INDEPENDENT, an English Course in Bogor, is going to have holiday

A year has passed and a new year is going to come. As an English course in Bogor, we would like to thank all Bogor people, mostly INDEPENDENT's students, students' parents, clients, business partners such as HIPKI DPC Kota Bogor and HISSPI DPC Kota Bogor as well as Dinas Pendidikan Kota Bogor, mainly Kasi Pendidikan Luar Sekolah at Bidang PNFI Kota Bogor for all support and help.

In conjunction with Christmas and New Year, INDEPENDENT English Course is going to have Christmas and New-Year Holidays from 23 December 2011 to 4 January 2012. 

The management and all staff would like to wish all students, students' parents and families, all clients and business partners a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

May all things that have happened in 2011 be good lessons for 2012.

May the new year to come give INDEPENDENT more hope, optimism and success.

Best regards.

English Course News Flash

As one of the best English courses in Kota Bogor, INDEPENDENT has tried hard to serve the students and clients by providing interesting course materials. Students and clients claim that they are satisfied with our services.

Meanwhile we realize that it is time for us to adjust our course fee as the operational costs have been increasing. However, we still guarantee that the course fee is still the cheapest among English courses in Kota Bogor and the course quality is still upheld. The new course fee policy will take effect from 1 January 2012. For further information about the course fee increase, please contact our front officer.

We would also inform that INDEPENDENT will be on holiday from 23 December 2011 to 4 January 2012. Classes will resume on Thursday 5 January 2012. While INDEPENDENT is on holiday, all communication means can be done through email or SMS.

We would like to thank all students, parents, clients and the society for helping INDEPENDENT grow and develop.

Regards.

Management

English Course Activities in September & October 2011

INDEPENDENT English Course, an English course in Bogor, has so far made some innovation to improve the quality of learning and teaching approaches. One of the innovation forms is by making the students more active to participate in the class. Discussions, singing, watching movies and other activities are held to "force" all students to express what they have in mind into English. It's not always easy, but everyone tries hard to do it. 

From 3 October to 4 November 2011 an intensive training at United Tractors (UT) School Jakarta is held again. Here students are encouraged to keep practising their English so that after one-month training they can go to their job sites with high confidence to use English for communication with their superiors, expatriates, and other people who will work with them. 

Meanwhile students in Bogor are always encouraged to practise English not only in the classroom but also in their daily life. By doing so, we want to prove that INDEPENDENT is the right place for everyone to master English as INDEPENDENT is really the best English course in Bogor.

Idul Fitri Holidays 2011

In conjunction with Idul Fitri celebration, Independent English Course 

is going to be on holidays 

from Saturday 27 August 

to Tuesday 6 September 2011. 

Office work and classes will resume 

on Wednesday 7 September 2011.

The management and all staff 

would like to wish you 

a very happy holiday. 

HAPPY IDUL FITRI 1 Syawal 1432H.

INDEPENDENT's Activities in August 2011

The 23-day intensive English training held by Independent English Course Bogor for batch-5 students at United Tractors (UT) School Jakarta finished on 27 July 2011. Batch-5 students will later join 11-month On the Job Training (OJT) in various places and at the same time they are continuing to study English using long-distance learning system. 

On Monday 1 August 2011 Independent English Course gives a one-day holiday to all students and staff in relation with the first day of Ramadan. The management and all staff wish all students a happy Ramadan. 

New classes for new groups and students will be opened in August for regular and private classes.

How to Improve English Pronunciation Skills

Executive summary about English pronunciation by L Feiss 

Do you have difficulty with your English pronunciation? Do people find it difficult to understand you, and because of this - do you avoid speaking English?

Good English pronunciation can be a difficult skill to gain, but with focused practice you can learn to pronounce English clearly.

Tips to help you practice English pronunciation

Listen to other native English speakers, try to repeat the speech you hear. Pay attention to the way English speakers pronounce words, listen to the tone and the rhythm of the English language.

Slow down your speech. Practice speaking English with native English speakers and record yourself when you speak. Practice reading aloud in English every day.

Why is it difficult to improve my English pronunciation?  

The first language of an adult learner is one factor that strongly influences their pronunciation ability in English. Difficulties experienced by learners attempting to teach themselves English pronunciation may occur because often they may be unable to hear the differences between their first language and English. Listening to spoken English and being able to hear the different features of the language is an important part of learning to pronounce English more clearly.

Improving your English pronunciation takes time. 

English pronunciation training can provide adult learners with specific instruction that focuses on their particular pronunciation problem areas. With continual practice and support, learners can work towards making significant improvements in their ability to speak English more clearly.

To achieve your goal of speaking English clearly, it can be very useful to commence an individually designed English pronunciation skills training program.

Non-Native Speaking English Pronunciation And Articulation

There are varying types of English pronunciation and its articulation lurking in the Educational Institutions of all the non-native speakers of English today. American English and British English vary in pronouncing such words. Both English, as times rolled by produced another multiple branches of pronunciation and articulation.

