Teks Daily Activities (kegiatan sehari-hari di rumah)

What are some of the daily activities that you do at home?
(Apa kegiatan sehari-hari yang sering anda lakukan di rumah?)

I wake up at 7am every morning.  I press the snooze button five times every morning before I turn off the alarm and get up. I have a cup of coffee and make breakfast. I usually read the newspaper while I have breakfast. My children like to have a shower after they have breakfast but I like to have a shower before I get dressed.  My wife brushes her long hair, and I have short hair so I comb my hair.

It is important to brush your teeth, and some women like to put make-up on.   After I have finished work, I go home to cook dinner. In my house I usually make dinner. The family eat dinner together at 7:30pm.
After dinner I make sure that my children do their homework, and then I watch television.  On television I usually watch the News. My wife usually comes to tell me to take the rubbish out, or wash the dishes.  Our children feed the dog and the cat before they go to bed and I tell them to go to the bathroom too. If I am sick I have to take my medication, but then I get into my pyjamas and set the alarm so I wake up in the morning. The last things I do is lock the door, turn off the lights, and go to bed.

Vocabulary :

Wake up : bangun tidur
Press the snooze botton: tekan tombol snooze (tidur sebentar)
Turn off the alarm : mematikan alarm
Get up : bangun (dari tempat tidur)
Have a cup of coffee : menikmati kopi
Make breakfast : membuat sarapan pagi
Read the newspaper : membaca koran
Have breakfast : sarapan pagi
Have a shower : mandi
Get dressed : berpakaian
Brush one's hair : keramas
Comb one's hair : menyisir rambut
Brush one's teeth : menggosok gigi
Put make-up on : berias, dandan
Go home : pulang
Cook dinner : memasak makan malam
Make dinner : makan malam
Do one's homework : mengerjakan PR
Watch Television : menonton TV
Watch the News : nonton berita
Take the rubbish out : membuang sampah
Wash the dishes : mencuci piring (kotor)
Feed the dog and cat : memberi makan anjing dan kucing
Go to bed : (Siap-siap) tidur
Go to the bathroom : Pergi ke kamar mandi
Take one's medication : Minum obat
Get into one's pyjamas : memakai baju tidur
Set the alarm : mengatur waktu alarm
Lock the door : mengunci pintu
Turn off the lights : mematikan lampu


Contoh Teks Daily Activities (Kegiatan Sehari-hari di Tempat Kerja)

What are some daily activities that you do at work?

I go to work at 8.45am every morning. I usually drive to work. I always check my emails when I get to work, but I don't always reply to them immediately.  I take a taxi or a train if I have a lunch meeting. I never take the bus because it is too slow. When I am at my desk I usually work on the computer, even during morning tea. At 1pm most days I have lunch. At 3pm we have afternoon tea, and that is when we usually talk and eat cake.

When you are in the office you probably have a lot of papers. It is important for you to file your papers, and so that you can find them again you need to organise your files. When I work I have to make telephone calls. If an important issue happens I ask my secretary to organise a meeting. Once a month I report to my boss, but maybe you have to report to your boss more often. I usually write a document that my boss can read.

Vocabulary

go to work : pergi bekerja
drive to work : mengendarai (mobil) ke tempat kerja
check one's email : memeriksa email (surat elektronik)
reply : menjawab
take a taxi : naik taksi
take a train : naik kereta api
lunch meeting : pertemuan di siang hari
take the bus : naik bis
work on the computer : "komputeran"
morning tea : waktu istirahat pagi (untuk sekedar minum kopi.)
have lunch : makan siang
afternoon tea : waktu istirahat sore
file one's paper : menyimpan arsip
organize one's files : menata arsip-arsip
make telephone calls : menelepon
organize a meeting : mengatur pertemuan
report to one's boss : melaporkan pada pimpinan
write a document : menulis dokumen

Contoh Teks Daily Activities (Kegiatan Sehari-hari Lainnya)

What are some other daily activities that you do?

I exercise at least three times a week. I usually go to the gym before work, but sometimes I go after work.
I meditate every morning so that I feel less stressed during the day.

Vocabulary

Exercise : berolah raga
Meditate : meditasi

Contoh Teks Weekly Activities (Aktifitas / Kegiatan Mingguan)

What are some weekly activities that you do?

I go grocery shopping once a week at the local supermarket.  My family does the housework together every Saturday morning. I usually do the washing on Sunday morning and when the machine is finished I hang the clothes out to dry.

On Sunday morning we go to church, and if there is lots of noise coming from next door, sometimes we fight with the neighbour.

On Saturday night my parents stay at home and I go out with friends.
Even my friends that live at home call their parents each week.

Every evening, I water the garden.

I usually pay someone to wash the car, but my partner says I should do it, so sometimes I argue with my partner about that.

If we are angry at the neighbour, we seek vengeance by annoying his dogs.

