Mister Guru

1. What is the difference between language acquisition and language learning?

Language acquisition is the process of acquiring a language in a natural situation instead of a formal-classroom. The situation is similar to that in which the native language is learned. The language is experienced in conjunction with the objects, situations, and events of everyday life. Children’s ability in language acquisition is considered to be better than adults’. Example: Children’s acquisition of a first language, native language, or mother tongue.

Language learning is the process of learning a formal and standard language through formal-classroom teaching. Unlike in language acquisition, adults’ ability in language learning is better than children’s. Example: Learning a second language or a foreign language at schools.

2. What factors can influence people in second-language acquisition and learning?

a. Psychological factors;

i. The intellectual process (our mind affects the speed of learning), which is involved in the determination of grammatical structures and rules. Learning second-language rules and structures can be done in two ways, i.e.; explication, and induction.

ii. Memory, which is essential for learning to occur. The learning of even the simplest words requires memory.

iii. Motor skills, which involve the use of the articulators of speech (tongue, lips, vocal, etc.). Good pronunciation, which is related to the ability to control the organs of speech, is clearly an essential part of learning a foreign language.

b. Social factors, which include situations, settings, and interactions.

i. Learning in a natural setting / natural situation. The language is experienced in conjunctions with the objects, situations and events of everyday life. Children have been known to learn better and faster than adults in this situation, because they are not afraid of making mistakes, and they receive more exposure compared to adults. Their speech organs are still flexible. Examples: A child of four years who lives with his parents in an English-speaking country, or a TKW who learns the Arabic during her employment in Saudi Arabia.

ii. Learning in the classroom. The classroom for second-language learning is planned, and the situation is artificial. In general, adults learn better than children in this situation. Adults can concentrate and pay attention better than children. Examples; Students who learn a second or foreign language at schools.

The answer depends much on the learners’ psychological factors. Actual settings, in which there is more induction, will be more effective than classroom situations when teaching a second language to young children due to children’s psychological characteristics in learning a language. Children learn faster and better than adults in this situation. They are not afraid of making mistakes, and their speech organs are still flexible.

Classroom teaching is more effective when applied to adults due to their ability in reasoning, concentrating, and paying attention to verbal explanation (explication), especially when teaching a standard language which involves lots of grammatical structures and rules such as in schools or universities.

As for the English-language teaching in our country, since it is quite difficult to find an actual situation, which is really as actual as that in an English-speaking country, teachers are advised to create a natural situation in a classroom by emphasizing on the role of story, role play, puppet activity, model-making and so on. Having a very important role, teachers’ basic competence in the language and in teaching methodology is undoubtedly essential.

a. The education system in Indonesia which still emphasizes on the accomplishment of curriculum rather than students' competence.

b. Classes, which usually consist of more than 40 students, are too big to teach.

c. Unavailability of proper, adequate and sufficient materials, such as books, or language laboratory and other visual aids.

d. Teachers’ incompetence and lack of commitment in teaching.

e. The applied teaching methods are inadequate and out-of-date.

f. Students’ motivation is usually low. This has to do with parents’ role in motivating their children, which is sometimes low.

A second language is a language that is acquired after the first.

Example; Indonesian children’s second language is mostly the Indonesian language, which is learned and acquired after the first language, - their mother tongue.

A foreign language is a language that comes from another country and is not spoken as a native language by the native people.

Example: English, Japanese, French, and German are foreign languages in Indonesia.

In learning English, we often have difficulty using or determining the correct words or phrases. It is easy to confuse words that have similar meanings, similar spellings, or similar sounds. However, these words CANNOT be interchanged.

Here, you will learn similar words or phrases in the English language that you should anticipate, especially when you want to take the TOEFL or TOEIC tests.

