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We have newbies!!!

Registration of new students has been quite a good experience. When people walk in our doors, we do not know what to expect. Some parents are quite well informed on the Cambridge ESOL programmes where else some are quite clueless despite claiming to have enrolled their children in "similar" (ed: similar in the loosest sense possible) learning centres. Though what we see all these people are seeking for is identical: QUALITY EDUCATION.

As we have given our word to these parents that we emphasise quality and the progress of our students where in we are more concerned on how they would be able to apply the learning of English in our classes in the world outside, we will see to it that these students receive the best we have to offer. We do not offer the moon, nor are we saying "Hey, send your child here. We guarantee they will score As in their exams..." No. We are asking them for time. Time for their children to grasp the fundamentals of English. Then we shall work together to the fluency of speech and understanding. When we have this down, then shall we work towards mastering the language.

I have been speaking English since I could talk. It is my first language. The only language in which I can truly express myself. Yet, I am no where near the true mastery of English. I continue to learn new words in English. When I watch movies and dramas, I encounter whole new expressions that are foreign to me. English is an exciting and vibrant language. It may not be as diverse as other languages, nor is it in the most logical language, but it is the nuances and quirkiness of this language which I am so in love with. It is my proficiency in English that enables me to immerse into the amazing worlds written by writers I love; to feel the intensity and motion the characters go through. Merely watching a movie does not inflame your senses as much as reading does.

Just as I love to read works by Arundhati Roy, Jane Austen, Audrey Niffinegger, Rohinton Mistry, Bernice Chauly, C.S. Lewis and many more, so do I want the young ones to grow to love the written word. The beauty you find in books is rarely ever translated in its full splendour to the screen.

When I look back, I am so impressed again
with the life-giving power of literature.
If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of
myself in the world, I would do that again by reading,
just as I did when I was young.
~ Maya Angelou ~

This is my hope for my students.