Jarod Yong

So, what have you been learning from home? Last weekend, 12 leaders from SMK Tabuan Jaya, Sarawak State Sports School, & Cikgu Yong attended the Global Leadership Summit 2020 which took place online. Despite battling with horrible mobile connections, we learned to be more effective leaders from a panel of world-class speakers. In this collage, we summarize what we've learned into one word. Join me in congratulating Anas, Erika, Sharen, Adriana, Esther, Chris, Andy, Filipi, Andy, Welker, Mc Claren, & Alvin! Everyone at school looks forward to supporting each of you in achieving success in your lives! Thank you to the generous sponsors who made this possible, Evelyn Zeigler, Jon Chu, & JuLian Yap!

What a privilege to be part of a Unite 2030: Youth Leadership Summit panel of amazing teachers from Malaysia & the Philippines, speaking to an international audience. I enjoyed listening to Cikgu Nazira & Ms Ansherina about how they developed as leaders & the advice they had to give to budding educators. Cikgu Nazira inspired us with her positivity & the great impact we make as teachers, while Ms Ansherina talked about holding on to our passion for teaching & having lots of grit. Of course, I added my bits & quite a bit of 🌶🌶🌶 to keep things interesting. Mainly, I hoped that teachers do not work alone. Find a tribe. People who will support you when you're down or have failed miserably. And do the same for them too. More ❤️ to you, teachers!

Grateful to be featured in the New Straits Times alongside awesome teachers, Cikgu Nor Azizah Md Nordin from SMK Kemumin, Kota Baru, & Cikgu Thiba Lakshmii from Pusat Tuisyen Sinar Idealis, Klang. Thank you, Mr Izwan Ismail & NST for highlighting our YouTube channels. I hope that they'll be useful to every student in need of extra guidance. 🤩 This piece of recognition was a pretty timely boost because I was really down this morning after discovering a few students going afk during my online teaching session. Their devices were logged into Jitsi (a free Zoom alternative) but when I asked for responses... nothing. This happened multiple times. Even at the end, when I said bye, I waited for 1 minute to no response. 😔 I spent a few hours after that licking my wounds & wondering if I was being too demanding or expecting too much. I realized that I can go the cynical path, but I can't be an effective teacher if I don't believe that they can/want to improve. I have t...

What a pleasure it was to speak to young Malaysians during the Youth Speak Forum organized by AIESEC in UM. I shared about the importance of education & how young people can help support efforts to improve education in Malaysia. Hope to collaborate with one of you in the future!

I'm so proud of my SMK Katibas student, Olivia, who organized a talk for her UPSI coursemates & gave me the pleasure of sharing about teaching resources. I look forward to the day that she shines as a teacher & bring progress to education in Sarawak. During the session, I shared about lesser known educational resources, especially those outside of the classroom that young teachers can tap into in order to solve the challenges inside their classroom. I hope that it was helpful & they learned something useful. All the best, future teachers! Looking forward to hearing your inspiring stories! 😘

Inilah sebabnya cikgu bagi top up RM10 sebulan kepada pelajar yang mengikuti kelas atas talian. Cikgu yang mengeluarkan duit untuk membantu pelajar tolong angkat tangan! Sekolah dah tutup. PdPR dah berlangsung dalam talian / secara jarak jauh. Dah bermula juga kecaman macam-macam terhadap guru Malaysia. Sesetengah keyboard warriors Malaysia ini macam otaknya tertinggal di zaman neolitik. Kalau nak kritik, boleh. Kritik la dengan otak sikit. Tapi ini bagai air beriak tanda tak dalam. (Cikgu memang minat peribahasa Melayu.) Sampai waktu cikgu buat ceramah SPM percuma di YouTube (pautan ada di bawah) pun ada orang buat fake account & kacau di live chat / ruangan komen & dislike video-video cikgu. Lepas disekat pula, buka akaun lain & kacau lagi! Inilah asal usul troll . Lepas habis sekolah, jadi pula troll dewasa di media social. Dari PKP bulan Mac dulu, bila cikgu nak bantu & beri ganjaran top up kepada pelajar yang mengikuti kelas atas talian cikgu, banyak yang PM cikgu...

