Senin, 14 Mei 2012

Organising An English Camp


ORGANISING AN ENGLISH CAMP

Iwan Jazadi, Ardyansyah Putra, Fetty Yulia Utari, Murdani, Sugandi, Susanti, & Mahmud Dianto

STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong


INTRODUCTION
(by Iwan Jazadi)
           
English Camp is an activity whereby students spend a certain period of time (at least one night) together by using English as the only language of communication. The camp aims to increase students’ ability, especially in speaking, to nurture friendship among students and lecturers, to create the discipline in students’ and lecturers’ mental and actual use of English, and to increase the confidence especially for students.
The students are divided into divisions (secretariate, logistics, language policy, field management, etc.), each of which consists of a few students. The students as participants fulfil their daily needs and obligations in accordance with their divisions. However, formal classroom sessions are also provided in ways that support all students’ activities. All these are, of course, communicated in English. Thus, this program is a contextualised, real life-based English learning program. This article reports the organising of English Camp by the Association of English Department Students of Hamzanwadi College of Education from 26 up to 29 May 2011.   
Why is English Camp? Students of English Department speak English well. It is normal. Nobody is surprised. Students of English Department do not speak English well. It is not normal. Everyone is surprised. However, the latter usually still happens in the English Department of a college or university. Students generally practice English in limited settings. Lecturers still mix English with Indonesian though when teaching higher semester students. Students are not totally exposed to all real life contexts of English use although they will serve as English teachers in the future.
On the other hand, teachers with high proficiency in English are highly demanded today. The government has launched Pilot International Standard School (PISS) in which English should be used as the language of instruction in certain subjects and as daily language of instruction. In Sumbawa Regency, two out of four PISS schools have taken a few measures to upgrade their students’ English competence. One measure is by sending their students even teachers to study in Pare, a village in Kediri Regency of East Java Province. In there, the students are immersed 24 hours in learning, teaching and using English for a certain period of time (one week or more). On return from the program, the participants feel more confident in using English.
The problem is that the confidence usually fades away as the memory of the program passes by. In other words, there is a real need for PISS schools and other quality-oriented schools in Sumbawa of an institution that caters for full time fun English learning. Being aware of this, Paracendekia NW Education Foundation that manages English Department of Hamzanwadi College of Education Selong, Sumbawa Campus, is challenged to offer fun and effective learning of English to many consumers in Sumbawa and beyond. However, to respond to the demand, the Foundation has to provide a large number of teachers with a good command in English.   
“YES, WE CAN,” This is what I said regarding whether or not our institution can fulfil the demand of a large number of English teachers in Sumbawa. I believe that my students in English Department are great and capable of serving in creating English using, teaching and learning environment. But, we need learning intensification to consolidate students’ knowledge and proficiency in English, build group dynamics, and nurture the sense of teacher professionalism. English Camp done during semester breaks, weekends, in addition to other programs such as English only classroom environment and English medium dormitory program, is one of the answers. This is what I explained to my students as camp members in the preparation meeting of English Camp (Monday, 23-05-11).

     
MEETING CONCLUSION FOR ENGLISH CAMP
(Notes taken by Ardyansyah Putra, Chief of Committee, Monday, 23-05-2011)

Rules:
-No other languages
-Come on time
-Rp 1000/mistake for speaking other languages
-No love among members
-Give clear information for the absence

Preparation:
-three glasses of rice for each member
-three gallons to fill mineral water (for drinking and cooking)
-two stoves
-each member must submit Rp 5,000

For other stuff like clothes and other utensils, each member can bring them from their own home. The stuff above should be ready tomorrow, and so should the collecting of money. The event will be held at our beloved college starting at 07.00 AM in the morning.

Next agenda      : Tuesday, 24th 2011
Agenda               : Timeline, preparation for foods, drinks and other stuff

For you who haven't joined yet, you can register to me, Ardyansyah Putra, and must attend the meeting tomorrow. Thanks before... If you have anything to ask, please feel free to send me a message at this number: 081237511638.


