Where Change Begins
By Ms Anba, Year 1 Teacher, Knewton Global Schools Rawang

There was a time when my classroom looked very different. Before stepping into a Year 1 classroom, I spent my days in lecture halls, teaching psychology students and discussing theories of human behaviour, development, learning, and the many factors that shape who we become. Education has always been a significant part of my life, but the journey that led me to young children was not one I had originally planned.

During my psychology studies, I conducted research on parenting styles and juvenile delinquency. My research explored how different parenting approaches, family environments, and early experiences could influence a child’s behaviour and development later in life. As I immersed myself in academic journals, research findings, and real-life case studies, I became increasingly fascinated by the relationship between childhood experiences and future outcomes.

The more I learnt, the more I realised that many of the challenges we encounter during adolescence and adulthood do not simply appear overnight. Rather, they often have roots in a person’s earliest years. As a lecturer, I enjoyed teaching psychology students and helping them understand the complexities of human behaviour. However, despite my enjoyment of higher education, there was a question that continued to linger in my mind: What if we could make a difference much earlier?

These questions gradually transformed from academic reflections into personal calling.

Over time, I realised that I wanted to be part of the beginning of a child’s educational journey. I wanted to work with children during the years when they are discovering who they are, how they learn, and how they relate to the world around them.

This realisation led me to make what many considered an unexpected decision. I stepped away from higher education and chose to work with young children, eventually finding my place in a Year 1 classroom.

To some, the move from lecturing psychology students to teaching six- and seven-year-olds may have seemed like a dramatic change. Yet for me, it felt like the most natural step I could take. My purpose had not changed; only my starting point had.
Today, I have the privilege of working with children during some of the most formative years of their lives. Every day brings new opportunities to guide, encourage, and inspire young learners.

One of the greatest joys of teaching young children is witnessing their growth. Seeing a hesitant reader successfully read a sentence independently, watching a shy child raise a hand with confidence, or observing new friendships blossom are moments that remind me that progress is not always measured by grades, but by courage, confidence, and the willingness to keep trying.

Sometimes, the most meaningful moments arrive after the most challenging days. A child who struggled all week suddenly understands a concept. A child who once doubted themselves proudly shares their work. A child who needed encouragement begins to believe in their own abilities. These are the moments that remind me why I chose this path.

Children have a remarkable way of teaching us as much as we teach them. Their curiosity inspires wonder. Their honesty encourages authenticity. Their resilience reminds us that growth often comes through persistence. As Buehner (1971) aptly noted, “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” This quote resonates deeply with me as an educator. Long after the lessons are forgotten, children often remember the encouragement they received, the kindness they experienced, and the people who believed in them.

As I continue this journey, I carry a hope that extends beyond the walls of my classroom. One day, I aspire to establish a programme that provides free tuition and educational support for underprivileged children. While this vision is still a work in progress, it remains close to my heart. I believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed regardless of their background or circumstances.

Looking back on my journey, I can clearly see how each stage prepared me for where I am today. My research taught me the importance of the early years. My experience as a lecturer deepened my understanding of human development and learning.

Today, I am grateful for the opportunity to play a small part in that journey. What started as a research project eventually became a personal mission—to help children build strong foundations, discover their strengths, and develop into confident, caring, and capable individuals.

My journey from researcher to lecturer, and finally to Year 1 teacher, has taught me a simple yet profound lesson: If we hope to shape the future, we must first invest in the beginning because that is where change begins.

Challenging Vocabulary

Delinquency – Behaviour that does not follow rules or laws, especially among young people. 

Resilience – The ability to recover from difficulties and continue moving forward. 

Empathy – The ability to understand and share the feelings of others. 

Perseverance – Continuing to work hard despite challenges or setbacks. 

Formative – Having an important influence on a person’s development. 

Compassion – Kindness and concern for the well-being of others. 

Achievement – Something accomplished successfully through effort or skill.

Potential – The ability to develop and achieve success in the future. 

Guidance – Advice, support, or direction given to help someone. 

Confidence – Belief in one’s own abilities and strengths. 

Every great journey begins with a first step! 💙 Just as a strong foundation helps children grow with confidence, learning English opens doors to new opportunities. Start your English learning journey with ILTI today, and let us grow together, one step at a time!

Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at info@ilti.edu.my

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When the Struggle Becomes Worth It
By Mr Mohd Firnaz, Deputy Head of Exams at Knewton Global Schools Rawang

There was a time when I thought the greatest challenge of university would be passing examinations and completing assignments. I soon discovered that the real challenge was learning how to manage everything else at the same time. 

University life taught me many things that could never be found in a textbook. There were assignments to complete, deadlines that seemed to arrive far too quickly, presentations to prepare and responsibilities outside my studies that could not simply be ignored. Some days felt organised and productive. Others felt like there simply were not enough hours in the day. 

