Interests

Alright, here goes.

            I recall typing something about this blog being the English for First Language’s class blog or something, but Jon never did give us anything specific to write about. Neither did he give restrictions. Coincidentally, a certain teacher supervising the Journalism Club asked us to write something in a blog. As far as memory serves, Jon instructs us to only “write anything you want, reflections about the class or whatever,” so what’s the harm in it?

            Sir Joel also gave me a thumbs-up, so here’s the first post after so much time of void.  

            The topic of interest is easy: anything I’m interested in. What is it that I like to do? My hobbies, fetishes, the things I do in my spare time? Hmmm, this is kind of hard. Because frankly speaking, there are so many things I am interested in that we’ll be sitting here till tomorrow before I’m done listing them down. So I’ll be nice and just put in the things I have the interest most and indulged in the most frequent times.

            First place for DotA 2. An acronym for Defense of the Ancients 2, this game is (sadly) not so widely known or popular in the school I went, leaving me with just a handful of close friends to play with occasionally. It’s practically an MMORPG, with around 100.000 - 200.000 of players playing every day. A normal game would last for 28 - 47 minutes, with 2 teams of 5 each would fight against each other. Each team would pick a hero to fight with, and the game ends when one of the ancient in the game is destroyed. For obvious reasons, I’m not going to go for the details of how to play (read sentence 2), because I know I’ll bore you to death. If, by any chance, one of you does want to know just leave me a comment :P

            When I’ve ran out of concentration or I’m too tired to continue, I’ll run into two other things: Asian visual arts (widely known as manga or anime), or novels. I’m not really an obsessive consumer of manga or anime, but consuming enough to be dancing between the lines of ‘nerd’ and ‘normal.’ I enjoy reading creations of literature (novels and such) because my mother just had to inherit that trait to me. I read lots of stuffs, be it classics or romance or adventure or anything. Give it a shot and ask me of a novel, and 7 out of 10 tries I would know what you’re talking about.

            When the books and manga I read ran out of pages, and the anime I like ends, I would turn to playing musical instruments. You see, whenever I pick up my flute and started to play the classic music I am fond off, I had this feeling where my mind is at ease. Everything - literally everything - became serene and filled with tranquility. I could sit down and play my flute again and again for tens of minutes, sometimes even hours, and the evening would pass just like that. It’s one of my favorite ways to ease myself into the night, and it’s beneficial (or so I heard) for my mind’s peace and clarity.

When the stars have flooded the skies and the moon shows her face, I would start to study. No, it’s not that I’m fond of studying (any student with a sane mind would say the same), but I know of its importance, and… well, I took a liking of excavating new knowledge for the mind. I would refresh the things I’ve studied earlier at school in my mind, and re-implant the things I’ve studied in the previous class for the class I’m having tomorrow.

Last but not least, I indulge myself in the art of sleeping. I LOVE it, because it’s the only way I will rejuvenate my spent energies. I love it so much sometimes I just have the urge to do it at school.

Damn, I’m running out of time.

As I told you before, I can’t list everything that I have interest in, especially with the short time Sir Joel gave us to write this. I will, eventually, write some more, so please be nice for me and wait; one way or another I’ll write more. There are a lot of things I want to share, so you can expect a lot.

Now I’m tarrying things. The end’s here, just below this line, so let’s end it here. See you later.

This is Abe Manyo Nainggolan, signing off - for now. 

Reflections about the EFL Class #2

I don’t know when it started. All I know is suddenly we’re already talking about Shakespeare’s creations.

            One of them, ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ in which we are tasked to read, is… well, I can’t say much because we've just went pass the Act 1 Scene 1. All I know by now is that it’s a great work of art, crafted in such a manner that the characters are deep, the humors abundant and the plot twisted, (in a complicated yet not confusing way, provided you can get past the archaic terms and language) while constantly being light and easy to comprehend. Despite the old terms and complex words, the unacquainted humors and the unexpected unfurls of the story, I could at least determine that this work of art is genuinely splendid, and truly one of Shakespeare’s better creations. If my guess is right, this Benedick fellow, which is a real player, would inevitably be hooked up to Beatrice, despite the ‘match of wit betwixt them,’ as Leonato, Beatrice’s uncle, would say.

            Shakespeare aside, I must say, and yes, I MUST, admit that I am delighted to be in the EFL class, not the ESL. Though technically I and a lot of others shouldn't have been in the class, and though actually I’m enrolled in the ESL in the first place, and though actually it’s just a streak of luck that Zaki (thanks a lot btw, bro) inquired about my first language’s past (while unknowingly thinking that my name is listed on EFL, not ESL) and showed me the proper classroom, and though I’m starting every sentence after the coma on this one pointlessly long sentence with ‘and though’, I’m very pleased and fortunate, I think, that Jon’s the kind of rebelliously-nice teacher that would overlook that small technical mistake.

            I just wasted a whole paragraph saying rubbish, didn’t I? Oh well.

            Till next time. 

Finding the 'Gist'

Help needed! What’s the ‘Gist’?!

