English Students Forum

Home Schooling on Eyes

2012-01-19T11:16:00.000+07:00

Nowadays, home schooling has become even more popular as an alternative to regular schooling. Many parents, especially mothers, are now seriously considering this form of schooling for their children. Most children undergo home schooling do so because of many reasons. For example, a family whose breadwinner is always on the move may need to transfer homes on a regular basis. Proper education will never be achieved by the children because of the disruptions of their studies every time the family needs to move away. As a result, the family may consider home schooling as a great alternative. Just like regular schooling, home schooling has both its advantages and disadvantages.

Here are some advantages on home schooling:

(1) Our kids will learn things we want them to learn. We have control over the information and lessons our children will acquire from the lessons. Unlike regular schooling, we will be there to monitor what our kids are learning;

(2) No more cafeteria food, with our own kitchen serving as the school cafeteria, our kids will have access to healthier and more fulfilling food. They no longer have to endure oversaturated meat products and unhealthy consumables from the school cafeteria. Now, we can serve our children with whatever food they desire, a luxury compared to regular schooling. Think of it as another incentive why we should consider home schooling;

(3) Our kids will develop naturally, unlike regular schooling which allots only a limited period of time for children to learn, home schooling allows us as a mother and a teacher, to control the pace at which our child develops mentally and emotionally;

(4) There is no more need to force children to grow up at a hurried pace. With home schooling, our kids will discover their skills and inclinations on their own;

(5) No more pressure for our kids. With the absence of nerve-racking exams, our children will not feel pressured or forced to achieve or over-achieve. Because our children know that we accept their limitations and strengths, they can feel more confident about themselves and develop better personality traits. They will eventually learn how to set goals of their own and be systematic in dealing with pressure.

Those advantages that caused most of parents consider home schooling for their children, but some parents don’t want to consider this form of schooling for their children because of its disadvantages. They are:

(1) The lack of social interaction. With our children not immersed in social groups and activities, they can become shy when around other people. To prevent this from happening, we can contact other mothers and arrange for play-dates occasionally to help our kids learn and master their social skills. Remember that man is a social being and interacting with children of their own age is crucial for our children to develop into wonderful adults;

(2) A less-structured environment. Our kids may have difficulty adjusting to 9 to 5 work hours because of the laid-back environment in our home. Introducing a pre-determined timeframe and schedule will help us teach our children to make the most out of their time. Our kids will also learn to be more punctual and aware of theirs and other people's precious time;

(3) Discipline may become an issue. Unlike a regular class, our children may look at us simply as their mother and not a teacher. This can lead to a loss of discipline especially if we allow them to continue with their actions. A set of rules should be set in place with you explaining the importance of following rules. Make our children understand that we are also a teacher and that they need to treat as such. Instilling discipline in them is a very important factor in securing their future.

By these advantages and disadvantages, parents should be more aware of the good and bad sides of home schooling. Although it is not a perfect system, home schooling provides children with the opportunity to learn about the world they live in from the comfort of their homes. For parents, this type of educational system gives them the chance to develop special bonds with their kids. Both sides must be weighed and thorough consideration must be given to each and every advantage or disadvantage.

Chinese Learners and English Plural Forms

2012-01-18T11:56:00.000+07:00

Liu Jing, Evie Tindall and Deanna Nisbet

Regent University, Virginia, U.S.A

In “Chinese Learners and English Plural Forms”, Liu Jing, Evie Tindall and Deanna Nisbet explore the challenges that Chinese students encounter in the formation of English plurals. Thus, they (a) examine linguistic features of Chinese and English that may affect plural formation in English, (b) highlight specific areas of challenge for Chinese learners, and (c) present an array of recommended instructional practices.

Liu Jing, Evie Tindall and Deanna Nisbe said that there two aspects of the Chinese language that are pertinent to the formation of English plurals, they are the ideographic writing system and the morphological and syntactic structure of the language. These aspects are markedly different from those of English. There are also some areas of challenge for Chinese learners, they are omission of the morpheme -s/-es, over-generalization of rules and count and non-count nouns. Regarding to these problems, many Chinese learners encounter challenges in regard to the formation of English plurals. Knowing this, teachers can anticipate difficulties and support students’ learning of English plural forms through various instructional practices such as teach key differences in forming plurals between Chinese and English; teach English rules for plural formation; teach the commonalities and the distinct differences between Chinese and English regarding count and non-count noun; teach students language learning strategies with an emphasis on learning vocabulary; and teach students to develop their own resources.

Liu Jing, Evie Tindall and Deanna Nisbe’s findings are supported by (Brown, 2000; Lightbown and Spada, 1999). They said that language transfer, or the incorporation of patterns from the native language into the target language, is a common source of errors among learners of a second or foreign language. They also add that prior knowledge of Chinese language patterns may notably affect their acquisition of English. I also agree with them because as I know that every language has its own rules in spoken or even in written forms. Moreover between Chinese and English, they have their own rules in forming the singular and the plural form of a certain word. As I have learned that English has many rules in word plural formation so that sometimes it is found that it is common for students to make error when they learn plural forms of English. Whereas in Chinese, context is a primary means of addressing the plural form. So that’s right that native language has a great influence in foreign language learning or target language learning.

In short, this article provides an overview of the linguistic features of Chinese and English that may affect formation of English plural forms and pinpoints three major sources of difficulty for many Chinese students. To address these highlighted areas, the authors have recommended a number of instructional practices. The primary focus of these practices is to develop independent language learners. Specifically, for teachers, it is suggested to use the foundational information and the five instructional practices presented in this article to equip Chinese learners to be strategic and resourceful as they address the challenges of English plural forms.

Using World Literatures to Promote Intercultural Competence in Asian EFL Learners

2012-01-17T11:48:00.000+07:00

Derrick Nault

Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan

In a June 2006 critiquing standard approaches for teaching literature to English learners in Japanese university settings, Derrick Nault reports on his findings “Using World Literatures to Promote Intercultural Competence in Asian EFL Learners” which focuses on the specific technique to improve students’ English competence by using an intercultural approach-a new concept as an alternate pedagogical framework. He describes the concept by doing three specific techniques include in Culture Clashes, English Snapshots and Contrastive Analysis. This finding is fascinating and understandable to be applied.

Derrick Nault, in his study “Using World Literatures to Promote Intercultural Competence in Asian EFL Learners” describes three specific approaches as his technique in improving students’ abilities. The Culture Clashes as the first step of the technique is done by demonstrating a clash of cultural values or conceptions based on a scene from a story. For the following step- The English Snapshots, writer use passages from literary works to raise learners’ awareness of non-standard varieties of English. Referring to the last step-The Contrastive Analysis, learners involve comparing the cultural assumptions in a text and contrasting features of particular cultural. The writer believed that this last step is one of the best ways to draw attention to the importance of culture in the communication process.

Regarding to the four most common methods for teaching English-language literature in Japan-stylistics, literary criticism, the English language teaching (ELT) approach, and the yakudoku method (“translation method”), the intercultural approach seems to modification of the English language teaching (ELT) approach. Derrick Nault claims that no single method can be used in all contexts, “As teachers and students vary in learning styles, it is up to the instructor to decide what is most effective and practical for a given educational context. Hence, the weak points of standard approaches should be kept in mind and strive to involve students in their own learning, pique their interest in reading, raise their cultural awareness, and improve their language skills”. From his argument it is as if he was not satisfy with the effectiveness of the common method used in Japan but in my opinion Derrick Nault actually just want to find suitable method for his students although he must examine hardly with insufficient sources and references because this technique is still the new one.

Derrick Nault tells that while language teaching traditionally has treated language and culture separately, more recently ELT specialists have begun emphasizing that linguistic competence alone is insufficient for a learner to be truly proficient in a language. What is also needed, they argue, is an understanding of the culture in which the target language is used. But Seelye in (1997) said that “the study of language cannot be divorced from the study of culture, and vice versa. The wherewithal to function in another culture requires both prowess in the language and knowledge of the culture” (p. 23). Then Derrick Nault inform that an intercultural approach to ELT is advantageous in that it integrates both language and culture into lessons, more adequately preparing learners for real world communicative contexts. Responding to his argument, I assume that this approach is designed to be interesting and challenge method in which teacher and learners should be more active than usual because as my experience, learning with the real world context or condition will be more joyful and easy to understand the lesson. We can see how and when we use the language.

