THE TORCH
The Official Newsletter of Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University Language Center
Volume 1, Issue 9
April-May 2015
Splish-Splash SUMMER!
SONGKRAN FESTIVAL: A Remarkable Celebration
By: Janessa Mondol
early, Thai people celebrate
their so called “New Year”, which is
“Songkran Festival,” that falls on April
13-15. Traditionally, people visit wats
(temples) during Songkran to cleanse
Buddha images by pouring scented
water over them. According to Thai
culture, this act will bring good luck
and prosperity for the New Year. Water splashing among Thai people in a
spirit of fun and goodwill is the main
activity of this festival. Thai citizen or
not, nobody can escape from being
wet with this festive event.
eople who work or study in
other places go back to their
hometown, for this is the time where
families and friends gathered together
to have a good time. Paying respect to
the elders (parents and grandparents)
by pouring scented water on their
hands or giving them a present makes
In this issue:
this celebration a meaningful one. This
reunion puts emphasis on giving importance to how Thai people value the
elderly.
ruly, their ways of celebrating Songkran are quite unique.
There are merit-making, Thai dancing
with the beat of the music, splashing of
water using plastic guns and putting
powder to people’s faces. The highlight
of the said celebration is the splashing
of water. Others go out along the
streets with the prepared water and
poured them to whoever they see
passing on the streets. This act implies
their wish for other people’s good
health, happiness and prosperity. If
you are not from Thailand and you
want to try this kind of celebration,
you would be amazed on how fun this
could be.

