Wednesday, May 30, 2018

TOEFL IBT TEST : SOAL TOEFL 1



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1. The flexibility of film allows the artist __________ unbridled imagination to the animation of cartoon characters.
(A) to bring
(B) bringing
(C) is brought
(D) brings

Answer KeyA

2. Traditionally, __________in New England on Thanksgiving Day.
(A) when served is sweet cider
(B) when sweet cider is served
(C) is served sweet cider
(D) sweet cider is served

Answer KeyD

3. Typical of the grassland dwellers of the continent __________, or pronghorn.
(A) it is the American antelope
(B) the American antelope is
(C) is the American antelope
(D) the American antelope

Answer KeyC

4. Lillian D. Wald, public health nurse and __________, was born in Cincinnati Ohio, in 1867.
(A) reforming society
(B) social reformer
(C) who reformed society
(D) her social reform

Answer KeyB

5. Copper sulfate, spread in judicious amounts, kills algae __________ harming fish or aquatic invert-ebrates.
(A) does not
(B) but does no
(C) except
(D) without

Answer KeyD

6. Of the millions who saw Haley’s comet in 1986, how many people __________long enough to see it return in the twenty-first century.
(A) will they live
(B) they will be living
(C) will live
(D) living

Answer KeyC

7. __________that fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise are universally reflected in facial expressions.
(A) Anthropologists have discovered
(B) Anthropologists discovering
(C) The discovery by anthropologists
(D) Discovered by anthropologists

Answer KeyA



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8.In 1964__________of Henry Ossawa Tanner’s paintings was shown at the Smithsonian Institution.
(A) was a major collection
(B) that a major collection
(C) a collection was major
(D) a major collection

Answer KeyD

9. __________irritating effect on humans, the use of phenol as a general antiseptic has been largely discontinued.
(A) Its
(B) Where its
(C) Since its
(D) Because of its

Answer KeyD

10.In order to remain in existence,__________must, in the long run, produce something consumers consider useful or desirable.
(A) a profit-making organization
(B) a profit-making organization which
(C) therefore a profit-making organization
(D) whichever a profit-making organization

Answer KeyA

11.The greater the population there is in a locality,__________for water, transportation, and disposal of refuse.
(A) the greater the need there is
(B) greater need
(C) is there great need
(D) the great need

Answer KeyA

12. A historical novel may do more than mirror history; __________future events.
(A) even influencing
(B) it may even influence
(C) may even influence
(D) that it may even influence

Answer KeyB

13. __________a child, sculptor Anne Whitney showed an eager intellect and artistic talent that her parents recognized and encouraged.
(A) Has been
(B) It was while
(C) She was
(D) As

Answer KeyD

14. It is widely believed that the pull of gravity on a falling raindrop changes__________round shape into a teardrop shape.
(A) of the drop
(B) the drop’s
(C) drop of
(D) drops their

Answer KeyB

15.__________modern offices becoming more mechanized, designers are attempting to personalize them with warmer, less severe interiors.
(A) If
(B) But
(C) With
(D) Once

Answer KeyC


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Thursday, May 24, 2018

bahaya hutang dalam agama islam


    Tidak jarang kita jumpai keributan disekitar kita dikarenakan permasalahan hutang-piutang. Hutang terjadi pada saat seseorang mengalami kesulitan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidupnya kemudian ia meminta bantuan pinjaman kepada orang lain dimana pada kurun waktu tertentu harus dikembalikan. Pinjaman itulah yang kita sebut hutang. Hutang menjadi masalah ketika orang yang berhutang tidak bisa membayar kembali hutangnya. Bahkan banyak kita temui orang-orang disekitar kita yang sengaja menyepelekan hutang. Mereka terkadang lupa akan hutangnya. Ataupun jika mereka ingat, mereka akan menunda-nunda untuk membayarkan hutang. Bahkan yang lebih parah lagi, mereka tidak berniat sama sekali untuk membayar hutangnya. Hal-hal inilah yang memprovokasi kemarahan sang pemberi hutang hingga terjadilah keributan dengan orang yang diberi hutang. Agar keributan ini tidak sampai terjadi, penting bagi kita untuk mengingatkan saudara kita semua tentang bahaya orang yang berhutang dalam pandangan islam. Sekiranya ada delapan bahaya hutang dalam islam.

