** For
foreigners who are not familiar with the country, education
and tuition culture in Malaysia, you might find the following
guide useful - Malaysia, Education & Tuition: A Background Guide.
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Long
before the advent of modern brain sciences such as neurophysiology
and psychology, the ancient Greeks had discovered that mental performance
could be enhanced if certain techniques were applied. The Greeks,
who were extraodinarily gifted orators, used these mental techniques
to help them remember points they wanted to make in their long speeches.
These techniques, known as mnemonics, are still in use today.
Mental olympics
The
word "mnemonic" was derived from the name of the Greek Goddess
of Memory, Mnemosyne. In ancient Greece, those who master mnemonic
techniques became the intellectual elite of the time. Mnemonics were
employed to perform prodigious feats of memory in public. All in the
name of personal fame and glory, as well as economic, political and
military power. The Greeks were thus Gladiators of the Mind, the intellectual
aphitheatres were their stadiums, and Memory was their primary weapon.
They would hurl questions and challenges at each other. Trying to
best one another in diverse matters such as those concerning the number,
names and order of the Greek City States, and the exact phrasing of
quotes from their great literature or obscure points of law. Those
who triumphed were widely admired and looked up to with awe. They
were the senators, the heroes and the social leaders of their time.
What the Greeks did
So,
how did the Greeks manage to give stunning oratorical performances
without notes? The method of the Greek orators was based on the spatial
arrangement of a temple with which they are thoroughly familiar. They
made use of the order in which they walked past the doorways, rooms,
statues, and other objects within the temple walls as "memory
hooks". For each location, they created a mental image associating
the spot with a topic in their speech. For instance, if they wanted
to start by discussing medicine, they would visualize a famous physician
of the day pushing through the temple entrance. Next, they might visualize
the physician encountering a senator just beyond the entrance. This
image would remind them that the next topic of dicourse would be law,
so on and so forth.
How and why it worked
The mnemonic
techniques discovered by the Greeks were based on fundamental principles
of learning that had since been borne out by scientific research.
What the brain sciences have proved today, is that memory is in major
part an associative process; that memory functioned by linking things
together. For example, as soon as your brain registers the word "durian"
it would remember (link with) the colours, tastes, textures, and smells
of that fruit, as well as the significant experiences, friends and
events connected with it. Normally, our brain remembers new information
through a self-organizing process that builds associations amongst
the most naturally fitting pieces of information. This usually is
a time consuming process, something that most of us has experienced
before as "digesting" the information. Mnemonic techniques
seek to accelerate the process by pro-actively linking the new information
with "memory hooks", artificial constructs created specifically
for the stated purpose.
Some examples ...
The
Greek mnemonic technique described in the passages above is commonly
known as method of loci. It is by no means the only kind of mnemonics
there is. Another simpler technique is known as chunking. For example,
try to remember this string of 19 letters: tvcIAUmnorTMSpmnASA
. You will find it almost impossible to memorize these letters exactly.
But notice what happens by chunking these letters into small meaningful
groups of letters: tv
- cIA - Umno - rTM - Spm - nASA. With chunking, the task
of memorizing them becomes far more easier.
Yet
another mnemonic technique takes advantage of our natural afinity
to rhythm. Using rhythm, melody or rhyme as an aid to memory is nothing
new. Storytellers have always used them in the form of songs or poems
to help perpetuate folklores. Nowadays, advertisers use it to promote
messages in the form of catchy advertisement songs. Even we have likely
utilized this technique before without being aware of it. For example,
do you remember learning the alphabet? Many children learn the letters
of the alphabet to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
This particular jingle is such an effective mnemonic device that it
stays with us well into our adulthood.
A
more creative mnemonic technique is known as acrostics. In this technique,
you use the first letter of each word you are trying to remember to
make a sentence or phrase. For instance, the phrase, "Every
Good Boy Does Fine", is an easy
way to memorize the musical notes (E, G,
B, D & F) represented
by the lines on the treble cleff, bottom to top. The sentence, "My
Very Educated Mother Just Showed
Us Nine Planets", helps you to remember
the order of the planets, which is Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
Memory is not comprehension
Mnemonic
devices are unquestionably useful for remembering things that do not
hang together through any organization or logic. Without mnemonics,
these unrelated things would have to be memorized by rote. However,
memory should never be equated with comprehension. Remembering something
is a far cry from understanding it. For most of the knowledge that
we acquire, there is still no substitute for the kind of information
"digestion" that seeks meanings, organization, relationships
and finally, that leads to insights.