Student Corner
3

Qualities of a Leader
4

SPEEXX Competition
2

The best place…
4

Stories with Aj. Sherry 5

Spelling in English
2

How do you learn…
4

Living Life
5
Page 2
SPEEXX Competition
The Language Center continues to help students improve their English Language skills. Last March 13, 2015, the said department conducted an English competition where many students from different programs joined. This competition gave an opportunity
for students to apply what they have learned from this program. It is a way of giving the students the chance to showcase their listening
and speaking skills of the English language. Here are the winners!
INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY
Saengphet Tipduangjai
Worawan Airsuwan
Chayanon Jaroentham
Rotjarek Khamsuk
Charoenthup Yanoya
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
consolation prize
consolation prize
TEAM CATEGORY
Parn Pomak and Rattiyaporn Rodtapaow
Kusuma Kooltham and Chuthamanee Linam
Vasittee Paising and Saychon Phetpueng
Punyanuch Phouan and Areeya Thaimuang
Phawinee Jainta and Alicha Saewa
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
Consolation Prize
Consolation Prize
The competition is not about winning the prize, but for you to gain substantial experience. We, from the Language Center encourage all of you to join our next
competition. This is a great venue for everyone to challenge themselves by engaging
to this activity. It is a way for you to learn and develop new skills.
Congratulations to the winners and participants! (By Bernadette Baluyut)
Spelling in English
By: Gene Neri
Spelling in ancient or modern English has retained the old spelling even as it has developed new pronunciation. English is
rather “notorious” for its alleged frequent lack of correspondence between the spelling and pronunciation of a word. It has been
pointed out that there are 13.7 spellings per sound, but only 3.5 sounds per letter” in English.
Contrary to general impression, scholars claim that 75% of English is regular. However, the 400 or so irregular spellings are
largely among the most frequently used words in the language, and this promotes a strong impression of irregularity.
Irregularities of English spelling came from several sources into the language. 26 letters are used to represent a larger number of phonemes (significant groups of sounds each of which may be represented by a separate letter for ease and convenience in a
language). Borrowed words from French led to respelling of words. The printing process caused further complications. Many ear ly
printers were from Holland and they introduced their own spelling norms, and made several convenient abbreviations and additions
and deletions to account for the space in a line. Then there was a fashion to make spelling reflect Latin or Greek etymology. And
modern borrowings from other languages brought with them their own spelling. In spite of all this, English spelling gives us a lot of
information about the relationship between words. This feature is a boon both to the English teacher, and the second/foreign language learner of English. One comes to recognize intuitively the relationship between words, learns to derive the nouns from the
verbs and vice versa, and does a lot of other grammatical exercises which make the learning of English much simpler than learning
many other languages.
English has a long history of spelling reform movements from the 16th Century. The efforts of Spelling Reform Association
in the U.S. (founded in 1876) and Simplified Spelling Society in Britain (founded in 1908), along with the untiring efforts of Bernard
Shaw, a great modern playwright, in recent times, are significant milestones in spelling reform movements. But almost all of these
ended as futile exercise. However, some spelling changes have been effected in American English through the rules introduced by the
great American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843) which distinguish American English from British English. For example, use of
-or for -our and -er for -re in words such as honor/honour, and theater/theatre.
STUDENT CORNER
Page 3
Selected students were asked about personal questions: their hobbies, the job they are interested on, and their most
memorable trip. As University students, what are the things they love doing? What work would they like to have in
My Hobbies
My Most Unforgettable Trip
Kitti Chaiyaphong, 2nd year
English Major
Parita Kirdmee, 3rd year
Thai Major
My favorite hobbies are playing English crossword puzzle and
