Life as a student.

Syntax, you are next in my list. so, please be nice. PELT, I'm not in the mood for you now.

Sociology, wait for me, I'll deal with you later. Literature, see you tomorrow.

Oh, these are the subject that I have to take for this semester.

Not to forget, IT and CTU. Both of them are next in my to do list.

Assignments oh assignments! Anyone would like to help me? 

:)

Study HARD or study SMART?

Image from google.

Most students prepared to study the hard way through memorization of facts and drilling of exercises. Sometimes, it is bad to study hard because you will try to cramp everything in your brain and it tires not only your mind but your emotional and physical as well. Imagine if you are trying to absorb everything, you will sometimes stay up till late at night and when you cannot remember the facts and you will feel disappointed with yourself. 

That is why, you should study smart.

image from google.

Plan ahead what to study and set time to study. Do not try to absorb everything at once. Chill and relax. Study every day, I mean provide time to study at least 2 hours a day and this will prevent you to study last minute, usually the night before examinations. This is bad because you will go blur as you are trying to memorize everything. Make notes after class, better is to sketch mind maps as it will make it easier for you to remember everything in just a piece of paper.

image from google.

Make it nice and colourful as it will motivate you to read it. Keep all your mind maps and notes in a file so that you know where to look when you forget something. It is good when you have files for every subjects. Organize them nicely. Be a smart students and I am sure you will find learning is not bad or difficult at all. It is you who make it hard. Make sure to have fun too. Do not just sit and study for hours and still get nothing. Talk to your friends, discuss with your lecturers and ask your seniors when you do not know something. 

image from google.

Start study smart now instead of study hard!

- shikin hasnan-

Learning Languages.

Learning language is not easy. It takes time to master. Language has to be acquired, not just learn.

"....Acquisition is used to refer to the gradual development of ability in a language by using it naturally in communicative situations with others who know the language. The term learning however applies to more conscious process of accumulating knowledge of the features such as vocabulary, grammar of a language typically in an institutional setting...." - The Study of Language by George Yule.

So, we can say that in order to really master one language, we definitely have to use it. If we are able to communicate using that particular language, that means we acquired the language.

At school, we learn English as well as Bahasa Melayu and other language such as Bahasa Arab, Bahasa Cina and Bahasa Tamil but do we really can speak the languages? 

I remember when I was in the primary school, my classmates were mostly Indians and Chinese so we speak English most of the time and I did learn some of the Tamil and Mandrin words. Then, when I was 13, my family moved to East part of Malaysia, Kelantan. I encountered some difficulties to communicate for the first 3 years in Kelantan as they speak a different Bahasa Melayu which is the Kelantan's Dialect. 

Dialect is different from language. Dialect describes features of grammar and vocabulary as well as aspects of pronunciation. But then, after 5 years, I can simply not just understand Kelantan's Dialect but to speak as fluent as the Kelantanese even though my friends used to say that when I speak, I sound weird at first. 

Well, there is another term which is accent. Accent is different from dialect as it describes the aspects of pronunciation only. You know, people from American has a different accent from British but they still speak English and you notice how the Spanish speak English? It is sexy!  As for me, I speak English with Malay accent.

Learning languages is fun. I hope to learn as many language as I can but it really takes time so maybe not now but someday maybe. As for now, I should focus on learning English.

shikinhasnan.