Photo by Karla Hernandez on Unsplash

one thing that makes me so astonished in this class is : this class makes me realized that after all this time surprisingly i did not answer the IELTS exam in a proper way. i fail to answer like the way the exam maker expects me to do.  

but this is a common mistake for the IELTS taker. a particular trap to make sure that someone is deserved certain score of the IELTS result.

before we talk that far, please allow me to explain what notorious means. notorious is a term to symbolize a well known someone or something with a bad terminology. a cruel one. like you watch a superhero movie, the boss of the boss of the villain. yup, that character is notorious. an antagonist part of the movie who causes the drawbacks at its best.

in IELTS, the notorious questions are on the reading test. 

in short : this trap scattered properly in four locations : true/yes false/no not given, multiple choice, matching heading/information, and completing summary.

in my journey, completing summary is my best friend. following with T/F/NG. but my real enemy is multiple choice and my notorious character is matching/heading information question type. 

outside my class, i told Betari several times that i always got trapped in question type which containing a choice. i have a constrain to choose the best answer because every choice seems like true answer. everytime i express my frustation, Betari, with her wise smile always reminds me to be patient with myself and trust the process. 

the light will come as long as i stay with this journey.

finally in this meeting lights come to me. as i said in the beginning of this post. i have been getting lost to find the best answer because i don't have the strategy. for the question type with a multiple choice, please do not focus on the passage or question. focus on the choices first. eliminate the incoherence choice that not match with the context of passage, then look what the question wants, finally search it on the passage.

do not answer a multiple choice question type in the IELTS reading like the way you did it on your national exam. it's an entirely different game. 

oh wow, it's exactly what i do all this time. i read the question, search on passage, then deciding the answer by considering all the choices. gotcha, it's understandable why i always get wrong answer in this section.

oke, let me take a breath about my foollies, i personally didn't know where is my brain at that time.

now this is the time to face my personal notorious part : matching/heading information question type. previously, in this question i look at the question first, then try to resume the passage, and deciding which one is the suitable answer.

exactly the same way like i did in my national exam. and i have the same result : none of them is true.

for this kind of question, first thing first is i must understand all the heading/information provided in the box (usually). scan the passage, then answer the question. this kind of question is a little bit trickier than the multiple choice part. in the multiple choice, the challenge is to eliminate incoherence information with the context of the passage, meanwhile in heading/matching the exam point is to find an appropriate heading/sentence who sums up the resume of the passage that asking for. 

literally two parts with different strategy, but i do it like answering the national exam.

the other two parts that are my best friend is quite good, but i keep concentrate while answering the question in order to avoid slipped who leads to wrong answers because of my lack of accuracy.

finally, that is my experience in order to introspect, analyze, and evaluate my IELTS reading strategy. i hope the benefit of this meeting really helps me and i can implement it through my real test.

please, give me an ameeen.

Balikpapan, 25 October 2021

Riffat Akhsan -- who did not finish her IELTS reading homework yet 

 

 

 Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

thank you for waiting. your patient really matters. usually i write my experience of my IELTS journey with Betari Aisah in the same week as the class held. but, due to my hectic work - related activity makes this post got some delayed.

but, i still remember how incredible the experience to crack the speaking test. first, i told you again about the philosophy behind IELTS test. the test is not just a score, it's about a metric to measure how deep your English language acquisition skill. a great framework to help you deliver the idea in your head into an understandable way of communication ; speaking and writing. also encourages you to understanding the English language content appropriately through listening and reading.

this speaking topic is the end of foundation class. the next agenda of this private lesson is about how to implement a good strategy in order to gain a higher score than my previous result. 

let me tell you about the class. first, Betari gives me a basic formula to structure a good sentence in order to answer the examiner's question. the next stages are, Betari convince me to enjoy with the speaking test ambiance. she makes an analogy that the speaking test is pretty similar to coffee shop conversation. you know, a set up meeting talking with a light conversation at the beginning and often end up with a mind blowing conversation at the end. a two way informal communication rather than a formal interview. the speaking test it is. 

