English Magazine

This August magazine has lots of news in it including a special message from the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr. David Ritchie.

Listeners' Letters	Idioms Inggris	Reflections on the Indonesia Australia Relationship	KGRE Launch 2005
WOW WOW WIZARDS KGRE 2005 Photo Competition	Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development BEJIS in East Java Scholarships to Australia	Slice of Life with  Aussies in Madura CAREERS inc chef, artist manager, nurse, diplomat, movie maker, police and news reporter	Aussie and Indonesian Music Shanty Delta Goodrem

Reflections on the Indonesia Australia Relationship

I had the good fortune to be able to travel from one end of Indonesia to the other. I have been in Jayapura recently and Timika. I've been to Banda Aceh and to Nias and up to Balikpapan as well. So many wonderful parts of Indonesia. In Aceh we saw a lot of devastation but also a lot of the good in people. Aid workers from overseas and from Indonesia helping locals and Acehnese helping themselves. People were restoring their lives and that made me feel very good.

One of the most extraordinary highlights of the past three years was the President's visit to Australia. President Yudhoyono visited Australia which was a wonderful visit. It was only the third time an Indonesian President has been to Australia."

Wibowo from Medan English Speaking Society in Medan (KGCC # 050), Paulus from Waikabubak (KGCC # 038) and Abi from Jombang (KGCC # 026) participated in the ceremony by giving a brief presentation about the role of KGRE in the activities of their respective clubs. They had each won a trip to Bali as a part of a KGCC competition announced in 'THE POUCH' bulletin last January.

Listeners' Letters

l Magazine Competitions
Kang Guru, I would like to ask you a question. I never win the quiz that you make. I know that I can answer it perfectly. I always participate in your quiz that I read from the magazine and listen from the radio. I think it is the way to measure my ability in writing English. But I never win.

Ahmad Mustofa Hadi
TUBAN, JATIM

I am one of your members. I have read the magazine for the past four years since 2000 until now. I have ten of your magazines. I have sent entries for your quiz many times but always fail. I am aware my English grammar is no good, isn't it?

Wahyudi.
PALEMBANG, SUMATERA.

We have got a few letters like these two recently. So it is important to let you all know that if you don't win the competitions it is because your English is not good enough. We get many letters, quiz entries and answers to magazine tasks. They are all good. For example, in the last magazine April 2005, a lot of people send us the correct answers to the tasks. So how do we choose the winners? We put all the correct answers in a bag and pick out the winners. For example, if we have ten books about Australia to give away we pick ten winners. For the writing competition each year it is a little more difficult. We do not choose the essay that has the best grammar or the best English. We choose someone who has tried to write something interesting, different or unusual. So please KGRE-ites, do not be discouraged. Keep entering and you will win one day.

l Teachers and Students and KGRE
I'm Mumun from Tangerang. I'm an English teacher. This is my second e-mail. I'd like to thank Kang Guru for helping me in teaching listening skills. I feel it's really helpful. All my students enjoy KGRE reading material especially when I present a song for example. Anyway, I gave some suggestions to my students to improve their writing skills by sending a letter or email to KGRE. One of my students sent an email to Kang Guru and got a free Kang Guru magazine. I am really proud of him. You know he is really happy and satisfied. Kang Guru really helps not only students but also teachers like me too.

Mumun Munibah
Tangerang – BANTEN

Thanks for your email Mumun. We are all very happy that Kang Guru is helpful to you and your students. I hope that many of your other students will write to us too. Then they can all get KGRE magazines for themselves. The magazine is free for everyone. All people have to do is write about 75 words giving information about themselves and be sure to give their name and address.

l Never Give Up
Very many thanks to KGRE. You help improve my English. Actually I was very poor in English. It was hot when my English teacher came to me in class and 'attacked' me with nightmare questions. But I never gave up. I tried to translate English words one by one and study English in my spare time. As a result, I got nine in my last examination. I hope my experience can be an inspiration who has difficulty in English. NEVER give up.

