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c. Learners’ aims and expectations
Pinter 2006: 38 states that there are some aims and objectives of foreign language learning for primary school children. They are developing
children’s basic communication abilities in English and encouraging enjoyment and motivation. The first aim is expected to teaching children to
talk about themselves and their environments, to understand and respond to basic English instructions, and to communicate about topics of interest with a
partner. The second main aim is related to the need to make English an attractive school subject to children so as to faster their motivation and
encourage them to want to learn languages in the future.
Based on the theories, it can be concluded that young learners are children who study in the elementary school and learn English as a foreign language. The
elementary school students are the children between 7 to 12. Young learners usually love to play and learn from everything around them. Besides, every
student has different characteristics. Teachers should create kinds of activities which are appropriate to the children. They also need to give interesting activities
in order to grab the students’ attention.
2. English for Young Learners
Nowadays, English has been introduced to the elementary school students. It is because elementary students are in their golden ages. It believed that the golden
age is the best time to teach a foreign language to young learners. It is because
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during the golden age, the brain can be developed maximally, it can catch all information given easily. Moreover, learning English earlier can make children
increase their language ability. According to Cameron 2001: 13, “children learn a second language better than adults do”.
Some parents have the awareness of the importance of mastering English for the children in early age. It drives them to send their children to learn English in
the course or non formal institutions although they have learnt it in schools .
This situation showed that learning English at schools is not enough yet. English
course or non formal institutions is believed to be able to give more English practice for the children. Brewster et al. 2002:1 say that “pressure to introduce
early English learning has often come from parents who strongly believe that having English as a tool will benefit their children greatly by giving them more
opportunities to gain economic, cultural or educational advantages”. They believed that English is very important to be taught to young learners.
There is a widespread belief that there are definite advantages to introducing language learning early on in life which outweigh the disadvantages. This
statement is supported by Brewster et al. 2002:1 who state that “young children learn languages better and more easily than older children”. In addition, starting to
learn a foreign language several years earlier was simply to increase the total number of years spent learning the language.
Moreover, there is a possible drawback of introducing English earlier. The children will get bored if they are introduced to a foreign language in early age.
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They accustom to using mother tongue therefore they will have some problems in learning a new language.
Based on the statements above, it can be concluded that introducing English to young learners earlier is important because it helps children to increase their
language skills. Since, English is a foreign language for young learners in Indonesia, the teachers should realize that they take a great influence in the
teaching-learning process.
3. Listening Skill for Young Learners
a. Definition of Listening
Listening is the basic step in learning English. English learners learn language by listening and imitating what they hear. Linse et al. 2005: 25 say that by
listening, children are preparing to replicate the sounds when they speak. In addition, listening gives many skills to the learners.
Listening is as a foundation for other skills. Children are ready to develop other skills if they already have listening skills. Speaking, reading, and writing are
built on listening. Linse et al. 2005: 27 say that children need to hear a word before say it, need to say a word before read it, and need to read a word before
write it. Brown 2001:234 also states that language learners learn to what to speak from what they listen. It means that listening is the fundamental skills that
should be learnt before other skills. Listening involves understanding a speaker’s accent or pronunciation,
grammar, and grasping the meaning Howatt and Dakin, 1974. Meanwhile,
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Bulletin in Saricoban 1952 states listening is one of the fundamental skills. It is a medium through which children, young people and adults gain a large portion of
their education-their information, their understanding of the world and of human affairs, their ideals, sense of values, and their appreciation. In this day of mass
communication much of it oral, it is of vital importance that our pupils be taught to listen effectively and critically, he says.
Walberg 2004:13 also states that “listening skills are essential for learning since they enable students to acquire insights and information, and to achieve
success in communicating with others”. By having the theory above, listening is the fundamental skill to understand and identify what others are saying. Without a
good listening ability, someone will find it difficult to understand to messages and to communicate with other people effectively.
According to Harmer 2001, there are two types of listening, namely extensive and intensive listening. Extensive listening is doing listening activity by
choosing what topic that the students want to listen for pleasure and general language improvement. Extensive listening usually takes place outside the
classroom and the material for extensive listening can be taken from many sources. Many students get much listening practice because they have their own
choices for the listening material. Intensive listening is doing listening activity by having some tasks through taped materials and material on disk given by the
teacher. The listening practice in intensive listening usually takes place in the classroom with their teacher. The students are not free to choose the topic for the
listening material because the material is already chosen by the teacher.
