We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

INDEPENDENT English Course Bogor would like to wish you a merry Christmas 2017. 

Christmas is the perfect time to reach out to others when laughter and good tidings are in the air. Here’s hoping that your Christmas will find you among family and friends, sharing the spirit of the season.

Would also would like to wish you a Happy New Year 2018. 

A fresh start is a moment of hope and great expectation, may you all begin this new year with boundless joy, joyful spirit and abundance of God’s favour

TOEIC FOR PILOTS AND POTENTIAL PILOTS

For the last few months I have helped a number of people prepare to take the TOEIC test. Some of them want to enroll in a flight school; they want to be pilots. Some others, after completing their flight school, want to apply for a job as a pilot for an airline company like Garuda Indonesia Airways, Lion Air, Asia Air and others. There are also those who want to take the TOEIC test because he, though not a pilot or potential pilot, must work in the aviation world as a mechanic or other officers.

TOEIC certificates are usually required by pilots, potential pilots and those working in aviation world, particularly civil aviation. Why is a TOEIC certificate required and not an IELTS or TOEFL? Of course this is given that TOEIC or Test of English for International Communication is used to measure the English language proficiency of non-English speakers in the use of everyday English in the international work environment. TOEIC Test is more suitable to assess the ability of one's English in communicating for the benefit of work and business. While TOEFL or IELTS is more academic and more suitable for those who want to continue their study. Therefore, TOEIC certificates for pilots and potential pilots are essential.

Unfortunately, in practice in Indonesia, a TOEIC test only prioritizes Listening and Reading. Most of the TOEIC tests carried out in Indonesia only measure capabilities in these two areas. In fact, if you want to be consistent in accordance with the needs of business and work communication, Speaking and Writing are also very important. Maybe some companies or institutions feel satisfied with it. At least, there is a common perception that TOEIC for pilots and potential pilots is needed.

Hopefully pilots, prospective pilots and anyone who works or wants to work in the aviation world can still demonstrate their English skills for better service to passengers.

For those of you who are potential pilots or you who want to work in the aviation world and you want to take English lessons to take the TOEIC test, please visit your nearest English course. You can also study privately with me. Contact me via WA at 0813-8099-8494 or by email to independent.ec@gmail.com.

IELTS PREPARATION COURSE IN BOGOR (2017)

Some people contacted me by Whatsapp messenger, asking me if I could help them prepare their IELTS test that they would take soon. When I asked them how soon the test was, they said "next week" or "this Saturday" or "tomorrow". At first I had a positive thinking about them. They must have studied hard before so that they just needed a few sessions to "brush up" their memories. However, most of the time I was wrong; they had not prepared before; they had not taken an IELTS preparation course before; and to make it worse, some of them did not know what IELTS test looked like. When I asked them why they had not taken a course before, most of them said that they had not had any time, but then they had to take the test as an IELTS certificate with good scores became one of the requirements for their jobs or educations.

Well, maybe this is my focus: helping people with limited time to prepare for their IELTS tests.

Of course it is not easy to help them. With very limited time and number of sessions, I have to help them understand and master the test format, help them do the practice tests, correct their homework, remind them of everyday practices and encourage them to be self confident. Am I always successful? No, not always. Some students succeed; some others cannot.

Again, there are some factors that influence someone's success in an IELTS test. First, the student's English background. When their English has been in the intermediate level or higher, it will be easier for the student to understand what to do. Second, the target. If the target is reasonable. For example, someone who is in the intermediate level wants to reach the score of 6 will have more chances to reach the score that someone else whose language level is lower. Third, the student's commitment. If they are serious to spare enough time and to practise much, there is a possibility that he will score higher or at least reach his target.Last but not least, self confidence is one of the most important factor. You have it, and you will break a leg.

For you who live in Bogor and want to study English for an IELTS test, visit some courses in Bogor. If they cannot help you, you can contact me by Whatsapp at 0813-8099-8494. Let us find the solution for you.

INDEPENDENT ENGLISH COURSE SINCE 2008

Nine years ago, on 1 March 2008, Independent English Course Bogor started the English course activities with a mission: to help more people master the English language and to be the best English course in Bogor.

When we started, Independent was located in Jl Raya Taman Cimanggu Bogor. Ms Ramadhani Nuryunawati and Ms Irma helped me run this course. Ms Dhani took care of the teaching and learning process. She had only two or three students at first. Meanwhile Ms Irma managed the administrative affairs. She also cleaned the rooms and office. What did I do? I promoted the course programmes and I still taught some private classes. The number of students increased very slowly but more and more people know our existence.

Things were very simple. The building was not big, the rooms were small, and because the course was located beside a busy street, the course activities were always disrupted by the noise coming from the vehicle's exhaust pipes outside. We had a very limited car park and sometimes our clients got confused about where to park their big cars. Inside the building, we did not have many reference books yet. We only had a few chairs, desks and white boards.

Later on, the number of students increased. Sometimes we had more than 100 students. Even we could open a branch office in Kota Jababeka Cikarang (Bournemouth School of British English), another branch in Taman Pagelaran Ciomas and one training centre in cooperation with United Tractors School in Jl Raya Bekasi Jakarta. In 2010 Independent was selected by Dinas Pendidikan Kota Bogor to be the best English course in Bogor and got the third place in the Province's Region I. Ms Cicilia, Ms Siti Wastunnahari, Ms Sri Rejeki, Ms Soraya Latifah, Ms Sekar, Ms Noey, other teachers and staff helped me much at Independent English Course.

