Rainbow Nation

The essence and focus of this blog is principally on Rainbow Nation. 

Do you know that Rainbow Nation was actually coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa ?

Well, we teachers have decided to infuse the essence and vibes on Rainbow Nation into the Malaysian second language acquisition context. This topic can be found in the Form 4 English Text Book. 

This topic best reflects Malaysia as it is, a nation coloured with various religion, culture, ethnic, food and customs. Not only that, this topic is not only restricted to the aesthetic elements of a nation but also involves the aspects of  peace and global unity. 

The core of this blog is basically to encourage communicative competence among students in formal and informal contexts. Hence as you go through this blog, you'll be able to find notes, suggested exercises and assessment to conduct lessons and activities on formal and informal speaking. 

Also note that the content of this blog can be used for students with intermediate or advance English proficiency levels.

The Introduction

Introduction of a lesson or better known as the anticipatory set is one of the first part of a lesson. It's important to arouse student's interest and evoke their previous knowledge before they look further into the lesson.

Example of materials that can be used in this stage :

Global Peace Festival : Malaysia  - An online video on Youtube

Song for Global Peace and Unity - An online video on Youtube

Short Video clip on 1 Malaysia   - An online video on Youtube

Malaysia : Nation without borders - An online video on Youtube

Flashcards and pictures  : 

     





Once the topic has been introduced, teachers can refer to the notes provided in this blog as the language input and utilize the exercises and assessments attached along with the notes and relate to the speaking lesson. 

REMINDER !

It's always crucial to conduct a feedback session at the end of the lesson and, it's also important to recap that day's lesson to see how far student's have comprehended the lesson.

During a recap session, a teacher can always conduct open-ended discussion, pose questions, ask students to summarize the lesson, draw mind maps etc

Lastly, always remember :



GOOD LUCK ! :)

TeacherTalk

Below are some information on the ELT methods infused in this blog along with the tips which teachers can use in order to conduct a successful lesson that focuses on communicative competence.

Formal Speaking

Notes

Formal communication can be considered as communication efforts that are “dressed up”. For example, in a written letter, the formal communication style will demand that the layout of the piece of written communication follow a specific format that includes the date, header, greeting, body of the letter, close, signature lines and any indicators of enclosures all done neatly above a company overhead or anything else professional.

A few ways to have formal communication are:

a) Complaint

b) Application Form

c) Debate

d) Public Speaking

e) Interview sessions

d) Formal letters/ emails

As you see, all of these ways of communication are very professional in the way it is put out and there is a reason for that. Such things as a complaint letter or speech must be done properly to get the recipient to take you serious and know that you are a professional with a professional way of speaking. Same thing as the interview sessions, it’s important to speak professionally in a formal ways to show formality and respect as how you present the information and conduct effective communication.

Greetings are a part of formal and informal communication as well. It gives a very good sense of first impression to your audience. Through greetings, you are able to show your respect towards your listeners and also respondents.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Instructions: Get into groups of five for debate based activity to be carried out. Two groups are given a topic, for which, one group agrees and another group is in the opposition team.

1) Some families living in the rural areas believe that education is not crucial for the development of an individual. In fact, they agree to the fact that, their traditions and cultural beliefs places much more importance than education. Do you agree with this fact?

2) Should countries prioritize war or peace to advance the economic growth in the country?

3) Malaysia is a harmonious country with more than two ethnics living together. Despite the racial integrity of the country, there are still incidents taking place to tear the unity of our countrymen. Should these incidents be tolerable?

4) Smart devices are being used commonly in everyday living. Is it necessary to introduce the rule of allowing students to bring their smart gadgets to scholarly institutions such as school?

Exercise 2

Instructions: Pick a paper containing a topic from the Jar of Speech. Present your speech in 10 minutes.

Example topics from the Jar of Speech

1) Something I am proud of. My Culture, My Heritage.

2) Arranged Marriage or Love Marriage?

3) The ability of a woman as compared to of a man in today’s world.

4) Usage of English as our official language.

5) Advantages of living in a Multicultural society.

Exercise 3

Instructions: Get into a pair. Decide on who is to be the interviewer and interviewee with your pair. Use the following set of questions by filling in the form, to hire your next employee. During the interview, formal behavior is encouraged.

