ျမန္မာဇာတ္ကား-ငေပြး-ျမင့္ျမတ္၊ ခ်မ္းမီမီကို

Can we skip or lessen the need to equip our youths's critical minds?

Can we skip or lessen the need to equip our youths' critical minds?

Many policy makers and some elders are shocked to witness the strange and transgression behavior of our teens. Today, our youths have been exposed to media from near and far. It is harder to make sure that traditional values and customs are maintained through the key institutes.

Many adolescents simply shun them down. Some have lost their bearings.

Critical thinking skills can be developed. 

Why the 21st-century war on the Korean Peninsula is imminent

Why the 21^st-century war on the Korean Peninsula is imminent

The latest launch of a long-range missile by North Korea has caused stocks around the world to fall. Concerns and worries abound. More talks of way have been heard around the world. The best China could do and has been doing is calling for calm and restraints from all sides. But the fire has been ignited.

             Photo credit: http://news.sky.com/story/north-korea-test-fires-ballistic-missile-10855244

The fact that Japan has been unusually quiet concerning the NK missiles over their country is the first sign. Anyone familiar with the Japanese notion of silence can sense the immense tension. The treatment of Japan by NK is a shock to many. Taking Japan for granted by viewing it as a ‘harmless’ Samurai, a warrior without a sword,  a nation to be violated and humiliated at will is a serious mistake. Japanese authorities have asked its people to take cover.

Professor Jong-Wha Lee, Korea University and Warwick McKibbin from The Australian National University (AnU) have come up a post-war scenario where South Korea has to carry the burden of having to look after the NK’s economy. In the article, they write:

“South Korea should prepare for a unification process, which could happen unexpectedly. No one expected the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification. And the costs of not being prepared could be high.”

George Friedman has warned earlier (May 23, 2017) that “ evidence is mounting that the enmity between the two (US versus NK) is escalating to a point where war is inevitable.”

What should be done to prevent the clash? No one seems to have answers. It seems that everybody is ready for war. The situation may sound gloomy and it is. I wish I was wrong in this analysis. Perhaps, the best we can do is what the Japanese authorities have told its people: “Take cover”

Sources:

1. "GEORGE FRIEDMAN: A US attack on North Korea is imminent" From

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-attack-on-north-korea-is-imminent-george-friedman-says-2017-5

2. "South Korea should prepare for reunification" http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/08/30/south-korea-should-prepare-for-reunification/

3. “Global stocks falling after North Korean missile launch”

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/08/29/global-stocks-falling-after-north-korean-missile-launch.html

Myanmar Movie-Kat Thee Lay-Pyay T Oo, Moe Yu San, Thinzar Wint Kyaw

How to Remember New Words and Expressions

How to Remember New Words and Expressions

Janpha Thadphoothon

The best advice: do it many times in many modes.

We can learn languages better if we understand how memories work. It's like learning how to play soccer. Practice makes perfect.

Scientists will tell you that the hippocampus and other parts of your brain work together to connect the wires, to build that memory or to rebuild that memory. 

Hence, to remember something your brain goes through the following process of what is known as encoding. First your brain consciously registers the memory (e.g. putative failure).  This is called encoding.

We need to repeat our use or expose ourselves to the variety of ways the target expression is used in context. 

- "Perhaps one of the principal goals of education is to alter learners’ beliefs about themselves by showing them that their putative failures or shortcomings can be ascribed to a lack of effective strategies rather than to a lack of potential. "


Hence, the best way to improve your memory is to keep remembering the same thing, over and over, and vary its context of use, in as many modes and media as possible.

If you can do this, you will be successful in your language learning.

Why memories matter

Why Memories matter (especially the good ones)

Janpha Thadphoothon

We all have memories, good or bad. As we live we gather them. Some memories stay with us for a long time. We want to cherish them and embed them as part of our lives. Sweet memories define us. Bad meories, sometimes, help us to move forward in life.

I am fond of my memories, good or bad. They are like my second self. I think we all should nourish them with great care and tenderness. After all, these memories or the stories (our stories) are what shall remain in us. Memeories make life worth living.

