Prinsip Belajar Bahasa Inggris

Untuk dapat menguasai bahasa Inggris dengan cepat, mudah, dan menyenangkan, terdapat beberapa hal yang perlu diperhatikan di antaranya yaitu, prinsip belajar bahasa Inggris, perbedaan dasar bahasa Inggris dan Indonesia, tahapan belajar bahasa Inggris, tips-tips belajar bahasa Inggris yang mencakup listening, speaking, reading, dan writing, dan sumber-sumber belajar bahasa Inggris.

from: www,byilmaz.edublogs.org

Pada bagian pertama ini saya akan mencoba memamparkan beberapa prinsip penting yang sebaiknya diperhatikan sebelum, pada saat, dan setelah belajar bahasa Inggris. Prinsip-prinsip tersebut antara lain:

1. Pahami dulu budayanya, bukan rumus atau struktur.

2. Biasakan memakai bahasa Inggris dalam keseharian dan jadikan sebagai rutinitas.

3. Yakinkan diri Anda bahwa bahasa itu penting dan dapat memberikan kemudahan dalam kehidupan.

4. Tidak ada salah atau benar dalam belajar bahasa, yang ada hanya lazim atau tidak lazim.

5. Berpikirlah dalam bahasa Inggris.

6. Buatlah lingkungan yang kondusif, acuhkan komentar negatif.

Prinsip-prinsip tersebut akan dijelaskan dalam uraian di bawah ini:

1. Pahami dulu budayanya, bukan rumus atau struktur

Salah satu kesalahan umum dalam belajar bahasa Inggris adalah anggapan bahwa untuk menguasai bahasa Inggris orang harus menguasai struktur atau grammatikal bahasa Inggris. Bukti bahwa anggapan ini tidak tepat adalah, ada banyak orang yang tidak belajar struktur dan grammatikal bahasa Inggris secara formal namun mampu menguasai bahasa Inggris untuk berkomunikasi. Misalnya para penyedia jasa di kawasan pariwisata di Jogja, Bali, ataupun kota-kota wisata lainnya. Pemandu wisata, penjual suvenir dan oleh-oleh, pengemudi becak, andong, atau pemilik restoran biasanya dapat berkomunikasi menggunakan bahasa Inggris hanya karena mereka terbiasa menggunakan bahasa tersebut. Kalaupun bahasa yang digunakan tidak bersifat formal, tujuan komunikasi tetap tercapai yang ditandai dengan adanya saling pengertian dari pihak yang berkomunikasi. 

Dahulu sebagian besar orang belajar bahasa Inggris mulai Sekolah Lanjutan akan tetapi sekarang siswa mulai belajar bahasa Inggris sejak di Sekolah Dasar atau bahkan Taman Kanak-Kanak. Akan tetapi pengalaman belajar bahasa Inggris kita cenderung tidak menyenangkan disebabkan muatan pelajaran bahasa Inggris dipenuhi dengan pelajaran struktur dan gramatikal seperti belajar tentang penggunaan tenses, kalimat aktif dan pasif, kalimat langsung atau tidak langsung dan lain sebagainya.
Pengucapan bahasa Inggris yang berbeda dengan tulisannya, keharusan menghafal perubahan bentuk kata, jenis kata, serta arti yang bermacam-macam tidak jarang membuat orang malas atau bahkan frustasi dalam belajar bahasa Inggris.

Oleh karena itu, saya menawarkan pandangan yang berbeda dalam belajar bahasa Inggris. Acuhkan dulu rumus ataupun struktur, mari kita lihat bahasa Inggris dari sisi budayanya agar kita dapat memperoleh pemahaman yang lebih baik dalam belajar bahasa Inggris. 

The Last Reflection for Winter 2013 Webskills Course AEI OU: Changing to Learn and Learning to Change

The past 10 weeks have been a very important moment in my professional life as a teacher. I have a new teacher, Donna Shaw who is very caring and helpful in my learning process. The more importance is I have around 25 new friends from many countries such as Moldova, Brazil, Ecuador, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Eritrea, Poland, Philippine, Malaysia, and many others. We have created a very supportive professional teacher community during the process which I believe will be long lasting with the assistance of internet.

