WRITING ACADEMIC PURPOSES ASSIGNMENT THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE ABILITY IN ENGLISH

BY IDA MAULIDA JAMILAH 07420884 5F

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION IKIP PGRI SEMARANG 2010

 Outlining Topic sentence Supporting point Supporting detail The best way to improve ability in English skills are built through practice Listening skills Speaking skills Reading skills Writing skills Supporting point Learn to do what you do

 The Best Way To Improve Ability in English

What is the best way to learn English? this is an important question, but there is no single answer because English is not just one thing, it is a combination of different things. English consist of knowledge. For example, learning English requires knowing vocabulary words and grammar rules. more important English also consist of a variety of different skills, such as the ability to speak in English or understand a book written in English. So there is no single best way to improve our ability in eglish. there are different ways to develop each of the English skills. A. Skills are built through practice Mastering a skills requires learning to do several different thing smoothly and fluently, example in order to read in English you need to do several different things. When we learn a language, there are 4 skills that we need for complete communication. When we learn our native language , we usually learn to listen first, then to speak , then to read and finally to write. There are called the form language skills listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills and writing skills. 1. LISTENING SKILLS Like reading, listening text can be approached globally first and then repeated for more detailed to understanding. There are some ways of making the actual method of listening , With text where one listening will be enough, as in real life the students are likely to be able only to listen. Anothers are to allow students to listening. When teaching listening, it is important to remind students that in most listening situations the aim is not to remember the specific words or phrases used but to extract the main ideas or information. To help students

do this, the listening exercises usually contains a task that enable student to identify a purpose for listening. Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps: a. Hearing, hearing means listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. b. Understanding, the next part of listening happens when you take what you have heard and understand it in your own way. c. Judging , after you are sure you understand what the speaker has said , do you believe what you have heard? Listening project are extended activities that involved listening and other skills in an integrated way. The aim of listening project is to involve listening in various modes. Most projects involve listening to recorded material in our out of class as preparation fot their class activity. 2. SPEAKING SKILLS There are 4 key skills when we learn a Language : listening ,speaking , reading and writing . Which one of these is different from the other of three? The answer is Speaking. The other of three you can do alone, on your own without anyone else, you can listen to the radio alone, you can read a book alone, you can write a letter alone, but you cant really speak alone! That is way you should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak. Where you can speak English with you? And how can you practice speaking when you are alone? At school If you go to language school , you should use the opportunity to speak to your teacher and other students, when you go home, you can still practice listening, reading, and writing but you probably cant practice speaking. If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups

with other students, try to say as much as possible. Dont worry about your mistakes. Language is all around you Every where you go you find language, shop names, street names, advertisements, notices in buses and trains, even if you are not in an English speaking country, there are often a lot of English words you can see when walking in the street, especially in big cities. Above all, dont be afraid to speak. You must try to speak, even if you make mistakes. you cant learn without mistakes. There is says the person who never made a mistakes never made anything. So think of your mistakes as something positive and useful. Speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistakes, you know that you have made progress. Students often think that the ability to speak a language is the product of language learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process. Effective instructors teach students speaking strategies -- using minimal responses, recognizing scripts, and using language to talk about language -- that they can use to help themselves expand their knowledge of the language and their confidence in using it. These instructors help students learn to speak so that the students can use speaking to learn. a. Using minimal responses Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying. Having a stock of such responses enables a learner to focus on what the other participant is saying, without having to simultaneously plan a response. b. Recognizing Script Instructors can help students develop speaking ability by making them aware of the scripts for different situations so that they

can predict what they will hear and what they will need to say in response. Through interactive activities, instructors can give students practice in managing and varying the language that different scripts contain. c. Using language to talk about language Language learners are often too embarrassed or shy to say anything when they do not understand another speaker or when they realize that a conversation partner has not understood them. Instructors can help students overcome this reticence by assuring them that misunderstanding and the need for clarification can occur in any type of interaction, whatever the participants' language skill levels. Instructors can also give students strategies and phrases to use for clarification and comprehension check. By encouraging students to use clarification phrases in class when misunderstanding occurs and by responding positively when they do, instructors can create an authentic practice environment within the classroom itself. As they develop control of various clarification strategies, students will gain confidence in their ability to manage the various communication situations that they may encounter outside the classroom. 3. READING SKILLS Reading is necessary Reading is necessary survival skills in a variety of every day living situations. You need to read maps and road sign if you are travelling by car. You need to read store advertisement. You need to read movie listing and tv schedules to choose an evening of entertainment. Reading is a vital academic skill, you need to read textbooks, read question on exams, read sources to write research papers. The remainder of the book will focus on reading as an essential academic skills.