Haska
Blitar - EAST JAVA

Thanks for your email Haska. What you say in your email is so true - never ever give up. Use English as often as you can - read, write, listen and speak English as often as you can, right?


l KGRE - My New English Teacher
I hope you are all healthy at KGRE. I'm Zainal Arifin. I'm student SMAN 1 Kota Bima, Class 1. I have a new English teacher. Kang Guru Radio English helps me with my English study. I got information from Ibu Feni, my English teacher and the best in the school. Since that moment I'm pushed to listen to KGRE. Besides getting knowledge, I can also improve my English. And I want to know more information about Australia. I'm sorry my English is bad and that's why I study English more.

Zainal ArifinBima - NTB

It has been great to receive letters from students in Bima after our recent KGRE visit. You are lucky to have a good English teacher like Ibu Feni. We hope that you listen to KGRE programs from Radio Suara Hidayatullah Bima regularly. And by the way, your English IS NOT BAD! What information do you want about Australia? Just ask!

l No Radio Station Here
I'm Siti Arofah, a student. I'm interested in radio program, as I heard from my brother, Abdul Kholiq. However, I could not enjoy your program, since, you know, there is no radio channel broadcasting your program in Probolinggo. So, I would like to try another alternative for practicing my English that is ordering your free mag? I know that you will not let my English frosted, will you?

Siti Arofah
Probolinggo - EAST JAVA

Did you know you could have your own KGRE radio programs at home? English language learners (and teachers) who are unable to hear KGRE on the radio can buy KGRE radio programs in cassette/CD packages. You can listen to them when you have time and you can follow the program using the tape-scripts. For English language teachers, there are many good activities that can be developed from the various segments for English language students. Each package includes 12 KGRE radio program, full tapescripts for each program and a topic index. The cost is only Rp 50,000 for any ONE complete Series. All you have to do is write to us and ask for it and send a Pos Wesel for Rp 50,000. But you know what? Bromo FM (RSPD Probolinggo) will soon broadcast KGRE radio programs for you.

l Managing an English Club?
This is my first time opening this web, it is really wonderful! I tell you that I'm not an English teacher but in the school where I teach I'm collaborating with my friend to hold a new English club. Many students in my school are low in English skills. So I really need your help. Give me some suggestions how to handle this new club. I really want them mastering English. My school is located in Wonoketingal. It is a little village and most students have little interest in English. I wanna make them realise that English is important for their future. Help me KG!

Sri Karsinah
Demak - CENTRAL JAVA

The key to a successful club is to have FUN. Try and use songs, games, activities and discussion to practice English. Try and make sure the club meetings are not the same as going to school. Find out what your students are interested in and invent activities you know they will have fun doing. You will find many activities on the KGRE website- look for the past issues of the POUCH. In fact, KGRE is happy to send you some old issues so you can get idea, okay? When your club has been running actively for a while write to us again and apply to join the KGCC network. Good Luck!

Idioms Inggris

There are lots of unusual idioms in English about jobs, work, careers and earning money. We hope you enjoy these idioms as much as you enjoyed the idioms about fruit in the April 2005 magazine. We would love to know what kind of language, especially idioms, that you use (in Bahasa Indonesia) when you are talking about your job. Write and tell us.

To work your fingers to the bone means to work very hard. For example, "My mother worked her fingers to the bone so that she had enough money to send me and my sister to university".

A dead end job is a job that has no chance of promotion or advancement. For example, "She left the company because it was a dead end job. There was no possibility of promotion".

The breadwinner means the person who earns money for the family. In most countries the father is traditionally the breadwinner while the mother is a housewife. But nowadays many mothers are the breadwinners too.

