VOCABULARY
American English vs British English
airplane - aeroplane; anyplace - anywhere; apartment - flat; area code - dialing code; attorney, lawyer - barrister, solicitor; busy - engaged (phone); cab - taxi;
call collect -reverse the charge; can - tin; candy - sweet; check - bill;
coin-purse - purse; cookie, cracker - biscuit; corn - sweet corn, maize; crib - cot;
crazy - mad; cuffs - turn-ups; diaper - nappy; doctor’s office - doctor’s surgery;
dumb - stupid; elevator - lift; eraser - rubber; fall - autumn; faucet - tap;
first floor - ground floor; second floor - first floor; flashlight - torch;
flat tire - puncture; french fries - chips; garbage, trash - rubbish;
garbage can - dustbin; gasoline - petrol; gear shift - gear level;
highway, freeway - main road, motorway; hood - bonnet (on a car);
intersection - crossroads; mad angry; mail - post; mean - nasty; movie - film;
one-way ticket - single ticket;
pants - trousers; pavement - road surface; pitcher - jug; potato chips - crisps;
railroad - railway; raise - rise (in salary); rest room - public toilet;
round trip - return journey (ticket); schedule - time table; sidewalk - pavement;
sneakers - trainers; stand in line - queue; stingy - mean(op of generous);
store - shop; subway - underground; truck - van, lorry; trunk - boot (of a car);
two weeks - fortnight; vacation - holiday; windshield - windscreen; zee - zed (letter “z”); zipper - zip.

WRITING A PARAGRAPGH

To beginners, writing – specifically writing a paragraph – is something confusing. Writing demands us to be imaginative. We have to be able to express our thoughts or ideas in it. Not to mention that our writing should be grammatically eligible.

In a classroom activity, a teacher usually gives students a task of writing a paragraph in certain number of words (75, or 100 words). This indirectly affects students in the way they develop the paragraph since there are at least two streams working in the brain: thinking of how to adopt correct grammar rules and how to develop the paragraph adequately.

The following tips hopefully can help you have strategy of how to write a paragraph effectively. A paragraph, theoretically, has two elements in it: a topic sentence and supporting sentences. The topic sentence functions as the anchor about what all supporting sentences describe. The supporting sentences, on the other hand, are to support the topic sentence by describing, explaining or arguing it.

Let’s say, we want to write about “Our City”. Next after we’ve got the topic, we have to choose what type of paragraph we want to write it in: narrative, argumentative, expository, or descriptive.
1.Narrative is a paragraph which is written in a story-telling way in supporting the topic sentence.
2.Argumentative is a paragraph developed by giving our arguments or reasons to the chosen topic sentence.
3.Expository is a paragraph developed by exposing factual data (number of population, the founding year, etc.) that support the topic sentence.
4.Descriptive is a paragraph developed by describing the topic sentence with detail explanation, examples or definition.
(click here TO LEARN MORE).

TIPS TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH

It might have become a common problem that we very often encounter. We are confused with how to develop a paragraph coherently with adequate supporting sentences.

A paragraph is considered good if it is unified and coherent. Unity means a paragraph has a topic sentence and supporting sentences. Coherence means the relationship among sentences in the paragraph runs smoothly.

Here are the tips to do so:
1.Start a paragraph with a good topic sentence, e.g.: ”We must take care of our city from being environmentally deteriorated”.

2.From the topic sentence we find that the point we must develop is “take care of our city from being environmentally deteriorated”. Next, we just ask ourselves by using 5 W and 1 H; “how” to do it (descriptive), “why” we do it (argumentative), “when” to do it (expository) etc.