 Reading for pleasure However, before we get started, lets consider reading as not only necessary but FUN! Reading for pleasure is the easy way to become a better reader in English. Its also the most important way. Some students say they dont want to read for pleasure reading is easy. However, Pleasure reading is very important for learning English. Pleasure reading makes it possible for each student to learn what he or she needs. Reading for pleasure is not the same as studying. When you read foer pleasure, you choose your own books, and you dont have to remember everything. There are no tests on your pleasure reading books. Do you read the news paper or chemistry textbook in the same way and the same speed? for many adult the answer is yes. Many adults , including college graduate, read everything in nearly the same way at the same rate. What the best way to improve your English reading ability? Some non- English majors always like to ask such question. Reading English magazines is always my answer. A lot of students consider it tiring and boring to read English articles in magazines, because they have formed an ingrained habit of intensive reading. They would never dare to skip it when coming across a new word, they couldnt sleep well if they didnt to look in a dictionary and find a Chinese Equivalent for it. They even think themselves had working as well as serious English learners. The fact is that they love almost all the pleasure and interest in English reading. As far as, Im concerned, reading English magazines gives me the most pleasure in English study, I no assumption it as a had work. Its just an interesting and natural things. In my opinion, if you ran across a new word and try to memorize it hundred times, may be it cant still remember its meaning exactly. If you are confronted with a new word a hundred times in different contexts in magazines most likely it will enter

your vocabulary stock before you realize you have remembered the word. More importantly, youll have more and more interest your brain can remember quicker and quicker. In this way, I dont need to remembered intentionally the complicated grammar rules. On the contrary, I just cultivate a good sense and feeling of the English language, so I can use it naturally and spontaneously although I may not be able to recognize the grammar rules. Thats just the way we learn our mother tongue. Why cant we apply it to learning of a foreign language? Reading English magazines has also may other advantages over other English materials, the English original novels are good for advanced learners. Get some of the novels are rather complicated, or the language may be a little outdated to be understood. Therefore , reading the becomes a hard task and a nagging bore for some learners. English news paper also have their disadvantages. Sometimes they carry too much propaganda and advertisement, therefore discourage people to enjoy it. English magazine can be suited for both beginners and more advanced learners, because you can choose the articles from different levels. You can also have a choice in interest and preference. As we can see, some people think English majors know only the English language but nothing else. This is partly true. So when you take to English magazines this advantages can be changed into an advantages. For the magazine you can learn current political situations, Word business, And useful tips in everyday life, not to mention the real, idiomatic English. 4. WRITING SKILLS Being good at written English is a dream of every learner of English as a foreign language, especially in Indonesia. Some students have often devote their time to do anything to acquire this writing skills. Nevertheless, their gains are not always satisfactory, some student are even feeling very frustrated as their efforts end up with no significant improvement.

Hartoyo, M.A.,Ph.D. interviews with some of Indonesian learner of English in regard to the difficulty in English writing skills imply that grammar constitutes one of the most prominent language component they need in writing. They frequently make choppy and inaccurate sentences because incorrect use and some missing grammatical features. Their sentences are often not understandable, unreadable, and even meaningless. Therefore, equipping the students with sufficient knowledge of fundamental English grammatical features in context prior to developing their grammatical mastery into writing skills is likely to be salient. Writing increases students understanding of text structure because it causes them to think like writers. Writing essays helps long-term retention of information because it requires that readers manipulate and organize ideas with greater attention to detail than simply reading text materials. B. You learn to do what you do In other words, students who spend a lot of time reading newspaper articles. Students who practice speaking English will get better at speaking English. Soothe best way to develop a skill is to practice in a way that is as similar as possible to the skill you want to develop. All in all, we can say if you want to learn the real as proficient English,There is no single answer because English is not just one thing, it is a combination of different things. English consist of knowledge. For example, learning English requires knowing vocabulary words and grammar rules. Even more important English also consist of a variety of different skills, such as the ability to speak in English or understand a book written in English. So there is no single best way to improve ability in English. Instead, there are different ways to develop each of the English skills.

REFERENCES

Alexander, L.G. (1990). Developing skills . Yogyakarta: Kanisius Beatrice s. mikulecky linda Jeffries. Reading power . library of congress cataloging publication data Hartoyo,M.A.,Ph.D.(2006). Academic Writing. Semarang: Upt Unness Press Patricia A. Richard _amaton marguirete ann snow .(2005). Academic success for English language learners. Michael rost (2002). Teaching and researching listening. Great Britain: british library cataloguing in publication data Rebecca Hughes (2002). Teaching and Researching Speaking . Great Britain: British library cataloguing in publication data.