    Pertama,  hutang akan mendekatkan para penghutang kepada perkataan dusta dan ingkar janji. Sebagaimana yang disampaikan hadist shahih bukhari no. 2222
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ عَنْ الزُّهْرِيِّ ح و حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَخِي عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبِي عَتِيقٍ عَنْ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ أَنَّ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا أَخْبَرَتْهُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَدْعُو فِي الصَّلَاةِ وَيَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ الْمَأْثَمِ وَالْمَغْرَمِ فَقَالَ لَهُ قَائِلٌ مَا أَكْثَرَ مَا تَسْتَعِيذُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مِنْ الْمَغْرَمِ قَالَ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا غَرِمَ حَدَّثَ فَكَذَبَ وَوَعَدَ فَأَخْلَفَ
Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam berdo'a dalam shalat: "Allahumma innii a'uudzu bika minal ma'tsami wal maghram" (Ya Allah aku berlindung kepadamu dari berbuat dosa dan terlilit hutang). Lalu ada seseorang yang bertanya: "Mengapa anda banyak meminta perlindungan dari hutang, wahai Rasulullah?" Beliau menjawab: "Sesungguhnya seseorang apabila sedang berhutang ketika dia berbicara biasanya berdusta dan bila berjanji sering menyelisihinya"

Hal ini biasanya terjadi ketika penghutang tidak dapat menepati janjinya untuk membayar hutang tepat waktu. Atau ketika penghutang berdusta bahwa ia tidak sedang memiliki uang untuk menunda pembayaran atau bahkan berniat tidak membayarkan hutangnya.

    Dengan demikian, hutang juga bisa mendekatkan seseorang terhadap perbuatan zhalim dengan menunda membayarkan hutangnya. Sebagaimana tertulis dalam hadist shahih ibnu majah

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الظُّلْمُ مَطْلُ الْغَنِيِّ وَإِذَا أُتْبِعَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَلَى مَلِيءٍ فَلْيَتْبَعْ

1962-2433. Dari Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu 'anhu, ia berkata, Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda, "Yang termasuk kezhaliman adalah: ketika orang yang mampu membayar hutang menunda-nunda untuk melunasi hutangnya, dan jika di antara kalian dijanjikan pengalihan (transfer) utang seseorang kepada orang yang lebih kaya (mampu), maka terimalah pengalihan tersebut. " Shahih. Al Irwa' (1418), Ar-Raudh An-Nadhir, (1137). Muttafaq 'alaih.

    Selanjutnya, hutang bisa menghalangi datangnya rezeki seseorang. Tahukah kalian dengan menunda membayarkan hutang sama saja kalian menunda rezeki yang Allah akan berikan untuk kalian. Hal ini sebagaimana tertulis dalam hadist shahih ibnu majah

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ أَخَذَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ يُرِيدُ إِتْلَافَهَا أَتْلَفَهُ اللَّهُ

1970-2441. Dari Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu 'anhu, bahwa Nabi shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda, "Barangsiapa yang mengambil harta milik orang lain dan bermaksud untuk merusaknya (merugikannya). Maka Allah juga akan merugikan orang yang berbuat seperti itu. " Shahih. Ghayah Al Maram (352, Al Buyu'. Bukhari.