MENU DURING THE FIRST ENGLISH CAMP
(by Fetty Yulia Utari & Murdani)

Recently English Department of STKIP Hamzanwadi Sumbawa Campus has established a new programme which is called English Camp. English camp is established to improve our proficiency in English and build solid togetherness among English students. Someone who wants to join in English camp has to speak English with other people in English camp area. Another language is forbidden in the English camp area. English camp enables us to make an atmosphere like living overseas. So, everybody just speaks English.
The first English camp took place in STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong Sumbawa Campus for four days. During the camping, all participants did everything together such as studying, praying, sleeping, eating, and cooking. Cooking was a particularly important and interesting activity which we used to do together. Every day we helped our chef to prepare menu for all participants. We cooked three times a day, namely for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Because of camping, we just cooked simple food for our menu. We had to prepare menu which was easy to make, with ingredients that suited our fund, but of course it had to be delicious.
As long as we were in camping, almost every day we ate similar menu. It happened because we suited the menu with available ingredients such as rice, tofu or soybean curd, soybean cake or tempeh, salted fish, onion, garlic, cabbage, and carrot. Besides, we suited the menu with available cooking utensils. Sometimes it was difficult for us to cook because of the limited cooking utensils that we brought from home. However that’s a camp. We had to be smart to change the function of everything.
Because of eating similar menu every day, all of participants might get bored. That’s why our master chef, Murdani, tried to mix and combine several ingredients in order to create different tastes. Here’s the recipe from our chef of English camp for our lunch. It’s very simple and easy to make. Let’s check it out.

Stirred fried soybean cake (Tumis Tempeh)
Ingredients: soybean cakes, cabbages, carrots, long beans, salt, tomato sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, onions, MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), and cooking oil
The processes to go through are:
1. Chop cabbage, carrots, long beans into small pieces, put onto the plate.
2. Chop soybean cake into small pieces and then fry until half-cooked, drained and then put onto the plate.
3. Slice garlic and onions.
4. Warm cooking oil, after that put in the slices of garlic and onions. Stir up till they produce fragrant smell.
5. Season with tomato sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce then stir up until the seasoning is mixed.
6. Put in the pieces of cabbages, carrots, long beans and fried soybean cakes into seasoned mixture. Stir up till the colour of vegetables changes, then add salt, MSG and water sufficiently.
7. Wait until 5 or 10 minutes. The cooking is ready to be served with rice.
     
That was our menu in the first English camp. There were some more recipes that we used to cook during the camp, including fried tofu plus soybean cake with soy sauce and vegetable for dinner, salted fish plus soybean cake with soy sauce and vegetable for breakfast. All of ingredients were cooked with a similar process. Even though the menu was simple, we really enjoyed it in our togetherness. Hopefully English Camp can exist on and on. So, we can obtain many experiences such as in the first English Camp.


ENGLISH CAMP FIELD MANAGEMENT
(by Sugandi)

The field management was a division of committee in our English Camp. It takes control of the field of campus as our camp location. It means, whatever the other divisions need to do outside the camp area or within the area the facility of which is not ready should be consulted or handled by the field management. Thus, this task was actually rather difficult compared to the other divisions. In this case, I would like to share my experience as the one who was responsible for the field.
I was coordinator of the field management division. I had to control and looked after the field. There were some members of the field management division, but we still found it difficult in managing the entire field. For example, many of the members went to bed at 11 and 12 p.m. While at such times I usually already slept. So, I could not look after the field fully. Although I was accompanied by some members, I still got difficulties because almost none of them cared about the field without their coordinator’s involvement.
There were some other jobs done by field management division. One was preparing any utentils needed by other divisions. For instance, when the logistic division coordinator needed a knife of stove which was readily available, the field management should play a role in preparing it. The other obligation of the field management was to maintain security in the entire camp location. It was more difficult obligation for field management because I had to check around the location before going to sleep even without any friends to make sure that everything was ok. I was the only man in the field management division, while other members were my female friends.
In addition, before the program began, my division formulated the rules of the program. The formulation was discussed, edited and then agreed by other members. Thus, the points agreed had to be obeyed by all members including the chief of committee. These are my experiences during the English Camp. I hope this short article can give benefit to the readers.
      
