Online Task 4

Speech

 
1. Think of at least 3 benefits of using speeches by famous figures, in the classroom.

• It has less grammatical error. So, students can make use of the speech to learn grammar and sentence structure.
• The language used is standard. 
• It can be a sample for students to write persuasive essay. They can learn many persuasive words and techniques which can make their essay more interesting. 
• It provides higher level of critical thinking skill. 
• It usually provides a lot of useful historical events, discussing global issues and inculcate moral values.

2. Go to www.youtube.com and find the audio-visual on the speech. In not less than 50 words, state would the audio-visual be of any use in helping understand the speech better? State your reasons.

    

     The audio-visual is definitely a useful device in helping understand the speech better. This is because 75% to 90% of all a human learns comes to him via the visual pathways. By using the audio-visual aid, students can see a lot of things that give extra information. For example, the speaker’s body language, eye contact, facial expressions, emotions and articulation. Thus, students can understand better the purpose of the speech. Furthermore, the audio-visual can attract the students’ attention to listen and focus. It also trains students to be active listeners through various responding.  

3. Who is Martin Luther King?
   

    Martin Luther King (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was also a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. Besides, he is the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

4. Based on the questions below, analyse the features of the given written speech:
a. What is the purpose of the speech?
    The purpose of the speech is to fight for black man's freedom and equality. He wanted to stop the racial discrimination in United States.

b. What is the tone of the speech?

    The tone of the speech is full of motivational, influential and passionate. It was delivery in a natural rhythm which can easily caught the intention of audiences.

c. What interesting major feature(s) can you see from the speech? (i.e.Repetition of 
    phrases, emphasis on certain things said etc)

    The interesting feature that I can see from the speech is anaphora, the repetition of phrases. Martin Luther King had repeated eight times "I have a dream" in his speech. Futhermore, he also repeated the phrases such as "One hundred years later", "Let freedom ring", "free at last", "Now is the time", " We can never be satisfied," and "With this faith". The repetition phrases also show emphasis. It makes the speech more memorable and more persuasive.

d. Any interesting facts that you can gather based on the background of the speech?

• Martin Luther King drew his references from a wide variety of sources, including the Bible, the US Declaration of Independence and Shakespeare.  
• As a result of the speech, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• His teacher, Miss Lemon inspired him to fight for freedom and equality. 

5. Suggest a while-reading activity that can be derived from this particular speech. 
    Mind-mapping. Students list down the main ideas of the speech in chronological order using mind-map.

Online Task 3

Bio-Poem: Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Brave, wise, generous and highly respected

Black leader in South Africa

Who loved equality, freedom and peaceful

Who hated discrimination, apartheid and racism

Who wanted to see equality for all, freedom for all and justice for all

Who changed history as he became the president of South Africa

Resident of Qunu, Transkei

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Online Task 2

Do we have a canon for Malaysian literary works? Let's say we do, who do you think are in it? Consider the fact that their works are well-known and most importantly included as part of the school syllabus- (both in BM and English)

a. Jungle of Hope by Kamaluddin Mahmud (Keris Mas)

b. The Dead Crow by Datuk A.Samad Said

c. Si Tenggang's Homecoming by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh

The poems by Erica Jong raises some feminist issues. What are they?

Feminist issues that found in Erica Jong's poems are  female role, gender bias and sexual abuse.

Do you think they are suitable to teach at the secondary school level? Explain.

I think Erica Jong's poems are not suitable to teach at the secondary school level. It is because her poem contains sex and love issues which are improper to teach to our teenagers. This will give them bad impact. Furthermore, her poems talk about gender issues which may provoke our youngsters to quarrel. It is not suitable to let our students feel that one gender is better than another. It should be treated equally.

Is Hillary Tham's poem more suitable?
Yes. Hilary Tham's poem is more suitable than Erica Jong's. Since Hilary Tham is a local writer, his works are related to our social life. It is more connected to our students life too. Some more, his poems are more liberal. His poems let us feel fun, loving and meaningful. Thus, students can easily relate themselves to the poems.

The short tale from the Native American group is about a girl who is unsatisfied with her life. How is this a universal experience? Can it teach our students anything?
It is human nature to feel unsatisfied with simple things. That's why we have cars, aeroplane, iphone and so many advance technologies. These are all the human nature who encourage us to invent and create more. But, unsatisfied with simple things sometimes do get us disadvantages too. For example, you just bought an iphone 4 but after few months iphone 4S is launched. Now, you think to buy it too. Well, this is actually normal. But, we need to control our desire. We must live within our budget of living. It is not worth, if we keep on increasing our debts because of those luxury items. So, this short tale could actually teach our students to think wisely, there is no specific answer to say unsatisfied with simple things is incorrect or correct. Just depends on matter.
 

Langston Hughes

 From your findings about his background, tell me about the dilemma he conveys through the poem CROSS.

Langston Hughes has a white man father but an African American mother. In the poem CROSS, he had written his entire dilemma. He is sad and dissatisfied with his parents and he cursed them. Another dilemma is he does not know how he wants to die, like his father - the white man, or his mother - the African America woman. The dilemma here is that the white is rich while the African American is poor and being oppressed.

 

I find "Dinner Guest: Me" laden with irony and sarcasm. Briefly state if you feel the same.