Time management became one of my greatest struggles. 

I learnt that being busy and being productive are not always the same thing. There were moments when I had to choose what needed my attention first, sacrifice personal time and continue working even when I was tired. Looking back, those difficult periods taught me discipline, patience and responsibility. At the time, however, they simply felt exhausting. 

Then came teaching. 

Standing in front of students for the first time brought an entirely different kind of challenge. Teaching is much more than explaining a chapter, preparing worksheets or helping students achieve good examination results. Every classroom is filled with different personalities, abilities, emotions and stories. 

Some students understand immediately. Others need the same idea explained three different ways. Some confidently put their hands up, while others quietly wait for someone to notice that they are struggling. 

And, of course, there are those unforgettable students who somehow manage to test every ounce of a teacher’s patience! 

Yet these experiences are precisely what make teaching meaningful. 

There is a special happiness in watching a student finally understand something they once found impossible. There is joy in seeing a quiet student become confident enough to speak. There is pride when students improve their results, but there is an even greater satisfaction in watching them become more responsible, independent and determined young people. 

Over time, students become more than names on an attendance list. We remember their jokes, their questions, their struggles, their achievements and sometimes even the small conversations they have probably forgotten themselves. 

Teaching has also taught me that educators do not simply teach students. Students teach us too. 

They teach us patience. They remind us to listen. They challenge us to improve. They show us that the same approach will not work for everyone. Most importantly, they remind us why we chose education in the first place. 

Looking back at the difficult university days, the late nights, the deadlines, the struggle to manage time and the uncertainty about where everything would eventually lead, I now understand that those experiences were preparing me for something. 

They were preparing me for this. 

Teaching is not always easy. There are tiring days, difficult lessons, endless planning, meetings, marking and moments when things simply do not go according to plan. But then a student says, “Sir, I understand now.” A former student remembers you. A class achieves something they once thought they could not. Or you simply see students enjoying learning together. 

Suddenly, the difficult days feel a little smaller. 

Perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons my journey from university to teaching has given me: not every struggle makes sense while we are going through it. 

Sometimes we only understand its value when we look back. 

The deadlines taught me discipline. 

The pressure taught me resilience. 

The lack of time taught me priorities. 

And my students taught me why it was all worth it. 

I once studied because I wanted to build a future for myself. 

Today, I teach because I have the privilege of helping young people build theirs.

 

Challenging Vocabulary

Discipline – the ability to control yourself and continue doing what needs to be done, even when it is difficult  

Productive – achieving useful results or completing important work  

Priorities – the tasks or responsibilities that are considered more important than others  

Sacrifice – giving up something valuable in order to achieve something more important  

Resilience – the ability to recover from difficulties and continue moving forward  

Uncertainty – a situation in which you are unsure about what will happen  

Meaningful – having an important purpose or value  

Independent – able to think, work or make decisions without relying heavily on others  

Determination – the strong desire to continue trying despite difficulties  

Privilege – a special opportunity or advantage that is valued and appreciated 

The struggles we face today may not make sense now, but with determination and resilience, they can lead us towards a brighter future. At ILTI, we support our students through every challenge, providing the guidance and encouragement they need to grow in confidence and achieve their goals.

Hard work and perseverance pave the way to success. Start your journey towards English proficiency and a brighter future with ILTI!

Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at info@ilti.edu.my

Transform your English skills—one word at a time.

The Courage to Keep Going
By Mr Brian Gegard Reid, English Specialist at Knewton Global Schools Rawang

Samuel Beckett famously wrote: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

The most important word is ‘better’. To try again requires resilience, and with resilience comes progress. The logical extension of Beckett’s philosophy is not failure at all, but success: each attempt takes us a little further than the one before.

Learning rarely happens in one perfect attempt. Students write, receive feedback, reconsider and improve. A PEEL paragraph that does not quite work is not a failure; it is a starting point. A vocabulary test reveals what still needs to be learnt. A piece of writing with weaknesses provides an opportunity for the next attempt to be better.

Success, therefore, cannot always be measured simply by a grade. An A is certainly worth celebrating, but so is a C when it represents determination, genuine progress and a student fulfilling his or her potential. The letters may be the same for everyone – the journeys behind them are not.

Sometimes the best examples of this attitude appear outside the classroom.

Recently, Sofia from Year 2 arrived at volleyball practice and stood expectantly amongst a forest of much taller students. She seemed completely unfazed. She simply wanted to take part. Once practice began, her size ceased to matter. Through her enthusiasm, determination and willingness to have a go, this very small student stood out like a mighty oak.