one highlighted key takeaways that i want to share is : Betari shows me a video about how the IELTS band score 9 candidate do the test. one thing that i never dare to watch. in my assumptions a perfect score IELTS taker is so natural yet have a bunch of rare vocabularies and deliver it into well flow sentence in the conversation. 

but i was wrong.

through the video i get enlightenment that a great score of speaking test is not about the vocab. but about how far you can show your natural english conversation during the test. hence, the vocabulary is quite basic but very well structured, straightforward, and understandable. like a coffee shop conversation. there is no pretending or nervous gesture. no confusing yet complex explanation. everything in the conversation seems smooth and very natural. none of these people who involve in the test look like have a constrains to understand the content of the conversation.

after some contemplation after the class, i have a conclusion that the IELTS speaking test makes me learn about new mentality : just do my best and try to communicate my idea with a sentence that i am comfortable to say. do not intend to give some impression just to hope a higher score. just be confident and trust myself that i can face the speaking test.

thank you so much Betari for the amazing structure of my IELTS class syllabus. i am such a lucky girl who have a diamond chance be one of your students.

Balikpapan, 25 October 2021

Riffat Akhsan -- who can't stop saying a gratitudes witnessing her dream is getting closer day by day 

  

  

Photo by David Iskander on Unsplash

after my pain from hell because of period, finally I attend to this class. in the middle of our schedule, this is a whole new skill that i must cracking it : IELTS Writing Task 1.

in my opinion, completing IELTS Writing Task 1 is harder than Task 2. because this is about data interpretation. i do not allow to put any other opinion on this task. just pure understanding the visual data shown by chart, graph, multiple chart, map, table, pie bar, or cycle. the shape of a question is a quiet board to predict.

here the challenge. i do not transcribe the data. i must "translate" the data into a narrative passage in my answer sheet. for some people, this is really a piece of cake because all of the material already provides. but, for me. this is the difficult one ; i am on intersection to sort which is the my interpretation and which one is my opinion.

my first step is, i must understand what the question trying to instruct. what must i do with this visual data ? this part contains identifying the superlative, column, bar, percentages, group of process, if there is a map i must implement the compass language (Naughty, Elephant, Splash, Water), 

writing task 1 is really pushing my limits, and Betari shows me that i'm not in the wrong room. because i can identify which one that i must comprehend more and whic aspect i did well.

until today, my IELTS journey is still full of frustating moments because my score is not stable yet. but, i wish i could grit in this process until my exam day.

please, pray for me.

Balikpapan, 11 of October 2021

Faizah Riffat -- still, an IELTS fighter

this meeting is very special. starting with encouraging week, because we had to suspend the class due to my menstrual - hell illness. so, I pay the absence to constanly do IELTS reading and listening test for 4 days. i take IELTS Cambridge 14 Module. test 1 for Monday, Tuesday is test 2, the third test is on wednesday, and the last test at Thrusday. the next day (Friday) is a time to attend my IELTS Class.

my illness like a blessing in disguise. this break surprisingly gives me a courage to enjoy my Natgeo People channel without reading the Indonesian Subtitle. i can close my eyes and feel the vibration of the dialog.  also, i can enjoy reading my favorite novel in English version. this feeling is so satisfying.

the novel and Natgeo People maneuvering my mindset. from make it as my tools to increase my IELTS, to enjoying it and realize IELTS is a foundation for unlocking the cheap yet easy high quality of entertaining content. with my financial situation, it feels so blessed to have a good English to overcomes it. 

so, my fear of IELTS test has already fallen down. I got the essence, the reading passage is shorter than my favorite novel. i must pass the reading passage to make a perfect imagination about the scene that written in the novel. i must pass the listening passage to enjoy the best message about my favorite program : Natgeo People and Gill Clarks's comment for badminton tournament. i must pass the writing to deliver my idea and contemplation in a proper way. i must pass the speaking for communicating well about what i really want.

i need IELTS for unlocking a whole new level of my global dream.