Both American and British English vary their pronunciation in the word "either". The slang manner of producing the sounds of the words of Americans is different from Asian countries. To learn English as the second language, these factors affecting the sound produced should also be given emphasis in the discussions or lessons to be discussed in learning English as the second language. Psychologically speaking, the best age for the learner to start learning English as the Second Language is within the age of 6 up to 10 years old. It is not solely the responsibility of the teacher for these young learners to learn English. 

Today, it is necessary to learn English as the Second Language.

NEW PART-TIME TEACHERS

From 27 June to 4 August 2011 Miss Siti Wastunnahari, Miss Ramadhani Nurwyunawati and Miss Sri Rejeki, together with Miss Anike dan Mr Dwinanto teach English at United Tractors School Jakarta. They give a special and intensive English language training to the second year students of UT School. 

Meanwhile the classes that they leave in Bogor are handled by some part-time teachers. The new teachers are Miss Poppy, Miss Nouy and Mrs Febby. 

Management and staff at INDEPENDENT English Course Bogor welcome the three part-time teachers and wish them all the best.

PART-TIME TEACHERS URGENTLY NEEDED

INDEPENDENT English Course Bogor urgently needs some part-time teachers and teacher's assistants to handle classes in Bogor and Jakarta. Due to UT School 23-day English training programme that will start on Monday 27 June, some INDEPENDENT teachers will have to teach in Jakarta until 4 August 2011.


The part-time teachers that we are looking for will handle the classes left temporarily by their teachers, and we expect to assign the new part-time teachers to handle other classes after the UT School English training programme ends. INDEPENDENT plans to open branches and have cooperations with some other investors or institutions that want to open English courses in Kota Bogor and its surrounding.


The requirements to be INDEPENDENT part-time teachers and teacher's assistants:

• Possessing diploma in English
• Graduating from universities or at least being in semester 5 in their study
• Being able to teach and having good communication skills in English 
• Willing to work in a team
• Living in Bogor

Only shortlisted candidates will be interviewed.

NEW UT SCHOOL'S ENGLISH TRAINING (BATCHES V & VI)

United Tractors (UT) School Jakarta, in cooperation with INDEPENDENT English Course Bogor, is going to conduct a one-month English language training for its second year students in batches 5 and 6. 

Mr Bustamamsyah, Academic Director of UT School Jakarta, explained that the training for Batch 5 would start on 27 June 2011 and will last until 4 August 2011. After that, Batch 6 would have to join the training from 3 October to 11 November 2011.  

INDEPENDENT English Course Bogor is choosen again to organise the training as it has got experiences in conducting the English training programmes since July 2009.

Increase Your English Vocabulary: 5 Places to Find New Words

Executive summary about How to Improve Vocabulary by Kelly Tracy

Growing your English vocabulary is key to improving all of your language skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Different students prefer different techniques, and a combination of techniques is best. 

Record the new words you encounter every day, both the ones you read and the ones you hear. 

Learn word roots, beginnings, and endings. Many English words share parts with the same meaning, especially words with Greek or Latin origins. For example, "hydro" means "water" and is found in many English words like dehydrate, hydroelectric, and hydraulics. Studying a list of English word roots, beginnings, and endings will unlock a huge amount of vocabulary.

Study word lists that have been designed by experts to give you a good core vocabulary. For beginning to low-intermediate student, try the 2000-word General Service List. High-intermediate and advanced students should already be familiar with these words and move on to the 570 word families of the Academic Word list, selected by their frequency in academic texts.

Learn vocabulary by theme. Are you interested in baseball? You can use the same easy method to discover vocabulary lists for topics from economics to coffee.

Study word families. For example, if you learn the verb negotiate, it's easy to add the noun negotiation and the adjective negotiable and nonnegotiable. A good English dictionary lists other parts of speech for many words.

Advantages and Disadvantages of an Online English Dictionary

There are various reliable internet tools such as online English dictionaries, programs for grammar checking, and other processing tools. Besides the convenience, online dictionaries instantly eliminate the limitations of printed reference materials. Online English dictionaries are auto-updated; in fact this is the main advantage of online dictionaries over printed ones. An online dictionary is updated easily. It means that every new word or terminology can be added in the database of online dictionary. 

One of the best qualities of such dictionaries is the translation feature, e.g. an online dictionary can translate an English word into Italian and vice versa. One of the drawbacks of these online dictionaries, however, is the dependability of the source. An online dictionary is a great tool of information, especially if we know how to distinguish a good online dictionary from a bad one. Also many of us view online dictionary as supplements to print dictionaries and not a replacement. We often forget that the dictionary gives the meaning of the word.

Helping You Improve Your English Vocabulary

Executive summary about How to Improve Your Vocabulary by Mike Selvon

Learners of the English language are taught to put words into the proper context as much as possible. Then look the words up. Read and listen to challenging material like the English language news so that you will be exposed to many new words. Once you have learned the new word, practice using it. 

