strike to the point. I was around 24 years old when i took my first English course somewhere in Jakarta suburb. i had very poor vocabulary and grammar but strong ambition. so i took the placement test and i got terrible result. the institution placed me in basic level where bunch of teenagers studied and i was the oldest student in the class. the class took twice a week and 1.5 hours each session. well.. you can imagine how long do you need to improve your English in such limited time. i was fully aware about the condition and determined to set my own strategy. therefore i made a few step : 1. i must make myself well known in the class and in the institution. 2. i must make friend with smart and more experience students and the last one, 3. make friend with teachers and staffs. I am an easy going and friendly man, so there wasn't any problem for me to full fill all the plan.

less than 2 months i become a member of student committee (student club) in the course and everybody knew me instantly. i have many friends not only from my class but also from other classes as well as teachers and staff. though my class took twice a week, i came almost everyday just to practice my English with some friends and teachers. sometimes i even waited till the latest session (9.00 PM) just to wait the teacher finished her class then we can have a little chat in English. once in a while i spent the night in one of my teacher house to get more English exposure. so you can imagine my effort to study English but believe it or not i can speak English less than 6 months.