crossword construction

Recently I chatted with a classmate who is working at the Curriculum Development Centre. She was disappointed with most teachers who seldom apply what they have learned in workshops in their classroom teaching.

A couple of months back, I came to know from another classmate of mine who is a teacher saying that they were taught how to construct crossword puzzles in one workshop. However, the method is too time consuming and complicated. Because it was a group work at the workshop, she did not know exactly what to do and leave it to one particular group member to complete the task.

As my educational crossword book series will be out in the market soon (in the printing process, finally!), I was thinking of sharing my method with teachers (or tutors, educators, parents etc) on how to construct good quality crosswords within minutes. I've been planning this idea for a week now and finally came up with something. I'm going to run this workshop in February at the Faculty of Education, University of Malaya and will be charging a very low fee (to cover training materials, rental and software installer).

My crosswords are not the typical puzzles you normally see in newspapers or educational magazines. Mine are more specific and encourage students to pick up important terms that cover all topics that they are going to learn that year. I've been using crosswords in teaching Bahasa Melayu and believe me the result is amazing. I was thinking, instead of keeping the method to myself, why not share with teachers. I believe teachers will apply what they have learned if the method is user-friendly.

If you are interested to know more about the workshop or my crossword puzzles, kindly drop me an email.

10 drop shot(s):

1. dbslht said,

   I tried some of your crossword puzzles (English) and they are pretty fun for students. I think I might get my students to do some of them. I heard that the Discovery Channel website has something similar which enables you to make your own puzzles.
   
   I am also a Malaysian, but I teach in HongKong.
   
   Nice site.....esp. your views on education in Malaysia.

   on 11:06 PM  

   
   
2. hcfoo said,

   Hello dbslht,
   Nice to know u are a teacher too. My students love crosswords as well. They especially love it when they are able to apply what they have learned and complete the puzzles through my guidance. Students are able to grasp the terms, vocab and understand the contents of that particular topic.

   on 11:31 AM  

   
   
3. dbslht said,

   So what do you teach? And what levels do you teach?

   on 10:36 PM  

   
   
4. hcfoo said,

   I teach Bahasa Melayu and Math. Not as a professional teacher though. I was a temporary teacher and full time tutor. I spend more time on writing educational books and analyzing the national curriculum.
   
   I think you should update your blog and perhaps share your teaching experience with those of us here who are interested in education :)

   on 10:05 PM  

   
   
5. dbslht said,

   I should Foo. I will try. I had a blog site 1 year ago, but some of my naughty students got a hold of it wrote crap on it and I closed it down.
   
   Wow..you teach BM? Your English is very good though. And I am sure your BM is too. Mine has gone so rusty but I try to speak it to my Malaysian colleague who is also an English teacher ..just to keep up with it.
   
   BTW, you mentioned earlier that you found kids these days neglecting BM? Is it true? Is it the result of our greater emphasis on English?

   on 10:19 PM  

   
   
6. hcfoo said,

   Hi dbslht,
   It's good that you try to keep up with the language. Actually my BM is better than my English. I'm not so good in English I have to force myself to write and learn more.
   
   Actually I don't think it is because we emphasize too much on English that it resulted students in neglecting BM. I believe there are a lot of factors to it. Mentality that BM is a "second class" language is one. The curriculum and our exam-oriented education system are also part of the problem. We just don't study a language to admire and appreciate its origin & culture anymore.
   
   Well, everything seems like not right in our education system. I'm searching for an "utopian" system :)
   
   Seriously I'm interested in the HK education system (or Singapore/Thailand) because I'm doing research in educational mgmt.

   on 12:05 PM  

   
   
7. dbslht said,

   Foo,
   For someone who claims to be better at BM than English, I think your English is GOOD. I am comparing it to the sort of English written by Forms 6-7 students at the better English medium schools in Hong Kong.
   
   IN Hong Kong, schools are divided into Chinese medium ones and English medium ones. Most parents prefer sending their kids to EM schools which means they tend to get the best students. Although they are English medium, they still have to teach Chinese. So the result is that ALL HK students know Chinese. Many know English. But the standards are not very high. They make horrible grammar mistakes like "THERE HAVE MANY PEOPLE HERE". Of course, at the best schools (like mine) there are groups of students who are very good at English. But in general, that is not really the case-not even at the "better" schools
   
   Which part of Malaysia are you from? IT seems that you are one of the rare breeds in Malaysia-a Chinese person who loves the Malay language.

   on 8:43 PM  

   
   
8. hcfoo said,

   I'm from the East Coast (Kuantan to be exact). When I was in primary and secondary schools, all of us are forced to speak English and Malay. It's a norm to see even young kids speaking to each other in Malay (even among chinese). Of course I'm referring to Malay medium schools.
   
   Actually I'm the rebellious type. I prefer what others don't like. That's why I chose sajak over poetry.
   
   Btw, I'm amazed by the fact that you are actually teaching in HK. Hope to get to know more about you and your job :)

   on 3:40 PM  

   
   
9. dbslht said,

   I see
   
   Well..I have been in HK for sometime now-Dad was posted here by his company a long time ago.
   
   Actually, I had another Malaysian colleague here teaching English who was also from Kuantan. Her name is Irene Koh-and she went to a Kebangsaan school too. She left a few years ago.
   
   Chinese/non-Malay kids who attend national primary schools in KL (where I am from) do NOT speak Malay to each other at all. It's not the culture..as you may know.

   on 8:39 AM  

   
   
10. hcfoo said,

    It's interesting to know that different places have different culture.
    
    I know a couple of Kohs here in Kuantan. Haha but I don't think it's your ex-colleague.

    on 8:21 PM  

    
    

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