My last posting

Finally, the course has come to the end…. Here, I would like to express my gratitude towards Dr. Edwin and Dr. Nooreen – both of them have taught and exposed me with genres of writings and other medias which useful in teaching literature as well as English to the students. I found out that this course has helped me to enrich my knowledge in finding good sources and activities in teaching literature. Therefore, I’m glad that I had the opportunities to study this course. Besides that, I would like to thank my supervisor – Dr. Arshad for his assistance in completing my research paper. It was a wonderful moment for me to be under his supervision although I regularly met him due to his work as the head of the department. Again, I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for their education.

Parody

In my opinion, parody is a work that usually mimicking others’ works in order to highlight the weaknesses or unfairness in the original text. It existed in all field of art works such as art media, literature, music, and cinema. For instance, Anthony Hecht with his poem entitled “The Dover Bitch” was the parody to Matthew Arnold’s “The Dover Beach”. Hecht suggested that the woman in “The Dover Beach” was not empowered by his lover in the original text. He also mentioned that the woman was able to speak and express her feelings in his poem rather than in Anthony’s.

I think that parody in certain extend can be a good ways in expressing one thoughts on certain issues but it have to be properly done. As a human, we are born with talents, so we can control what ever we want. Therefore parody should be used to critic others’ works using proper language and at the same time can educate the readers.

My Favourite Movie

A League of Their Own (1992)
Directed by: Penny Marshall

The movie was about two sisters - Dottie Henson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) who were working on the farm. Both of them were good in playing baseball, therefore both of them were chosen to join the All American Pro Girls League (AAPGL) as the professional player. The AAPGL was formed due to the World War II (WWII) because the men were joining the army. Dottie, the elder sister was a good pitcher and became the unquestioned star of the fledgling league. This has made Kit became jealous and felt that she was left behind. Kit then joined another team to show to her sister and other teammates that she too capable to be a good player. Both teams played in the league and at the final match, Dottie let her Kit’s team won and made her as the star of the match. The league was stopped after the WWII end, and the ladies continued their life with their family. The players then have their first reunion years later and both sisters are joined together.

The movie touched my feelings on the issues of relationship between sisters and the spirit in the ladies. Dottie and Kit were very close to each other but they became separated because of the sport. In my opinion, it was Kit who created the conflict and broke their relationship. She was not satisfied with her position in the team; therefore she joined another team to achieve her ambition to be a star. I think Kit was too much in achieving her ambition and willing to jeopardize her bond with Dottie. I think she should not act like one because it can destroy their good relationship. Second, the ladies in the movie have strong spirit to carry on with their life even though their country were involved in war and their husband were away to protect the country. They showed a solid personality and I dream to have the same spirit, so that I will be able to face with challenge.

Dottie’s attitudes were appealing to me because she had the values of being a good leader to her team. She showed a firm character and I envy her capability. Besides that, she managed to prove to their coach, Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) that women can play softball too. She changed Jimmy’s views that he should not look down on women capabilities in doing things, especially in sports. Her attitudes motivate me that as a woman, I should not be afraid to challenge others if we know we are in right track.

The final draft of research paper

I’ve completed my final draft of the research paper which I have to submit it tomorrow morning. In doing the research paper, it caused me a lot of reading in order to find the appropriate sources. I found that it was not easy to do an educational research especially on literature. There are many issues that I can do a research on it such as gender, love, relationship, characters and etc. As a result, I’ve decided to do a research on unequal treatment towards two protagonists in two short stories, Paul in “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather and Sarty in “Ban Burning” written by William Faulkner. I found that both characters similar to each other in terms of receiving unequal treatment from their societies. Besides that, the protagonists were poorly treated by their own family members and it happened to be their father. In addition, Sarty was improperly treated by his sisters too. Apart from that, he had never been to school due to his status as a lower class society. In the other hand, Paul was taken out from the school by his father due to his misdemeanour and was force to work. His father disliked him to involve in art world because he always wanted his son to model after a neighbour who works as a clerk in a company.

That were the issues of my research paper which made me ponder when I studied the characters and their conflicts in the previous course. I hope that my supervisor will satisfied with my work which I gave lots of effort in completing it and hopefully he will reward me with appropriate marks.