Accept	Accede	Except	Expect
Advise	Advice	Advisory	Advisable
Affect	Effect	Affection	Effective
Beside	Besides	Between	Among
Borrow	Lend	Loan	Lease
Bring	Take	Carry	Fetch
Cloth	Clothes	Clothing	Clothe
Come	Go	Leave	Leave for
Continuous	Continual	Continously	Continually
Develop	Expand	Elaborate	Enhance
Equal	Same	Similar	Match
Fairly	Enough	Very	Too
Ground	Soil	Earth	Floor
Grow	Grow up	Improve	Increase
Lay	Lie	Sleep	Asleep
Lose	Loose	Lost	Loss
Money	Cash	Currency	Fund
Obtain	Earn	Win	Achieve
Pass	Past	Path	Passage
Personnel	Personal	Personally	Personality
Pretty	Beautiful	Handsome	Good-looking
Raise	Rise	Elevate	Ascend
Remember	Remind	Recollect	Memory
Say	Tell	Speak	Talk
Travel	Commute	Go	Journey
Wear	Use	Be Used to	Used to

uatu pagi, saat iseng mendengarkan MP3 Indonesia Raya 3 Stanza, saya merasa tertarik saat mengetahui lagu kebangsaan kita ini ternyata memiliki versi lain yaitu 3 stanza yang lebih lengkap. Selain Stanza 1 seperti yang kita kenal sekarang, masih ada dua (2) Stanza lagi. Berikut ini Lirik modern Indonesia Raya hasil Google Search dari http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia_Raya



Kita bisa melihat bahwa Stanza pertama bernafaskan persatuan, stanza kedua bernafaskan rasa syukur kepada Tuhan YME dan ketiga janji untuk menjaga Indonesia tetap abadi. Menurut saya pribadi, Stanza 2 dan 3 memiliki makna yang lebih menekankan pada pembangunan akhlak dan budi pekerti, serta jauh lebih menyentuh daripada Stanza 1 yang selalu kita nyanyikan selama ini. Ada beberapa potong kalimat atau bait yang menurut saya teramat sayang untuk dilupakan begitu saja. Misal, pada Stanza 2.
Bait ini mengingatkan kita bahwa negara kita adalah negara yang kaya. Adalah suatu ironi jika sampai sekarang sebagian besar rakyat kita masih hidup di bawah garis kemiskinan, dan sebagian lagi harus mengais rejeki hingga ke negri orang. Saya bertanya-tanya, jika selalu kita nyanyikan sampai sekarang, mampukah bait tersebut menggugah semangat kita untuk berjuang dengan lebih keras demi menghapus kemiskinan di negeri kita yang tercinta ini, tanpa harus lari ke negeri orang hanya untuk mencari sesuap nasi?

Masih di Stanza 2:
Bait ini mengingatkan kita bahwa tanah-air kita adalah pusaka bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia, bukan milik sebagian kalangan tertentu saja. Kekayaan alam harus diolah sebagai "pusaka" bagi seluruh rakyat, bukan untuk dimanipulasi para pejabat demi kantong dan perut sendiri. Bait ini juga mengingatkan kita sebagai umat beragama untuk selalu berdoa kepada Allah SWT. Lagi-lagi saya bertanya-tanya dan berandai-andai. Andai selalu kita nyanyikan, mungkinkah bait di atas menyadarkan para pejabat kita agar bersikap amanah dalam mengelola kekayaan negara demi kesejahteraan rakyat? Di satu sisi, rakyat sebagai umat beragama juga menjadi lebih santun dan arif ketika menghadapi suatu masalah dan menghindari cara-cara anarki seperti yang selama ini sering kita lihat dalam berbagai unjuk rasa.

Resapi juga lirik bait ketiga:
Lirik di atas sangat pas dengan kondisi bangsa kita selama ini. Meski akhir-akhir ini pengintegrasian budi pekerti dalam kurikulum pembelajaran di sekolah semakin berkembang, betapa seringnya kita meninggalkan budi-pekerti dari perilaku kehidupan sehari-hari? Saya jadi teringat betapa banyak kasus, mulai dari kejahatan perbankan tingkat tinggi, perpajakan, hingga pungli di terminal dan jalanan yang sebenarnya berawal dari hilangnya kesadaran diri sebagai mahluk Allah SWT, serta semakin punahnya budi pekerti dalam perilaku keseharian kita. Kenyamanan dan kemewahan hingga tuntutan kehidupan modern rupanya telah benar-benar membutakan kita, sehingga kita lupa ke mana kita akan berpulang nanti. Dan ... lagi-lagi saya berandai-andai, andai kita selalu menyanyikan bait di atas, mampukah sepotong bait itu menggugah kesadaran kita sebagai manusia beragama yang selalu mengedepankan etika dan budi pekerti dalam berperilaku?

