30 The next component of designing course is methodology. According to Feez
and Joyce 2002, p.24, text-based learning requires an accompanying methodology which influences how students work. The most effective methodology for TBL is
genre approach. Genre approach constitutes an assumption that language learning shows social interaction which enables students to develop a resource for making
meaning, a tool for interpreting and organising reality, and knowledge about language. In order to apply the genre approach, Vygotsky 1978, as cited by Feez
and Joyce 2002, p.26, proposed that in any skills, knowledge, or understanding, there are two levels of developments that learner must achieve, those are a level of
independent performance and a level of potential performace. The gap between these two levels is called ‘zone of proximal development’. Vygotsky also proposed
that the process of learning language is a series of scaffolded developmental steps. Thus, it needs collaboration between teacher and student. The following figure
presents the collaboration between teacher’s and student’s progress.
SCAFFOLDING LEARNER PROGRESS
Independent learner performance with no contribution from teacher
Potential performance ↑
Diminishing conribution from teacher as learner’s independent contribution increases
↑ ↑
Zone of proximal development ↑
Significant contribution from teacher to support dependent contribution from learner
↑ Learner’s entry level assessed by teacher
↑ Existing independent functioning
Figure 2.1. The Changing Nature of the Collaboration Between Teacher and Student in Response To Learner Progress adapted from Feez and Joyce,
2002,p.27. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
31 The teaching and learning cycle in the text-based approach consists of number
of stages which the teacher and students go through so that students gradually gain independent control of a particular text-type Feez and Joyce, 2002, p.27. The
figure below shows the stages of teaching and learning cycle.
Figure 2.2. Stages of the Teaching and Learning Cycle adapted from Callaghan and Rothery 1988, Green 1992, Cornish 1992, cited by Feez and
Joyce, 2002, p.28.
The first stage is building the context. This stage constitutes the introduction in which the social context of the text-type is introduced. The authentic model is
necessary so that students are able to explore features of the general cultural context. The context of situation can also be recognized by investigating the registers of the
text-type. The registers involves the field which means the topic of the text and the knowledge of the social activity, the tenor which means the roles and relationships
of the people using the text, and the channel which means how the text is presented or being used, written or spoken, using telephone, or face-to-face Feez and Joyce,
2002, p.28.
5. Linking related texts
1. Building the context
2. Modelling and deconstructing
the text 3. Joint
construction of the text
4. Independent construction of
the text
32 After providing the general context of the text, students are involved to
deconstruct the text by investigating the generic structure and language features of the model. Students also compare the model with other examples of the text-type.
Thus, this stage is so called modelling and deconstructing the text Feez and Joyce, 2002, p.29. Then, the thirs stage is joint construction of the text. In this stage,
students begin to constuct their own text. However, the students still get any assistance from their peers and teacher. The teacher gradually reduces the
contribution to the text construction in order to let students get closer to control the text-type independently.
The last two stages are independent construction of the text and linking to related texts. Feez and Joyce 2002, p.31 explain that in this stage students should
have been able to work independently with the text. This step aims to show the students’ performances. The performance then will be used for achievement
assessment. Then, in the last stage,students are expected to relate what they have learned to other texts in the similar or different contexts, and to future or past cycles
of teaching and learning.
c. Planning Units of Works
After preparing the foundation of the course, it comes to the process of planning the details for the units. The most common starting point is determining
the topic for each unit. Listing the topics is important because the designer needs to compile all necessary materials. Once the topics have been selected, the designer
should sequence the topics. Sequencing topics also consider which topics address straighforward and concrete concepts, enable to be linked to students’ daily life,
and what level of difficulty. The designer will also be able to select the text-type PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
33 within a topic, including the language features and language activities Feez and
Joyce, 2002. In planning unit of works, every element should be clear, effective, and
systematic. Clear is related to how instructions are provided. Level of difficulty must be adjusted to the students and the language provided must be easily
understood. Instruction does not only help students know what to do but also represent model of language that students will be familiar with. Furthermore, the
material designer is able to design the units which target exactly the needs and learning styles of the learners Feez and Joyce, 2002, p.141. In order to make the
plan easily, table 2.5 provides checklist that can be used by designers when developing each unit.
Table 2.5. Checklist for Developing Units adopted from Feez and Joyce, 2002
Language presentation
Is the language presented as whole, meaningful, and purposeful
texts used in social contexts?
Is the language authentic? Design
Is it well-designed?
Are the layout and font clear and easy to read?
Are the illustration relevant to the text?
