Malay Language for Translation Purposes' besides 'Integrated Language Skills'.

So,yes! 

It's 4 codes this semester with the total of 6 different classes.

I'll elaborate about each class on my upcoming posts.

Till then.

Evaluating Author's Argument

Issue
What is the controversial topic discussed by the author?

Author's argument
What is the author's point of view about the issue?

What are the steps in evaluating the author's argument?

1. Assumptions-things that the author takes for granted without providing any proof.
2. Type of support-the kind of evidence the author uses to support the argument
1. Facts
2. Expert opinions
3. Research
4. Observations
5. Personal experiences
3. Relevance of the support-
1. How relevant is the support?
2. If it's directly related to the argument, it is relevant.
4. Objectivity-
1. The authors argument is objective if they present facts.
2. If the authors are experts on the topic or issue, then the recommendations are meaningful.
5. Completeness-
1. An argument is complete if the author presents enough support and has counter-arguments.
2. The argument is incomplete if the author does not present the counter-arguments.
6. Validity-The argument is valid if it is logical and well-reasoned.
7. Credibility-The argument has credibility if it is believable or convincing.

Stated Main Idea and the Supporting Details

Only ONE sentence can be the stated main idea of a paragraph.

Stated main idea sentence

1. Must always contain the topic
2. Must make complete sense by itself
3. Must be a general sentence that sums up the details in the paragraph

When you identify the stated main idea in a paragraph, it must be exactly the same sentence without changing the words in the sentence.

It must not be the specific details.

Supporting details in a paragraph can be divided into major and minor details or primary and secondary details

1. Major supporting details explain the main idea.
2. Minor supporting details explain the major supporting details.

How do you differentiate between major and minor supporting details?

You ask yourself if that sentence explains the main idea or major supporting details.

Reread that sentence and ask yourself,

"Does this sentence explain the main idea or the supporting details?"

A sentence that contains statistics and findings is NOT the main idea.

What about implied main idea?

Topic

Who or what is it about?

Four Clues

1. heading or title
2. special print such as bold and italics or colour
3. repeated words or phrases
4. a word or phrase mentioned at the beginning, and repeatedly referred to by using other words or pronouns

Sounds simple, right?

It may look simple but this is the most important item to identify as it leads you to determining the main idea of a paragraph next.

Word Structure Analysis

Understanding the meanings of the word parts will assist you in understanding the unfamiliar words faster. You need to learn the meanings of the word parts first in order for you to do the word structure analysis. Ideally,you learn them individually at your own time. However,depending on your learning styles, you may form a group or a pair to divide the task of memorizing the meanings to facilitate the process of learning and building the vocabularies.

First you need to understand the terms and meanings below.

Prefix-word parts before the root word
Root-base words
Suffix-word parts after the root word

Nevertheless, there's no shortcut in the remembering the meanings.

Identify your learning styles so that you can learn them effectively.

So,what's your learning style?

I'll write about learning style in my future entry.

(Do remind me  if I have not written about it.)

Dictionary or Context clues?

My assumption is you most probably do not have your hard copy of the thick dictionary with you all the time. Definitely not carrying the dictionary everywhere you. Maybe you have your electronic dictionary with you or nowadays,having your smart phones to search for the meanings of words. with the internet connection, you can just google a word and get the results in less than a second. However, you can't do that all the time. Especially not when you are sitting for a test or examination! So,what should you do? Knowing how to identify the types of context clues can help you to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Type of Context Clues

1. Definition/Synonym Clue
2. Contrast Clue
3. Example Clue
4. General Sense of the Sentence
5. Clue from another Sentence

Context Clues include words in a sentence and a paragraph that allow readers to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words.

You may ask yourself,

"What would it must mean in this sentence for me to understand?"

Understanding the context clues help you to understand the materials you read without having to constantly checking the meanings of the unfamiliar words.

1. Definition/Synonym- search for: is defined as,means,that is, in other words
2. Contrast - search for : but,such as, however,contrast
3. Example - search for: for example, to illustrate, like, such as
4. General sense of the sentence: something that you can relate with your own general knowledge and experience
5. Clue from another sentence: another sentence that explains the unfamiliar words

                Source:Elder,J Exercise Your College Reading Skills

So,the next time you want to search for the unfamiliar words,try using context clues instead.

Not Over

I really thought that it was over on my previous entry.

I was wrong.

It was not over as I thought it should have been.

I really thought that I could finally take a break and have a good holiday with my family.

I was wrong.

