BUILDING CROSS – CULTURAL COMPETENCE TO IMPROVE ENGLISH EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

This paper is intended to expose the importance of cross-cultural competenc to improve English oral communication effectively. The background of this paper is due to my teaching experience in English Department of School of Bumiayu Islamic Teacher Training. (CCU)course is offered to the students in the sixth semester. To know the students’ knowledge about cross-culture, in the begining of semester session, before they got the materials, the writer instructed them to make a group of two or three, then practiced communicating in English. The number of the students in a class is thirty five, so there are about twelve groups. Each group was then extended one topic to perform in the role play. The writer took several topics from the guidance book entitled ‘Business Across Culture: Effective Communication Straegies’. Based on practicing to communicate in English with foreigners through role plays, most students still performed/showed Javanese or moslem attitude in which are not appropriate with foreign’s culture. Meanwhile, the cultural competence will affect practically some aspect of language use. It can influence the foreigners’ respond whether or not they accept the communicator’s attitude. Negative or inappropriate impression of English learners of course can inhibit the effective communication

To Teach: the Journey of a Teacher (3rd Ed.) by William Ayers (New York: Teacher College Press, 2009) a Book Review

Why do we want to be teachers? It is a question that is commonly asked by a lot of peo-ple. William Ayers tries to look back on his moti-vation for being a teacher and attempts to answer the question. The challenges of being a teacher are revisited by looking at the misconceptions in teaching as well as providing the sensible argu-ments to explain the misunderstanding. To Teach: The Journey of A Teacher also challenges the teach-ers\u27 beliefs in viewing their students and in teach-ing practices in their classrooms. In addition, teachers are encouraged to be more proactive to embrace the policies rather than passively accept the mandated curriculum and other regulations enacted by the policy makers, administrators etc. This book presents a large number of classroom practices that are conducted in unconventional ways

Makna Tradisi Sesajen dalam Pembangunan Rumah Masyarakat Jawa:

The Meaning of the Tradition of Offerings in the Construction of Houses for the Javanese Community. A Case Study of Development in Srimulyo Village, Air Saleh District, Banyuasin Regency. This study aims to explain the process of implementing the offering tradition and reveal the meaning of offerings in the construction of Javanese community houses in Srimulyo village, Air Saleh sub-district, Banyuasin district. The method used is descriptive qualitative. Data collection techniques are observation, interviews, and documentation. The data analysis technique is to use structural analysis techniques. The results of the study showed that the types and forms of offerings used were fruits which meant that the results of human labor at work would be presented. And all these traditional offering activities are a manifestation of one's devotion and respect for God and every ritual has a meaning none other than asking for peace and serenity in life

Selection of Lactic Acid Bacteria Can Reduce the Cyanide Compound on The Processing Yam Flour (Dioscorea Hispida Dennst.)

The study was carried out to select lactic acid bacteria can reduce effectively the cyanide compounds in the processing yam flour. Lactic acid bacteria used in the study were Lactobacillus plantarum FNCC-0027; Lactobacillus casei FNCC-90; Lactobacillus acidophillus FNCC-0051; Bifidobacterium bifidum BRL-130; Bifidobacterium breve BRL-131. Data were analyzed using One Way ANOVA and continued with Tukey's test (HSD). Lactobacillus plantarum FNCC-0027 as lactic acid bacteria the most effectively reduced cyanide compound in the yam flour was of 41.98% for 24 hours. At 72 hours fermentation can reduce cyanide compound from 411.65 ppm to 23.917 ppm. This level of cyanide is safe. Reducing sugar of yam flour was 0.06%

Peningkatan Hasil Belajar PKn Melalui Metode Pembelajaran Information Search dengan Media Koran pada Kelas VI SDN Sumber VI Surakarta Tahun Pelajaran 2011/2012

