To You, it is easy. But to Students, it is not!

Today I learn a great deal of lesson from my teaching experience at Yamabiko Language Center. Yesterday I shouted with one of my student because he was too lazy to review all the lessons I had taught him. I was so frustrated that I could not hold my temper. To my perspective, I think that the exercises in the book are easy, but why they could not do it even though I try my best to explain them the instruction. However, I totally forget that my students are just elementary students and they do not know much English especially if I require them to talk in English. It is somehow difficult for them to live up to my standard. I have studied English for more than 10 years and now I am a university student, which is why I mistakenly yell at them.

Now the problem is that student did not turn up to school today. I suspect that perhaps he is afraid of me and scared to study English with me. I really regret my wrongdoing as a teacher.

The lesson I learnt is that I, as a teacher, should not set a belief that the lesson or exercise is easy, because it may be difficult for the students. Better try to encourage them, inspire them, praise them, give value to them to make them work hard. Hmmmm…. Now I have only a few students left if that student really quit. What a memorable teaching experience, but I will work to my best and never surrender to any obstacle facing upon me.

Being an English teacher

I have always looked for a teaching position at any schools. I am not picky in choosing which school teacher; I don't mind about salary whether it is low or high. What I want is just experience in teaching English, as I am going to have a teaching practicum for my year 4. 

Recently, I have got what I had wanted - being a teacher. I am assigned to teach a Pre-Intermediate class which has 4 students. However, on the first day there were only 2 students was present. The next day, the unthinkable happened. My 2 students ran away from my class and join a Grammar class (I suspect that they doubt in  my ability to teach and my depth of English, since I look really young), therefore, I have no Pre-Intermediate students to teach. Fortunately, an Elementary class teacher would be absent for about a month because he has measles. So I get another chance to teach an Elementary class. My Elementary students could not speak English well enough. They have forgot what they had learned. I have tried my best to guide and teach them. I strongly believe that my students are not stupid. They are just a little bit lazy. If I can point out the motives for them to study hard, encourage them and inspire them, they will work their best to produce a satisfactory result. 

Things do not always go smoothly. I have no motorbike to ride to school, so I drive my car. I afraid that my car may fall prey to thief or there would be some damage done to my car. I do not want my car to have a scratch or any damage, which make me feel so insecure. I am trying to find other ways of transporting me to the school.

 

Another problem is that since my students are good at English, I cannot speak English to them so most of the time (90%) I have to speak in Khmer. I want to improve my Speaking skill, but I don't think that by speaking Khmer all the time, my Speaking ability would be improve.

What I am thinking right now is finding a school near to my house or other well-known schools, because I don't really want to teach 4 or 5 students. Newton Thilay, Sovannphumi and Hello are my target schools, because these schools really care about their teacher. These school would provide training, test to improve teachers' knowledge and teaching ability.

These problems really frustrate me. However, I would not consent my frustration to affect my teaching toward my students. I have already tried my best to guide them to become a better students and this would not be the end of journey just yet.

Sanction against Libya will not end Gadhafi’s Reign of Terror

By: LENG Bun Meng 


Security Council has unanimously voted to impose sanction against Libya because of Moamar Gadhafi’s violent crackdown on the innocent protesters by means of using machine gun to fire live ammunition, using bombing planes and helicopters to bombard the protesters. The sanction is to pressure Gadhafi to step down. The main question is “Will the sanction be able to make Gadhafi resign?” In my view, I doubt it. Sanction alone will not help Libya but only destroy the Libyan people.

Throughout the course of history, how many times has sanction imposed against a country work effectively? For instance, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government is known to have survived for more than 10 years despite the sanction until the invasion of the United States. Sanction against Burma and North Korea are other clear examples. The leaders of Burma and North Korea show no sign of backing down. The bottom line is that the Libyan government would not collapse even with sanction because Gadhafi can still do business in black market as Saddam did. He can still reign in his throne, killing and oppressing many more civilians.    

Furthermore, sanction against Libya will only harm the lives of many more innocent lives. Let’s take Iraq as an example. The sanction did not hurt Saddam and his top elite but only starved a massive number of innocent Iraqi people to death. Saddam could still kill those who oppose him; Saddam could still kill more women and children. Gadhafi can do the same thing. 

Gadhafi has crossed the border and arrived at a point where there is no way of turning back. Gadhafi’s scenario is completely different from Mubarak’s. If Gadhafi decides to step down as Mubarak did, he will definitely face trial in the International Criminal Court, charged with crime against humanity and war crime. If he wants to live in exile, which country would allow an international criminal to stay? As a Chinese quote says: “A dog at deadlock has no choice but to bite back.”, Gadhafi will not give up his power easily without a tough fight. He will do whatever it takes to keep his position even if he has to kill his own people again.

The future of Libya is in a dark prospect more than ever. The Security Council must consider military intervention in Libya before it is too late. It appears that civil war in the country with the population of just 6 million is inevitable. If civil law really happens, bloodbath and annihilation is to be foreseen.