To be fired or to be sacked means to be asked to leave your job. For example, "He was always coming late to the office so eventually they fired him". Or "He was sacked because he stole some money from the office".

to work your fingers to the bone - bekerja keras sekali
a dead end job - tidak ada kesempatan untuk peningkatan posisi/promosi
breadwinner - pencari nafkah; to be fired or to be sacked – dipecat          

Careers

KGRE recently surveyed some high school teachers in Indonesia about the most popular career choices and ' career dreams' of their students. Cahyo Turlaksono from SMK BIMA Bojonegoro reported that his students were very interested in the computer industry. Many of them want to become computer programmers and web designers. Fipera, from SMAN 4 Bogor reported that female students in her classes were interested in careers as secretaries and public relations officers while the males were looking at careers in computers, the army and as police and in graphic design. Arijnto from East Java reported that of the 365 student he interviewed, 65% of them wanted to join the entertainment industry. Afrijalsyam, a private teacher from Batusangkar surveyed his 126 students and found that they were keen on becoming doctors (41), teachers (33), police officers (20), nurses (19) and stewardesses (7). The other students were still unsure. Are you still unsure or do you know what you want to do in the future? Start planning now for your future.

The song, 'Kokoronotomo', is due for release soon and is sung in both Bahasa Indonesia and Japanese. Organising Delon to perform at the recent Anugerah Planet Music event was also conducted in English. Wawan's advice for those who would like to get into the artist management business?, "...someone who wants to enter the entertainment business should understand art, because it is very important to love and understand this job. Try to make new contacts and friends and do some networking because then you can meet many people with different professions and skills. This is what an artist manager has to do."

Diplomat
KGRE met two young diplomats in training recently at Deplu in Jakarta. Deplu is the training institution for Indonesians who want to work overseas as official representatives of the Indonesian government overseas. Naya is from Rote near Kupang. How did Naya become so interested in becoming a diplomat? When Naya was eight years old she read an article about a female ambassador. She then became interested in International Relations. Naya received an Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) in 2000, studied in Australia and is now hard at work at Deplu. Here is Naya's advice if you would like to become a diplomat, "... work hard on your English language, build and understand relationships with people overseas and be aware of what is happening in the world. Being aware of current affairs is very important".

Nursing
Komang Ayu (in green jacket) studied nursing for five years at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. She graduated in 1991. After several interesting positions she was promoted to Head of Nursing Division in 2000. The following year she went to Thailand and studied for her Masters Degree in Public Health. 

Unusual Aussie Jobs

Worm Farmer - Brisbane
Caren Trafford works on the world's biggest worm farm near Brisbane. Her job is Environmental Manager at Vermitech. Caren says, "I work at the biggest worm farm in the world. We process 400 tonnes a week of organic waste by feeding it to the worms. I can take my coffee break outside and listen to 600-million worms chomping (eating) their way through other people's rubbish". The waste includes organic waste and sewage. What is left after the worms have finished eating? It is called compost or organic fertilizer. It has a lot of nutrients and is used in farms to help plants grow better. It is used in Australia and also exported all over the world. Vermitech has won many awards because they know that looking after the environment is important!

Jackaroos & Jillaroos - outback Australia
A jackaroo is an Australian cowboy and a jillaroo is an Australian cowgirl. Jackaroos and jillaroos work on huge farms called stations. They ride around the station on horses doing many jobs. For example they check fences and repair them if necessary. They check on the animals and move them from one place to another when needed. This is called mustering. They also take care of activities such as branding (memberi cap), castrating (mengebiri), tagging (memberi pening) young calves and sheep shearing. Nowadays jackaroos sometimes drive 4x4 jeeps instead of riding horses to do their jobs. Leconfield is a working ranch of 4600 acres set in the beautiful hillside country on the Mulla Creek area of northern New South Wales. The owner, Brian Skerrett, wanted to give people a chance to experience life as a jackaroo or jillaroo, so he started a training school for them. The school has been running since 1983 and has given hundreds of people the chance to learn the traditional skills of an Australian cowboy or cowgirl.

Livestock Seller - country Australia
Carol is the manager of the Millicent Stock Sale Yards in South Australia. She is the only female stock sale yard manager in Australia. A stock sale yard is like a livestock market in Indonesia - except it's bigger. Carol has won many international and national farming awards for the excellent way she carries out her job. Carol's ambition is to motivate other women and she plans to write a book that will encourage other women to enter this field of work. The book will also educate men on some of the difficulties women face in this male orientated industry.