    Terlebih jika seseorang berniat tidak membayarkan hutangnya, maka hutang akan menyebabkan seseorang menghadap Allah bagai seorang pencuri. Sebagaimana tercantum dalam hadist shahih ibnu majah


حَدَّثَنَا صُهَيْبُ الْخَيْرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ أَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ يَدِينُ دَيْنًا وَهُوَ مُجْمِعٌ أَنْ لَا يُوَفِّيَهُ إِيَّاهُ لَقِيَ اللَّهَ سَارِقًا

1969-2440. Dari Shuhaib Al Khairi, dari Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda,Siapapun yang memiliki utang dan ia tidak berniat (dari semula) untuk melunasinya, ia akan menemui Allah kelak layaknya seorang pencuri." Hasan Shahih. Ar-Raudh An-Nadhir (1043), At-Ta'liq Ar-Raghib (3/33-34), Ahadits Al Buyu'.

    Lebih buruknya lagi, hutang akan menyebabkan seseorang tidak bisa memasuki surga Allah SWT sampai hutangnya terlunasi. Sebagaimana tercantum dalam hadist shahih ibnu majah


عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ مَوْلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ مَنْ فَارَقَ الرُّوحُ الْجَسَدَ وَهُوَ بَرِيءٌ مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ مِنْ الْكِبْرِ وَالْغُلُولِ وَالدَّيْنِ

1971-2442. Dari Tsauban (pembantu Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam), dari Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda, "Barangsiapa yang ruh dan jasadnya telah terpisah (meninggal dunia) dan ia terbebas dari tiga perkara, maka ia akan masuk surga; (yakni) terbebas dari sifat takabur, sifat menipu dan utang." Shahih. Ahadits Al Buyu', Al Misykah (2921). (Edisi revisi kedua), Ash-Shahihah (2785).

    Sehingga hutang akan membuat jiwa seorang mukmin terlontang lantung hingga hutangnya bisa terlunasi. Seperti yang dikatakan dalam hadist shahih ibnu majah

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَفْسُ الْمُؤْمِنِ مُعَلَّقَةٌ بِدَيْنِهِ حَتَّى يُقْضَى عَنْهُ

1972-2443. Dari Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu 'anhu, ia berkata, Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda, "Jiwa seorang mukmin masih akan terus tergantung pada utangnya hingga ia dilunasi." Shahih. Al Misykah (2915), Ahkam Al Jana'iz  (15), Al Buyu'.

    Bahkan orang yang mati syahid pun tidak akan terampuni dosanya atas hutang yang masih dimilikinya. Jadi, hutang merupakan salah satu dosa yang tidak bisa terampuni. Sebagaimana yang disampaikan dalam hadist shahih muslim


عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ يُغْفَرُ لِلشَّهِيدِ كُلُّ ذَنْبٍ إِلَّا الدَّيْنَ

1088- Dari Abdullah bin Amru bin Ash radhiyallahu 'anhu, bahwa Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda, "Semua dosa orang yang mati syahid akan diampuni, kecuali utang." {Muslim 6/38}

    Dan yang terakhir, diakhirat kelak, hutang akan mengambil pahala orang yang berhutang sebagai pembayaran atas hutangnya. Sebagaimana disampaikan dalam hadist shahih bukhari


عَنْ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ مَاتَ وَعَلَيْهِ دِينَارٌ أَوْ دِرْهَمٌ قُضِيَ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ لَيْسَ ثَمَّ دِينَارٌ وَلَا دِرْهَمٌ

1973-2444. Dari Ibnu 'Umar radhiyallahu 'anhu, ia berkata, Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda, "Orang yang meninggal dunia dan masih menyisakan satu Dinar atau satu Dirham utang, hutangnya tersebut akan ditukarkan dengan amal kebaikannya, hingga tidak tersisa lagi utangnya walau satu Dinar atau satu Dirham'" Shahih. Al Ahkam. hal 5, Al Buyu'.

    Jadi sebaiknya jauhkanlah berhutang. Adapun jika karena keadaan harus memaksa kita untuk berhutang, maka berusahalah untuk segera dapat membayar hutang karena hutang pada akhirnya akan membahayakan kita di dunia maupun di akhirat.