This may explain why people love posting and sharing their memories. On Facebook or Instagram or other social media. We want our memories to stay with us and we want them to be forever.


The saddest thing in life is the loss or absence of memories. Even though there are times and occassions when we wish some memories (nightmares) disappeared or vanished, memories know their roles and places, they have their own existence.

We should allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by memories worth keeping and let the wind and rain wash the bad ones away. Keep only those worth keeping and with the hands of kindness..let the wind of time blow the bad ones away.

FULL MYANMAR MOVIE NEW ဗ႐ုတ္သုတ္ခ(ေဇရဲထက္/ေရႊမႈံရတီ)

ျမန္မာဇာတ္ကား-တြဲဖက္အၿပံဳး-ေနတိုး၊ အိျႏၶာေက်ာ္ဇင္၊ မိုးယုစံ

How to deal with noisy pupils

How to deal with noisy pupils

How to use Instagram for language learning

How to use Instagram for language learning
Janpha Thadphoothon

One way to use Instagram is to ask the students to write c

Do you know Victor Hugo?

Do you know Victor Hugo?

Janpha Thadphoothon

Having been teaching EFL for a few decades, I was surprised by a question from one of the students:
"Do you know Victor Hugo?"

I told him I did. He was a famous writer.

The student told me that he wrote a novel called "Les Miserables" He asked if I had a copy. he would like to read it.

I read the book a long time ago (when I was still in my late twenties....) You can guess my age...

The point I would like to make here is this: I am delighted to have been asked such the question. It's one of the moments when you can actually feel that what you have been trying to do means something. It's something!

ခ်စ္ၿမဲအတိုင္းခ်စ္မယ္ - ခင္စုစုႏိုင္

The Happy School Video Contest by UNESCO

Dear Educators and Teachers
Dear colleagues and friends,



UNESCO Bangkok is extending the Happy Schools Video Contest, and we’ll be accepting submissions until June 30. http://bangkok.unesco.org/content/happy-schools-video-contest-what-does-happy-school-look-you

We’re looking for students, teachers, parents, designers, photographers, and anyone in the Asia-Pacific region to send us a video of their “Happy School” and to promote happiness and well-being in the Asia-Pacific.  Winners will win a trip to Bangkok to promote their video at an upcoming UNESCO event!

This video contest seeks to capture actions, moments and ideas that showcase and promote happiness in schools and learner well-being. The video contest will continue to be announced on our social media accounts (@UNESCO_AsiaPac on Twitter and Facebook.com/UNESCOBKK). Help us spread the message by sharing on your social media channels and/or by sharing from our pages. Feel free to forward this email to your colleagues, friends and family.

For more information about the Happy Schools Project, please visit our website<http://bangkok.unesco.org/theme/happy-schools>. You can also access the 2016 publication Happy Schools: A Framework for Learner Well-Being in Asia-Pacific here<http://bangkok.unesco.org/content/happy-schools-framework-learner-well-being-asia-pacific>.

Why: Help promote happiness and learner well-being in schools throughout Asia-Pacific (and a chance to win a trip to Bangkok!)
When: Send us your video NOW!
Where to enter: Please enter the contest on our website http://bangkok.unesco.org/content/happy-schools-video-contest-what-does-happy-school-look-you
 ·       Rules and information are also attached in pdf format.

Thank you,
Happy Schools! @ UNESCO Bangkok

In the Shade of Mandalay Hill

In the Shade of Mandalay Hill 

(Shwe Man Taung Yite Ko )

The story behind the song - "In the Shade of Mandalay Hill" by Myoma Nyein.

Photograph: Myoma Nyein


Anyone learning Myanmar would be sooner or later introduced to one of the national songs of the Union, that is, Shew Man Taung Yite Ko (In the Shade of Mandalay Hill). The song, if anything, has the power to touch the heart of every Myanmar. Its songwriter, Myoma Nyein, was considered a great artist of the nation. His life story was equally interesting.

