The importance of SELF-CONFIDENCE in Writing

This is what i wanna write later, i think its a good topic and i dont like forgetting somethng..so i just post the title first..i'll write bout it when i have my precious free time to burn..lol (16/6/2011...1.00 pm)

(2.33pm 27/6/2011)... ok here we go..i'm now at my campus, waiting for my History class to start at about 4pm this evening and yes it's boring to sit at the cafe until 4..

so lets get down to the business, i wanna talk about the importance of self confidence in writing as i promised earlier..

As for speaking, we can see the link between the level of confidence of a person with his/her ability to command in english, but one thing that not most people know is that an individual would also need self confidence during writing.
To explain what i'm going to write here, lets look this example first to give you a clearer view of what i wanna share shortly..

John is participating in a debate, and during a debate the "universal law" is that the person/group who speaks confidently, thoughtfully, and systematically will often get the praises..so what are the thing that a 'debate-tor' (i dont know the right word) need to have or need to do before a debate? practising language skills, understanding the main points that are going to be speaked during the debate, and for some people, they simulate the debate and run it themselves or maybe speak in front of a mirror..and that is the quality of a good speaker right? wrong!

A person who prepares themselves like John would not necessarily win the debate or is going to get the most praises..and a person who destined to win the debate would obviously have something different from the others.. and what is it? confidence~

Confidence is the key in communicating...in my point of view, confidence is the key to open the floodgate..What is a floodgate? a gate that blocks floodwater from getting through, and to open it, we need a key....floodgate is the barrier that stops you from delivering at your full potential, the floodwater is the idea that you have (in your subconscious mind), and the key to open the floodgate is simple, confidence..

I'm not really able to demonstrate how self-confidence can affect your ability in delivering/commanding in English but it really have a profound effect to an individual...for example, i'm now delivering/sharing something on a blog, i need a good command of english to make sure that my message is understandable to public, and to tell you frankly, i dont really write as good as now during my real MUET...and its because i miss this part, the confidence part, and what i'm writing here is actually demonstrating my level of confidence, if i'm not confident enough, i wont be able to write in this standard spontaneously and in a hurry

So that's all for today ~ adios amigo, good luck

Tips to Speak English Better

Again, it's what most important in universities and colleges, speaking in english..picture this, you approach your lecturer, talk to him/her and display your professionality, competency, add a knowledgeable flavor, and topped up with a very fluent english and perhaps irish accented...in 2 days you are his/her favorite student..(i tell you i happened to do it often, it feels great! really!..LOL)

i'm at my college's computer lab now, and i thought i might wanna write some words here..

Speaking in English is not easy, i still experiencing it...my weakness? i cannot speak english in certain settings or environments, ok for example, you are talking to your math lecturer, since you like math very much there's no problem for you to execute the right words..then you bumped to your history lecturer (where history is your badass(baddest, lol) subject you ever had, do you think you can speak to him as fluent as you speak to your math lecturer?

I know it's hard, that's actually our biggest barrier in speaking english..why? bcoz we are not native speaker of english..

So what i do is, i try to experiment with some words that we are not familiar with, construct a phrase or whatever that you can remember and execute it in the required situation (make sure that the phrases you create have a high probability to be executed/used)

And instead of running away from your 'kryptonite' (weakness), you might think again bcoz encountering peoples that have different styles of speaking or different jargons and also different sets of phrases can actually make you learn more..remember this famous phrase " practice makes perfect "

Keep building on your confidence...confidence plays a lot larger important role than you can have ever imagine..confidence is actually a boost towards your vocab processing unit, and increases the output of your brain (i dont want 2 get to details..google src for 'broca's area' or also 'subconscious speaking')...some people do greatly influenced by the level of confidence..so it's important to always execute your phrases to other people(simply speaking, just try to speak in english where ever you can)

got to go now...see yer real soon..bye + good luck !

SPEAKING - Part 2, Simple & Advanced

Heyy, fellow students..this post is written while i currently at my college's computer lab...waiting for my class to start in about an hour or so, i decided that i wanna share something simple yet advanced..in speaking..
Style of Speaking
Today's topic emphasises the importance of speaking styles, to our 'language' & 'fluency' marks..while typical malaysian speaks almost in a boring & plain tone, maybe you can spice up things a bit..it could help you spice your marks too

Ok, get to the point now : style of speaking comprises of many elements, namely tone, pace, intonation, 'neutralness', articulation, pronunciation and etcetera, but the most important, emotions

Emotions give a large impact on any sentence...sometimes a bad sentence sounds very good and convincing, if the speaker can really manipulate the emotions in that sentence..
So now, how can we add emotions to our sentences? 'emotion' here should not be taken literally, it's a figurative word that means

"adding emotion = tuning & customizing how a sentence is pronounced, pace and intonation of specific words in a sentence, the tone, and emphasizing the key 'word' in every sentence.."

a good speaker would generally try to put 'keys' in their sentences, making them appear to be pretty good in that certain topic..and it'll also makes you sound like you really understand the topic given to you (assuming that the keys you mentioned is correct)...so they wont really speak out 'empty' sentences

so back to the emotions, a really nice strategy while discussing is by playing the 'wise guy' role...lol, know wht i mean? you act like a professional, sound like a professor, and talk like 'that' topic is your profession..(haha, this sentence is really nice, right?)

