Mojang Jajaka Jawa Barat 2012

I had the opportunity to be one of the judges for the MOKA 2012 competition. I found it quite amazing how rich the Sundanese culture is and how proud the representatives of each city and district within West Java were. When Ms. Ida contacted me and invited me to join this event as a mentor and judge, I was so excited as to be part of such an extraordinary occasion. The only thing was that my name was spelled wrong in the newspapers. Instead of putting Ryan Anthony Abraham, they put Ryan Anton Ambraham. I happened to be the only judge that had his name spelled incorrectly, so you can imagine how I felt upon discovering such a terrible thing. I hope I will have another opportunity to be a judge in the future.

Launching Corporate Social Responsibility Program

For the first time ever, Ciaci Vip English is launching a corporate social responsibility program in Bandung. If a company or organization decides to join Ciaci Vip English as its partner for English training, Ciaci Vip English will make a donation to the company's charity of choice in that company's name and thus earning the Excellence in Quality, Excellence in English, and Excellence in Community award. This is a wonderful way for companies to kill two birds with one stone so to speak. For more information, don't hesitate to contact us by email.

There's Dedicated and then There's Dedicated!

Every Friday, i have the pleasure of teaching two young ladies essential vocabulary related to their majors. Wulani (in red) is studying International Relations whereas Yuwanda is studying International Law at Unpad. I don't know why I keep getting students from Unpad. Maybe it is because they recognize the best and simply speaking, that is exactly what I am. The Best! These two students challenge me to come up with new ways of teaching and interesting material. They are so dedicated to improving their English fluency and that kind of dedication is what inspires me to teach. They always come prepared and ready to take on the lesson. As an esl teacher I find myself wondering if my students appreciate me just as much as I do them. I guess the fact that they allowed me to use their photos on my blog shows how much they appreciate and respect me. We teachers like to believe that we truly make a difference in our students' lives. The best thing to me is when students tell you just that!

Amazing Students of Unpad

Last Monday I had the opportunity to give a lecture at Unpad and I absolutely loved it. The students of the Nursing Faculty were so motivated and excited to be taught by a Native speaker. They tried their best to participate in activities and did not hesitate to show off their English skills. I also think my lecture on effective writing skills and mind mapping was pretty good. I am looking forward to teaching them again. Go Unpad!

How to Write an Effective Academic Paper

WRITING by RYAN

“If one wishes to write a good paper, he should write a better one. If he hopes to write a better paper, he should write a great paper. If he desires to write a great paper, he should write an outstanding one. If he does not intend to capture the minds of others, he should not write at all and those who strive to do this should write exceptionally”.

Ryan Abraham

ESL Teacher

Ciaci Vip English

HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE ACADEMIC PAPER

12 Things to Remember – Aimed at ESL students

1.    Determine what it is that you wish to write about. How can you write if you do not have a      focus or specific topic in mind?
2.     Brainstorm or mind map ideas that pertain to your topic.
3.     Look for connections in your ideas.
4.     Research the topic to gather credible information that supports your ideas.
5.     Develop a thesis or clear topic statement. Your topic statement or thesis statement should have exactly your topic and the areas that you wish to discuss in order to support your idea.
6.   Make an outline of your paper.
7.   Make an introduction from general to specific. Start off by attracting the readers and end with a good topic statement or thesis statement.
8.   Develop supporting paragraphs that relate to specific topics from your thesis or topic statement.
9.   Use examples and details to support any ideas and opinions. Don’t forget to cite sources.
10.  Never use someone else’s idea as your own. Again remember to cite sources.
11. Use transitions to add flow and cohesion to your ideas.
12.  Your conclusion should be the opposite of your introduction in that you should go from specific to general. Try to finish with a thought provoking statement.

Model of Academic Writing

 The Topic Statement

Determining your topic or main idea is extremely important for it is the foundation or base of your academic paper. If your paper is in response to a question or specific task, make sure that your topic/thesis statement encompasses all that you wish to discuss in your paper. Your topic statement should include your main idea and the things that you wish to use to prove or discuss your main idea.

Task:   Write an essay explaining why having the ability to effectively communicate in   English is important.

Topic: The ability to communicate effectively in English is important.

Control 1:  have friends from all over the world

Control 2: get a good job

Control 3: be informed about global events and issues

Topic statement: The ability to communicate effectively in English is extremely important because it allows us to have friends from all over the world, get a good job, and be informed about global events and issues.

The Introduction

The introduction should have at least 3 sentences and you should start off with a general statement that is connected to your topic or main idea that will attract readers. The second sentence should be less general/more specific and serve as a transition between your first general sentence and the last sentence which of course is the topic statement.

Sample Introduction: English is spoken by over 60 percent of the world’s population. Due to globalization, English has truly become the international language.  The ability to communicate effectively in English is extremely important because it allows us to have friends from all over the world, get a good job, and be informed about global events and issues.

Getting To Ciaci Vip English

I always find it so amazing how many people call Ciaci Vip English wondering how to get there. So, I decided to make a video showing exactly how to do so. Enjoy and please don't forget to visit my website at ciacienglish.com

Digging Deep for the Teacher Within

We all have those classes that we would rather not have. You know the one I'm talking about. That class with zero personality. I have had quite a few of those actually. I remember wishing that a tsunami or tornado would hit, or even an alien aircraft would come and vaporize everyone. I would pray for anything to cancel the class or at least postpone it. I know you are thinking, oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad. Well I am telling you that it was worse. How can one cope with such classes? How can an ESL teacher survive? When all hope is gone and hangman just doesn't quite cut it anymore...

Remember why you are there

Sometimes we as ESL teachers have to remind ourselves why we wake up each day and put on our good shoes. Sometimes we have to remember the first time our lesson fell into place and everything just clicked. Sometimes we have to dig deep down and search for the teacher within. Remind yourself that you are not responsible for only making entertaining lessons, but for making meaningful and educational lessons as well. I know some teachers that only survive by making their students laugh, but when those teachers get home, they ask themselves "what in the world did I just teach". If you remember that you are there in front of that class to teach English and not to be a clown, you will do just fine!

Plan for the worst and then plan for worse

You know that saying, there's no such thing as a bad plan. Well I disagree. You know when we plan not to plan because we are just that great. That's a bad plan! Never underestimate the power of a well-thought out lesson. It can save you a million times over. It is very easy and quite simple to deviate from a plan if something doesn't go your way, but how do you deviate from a "no plan"? It simply just makes the class or lesson even worse. I normally try to anticipate any and everything that might come up during a class. Sometimes, the best student in the class is absent and you are just left with the unmotivated and untalented individuals. You should plan for that.

Just because they like you doesn't mean they like your class

We all want to be liked and loved by our students. I can't imagine anyone who would want to be hated. Right? It is easy to fall into the cycle of planning lessons and condoning certain undesirable behavior in order to be liked by our students. It is ever so tempting, because we all remember how much fun we had when we were in school and being taught by that teacher who just let us do whatever we wanted. But if we asked ourselves what did we learn from that teacher, the answer would be hard to find. Just remember that students will laugh in your class and smile every time they see you, and then when the student questionnaire gets passed around, they will trash you behind your back. They like you, but they just don't like being taught by you.

Back to zero personality

So, if you have to face that class with no personality, you should consider the following. Are your lessons balanced? Do you spend enough time explaining activities and giving directions? Do your lessons accommodate a wide range of learning styles? Are your lessons both teacher and student led. Are your lessons communicative and interactive? Do you remember to smile? Do you in fact have a personality yourself? Do you know what you are talking about? How much time do you spend planning lessons? Do you teach exactly from the textbook? Would you want to be taught by you?