#hutang#hutangdalamagamaislam#bahayahutang#bahayahutangdalamagamaislam
#delapanbahayahutang#delapanbahayahutangdalamagamaislam

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Modifying Independent Leisure Reading Habits at Home by Jacqueline Richburg Burgess

Article title         : Modifying Independent Leisure Reading Habits at Home
Writer         : Jacqueline Richburg Burgess
Journal/Newspaper  : The Reading Teacher, Vol. 38, No. 9 (May, 1985), pp. 845-848
Date published         : 2012         Number of words: 312
List no. : 331
This article written by a specialist reading, named Jacqueline Richburg Burgess. She tried to modify independent leisure reading habits of students at home. This is action research study. The method used is survey method. 32 remedial reading students (22 boys and 10 girls) from second to eighth grades participated. Parents of each child received a letter explaining the "why" and "how" of the behavior modification program. A home reading calendar entitled "Independent Home Reading" accompanied the letter. The results indicated that the frequency of the target behavior -reading at home- definitely increased during the reinforcement phase. The mean rate of the behavior for the group during baseline was .31 days; that means that less than 1 out of 3 students read at home on even 1 day of the 5 surveyed.
The writer put herself as a surveyor who conducts this study by giving Independent Home Reading and Home Reading Program Instructions to parents of each student.
I agree with the result of the study that the reinforcement of reading at home can increase student’s reading habit. Sometimes, students need to be forced to make them to do something including reading. Since teacher cannot monitor them 24 hour, so this way is very effective o make them read.
When I was in junior high school, my teacher always suggested us to read before we have the class, but it never works because there is no reinforcement from him to make us read. It even occurs when I have already been in college. Extensive reading subject really effective way to force us read at home.

Evaluating teacher education programs using a national Survey by Anne Marie Thomas, William E. Loadman

Article title : Evaluating teacher education programs using a national survey
Writer         : Anne Marie Thomas, William E. Loadman
Journal/Newspaper  : The Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 94, No. 4 (Mar. - Apr.,    2001), pp. 195-206
Date published : 2001         Number of words: 325
List no. : 172

This article tells about National Survey of Teacher Education Program Graduates; developed by Free man, Loadman, and Kennedy (1991), to evaluate the baccalaureate and masters of education (M.Ed.) teacher education programs at a major Carnegie I research university. The method used in this article is survey method. It used national survey that is 4 measures -acting as proxies for teacher education graduate careers, quality of program, teaching skills, and teaching knowledge satisfaction- and compared them with nation al norms from other teacher education programs across the country. The survey data from the class of 1996, consisting of 263 baccalaureate graduates and 171 M.Ed, graduates, suggested that they were generally very positive about their programs and careers. The result shows that the baccalaureate and M.Ed, graduate responses on all 4 measures were more alike than different. Both groups of 1996 graduates rated the measures more positively than the national norms.
The writer put himself as a surveyor who conducts this study by gathering the respondent sample using two separate mailings, a reminder mailing, and follow-up telephone calls.
I agree with the result of the study that by using national survey, teachers were generally very positive about their programs and careers. Since there are so many unqualified teachers because they are lack of evaluation, it’s very important to evaluate teacher education programs.
In May, 2013 Indonesia a national survey towards teachers has ever been conducted to know teachers quality regarding the launching of a new curriculum. This survey shows still there is a gap between a new curriculum and the practice. So it must be hard for teacher to implement it.

