Heading for Sheffield, anyway October 9, 2006

Hai.. byk sangat tukar fikiran. Lol. Ceritanya.. Prof from IS Dept in Sheffield at last reply my e-mail and after few times changing views, he agrees to supervise me. But with condition, I need to repeat the IELTS exam due to higher requirement by the department. Everyone is happy.. including my boss. He really thinks it is necessary for me to find a good mentor like the Prof PW (he actually recommended me the Prof) and with good research like what he proposed, I will have better future afterwards. Afterall, Prof PW has already think for me on what area I should start my PhD work.

Now, I’m shifting back my plan going to Sheffield and will prepare for IELTS starting next week. This week, I will concentrate fully on finishing all the office burden .. marking papers.. come out with carry marks for students.. evaluate 2 undergrad theses and 1 master theses.. and not forgetting, the details for my next appraisal.

Hopefully this time everything will be ok. Wish me luck!

IELTS material online October 6, 2006

Maybe would be useful for some of you. I have used it in the past :
1. http://www.ielts-test.com/ – good reading and some guidance notes
2. http://www.ielts.studyau.com/ – examples for reading componenents and guidance for speed reading
3. http://esl.about.com/cs/quizzesandtests/a/blielts.htm – more free materials
4. http://www.askynz.com/ielts/preparation.htm – preparation tips
5. http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-exams-ielts-intro.htm – most comprehensive resource

Welcome back August 25, 2006

Assalamualaikum sumer,

Banyak betul perkara yg dah berlaku lately. Tak tercerita rasanya. Nak update laa.. 2-3 hari ni dok cari blog yg sesuai dgn keperluan. Rasanya blog nilah yg paling best sekali. Kengkonon dah tak nak pakai.. akhirnya kena mengaku kalah gaks. Ni update terkini :

1) Lepas interview dgn Prof di Sheffield.. i dapat tawaran utk PhD with integrated studies. Tak leh buat PhD terus- sbb byk research skill yg I lacking. PhD with integrated studies ni (atau new route PhD-nrPhD) start ngan kelas di Masters level. At the end of the 1st year, kita mmg akan dapat Master la jugak. I think this is a good choice for tutors without Masters. The thing is, I already obtained my Master. Just wait for JPA’s green light

2) Lepas bincang ngan head of dept, I apply gaks biasiswa dari JPA. Alhamdulillah lepas di peringkat U; and seterusnya di peringkat JPA. Depa bagi green light utk 4 tahun. Syoknya!

3) While waiting for interview cuti belajar tu, register utk ambil IELTS. Akan duduki IELTS pada 02/09/2006 nih. Sheffield & JPA minta band 6.5 utk lulus. Results keluar pada 15/09/06. Sheffield suruh daftar utk kelas pada 25/09/06.. sempat ke nih?

4) Dah contact saudara seMalaysia di Sheffield ttg kedtgn kami sekeluarga. Minta depa tlg carikan rumah and bantu kitorang settle down. Dah dapat reply pun balik.. Moga Allah murahkan rezeki depa.

5) Memandangkan tempoh yg terlalu dekat.. plus i kena mengajar pulak this sem.. rasa cam tak sempat je sumernya. So, bincang lagi ngan HOD. Dia kata nak recommend aku ngan sorang lagi prof di Sheffield dlm bidang yg agak berkaitan juga. Tapi, dgn harapan; dia boleh accept aku utk PhD position- so tak payah attend kelas 25/09 nih. Kalau itu kesnya, bolehlah aku beraya dulu di Malaysia…

6) Ada pre-departure to Sheffield briefing esok (Sabtu).  Terlalu byk yg I tahu ttg Sheffield, makin excited.. and rasa makin malas nak study IELTS. Actually sampai la ni pun, I didn’t start my preparation for IELTS exam. Kengkawan yg lain tu siap dah amik cuti.. memanjang je tak de kat bilik. Students dia siap tanya I lagi dia pi mana

So.. perkembangan yg akan datang, kenalah tunggu exam IELTS tu kot. After exam, ada few things to be done while waiting for the results. Please guys, pray for me.. don’t want to waste RM510(to sit for IELTS) camtu je. I percaya banyak hikmahnya kalau I boleh pergi study seberapa segera.. betul tak? Lol.