Betari really an answer from my Deity for my prays.  

speaking about writing, yes. demystifiying is a really good analogy. this part of IELTS is really like a misty myth for me. in this class, i know that i have been trapped in this part. i failed to translate and transcribe what the question want. leads me  wrong direction and makes my score stagnant.

from this class finally i know that the Writing Task 2 actually has a particular framework with a particular structure and all i need is to fill the template with a suitable sentence. what a sentence that must put in the template is really interesting . i just know that what a paragraph progression is, and i already know how to identify a sentence that just be an "accessories" because still stick with its previous information.

 

another insight i get from this class is : just like another part of IELTS, type of question leads to a certain strategy. i just realize that this time so far i got trapped in a rush : not understand the instruction clearly and writing without planning. it brings me to more time pressure and stuck in the middle of the writing process. in writing, we must set time allocation to make it right : for planning, for writing, and for proofreading. this allocation is like a guidance for my panic attack, it really like an anchor.

to bridging my understanding of this part and what Betari teach me, i finished two books as my suplement : IELTS Essay Writing written by Mike Wattie and Master IELTS Essays written by Ebrahim Tahassoni. this two books is really a good bridge for me understand what Betari trying to say about.  i feel really blessed with these books and Betari combination. this collaboration is really giving me a light in my dark tunnel about IELTS writing task 2.

another exciting news about Betari is : i can contact her with my pieces of screenshot of the book to ask some enlightenment outside our class. as our agreement in first meeting : this class is about me and Betari. together we will polish my weakness to reach my "less intimidating" IELTS score. but at the end, this exam is about me. how far i can extract what i learned with Betari's guidance in our classes and execute it during the exam's pressure. how deep i can show my ability in this language acquisition process to the examiner. 

in conclusion, all i can say is : you can learn IELTS by yourself. you can download unlimited resources of writing IELTS on the internet and practicing IELTS Writing through https://writeandimprove.com/ by Cambridge English and get diamond feedback from there . but having Betari accompany you through your journey of IELTS is an unimaginable experience. her really incredible for delivering her capabilities and experiences of IELTS and help to escalate your competencies.

thank you for reading, have a nice day. remember : Saturday is Coming Your Way 😇

  

Balikpapan, 29 of September 2021

Faizah -- who very spirited for her next meeting with Betari

this meeting is dominated with we are figuring out what happen in Cambridge IELTS 16 listening test, why my score has extremely dropped. after I and Betari has been done the same test : we agreed that in the 16 series (and most probably in the 17 series, which is held this year) IELTS examiners committee makes some significance chance in IELTS exam. The difficulties are broadenly spread in all the tests. this not like the previous exam, which had particular part that used to be notorious part of exam participant.  there is no more example in the listening test (which is good because for me, an example in the test was breaking my focus LOL) and the speaker talk slower than before. the accent of the speaker also different and challenging to identify what accent is from. the context also very related to real situation. so, yeah. the IELTS Cambridge 16 is more difficult. Betari suggest me to just focus on IELTS Cambridge 16 practices as my preparing tools to face my IELTS real test. because this is a new style of exam. new pattern. 

the evaluation is : sometimes, do not listen to the details. but listen to the context itself. also review again the whole sentences (to make sure the context) before I move in that answer to my answer sheet.

trust my ears, establish my basic listening, try to let go, and do not be stressed about something that i know that is my weakness. indeed. Betari ascertains that there will be a moment, where my IELTS score is stable regardless the situation that surrounds them.  

the next is speaking test. this is my second times i do speaking test. the surprise is, my score is increasing 0.5 points. Ya, Allah. Alhamdulillah. Betari gives me some valuable feedbacks that encourages me, if the speaking test is a chance at helping part of my IELTS score. 