Similarities and Differences in Teachers’ Practical Knowledge about Teaching Reading Comprehension by Paulien C. Meijer, Nico Verloop, Douwe Beijaard

Article title : Similarities and Differences in Teachers’ Practical Knowledge about Teaching Reading Comprehension
Writer         : Paulien C. Meijer, Nico Verloop, Douwe Beijaard
Journal/Newspaper : The Journal of Educational ResearchVol. 94, No. 3 (Jan. - Feb. 2001), pp. 171-184
Date published : 2001         Number of words: 379
List no. : 353

This article is about the nature of teachers’ shared practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension to 16-18- year-old students and the variation in practical knowledge exists among teachers. The method used in this article is survey that is questionnaire was developed that consisted of closed-format questions derived from a qualitative in-depth study on teachers' practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension to administrators of 17 schools for pre-university secondary education in the western part of the Netherlands to contact all language teachers in their schools and ask them to fill in the questionnaire. The results indicate that although there was shared knowledge among the teachers, there were large differences in their practical knowledge. According to the teachers' scale scores; the writers identified four separate clusters of teachers. It can be concluded from that clusters that relatively large number of teachers appeared to focus on small components of teaching reading comprehension, and, furthermore, that a relatively large number of teachers appeared to consider reading comprehension as not being very important.
The writers put their selves as surveyors who conducted this study by mailing the questionnaire to the administrators. They observed the result to find the nature of teachers’ shared (similiarities) practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension.
I would support the writers that even though there was shared knowledge among the teachers, there were large differences in their practical knowledge, because this practical knowledge of teachers is highly determined by individual experiences, personality variables, personal history, subject matter knowledge, and so on (Verloop et al., 2001). So, I am sure that every teacher has their own opinion about teaching reading comprehension.
The similar study has also ever been conducted in China to examine similarities (shared knowledge) and differences in teacher knowledge, and potentially relevant background variables at university of China. The result just remains the same as this study. It means that we cannot deny the differences among teachers in teaching reading comprehension.

Critical Curriculum Development in Foreign Language Classroom

Article title : Critical Curriculum Development in Foreign Language Classroom
Writer         : -
Journal/Newspaper : -
Date published : -         Number of words: 319
List no. : 120

This article tells about the foreign language curriculum development- and in particular, to the concept of curriculum development. It also presents a serious challenge to understanding the development, implementation, and evaluation of democratic, and especially critical, approach to the curriculum. The authors asserted that foreign language curriculum cannot and should not be randomly and arbitrarily designed and implemented. Osborn (2000) used the concept of macro contextualization that critical curriculum development must proceed from the context of the world, the self in relation to the world, and the role of language and language education in the shaping of both independent of and dependent on the others. This theoretical starting point makes its way into practice in three ways: the critical language curriculum is built around the problem posing, it is holistically constructed, overarching disciplinary bounds as defined in the academic world; and it requires evaluation not as a measure of linguistic skill, but as an expression of language awareness. This process of macro contextualization led to the implication of foreign language pedagogy that is sensitive to the issues of diversity, and optimistic in their regard for social justice.
The authors put their selves not only as writers but also as observer. They cited others opinion and give a conclusion from those opinions and their own.
I would support the authors that foreign language curriculum cannot and should not be randomly and arbitrarily designed and implemented, because we have aims and objectives that we should reach toward curriculum. Furthermore, we need to see students’ need to design a curriculum.
In Indonesia, the development of foreign language curriculum (i.e. English) has changed about seven times using three different approaches. Along the same line, the Ministry of National Education has also developedand tried out the guideline of school-based management or SBM (Manajemen Peningkatan Mutu Berbasis Sekolah or MPMBS). Therefore, there will be the national curriculum and the school curriculum.

