To keep your autobiography short, follow these reminders:

• Use short sentences. Long sentences will mean a longer autobiography.  Instead of using long sentences, use short sentences that get straight to the point of the message you want to convey.
• Focus your story. Many events happen in people’s lives, and people have the tendency to write so many stories and try to cram all the plotlines into one text.  Pick two or three events that are related, and weave them together into one story.
• Take a step back. Sometimes you may be too engrossed in what you’re writing that you tend to write something too long, or your thoughts may be scattered all over the place.  From time to time, stop writing and re-read what you have already written, and rephrase or correct sentences which you feel do not belong to the text.

Autobiographies need not be as complicated as you imagine them to be.  Autobiographies need not have many characters or multiple settings, although you should take note that all autobiographies involve two important elements:

• Time. All stories take place in a certain time period.  If you’re asked to write a long autobiography, then you may tell the story of your life from the very beginning.  For short autobiographies, however, you need to set the time-frame of your story to a scope as wide as needed.  Instead of focusing on too many events or insights, pick the most important memory you have in mind, and use that to build upon your story.
• Space. All stories take place in a setting.  One way to keep your autobiography concise and compact is to focus on just one place where one or two significant events happen.  Use the place as a way for you to keep the plot of your autobiography tight.

Unlike fiction and memoirs, an autobiography has to be based on facts.  The only creative license you can apply to an autobiography is the way you write it.  While you can use metaphors, figures of speech, and other creative ways to write your autobiography, the aim is to write the autobiography as truthfully as possible.  While you don’t need to dig up old documents or talk to everyone you know to corroborate and verify your story, you need to be has honest as possible when writing your autobiography.

1. Terjemahan berdasarkan bentuk , dan
2. Terjemahan berdasarkan makna.

Terjemahan berdasarkan bentuk cendrung mengikuti bentuk sumber bahasa dan dikenal dengan terjemahan harfiah (literal translation).

Terjemahan berdasarkan makna cendrung mengkomunikasikan makna teks bahasa sumber dalam bentuk bahasa sasaran yang alami. Terjemahan ini dikenal sebagai terjemahan idiomatik (idiomatik translation).

Choliludin (2005) Menambahkan klasifikasi terjemahan ini menjadi 3, yaitu inconsistent mixture.  Di mana terjemahan ini tingkatannya berada antara literal translation dan idiomatic translation.

Contoh: Diambil dari bacaan dengan topik “Crime Hunting By Computer“

Kalimat Sumber:

Dr. Davis describes a computer system called FACES, which is being used to identify criminals. Information is fed into a computer – it’s put into the computer’s database, a list of information stored in the computer.

Literal Translation

Dr. Davis menggambarkan sebuah komputer sistem disebut FACES, yang mana adalah jadi gunakan untuk mengidentifikasi penjahat. Informasi adalah suap dalam sebuah komputer – ini adalah letakkan dalam ke komputer database, sebuah daftar dari informasi simpan dalam komputer.

Inconsistent Mixture

Dr. Davis menggambarkan sebuah sistem komputer yang disebut FACES, yang sedang digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi para penjahat. Informasi dimasukkan dalam komputer – ini diletakkan ke dalam database komputer, sebuah daftar keterangan yang disimpan dalam komputer.

Idiomatic Translation

Dr. Davis menerangkan sebuah sistem komputer yang disebut dengan FACES, yang sedang digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi para penjahat. Informasi yang diperoleh dimasukkan ke dalam komputer yaitu ke dalam database komputer, sebuah daftar keterangan yang disimpan dalam komputer.

1. Agar mahasiswa dapat memahami dan menterjemahkan karya tulis ilmiah dalam bahasa Inggris, dan
2. Agar mahasiswa dapat membuat tulisan atau karangan ilmiah atau non ilmiah dalam bahasa Inggris sesuai dengan format yang telah ditentukan.

Materi yang akan dipelajari yaitu:

1. Membaca (reading) dan menterjemahkan (translation),
2. Bertanya dan menjawab pertanyaan (give a question and answer a question),
3. Membuat ringkasan tentang suatu tulisan,
4. Membuat karangan atau tulisan non ilmiah,
5. Membuat karangan atau tulisan ilmiah.

