WHEN THE TIME CAME

 The setting sun had  turned into deep crimson colour at the west sky. Some indigo blanket already formed up[ at the east, prepared to cover the earth below once more in an embrace of the night. The wind from the surrounding meadows blew gently bringing fragrant scent of newly blooming flowers and there was a hint of freshest leaves wrapping the evening. The people of the slightly larger village had taken a rest at their their homes, relaxing after their  hard works and replenishing energy for tomorrow’s effort to keep their family going.

No body waljked outside on the street but 2 shadows that leisurely took on their strides toward a small and gentle stream at the outskirt of the huts.

“Be careful, Rin. It’s very slippery here. You can break your ankle over the rocks, exclaimed a soft spoken male voice.

“It’s okay. I come here often, so I know this place well.” A younger girlish laughter fulfilled the air.

Finally, they settled down on two large stones near the banks of the crystal clear water. Both of them got into a peaceful silence for a while., looking at the twinkling stars that started to decorate the night sky above.

“When will you leave?, “ the female opened the conversation.

“In a couple of days I think. I’m so happy to come back. Meet all familiar people and relieved that they are living well and content, no real dangers around.” The man looked at the village direction where he could see  lights emanating from each houses like fireflies in the dark.

“Where will you go?” Any special places?,” asked the girl quite more casually.

Her partner turned and  tried to look at her face. Never before she questioned  him like this and it made him wonder. He knew her for years since they were kids struggling their ways to be able to live in this world after disasters that fell upon them. For some times in the past, he had traveled beside her, fought for her, protected her as best as his young body could. They were bond by fste which was so unkindly crushing them in those difficult moments.

“I’ll leave for Toutousai-sama’s place first. My weapon needs some mending. And then, to any place where my help is needed,” he answered the girl and  turned to gaze at a passing shooting star.

“When will you return here? Your sister often worries about you and the children can’t stop asking to see you again.”

He was able to catch  something in her voice that aroused some strange feeling in his heart.

“I don’t know, Rin. But I’ll try to come back as soon as possible. It’s rather hard to stay away from this place now.” He  said words that made him quiver a little. “What about you? Isn’t it about time for you to follow Sesshoumaru-sama? I believe he would drop by and take you away anytime.”

Suddenly, his companion moved to the rock where he was sitting, placing a soft hand over his . His hand  twitched but he did not attempt to push off those warm fingers over his rough ones. Out of nowhere, he felt calm and sheer joy filled a long empty space deep in his heart.

“It’s not him that I have been waiting all these years. It’s not him that I would follow. I… I would rather have somebody else,” she muttered and scooted back to where she sat before.

The full moon had risen and showered the earth with its gleaming light that washed off the darkest part of the night. He looked at the girl beside him., and  to his surprise, he saw tears rolling down her flushing cheeks glittering like diamonds in the moonlight. An urge that he didn’t have a notion where it came from surged up. He couldn’t stand tears, especially from the one he secretly cared since he didn’t know when. Gathering his bravery, he leaned over and wiped the wet face with his thumb.

She was so lovely in the moonlight, gone was the childish countenance he saw the last time he visited this place, replaced by a sweet more mature complexion with amazing eyes framed  up by locks of silky black strands fell down to her waist. The missing front tooth that always made him laugh long ago was no more, there was a new pearly one sat strong. When he felt her hands reach out to hold him, he was speechless and wondering what he was going to say. But then her voice rang like bells bringing him back to the real world.

“Don’t you feel it? Don’t you know it? It’s you that I have waited, it’s you that I want to be with. I don’t care how you feel about me. Just let me stay by your side…., “. She broke into a sob and laid her head against his chest left him struck dumb with her revelation. He thought he was going to explode with happiness, after all, she shared the same feeling with him. Slowly his hand caressed the midnight hair in his embrace, his chin rested on the top of her head while the other hand  around her protectively.

“Rin, how can I be compared with your dashing lord? I have nothing to offer but mere promise to take good care of you and love you for all my life. What chance do I have against him?”.

“Are you afraid to fight? Will you like to see me wither away like falling sakura? Since the day at the Netherworld, never for once I let you out of my mind!”. The sobs turned into desperate cry breaking the tranquility of the night. Her words hurt his heart and lent him strength to expose what had been buried inside.

“No, Rin. I would fight for you and run into thousands of demons if you want me to. Over these years I have watched you growing and tell myself it is with you that I want to spend my life. I am just too afraid to be rejected for someone much more grandeur and powerful.” His voice sounded painful and miserable since he knew how wrong he was all the time.