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Glossary
of Terms :
(1) Tuition - Tutelage, the act of tutoring or teaching a student (pupil); Fees paid for instruction (especially for higher education). In Malaysia, tuition is more popularly used to denote tutoring rather than fee. Common Malaysian misspellings: Tiution, Tution. *(BM): Tuisyen, Tiusyen, Tusyen, Tuisen, Tiusen, Tuisyan, Tiusyan, Tusyan. |
(2) Home Tuition - Tutoring that takes place at students' or tutors' home as opposed to at tuition centers; Also: Home Tutoring, Private Tuition, Private Tutoring. *(BM): Tuisyen Di Rumah, Tuisyen Swasta. |
(3) Personal Tuition - Tutoring on the basis of one tutor catering to one student. Also: Personal Tutoring, Individual Tuition, Individual Tutoring, One-to-one Tuition, 1-to-1 Tutoring, One-to-one Tutoring, 1-to-1 Tuition. *(BM): Tuisyen Peribadi, Tuisyen Persendirian, Tuisyen Perseorangan, Tuisyen Individu. |
(4) Group Tuition - Tutoring on the basis of one tutor catering to several (small number, but more than one) students. Also: Small Group Tuition, Small Class Tuition, Group Tutoring, Small Group Tutoring, Small Class Tutoring. *(BM): Tuisyen Berkumpulan, Tuisyen Kumpulan Kecil, Tuisyen Kelas Kecil. |
(5) Tutors - Tuition Teachers, persons who conduct tuition. In Malaysia, teacher is more popularly used to denote a school teacher whereas tutor usually means a non-school teacher. Also: Tiutors, Tuitors. *(BM): Guru Sekolah, Cikgu Sekolah, Pengajar Tuisyen, Guru Tuisyen, Cikgu Tuisyen. |
(6) Home Tutors - Tutors who provide home tuition as opposed to those who teach at tuition centres. Also: Private Tutors, Personal Tutors, Individual Tutors, One-to-one Tutors, 1-to-1 Tutors, Group Tutors, Small Group Tutors, Private Teachers, Personal Teachers, Individual Teachers, One-to-one Teachers, 1-to-1 Teachers, Group Teachers, Small Group Teachers, Private Tuition Teachers, Personal Tuition Teachers, Individual Tuition Teachers, One-to-one Tuition Teachers, 1-to-1 Tuition Teachers, Group Tuition Teachers, Small Group Tuition Teachers. *(BM): Pengajar Di Rumah, Pengajar Swasta, Pengajar Peribadi, Pengajar Persendirian, Pengajar Perseorangan, Guru Di Rumah, Guru Swasta, Guru Peribadi, Guru Persendirian, Guru Perseorangan, Cikgu Di Rumah, Cikgu Swasta, Cikgu Peribadi, Cikgu Persendirian, Cikgu Perseorangan. |
(7) Tuition Centers - Private institutions that conduct tuition on classroom-like settings. Also: Tuition Centres, Tutorial Centers, Tutorial Centres, Tuition Classes, Tutorial Classes, Tutoring Classes. *(BM): Pusat Tuisyen, Pusat Bimbingan, Pusat Tutorial, Kelas Tuisyen. |
(8) Home Tuition Jobs - Home tuition vacancies; Posts to be filled by home tutors. Also: Private Tuition Jobs, Home Tutoring Jobs, Private Tutoring Jobs, Home Tuition Assignments, Private Tuition Assignments, Home Tutoring Assignments, Private Tutoring Assignments, Private Tuition Vacancies, Home Tutoring Vacancies, Private Tutoring Vacancies. *(BM): Jawatan Kosong Tuisyen, Pekerjaan Tuisyen, Kerja Tuisyen, Tugasan Tuisyen. |
(9) Home Tutees - Home tuition students; Pupils receiving home tuition from home tutors. *(BM): Pelajar Tuisyen, Murid Tuisyen, Penuntut Tuisyen. |
*(BM) denotes terms in Bahasa Melayu or Malay Language.
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