There is a similar lesson in a tiny poem written in 1934 by four-year-old Ursula Kroeber:

Bears like honey,
I do too.
I like you, honey,
I sure do.

Four simple lines. But the important thing is that Ursula wrote them.

A blank page cannot be improved. A first attempt can.  Write the sentence. Answer the question. Attempt the serve. Put up a hand. Begin the work, rather than waiting for the perfect moment. Then reconsider, correct and improve.

Small beginnings should never be underestimated.

After all, four-year-old Ursula Kroeber grew up to become Ursula K. Le Guin, one of the most celebrated sci-fi writers of the twentieth century.

 

Challenging Vocabulary

Resilience – the ability to recover from difficulties and keep trying

Reconsider – to think about something again, especially in order to improve or change it

Determination – a strong decision to continue trying despite difficulty

Potential – the ability or possibility to develop and achieve something in the future

Unfazed – not worried or discouraged by something difficult or surprising

Underestimated – judged to be less important, powerful or capable than it really is

We often think that success is measured by achieving a perfect result. In fact, learning rarely happens in one perfect attempt. A few attempts are always better than giving up after a failure.

At ILTI, we measure progress and provide guidance for all our learners. We never stop learning and we will never stop encouraging.

Because every attempt is a step forward. Let’s start today!

Your English learning journey starts here. Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at

Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at info@ilti.edu.my

Transform your English skills—one word at a time.

The Price of Independence
By Dr Evelyn Chen, Director of Education

I read somewhere that being fiercely independent is a defence mechanism of constantly being let down. I quickly wrote it down so that I can dwell on it and think about it, a habit I have recently cultivated.

I am somewhat saddened by this statement, because it spoke to me, of me! I know this statement as if I was the one who wrote it. But they are words of truth! Statement of fact!

There are many ways a person is brought up. There are many factors determining how a person grows up. If we are lucky, we will be surrounded by love, but love alone is not enough. Love must come with fulfilled promises, presence, reliability and trust.

I grew up with lots of love but unfortunately (or fortunately) for me, my parents were young, and the thing with young people is that they can be still living their young lives and may not always be present and/or reliable lol! My brother and I were left with our grandparents most of the time.

We learnt to fend for ourselves, make our own fun and somewhat function when our grandparents were not available. They did have 12 children themselves and could not be paying attention to me and my brother all the time. So, we improvise!

We learnt to set the alarm, get ourselves ready for school before waking our parents up to drive us to school. As we got older, we learnt to make our own meals and pretty much everything.

That same self-reliance we built as children did not stay behind in our childhood; it followed us straight into adulthood. Then came working life, and we learnt that we cannot rely on everyone, and the hardest lesson I have learnt to date is that not everyone you work with is your friend. That really broke my heart. The downside of growing up in a loving environment is that you learnt to love and trust; I carried that with me growing up and do not get me started on the number of betrayals that I have experienced. My willingness to trust may well be my Achilles’ heel, but it is HEARTBREAKING and what does not kill you, makes you stronger; and that became me! I still trust with all my heart because what is life if we constantly think ill of others! We just need to learn to count on ourselves. We just need to work harder and always remember…repeat after me….not everyone who smiles at you is your friend.

So, when trust is broken, you learn rather quickly that you can only truly rely on yourself; you make your own happiness, you make your own success, you make yourself SHINE! Just work harder… that is all.

Looking back, I would not change a single one of those years. They toughened me, but they also taught me to be resourceful, independent and hopeful, above all else. I remain sanguine, cheerful and hopeful even when things are not going my way, because somewhere along the line I learnt that resilience is not the absence of hurt, but what you choose to build on top of it.

As Epictetus once said, “There is no peace for the man who has seen what he could become.” Maybe that is the real price of independence: once you have tasted what you are capable of on your own, you can never quite go back to waiting for someone else to show up for you. And honestly? I would not trade that for the world.

xx

 

Vocabulary for the independent

Defence mechanism — a behaviour or strategy used to protect oneself from difficult emotions or situations.

Cultivated — developed or nurtured deliberately over time.

Reliability — the quality of being consistently trustworthy or dependable.

Improvise — to create or manage something spontaneously, without prior planning.

Self-reliance — the ability to depend on one’s own capabilities and judgement.

Betrayals — acts of breaking someone’s trust or loyalty.

Achilles’ heel — a critical weakness that can lead to downfall despite overall strength.

Resourceful — able to find quick and clever ways of overcoming difficulties.

Sanguine — cheerful and optimistic, even when things are not going well.

Resilience — the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.

Words have the power to build or break. True independence is not just about standing on your own, it is about knowing how to express yourself with clarity and confidence, so you are never left waiting for someone else to speak on your behalf.