“Just take me with you anywhere you go. I can’t stay here without you, please,”she pleaded  with him . A cool breeze blew their hair into the misty air, the flowing stream added the serenity of the moment. The stars above seemed to shine brighter on the two people at the river bank.

“I will, Rin, let’s tell Sango about this. I hope she will support and give us her blessing ,” he settled the matter confidently and full of hope for future’s happiness.

“Kohaku-kun…”

“Rin…”

Their whispers lost in the wind as they walked back to the village hand in hand.

Disclaimer: Kohaku and Rin is Rumiko Takahashi's characters from Inuyasha. How I wish I were as creative as her :)

WHEN THE TIME CAME

 The setting sun had  turned into deep crimson colour at the west sky. Some indigo blanket already formed up[ at the east, prepared to cover the earth below once more in an embrace of the night. The wind from the surrounding meadows blew gently bringing fragrant scent of newly blooming flowers and there was a hint of freshest leaves wrapping the evening. The people of the slightly larger village had taken a rest at their their homes, relaxing after their  hard works and replenishing energy for tomorrow’s effort to keep their family going.

No body waljked outside on the street but 2 shadows that leisurely took on their strides toward a small and gentle stream at the outskirt of the huts.

“Be careful, Rin. It’s very slippery here. You can break your ankle over the rocks, exclaimed a soft spoken male voice.

“It’s okay. I come here often, so I know this place well.” A younger girlish laughter fulfilled the air.

Finally, they settled down on two large stones near the banks of the crystal clear water. Both of them got into a peaceful silence for a while., looking at the twinkling stars that started to decorate the night sky above.

“When will you leave?, “ the female opened the conversation.

“In a couple of days I think. I’m so happy to come back. Meet all familiar people and relieved that they are living well and content, no real dangers around.” The man looked at the village direction where he could see  lights emanating from each houses like fireflies in the dark.

“Where will you go?” Any special places?,” asked the girl quite more casually.

Her partner turned and  tried to look at her face. Never before she questioned  him like this and it made him wonder. He knew her for years since they were kids struggling their ways to be able to live in this world after disasters that fell upon them. For some times in the past, he had traveled beside her, fought for her, protected her as best as his young body could. They were bond by fste which was so unkindly crushing them in those difficult moments.

“I’ll leave for Toutousai-sama’s place first. My weapon needs some mending. And then, to any place where my help is needed,” he answered the girl and  turned to gaze at a passing shooting star.

“When will you return here? Your sister often worries about you and the children can’t stop asking to see you again.”

He was able to catch  something in her voice that aroused some strange feeling in his heart.

“I don’t know, Rin. But I’ll try to come back as soon as possible. It’s rather hard to stay away from this place now.” He  said words that made him quiver a little. “What about you? Isn’t it about time for you to follow Sesshoumaru-sama? I believe he would drop by and take you away anytime.”

Suddenly, his companion moved to the rock where he was sitting, placing a soft hand over his . His hand  twitched but he did not attempt to push off those warm fingers over his rough ones. Out of nowhere, he felt calm and sheer joy filled a long empty space deep in his heart.

“It’s not him that I have been waiting all these years. It’s not him that I would follow. I… I would rather have somebody else,” she muttered and scooted back to where she sat before.

The full moon had risen and showered the earth with its gleaming light that washed off the darkest part of the night. He looked at the girl beside him., and  to his surprise, he saw tears rolling down her flushing cheeks glittering like diamonds in the moonlight. An urge that he didn’t have a notion where it came from surged up. He couldn’t stand tears, especially from the one he secretly cared since he didn’t know when. Gathering his bravery, he leaned over and wiped the wet face with his thumb.

She was so lovely in the moonlight, gone was the childish countenance he saw the last time he visited this place, replaced by a sweet more mature complexion with amazing eyes framed  up by locks of silky black strands fell down to her waist. The missing front tooth that always made him laugh long ago was no more, there was a new pearly one sat strong. When he felt her hands reach out to hold him, he was speechless and wondering what he was going to say. But then her voice rang like bells bringing him back to the real world.

“Don’t you feel it? Don’t you know it? It’s you that I have waited, it’s you that I want to be with. I don’t care how you feel about me. Just let me stay by your side…., “. She broke into a sob and laid her head against his chest left him struck dumb with her revelation. He thought he was going to explode with happiness, after all, she shared the same feeling with him. Slowly his hand caressed the midnight hair in his embrace, his chin rested on the top of her head while the other hand  around her protectively.

“Rin, how can I be compared with your dashing lord? I have nothing to offer but mere promise to take good care of you and love you for all my life. What chance do I have against him?”.

