Teaching activity Classroom Practice

teaching them should be adjusted appropriately to those characteristics in order to achieve optimal results. Paul 2003:37 proposed some teaching techniques that are appropriate in primary classroom. The first technique is using repetitions. This technique is crucial for teaching young learners who learn more slowly and forget things more easily compared with adolescents or adults Brewster, Ellis, and Girard, 2002:28. By doing the repetitions during the lesson enable the young learners to remember and internalize the English knowledge better. Particularly for young learners who learn English as a foreign language, their contacts with English language outside the classroom are very limited. It means that they do not likely get the opportunities to use or practice their English outside the classroom. Therefore, the repetitions become significant to help the young learners learn English more slowly and remember English knowledge better. However, Paul 2003:37 suggested that the repetition technique should not be conducted through traditional drills of language elements. The repetition should be integrated in more communicative and meaningful ways such as through guessing the flashcards, singing the songs, or playing games. By doing so, the repetition technique can give some advantages for the learners. One of the advantages is that the repetitions do not make the young learners bored since they do them unintentionally and in a fun way. The second technique is using flashcards to introduce and practice the new words and patterns. The flashcards can be designed interestingly to attract the learners‟ attention so they become more involved in the process of learning. The flashcards which contain pictures are usually shown to the learners one by one to introduce new words or patterns. Besides, the flashcards also can be shown in the various ways to help the learner memorize the words or pattern being introduced before. 3 Classroom management Classroom management is defined as “the moment-by-moment decisions and actions con cerning organization of the classroom and activities” Schrivener, 2005:421. Meanwhile, Brown described classroom management as teachers‟ conducts in order to manage the classroom that cover many things from arranging the physical setting of the classroom until applying certain teaching style 2007:241. The classroom management is one the crucial competences of a teacher in facilitating teaching and learning process in the classroom. Furthermore, Brown 2007:241-252 divided the classroom management into some areas that include the management of physical environment of the classroom, management of the voice and body language of the teachers, management of unexpected events, as well as management of teachers‟ role and teaching style. The first area is the management of physical environment or the classroom itself. The physical environment here includes the sight, sound, and comfort of the room, seating arrangement, teaching board, and equipment. Unfortunately, the teachers often cannot manage the ideal conditions of all physical environments above Phillips, 2003:8. Taking for example, the teachers sometimes cannot manage the size, the lightness, and the outer noise of the room. What the teachers can do is to do their best in making the classroom as comfortable as possible for the learners, such as keep the cleanliness and tidiness of the room. In other words, the classroom management of physical environment PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI here refers to the teachers‟ ways to utilize optimally the advantageous physical factors in the classroom and overcome wisely the limits that exist in the classroom. Meanwhile, related to the seating arrangement, the teachers should make the good adjustment between the activities of the lessons with the physical condition of the classroom in order to facilitate the learning optimally Phillips, 2003:8. Besides, the seating arrangement also should be synchronized with the learning process that intended by the teachers. As Paul 2003:103 remarked, the setting arrangements can give clues for the learners about the teachers‟ expectations of their participations during the lesson. Taking for example, the chairs that are arranged separately indicate that the learners are expected to be quiet and learn individually. If the chairs are arranged in some groups indicate that the learners are expected to learn in groups. Meanwhile, if the teachers do not use any chairs in the classroom, it indicate that the learners are expected to be active during the lessons. In other words, the seating arrangement can give great contributions to the successful of the learning process in the classroom. The second area is the management of teachers‟ voice and body language. Teachers as the facilitator of the learning has significant role during the lesson in the classroom. Particularly in primary classrooms where teachers still play as the main role models for the young learners, everything about the teacher impacts the learners greatly. Thus, the teacher can utilize this condition to facilitate learning for the learners. The teachers can manage their voices and body language as the tools which are meaningful to the learners. Taking for example, the teachers can raise or lower their voices to make variations in a game or indicate the accepted or PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI unaccepted behaviours during the lesson. Besides, the teachers can use body languages to give clues about the correct or incorrect English expressions or answers being spoken by the learners. However, the teachers should also be very careful in managing their voice and body language because the wrong management of them can bring disadvantages in the classroom. The third area is the management of the unexpected events which happen during the lesson in the classroom. The unexpected events can be very various such as technical problems, time shortages, disruptive behaviours of students, and so on. All of them can prevent the teachers to implement their teaching plan perfectly. In dealing with the unexpected events, the teachers should keep calm and try to handle them efficiently so the flow of the lesson would not be much disturbed. Finally, the last area is the management of teachers‟ role and teaching style. The management of teachers‟ role can help the learners go through the different stages of learning. In the beginning of a new topic, the teachers play the role as the role models to provide many inputs and much guidance. As the process goes by, the teachers step back a little and role as the facilitator of learning so the learners more involved in the learning process. The management of teach ers‟ role can give positive impact to the learners‟ development. Similarly, the management of teachers‟ teaching style also can contribute positively in the process of English learning. As a matter of fact, there are various kinds of learner in a classroom, such as visual learners, kinaesthetic learner, and so on. The teachers should use many kinds of teaching style to facilitate all kinds of learners. Besides, the teachers also can modify the teaching style according to the objectives of the lesson.