It could be anything and something at the same time. You can call it the concept, the main idea, the topic, they are all correct. The ‘gist’ is the substance, the essence, the ‘message’ the writer wants to confer to us through the passage. It is usually composed of only a single sentence, if not less. For example, let’s say there’s a paragraph around 120 words long. Chances are, the ‘gist’ is just a complex sentence consisting of no more than 20-30 words. There is no perfect answer for the 'gist'; you could bring up 2 different sentences under twenty words each, and if separately they could still hit the mark, it is considered ‘right.’

Why is finding the ‘Gist’ so important?

Because it is the basic foundation of the passage, the very concept and message the writer wants to confer to us. If we find the ‘gist’, we can then grasp the whole meaning of the passage even better, thus enabling us to create the best summary using the least words.

There are a few shortcuts we can take to find the 'gist':  

First, remove any direct speech. Do not consider them at all, except if the whole paragraph itself is a form of speech. If so, remove any baseless or useless opinions.  

Second, remove repetitions, trivial details and figurative languages. They're just a waste of words. 

Three, remove examples. If a paragraph is filled with information about why an insect disguise themselves, don’t even hesitate to cross out the insects' various disguising methods. The fact of why they disguise is ample enough for examples of how to be excluded. Examples are, in a summary, a waste of word limit and time.  

Four, if you don’t understand the meaning of a word, don’t think about it too hard. Read the words before and after the word, and try to guess the meaning. 8 out of 10 guesses, you’ll either have a ‘correct’ or ‘close enough’ guess.  

Or, at least, that’s what Sir Jon’s been telling us.

Now that you've read the basics, try reading the paragraph given below:

There comes not seldom a crisis in the life of men, of nations, and of worlds, when the old forms seem ready to decay, and the old rules of action have lost their binding force. The evils of existing systems obscure the blessings that attend them; and, where reform is needed, the cry is raised for subversion. The cause of such phenomena is not far to seek. “It used to appear to me that the small number of cultivated, rich and idle men, of whom I was one, composed the whole of humanity, and that the millions and millions of other men who had lived and are still living were not in reality men at all,” writes Count Tolstoy, in a significant passage.

Try finding the ‘gist’ of the paragraph, which, as stated before, is no more than 20 words and is just a single, complex sentence. If you can’t find it or want to check your answer(s), feel free to scroll down. Remember though, that my answer isn't ‘precise’. It still has flaws, but more or less it hits the mark, so it’s considered ‘right.’ As long as yours, too, hit the mark, then it, too, is considered right, nevertheless the difference in the composing style or words used.

Here’s my answer, which according to Sir Jon is “Uh-huh. Okay, that’s it,” which in the Terminology of Knowing Your Teacher’s Brief Answers meant “Close Enough”:

Whenever an existing system faced a crisis and started to lose its form, a cry of revolution would be resounded.

Simple as that.

You don’t need the reason why the crisis occurs in the first place, nor Count Toystore’s opinion, or anything; that one sentence, that ‘gist’ is the core that is then could be extended into the whole paragraph, and in which is the most important thing to find.  

            Well, that’s all I can share with you chaps right now, because that’s the only subject I’ve learnt so far. More lessons will follow, eventually, so just stay put.

This is Abe Manyo Nainggolan, Signing off - for now. 

80-Words Summary

Hey Guys! Sorry for the long update.

            There’s a word limit, so here goes:

It was Monday morning when the Duchess of Cambridge is known to be in her early labor. She was immediately taken to St. Mary’s hospital in Paddington. The following afternoon, a baby boy - currently unnamed - was born. There was much rejoice over the news, especially among the royal family. President Obama, the public and lots more also gave their congratulations to the royal family. 

Reflection of the First EFL Class

The First EFL Class - Friday, July 19^th 2013

When all through your life you've met countless teachers that misspelled your name, adding another on the list wouldn't be much of a problem. But when that teacher insisted he’s right and kept calling you that misspelled name, well that’s certainly new. It’s not a problem; after all isn't it normal for a British teacher to call an Asian name wrong? Still, Sir Jon, this is not a green light for you to keep calling me ‘Abi.’ It’s ‘Abe,’ seriously.  

Anyways, misspelled names aside, the first day was great. Not good, great. Why? Because I actually learned something. At first, I had expected that Sir Jon would just introduce us to the class, give some explanation, and all those casual routines. Until the last 10 minutes, my expectation was true. But then, a simple tuition - compiled only of a short explanation and a 2 minute exercise - changed everything.

The tuition helped us summarize correctly. It was concise, comprehensible, and relaxing to follow. It went fast - but not hurried. It was teaching. For me, it was the first time I experienced something like this. I truly enjoyed it, and I hope that the quality of Sir Jon’s teaching wouldn't deplete in the following days. 

Hey There!

Welcome to the blog! As the title states, this is an academy blog - one that is created out of the evil pure intention of my teacher, Sir Jon, to embarrass me keep track of my English assignments and projects. That’s right: English assignments and projects, and probably some reflection about the activities we undergo. So yeah, you can expect a lot of paperwork. Ah, and if you don't mind, try checking this blog after a few months. By that time, I’ll bet Sir Jon must have made me post some 'educative' video presentation. Which I'm sure you'll enjoy viewing.