Are the instructions clear?
Do the diagrams and symbols make sense?
Objectives
Do the units, and the activities within the units, have clear learning objectives andor outcomes?
Are the topics interesting and relevant to the course objectives?
Learner group
Does the resource avoid topics or illustrations which the learner group might find uncomfortable?
Material
Are the facts presented accurate and the information current?
Are people in the resource represented in a way which avoid bias or stereotyping?
Do the audios and videos recording have good quality?
Activities
Are the activities workable in the class?
Can the teaching-learning cycle be used well? Cost
How much will it cost you or the institution?
Can it be used widely enough to justify the expense?
34 In this study, text-based learning is selected because it can influence the
teaching and learning process. A ccording to Dammaco 2010, “text-based learning
can be used in a number of ways to produce meaningful communicative tasks.” Text is not only as a channel for communication, but it is rich input that provides
opportunity for the learners to get involved in communicative tasks. Through the spoken or written text, the learners get more exposure which stimulate them to
easily understand the context and content of the text. The effect is then the learners can produce the text by themselves. Another research was also conducted by Rust
et al.2006 to know the effect of using text-based learning in a foreign language learning program. The preliminary results showed that generally learners perform
well during the usage of text-based learning as well as computer simulations for learning. Before implementing the text-based learning, the researchers gave a pre-
test to the learners. At the end, a post-test was given and the results significantly increased. However, there are no significant gap between the results between text-
based and computer simulation for learning. In accordance with the previous research, Mickan 2012 suggests how text-
based learning influences the learners in learning the target language. The provided text enables learners to use a target language which is familiar to them
—with texts which are authentic, purposeful, and functional. When seeing or hearing texts, the
learners are accustomed to questionning in order to make sense of them. Thus, prior experiences prepare learners for working with texts in many ways. They recognize
multiple text types and their purposes as a first step to comprehension and use. The other influence of text-based learning toward the learning process is
“texts release students from dependency on a textbook or teacher‘s directions” Mickan, 2012.
35 The learners have opportunities to select texts out of interest and to read them at
leisure for pleasure or information. Many learners already access and create texts independently in chat rooms, in emails and in other social networking sites. Doing
the same with target language texts extends their experiences of texts and enables them to work with texts beyond the boundaries of programs and the borders of
classrooms.
3. The Four Strands of Language Course
In order to provide appropriate theories for this research and reference for designing the learning material, the four strands will be discussed in this section.
Language learning involves many activities that influence the learning process. The combined activities should be considered because each activity has its portion.
Consequently, language course should cover balanced activities. Balancing the learning activities is necessary. Nation 2007, p.1 proposed
the four strands to descibe a framework which sees the appropriate balance of opportunities for learning. It will be discussed as follows.
a. Learning Through Listening and Reading
The first strand is related to listening and reading. Nation 2007, p.2 says,”In this strand which is meaning-
focused input, students’ focus is on understanding and obtaining knowledge from what they are listening to and reading.” This strand
promotes learners to learn using reading and listening activities, which also means providing the receptive skills. The activities for this meaning-focused input can be
listening to conversation, watching video, and extensive reading. However, Nation 2007, p.2 gives limitation that meaning-focused input
exists when learners are familiar to what they are listening to and reading, when PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
36 they like the input and want to understand it, and when they get knowledge by clues.
This condition is also influenced by the students’ background knowledge so that large quantities of input is needed. Therefore, meaning-focused input deals with
how learners build their knowledge and bridge the gap between what they have already known and what they are going to know through listening and reading.
b. Learning Through Speaking and Writing
Learning through speaking and writing is called meaning-focused output since it refers to the productive skill. The output is learners are able to produce the
language in spoken or written form. The examples of this strand are talking in conversations, giving a speech or lecture, writing a letter, writing a note to someone,
and telling someone how to do something. Nation 2007, p.3, in addition, thinks that the condition happens in meaning-
focused output is similar to the condition in meaning-focused input, such as “learners write and talk about things that they are largely similar,” and “only small
portion of the language they need to use is not familiar to them.” For instance,
students listen and write at the same time, or read and talk at the same time as well. Student’s output can be other students’ input. In conclusion, meaning-focused
output is achieved when the learners are able to convey the message by using spoken or writen language.
c. Language-Focused Learning
Language-focused learning involves the deliberate learning of language features such as pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and discourse
Nation, 2007, p.5. Deliberate learning is needed because learners should process the language features in deep. Moreover, there are some evidences that deliberate