“Are you afraid to fight? Will you like to see me wither away like falling sakura? Since the day at the Netherworld, never for once I let you out of my mind!”. The sobs turned into desperate cry breaking the tranquility of the night. Her words hurt his heart and lent him strength to expose what had been buried inside.

“No, Rin. I would fight for you and run into thousands of demons if you want me to. Over these years I have watched you growing and tell myself it is with you that I want to spend my life. I am just too afraid to be rejected for someone much more grandeur and powerful.” His voice sounded painful and miserable since he knew how wrong he was all the time.

“Just take me with you anywhere you go. I can’t stay here without you, please,”she pleaded  with him . A cool breeze blew their hair into the misty air, the flowing stream added the serenity of the moment. The stars above seemed to shine brighter on the two people at the river bank.

“I will, Rin, let’s tell Sango about this. I hope she will support and give us her blessing ,” he settled the matter confidently and full of hope for future’s happiness.

“Kohaku-kun…”

“Rin…”

Their whispers lost in the wind as they walked back to the village hand in hand.

www.fanpop.com

Disclaimer: Kohaku and Rin are Rumiko Takahashi's characters from Inuyasha. How I wish I were as creative as her :)

HANBOK FASHION SHOW

The 1st Winner : Amelia Adelita

Hanbok Fashion Show was  to celebrate the 33rd Anniversary of MTsN Sampit. The contest was held on the 15th of March 2014 in front of the teacher room which served as an outdoor catwalk. There were 32 participants  that consisted of 29 girls and 3  boys. They were AWESOME !!!! The jury chose six winners and one special award for the most photogenic participant. We are hoping to hold another funtastic fashion show next year J

Ms. Anggraini was seriously choosing the best model ^^

PEMANFAATAN ANIME SEBAGAI MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INGGRIS

Oleh Hesti Kurnianingsih, S. Pd

MTsN Sampit

Perkembangan dunia teknologi informasi sudah sangat pesat dewasa ini. Berbagai kemudahan bisa ditemukan hanya dengan meng-klik atau mengetik apa yang kita inginkan di internet. Bahkan perbedaan bahasa tidak menjadi halangan untuk mendapat informasi yang lengkap karena sudah ada alat atau software penerjemah. Ketersediaan dan keragaman materi yang ada di internet inilah yang seharusnya bisa dimanfaatkan oleh guru untuk mengembangkan dan memperkaya pembelajaran di sekolah. Terutama guru-guru bahasa Inggris yang mendapat kemudahan dalam memahami isi informasi di berbagai website berbahasa Inggris. Adalah kenyataan bahwa bahasa Inggris dianggap sangat sulit bagi sebagian besar siswa di Indonesia. Nilai yang rendah, motivasi dan semangat siswa yang memprihatinkan merupakan tantangan yang harus dihadapi guru.

Untuk bisa menghadapi permasalahan ini, guru bisa memaksimalkan pemanfaatan internet untuk menunjang keberhasilan pembelajaran. Yang perlu diperhatikan adalah 1), tentunya guru harus menguasai teknologi informasi,2) guru bisa memilih media yang tepat dengan tujuan pembelajaran yang ingin dicapai dan 3) media yang dipilih guru sesuai dengan minat siswa. Media yang sesuai dengan minat siswa akan meningkatkan ketertarikan siswa terhadap pelajaran yang diberikan. Budaya populer yang tengah beredar di masyarakat juga bisa dimanfaatkan sebagai media pembelajaran. Guru dituntut untuk tahu dan mengikuti informasi-informasi terbaru yang tengah diminati masyarakat terutama di kalangan pelajar. Hal ini akan membuat guru bisa menyesuaikan media yang akan dipakai dengan tujuan pembelajaran sehingga tidak ketinggalan jaman. Media yang dianggap kuno akan mengurangi ketertarikan siswa untuk mengikuti pelajaran.

Salah satu budaya populer yang berkembang di kalangan usia pelajar adalah Anime. Anime merupakan kartun Jepang yang biasanya diadaptasi dari Manga, komik Jepang yang memiliki gambar dan cerita yang khas (www.wikipedia.com). Anime merupakan singkatan dari kata Animation (animasi) dalam bahasa Jepang.  Anime telah merambah berbagai belahan dunia bahkan Amerika Serikat yang telah memiliki industri kartun yang kuat seperti Walt Disney. Gambar yang menarik serta cerita yang menegangkan dan terkadang sulit ditebak adalah daya tarik Anime. Indonesia sendiri tidak terlepas dari serbuan Anime. Naruto, Dragon Ball, Doraemon dan Shin-chan merupakan contoh-contoh anime yang terkenal di negara kita. Anime yang terkenal ini bisa dimanfaatkan guru bahasa Inggris sebagai media pembelajaran di kelas untuk meningkatkan ketertarikan dan keterlibatan siswa dalam proses pembelajaran.

