English Is Easy, Isn't It?

While I was teaching in the University of Mercu Buana, Kranggan, Bekasi, a lot of my college students asked me, "Sir, how can I improve our English easily?". The question sounds familiar. Why? Because, yes, there are a lot of people who have big motivation to study English, but they don't know the right way to make it become easy.

I smiled at them, of couse, because I like when people ask me about the right ways to improve English skills. To me, having big motivation isn't enough to be good at English. It's like you have a dream but you never know an appropriate strategy to achieve it.

Well, here, I have only one sentence to answer the question: "Love English". Yes, guys, you must love English first if you want to be good at English soon. Wise people have ever said, "Someone who loves something will do everything to be able to master it". For instance, if you love music, and you're eager to be good at playing guitar, of course, automathically all your desires encourage you to live by practicing guitar. You will buy a guitar, you will go to a music course place, you will buy books about guitar. Even, when you're sleeping, you will dream you're a guitar master.

So, what about English? 

It's not far different! If you love English, you will do everything to achieve it. Let me direct you to the right ways to be able to improve your English. First of all, you must buy a guidance book (Grammar book), then you can study autodidactly, when you get difficulties in comprehending a theory, you can go to your English teachers, and don't ever feel shy to ask them about your problem. Secondly, use your hobbies to support your English. For instance, you like watching movies, so watch a lot of movies with English speaking and subtitles, and then if you find new vocabularies, you can remember them. It is also good to practice the actors's English accents an expressions in the movies. Or, if you like listening to music, you can listen to English songs--it's better to take from your favorite singers or bands' songs--and then you can note their lyrics, and get new vocabularies, new expressions.

Finally, I hope this short writing can give you a bit enlightenment about how easy English is!

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SEKILAS GRAMMAR FOR TRANSLATION

Untuk mempermudah proses belajar bahasa Inggris, "Grammar For Translation" merupakan buku yang dapat dijadikan panduan bagaimana menggunakan bahasa Inggris secara efektif. Sesuai dengan judulnya, buku ini memaparkan bagaimana seseorang memerlukan pengetahuan tentang Grammar atau tata bahasa dalam sebuah percakapan bahasa Inggris, terutama bagi anda yang ingin melakukan translasi atas kalimat-kalimat berbahasa Inggris.

Meskipun belum sepenuhnya membahas tentang hal-hal yang diperlukan dalam mengenal Grammar dan keterkaitannya saat melakukan translasi, buku ini cukup representatif saat memperkenalkan berbagai dasar-dasasr dan pokok-pokok setiap kalimat bahasa Inggris. Dimulai dari pengenalan bentuk-bentuk kala (waktu) yang tertuang dalam Bab I, seorang yang sedang belajar bahasa Inggris akan mengetahui secara tepat penggunaan "to be", "Simple Present Tense", "Past Perfect Tense", Simple Future Tense" atau berbagai penggunaan kata yang terkait dengan grammar dalam berbahasa Inggris lainnya.

Pada Bab II, buku ini memaparkan tentang hal-hal dalam bahasa Inggris yang mengacu pada Orang dan Benda. Misalnya, Pemaparan tentang Nomina (Nouns). Buku ini menjelaskan bahwa terdapat dua jenis Nouns yakni Single Noun dan Noun Phrase. Selain itu, pada Bab II buku ini juga menjelaskan tentang hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan Pronomina (Pronouns) serta Subjek dan Objek harus "Benda" seperti contoh yang terdapat pada halaman 132 dari buku ini.

Buku ini juga menjelaskan tentang Verbs yakni penyebutan dalam bahasa Inggris tentang suatu kata yang menunjukan suatu tindakan atau keadaan tertentu. Pada Bab III penulis "Grammar For Translation", Faldy Rasyidi yang juga menjabat sebagai Pembantu Rektor III di Universitas Nasional dan Priyanto S. Lundiono, menjelaskan secara rijid fungsi-fungsi dan penggunaan verbs dalam sebuah kalimat bahasa Inggris.