1. Menemukan arti kata dalam konteks bacaan (Deducing the meanings of words from contexts)
2. Memahami bentuk dan arti frasa-frasa non-idiomatik (Understanding the forms and meanings of non-idiomatic phrases)
3. Memahami arti kalimat melalui struktur sintaksis (Understanding sentence meaning through syntactical structures)
4. Mengenal dan memahami struktur-struktur retorik (Recognizing and understanding rhetorical structures)
5. Keterampilan Membaca Kritis (Chritical Reading Skills)

Add 1: Deducing the meanings of words from contexts (Menemukan arti kata dalam konteks bacaan)

Maksudnya yaitu kita dapat menemukan arti sebuah kata dengan cara melihat kata-kata atau frasa yang mendahului atau mengikuti kata tersebut sehingga dapat diketahui fungsi, jenis kata, dan akhirnya arti kata tersebut yang tepat dalam bacaan itu.

contoh:

• Because of the heavy rain, some students were not present at the flag ceremony this morning. (present berarti “hadir”)
• This procedure may not be suitable, at least for the present condition. (present berarti “sekarang ini”)
• Children are usually given presents at their birthdays. (present berarti “hadiah”)
• Each students has to write a paper and present it at the seminar class. (present berarti “menyajikan”)

Dalam konteks bacaan tertentupun, tanpa melihat kamus, kita dapat menentukan arti suatu kata dengan melihat adanya penggunaan bentuk persamaan, perlawanan kata, dan lain sebagainya.

contoh:

• When he was a child, the boy was weak and timid, but now he is strong and brave young man. (timid merupakan bentuk perlawanan kata)
• Trucks, buses, cars, and motor-bikes are important vehicles for people in those region. (dari contoh-contoh dalam kalimat dapat diketahui arti kata “vehicles“)

Add 2: Understanding the forms and meanings of non-idiomatic phrases (Memahami bentuk dan arti frasa-frasa non-idiomatik)

Frasa non-idiomatik berbeda dari frasa idiomatik dalam hal bentuk dan artinya yang tak terbatas jumlahnya. Beberapa frasa non-idiomatik yaitu:

• Frasa benda (Noun Phrases), example: a smoking volcano, the still of the night
• Frasa Gerundium (Gerund Phrases), example: Smoking too much, Learning foreign language
• Frasa Partisip (Participial Phrases), example: Living in a big city, they should work hard and compete with others (=Bila tinggal di kota besar, …)
• Frasa Verba Predikatif (Predicative Verb Phrases), example: has been proved, are being built
• Frasa Infinitif (Infinitive Phrases), example: To write a thesis

Add 3: Understanding sentence meaning through syntactical structures (Memahami arti kalimat melalui struktur sintaksis)

Keterampilan ini merupakan aplikasi pengetahuan grammar khususnya syntax dalam mengidentifikasi kata, frasa, atau sub-klosa yang berfungsi sebagai unsur inti kalimat (Sunjek, Predikat, Objek, Keterangan, atau Komplemen). Kesuliatan dijumpai jika suatu kalimat memiliki pola yang kompleks yang tidak mengikuti pola-pola yang umum digunakan.

Add 4: Recognizing and understanding rhetorical structures (Mengenal dan memahami struktur-struktur retorik)

Struktur retorik merupakan jalinan hubungan antara makna fungsional yang digambarkan oleh unsur-unsur bahasa dalam suatu teks bacaan. Struktur ini merupakan kerangka landasan suatu teks dan erat kaitannya dengan topik yang ditulis, tujuan penulis, dan pembaca yang dituju penulis.

Biasanya struktur retorik ini ada yang tergambar secara eksplisit dengan adanya penanda wacana, dan ada yang hanya dikenal melalui keterbiasaan (familiarity) pembaca.

Struktur retorik dijumpai pada tingkat kalimat, alinia atau antar kalimat, dan pada tingkat bacaan secara keseluruhan.

