Ah, didn't update this blog as regular as I would like to. Had been updating my the other educator blog quite regularly though. The preparation of my new teaching assignments and other personal stuff had taken the better part of my time...*sigh* My study assignments have been halted for a while. Hope I can continue with my study assignment again tomorrow.
Cheer me on, pleaaaaaase. ;(
Reasons why English is so hard to learn
Let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is neither egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger! Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Park in driveway, and drive on a parkway?
Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.
People, not computers, invented English, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
Getting back my focus again... :)
I am surprised that a course mate of mine who has submitted his first assignment recently is thinking of withdrawing from the program... so sad :( In fact, he is more hardworking than the rest I know. I am trying to pursuade him to stay and not be discouraged. I hope he can make it.
Ouch!! My head aches! Couldn't sleep well last night... or I think I didn't sleep at all. Waking up with heavy head. Took 2 Panodol tablets to relieve my headache. :(
I guess, reading too many online articles and journals has something to do with this too. I need a break.
Spent my time reading online articles and journals the whole of yesterday.
Read the NUD.IST4 Classic Guide to learn more about the use of NUDIST for qualitative research analysis, as recommended by my course mate. The funny thing was that my first Yahoo! search for 'NUDIST' produced a long list of real nudist websites, rather than what I was really looking for... hehe
Also read about theories creation, a very interesting article that gave me insight as to how I can create a good theory based on the principles stated.
Today is Easter Monday.... the third day after the death of Christ, the day He rose again, the day He had victory over death.
To me, Easter also marks my rising determination to concentrate on my study and not to be distracted by any other things. I need to have victory over my undesirable habit of procrastination and the tendency to be easily distracted.
Wish me all the best :)
I am currently 'tackling' my assignment on 'Survey Research' and at the same time pondering seriously about my own research question. Hopefully I can complete my first draft in the next few days.
I was browsing through some past Abstracts of Research Thesis done by the NUS PhD students/ex-students yesterday. Some are dated as long as 1981 to the current ones in 2004. I noticed that majority of them were researching into an existing phenomenon/issue so as to confirm they existed rather than looking for a solution to them. I wonder why it's so. Could it be due to a limitation of time or for any other practical reason? Maybe I am being too ambitious... haha.
I was thinking of confirming the problems in the education system here as well as providing a solution to these problems. Let me check out if I am being too ambitious to do this. :)
Just downloaded a 45-days free-trial software, the Journal. It seems useful but I will try it out to see if it could serve my writing purpose.
Also found a website with a long list of free statistical software. They might be useful for me at a later stage. I will test them out soon.
In addition, an online article also caught my attention, why web journals suck. I like the author's description on Types of Journals as her description on the kinds of journal/blog are quite true from my own observations so far. I like her parting words:
"I care because I think the Web is the best venue for revealing the self ever devised. Everyone says they want to be a writer -- well, here's your chance! And few people seem to know what to do with this opportunity." - Diane
I hope those of you who are reading this will be the 'few people' who 'know what to do with this opportunity' that is free. :D
As I began to start reading for my assignments, suddenly there seems to be endless reading materials waiting for me to read them. A little lost as to which one to start reading first though they all look interesting enough for me to want to know what are written inside.
Reading can be a real strain on my eyes and I feel sleepy faster than when I am just surfing the Internet. It helps that during my preparation for my recent teaching assignments I had already read quite a lot of materials that are linked to my research interest -- ECE. But there are many more books I need to read up.
Just heard from a classmate that his research Tutor has changed his assignment question totally when he submitted his first draft. I hope this doesn't happen to me.
Ok, going back to be a bookworm again....
"This short statement of Parkinson's Law has application in many facets of life", says BEN J. DEAN (Educational coach). Dean shared his secret on how he got himself an educational coach (a very 'organized person') that enabled him to overcome Parkinson's Law and completed his PhD. He showed the benefits of hiring an educational coach, citing his own experience below (in yellow font):
How does Parkinson's Law apply to doing a dissertation?
1) The dissertation often seems like an enormous task with no real deadlines.
2) It's all too easy to leave no time for the dissertation, letting your other work fill all the available time.
3) The longer you delay, the more embarrassing it is and the higher quality product you feel you have to
produce.
4) The amount of work that needs to be done seems HUGE.
First, let me confess that I know every trick in the book used by procrastinators -- mainly because I've used them all at one time or another. ....So, here's the big question... WHAT CHANGED (after he hired his coach)? On the surface, all that happened was that I talked to somebody for an hour on a regularly scheduled basis. Why would this get me moving?
Here's what was really going on....
1) She gave me confidence.
2) She kept me accountable.
3) She helped me do the work in bite-sized pieces.
4) She kept me focused on the tasks at hand.
5) It got me out of my isolation.
6) She provided objectivity.
7) She acted more like a peer than an authority figure.
8) She provided me with a regular routine.
9) She helped me prioritize.
10) She gave me a place to let off steam in a healthy way --
The key was getting outside support and setting up a structure within which to work. Having an external, uninvolved person in an affirming, positive, task-specific relationship -- and meeting with her on a regularly scheduled basis -- made all the difference in the world for me.
As for me, I prefer to form my own study support group that would act like educational coach for mutual encouragement, checking, discussing, and support. My experience shows that such a group is effective if all in the group are willing to do their parts. Unfortunately, I had been the only active member in my present group now. Yet I am not discouraged, for by being active I benefited the most even when other members do not respond. But I hope they would get involved soon and reap the benefits too.
"Obstacles don't have to stop you.
If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."
~~Michael Jordan
Attended a seminar conducted by my Professor this evening. He shared with us that he had just conducted an educational case study research at his home country. There were some pitfalls he encountered and he wanted us to avoid them. It was a very was interesting session. I also managed to catch up with fellow course mates - the new and the old ones.
I will start doing my assignments from Monday onward. My target is to submit one assignments by end of April and another one by end of May. If that happens, I will reward myself and those who have 'pushed' me to do it... hehe. Don't ask me what the reward is. I don't know yet... give me some suggestions... haha. :)
Ah... need to catch up with all my readings now.
I am trying to learn how to create online polls too so it would come in handy later for my research project. Can anyone help me out?
