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too, and far less exhausting 1970: 5. Since adolescences are interested in enjoyable activities, making language activities enjoyable should be considered by
the English teacher. Enjoyable activities for the students will attract students‟ attent
ion and will keep students‟ spirit and interest in learning English. “Students need motivation and commitment,” Riddell, 2003: 10. In
giving motivation to the students, English teacher can encourage the students to develop themselves. According to E. A.
Cross Elizabeth Carney, “ A teacher of English must aid each pupil to develop himself at his own rate and must assist him
to integrate what he learns at school, at home, and in his community,” 1946: 43. What teacher should do is facilitating the students and letting them develop
themselves. Therefore, the teacher cannot do anything for the students while the students passively received the learning material. That is why, it is important for
the teacher to give opportunities for the students to practice.
4. Students’ Participation
Students‟ participation is crucial in language learning. “To learn something well, it helps to hear it, see it, ask question about it, and discuss it with
others” Silberman, 1996. The theory proposed by Lewis Hill stated that “No one can tell you how to learn a foreign language without really trying,” 2001: 1.
For Indonesian students, English is a foreign language. Learning a foreign language is not easy. Therefore, in learning English, learning the theories without
practicing is insufficient. It is important to really try to use English. According to Cohen, “when it comes to learning a target language, we usually do not have a
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coach to help us learn more effectively,” 1990: 1. Teacher or trainer can help learners to develop
learners‟ abilities, but the learners should practice themselves. Since
students‟ participation is important in English language learning, the theory of students‟ participation is proposed. According to Bonwell and Eison
2001, there are at least four aspects which should be fulfilled by the students who are participating actively. The following explanation describes the aspects of
students‟ participation. a.
The students are involved in more than listening During English learning process, the students should not be listening only.
The students should have the opportunity to do the things and think about the things they are doing. The students better get involved in other activities, so the
students do not only listen to the teacher. In this case, the students can show it through giving response to teacher‟s explanation. It can be carried out through
speaking in English while the students are asking or answering questions. The students do not listen to t
eacher‟s explanation only, but they are also able to give response.
b. Less emphasis is placed on transmitting information and more emphasis is
placed on developing the skills of the students In learning process, the teacher needs to pay attention to students‟ skills
development. Therefore, the focus of English learning process is not on transferring the knowle
dge or the aspects of language, but more on students‟ abilities in developing their skills. It can be carried out through practice Bright
McGregor, 1970. By practicing, the students are developing their English
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language skills. Therefore, the students should be given the opportunities to develop their skills. Since there are four major skills in learning English, the
students should develop those four skills. They should be able to develop their listening skill, speaking skill, reading skill, and writing skill. In English class, the
students should practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The teacher should not emphasize on transferring knowledge, but more on giving more
chances to the students to practice and perform the language. Thus the teacher gives the students more portions on speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
c. The students are also involved in higher order thinking.
Similar to the first point, the students are not involved in listening activity only. Yet the student should be involved in higher order thinking and not only
receive anything without responding. It can be in a form of analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluation. The students can carry out asking and answering
questions in a form of analyzing. They questions asked by the students are to ask the reason of some important things they do not understand. Most of the questions
use „what‟, „why‟, and „how‟ because the students are seeking for information
Scrivener, 1994: 27. As th e examples of students‟ ability in synthesize, the
students should be able to summarize and conclude the information they gain. In this case, the students can ask clarifying questions. The questions asked to the
teacher can be in a form of yes no questions. It aims to find the truth of their understanding and opinion. The students are also expected to be able to evaluate.
The example is the students can share their opinion about their friends‟ performances or answers.
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d. The students are involved in activities.
In order to fulfill this point, there is no other way except conducting the activities other than lecturing. The teacher can conduct the activities in which the
students can take part as the doers. Some activities are games, quiz, students‟
performances, group discussion, and class discussion. The students are participating if the students are involved in those activities. By conducting the
activities, the students will be able to be more active in participating in English learning process. Thus they are able to perform the language and develop their
language skills. Finally, the greater emphasis is placed on the exploration of students‟
values and attitudes 1991. In the future, the students are expected to be able to use English well to support their social life in living their lives.
Students need to participate during the English class, but it is impossible for the students to practice without any opportunities. Therefore, the English
teacher should give the students opportunity to use English so that the students can develop their English abilities. “Using English as the main classroom
language can be a learning opportunity and a challenge for non-native teachers of English as well as for learners,” Davies Pearse, 2000: 8. In order to give the
students opportunity, the teacher should use English in class. By speaking English in class, the students learn how to speak English well so that they are able to
develop their English speaking skill. Besides using the target language during the learning proc
ess, another important thing related to students‟ participation is interest. “Having a „desire to study‟ – an „interest‟ in what being learned – is
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crucial,” Riddell, 2003: 6. Students also need to have interest on what they are learning. According to Da
vies and Pearse, “interest is usually the best way to attract and hold attention, and to get voluntary participation,” 2000: 123.
Whenever students are interested in something, they will have desire to pay attention to it and to get involved in it. That is why, if the English teacher wants
the students to participate, the teacher should consider the things which can make the students interested in English learning process. Thus the students will have the
willingness to participate voluntary. According t
o Davies and Pearse, “Even during explanation, you can involve the learners actively rather than making them listen passively.” 2000:
12. In teaching English to the students, teachers are not allowed to force the students to listen all the time without giving the students a chance to response
teacher‟s explanation. Students can get involved in a form of asking questions or giving their opinion, or even the teacher can ask the students to answer the
questions related to the material in order to gain studen ts‟ knowledge. By doing
this, the students will be able to explore their ways of thinking and develop their English skills.
Besides, a characteristic of highly successful learners is that they are autonomous. Davies Pearse, 2000: 196. It is supported by the statement
proposed by Lewis Hill “In the social community, it is important for young people to become independent citizens who can participate effectively.” 2001: 9.
The English teacher should make the students autonomous and do not depend on others, including the teacher. Therefore, the teacher should encourage the students
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to be autonomous by not always lecturing without paying attention to students‟ response. By thinking to find the answers, to solve the problems, and to share
opinions, the students are in process of being independent. They do not depend on teacher‟s explanation and teacher‟s way of thinking because they have the
opportunity to give response and not only accept and absorb all teachers says.
5. Active Learning
