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CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
This is the last chapter of this thesis which consists of two parts, namely conclusions and suggestions. The conclusion is intended to reaffirm the answers
to the research questions in brief which are 1 what is the written English communicative competence of the Indonesian elementary school English learners
like? And 2 what is the measurement instrument of the written English competence of Indonesian Elementary school English learners is like? In
answering these questions, the researcher found some weaknesses of the study. Therefore, some suggestions for the future research are provided.
A. CONCLUSIONS
The research was conducted based on literature review and construct validation by collecting evaluation feedback from four expert respondents who
are professionals of Teaching English for Young Learners TEYL of Yogyakarta and conducting trial test of the testing instrument prototype to twelve student
respondents as the affirmation of the experts’ judgement or feedback. Based on the literary review, the communicative written English
competence of Indonesian elementary school English learners is formulated within three main aspects. The first aspect is Post-modernism philoshopy which
put emphasize on helping learners to be more productive and self-fulfilled as the basis philosophy. The second aspect is the Characteristics of Elementary School
English Learners which have generally explored in 5 aspects: cognitive, physical, emotional and social, literacy, and self-esteem or vulnerability. The concluded
178 characteristics will be limited to which of age 10 up to 12 year development stage
with the rationale of English position as a foreign language in Indonesia. As a foreign language, the English communication is not available in daily life. Thus,
the introduction to English needs complex skills of the children. The age range of young learners, generally, is from birth to 11 or 12 years old. The choice of
picking up ten to twelve years as the age range is based on the theory that children within that age have developed their sense of independence and logical thinking
for broader subjects outside themselves. The third aspect is English Education in Elementary School of Indonesia which is uncertain. Thus, the role and function of
English teaching and learning in the elementary school level of education is supposed to be only a matter of introduction or to lay a foundation for the pupils’
secondary school English teaching. And the fourth aspect is the written English communicative competence of young English learners which is delivered by
Penny Mc Kay who adapts it from Bachman and Palmer’s theory of language ability.
From the result of library research and improvement feedbacks from the TEYL professional it is discovered that the Indonesian elementary school English
learners’ communicative written English competence is theoretically formulated into three main constructs which are standard competence, criteria of competence,
and indicators. Standard of English written Competence is the minimum requirements of
competence in written English language communication that should be able to be performed by the elementary school English learners in Indonesia. The standard is
divided into two categories. The first one is the competence of text understanding
179 reading that is the learners’ ability to know and comprehend the meaning of
written English texts organizationally and pragmatically that they find in daily life, such as at home, at school, and in public places. The second one is the
competence of text production writing that is the learners’ ability to create written English text organizationally and pragmatically in daily life, such as at
home, at school, and public places. Criteria of competence consist of the criteria that shape each standard
competence. Each criterion of competence is indicated by statements of abilities which are more observable through the test takers’ response to the test items.
These statements are called Indicators. The criteria of text understanding and text production are classified into two aspects: Organizational and pragmatic
knowledge. The organizational knowledge of text understanding competence
covers two language aspects, namely:
1
Grammatical knowledge which is indicated by learners’ abilities to decode letters and words match sounds with letters, with
phonic blends, to read and understand a growing range of vocabulary relating to daily life, such as: at home, at school, and in public places, and to understand a
growing range of structure of sentences and short passages to form meanings. 2 Textual knowledge which is indicated by learners’ ability to predict meaning from
a range of cues title, illustration of short passages
.
The pragmatic knowledge of text understanding competence covers the functional and sociolinguistic
knowledge which is indicated by learners’ ability to use their personal experience and their knowledge of the context when they meet an unknown word in the text
180 and to identify the main ideas in the text and locate specific information from the
text. The organizational knowledge of text production competence
covers two language aspects, namely: 1 Grammatical knowledge which is indicated by
learners’ abilities to write vocabulary words in the right spelling and to build cohesion across sentences and parts of sentences with appropriate structure eg:
appropriate punctuations, relationships of time simple tenses, quantity, connective etc; 2 Textual knowledge which is indicated by learners’ abilities to
build cohesion across sentences and parts of sentences with appropriate structure eg: appropriate punctuations, relationships of time simple tenses, quantity,
connective etc. While the pragmatic knowledge of text production covers Functional and sociolinguistic knowledge which is indicated by learners’ abilities
to write their idea into sentences with appropriate meanings. The Blue-print and the prototype of the testing model are developed based
on the formulated written English competence and the feedbacks given by the TEYL experts referring to the design and format of the test item distribution with
deep consideration of the characteristics of Indonesian elementary school English learners.
In general, the blue print and the prototype of this testing model are divided into two parts that are reading comprehension section and writing section which
are administered in 45 minutes. The reading comprehension section is divided into four parts. Part 1
consists of two tasks of matching sounds with letters and with phonic blends. Each task consists of 5 test items with every correct response weights 1 point. Part
181 2 consists of a task of matching a vocabulary with its description which is
composed in growing range vocabularies. Every correct response weights 2 points. Part 3 consists of a task of true or false to measure the test takers’ ability
to understand a growing range of structure of sentences and short passages. Every correct response weights 2 points, with no penalty for incorrect response. And the
last part of the reading section is Part 4 which consists of two passages of different topics. The test items are formatted in multiple choices which require the
test takers to predict meaning from cues title, illustration, to use their personal experience and their knowledge of the context when they meet an unknown word
in the passages and to identify the main ideas and locate specific information from the passages. Every correct response for the task is weighted 2 points.
Meanwhile the writing section contains four parts. Part 1 consists of task of filling the gaps in the text to measure the ability of the test takers to write
vocabularies in the right spelling. Every correct response for the task weights 2 points. Part 2 consists of task of arranging and writing words into a good
sentence in order to measure the test takers’ ability to build cohesion across parts of sentences. Every correct response weights 2 points. Part 3 consists of task of
arranging and writing sentences into a good passage in order to measure the test takers’ ability to build cohesion across sentences. The task is weighted 15 points
provided with a rubric for the scoring system. And the last part of the writing section, Part 4 consists of a task of writing answers to the questions given to
measure the test takers’ ability to write their idea into sentences. Every correct answer weights 3 points provided with a rubric for the scoring system.
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B. SUGGESTIONS
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