Learning Vocabulary through Reading by Joseph. R. Jenkins, Marcy L. Stain, and Katherine Wysocki

Article title : Learning Vocabulary through  Reading
Writer         : Joseph. R. Jenkins, Marcy L. Stain, and Katherine Wysocki
Journal/Newspaper : American Educational Research Journal (winter 1984), vol.21, no.4, Pp. 767-787
Date published : 1984         Number of words: 420
List no. : 298

This article examined the hypothesis that new vocabulary knowledge can be acquired through incidental learning of word meanings from context. It also examined the prior experience with the meaning of the unfamiliar words and reading ability. The method used in this research is case study which one hundred and twelve fifth grade students participated in this study. The 18 vocabulary words selected were designated as low frequency words for fifth grade students. Two days before the treatment, teachers gave their students familiarization training with all 18 words. Students were randomly assigned to different numbers of context presentations: 0, 2, 6, or 10 passages read over several days. Four posttest measures were administered: three vocabulary tests and one reading comprehension test. The result of the study is that they acquired some word meanings from context even without explicit directions to consider the unfamiliar words. Increased context presentations resulted in greater word learning, and more than two context presentations were needed to affect vocabulary acquisition. The prior exposure may itself have effectively "taught" the words, or it may have had an attention effect. Turning to the reading comprehension results, students were better able to comprehend those parts of the stories involving key vocabulary when they had previously read the vocabulary in other passages, but the quantity of these prior experiences, at least within the 2-10 range, appeared not to matter much.
The authors put their selves as instructors and observers in this study. They studied the case and gave the instruction to students to examine the hypothesis and obtain the result.
I agree that learning words from context is very useful for increasing vocabulary and it only can be acquired through reading. As Nagy, Herman and Anderson (1985) argue that teachers should promote extensive reading because it can lead to greater vocabulary growth than one program of explicit instruction alone ever could. So, learning vocabulary through reading and guessing meaning from context gives so many benefits for students.
When I was trying to guess meaning from context and learn vocabulary through reading, it really works well to improve my vocabulary. I get used to not looking for the meaning of the new words in dictionary by trying to look into the context.

Identifying the best Foreign language teacher: Teacher Standards and Professional Portfolios by Joann Hammadou Sullivan

Article title : Identifying the best Foreign language teacher: Teacher Standards and Professional Portfolios
Writer : Joann Hammadou Sullivan
Journal/Newspaper : The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 88, No. 3 (Autumn, 2004), pp. 390-402
Date published : 2004         Number of words: 461
List no. : 242

The main issue of this article is about the differing perspectives of principals and foreign language department chairs on teaching standards and the use of professional teaching portfolios as part of the hiring process.
The method used in this study is survey method that is a 17-item questionnaire that was mailed to 84 principals of Rhode Island high schools and middle schools and to their 83 FL department chairs. The questionnaires requested demographic information about the educators' schools and communities and their own educational backgrounds. It also asked for their views concerning the RI-BTS (Rhode Island- Beginning Teacher Standards) and FL teachers' professional portfolios. The results show that both the principals and FL departement chairs agreed strongly that all teacher standards are important but the principals rated more standars more highly than did the FL chairs. They both also agreed that portfolios are helpful tools for evaluating teacher candidates but they differed in respect to what entries to include in portfolios to evaluate teachers’ ability. Principals most wanted evidence of creativity and innovation and most interested in seeing evidence of communication with parents than were chairs. Chairs most wanted evidence of second language proficiency in a candidate’s portfolios. The district size (urban, suburban, small town/ rural) didn’t affect their view of what it is important in teachers standards or teachers’ professional portfolios.
The writer put himself as a surveyor who conducts this study by mailing the questionnaire to the participants. He observed the result to find the difference perspective between principals and chairs towards teacher’s standards and portfolios.
I agree that teacher’s standards and portfolios are important tools to identify teacher’s ability and to evaluate teacher’s candidates, as another researchers, Constantino and DeLorenzo (1998), explored eight attributes which make creating a professional portfolio a worthwhile effort  for beginning and experienced teachers. In this case, I am more likely agree with principals perspectives about what should be included in portfolios, because teaching is a complex and challenging activity that cannot be accurately described by any single set of goals, standards or job descriptions, so it needs more than teacher’s second language proficiency  but also needs teacher’s creativity and innovation.
In Indonesia, portfolio is used as a competence test for teacher to be certified. This portfolio includes some entries, such as academic competence, education and training, teaching experiences, lesson planning and its implementation, assessment from principals and chairs, academic achievement, the participation in scientific forum, experiences in educational organization, etcetera.