3.Next, we develop it sentence by sentence.
You know what, once you're finished with a sentence, don't think too hard to write the next sentence. Just see the just finished one and find the key word (s). Develop the key word (s) to be the next sentence, and so on and so forth.
Here is the complete process: “We must take care of our city from being environmentally deteriorated. We can do it by reducing gas emission and dumping the garbage into the right place”. In that second sentence we find two points that we can develop to be the next sentences, they are: “by reducing gas emission” and “by dumping the garbage into the right place”.
Just see the two points and start explaining them. When the new sentence is already created, see it again and find the point and explain it in the next sentence. When the next new sentence is successfully created, see it again and find the point and explain it to be the next sentence. Do it just the same way until we think that the supporting sentences are already adequate in supporting the topic sentence.
The complete paragraph is almost done;
“We must take care of our city from being environmentally deteriorated. We can do it by reducing gas emission and dumping the garbage into the right place. Restricting the use of private cars is one of the ways to reduce gas emission. The restriction will be effective if government provides regulation of how to do it. Government can include in the regulation the assembling year of a car which is allowed to run. It is important to do so because the older the car, the more pollution it produces. By enforcing such a restriction, the gas emission can hopefully be reduced. Besides reducing gas emission, dumping the garbage into the right place is another important act to do. As we know that garbage is a complicated problem for a city. While the production of garbage takes place excessively due to the development of the city, the way out to dump it does not get enough care from all citizens. Some citizens still carelessly dump it in any place, in the street, into the river or in other water streams."

4.If we think that we have written adequate supporting sentences, we can close the paragraph with concluding sentence:“In short, since those two problems, gas emission and garbage, are the main factors that bring about the environmental deterioration of a city, we have to control them wisely for the sake of our city".
5.Read again your paragraph. Give final touch to it by editing and or inserting necessary transitional markers to make it more coherent.
(click here TO LEARN MORE).

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WHY MASTERING ENGLISH?!

Globalization has pushed everybody in this world to accept it whatever it is. Nobody can flea from any situation globalization brings about. No choice, but take it. All takes place by force and insists on our uncompromised readiness.

To be ready with it, however, we need to equip ourselves with stocks of self-survival supplies – one of them is English.

Globalization and English are just a two-faced coin; we can not take only one side of it. They are completely cohesive and inseparable. It is English which has accelerated the globalization. So, being absent of English savvy will just refuge us to unmanned area. We just can go nowhere, do nothing, target no goal, grab no yield, or worse live no life. Is it that serious?

Just leave your beloved sanctuary – bedroom. Step out to the street right in front of your house and decide where to roam. The signs before your eyes are all in English. You are mall goers want to have lunch, all the menus are in English. You want to apply for a job, make a work report, submit a lecturing summary; English is the language you need no matter in what country you live: English speaking or non-English speaking.

Thus, it is very clear that we only can encounter the inevitable globalization by having a good command of English. So, here I come to share the tips and strategies about how to learn English easily. Do not ever hesitate to come by and read my postings and share comments or ideas!

STEP THREE: BE BRAVE TO PRACTICE

Practicing speaking, as a matter of fact, is the crucial stage – for learners – in mastering English. As verbal skill, speaking reflects our thorough mastery of English and, that'swhy this practice is a must to take place. The more we practice, the faster we master it. “Practice makes perfect”.(click here)

The problem in a non-English speaking country like Indonesia is national language is something that people must hold up to. So, people prioritize using it before using other languages. Consequently, English is positioned as a foreign language rather than as a first or second one. It brings about speaking English something uncommon or weird. Even more, people dub those who speak it in daily life as arrogant.

Time goes by. Modern or global era takes over the control. The era that brings about rapid change in all aspects of life is driven by English language. So, it is not about nationalism or what that urges us to speak English more. It is about how to survive, to win or to encounter the global era. There is no territorial border to defend by a country but to open all entrances for the so called global era. And English is the key to opening them.

Therefore, we – learners – need to take for granted the people’s ridiculousness towards our speaking English. We have to be brave to practice it more frequently in all situations and at all time. We can do it with friends, parents, school or classmates, or with officemates. Remember, practice makes perfect.

Some tips to accomplish such a purpose are as follows:
1. We invite friends to establish a club of ENGLISH CONVERSATION (click here).
2. We create an imaginary interlocutor with whom we can practice speaking anywhere and anytime.
3. We spare a little time everyday to write a dialog or two.
4. We sing English songs in a loud voice rather than in a soft one.
5. We better read English newspaper or magazine loudly than silently.