MISTAKE AND FINE IN THE ENGLISH CAMP
(by Susanti)
In English Camp, every participant has to be totally immersed in using English. However, concession applies to the use of common Islamic expressions in Arabic such as Assalamu’alaikum or insya Allah. In addition, when a participant really does not know the word in English in saying or explaining something, he/she is allowed to use Indonesian words, but he/she must first say “in Indonesian...” If a participant fails the requirement, he/she has to pay some fine of one thousand rupiahs. To manage the discipline, a language police is appointed, whose duty includes identifying the violators, write the word or words used in the violation, and collect the fine.
I was appointed to serve as the language police in the English Camp that was held from 26-29 May 2011. I observed that generally the program agendas were well accomplished. All mistakes were within normal limits. Almost all mistakes were accidental or spontaneous. I noted that non-English words used by participants include Indonesian, Sumbawanese, Sasak, Javanese, and Sundanese, as shown in the following table:

No
Students’ Initials
Mistakes
Languages
1
AP
Eneng sedekah
Sumbawanese
2
FYU
Curut
Javanese
3
HD
We can find lagi
English + Indonesian
4
J
Le’ les sio
Sumbawanese
5
JA
Lempar serasok
Indonesian + Sumbawanese
6
M
Ini kekerasan dalam rumah tangga
Indonesian
7
S
Bolang mo
Sumbawanese
8
SK
Aya naon
Sundanese
9
Su
Use jilbab
English + Indonesian
10
YW
Singga’
Sasak

The table above is evidence that mistakes were made ​​by the participants. The table explained about who made the mistakes, what mistake was said, and the languages as the sources of the mistakes.
Aware or not, the existence of that rule could make the participants discipline. Even though punishment applies, the participants were not afraid to speak. With this rule also, all the participants discussed all things in their divisions in English. Girls always did gossips in English too. No other languages could be found in the Camp environment except English and formulaic Islamic Arabic. In all activities English was used even in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Even, there were some participants who talked during sleep by using English. All of the things above increased speaking ability and confidence in all participants.
That camp could improve the discipline of the participants, because in that environment all the participants were trained for being discipline. Our daily activities included getting up on time in the morning, taking morning prayer, taking bath, having breakfast together, receiving  lessons which were interspersed with games, having  a break for noon prayer, having  lunch and afternoon prayer, getting the materials or lessons until before sunset, then taking early evening and night prayers. Afterwards, we did free activities to improve our English, and finally we took a long rest or sleep on at 23:00. All activities were scheduled properly and neatly. So, no time was wasted.
All of the things above are advantages that we got from the English Camp activities. They were really extraordinary. Those activities really enhanced the knowledge, attitude and skills of participants. The most important thing is that this event can provide an enormous influence for the regular lectures and daily interaction in STKIP Hamzanwadi Sumbawa Campus especially for English department students, because the rule for paying one thousand for one mistake continues to apply every day.

CLOSING COMMENTS: ENGLISH CAMP? WHY NOT!
(by Mahmud Dianto)

Its name is English camp. At first many English students doubted about this program because they thought this camp was the same as other camps. Usually when we talk about C-A-M-P, there are many assumptions about it: dangerous, extreme, hard, spending a lot of time and money, and  also many ghosts, hii... upss! Thus, it stands to reason that a few weeks ago before this program began, some English students posted their question and protest about it in the Fantastic Four Writing Community Facebook. After the program began, the worry suddenly changed as a strong motivation to accelerate our English.
In fact English Camp is one of Dr. Jazadi’s program to develop our English performance as he would recruit us as English teachers in his “Special English additional lesson program” at the Pilot International Standard Junior High School 1 Of Sumbawa. In the English camp we had to be discipline in using English language all the time. During the four days of the English camp, we felt like we were overseas, in an English speaking country, where we do not have other choices but to use English in our life. Thus, it is unfortunate that those wanting to improve their English do not join English Camps such as ours.