Using new words frequently will help you to learn to speak English fluently. Write words down as a regular part of your English lessons. You should say the word aloud to activate your auditory memory and relate the word to words you already know. For example, the word "gargantuan," which means very large, has a similar meaning to the words gigantic, huge and large.

Playing word games are a simple and fun way to practice and improve your English vocabulary. Also, try out the Franklin Electronic Dictionary that features built-in word games. There are also a number of free games available online, so make game playing a part of your English lessons.

Even if English is not your native tongue, learning the language will allow you access to a new world of information. It is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer sciences, genetics and medicine. There are countless resources available to help you learn and master the English vocabulary, so embrace the language and open up a whole new world to yourself.

Other Tips on How to Improve Your English Vocabulary Use

 1. Article
You first need to choose a suitable article, letter, report etc. Be sure to choose an article that suits your level of English.

2. As above choose a paragraph that suits your level, don't make the mistake of choosing something too hard. Don't choose something too easy either.

3. Paraphrase
Next you have to paraphrase the paragraph. To do this I would suggest you have an English - English dictionary and a Thesaurus available to help you. 

4. Sentences
Now make your own sentences with the new words. 

5. Practice
In the final stage you practice using your new words.

American And British English - Differences In Vocabulary

Taken from an article about American and British English by Manjusha Nambiar

American and British English are very similar. There are, however, a few differences of grammar, vocabulary and usage.

Any more

In British English, any more is usually written as two separate words. In American English, it is often written as one word anymore when it refers to time (= any longer). It usually comes in end position.

She doesn't work in New York anymore.

Around and about

In British English, around and about are both used to refer to movements or positions that are not very clear or definite: 'here and there', 'in lots of places', 'in different parts of', 'somewhere in' and similar ideas.

The children were running around/about everywhere. (GB)

'Where is John?' 'He must be somewhere around/about.' (GB)

In American English, about is not used with this meaning. Americans normally use around.

The children were running around everywhere. (US)

'Where is John?' 'He must be somewhere around.' (US)

Note that in American English, about is mostly used to mean 'approximately'.

There were about fifty people there.

Illnesses

The names of illnesses are usually uncountable in standard British English. The can be used informally before the names of some common illnesses such as the measles, the flu; others have no article.

The words for some minor ailments are countable: e.g. a cold, a sore throat, a headache. However, toothache, earache, stomach-ache and backache are more often uncountable in British English. In American English, these words are generally countable.

Love isn't as bad as toothache. (GB)

Love isn't as bad as a toothache. (US)

I have got backache. (GB)

I have got a backache. (US)

Place names

In British English, the is unusual in the titles of the principal public buildings and organisations of a town.

Oxford University (NOT the Oxford University)

Hull Station (NOT the Hull Station)

Salisbury Cathedral

Birmingham Airport

Bristol Zoo

Manchester City Council

In American English, the is more often used in such cases.

The San Diego Zoo

The Detroit City Council

Holiday and holidays

In British English, the plural holidays is often used for the 'big holiday' of the year. In other cases, British people normally use the singular holiday.

Where are you going for your summer holidays?

Next Monday is a public holiday.

Americans normally use the word vacation. In British English, vacation is mainly used for the periods when universities are not teaching. Holiday is used in American English for a day of publicly observed celebration whether or not people work on it.

Ill and sick

Ill is often used to mean 'unwell' in British English. In American English, ill is unusual except in a formal style. Ill is most common in predicative position.

Peter didn't come because he was ill.

In attributive position many British people prefer to use sick. Sick is also the normal informal American word for 'unwell'.

He spent years looking after his sick father.

He is sick.

Drown

In British English, both active and passive forms of drown can be used to talk about accidental drowning.

He (was) drowned while trying to swim across a river.

In American English, only active forms are used to talk about accidental drowning.

He drowned while trying to swim across a river.

Awake and awaken
The verbs awake and awaken are irregular in British English, but can be regular in American English.

Awake - awoke - awoken (GB/US)

Awake - awaked - awaked (US)

Awaken is regular in both British and American English.

Awaken - awakened - awakened (GB/US)

Bath and bathe

In British English, the verb bath is used to mean 'wash oneself in a bath tub'.

Children have to be made to bath regularly.

The verb bath is not normally used in American English. In an informal style, we usually say have a bath (GB) or take a bath (British and American).

I am feeling hot; I think I should take a bath. (US/GB)

I think I should have a bath. (GB)

Bathe

In British English, bathe can mean 'swim for pleasure'. In American English, bathe is commonly used to mean 'take a bath'.

It is your turn to bath the baby. (GB)

It is your turn to bathe the baby. (US)

I always bathe before I go to bed. (US)

Real

In informal American English, real is often used instead of really before adjectives and adverbs.

That was real nice.

She sings real well.

Sure

Sure is often used to mean certainly in an informal style. This is common in American English.

'Can I borrow your bicycle?' 'Sure.'

Slow

Slow is used as an adverb in road signs, and informally after go and some other verbs especially in American English.

Examples are: go slow, drive slow.