online games. I like to do them when I
have free time. These two things
make me love English.
Playing crossword puzzle is
one of my favorite hobbies. I play it
with my friends. My brother taught
me many techniques to get a lot of
points. Every time I win a game, I get
proud of myself. I have many benefits
from it. For example, I can remember
a lot of vocabulary, and I can learn
English easier. For playing online
games, it is both my hobby and my
work. I had been a competitor of
POINT BLANK, and my team had won
the tournament in 2012. It made me
get a lot of money from this championship. This game made me interested in learning English because I want
to work with foreign gamers in the
future.
Two things mentioned above
are my favorite hobbies. These things
make me enjoy and love to learn English. However, I do these things when I
get my work and homework done.
The meaning of the word
"trip" for many people is to travel on
weekends, or to go to different tourist
spots. However, the word "trip" is my
journey to bring happiness to children,
according to local students who need
help, instruction media, school development, development of remote village, building dams to store water in
dry areas to have water to drink
throughout the year. I am a volunteer
and our club prepares projects which
show our advocate.
My most unforgettable trip
was last year when we went to a dam,
did the reforestation and repaired the
playgrounds at Tak. It was good to see
people smiling and happy about it.
This made my trip an unforgettable
one.
Time and opportunity never
wait for us. If we do not grab it, these
may pass our way. Thus, learning to
do something meaningful is worth our
time and effort.
The Job I find Interesting
Napasorn Yamsa-ard, 2nd year
English Major
If you would ask me of what
job interests me the most, I would say
I like a teaching job.
I think many people would
like to be a teacher because more
than anything else, it is a steady job. A
teacher’s job is noble and important
because they give light to students.
Moreover, a teacher is someone who
teaches students to be good individuals, and I find this very interesting.
A teacher is the person who
gives knowledge, and I think to be like
one would be great. Although I cannot
explain my students fluently, I will try
to improve myself to be able to be a
good teacher. This is my dream job. I
will do my best if I have a chance to be
a teacher. Teaching people is difficult,
but with passion, I can conquer it all.
Page 4
How do you learn?
By: Beulah Lalwani Loranjo
The Best Place to be this Summer
By: Aiza Permejo
On a hot summer day, one of the best places to go to is the
beach, a place that is peaceful where we can relax. It is a place
where everyone can sit, think, and let go of the worries by just
staring at the amazing blue ocean. Most people find it so pleasant and relaxing.
This place is also full of excitements and joyful noises. We
all know that most people like to have fun, especially when they
are in the beach. Aside from swimming and eating, playing
different games are more likely to be another way of enjoying
the beach. Some popular activities that have developed in the
beach include; surfing, volleyball, snorkeling and frisbee throwing. For Asian people, the beach is usually a place to cool down,
to feel the cool breeze, to eat, and to drink. Western people,
however, like to lie down on the sand and enjoy sunbathing.
Unlike Asian people, westerners like their skin to be a little bit
brown, and they think of the beach as the perfect place to get
tan.
For many, a visit to the beach is difficult due to the distance and the expenses. For these people, a day at the beach is a
memorable event. Sue is a 16 year-old girl from Buriram, who
visited the beach for the first time this year in Phuket. When
asked of her experience, she replied; “It was so exciting, I always
dreamed to visit the beach. We played there all day until the sun
went down.” So, if you are one of the lucky ones to be staying at
the beach this coming holiday, just remember – life can be
great!
Do you ever wonder why some people are
known as "straight A students" while other people
struggle in school? How some are successful while
others are not?
How does one learn? Well, people learn in
different ways. Some learn from just listening to others. Some learn from seeing other people’s successes
(or failures). Some learn from their own experiences.
The key words used here are listen, see and
experience. Let us put all these together: listen, see,
then experience. If you are a student:



You sit in front of the class with your pen and
notebook. You listen to your teacher talk in English. You write everything your teacher says, then
you learn.
You go home. You open your notebook to study
your lesson. You see what you have written, then
you learn.
You go out. You see a foreigner. You talk to him/
her, then you learn. Well, maybe at first your
grammar may not be correct but that is okay, at
least you have tried and then later on you’ll be
more comfortable speaking the language.
Therefore, learning can be very easy if you
listen, see, then experience. It is really that simple if
you try it.
Qualities of a Good Leader
By: Marife Penalosa
Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. There are a lot of qualities that a leader
should possess before he/she can call himself/herself a good leader. One of the qualities is being a good communicator. As a
leader, you should always listen. You have to listen and understand the needs of everyone. If you are a good leader, you ask
many questions and choose the best options. The next quality and an important one is being respectful. A good leader always
treat others with respect. You should always respect the decision of others. You should make time to check if the ideas of
your members are beneficial to everyone.
Having enthusiasm is also a good quality of being a good leader. Excitement is the one of the key to success. When a
leader is motivated and excited about the cause people will be definitely like to follow. You should always think positive because if you think negative, your people always do the same. If you are a good leader, you should be interested in receiving
feedbacks. You should make sure that you always listen to everyone especially if you are doing very tough decisions. You
must always open your ear listening to feedbacks and suggestions. It is really important to work together.
Lastly, you should be a good follower as well. Everyone says that if you are good leader you should also be a good
follower. You set rules to everyone but you should also follow those rules. You should not think that if you are the leader you
can just ignore those rules because if you do, the people around you will also do the same.
Page 5
Living Life to the Fullest
STORIES with AJ. SHERRY
“Rain”
By: Joseph J. Mazzella
I was driving home in a gloomy rainstorm
on a cold, March morning in the mountains of my
home. Part of me was enjoying the rain thinking
that it would clean the slush, salt, and grime that
covered my car from weeks of winter driving and
save me a trip to the car wash. Another part of me
was keeping a watchful eye on the creeks and rivers
hoping that the melting snow and freshly falling
rain would not lead to any flooding.
A deeper part of me, however, was quietly
dreaming of the warmer weather and strengthening
sunshine to come in the weeks ahead. I knew that
they would join with this nourishing rain to turn the
yellow grass green, to bring new buds and leaves to
the trees, and to cause the million flowers sleeping
underground to push their heads through the soil
and start the spring. It would be that glorious time
when the whole world comes back to life again and
it was all starting with this steady, March shower.
The rains in our own lives can bring mixed
blessings as well. Storms of problems and troubles
can flood us with stress, strain, and pain. They can
make our days seem dark and dreary. They can
make our hearts feel heavy and sad. Yet, these
same storms can also strengthen our spirits. They
can help our souls to grow. They can lead us to
learning and wisdom. They can cause our hearts to
reach out to God and to each other.
There is a reason why a world with only
sunshine and no rain becomes a desert. There is a
reason why a life with no problems becomes boring and barren, devoid of both learning and
growth. God wants us to grow. God wants us to
learn. God wants us to love each other as He loves
us. God wants us to embrace His light in both the
sunshine and the rain. And God wants us to shine
and share our own light as well even on the darkest of days. (http://www.sunnyskyz.com)
By: Donald Macayanan
Nina was 24, one of my best agents when I was a Manager in one
of the BPOs in the Philippines. She was on her prime of her life: happily
married and a mother to a cute child. When she left that weekend to go
to her friend’s house, she may have been very casual in saying goodbye
to her husband and child. Surely, the thought of not returning didn’t
enter her mind. Up until now, no one knows what happened to her if
she is still alive or not.
God doesn’t promise us tomorrow. We don’t know when our
number is up, when our time has come, and when life here on Earth
would end. So, in the meantime, we should live life to the fullest.
Here are my questions for you: Are you living life to the fullest?
What would you do differently if you knew that you only had one year
to live? How about one month? What if today would be your last? I
ask these questions not to be morbid, or negative, or to burden you
with the responsibility of having to think about your response. I ask
them because we have the wonderful opportunity to think about “how
we would live our lives if…,” and to begin living that life today. We
have the opportunity to make adjustments in the way we live our lives,
so that we are doing the things that are important to us. So that we are
indeed “living life to the fullest.” Fortunately, we are alive and well, not
lying on our deathbed, longing for “another chance.” People who have
come close to death often say that they have different priorities now
than they did before. They don’t take things for granted anymore.
They realize how short life is, and how quickly it can end. Their focus
changes.
None of them, when reflecting in their hospital bed think “if I
make it through this, I’m going to spend more time at work.” Rather,
they think about doing more of what they love to do. They think about
enjoying more time with their family. They think about the difference
they can make--in their own lives, and in the lives of others. You should
not wait until you’re lying on your deathbed. You should not wait until
tragedy strikes someone around you. You should live life to the fullest.
Here are some things to think about as you make that choice:
1. What do you want to be doing? Do you want to read more and
watch less TV? Do you want to listen to more classical music? Learn a
hobby, or a foreign language? Do you want to eat more vegetables, and
fewer on meat? Then, start living that way.
2. What kind of parent / child / friend do you want to be? Do you want
to hug more, and yell less? Do you want to keep in touch with friends,
especially the ones who have moved away? Do you want to, just once:
Eat spaghetti on the living room floor? Tell your kids to go out and get
grass stains on their new pants? Say “I know it’s getting late, and you
have school tomorrow.” But why don’t you stay up just a few minutes
longer?” Do you want to go for more bike rides? Do you want to have
more meaningful conversations with friends and family members? Do
you want to say more “I love YOUs,” more “I’m SORRYs” and more
“thank YOUs?”
How will you live life at work? Do you want to work less and
make more? Do you want to tell your boss to “take this job and shove
it?” Do you want to pursue your passion, your calling in life? Do you
want to do what you love, knowing that the financial part will take care
of itself. When you look back on your life, you will regret the things you
did not do more than the ones you did. Seize the day! Live a life NOW,
and live life to the fullest!
The Language Center hold the English
Evening Classes for the whole month of
April starting from April 9-31, 2015.
There were English classes for Basic Conversation, Intermediate Conversation,
Basic Grammar, and Writing handled by
the Language Center Lecturers.
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Janessa Mondol
Editor-in-Chief
Ma. Desiree Ano-os
Associate Editor
Sherry Faith Bernales
Associate Editor
Marife Penalosa
Donald Macayanan
Bernadette Baluyut
Gene Neri Jr.
Aiza Permejo
Beulah Lawanin Laranjo
Kitti Chaiyaphong
Napasorn Yamsa-ard
Parita Kirdmee
Contributors
Asst. Prof. Pradit Nareerak
Adviser
Director, Language Center
Tel. : 055-706555 ext.1571
Mobile : 091-0262571
Website : http://lc.kpru.ac.th
E-mail : [email protected]