Impressions During An English-Seven-Day Stay at College


IMPRESSIONS DURING AN ENGLISH-SEVEN-DAY STAY AT COLLEGE

Siti Kasmarani, Aris Dwi Intan Aprianti, & Hasma Dewi
Students, STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong


IMPRESSION 1 (by Siti Kasmarani)

Few days ago, my friends and I stayed in college. Our purpose of staying in college was to to improve our ability in English as the stay was designed to follow the English Camp rules already organised before. In this place we were accustomed to be discipline and independent learners. My friends and I were very happy although we ate with simple menu. Sometimes my friends bought some cakes for me and the others. We competed to get the cake. Moreover, we ate in one plate because the plate and the menu were not enough. Besides that, the characteristics of my roommates were unique. They had their own characteristic that I won’t forget. One of my friends was very diligent and enthusiastic in learning. I am proud of her. Besides that, my other friends always made jokes. The jokes were very funny and interesting to me. After a while, I felt that the college had been my second house. I feel now as well that ”my house is my castle, and my college is too”. We studied and made discussions together. In the discussion we took turn to answer questions one by one. When I didn’t understand about the lesson I would ask the others.
I am a very lucky student because Allah has given me the chance to stay in the college. At my college my memory was created. Seven days at college stays in my heart forever. I love you my friends.

IMPRESSION 2 (by Aris Dwi Intan Aprianti)

Staying intensively at campus for a week with some of my friends to study  was very effective for me. It was because when I had problems in my learning, i could ask my friends and my lecturer directly. A few of my friends who stayed at campus were from the sixth semester and were more experienced than I was especially in learning grammar. So, they could help me whenever I need their help to solve my problem especially in structure. Now I can use my grammar in my daily conversation even though I still need to enrich and improve that skill. Besides, I was so excited because of our togetherness with each other. We were like siblings.

IMPRESSION 3 (by Hasma Dewi)

During the additional camp I had got an unforgetable moment as a student at the English Department. One week with friends and lecturers in the camp made me very happy. Speaking in English all the time during the camp was as if we were in England. It was because I never heard someone talk in Indonesian. That made me never want to go back home.
All the nights were filled with studying together, discussing TOEFL book and other books that we didn't understand before. My brothers and sisters from the higher semester helped me when I got stuck in studying.
I have got a lot of knowledge during the camp. I learned a lot of new vocabulary and improved my grammar. Different opinions sometimes appeared in our discussion but we felt it was normal. I never felt alone because all of us were always together. In addition, although we ate simple food such as noodles or fried dry fish with rice, we felt the food was absolutely delicious. Eating together in one plate was our daily practice when the time came. What a beautiful moment I have got.

How Do I Imagine Australia?


HOW DO I IMAGINE AUSTRALIA?

Rizki Ewin Novaranda, S.Pd.
A Graduate of  STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong, currently teaches English at MAN 1 Sumbawa