According to Wikipedia:

Myoma Nyein (25 January 1909 – 15 September 1955) was a renowned Burmese musician and composer. Born Kyaw Nyein to father U Nyi, a goldsmith, and mother Daw Chit Oo, a lacquerware merchant in Mandalay, Myanmar, he was educated at Central National School, Mandalay. At the age of ten, he learnt a Burmese classic titled Jambu Kyun Lone (Universal) from Deva Einda Maung Maung Gyi in a single day much to the surprise of the famous harpist. In 1925 he co-founded the Myoma (meaning City Proper) music band or Myoma Amateur Music Association with his teacher artist and musician U Ba Thet and a city burgher Dahdan U Thant.

Myoma Nyein's  song for the 1947 Burmese New Year ---- Thingyan Shwe Man Taung Yeikkho aka Mya Nandar (In the Shade of Mandalay Hill) has become a perennial classic during the Thingyan festival.

The song is often sung by Myanmar people - to remind them of their roots and national pride. For example, it is often performed and sung at the end of an event like great concerts.

Throughout his life he composed over 150 songs.

Photo credit: http://www.7daydaily.com/story/21661

01 မန္းေတာင္ရိပ္ခို

ဟန္ဇာမိုးဝင္း တင္ေမာင္ဆန္းမင္းဝင္း

การใช้ ้have/has yet + V3 ที่แปลว่า ยังไม่

การใช้ ้have/has yet + V3 ที่แปลว่า ยังไม่

การใช้ Yet ที่แปลว่า ยัง ใช้เป็นคำกริยาวิเศษณ์ (adverb) พบได้บ่อย ๆ เช่น

There are three tiger cubs in the zoon. They are two weeks' old. They have not yet opened their eyes.

มีลูกเสือสามตัวอยู่ในสวนสัตว์ อายุของพวกมันคือสองสัปดาห์ พวกมันยังไม่ได้ลืมตา

No e-mail has yet been received. = No e-mail has been received yet.


Their eyes are not yet opened to Dhamma. ดวงตาของพวกเขายังไม่เห็นธรรม 

Life is good now, but the best is yet to come.

(Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20best%20is%20yet%20to%20come/be)

Yet ำม่จำเป็นต้องอยู่ท้ายประโยคเสมอไป 

I have yet to read the book you lent me. (= I have not read it yet.)

(Source: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/7764/meaning-of-yet-in-the-best-is-yet-to-come)

Natural Mathematics

Most people are afraid of mathematics. Mathematics is nature. Natural mathematics is about people and things. It is about their surroundings. In many societies, sorting things out and counting things can be done almost without numbers.

What is best is what is closest to nature. Amidst the mantra of big data and sophisticated machinery and complex systems, we humans must seek ways back to the basic, that is, nature.

Henry David Thoreau once said that "Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!"( Henry David Thoreau, WALDEN: Or, Life in the Woods).


Natural mathematics is about relationships. Our relationships with other human beings, animals, trees, seasons, and other elements of nature.

Source: Cover page of "An Introduction to Aboriginal Mathematics" by John Rudder (1999)

Education: On what is relevant what is not

Education: On what is relevant what is not

Janpha Thadphoothon Ed D

The genesis of the title comes from the many bewilderments I have had on several educational issues, including this recent one. This recent puzzlement is this --- what should be taught to the students or what the students should learn and master. Simple and straight forward as it may appear, many of us get into it and may not realize how complex and ancient the issue has been around in the academia.

Some academics argue for the practicality of what should be mastered. Weed out what is irrelevant and only focus on what is essential. But this belief and conviction has several flaws. I once talked to a university lecturer about this. She told me that calculus and the like is not necessary for business students. "What's the use of calculus?" I asked her, 'but what should they learn?' She said "mathematics is okay, but not calculus." She added, "they won't need it."

Even though I was not a math teacher, I was stunned and uneasy by such the belief. Another example is from my own experience. Recently, may literature courses have been either been ignored and put aside as outdated subjects. They argue that literature does not have any relevance to the modern world. Surely, the fail to appreciate the fact that literature is the mirror of one's society.

This linear thinking paradigm is spreading wide and fast. What's wrong with this? Many may wonder. Isn't it natural and commonsense that we should only learn what will be needed in the future in our workplace? The obvious flaw in this assertion lies in its flaw to assume the existence of a static future. The future is slippery. Factors beyond control are abundant. The cheese might have been moved or the rules might be changed.

