Yulinemnk's Weblog

Curriculum (1)

Yuline Monako — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:42:32 +0000

Language curriculum design has played a very crucial role in the success of a language teaching learning process. A number of efforts have been conducted to establish a good curriculum. Notions, functions and the best methods were discussed then selected to be implemented in language curriculum. Lots of language course just adapt one curriculum without investigating further whether it fits the laerners’ needs. This can become an issue since there is no language curriculum fitting all language learners’ needs.

There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that English for specific purpose course may not use general English curriculum (Bosher and Smalkoski, 2002; Brecht and Rivers, 2005; Guntermann, 1987; Long, 2005; Wang, 2006). How to develop a language curriculum for specific purposes has become a concern for years.

In designing a language curriculum, there are various points should be kept in mind. As the first point of departure is a need analysis. Long (2005) mentioned in analysing needs, a curriculum designer had to put three analysis on his mind, namely target situation analysis, means analysis and deficiency analysis. These measurements could serve to inform the aims, decide what available to teach, and also narrow the gaps between what the learners know and do not know and what they need in their target course or in their real life situation. The choices of instructors, materials and methods which can optimize the achievement of the course aims should be decided carefully. Long (1983) mentioned the theory of comprehensible input which is based on the belief that it is beneficial for the students to be exposed to the language input which is just a little beyond their current level of competence (Krashen 1981,1982) and it is important to involve learners in the meaningful negotiation of meaning to develop their communicative competence. And the task-based sylabus which mostly was suggested as the most suitable one for specific puposes curriculum should be designed with careful consideration (Ellis, 2003).

In addition, the involvement of a subject matter expert along with language teachers, learners or materials writers in designing a curriculum is also crucial (Long, 2005). Someone who has good knowledge of English does not guarantee he can teach any subjects in English. For this reason, a subject matter expert plays an important role owing to the fact he knows what terminologies and rules used in the real life situation.

Furthermore, to find whether the curriculum still have some weaknesses, an evaluation should be conducted. The evaluation can be in the form of a continuous discussion with the domain experts or the students’ point of views investigation. Towell and Tomlinson (1999) suggested the course could be evaluated largely by means of questionnaires to be completed by students. The students could inform to what extent the explicit and detailed objectives of the course had been attained.

Have we tried to investigate the needs? Have we taken the measurements suggested by the researchers above? Hopefully the answers are positive.

In a language curriculum design, we have to include some items needed in the teaching learning process. Here I will devide the items into 6 sections:

Section	Items should be described
Section 1	Training Specification · Description of the course · The aim of the course · Time allocation in general § When is the course conducted § How many weeks § How many hours · Students § Who are eligible to attend the course § The minimum and maximum number of students · What the students should be able to achieve at the end of the course
Section 2	Course Management Include some basic details such as: · Where the course will be held · Who will teach the course · How will the hour be divided · What sort of thing will be done in the time allocation · What the sequence of instruction will be used § How the training will be started, proceeded, and ended · Why the schedules were offered · The example of the twelve week time table · How the assessment will be done
Section 3	Course Resources Requirement · Instructors § How many language expert and subject matter expert are needed § What training needed by the instructors to be able to teach the course · Textbooks § Books will be given to the students § Books will be lent to the students · Other learning materials such as CD, cassettes · Classroom setting · Equipment needed in class room ^§Tables, chairs, board, markers, etc.
Section 4	Training Modules · Course training outcomes (general and very broad) · Then specific about: § What the learning outcomes are § What the assessment criteria are · In addition, also mention the separated modules used in § Classroom activities § Language Laboratory activities § Field trip
Section 5	Assessment The information include: · Assessment plan · Marking guide · How many percentage to pass · Policies § What action will be taken to any students who failed. If there will be a retest, how many times. § What action will be taken if the student still failed after administering the retest.
Section 6	Instructors’ Guide · What the instructors should do · The lesson plan for each teaching learning session

The process of designing curriculum is neither simple nor straightforward. Many factors should be taken into consideration and lots of evaluation should be done in determining whether the curriculum has satisfied the learners’ needs. Further research could be conducted such as by interviewing the instructors, administering questionnaires from the learners and discussing what further measurements could be taken to be implemented for the sake of improving the quality of the curriculum with the experts.