simply speaking, a nice strategy in speaking is being a 'wise guy'...you put keys in every sentence you speak, tone the sentences as if you really mean it, and control the pace & intonation as if you are actually lecturing a group of students...more, you respond well to every disagrees aimed at you as a neutral..keep your calm and composure in check

Understand this...and take this as a top-up to what you've learnt in class...marks will come to you..i'm sure !
(hope u guys cn understand my writing style, anyway if there's any problem, just mail it)

till later, bye~

LISTENING - Hear or Tear (lol)

Oh m g..yes we don't really like the 'listening' part..i still remember my friend said that during this part everything goes to the lady luck..if we can hear the recording then we can answer, if we don't so we can't..lol..but actually it's not so hard as it appears to us....

Here are some tips that crossed my mind just now and i think i better post it quick b4 i forget..

1)Work on ze phonetic vocabulary
translation : tingkatkan kosa kata sebutan anda
- In case you were wondering, "ze" is = to "the"..actually it's an accented pronunciation by the French(no offence)lol...ok let's get serious...when we say bout working on this kind of vocab, it means that you should know the pronunciation of every english words that you know, instead of just knowing how the words can be used/implemented or associated with other words..to improve in this part, i need to agree that listening to music and watching movies can greatly help! (sigh) but make sure it's in english..remember how they pronounce their words and how they associate it with other words..when you have a strong phonetic vocabulary later, it's easier for you to catch em' words

2)Don't ever focus on the keywords in the question paper, focus on the recording
translation : jangan fokus pada kata kunci dalam kertas soalan, fokus pada rakaman yang diberi
- Read the question paper first, then look for key-words, when the recording mentions the keyword, get ready to write the answer----now this is very wrong i tell ya..why? first, not all the keywords in the question paper is mentioned in the recording, you'll miss other important things while you just focusing on certain keywords...then, keywords are not necessarily to be front(in order with the answer)...sometimes they mentioned the answer first before they do to the keywords..there's high probability we missed the ans.. The best way to run it is by listening and focusing on every part of the recording and summarize it, using this technique correctly, you wont lose any important information..write everything in your own words, and remember that the answer you are supposed to write are not fixed, different words with similar meaning are accepted..so don't worry to write in your own/or easier form..

Good luck !

SPEAKING - Tips & Tricks

We are proud to be asians, do we? oh yes i am.. but in the context of speaking in english, the fact is malaysians are not very good at it, provided our accent would be weird compared to the europeans..but i tell you frankly that speaking skills can be acquired/gained through rigorous/frequent practice and experience..and also constant exposure to 'english circles', get what i mean? lol.. In this post i'm goin to share my tips & tricks while i'm sitting for my MUET test last year...notice that what i'm sharing is probably would not be taught by your teachers/lecturers coz it's not really practical to be included in their syllabus, but nevertheless it brings great impact towards your speaking ability..so good luck people, i'm sure you can do it!

So here is some of the tips:

1) Memorize some (or should i say - many) basic english words
translation : hafalkan perkataan2 asas bagi bahasa inggeris
- Ok, now open your dictionary (preferably 'oxford advanced learner' version)...browse through it, you can see some words with a star sign on it's right..that's the basic word my friend..if you can remember at least 80%, band 4 is already in your hands..

2) Memorize 'short &simple' frequently used sentence as 'sentence connectors' or 'idea introduction'
translation : hafalkan ayat2 yang biasa digunakan orang sebagai 'penyambung ayat' atau sebelum mengemukakan idea anda
- This is really my favorite! Actually it helps you add some style while you speak..and it really helps in your 'fluency' marks..trust me! Instead of that, it may provide you some time to plan sentences that you wanna say next..
e.g - ...oh, is it so? but i thought maybe..
        ...yes your idea is there, but instead i think...
        ...i agree with you, and i also want to emphasize on...

3) Avoid using 'fillings'
translation : elakkan mengguna perkataan tambahan (dalam bahasa pasar)
- These kind of words will frequently pop-out spontaneously while we speak..now that's the asian's problem..i also have the same problem but work on it coz these words gonna evaporate your marks..
e.g : ...lah, ...ek?, ...kan?, ...pergh (lol)

4) Train your brain to have an english vocabulary
translation : latih diri anda untuk mendapatkan kosa kata bahasa inggeris
- This one's actually takes some time to master, but if you have an english vocabulary in your brain, it makes you speak in english more fluently, more accented, and with more flair...and you get all the attention, lol.. so what does it means to have an english vocabulary? the answer : think in english and speak out ..most people in malaysia plan/process/think of what they wanna say next in malay/chinese/tamil or any mother language..this will actually limit your ability/command while speaking in english..

5) Practice often and make it fun
translation : latih selalu dan jadikan ia menarik
- Easy, if you dont practice, you dont improve..so practice often, it'll help you a lot in your intonation and accent..and it helps you for your marks too..sit in a group and practice...practice..practice..


Good Luck !


p/s : i cant write much here since my time is limited, spent 1 1/2 hrs here oh...nex time i'll add more great tips & tricks in speaking and other 3 MUET parts..so be sure to check out.. bye~