In the last discussion, Derrick Nault tells,” I have yet to gather concrete data on the effectiveness of the teaching techniques I have just outlined. Nonetheless, I would judge my intercultural competence-oriented literature lessons to be successful”. Besides, he has even had students express a desire to visit African and other Asian nations as a result of lessons based on world literatures. What all of this means for actual language acquisition is difficult to say, but an intercultural approach to ELT and literature does appear to intrigue and motivate learners and this can only help improve their English proficiency. It is also one of proof of intercultural effectiveness in literature class. Due to incomplete Derrick Nault’s concrete data, I wonder more about the effectiveness of intercultural approach. In short, I am interested in this new approach.

In conclusion, the intercultural approach which Derrick Nault recognized to improve students’ English competence seems to be good invention. The procedure of the technique is understandable enough. The reason that the research give in supporting his argument also logic but there is some suggestion for further research, it is better for the next research to provide detailed data and more supporting idea in order to make the reader more attract and fully understand with the procedure of the technique.

OPERATIONAL WORDS

2012-01-16T11:45:00.000+07:00

No.

Subject

Kata Kerja Operasional

Contoh

Reading

a. Read the text carefully and identify the words which have /ʊ/ or /u:/ sounds.

b. Match the sentences with the pictures.

c. Answer the questions based on the text.

d. Look at the pictures then read the expression aloud.

e. Read the dialogues and mind your pronunciation.

f. Study the picture then answer the questions.

g. State true (T) or false (F) based on the text.

h. Complete the word web using the information from the text.

i. Read the text and learn to deconstruct.

j. Read the announcement and answer the questions.

k. Read the text and decide the text type by identifying the structure of the text.

l. Answer the questions based on the pictures.

a. Read the text carefully and identify the words which have /ʊ/ or /u:/ sounds.

My name is Bayu. My full name is Bayu Wardana. I am 13 years old. I am a student. I live in Bandung. I study at SMP Pasundan. My hobbies are reading and playing football.

b. State true (T) or false (F) based on the text.

I live in a beautiful modern house. The house has three bedrooms. The bedrooms are upstairs. The living room, the kitchen, and the dining room are downstairs. My house has a balcony. The garden is full of flowers and trees. The color of the house is blue. There is a garage for our car. We like living here because it’s very nice.

1. It is a modern house.

2. There are three bedrooms.

3. The living room is upstairs.

4. The house doesn’t have a balcony.

5. My parents like to sit on the balcony.

6. There are lots of flowers.

7. The color of the house is white.

8. The gate is black.

Speaking

a. Ask your friends to do something.

b. Practice the dialogue with a friend.

c. Telling the time.

d. Saying the colors.

e. Telling the days of the week and months of the year.

f. Answer the questions orally with your own words.

g. Repeat the dialogues after your teacher.

h. Read and practice the expressions.

i. Study the expressions and pay attention to the intonation.

j. Telling your friends a story in your own words.

k. Telling the ordinal numbers.

a. Practice the following dialogue with your friend.

Syifa greets Mr. Heri. He is her neighbor.

Syifa : Good morning, Mr. Heri.

Mr. Heri : Good morning, Syifa.

Syifa : How are you today, sir?

Mr. Heri : I am fine, thank you. And you, Syifa?

Syifa : I am fine, too. Thank you.

Mr. Heri : Well, glad to see you. Take care. Bye.

Syifa : Bye, Mr. Heri.

b. Telling the ordinal numbers.

1 : first 11 : eleventh

2 : second 15 : fifteenth

3 : third 18 : eighteenth

4 : fourth 20 : twentieth

5 : fifth 21 : twenty - first

6 : sixth 30 : thirtieth

7 : seventh 36 : thirty - sixth

8 : eight 42 : forty - second

9 : ninth 50 : fiftieth

10 : tenth 53 : fifty – third

Writing

a. Sort the text into a good text.

b. Fill the crossword puzzle.

c. Complete the dialogues with the right expression.

d. Write down the missing words using the words in the box.

e. Write the comparatives of the adjectives.

f. Make questions by referring to the text.

g. Put the sentences into a good dialogue.

h. Write an email to one of your friends.

i. Make dialogues based on a certain situation.

j. Construct a monologue on how to make something.

k. Make a short description based on the pictures.

a. Sort the text into a good text.

This made Mrs. Bee angry because she had built the beehive all by herself and it belonged to her. While they were arguing, a hornet flew by. Mrs. Bee asked the hornet to be the judge.

While Mrs. Bee went about to build a beehive, Mr. Bee did not move an inch. Seeing this, “The beehive belongs to Mrs. Bee!”

A fair of bees lived in a large and cozy beehive. Mrs. Bee was always busy doing all kinds of work, but Mr. Bee did nothing at all.

One day, Mrs. Bee said to Mr. Bee, “My dear! I have been collecting honey from morning to noon. I am feeling very tired now. Why don’t you help?”

“Can’t you see I’m having a nap? If you continue to disturb me, I shall ask you to leave my beehive, “ replied Mr. Bee.

The hornet was very wise. “I order you to build a new beehive each. Your work will prove who had actually built this beehive,” said the hornet.

b. Write the comparatives of the adjectives.

Adjective

Comparative

Successful

Relaxing

Popular

Interesting

Important

Fashionable

expensive

. . . .

Listening

a. Listen and complete the dialogue.

b. Listen and fill in the blank spaces.

c. Listen and write the differences of what you hear and what you read.

d. Listen and circle the words you hear.

e. Listen and complete the song.

f. Listen and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

g. Listen and identify the kinds of jobs you hear in the dialogue.

h. Listen to the words and classify each word into the table.

i. Listen to your teacher and do what he/she says.

a. Listen and complete the dialogue.

Deni : Hi, good morning. I’m Deni. What’s your name?

Dina : . . . . . , Deni. My name is Dina.

Deni : How are you today, Dina?

Dina : . . . . . fine, thanks. And you?

Deni : I’m . . . . . , thank you. Are you a new student?

Dina : Yes, I am.

Deni : Where do you come from?

Dina : . . . . . from Bandung.

Deni : Welcome to this school, Dina. Nice to meet you.

Dina : . . . . . , too.

Deni : OK, see you then. Goodbye.

Dina : . . . . . .

b. Listen and circle the sentences you hear.

1. (a). That’s a very small glass.

(b). That’s a very small class.

2. (a). I have a white coat.

(b). I have a white goat.

3. (a). What a pretty little curl.

(b). What a pretty little girl.

4. (a). There’s something in your back.

(b). There’s something in your bag.

5. (a). The shop sells clogs.

(b). The shop sells clocks.

Mental Grammar

2012-01-15T11:19:00.000+07:00

Grammar and Psycholinguistics

a. How do speakers produce and understand sentences?

Linguists have long puzzled over what the main goal of linguistics should be. Is it to describe a language? Or, is it to describe what speakers know about a language? There is a distinction, one that has important implications for psycholinguists.

b. Linguistics as psychology

Bloomfield argued for the psychological validity of the descriptions they were writing. He held that what they wrote about was not only a description of language but it was also a description of what people had learned. However, Twaddell, rejected such a goal for linguistics. He considered the description of language, not the psychological aspects of people, to be his goal. Moreover, Chomsky’s staunchest linguistic critics are in accord on the goal of linguistics as involving the description of knowledge that people have about language.

2. Chomsky’s Competence and Performance Distinction

Chomsky uses the term competence to indicate a certain kind of language knowledge. Competence is the knowledge that people have of the grammar of their language and, as such, it is the goal of linguistics to describe this competence. In Chomsky’s view, psycholinguistics has two major goals: (1) to specify how people use competence so that they are able to produce and understand sentences; and (2) to specify how people acquire competence (grammatical knowledge).

For Chomsky, the activities involved in producing and understanding sentences are performance processes. A theory of performance should explain sentence production and sentence comprehension. The relationship of competence to performance for Chomsky, therefore, is that of part to whole, with competence being a part or component of the whole, which is performance. Competence is the knowledge that persons have of their grammar while performance involves knowledge for using competence so that the processes of sentence production and understanding can be realized.

