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~