Since I'll be conducting online English classes for my students at SMK Tabuan Jaya until the end of the academic year, you're invited to the live-stream of my lessons on YouTube! I'll use commercially available books so you can follow along & interact in the live chat with others doing the same! Form 4: 10AM, Mondays https://bit.ly/cmcobif4 Form 5: 10AM, Tuesdays https://bit.ly/cmcobif5 Be a phenomenal person & forward this to someone who will find it useful! ===Details=== *Form 5* will be focused on SPM Comprehension & Summary. We will be using materials from Sasbadi's "Pintar Bestari SPM Form 5" book. *Form 4* will be focused on Grammar. We will use materials from Sasbadi's "Gusto Grammar Workout Form 4" book: - 16/11 Simple Past Tense & Past Continuous Tense - 23/11 Present Perfect Tense & Past Perfect Tense - 30/11 Gerunds & Participles - 07/12 Passive Voice - 14/12 Connectors If you want a copy of the materials, pleas...

For their participation in the TOEFL Go English activity organized by ETS based in the USA, 74 SMK Tabuan Jaya students from Forms 4-5 received international certificates presented by the principal, Mr Edward Ngelai. These certificates are rare & will certainly help our students standout in their university or scholarship applications after SPM. Well done!

Tolong share/forward webinar percuma ini kepada rakan-rakan/saudara-mara yang bakal menduduki peperiksaan SPM 2020! Walaupun topik adalah ujian Bahasa Inggeris SPM 1119, webinar ini tetap akan disampaikan dalam Bahasa Melayu demi membantu pelajar yang berasa kurang senang dengan BI. Objektif utama adalah anda memahami cara takel ujian tersebut. Bukannya untuk show-off kehebatan England cikgu. Harapan cikgu adalah pelajar yang hadir boleh lulus dengan senang melalui konsep-konsep/tip-tip/cara-cara yang telah cikgu hasilkan dan tambahbaik selama lebih daripada sedekad! Cikgu mempunyai ramai anak-anak didik yang lemah dalam BI & telah gagal dalam ujian BI sepanjang kehidupan mereka. Tetapi banyak di kalangan mereka akhirnya lulus dengan bimbingan cikgu. Cikgu harapkan yang sama & lebih baik lagi untuk anda semua. Amin. Pautan kepada YouTube Live untuk kedua-dua webinar ini boleh dijumpa menggunakan QR Code dalam poster diatas. Yang hadir secara langsung, boleh bertanya soalan mela...

Such an honor to be invited to participate in this meaningful campaign! #FemaleEmpowerment In this video, I read a story from Bangladesh called " The Politician: Sheikh Hasina " by HerStory Foundation and illustrated by Najmun Nahar Keya. I conclude by speaking about the importance of an information diet & how we should take care of it the way we take care of our food diet. This video is part of the " Read At Home: The Gadis Chapter " campaign, which is a one month collaborative literacy campaign organized by MYReaders and Taylor’s Girl Up . The aim of this campaign is to empower and inspire young girls in the community as well as increase awareness about the literacy situation in Malaysia. Follow them to find out more about the work that they do!

This is a rare occurrence. I've been a teacher for more than a decade already & rarely have I had students who actually want to learn from me. At the Malaysian secondary schools that I have taught at, I've always had to go the extra mile to encourage, persuade, psych, coerce, & even force students to learn from me or participate in English language related activities. So, my students tend to be afraid of me & avoid me because I can be sharp-tongued, overbearing, & strong-willed. But they all learn & improve... whether they like it or not. 😅 I don't blame them because English is very difficult to them due to factors beyond their control. Unfortunately, being able to speak in English fluently is a marker of privilege in Malaysia. All of the English teachers in Malaysia are doing our best to ensure that English becomes the norm, rather than the exception. This has to happen if we hope to compete in the global marketplace. 💪 Therefore, it was extremely ref...