after overcoming my worried in Listening and Speaking, so the reading materials begin. again, we focused on the topics of IELTS Cambridge 16. which is very intimidating and trending at this time. Betari said much of her students' score are dropped while doing this test. like me. my point is drop 1 point. sad 😭.

but, the journey is still long way. i must patiently give a chance again to myself.  Betari gives me three ammunition : first, reading the whole passages of reading test. this strategy is effective to overcome what the main idea, and which are the additional information who stronger the main idea. next is reading the question first for the true/false/not given type of question. this is time efficient. the analogy is like the buy and sell process. we receive the order first and then check to our stock. which one that most suitable for the order. this is also good to implement the type of question who provide a table of answer choice and questioning resume of the paragraph. 

last, the mandatory strategy of reading test : skimming --> resume in one or two words --> read the question --> and scanning again the paragraph to find the answer of questions.

so, yeah. that's my reflection for understanding reading test more. hope this post will help you as Betari's suggestions work for me.

thank you for reading, fellas. have a good day !

Balikpapan, 16 of September 2021

Faizah Riffat -- who has a plan for coming late at work because last night meeting at the ministry's work unit are so tiring 

listening is my first love, but Betari shows me it's not that easy.

you are what you listen to, is a perfectly right quote to describe coherency between you and your IELTS Listening Test. stay calm and trust your ears. you just have one chance to concentrate and write exactly what you listen to. do not ever think that your memoir can save you for listening tests. once you get delayed, you never find out the right answer.

at that time, i lost my motivation. i have been getting a stable listening score during my practice. but one day, it decreases 0.5 points. I still assume that is because I did not get my breakfast before the practice. but it becomes worse when the next day it shows the same score in different listening test (i never repeat my practice with the same test).

and Listening Test from Betari came. i got more surprised when the score is dropping 1 point than before. my total decreasing gap from my stable score to Betari test is about 1.5 points. it's very heartbreaking. 

this is so begin with end in my mind. for the first time i found a coach who willing to learn, to imagine standing in my position. OMG what kind of thing i did in my past life to deserved coach like Betari ?

bukan hal baru, saya harus lembur di hari Minggu. biasanya situasi begini saya kombinasikan dengan so called self reward. dimulai dari saya makan paket bento di restoran Jepang kesayangan saya. dilanjutkan dengan ngopi sambil kerja di waralaba kopi terkenal dunia. yang berada tepat di seberang restoran Jepang itu.

 

nescafe.

and it works...........

 

Kemudian Saya Melihat Kilat Serupa Blitz Kamera Bercabang Tiga, Tidak Lama Kemudian Terdengar Suara Dentuman Petir

 

kali ini saya harus sembah hormat dengan kemampuan intelejen cocoklogi netizen yang menduga Scarlett lah brand kecantikan lokal asal Indonesia yang bekerjasama dengan artis korea.

namun sumpah, saya tidak sangka kalau yang mereka gandeng adalah kapten Yoo Si Jin. wow gila sih, saya pikir mereka akan menggandeng talent perempuan asal Korea. namun what ? dari semua nama, saya nggak pernah kepikiran kalau ini bakal menjadi :

di tahun 2016, saya pernah menulis bahwa drama yang dibintangi Song Joong Ki tepat setelah kelar wamil adalah drama yang membangkitkan minat saya kembali untuk menonton drama Korea. saya ingat sekali menghabiskan sepuluh episode drama Korea Descendant of The Sun semalaman untuk mengejar ketertinggalan saya. drama ini pula lah yang membawa saya menjalani habbit nonton drama on going hingga hari ini.

masih jelas di ingatan saya, betapa tumpah - tumpahnya pesona Song Joong Ki memerankan tokoh Kapten Yoo Si Jin. perwira militer Korea yang ditugaskan menjadi komandan pasukan khusus yang menjalani United Nations Peace of Mission di Negara bernama Urk. yang kemudian menjalin hubungan romansa dengan dokter cantik bernama Kang Mo Yeon (diperankan oleh Song Hye Kyo) yang dikirim untuk misi yang sama.

