10th Presentation-South Thailand

JAY: Salam…., before I proceed with my comment, I want to express my happiness because I had finished my three mid-term examinations last week. Erm, the presentation is still running and for this time, the topic is about South Thailand and the presenter is Nadiah a.k.a YaYa. South Thailand is the neighbor of Malaysia and mostly the citizens are the Muslims. From all the provinces in Thailand, the most famous province that has conflicts is South Thailand. The major conflicts are Krue Sae Incident, Tak Bai Incident and Religious Schools.
In terms of Nadiah presentation, she speaks with clear and understandable. She did not read from the slides or notes, it means that she is well-prepared. She is able to give explanation on every point and her presentation is well-organized because she has the smooth flow in delivering it.


Eyllia: Hye everybody! now, we have reach to the 10th topic which is south thailand..the presenter is Nadiah Arifin from Singapore.According to her presentation, she has highlighted several conflicts that happen in this country. For instance, Krue Sae Mosque incident, Tak Bai incident and also conflict about religious schools. She managed to explain briefly the chronological events of escalating. From this chronologies, i now have the knowledge about what happen in south thailand. Seems that every year south thailand is in conflicts. From 2001 until 2006 there are so many people killed. There are some factors that lead to the ongoing violence such as economic, political, cultural ignorance, social, lack of training and rivalries.

About her presentation, there are not so much things that i can comment. She has the confidence, good flow of presentation and very creative at the intro part. She got the eye-contact with her audiences as well..however, she may improve on her voice. It sounds monotonous. Overall, good job Yaya!!! :)

9th Presentation-Indonesia

JAY: Salam... First of all, I want to wish good luck for everyone that has mid-term. For today's class, we have our usual informative speech. The presentation is about Indonesia and the presenter is Tasnim. From the presentation, she shows the pictures of the former and recent Presidents of Indonesia with brief information. Indonesia has many conflicts such as in Ambon, Bali etc. Also, it has many natural disasters such as earthquake and recently is Tsunami. From all conflicts and issues around Indonesia, I feel interested with the conflict of Bali Bombing, it is because the nuclear bomb that has been used is different and not like the other bombs. It is because it can kill many people. I'm sure that Muslims could not afford to make the bomb. It must be some kind of combination of power countries to create the propaganda that Muslims are terrorists.
Regarding Tasnim's presentation, she has a good command of language and confidence. She is well-prepared but she speaks in a fast pace and has problem in pronouncing the Indonesian names and numbers. She can improve on her eye contact and speak in low pace. Overall, she did a great job!!!!!


Eyllia: salam to all...today, the presentation is all about INDONESIA and person who is responsible to present this country is TASNIM. According to her, Indonesia has 234,693,997 people in terms of its population. There are 86.1% muslims in this country. The ethnic groups such as javanese, sudanese, minangkabau, madurese, betawi, bugis, banten, banja and others. in her presentation, she managed to get pictures of previous preseidents. Well, this is a good effort. She explained the historical background of Indonesia through these pictures. Indonesia also has its own conflicts such as Bali bombing in 2002 which killed 220 people, nuclear bombing which Indonesian believe that Jamah Islamiah who leads this tragedy. Finally, the incidents of Rasa Sayang song issue. Indonesia claimed that it is its song but then Malaysia has 'steal' it from them.

In terms of Tasnim's presentation, well, she fluently speaks and has good command of english. however, she must to slow down her pace and increasing the eye-contact. She also cannot only depend on her text. Overall, well done girl!!! :)

8th Presentation - Rwanda

JAY: Assalamualaikum....., the 8th presentation is about Rwanda and the presenter is Qistina Shereen. Honestly, i don't know much about Rwanda but know, after the presentation, it enlightened me about what has happening in Rwanda. Briefly, Rwanda is a non-Muslim country, it has many conflicts such as the poor development, the uneffective government and recently, the issue of the thousands of orphans that are scattered around with no place to live in.

As for Qistina's presentation, she looks beautiful in her 'Baju Kurung' with the ribbon in her hands, she has good command of the language and looks confidence. She is well prepared and speaks with clear and loud. That's all from me. Adios!!!!!




