Monday, November 3, 2008

Bahasa Malaysia 101...

I was with Hasya and Hilman preparing them for their Final Exams while Hanna was doing her Maths exercises, and Ayah was busy preparing their Maths and Science mock papers at the dining table last night.

I had come up with Hasya's and Hilman's Bahasa Malaysia mock papers, and was just looking through their exercise books to check on anything that I might have missed, when I overheard the conversations below -

Conversation 1

Hasya : Kak Long, what is "mandi yang tidak bersih"?

Hanna : Hasya, you should know this lah!

Hasya : Is it "mandi gajah"?

Hanna : HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Hasya : Kak Long!!!! I know it has something to do with a big animal!!! Is it "mandi badak" then?!

Hanna lagi lah tergolek tergelak...


Conversation 2

Hasya : Kak Long, what is "batu api"?!

Hanna : Hmmmmm, how do I explain, huh?

Just then, Hilman butted in excitedly -

Hilman : I know, I know! It's like when Kak Long has big thighs, and she doesn't like her thighs, and I am "batu api" and I asked Kak Ngah to call her "Thunder thighs! Thunder thighs!!! I am "batu api" lah!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

All of us tergelak bagai nak rak after that!


Conversation 3

Hilman : When do I use "Beta", "Patik", "Tuanku" and "Baginda", Mommy?

Me : Well, if you are a King, or Queen or a Sultan or Putera Raja, or Tuan Puteri, you would adress yourself as "Beta". But, if you're a commoner or orang biasa, when you speak to the King, you address yourself as "Patik", and you would address the King as "Tuanku" when you speak to him. And you use "Baginda" when you're talking ABOUT the King, Putera Raja and all.

Hilman : HUH???!!!

I started giving examples to him and I had to explain to him at least 6 times, and towards the end I was fuming and so exasperated with him....I memang tak sabar when I teach the kids, and he got a couple of smacks and flicks to his ear, too, in the process. I know...I know...I'm such a mean mom-teacher :(

And suddenly, Hasya said -

Hasya : Why do they have to make our lives so difficult?! Do we HAVE to use those kata ganti nama for the royal family?! It would be easier for us kids if we just use the normal kata ganti nama, you know?!

(Sorry, Hasya... no such thing as "easy" for your exams, okay?)

Anyway, at least last night I knew that Hasya was very weak when it comes to her Simpulan Bahasa, while Hilman - his kata ganti nama (besides the royal terms, he was also having difficulty differentiating between "Kita" and "Kami"!

I hope I've done enough to help them improve in their understanding of Bahasa Malaysia.

I guess I'll only know for sure when the results come out...

And tonight, I'm coming up with their English mock papers pulak...

27 comments:

jabishah said...

Lambat jgk their final exams ya... My girls' dah over & have gotten their results & of course as expected BM laa yg paling weak. Both of their BM1 dpt 88. Nasib still an A. Both of them are weak with the Imbuhan. It is kind of difficult to explain the usage isnt it? Klu selalu baca buku oklah. Yasmin refuses to read BM books. Sampai kena paksalah! Wardah prefers BM but a novel in BM she took like 3 months to finish up the whole 150pg book. Ish.. Ish..

wanshana said...

Ja,

Tu lah tu...Mak bapak lain dah relax dah sekarang. We all yang masih tension nak mengadap anak-anak nak exams ni.

Hanna will be getting her results on-line during the school holidays nanti. As for Hasya and Hilman, we have no idea whether they would get the results next week or also during the holidsys.

BM memang subjects yang menaikkan darah I when I teach them...Very rarely Hasya and Hilman would get highest for BM. Normally 2nd or 3rd in class. And it is always BM which pulls their marks down...

I bought BM books for them to read, but, frankly speaking, I don't really know where all the books are now! Other books are all nicely arranged on the book-racks.