     G’day mate… how are you going? Well . . . it is my favourite Aussie expression. Australia is only place that is well known by every child around the world that, it is a quiet familiar place if we ask them this question:
Q: Do you know in what country we can find Koala?
A: (They’ll directly answer) THAT IS AUSTRALIAAA...J!
     Besides Koala, there are numerous Aussie icons we have to know as I mention below:
Surfing. Surfing is almost a national sport in Australia, with about three million people taking to the waves annually.
Vegemite. You aren’t really living in Australia until you’ve tried Vegemite. It’s got a pretty weird taste and Australians love it. Every year Aussie eat 22 million jars of Vegemite.
Flag. The five stars on the Australian Flag signify the Southern Cross, a prominent constellation in the night sky over Australia.
Kangaroo. The Kangaroo is pretty cute, and it’s also found on the Australian Coat of Arms. It signifies progress of the country, because a Kangaroo always moves forwards, never backwards!
Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee. A south Aussie icon since 1977, with 22 million litres of the famous coffee-flavoured milk consumed annually.
Didgeridoo. Traditional instruments played by Indigenous people of Australian (Aborigine).
Football. You’ll hear lots about ‘The Crows’ and ‘The Power’ in Adelaide. They’re two teams in the Australian Football Langue.
     Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and pacific oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, The Solomon islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the northeast and New Zealand to the southeast. After being discovered by Dutch explorers in 1606, half of eastern Australia was claimed by Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, where the formal possession of the land had been taken on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies were established.
     On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. The population is approximately 22.6 million, with approximately 60 per cent concentrating in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The nation’s capital city is Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. Another territory is the Northern Territory with the capital city, Darwin. Approximately 57% of Australia’s population lives in either Victoria or New South Wales, and approximately 79% live in the eastern states of Australia.
     A prosperous developed country, Australia is the 13th ranks out of the largest economy countries in the world. Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance such as human development, quality of life, health care, life expectancy, public education, economic freedom and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.
     As a developed country, Australia offers a variety of choices for study, in this part I try to explain more detail about how and how well the education system is, including its quality, experiences and the joy to study in Australia.
     Let’s take a look into its educational system first. I can’t say I know the real circumstances of the whole part of Australia; for two reasons, firstly because I never live there, secondly because I barely dream about how Australians live or how to study in this country. There are a few states in Australia that I know, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The nation’s capital city is Canberra. However, in this article I will explain about the education system in last state as mentioned, Adelaide! J
     Why Adelaide? Why the last one?? I don’t know exactly why I typed it as the last State as mentioned, maybe because the State location on the south corner of Australia continent. Maybe it has something special to talk about. Let’s get some!
     Adelaide’s international student numbers have grown faster than any other Australian city. There are lots of reasons why, from the quality of its education institutions to the friendliness of the local community. That’s the reason why Adelaide attracts about 30,000 international students annually, a small amount compared to Melbourne and Sydney. Adelaide is smaller than Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. But it offers the same lifestyle and quality education, and significantly less cost! Statistics shows that it costs 24% more to live in Sydney, 21% more to live in Melbourne and 9% more to live in Perth and Brisbane.
     Adelaide’s Mediterranean climate is perfect for outdoor living. It’s quite the same like what we have in Indonesia, but for your information, the weather itself is sometimes so extreme in Australia compared to Indonesia, you need to be aware of the harshness of the sun in summer and always wear a hat and sunscreen, particularly in the middle of the day. It doesn’t snow in South Australia, but it gets pretty cold and wet in winter. Umbrellas and rain jackets are essential when you are out or doing stuff in the winter months.
     New Yorker magazine once called Adelaide “the last well planned metropolis on earth” – and newcomers from around the world soon pick up on this fact. Two most popular responses were the friendliness of the locals and the clean, green environment. The city was meticulously planned back in 1836, and in almost every sense this layout sets the scene for contemporary Adelaide: traffic is rarely congested, the people are relaxed and the skies are nearly always clear.
     Adelaide is a festival city, with a huge calendar of events planned throughout the year. The bonus for you is that event management teams and hospitality organizations are often on the lookout for extra staff during peak event seasons. It’s a perfect way to meet new people, practice your English and maybe earn some extra money. Besides you can earn extra money, this is one way to get associated with other students. By that I mean you can easily find someone to get along with or share experience from something that you like. And once again, people in Adelaide are very hospitable and open minded. You don’t have to worry about how to get something or need assistance because they are always ready to help.
That’s how I imagine Australia...

the Contribution of English Camp to English Speaking Ability


THE CONTRIBUTION OF ENGLISH CAMP TO ENGLISH SPEAKING ABILITY

Solihin
8th Semester Student, STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong 