Pemanfaatan anime sebagai media pembelajaran bahasa Inggris harus memperhatikan  beberapa hal berikut: 1) kemudahan bahasa yang digunakan, untuk pembelajaran bahasa Inggris, guru menggunakan English dubbed atau English subtitled anime,2) kesesuaian anime yang digunakan dengan materi yang disampaikan, 3) genre atau jenis anime yang diberikan sesuai dengan usia siswa serta 4) ketersediaan peralatan yang akan digunakan untuk memutar anime di kelas/laboratorium bahasa seperti LCD Projector, speaker dan komputer/ laptop.Guru bisa mencari anime yang diinginkan dengan mendownload video dari situs-situs penyedia video gratis seperti Youtube atau Goodanime.net. Contoh anime yang cukup baik untuk dipakai di dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris adalah Naruto, Doraemon, Hakuoki Shinsengumi Kitan, Kobo-chan dan Astro Boy untuk anime berseri. Sedangkan untuk film lepas seperti Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle dan Earthsea. Dengan tersedianya banyak anime di internet, guru juga mempunyai semakin banyak pilihan yang bisa digunakan untuk tercapainya tujuan pembelajaran.

Adapun manfaat  penggunaan anime dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris adalah 1) gambar bergerak yang indah akan membuat siswa lebih tertarik, 2)penggunaan bahasa Inggris dalam anime biasanya singkat dan jelas sehingga siswa lebih mudah menangkap maknanya, 3) memberikan kesempatan kepada siswa untuk mengenal budaya lain, tidak hanya budaya Jepang tetapi juga negara lain seperti pada Nobita dan Raja Matahari, 5) anime dengan English subtitled atau dubbed mudah dicari dan tidak memerlukan banyak biaya, dan 6) siswa mempunyai alternatif lain untuk belajar bahasa Inggris dengan cara yang menyenangkan.

Contoh penggunaan anime dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris adlah dalam pembelajaran mengenai Narrative Text. Guru memutarkan satu contoh anime dan meminta siswa untuk menceritakan kembali isi dari anime yang sudah mereka tonton. Anime yang sama bisa juga untuk mempelajari percakapan-percakapan yang tengah diberikan. Tokoh tokoh dalam anime akan membantu siswa mempelajari Descriptive Text. Siswa memberikan deskripsi atau ciri-ciri fisik berdasarkan penggambaran satu atau beberapa tokoh. Bisa juga untuk memberikan sifat-sifat tokoh anime tersebut menurut apa yang mereka mengerti. Masih banyak lagi contoh pemanfaatan anime dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris yang bisa dikembangkan sendiri oleh guru.

Ditengah semakin majunya teknologi dan perkembangan dunia modern, guru diharapkan mampu untuk mengembangkan kemampuan pedagogiknya dalam menghadapi permasalahan-permasalahan dalam pembelajaran. Guru harus bisa menguasai teknologi dan memanfaatkannya untuk kepentingan pembelajaran. Contohnya penggunaan anime dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris yang membuat pelajaran bahasa Inggris lebih menyenangkan sehingga mengurangi stigma bahwa bahasa Inggris adalah pelajaran yang sulit dan membosankan. Dengan pemanfaatan teknologi informasi, guru juga bisa meningkatkan kemampuannya sendiri dan berwawasan lebih luas yang akan berdampak pada keberhasilan proses pembelajaran.

( picture from Hakuoki Hekketsu Roku)

BEST PRACTICE

Name              : HestiKurnianingsih, S. Pd

School              : MTsNSampit

Mapel              : BahasaInggris

STUDENTS CREATIVE SHOW!!!

It has become a wide knowledge that English is considered as one of the most difficult lesson in Indonesia. Many students are afraid of English and lack of enthusiasm whenever they get English lessons at school. This condition is also happening at my school, MTsN Sampit. I often saw they got sleepy, yawned and had that kind of  blank dreamy looks when I entered their classes. Their grades were also very low with minimum involvement in the lesson. Moreover, I have such a large number of students in a class, FORTY EIGHT STUDENTS!!! Can you imagine that? The class became so crowded and hot because there  is very little space for students and teacher to move, and the result is noisy , sweating, but little improving class.Another problem is about students’ ability in Speaking. They often get stuck in expressing their feelings and their vocabularies are very little. But the most dizzying one is how to make them active in my lessons.  It becomes my concern to increase students’ involvement in my lessons and to attract their interests in English without making them frightened. So, I invented my own way to make all of the class involved in the classroom activity without leaving any single student behind.