Ezza Aziz said...

tu laa,jangan ingat BM subject senang,hehehe.kalau BM terlingkup,sia sia jer exam ni...saya dulu, pasal BM dapat 'cangkul' la saya kena sit for paper July...
anak anak you tak suka baca novel melayu...anak I mimi semua buku dia baca,beli lain,pinjam lain. Sampai novel2 cinta saya habis di baca nya. Dan dia boleh menulis diari dalam english..bertabur la jugak tapi I suka effort dia. Tahun ni dia di anugerah kan sebagai Pembaca buku terbanyak di sekolah dia.

wanshana said...

Kak Ezza,

I setuju - subject BM memang susah! Sekarang ni lagi lah complicated dari time kitoghang dulu, kan? I rasa, if I were to sit for PMR (tak payah SPM pun!) sure I kantoi...

Syukur alhamdulillah and congrats to Mimi! I memang suka tengok anak-anak yang suka membaca ni. Sejuk hati, kan, Kak Ezza? :)

My kids ni, bukannya we all tak belikan buku-buku cerita Melayu ni, tapi, everytime baca, tetiap 2 minit datang tanya maksud perkataan itu ini...Agaknya, last-last tu they all pun dah tak larat berulang jumpa I, terus letak tepi buku tu. Belikan Kamus pun, entah ke mana-mana perginya.

Masa exams, memang subject BM lah yang we all selalu berdebar-debar tunggu results.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha! You gave me a good laugh, Kak Shana! I pun ter'blur' what "mandi yang tak bersih" is! Big animal, indeed! hahahaha....
Tapi I salute you and Haizal.... for coming up with the mock exam papers... Me and Bidin? Hmmm.....

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Hi Shana,

Got to applaud to both Ayah and you - you guys are exemplary parents lah. I've never prepared mock exam papers for my children. Your kids are sure the lucky ones!

Wish them all the best for their upcoming finals. Hope Hilman sails thru his gantinama raja in his exam, and Hasya in her simpulan bahasa.

Btw, what is the simpulan bahasa for 'mandi yg tidak bersih'? Is it mandi kerbau? Ish..I sendiri pun dah tak ingat! Sure fail kalau sit for the bahasa paper ni.

Anonymous said...

Kak Shana, my std 2 daughter pun sitting pun BM paper today. I went thru few exercises last weekend, mmg x patut bdk Std 2 expected to know all these simpulan bahasa & kata ganti ganti nama etc , kita pun ckp improper BM at home kan... So how la...i hope she did well this morning, dia yg exam, i yg berdebar2

wanshana said...

Adrina,

Tu lah tu...Nasib baik she did not come up with "mandi ikan paus" ke, "mandi beruang", or sewaktu dengannya.

Haizal and I buat mock papers ni setakat yang we all sanggup ajer, i.e. until Std 4 subjects. Bila dah masuk Std 5 and above, we all surrender. I yang tak sanggup bila nak kena lukis-lukis diagram lah, animals lah, dan segala macam benda. Part-part tu I pass kat Haizal :)

Anyway,it doesn't matter how we prepare our kids for the exams. Yang penting we monitor and identify their weaknesses beforehand. I'm sure your kids are brilliant. Tengoklah Mommy and Daddy they all :)

Salams to Bidin, please :)

wanshana said...

Gina,

Yup - it's "mandi kerbau". Dua markah untuk you. Hehehe!

We only buat yang mana termampu ajer, Gina. We don't normally rely on the workbooks we buy from the shops. Those are only used for the kids to do their revision.

For exams, we prefer to refer to the exercises and workbooks that they use and do in school, as they are more specific and the exam questions are based on their school work, rather than the bought workbooks.

And this would be the time when we would discover how their teachers would simply correct everything without reading their answers thoroughly. So many mistakes which the kids did in their exercise books which were marked as correct! Sigh...

wanshana said...

Anonymous @ 11:22a.m.,

I'm sure your daughter will be fine :)

But, yes - we parents are the ones yang tak boleh duduk diam when anak-anak sit for the exams, kan? Even when it's only a Std. 1 Exam. Hehehe!

I agree with you. Some of the things that our kids learn at school are just too advanced for them, and sometimes macam tak relevant ajer kan?

But, I guess, maybe 10-15 years down the line they might need the knowledge for something...like....when...errr... (hmmm, can someone help me here, please?)

Good luck for the results!

IBU said...