Pendekatan pembelajaran yang hanya menginformasikan fakta dan konsep melalui ceramah saja, mengakibatkan kurangnya perhatian siswa pada pelajaran PKn. Keaktifan pembelajaran siswa pada mata pelajaran PKn berpengaruh pula terhadap rendahnya hasil belajar siswa. Hal ini terbukti hasil belajar PKn pada siswa kelas VI SDN VI Sumber, nilai ulangan yang diadakan menunjukkan hasil yang kurang memuaskan. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari 34 siswa kelas VI pada setiap ulangan harian selalu ditemukan bahwa hasil anak yang mampu mendapatkan nilai di atas KKM 65 tidak lebih dari 50%. Tujuan yang ingin dicapai adalah untuk mengetahui peningkatan hasil belajar PKn siswa kelas VI SDN Sumber VI Surakarta tahun pelajaran 2011/2012 melalui metode pembelajaran information search dengan media koran. Penelitian ini merupakan jenis penelitian tindakan kelas (PTK) atau (Classroom Action Research). Subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas VI SD Negeri Sumber VI Surakarta tahun pelajaran 2011/2012 sebanyak 34 siswa. Teknik pengumpulan data dengan dokumentasi, observasi, wawancara dan tes. Analisis data yang digunakan analisis interaktif. Kesimpulan dari hasil penelitian ini: (1) Proses pembelajaran dilakukan dalam beberapa tahap: a) Tahap awal, guru mengabsen siswa dan menanyakan kepada siswa apakah materi sudah diberikan oleh guru, teknik apa yang sudah dipelajari, dan guru menyampaikan tujuan pembelajaran; b) Tahap kedua, menyampaikan materi dengan jelas dan lengkap serta urut, menegaskan kembali aturan yang dipakai pada teknik pembelajaran information search, menuntun siswa menemukan prinsip-prinsip pengerjaan yang akurat, memberikan latihan secara berjenjang; c) Tahap ketiga, penjelasan tambahan jika diperlukan. Kemudian pada siklus II dilakukan dengan meningkatkan peran aktif siswa dalam pembelajaran dengan merefleksi kegiatan siswa selama proses pembelajaran berlangsung; (2) Berdasarkan analisis data diketahui ratarata kelas dari pra siklus sebesar 61,20 meningkat pada Siklus I menjadi 66,40 bahkan kemudian meningkat lagi pada hasil Siklus II menjadi 75,10. Hal ini berarti hipotesis yang menyatakan bahwa “melalui metode pembelajaran information search dengan media koran dapat meningkatkan hasil belajar PKn pada siswa kelas VI SD Negeri Sumber VI Kota Surakarta tahun pelajaran 2011/2012”, terbukti kebenarannya

CONFERENCING: AN INTERACTIVE STRATEGY IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING

Writing plays an essential role in our personal and professional lives. It becomes one of the important components in learning and teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP). This article suggests the benefits of teaching writing by using conferencing technique is effective for communicative purposes in an interactive way. In this context, the teaching of writing for the students in their widely varying personal needs and goals can be in the form of conferencing, a short meeting between the students and the teacher. Teaching writing through conferencing gives some benefits, for instance, it enables the teacher to modify and adapt instructional methods and approaches according to the students needs. From this perspective, writing implying the successful transmission of ideas from the writer to a reader through a text, this exchange of information becomes a powerful means to encourage the development this language skill

Representation of 2004 General Election Campaign in Comics Media: Semiotics studies of Comic Ketopraktoon in the 2004 Election Campaign in Kompas Newspaper

Comic could be a means to represent certain values. The reality is described through the storyline, setting and characterization which are packed in comic rubric. In comic, the whole symbols in the text will give certain meanings. They are including characters, dialogues, words written in word balloons, figure characters, and setting. This combination formed certain meanings which will determine how the reality will be framed by the media.Ketopraktoon is a comic strip which consistently reviews the sociopolitical issues and serves as a semi-comic in Kompas newspaper editorial. The strength of ketopraktoon in its social critics is built of figure’s characters which are presented in straightforward way with the support of storyline which fitted to the actual and factual condition in accordance with the dynamics of general election in Indonesia.This study aimed to discover how the election campaign during the Reform Era is represented in Ketopraktoon comic. This study used a qualitative approach with data analysis techniques semiotics of Barthes.To find the signs require appropriate and feasible methods of text analysis. Since the text to analyze is in the form of comics, the researcher defines the sign found in the comic text applies the technique that uses the semiotics of Barthes connotations and myths. The results showed (1) General Election campaign purely contained slogans and political rhetoric; (2) Pragmatism political parties and constituency campaign; (3) Irrationality behavior of political parties and constituency campaign; (4) Political branding refers to a materialistic tradition to gain popularity and power; (5) primitive and traditional culture in the election campaign

The Role of Cultural Competence to Overcome Intercultural Communication Conflict: Case study of Indonesian and Korean students in Kyungsung University, South Korea

Intercultural communication is a growing interest in the realm of global communication science and students pursuing degrees across the borders of nation-states. Nevertheless, the practice of intercultural communication does not always go effectively. This paper addresses problematics of intercultural communication occurred between Indonesian and South Korean students in Kyungsung University, Busan, largely nuanced by prejudice, stereotypes, ethnocentrism as well as values differences about social drinking culture, friendship, beauty, seniority, and perception on punctuality, which consequently trigger misunderstanding that leads to conflict. The goals of this study are twofold, namely, first, to gain deeper understanding on sources of intercultural communication conflict between Indonesian and South Korean students, secondly, to highlight the role of cultural competence to overcome conflict. The method of the research is case study with in-depth interview as the information gathering technique. The result will show that problems in intercultural communication are to a greater extent influenced by two inter-related attitudes which is cultural insensitivity and lack of cultural competence such as respect, socio linguistic awareness, deep cultural knowledge, and skills to listen and observe. The paper will also point to problem-solving alternative to reduce intercultural communication conflict both for Indonesian and South Korean students, namely to develop a more subtle approach when encountering religious-held beliefs with socially accepted norms