Questions	Answers
Are you a fun person?
What did you like/ dislike from your previous job?
Describe your ideal boss
How would you describe yourself?
Are you willing to work under a stressful environment?
If you could relive your past 10 years, what would you do differently?
Why should I hire you instead of anyone around here?
If your boss is 100% wrong about something, how would you correct him?
Why did you apply to work for us?

Outcome: ____________________________________

Hired: YES/NO

Assessment

Name: Date: Title of Skit performed:	Excellent (5 Marks)	Moderate (3 Marks)	Need Improvement (0 Marks)
Voice projection -The voice projected is loud and clear enough for the teacher to be able to evaluate the students.
Fluency -The pace of speaking should be at a moderate level, with smooth flow of words.
Formality -Students exhibit formality in verbal, paralinguistic and extra linguistic.
Organization of Ideas -The ideas in the speech are organized in a coordinated way.

Informal Speaking

Notes

Informal Speaking-Simulated Conversation

It is important that to recognize the context in any simulated conversation occurs. You must understand the context and instantly recall vocabulary and grammatical forms you will need to express yourself in any situation.

Familiarize yourself with a list of useful expressions for Informal Speaking

This list should or may include the following conversational expressions for the subtopics:

a) Accepting an invitation

b) Turning down an invitation

c) Expressing apathy

d) Expressing agreement/disagreement

e) Expressing probability

f) Expressing surprise/regret

g) Expressing an alternative

h) Asking for permission

Informal English is used in everyday conversations and in personal letters. 

Here are the example of formal English you might come across in a book.

-As the price of five dollars was reasonable, I decided to make the purchase without further thought.

The same thought would be expressed quite differently in informal English. Here's an actual example from a young American.

-It was, like, five bucks, so I was like, "okay".

You need informal English to be able to understand and communicate with English speakers in everyday situations. Where else, you will need formal English to be able to read a book, give a business presentation or write an official letter.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Instruction: Talk about the topics given below, spontaneously, by inculcating the hints given. 

a) Festivals in Malaysia
Hints: Chinese New Year / Deepavali / Hari Raya / Christmas

b) Say "NO" to Racism
Hints: Equality / Respect / Harmony / Peace / Unity

c) Historical Places Around Malaysia
Hints: Malacca / A'Famosa / Kuala Kangsar / Wars

d) Malaysia, My Country
Hints: Independence / Flag / Cultural customs / Religions / Beliefs 

Exercise 2

Instruction: Complete the blanks in the dialogues below while talking to your partner spontaneously.

Ali, Muthu and Lim Swee are school friends. During the weekends they decided to go to the bookstore to get some revision book for their upcoming term papers. So, on the way to the bookstore they were talking about ……..

Ali & Muthu : Hello Lim Swee ! How are you doing?

Lim Swee: Well, I’m doing ……….. Ali and Muthu , how you both have been?

Ali : Ermmm, im okay but been so bored at home because my brother Imran have gone for a short trip with his friends.

Muthu: Actually, I have been busy help my mom at her shop making ………………………..due to the holidays session where there is a lot of customers in my shop.

Ali & Lim Swee: ………………………………………………………………………………….

Muthu : Yes..

Lim Swee: Ali, have completed all the preparations for Hari Raya which is in a week then?

Ali: Hmm, my mother and sister is busy baking some cakes and biscuits for now.

Muthu : Eh Ali, I wan ketupat , I love eating it with rendang .. So delicious!

Lee Swee : Muthu , what else you know other than food?

Muthu : Nothing much , but yes, I know that Malay people usually gives Ang Pau to people during Hari Raya just like we Hindus and Chinese people.

Ali: You are so funny Muthu. Don’t worry, I be inviting you guys to my house for Hari Raya.

Muthu & Lee Swee: ………………………………………………………………………………...

Ali : Yes. Okay, I think we are getting late to the bookstore. Shall we?

Muthu & Lee Swee : ………………………………………………………………………………..

Exercise 3

Instructions : Students are required to prepare a sketch on “Rainbow Nation” whereby the students are supposed to act out a role which shows out the different cultures and customs we have in our country Malaysia.

"Malaysia is for all! "

Assessment