Memang tough!

Anakanda-anakanda Beta pun begitu jua .....

Buruk siku - "Siku dia tak cantik agaknya". Lepas tu continue; "siku tu apa?"

ish, ish, ish....

wanshana said...

Ibu,

Hahaha! Tu lah...when we look at the simpulan bahasas, macam tak ada kena-mengena pun with the meanings. How to explain?

How do you explain that "buruk siku" is someone who gives and takes back? Where does the siku fit into the picture?!

Hasya dah confirmed got one wrong for "kera sumbang" (somehow I didn't come across this when I was looking through her exercise books :()

Her questions when she got into the car after the exam-

Hasya : Mommy, what is "kera"?

Me : Monkey.

Hasya : What is "bergaul"?

Me : Mix around or socialize.

Hasya : (Silent for about 15 seconds, and then) - Aaaaarrggghhh!!! I don't get it! What does a monkey have to do with socializing or not socializing with people??!!

Anonymous said...

mmm okay jugak finals lambat.

My kids dah dapat results semua. Mak dia pun dah lepak sakan after buat mock exam questions tu.... hehe.... I HATE doing em.... tapi kalau tak buat.... I will hate my self more.... so how? hehe

So now mak dia lepak sakan la.... hehe... kids pun lepakla, what do you expect kan.... hehe

Kids results okay la... should be better but okay la.... hehe....

MAMAMIA said...

My kids pun masalah sama. BM yg selalu pull their marks down.

Has run out of reading materials to give them. Nak suruh baca suratkhabar, asyik cerita politik wang aje... Kalau tak pun cerita rompak, r*g*l, bunuh.. Tak sesuai dgn umur they all.

Tapi kena praktik kan jugak guna Beta, Patik, Adinda, etc.. mana tahu jodoh dgn kerabat org istana!!!

wanshana said...

Hi Helena,

Selamat Merdeka :)

It's a nice feeling not to have to worry about their studies, even for just a little while, kan? Finals dah selesai, and we should let them enjoy their holidays (at least for the next 4 weeks).

I bet anak-anak you semua sure excelled in their exams. My congratulatory wishes to all of them, and to you, too :)

You're right - it is leceh to come up with the mock papers. Tapi, kalau tak buat nanti - menyesal tak sudah...

Enjoy the "freedom" while it lasts. Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Mamamia,

Tergelak I baca about potensi jodoh dengan orang istana tuh! HAHAHAHA!

Yes, we have to prepare them for any eventualities, including that. But, rasanya biarlah disimpangkan. Bukannya apa... I'd rather my kids lead a normal life.

Anyway, kalau jadi PM or MB pun nak kena mengadap Agong and Sultan segala jugak kan? Hmmm...maybe they can put the knowledge and royal communication skill to good use then ;)

Anonymous said...

You really did all that? wah i salute you. I just gave them the latih tubi book to do. And for the big ones, let them study on their own. chemistry, physics, add maths semua tu dah lupalah.. kalau nak ajar nanti, i take longer time for them to understand hehehe.

Mior Azhar said...

Shana,
Baru nak exam? But your kids are very lucky as both parents are there to help them with their exams. I simply don't have the patient to sit down with them. Tiba-tiba jer I akan jadik bapak singa and I don't want that la..got reputation as a loving bapak to jaga hahahaha.
Anyway goodluck to all your kids... Im sure they will do great.

wanshana said...

ummi365,

Hehehe... but, as mentioned, we only buat mock papers until the kids Std 4 ajer. Lepas tu, surrender :)

Physics, chem, bio semua - belum sampai lagi ni. My eldest baru Form 1. Rasanya memang when she's doing all those subjects - I serah bulat-bulat to her tuition teachers!

We also use buku latih tubi for them to do their revision and practice about a week before the exams, but, the night before every paper, we would come up with the mock papers based on their school exercise books, etc just to gauge how they are and also to identify the areas in which they're weak in.

Selagi terdaya ni, boleh lah buat... :)

wanshana said...

Mior,

Thanks :)

Hasya and Hilman - last day of exams esok. Hanna - on Friday. memang this year they all start lambat.