Bait ketiga dalam Stanza 3:
Kalimat tersebut adalah doa tulus yang terpanjat demi keselamatan rakyat Indonesia, pulau-pulau serta laut dan kekayaan alam Indonesia dari segala ancaman dan marabahaya. Betapa banyak bencana, mulai dari lumpur Lapindo hingga banjir bandang yang berawal dari kelalaian dan keserakahan kita dalam mengelola sumber daya alam? Ratusan hektar hutan telah habis digunduli oleh para mafia kayu, yang tingkat kerakusannya jauh melebihi binatang bernama rayap yang paling rakus sekalipun. Ratusan rumah juga telah tenggelam di dasar danau lumpur yang berawal dari kelalaian pengelola bisnis yang ingin menekan biaya instalasi tanpa memikirkan dampak bagi lingkungan sekitar. Juga karena kelalaian kita, pulau Sipadan dan Ligitan terlepas dari pangkuan ibu pertiwi. Dan sekali lagi dan lagi ... saya berandai-andai, andai saja kita selalu menyanyikan Stanza 3, akan "lebih" selamatkah rakyat dan negara kita?

Dalam teori motivasi, kita mengenal adanya The Power of Repetition, yaitu sesuatu hal yang diucapkan berulang-ulang sebagai affirmatif atau penguatan bagi dirinya dan diharapkan menjadi drive untuk mencapai suatu sasaran, seperti yang dilakukan perusahaan-perusahaan di Jepang pada umumnya untuk meningkatkan kinerja. Bukankah lagu kebangsaan Indonesia Raya yang kita nyanyikan berulang-ulang hampir di setiap upacara seharusnya bisa menjadi pendorong untuk memperbaiki akhlak dan budi pekerti bangsa kita?

If you are a junior high school student (SMP/MTs) and you wish to test your English skill, here's a piece of interesting information.

To celebrate the Indonesian Living-Environment day and the 1-million Trees Movement which falls on January 10th, SMK Negeri 1 Probolinggo is planning to hold an English speech contest on January 26th and English olympiad on January 28th, 2011. The Adi-Wiyata award-winning school expects that these events will be attended by junior-high-school students in Probolinggo, Pasuruan, and Lumajang areas.

If you are interested in joining these events, here is some more information.

I. ENGLISH SPEECH CONTEST
Speech Contest is an individual competition in which every participant is required to deliver a speech in a convincing way to impress the Judges. The expected outcome of this competition is to improve participants’ self-confidence, in addition to develop their public-speaking skills and their ability in performing in English.

1. Participants are registered SMP/MTs students.
2. Registration can be done at the receptionist desk latest by 1:00 pm January 25th 2011.
3. Registration fee is Rp.25,000.-, or Rp.35,000.- for both events.
4. Participants are to submit 1 pc of the latest passport-sized photograph (3x4 cm) together with a copy of student's card/ID.
5. Speech topics, which all will relate to environmental issues, will be decided by the committee.
6. Participants will be quarantined and given a period of 1 hour for case building prior to delivering their speech.
7. Speech should take not more than 10 (ten) minutes.
8. Participants may not read any texts during speech, except a key note which addresses important points.
9. Scoring will be based on 3 (three) aspects; Accuracy (relevance and weight of content), Fluency (in speaking), and Performance (body language and attitude).
10. Winners will be decided by the total score of all aspects.
11. Juries' decisions are final and irrevocable.

II. ENGLISH OLYMPIAD
English olympiad is an individual competition in which every participant is required to do a proficiency test of English. The outcome of this competition is to improve participants’ knowledge, in addition to develop their experience and their English skills.

1. Participants are registered SMP/MTs students.
2. Registration can be done at the receptionist desk latest by 1:00 pm January 25th 2011.
3. Registration fee is Rp.25,000.-, or Rp.35,000.- for both events.
4. Participants are to submit 1 pc of the latest passport-sized photograph (3x4 cm) together with a copy of student's card/ID.
5. Test items will be based on SMP’s Curriculum and focused on environmental issues.
6. Participants will be given 120 minutes to do a 75-item test.
7. Participants must prepare a pencil and an eraser.
8. Participants may not bring dictionaries, mobile phones, calculators, and/or books into the test room.
9. Participants may not cooperate with other participants during the test.
10. Participants must wear school uniform.
11. Participants who fail to comply with the rules will be disqualified.