Some main points I learned during this 10 weeks are followings:

1. Better class management can be done with the support from　useful website (nicenet and google site and wiki)

2. My teaching activities is fundamentally strengthened by the concept and practice of computer assisted language learning (CALL) and technology enhanced　 learning (TEL), problem based learning, and multiple intelligence with technology.

3. Assessment and material developments now will be easier and more effective with resourceful websites for curriculum (lesson plan, ABCD learning objectives), assessment (rubistar), and authentic materials (breakingnewsenglish.com, manythings.org)

4. I am not alone in my struggle of teaching perfection. Internet enables me to experience sharing teaching experience from other professionals (Larry Ferlazzo’s Edublog, e-teacher community, ning.com, and other social networking website)

5. My instructor Donna Shaw, PhD and my entire amazing e-teacher scholarship winner friends for webskills winter 2013 American English Institute have been very supportive and helpful in my learning process to build an interactive teaching using the webskills.
Finally, I can say that this course is not the end. It is just the beginning of my never ending learning process for a much better teaching and learning experience. I will keep learning to change and changing to learn.

Week 9: Multiple Technologies for Multiple Intelligences

A proverb said "there are many ways to Rome". This statement is definitely true when it is related with the language teaching activities and what skills you can involve in the activities. After reflecting with Howard Gardner concept of multiple intelligence in his 1983's books and reading some articles provided in webskills course, I am reminded that technology can be the tools to accommodate different kinds of students' interests and potentials in Verbal-Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Visual/Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical/Rhythmic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalist, and Existentialist intelligence. One activities may involve more than one intelligence and the tools are not only limited to the internet. gadget, electronic device such as TV, music player, CD player, computer softwares and hardwares are also the tools that may enhance the students intelligence. However, internet is still the most unlimited one and it provided more opportunity to be explored by the learners. I visited http://www.educatorstechnology.com/, and found this interesting picture as a very good example of some technologies that can be used for adjusting with different kinds of learning styles and interests.

Source: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/

I am so aware that considering the students background will definitely decided how successful the learning process. Therefore, choosing the right media and activities of learning is very crucial to posit the students as adult learner based on humanistic approach. I am glad that I have been familiar with the Gardner's concept of multiple intelligence. However, this week topic also raised my awareness to optimize the use multiple technology for helping the students improving not only multiple language skills but also their multiple intelligence.

  

source: classroomchoreography.wordpress.com

Finally, let's multiply the learning process outcome with multiple intelligence with multiple technologies.

Week 8: More and more online resource should result on much better learning process

No reading this week does not mean less knowledge and resource. Experimenting with the online resource such as toolsforeducators.com, wizard.4teachers.org,  easytestmaker.com could be much more productive and creative experience. Creating test, games, worksheet, making poster, crossword puzzles, board game and so on are the very real and creative experience for me as a teacher. These resources are not only for teachers since the students can also enjoy the experience of creating things like the games. I plan to not only use the tools for teaching my students but also let the students to create their own learning materials.

from: http://myhometruths.com

Another golden chance I had this week is the ANVILL. I can say that this website make the concept of language lab as a building with four walls is totally challengeable. The website designed by Oregon University Language Center has been available for global users for a better oral and aural learning experience. ANVILL has the characteristics of anvil that can be used to shape the listening and speaking skills through the voiceboard. It may also enhance learner autonomy, creativity, and confidence to speak up.

Source: it.uoregon.edu

I also learned a lot about collaborative learning by working a lot with my friend Sonia Low from Phillipines and Juan Carlos from Ecuador for my project plan. They shared valuable feedbacks and comments that will help develop my teaching plan by using the technology in the future.

Finally, I successfully made my own google site that can be further developed for my future courses. I am happy to share my site on https://sites.google.com/site/englishclasswithherman/ and https://sites.google.com/site/classwithmrherman/ for anybody who wants to have medium to enhance their learning process.

