http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/09/03/imo-view-better-language-skills-come-practice.html
Some friends of mine send me messages over my FB, “how do you constantly come up with ideas to write in English?” I frowned upon this question. Frankly speaking, I was thinking hard to find the answer. Writing always comes naturally to me, almost like breathing. So, I don’t really think about it when I do the thing I love the most. It is natural and fun, writing your ideas into words. When I write, time seems to distort, my brain turns to sweet mush, and the words just arrive on screen. It feels like I find a great tropical rain forest to explore, and I could never finish my adventure in one short excursion. There will always be another calling to have another questJ. Time is my only restriction, especially when there’s so much on your desk and brain mixed up at work. Sometimes, I find writing in English is so much easier than in Indonesia since I am used to write my ideas in the language on my blogs. Ehm… that is definitely my answer “better English skills come from practice.” So, I reply the question with that quote. Anything by practice will makes perfect.
It’s not that I love English better than Indonesia. That will be so absurb and irksome. My reason is so much simple. I write in English to practice, not forgetting the lessons I’ve got during college. I study the language, so it will be hilarious if I lose the skills to do so. Speaking skills takes two to practice. Since, I have no partner to do so; it’s hard to improve my oral capability. There’s always a slip of the tongue anytime I speak in English due to lack of practice…lol. While writing offers me a solo rehearsal. I don’t need a partner to do the practice. So, I try as much as I could to write any ideas crossing my mind in my blogs. I find life never works except in retrospect. You can’t ever control life. Often life turns out the opposite what you expect. But, it writing, at least you can control your own version. You can create any character you want, any ending you want, etc. Gradually, it becomes a habit. Then it becomes a natural activity to do. Also, it develops better thinking skills.
There are some good ways to practice your thinking skills. You can sit and think, for starters, you can work on specific puzzles and problems. But I don’t like puzzles and problem, yet I love sitting at my desk composing words, lol. You can also have interesting discussions with others. Yet, I don’t have any opportunity to attend any formal meetings or discussions so this is not an available option for me. Then, I find a "best" way to practice my thinking skills and boost my brainpower that is “to write.”
Unless you are just copying words, to write is to think. You have to think how to connect your wires of thoughts into series of sentences that makes sense. Putting your thoughts into words is a process of telling yourself the logic behind what you feel or what you only partly understand the same way talking forces you to clarify your thoughts so that others listen and understand you. Sometimes, people don't necessarily write about something because they understand it already. They often start writing about something because they want to understand it, and the process of writing is what brings about their understanding. Yet, compared to talking, writing has the disadvantage of not giving you direct outside feedback. When you talk, people can confront you directly in an instant. And you have to defend your argument on that instant too. But when you write in your blog, it takes perhaps days for you to receive any feedback from your readers, to disagree or agree. Therefore, you get ample of time to express and develop your thoughts without interruption. This is a great way to work on your thinking skills in a slow relaxing pace. By time, your skills will improve greatly. It will boost your ‘brainpower’ to explain. :-)
Some friends of mine send me messages over my FB, “how do you constantly come up with ideas to write in English?” I frowned upon this question. Frankly speaking, I was thinking hard to find the answer. Writing always comes naturally to me, almost like breathing. So, I don’t really think about it when I do the thing I love the most. It is natural and fun, writing your ideas into words. When I write, time seems to distort, my brain turns to sweet mush, and the words just arrive on screen. It feels like I find a great tropical rain forest to explore, and I could never finish my adventure in one short excursion. There will always be another calling to have another questJ. Time is my only restriction, especially when there’s so much on your desk and brain mixed up at work. Sometimes, I find writing in English is so much easier than in Indonesia since I am used to write my ideas in the language on my blogs. Ehm… that is definitely my answer “better English skills come from practice.” So, I reply the question with that quote. Anything by practice will makes perfect.
It’s not that I love English better than Indonesia. That will be so absurb and irksome. My reason is so much simple. I write in English to practice, not forgetting the lessons I’ve got during college. I study the language, so it will be hilarious if I lose the skills to do so. Speaking skills takes two to practice. Since, I have no partner to do so; it’s hard to improve my oral capability. There’s always a slip of the tongue anytime I speak in English due to lack of practice…lol. While writing offers me a solo rehearsal. I don’t need a partner to do the practice. So, I try as much as I could to write any ideas crossing my mind in my blogs. I find life never works except in retrospect. You can’t ever control life. Often life turns out the opposite what you expect. But, it writing, at least you can control your own version. You can create any character you want, any ending you want, etc. Gradually, it becomes a habit. Then it becomes a natural activity to do. Also, it develops better thinking skills.
There are some good ways to practice your thinking skills. You can sit and think, for starters, you can work on specific puzzles and problems. But I don’t like puzzles and problem, yet I love sitting at my desk composing words, lol. You can also have interesting discussions with others. Yet, I don’t have any opportunity to attend any formal meetings or discussions so this is not an available option for me. Then, I find a "best" way to practice my thinking skills and boost my brainpower that is “to write.”
Unless you are just copying words, to write is to think. You have to think how to connect your wires of thoughts into series of sentences that makes sense. Putting your thoughts into words is a process of telling yourself the logic behind what you feel or what you only partly understand the same way talking forces you to clarify your thoughts so that others listen and understand you. Sometimes, people don't necessarily write about something because they understand it already. They often start writing about something because they want to understand it, and the process of writing is what brings about their understanding. Yet, compared to talking, writing has the disadvantage of not giving you direct outside feedback. When you talk, people can confront you directly in an instant. And you have to defend your argument on that instant too. But when you write in your blog, it takes perhaps days for you to receive any feedback from your readers, to disagree or agree. Therefore, you get ample of time to express and develop your thoughts without interruption. This is a great way to work on your thinking skills in a slow relaxing pace. By time, your skills will improve greatly. It will boost your ‘brainpower’ to explain. :-)
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