At the Ipoh Learning & Training Institute (ILTI), we believe that communication is one of the most valuable forms of self-reliance you can build. Our courses focus on emotional intelligence, professional etiquette and effective communication.

Learn to communicate with impact, grace and purpose, and take ownership of your own voice.

Your English learning journey starts here. Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at

Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at info@ilti.edu.my

Transform your English skills—one word at a time.

The Lessons That Never Appeared in a Textbook
By Mr Vincent Yap, Year 5 Teacher, Knewton Global Schools Rawang

When I first stepped into a classroom more than two decades ago, I thought I understood what it meant to be a good teacher. I believed a good teacher was someone who treated students well, gave them what they wanted and, most importantly, made them happy.

It sounded simple enough.

But standing in front of a classroom full of children for the first time was a different story! I remember wondering whether the students would listen to me, whether I would be too strict and whether I would know how to handle their different personalities. At times, I even wondered whether I might be the one who needed classroom management!

Thankfully, teaching is a profession where we are allowed to grow.

After more than 20 years in education, I have realised that some of the most important lessons I have learnt did not come from textbooks or lesson plans. They came from my students.

Every Child Has a Story

One of the biggest lessons I have learnt is that every child is different.

Many years ago, I taught a boy who was intelligent but extremely playful and mischievous. He could be rude, lazy and very good at answering back. He questioned almost everything teachers said and was often sent to the discipline teacher for being naughty or failing to complete his work.

There were certainly times when he got on my nerves!

It would have been easy to label him as a “problem student”. Instead, I chose to be patient, understand him and work closely with his parents.

At the time, he often failed his examinations despite having the ability to do much better. So, we kept working through conversations, encouragement, hard work and plenty of patience.

Slowly, he changed. He became more responsible and began to believe that he could do better. His academic performance improved tremendously, and eventually, he achieved outstanding IGCSE results.

Years later, he invited me to his wedding.

Standing there, I thought about the mischievous boy he once was. That moment taught me something I could never have learnt from a textbook: we may not always see the impact of our work immediately.

Every child deserves another chance. Behind challenging behaviour, there may be ability, frustration, insecurity or simply a need for someone to understand them.

Relationships Come Before Results

I have also learnt that relationships matter just as much as results.

Students are more willing to learn when they know their teacher cares about them. They need to feel safe enough to make mistakes, ask questions and try again.

Parents are important partners too. When teachers and parents communicate openly and work together, we are better able to support a child.

Instead of only asking, “How can we improve this child’s marks?”, we should sometimes ask, “What does this child need from us?”

Teachers Must Keep Learning

When I began teaching, laptops and projectors were considered exciting classroom technology. Today, smart TVs and digital tools are part of everyday teaching.

Education continues to change, and teachers must change with it.

Experience is valuable, but experience alone is not enough. We must remain curious, adaptable and willing to learn. Being an experienced teacher does not mean having all the answers; it means knowing when to listen, change and find a better way.

The Greatest Measure of Success

Today, I still value academic achievement, but my definition of success has changed.

I ask myself: What kind of person will this child become?

Will they be responsible, kind, respectful and resilient? Will they have the confidence to face challenges? Will they continue learning even when there is no examination?

After more than two decades in education, I have learnt that teaching is a journey of continuous learning. Every student brings a different story, and every year gives us another opportunity to become better teachers.

We do not simply teach children. We have the opportunity to influence how they see themselves, treat others and find their place in the world.

If, many years from now, a former student remembers something I taught, something I said, or simply remembers that I believed in them when they needed it most, then I would consider that a success far greater than any examination result.

After 20 years in the classroom, I have learnt that the greatest lessons are not always the ones we teach. Sometimes, they are the ones our students teach us.

Vocabulary Gallery

Personalities – the different qualities, traits and behaviours that make each person unique.

Extremely – to a very great degree.

Adaptable – able to change or adjust easily when circumstances change.

Encouragement – words or actions that give someone confidence and motivation to continue trying.

Tremendously – to a very great extent; greatly.

Mischievous – behaving in a playful way that often causes minor trouble.

Discipline – the ability to control your behaviour and follow rules or instructions.

Insecurity – a feeling of uncertainty or lack of confidence in oneself.

Resilient – able to recover from difficulties and continue trying.

Influence – the ability to affect someone’s thoughts, behaviour or development.

Whether you are a student, teacher or parent, you are an educator in your own way. There is one thing you should know as an educator. We never stop growing.

And one of the best ways to keep learning and growing is to master and level up your English. 📚✨

At ILTI, that is what we do best — helping you build confidence, improve your English and keep growing every step of the way.

Come learn with us and take your English to the next level! 💙

Your English journey starts here.

Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at info@ilti.edu.my

Transform your English skills—one word at a time.