In learning English many students have difficulty in mastering language skills and language elements as the prerequisites of having good English ability. According to Markus (2004), there are four language skills and three language elements. Language skills consist of writing, reading, speaking and listening, while language elements include vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Moreover, in learning English its status must be taken into account as it affects how it is taught and learnt. That is, the status of English as a foreign language in Indonesia provides different quantity and quality of exposure of English compared with that whereby English is a second language.
As a second language (ESL), English is not only found in regular or formal learning (classroom learning) but it has become the second language that is used by the community in almost all of life matters. Countries where English is a second language include India, Malaysia, Philippine, and all other ex-British colonial countries. On the contrary, in countries where English is a foreign language (EFL), exposure to English is quite varied, but people certainly find limited places where they can practice their English face to face. This situation is what we have in Indonesia and other countries such as China and Japan. 
Being aware of the limitation as mentioned above, some people or organizations try to find and develop effective ways that allow for a continuous practice of the foreign language. One such organization is the association of English department students of STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong. The students cope with the concern by being committed in joining a program called English Camp. English camp is a program where the students of English department as participants have to stay in the campus camping area so that they can easily be controlled. They must speak English fully. When they use any language other than English, a fine applies to them. The punishment is that everyone making a mistake has to pay one thousand rupiah.
Actually, the fact that students speak English fully not merely due to their fear that they have to pay one thousand for one mistake, but it is importantly due to their innate awareness regarding the significance of English as their future need. The situation in the camping area is firmly English-speaking country-like as the participants actively say and express their feeling, make joke, and tell stories in English. As a participant, I find that we use English quite perfectly. Even, I perceive it as beyond the situation in an ESL country. I hear that people in an ESL country generally mix their mother tongue with English, while in this event all participants just speak one language that is English.
I can clearly see that there is improvement in the participants’ speaking ability during the camp. In other words, English Camp program is really helpful in improving English skills, in particular speaking ability of the participants. For example, there are some participants who were very weak in speaking prior to the camp, and after they joined the English Camp seriously, they become more confident and fluent in expressing, saying, telling, and sharing their feelings and stories, even debating in English. I think this is because no chance is given for them for four days consecutively to use any language other than English, and when they do not know what to say for asking something, they might just keep silent, try to find the words from their lexicon mental, or go to look up their dictionary. In short, English Camp has given great contribution to English speaking ability. I suggest that this program be run continuously. And, for the students who have not joined the camp, this is the time for you to enter the gate of getting good speaking ability.

Fun Games


FUN GAMES

Rudiana, S.Pd.
Graduate of STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong
Teacher, Paracendekia NW (Bilingual) Kindergarten of Sumbawa

A game or play is one essential element of language teaching activity. I can say every student from elementary school up to the senior high school and the university level like to play games while studying in the classroom. A game can pace learners easily to the next lesson, because playing a game as a first step in a meeting can make the students enjoy themselves before entering the main activity. Through a game, learners will get the spirit for receiving the next materials. Students who enjoy their lessons will be motivated to come to school.
One way to make learners keep on learning at school is a game, because learners are always interested in playing while studying. Thus, a class really needs an attractive game and this can only be developed by a creative educator. An educator has to identify their learner needs in the classroom. For example, before applying a game, the teacher first has to watch which game is appropriate for the learners.
There are many available games that can be applied in the classroom. Otherwise, a new game should be created, one that the teacher has to adjust with the classroom situation. To maintain the learners’ interest and motivation, a variety of games should be developed. In this case, games may include miming, guessing, and competition. Through a game the learners will perform themselves enthusiastically and charmingly. We will not see their shy and pale face in front of their teacher. As educators we do not have the authority to force learners in learning a new language, but with good strategies and activities that we create, they will not only join us, but also involve themselves wholeheartedly.
There are two suggestions I would like to make for teachers to apply a fun game in the classroom. First, watch out the materials for the game. Make sure they are attractive and fun games in ways that your learners are not going to be easily get bored. The materials have to be appropriate in that they can be mastered easily by the learners and are easily found around or in their daily life and environment. In other words, the game played constitutes the materials delivered to the learners. Second, continue to build classroom dynamics that reduces students’ negative feeling about English. It is the feeling that English is not a difficult subject when it is learnt at school. Learners should develop their success blocks gradually. They will be proud of themselves because they effectively master English in conjunction with their manageable efforts. Thus, learning by playing is an excellent way for inviting learners to be self confident in their endeavour of learning as they do not feel any differences among them, who always move around.