drama dengan episode awal yang logis. romantisme dalam yang nggak lebay. proses pacaran tokoh utama yang nggak too good to be true. dan jalan cerita yang masuk akal, menjadi alasan kebahagiaan saya di hari - hari terakhir di Perumahan Pantai Mentari Surabaya. drama ini penanda hari - hari itu. karena tidak lama setelah drama ini tamat saya ditakdirkan Allah pindah ke Samarinda.

drama yang ditulis Kim Eun Sook, diperankan Song Joong Ki, dan kini sang aktor bekerjasama dengan brand lokal asli Indonesia benar - benar memberikan emotional engagement untuk saya. betapa sesuatu yang terasa jauh di layar laptop dan berlatar drama Yunani, diperankan oleh talenta asal Korea, kini hadir lebih dekat dengan menjadi star ambassador produk asli anak negeri.

bangga. hanya itu yang bisa saya katakan untuk Scarlett. produk mereka memang masih butuh usaha lebih lagi untuk menjadi lebih baik. untuk memenuhi segala tuntutan costumer setianya. namun itu tidak menafikan betapa visioner dan berani tim marketing mereka menggandeng aktor sekelas Song Joong Ki.

terima kasih sudah membaca, mari menyelamati tim marketing Scarlett untuk upaya mereka melobi agency Song Joong Ki hingga akhirnya ini semua terjadi.

Balikpapan, 5 September 2021

Riffat Akhsan -- yang hari ini bingung mau nonton Vincenzo atau makan Grill Korea.

 

Saya Mendapat Antrean D-006 dan Diarahkan Menuju Ruangan Costumer Service

Naik Ke Lantai Tiga, Wawancara dan Pengambilan Data Biometrik

saya naik ke lantai tiga berbekal kartu akses yang dipinjamkan oleh mas - mas di customer service. setelah lift terbuka, saya disambut oleh mbak - mbak duta pelayanan lagi yang meminta kembali kartu akses saya dan mengarahkan saya ke ruang tunggu.

lagi - lagi saya beruntung. ruang tunggu yang kosong melompong hanya membuat saya menunggu sekitar lima menit sampai nama saya dipanggil untuk wawancara dan pengambilan data biometrik.

di sinilah proses yang paling menentukan.

petugasnya lebih ramah dari pengalaman saya sebelumnya. namun, pertanyaan nya amat sangat jauh lebih detail.

pertama, lagi - lagi ditanya kenapa perpanjang di Balikpapan. ditanya tentang kantor saya. nama kantor, bergerak di bidang apa, bekerja sebagai apa, alamat kantor dimana, alamat tinggal di Balikpapan di mana. 

semua jawaban saya dicatat di sistem dimana saya juga bisa melihat melalui layar yang ditunjukkan ke saya.

kemudian pertanyaan berlanjut ke negara tujuan saya, kenapa negara itu, kenapa kepentingan saya itu,  detail spesifik kepentingan saya juga ditanya, dicounter attack pula kenapa bukan begini kenapa bukan begitu. 

semua jawaban saya, juga dicatat. setelah itu barulah saya diminta pindah duduk menghadap kamera untuk diambil foto dan rekaman seluruh sidik jari tangan saya. untuk pengambilan foto, petugasnya bilang saya beruntung karena jilbab saya warna biru. jadi kontras dengan latar. kalau saja jilbab saya putih, saya mungkin harus melonggarkan jilbab seperti pengalaman saya sebelumnya.

setelah pengambilan data biometrik selesai, saya dikasih invoice untuk dibawa ke kantor pos atau bank BUMN. kantor imigrasi sudah tidak lagi menerima pembayaran tunai di kantor mereka. setelah itu saya disampaikan bahwa paspor saya bisa diambil di hari kamis di loket pengambilan paspor dengan menunjukkan bukti bayar.

setelah itu, proses selesai.