Amboi! Tingginya! Cikgu nak buat pengumuman juga la. Murid-murid, kalau anda rajin belajar BI, anda boleh mendapat banyak duit tau? Ya, betul tu. Cikgu tak tipu. Cikgu sendiri telah buktikan. Hah, tengok ni... Pada Hari Malaysia yang lalu, cikgu telah dianugerahi tempat pertama dalam Pertandingan Cerita Hari Malaysia anjuran Shine Pharmacy bertemakan "How I Shine For Sarawak." Nasib baik bila cikgu "walk the talk," dapat juga menunjukkan cara menulis dalam BI dengan kreatif dan membina kredibiliti sedikit tentang kebolehan saya sebagai seorang guru BI. Ini cerita yang ditulis cikgu: https://www.facebook.com/jarodyjk/photos/a.210680159061404/3039799499482775 Cerita ini tentang cabaran seorang guru demi membantu anak Sarawak menjadi lebih cemerlang dalam pelajaran dan mencipta kehidupan yang lebih baik bagi diri dan keluarga. Pembaca digalakkan agar mengelak daripada menilai seorang guru secara terburu-buru tanpa mengenalinya dahulu. Cikgu ingin mendedikasikan kem...

So proud of my students & the effort they put into speaking English for this video! I've told this story countless times, but it's worth telling again. The struggle to teach English in Malaysia is real. Every year roughly 20% of the hundreds of thousands of Form 5 candidates fail the SPM 1119 English exam. When I first arrived at this school, students only spoke Iban & Malay. They had self-efficacy issues with English & behavioral problems. Some of them were even hostile towards English &, consequently, me too. Students would turn around & take the long way when they see me coming their way in the corridors, just because they had to greet me in English & I'd stop them if they greeted me in BM. Many refer to me as "madam" with a straight face. They don't realize that it's only for married women. And a career first--I've had students run away from me in terror because they knew that I was going to rope them in for some kind of Eng...

Happy Malaysia Day!     In conjunction with Malaysia Day in 2020, a few final-year students at SMK Tabuan Jaya (Sarawak State Sports School) shared (a) what they loved about Malaysia & (b) what their hopes were for their country. In the video, you can clearly see the extra effort my students had to put into conversing in English. What you do not see was (a) the hours they put into writing & rehearsing their scripts, (b) the heartbreak of three students deciding not to show up, & (c) the multiple takes that they did for their short presentations. I certainly am proud of them. They have set a wonderful example for their juniors. Let's pray that they do extremely well in SPM & spark a cultural shift at school.   Do leave a comment on the video encouraging my students to use English! Presenters (in order of appearance): - Christ Endree Anak Molem (5O2) - Isaac John (5O1) - Chris Emannnuel Rentap Anak Watson Telajan (5O1) - Erika Vallensian Anak Andrew (5O1) - ...

 **This story was written for a Malaysia Day competition by Shine Pharmacy ** What do you think about this pair of shoes? It has seen better days, has it not? Peeling, worn out, and tired, it reflects poorly on its owner. Truth be told, we should not judge a pair of shoes by what they look like—judge them by where they have been and what they have done in their short lives. If these shoes could talk, they would tell tales of their youth, traveling only a few weeks after their purchase by express boat from Sibu to a rural school in Song to deliver an important talk so that children from underprivileged backgrounds can excel in the most important exam in their lives, SPM. For many children in Sarawak, improving the livelihoods of their families hinges upon a few letters printed on a flimsy slip of paper. If one can reach a student, that student and their family will surely benefit. Additionally, these shoes would also wax lyrical about dodging potholes on a battered, bumpy, and treac...

Pelbagai isu digunakan kebelakangan ini untuk memecah belahkan masyarakat majmuk kita: bahasa ada, agama ada, kaum pun ada.   Jom amalkan Rukun Negara kita: Matlamat bersama seluruh rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum, bangsa, budaya, bahasa, & pendapatan.   Bersatu kita teguh, bercerai kita roboh. Mari kita bersama-sama mengharumkan & memajukan Tanah Tumpah Darahku .  