Yaya: Salaam everyone! last friday's presentation was on the republic of Rwanda, presented by sis Qistina. honestly, i've heard of the name Rwanda but know not a sliver of info where it was and what's happening there.

the historical background and the reality of what is happening in said country were presented beautifully. sis Qistina made it so easy to understand her presentation, but i noticed that she had a problem pronouncing the names of the tribes there; i know i would have my tongues tied if i were to present (which reminded me that my topic to present also have words that are so difficult to pronounce!).

regarding the presenter, she was dressed for the occasion but the ribbons kind of distracted me several times. she faced the slides more often than establishing eye contact. she tends to apologized a lot; to me that action undermines her confidence in presenting, but she make up for it with her clear voice.

i am very lucky to be attending a university when others out there haven't the opportunity to even go to school like those less fortunate Rwandans youths. i've benefitted a lot by attending this class; it was such an eye-opener!

i just realized that my presentation is coming soon. hope madam will not spill what country i'm going to present because i have a little something to do for my opening, hehe...ugh the pressure is killing meeeee.....



Eyllia: Hye all! now, its my turn to give comments and opinions about this country, RWANDA. I have never come across about this country before and never know what this coutry has facing off. Well, from Qistina's presentation, now i have a little bit knowledge about Rwanda. Its locate at east-central africa which has 9,907,509 people in its population and its ethnicity are hutu, tutsi and twa. In this country, there is not much muslim only 4.6% from all. The government type is republic. All of the conflicts, begin because of power. The elites (Hutu) wanted to conquerers the power until the Tutsi feel that they have been oppressed by Hutus. From that, Tutsi begin to have their rights on that land. Until now, there is no solution between these two tribes.

Regarding Qistina's presentation, in my opinion, she has good flow of presentation and has good command of english. She has captured me with her appearance. however, she likes to say a same word to join the sentences which is 'BASICALLY' which to me it is very disturbing. The notes at slides are too long. There are so many points on slides. well, there are many ways that she can improve her weaknesses..GOOD JOB!!! :)

7th Presentation-Kashmir

JAY: Assalamualaikum…, before I proceed with my comment, I would like to wish ‘good luck’ to everyone that has mid-term this week. Study smart k….
Erm, the presentation for last Monday was about Kashmir and the presenter was Miranti. From my understanding, Kashmir is located at the center between Pakistan, India and China. The major official religion in Kashmir is Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist. The Kashmir valley is the important part because it is the most fertile land and the major residents are Muslims. It is one of the reasons that the conflicts emerged in Kashmir and the victims are mostly the Muslims.
For Miranti’s presentation, she delivers the information in confidence and clear. But, she can improve on her eye contact, avoid using language that most people could not understand and do not depend on reading the PowerPoint’s slides. My last word is ‘I like your presentation’s introduction’.

Yaya: salaam everyone! the presentation on monday was about Kashmir and presented by sis Ira. the topic was presented in a clear voice, but i only get and understand the part where the reasons for conflict was but other than that was a blur to me.

sis Ira was clearly nervous but she made up for it with her clear voice. she tends to read the slides too much thus no direct eye contact was established much and she tends to say non-words when not finding the right word to describe. but all those could not break down her determination to share with us the information about her topic and i admire that in her a lot. Keep up the good work!



Eyllia: salam for all...today the presentation is about a country named Kashmir and it is presented by sis MIRANTI or IRA.this country has its own conflict. The Pakistan and India is fighting over Kashmir. Maharaja Hari Singh agreed on the notion that Kashmir should be part of India rather than Pakistan. Ultimately, the Indians gained Kashmir because the most important political movement of that time, the National Conference Movement of the Kashimiri Muslims preferred India to Pakistan. There are several Kashimiri militant groups which are Hizbul Muhajideen, Lashkar-e-Toyeba, Harkut-ul-Muhajideen, Tehreek-e-Jehad and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

For Miranti's presentation, well, i can say that there is some effort. congratulations for her! nevertheless, she too depending on her slides. she has no eye-contact with audiences and she seems so nervous. the notes on slides are too long..all in all, she has done a good job!!! :)

6th Presentation-Pakistan

JAY: First of all, i would like to say 'welcome to the New Year of Islam'. May Allah bless us. Em, today's presentation is about Pakistan and the presenter is a lady which smiles all the time, Julida. From the presentation, it makes me more knowledgeable about Pakistan, now i know about the major conflicts in Pakistan which are the war between India & Pakistan, and the war between West Pakistan and East Pakistan. The latest issue is about Benazir assasination, the issue brings to the election which is on 18th February 2008.