First, when we discussed about Advertisement, I told my students to make  examples of advertisement about a student show that had been stated as an exercise in the work book that we used. Then we chose the best advertisement and had discussion about what programs that could be very attractive for audiences. So, we made a list of activity that can be performed in a show. After that, we found that these programs could exist in an attractive student show, such as speeches, singing songs, fashion show and interviews. I said to my students, “ How  if we make this show into reality? “. They all said,” Bisa nggak ya Bu?”. “ Sure you can!”, I exclaimed. “ So, should we make  it into real show?, I’ll guide you what you should do”, I continued. “ YES, MA’AM!”

“Whatever happens next, that will be our responsible together, “I told them.The next thing, we arranged our show with new spirit. The first thing that we did was choosing the Master of Ceremony. We chose one male student and one female student to guide our show programs. I chose two with good Speaking  Skill and braver than the others because as a Master Ceremony, they would always stay on the stage. Next was about choosing who would give out speeches. I appointed four students to represent the headmaster, parents, OSIS chairman and from the students themselves. Later,  we singled out about 14 students as the group of choir that would sing an English song. The coordinator of the choir then discussed about what English song that they would perform on the show. The coordinator reported to me after their discussion that they had chosen “Baby” from Justin Bieber to be sung on the stage. The next step was, we talked about how to make a fashion show in the program and the clothes should be constructed from  recycled and used materials. It was the most fun part!!

“Okay, who wants to be models!!!”, I asked the class.

“Kaspul Anwar, Ma’am! Tiara Gadis, Ma’am! Bella! Satrio, Ma’am!”

“Hey… hey… why do you choose them?”, I said.

“Kaspul is cute, Ma’am”.

“ Huuuuuuuuuuu!!!  Firda naksir Kaspul, Maaaammmm!!”

“Okay, the coordinator for the fashion show is Tiara Gadis. She will be responsible for the success of the fashion show. Are you ready Tiara?”

“Yes, Ma’am.Saya coba ya Bu”

Then, we pointed out who would be the reporters that would interview the performers after the show.We had five people as reporters and news readers. The reporters’ duty was to make complete report about a performer that they chose., and the news readers would make a news as if they were on television. We decided to perform the show in the next meeting.

A week later, the students had arranged the tables at their class into a stage and the chairs around the stage for audiences. I borrowed a wireless microphone from one of my colleagues for the Master of Ceremony so the audiences could hear their voices clearly. Each coordinator made their final preparations and after everything was ready, they reported to me that the show was about to begin. Before the show, I played some famous  English and Korean songs such as from Justin Bieber,  2 PM “Hands Up”.

“Woooowwwww!!!!!”, almost all of the students especially the girls were screaming together upon hearing the songs. They were crazy about Justin Bieber and 2 PM, those handsome, fabulous and famous guys of the music world.

“Assalamualaikumwarahmatullahiwabarakatuh, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the first Students Creative Show from EIGHT ROOM ONE!!!”, the Master of Ceremonies started the program in that sunny and beautiful morning. “First of all, we would like to thank Allah SWT because of His Blessings we can make this show possible today”, Adinda, the first MC, spoke clearly and fluently that made my heart leaped into the sky because I never had thought that she could be that good. Later was the time for the speeches. Here, Putri Radila, a quiet girl, made her speech as the representative of the students. Her speech made me speechless because her words were clear and very understandable. Riswanda, the calmest  boy in class, acted as the Headmaster. Once again, I was surprised at his long and sophisticated speech. The students and me clasped our hands loudly after he was down from the stage.

Later on, it was the turn of the choir to sing their song, “Baby”. They sang very well and also did attractive movement to accompany their song. All other students sang along with the choir and most of them knew the lyrics very well. “Hoorraaaayyyy!!!!, we love Justin Bieber, Ma’am!!!”

But, it was when the fashion show performance, all the students became very excited and everybody stood up. I had told the students that prepared fashion show to make dresses from newspaper, plastic bag, used sacks or any other used materials to spread out the spirit of saving the Earth and to keep the environment green. The students had yelled  hysterically when the models walked on the stage and, WOW!!, they looked and moved like those real ones we saw on TV. The music was also very attractive, it was from 2NE1. At the end of the fashion show, the designers of the dresses came on the stage and explained to the audiences about the designs; the materials it was made, the length of time and hard time they had taken in  the process of making.

