The Lessons in Detail

1. Phonology of English

In the Phonology of English lessons, I was able to learn more about the correct pronunciation of English. I was corrected and praised at times and I felt that I had learned a lot under Dorothea.

Each time we met, there would be a short lecture on the different aspect of phonology. It would be followed by group work based on a handout. We would practice as a group before having individual practices on the self-recording and monitoring system. Dorothea would listen to me practicing the dialogue or sentences or phrases. We would also listen to our own recording on the tapes.

2. Systems of English

After years of using and learning, Rosemary Douglas really made us dig deep into our thoughts, ideas and books into understanding the various aspects of grammar of English. Now I come to understand that there is no such thing as future tense. It is just a term to express events that will happen in the future. I believe that there are still many things to learn.

3. Information Technology

During the Study Skills, I had the opportunity to use the computers in Demonstration School Room 11. The computers there were the Elonox which were based on the IBM format. At that time, I was really getting into the feel of computers and its usefulness.

During the first term in 1993, I had to attend tutorials and workshops so that I could handle and use other computers like the Apple Macintosh. These were the better and up-to-date versions. They were easier to work with because they have been installed with Claris Work; a software similar to Microsoft Office now. I did not have any problem switching between these computers. Mike Quickfall was indeed a nice and helpful lecturer. He was ever ready to give us a hand when we needed help. I really had a wonderful time attending the lessons.

4. Reflections on Classroom Practice

This was another topic or module that really brought me out of my shell, of assumptions and ideas to the world of reflecting upon all those ideas and make criticisms. From here I was guided to evaluate ideas, hypotheses and views of others.

5. Understanding Organisations

Bob McNie, the lecturer of this module provided us with a lot of facts, figures and information about schools in Scotland; both primary and secondary. All these information were given to prepare us to meet and accept the system of education here. Besides that it wa also to help us in assignments based on facts and information gathered during the visit to the schools.

7. Sports Elective

Every Friday mornings and Monday evenings I chose to attend sports as en elective.

On Monday there was a session on badminton from 3.00 pm till 5.00 pm; usually ending at 4.30 pm. It was really fun knowledgeable learning and experiencing coaching techniques and skills under Alistair Wilson. It was tiring though but it was worth it as a form of exercise/

The Friday session of basketball under Bill; another lecturer was another hectic and tiring session. Skills were imparted and we practiced and played games with the local Scottish students. Chasing, marking and competing with these young local students was really exhausting. But they were always friendly and nice to us. During rest time and in the changing room, there were always chats and friendly exchanges. We would be looking forward to meeting one another in the next session.

The worst part after a module; usually after 4 to 5 weeks was a written assignment or folio. We had to put our ideas about coaching techniques and skills into these assignments. It was a totally new experience. Anyway we created quite an impression by producing wonderful essays with lots of graphics. Here scanning and pasting pictures with the aid of computers were a breeze.