24 levels‖ Mellard and Hazel, 1992: 255. When the two different learning situations
work together to enhance academic performance and self-esteem, learning is truly taking place. Learning which brings benefits to assist the students to go through
the life challenges.
4. English for Young Learners
In Indonesia, like in many other countries, English has been taught in the elementary schools. ―There has been the introduction of English as a foreign
language at Primary schools referred to as EFLPS hereafter as English has spread as a means of wider communication
‖ Butler, 2009: 23. Some schools have started teaching their students English since they enter the elementary school
while some others begin when the students are in their fourth grades when they are ten years old. Despite the fact that English is taught early in the elementary
level, the success of its learning is not as expected. ―English is the first foreign language taught in schools, but often with only limited success‖ Dardjowidjojo,
2000 as in Kirkpatrick, 2010:10 English teachers especially those who deal with young learners therefore
need to comprehend many essential things to reach the success of learning the language because it will influence their further learning. There are some essential
things to consider when teaching English to young learners As in Sukarno, 2008: 60:
a. Children learn through experiences by manipulating surrounding objects. Piaget
in Hudelson 1991: 256 states that children in primary or elementary school are usual in what is called the concrete operational stage of cognitive development.
This means that they learn through hands – on experiences and through
manipulation of objects in the environment. Accordingly, it is important that the
25
English teachers use media or realia in delivering the materials in order that the students are able to understand easily.
b. Children learn through social context, in groups in which they know with one
another. Vygotsky in Hudelson 1991: 257 states that children learn in social contexts, in groups where some group members know more than others.
Therefore, the English teachers should make their teaching situations similar to social contexts.
c. Acquisition takes place when learners comprehend how the language is used.
Vygotsky in Hudelson 1991: 257 states that acquisition occurs through learners figuring out how the language works, through learners making and testing out
hypotheses about language. In this case, the English teacher should use English correctly although they employ short sentences.
d. Acquisition takes place in social interaction. Vygotsky in Hudelson 1991: 257
states that language acquisition occurs through social interaction. It means that the teacher should use English in the classroom naturally as if they were in their
society.
In dealing with children, it is important to provide opportunities for them to experience working with real objects and experience real communication when
learning a language. It should not be in the abstract domain where they learn something without knowing what it is for. The experiences accordingly assist
them to comprehend the lesson. It is due to their concrete-operational stage in which a child ranging from seven to eleven starts to develop his logical thinking,
breaking up the self from the environment Nunan, 2011. The ability should also be supported by the social context because children learn better through
collaboration with others. The implementation can be done through the group work activities in which students work together, assisting one to another with
people they have already known. Another important point to consider when dealing with children is that they should be more exposed to acquiring the
language instead of learning the language. In order to do so, the teacher should be able to create activities in which the students use English naturally as if they were
used in their society through practices, repetition, and social interaction.
26 The benefit of relating English learning with social context is also
supported by Mannigel, 1998, p. 231 as in Ongan and Emily, 2005: 299 who said ―Children learn through their interest in real events, objects or people, and the
immediate environment is used for this purpose.‖The opportunity to use the language results in their interest to learn which is advantageous for their further
study. In order to get the students‘ interest in learning English, teachers should also consider selecting appropriate topics for the students. The following are
factors influencing appropriate topic as in Ongan and Emily, 2005: 301-2:
First, observations provide information about individual and group interests that enable the teacher to select a topic that build on and extends these interests.
Second, the topic needs to lend itself to a wide range of experiences. Thus, teachers‘ observations of children become an essential component of the decision
making process. Third, teachers need to draw on their knowledge and understanding of their group
of children, so that the topic is closely related to the children‟s daily lives.
Fourth, teachers will need to draw on their beliefs and values about worthwhile learning to select a topic that is appropriate for their particular children. Thus, the
selection of a topic should provide „ a path to understanding something better,
not a wall around the curriculum‟ Bredekamp Rosegrant, 1992, p. 89
Like in Indonesia, many teachers like in Bangladesh, Turkey, India and Hungary use traditional formal grammar-focused approaches despite the fact that
official curricula are promoting more communicative, activity-oriented approaches suitable for YL Enever and Moon, 2009. The phenomenon also
exists in Indonesia which results to the ineffectiveness of English learning.
Although most begin studying the language starting in middle school, the method of instruction tends to center around memorizing English‘s complex and often
senseless grammatical conventions, which many Indonesians find baffling, and tends to underemphasize conversational and communication skills‖ Wallach,
2003:71.
27 Therefore, in order to get the students‘ interest in learning a language, the
topic selectio n should be relevant to the children‘s daily lives in which they really
experience using the language rather than only doing practices for the sake of curriculum fulfillment. The learning of English should be dedicated for
communicative purposes in which interactions take place so that children are able to apply their language knowledge, and at the same time they are able to maintain
their interest in learning the language.
A number of concepts related to teaching for communicative purposes‘ such as learner-centered teaching, the use of authentic materials, and information-gaps
have gained popularity among teachers and policy-makers in East Asia. Butler, 2009: 28.
Teaching English to young learners should be highly prioritized considering they are as the beginners of language learners. A number of benefits
that young beginners may have over older beginners include the following items: relative ease in acquiring the sound system of the additional language; less likely
to be ‗language anxious‘; more time overall is available; a range of acquisitional processes can come into play over time, ranging from intuitive to analytical; their
cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social, intercultural awareness and skills can be extended to help them form an identity that is bound to be different from the
identity of those who begin later at say the age of 11 or 12 because in their case many components of their identity are already in an advanced state of formation.
Johnstone, 2009: 34 All the essential elements in dealing with young learners accordingly need
to be well understood by the teachers considering the fact that children are beginners of learning a language which affects their further learning. The interest
28 and success of learning the language should be both maintained and encouraged in
order to keep their curiosity in learning the language.
5. Reflective Thinking