Examining Learners’ Vocabulary Notebooks by James McCrostie

Article title : Examining Learners’ Vocabulary Notebooks
Writer : James McCrostie
Journal/Newspaper : ELT Journal ; Jul2007, Vol. 61 Issue 3, p246
Date published : 2007 Number of words: 420
List no. : 175
This article is written by James McCrostie, a lecturer in Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan. This study examined the vocabulary notebooks kept by 124 first year English majors at Japanese University.
The method used in this study was case study, where the researcher examined detailed information about vocabulary notebooks kept by EFL learners. This examination focus on the sources of vocabulary notebooks words, the part of speech and frequency of words selected by students, and the reasons behind words selection. The result of the study show how standard notebooks strategies do not always meet student’s vocabulary learning needs. It also contains a number of finding relevant for classroom teachers, they are: first, in student’s mind all unknown word are created equal. Second, the overwhelming of majority of words selected by student originates from their course textbook and class handouts. Third, there is a danger that student will over-represent certain part of speech and neglects others. Fourth, teacher need realize that student need training in the identification of appropriate collocation. And finally, a large percentage of example sentences written by students will contain serious errors.
The author put himself as an instructor and observer in this study. He studied the case and gave the instructor to students to examine the focus of this study and obtain the result.
In my opinion, whether vocabulary notebook can be effective or not, it depends on its purpose. Another researchers said that vocabulary notebook has several benefits, such as enhancing vocabulary study (Schmitt and Schmitt, 1995);improved ability to use dictionaries and guess from context (Ledbury, n.d), and enhancing learner autonomy (Fowle, 2002). I think all those benefits can be reached with using vocabulary notebooks independently by students, even though teacher still must suggest them to use it. If the purpose is to help students acquire the vocabulary at the most frequented and essential world levels, it required teacher’s guidance to help them make informed choices not just arbitrary decision.
When I was in senior high school, my English teacher also suggested me to have a vocabulary notebook. In this case, I write down the word I want without controlling from the teacher. I felt this way was very useful for me in order to add my vocabulary and help me remembering the new words.

Grammar Textbook by Steven L. Shaw

Article title : Grammar Textbook
Writer         : Steven L. Shaw
Journal/Newspaper : TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Winter, 1992), p. 753
Date published : 1992         Number of words: 319
List no. : 218

This article is written by Steven L Shaw, a guest editor in unniversity of Washington who explaines that grammar textbooks, once have not received enough attention, have drastically changed. He said that in order to become part of the communicative approach for ESL classes, Grammar textbooks have been flooding the TESOL market in recent years. The textbooks reviewed below were chosen because they claim communicative, integrated, or contextualized approaches. Some researches often show that the "communicative approach" goes no further than the title. Sometimes, the claim of communicative approach of a grammar text includes nothing more than asking students to work in pairs to practice grammar drills. The writer suggests.
The writer put himself as an observer and adviser for the instructor. He hoped with his brief reviews, the instructors will be more selective in choosing the textbook.
I do agree with what the writer that the flooding of grammar textbook makes the teachers or instructors must be selective in choosing textbooks used in the class because not all textbooks are suitable for learners. I think, the permission of publishing books should be taken up with the approval of National curriculum and text books authorities which help create healthy competition in publishing quality books and will ultimately eliminate the substandard ones that are causing much harm to the learners.
In 1997, the spreading of textbooks for junior high school in Indonesia was very wide, including English textbook. Unfortunately, there was found numerous errors at almost every page in the English textbook (Kompas, October, 3, 1997; and Aprianti, 1999). Furthermore, the project of this providing book didn’t get out from the issue of corruption (Kompas, September, 9,10,17, 20,1998)