Siapa yang harus melindungi budaya kita?

Yuline Monako — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:33:51 +0000

Himbauan dari seorang teman:

Kisah sedih dialami Desak Suarti, seorang pengerajin perak dari Gianyar, Bali. Pada mulanya, Desak menjual karyanya kepada seorang konsumen di luar negeri. Orang ini kemudian mematenkan desain tersebut. Beberapa waktu kemudian, Desak hendak mengekspor kembali karyanya. Tiba-tiba, ia dituduh melanggar Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Wanita inipun harus berurusan dengan WTO.

“Susah sekarang, kami semuanya khawatir, jangan-jangan nanti beberapa motif asli Bali seperti `patra punggal’, `batun poh’, dan beberapa motif lainnya juga dipatenkan” kata Desak Suarti dalam sebuah wawancara.

Kisah sedih Desak Suarti ternyata tidak berhenti sampai di sana. Ratusan pengrajin, seniman, serta desainer di Bali kini resah menyusul dipatenkannya beberapa motif desain asli Bali oleh warga negara asing.
Tindakan warga asing yang mempatenkan desain warisan leluhur orang Bali ini membuat seniman, pengrajin, serta desainer takut untuk berkarya.

Salah satu desainer yang ikut merasa resah adalah Anak Agung Anom Pujastawa. Semenjak dipatenkannya beberapa motif desain asli Bali oleh warga asing, Agung kini merasa tak bebas berkarya. “Sebelumnya, dalam
satu bulan saya bisa menghasilkan 30 karya desain perhiasan perak.
Karena dihinggapi rasa cemas, sekarang saya tidak bisa menghasilkan satu desain pun,” ujarnya hari ini.

Potret di atas adalah salah satu gambaran permasalahan perlindungan budaya di tanah air. Cerita ini menambah daftar budaya indonesia yang dicuri, diklaim atau dipatenkan oleh negara lain, seperti Batik
Adidas, Sambal Balido, Tempe, Lakon Ilagaligo, Ukiran Jepara, Kopi Toraja, Kopi Aceh, Reog Ponorogo, Lagu Rasa Sayang Sayange, dan lain sebagainya.

LANGKAH KE DEPAN

Indonesia harus bangkit dan melakukan sesuatu. Hal inilah yang melatarbelakangi berdirinya Indonesian Archipelago Culture Initiatives (IACI), informasi lebih jauh dapat dilihat di http://budaya- indonesia. org/ . Untuk dapat mencegah agar kejadian di atas tidak terus berlanjut, kita harus melakukan sesuatu. Setidaknya
ada 2 hal perlu kita secara sinergis, yaitu:

1. Mendukung upaya perlindungan budaya Indonesia secara hukum. Kepada rekan-rekan sebangsa dan setanah air yang memiliki kepedulian (baik bantuian ide, tenaga maupun donasi) di bagian ini, harap menggubungi IACI di email: office@budaya- indonesia. org

2. Mendukung proses pendataan kekayaan budaya Indonesia. Perlindungan hukum tanpa data yang baik tidak akan bekerja secara optimal. Jadi, jika temen-temen memiliki koleksi gambar, lagu atau video tentang
budaya Indonesia, mohon upload ke situs PERPUSTAKAAN DIGITAL BUDAYA INDONESIA, dengan alamat http://budaya- indonesia. org/ Jika Anda memiliki kesulitan untuk mengupload data, silahkan menggubungi IACI di email: office@budaya- indonesia. org

Selamat Menunaikan Ibadah Puasa…

Yuline Monako — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:36:26 +0000

Menunaikan ibadah puasa di negeri orang, pd waktu musim dingin?

Ehm.. Saya langsung mengecek kalender bulan Ramadhan.

Ternyata waktu imsak untuk hari pertama pk 05.09 dan hari terakhir pk 04.23,

sedangkan waktu magribnya pk 18.01 dan hari terakhir pk 18.25.