More scripts to mark. It was EET669. The writing and the speaking recordings need to be evaluated too.

So,I decided to complete 'everything' before going for a 'break'.

Yes, everything in inverted coma as I know that it's impossible to complete 'everything' before going for a break. So, I had completed all that I needed to do.

The next task to be completed is setting of the final exam questions.

Last week, I got my new timetable for this semester.

10 classes to teach for this semester and 3 codes to teach.

1. ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading - 3 classes
2. ELC590 English for Oral Presentations - 4 classes
3.EWC661 English Report Writing - 3 classes

So,here I am. Blogging again to declutter my mind.
I have 2 days left to make preparation for the next semester.
The first class of the next semester begins this Sunday from 8am to 4pm.

Okay,let's print out all the attendance lists first!

First Reflection of 2017

It's Thursday afternoon and very quiet. Nobody is around. I can only hear the chirping of the birds and the sound of the air-conditioner and my own typing at the keyboard of this computer. It has been a while since I've done any reflections on my teaching.

Oh yes! The semester has ended. I feel somewhat numb from the flooding loads of work that had to be completed last week.

It's over? I can't believe it is over!

My family and I actually stayed and slept in my office for 2 nights last week as we could not go home because of the flood that blocked the way to our home. I did not sleep as I was completing the uploading of the marks for all my 9 classes of 5 different codes.

Feeling overwhelmed. I just need to pour my reflection here to unload some of my thoughts that have been playing in my mind. Facebook updates have not been enough.

I need to spring-clean my room too. Need to get rid of those papers that are no longer necessary to be kept.

To be continued.

Going home.

My Classes and Students

 My classes for semester September 2016-January 2017

1. ELC500 English for Academic Reading JBM2403E-34
2. ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading JBM2401B-38
3. ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading JBM2421B-35
4. EWC661 English for Report Writing JBM 2494A-28
5. ELC650 English for Professional Interaction JBM2514A - 30
6. ELC590 English for Oral Presentations JBM2403C-21
7. ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading JBM2423B-19
8 .ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading JBM2401A 28
9.ELC650 English for Professional Interaction JBM2424C - 23

My Classes and Students

 My classes for semester March 2016-July 2016

1.ELC590 English for Oral Presentations JBM 2423B- 25 
2.EWC661 English for Report Writing JBM 2494B-28
3.EWC661 English for Report Writing JBM2424A - 31
4.ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading JIM2463A - 20
5.ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading JBM2423C - 32
6.EWC661 English for Report Writing JBM2404 - 33
7.ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading JBM2523A-34
8.ELC590 English for Oral Presentations JBM2403C-35

My Special Break Activity

It has been a very quiet week when the students are on their special one week break. I could have taken a break too but I have decided not to so that I can look at finalizing the on-going assessment marks for my two classes of 47 students from my BEL499 classes. For the whole week, I've looked at my students work with less distractions as I did not have to go to classes to teach or allow my students to see me for personal or group consultations. I specifically focus on my 2 classes of Degree in Accounting students this week.

The tedious part has been to look at the e-Portfolio as I had to go to the links one by one and go through each one before deciding on the marks. I'd love to give 'excellent' grades to everyone but that won't be fair to those who had gone the extra miles preparing their sites. A lot of information can be discovered from their portfolios. It's not just about the content. The way everything is put together can portray the personality of that person. Besides the language element, I also looked at how my students used images and styles in creating this very important document.

In this situation, the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover" cannot be applied.
You are going to be judged by what is shown. You will be judged whether you will fit in to be the member of the professional bodies. In this case, will you fit in to hold the image of an accountant?    

One of the criteria that I looked at was how my students organised their certificates. Although certificates might be easily accessible in their physical folders and files, it might be difficult if they had not been consistent in updating the files. Some students just scanned the documents and put them on the websites without proper labeling and order. Some had just selected a few and left the most important ones like the academic transcripts and their diploma certificates. Without proper labeling, you are asking the readers/interviewers to guess.

Okay, I better stop rambling now. What I wanted to share today is that I managed to achieve my goal for this week,that is to complete 'keying in the on-going assessments marks' for BEL499.

So, what's left for the next two weeks is to complete doing the Evaluation 2, the Hiring Interview sessions. At least for this subject!

I have 6 classes of EWC661 to evaluate too.

Besides teaching and evaluating, the setting and vetting of exam questions are also in progress in between and overlapping with other tasks yet to be completed.

So, there goes 'My Special Break Activity'.

P/S: Lecturers don't necessarily go for a break when their students are having theirs.