Buku "Grammar For Translation" setebal 230 halaman ini ditutup dengan penjelasan mengenai bagaimana kalimat bahasa Inggris juga dapat disertai dengan sebuah keterangan oleh penggunanya seperti yang dijelaskan pada BAB IV. Mengenai kata keterangan (Adjectives), buku ini menjelaskan bahwa sebuah kalimat bahasa Inggris memiliki beberapa kata keterangan yang dapat dipergunakan sesuai dengan waktu, tempat dan konteks yang berbeda-beda tanpa bisa dicampur-adukan.

Bagi penulis " Grammar For Translation" sendiri, buku ini adalah buku Jilid pertama yang ditulis untuk memudahkan anda dalam menguasai bahasa Inggris. khususnya dalam proses men-"translate" bahasa Inggris ke bahasa Indonesia dengan penggunaan tata bahasa yang baik dan benar. Jadi, tidak berlebihan jika dikatakan buku ini wajib dimiliki bagi anda yang ingin belajar maupun mengajar bahasa Inggris sebelum penulis memberikan penjelasan lebih jauh mengenai tata bahasa dalam bahasa Inggris pada buku Grammar For Translate" jilid berikutnya.

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Hooray! It's a smart holiday!

Holiday is too worth to pass. So, why don’t we plan our holiday in order to have “having fun” time while sharpening our intelligence?

After receiving report books in school, and after knowing the result of our efforts in education, we sometimes feel confused where we want to spend our holiday. Having vacation overseas is one of the highest dream we sometimes hope the upcoming holiday. But, honestly, at the same time, we realize that it can spend a lot of money if we trip overseas, even in this difficult economical situation. And after the holiday, all we feel is only tiresome. Even, we will not be ready enough to start our school for new term again.

However, we also have to admit that doing something and going somewhere are very useful to refresh our mind and heart before we go to the school again. That’s why, all the people—the students and the workers—really wait for holiday. No matter what, we must make our holiday useful and educative.

When the holiday comes, children may think about some exciting things. They imagine about places which can make them forget hard time in their school. But, as parents, it is their duty to disappear the children’s thirst of excitement without erasing the children’s intellectual insights, because, if the parents find a way only to entertain the children, the children’s achievement after they come back to the schools will decrease.

As well all know, there are still a lot of places which can only give the excitement to the children, but also can refresh the children’s insights. Those places are very interesting, too. Besides they give satisfaction to children, the places can make the students are eager to come back to the places again, because the children feel that they can study a lot of new things related to their lessons at schools.

In Indonesia itself, we have some places that can realize all those goals above. Taman Safari, for instance, can give us deeper knowledge about animals, and of course it has relation to some subjects in our school, such as biology. Planetarium, in Cikini, can also give us excitement and insights. In the place, we can watch some things in the sky, such as stars and planets. All those views can provoke the children’s interest in science.

Finally, having decision to go to useful places are wise plans. And, hooray! It’s a smart holiday!

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Till Your Smile shone

Well, I don't know how deep I love you
All I can do is just to hold you
In my heart, and decorates it with flowers
won't stop till your smile shines

Wow, seems the game hasn't been over yet
It is still being played by our heart
The truth will emerge on the surface of the sea
Sailing our love to the most romantic island

I've told you many times that I really love you
But, i guess you never understand
You said it was because we stood on different garden
Which was dry and robbed by lies

Please, tell me, you love me do
Then I will show you that the stars
Won't stop shining till your smile shines

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Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (14 March 1879–18 April 1955) was a theoretical physicist who was considered as one of the biggest scientists in the 20th century. He found a theory of relativity and also gave contribution to the development of quantum mechanics, statistic mechanics, and cosmology. He got a noble in physics in 1921 for his explanation about the effect of photoelectric and “His devotion to theoretical physics".