Tidak beda jauh dengan di Jakarta kan?

Tapi… nggak sama dong suasananya..

Di daerah sy tinggal, nggak kedengaran suara beduk dan azan berkumandang, so harus liat jam bener2 nih…

Jangan sampai sahurnya bablas (ketiduran atau makan trs pdhal sudah imsak, nah lho).

Dan berhubung kuliah hampir selalu dimulai pk 17 an, berarti, buka puasa di kelas hihi… bukan makan nasi uduk beserta teman-temannya (ntar dosennya minta: minta kita keluar beneran hahaha kr temen yg lain jd nggak liat ke white board dong) tp hrs kue yg imut2 ala kadarnya aja. Jadi inget di Jakarta, sy sering sekali buka puasa dijalan, bukan makan di restorant (wow 30 hari makan di restorant?), tp bener2 di jalanan. Buayak yg jualan segala macem minuman maupun makanan. Nyaris apa aja ada. Males masak untuk Sahur, tinggal beli lauk pauk (Muacet!! Tapi seru juga sih). Disini?? Ya enggak ada suasana dan keadaan seperti itu. Dan kr baru masuk kelas pk 17an otomatis pulangnya malem.. Ihik.. suasana tarawihnya jd beda jg… So, bersyukurlah dan manfaatkan nikmat yg ada. Tp katanya ntar ada acara buka puasa bersama saudara lain senegara nih.. I’ll tell you later.

Anyway, Mohon Maaf Lahir dan Bathin, Selamat Menunaikan Ibadah Puasa bagi yang melaksanakannya…

Be grateful for your life

Yuline Monako — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:01:55 +0000

Before you think that you are the most unlucky person in this world, read this advice from a wise friend…

One day... When I jumped desperately,

Be grateful, whoever you are…

Festival Indonesia

Yuline Monako — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:31:52 +0000

Indonesia is a beautiful unique country. Lots of festivals have been held to inform the diversity of our interesting cultures, life, places and delicious foods. One of them is Festival Indonesia will be held on the 29 to 31 August, 2008 in order to strengthen the relationship between Indonesia and Australia. As the venue of this festival, the Royal Exhibition Building situated at the Carlton Gardens has been chosen. This building was developed in 1880 to serve as a venue for international exhibit to showcase the prosperity of Melbourne as it was the “wealthiest gold rush in the world” when Victoria was still a colony of the British Empire.

Festival Indonesia which was first convened in 2005 and then annually held has become the largest Indonesian-Australian forum in Melbourne. The diverse range of programmes have been prepared: Trade and Tourism Expo, Cultural Programs, Food Fair – which I think the one that will get the most visitors, and the last but not the least, Invest Indonesia which will held on 27th August, 2008. This program aims to inform any investment in Indonesia

Wanna know more about this festival, check this out:

http://www.festivalindonesia.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=27

I will also inform you further about this festival. Wait and See.

Cheers

Dirgahayu Indonesia ku …

Yuline Monako — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:10:25 +0000

Indonesia tercinta… Semoga menjadi lebih baik…

Ilangin stress yok..

Yuline Monako — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:03:03 +0000

Seorang temen bercerita tentang:

*Bihun dan Indomie*
Bihun sangat iri hati terhadap Indomie. Setiap kali bertemu di supermarket mereka tidak pernah bertegur sapa, bahkan Bihun sering mengolok olok Indomie di depan umum, “Dasar kribo jelek hiiih, mentang-mentang kuning & gemuk aja orang orang lebih suka sama dia, nggak tau malu.”
Hari hari berlalu dengan semakin menumpuknya rasa kebencian. Indomie tetap adem ayem, tidak peduli Bihun mau bilang apa. Pikir Indomie, “Kafilah menggonggong, gue berlalu aah…”
Suatu hari di supermarket muncul barang baru bernama Spaghetti. Saking tidak kuat menahan emosi, Bihun berlari dari raknya dan memukuli kepala Spaghetti sambil berteriak, “Jangan kira gue enggak ngenalin elu ya!! Meskipun di bonding begitu, gue tetep tau elu si kribo jelek itu !!!”