AusAID in Indonesia

BAPEDALDA East Java Institutional Strengthening (BEJIS)
The last time KGRE visited the BEJIS project in Surabaya was in October 2003. KGRE visited two of the project activities that BEJIS was working on with local NGOs (non government organisations). These were waste disposal and compost-making projects in Keputih and Karah. In June, KGRE went back to visit BEJIS again to find out how their work has been progressing because the project is closing in August 2005. BEJIS staff members, Ross from New Zealand together with Arief and Koko told Rachel all about how these composting projects have grown and grown. In fact the Karah project is very big now and has many new participants. These include public participation, especially from local women's groups, and government department participation. In fact, some of the women have made their own environmental group called the Women's Group for Environmental Care. 

After the flooding and landslides in Mojokerto in February 2004, BEJIS started conducting AL programs with 20 schools in Mojokerto. This activity has been very successful. So far students have planted 10,000 trees in the area. Two of the schools involved have won environmental awards. And finally, Pak Koko was given an award by Radar Mojokerto in April 2005. Now AusAID's BEJIS project is at the end of its five-year schedule. All the staff are confident that the groups they have worked with will continue taking care of the environment.

Arif Santoso graduated from Gadjah Mada University as a geologist. In 1993 he became interested in NGOs and their work. He was most interested in local government and public participation in the process of government. While he was working as a geologist he became involved in various community groups where he learned many skills. He started to specialise in communication between groups of people with different backgrounds. In 2000 he started working for BEJIS as Training Advisor. 

Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD)
On January 5th, 2005, the Prime Minister of Australia announced the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD). This partnership is worth AUD$1 billion. This money will be spent over the next five years. The AIPRD is governed by a Joint Commission, overseen by the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Indonesia. The objective of the AIPRD is to help Indonesia's reconstruction and development efforts. This partnership will provide valuable assistance to tsunami and disaster affected areas but it will also assist in education and health activities all over Indonesia. This will be done through cooperation with the Indonesian Government's program of reform but with an emphasis on economic and social development. AIPRD activities will be jointly managed and implemented by the Australian and Indonesian governments. Many of the programs will complement current AusAID activities in Indonesia, for example the new Australian Partnership Scholarships (APS). Under AIPRD, Australia will offer 600 new scholarships, thereby doubling the number of scholarships during 2005-2006 for Indonesia.

Australian Scholarships from AusAID

The Australian Government has been providing scholarships to study in Australia since the 1950s. In that period, over 10,000 Indonesians have studied in Australia using these scholarships. Currently the Australian Government offers 2 types of scholarships to Indonesians for study at the postgraduate level. The first of these scholarships is the Australian Development Scholarship (ADS). The ADS program offers over 300 scholarships per year for employees from the public and private sector. During the past 5 years, more than 1500 Australian Development Scholarships have been awarded. In 2005, another 300 scholarships will be available and applications close for the ADS on September 9th.

In addition to the 300 ADS scholarships, there will be an additional 600 special scholarships awarded during 2005 and 2006. These scholarships are called Australian Partnership Scholarships or APS. The objective of the APS program is to develop the human resource capacity of Indonesia in the areas of Economic Governance, Public Sector Management and Education. These scholarships are part of the response by the Australian Government to the tsunami disaster of 2004 and form part of the much larger program known as the Australia Indonesia Program for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD).

In summary, the Australian Government, in cooperation with the Indonesian Government, will provide over 2 years (2005 and 2006), a total of 1200 postgraduate scholarships to Indonesians to study at Australian universities. That number consists of 600 scholarships from the ADS program and 600 from the APS program. There has never been a better time to apply for an Australian postgraduate scholarship than now.

Let's briefly review these two AusAID funded scholarship schemes. The long running and successful ADS scheme provides scholarships for students from the public and private sectors. Applicants must have their S1 degree. Their GPA must be 2.9 or above. Applicants need an IELTS score of 5.0 or a TOEFL score of 500. Applications for ADS scholarships are already open, and close on September 9th, 2005.