3. Chomsky’s Grammatical Conceptions

In 1957, Chomsky demonstrated how such a system could be used to explain how speakers can, in principle, produce and understand an infinite number of grammatical sentences. He also maintained one fundamental notion, which is that the syntax of the grammar is primary, with meaning (and sound) being secondary. It can be said that the meaning of a sentence is specified as a function of its syntactic form, and not vice versa. Chomsky claims this relationship to be innate and universal.

a. The Standard Theory

The Standard Theory (ST) essentially consists of various sets of rules: syntactic, semantic, and phonological. Each set of rules is systematically integrated and serves to provide, for every sentence, a linguistic description or representation at four different levels. There is a sound level (Phonetic Interpretation) where the phonetic sound pattern of a sentence is represented; there is a meaning level (Semantic Interpretation) where the meaning and logical relations in a sentence are represented; and, there are two syntactic levels (Deep Structure and Surface Structure) where various syntactic aspects of a sentence are represented. Deep Structure represents the underlying syntactic form of the sentence while Surface Structure represents its more overt form.

Transformational Rules and Surface Structure

Surface Structure is the outcome of Transformational rules operating on the Deep Structure. Transformation rules - rules which delete, add, and move material – and which have been applied to the Deep Structure. Deep structures are transformed into Surface Structures by means of Transformation (T) rules.

Phonological Rules and Phonetic Interpretation

The function of Phonological rules is to change the Surface Structure into a Phonetic Interpretation, which is a sequence of wholly phonetic symbols that, in effect, represents the pronunciation of the sentence.

Semantic Rules and Semantic Interpretation

Returning to Chomsky’s ST grammar, it is the Semantic rules which take a Surface Structure as input, so as to provide the Semantic Interpretation of a sentence in something like its propositional form. In this regard, it is important to note that Deep Structure, despite its somewhat misleading ‘Deep’ name, does not represent the meaning of a sentence. It is Semantic Interpretation that provides that specification. Deep Structure is a syntactic representation.

b. The Government/Binding (GB) Theory of Grammar

One principal function of government, in Chomsky’s theory, is to ensure that a word is assigned the proper case. How the nouns in such a sentence are related to each other and whether they refer to the same entities or other expressions is the function of Binding Theory. The relationship between D-structure and S-structure is restricted in terms of what can be moved, where it can be moved from, where it can be moved to, and how far it can be moved (the distance is limited by Bounding Theory).

4. Linguistic Challenges to Chomsky’s Grammar

Challenges to Chomsky’s grammar have mainly stemmed from two sources; (1) disagreement with the organization of his grammar where syntax is given a primary role over semantics; and (2) disagreement with the adequacy of his structural characterization of such basic syntactic relations and constituents, particularly Subject, Direct Object, Indirect Object and Verb Phrase.

a. Meaning-based Grammars

Firstly, semantics is given the primary role. Syntax is given only a secondary role, which is to provide a realization of the semantic representation. Then there is only one type of syntactic rule, the Transformational; there are no Phrase Structure rules. Accordingly, there is only one level of syntactic representation, Surface Structure; there is no Deep or D-Structure.

Dissolution Language Loss

2012-01-14T11:17:00.000+07:00

A. Neurolinguistics and Language Loss

a. The evidence from aphasia

Neurolinguistics, an offspring of psycholinguistics, investigates how the human brain creates and processes speech and language. Human brains have two separate and virtually identical cerebral hemispheres. Anatomically, there are millions of association pathways which connect the left and right hemispheres together so that in normal brains any information in either hemisphere is immediately shared with the other. The brain controls human speech and language without resorting an anatomy text or arranging to view a craniotomy. The location of the control of speech organs and the sensation of speech sounds is in the top part of the brain which controls the lower extremity of the body and vice versa. In an equally counterintuitive manner, the left side of the brain is responsible for the right side of the body and vice versa. It follows that the tops of the motor and sensory cortices take care of the movement and sensation of your feet, and the bottom parts of these two strips are responsible for your head. Language is represented for most people in the left hemisphere, the area of the brain which is crucial for the production and comprehension of human language. A neurologist, Paul Broca, a French physician, named these two locations, motor and sensory, as Broca’s area, who also helped coin the term aphasia, the loss of speech or language due to brain damage. Just behind this area, at the lower portion of the sensory cortex, is Wernicke’s area, named after Broca’s Austrian contemporary, Karl Wernicke.

There are many different types of aphasia, but the classic types are Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia. Broca’s aphasia is characterized by speech and writing which is slow, very hesitant, and in severe cases, completely inhibited. Whereas Wernicke’s aphasia is characterized by speech production and writing are pretty much intact, but because the sensory cortex is damaged, patients experience a great deal of trouble processing linguistic input. In both types and for most cases, aphasia occurs only if either of these two areas are damaged in the left hemisphere of the brain.

b. The surgical evidence

There are two kinds of surgical operation which have a particular bearing on questions of language dissolution. One of these procedures is hemispherectomy. This procedure used to be performed even on adults, but now it is fairly much restricted to children under the age of ten. There is dramatic difference between the effects of this operation on adults and young children when it comes to speech. When an adult undergoes a left hemispherectomy, he or she becomes completely aphasic. Conversely hemispherectomies performed on young children, quite amazingly, do not lead to loss of speech. The effects of neurological damage on linguistic performance are not strictly predictable from anatomical change. In this case, for example, age is a critical factor. The second surgical procedure which also has neurolinguistic relevance is the split-brain operation which was developed in the 1970s to help treat specific and rare cases of severe epilepsy. There are certain severe and singular forms of epilepsy which remain unaffected by pharmacological treatment, and split-brain surgery was developed to spare sufferers from the terrible trauma of major seizures.

Research into aphasia, and studies of hemispherectomy and split-brain patients, has given rise to two superficially contradictory claims about the manner in which the brain processes language. On the one hand, there is irrefutable evidence that for the vast majority of adults, the production and comprehension of speech is located in two closely situated but clearly distinct areas of the left hemisphere, Broca’s and Wernicke’s, and this localization of function is not fully completed until about ten years old. On the other hand, in contrast to these claims about the neurolinguistic primacy of the left hemisphere, research in all areas of language dissolution shows that human linguistic ability does not solely reside in these two relatively small areas on one side of the brain.

B. Speech and Language Disorder

a. Dissolution from non-damaged brain

Language dissolution is the result of operations on the brain. Individual language can deviate significantly from social norms, e.g., stuttering and autism. Stuttering (refers to stammering) is one of the most common articulation problems encountered by speech pathologists. Stuttering is not random: it does not punctuate our speaking spasmodically, like a hiccough. It occurs most frequently on the initial word of a clause; the first syllable of a word, the initial consonant of a syllable, and on stop consonants (like /p/, /t/, /k/). Johnson theory represents the extreme behavioral view and claims that stuttering originates from traumatic events occurring in early childhood when overly sensitive parents (who often themselves were childhood stutterers) and/or primary school teachers are to assiduous in attempting to ensure that the child speaks fluently. The same parent or teacher who criticizes a four-year-old for blurting out ‘P-p-p-please!’ is unlikely to comment on the child’s less than perfectly coordinated way of walking.

Another theory, the Orton/Travis theory, states that stammering is caused by the absence of unambiguous lateralization of speech to the left hemisphere. Neurologically explanation, this latter group of exceptional children often becomes stutters, largely because the brain lacks a fully established primary language center and is therefore indecisive about how to initiate speech. For many language disorders, the disability is not just in the mouth of the speaker but it is also framed by the ears of the listeners. Another disability that is fairly well-recognized though, fortunately, much less common, is autism. Its cause has long been disputed by opposing camps, who have argued for either behavioral or neurological origins, with the letter receiving the most recent support. An autistic infant exhibits a bizarre disregard for human interaction and, in contrast to a normal child, ignores eye and face contact. The autistic infant quickly lags behind in achieving the natural milestones of speech production and within a year or two, the significance of the disease becomes conspicuous. Autism is often referred to as childhood schizophrenia.

b. Language loss arising from inherited disorders

The genes which carry the human heritage of speech are countermanded by an inherited defect that is transported by the same genetic code. Down’s syndrome, a disorder that occurs about once in every 600 births and, along with marked anatomical abnormalities, leaves the child moderately to severely impaired in all cognitive functions. The enlargement of the tongue in Down’s syndrome creates poor articulation, and though comprehension is not significantly affected, expressive speech is hesitant and limited, in a manner reminiscent of Broca’s aphasia.

c. Language loss through aging

Though the humor expressed might diminish proportionally with the age of the recipient, it is true that a reduction physical and mental abilities often does accompany the aging process. Various afflictions, neurological, environment, or hereditary, mean that humans sometimes have the gift of language taken away from them prematurely naturally. The most conspicuous faculty eroded by the aging process is memory, and since language represents a major component of Long Term Memory (LTM). Since access to LTM is capacity limited, it is more logical to assume that the more you have to remember, the easier it is to forget. LTM improved slightly, but after the fifth decade, subject typically forgot one item for every successive decade of life. The memory constraints that may become evident as we get older seem to be due primarily to Short Term Memory (STM) constraints, or limitations on inputting and accessing the material to be recalled. We cannot measure aging directly by chronological years; geriatrics has long taught us that age is more directly a manifestation of health than of the calendar.