After he formulated the theory of relativity, Einstein became well-known all over the world, an unusual achievement for a scientist. In his old age, his popularity was much higher than other scientists in history, and in popular culture. That is why people at that time considered him as a genius

Einstein was born in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany; about 100 km the east of Stuttgart. His father’s name was Hermann Einstein, a feather bed seller, who then worked in electrochemical. His mother’s name was Pauline. They got married in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. They were descendants of Jewish families

Albert went to school in Catholic School, and it was because of his mother’s will he got a violin lesson. When he was five, his father showed him a pocket compass, and at that time, Einstein was aware that there was an action in this “Empty” room to the hand of compass; He then explained this experience as the most evocative moment in his life. Nevertheless, he was always considered as lazy student. It was perhaps because of dyslexia, and his shyness.

Einstein started studying math when he was 12 years old. But, at that lesson, he failed. Nevertheless, his uncles helped him develop his interest in intellectual world by giving him some suggestion and books about science and mathematic. In 1894, when his father failed in electrochemical business, Einstein’s family moved from Munich to Pavia, Italia (near Milan). But, Albert still stayed to finish his school before he could finally move to Pavia too. The next year, Einstein failed the entrance place in Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (Technology Institution, Switzerland, at Zurich) and by his family, he was sent to Aarau, Switzerland, to finish his school, where he received diploma in 1896.

In 1898, Einstein met and fell in love with Mileva Maric, a Serbian girl, his classmate. In 1900, He was granted a teaching in Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, which at the same time; he got citizenship of Switzerland in 1901. During this year he discussed his interest in science to his closed friends, including Mileva. And after they got married they got a daughter, named “Lieserl”, who was born in Januari 1902.

In 1905, when he got a doctor in Zurich, he wrote 4 articles which gave the basic of modern physics. A lot of physicists agreed that the three theses (about Brownian movement, the effect of photoelectric, and the special relativity) deserved the Nobel. However, it was only about the effect of photoelectric receiving the noble.

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The Noisy of Word Cup 2010

South Africa has started the biggest party. Suddenly, all the people under the sun are as if being hypnotized by the magic of the biggest party. In Indonesia, for instance, although their national football team doesn't take part in the party, the people also celebrate to support their favorite team taken part in the party. Well, World Cup 2010 in South Africa seems to be the only moment that can make people in unity.

It seems that the World Cup now is very different from the previous world cup celebrations, because it is the first time for FIFA to give one of Africa countries a chance to be the host, after eight years ago, it gave two Asia countries, Japan and South Korea, becoming the host of world cup. So, based on this fact, it seems that Africa countries have been aligned with other countries in Europe, American continent, and also Asia. Whereas, if we pay close attention to the economic conditions of the countries in African continent, we seem to understand that their economic condition is out of the world standard. But, it is a happy reality that they, represented by South Africa, can prove that they can be also a host for the biggest event such World Cup.

Besides that, what makes world cup 2010 in South Africa is different, is that the way they do the celebration. It can be seen when we pay attention to the African supporters. Almost all game running, they don't stop blowing their traditional trumpet. It sounds like an elephant's long scream. So, this situation really make all the contestants, besides the host, feel nervous when they are playing in the game.

Moreover, it seems that there is also a negative side in World Cup 2010. It was reported in some newspapers that the world cup competition was threatened with bombs from terrorists. The news, indeed, has made all the contestants worried. However, again, South Africa, for such news, they convinced all the contestants that they would make the best for the contestants security, and they wouldn't allow the terrorists to blow the biggest party in the world.

Finally, we must give applause to South Africa for having been a host of World Cup 2010. And we have to also take a lot of examples from them. We should hope that someday later, Indonesia can also get a chance to be the host of world cup. So, in this case, we must firstly prove to the world that we have big desires to football, and we are a also a friendly country that will keep peace in our country and also in the world.

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Lean On Me...

No matter what I feel,
Just stuck on the same feeling,
Same temptation,
Same pressure,
Same idiots mind
The ideal creature of heart

Get their right compotitions,
As love, safety, balance
With no curse on it,
Curse of being hurt in deep heart

Like feel missing someone that you love
Someone who can't reach him

Just screw your life up
Be yourself like in the past
just believe, there must be tomorrow
To cover your life
When you are feeling sad
When there's no one who you can't lean on with,
Be sure that you can lean on me...

By CINDY FLORENTIA (a student of KEY's)

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