THE USE... R. Arief Nugroho Mater’s Program in Linguistics, Diponegoro University
©2009, UNDIP Institutional Repository
Curtain and Pesola’s explanation suggest that that grammatical competence cannot be separated from the language skills i.e. speaking,
reading, listening, and speaking as well as turn out to be one of the important factors in communication.
3. Joint Construction
In the third level Joint Construction, the interaction happens between student to student and students class to teacher. The implementation of
various methods will appear in this level, as according to Harmer 2007:15 “with younger children we may offer a greater variety of games,
songs, and puzzles than we would do with older students”. In this level, students try to solve the problems which are designed to measure the
students’ comprehension, and in this level students can come up with their groups or peers. Also, in this level, students try to check their
understanding of the language focus that they have already learned in the previous level. As we know that the use of various activities in this level
will avoid them from getting bored. Furthermore in this level, the researcher tries to put students into some small groups or pair activities.
This is intended to raise their sense of cooperation. According to Curtain and Pesola 1988:171 “pair and small-group work, when they take place
under the umbrella of cooperative learning, can be the most natural and effective means of helping students to communicate in a second
language”. According to Johnson and Johnson 1987 in Curtain and
THE USE... R. Arief Nugroho Mater’s Program in Linguistics, Diponegoro University
©2009, UNDIP Institutional Repository
Pesola’s book 1988:171 there are some requirements to succeed small groups and pairs activities, namely:
1 Positive interdependence means that everyone depends on one another and that no one feels exploited, unnecessary, or left out; 2
Face to face interaction is possible only when children are in a physical setting in which they can talk with one another and work
together easily, without raising their voices; 3 Social skills training is an integral component of all work in the cooperative classroom. The
teacher helps children to understand the skills they will need…and helps them to practice and monitor them.
During the implementation of the small-groups and pair activities teacher have to plan the effective ways to conduct and organize the small-
groups and pair activities. According to Knop 1986 as quoted by Curtain and Pesola 1988:177 there are some guidelines which will help the
teachers plan effectively for pair or small-groups activity in the classroom; they are:
a. Limit the size of the group Cooperative groups are usually most effective when they are no
larger than five, and they should never be larger than seven. b. Motivate the activity
When the teacher sets the context for the activity dramatically, using actions and visuals, motivation is enhanced.
c. Set clear goals d. Give directions
Give the sequence of the activity in precise steps, so students know exactly what is expected of them at every step of the way.
THE USE... R. Arief Nugroho Mater’s Program in Linguistics, Diponegoro University
©2009, UNDIP Institutional Repository
e. Circulate among the students The teacher can also give suggestions to students who need help
and show interests in the conversation they are having. While moving around, the teacher can monitor the use of the target
language, language problems that students are having, and success or failure in the use of cooperative skills.
f. Elicit feedback at the end of the drill Based on the guidelines above, teachers should be aware of their
presentation during the Joint Construction phase in the classroom.
4. Independent Construction