The newly introduced APS scheme is for postgraduate study in Australian universities. Applicants must have their S1 or S2 degree from an Indonesian university. Their GPA must be 2.9 or above. Applicants need an IELTS score of 5.0 or a TOEFL score of 500. APS applications for 2005 close on August 5th, 2005 BUT applications for APS for 2006 will open again on May 8th, 2006 and close July 14th, 2006. To find out full information on both ADS and APS please either contact KGRE or go directly to the ADS and APS websites: http://www.adsjakarta.or.id               http://www.apsprogram.or.id TOEFL information - http://www.iief.or.id/testing_pbtp.html This is the link to the Indonesia International Education Foundation's website and the listed TOEFL Institutional Testing institutions. For IELTS testing dates - http://www.ialf.edu/ieltsschedule.html

A Slice of Life
After she left high school in 1965, Margaret Rollings joined the Women's Royal Australian Navy (WRAN). She trained at the Australian Navy's Point Cook School of Languages and became an Indonesian Language Interpreter/Translator. Some years later, while working in Singapore for the WRAN, Margaret met her husband John and eventually moved to England in 1969. Margaret and John began 'life on the farm' in Australia the early 1970s in New South Wales. This was a significant career change for Margaret - no more teaching but lots of dairy cattle to look after. She had grown up on a dairy farm so she knew what to do.

Winner of KGRE Writing Competition for 2005

Uning Musthofiyah from Jombang, East Java, is the winner of the KGRE 2005 Writing Competition. Congratulations to Uning. Her story was not only interesting to read and was written in quite an unusual style. As a part of her prize, KGRE is really looking forward to her arrival in Bali later this year. Uning can bring a friend with her and both of them will stay in a beautiful hotel, go on a full day tour of Bali plus have some spending money to go shopping with. Check it out on KGRE's website Stories Page.

The 5 Runner Ups are Ummi Sa'adah from Demak - Central Java, Rahmat Hidayatullah from Bima - NTB, Sugiyarti from Yogjakarta, Retno Setyo Wenny from Pasuruan - East Java, and Eddi Haposan from Labuhan Batu - North Sumatra. They will each receive KGRE's Special Gift Package plus a selection of English Language novels and text books for their wonderful efforts. This annual KGRE Writing Competition is sponsored by AusAID, IALF and KGRE.

KGRE's 2005 Photo Competition
The winning entry from the 2001 KGRE Photo Competition was the cover of the December 2001 magazine (see left). It was a big hit! Now KGRE announces the 2005 Photo Competition and once again we plan to use the winning photograph on the cover of the December 2005 magazine. The topic of the photograph is 'My Healthy Lifestyle'. The photograph should be in colour. It can either a digital or a print photograph. In the photo you should follow the topic but we would also like to see something Kang Guru in it. Maybe a KGRE magazine, a KGRE t-shirt or even a Busy Letter.

The winning entry will be on the cover of the December magazine and winning photographer will win a new camera from KGRE. Entries must be sent in before October 31st, 2005 either by post or by email.  

Look at the entries in the 2001 KGRE Photo Competition

LANDLINE and ACIAR
Sean Murphy is from Sydney. He works for Landline, an Australian television program which specializes in stories about life on the land - farming! Landline has been on television for about fifteen years and is very popular. Landline presents many stories on agriculture, fishing and on issues that relate to people who live outside the cities. Rural activities make a lot of money for Australia by selling many agricultural products overseas. There is great interest in Landline for people who live in the city because they love to see films made with beautiful images of rural Australia. Many people who live in the cities are surrounded by big buildings and traffic and don't feel connected to the country. They can watch a program like Landline which has many beautiful images of Australia. Then they feel more connected to the country.