Scoring criteria:

• Correct answers will score 2 (two) points.
• -1 (minus one) score penalty will be applied to wrong answers.
• Unanswered question(s) will score 0 (zero).

If you wish to join both or one of the above events, feel free to contact the committee at 0335-421121.
Contact person: Prastowo Ismanto.

What is an idiom (ideeum)? An idiom is an expression, word, or phrase whose sense means something different from what the words literally imply. Idioms usually do not translate well. In some cases, when an idiom is translated into another language, either its meaning is changed or it is meaningless. On this post, we are going to learn common idioms using "ALL", including their closest meaning(s) in Bahasa Indonesia.
Happy learning.

IDIOMS	MEANING	INDONESIAN	EXAMPLE
All-nighter	Work or study all night	Bekerja/belajar semalam-suntuk	Pulling an all-nighter before exams is not a good habit.
All over	Very fond (of something)	Sangat menyukai sesuatu	She's all over the latest fashions.
All shook up	Extremely excited, worried, or disturbed about something	Sangat senang, khawatir, atau terganggu oleh sesuatu	She's all shook up about her mother's illness.
All that and then some	More than what has been mentioned	Lebih dari yang sudah dikatakan	He did all that and then some to get the new job.
Go all the way	Do something completely	Mengerjakan dengan sepenuhnya	They went all the way for the championship.
Dash it all!	Expression used when very upset	Ungkapan yang dipakai saat merasa sangat kecewa	Dash it all! I didn't do well in the test.
For all I know	Based on what I know (mostly implying displeasure)	Setahu saya (umumnya untuk mengisyaratkan kekecewaan	For all I know, the government will increase the fuel price this month.
Free for all	Crazy, free, non-restricted activity (generally a fight)	Gila, Bebas (biasanya untuk pertarungan	It was a free for all! Everyone went crazy!
Have it all together	Be very poised, successful	Sangat mapan, sukses	He has it all together. The house, the wife, the kids, the great job - everything!
Hold all the aces	Have all the advantages	Unggul, memiliki keuntungan atau kendali	Unfortunately, Rita holds all the aces right now. We'll have to do what she says.
Know all the angles	Be very clever about something	Sangat pandai dalam suatu hal	He knew all the angles and answered our questions satisfactorily.
Not all there	Not intelligent, not completely focused on an activity	Kurang cerdas, tidak benar-benar fokus pada sesuatu	The student was not all there. He couldn't answer my questions.
Of all the nerve!	Expression of anger at someone's behavior	Ungkapan kemarahan atas perilaku seseorang	Of all the nerve! Did you see how she treated me?
Once and for all	Finally (usually putting an end to something)	Akhirnya (dipakai untuk mengakhiri sesuatu	We need to stop this conflict once and for all!
Pull out all the stops	Make every possible effort	melakukan segala upaya	I pulled out all the stops on the test.
Can't win them all.	Expression of acceptance after a loss or disappointment	Ungkapan setelah mengalami kekecewaan atau kekalahan	You did your best in the match and I'm proud of you. You can't win them all.

Suatu pagi dalam sebuah upacara bendera di sekolah, saat pengibaran bendera Merah Putih sedang berlangsung dan hampir seluruh peserta upacara memberikan hormat kepada bendera nasional kita, banyak di antara siswa, baik putra maupun putri, tampak bergurau dan tertawa cekikikan, seolah sang Dwi Warna tidak memiliki arti apa-apa.

Ketika hal itu saya utarakan kepada seorang teman yang juga guru dari daerah dan sekolah lain, jawaban yang saya terima justru lebih mengejutkan. Dia berkata, "Di tempat saya, jangankan murid, gurunya pun asyik bergurau dan ngobrol saat penghormatan bendera berlangsung." Menyedihkan bukan?

