27th February 2008
1.50 a.m.
3rd and final semester.
EDU 5256 Professional Development in Language Education.
M.Ed (TESL) UPM.
1st Entry
It’s kind of weird starting my journal entry at this hour. I have just returned from my night class and later watched `American Idol’ Season 6 (Repeat). It is definitely NOT easy to study at this hour, especially when your mind and body are totally exhausted. However, at the spur of the moment, I forced myself to switch on my computer in my attempt to combat my `dreadful’ disease – PROCASTINATION. So, here it goes..
I’m an English teacher who is currently teaching at a University in my state. My formal teaching hours is 24 plus 10 extra hours teaching public courses conducted under the same university. Yes, I do feel this is too much for me. There are days when I feel like I’m `slaughtering’ myself; wondering why did I ever get myself into this kind of monotonous and unprofitable career. In the midst of looking for answers, I accidentally embark myself in a postgraduate study under University Putra Malaysia in TESL. I remember it was the last day for registration and my good friend Mona was there to witness how reluctant I was to join a programme which I had no interest in. As I had expected, I was doomed with endless assignments, quizzes and exams which must have contributed to the number of grey hairs and my children getting thinner.
But boy I was wrong. I realized that it wasn’t just another piece of degree to add to my collection. I began to reflect on so many things in life through the lectures which I attended during the weekends. If I had taken these lectures solely for the purpose of exams, I wouldn’t be sending my 4 year old daughter (then) to an English medium pre-school which is situated 16km away from my house. There is something about the critical period hypothesis which bothers and makes sense to me as a teacher and mother. I am not criticizing the previous pre-school that she went to. I just wanted her to be familiar with another language which is English. It was such a shame that even as an English teacher, I hardly spoke in English to my children! What an irony…
1.50 a.m.
3rd and final semester.
EDU 5256 Professional Development in Language Education.
M.Ed (TESL) UPM.
1st Entry
It’s kind of weird starting my journal entry at this hour. I have just returned from my night class and later watched `American Idol’ Season 6 (Repeat). It is definitely NOT easy to study at this hour, especially when your mind and body are totally exhausted. However, at the spur of the moment, I forced myself to switch on my computer in my attempt to combat my `dreadful’ disease – PROCASTINATION. So, here it goes..
I’m an English teacher who is currently teaching at a University in my state. My formal teaching hours is 24 plus 10 extra hours teaching public courses conducted under the same university. Yes, I do feel this is too much for me. There are days when I feel like I’m `slaughtering’ myself; wondering why did I ever get myself into this kind of monotonous and unprofitable career. In the midst of looking for answers, I accidentally embark myself in a postgraduate study under University Putra Malaysia in TESL. I remember it was the last day for registration and my good friend Mona was there to witness how reluctant I was to join a programme which I had no interest in. As I had expected, I was doomed with endless assignments, quizzes and exams which must have contributed to the number of grey hairs and my children getting thinner.
But boy I was wrong. I realized that it wasn’t just another piece of degree to add to my collection. I began to reflect on so many things in life through the lectures which I attended during the weekends. If I had taken these lectures solely for the purpose of exams, I wouldn’t be sending my 4 year old daughter (then) to an English medium pre-school which is situated 16km away from my house. There is something about the critical period hypothesis which bothers and makes sense to me as a teacher and mother. I am not criticizing the previous pre-school that she went to. I just wanted her to be familiar with another language which is English. It was such a shame that even as an English teacher, I hardly spoke in English to my children! What an irony…
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