Craniofacial Surgery

In 1975 an Australian surgeon called Professor David John David started an organisation that is now called The Australian Craniofacial Institute. This was at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Adelaide Children's Hospital. Prof. David started this organisation to develop craniofacial treatment, tools, technology and research. This was so people with craniofacial problems in Australia and South East Asia could get the best treatment. Three years later Prof. David and his team started peforming operations and training medical personnel in SE Asia. Prof. David says that in SE Asia around 10,000 babies are born with craniofacial problems each year. In 1985 Prof. David held his first clinic in Indonesia. Their aims in Indonesia are to provide treatment to 1,000 patients each year while at the same time helping to develop the quality of health facilities and training local medical staff. Prof. David and his team from Adelaide come to Indonesia to hold clinics and perform surgery a few times a year. They come as volunteers, which means they do not get paid. Around 15 of the most serious patients go over to Adelaide for treatment each year. This is because their treatment cannot yet be provided in Indonesia. The state government of South Australia pays for these patients to be treated and looked after in Australia for as long as it is necessary. In order to treat these patients (in Indonesia or in Australia) a large team of doctors and staff is necessary. These include plastic surgeons, oral surgeons and speech therapists. Over the years the Australian group has worked with many Indonesian doctors and they take care of the patients together as a team. Many of the Indonesian doctors give their time without charge. Prof. David and his Australian team regularly treat patients in Bali, Surabaya, Bandung, Jakarta, Makassar and Manado. There are also many people involved in finding and bringing patients to the clinics. For example, the Rotary Club of Nusa Dua in Bali sponsors patients. There is also a local network of Indonesian and expatriate volunteers who give their time and money to find and coordinate patients who need care.

craniofacial = kerusakan pada wajah dan tengkorak kepala termasuk masalah bibir sumbing

Kang Guru Connection Club Network

English Practicing Club in Lumajang
In June KGRE went to Lumajang, East Java. On Saturday the 25th, Rachel gave a KGRE workshop at Gedung Guru in Lumajang. This workshop was organised by Deny’s Bunch - a Yayasan school for English in Lumajang. Deny’s also have an English club called the English Practicing Club (EPC). EPC is a very active member of the KGCC network. They meet every Sunday and they often go on excusrions together. On Sunday the 26th, Rachel met with EPC for day of fun English activities. Early in the morning Rachel met the club members at Deny’s school building and had a tour of the school. Then everyone got into cars and on motorbikes and drove 7 kilometers to Pemandian Sulokambang for the club meeting. The magnificient Mount Semeru was smoking in the distance as they drove along. A lot of people were enjoying the natural spring baths when they all arrived at Pemandian Sulokambang. There is a lovely park around the pool, some playgrounds for children, lots of warungs with all kinds of lovely food and some market stalls. It is a great place to spend a warm Sunday afternoon. EPC are really lucky to have a place like this for their club meetings. Activities included songs, silly games and conversations. One of the activities was called 'The Robot'. In this game club members had to give the robot directions to get from one place to another. Unfortunately the robot was not too smart and always did exactly as it was told. So if the club members told the robot to walk the robot kept walking without stopping. The club members soon realised they had to be very clear in their instructions. For example, telling the robot to walk five steps instead of just walk. As usual a KGRE Quiz was held and one member from each team won a KGRE Gift Pack - T shirt, stickers, pen, pencil and much more. During the meeting there were wonderful snacks including the famous Pisang Agung from Lumajang. After a great lunch the club members sang a lovely goodbye song. Rachel says thank you to Deny’s and EPC for a really wonderful weekend especially Agus, Dede and Zainal for all their hard work.

Stella Maris in Waikabubak

On May 17, 2005, Ogi from KGRE made a visit to Stella Maris English Club in Waikabubak, West Sumba. Club members were very keen to meet KGRE staff although some of them were on holidays from their studies. Even Pak Paulus, the Club's Adviser, made a special trip to Waikabubak on that day from Malela where he had to supervise an examination. They were very excited to meet Ogi all the way from Bali. She was surprised to see some of the members wearing traditional costumes. During their meeting together the members told Ogi that they do not have radios so they cannot listen to KGRE programs. They do not have a cassette player so that they cannot listen to cassettes either. KGRE suggested borrowing one from a member who has the equipment at home. KGRE noted this problem and we hope we can help them in some way in the future. Members were excited to get prizes when Ogi ran a quiz about Indonesia and Australia. It was almost 5 o'clock when the meeting ended with the Woleka Dance - usually performed as a welcome dance. It's one of the famous dances in West Sumba and Ogi felt honoured to be presented with such a beautiful dance.