*Kucing*
Budi pada dasarnya tidak menyukai kucing. Ia semakin benci ketika istrinya memelihara seekor kucing. Budi merasa istrinya jadi lebih perhatian pada kucingnya daripada dirinya. Suatu hari Budi memutuskan untuk membuang kucing tersebut secara diam diam. Ketika istrinya sedang mandi, ia pamit pergi keluar sebentar dan dibawanya si kucing. Ketika Budi bermobil sekitar 10 km dari rumah, ia pun membuang kucing tersebut. Anehnya ketika ia sampai di rumah, si kucing sudah ada di rumahnya lagi. Budi heran campur berang. Sore harinya ia pergi lagi. Kali ini si kucing dibuangnya lebih jauh lagi. Namun tetap saja, sesampainya di rumah, kucing istrinya tersebut telah ber ada di sana. Budi berusaha membuangnya lebih jauh lagi, lebih jauh lagi, tapi tetap saja si kucing kembali ke rumah mendahului dirinya.
Suatu hari ia tidak saja membawa si kucing pergi jauh, tapi juga berputar-putar dulu. Budi belok kanan, belok kiri, belok kanan, belok kanan lagi, berputar putar sebelum akhirnya membuang kucing yang dibawanya. Beberapa jam kemudian ia menelepon istrinya.
“Tik, kucingmu ada di rumah?” tanya Budi.
“Ada, kenapa? Tumben nanya si Manis segala,” jawab istrinya agak heran.
“Panggil dia Tik, aku mau tanya arah pulang. Aku kesasar….! ”

*Masalah Pendengaran*
JERI pergi ke dokter mengeluh tentang istrinya yang sudah hilang pendengaran. “Seberapa burukkah pendengarannya? “tanya dokter.
“Entahlah, Dok. Yang jelas saya mesti harus berteriak kalau bicara dengannya.”
“Oke, cobalah anjuran saya. Berdiri sekitar 6 meter darinya, lalu katakan sesuatu. Kalau dia tak bisa mendengarmu, berdirilah lebih dekat darinya, lalu katakan yang Anda katakan tadi. Kalau dia belum juga mendengar, teruslah mendekat. Dengan begitu saya akan tahu berapa jarak maksimal pendengarannya. “
Maka, Jeri pulang ke rumah dan mendapati istrinya sedang memasak di dapur. Dari jarak 6 meter ia berteriak, “Makan apa kita malam ini?” Tak ada jawaban.
Lalu ia mendekat lagi, berhenti di jarak 5 meter dan menanyakan hal yang sama. Juga tak terdengar jawaban. Begitu juga pada jarak 3 meter.
Akhirnya, ia berdiri di samping istrinya. “Makan apa kita malam ini?” katanya setengah berteriak. Istrinya berbalik menghadap Jeri, memelototinya, dan berteriak: “Untuk keempat kalinya kubilang: KAMBING GULING!”

Menghemat pengeluaran untuk bahan bakar

Yuline Monako — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:39:42 +0000

Kenaikan bahan bakar diikuti banyak protes dari berbagai kalangan. Tetapi kita tetap harus membeli bahan bakar untuk kendaraan kita. Salah seorang teman memberikan saran penghematan yang ditentukan oleh pemilihan waktu pengisian bahan bakar ke mobil atau motor kita:

PAGI HARI

Semua SPBU mempunyai tanki penyimpanan bawah tanah. Temperatur tanah akan mempengaruhi kepadatan/ kekentalan bahan bakar. Semakin dingin temperatur tanah, bahan bakar akan semakin padat.

SAAT TANKI BAHAN BAKAR KENDARAAN MASIH SETENGAH PENUH

Semakin banyak bahan bakar yang ada di tanki kendaraan, maka udara yang ada di bagian tanki yang kosong semakin sedikit. Sehingga saat pengisian bahan bakar, penguapan bisa dikurangi.