Alhamdulillah proses saya perpanjang paspor kali ini sangat lancar dan has a abundant of blessing. saya sangat bersyukur Allah menakdirkan saya perpanjang paspor di hari itu.

begitulah pengalaman saya perpanjang paspor, terima kasih sudah membaca. semoga bermanfaat.

Balikpapan, 1 September 2021

Riffat Akhsan -- yang hari ini bener bener bahagia 

 

saya tuh jarang banget mengalami jerawat level jerawat batu. tapi mungkin karena bulan ini semua orang burnout karena pandemi nggak kelar - kelar sementara beban kerja makin ngadi - ngadi. kelakuan para kid fruit saya menaikkan level tekanan darah saya dan Dewa Pembangunan jadi rutin ngomelin saya. ditambah dengan memang saya ada issue jerawat hormon. jadi lah bulan ini saya berjibaku mengatasi jerawat batu dan bekas jerawat batu menghitam yang muncul.

seperti yang teman - teman ketahui, kulit saya tipikal normal - to oily tapi kalau kena produk nggak cocok langsung breakout. kalau pas fase menstruasi saya jerawatan banget. jadi pastikan dulu tipe kulitmu sebelum mencoba produk yang saya review. karena apa yang saya alami belum tentu kamu alami begitu juga sebaliknya. review saya buat sejujur mungkin karena prinsip saya adalah saya tidak ingin menukar rupiah nggak seberapa untuk sebuah kebohongan. kalau mau duit banyak, mending saya kejar lemburan proyek aja. sekian. 

jerawat batu yang munculnya seperti gerhana di wajah saya ini, alias sangat jarang sekali membuat saya berpikir untuk mencoba step skin care yang lebih strong agar saya nggak makin stress perkara ini. 

biasanya, saya cukup kuatin basic skin care : cleansing - hydrating - protecting dan jaga - jaga acne spot treatment gel untuk jerawat hormon saya. namun kali ini masih nggak mempan. akhirnya saya pakai senjata pamungkas : acne serum. 

kali ini pilihan saya jatuh kepada merk Scarlett.  saya memutuskan coba memasukkan facial wash dan serum mereka ke dalam rangkaian skin care saya. karena jujur saya penasaran dengan review female daily yang fifty - fifty. beberapa bilang cocok. beberapa yang lain malah breakout.

saya dapat dari official store mereka di sini : https://linktr.ee/scarlett_whitening

maunya hati saya sih beli satu rangkaian ya, karena kepengen nyoba one brand product. tapi melihat rak skin care saya penuh dengan berbagai produk yang dibuka segelnya aja belum, akhirnya saya coba tahan hawa nafsu dengan bersyukur memiliki sabun muka dan serum Scarlett aja.

lagian, day cream dan night cream itu diperuntukkan untuk mereka yang mau shortcut step skin care mereka. bukan seperti saya yang semangat 45 urusan puluhan step skin care.

saya bukan penyuka sabun muka tipe ini. prinsip saya urusan cuci muka seperti cuci baju. semakin banyak busa maka saya anggap semakin bersih. tidak terkecuali sabun muka yang ini. saking pesimisnya, saya sampai suudzon akan memakai sabun muka sekali lagi kalau hati saya belum yakin muka saya bersih memakai sabun muka ini. 

trus waktu pertama kali saya pakai sabun muka ini, saya pakainya kebanyakan dong.

jadinya muka saya licin mampus. maka dari itu, saran saya pakailah seefisien mungkin alias jangan kebanyakan. karena kalau kebanyakan wajah kamu bakal jadi licin dan lama banget dibilasnya. 

setelah memakai dengan benar, saya baru merasakan efeknya secara maksimal. pertama, wajah saya nggak ketarik. ini penting banget karena ini indikator utama toleransi saya akan sebuah sabun muka. kedua, ada sensasi cooling euy di wajah saya. ini efek yang baru saya rasakan di sebuah sabun muka. kalau hydrating toner, moisturizer, atau sleeping mask saya nggak kaget ya. tapi ini sabun muka lho, ekspektasi kita akan sebuah sabun muka itu hanya untuk membersihkan kulit wajah ya. lho kok ya ini ada bonusan memberi sensasi dingin di wajah.