A seasoned professor of education has this to note: Teachers, nowadays, cannot tell their students what will happen what what they students will be doing. In short, they do not know the future. In fact, nobody does. The best bet teachers can do is to help the students to become what he calls 'self-taught learner' - a person who is capable of teaching him or herself.

Sadly, many do not regard calculus and literature as thinking-enable subjects or sciences. The future-oriented pedagogy or education-for-the-future mentality is perhaps counterproductive. Literature, like history, cannot be overlooked or ignored.

การใช้เครื่องหมาย Hyphens และ Dashes

การใช้เครื่องหมาย Hyphens

เครื่องหมาย (-) หรือ Hyphens  คือ เครื่องหมายวรรคตอนประเภทหนึ่ง เป็นขีดสั้นๆ ใช้คั่นคำที่มีความเกี่ยวข้องกัน เช่น 

an up-to-date magazine นิตยสารที่ทันสมัย 

a one-way ticket

a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

an off-campus apartment

state-of-the-art design

เราใช้ Hyphens เมื่อไร

1. Use to form multiple-word adjectives

This is a one-way street.

2. บางครั้งเราสามารถใช้สร้างคำยาว ๆ ได้ เช่น

She’s a two-year-old child.

3. ใช้ในการสร้างคำนามผสม เช่น

I love chocolate-covered peanuts.

4. ไม่ต้องเติม s หลัง Money, distance, or time เช่น

We had a five-minute break.

I went for a five-mile run.

He gave me a hundred-dollar bill.

5. ใช้คั้นการเขียนจำนวนตั้งแต่ 21-99 เช่น

thirty-five children

one thousand two hundred twenty-seven dollars

I changed my diet and became a no-meater.

the friendly-looking dog

a family-owned café

การใช้เครื่องหมาย Dashes (---)

เครื่องหมาย Dash จะยาวกว่า เครื่องหมาย Hyphen ดังนั้นจึงนิยมขีดให้ยาวๆ เช่น I went to see her --- but she had gone.

She offered him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity --- he refused it.

1. ใช้แนะนำรายการ เช่นเดียวกับหน้าที่ของ  colon (:) เช่น

She bought many things---sugar, chilies, bananas, and honey.

2. ใช้ทำหน้าที่เช่นเดียวกับเครื่องหมายวงเล็บ ( ) เช่น
His father --- whom we met yesterday --- was a WWII veteran.

3. 2. ใช้ทำหน้าที่เช่นเดียวกับเครื่องหมาย ; หรือ semicolon เช่น

Tim couldn't go to the party; his car broke down again. 

Tim couldn't go to the party --- his car broke down again. 

Let's have a productive and refreshing vacation

Having a long holiday or a vacation is blessing; it's even more so if we can make it 'joyful and productive'. How so? Dorie Clark argues that 'a productive vacation' is more desirable. Read her article and find out how and why.

"How to Take a Productive Yet Refreshing Vacation"

Dorie Clark, JUNE 04, 2015

Some people will bristle at the seemingly oxymoronic notion of a “productive vacation.” But as an entrepreneur for the past decade, if I’m going to take a vacation at all, it needs to be productive — otherwise, without the safety net of paid vacation days and coworkers to cover for me, I might as well keep working. That’s not to say I don’t take lengthy, enjoyable vacations; I previously wrote for HBR about my month-long, unplugged sojourn traveling in India. But we all have limited time off, so we have to choose wisely. Here’s how I balance having a productive yet refreshing vacation.

Define success upfront. Some might ask: Why should you define a successful vacation? Isn’t just relaxing enough? Maybe. But as an executive or entrepreneur, you probably have success metrics in most other areas of your life. You know the sales target you need to hit, and how much you need to raise for the charity board you’re involved with, and you may even have personal success goals, like having dinner with your family every night. Especially if you’re trapped in the typical American situation of only two weeks’ vacation per year — much of which we don’t take — it pays to know upfront what success looks like in a vacation, so you don’t end up frittering away limited time. Your goal may be to reconnect with your spouse, spend quality time with your kids, catch up on reading, kickstart a new fitness regimen, make progress on a novel you’re writing, or literally just vegetate. Any of those are worthy goals, but they should be articulated upfront so you can prioritize them.