    Jom kita pakai Jalan Peace 🕊️. Sebenarnya, orang Sarawak tidak kisah sangat dengan isu bahasa ini. 🤷🏽 Dalam masyarakat majmuk kami, pelbagai bahasa diterima & diraikan. Selain Bahasa Melayu, Inggeris, Mandarin, Tamil, & Hindi, kami juga berbahasa Iban, Bidayuh, Penan, & banyak lagi. ❤️ Di Katibas (pedalaman), jangan harian apabila orang Iban berbahasa Hokkien & orang Cina berbahasa Iban. ❤️ Di Kuching (bandar) pula, slogan SMK St Teresa ditulis dalam jawi secara besar-besaran di dinding dewannya. Sekolah itu pernah ditadbir oleh biarawati Kristian, tau? ❤️ Bahasa Melayu diterima sebagai bahasa kebangsaan & menjadi pengantar utama di sekolah. 👍🏽 Bahasa Inggeris pula diterima sebagai salah satu bahasa rasmi pentadbiran negeri & digunakan dalam pengajaran Sains & Matematik di sekolah. 👌🏽 Saya mengaku bahawa kami sering ketawa apabila isu bahasa dipolitikkan di semenanjung Malaysia. Sekarang terjadi kepada kami sendiri pula! 😅 DAPSK menjela...

Traveling abroad? Have questions about a foreign country? Why not ask a fellow Malaysian? When I was living abroad, it really helped to have a community where I could share about the things that I missed from home or my delight at discovering Malaysian products in a foreign land, & find other people who fully understood the nostalgia. I didn't appreciate the simple beautiful things that made Malaysia feel like home until I was geographically kept away from it. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Having this community made me feel less alone & also allowed me to connect with fellow Malaysians living abroad. These random social media encounters would often lead to real-life meet ups at favorite makan places or durian haunts, especially when a Malaysian festival was coming up. Since there wasn't an online ledger for all of these groups, I thought that I might want to give it a try & list them here. Share your group in the comments & I'll add them t...

Feel free to use this PSA at your school! It was produced in English for SK Pusat (Kemaman, Terengganu) & SMK Tabuan Jaya (Kuching, Sarawak). It will be played 3-times every day: before the school day begins, during recess, & after the school day ends. Thank you, SK Pusat & SMK Tabuan Jaya for allowing this recording to be shared with the rest of Malaysia. Please support the YouTube channel by playing this announcement from YouTube rather than from a download. We will not run any ads on this video. PSA Content: 1. Please make sure you are in good health today. Let your teacher know if you have symptoms like cough, fever, flu, sore throat or breathing difficulties. 2. You are required to be at your own desk at all times during lessons. 3. During recess, please eat your meal at your own desk in your own class. 4. Please clean your desk after meals. 5. Please make sure you wash your hands properly and regularly to maintain good hygiene, and avoid any bacteria or viruses. ...

Bulan ini, cikgu akan mengajar cara dapat A+ dalam karangan BI PT3/SPM. Adakah anda inginkan A+ untuk karangan anda di PT3/SPM? Asyik dapat C atau D sahaja? Apa rahsianya? Apabila anda sudah memahami konsep-konsep dari cikgu & praktikkan, mendapat keputusan A cemerlang tidak akan menjadi isu lagi! ===KELAS PERCUMA | Cara Dapat A+ Dalam PT3/SPM 1119=== "Advanced English Writing for PT3/SPM" 7 -8pm Setiap Isnin & Rabu (15, 17, 22, & 24 Jun 2020) Kelas percuma melalui Zoom Terhad kepada 500 pelajar pertama (yang lewat akan disekat oleh sistem) Daftar disini: https://www.mytuition.live/classes/form-3-5-advanced-english-writing-with-jarod-yong/ Sebelum anda menyertai kelas tersebut, anda perlu memahami yang asas dahulu. Bagi yang nak cemerlang, cikgu sudah pun mengajar konsep-konsep asas dalam siri seminar "Basic English Language Writing for PT3/SPM" dua minggu lepas. Video singkatan daripada siri tersebut boleh dilayari di sini: https://bit.ly/AEssays Nota ...