Alzheimer’s disease : Appear to involve both hereditary and environmental factors, the brain of an AD patient deteriorates prematurely, and this loss has profound and ultimately injurious effects on every aspects of AD has just begun, but the research which has been undertaken shows that speech and language are not affected in isolation. Linguistic function gradually disintegrates together with those of emotion, cognition and personality. Who wrote more complex composition (i.e. whso used more subordination in their sentences) seemed to have a much better chance of not succumbing to AD compared to those who used simpler sentences structures. Again, the evidence suggests that language is no different from other aspects of human behavior, the more complex the endeavor.

CULTURE AND CONFLICT (PART 7)

2012-01-13T11:45:00.000+07:00

a) Identities and roles.

Identities and roles refer to conceptions of the self. Am I an individual unit, autonomous, a free agent, ultimately responsible for myself? Or am I first and foremost a member of a group, weighing choices and actions by how the group will perceive them and be affected by them? Those who see themselves as separate individuals likely come from societies anthropologists call individualist. Those for whom group allegiance is primary usually come from settings anthropologists call collectivist, or communitarian.

In collectivist settings, the following values tend to be privileged:

cooperation
filial piety (respect for and deference toward elders)
participation in shared progress
reputation of the group
interdependence

In individualist settings, the following values tend to be privileged:

competition
independence
individual achievement
personal growth and fulfillment
self-reliance

When individualist and communitarian starting points influence those on either side of a conflict, escalation may result. Individualists may see no problem with "no holds barred" confrontation, while communitarian counterparts shrink from bringing dishonor or face-loss to their group by behaving in unseemly ways. Individualists may expect to make agreements with communitarians, and may feel betrayed when the latter indicate that they have to take their understandings back to a larger public or group before they can come to closure. In the end, one should remember that, as with other patterns described, most people are not purely individualist or communitarian. Rather, people tend to have individualist or communitarian starting points, depending on one's upbringing, experience, and the context of the situation.

· Conclusion

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to conflict resolution, since culture is always a factor. Cultural fluency is therefore a core competency for those who intervene in conflicts or simply want to function more effectively in their own lives and situations. Cultural fluency involves recognizing and acting respectfully from the knowledge that communication, ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict, approaches to meaning-making, and identities and roles vary across cultures.

CULTURE AND CONFLICT (PART 6)

2012-01-12T11:44:00.000+07:00

a) Approaches to meaning making,

Approaches to meaning-making also vary across cultures. Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars suggest that people have a range of starting points for making sense of their lives, including:

universalist (favoring rules, laws, and generalizations) and particularist (favoring exceptions, relations, and contextual evaluation)
specificity (preferring explicit definitions, breaking down wholes into component parts, and measurable results) and diffuseness (focusing on patterns, the big picture, and process over outcome)
inner direction (sees virtue in individuals who strive to realize their conscious purpose) and outer direction (where virtue is outside each of us in natural rhythms, nature, beauty, and relationships)
synchronous time (cyclical and spiraling) and sequential time (linear and unidirectional).

When we don't understand that others may have quite different starting points, conflict is more likely to occur and to escalate. Even though the starting points themselves are neutral, negative motives are easily attributed to someone who begins from a different end of the continuum.

For example, when First Nations people sit down with government representatives to negotiate land claims in Canada or Australia, different ideas of time may make it difficult to establish rapport and make progress. First Nations people tend to see time as stretching forward and back, binding them in relationship with seven generations in both directions. Their actions and choices in the present are thus relevant to history and to their progeny. Government negotiators acculturated to Western European ideas of time may find the telling of historical tales and the consideration of projections generations into the future tedious and irrelevant unless they understand the variations in the way time is understood by First Nations people.

Of course, this example draws on generalizations that may or may not apply in a particular situation. There are many different Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and elsewhere. Each has a distinct culture, and these cultures have different relationships to time, different ideas about negotiation, and unique identities. Government negotiators may also have a range of ethno cultural identities, and may not fit the stereotype of the woman or man in a hurry, with a measured, pressured orientation toward time.

Examples can also be drawn from the other three dimensions identified by Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars. When an intractable conflict has been ongoing for years or even generations, should there be recourse to international standards and interveners, or local rules and practices? Those favoring a universalist starting point are more likely to prefer international intervention and the setting of international standards. Particularlists will be more comfortable with a tailor-made, home-grown approach than with the imposition of general rules that may or may not fit their needs and context.

Specificity and diffuseness also lead to conflict and conflict escalation in many instances. People, who speak in specifics, looking for practical solutions to challenges that can be implemented and measured, may find those who focus on process, feelings, and the big picture obstructionist and frustrating. On the other hand, those whose starting points are diffuse are more apt to catch the flaw in the sum that is not easy to detect by looking at the component parts, and to see the context into which specific ideas must fit.

Inner-directed people tend to feel confident that they can affect change, believing that they are "the masters of their fate, the captains of their souls." They focus more on product than process. Imagine their frustration when faced with outer-directed people, whose attention goes to nurturing relationships, living in harmony with nature, going with the flow, and paying attention to processes rather than products. As with each of the above sets of starting points, neither is right or wrong; they are simply different. A focus on process is helpful, but not if it completely fails to ignore outcomes. A focus on outcomes is useful, but it is also important to monitor the tone and direction of the process. Cultural fluency means being aware of different sets of starting points, and having a way to speak in both dialects, helping translate between them when they are making conflict worse.

These continua are not absolute, nor do they explain human relations broadly. They are clues to what might be happening when people are in conflict over long periods of time. We are meaning-making creatures, telling stories and creating understandings that preserve our sense of self and relate to our purpose. As we come to realize this, we can look into the process of meaning making for those in a conflict and find ways to help them make their meaning-making processes and conclusions more apparent to each other.

This can be done by storytelling and by the creation of shared stories, stories that are co-constructed to make room for multiple points of view within them. Often, people in conflict tell stories that sound as though both cannot be true. Narrative conflict-resolution approaches help them leave their concern with truth and being right on the sideline for a time, turning their attention instead to stories in which they can both see themselves.

Another way to explore meaning making is through metaphors. Metaphors are compact, tightly packaged word pictures that convey a great deal of information in shorthand form. For example, in exploring how a conflict began, one side may talk about its origins being buried in the mists of time before there were boundaries and roads and written laws. The other may see it as the offspring of a vexatious lawsuit begun in 1946. Neither is wrong -- the issue may well have deep roots, and the lawsuit was surely a part of the evolution of the conflict. As the two sides talk about their metaphors, the more diffuse starting point wrapped up in the mists of time meets the more specific one, attached to a particular legal action. As the two talk, they deepen their understanding of each other in context, and learn more about their respective roles and identities.

CULTURE AND CONFLICT (PART 5)

2012-01-11T11:43:00.000+07:00

a) Ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict,

Ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict vary across cultural boundaries. As the example of the elderly Chinese interviewee illustrates, not everyone agrees on what constitutes a conflict. For those accustomed to subdued, calm discussion, an emotional exchange among family members may seem a threatening conflict. The family members themselves may look at their exchange as a normal and desirable airing of differing views. Intractable conflicts are also subject to different interpretations. Is an event a skirmish, a provocation, an escalation, or a mere trifle, hardly worth noticing? The answer depends on perspective, context, and how identity relates to the situation.

Just as there is no consensus across cultures or situations on what constitutes a conflict or how events in the interaction should be framed, so there are many different ways of thinking about how to tame it. Should those involved meet face to face, sharing their perspectives and stories with or without the help of an outside mediator? Or should a trusted friend talk with each of those involved and try to help smooth the waters? Should a third party be known to the parties or a stranger to those involved?