Movies

There are few things to take into account in selecting appropriate movies to teach language such as cultural factors, age factors, and religious issues. Students may have no background knowledge of the elements mentioned above. It is important if teachers can find a movie with common issues such as environmental to avoid confusing in students understanding while watching the movies.

Students with low-level proficiency may face difficulties in watching movies therefore, what teachers can do is to find the appropriate films for them to watch. Some of the older films can be use for the poor students. They prefer to watch films with physical, rather than verbal humour because it helps them to build understanding or to get the message in the films. For examples, Stagecoach, Groundhog Day, Forrest Gump, and Witness are suitable for the poor students. There are funny films that can be use in the language classroom such as Freaky Friday and Nine to Five; the students will find it easy to understand based on the characters’ actions, expressions and body language. Besides known as funny films, it has underlying message that students can use for further discussions.

Some important issues that need to be dealt with when using movies in teaching language are; firstly, teachers should inform the students that they are not supposed to understand every word in the dialogues. They should be able to understand the main idea of the story. Secondly, teachers should bear in mind that they are teaching the language using films as an aid, for instance English, not showing the films. The students may misinterpret what they should do while watching the movies. Therefore, clear instructions need to be given before view the movies. Thirdly, teachers should view snippets of the movies, not the entire films to encourage their thinking skills.

Variety of activities could be done by using snippets of the movies. The teachers can ask questions to stimulate the students thinking skills such as;

1. What do you think had happened before?
2. Why the character did take the actions?
3. Where do you think he is going?
4. What do you think will happened next?

Apart from that, in vocabulary lesson, students can be asked to describe the character’s appearance and attitudes. This activity will help to enrich their vocabulary. Other than that, the students can do discussions on the snippet of a crime movie about the appropriate punishment to the criminals. This activity will lead to their higher order thinking skills because they have to judge from all points of view before make any decision.

Using songs in a research-based activities

Songs can be a good source in research-based activities because there are varieties of songs that carry meaningful messages to our life. Some songs can be as eye-opener because we can reflection on our action and judgement on certain issues. Songs can be a motivation towards people who have problems in their life. Apart from that, its melody can be a remedy for depression because our mind can relax or free from the problems. At the same time, we are refreshing our memory so that we are able to think wisely how to handle our problems. Many admit that songs can cheer up their mood; its beautiful tunes help to lighten up their life.

It is suitable to use songs for research paper because it has significant messages that can be discussed on. For instance, a song entitled ‘Daughter’ by (I’ll tell you guys later…) can be used to highlight the issue on relationship between parents and daughters. It provides advises and useful for both parties to keep their relationship strong. Moreover, both parties can reflect back on their taken actions. Lastly, by using songs for research paper, one can explore more than one single issue to make it more attractive to read on.

You are a survivor

Previously, Ras Adiba Radzi was known as a journalist in TV3. She was an active and ambitious person. After involved in a car accident in 1997, she had a spinal cord damaged, which made her paralysed from the waist down. She had a major operation in Sydney to reverse her paralysis that caused her RM300, 000. She got the donation from the public, individuals and from our government. The operation failed to cure her disease and she has to use wheel chair to move. Her attitudes during the treatment were positive and she wanted to be able to walk again. Unfortunately, it does not happen to her. She has to use the wheel chair forever.

Eventhough she is now become a disable person, it does not demolish her spirit to live life as usual like before. After the incident, she became the spokesperson for the disabled in voicing out their problems living in our country. She encourages herself and others to be more confidence in their life no matter on what condition they are. Today, Ras Adiba Radzi is known as a sportsperson participating in disabled games. She continues to show grit and determination in this field. On the celebration of the National Youth Day rally held on 15th May 2006, Ras Adiba received a special award – the Malaysia Boleh Fighting Spirit award. This is because she continues to push herself despite her disability. She is a good example for the disabilities to model her.

I could not imagine myself to be in her position. I might lose my spirit to live due to my disability. I might be crying for the first few months because I would not be able to walk anymore. Furthermore, I could not afford to have big amount of money for the operation. In my opinion, if family, friends and society show their support, I might be able to handle myself as good as I can. I wonder whether a disable person can still be in teaching profession or not. Otherwise, I might have to let go my job as a teacher and continue my teaching as a private tutor in my house.