Online learning has pushed us, the lecturers, to change the way we think and the way teach the students in the class. To some extent, it limits our social interaction to students. Yet, it also forces us to create creative activities for students.

Indeed, both students and lecturers, we are all missing a face-to-face meeting in the class. Some of us may get bored day by day just sitting in front of the screen, and others may experience stress and sickness. It is such a big challenge in our education.

Therefore, doing project-based learning is expectedly effective during the process of online study. Particularly in developing students’ skills in writing, this method may encourage their creativity and productivity in the pandemic. So, we asked and guided students to produce a magazine as an output of the Essay Writing class.

Writing is definitely not a simple and easy activity for most Indonesians who are used to oral rather than writing tradition — many of us prefer to speak rather than write. Moreover, when it comes to English writing for the second-semester students whose English skills are still basic. Yet, as a wise man said, if there is a will, there is a way, and they have made it until this magazine is finally published.

The process of writing is like the process of crafting from word to sentence and finally to an article. The members of this class (AG 1) learned from the essential structure like phrases and clauses. They started expressing their ideas into a sentence, a paragraph and finally became an article. An article is not the end, but they did self-editing before being revised and edited by the team.

Indeed, not all students enthusiastically edited their work and sent back a much better and good-to-read work. Yet, if they made it, their articles would be chosen to be published in this magazine which becomes class’s final project of the — of course, their last works have been through the table of the editors.

Here we are, our very first and fresh edition VESCHA Magazine created by the students of Essay Writing Class 2 AG 1 2021. This is a Youth and Education English magazine, which hopefully becomes a medium for youth to exercise their skills in writing, a medium to craft and publish their works.

In this edition, we present you students’ essays which cover five topics on education, one issue on language, and one other talks about happiness. The students also shared their reasons to choose English and Literature program study as well as their dreams. Additionally, this magazine includes flash fiction, poem, book review, travel writing, tips and trick, and indeed crossword to exercise your brain.

Thanks to all contributors and AG 1 batch 2021 for their effort and collaboration. They are superb.

Read the magazine HERE 

By, Ahmad, M.Litt.