Choose a destination that does double duty. A few years back, I was dating someone who desperately wanted to go to Hawaii. Her perfect vision was a cabin in Kauai, reading and painting on the beach. That sounds great, but at that point in my career, having just finished writing my first book, Reinventing You, I didn’t need a quiet retreat — I needed to be networking. So we went to her other favorite destination, Paris, where (out of a two-week vacation) I could spend a half-day in business meetings at HEC-Paris, which rendered part of our vacation tax-deductible and led to a teaching contract.

YOU AND YOUR TEAM

Vacation: Make the most of your time away.

Make time to rekindle old connections. It’s impossible to cordon off “work” and “life.” We experience the downside of these blurred lines every day, as coworkers and clients assume we’re reachable 24/7 thanks to our smartphones. We might as well leverage the upside by building real, meaningful, gratifying relationships with our business contacts while we’re away from the office. I just spent the last 3 ½ weeks traveling the country, giving talks at bookstores and corporations to launch my new book. But in between, I made sure to load up my schedule with dinners and coffees with friends — and by “friends,” I often mean current or potential business contacts whom I enjoy spending time with. In the past week alone, I’ve dined with a podcaster who’s had me on his show, a former boss from 15 years ago who now runs a large nonprofit, a woman I profiled in Stand Out, and a business owner who hosted the San Francisco launch party for my first book. I had a blast, and reignited dormant ties, which is one strategy for maximizing the value of your vacation.

Vacation time is meant to be refreshing, so you can arrive back at work with renewed vigor. But that doesn’t mean you can’t also be productive, cementing important connections, meeting people in strategic new locations, and achieving the goals that are most important to you.

Dorie Clark is a marketing strategist and professional speaker who teaches at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She is the author of Reinventing You and Stand Out.

Source: https://hbr.org/2015/06/how-to-take-a-productive-yet-refreshing-vacation

Questions

1.       According to Dorie Clark, is it possible to be productive when you are on vacation?

2.       What are some of the things we can do when we have a vacation?

3.       What is the first thing we should do to make our vacation ‘productive’?

4.       Why did the author (Dorie Clark) choose Paris instead of Hawaii for her vacation?

What does 

สงกรานต์ ในบริบทของอาเซียน (Songkran in the ASEAN Context)

Did you know that Songkran (Thai) and Thingyan (Burmese) are actually the same word with the same meaning?

สงกรานต์ กับ Thingyan คือ คำเดียวกัน

Brain Research and ELT

Brain is important.

​ေမာ္​လၿမိဳင္​တကၠသိုလ္​

การใช้ Not only X, but also Y

การใช้ Not only X, but also Y

ฝรั่งนิยมใช้โครงสร้างนี้ครับ เช่น Tim is better than me. He has not only the height but also the fair skin. ทิมได้เปรียบฉันหลายขุม เขา ทั้งสูงและขาว

Tim is not only rich but also handsome. = Tom is rich and handsome.

อาจปรากฏให้เห็นในหลายรูปแบบ เช่น

Not only will they paint the outside of the house but also the inside.
= They will paint not only the outside but also the inside (of the house).

Not only was it raining all day at the concert but also the band was late.

บ่อยครั้งที่ได้ยินฝรั่งพูดเปรย ๆว่า Not only that ......

I like it not only because of the price but also the quality.
ฉันชอย ไม่ใช่เหตุผลมาจากราคา แต่ยังเป็นเพราะคุณภาพอีกด้วย

I love him. It's not that I care so much about his wealth. It's also due to the fact that he's a good guy.

ลองฝึกใช้บ่อย ๆ นะครับ
You need to not only read books but also speak the language everyday.

