COURSE COMPETITION IN TOWN

Yesterday, Thursday 25 March 2010, was a special day for my English course. We joined "Lomba Keteladanan Kursus Kota Bogor". The jury came to Independent English Course at 11.15 and left us at 11.45; they only stayed for about half an hour. There were 6 of them but only Pak Ma'mul Zein and Ibu Ning Taufiek who met me and asked some questions. Others talked to all employees.
We do not care whether or not we will win. Their visit to Independent is enough to show that we get care and attention.
If you want to know the progress we have made so far, come to Independent English Course.

ENGLISH COURSE IN BOGOR

There have been a lot of growing English courses in Bogor... and one of them is Independent English Course. On March 1, 2010 Independent English Course Bogor celebrated first anniversary. Through the celebration, Independent reflected the hard road we had passed along... and we saw the brightly promising future in front.

After two years of existence, Independent needs to accelerate the programmes and the development. We will not only become one of the English courses in Bogor but also one of the English courses which have branches in other cities and other islands.

Independent needs to work hard. But there is optimism there. There is always a hope there. And with the commitment from all staff members and management, with the support from all students and clients, we believe that the dreams will come true.

THE HISTORY OF VALENTINE'S DAY

Introduction

Today, Sunday 14 February 2010, many people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day. In Indonesia, There is still a controversy about it. Some people agree with the celebration; some others disagree and say that the celebration is not right for Indonesian values. What is actually Valentine’s Day? Here I copy paste the History of Valentine’s Day from www.history.com. If you want to learn more, click the website.

Regards.

First…

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

Valentine's Day Features

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

PRIVATE CLASSES AND TUITION FEE 2010

Welcome 2010!

The year 2009 has passed and 2010 has come. For me, difficulties have been coped with and new challenges and opportunities have welcomed me.

In this opportunity I would like to underline my committment to serve all my students better. I know my weakness and I understand my strength. Nobody is perfect, but there are always opportunities for everyone to change to be better and better.

In line with private classes that I handle this year, I really hope to see my students improve their English. I want them to master English soon. I dream that they will be able to communicate with other people in English.

In this chance I would also like to invite you, who have not joined my private classes, to take action. If you think that your English is just so-so, why don't you join my class. I am not an all-round or perfect English teacher, but I, together with my team, can help you to improve your English. With our cooperation, your English will be active and effective...

In 2010 I still offer you to have private English lessons in Bogor or Jakarta. What I mean by private lessons here would include in-company English training, in-house English training, in-office English training, etc. Contact my office at (0251) 2298154 for further information, or send your inquiry through marketing.independent@gmail.com .

For the course fee, this is the outline of the course fee in 2010:

Registration fee:
Rp 150.000/group (1-5 students); Rp 300.000/group (6-10 students); Rp 450.000/group (11-15 students)

Tuition fee:
Bogor classes:
a. at Independent English Course : Rp 125.000/session (=90 minutes) for 1-5 students
b. outside Independent office but still in town: Rp 150.000/session (=90 minutes) for 1-5 students;
    transport fee: Rp 4.000-16.000/session
c. outside Independent office, in Bogor Regency area: Rp 150.000-350.000/session depending on 
    the  location, for 1-5 students;
    transport fee: Rp 4.000-20.000/session

Jakarta Classes:
a. Rp 250.000/session (90 minutes) for 1-5 students;
b. Rp 350.000/session for 6-10 students;
c. Rp 450.000/session for 11-15 students

Book Price:
For all students and cities, the price of the course books are various, depending on the level and the length of the private class taken.

NEWS AND PROGRESS 2009

Independent English Course is an English course in Bogor which tries to serve school students, company employees, university students, office and company managers, civil servants, housewives, job seekers and anyone who wants to master English.

Independent is now teaching more than 70 (regular and private) students in Bogor and 129 students in Jakarta and other areas. School students come from some top schools in Bogor such Sekolah Regina Pacis, Sekolah Kesatuan, Sekolah Budi Mulia, SMP 1, SMA 1, SD Sukadamai 3 and many others. Among private students, some of them come from Bank Danamon and Bank Mega - Jakarta, Sekolah BPK Penabur - Sentul City, Kantor Kementerian Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara-Jakarta, PT Gramedia-Jakarta, and others. Meanwhile, United Tractors (UT) School Jakarta also trusts Independent English Course to organise English training for their students for one year to prepare them to be global mechanics.