Although some designers had some difficulties in explaining about their work, lack of vocabularies and fluency, I felt quite satisfied because at least they were able and willing  to speak in front of their friends.  The last part was about interviewing the performers by the appointed reporters. Each reporter questioned one performer about his or her background and their feelings of taking part in the show. They conducted the interviews on the stage and some students acted like they were cameramen. Others were giggling at their seats and gave comments.  Finally, the Masters of Ceremonies announced that the show had came to an end  and asked the students to say  Hamdalah for the success of  show today.

“Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the end of our show today. Let’s say Hamdalah for the success that Allah Gives us. Thankyou very much for your participation.Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.”  The applause was very deafening, many of the boys whistled very loudly and when I looked out of the window, I saw students from other classes had lined up in front of our class and  they  watched our show with great enthusiasm too. Before the end of the lesson, I asked my students of 8 Room 1 about their opinions of the show today. Some said that they were happy because to them, English was not so frightening anymore. Some told me that they were very nervous on the stage and forgot what they should have said, some even wanted to have another show in the future.  Then I told them that nothing is impossible if we  really try, all we need is courage and the will to go forward. After that, I played them songs from 2PM, Super Junior, MBLAQ  and Greenday. I was so glad to see they were laughing and no frowning faces like the other days before in my classroom.

Perhaps other teachers will consider that my way is not suitable to be used in class and a little out of the syllabus. But, here my main purpose is to make my students attracted to English, they feel that English is not that complicated  to learn and to erase the stigma of difficultness which circulates among students in all over Indonesia. In the end of the lesson, I could see that students who were rarely spoke in daily classes, showed that they actually could speak and act better than they used to be before.

SCHOOL BLUES

“Hurry up, hurry up, the bell is ringing!”

“Quick, the gate is closing. We are late!”

“Oh … no. I left my Math books and sports clothes at home!”

The sun was starting to shine brightly over their youthful heads. The sound of their pounding feet was an everyday routine people could hear each morning.

“Stop there!Walk to the school yard!”

“Get off your motorcycle! Don’t you know what time is it now?”

“Do 30 push ups ! Come on, be discipline!”

Commands were heard by the front gate, breaking the silence of the beginning of the new day. Then there would be a line of students with their grinning countenances in front of the teacher office to record their juvenility.

“Another 20 points for me”.

“Yeah, it is my third this week”.

“Why doesn’t our school start at 07.00?”,

Some grunts came out while the speakers were drifting to their classes.

“Knock, knock”.

“Come in. Why are you  late?”

“I got up at 06.00 o’clock, Sir”

“Well, you are 15 minutes late. Do 5 rounds running across the basketball field”.

The smiles left their lips and they had to do the next command so they could join  their classmates to study.

Sweating, thirsty and beaten, those seekers of knowledge got into their seat with sighs of relief.

“Allright, take out  your homework!”

“Not again! I forgot to do it!”

My Fanfiction-Nura Rikuo and Tsurara Oikawa 1

FOR TSURARA

Those silvery flakes fall softly on the freezing ground

Caressing the flashing long raven strands under  cherry blossoms

Melting into gentle breeze warmed by  winter light

Not the sun or fire,  but your heart so alive

This snow girl who walks along slippery path

                                   Whispering a tune about a hero in fight

A blinding sword he carried so difficult to match

And for her alone he will battle to death

Sakura...sakura... wildly scattered petals

As they meet at a lonely Toono site

Clear white moon over their lovely sights

Singing beautiful song about The Third Leader... and his faithful  loving wife

*I don't own Nura Rikuo and Tsurara Oikawa, Shibashii Hiroshi sensei does^^

Cosplaying dalam pembelajaran Speaking

Di dunia pendidikan, guru memegang peranan yang sangat penting. Meskipun teknologi telah sangat maju, guru masih menempati posisi yang dominan. Guru tidak hanya bisa mengajar tetapi juga harus bisa mendidik. Itulah sebabnya guru belum bisa digantikan oleh komputer yang paling canggih sekalipun. Karena guru adalah kunci pendidikan, untuk meningkatkan kualitasnya, peningkatan kemampuan guru menjadi suatu kewajiban.