I work in an important office, so I have to shine my shoes each day.

Sometimes we hire a movie, because we don't like to illegally download music and films. I make sure that I synchronise my iPod so I always have new music on it.

To get our shopping, we go to the mall in the car.

Last week I forgot to recharge my travel card, and I had to argue with a bus driver. I couldn't call the office because I forgot to recharge my cellphone!

Vocabulary

Go grocery shopping : pergi belanja (di toko grosir)
Do the housework : melakukan aktifitas rumah
Do the washing :mencuci pakaian
Hang the clothes out : menjemur pakaian
Go to church : pergi ke gereja
Fight with the neighbor : bertengkar dengan tetangga
Stay at home : tetap di rumah
Go out with friends :pergi bersama teman-teman
Call one's parents :menelepon orangtua
Water the garden : menyiram kebun
Wash the car :mencuci mobil
Argue with one's partner :berdebat dengan rekan kerja
Seek vengeance :balas dendam
Shine one's shoes : menyemir sepatu
Hire a movie :menyewa film
Illegally download music and films : mengunduh musik dan film secara ilegal
Synchronize one's iPod :Mensikronisasikan iPod
Go to the mall : pergi ke Mall
Recharge one's travel card : mengisi tiket perjalanan
Argue with a bus driver :berurusan dengan supir bis
Recharge one's cell phone : mengisi pulsa
Terima Kasih telah membaca Kumpulan Kosakata Aktifitas Sehari-hari Bahasa Inggris, semoga bermanfaat

Pentingnya Mempelajari Vocabulary

David Wilkins, dikutip Thornbury (2002: 13), menyimpulkan tentang pentingnya mempelajari vocabulary dengan mengatakan “Without Grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” Ia menjelaskan bahwa tanpa (mengetahui) grammar, sedikit sekali yang bisa kita ungkapkan. Namun tanpa (mengetahui) kosakata, tidak ada yang bisa kita ungkapkan. Memang benar apa yang diungkapkan oleh Wilkins tersebut. Meski kita mempunyai kemampuan grammar (tata bahasa) yang baik, namun kemampuan tersebut akan sia-sia saja jika kita tidak memiliki cukup penguasaan akan vocabulary.

Hal senada juga diungkapkan oleh Stahl dan Nagy (2005: 5). Keduanya menjelaskan pentingnya vocabulary dengan membandingkan perbedaan antara orang yang paham vocabulary dengan mereka yang tidak paham akan vocabulary. Dalam hal ini Stahl dan Nagy mengatakan:

 

A person who knows more words can speak, and even think, more precisely about the world. A person who knows the terms scarlet and crimson and azure and indigo can think about colors in a different way than a person who is limited to red and blue. A person who can label someone as pusillanimous or a recreant can better describe a person's cowardly behavior. Words divide the world; the more words we have, the more complex ways we can think about die world.

Nagy dan Stahl mengungkapkan bahwa orang yang mengetahui lebih banyak kata pasti bisa berbicara, dan bahkan bisa berpikir, lebih tepatnya, tentang dunia. Orang yang mengerti istilah scarlet (merah tua), azure (biru langit), dan indigo (biru laut) lebih bisa berpikir tentang warna dengan cara berbeda daripada orang yang (pengetahuannya) sebatas pada red (merah) dan blue (biru). Orang yang bisa menjuluki seseorang dengan nama pusillanimous (kecut hati) atau recreant (pengecut) lebih bisa mengungkapkan (menggambarkan) tentang watak pengecut seseorang. Kata-kata membagi sebuah dunia; semakin banyak kata kita kuasai, semakin bermacam-macam kita bisa berpikir tentang  dunia.”

Andai saja kita tidak mengenal atau mengerti vocabulary, pasti banyak sekali yang kita belum bisa pahami dalam bidang Ilmu bahasa. Lihat saja apa yang diungkapkan oleh McCharty dan O’Dell (1999: 4) berikut ini:
 

You already know hundreds of English words, but to speak and write in normal situations you need at least 1-2,000 words. ( [mungkin] anda telah mengerti ratusan kata Bahasa Inggris, tapi untuk berbicara dan menulis dalam kondisi yang wajar anda setidaknya membutuhkan seribu hingg dua ribu kata.)

Nah kan, jika kita benar-benar ingin menguasai Bahasa Inggris, maka hal pertama yang harus kita persiapkan adalah mengerti akan berbagai macam makna kata dalam Bahasa Inggris. Jika tidak, bersiap-siaplah kita untuk tetap duduk manis tanpa mendapatkan ilmu apa-apa.

Referensi:

McCarthy and O’Dell. 1999. English Vocabulary in Use: elementary. Cambridge University Press.

Stahl, A. Steven and Nagy, E. William. 2005. Teaching Word Meaning. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Thornbury, Scott. 2002. How to Teach Vocabulary. Pearson Education Limited.