The Essay: Strategies for Improving Learning Ability

            Learning English is a need for learners who live in competitive era. The learners compete each other to improve their quality of life. By learning English, learners have an opportunity to make a better living that makes them satisfied for what they have done. Learning English must cover vocabulary building, grammar mastery, language skills mastery, and so on. In line with that, learners study some subjects such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, sociolinguistic, cross culture understanding, sentence structure, poetry, and so on that are complicated. Hence, learners need to apply some strategies to make their learning successful. According to Oxford (1990), there are six strategies for improving learning ability of learners such as cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, memory-relate strategies, compensatory strategies, affective strategies, and social strategies.

            The first strategies for learning English is cognitive strategies. These strategies encompass the learners to manipulate the language lessons in direct ways through reasoning, analysis, note-taking, summarizing, synthesizing, outlining, reorganizing information  (Oxford, 1990). In this strategy, learners learn how to make good reasons for the arguments that they give in learning. Learners can take notes for creating structure for input and output during the lesson. Learners need to focus in outlining to organize the ideas. Moreover, learners can summarize the materials to increase their comprehension about the materials.   Learners can use this strategy to solve their problems. Learners  analysis the problems,  then try to find out the best solutions to deal with their problems.

            Besides cognitive strategies, learners can practice metacognitive strategies. These strategies give an opportunity  to the learners to control their own learning. They are responsible for their own learning, so that, they are able to use their creativity to improve their learning qualities. There are some activities  that can be applied in these techniques such as gathering and organizing materials, arranging and plan their studies, evaluating task success, and so on (Oxford, 1990). For example, learners arrange a study schedule to make their learning run smoothly and gather the information or materials from many sources to get strong data that can support their assignments. In addition, Purpura (1999) said, “Metacognitive strategies provide clear evidence that can be used in task completion.” In line with that, the learners are able do the tasks with good patterns when they have got clear evidences.

            The next strategies that learners use to improve their learning abilities is memory-related strategies. These strategies help learners to keep and retrieve the information in an orderly string (Oxford, 1990). These strategies enable the learners to memorize the vocabulary and structures of the lessons. As the result, they can improve their vocabulary building. The example of activities that learners do to remember and enrich their vocabulary are reading books, watching movies, and listening to the song. Moreover, learning through games can be used in these strategies. That’s because games can help learners to remember the vocabulary in fun ways. In addition, the learners can also apply these techniques to support their memory like applying images and sound, using flashcards, using physical response, and body movement.

            After memory-related strategies, learners can use compensatory strategies. These strategies cover the learners make up for missing knowledge in their learning (Oxford, 1990). According to Oxford, there are some activities to apply these strategies such as guessing the information from the context in listening and reading activity, using synonyms and talking around the gapping word to help speaking and writing learners’ activity, and using gestures or pause words. For example, learners fill in the blank exercise by writing words on the task sheet according to the audio that they listened. Moreover, learners can use gestures while speaking to make the listeners understand about the information. In line with that, compensatory strategies are suitable used for speaking and writing (Cohen, 1998). The learners can improve their speaking and writing skills when they understand how to use these strategies well.

            In addition, learners can improve their learning abilities through affective strategies. These strategies help students to control their emotions, feelings, and values.  There are some tips to control the emotions like increasing the confidence, reducing anxiety, and improve the awareness to the good environment. For instance, learners can reduce the anxiety before presentations by relaxing and have a glass of water, increasing their confidence by practicing at home, and creating a better environment by being positive to the surroundings.  Moreover, learners can use these strategies to identify one’s mood and restless level, talk about feelings, reward oneself for good performance, and use deep breathing (Dreyer and Oxford, 1996). In line with that, learners are able to discuss feelings to the others to improve their moods, so that, they can concentrate well in studying while they have good moods. Furthermore, learners get the motivation by giving reinforcement to themselves for good performance that they have done. The activities that can be applied in these strategies are personalizing activities, pair work, and group work.

            Finally, learners can use social strategies to improve their learning abilities. These strategies enable the learners to communicate well in  the society and work with others to understand the target language and target cultures (Oxford, 1990). Learners are the social human beings, they need to socialize in their daily lives. These strategies give them the opportunity to do that. According to Oxford, there are some activities that learners can do to apply these strategies such as asking questions or confusing points to get the clarification, asking for help in doing language tasks through the cooperative activity with others, talking with a native speakers to practice English languages, and exploring cultural and social forms to develop cultural understanding. For example, learners join English courses, speaking club, writing club, and movie club. As the result, they are able to improve their social lives through the communication with the teachers or peers about the culture, knowledge, and current issues. Learners are able to be good social human beings when they can use these strategies in their lives.