Susah-susah dapat duit. Susah-susah ambil duit. 🤷🏽‍♂️ #PascaPKP Ini gambaran kesusahan rakyat jelita negara kita. Berbaris didepan BSN sampai melebihi hujung blok, dibawah matahari yang panas membara tidak mereda. Setiap hari ada barisan seperti ini. 🥵 Cikgu terpaksa ikut berbaris kerana urusan keluarkan simpanan bank. Awal-awal memang cikgu tak puas hati, tetapi sekarang cikgu bersyukur sebab gaji kerajaan cikgu masuk penuh setiap bulan. Pendapatan untuk rakan-rakan sebaris saya ini, malangnya tidak tertentu. 🙁 Nampaknya banyak yang berbaris di depan cikgu ini tidak mempunyai telefon pintar. Bila anggota yang bertugas minta mereka scan kod QR, katanya tak bawa fon. Tetapi semuanya berbaris dengan teratur & bekerjasama dengan piawaian pengurusan bank. Tidak ada yang merokok. Tak ada yang meludah. Tak ada yang berlagak-lagak. 👍🏽 Cikgu meninggalkan bank tadi dengan perasaan bersyukur. Walaupun tidak berada, anak isteri saya terjaga. Cikgu juga sedar bahawa tugas seorang pend...

Ini dia, muka minta puji! Cikgu sengaja post gambar buat kerja nak minta puji. Kalau tidak sesetengah kalangan masyarakat nak gaji cikgu dipotong. Kata kami tak buat kerja & macam-macam fitnah. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Cikgu berikan sedikit gambaran tentang apa yang para guru seMalaysia buat untuk pembukaan semula sekolah. Bilangan kelas bertambah sebab bilangan murid setiap kelas dihadkan jadi kelas cikgu dipindahkan ke bengkel bahasa. 👌🏽 Awal pagi sudah cikgu sampai di sekolah.  Kerusi meja berlebihan disusun sampai ke langit di sudut belakang bengkel, lantai disapu, meja disusun dengan jarak 1 meter, & pintu keluar/masuk dilabelkan dengan jelas. 💪🏽 Notis tentang keselamatan diri waktu pandemik COVID19 juga dipaparkan. Kemudian, buku teks yang tertinggal dalam kelas diikat & disimpan dengan baik. 👍🏽 Harapan cikgu adalah murid-murid yang dikasihi cepat-cepat kembali ke sekolah selepas pembukaan diumumkan. Tak sabar cikgu nak menjenguk wajah ceria anda & bertanya kenapa tak la...

Please share this with your students! The perfect opportunity to interact with 2 national Floorball athletes from Sarawak & be inspired by their resilience & determination! Dear students, let's hang out with... Sonia Beriak & Janeter Kadir, Sarawak's National Floorball Queens! 2PM | TUE | June 9, 2020 | YouTube: bit.ly/Ivana-Janeter Speaking to these two women, I had the impression that they've been through a tough life & came out on top. We spoke about the challenges they faced as girls in sports, as well as our cultural requirements for the "proper" behavior of girls. I'm so glad that I had the chance to meet them, hear their stories, & I can't wait to share them with you. Sonia & Janeter are wonderful role models for my female students. Their resilience & determination are what I desire for all Malaysian youths. Sonia & Janeter want to answer your questions during the interview! We've also got gifts to give away to ...

Please leave a supportive comment for my students: https://www.instagram.com/this.is.tj/ Since I was placed here in late 2018, I have been fighting an uphill battle to get my students interested in learning English. Majority don't come from privileged backgrounds with English being spoken at home or in their communities. Students have turned around & taken detours to avoid meeting me in corridors because they have to say "selamat pagi" to me in English. (FYI, I stop them & make them greet me properly in English.) Students have run away from me because they know that I want to involve them in English programs/activities. (FYI, I am demanding. I make it a rule for only English to be spoken & I'm not shy about enforcing it.) During the MCO, things have gotten worse. I've been struggling to get my students to participate in my online lessons on WhatsApp & I've failed on Google Classrooms. I've tried all sorts of things like making attractive p...