Hal ini cukup jauh berbeda jika dibandingkan dengan masa ketika saya masih duduk di bangku sekolah. Setiap kali bendera Merah Putih sedang dikibarkan dalam upacara bendera, bisa dikatakan seluruh peserta termasuk murid-murid yang bisa dibilang bandel sekalipun segera memberikan penghormatan dengan khidmat. Bahkan seorang teman pernah berkata bahwa dia selalu merasa sedih setiap hening cipta karena dia selalu teringat wajah seorang pahlawan yang gugur dalam perang kemerdekaan yang pernah dilihatnya dalam film dokumenter di TV.

Itu dulu. Sekarang? Kalimat "Untuk mengenang jasa para pahlawan yang telah gugur demi kemerdekaan Indonesia, ...." bagi telinga kita tak ubahnya bagai suatu kalimat klise sebagai bagian dari rutinitas wajib yang tak bermakna. Mari kita ingat lagi, apakah yang sedang kita pikirkan saat kita menundukkan kepala dan mengheningkan cipta? Apakah kita benar-benar merenungkan betapa besar pengorbanan dan jasa para pahlawan bangsa demi kemerdekaan dan kedaulatan negara? Apakah kita pernah memikirkan betapa beruntungnya kita yang terlahir dan hidup di alam merdeka tanpa harus berjuang mengangkat senjata dan mempertaruhkan nyawa di antara desingan bom dan peluru?

Saya pernah merasa kecewa sekaligus sedih ketika dalam sebuah curah pendapat di Facebook, seorang mahasiswa yang aktif dalam sebuah organisasi agama melontarkan pemikiran yang secara tidak langsung menafikan keberadaan negara dan pemerintahan Indonesia. Secara singkat, saya bisa meraba bahwa baginya tidak ada nasionalisme dalam agama.

Pada umumnya, kehidupan bermasyarakat dan bernegara di era modern seperti sekarang memang bisa dikatakan sudah jauh dari semangat kebersamaan dan nasionalisme yang dulu pernah menjadi motor penggerak perjuangan para pahlawan kita. Konsep wawasan kebangsaan semakin pudar dan tenggelam dalam hiruk pikuk era globalisasi.

Jangan merasa kaget ketika dalam sebuah reality show TV swasta, seorang artis penyanyi bertubuh montok dan sexy tidak bisa lagi menyanyikan lagu-lagu nasional yang dulu pernah dihapalnya di bangku SD. Jangan pula merasa heran kenapa anak-anak SD jaman sekarang tidak lagi bisa menyanyikan lagu-lagu nasional kita. Mereka lebih fasih menyanyikan lagu-lagu pop ketimbang lagu-lagu perjuangan yang memupuk semangat nasionalisme. Jangan salahkan anak-anak kita jika mereka lebih menyukai film Ipin-Upin buatan Malaysia daripada sinetron-sinetron anak Indonesia yang hanya menyajikan kekuatan-kekuatan aneh, mahluk-mahluk konyol, serta pembodohan dan hal-hal tak masuk akal lainnya.

Mengapa film-film yang mendidik seperti si Unyil atau Jalan Sesama masih sangat sedikit dibanding film-film anak tak bermutu? Karena memang kebanyakan produser film dan lagu hanya memikirkan segi keuntungan daripada nilai-nilai moral dan nasionalisme yang harus disampaikan kepada anak-anak. Sebagai hasilnya, anak anak kita tumbuh menjadi generasi Naruto, generasi 1 Piece, generasi Sponge Bob, atau generasi Ipin-Upin yang hampir tidak lagi mengenal identitasnya sebagai anak Indonesia.

Saat menonton berita di TV, wajah "terkini" nasionalisme bangsa kita akan semakin jelas tergambar di depan mata. Jangan bertanya arti nasionalisme kepada sosok semacam GT yang tanpa rasa bersalah tega mengemplang pajak yang terkumpul dari hasil jerih-payah rakyat. Jangan juga bertanya apa arti solidaritas sosial kepada para anggota dewan yang dengan enaknya berlenggang-kangkung mengadakan kunjungan ke sana-sini di saat banyak rakyat miskin yang babak-belur dihajar oleh si Eko (baca: ekonomi). Jangan juga bertanya tentang kepentingan rakyat kepada mereka karena di saat rapat, mereka ternyata lebih memilih tidur atau bolos, bahkan nonton film porno secara sembunyi-sembunyi daripada memikirkan nasib rakyat yang dulu dirangkulnya erat-erat saat kampanye legislatif.

