General English: Describing a place

BALI, The Island of The Gods

When you say ‘Bali’, most westerners will think of paradise tourism. Bali is a famous beautiful island known as ‘The Island of The Gods’.

Bali is located between Java and Lombok. It has an area of 5620 square km. The island is dramatically mountainous. Gunung Agung, known as The Mother Mountain, is over 3000 m high. Bali has four lakes: Lake Batur, which is located in Kintamani, and Lake Buyan, Lake Tamblingan, and Lake Beratan, which are located in the Bedugul area. Other famous natural things of Bali are its beaches. Kuta Beach is the widest beach where you can surf, swim, and watch the sunset. At Sanur Beach you can canoe, parasail, or look at the sunrise while At Tulamben you can snorkel and dive. Another beach is Lovina Beach, which is located in Buleleng, where you can see dolphins in the morning.

Bali is densely populated with approximately 3.1 million people. Most of its citizens are concentrated in Denpasar, the capital of Bali. Bali has 9 regencies i.e. Denpasar, Jembrana, Tabanan, Klungkung, Karangasem, Bangli, Badung, Gianyar, and Buleleng. Ninety percent of its people are Hindus. Therefore, there are many sea temples e.g. Tanah Lot Temple and Luhur Ulu Watu Temple, and traditional ceremonies such as Ngaben, Nyepi, and Galungan. Each temple has its own birthday festival known as Odalan. Ngaben is a cremation ceremony. Nyepi is the New Year’s Day for Hindus when they celebrate by keeping silent. Thus, there should be no fire/ light, no travel/ walking, no entertainment, no work, and Hindus is suggested to fast.

The average temperature hovers around 30 degree Celcius all year. There are two seasons in Bali i.e. the wet season and the dry season. The wet season runs from October and lasts on March while the dry season runs from April and lasts on September.

There’s very little manufacturing industry in Bali, so industrial pollution is not a big problem. Amongst all the industries, tourism accounts for about one-third of Bali’s formal economy.

Bali has some traditional food such as lawar, spit-roasted pig, Betutu Chicken, and Siobak. Those foods are all spicy. There are also snake fruits and salted peanuts that you can find in supermarkets or traditional markets.

Regrettably, Bali has limited public transportation. Still, we can travel to many places by taxi, car, motorbike or minibus. So, if you were looking for a tropical island holiday, then Bali would be well worth a visit.

Prepared by Arima and Ady ADS6mE

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Some Idioms

Below are some idioms to make your speaking more fluent, more natural as well as easier to understand what native speakers say.

• crack the books = start studying
• cut class = miss school
• feel at home = feel comfortable or relaxed
• keep an eye on = watch carefully
• homesick = sad at being away from home or things that are familiar
• get under someone's skin = annoy or bother someone
• stay-at-home mom = a mother who doesn't have a job outside the home
• fill up on = become full
• whip up = quickly prepare

Can you make a sentence for each idiom? Drop your ideas on the comment tool.

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Practicing Present Perfect Tense

Present perfect tense is commonly used in our daily conversation. However, it is still difficult to be applied. Below is my writing to practice pesent perfect tense. It illustrates how my life has changed since I started my EAP.

My Life Has Changed

I have worked as a physician as well as a lecturer in the Public Health School in Bali since I finished my first job in Central Sulawesi. My life has changed since I started my English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at IALF Bali. Not only my daily activities have changed, but I have also been changed in many ways.
I have more responsibilities than before. I usually wake up at 6.00 a.m. if I work as a lecturer, whereas, after joining EAP class, I wake up an hour earlier, at 5.00 a.m. to do homework or review yesterday’s lessons. As a lecturer, I have taught my students and have given tasks or homework to them. My work time, which was flexible, depended on the lecture schedules. Conversely, at an intensive EAP course, I am a student who gets lessons and tasks from my teacher. I have to focus on my English all day. As a physician, I have conducted private practice in the afternoon. However, I cannot do this when I have to be fully involved in my EAP course.
My life has also been changed by making friends. By attending EAP course, I have got a lot of new friends. They come from various regions of Indonesia. They are all cute and friendly, and they make me feel part of an amusing community. We respect each other even though we have different backgrounds. Moreover, I have close friends. I feel as if they are my brothers and sisters. In our spare time, we have enjoyed eating ice cream, walking on the beach, or just talking and laughing together. It is a wonderful and worthwhile brotherhood.
Overall, I am pleased to have a great opportunity to change my lifestyle as well as my learning styles. I am also happy that my life has been changed into an amusing friendship which I have never had before.

