Ngenglish Yuk

Say it Better in English: Useful Phrases for Work and Everyday Life

Learn the most useful American English expressions for work and everyday life. For example, expressions like: I'll double-check, within the hour, split the check, Can I put you on hold? -- plus hundreds more.

Cartoons show you how each expression is used in real-life situations. Two additional examples are offered for each expression. Over 50 fun crossword puzzles let you quiz yourself. Great for both individual self-study and as a supplemental text for ESL classroom use. Say it Better in English is currently being used by ESL and EFL students around the world -- in the USA, Canada, Asia, Europe, and Latin America!

Apa artinya 'vice versa'?

Vice versa (dibaca vais versa) adalah sebuah bahasa serapan dari bahasa latin. Arti originalnya sendiri berarti "diposisikan sebaliknya", "sebaliknya", ato "terbalik" (dari yang seharusnya). Namun begitu, vice versa sebagai kata keterangan (adverb) yang menjelaskan bahwa kebalikan dari fakta pertama yang dikatakan juga kenyataan. Contohnya:
She hates him and vice versa. (Dia membencinya dan begitu pula sebaliknya).
Fish can't live where we are most comfortable, and vice versa. (Ikan tidak bisa hidup di tempat dimana kita sangat nyaman, dan begitu pula sebaliknya).
I can go to Bali - Jakarta vice versa within 1 day to make this happened. (Saya bisa pergi Bali - Jakarta bolak-balik dalam satu hari untuk membuat ini berhasil.

Beberapa orang yang saya tanyai menganggap menulis itu SUSAH. Menulis dalam bahasa Inggris? LEBIH SUSAH lagi.Walaupun begitu orang2 tersebut juga menganggap keterampilan menulis dalam bahasa inggris itu penting. Apalagi jika anda ingin sekolah/bekerja di luar negeri, atau bekerja di multinational company, atau bersosialisasi dalam masyarakat international.

5 Cara Meningkatkan Kualitas Menulis dalam bahasa Inggris

1. Tingkatkan perbendaharaan kata anda (Improve your vocabulary)
Kalimat adalah untaian kata. Jika anda menguasai banyak kata, mengetahui definisinya dan bisa menggunakan dengan tepat, betapa bagusnya tulisan anda. Anda dianggap mengerti bagaimana mengungkapkan ide, mempengaruhi orang dan membuat pembaca mengerti dan memahami maksud anda. Tip: Jika anda menemukan kata baru, cari definisinya dan temukan padanan kata (sinonim) dan lawan kata (antonym) dari kata tersebut.

2. Kembangkan kemampuan ejaan
Mengetahui banyak kata harus juga diiringi dengan ejaannya. Anda harus tau bagaimana cara mengeja kata tersebut dengan baik. Ejaan yang tidak benar bisa membuat pembaca salah mengerti. Banyak confused word yang bisa membuat anda bingung (juga pembacanya). Ada homophone seperti “bear” dan “bare”. Cara pengucapannya sama, tapi “bear” = beruang dan “bare” berarti telanjang. Kembali ke poin #1, kesalahan dalam mengeja bisa membuat pembaca salah mengerti tulisan anda.
Tip: Selalu cek kembali dengan kamus jika ragu.

3. Banyak Membaca
Banyak membaca tulisan dalam bahasa Inggris juga membantu anda meningkatkan kemampuan anda. Itu membuat anda mendapat ide/contoh bagaimana menyusun kalimat yang baik serta menggunakan kata dengan tepat. Juga bagaimana mengungkapkan opini dengan baik.
Tip: Pilih buku, artikel yang menarik buat anda. Sehingga anda tidak gampang bosan dan mendapat pengetahuan baru.

