I am an English teacher in Payakumbuh, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia. I am from Kumango, a village in Tanah Datar Regeancy, Sumatera Barat; it is located about 8 kilometres from Batusangkar, the capital of Tanah Datar Regeancy; or about 30 kilometres from Bukittinggi, a tourism city in Sumatera Barat; or 30 kilometres from Payakumbuh, the town where I am living now; or about 100 kilometres from Padang, the capital city of Sumatera Barat Province, Indonesia.
In Payakumbuh, I organize my English Course, names Mr.EM English Training House. I am married. Now, I am 48 and my wife is 46 years old.
Basically, I like to cover up everything puzzled in my mind; no matter it is such the scientific issues, my environmental problems, things related to education in general or especially to the ones in English teaching, and so forth.
I like music and singing as well ; I can play guitar and keyboard. But it is just for fun, as hobbies. If I have nothing to do, I play my keyboard and sing some songs. Beside them, I also like gardening, I really like to plant any seeds of fruits that I bought in the market, and it worked. I managed to grow papaya, zalacca, orange, and avocado on the land of my home. I also love pets such as cats and rabbits, and animals in common. And in my spare time, I like to visit the places away from my home in Payakumbuh. I also like to update and improve my knowledge on everything through reading newspapers and following news from any other sources of information like television or internet.
The other hobby that I like so much is reading Al-Qur'anulkariem -- the holybook of my religion, Islam. I do it everyday, even I may say, that I read it much more than other books that I have ever read. I have finished reading it many times, even maybe hundreds of times for I never counted it. I am such addicted in reading it again and again. Reading Al-Qur'an gives me great advantages for my life which is maybe unbelievable or even nonsense for some others, but I have got it in the reality.
I was born in Kumango, exactly at Supanjang Ilie on 9 October 1970. My mother brought me up as a single parent for my father had left her when I was still 6 months in her pregnancy. I was born in the traditional house (rumah gadang) belonged to my family in the help of a midwife from Sumanik, the neighbour of my village, so I was born not in a hospital but in my own home at that time. Due to the condition that my father went away for a long time, in 1972, when I was 2 years old - two years after my birth, my mother demanded for divorce officially for my father from the religion court, and she got it. After that time, my mother never get married anymore, meanwhile, my father got married for the second time in 1981 with a widow who is also from my village, Kumango; and it was the first time I saw him since I was born.
I was not so closed to my father; maybe it is owing to the condition that he never took part in bringing me up; I didn't know him well. I dare say, I can count, how many times I met him before Allah, the Almighty called him for good on 9 April 2009 in Kalianda, Lampung, Indonesia; twice before he married my step mother, before my eldest sister got married, at the time my eldest sister got married, and when my elder sister got married. Yes, five times only. And, in each occation, I only met him a couple of minutes.
My mother is a housewife. Since I was 6 months in her pregnancy, she took care of me and my other two sisters by herself in the assistance of the financial support from my grandfather who passed away in 1995. My mother is a very good woman for me in my whole life. She has sacrificed her life too much for me and my two sisters. Now, she has been 73 years old now, I want to make her happy forever.
I have been interested in English since my childhood. My mother who only managed to finish her study until junior high school in 1956 had introduced some English vocabulary to me when I was a kid, since the time before I entered my first school, kindergarten in the beginning of 1976. In the beginning of 1977, my mother registered my name to SD Negeri no.2 Kumango, one of two elementary school existed in my Nagari at that time. I went to that school for 6.5 years. Soon after I had finished studying there in the middle of 1983, I continued my study to SMP Negeri Kumango - the only public junior high school in my village at that time. Due to the condition that there is no public senior high school in my village, when finishing my study there in the middle of 1986, I continued my study to STM Negeri Bukittinggi - a public senior high vocational school in the automotive engine department. In my study career here, beside studying automotive engines at the school, I also took an electronic course at a course not far from my school at that time. Graduating my study there in the middle of 1989, I took the opportunity to continue my study on technical engineering to LLK-BS - a school for industrial technicians held by PT.Bridgestone tire Indonesia in Bekasi, Jawa Barat - a big tyre factory in Indonesia - far away from my hometown. I was there for 2 years (from the midle of 1989 to the middle of 1991). Then, I decided to set back to my home town after my graduation there. In one year (from the middle of 1991 to the middle of 1992), I took some courses on computer in Padang and American English course at LBA Padang. Owing to my less satisfaction from the knowledge that I got from the English course, then I decided to go to college again on English Teaching at STKIP PGRI Sumbar - a private college in Padang in the middle of 1992.
My experience in teaching English was started here; I had started teaching English when I was in the second year of my study at an English course belonged to my friend in the beginning of 1993. Then, I moved to several places, until I had my graduation day from the college in the middle of 1998. After that, I married the woman that I love on 25 December 1998. Then, I moved to Bukitinggi over, the city in where I had my senior high school study to teach English at the big English course there. I lived in this town until the middle of 2001. Then, I moved to Payakumbuh.
I have experienced in teaching English at various schools as well as various ages since 1993. I once taught elementaray school students at an Islamic elementary school in Padang from 1997-1998; teaching senior high school students at senior high school; also being a lecturer of English at two private colleges in Padang (a teacher training for kindergarten teacher) and in Payakumbuh (the teacher training college in this town). Talking about teaching variuos ages, I once taught English to kids (as private students), teenagers, and professionals whose ages from 25 to 56. In my teaching, I like to use grammatical approach, oral translation methods, and keep searching for the techniques that will let my students able to speak much and actively. I have a principle and belief; if my students can speak his own language fluently, they will have great opportunity to master other language - in this case English. In other words, my students ability at his own language will affect their achievement at mastering English. And I have got many proofs for this one.
So far, I have written 15 hubs; here are the links for the hubs:
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/FLOOD-How-to-Overcome-it
http://hubpages.com/education/Kumango
http://hubpages.com/travel/Nagari-Kumango
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Educating-Children-in-Islam
http://hubpages.com/living/Rumah-Gadang
http://hubpages.com/politics/Problems-around-Heritage-in-Minangkabau
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/FARAIDH-The-Heritage-Sharing-in-Islam
http://hubpages.com/money/TUKANG-GARENDONG
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/B-PRED
http://hubpages.com/education/Planting_Seeds-Growing_Sprouts
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/DOOMSDAY-2012-A-creative-fiction
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/The-UNSEENS
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/TO-BE-AN-ISLAMIC-PERSON
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/POLYGAMY-AMONG-MUSLIMS
http://hubpages.com/literature/I-AM-NOT-A-SYCOPHANT
If you want to know more about me, you may join my facebook, see my blog, watch my video on my youtube , follow me on my twiiter; or maybe you also can see my photos at flickr, there are numerous photos that I uploaded there. Or just type "Abhaque Supanjang" at your search engine (googke, yahoo, and so on)....!
Payakumbuh, 29 Safar 1432 - 3 February 2011
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