Teachers' Questions When KGRE presents Teacher Workshops participants often ask lots of questions. KGRE also gets lots of questions by letter and email. On this page we will answer one of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ). Please let KGRE know your opinions and ideas about these important questions and answers so we can share your ideas and opinions with other teachers. Our first question is the number one question teachers ALWAYS ask.

Can you tell me the way to motivate our students so they can love to study English?

Many teachers have to explain to students about how English has become so important in the world. They explain about the plans to have English as a second language in Indonesia, just like in Singapore and Malaysia. People who know English well (including speaking and writing) often get the best jobs, the best opportunities and maybe the best life. BUT students have to motivate themselves. They have to accept that a teacher can teach but a teacher cannot learn for the students. They have to do it themselves. It is also necessary for teachers to explain to students that no language is simple and it takes a very long time to learn. But students have to try and they have to do some English study EVERY day. Not just in their school English lessons they have to do some at home too. Apart from telling students it is their responsibility to motivate themselves, there are some things teachers can do.

• Make sure lessons are not too difficult for the students. Take the curriculum outcomes or objectives and find extra materials and different ways to teach the language. Why not adapt the content sometimes to suit your students' levels?.
• Make the classroom materials interesting for the students. Try to include music, sporting events, local issues, activities with a purpose and a result, quizzes, games, etc.
• Ensure that students regularly experience some degree of success. Being successful, at least sometimes, is a great motivator.
• Make sure students are actively engaged throughout the lesson. Keep students busy, interested and active all the time!
• Try to vary the way you teach. Try new activities and methods regularly! Don't become a boring teacher.
• Make the task of teaching easier for yourself and your students. Teach students to work independently. Ask students to help you in class. Share ideas with other teachers. Enjoy your lessons too.
• Make the most of the (limited) materials you have. Don't just use materials once and then forget about them. Use good texts again and again with different activities each time.
• Keep energy levels high. Do warm up activities/tasks to get students physically moving and really active!
• Students make their own activities. Keep their interest by getting them to make up activities and assist you in class.
• Test free lessons. Try to have some lessons without grading and testing - practice activities, for example, should not be tests. Encourage students to practice without the stress.
• Encourage mistakes! Students will try more because they won’t be afraid of making mistakes - especially in practice activities. Making mistakes is to be expected and very beneficial.
• Comfort and safety. Try to create an environment in your classroom where students are not afraid to try, where students don’t laugh at each other or become embarrassed.

Teaching is a fulltime job!

Fatrianis has been a hard working English teacher since 1984. She now teaches at SMA 2 Lintau Buo, Tanah Datar in West Sumatra. She also teaches at Pondok Pesantren Modern Lintau. Fatrianis uses KGRE teaching materials as often as she can and especially likes the way the materials encourage and motivate her students. Finding materials to match the new competency based curriculum is difficult but Fatrianis knows she has to do it. Fatrianis also appreciates the work of LAPIS - an AusAID project in Indonesia. LAPIS (Learning Assistance Program for Islamic Schools) and is working together with teachers and institutions all over Indonesia. 

Shanty wasn't going to give up on the entertainment business and 2 years later re-auditioned for MTV and guess what? She was successful. Shanty told KGRE the three reasons she got that job, and stayed with MTV for three years. The three reasons Shanty gave were that she is bubbly (ceria), eager to talk and because her English was good. "If you don't speak English I don't think you can get the job as an interviewer on MTV". To interview Ronan Keating, Enrique Iglesias, Blue and Westlife you do need to be lively and pretty confident with your English. Nowadays, when Shanty appears overseas she often needs to use English, particularly when organising activities and appearances. "I don't speak perfect English, my grammar is totally wrong, I don't know, it's not perfect at all but at least people can understand me". As for Shanty's future, "I'm trying to get into acting. Hopefully I have two movies coming up so hopefully they will come up good and my album is coming out next month".