Juga tidak perlu heran jika anda melihat para pembesar parpol yang tidak kebagian "kursi" ramai-ramai mengkritik pemerintah yang dianggapnya tidak becus, seolah mereka lupa bahwa ketika masih duduk di "kursi"nya yang empuk, mereka adalah bagian dari "ketidak-becusan" itu. Jika anda pindah saluran TV, janganlah kaget jika anda melihat mahasiswa fakultas A tawuran dengan mahasiswa fakultas B tanpa alasan yang jelas dan masuk akal, tak ubahnya murid-murid SD di jaman saya sekolah dulu. Jangan lagi kaget jika berita selanjutnya adalah tentang sekelompok pemuda kampung X yang tawuran dengan kelompok pemuda kampung Y hanya gara-gara bersenggolan saat berjoget dalam suatu konser dangdut, seolah mereka lupa bahwa dulu para pemuda dari Sabang sampai Merauke pernah berikrar bahwa mereka adalah SATU BANGSA dan SATU TANAH AIR.  Janganlah heran jika kelak, generasi mendatang akan menginjak-injak sang Merah Putih demi terpuaskannya gaya hidup atau terwujudnya faham yang mereka anggap benar.

Saya benar-benar tidak bisa membayangkan perasaan para pejuang kemerdekaan (jika masih hidup) yang telah rela meletakkan nyawanya diujung senjata dan berkorban demi sang Merah Putih. Kita seolah tidak lagi mampu menghargai pengorbanan mereka. Bahkan mungkin kita telah lupa bahwa mereka pernah ada, pernah hidup di suatu masa, lalu gugur demi kemerdekaan yang ternyata tidak mampu kita maknai dengan baik.

Ya Allah, ampunilah kami atas ketidak-mampuan kami dalam menghargai dan membalas jasa para pahlawan kami.

Aries - The Liar (March 21 – April 20)

Keywords: Daring, Risk-taker, Energetic, Friendly, Careless, Impulsive, Childish.

Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac and associated with fresh vigor and new beginnings. It is said to have an enthusiastic, adventurous, aggressive, humorous, passionate, and pioneering character but one which is also prone to selfishness, boastfulness, intolerance, impulsiveness, and impatience. Outgoing. Lovable. Spontaneous. Not one to mess with. Funny. Excellent kisser. Extremely adorable. Loves relationships, Addictive. Loud.

Do this exercise and test your vocabulary power.

Do this exercise and test your vocabulary power. The words and phrases on the left can be found in the story "The Spell of Longing - An Elegy for Rose (republished)". Match those words or phrases on the left to the correct definition or meaning on the right.

NOTE:

Word/Phrase

Definition

Nodded, nod (verb) Forcing, force (verb) Digest (verb) Instead (adverb) Distraction (noun) Isolate (verb) Distance (noun) Fondness (noun) In common (adverb) Avoid (verb) Skip (verb) Sparkling (adjective) Blessed (adjective) Pretended, pretend (verb) Get over (verb) Chance (noun) Weeping, weep (verb) Shape (noun) Sighed, sigh (verb) Stabbed, stab (verb) Shelter (noun) Bitter (adjective) Comfort (verb) Wounded, wound (verb) Tight (adverb)

Shining with brilliant points of light like stars. A possibility; A risk involving danger. The visual appearance of something or someone. The property created by the space between two objects or points In place of, or as an alternative to; On the contrary. Intentionally fail to attend; Bypass. Having or sharing equally with another or others. Stay clear from; Prevent the occurrence of. Give moral or emotional strength to; Lessen pain; Alleviate. Forget; To overcome; To deal with successfully. Make believe with the intent to deceive. Inflict an injury; Hurt. A structure that provides privacy and protection; The condition of being protected. Mental turmoil; An obstacle to attention. Set apart from others. Firmly or closely . Breathe deeply and heavily. Expressive of severe grief or regret. Lower and raise the head, as to indicate assent or agreement or confirmation. Arrange and integrate in the mind. Cry; Shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain. A predisposition to like something. Urge (a person) to an action; Constrain or motivate. Highly favored or fortunate (as e.g. by divine grace) Poke or thrust abruptly.