UE 1: LT9001 Thai Language Level 1
Grade: B+
I took up this mod as recommended by my cousin who has taken it before. Both of us are interested in going for long motorcycle rides to Thailand and thus we decided that there is no better platform to learn the Thai language than taking up this mod! I had no intention of taking up this mod thinking that it will be an 'easy A' but it's purely out of the interest and knowledge gained.
Here's the slots that you can choose for your STARS planner and the instructors you may get:
Tentative lesson plan for the entire module:
-Vocabulary
-Grammar
-Writing
-Oral/Listening
There's the cultural immersion part too actually which was Thai Instant Noodles party and Thai Milk Tea making. I enjoyed both of them very much!
Vocabulary
For Vocabulary, there will be a compilation of words you'd need to know in the workbook itself. It will be classified according to themes. Here's an example of it:
To study the vocabulary, I copied the list on my own notebook. This will help you a lot! I could translate the Thai word into English within a second or two whenever the instructor tests the class randomly thanks to constantly updating and reading my notebook. What more for written tests.
Grammar
As a native Malay speaker, I was so glad that Thai language has the same subject-verb agreement and sentence structure with Malay. Truth be told, in order for me to construct sentences in Thai, I wrote the sentence in Malay and translated from there. Did this for all of my written assignments and tests right from the start. Fret not if you are totally foreign to the sentence structure in Malay language. You just have to switch things up...erm ok I am not an expert in the technical linguistics term so spare me from the explanation. Once you pick up the sentence structure, it becomes second nature!
Writing
The easiest component of all has to be writing. Initially, it sounds daunting that there are 28 Thai letters covered under the syllabus for LT9001. Rest assured that with constant practice, or last minute spam practice like me, you will find this a breeze. Writing is the easiest part to score for Written Assignments and CAs. All you need is practice. There are a few rules in Thai writing taught which will become second nature once you have practices enough. Don't worry about not having enough questions to practice on. The workbook has tons of writing practice and additional worksheets will be uploaded on NTULearn as well! My instructor told us that Thai writing is just like Maths and I couldn't agree more. Well, at least for now in Level 1 eh.
Oral/Listening
Now comes the hardest component of all. I am always lost when it comes to Listening Comprehension. Not gonna lie, I hoped that lady luck is on my side for all the Listening Comprehension tests found in CAs as I purely choose my answers by random. Can't help you here with tips on improving for this component.
As for Oral Test, it was the final component taken. It will be done in pairs whereby the pair will be having a conversation with one another in Thai, following the storyline provided and the necessary questions to be asked. Sad to say, I was nervous during the Oral Test and I paused A LOT for the test. The whole test lasted for only 5 minutes but it was such a nightmare. The only consolation from it was that I have cleared this module once the test was over. What I did was that my partner and I met up to plan on possible conversation scenarios that could be tested and we practiced with one another. My partner did fine for the test but not me haha.
Anyway, there are 5 tones in Thai. Some tones may be rather similar and I guess the only way ot get better at recognising the correct tone is to practice doing tone identification worksheets found on NTULearn.
Grading breakdown:
Written assignments are basically homework given every 2 weeks which will be graded. There will be 4 compulsory assignments and 2 optional assignments. You should do your best to max out your score here. As seen from the image above, I only managed a an 8.4/10. I did not put in my best effort unfortunately. You can consult your instructors for help on the assignments!
Oral group assignment will be a pair work as well. This is not related to the final Oral test which I have mentioned earlier. It's a take home assignment. You and your partner will have to type out a conversation and then proceed to record an audio of the conversation. I had fun doing this though I admit.
I think I have covered pretty much everything except for the format of the 2 CAs. No point knowing that now actually. All in all, I enjoyed taking this module and I would have more passion to learn if not for having 4 other Core mods to study for. Pleased with my grade still. I'd love to take Level 2. Feel free to contact me via any of my social media listed on the left panel or my email if you have any questions on this mod :)
UE 2: SS9002 Principles of Strength Training
Grade: B+
This is hands down the best mod I took last sem. It is the only gym/strength training mod available and I'm sure that those who lift regularly or have an interest in strength training would take up this mod. A friend of mine who had taken it before told me that in the weekly 2 hour lesson, it will be a 1hour+ theory lesson and the rest will be free and easy gym time. Damn right it was. If I remember correctly, there will be 3 timeslots to choose from: 1.30, 4.30 and 6.30. I chose the 1.30 slot and always have a hard time trying to stay awake during the theory lesson thanks to food coma.
Take note that the grading criteria for this mod varies depending on your lecturer. In other words, if you got a different lecturer, you will be assessed in different ways for this mod. Thus, this review applies to those who will be under the same lecturer as mine then. My lecturer was Mr Menon Jesudas Emanuel and here's how you are expected to earn your marks:
Oral Skill Assessment/ Practical Skill Assessment
These 2 assessments are taken together as the second last assessment. Once all the theory lessons have been covered, a list of topics to be tested will be given and you will have to share with the lecturer on the topic chosen for you during the test. For practical skill assessment, there will also be a list of exercises which you would have to demonstrate 3 of them and explain in the proper technical terms like agonist/antagonist muscles and so on. It's like a role play of a personal trainer and client in a way but with the proper technical terms.
Practical Strength Assessment
It's not a strength training mod if there's no practical assessment right? For this assessment, you are required to perform a 1RM bench press test on a Smith Machine. You can actually choose to do a 1RM or a multiple rep test of a lower weight which can get you the same marks as performing the 1RM. I would say going for the multiple test is a safer option and most of my classmates did this. This is the scoring system for this assessment:
The best way to train for this is to increase the intensity of your chest training say 2-3 weeks nearing to the test. At least it worked for me and I am unable to say the same if you are not someone who does strength training regularly. If not, you can try doing a linear progression and start training for it say 6 weeks before the assessment week. The table may look daunting but rest assured, most of my classmates managed to score the maximum marks for this. Both guys and girls.
Written Assignment
The assessment which requires the most effort. Even if you don't pay attention during the theory lessons, a self-reading will not put you at a disadvantage. My lecturer did not provide any sample assignment for us to refer to but other lecturers do. Thankfully for me, I have friends in this mod whose lecturer has provided them with the samples and they shared it with me. It was of great help as you can just follow the structure in the samples and write accordingly to the chosen sport. You are supposed to write an 8-week pre-season strength training program for an athlete of a certain sport. It is recommended that the bio of the athlete is real and not fictitious. If you decide to write based on a fictitious athlete, go ahead. Not like your lecturer will know.
Conclusion
All in all, this mod is not exclusive for those who gym regularly. It provides great knowledge on strength training for those who are interested to learn more on it. It can get pretty competitive as there will be SSM undergrads and PESS trainee teachers taking it with you as well. It's not an 'easy A' mod as you still need to put in the effort for all the assesssments. I was hoping for an A- at least but still pleased with getting a B+ for it. Here's the course outline and I hope you will enjoy this mod as much as I did if you were to take it. Cheers.