            In brief, strategies of learning English are very important to support learner's achievements in their education. There are some strategies that learners can use to improve their abilities in learning, so that, they can compete well with the others. Firstly, cognitive strategies that enable the learners manipulate the language lesson in direct ways (Oxford, 1990). Secondly, metacognitive strategies that enable learners to gather and organize materials, arranging a study schedule, evaluating task success, and so on (Oxford, 1990). Thirdly, memory-related strategies that help learners to hold data and retrieve the information in an orderly string (Oxford, 1990). Fourthly, compensatory strategies that learners can use for speaking and writing (Cohen, 1998). Fifthly, affective strategies that help students to control their emotions, feelings, and values. Finally, social strategies  that enable  the learners to be active to communicate in  the society and work with others to understand the target language and target cultures (Oxford, 1990). The learners can choose the strategies according to their comprehension and their needs to help them success in mastering English.

Strategies for Improving Learning Ability (One Paragraph)

Summary: Strategies of learning English are very important to support the learners’ achievements in their education. There are some strategies that learners can use to improve their abilities in learning, so that, they can compete well with the others. Firstly, cognitive strategies encompass the learners manipulating the language lesson in direct ways through reasoning, analysis, note-taking, summarizing, synthesizing, outlining, reorganizing information  (Oxford, 1990). In line with the analysis, the earners can use these strategies to solve their problems. Secondly, metacognitive strategies cover the activity of gathering and organizing materials, arranging a study schedule, evaluating task success, and so on (Oxford, 1990). Thirdly, memory-related strategies  that help learners to hold data and retrieve the information in an orderly string (Oxford, 1990). Fourthly, compensatory strategies cover the learners compensate for missing knowledge in their learning (Oxford, 1990). According to Cohen (1998), “Compensatory strategies are used for speaking and writing”. Fifthly, affective strategies cover the activity of identifying one’s mood and restless level, talking about feelings, rewarding oneself for good performance, and using deep breathing (Dreyer and Oxford, 1996). Finally, social strategies  that enable the learners to be active to communicate in  the society and work with others to understand the target language and target cultures (Oxford, 1990).

The Fun Ways for Learning English (Not including in assignment)

 Summary: Ways of learning English are very important to support student's achievements in their education. There are some ways that students can use to improve their ability in learning, so that, they can compete well with the others. Firstly, students learn English through visualization such as video and picture. Dornyei said, “It has been found that the more elaborate the possible self in terms of imaginative, visual and other content elements, the more motivational power it is expected to have.”  Secondly, learning English through discussion or role plays that enable them to be active during the lesson. Jon Postel said, “Group discussion is very valuable; group drafting is less productive.” Thirdly, students learn English through games that interact and make them enjoy. Lewis said, “The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It brings the target language to life.” Fourthly, learning English through literature like drama, story telling, and poetry.  Joshua Cruz, eHow contributor, states, “ The study of literature allows people to develop new ideas and ethical standpoints, and can help individuals to present themselves as educated members of society. Studying literature can be enriching, eye-opening experience.” Finally, learning English use graphic organizer that can improve their skills in reading. Keene and Zimmerman, Mosaic of Thought , states, "Proficient readers spontaneously and purposely create mental images while and after they read. The images emerge from all five senses as well as the emotions and are anchored in a reader's prior knowledge."

The essay: This is not correct, but just try to share it.
              Learning English is a need for students who live in this globalization era. Students compete each other to improve their quality of life. By learning English, students have an opportunity to make a better living that make them satisfied for what they have done. English becomes an international language that enables students to communicate with people all over the world. As the result, students can improve their communicative competence in their social life. Moreover, students who master English have bright chances to get better jobs like translator, international journalist, consultant, and English teacher. On the other hand, Learning English is not as easy as learning the other subjects. There are some skills that are complicated that students need to master. Students need to use some ways that enable them to success in mastering English.

            Firstly, students learn English through visualization such as video and picture. They study by observing with their eyes and ears. Learning through video enable students to improve their listening skills. They listen the conversation of people in that video so that they will be familiar with English language. Moreover, student can improve their vocabulary through new words that they find in the video. In addition, student can enjoy learning the vocabulary through picture with words that they see. With this strategy, students feel comfortable in getting and processing the information that they get from their learning. Dornyei said, “It has been found that the more elaborate the possible self in terms of imaginative, visual and other content elements, the more motivational power it is expected to have.”

            Secondly, learning English through discussion or role plays that enable them to be active during the lesson. Students discuss their ideas and opinion about the lesson during the learning. They can improve their speaking skills by sharing the information and knowledge each other. Moreover, they learn how to respect the others' opinion in the discussion or role plays activity. In addition, they can improve their critical thinking that is very useful in the process of thinking to solve the problems. Jon Postel said, “Group discussion is very valuable; group drafting is less productive.” This strategy allows student to explore their own thinking and also improve their confidence.

            Thirdly, students learn English through games that make them feel joy and happy. Lewis said, “The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It brings the target language to life.” There are many kinds of games that students can use to learn English such as Crosswords, fast hands, speed balls, big describer, compare, and so on. Games are the effective way to improve student's interest to learn English. Moreover, students can improve their vocabulary through vocabulary games. There are many vocabulary that they can learn with various topics and themes.  This strategy gives student opportunity to have fun in learning English.

