Category: My Blog

• My Blog

07 Jun 2014

The GCE O-levels Oral exams will commence in 2 months’ time.  In conjunction with the coming exams, I am thrilled to announce the release of my latest book “O-Level English Oral” this week at all major bookstores islandwide.

The oral exam is one of the easiest components to excel yet a lot of students have difficulties acing the exam.  What makes this book unique and different from those existing in the market is that it comes with official marking scheme to enable students to note the important aspects to tackle the actual exam.  Besides, it also comes with important pointers on how to prepare mentally and strategically.

More interestingly, all the pictures in the book were taken by me and not only consist of local ones but also of different parts of the world during my visit to these places.  The purpose is to create a wide variety of topics relevant to the examination theme.

• My Blog

27 May 2014

A village girl in Vietnam had to fight against hunger as she had no pocket money in school.  Her parents burned all her books not once but TWICE to force her out of school.  Yet Ms Tay Thi Nguyen persevered and while other children had blessings and all forms of encouragement from parents, her mom cursed that she failed the University entrance exams.

Despite all odds, she trumped them all and aced the entrance exams… A remarkable show of resilience indeed!

(With reference to The Straits Times dated 26 May 2014 – One girl’s fight against all odds to pursue education)

• My Blog

11 April 2014 

Following the success of my second book, “Visual Text Comprehension” for Lower Secondary, I was requested to come up with the Upper Secondary version.  It was by no means easy to write the book in such a short time.  Thus, it gives me great pleasure to announce the release of my third book, “Upper Secondary Visual Text Comprehension – GCE O-Level” to hit the bookstores and schools this month!

Tremendous effort was put in to source real advertisements, plan and ensure the graphics were designed appropriately.  The objective ultimately is to help students visualise the underlying messages in advertisements.  I must really give credit to my wife for her help in painstakingly designing the graphics for the book.  

Nonetheless, the endless nights in writing the book is well worth it when students are able to benefit and gain insights from its content.

• My Blog

9 Jan 2014

I had my books published, and one of them, the Lower Secondary Visual Text Comprehension was very well received!  It was really a meaningful journey thus far.  It was particularly humbling when the Lower Secondary Visual Text Comprehension book was even listed in the booklists of some schools.

Examples 

I sincerely thank those who have been a part in this wonderful journey and I promise to do better.

Meanwhile, I take this opportunity to wish everyone good health and a successful 2014! 

• My Blog

14 Sep 2013

Timothy did well enough to qualify for the Poly but his application for Culinary Course was rejected.  Instead he was offered Business Studies.  

Timothy has always loved food and knew what he wanted to do in his life; food no less… And passionate he was indeed.  He gave up what many would consider unthinkable; a Polytechnic education to pursue his dream – in ITE.

It was no looking back since.  He went on to top his cohort in ITE winning the LKY Gold Medal and a place in a The Culinary Institute of America – a World Class University in culinary skills.

Timothy has exhibited what the spirit of education should be; learn to take risk and dare to be different.  Follow your PASSION and not the masses.  Success will come knocking… It can’t be more true.

• My Blog

20 Aug 2013

After months of preparation, I am pleased to announce the launch of my second book, “VISUAL TEXT COMPREHENSION” in schools and The Popular bookstores!

I must hasten to add that the material is also the only one of its kind right now in the market.  My brother-in-law who is a graphics designer for print advertisements created the illustrations in the exercises to give it a touch of authenticity.  There is no assessment book of similar capacity to help students in this regard.

The Visual Text Comprehension is a new component in the English exams where students are required to interpret the underlying meanings in posters and print advertisements.  We are constantly clouded with subtle or bold messages telling us what we need or should do in the world of advertising.  How do we interpret the various objectives by looking at orchestrated pictures and texts?  It may seem fairly straightforward but surprisingly, students have been found to encounter difficulties understanding these messages.

This book thus aims to help students visualise the various advertisement strategies so as to better equip them to handle the visual segment in the exams.

• My Blog

Aug 2013

(With reference to The Straits Times – He went from jail to NUS law school)

A classic example of true determination…

Surrounded by dangerous and hardcore criminals, a maximum prison environment is certainly one of the worst places to STUDY.  Not to mention supportive or even conducive… 

But Darren was not to be beaten.  He prepared for the A levels not at top notch JC but on his own in his prison cell.  His grit earned him 4As and 1B and a place in NUS Law School.  Remarkable achievement!  Hope this article can be a motivation for us; if life throws you lemons, add some sugar and make it into lemonade!

• My Blog

May 2013

It gives me great pleasure to announce my first book, “ENGLISH EDITING” to be released by end of this month in schools!

The English Editing is a recent component in the exams that challenges students to identify grammatical errors in seemingly correct sentences.  With the advent of text messaging and instant chats, students have disregarded the essence of grammar.  It is no surprise then, many students are stumped in this interesting and crucial exercise.

This book aims to assist pupils to spot common grammar mistakes and better prepare them to tackle the editing section in the exams.

Besides the school bookshops, you can also obtain a copy of this book from the Popular Bookstores island wide.

• My Blog

January 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I would like to start the New Year by addressing the importance of communication skills.  Much as we put emphasis on writing skills, the relevance of public speaking cannot be undermined.  Why?  Good writing skills can only get you this far in exams.  But it is speaking skill that stays with you in school, in society, at work; in short, for life. 

Public speaking is NOT only about addressing an audience per se.  Rather, I like to call it verbal skills.  This skill challenges you to express your thoughts coherently, articulate the words clearly and put your ideas across confidently.  And to do that, you need to write these points, ideas and thoughts.  Isn’t that writing?  So really, verbal skill is one step ahead of writing that we must not disregard.  From students trying to impress examiners in oral exams or university interviews to corporate leaders painting pictures of their vision to their teams and politicians attempting to convince voters; it’s all about SPEAKING up.  Think about it…

On this note, I would like to leave you with a video of a 9-year-old boy currently taking public speaking lessons from me.  This boy is certainly an unpolished gem…

• My Blog

November 2012 

I have been asked numerous times; after spending more than a decade in the corporate world, why teaching? Indeed, I had my fair share of triumphs in the world of business; clinching deals both big and small.

In the course of my career, it gave me joy whenever I could share my knowledge with colleagues. Even when I was in Management, mentoring a staff never failed to put a smile on my face.

Hence, now that I am coaching the young minds and helping adult learners, the satisfaction from being able to enlighten people is beyond words. Unlike the achievements that gave me pride which inevitably led to ego in the rat race, the sense of fulfillment in my teaching pursuit gave me motivation. Where there is passion, there isn’t a need for carrot…

Let me begin by sharing some interesting encounters since embarking on this journey…

Foreigners made up a sizeable pool of my students. They are wizards in numbers but when it comes to the English language, they are struggling. I always inspire them with a personal story few people knew about. When I entered school, I could not speak a single word of English. It didn’t help that the school was bent on excellence in the language. No kid wanted to be my friend and I was never liked by my teacher because of this inadequacy. I was spurred to do something. I pushed myself to use the language daily (however difficult then) and read as much as I possibly could. I persisted amidst the knocks and mockeries. Eventually I aced the language in the GCE exams and even became a debater in the international arena.

Very often, what seems impossible in the short term becomes very possible in the long term if you persist.