John Paul Lederach, in his book Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures, identifies two third-party roles that exist in U.S. and Somali settings, respectively -- the formal mediator and the traditional elder. The formal mediator is generally not known to those involved, and he or she tries to act without favoritism or investment in any particular outcome. Traditional elders are revered for their local knowledge and relationships, and are relied upon for direction and advice, as well as for their skills in helping parties communicate with each other. The roles of insider partial (someone known to the parties who is familiar with the history of the situation and the webs of relationships) and outsider neutral (someone unknown to the parties who has no stake in the outcome or continuing relationship with the parties) appear in a range of cultural contexts. Generally, insider partials tend to be preferred in traditional, high-context settings, while outside neutrals are more common in low-context settings.

These are just some of the ways that taming conflict varies across cultures. Third parties may use different strategies with quite different goals, depending on their cultural sense of what is needed. In multicultural contexts, parties' expectations of how conflict should be addressed may vary, further escalating an existing conflict.

CULTURE AND CONFLICT (PART 4)

2012-01-10T11:42:00.000+07:00

1. Culture and Conflict: How to Respond

Given culture's important role in conflicts, what should be done to keep it in mind and include it in response plans? Cultures may act like temperamental children: complicated, elusive, and difficult to predict. Unless we develop comfort with culture as an integral part of conflict, we may find ourselves tangled in its net of complexity, limited by our own cultural lenses. Cultural fluency is a key tool for disentangling and managing multilayered, cultural conflicts.

Cultural fluency means familiarity with cultures: their natures, how they work, and ways they intertwine with our relationships in times of conflict and harmony. Cultural fluency means awareness of several dimensions of culture, including

Each of these is described in more detail below.

a) Communication,

Communication refers to different starting points about how to relate to and with others. There are many variations on these starting points, and they are outlined in detail in the topic Communication, Culture, and Conflict. Some of the major variations relate to the division between high- and low-context communications, a classification devised by Edward T. Hall.

In high-context communication, most of a message is conveyed by the context surrounding it, rather than being named explicitly in words. The physical setting, the way things are said, and shared understandings are relied upon to give communication meaning. Interactions feature formalized and stylized rituals, telegraphing ideas without spelling them out. Nonverbal cues and signals are essential to comprehension of the message. The context is trusted to communicate in the absence of verbal expressions, or sometimes in addition to them. High-context communication may help save face because it is less direct than low-context communication, but it may increase the possibilities of miscommunication because much of the intended message is unstated.

Low-context communication emphasizes directness rather than relying on the context to communicate. From this starting point, verbal communication is specific and literal, and less is conveyed in implied, indirect signals. Low-context communicators tend to "say what they mean and mean what they say." Low-context communication may help prevent misunderstandings, but it can also escalate conflict because it is more confrontational than high-context communication.

As people communicate, they move along a continuum between high- and low-context. Depending on the kind of relationship, the context, and the purpose of communication, they may be more or less explicit and direct. In close relationships, communication shorthand is often used, which makes communication opaque to outsiders but perfectly clear to the parties. With strangers, the same people may choose low-context communication.

Low- and high-context communication refers not only to individual communication strategies, but may be used to understand cultural groups. Generally, Western cultures tend to gravitate toward low-context starting points, while Eastern and Southern cultures tend to high-context communication. Within these huge categories, there are important differences and many variations. Where high-context communication tends to be featured, it is useful to pay specific attention to nonverbal cues and the behavior of others who may know more of the unstated rules governing the communication. Where low-context communication is the norm, directness is likely to be expected in return.

CULTURE AND CONFLICT (PART 3)

2012-01-09T11:40:00.000+07:00

Culture and Conflict: Connections

Cultures are embedded in every conflict because conflicts arise in human relationships. Cultures affect the ways we name, frame, blame, and attempt to tame conflicts. Whether a conflict exists at all is a cultural question. In an interview conducted in Canada, an elderly Chinese man indicated he had experienced no conflict at all for the previous 40 years. Among the possible reasons for his denial was a cultural preference to see the world through lenses of harmony rather than conflict, as encouraged by his Confucian upbringing. Labeling some of our interactions as conflicts and analyzing them into smaller component parts is a distinctly Western approach that may obscure other aspects of relationships.

Culture is always a factor in conflict, whether it plays a central role or influences it subtly and gently. For any conflict that touches us where it matters, where we make meaning and hold our identities, there is always a cultural component. Intractable conflicts like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir are not just about territorial, boundary, and sovereignty issues -- they are also about acknowledgement, representation, and legitimization of different identities and ways of living, being, and making meaning.

Conflicts between teenagers and parents are shaped by generational culture, and conflicts between spouses or partners are influenced by gender culture. In organizations, conflicts arising from different disciplinary cultures escalate tensions between co-workers, creating strained or inaccurate communication and stressed relationships. Culture permeates conflict no matter what -- sometimes pushing forth with intensity, other times quietly snaking along, hardly announcing its presence until surprised people nearly stumble on it.

Culture is inextricable from conflict, though it does not cause it. When differences surface in families, organizations, or communities, culture is always present, shaping perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes.

When the cultural groups we belong to are a large majority in our community or nation, we are less likely to be aware of the content of the messages they send us. Cultures shared by dominant groups often seem to be "natural," "normal" -- "the way things are done." We only notice the effect of cultures that are different from our own, attending to behaviors that we label exotic or strange.

Though culture is intertwined with conflict, some approaches to conflict resolution minimize cultural issues and influences. Since culture is like an iceberg -- largely submerged -- it is important to include it in our analyses and interventions. Icebergs unacknowledged can be dangerous, and it is impossible to make choices about them if we don't know their size or place. Acknowledging culture and bringing cultural fluency to conflicts can help all kinds of people make more intentional, adaptive choices.

Though largely below the surface, cultures are a shifting, dynamic set of starting points that orient us in particular ways and away from other directions. Each of us belongs to multiple cultures that give us messages about what is normal, appropriate, and expected. When others do not meet our expectations, it is often a cue that our cultural expectations are different. We may mistake differences between others and us for evidence of bad faith or lack of common sense on the part of others, not realizing that common sense is also cultural. What is common to one group may seem strange, counterintuitive, or wrong to another.

CULTURE AND CONFLICT (PART 2)

2012-01-08T11:39:00.000+07:00

1. How Cultures Work

Cultural messages shape our understandings of relationships, and of how to deal with the conflict and harmony that are always present whenever two or more people come together. Writing about or working across cultures is complicated, but not impossible. Here are some complications in working with cultural dimensions of conflict, and the implications that flow from them:

a) Culture is multi-layered -- what you see on the surface may mask differences below the surface.Therefore, cultural generalizations are not the whole story, and there is no substitute for building relationships and sharing experiences, coming to know others more deeply over time.

b) Culture is constantly in flux -- as conditions change, cultural groups adapt in dynamic and sometimes unpredictable ways. Therefore, no comprehensive description can ever be formulated about a particular group. Any attempt to understand a group must take the dimensions of time, context, and individual differences into account.

c) Culture is elastic -- knowing the cultural norms of a given group does not predict the behavior of a member of that group, who may not conform to norms for individual or contextual reasons.Therefore, taxonomies (e.g. "Italians think this way," or "Buddhists prefer that") have limited use, and can lead to error if not checked with experience.

d) Culture is largely below the surface, influencing identities and meaning-making, or who we believe ourselves to be and what we care about -- it is not easy to access these symbolic levels since they are largely outside our awareness. Therefore, it is important to use many ways of learning about the cultural dimensions of those involved in a conflict, especially indirect ways, including stories, metaphors, and rituals.

e) Cultural influences and identities become important depending on context. When an aspect of cultural identity is threatened or misunderstood, it may become relatively more important than other cultural identities and this fixed, narrow identity may become the focus of stereotyping, negative projection, and conflict. This is a very common situation in intractable conflicts. Therefore, it is useful for people in conflict to have interactive experiences that help them see each other as broadly as possible, experiences that foster the recognition of shared identities as well as those that are different.

Since culture is so closely related to our identities (who we think we are), and the ways we make meaning (what is important to us and how), it is always a factor in conflict. Cultural awareness leads us to apply the Platinum Rule in place of the Golden Rule. Rather than the maxim "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," the Platinum Rule advises: "Do unto others as they would have you do unto them."

CULTURE AND CONFLICT (PART 1)

2012-01-07T11:38:00.000+07:00

Culture is an essential part of conflict and conflict resolution. Cultures are like underground rivers that run through our lives and relationships, giving us messages that shape our perceptions, attributions, judgments, and ideas of self and other. Though cultures are powerful, they are often unconscious, influencing conflict and attempts to resolve conflict in imperceptible ways.