WAKTU TIDAK ADA TRUK MENGISI BAHAN BAKAR

Saat bahan bakar dipompakan dari truk ke tanki penyimpanan, kemungkinan besar kotoran di dasar tanki teraduk dan naik ke permukaan dan masuk ke kendaraan anda.

Mari maksimalkan rupiah yang kita gunakan untuk membeli bensin.

Beat the Office Blues

Yuline Monako — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:23:48 +0000

By Jo Lamble – Happy Mondays

Far too many people don’t enjoy Sunday nights because of the sinking feeling that comes with the thought: ‘Tomorrow I have to go back to work.’ Some have more than a general sense of dread; they have stomach pain, diarrhoea and vomiting, and are unable to sleep. What a way to end a weekend!

If your job was never right for you, then perhaps you need to take some serious steps towards finding a new one. However, if you once enjoyed going to work and found it a stimulating and fulfilling experience, then perhaps you’re just in a ‘work rut’ and a change in attitude could really help.

Check the following statements to see whether any of them apply in your case:

I’m bored with my tasks

Perhaps you’re being weighed down by some of the drudgery of your job. Try to divide your day and the tasks that need to be done into chunks. Spend an hour on the dull bits of the job and then an hour on something more challenging. If you’ve achieved all your goals, then it’s time to ask your boss for a new project.

I’m feeling overwhelmed

Are you attempting to do everything by yourself? Could you delegate tasks to some of your workmates? Do you need to practise saying ‘No’ to people when you’re asked to take on something else?

My work’s undervalued

Your manager or boss might not be aware that you need feedback and encouragement. Arrange a meeting and start it by saying how much you enjoy the role and the work itself, but point out that you’ll be even more productive and confident with some feedback.

The job’s too hard for me

Challenge any unhelpful thoughts of not being good enough or that your manager will soon realise you’re not up to the job. We call this ‘impostor fear’. Watch out for perfectionism. Keep those expectations of what you can achieve in a day realistic. If you’re truly in a role that’s beyond your experience, talk o your manager about getting some further training or other assistance.

Work’s become my life

Do you often think about work even when you’re not at work? How can you create a healthy work/life balance? Make sure you plan relaxing or fun activities after work or on the weekend. If you have nothing planned, there’s the real temptation to just work.

I have a problem with a colleague Unresolved conflict at work is a major reason for Mondayitis. Can you take the first step and confront your workmate? Do you need to be more assertive? Do you need to involve your manager as a mediator?

By all means keep one eye on what jobs are on the market. But before you jump ship and risk the same problems developing a year or two into another job, spend the next month or so trying to get out of the rut by finding that old spark in your relationship with your job.

Merubah File PDF ke Document Bentuk Lain

Yuline Monako — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:04:03 +0000

Banyak sofware yang bisa di download secara gratis dari internet untuk mengkonversi dokumen PDF ke dokumen bentuk lain seperti Microsoft Word

Salah satu cara adalah sebagai berikut:

1. Masuk ke:

http://www.docudesk.com/deskUNPDF_PDF-to-Word-Converter.shtml?utm_source=yahooaus&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=IM+AUS+-+General&utm_term=pdf%20to%20word

2. Klik Download

3. http://www.docudesk.com/downloads.shtml?id=1

4. Trs akan muncul banyak pilihan, misalnya pilih: Docudesk PDF Essentials Plus, Klik .exe

5. Muncul ‘File Download – Security Warning’, Pilih Save

6. Muncul ‘Save As’, tentukan dimana akan disimpan dan ketik File name

7. Ikuti urutan process download dan instalasi sampai selesai.

8. Bila instalasi selesai, maka akan muncul ‘deskUNPDF Product Activation’

9. Klik Continue Trial

10. Akan ada ‘Docudesk deskUNPDF Professional’

11. Lihat Output, pilih Microsoft Office

12. Klik Open, pilih file PDF mana yang akan di rubah

13. Bila ingin termasuk gambar, pastikan : Klik Graphics, lalu klik Include Images dan Include Lines and Vectors

14. Klik Convert atau Convert to All