For Julida's presentation, she is really a good memorizer, she is able to deliver the speech without depending on her text. Also, she follows the flow of the presentation which makes us more understand. But, she can improve on her volume of voice, means that she must speak louder.

Eyllia: Salam to all...today's presentation is about Pakistan, which is 1046 km coastline along the Arabian Sea (south) and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran (west), India (east) and China (far northeast).This topic was presented by JULIDA.From her presentation, i acquire lots of knowledge about this country, for example the major events that used to happen in Pakistan such as Indo-Pakistani War (1947) and Bangladesh-Liberation war (1971).

In first major conflict, this is about war between India & Pakistan, who fighting over the region of Kashmir...while the second major conflict is between West Pakistan and East Pakistan (Bangladesh).This war led to East Pakistan declaring its independence as the state of Bangladesh.however, in this war pakistan loss because they do not have well strategy plan..the current issue is about Benazir assassination.this happen on december,27,2007.she was shoot by gun twice at her brain and shoulder.the supporters of Benazir start to make chaos at the certain city.Bilawal (son) hope for a fair election.

for JULIDA's presentation, she doing a good job..she sometimes refer to the notes but its ok for that.anyway, her gesture is ok, her voice is a little bit monotonous..well she can improve on that.overall, her presentation is interesting! :)

5th Presentation-Palestine

JAY: The fifth presentation is on and the presenter is my own group member for our blog, ELLYIA. Now i will straight away with my comments. In my opinion, Palestine is a famous country because of the conflicts or issues that happened there. The major conflict is among Palestinian and Jews that fighting to get the land in Palestine. The land that Jews were fighting for is Jerusalem. They try to get Jerusalem because the Jews do not have their own land. One of the tactics that Jews attack Palestinian is to make the Muslims in Palestinian that are Sunni and Syiah fighting among themselves. This will make Jews interrupt and might have chance to conquer Jerusalem.
For Ellyia presentation, first of all, I want to say well done to her. Initially, she has shown some interesting pictures and explains the introduction in detail. In historical background and conflicts or issues sections, she chooses the important events and explains about every chronological conflict in detail. But, there is something that she can improve on such as focusing on all audiences in class and not to look at the front only. Furthermore, she must be well prepared about the topic and not to rely on the text in her hand, means that not to read the text all the way during the presentation.

Yaya: oh eyllia I am so sorry i didn't come for your presentation because I was sick. I wish you could post your notes on our blog so at least i could read it. hehe...

4th Presentation - Lebanon

Yaya: the 4th presentation was about a country called Lebanon. once a part of the Syrian territory, now liberated as an independent country. the topic was interesting to me in terms of the historical aspect but truthfully, i couldn't grasp on the issues or conflict happened in the country because i was concentrating hard on understanding Sis Nasrah was saying.

the presenter on that topic was Sis Nasrah, as stated above. good eye contact, confidence expressed well, and good command of the topic. her voice started soft but as the presentation goes on, it started to pitch higher. to me she sorts of mumble in her talk. not much gestures. did well in answering the questions. she did quite well. (ugh the pressure is on!)


JAY: For today class, the presentation is still running even though the presentation starts a bit late. The presenter is Nasra, a lady from Sudan and the topic is about Lebanon. From her presentation, it makes me gain my knowledge about Lebanon. Honestly, I don’t know much about the life and the conflict in Lebanon. But I have ever heard about the case of the former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri. In February 2005, he was assassinated in a car bomb explosion near the Beirut. Another issue is about Hezbollah, in July 2006, he kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and that led to a conflict, known in Lebanon as July War. At that time, I received a sms from an anonymous person, said that Hezbollah and his followers will launch the war.
For Nasra presentation, she has lots of information about the topic that makes the presentation’s flow becomes smooth. She has the confidence and well prepared. But, there is something that she can improve on, for example, her eye contact and the accent. Overall, she did a great job!!!!!!!!