ternyata sista, setelah saya perhatikan ingredientsnya secara lebih teliti. ia mengandung ekstrak lidah buaya (Aloe Vera). ya pantes aja ada sensasi cooling and soothing karena Aloe Vera memang juara urusan itu.

yang ketiga, sabun muka ini harum. saya lagi - lagi suudzon kalau ada fragrance nya. tapi kok nggak ada sensasi gatal di kulit saya seperti reaksi umum ketika kulit wajah saya pertama kali bersentuhan dengan produk baru yang mengandung  fragrance ya ? 

ternyata, oh ternyata harum mewangi ini berasal dari Rose Petal / Rose Canina Flower yang terkandung di dalamnya. lebih jauh saya juga akhirnya tau kalau produk ini sudah bebas SLS, Paraben, Merkuri, Fragrance, Hydroquinon, dan Essential Oil.

setelah pemakaian selama kurang lebih lima belas hari, kesimpulan saya serum ini ampuh dikombinasikan dengan rangkaian skin care saya untuk mengatasi jerawat batu. serum ini juga merupakan acne serum paling terjangkau yang pernah saya coba. terdaftar di BPOM. bebas merkuri dan hydroquinon. dua ingredients berbahaya yang disinyalir sering dipakai oleh formulator produsen skin care kurang bertanggungjawab sebagai siasat untuk menekan harga.

bicara soal bahaya merkuri, bahaya ini sudah eksis lebih dari 500 tahun lalu. konon kabarnya, salah satu dugaan penyebab kematian Queen Elizabeth I adalah karena keracunan merkuri yang sehari - hari terkandung dalam make up beliau. meskipun tidak pernah dilakukan post mortem examination terhadap tubuh beliau, keracunan merkuri menjadi dugaan kuat karena semua tandanya mengarah ke sana ; rambut rontok, capek luar biasa, memory loss, dan masalah pencernaan.

oke kita balik cerita serum.

jadi, serum ini hanya ngeberesin masalah jerawat batu saya. bekas jerawatnya enggak. 

kemudian klaim mereka atas acne serum ini yang bisa melembabkan dan menghidrasi kulit. jujur saya tidak merasakan itu. mungkin karena saya sudah menumpuk berlayer - layer elemen skin care untuk tujuan hidrasi untuk mengimbangi kekuatan serum ini memerangi jerawat batu saya. namun, bukan tidak mungkin bagi kamu yang layering skin care nya nggak seheboh saya  akan merasakan efek hidrasi dan moisturizing dari serum ini karena ingredients  mereka yang mengandung vitamin C dan centella asiatica (daun pegagan) yang memang bertujuan untuk hidrasi dan melembabkan.

begitulah teman - teman akhir cerita jerawat batu saya yang diselesaikan oleh rangkaian Scarlett Face Care Acne series yang saya coba. saya berdoa postingan ini bisa memberi referensi untuk kamu yang juga memiliki masalah jerawat batu seperti saya. saya juga berdoa semoga efek manfaat yang saya rasakan juga dirasakan oleh kamu.

sampai di sini dulu postingan ini. terima kasih sudah membaca.