However, things have changed since 2013. We had to move from Jl Raya Taman Cimanggu as we could not extend our building rent. We could not find the right location for the course and we were not able to get the course licence from the city. I had to close the course in Taman Pagelaran, Cikarang and Jakarta for several reasons. We could not run regular classes. 

Today we celebrate our 9th anniversary. I thank God for everything that has happened. Although Independent cannot run regular classes any more, students can still study with me privately in my house. If I cannot teach them because of my tight time table, I can recommend some other English courses in Bogor or other professional teachers that I know. 

I hope I can still help everyone who wants to study English.

Bogor, 1 March 2017

Thomas A. Sutadi

SUBJECT: INTELLIGENT PEOPLE

George W. Bush meets with the Queen of England.

He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give to me?"

"Well," says the Queen, "The most important thing is to surround you yourself with intelligent people."

Bush frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"

The Queen takes a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligence test. Listen to this".

The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please! send Tony Blair inhere, would you?"

Tony Blair walks into the room. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

The Queen smiles. "Answer me this, please, Tony! Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"

Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answers, "That would be me."

"Yes! Very good," says the Queen.

Back at the White House, Bush asks to speak with Vice President Dick Cheney. "Dick, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure," says the Vice President. "Let me get back to you on that one."

Dick Cheney goes to his advisors and asks every one, but none can give him an answer. Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall.

Dick shouts, "Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Colin Powell yells back, "That's easy. It's me!"

Dick Cheney smiles, "Thanks!"

Cheney goes back to the Oval Office to speak with Bush. "Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Colin Powell."

Bush gets up, stomps over to Dick Cheney, and angrily yells into his face,

"No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"

(Thanks to Mr Ign Herry Djoko who gave me this story)

THE POWER OF THE INTERNET FOR ENGLISH COURSES

A couple days ago I got a LINE message from a complete stranger. She contacted me from Soppeng in South Sulawesi. Her name is Ms Siti Fatimah. She was a stranger because I had never known her. She asked me a few questions about how to run an English course, especially how to get a NILEK from the Ministry of National Education. So, before I answered her questions, I asked her how she had been able to contact me. She replied that she had found my contact number in the internet. 

I have used internet services since 1990s. Internet has helped me a lot. With the internet, I can find a lot of information that I need. When I have a question over an issue, I just need to ask Google and there are many answers there. With the internet I can make blogs to express my ideas, to promote my English course and to earn some money. With the internet I can contact my old friends and  find new friends. 

For my English course, the internet has helped me much. First, I can find unlimited material sources; I can download them for free or buy certain books online. Second, I can use my blogs so that more people and students can know about my services. Third, the internet has helped me when I need to input data required by the Ministry of National Education.

My conversation with Ms Siti Fatimah continued as she asked me further questions about my English course. I shared my experiences and she might learn something from my stories. Here, the internet has helped both of us to share stories and experiences.

Yes, the internet. The online world. It is something that has helped me have more contacts with many people that I have known or met before. It helps me share knowledge and experiences with others. It is something that helps me much to find much information that I need.

How to Improve your English Listening Skills?

Some of my students sometimes tell me that they find it difficult to understand English movies, English lectures, and other types of English talks and conversations. When they take a TOEFL test or IELTS test, their listening score is not always good. They ask me how to improve their listening skills.

Here are some tips that I have collected from several sources in the internet.

First, learn English pronunciation rules.

Many people usually think that pronunciation is about speaking. It is true that learning the rules of English pronunciation allows students to understand native speakers much better. Listeners need to know how the language is being changed if it doesn’t come naturally to them. When you are familiar with English pronunciation, you will be able to understand an English speech.

Second, watch a video or listen to audio in English with a transcript.

Try to listen to English with a transcript. You can read what is being said while you hear it. You will be familiar with the pronunciation and accents as well as the word spelling.

Third, watch TV shows in English with no subtitles (either in your native language or in English).

This will help you to train your ears. Without a transcript, you need to be an active listener. Think about what you are hearing, and if you don’t understand, replay the audio and make an effort to figure out how the speech is being changed.

Fourth, why don’t you try to talk to native English speakers or foreign tourists who can speak English.

Talk to native speakers and foreign tourists. In Bogor you may find them in your English course, Bogor Botanical Gardens, tourist destinations and campuses. If you don’t understand something that you have heard, ask them questions about it. Do not be too aggressive; be friendly with them so that they want to talk to you.

Fifth, write down the sounds of sentences that you do not understand and try to figure them out later on your own.

Use those written sentences to test yourself. Sometimes learning and figuring out English–or any second language–is like putting a puzzle together. After a while, the pieces will start to fit together.

Six, write down your questions and discuss them with your English tutor or to someone that can speak English. You may use some social media to practice your English, to ask for explanations, to share stories, or to read other people’s ideas. When you can share or get English videos or recording, and you listen to them, you will improve your listening skills.

Seventh, replace your Indonesian or other native language activities with English activities.

Be busy with English. Express any idea in English. Ask questions in English. Talk to yourself in English. Ask your friends to hang out with you in English. Watch or listen to the news on the internet in English instead of your first language. There are so many free resources online; we really have no excuse not to replace some of our first language activities with second language activities.

If you live in Bogor and you want to study English together with me, please do not hesitate to contact me via Whatsapp at 0813-8099-8494, or you may write to independent.ec@gmail.com.