Please share this with your students! This is the perfect opportunity for them to learn about life as a professional golfer & an Olympian for Malaysia! 🏌🏾‍♀️⛳️❤️🇲🇾     Dear students, let's hang out with... Kelly Tan, Malaysia's #1 Female Golfer! 10AM | FRI | May 29, 2020 | YouTube: bit.ly/MeetKellyT When I spoke to her earlier, she was very candid & open about the challenges she experienced while growing up. She revealed, "I was an SJK kid who couldn't speak a word of English. Like your students, I'd avoid English everywhere I could. I turned down press interviews in English & demanded to be interviewed in BM." Coming from an athlete who's at the top of her game, it's a sign that this Friday's interview will be authentic & straight from the heart. The best part is Kelly wants to answer your questions during the interview! We've also got souvenirs from the Olympics to give away to the best questions! To ask questions, follow ...

Check out Athletes Inspire! on YouTube: bit.ly/athletesinspire where students can interact with & learn from Malaysia's athletes. I teach at the Sarawak State Sports School & my students are all state-level athletes from all over Sarawak. It has been a real struggle for me to get my students to learn English, even before the MCO & the serious obstacles in online learning . Readers of my blog will be familiar with stories of students who avoid me, just because they have to say "good morning" to me in English, & those who literally run away from me because they know I want to involve them in an English program/competition. The sad part is I'm not alone. The teachers of other academic subjects at my school are facing similar struggles & working very hard to address them. Why is this so? Mainly, because the proper foundations for learning were not put in place in their formative years. When learning is such a struggle, they go all in with sports, whic...

That facepalm moment... How I felt after the interview. Why am I so emotional? DJ Alin was excellent in managing the situation though. Kudos to her! On Teacher's Day, I was interviewed by REDfm for a Teachers Day special &, unfortunately, I was an emotional wreck on LIVE radio. In the interview, I shared what I did teaching English in challenging situations in Sarawak, my greatest achievement (that's when I broke down emotionally), as well as my current projects & ideas moving forward. At a random moment on the next day, my mother suddenly came up to me, dropped a bombshell and then quickly left me like a deer blinking in the headlights. She told me with a finger in my face that she disagreed with what I said in the interview, but only the ending part. Haha... She has always been a straight shooter & she didn't mean anything nasty about it. She was probably being a little naughty too. You'll have to watch the interview to find out what I said that was so c...

Happy Teachers Day! Enjoy this video: https://youtu.be/V2fqxZIWjO0 If you're a teacher, "Dearest Teachers" by SMK Tabuan Jaya is made especially for you, with words that your students want to say to you. It's guaranteed to make you laugh &, if you'll let it, tear, just like I am tearing right now while watching the final product play. You'll see several students who have spoken English on video for the first time. Here's why I'm shedding tears of joy after publishing this video:

Raya arrived early for me. 😅 Inspired by CikgooTUBE webinars & sharing by Cikgu Hailmi during the MCO, I've decided to take video production more seriously as a learning resource for my students, as well as other students out there who might find it useful. My short-term plans include a video series exploiting my immediate expertise, SPM preparation for Form 5 students. Please support my YouTube channel by subscribing & clicking the "Bell" button to get notified about new videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjvQxu0frX4Jb9_hpuz7q4w Sorry about the ugly url. You can clearly tell that I'm just starting out. No unique url... yet. As a treat, please check out the following video which gives you a glimpse of what it's like to be a student in my online lessons. I guarantee you'll enjoy it! If you're interested in my online lessons, book a spot on mytuition.live , when it launches in June. I'll be conducting free basic and advanced writing less...

You'll know just by looking at the participation rates in my Google Classrooms... sigh... Prior to the MCO, I had already formed groups in WhatsApp with students with access to mobile phones for my English language classes at school. However, after two weeks of using WhatsApp groups to manage learning, I quickly realized that it was a terrible place to manage any kind of work (which makes me wonder why school admins use WhatsApp/Telegram to manage their schools, but that's another story for another day. For those who are interested in alternatives, try Teams / Slack . You & your entire staff will thank me.). I needed a more specialized piece of software. Since the MOE has provided each teacher with a Google suite account, I was one of the few teachers at my school who decided to make use of it. After spending an entire day setting up & loading up all the past assignments onto it for each of my 4 classes, I found out to great chagrin that only students with MOE accounts...