c. Teaching media

Teaching media are the tools that the teachers use in doing teaching activities in the classroom. The media used surely in line with the teaching techniques and teaching activities being conducted by the teachers during the lessons. Based on the teaching techniques which are usually used in teaching English to young learners, there are three media that widely used namely flashcards, songs, and games. All of them will be explained respectively in the following part. 1 Flashcards Flashcards is a term used in English language teaching ELT for cards which contain pictures, diagrams, or words to be shown to the whole class Schrivener, 2005:333. Since they are to be shown to the whole class, the size of the cards should be adjusted appropriately so that they can be clearly visible even from the back of the classroom, but still can be handed out easily by the teachers. Flashcards are very useful teaching aids for the teachers particularly in the beginning of the discussion about a topic. Furthermore, Schrivener 2005:333 proposed the typical use of flashcards as the following: “1 To quickly show the meaning of a lexical item; 2 To illustrate presentation of a language; 3 To tell a story; 4 As a prompt to remind about a specific grammar point or typical error; 5 As seeds for student-based storytelling activities; and 6 As prompts for guessing, definition, or description games.” PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Meanwhile, Paul 2003:109 remarked that flash cards are the most useful resources for teaching since they can be used for various purposes. They also can be modified to be used as the tools to introduce or to practice certain language targets. The most frequent-used types of flashcards are phonic cards consist of a phonic sound on one side and a picture on the other side, vocabulary cards, sequenced cards consist of numbers, days of the week, and so on, pattern cards consist of sentences of certain pattern, and theme cards such as adjectives, verbs, and so on. Furthermore, Paul also suggested some considerations about the flashcards related to the size, content, and durability. Related to the size, the cards should be adjusted to the needs: large cards for teaching large class, small cards for teaching individual learner, and medium-sized cards for teaching average classes. For content, the cards should contain interesting and entertaining pictures to attract children‟s attention. While related to durability, the cards should not too thin or too weak so the children can use it without being cautious of destroying it. Referring to the explanations above, the flashcards are very important and useful media to support the process of teaching and learning. However, in order to obtain optimal advantages of using them as teaching media, the cards should be designed carefully particularly related to their size, content, and durability. In primary classroom, flashcards can be used for many kinds of purposes according to the needs. Taking for example, the flashcards can be used to deliver the materials, as tools to modify the atmosphere in the classroom, and many more. 2 Songs As being explained previously, most children like music and singing activity. Thus, songs are very beneficial to be used as the media to support the process of English teaching and learning. The creativity of teachers in choosing the appropriate songs widens the opportunities for children to understand English. As stated by Paul 2003:5, songs offer three advantages to be used as teaching media. First, songs can help the children in remembering words, patterns, and natural chunks of language. The lyrics of the songs provide many opportunities for the children to remember words as they sing it repeatedly. Besides, the lyrics of the songs can also be modified to introduce various patterns and natural chunks of language. In other words, songs provide unlimited chance of variations in meeting the needs of English teaching and learning process. Second, the songs provide positive reinforcements for the students. The rhythms of the songs provide joyful atmosphere for learning so the children feel comfortable and fun during the lesson. Thus, they become more motivated and more involved in the process of learning. As the result, they have higher opportunities to be a successful learner of English. Third, the songs can be the connector of classroom and natural world of children. Particularly for children who learn English as a foreign language, there is a very wide gap between inside and outside English classroom. The children usually remember the songs that they learn in the classroom very well and likely to hum or sing it anytime and anywhere. When it happens, English becomes the parts of the children‟s life inside and outside the classroom. In other words, the children unconsciously practice the inputs that they get at school in their daily life which finally enhance their English competence and performance. Furthermore, Paul 2003:59 suggested some ways in using songs as parts of the lessons. First way is by singing the songs. According to Paul, the songs should contain “catchy melodies and useful language content”. Since most children still have limited singing ability, the melodies should not be very advanced and only have a few variations in order to be easily remembered. Related with the lyrics, the songs should contain simple but useful language contents. In order to make it easier for the children to remember the lyrics, the words and the patterns should be simple in variation and repeated more than once. Second way in using songs is by combining actions with the songs. Paul 2003:59 argued that this is the most effective way to use songs in English lessons for young learners. By acting the words and patterns in the lyrics, the children automatically understand and memorize the meaning of each word. Third way is by putting sentences or expressions into the chants. The chants can also be combined with actions to make it more entertaining and easily-remembered. The actions can be created as interesting as possible to attract the children‟s attention and interests to act them. Fourth way is by using the songs as the background while playing games. This way can help the children in remembering the patterns and internalizing the language chunks in the songs more naturally. Besides, using the songs as the background during the lesson also can create a more relaxing atmosphere for the process of learning. As matter of facts, children learn better if they are comfortable, joyful, and relax. Finally, the last way is by manipulating the complexity of the words and the language patterns in the songs. As remarked by Paul, “songs should be fully integrated whenever possible in the main course either for introducing or practicing the main language targets” 2003:60. Therefore, the complexity of the words and language patterns in the songs should be gradually increased. It is necessary to be done in order to utilize the songs not only for memorization but also for exploration of English language. 3 Games As being explained previously, one of the main characteristics of children is like to play. Thus, games are very useful and beneficial media to be used in teaching young children, including teaching English to primary students. Paul 2003:49 stated that games have a significant role in English lesson to enable the children to be completely integrated in the learning process. Game is defined as “an entertaining, engaging, even challenging activity which enables the learners to play and interact with others” Wright, Betteridge, Buckby, 2006:1. Based on that definition, game must bring fun and make the leaners to enjoy the process of English learning in the classroom. Games should become the part of the English learning in the classroom since they have many beneficial advantages. Some experts proposed many benefits of the games that are very useful in English language learning. Wrigth, Betteridge, and Buckby 2006:2 remarked some benefits of using the games in language learning. First, games help the language learners to keep their interest and motivation through the process of learning. As a matter of fact, language learning requires many efforts and time in order to obtain the optimal result.