Famous and Inspirational Quote

Influenced by my New Headway book's Chapter 7, I started to have a new idea of what to write in my blog. This new idea is "quote by famous people. Sometime when u are so down and feel like you want to give up, inspirational really lift your spirit up. So I will try to find great quotes from great people. Here is my first quote: ( I will explain the quote later)


"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."- Albert Einstein (1879-1955 German-born-American Scientist, Philosopher)

Human Intriguing Interest 2

Actually, this post is what I wanted to write for my previous post last time, but I turned out to be critical and wrote about obsession. This is what I really want to write about. Similarly, it is about human personal interest. We, human, are different in so many ways. Not only are our faces different, but also our hobby and personal interest about things in this world are distinct. Some are so into cars that you would find them enjoy talking about different model of cars, cars' parts. To make their cars look elegant and eye-catching, some would pay a considerable amount of money to buy car's spare parts and install them to the cars. Some would be interested in big motorcycles (Nighthawk, BMW, Yamaha), bicycles (some bikes would even cost well over $1,000). I have a friend who is really adore guitar. He said if he had a lot of money, he would buy a 500 dollar guitar. At first, I thought why the hell do want to spend 500 bucks on a guitar. What is the difference between the 40$ guitar and  the 500$ guitar? If I were him, I would not stupidly waste my money on that guitar.

I started to think about it and I begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I use my own perspective and interest as a yardstick to judge other people. I do not know how to play guitar and I do not know the special things about a 500 dollars guitar. Perhaps the sound quality may be different because the guitar is made from a special kind of wood, which also make the handling of the guitar more convenient. I forget to think about the fact that cars differ from one another. Some cars would cost more than a staggering $200.000. The more famous the car 's brand is, the more expensive. Compared with the $200.000 car, the $500 guitar is almost absolutely nothing. To my amazement, a camera would cost more than $1.000. To some people, they would not call "Len" not camera. It is really hard to dig deep into human mind and clearly explain our personal interest. Why do one person really love cameras, while another person adores mountain bicycles and think that cameras are boring. To my perspective, I find it really astonishing. We would dare to spend a vast amount of money to satisfy our interest. It may be viewed as silly by other people, but we do not care. As far as I'm concerned, this phenomenon has to do with human's insatiable wants. We want this and that and even if we get what we want, we still feel that it is not enough. To some extent, our endless wants are the factor that push human society forward. If we are simply complacent with what we have, we would still be living in cave now. Furthermore, people have different childhood and encounter different things. Maybe what we encounter  is embedded in our heart and later become our interest.

Life is not all about work work and work. It is worthwhile to do something to please ourselves. After all,  it is impossible to carry the money we earn when our life ends. We only live once. Don't let our lives become a boring one. Life should be full of euphoria, surprise, happiness and smiles. Capitalize on your life and make it an enjoyable one.

Human Intriguing Interest

By: LENG Bun Meng

It is really amusing to see the difference between people's personality and interest and how people are obsessed with their interest. It is safe to say there is no one common interest or hobby of human being. One's interest may seem lame or weird to another. For example, you may view a person who collect various of sneakers as strange. The reasons why he/she collects a large number of sneakers is simply because "THEY LOVE SNEAKERS!" There are people who are shopaholics and insatiably craving for top brand materials; that is, Gucci, Prada, Luis Vuitton, Burberry, Chanel and the list goes on and on. Obviously, these materials with top brands are expensive. However, some people still want more and more and never seem to be satisfied. Furthermore, it is apparent that some of us are obsessed with celebrity. Some even have hundred of photos of our their favourite idol. Our interest on a particular thing is not really a big deal. Still, we, human, should keep our interest to a limit.. Don't go TOO extreme. More often than not, the word "TOO" produces negative consequences. It is ok to have our interest and do something to please ourself. I also have my interest. BUT, don't be too obsessed. Choose the middle way. Just to be on the safe side, my opinion may not be 100% correct. But I strongly believe it is at least correct to some extent! :)

Beauty = Confidence

By: LENG Bun Meng

Have you face ever flooded with acne or scar? How do you feel when u talk to someone and you have to look at them straight into the eyes? I can bet that you would not dare to look at him/her straight in the face. You have the tendency to turn yourself away, stop the conversation and release yourself out of this misery. So what is the reason behind it? The answer lies in just one simple word: Confidence. You have no confidence to talk to that person and you do not want him/her to look at your ugly face. This case happen to me very often. When my face is full of acne, I would not want to talk to people; I would constantly keep my head down; I would not want to meet with people as well as taking photo. Normally, we would hear people saying that beauty is not important. The real beauty is from the inside. However, to some extent beauty is indispensable. As for my case, I would not have the gut to talk to people and it clearly undermine my own self-esteem, self-belief, self-confidence.

 

Check out her smile Before and After

Let's look at this above picture. Can you spot any difference between the 2 smiles (before and after)? Of course, there is a tremendous difference. Before, she would not dare to smile to show all her teeth, but after polishing her teeth she would smile to reveal all her white teeth without any fear. Beauty can totally raise your self-confidence.

Therefore, try to dress smart and take care of your beauty. Do not let your own beauty let yourself down. However, I do not call on all people to wear makeup every day, but I just want everyone to do something to make yourself look nice. You can change your hairstyle, use foam that suits your skin type to remove all the dirt to have a radiant face. Try to wear nice clothes to boost your morale. Try to wear nice clothes to boost your morale. If you do not have a good looking and it is impossible to change, do not let this small negative point to undermine your self-confidence. You must have faith in yourself and keep telling yourself that you are beautiful in your own ways. Do not ever let your appearance bring you down.