First Month - Asasi TESL Sem 1 (June 2014 - December 2014)

The Chancellery Main Building of UiTM Shah Alam

June 1st, 2014 marks the first day I stepped into the campus life and earned myself the right to become a pre-degree student. I am taking TESL course for 2 semesters in UiTM Shah Alam. That day, I went to Kolej Perindu to register and met my fellow roommates at room 2402. The first week was spent as orientation week also known as ‘Minggu Destini Siswa’. 

During the orientation week

Throughout the whole week, we were taken care by our beloved seniors who also members of the MPPU (Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar UiTM). Some of them were – quite honestly – very strict. We were told to wake up early at 4 am and to obey all rules and regulations set by the university and by them. Any act of ignorance will end up all hell breaks loose. At this moment, I thought I was in a boot camp. But later on, as the week went by, I was starting to feel I was on the right track. With the help of the seniors, we did our college registration and heard all kinds of briefing about the campus life and how to survive it. One of the memorable moments of the week was the final night when our seniors threw an appreciation party celebrating and welcoming the presence of the freshman students. It was a joyful and jubilant night as we sang and danced. The good thing was although we just knew each other for a mere couple of days, it was like as if it has been years of friendship.

My roommates as well as our neighbours, enjoying our very first pizza treat.

Living as a college student means that you need to get to know and make friends with everyone in your dorm. Since the first day, I have met 7 awesome roommates. Basically, we are different in terms of the courses we are taking, backgrounds, lifestyle etc. Course-wise, I am the only one who chooses TESL. Every morning, I have to wake up early and prepare myself in order to catch the earliest bus and I come home late at evening – sometimes at night. But that didn’t stop me to spend time together with them. We have our dinner together every night either at the Perindu Café or at Dataran Cendekia. I often help them do their homework and they would lend a hand to me. The first time we spent time together, it was the first Saturday since we got here. We planned to go to PTAR 1, but it was closed due to Agong’s birthday. Then, one of us wanted to go to the Faculty of Art & Design just to see how the place is. We ended up roaming around the campus just by walking. We looked like a bunch of fools as cars, buses and motorcycles passed by. Nevertheless, we never regretted that moment.

Walking down memory lane

Between racks of books

The second week is where the real game begins. At first, I thought the Faculty of Education is inside the campus. But as it turned out, it is located in INTEC campus at Section 17. The first day of the week, we boys had to wait for the bus at the Perindu bus stop for an hour. Yet, the only available is the Rapid KL bus en route to Section 2 where we boarded and had to exchange to another bus there. That trip alone cost me RM 2. As we arrived at INTEC, we found out that there is a bus available for students going to and back from INTEC. In the end, we laughed to ourselves that we should have taken that bus for free instead of the one we’ve taken.

On behalf of Teslians. #SelfieOfTheYear #I #Guess #SelfieKingKong #KepalaHotakKau #DASH #Teslians

A photo posted by Muhammad Syafiq Bin Zulkiffly (@syafiqzulkiffly) on Jun 9, 2014 at 9:09pm PDT

That day began with a replacement test where all TESL students must answer a set of objective questions and write a 200-word essay. We were separated into groups and assigned into different test rooms. I was astonished the moment I stepped into the test room as I was the only boy among the girls. I had to say, the replacement test was quite tough but I managed to answer it within the given time. After the test was over, we were introduced to Ms Mellisa, our head coordinator who would handle and guide us throughout the registration process before truly be recognized as TESL students of UiTM. I listened to multiple introductory briefings from the lecturers and got to know more with other students who would soon become my friends and classmates.

The next day, I was transferred to a class called Group E. There were only 3 boys out of 26 students. Madam Adzura, our first lecturer that came to our class led the first ice-breaking session, when I knew more about my classmates. Most of them were here because of their choice, and some were forced to be here by their parents. They were very kind and supportive as they enjoyed being friends with each other including with me.

In essence, I have learned a lot within the first month of being a pre-degree student. I learned how to communicate better with other people and speak fluently in English. I also learned to be independent and responsible of my own act and doing. Among my friends, we established a good start of a friendship bond by getting to know each other pretty well. As time goes by, I am starting to realize that this course is the right one for me as it is my passion to learn and teach English as well as my ambition of becoming a teacher one day.


*This was an essay I wrote during the first semester for College Study Skills subject. Since then, I fell in love with this programme, and all the people in it. I'm about to finish the foundation in a about two or three weeks from now on. :)