SPEECH : ENGLISH MONTH

A very good morning to our dear principle, beloved teacher and my fellow friends. As you
know, this month is English Month. Today, I would like to talk about the activities that organised by
the English Language Society in conjunction with English month.

As you can see from our poster, we had prepared a list of interesting activities such as
spelling competition, story telling competition, talent time and story writing competition. First of all,
we have story telling competition. Come and hone your speaking skills by participating in this
competition. Every participants will stand a chance to win fabulous prizes such as books with
exciting titles which will blow your mind away.

Whoever very good in spelling of English words can join the competition of spelling bee.
Please be well prepared because you need to spell a selection of challenging words. Because
of popular demand, we have brought back the talent time competition. You need to perform well if
you do not want to be disqualified.

Last, but not least, for those whose hobby is become an author, you can come to join this
story writting competition. You might need to think of some creative storylines so as to win in this
competition. Those who are interested in these competitions, you need to register as fast as you
could before the closing date as stated on the poster.

In this year, English Languege Society will give out a lot of fabulous and interesting prize. I
reckon that everyone will enjoy these activities very well. I hope that everyone will grab this precious
chance and opportunity to win the fabulous prizes.

Vocabulary
in conjunction with :
talent time :
hone :
blow your mind away :
popular demand :
disqualified :
storylines :
as stated :
DIRECTED: SPEECH

Your school is having a month-long A Healthy Body Campaign. As

President of the Health Club of your school, you decide to give a
speech on the Tak nak Campaign recently launched by the
government.

Tak Nak Campaign

A very good morning to our dear Principal, Mr. Hasnan bin

Jaafar, teachers and students.

Recently, our former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad

Badawi launched an anti-smoking campaign called Tak Nak. You
can now see this short and rhyming catch phrase Tak Nak
everywhere on billboards, posters, TV ads, and sometimes I even
hear it on the radio. Though some people have criticised our
government for setting aside a staggering sum of RM100 million
over 6 years for the campaign, it is nothing compared to the huge
amounts that tobacco companies spend to promote smoking.

But in this war against smoking, money definitely talks; it is

necessary for the Tak Nak Campaign to constanly remind us of the
hazard of smoking because about 50 Malaysian teenagers light up
for the first time every day. In fact, some of these youth progress
steadily from this to regular use, with addiction raking hold within a
few years. And this is despite the warning on every pack of
cigarettes that states unequivocally Smoking is dangerous to your
health.

What can the Tak Nak Campaign do to combat this? Their

aggressive advertising creates media awareness among the public,
especially among the fashionable young crowd, that smokers have
yellowed teeth and suffer from shortness of breath and tells them
that it is not cool to smoke. It is also not responsible of them to
affect non-smokers with second-hand smoke.

Also, there is a succession of infomercials on TV and in the

papers showing the debilitating effects of tobacco addiction on the
body and gruesome statistics of smoke-related deaths. We are now
familiar with the graphic pictures of damaged lungs on billboards
which should scare people into not smoking. This works, as I know
some of my friends are quitting now, or trying to reduce the number
of cigarettes they smoke per week.

However, I feel any anti-smoking campaign is more effective if

other people and organisations are actively involved too. Yes, the
first step has been taken by the top, but sad to say, many of our
politicians smoke themselves. Nearer to home, so do some of our
parents and teachers.

These adults have to be good role models by not smoking

themselves. If they do smoke, they should tell their children and
students that they regret that they ever started, and then take steps
to quit smoking as soon as possible. They must practise what they
preach.

On a more positive note, I commend the Malaysia Amateur Athletic

Union for its zero-tolerance of smoking because they know that
smoking and health just do not mix. How can our sportsmen excel if
they cannot stop smoking.

Dear teachers and students, thank you for your attention. Let me
end my speech by reiterating that smoking is a bad habit, so make
Tak Nak your mantra. If you have started smoking, say Tak Nak and
quit! And if you havent started smoking, say know that smoking not
only damages your health but you are also literally burning your
money.
How to Improve the Students' Standard of English
Good morning, boys and girls.

First and foremost, I wish to thank the Principal for granting me

permission to speak at this morning's assembly. The topic of my talk
is 'How to Improve Your English'. This talk is also an appropriate
introduction to our English Language Week which begins today.

All of you know the importance of English. It is the language of

knowledge, international communication and trade. I know that most
of you want to improve your English but are not sure how to go
about it. I am going to tell you how to do it. I know the methods work
because they have worked for me.

The very first thing you have to do is to read more. Read

newspapers, books and magazines. There is no other way that is
more effective than reading. There are no short-cuts to mastering
the English Language. You have to read more and you have to do it
for some time before you can see the results.

You can also attend English tuition classes. The more time you spend
studying the language, the better you will be. At such classes, you
will be taught grammar, sentence construction, common errors and
so on. All this will improve your understanding of English.

Studying how to write English is not enough. You have to learn how
to speak it. In fact, when you go for job interviews or start working,
the ability to speak English is very important. If you cannot converse
with the interviews in English, you will probably not be given the job.
You will likely have to speak to your boss in English or you may have
to conduct meetings in English. You may also have to speak to
potential clients or customers in English. If you cannot speak English
well, it will be a very big disadvantage. When you first start to speak
English, you will surely make mistakes. Never mind, carry on doing it
and one day you will find that you can speak English very fluently. As
the saying goes, Practice makes perfect.

Another way to improve your English is to correspond with English

pen-pals. If you correspond with people who are not native speakers
of the language, you may learn wrong English from them. So, the
best way to avoid learning bad English is to learn it from the native
speakers themselves.
An interesting way to learn English is to go and see English films.
From the films you can learn how the language is spoken, the ways
English words are pronounced and the situations in which certain
words, phrases or sentences are used. At the same time, you would
be enjoying the films.