I ni sebenarnya lagi dahsyat dari Mak Singa. Kalau tak percaya, tanyalah anak-anak I. Memang time exam week macam ni, semua kecut perut dengan I. Confirmed award for the most unpopular mommy would be mine.

Sungguh tidak sabar, and I cannot accept if they still cannot understand after I explain to them twice! TWICE only you know...Don't pray-pray... Hehehe!

MamaEta said...

Shana..kita baru rehat sehabisnya...anak2 kat umah ni dah habis exam..( not that I pulun sesangat le kan...)..but I love to read ur kids bersoal jawab..and also..bukan kita tak belajar all those kata ganti nama..but somehow kekadang bila nak explain..terkedu gak..and it helps ade yang lebih besar sket untuk explain pada yang kecik2..and Hilman pandai buat example...big thigh la segala..(such a happy study environment!!).Good Luck Shana...Insya'Allah kali ni results lebih impressive...

p/s: Anak2 I dah dpt result pun!!!..ibarat setandan buah kelapa..ade yang chun dan ade gak yang kureng...but alhamdulillah..

wanshana said...

Eta,

Seronok melayan anak-anak ni bersembang, kan?

I especially like to get Hilman involved in a conversation because he cannot express himself well. Most of the time, we cannot understand what he's trying to say because either his words are all jumbled up, or he would be using the wrong words!

So his sisters and I would ask each other, "Did you get what he was trying to say?", and the one who thinks she does will try to explain to us, and Hilman would then confirm whether it was right or not. It can be so hilarious sometimes when nobody understands him. Hehehe!

Anyway, today is Hasya's and Hilman's last day of exams - Science and Agama. Hanna still has Geography tomorrow. Tak tau lah bila they will dapat results. Tak tido malam lah nampak gayanya I ngan Haizal while waiting.

Anonymous said...

salam,

hey kak shana ...

they are soooo cute!!!

worry jugak pasal iman and irfan nanti ... i suruh they all belajar dengan your kids la eh ... hehehe ...

anyway ... i've posted a card to dear hanna ... but in case - macam biasa la kan - it is late ...

please send her our BIRTHDAY wishes and hugs!!! dah 13 kan dia?! oh my god ... dah besar ... the next thing you'd be telling me that she's gone to college/uni and she's got a bf etc ...

all the best to you hanna and many happy returns ...

hugs to hasya and hilman too!

take care :)

wanshana said...

Salams Motley @ Murni,

Thank you in advance for the birthday wishes and birthday card, on behalf of Hanna :) Not yet 13 (but going on 17!) Another 11 days to go, and I'm just waiting for Hanna to come up with her birthday requests (or rather, DEMAND! Hehehe!)

It'll be fun if Iman and Irfan can study with Hilman and Hasya. I can just imagine how bossy Hasya would be and how confused Hilman would be listening to Iman and Irfan speaking Geordie! Hahaha!

I'll hug the kids for you, and please give a BIG (((((HUG)))))) to Iman and Irfan, too :)

Take care, dear. Miss you loads!

wanshana said...

And Murni -

I hope and pray that the word 'bf' will not be in her Vocabulary until she's 21 y.o.,or maybe 26?!

Anonymous said...

salam Kak Shana ...

hehehe ... i think kan ... Iman and Irfan yang confused sebab tak faham Cikgu Hasya ajar bahasa kat they all, bukan sebab tak faham cikgu cakap, tapi the subject tu ... at the moment pun leh tunggang terbalik sampai Opah and Atok pun dah confused! hahaha ...

hmmm ... habis la like this ...

:o)

ps: yeh ... miss you guys too!!!

wanshana said...

Murni,

Whatever it is, just don't ask Hasya to teach your boys the simpulan bahasa. A confused teacher will of course confuse her students even more... Hehehe!

Anyway, don't worry about Iman and Irfan. Kids are really good at adapting, and they'll get into the Malaysian schooling grooves in no time, insya Allah.

Lepas tu, tak larat lah pulak Atok and Opah and Tok Mommy nak melayan loyar buruk Irfan in BM pulak...Hahahaha!