This poem is full of irony and sarcasm. From the lines, "I know I am, The Negro Problem"  show that racial issues between the African American and the white. African American are treated as slave and uneducated people whereas the white man are considered highly educated and rich people.

The experience in the poem Harlem is one that is true for many people. Do you agree?
I agree. The poem Harlem is full of racist issues. Although the blacks are freed from slavery after the civil war, they were still regarded as second class citizens. The African American was segregated in many forms like busses, restrooms and even schools.

Langston Hughes fights for the voice of his people. What is the movement called? 

Civil rights movement

 

Online Task 1

Folktale

List some of the well-known folktales from Malaysia.

 a. Unlucky Si Belang
 b. Paddy that turns to Gold
 c. Greed does not pay
 d. The Clever Servant 
 e. The Disobedient Boy 
  f. The Stingy Rich Man 
 g. Awang’s Large Hand
 h.  How Malacca got its name 
  i.  The Curse of Batu Gajah 
  j.  Mosquitoes from the Swamp
 k. The Owl Misses the Moon
  l.  The Cursed Princess 

List some of the possible issues found in The Son of the Turtle Spirit.

a. Super nature power. Turtle can transform into human. 

b. Obeying. The young girl  in the story obeys what ever her parents have decided. Her son  

    also obeys what she tells him to do.

c. Morality. It is not suitable to fall in love with someone you don't know where he comes from. 

    This will make our parents feel anxiety.

d. Honesty. The young girl does not lie to her parents. She does not run away after knowing she 

    is pregnant. She admits to her parents.

e. Dreams. Chinese believe that who ever get  dream of the ancestors wanting something or  
    move their remains, they must do so. Or else bad luck will fall upon to the family. 


Are those issues universal in nature or are they only relevant in the Chinese culture?
Only 'e' is relevant in the Chinese culture. Others are all universal in nature. 

Fables

What are the other morals that can be gotten from the other fables by Aesop? List at least two. 

The dog and the hare - No one can be a friend if you know not whether to trust or distrust him.

The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass - Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others.

The Crow and the Raven -  Those who assume a character which does not belong to them, only make themselves ridiculous.

The Crab and the Fox -  Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness.

 

Myths

One well-known literary figure from the Elizabethan age used Ovid’s Pyramus and Thisbe as a model to one of his famous plays. Who is he and what is the play? 

 He is William Shakespeare. The play is 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Legends
List some of the popular legends we have in Malaysia.

a. The Legend of Mahsuri

b. The Legend of Princess Sa'adong

c. Magic lake of Pregnant Maiden

d. Legend of Perhentian Island

e. Langakawi ‘s Legendary Brawl

The Legend of Le Mort d'Arthur by Thomas Malory

1. Who is Thomas Malory?

    Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur.  

2. When was Le Mort d’Arthur written?

     It was written in the early 1450s and completed it by 1470. 

3. How many books/ parts are there in LMDA?

    There are 8 parts in LMDA. 

4. What is book 8 about?

     Book 8 is about death of King Arthur. 

5. Who were the two people who had an affair?

     The two people who had an affair are Sir Launcelot Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. 

6. Book 6 has a strong connection to a popular modern fiction which is now a movie. 

    What is the title of the popular modern fiction?

     The title of the popular modern fiction is 'The Noble Tale of the Sangreal'. 

7. State three well-known facts about King Arthur/ his time as a King  

    a. King Arthur was betrayed by his greatest knight, Sir Lancelot.

    b. King Arthur was a legendary leader.

    c. King Arthur was the son of Uther and Igraine.

Think of 2 ways in which you can use folktales/fables/myths or legends in the classroom. Explain briefly. 

            I will choose role-play and  graphic presentations.

         Role-playing is the easiest way to help students to understand better the story. Since students have to act, they will need to learn and prepare a scripts. Thus, they will be encouraged to analyze the characters, plot and theme indirectly. Furthermore, students can learn to be cooperative as they need to work in group.

         Graphic presentations can be mind-mapping and comic drawings. With this method, students will feel more interesting and easily memorize all the important elements in the story. For example, students can design a mind-map which includes characteristics of each character in any shape they preferred. As for comic drawings, students who preferred visual learning can draw out the plot story using their own style. When they do revision, they just need to go through the comics. By using this method, teacher can also motivate low proficiency level students to learn and love literature indirectly.

Half Black, Half White

                The poem "Cross" by Langston Hughes shows the speaker was angry at his/her parents in the beginning. During the middle of the poem, the speaker apologized.  At the end of the poem, the speaker was in a state of confusion, wondering whether he/she is black or white.

                 This poem shows that a half black and white person struggling to accept and understand their ethnic identity in a world where black people and white people are considered polar opposites. I think this scenario not only happen in America, it is all over the world. Most of the people around us will not able to accept a mix races marriage. Even though it does exist nowadays, but they are still considered as "odd", they will receive harsh glares from the society. It seems like they are not being approved.

                So, I think this poem should be introduced to our students. Let them think if they are the child with half black and white blood, what they will feel. Is it necessary to judge people with their skin colour? Let them understand that a good people or bad people is nothing to do with their skin colour. As long as we are human, we have the rights to be respected.