Listening to English programmes over the radio is also a very

effective way of learning English. As the English on our local stations
may be suspect, tune in to the BBC (British Broadcasting
Corporation) which has impeccable English. In fact, one very famous
Oscar-winning American actor learnt his English in the same way. At
first, he spoke English like an uneducated man but after months of
listening to the BBC, he spoke like a graduate from one of the top
British universities.

The next method is like going to the cinema to see English films.
However, instead of going to the cinema, you do it at home. You can
watch English films on television. Try not to look at the subtitles at
all. Try to catch what the actors and actresses are saying. It will be
difficult at first but you will be able to do it with more practice.

A very bold but guide effective way of learning English is to act in

English plays. Join the school drama society or an amateur acting
club. When you act in a play, you have to memorise your lines and
give life to them. I cannot think of a more effective way of learning
English than this because the English you have memorised will stay
with you forever.

You can also take part in elocution contests. Writing the speech you
have to deliver, memorising it and then delivering it will really
improve your English. You will learn not only how to write English but
also how to speak it.

Taking part in debates is also a very good method of improving your

English but your English must already be quite good before you can
do it. This is very different from taking part in dramas or elocution
contests where you just have to memorise what you have to say. In
debates, you have to attack or rebut the points put forward by your
opponents. There is no way you can prepare beforehand what you
want to say. You have to do everything on the spur of the moment.
That takes quite a good command of the language. So, take part in
debates only when your English is up to standard.

One very important thing you must do if you want to be very good at
English is always to check the meanings of words that you do not
know in a good dictionary. Many students are too lazy to do this.
They only try to guess the meanings of the words. This will not do for
almost a hundred times out of a hundred, they will guess the
meaning wrongly. The dictionary will give you the exact meanings. In
the beginning, you may have to check the meanings of almost every
word. However, when your vocabulary improves, you will have to
check the meanings of fewer and fewer words.

Another very important thing is you have to correct the

pronunciation of many of your words. You have heard many words
pronounced wrongly by many people and you are pronouncing them
the same way they do. You may think that just because many people
pronounce the words that way, the pronunciation must be correct.
This is not true. Many words are wrongly pronounced. A few
examples are 'deposit', divorce', 'hostel', development' and
preservative'. The de' in 'deposit' is pronounced as 'di' and not
dep'. The di' in divorce' is pronounced as di and not dai. The tel'
in 'hostel' is pronounced as 'ti' and not 'tell'. The correct
pronunciation for the de in development is 'di' and not 'dare'. The
'pre' in preservative is actually pronounced as pri and not prare.

The most commonly mispronounced letter is 'O'. It is seldom

pronounced oh but rather eh'. The dictionary will show you how to
pronounce the letter O. For example, 'police' is not pronounced
'polis' but rather pelis. 'Consider' is not pronounced 'konside' but
rather 'kenside'. The word monopoly is frequently mispronounced.
It is not monopoli but rather menopeli. 'Coconut' is not 'kokonat'
but rather 'kokenat'. Remember that if a word has only one 'O', it is
seldom pronounced as 'oh', and no matter how many 'O's' a word
has in its middle part, only one of them is pronounced as oh.
However, if the letterO is at the beginning of a word such as
'oppose' and object, it is usually pronounced as oh.

Get someone to teach you the pronunciation symbols or learn them

yourself. After that check the pronunciation of every word before you
use it in your speech.

I have given you a few ways in which you can improve your English.
You may know other ways. Use them to improve your English. It is
for your own good and the good of the country.

Before I step down from the rostrum, I would like to say, LONG LIVE
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!

Thank you very much.

Chong Mei Lin,
40, Jalan Templer,
Taman Hati Bersih,
76 000 Seremban,
Negeri Sembilan
_________________________________________________________________________

The Manager,
Lim and Sons Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd.,
Lot 123, Interstate Industrial Area,
76 001 Nilai,
Negeri Sembilan 18 JULY
2010

Dear Sir / Madam,

Application for the Post of Accounts Assistant

I wish to apply for the post of Accounts Assistant as advertised in The New Strait Times
dated 15th July 2011.

2. I have the necessary qualifications as stated in my curriculum vitae which is

attached to this letter. I have experience working in both food manufacturing and also
auto manufacturing fields. I am currently working in Lazat Ice Cream Sdn. Bhd. in
capacity of an Accounts Assistant and have been here since January 2008. Before this, I
was working in TFR Auto Enterprise as an Accounts clerk. Since my present position
offers little prospect for career advancement, I would like to be attached to a fairly
large organisation such as yours.

3. I would like to work in Nilai as I intend to further my studies and get professional
qualification. I have registered with a college in Nilai to do ACCA on part-time basis.
With this high additional education level and knowledge, I can perform better in
applying the accounts knowledge in the future job.

4. I can assure you that I am capable person who can work independently. I am
able to handle full sets of accounts, up to three sets at a time. I am interested in
working with a company like yours as I feel I can grow well with the company. I am a
team player, adapt easily to any working environments and can work with people from
all works of life.

5. I was active in extra-curricular activities and was considered as responsible and

dedicated worker. I led and organised many activities for the school clubs so I am
confident that I can be an asset to your company in this capacity. Furthermore, i have a
good command of English.

6. In view of my qualification and experience, I would expect a salary more than

RM 2 000. And since I have my own car, I would have no problems travelling outstation
should the job require.

7. I look forward to hearing from you and I am fully prepared to attend an

interview at any time convenient to you.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,
Raju
(RAJU a/l MANIAM)

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