Enjoy all these tools while I am enjoying my very own ....

Week 7: Dealing with the Blocking Wall of Learner's Autonomy

After reading some articles on learner autonomy  i realize that making the learner can be said as the ultimate goals of teaching. Maybe, in Bloom's taxonomy we can say that learner's autonomy as the creating skills that students can achieve. I understand that sometimes the given curriculum does not provide enough space to stimulate learner autonomy. Even, the system such as curriculum and decided learning objectives could be the blocking wall for building autonomy of the learners. Just like the little baby, if the parents give more freedom to express his or her felling, he or she can be surprisingly very creative and brainy.

source: www.livesofteachers.com

To implement the learner autonomy concept, I will discuss more with my students before, while, and after the class about what they want to learn, how do they want to learn, and what do they think about their own learning process. I just fell in love with the padlet/wall wisher website that can be one of the tools to create interactivity and more expression for me and my students.

source: www.padlet.com

I wish my student can share anything such as link, file, video, audio, or anything without any blocking wall with this tool. Finally, I wish that they will be long-life autonomous learner who are creative and expressive in the same time.

Week 6: Interactively Engaging Students in Big Class with Powerful Points

Being a big class with plenty of students is one of the biggest challenge for a "good" teacher who cares with the students as individual. Some strategies I use to keep my interaction with the students are followings:

source: www.Ftutordoctorofwny.wordpress.com

1. In the first meeting, I ask the students to make an identity card with their personal info and picture that they  want to share with others.
2. The first assignment in the first meeting will be writing email to me entitled "Me and My Dreams". They need to share about who they are, what are their dreams, and how they want to achieve the dreams. The should also connect the writing with my subject. I have the chance to talk to them personally using email.
3. The students in my big class should also write an "Intellectual Diary" where they can write about anything like the past, present, future, poems, caricature, even lyric of a song with their comments. I can only read the diary if they allow me to read it. I got this idea from Erin Gruwell and The Freedom Writer's Diary.
4. Making video project is one of my ways to give the students in the big class the opportunity to express themselves. They can make video with any topic but every student should get the chance to speak English individually in the film.
5. Last time, I asked my students to make a class blog. They can choose the role as writer, blog designer, photographer, journalist, or anything that can contribute to the blog. I found that the students enjoyed the task and I can build interaction with them.

However, this week I found that I can do more to make my big class interactive. Using some software and websites like blackboard online assessment, and activities of project based learning. 

source: http://appitive.com

Another thing that can support my class interactivity is the PowerPoint  In fact, PowerPoint is not only a tool to deliver material but it is something that can make your class more interactive. 

I can put some activities like think-pair-share, rapid reflection, quick think, concept map, and quiz in my PowerPoint  Even a blank page can be a powerful way to draw student's attention. 

Therefore, I can say that PowerPoint can make the points of your lesson more powerful and interactive. 

Week 5: Rubrics, Alternative Assessment, PBL, Webquest, and Project

Rubik or rubric? Sounds like something similar for me because they both can be very complicated. Rubric is very important in teaching because it becomes the parameter of how the students' works will be graded. I found it very difficult in the beginning to decide how the students will be graded. It takes time to formulate the rubric. However, this week I found a very helpful resource to formulate the rubric in easy way using www.rubistar.4teachers.org. I have created two rubrics for photo story assignment and essay writing. I will definitely keep using this website.

source: http://21centuryedtech.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/pbl.jpg

Another thing that I learned is about PBL. Problem Based Learning for me will gradually make the learners become independent. The learners decide what is important and useful for them and do it for class activities to meet the learning objectives. I found Susan Gaers' examples very inspiring and motivating. I am happy that actually I have implemented some PBL approaches in my teaching.

Webquest is a very good example of project based learning. I have created my own webquest in www.zunal.com. I plan to use this tool to solve a problem that I currently deal in my class. I believe webquest can be very useful to support students and to prevent plagiarism problem. It is an inquiry based activities using technology that may stimulate and motivate the students to read more and write better.