Two things are essential to remember about cultures: they are always changing, and they relate to the symbolic dimension of life. The symbolic dimension is the place where we are constantly making meaning and enacting our identities. Cultural messages from the groups we belong to give us information about what is meaningful or important, and who we are in the world and in relation to others -- our identities.

Cultures are more than language, dress, and food customs. Cultural groups may share race, ethnicity, or nationality, but they also arise from cleavages of generation, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, ability and disability, political and religious affiliation, language, and gender -- to name only a few.

Cultural messages, simply, are what everyone in a group knows that outsiders do not know. They are the water fish swim in, unaware of its effect on their vision. They are a series of lenses that shape what we see and don't see, how we perceive and interpret, and where we draw boundaries. In shaping our values, cultures contain starting points and currencies. Starting points are those places it is natural to begin, whether with individual or group concerns, with the big picture or particularities. Currencies are those things we care about that influence and shape our interactions with others.

GENRE (PART 14)

2012-01-06T11:10:00.000+07:00

n. Commentary

1. Social function: to give comment about something.

2. Generic structure:

a. General statement to position the reader or point of view about argument.

b. Sequenced explanation about argument.

c. Conclusion.

3. Example:

U.S. Job Market still in Low Gear

(General statement) The non-farm payrolls report ushered in 2005 with a whimper. Only 146,000 jobs were created in January, well below expectations that straddled the 200,000 mark. What’s more, annual benchmark revisions reduced the tally of job creation over the previous three months by 59,000 positions. As a result, the overage six – month gain in payrolls now stands at 168,500, a sub – par performance for an economy that clocked in growth in excess of 4 percent in 2004, which would normally be consistent with average monthly increases in the 250,000 to 300,000 range. The bottom line is that irrespective of the strength in U.S. economic activity firms remain cautious in their hiring intentions.

It looks like this trickled down to a more discouraged worker in January, as a contraction in the labor force helped pull the unemployment rate down to 5,2 percent. (Sequenced explanation) In spite of the disappointing headline in janyar, the details of the report imparted some good news. The service, side of the economy was the mainstay of job growth (+ 171,000 positions) and, equally important, the gains were evenly distributed among sectors. Education, transportation, leisure/hospitality, financial, and professional services each realized job gains in the 20,000 to 35,000 range. In contrast, goods producing sectors did not fare well, with a 25,000 reduction in manufacturing jobs accounting for the bulk of the weakness in January.
(Conclusion) Although we believe that U.S. economy will expand by 3.5 percent in 2005, we doubt corporate America will break from its cautious hiring intentions. We look for another 2 million new jobs this year, and while this would not be a bad outcome. It would not be a great one either for an above potential economic performance. That said, we doubt today’s report, or even a continuation of below – trend job growth in 2005, would alter the Fed’s desire to reduce the amount of monetary stimulus in the U.S. economy. However, it would lend itself to a continuation of measured rate likes and increase the possibility that the fed funds rate will remain below the 4 percent mark by year-end.

GENRE (PART 13)

2012-01-05T11:09:00.000+07:00

m. Recount (laporan peristiwa, kejadian atau kegiatan masa lampau)

1. Ciri Umum

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining (melaporkan peristiwa, kejadian atau kegiatan dengan tujuan memberitakan atau menghibur).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Orientation: provides the setting and introduces participants (memberikan informasi tentang siapa, di mana dan kapan).

· Events: tell what happened , in what sequence (rekaman peristiwa, kejadian atau kegiatan yang terjadi, yang biasanya disampaikan dalam urutan kronologis).

· Reorientation: optional-closure of events (pengenalan ulang yang merangkum rentetan peristiwa, kejadian atau kegiatan).

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

Menggunakan:

· Nouns dan pronouns sebagai kata ganti orang, hewan atau benda yang terlibat, example David, the monkey, we etc.

· Action verbs atau kata kerja tindakan, example go, sleep, run etc.

· Past tense, example We went to the zoo; She was happy; etc.

· Conjunctions dan time connectives yang mengurutkan peristiwa, kejadian atau kegiatan, example and, but, then, after that, etc.

· Adverbs dan adverb phrases untuk mengungkap tempat, waktu dan cara, example yesterday, at my house, slowly etc.

· Adjectives untuk menerangkan nouns, example beautiful, funny, etc.

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Our Trip to the Blue Mountain

On Friday we went to the Blue Mountains. We stayed at David and Della’s house. It has a big garden with lots of colorful flowers and a tennis court. On Saturday we saw the Three Sisters and went on the scenic railway. It was scary. Then, Mummy and I went shopping with Della. We went to some antique shops and I tried on some old hats. On Sunday we went on the Scenic Skyway and it rocked. We saw cockatoos having a shower. In the afternoon, we went home.

GENRE (PART 12)

2012-01-04T11:08:00.000+07:00

l. Report (laporan hasil pengamatan)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To describe the way things are, with reference to a range of natural, man-made, and social phenomena in our environment (menyampaikan informasi tentang sesuatu, apa adanya, sebagai hasil pengamatan sistematis atau analisis. Yang dideskripsikan dapat meliputi gajala alam, lingkungan, benda buatan manusia, atau gejala-gejala sosial. Deskripsi sebuah teks report dapat berupa simpulan umum, misalnya, ikan paus termasuk binatang mamalia karena ikan tersebut melahirkan anaknya. Untuk membuat laporan semacam ini, siswa perlu mengamati dan membandingkan ikan paus dengan binatang lainnya yang memiliki ciri-ciri yang sama).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· General classification: tells what the phenomenon under discussion is (pernyataan umum yang menerangkan subjek laporan, keterangan, dan klasifikasinya).

· Description: tells what the phenomenon under discussion is like in terms of (1) parts, (2) qualities, (3) habits or behaviors, if living; uses, if non-natural (menceritakan fenomena apa yang sedang didiskusikan; berkaitan dengan parts, qualities, habits or behaviors).

Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

Menggunakan:

· General nouns, seperti ‘Reptiles in Comodo Island’, etc.

· Relating verbs untuk menjelaskan ciri, example reptiles are scaly animals (ciri ini berlaku untuk semua reptilia), etc.

· Action verbs dalam mejelaskan perilaku, example lizards cannot fly, etc.

· Present tense untuk menyatakan suatu yang umum, example Komodo dragons usually weight more than 160 kg, etc.

· Istilah teknis, example water contains oxygen and hydrogen, etc.

· Paragraf dengan topik sentence untuk menyusun sejumlah informasi.

· Tidak bersifat promotif

· Terdapat dalam ensiklopedia

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

The Pelican Report

General classification The white pelican is one of the most successful fish-eating birds. Description The success is largely due to its command hunting behavior. A group, perhaps two dozen birds, will gather in a curved arc some distance offshore. The birds then begin to move forward towards the shore, beating the water furiously with their wings, driving the fish before them. When the water is shallow enough for the birds to reach the fish, the formation breaks up as each bird dips its bill into the water to scoop up its meal. As the bird lifts its head, the water drains from its bill leaving the fish which are then swallowed. Pelicans are among the oldest group of birds, Fossils of this genus have been found dating back 40 million years.

GENRE (PART 11)

2012-01-03T11:07:00.000+07:00

k. Review (ulasan atau tinjauan)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To critique an art work, event for a public audience. Such works of art include movies, TV shows, books, plays, operas, recordings, exhibitions, concerts, and ballets (melakukan kritik terhadap peristiwa atau karya seni untuk pembaca atau pendengar halayak ramai, misalnya acara TV, buku, drama, film, opera, konser, dan lain sebagainya).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structures):

· Orientation: places the work in its general and particular context, often by comparing it with others of its kind or through analogue with a non-art object or event (menempatkan suatu karya dalam konteks umum dan khusus, seringkali dengan membandingkannya dengan yang lain).

· Interpretative recount: summaries the plot and/or provides an account of how the reviewed randition of the work came into being; is optional, but if present, often recursive (merangkum plot dan/atau memberikan penjelasan tentang bagaimana suatu karya ditinjau).

· Evaluation: provides an evaluation of the work and/or its performance or production; is usually recursive (memberikan penilaian atau evaluasi dari suatu karya dan/atau kinerjanya atau produknya).

· Evaluative Summation: provides a kind of punch line which sums up the reviewer’s opinion of the art events as a whole; is optional (berupa rangkuman pandangan si peninjau).

