Friday, November 20, 2009

NEW LITERATURE COMPONENT FOR 2010

Attention please!!
For those who have yet to be informed about this by your respective Head of Panel.
To teachers who will be teaching Forms 1 and 4 in 2010, we will get a new set of literature component in English Language for Form 1 and Form 4.
Say bye-bye to Life's Brief Candle, The Dead Crow, The Pencil, Bally Shoes, etc.
Say ta-ta to The Road Not Taken, Monsoon History, The Necklace, Drover's Wife, etc.
Say sayonara to The Pearl, Jungle of Hope or The Return.
They'll be replaced with a new set of poems, short stories, novel and.. [surprise, surprise] drama.
Yes!
We'll have to teach drama for literature as a part of the English Language syllabus.
Now aren't we lucky that we've studied drama for a semester? [hahaha... I can see some of you groaning]
I managed to skim through the new literature textbook for both forms. All I can say for now is that most of the new texts will pose a challenge to us. Don't know about those in other states but we're yet to be called for courses regarding this new change.
And no, still no idea which part is for Form 1, 2 or 3.

Here's the whole list:
English Literature Component Form 1 to 3
Poems:
• I Wonder by Jeannie Kirby
• The River by Valerie Bloom
• Mr. Nobody
• Heir Conditioning by M. SHANmughaligam
• A Fighter’s Lines by Marzuki Ali
• Leisure by William Henry Davies

Short Stories:
• Flipp...ing Fantastic by Jane Langford
• One Is One and All Alone by Nicholas Fisk

Drama:
• Rumpelstiltskin

English Literature Component Form 4 and 5
Poems:
• In The Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin
• He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo
• Nature by H.D. Carberry
• Are You Still Playing Your Flute by Zurinah Hassan

Short Stories:
• QWERTYUIOP by Vi...vien Alcock
• The Fruitcake Special by Frank Brennan

Drama:
• Gulp and Gasp by John Townsend

I'm familiar with 3 of the lower forms poems and am still wondering how in the world I'm going to teach them [can already imagine hearing the students saying "Mr.Nobody!" when asked about who had made the mess in class.. urghhh]
For those in Penang, I was told by my SPBT teacher that we'll be studying Black Beauty [I groaned and am still groaning coz I've already read that book]

Meanwhile, if you have any information regarding this new change, do leave some comments here, k.
Bye for now. Happy holidays :)

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sometimes wonder why we are rolling like stones all the time. We keep changing all the time! Remember the old saying, "Rolling Stones gather no moss". This is exactly what and where we are now. Look at the PPSMI, Alam Manusia, Sivics etc. Now you see, now you don't, and now you see it again. Wonderful 1Malaysia!

Anonymous said...

y kip wan to chg new book?????????
y
y
y

Anonymous said...

I heard that too. Baru nak seronok mengajar dah tukar yg baru. Mcm budak sekolahlah semula kena baca dulu, right? miss u all.. - suhana

ALIYA said...

Oh well, we are mere workers, not the boss.I've read through both the new literature books as well as the new graphic novel for Form 1. Will be quite tough to teach some of them especially the Form 4 component.
Anyone teaching F1 and F4 English next year? I do, so perhaps we can discuss about how to teach those new component here?

Anonymous said...

Yeah... Changes all the time. And who does the reading????? The teachers of course! Do the students care? Fat hopes! Without any warning and preparation whatsoever..... the winds of change is here. So, have we teachers got any say in the changes???? No!No!No!

Anonymous said...

Well...the new literature component for form 1-3 is interesting...just wondering which part is meant for form 1 students.The text is quite tough though...wonder how to teach it to the low proficiency students...

ALIYA said...

hello anonymous,
Please leave your name at the end of your comments.. sometimes I wonder if I'm addressing the same person or someone else :P

ALIYA said...

Well anonymous,
Just consider this as another way to escape from school.. coz teachers will be called to attend courses, workshops, bla3.. although I doubt it'd be as grand as the ones we attended during ETeMs :P

Anonymous said...

If you don't mind, may i know the Title of this book in malay?
Cause I always keep google-ing it but i can't find the Malay version. :(
Help me, I am a Form 4 student and really confused about this new book.

Anonymous said...

the one named, In Midst of hardship by Latiff Mohidin.

Anonymous said...

Actually changing to a newer version is not really a bad thing... The stundents DO care about reading literature because they still think english as a important subject... But i think the standard of Malaysia's english subject should be higher so that it can be compared with all the world class standard english like in the British and of the Singaporeans [by a student from SMK USJ 12]

Anonymous said...

hahaha when i check through your list... i was shocked to see the poems were taken from "First Aid In English Reader Book A by Angus Maciver" which we used way back in the early sixties in PRIMARY FOUR!!!! I still keep this book!

ALIYA said...