Guru harus selalu mencari cara untuk mengembangkan kemampuan mereka, terutama guru-guru Bahasa Inggris. Disebabkan teknologi yang semakin canggih, guru harus mampu menggunakan teknologi yang bermanfaat  dalam proses pembelajaran. Internet juga telah membuka wawasan terhadap bagian-bagian dunia, menghujani kita dengan informasi dari tempat- tempat yang  sebelumnya tidak terjangkau dan tidak diketahui. Membawa pemahaman baru tentang budaya-budaya lain bahkan ke tempat-tempat yang paling jauh di permukaan bumi. Hal ini membuat setiap orang bisa mengakses berbagai sumber ilmu pengetahuan. Oleh karena itu, guru harus megumpulkan informasi dan menggunakannya untuk kepentingan siswa.  Dalam hal ini, terutama guru-guru bahasa Inggris, yang tidak memiliki banyak kesulitan dalam memahami laman-laman berbahasa Inggris. Guru bisa dengan mudah memperoleh berbagai sumber yang berguna dan mencapai peningkatan dalam metode pembelajaran mereka pada empat skill dalam bahasa Inggris.

Berbicara (Speaking) adalah salah satu skill yang sering memerlukan peningkatan. Banyak siswa yang takut untuk berbicara. Ini  menimbulkan masalah dalam proses belajar mengajar pada skill berbicara. Pada umumnya guru menyukai murid aktif berbicara.,tetapi kesulitan mencapai tujuan tersebut. Salah satu cara menarik untuk meningkatakan kemampuan berbicara siswa , terutama di tingkat dasar, adalah Role Play atau bermain peran. Di dalam Role Play, siswa seharusnya diberikan kebebasan untuk memilih peran mereka sendiri berdasarkan yang mereka suka, selama peran peran tersebut masih dalam lingkup topik pembelajaran. Karena siswa memilih sendiri peran mereka, diharapkan mereka akan bekerja keras dan bersemangat. Supaya kelas mengerti apa yang seharusnya dilakukan di dalam Role Play, guru  memberikan contoh yang baik sebagai model.

Dewasa ini guru tidak boleh hanya menyuruh siswa mengerjakan suatu tugas atau kegiatan, tetapi guru perlu untuk bisa mengerjakan tugas atau kegiatan tersebut. Guru tidak bisa memberikan tugas di kelas tanpa memberikan contoh yang cukup dan memuaskan. Dengan memberikan contoh sebelum dikerjakan siswa, ada beberapa keuntungan yang diperoleh: 1) guru akan mendapatkan lebih banyak kepercayaan dan rasa hormat dari siswa, 2) siswa akan tahu apa yang harus mereka lakukan dengan lebih baik setelah melihat contoh dari guru dan 3) meningkatkan rasa percaya diri guru. Role play bagi guru bisa di lakukan dengan cara yang sangat menarik, berdasarkan pada kegiatan yang semakin terkenal diantara remaja, anak muda bahkan orang dewasa. Kegiatan tersebut disebut Cosplay.

Cosplay adalah singkatan dari Costume Play. Cosplay adalah suatu aktivitas dimana orang berdandan memerankan satu tokoh atau karakter dari buku atau film, dan sering melakukan Role Play berdasarkan perannya (Macmillan Dictionary). Orang yang melakukan Cosplay disebut Cosplayer. Cosplay semakin terkenal beberapa tahun terakhir disebakan perkembangan anime (kartun) dan manga (komik) Jepang. Di dalam Cosplay, orang tidak hanya mengenakan baju, senjata dan aksesoris tokoh, tetapi juga menirukan aksi atau ciri khas tertentu dari tokoh tersebut. Berhubungan dengan pembelajaran Speaking dengan menggunakan Role Play, guru bisa melakukan Cosplay untuk membat pembelajaran lebih menarik dan bersemangat. Di kelas, guru mengenakan kostum  karakter tertentu dari film, buku, manga atau anime terkenal. Guru juga bisa melengkapi diri dengan properti atau perlengkapan lainnya seperti persenjataan, latar yang menarik, asesoris dan lainnya.

Penggunaan Cosplay untuk pengajaran Speaking (Berbicara), ada beberapa aspek yang perlu diperhatikan, yaitu: 1) gunakan kosakata umum yang sering digunakan sehingga siswa bisa lebih mudah mengerti, 2) pilih tokoh atau karakter yang cukup terkenal untuk menimbulkan minat siswa, 3) pemilihan karakter disesuaikan dengan tingkat level siswa dan atur tempat duduk siswa di kelas untuk menyediakan ruang yang cukup saat guru tampil. Contoh tokoh atau karakter yang terkenal diantara remaja misalnya dari seri Harry Potter, Twilight Saga dan film-film superhero seperti Ironman,Fantastic Four, The Avengers dan X-Men. Guru juga bisa mengambil karakter populer dari manga dan anime Jepang. Misalnya, Naruto, Bleach, Samurai X, Vocaloid, Dragon Ball, Nurarihyon No Mago, Inuyasha dan Doraemon. Guru dapat juga menggunakan karakter dari Role Play Games (RPG) dan film atau drama Korea terkenal dengan semakin meluasnya Korean Wave yang menyebabkan demam Korea (Hallyu) di seluruh dunia. Film atau drama Korea seperti Dae Jang Geum, Dong Yi dan War of the Arrows menampilkan gambaran budaya yang kaya bagi pemirsanya dalam bentuk kostum yang indah, tradisi, pemandangan alam dan cerita yang menarik. Guru juga  disarankan untuk menggunakan karakter-karakter dari budaya lokal sehingga siswa juga lebih mengenal budayanya sendiri.

