The World of Tai Tai

I helped a colleague to present her writing during the second day of a literature course. Unaware of the silly grammatical errors she had made, I made myself a laughing stock during the presentation. One teacher even made such a remark: "What a lousy English teacher!" The following is her writing: Diligence - Hans has been a very loyalty and hardworking member of the expedition. He fulfils his responsibilities without having to be told. For example, he builds a raft using giant reeds, cut it off and tied it together with the climbing ropes. Determination - Otto is very determines person. He spends as much times, effort and energy to decode the message meaning of the message so that he can set off on his journey to the centre of the earth. Perseverance - When Otto finds himself and his team back at the same shore they set out from as a result being caught in the electric storm, he is courage enough to carries on his journey despite many setback and difficulties. ...

During a course, I argued with three 'Guru Cemerlang'(outstanding teachers) over the use of 'determine' as a verb until I was blue in the face. Below is the cause of the verbal spar: on second thought he determined to take upon his own shoulders the responsibility of organizing some amusements (I picked the sentence from Thomas Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge) Insisting that the word could not be used as a verb, they had the gall to tell me to go back learning English in Primary One!Almost everyone in the conference room agreed with them. I suffered a humiliating loss. However, can the word 'determine' be used as a verb? The answer is a definite yes. But nobody wanted to look at its usage in my Oxford dictionary. So Lame! According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "determine" can also be a verb. Some examples: verb [with object] 1 cause (something) to occur in a particular way or to have a particular nature: it will be her mental atti...

I wrote a story entitled 'They Found Me'. The title was given by the famous expat writer Robert Raymer during a recently-held writing workshop. I haven't done much editing yet. So, It may have many errors. Title: They Found Me The crowds at the Sunday bazaar begin to thin away with the decline of the sun towards the upper end of the riverine town.Kassim has just finished eating the rice given by Mak Minah, a generous lady who runs an economy rice stall at the bazaar. Licking the leftover gravy off his lips, he sits on a curb beside the bus stand with an intent look at the slowed-down transactions between the vendors and their customers. The vendors begin to pack up their stalls while the customers are in their haste to go home. He never comes to the bazaar when it is thick with people. He makes his usual appearance at the bazaar around 5.00pm. He always sits in the same spot, biding his time and waiting for an opportunity to collect unsold, wilted vegetables. ...

I have a phobia of entering Two Diligence. I can't control the students well. My morale has almost gone phut. They shake their heads when I ask them where their textbooks are. They don't write anything in the distributed worksheets. They make noise when I am teaching. All my language games are bland to them . They like comparing me with other teachers. They doubt my credibility as an English teacher. Recently they like to practise street dancing in my lessons. They perform one-arm push up, cartwheels, tumbling and whatnot. My warnings fall on deaf ears. I can only pray that they won't get hurt. Some of them also like to play truant. They let fly at me with a stream of curses when I admonish them. I find my enthusiasm for teaching gradually sapping. Only the girls are attentive in my lessons. No wonder female students account for 70% of the entire university population in Malaysia. Some teachers told me point-blank that my teaching was too insipid and uninspiring. ...

I am attending a module-writing course for literature component. The JUs are pontificating ad nauseam about teaching approaches. I hate their haughtiness. I wish I were at home now. I want to sleep and wake up re-energized!