One of Shanty's problems, especially as an actor, is that she speaks too fast. Her acting coach often tells her, "No, if you say this line you have to say it really slowly and people will have to hear you clearly to understand what it means". 'Di Belahan Langit Hati' is one of Shanty's songs that KGRE has featured on the radio program. Have you heard it? It is terrific! It is half in English and half in Indonesian. As Shanty says, "The song is just so beautiful that I had to do it. I have even made a video for it, myself". It was written by Dewi Lestari, a good friend of Shanty. Shanty's next album? She told KGRE it will be more of a rock album with influences from artists such as Avril Lavigne, Evanescence and Linkin Park. Finally some advice from Shanty, "Ya, just don't be afraid to speak English. I mean people are so afraid of other people making fun of you ... if you say something wrong like doesn't, isn't, you know that kind of stuff. But I think it's completely normal if you say, if you make couple of mistakes but the main thing is just do not be scared to speak English, that's the main thing".

Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem is a young Australian singer songwriter. She is well known in many countries, especially in Europe and of course in Australia. Delta has been singing and acting since she was very young. She has been in many television commercials and television shows in Australia. At the age of seven, Delta was in an American advertisement for Galoob Toys. Delta is a classically trained pianist and also plays guitar and drums. In 1996 she recorded a demo with five songs that she wrote herself. That’s when she got a contract with a record company and made her first album Innocent Eyes. In 2003 Delta had five number one hit songs from that album.

Different Pond Different Fish
In January 2004, I did an IELTS interview as part of applying for an ADS scholarship. Before the test we had a short briefing and the presenter made a joke, "Remember don't use the rice philosophy approach, but the wheat philosophy one". What did he mean by that? Well, with rice, the more grains on the stalk, the more bowed over it is whereas with wheat, the more grains on the stalk the more upright it stands. In the Eastern philosophy, the more a person knows the more humble they should become - like the fully-laden rice plant. The wheat philosophy on the other hand means not being afraid to show what you know and to be able to 'self-promote'. Luckily I used the wheat philosophy approach in my interview and I was able to win an ADS scholarship. (Niko, ADS)

"One difference between Indonesian and Australian culture that I found particularly difficult to become accustomed to are the early morning phone calls. It is not unusual for people to ring me at 5am in the morning Then I explain that in Australia, if I receive a telephone call at an unusual hour, say between 10pm and 7am, I imagine that something terrible has happened and there is an emergency situation. However, now that I have lived here for a year I have become used to early morning phone calls and now I even find myself calling people very early in the morning." (Amber Earles, an Australian ISELP teacher trainer based in Jombang, East Java)

Keen KGRE Presenters
In February 2004, KGRE visited Lombok for a series of Teacher Workshops. These were organized in conjunction with teacher trainer, Dave Erickson, from Global Partners. While in Lombok, Kevin held a Listener’s Meeting at RRI Mataram. RRI Mataram staff were quite surprised at the number of listeners who attended the meeting, about 150, and how good their English language levels were. 

"Talk to Me", with Jack and Nada as hosts, has grown in popularity among the young and old. Callers have ranged from brave SMP students, to teachers of English, to tour guides and everything in between.  Many of the callers speak English quite well but there are also beginners who just want to practice the basics, which Jack and Nada love to do.  One of the main attractions of the show are quiz questions or other contests such as a mystery song or voice. 

Prizes include KGRE gifts but one of the most popular prizes is a guest appearance on the program. This was suggested by one of the regular callers, Rizal, who then won the prize and got to be on the show!  KGRE has generously provided great prizes such as t-shirts, bags, notebooks and key chains.  For some callers, the chance to win a prize is exciting each week!  Listeners love Jack and Nada, both native speakers of English. Each week a topic is chosen and discussed on the show and there are sometimes special guests on the show from other English speaking countries such as Australia, Singapore, USA and Canada.  Some of the more popular topics have been on love, idioms and family. Many listeners say they love learning about different cultures through the show.

Read past Issues (2000 - 2005) of the Kang Guru magazine

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