            Fourthly, Learning English through literature like drama, story telling, and poetry. Students can improve their skills such as speaking, listening, writing, and reading through literature. Moreover, they can share their ideas into the script that requires their creativity. They also can improve their confidence to perform in front of the other people. This activity also builds teamwork among the students, so that, they can be close each other. Joshua Cruz, eHow contributor, states, “ The study of literature allows people to develop new ideas and ethical standpoints, and can help individuals to present themselves as educated members of society. Studying literature can be enriching, eye-opening experience.” This strategy is very useful to improve four skills of English with enjoyable ways.

            Finally, learning English use graphic organizer that can improve their skills in reading. The students can improve their reading comprehension through this way. They can find the ideas and also the important points from their reading. Moreover, they will be easy to remember the information that is stated into the graphic organizer. Keene and Zimmerman, Mosaic of Thought , states, "Proficient readers spontaneously and purposely create mental images while and after they read. The images emerge from all five senses as well as the emotions and are anchored in a reader's prior knowledge." This strategy helps students to organize their ideas and also the support of their ideas. It makes students easy to remember about the materials that they've learned.

            In brief, ways of learning English is very important to support student's achievements in their education. There are some ways that can students used to improve their ability in learning, so that, they can compete well with the others. Firstly, students learn English through visualization such as video and picture. Secondly, learning English through discussion or role plays that enable them to be active during the lesson. Thirdly, students learn English through games that interact and make them enjoy. Fourthly, Learning English through literature like drama, story telling, and poetry. Finally, learning English use graphic organizer that can improve their skills in reading. Students need to use those strategies to help them success in learning.

The Easy Writing

Topic: Writing is easy

            Students live in a globalization era that enable them to get information from many sources. Internet, books, magazines, newspaper, journals, and pamphlet are such kinds of sources to find the information. Those sources are the product of writing activity. Writing is an amazing activity to produce the texts by transferring the ideas into written forms. Writing can help students improve their critical thinking skills. It builds their creativity to produce something into written form. Therefore, writing is an enjoying activity to do in the daily life. Writing is easy to do because of several reasons.

            Perhaps, writing is easy if students do it as a hobby. Students believe that a writing activity is something important in their lives. They feel happy while they write. They write every day, everywhere, and every moment in their lives. Jack Dain says, “For me, writing is exploration, and most of the time I'm surprised where the journal takes me.” Moreover, students write something when they want to spend their time. There are no days without writing for those who like to write. In addition, writing can be a friend when students feel sad and stress. They can write everything about their feelings on the diary, blog, or note that they have. Selma Lagerlof says, “No one is able to enjoy such feast that the one who throws a party in their own mind”.

            Besides writing as a hobby, writing will be easy when students  already have prior knowledge. Students have studied writing subjects for many years. They have already known and understood the structures and elements of writing. That thing helps the student to write in good ways. Moreover, students who take writing courses will be able to have more times and the opportunity to practice writing. They have gotten information and knowledge  about the way how to write in the writing courses. In addition, students who have prior knowledge will like to read books. They get many topics to write through reading activity. They know how to make those topics become interesting articles. Susan Sontag says,”Reading usually precedes writing and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love reading is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.”

            Furthermore, writing is easy when students have experienced or something to share with others.  Vigninra Woolf says, “Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his words.” Students who have many experiences always have many ideas to share. They can share interesting and inspiring ideas through the writing activity. Ray Bradhary WD says,” I don’t need an alarm clock, my ideas wake me.” Moreover, students feel happy when they share their memorable moments. They need to immortalize those moments into written text. Isabel Hendy says,” Write what should not be forgotten.” Finally, students share their experiences to motivate the others to reach their dreams and wake up from the deterioration.

            Besides writing for sharing experiences, writing is easy when students have particular purposes. Firstly, writing for earning money to make a better living. According to Karx Marx, ”The writer must earn money in order to be able to live, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money. Secondly, writing is easy when people think writing for career like being Journalist or reporter. Ray Bradbury WD says, “Just write every day of your life, read intensely, then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that days have very pleasant careers.” Finally, writing is easy when students need to convey the information. Students like to write when they have something to say through written form to the others. F. Scott Fitzgerald says, “The reason one writer isn't the fact he wants to say something, he writes because he has something to say.”

            Besides writing for particular purposes, writing is easy when students are in under pressure condition. Under pressure means a person runs of a deadline. Douglines Adam says, “I love deadlines, I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Students will get the quick ideas if they write in the last minutes time. Moreover, students who write under pressure will write without any consideration. They just write whatever on their minds to their papers without thinking their writing product is correct or not. Neil Germans says, “This is how you do it. You sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done, it's that easy and that hard.” Furthermore, students don't think they need to delay their works if they have been in under pressure condition. If they delay their works, they probably get the punishment, then they will regret of what they have done.

            In brief, writing is an amazing activity and it’s not very difficult to do. Thomas Wolfe says, “Writing is easy. Just put a sheet of paper in the typewriter and start bleeding.” Writing is easy when students have several reasons. Firstly, writing is a hobby in daily life. Secondly, writing when students have prior knowledge. Thirdly, writing is easy when students have experiences to share. Fourthly, writing is easy when people have particular purposes. Finally, writing is easy when people have been in under pressure condition. Students need to like writing because it’s very useful to improve the quality of their lives.