Star Readers: Star Students
By Hangkruy Lim
“Leaders must be readers”
– Forbes
A lot of students complain about not having enough time to read. However, if they learn to manage their time well and select good books from the ACE Book Club, they will become readers who achieve more in life. Reading and independent learning enables students to grow to be effective leaders. There are three benefits of reading. First, reading improves your English ability. Second, reading is a reminder of good things and important concepts around you. Third, reading challenges you to think out of the box since it enables you to have the ability to think creatively and logically. Last but not least, reading gives you the opportunities to interact with others through conversation. These are some strategies that you can use to create conversations with friends and (probably) family.
To begin with, you should take notes and go for a meeting with some classmates with similar interests and share your ideas with them. The next step is to spark debates with your learning partners to reuse what you read and maybe broaden your knowledge. To be more effective, you may need to quote what you have read to convince your learning partners.
Understanding the importance of reading, ACE initiated the Book Club and awards students who have read the books at the club. The Star Reader Certificates are presented to students who are currently studying in the YL and CP programs at ACE. There are three kinds of certificates which are presented to students based on achieving certain reading milestones. Firstly, the Bronze Star Reader is presented to the students who have finished reading 30 books. Later, the Silver Star Reader is presented to any students who have finished reading 60 books (additional 30 books to Bronze). Finally, the Gold Star Reader is presented to any students who have finished reading 100 books (additional 40 books to Silver). After achieving these milestones, the students are very much capable and independent to read freely by their own which is a most rewarding pastime. Over the years, there are a number of students who have achieved these critical reading objectives.
Star Readers: Rith Chilean ,Sovanna Sokhotey, Nann Koungkea, Soeur Mudita, Uch Liza.
These are some of ACE’s star readers.
Soeur Mudita (Silver Star Reader Certificate): CP 8 Term 2, 2016
I have studied at ACE for three terms and I love the school so much. These are reasons why I love ACE. First, the teachers are very good, and they have very good teaching skills. Secondly, the school has a very good environment, and the classroom is clean. Third, I like the course books and their designs. I love Incredible English since it has a variety of good topics and learning points. I also love Hot Spot since it has a lot of new and important words and a good design. In my free time, I like doing self-study by reading story books from the Book Club, listening to music on YouTube.com with lyrics, and buying books at a bookshop twice a month. The Book Club is my most favourite place for books since it is easy to get the book I like, and sometimes I select the books by myself. I like reading kids, history, and comic books. It is not difficult to start reading since all my classmates read every day. I have read around 60 books from the club and 50 more from bookshops. Now, I know a lot and improve nearly all my skills in English especially vocabulary. In addition, I am now very good at speaking as well. I highly recommend other students and new friends to read at the Book Club to achieve more like me. If you want to start reading, I recommend a book called “The Quiz Night”.
Rith Chilean (Silver Star Reader Certificate): CP 8 Term 2, 2016
I have studied at ACE for one year. I love learning here since the teachers are nice, and they ask amazing questions to make students think to understand the lessons. The teachers provide enough homework to practice more at home. They also introduce reading outside the classroom by getting students to the Book Club to borrow books from the friendly librarians. Therefore, I can borrow books to read at home, and I like it since I can study on my own at my own place and time. I like a quiet learning environment so that I am not disturbed by my friends or noise. I am in favour of reading history books to know the facts about the past and what the people in the past did to build wonderful places like ancient Egyptian cities and New York. After reading for a while, I know many new words and increase my general knowledge which makes me improve my skills in English, especially speaking. Until now, I have read more than 100 books. In addition to borrowing books, I also like buying books. I like buying books at Monument Books and Toys. If you want to start reading, I recommend the “Goosebumps” series.
Uch Liza (Silver and Bronze Star Reader Certificates): CP 8 Term 3, 2016
This is the seventh term for me at ACE, and I love this school. This school makes me clever because the school has good teachers and a lot of homework for me to review more at home. I like doing self-study as well since I can learn at my own speed at my own time. My favourite place for books is the ACE Book Club since there are plenty of books to choose from, and the librarian is very friendly and knowledgeable. I like borrowing story books to read and may buy some comics at bookshops as well. My friends read a lot of books from the club, and their English is very good. Therefore, I started reading books because I want to be good like them. Now, I feel that my English is as good as my friends, and I have finished around 70 stories. I strongly recommend other ACE students to read more like me. If you want to start reading, I recommend a book called “Country Mouse vs. City Mouse”.
Nann Koungkea (Bronze Star Reader Certificate): YL 15 Term 3, 2016
Having spent two years at ACE, I like the school even more. The teachers explain very well and create good opportunities for students to communicate in English. They also give extra exercises for students to practice English more at home. I don’t really like the idea of studying alone, so I like studying or reading stories in groups. As a result, we can help each other. I like using the internet for extra learning in English since I can practice what I like to learn by myself. I enjoy reading books at ACE Book Club, so that I can share what I have read with my classmates. I like reading Action or Adventure books like “Maze Runners”, “Hulk”, or even “Titanic”. The more I read, the more I feel my English gets better. I improve all skills in English ranging from reading, listening, writing, speaking, to vocabulary. To tell you the truth, I can perform much better in the listening test as well. So far, I have read around 100 books. I also go to IBC to buy books there. If you want to start reading, I recommend a book called “Hulk”.
Sovanna Sokhotey (Bronze Star Reader Certificate): YL 15 Term 3, 2016
It has been two years that I have studied here, and I love it. My teachers really have created a learning environment for students. We speak only English in the classroom with a variety of activities and games, so we are really exposed to the English learning environment. There are effective rules in the classroom for students to follow such as no eating in the class and listening to teachers while instructions being given. I am quite an extensive reader that I may finish one book per day, so I am one of the most active members of ACE Book Club. Because I read so much, sometimes my mother has to ask me to go outside and play some sports. I only love horror stories because I find they are very interesting and entertaining. Reading really helps me improve my English, and I learn a lot of new words by writing them in my notebook after reading the books. Then, I guess from the story or check an online dictionary. I learn pronunciation by pressing on the pronunciation button on the web. To use what I learnt, I retell the story to my friends or play vocabulary games with them. In addition to reading books at the club, I go to my favourite book shop called IBC once every month to buy story books and comics. If you want to start reading, I recommend a book called “Count Dracula”.
For more information, please access http://acegilcentre/book_club.html from any ACE computer or please ask at the Book Club on the ground floor of ACE Santhor Mok and Samdech Pan, the first floor of ACE Toul Tum Pong, or on the second floor of ACE Siem Reap.
Independent students with regular reading are successful learners.