เนื้อเพลง The ASEAN Way

เนื้อเพลง The ASEAN Way

Raise our flag high, sky high
Embrace the pride in our heart
ASEAN we are bonded as one
Looking out to the world.
For peace, our goal from the very start
And prosperity to last.
We dare to dream we care to share.
Together for ASEAN
we dare to dream,
we care to share for it's the way of ASEAN

คำแปล

ชูธงเราให้สูงสุดฟ้า โอบเอาความภาคภูมิไว้ในใจเรา
อาเซียนเราผูกพันเป็นหนึ่ง
มองมุ่งไปยังโลกกว้าง
สันติภาพ คือเป้าหมายแรกเริ่ม
ความเจริญ คือปลายทางสุดท้าย
เรากล้าฝัน
และใส่ใจต่อการแบ่งปัน
ร่วมกันเพื่ออาเซียน
เรากล้าฝัน
และใส่ใจต่อการแบ่งปัน
นี่คือวิถีอาเซียน

Writing workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, at the Open University.

Upcoming Creative Writing workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, at the Open University.

Accommodation: - Đại Kết hotel: 15 Tú Xương, Ward 7, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

Sunday 27 May the group arrives

Monday 28 May.  Day 1 of our workshop.

Tuesday 29 May  Day 2 Writing Trip.

Wednesday 30 May. Day 3 of our workshop.

Thursday 31 May.  The group leaves.

Please remember to bring:

1. A short story (between 600-1000 words) (3 copies for peer editing)

2. A poem

3. A new creative writing activity for class

Core Group Programme. (provisional)

28 May.

09.00-09.30  Opening and housekeeping.

09.30-10-30  Input session of poetry writing activities 1.  (Alan/Jaya)

10.30-11.00  Coffee.

11.00 - 12.30  Input session 2.  (Alan/Jaya)

12.30  14.00  Lunch.

14.00-15.00  Participants share an idea for poetry writing each. 1.

15.00- 15.30  Coffee

15.30-16.30   Participants share an idea 2.

16.30-17.00  Briefing for Writing trip.

29 May.

Writing Trip to Can Gio.

30 May

09.00-10.00  Feedback on writing trip.

10.00-10.30  Coffee.

10.30-12.30   Peer editing of poems and stories.

12.30 - 14.00  Lunch.

14.00-15.00  Peer editing continued.

15.00 - 15.30  Coffee

15.30 - 16.30  More ideas for writing activities. (whole group)

16.30- 17.00  round up and discussion of future of the group.

Discussion points:

1. Group size / participation? How to make the group dynamic? 

2. Should we consider a two-tier system?

3. Workshop sponsorship?

4. Publication possibilities?  (eg. On-line, e-books etc.)

5. What changes could we make to the current format?  (For example, Julie suggested having a different focus each time: poetry; stories; classroom activities; different levels of teaching, etc.)
6. Introduce different kinds of activity.  For example, a regular quarterly publication online.  Strict deadlines. No contact.  All done through Internet.

A few ideas from Ivy sent by email:

1.

Website for the group: If we could have our own website for the group we can publish regular editions of our works (including creative writing, book reviews and research articles). We can have discussions and make comments on each other’s works. This will increase the communication and bonding between the group members. We can bring out bi-annual or annual print versions of our selected works from the already published web editions. Publishing on the website can work as a booster for making the group members more active.  

 

Moreover, website advertisements can be a good source of income for the group. If we can collect some money by publishing advertisements, it can lessen the pressure on the dependence on sponsorship at least to some extent.  Although I am quite ignorant about how these things work, I am sure there will be some way to work this out.

2.

Review of books that focus on the Teaching of Creative Writing can be considered for publications on the group web page. Aside from assigning the interested group members to write book reviews we can also invite guest authors.  

3.

We can consider e-book

4.

I do not think that considering a two-tier system will be a good idea as to me sharing ideas and experiences is a very good way of learning. If the experienced/published writers and novice/unpublished writers are separated we will lose the opportunity to learn many things.

5.

Since the group meets once a year for the workshop, as an alternative to Julie’s suggestion of having a different focus each time: poetry; stories; classroom activities; different levels of teaching, etc; one of these topics can become the focus of a particular day than investing the whole of the workshop time on one single area.

6.

The group can also teach creative writing through its website.

7.

The group can take up projects for writing books that focus on the teaching of the creative writing.

Updated by TBT (12 May 2012)