Jarod Yong

Upon completion of the course, every participant received an extremely rare certificate from the US embassy. During the 2 week holiday a month ago, I was called up at the last minute to attend one of the best workshops I have ever had the privilege of attending. A group of teachers from Sabah could not obtain flights to Kuching so their slots opened up for Secondary School teachers in Kuching who were available. Many senior teachers had travel plans so, eventually, I got a phone call from JPN Sarawak's English Language Officer about the course. I jumped at the opportunity. We were trained by Dr Kay Davis, a specialist who flew all the way from the US. While I was wearing 3 layers in our air-conditioned room, she was sweating. Lol. This workshop is a partnership between our MOE & the US embassy . This was one of the best workshops I've ever attended because it was tailored exactly to the needs of my students. 90% of which are low proficiency students sitting at th...

Here's a special treat for all the Form 3 English Language teachers!!! Last Friday, my PK1 informed me that a school in Bintulu asked if I was available to give a talk at their school. Tonight, a colleague came to my house & confirmed the name of the school & the name of the requesting teacher. Apparently, this teacher had no idea how to contact me so she asked my friend's girlfriend to ask him if he could ask me if I would do it. Honestly, how hard is it to Google up my name or the name of my school & find me. Jeez. Also, how did she hear about me if not for my blog or my fb page? I would love to know. I would prefer that people, who want me to conduct any talks, contact me directly so that we can both find out if I am really what they need. No need to waste time & effort to go through proxies only to find out that it was all for naught. Being invited to hold this talk & hearing its justification (teachers no experience, have no idea who to ask),...

Wonderfully done banner hanging at the wharf. Good job, designer! This competition was held in conjunction with the state level Teacher's Day celebration. This year, it was the turn of PPD Kapit to host the celebration. I had a really packed schedule prior to the competition. Before this Pidato competition on Monday, I had  a conference presentation  on Saturday. Before the presentation, I was working on the paperwork for my nomination in the Anugerah Khas Ketua Menteri Sarawak. The lack of sleep, pressure & intensity of labour I experienced during those 2 weeks were no laughing matter. I was informally asked if I would like to join about this competition when I met a PPD officer during the Hari Kadet Polis  I attended 3 weeks before. I was aware of the staggering amount of commitments I had so I politely asked for this competition to be assigned to another teacher. One week before the competition, as I was representing my school during the Song PSKPP sports ...

Here's the article I'm responding to. If you haven't read the article from Berita Harian, you can read it here . A lot of people have asked me for my opinion on this & so let me make an official one here. Also, take note that it was mentioned by a minister who wanted to advice teachers on beefing up their English proficiency during an event for students. Why talk about teachers at an event for students? I will never know. Anyway, I usually take anything a politician says with a pinch of salt (both opposition & government). I think you should too. 1# IT'S OLD NEWS & THE ACTUAL NUMBER IS 67% An earlier article about the CPT results. Might not be the earliest. I don't know what the fuss is all about. This is actually old news. Those of you who have been with me on my FB Page would have read my numerous comments about CPT & read my CPT guide . Also, do take note that The Star reported that the number of English teachers who were not p...

I was very honoured & blessed to have been personally invited to conduct a workshop at the English Language Teaching & Learning International Seminar 2013 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Kuching. It was a conference for Primary School teachers organised by IPG Batu Lintang & Brighton Education Learning Services . This is my FIRST ever conference presentation! The focus was on activities that the participants could take back & immediately apply to their classroom so I decided to share some of the activities I have been doing in my own classroom. I gave examples of project-based activities which would allow students to practice their language skills (Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking) in a meaningful context. It was nothing special or out of this world. It was something simple that any teacher could replicate. I will probably write a dedicated blog post about them in the future. I am in no way an expert. But I am willing to learn & share what I kno...