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

· Terfokus pada partisipan tertentu

Menggunakan:

· Adjectives menunjukkan sikap, seperti bad, good

· Klausa panjang dan kompleks

· Metafor

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Harry Potter

Order of the Phoenix I absolutely love the Harry Potter series, and all of the books will always hold a special place in my heart. I have to say that of all of the books, however, this was not my favorite. When the series began it was as much of a "feel good" experience as a huge mug of hot cocoa. The stories were bright, fast-paced, intriguing, and ultimately satisfying. Order of the Phoenix is a different kind of book. In some instances this works...you feel a whole new level of intensity and excitement by the time you get to the end. I was truly moved by the last page. Other times the book just has a slightly dreary, depressing feel. The galloping pace of the other books has slowed to a trot here, and parts of it do seem long, as if we're reading all about Harry "just hanging out" instead of having his usual adventures. Reading in detail about Harry cleaning up an old house, for example - housekeeping is still housekeeping, magical or no, and I'm not very interested in doing it or reading about other people doing it. A few other changes in this book - the "real" world comes much more in to play rather than the fantasy universe of the previous books, and Harry has apparently been taken off his meds. I know that he had a lot to be grumpy in this book, especially with being a teenager and all, but the sudden change in his character seemed too drastic. He goes from being a warm-hearted, considerate person to someone who will bite his best friend's heads off over nothing. It just seemed like it didn't fit with his character, like he turned into a walking cliché of the "angry teen" overnight. The "real" story seemed to happen in the last 1/3 of the book, and this part I loved. I actually liked the ending (and yes, I cried!) as sad as it was. It packed a punch and it made me care about the story even more. Still a really good book, with some editing it would have been great.

GENRE (PART 10)

2012-01-02T11:06:00.000+07:00

j. Spoof (laporan kejadian atau peristiwa lucu)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To retell an event with humorous twist (menceritakan kejadian, peristiwa aneh atau lucu berdasarkan kejadian atau peristiwa dalam kehidupan nyata yang bertujuan menghibur, yang biasa diakhiri dengan sesuatu yang tidak diharapkan (twist).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Orientation: memperkenalkan participants (tokoh), waktu, dan tempat.

· Events: berisi kejadian/peristiwa/kegiatan 1, 2, 3, dst.

· Twist: akhir yang tidak terduga atau lucu.

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

· Terfokus pada orang, binatang, benda tertentu

· Menggunakan action verbs, misalnya eat, run

· Menggunakan keterangan waktu dan tempat

· Menggunakan past tense

· Disusun sesuai dengan urutan kejadian

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Penguin in the Park

Orientation:

Once a man was walking in a park when he came across a penguin.

Event 1:

He took him to a policeman and said, ‘I have just found this penguin. What should I do?’ The policeman replied, ‘take him to the zoo’.

Event 2:

The next day the policeman saw the same man in the same park and the man was still carrying the penguin with him. The policeman was rather surprised and walked up to the man and asked, ‘Why are you still carrying that penguin about? Didn’t you take it to the zoo? ‘I certainly did,’ replied the man.

Twist:

… ‘and it was a great idea because he really enjoyed it, so today I’m taking him to the movies!

GENRE (PART 9)

2012-01-01T11:05:00.000+07:00

i. Procedure (prosedur)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To describe how something is accomplished throught a sequence of actions or steps (Memberi petunjuk tentang cara melakukan sesuatu melalui serangkaian tindakan atau langkah).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Goal: tujuan kegiatan

· Materials: bahan-bahan

· Steps: langkah-langkah

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

Menggunakan:

· pola kalimat imperative, example, Cut, Don’t mix, etc.

· action verbs, example turn, put, don’t, mix, etc.

· connectives untuk mengurutkan kegiatan, example then, while, etc.

· adverbials untuk menyatakan rinci waktu, tempat, cara yang akurat, example for five minutes, 2 centimetres from the top, etc.

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Goal: How to Make a Cheese Omelet

Materials:

· Ingredients: 1 egg, 50 g cheese, ¼ cup milk, 3 tablespoons cooking oil, a pinch of salt and pepper

· Utensils: frying pan, fork, spatula, cheese grater, bowl, plate

Steps:

· Method:

1. Crack an egg into a bowl

2. Whisk the egg with a fork until it is smooth

3. Add milk and whisk well

4. Grate the cheese into the bowl and stir

5. Heat the oil in a frying pan

6. Pour the mixture into the frying pan

7. Turn the omelet with a spatula when it browns

8. Cook both sides

9. Place on a plate; season with salt and pepper

10. Eat while warm.

GENRE (PART 8)

2011-12-31T11:03:00.000+07:00

h. News Item (berita)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To inform readers, listeners, or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important (memberitakan kepada pembaca, pendengar atau penonton tentang peristiwa-peristiwa atau kejadian-kejadian yang dipandang penting atau layak diberitakan).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Newsworthy events: recounts the event in summary form (kejadian inti/menceritakan kejadian-kejadiannya dalam bentuk yang sangat singkat).

· Background events: elaborate what happened, to whom, in what circumstances (menjelaskan apa yang terjadi, siapa yang terlibat, dalam situasi bagaimana).

· Sources: comments by participants in, witnesses to and authorities expert on the event (komentar saksi kejadian, pendapat para ahli).

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

· Informasi singkat tertuang dalam headline

· Menggunakan action verbs

· Menggunakan saying verbs, example say, tell, etc.

· Menggunakan kata keterangan, example badly injured, the most beautiful bride in the world, etc.

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Town ‘Contaminated

Newsworthy event Moscow – A Russian journalist has uncovered evidence of another Soviet nuclear catastrophe, which killed 10 sailors and contaminated an entire town. Background events Yelena Vazrshavskya is the first journalist to speak to people who witnessed the explosion of a nuclear submarine at the naval base of shkotovo – 22 near Vladivostock. The accident, which occurred 13 months before the Chernobyl disaster, spread radioactive fall-out over the base and nearby town, but was covered up by officials of the Soviet Union. Residents were told the explosion in the reactor of the Victor-class submarine during a refit had been a ‘thermal’ and not a nuclear explosion. And those involved in the clean up operation to remove more than 600 tones of contaminated material were sworn to secrecy. Source A board of investigators was later to describe it as the worst accident in the history of the Soviet Navy.

GENRE (PART 7)

2011-12-30T11:02:00.000+07:00

g. Narrative (naratif)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To amuse, entertain, and to deal with actual or vicarious experience in different ways (Menghibur pendengar atau pembaca (yang bertalian dengan pengalaman nyata, khayal atau peristiwa pelik yang mengarah ke suatu krisis, yang pada akhirnya menemukan suatu penyelesaian).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Orientation: sets the scene and introduces the participants (mengenalkan pengenalan tokoh, waktu, dan tempat).

· Evaluation: a stepping back to evaluate the plight.

· Complication: a crisis arises (pengembangan konflik).

· Resolution: the crisis is resolve, for better or for worse (penyelesaian konflik).

· Reorientation: optional (perubahan yang terjadi pada tokoh dan pelajaran yang dapat dipetik dari cerita).

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

Menggunakan:

· Nouns tertentu sebagai kata ganti orang, hewan dan benda tertentu dalam cerita, example, stepsisters, housework, etc.

· Adjectives yang membentuk noun phrase, example, long black hair, two red apples, etc.

· Time connectives dan conjunctions untuk mengurutkan kejadian-kejadian, example, then, before that, soon, etc.

· Adverbs dan adverbial phrases untuk menunjukkan lokasi kejadian atau peristiwa, example here, in the mountain, happily ever after, etc.

· Action verbs dalam past tense; stayed, climbed, etc.

· Saying verbs yang menandai ucapan seperti: said, told, promised, etc.

· Thinking verbs yang menandai pikiran, persepsi atau perasaan tokoh dalam cerita, example thought, understood, felt, etc.

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Snow White

Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Snow White. She lived with her Aunt and Uncle because her parents were dead. One day she heard her Uncle and Aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the castle because they both wanted to go to America and they didn’t have enough money to take Snow White. Snow White did not want her Uncle and Aunt to do this so she decided it would be best if she ran away. The next morning she ran away from home when her Aunt and Uncle were having breakfast. She ran away into the woods. Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went inside and fell asleep. Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside. There they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up. She saw the dwarfs. The dwarfs said, “what is your name?” Snow White said, “My name is Snow White.” Doc, one of the dwarfs, said, “If you wish, you may live here with us.” Snow White said, “Oh could I? Thank you.” Then Snow White told the dwarfs the whole story and Snow White and the 7 dwarfs lived happily ever after.