(329 words)

Submitted by Ady Wirawan, ADS 6ME, 2006

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Describing Someone

This posting is an example as to how to describe someone. Find out the useful expressions used and important vocabulary when describing someone's education and carieer. This article is taken from my English for Academic Purposes and was corrected by my English teacher at IALF Bali.

ERNI’S EDUCATION AND CAREER

Erni graduated from the Economics Faculty of Gadjah Mada University in 2003. Her major field of study was accountancy, so her degree is Bachelor of Accounting.
Erni has been working in the Representative Office of Makasar, Supreme Audit Board of Indonesia, since she graduated from university. Currently, she is in charge of South Sulawesi III Division as an auditor.
She says that she would not change her career. She enjoyed her first job very much She is very interested in her job because she can travel to many places in South Sulawesi Province when she conducts an audit. However, she sometimes is not happy with her employment conditions because she can’t always fully express herself. Occasionally, she gets bored when she has to do monotonous work.
She usually works from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm. When she conducts an audit of local government, she sometimes works long hours and feels under pressure. However, she gets a good salary and also rewards from her employer. Erni trained to be a junior expert auditor for three months in Jakarta. Her employer always provides professional development opportunities for her.

Submitted by Ady Wirawan, ADS 6ME, 2006

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Comparing and Contrasting

This writing is an example of how to compare and contrast one thing to another. The important thing here is how to use the connecting words. This example is comparing and contrasting the condition of two families. This is taken from my EAP course and was corrected by my English teacher.

The welfare of a family is determined by how well they fulfil their basic needs for food, housing, and security. In addition, it is also shown by how people can spend their leisure and how many properties or possessions they have. The differences in life of two families are shown in the comparisons and contrasts of the Regzen family and the Ketut family.
The Regzen family live on the outskirts of Ulan Bator, capital of Monglia. The environment where they live is heavily polluted. Similarly, the Ketut family live far from a city, in a village in Bangli, a province of Bali. However, the environment where the Ketuts live has little pollution and is a very comfortable place to live. The Regzens’ house, which measures about 19 square meters, is a one-room ger (tent). In contrast, the Ketuts’ house is a permanent house made of concrete, which measures about 80 square meters and consists of three bedrooms, one family room, and one kitchen.
There are six persons in the Regzen household i.e. Regzen Batsuury, his wife, their two children, and Regzen’s sister and her daughter. The Ketuts are like the Regzens in household size. Ketut and his wife have two children, and they also live with Ketut’s parents. Regzen’s daughter is nine years old and attends the local school, while the son is still too young. Ketut’s children are similar to Regzen’s. Ketut’s son is eight years old and attends the primary school, and the daughter is also still younger than two.

Regzen is a truck driver and freelance construction worker. His wife works in the pharmacy of the local hospital. On the other hand, Ketut is a government employee, which is a steady job, and Ketut’s wife is only responsible for housework.
The Regzen family has fewer possessions than the Ketut family. The Regzens only have one television. They don’t have radios, telephones, computers or cars. Conversely, the Ketuts have many electronics such as a television, a radio, and a telephone. Neither family have computers or cars. However, Ketut has a motorcycle.
In conclusion, they have a different social status. The Regzens live in poverty, whereas the Ketuts have a better social status including a better occupation and much more property and possessions than the Regzens.

(385 words)

Submitted by Ady Wirawan, ADS6ME, 2006

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