Add 5: Chritical Reading Skills (Keterampilan Membaca Kritis)

• Memahami tujuan penulis (contoh: informasi, ide, mempengaruhi pembaca) ,sudut pandang penulis (ekonomi, politik, pendidikan, agama),dan nada penulis (humor,
• Membuat inferensi, generalisasi, dan konklusi,
• Menilai sumber acuan penulis, (fakta, inferensi, atau opini)
• Menilai tata-tulis dan bahasa penulis

DAFTAR PUSTAKA:

Johan, A Ghani, (2003). Reading and Translation: Pelajaran Membaca dan Menterjemahkan Bahasa Inggris, Pustaka Pelajar, Yogyakarta.

Berikut ini ada sedikit tips untuk bisa sukses dalam belajar bahasa Inggris. Tips ini disadur dari sebuah buku berjudul: A conversation book 1: English in everyday life, karangan: Tina Kasloff Carver and Sandra Douglas Fotinos. Di sana dituliskan ada 10 aturan (rules) untuk bisa sukses belajar bahasa Inggris. Saya tidak menterjemahkannya dalam bahasa Indonesia karena rules-nya cukup mudah untuk dimengerti.

1. Don’t be afraid!

Sometimes we are afraid to speak a foreign language because we think we are going to make terrible mistakes and people will laugh at us. Well, the best learners of foreign languages try not to be afraid. They make a ”game” of learning. They are not anxious about making mistakes. And they sometimes share their fears with friends. You can do that, too, and you will then feel better about yourself.

2. Dive in!

Try to speak out! Try to say things in English! The best way to learn English is to speak it yourself. Don’t worry about perfect pronunciation or grammar; other people usually will not criticize you.

3. Believe in yourself.

You have lots of strengths. You have already learned some English. You must believe that you can do it! Compliment your fellow learners on their effort. Then maybe they will return the favor.

4. Develop motivation.

Why are you learning English? Make a list of your reasons for studying English. Those reasons can be your individual goals for this course. If you have your own reasons for learning English, you will have better success.

5. Cooperate with your classmates.

You are learning language in order to communicate with other people. So, practice with other people and you will be more successful. Create your own conversation group outside of class. Try out new ways to communicate in those groups. And, in class, remember your classmates are your “team” members, not your opponents.

6. Get the “big” picture!

Sometimes learners look too closely at the details of language (words, pronunciation, grammar, usage). It’s OK to pay attention to those details, but it is also important to understand general meanings (the “big” picture). Maybe you don’t know all the right words or grammar, but you can say things, anyway. See movies in English. Read books and magazines for pleasure.

7. Don’t worry if you’re confused.

Learning English is a big task! Sometimes you will feel confused about all the things you have to learn in a foreign language. Try not to worry about everything all at once. Don’t try to learn all the rules right now. Ask your teacher questions about English. And try a little every day.

8. Trust your “hunches.”

Sometimes people think they should analyze everything in their new language (grammar rules, word definitions). The best learners do some analyzing, but they follow their “hunches” (their best guesses, their intuitions) about the new language. If they have an intuition that something sounds right, they will try it. So, the next time you “feel” that something is right, say it. You probably be right, and, if you aren’t, someone will give you some feedback.

9. Make your mistakes work FOR you.

A mistake is not always “bad.” We all make mistakes learning anything new. Successful learners don’t worry about mistakes; they learn from them. They take note of their errors and try to correct them the next time. Some things you can do:

• Make a list of your most common mistakes.
• Select grammar points to watch for.
• Tape-record yourself and listen for errors.

10. Set your own goals.

Teachers usually set goals (assignment, homework, classwork) for you. But you need to set your own goals, too. You can do that by doing the following:

• Set aside a certain number of hours a week for extra study.
• Learn a certain number of words a day/week.
• Read a certain number of extra pages a day/week.

Jadi silahkan mulai belajar dan GOOD LUCK!

Welcome to “Bahasa Inggris Teknik”. This is my first post. I use this blog to post everything related to my activities in learning English. I love learning English. English is one of my hobbies. Although I am teaching English at a university, I am not considering myself as an English teacher/ lecturer, because my basic is not English.  I learn English from experiences and books.

I finished my undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering at  Andalas University and my master degree in Computer Science at Universitas Putra Indonesia “YPTK” Padang. Base on my education, I chose to focus on learning English for Engineering. I will share my experiences in learning it in this blog. I hope that it also can help others who interest in learning Technical English and we can discuss anything related to it in this blog.

Thank for visiting and Have a Nice Day.