I was born in a family where English is not the first language,not even the second.Mak dan ayah are not so highly educated,so they just humbly used Malay language.English is a language which I obtained in school.Now that I think all over again,I am really grateful to those who contributed into my way of learning English,either directly or indirectly.
During primary 1,my English teacher was Miss Khoo.She was nice and gentle,never been strict at all..I guess that's why I did not learn English properly during that year,a year when English should be so much fun.In primary 6,there was a huge difference in my English life.Mrs McIntyre,a fabulous name for a Penang Chinese woman,taught us English with so enthusiastic,making me tachycardic and anxious every time she entered the class.She always asked each and every student to say something, or to answer her questions even when she ran out of questions related to the topic.No body would be missed! I still remembered one morning,I,as a prefect,had to leave the class 10 minutes earlier before recess time,because I was on duty that day.Unfortunately,I was not allowed to leave before I gave an example of ...[couldn't remember].I tried to escape by migrating to a seat somewhere at the corner,hoping that she would stop asking questions when she reached the middle of the class.But that did not happened!!!In the end I volunteered myself to give the 'example' and was permitted to leave the class.Despite her eagerness in teaching English,she is still remembered by her way of pronounciating "pembedahan".She pronounced it as we said "kak bedah", not as we said "belah".Thanks to her,I scored A in UPSR.
I still remember when I was in primary 5, I joined Wushu as part of co-curricular activity.During school holidays,we went to Fern Hill for a camp.I enjoyed the activities but communications were very limited,my English was so poor and I could not speak Hokkien as well.All contestants were Chinese and I was the only Malay.I didn't even know the meaning of ''homesick'' back then.So when I entered primary 6, I was really determined to improve my English.I mixed with Chinese and Indian friends,whose English were good,and my Maths improved as well.At that time,I felt that I had abondoned my Malay friends for quite some time.
During secondary 1,my English teacher was Datin Ratna,a woman with patience and passion.Her style - everyone should stand up until they read a few lines from the story book.Because of her,my reading skills had improved a lot!!The thing that I failed to please her was my essay,never I obtained a satisfactory mark from her.
In secondary 3,I took an extra tuition class for English,as I was worried with my preparation for PMR.The class with Mr Felix was fun and so helpful.My first essay was published and shared with the whole class!I scored A in PMR.
During secondary 4, I rejected an offer to a religious school for several reasons,including my concern that English was not properly taught in that school.I got through MRSM Taiping,where I had the nicest teacher ever,Puan Aishah.I like her idea of asking us to write a journal and during an oral test during secondary 5, I obtained 99%,almost perfect!When I was on sick leave for chickenpox,teacher Aishah prepared everything for me,so when I returned to school,I was already given a selected time to sit the pre trial for SPM.I scored A1 for SPM.
In matriculation college,again,I got a sweet and nice lecturer,Miss Wahida.I scored A in both semesters and obtained Grade 5 in MUET.Grade 6 is the highest anyway.During second semester,I was the only one in my class to be called for a MARA interview for a scholarship.I realized that I was the only Bumiputera in my class who obtained A1 in SPM.After the first interview with MARA officers,I proceeded to the second interview with Irish professors and now here I am,in University College Cork.
Before I entered university,I had to take IELTS.I was sooo lazy that I did not prepare for the exam,and so I had the worst oral exam ever,yet I still passed the minimum requirement.I once wished that I failed the exams,so that I did not have to travel far abroad and just accept the offer from USM.
Doing pre-med in UCC was fun.I had 4 English classes per week; the culture class where we learnt about Irish culture like the Leprechauns, IELTS class,which I later dropped out,because I had taken the exam, the functional discourse class,where we learnt about the Irish healthcare system and how to communicate as a doctor and the academic writing class,where we learnt to write and read properly.Thanks to all the teachers,particularly Mr Brian O Shea and Mr Brian McEnery.
From first medicine onwards,I no longer attend a formal English class,but my lesson continues till today,every hour and every day.All people around me are my teachers - friends, classmates, lecturers, tutors, doctors, nurses, patients, strangers, passers by,radio DJs, tv ads, movies,dramas,songs and many more...
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