Balikpapan, 31 Agustus 2021

Riffat Akhsan -- yang jerawatnya makin banyak karena timnya di lapangan positif COVID-19

 

last night was my first meeting of this IELTS private class. one on one intensive preparation program to help me get my desire score of IELTS as a mandatory requirement to reach my dream.

i have been told you before, that i  got a scholarship for this program. so, let me tell you again. this program consist of 12 meetings. one for pre test, another is post test. eight intensives rich content of fundamental IELTS. and two reserved meetings for sharpening aspect which i am struggling for, or for additional meeting to improve some aspect that might be better based on my coach (Betari) perspective. each meeting has 2 hours duration.

this first meeting is about forming perception between me and my coach. like class rules, my target, strategic IELTS overview, and so on.

but, one point that i highlighted from last night meeting is :

wow, i had not expected before. so Betari, has a psychology education background for her undergraduate. and reseach method in social science (qualitative research) for her Master in University of Bristol (United Kingdom).

i really not expected that Betari use her knowledge and skill as a brilliant technique to my classes. she asked me many questions to encourage me to speak all the time. really, i just a little bit surprised that our duration is over and i have additional time for13 minutes. haha.

firstly, Betari learned me that comfortable in English is the basic foundation for a good IELTS score. she tears down my paradigm since i was in senior high school that teach me English as Second Language. i changed my mindset from English as my second language to English is my way to communicate in an English speaking country, and IELTS is about language acquisition. is the same way like when i was continuing my junior high school to Jombang. i must comfortable to speak Javanese language, even though i am a Banjarnese girl.  because it is the only way to communicate to my school and room mates. 

same like what i did in 2006, i acquisi Javanese language as my survival kit to communicate. in 2021, i must acquisi English language as my survival kit too.

every part of IELTS exam is about structure. including speaking part. is not kind of lingua franca session. it exam session. the examiner measures how deep your capability in structural yet substantive way. i agree with that. the speaking practice is so challenging because it's more like the elevator pitch rather than  informal discussion. so many people getting trapped in this part because they only focus on how speak fluently rather than have a unique, multifaceted lens about social issues that usually occur in the speaking test. so, their mentality is drop facing this type of question. so, Betari vanguard me to aware with social issue.

related to speaking part, is about listening part. many people are getting fear with this part. Alhamdulillah beside of them, i really love the IELTS listening part. because the way they speak is clearer than the national geographic channel narrator. my favorite television channel. but, it does not mean that my IELTS listening part is on the right way. i still have a homework to answering 5 more questions correctly while maintaining my listening score right know in order to reach my target score. but yes, Betari's suggestion to encourage me more aware with what content that i am listening to. my homework for the next meeting is to resume every content (podcast, film, video, and other audio related content) to improve my listening part. her astonishing suggestion is so better than my strategic to practice IELTS listening everyday. she told me that sometimes i must make a distance from the test itself. to reflect, evaluate, and continuing my journey of IELTS.

the reading one is so interesting part of me. i told Betari that the cheating so cold tips and trick is no work for me, at all. because my reading score is stuck. and when i changed my reading strategy from cheating to read all the sentences accurately and make some resume beside every paragraph in one to three words. when answering the question, i just need to look at my resume of the paragraph to find the right answer. so, yeah. for me,  the key of IELTS reading is about fundamental. how far you understand the content comprehensively.

another part is my fearful part of the IELTS exam. writing task. again, I got astonish moment. my principles of English academic writing have totally been transformed. before i enter this class. i thought that English writing is about translating my idea in Indonesian to English language. later i know that i was wrong. IELTS writing specifically and English writing generally is about mindset. i must reset my perspective and the way i write. for example, in Indonesia we usually write with so much additional sentence for wider our content. but, in English we must strictly follow the instruction. like IELTS writing task 1. it is about interpreting visual data (chart, table, diagram) into narrative explanation. we do not need to input our opinion as a writer. just focus on the data. deliver the fact without repetition. on the other hand, in IELTS writing task 2. we must answer a question with our honest opinion. thinking clearly, and write an answer in strict limitation. this is so challenging. it measured how deep we respond the question holistically and give exactly what the examiner wants.

so, that's my experience on my first meeting. please pray for me, i wish to write my experience in every meeting to this platform. as the witness of my overseas journey.

thank you for reading, have a nice day !

Balikpapan, 28 of August 2021

Riffat Akhsan -- who write this post while attending Indonesia Mengglobal Anniversary.