with building sets they get to use their fine motor skills to build. They also, however, get to use their imaginations about what they are building.
Jenkathryn 2007 also mentioned that recent studies have been done show that block play also contributes to the development of verbal skills. The
results of the tests, done with one to two year olds, showed that block play for 15- 20 minutes per day, increased the development of verbal skills by 15. This study
also showed that these kids were 80 less likely to watch TV. It encourages co operation, sharing, compromise, creativity, organization and teamwork when
children engage in block play together. Lego is one kind of teaching media that can help teachers avoid teaching
learning‟s boredom. By using Lego, they will not always explain the lesson continuously. Lego is recognized way of representing a real situation, they can
serve as an example of the advantages in using media. Lego can represent situation which would be impossible to create in any other way. They can help the
students associate what they hear with their real life experience.
2.4 Young Learners Characteristics
Teaching young learners is not the same as teaching adult. Children tend to change their mood every other minute, and they find it extremely difficult to sit
still. On the other hand, they show a greater motivation than adult to do things that
appeal to them. Children have different characteristics and motivation in learning a new language as stated by Helaly 1987:49:
“Unlike adults, children are not self motivated and do not have an immediate need to learn English. They are not concerned with job or
university degree that required knowledge of English. Their world is their daily games, events of interest to them, new knowledge that may
come across and question that their inquisitive minds ask.” Young learners also have certain characteristics that teacher should be
aware of and take into account in her his teaching. According to Wendy Scoot 1990: 2-4 the general characteristics of students in the elementary school are as
follows: 1
They are competent users of mother tongue
2 They can tell the difference between the fact and fiction
3 They love to play and learn best when they enjoy themselves, but they also
take themselves seriously and like to think that what they are doing is real work.
4 They are enthusiastic and positive about learning
5 They rely on the spoken word as well as the physical word to convey and
understanding meaning. 6
They are able to work with others and learn from others.
7 Their own understanding comes through eyes, hands and ears. The physical
world is dominant at all times.
8 They are very logical – what you say first happens first.
9 They ask questions all the time.
10 They have very short attention and concentration span.
From these explanations, we know that young learners are naturally curious, love to play, and need variety task to avoid of being bored. They like
learning something that involves a new thing and the elements of fun where they can laugh, talk, and feel happy during the class. But, they still need guidance from
adults in studying English, so they can follow and understand the lesson well.
2.5 Classroom Action Research