Independent English Course is implementing "Living Values" in the learning and teaching process so that it can be a language school which can help the nation to prepare human resources with respect and pride of living values.

PRIVATE COURSE FEE IN JAKARTA

For Private Classes outside Kota Bogor
(i.e. in Jakarta, Tangerang, Depok, Bekasi, Sukabumi, Kab. Bogor):
Registration fee = Rp 150.000 (1-5 students)
Course fee = Rp 250.000 / session
Book fee = Rp 25.000 - 50.000 / student (depending on the class/level)

This is my answer to Mr Ipunk Pahriputra, who has asked me about courses in Jakarta:

1. Untuk beberapa bulan hingga akhir tahun 2009, guru-guru yang menjadi partner saya sedang overloaded (memiliki kelas yang sangat banyak) sehingga untuk sementara saya belum dapat menerima siswa baru di Jakarta. Seandainya ada yang sangat membutuhkan kursus privat, untuk sementara ini saya sarankan menghubungi kursus bahasa Inggris lain yang ada di Jakarta lebih dulu.

2. Biaya kursus privat di Jakarta sangat tergantung pada beberapa hal:

a. Jenis kursusnya: general English, TOEFL Preparation, Bimbingan belajar, Writing, etc.

b. Lokasi: dengan mempertimbangkan jarak antara lokasi dengan tempat tinggal guru terdekat.

3. Secara umum, untuk kelas privat (1-5 orang) di Jakarta, biayanya adalah sekitar Rp 200.000-300.000 per group untuk setiap sesi (90 menit). Biaya itu sudah termasuk biaya pendaftaran, buku/materi, transport, placement test, dll., namun belum termasuk biaya sertifikat (jika siswa menghendaki).

4. Untuk setiap siswa privat, akan selalu ada surat pernyataan yang berisi: maksud/tujuan kursus, jadwal yang disepakati, biaya yang disepakati, cara dan jadwal pembayaran, peraturan tentang tugas-tugas, garansi dari lembaga saya dan lain-lain.

5. Apakah ada jaminan bahwa Anda akan bisa berbahasa Inggris? Ya, ada... namun, tentu harus disesuaikan dengan data awal Anda... Kalau hasil placement test menunjukkan bahwa level Anda masih Beginner 1 (Tingkat Dasar 1), Anda tentu tidak mungkin dapat meraih skor TOEFL 500 hanya dengan kursus privat 4 kali dalam sebulan... Juga Anda tidak mungkin naik ke Beginner 2 dalam waktu 3 bulan kalau Anda hampir tidak pernah praktek atau mengerjakan tugas-tugas... Bila seorang siswa bersungguh-sungguh belajar, bekerja sama dengan guru privatnya, tentu ada jaminan bahwa ia bisa berbahasa Inggris sesuai tingkat yang dipelajarinya.

6. Bila Anda benar-benar ingin mengambil kursus privat dalam beberapa bulan ke depan, saya mohon informasi mengenai tempat tinggal atau kantor Anda, nomor telepon atau nomor HP Anda agar guru yang akan saya kirimkan dapat mengetahui lokasi rumah/kantor Anda.

Terima kasih.

UT SCHOOL ENGLISH TRAINING

UT School Jakarta has trusted INDEPENDENT English Course Bogor to organise a special English training for UT School second year students for acedemic year 2009/2010. The training programme will be held at UT School at Jl Raya Bekasi Km 22 Jakarta.

The training will be given to 128 students and held in two batches:

1. Batch 1 (64 students) will start on Tuesday 28 July 2009 and finish on 28 August 2009.
After 23 day training, the students will join OJT (On the Job Training) for about 7-10 months) in different areas in Indonesia. During the OJT, students learn English through distance learning programme that we hold. After OJT, they will come back to Jakarta to join a 3-day English final examination.

2. Batch 2 (64 students) will start 3 months later. The training will be held similarly.

The UT School English training programme is conducted through a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) scheme, and hence it is not business oriented.

This training programme will be held continuously from year to year. From 128 students who join the programme, some of them will continue to join another English training programme for higher level. If we can organize the training successfully this year, UT School will automatically ask us handle all the training programmes.