4. Perhatikan Tata Bahasa (Watch our grammar)
Tata bahasa adalah serangkaian tata aturan bahasa. Ini juga penting karena tanpa tata bahasa, tulisan anda jadi tidak bermakna, acak kadut dan mengesankan tidak terpelajar.
Tip: Pelajari, pahami dan terapkan tata bahasa dengan benar diantaranya aturan tenses. Juga, gunakan tanda baca dengan tepat sehingga tulisan anda nyaman dibaca dan mudah dipahami.

5. Menulis
Menulis mungkin menjemukan bagi sebagian orang. Sedangkan buat sebagian yang lain, itu adalah pekerjaan yang menyenangkan karena bisa berbagi pada sesama, seperti blogger. Sebagian yang lain mengatakan menulis adalah kewajiban, seperti full time writer, ato jurnalis.
Tip: jika anda ingin meningkatkan kualitas tulisan anda, tidak ada jalan lain kecuali mulai menulis tentang apa saja baik dengan cara menulis dengan pena di atas kertas. Ato menulis dengan keyboard di depan komputer.

Remember, "Practice makes perfect".

I read this interesting post in internal company correspondence. It tells us about Conference Call Etiquette. I believe conference call is often to be used because of communication technology is better compared to 10 years back, and reduce cost (because you don't have to travel few hours and spend a night, just to attend few minutes meeting).
I believe this is useful for you. :)
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Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts of Conference Call Etiquette

Conference calls through MeetingPlace are an easy, effective and efficient way to coordinate business activities, exchange ideas and hold important meetings among geographically dispersed people. To get the most out of conference calls, especially when you are the host, please keep the following Do’s and Don’ts in mind.

Do’s

1. Do find a quiet place with little or no background noise to take the call from, if you can’t keep yourself on mute while you are not talking. Nobody on the call wants to hear traffic, sirens or a barking dog. Be respectful of others around you and limit the use of speakerphone in open areas.


2. Do ask callers to say hello and introduce themselves. Even though you may never meet in person, it’s a good relationship builder and gets the shyest of people to at least say their name. As attendees join the call and identify themselves, always introduce them to each other and acknowledge new attendees.


3. Do use the nearest dial-in number for your location;


4. Do speak using a “normal” (“inside”) tone and volume. Today’s conference phones offer excellent acoustic clarity; yelling or speaking too quietly is distracting.


5. Do close the meeting formally, thanking everybody for their time. That little bit of recognition will make them feel good about talking to you again.

Don’ts

1. Don’t put the call on hold. If you have to step away, use “mute” by pressing “#5” (*or any button, see your phone instruction) rather than pressing “hold;” the music that plays during “hold” can be very disruptive to others on a call. If you absolutely must answer an incoming phone call during the meeting, activate “mute” – by pressing #5 – before answering the other incoming call. When returning to the meeting, un-mute by pressing #5 again.


2. Don’t use cell phones; they pick up background noise and have inferior voice quality.


3. Don’t interrupt. Give others a chance to finish what they are saying before speaking.


4. Don’t shuffle papers; use your computer keyboard, scrape chairs, pencil tap, hum or engage in other distracting activities. The noise will be magnified, becoming a huge annoyance and disruption, and can even drown out the conversation.


5. Don’t have side conversations. They are a distraction to those listening from the other end.

Best friend of mine sent me this interesting mail.
Hope you enjoy it. :)

----- Forwarded Message -----
When we started school many years ago, we had to learn the ABC...
Kids still do, but the only thing that stayed the same is that A still stands for Apple!
Have a look..!!

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa".

"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz.."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be
a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one,you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

• des·ig·nate  (dzg-nt) tr.v. 
• 1. To indicate or specify; point out. 2. To give a name or title to; characterize. 3. To select and set aside for a duty, an office, or a purpose
• feminine  (fm-nn) adj. 
• 1. Of or relating to women or girls. 2. Characterized by or possessing qualities generally attributed to a woman. 
• masculine  (msky-ln) adj. : 
• 1. Of or relating to men or boys; male.2. Suggestive or characteristic of a man; mannish.