GENRE (PART 6)

2011-12-29T13:30:00.000+07:00

f. Hortatory Exposition (eksposisi hortatori)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To persuade the reader or listener that something should be/shouldn’t be the case (Untuk membujuk, meyakinkan atau mempengaruhi pembaca atau pendengar bahwa sesuatu seharusnya/tdk seharusnya demikian).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Thesis: announcement of issue concern (pernyataan isu yang dipersoalkan)

· Arguments: reasons for concern, leading to recommendation (berupa alasan mengapa ada keprihatinan, dan mengarah ke rekomendasi).

· Recommendation: statement of what ought or ought not to happen (pernyataan tentang bagaimana seharusnya atau tidak seharusnya).

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Feature):

· Terfokus ke pembicara / penulis yang mengangkat isu.

Menggunakan:

· Abstract nouns, example policy, government, etc.

· Technical verbs, example species of animals, etc.

· Relating verbs, example should be, doesn’t seem to have been, etc.

· Action verbs, example we must act, etc.

· Thinking verbs, example I believe, etc.

· Modal verbs, example we must preserve, etc.

· Modal adverbs, example certainly, surely, etc.

· Connectives, example firstly, secondly, etc.

· Simple present tense

· Kalimat pasif

· Bahasa evaluatif, misalnya important, valuable, trustworthy, etc.

2. Contoh Teks

In all the discussion over the removal of lead from petrol (and the atmosphere) there doesn’t seem to have been any mention of the difference between driving in the city and in the country. While I realize my leaded petrol car is polluting the air wherever I drive, I feel that when you travel through the country, where you only see another car every five to ten minutes, the problem is not as severe as when traffic is concentrated on city roads. Those who want to penalize older, leaded petrol vehicles and their owners don’t seem to appreciate that in the country there is no public transport to fall back upon and one’s own vehicle is the only way to get about. I feel that country people, who often have to travel huge distances to the nearest town and who already spend a great deal of money on petrol, should be treated differently to the people who live in the city.

GENRE (PART 5)

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000+07:00

e. Explanation (penjelasan)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To explain the process involved in the formation or workings of natural or socio-cultural phenomena (menerangkan proses-proses yang terjadi dalam pembentukan atau kegiatan yang terkait dengan fenomena alam, dunia ilmiah, sosial-budaya, atau lainnya yang bertujuan menjelaskan).

b. Struktur Teks (generic structure):

· A general statement to position the reader (pernyataan umum untuk memposisikan pembaca).

· A sequenced explanation of why or how something occurs (penjelasan yang berurutan tentang mengapa dan bagaimana sesuatu itu terjadi).

· Closing (penutup).

Ciri Kebahasaan (languistic features):

Menggunakan:

· General and abstract nouns, misalnya word chopping, earthquakes

· Action verbs

· Simple present tense

· Passive voice

· Conjunctions of time and cause

· Noun phrase, example the large cloud

· Abstract nouns, example the temperature

· Adverbial phrases

· Complex sentences

· Bahasa teknis

· Kalimat pasif

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Making Paper from Woodchips

General statement Woodchipping is a process used to obtain pulp and paper products from forest trees. The woodchipping process begins when the trees are cut down in a selected area of the forest called a coupe. Process explanation (sequenced) Next the tops and branches of the trees are cut out and then the logs are taken to the mill. At the mill the bark of the logs is removed and the logs are taken to a chipper which cuts them into small pieces called woodchips. The woodchips are then screened to remove dirt and other impurities. At this stage they are either exported in this form or changed into pulp by chemicals and heat. The pulp is then bleached and the water content is removed. Closing Finally the pulp is rolled out to make paper.

GENRE (PART 4)

2011-12-28T10:59:00.000+07:00

d. Discussion (pembahasan)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To present at least two points of views about an issue (mengetengahkan suatu masalah (isu) yang ditinjau paling tidak dari 2 (dua) sudut pandang, sebelum sampai pada suatu kesimpulan atau rekomendasi.

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Issue: Statement (pernyataan) dan preview

· Arguments for and against or statement of differing points of view (Pendapat yang mendukung dan pendapat yang menolak atau pernyataan dari sudut pandang yang berbeda). Terdiri atas: point (gagasan pokok) dan elaboration (uraian). Bisa terdiri atas lebih dari satu point dan elaboration.

· Conclusion or recommendation (kesimpulan atau rekomendasi)

Ciri Kebahasaan (Linguistic Features):

Menggunakan:

· General nouns untuk menyatakan kategori, misalnya uniforms, alcohol, etc.

· Relating verbs untuk memberi informasi tentang isu yang didiskusikan, misalnya smoking is harmful, etc.

· Thinking verbs untuk mengungkapkan pandangan pribadi penulis, misalnya feel, believe, hope, etc.

· Additives, contrastives dan causal connectives untuk menghubungkan argumen, misalnya similarly, on the hand, however, etc.

· Detailed noun groups untuk memberikan informasi secara padu, misalnya the dumping of unwanted kittens, etc.

· Modalities, seperti perhaps, must, should, should have been, could be, etc.

· Adverbials of maner, misalnya deliberately, hopefully, etc.

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

I have been wondering if homework is necessary. I think we should have homework because it helps us to learn and revise our work. Homework helps people who aren’t very smart to remember what they have learned. Homework is really good because it helps with our education. But, many times, doing homework is not a great idea. I think we shouldn’t have homework because I like to go out after school to a restaurant or the movies. Sometimes homework is boring and not important. I think homework is bad because I like to play and discuss things with my family.

GENRE (PART 3)

2011-12-27T10:56:00.000+07:00

c. Description (deskripsi)

1. Ciri Umum:

a. Tujuan Komunikatif Teks (Communicative Purpose):

To describe a particular person, place, or thing (Mendeskripsikan ciri-ciri seseorang, benda atau tempat tertentu).

b. Struktur Teks (Generic Structure):

· Identification: identifies phenomenon to be described (mengidentifikasi fenomena yang akan dideskripsikan).

· Description: describes parts, qualities, characteristics (mendeskripsikan bagian-bagian, kualitas, ciri-ciri subjek, perilaku umum, sifat-sifat).

c. Ciri Kebahasaan (linguistic features):

· Terfokus pada participant tertentu: example my house, my cat, the museum, etc.

Menggunakan:

· Simple present tense

· Detailed noun phrase untuk memberikan informasi tentang subjek, example It was a large open rowboat, a sweet young lady, etc.

· Berbagai macam adjectives, yang bersifat describing, numbering, classifying, example, two strong legs, sharp white fangs, etc.

· Relating verbs untuk memberikan informasi tentang subjek, example, My mum is realy cool, It has very thick fur, etc.

· Thinking verbs dan feeling verbs untuk mengungkapkan pandangan pribadi penulis tentang subjek, example Police believe the suspect is armed, I think it is a clever animal, etc.

· Action verbs, example Our new puppy bites our shoes, etc.

· Abverbials untuk memberikan informasi tambahan tentang perilaku tersebut, example fast, at the tree house, etc.

· Bahasa figurative, seperti simile, metafor, misalnya John is white as chalk, sat tight, etc.

2. Contoh dan Struktur Teks:

Macquarie

Identification Macquarie University is one of the largest universities in Australia. This year, in 2004, it celebrates its 40th anniversary. Description The university is located at the North Ryde Greenbelt, Sydney, where the New South Wales government sets aside 135 hectares for the institution. In 1964, Macquarie area was a rural retreat on the city fringe, but today the campus and its surroundings have evolved beyond recognition. The North Ryde District has grown into a district of intensive occupation anchored by a vibrant and growing university. Blessed with a fortunate location and room to breathe, Macquarie can be proud of that careful planning that retains and enrich the university’s most attractive natural features. A pleasing balance between buildings and plating is evident across the campus. This emphasis on the importance of landscape has created images of Macquarie as a place that members of the university are most likely to pleasurably recollect. One of the highlights of the landscape is the Mars Creek zone. It comprises landscaped creek sides and valley floor, a grass amphitheatre, and artificial lake… surrounded by rocks and pebbles, native plants and eucalypts. Today, a railway station is under construction. In three years1 time, Macquarie will be the only university in Australia with a railway station on site. Macquarie is poised to be the most readily accessible in Sydney region by rail and motorway, yet retaining its beautiful site.