Dear Anonymous 4th Former,
Sorry, we're in the same boat.I'm still google-ing for Latiff Mohidin's poem in Malay script.It'd be great to compare the poems in 2 languages, in order to motivate weaker students to learn English.
Will inform if I find it, k.

ALIYA said...

Dear SMK USJ 12 student,
Agree with you, but it'd help if teachers are just as enthusiastic about teaching those texts :)
I'm afraid most of us are still in the dark about how to go about teaching the texts.Bolder teachers might want to start soon using their own creativity and prior knowledge.

ALIYA said...

Dear Anonymous senior,
Hahaha [grinning from ear to ear] you mean the poems for Lower Secondary? Real classics, aren't they? That just shows how much the standard of English has deteriorated over the years :P
Anyway I prefer the new short stories for F4 & 5; they're more interesting and suitable for teenagers.

mossczarfar said...

dear friends,
i am teaching form 4 for the last 4 years. have know all the poems and short stories by my fingertips and have built my own PPT for classes. and now he come the new poems and short stories, have to start all over again. i hate the GC. these are from their brilliant ideas. if any of u have anything to help me teach literature in a rural school ( where the brilliant students all went to boarding schools and the no interest in english left ) plis send them to me. plissssssss

ALIYA said...

mossczaffar,
Don't worry, we're all in the same boat. My advice is, get hold of the latest workbooks published by Pelangi and Eastview. And visit us here from time to time. InsyaAllah I'll inform you when my new PPT are ready, hehehe.

Anonymous said...

thanks aliya. in the process of building my own resources for my class (the third out of five form 4 classes). do not have input except the workbook. the net does not gives anything.

ALIYA said...

Both the short stories are to be taught in Form 4, Latiff Mohidin's & Bibsy's poems for F4, while the other two poems and drama, as well as a novel are for Form 5. That's what I'm told based on the guideline sent to schools.
I'm going to start on literature next week with Latiff Mohidin's poem. God willing, will share with you how I teach it :)Wish me luck

Anonymous said...

thanks aliya. i am starting with palying the flute coz i have the malay version of it. how to send it to u? plis send me the material on latiff's

may said...

Hi all. From what I gather, the poems "Nature" and "Flute" are to be taught in Form 5.So is the drama to be taught in Form 4 or 5? Keep on hearing conflicting accounts. Any change in the rest of the English syllabus for Forms 4and 5? I'm a confused English teacher presently teaching a batch of indifferent, blank-faced Form Five students.

Anonymous said...

hi everybody
according 2 d letter from state level first half of '10 is the poem 'midst' story 'QWERTYUIOP' drama 'part of gulp' and 2nd half of '10 poem 'quiet eyes' story 'fruitcake' drama 'finishing the gulp'. hope this is something of help to all.

may said...

Thanks Anonymous! You've been a big help. No changes in the Forms 4 and 5 syllabus, and SPM exam format so far, right?

Anonymous said...

as fer the spm format and form 4 & 5 syllabus, nothing new from the upper level of admin. i think there will be no changes. do you have any teaching material for "midst"? i am having trouble conveying the poem to them. my students are the ones that scores brilliant C and below.

may said...

Hi! I bought 2 ref books specially written for the new lit component: Poems, Short Stories and Drama for Form 4 and Form 5 (Pelangi) and A Quick Guide to Literature Form 4 and 5 (Penerbit Ilmu Bakti). Fipped through both and they seem ok. Provide line-by-line paraphrasing of the stanzas, and assorted exs.Heard that theres another ref book available, but havent got around to buying it yet.

misz said...

salam..
where can i get the full version of short story: the fruitcakes special by frank brennan?
i mean the free version, coz i'm still studying...
thanx for da reply..
hope i can get it ASAP..

Tcer Ita said...

Hi..It's good if we can share our thoughts like diz rite?I'm juz a trainee teacher from USM,now doing my practical in SMK Dato Onn Butterworth.I've to teach form 4 & Form 1 so I know how it's hard to find sources on doz new Lite Comp.So here's somethin I wanna share-juz drop by my blog ok,TQ..

http://teacheritadiary.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

salam
thanks teacher ita. although u are new to this challenging profession, u look worthy.

Anonymous said...

can anyone help?in the poem "Nature" by H.D.Carberry, who is the persona? The poet uses "we" in the poem, so the persona should be the poet and his fellow Jamaicans, shouldnt it? Carberry is extolling the beauty of his country Jamaica after all. Problem is, the ref books say that the persona is, and I quote, "We,the third-person point of view." thats weird cos, as far as i know, "we" is first-person,and besides, you should clarify who this "we" is. any thoughts?

aleaya said...

Hi..can anyone help with the new novel for form 5 ' the curse'??where can i find the info?

Anonymous said...

what about novel? arent the form 1 n form 4 students going to learn novel?? If so, what novel is for form 1 n form 4?