EYLLIA: assalamualaikum to every one! today's presentation is about LEBANON and the presenter is SISTER NASRAH...its quite interesting actually knowing this country.honestly, i gain more knowledge about this country from her presentation.i know what happen in the country previously and recently..

about her presentation, nothing much to comment on her..just about her slang.sometimes, i cannot catch up the words that she is saying.but sis, u can improve on that...but over all her gesture, eye contact with the audience, her preparation and in answering the questions are all good.WELL DONE SIS!!! GOOD LUCK IN ANOTHER PRESENTATION...:)

Homonym, Homophone & Heteronym

Salaam! Yaya here! madam gave us a homework this morning: find 5 homonyms, homophones & heteronyms respectively. so here they are:

HOMONYM
Homonyms are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things.

You may find that in the dialect you speak, some of these are not actually homonyms. There tend to be far more homonyms in American and Scottish varieties of English, for example, than standard British English. This is because standard British English distinguishes more vowel sounds, and thus some of the words listed below would not be pronounced identically by some speakers.

1. air: –noun, a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and minute amounts of other gases that surrounds the earth and forms its atmosphere.
heir: –noun, a person who inherits or has a right of inheritance in the property of another following the latter's death.

2. bite: –verb (used with object), to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth.
byte: –noun Computers, adjacent bits, usually eight, processed by a computer as a unit.

3. cent: -noun, a bronze coin made of steel.
sent: –verb (used with object), to cause, permit, or enable to go.

4. dew: -noun, moisture condensed from the atmosphere, esp. at night, and deposited in the form of small drops upon any cool surface.
due: –adjective, owed at present; having reached the date for payment.

5. fir: –noun, any coniferous tree belonging to the genus Abies, of the pine family, characterized by its pyramidal style of growth, flat needles, and erect cones.
fur: –noun, the fine, soft, thick, hairy coat of the skin of a mammal.

HOMOPHONE
Oronyms (or homophones) are words which sound the same. Generally the word homophone is used to describe one of a pair or group of words that have the same sound (like prince and prints; allowed and aloud), whilst oronyms are normally strings of words (phrases) such as iced ink and I stink.

1. aloud: –adverb, with a loud voice; loudly.
allowed: -verb, To let do or happen; permit.

2. four: –noun, a symbol of this number, 4 or IV or IIII.
for: –preposition, with the object or purpose of.

3. sea: –noun, the salt waters that cover the greater part of the earth's surface.
see: verb (used with object, to perceive with the eyes; look at.

4. eye: –noun, the organ of sight, in vertebrates typically one of a pair of spherical bodies contained in an orbit of the skull and in humans appearing externally as a dense, white, curved membrane, or sclera, surrounding a circular, colored portion, or iris, that is covered by a clear, curved membrane, or cornea, and in the center of which is an opening, or pupil, through which light passes to the retina.
I: –pronoun, the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself.

5. wait: verb (used without object, to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens.
weight: –noun, the amount or quantity of heaviness or mass; amount a thing weighs.

Oronym (Homophone) Poetry
There is a well-known poem called Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer (I Have a Spelling Checker) that written almost entirely with homophones. It could be considered an oronym poem:

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

(Sauce unknown)

HETERONYM
What is a heteronym? A pair (or group) of heteronyms are words that have the same spelling (they are homographs) but different pronunciation (they are heterophones) and also different meanings.

There are hundreds of heteronyms in the English language, and they fall into several categories: true heteronyms, grammatical function heteronyms, capitonyms, accent heteronyms, and three-way heteronyms.

True Heteronyms
As has been said, there are many heteronyms in the English language, and there is not space for a comprehensive list here. The list below is a selection of the words that, whilst sharing a spelling, have unique pronunciations and unique meanings.

1. Wound; The doctor wound a bandage around the painful wound.
1st: -verb, to twine, fold, wrap, or place about something.
2nd: –noun, an injury, usually involving division of tissue or rupture of the integument or mucous membrane, due to external violence or some mechanical agency rather than disease.

2. Sewer; As the sewer sat sewing, she smelled the stench of a local sewer.
1st: –noun, a person or thing that sews.
2nd: –noun, an artificial conduit, usually underground, for carrying off waste water and refuse, as in a town or city.

3. Resent; I resent the fact that the letter was lost, but I have resent it.
1st: –verb (used with object), to feel or show displeasure or indignation at (a person, act, remark, etc.) from a sense of injury or insult.
2nd: –verb (used with object), -sent,to send again.