Ada beberapa langkah yang bisa digunakan sebagai pedoman saat guru ingin menggunakan Cosplay dalam menampilkan Role Play pada pembelajaran Speaking. Langkah-langkah untuk guru tersebut adalah: 1)  memilih tokoh atau karakter dan yakin kalau karakter tersebut cukup terkenal diantara siswa, pilihan yang sesuai akan menimbulkan rasa penasaran dan ketertarikan siswa, 2) menyiapkan kostum dan perlengkapan dengan baik, detail juga perlu diperhatikan dan dengan kostum yang mudah dikenali, siswa akan lebih memperhatikan, 3) menghafalkan dengan kalimat yang akan disampaikan sebaik mungkin, guru mungkin tidak hafal semua kata di dalam Role Play, tetapi guru harus mengingat jalan cerita supaya bisa berimprovisasi, 4) memahami watak karakter , ini akan memunculkan penghayatan dan ekspresi emosi yang baik sehingga penampilan guru akan lebih sempurna , 5) melatih tingkah laku karakter, bagaimana karakter berbicara, berjalan dan apabila perlu guru juga belajar sedikit  menyanyi, menari, permainan pedang, gaya berkelahi atau kemampuan karakter yang lain dan 6) berlatih Role Play beberapa kali sebelum ditampilkan di kelas karena latihan akan memberikan hasil yang baik dan membangun rasa percaya diri. Pada artikel ini, penekanan Cosplay dalam speaking adalah guru. Hal ini dikarenakan banyak guru yang cenderung selalu menyuruh siswa mengerjakan tugas dan pertunjukan tanpa pernah introspeksi apakah guru tersebut sudah mampu atau tidak melakukan tugas yang diberikan kepada siswa. Guru adalah contoh terbaik bagi siswa. Jika guru tidak memberikan usaha yang terbaik di kelas, maka akan sangat sulit untuk mengharapkan siswa melakukan usahanya yang terbaik juga.

Role Play dengan Cosplay dapat digunakan pada banyak kegiatan berbicara. Contohnya,  Descriptive Text, Narrative Text, Introduction dan kegiatan berbicara lainnya. Guru mengintruksikan siswa untuk memilih karakter kesukaan mereka dan menyiapkan apa yang akan mereka katakan dan kenakan. \Kemudian, guru memberikan waktu yang cukup bagi siswa untuk menyiapkanpenampilan mereka. Waktu persiapan sebaiknya tidak terlau singkat ataupun terlalu lama berdasarkan tingkat kemampuan kelas secara umum sehingga siswa bisa memberikan yang terbaik. Role play dengan menggunakan Cosplay ini bisa ditampilkan secara individu, berpasangan atau berkelompok tergantung keperluan pelajaran.

Perkembangan dunia pendidikan sudah sangat pesat. Siswa bisa memperoleh bahan-bahan pembelajaran di luar kelas. Bahan – bahan tersebut mungkin saja lebih maju daripada yang mereka terima dari guru. Hal ini akan membawa beberapa permasalahan baru di kelas. Siswa tidak akan mudah terpuaskan dengan apa yang didapat di sekolah.Situasi ini menjadi sebuah tantangan besar bagi guru untuk meningkatkan kreativitas dan kemampuan mengajar.

Saat ini, guru harus menciptakan dan menggunakan cara-cara mengajar baru, tidak hanya untuk meningkatkan kemampuan guru itu sendiri, tetapi juga untuk kepentingan siswa. Guru seharusnya menjadi sumber pengetahuan terbaik bagi siswa. Terutama di dalam proses pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris, guru yang menarik dan komunikatif akan mengurangi anggapan bahwa bahasa Inggris adalah pelajaran yang membosankan dan  sulit. Dengan bahan pembelajaran yang menarik serta penyampaian yang menawan, siswa akan merasa nyaman belajar bahasa Inggris. Oleh karena itu, diharapkan siswa akan berusaha mengembangkan kemampuan mereka yang akan mempengaruhi keberhasilan belajar dan guru akan mendapatkan hasil yang memuaskan dari proses pembelajaran tersebut.