4. Number; I broke a number of bones in my right hand; it's number than the left.
1st: –noun, the sum, total, count, or aggregate of a collection of units, or the like: A number of people were hurt in the accident. The number of homeless children in the city has risen alarmingly.
2nd: adjective -er,deprived of physical sensation or the ability to move: fingers numb with cold.

5. Entrance; The lavishly decorated entrance will entrance the visitors.
1st: -noun, a point or place of entering; an opening or passage for entering, as a doorway.
2nd: –verb (used with object), to fill with delight or wonder; enrapture.

That's all folks! my homework is done! ^o^

Taken from: fun-with-words.com
meanings: dictionary.reference.com


JAY: Lesson for today_Jan 2, 2008

In oral speaking, there are many criteria for a person to be a good and better speaker. The examples of criteria are good command of language, possessing knowledge, confidence and must have flow of delivering. But for today class, we focus on the first example which is good command of language. Language is a medium of interaction between people which is involved the using of sounds, intonation, words and symbols. Symbols are very important because it helps us describe something when we forget certain word. Language is complex and has multiple meaning. In language there is HOMONYM, HOMOPHONES and HETERONYM.


Homonym: Word that has many meanings. For example,

1. aero = of aircraft
arrow = slender, pointed shaft

2. bean = a legume
been = past tense of be

3. marry = to join in matrimony
merry = happy

4. rain = precipitation
rein = horse's steering wheel

5. some = a few
sum = result of addition


Homopnones: words which sound alike but in different spelling

1. accessary = accessory
2. sauce = source
3. marshal = martial
4. some = sum
5. knew = new


Heteronym: Word that has the same spelling but in different pronountiation and different meaning. For example:

1. Buffet BUFFet - to pound or bump
booFAY - place where you serve yourself

2. Bow BAU - to lower one's head or the front of a ship
BOH - used to shoot arrows

3. Close CLOZE - to shut
CLOS - near

4. Record RECKord - a list
reKORD - to write down

5. Object ubJEKT - to complain
AHBjekt - a thing

Well, that's all from me..tata..



EYLLIA: HOMONYM, HOMOPHONE & HETERONYM

A HOMONYM is defined as one of two or more words that have the same sound and often the same spelling but differ in meaning, such as too (also) and two (the number).

examples:

1. board - noun -> a plan of wood
I used a board to cover the window.

bored - adjective -> not interested
He was bored by the meeting.


2. ate - verb -> past tense of the verb 'to eat'
She ate a quick lunch and returned to work.

eight - number -> the number 8
I bought eight tickets to the concert.

3. base - noun -> the bottom support of something
I think we need a new base for that lamp.

bass - noun -> the lowest pitches in music, singer of the lowest pitches
I sang bass in the church choir.

4. cell - noun -> a small room, usually in a prison
There are two prisoners per cell in that prison.

sell - verb -> to provide for sale
They sell books and magazines.

5. break - verb -> to damage something
Unfortunately, I often break my toys!

brake - noun -> stopping device on a vehicle
He used the brake to stop quickly.



HOMOPHONES are homonyms that share the same pronunciation. Homophones may be spelled the same (in which case they are also homographs) or spelled differently (in which case they are heterographs).

examples:

1. a) My family likes to travel by plane, but it's not cheap.

b) Asian people eat a lot of dishes with rice of different tastes: plain rice,fried rice with seafood, and sweet rice puddings.


2. a) He knows why he is getting bad grades.

b) Her nose really hurts.


3. a) They wanted to buy a new car, but couldn't get a loan from their bank.

b) The Lone Ranger was his hero.


4. a) Members meet every week.

b) Vegetarians don't eat meat.


5. a) She was told her foot should heal in about nine weeks.

b) The heel of her shoe broke off.



HETERONYMS are homonyms that share the same spelling but have different pronunciations. That is, they are homographs which are not homophones.

examples:

1) Excuse; Please excuse me while I think of an excuse.

2) Polish; Tell the Polish cleaners to polish the floor.

3) Minute; The button was so minute that it was a minute before I found it.

4) Wind; Hopefully the wind will be strong enough to wind the windmill.

5) Record; It's the referee's job to record the new world record.