T1 112008062 Full text

STRATEGIES USED BY FIRST YEAR STUDENTS TO COPE WITH
ENGLISH AS MEDIUM INSTRUCTION

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Prima Riani Cahyaningrum
112008062

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LIERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013

First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

Strategies Used by First Year Students to Cope With English as Medium
Instruction

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Prima Riani Cahyaningrum
112008062

Approved by:

Nugrahenny T. Zacharias, Ph. D.

Anne I. Timotius, M. Ed.

Supervisor

Examiner

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or
accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my
knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any
other person except where due reference is made in the text.

Copyright@ 2013. Prima Riani Cahyaningrum and Nugrahenny T. Zacharias, Ph. D.

All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the
permission of at least one of the copyright owners of the English Language Teaching
Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, SatyaWacana Christian University,
Salatiga.

Prima Riani Cahyaningrum

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION
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community, I verify that:
Name

: Prima Riani Cahyaningrum

Student ID Number : 112008062
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: English Language Teaching Department

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: Language and Literature

Kind of Work

: Undergraduate Thesis

In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide SWCU with a non-exclusive royalty
freeright for my intellectual property and the contents therein entitled:
STRATEGIES USED BY FIRST YEAR STUDENTS TO COPE WITH ENGLISH AS
MEDIUM INSTRUCTION
along with any pertinent equipment.
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Made in : Salatiga
Date

: May, 22nd 2013

Verified by signee,

Prima Riani Cahyaningrum

Approved by
Thesis Supervisor

Thesis Examiner

Nugrahenny T. Zacharias, Ph. D.

Anne I. Timotius, M. Ed.

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

Strategies Used by First Year Students to Cope With English as Medium
Instruction
Prima Riani Cahyaningrum

Abstract
As an English Language Teaching Department, English become an obligatory language

which used by lecturers and students in all of academic purposes in this department. This
study was conducted to find strategies used by 2011 students of English Language Teaching
(ELT) Department of SWCU to cope with English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) during
their Integrated Course (IC) class. It focused on students strategies which discussed based on
classification of strategies according to Oxford (1990). The data was gathered through semistructured interview to 20 students of ELT Department of SWCU year 2011 and then
analyzed qualitatively. The finding showed that there were three strategies used by more than
a half of the 20 interviewees. The first strategy was social strategy, which is done by building
relationship with classmates. Second was metacognitive, which is done by optimizing
speaking English to overcome the use of English to communicate inside and outside the
classroom. The third was applying cognitive strategy through note taking, summarizing and
highlighting. The pedagogical implication of the finding is for the first year English learners
in ELT department in overcoming the use of EMI. The finding is beneficial to help them find
the kinds of strategy which are proven to be useful by their senior.
Keyword: English as Medium if Instruction (EMI), Integrated Course (IC), Social strategy,

Cognitive strategy, Metacognitive strategy.

Introduction
The use of English in an education sector makes me think of English as Medium
Instruction (EMI) in my campus. According to National Education Law 20/3, 2003, the use

of EMI in education sector in Indonesia started in 2006 (DPGSEM, 2009). In ELT
Department, English becomes the obligatory language used by the lecturers to explain
material to the students. This department regulates the lecturers to give instructions, ask
questions and give feed back to the students only in English. The Department also makes the
students to apply EMI in all of the courses. The meaning of EMI in this department is not

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

only as a medium instruction inside the classroom, outside the classroom the lecturers and the
students are also expected to use English as the communication tools. However, not all of the
students in this Department are accustomed to use EMI for the whole learning processes since
their first year in this Department. Most of the first students are struggling to be familiar with
EMI. I believe that each student will have different strategies which fit with them to try to
adapt them self with the use of EMI. Due to the reality that 1st year students have to find
strategies to be accustomed with the use of EMI, finding what kind of strategy that can help
the students become my concern, it triggers me to do this research. The researcher wants to
discover what kind of strategies done by first year students of ELT Department of SWCU to
be accustomed with the use of EMI.

The aim of this study is to find kinds of strategies used by 2011 students during their
first year in ELT Department of SWCU to cope with EMI in IC Class. This study is important
for English students, especially for ELT Department students to give them options of
suggested strategies which are proven to be successful by their senior to cope with EMI.
From this study, the first year students of ELT Department will have a picture about
strategies that will be useful for their leaning process.
The use of strategies in learning process is very important especially for language
learners. Oxford (1990) believes that,
Learning strategies are steps taken by students to enhance their own learning.
Strategies are especially important for language leaning because tools for affective,
self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative
competence. Appropriate language learning strategies result in improved proficiency
and greater self-confidence.

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

Strategy in learning process is a specific way to encounter difficulties. Each learner will have
different strategies, depend on their learning style. Nunan (1999) believes that learners are

free to choose strategy that fit with them. It is clear that the use of appropriate strategies will
make the learners become more confident in the learning process and get better learning
result. The use of strategies is to handle difficulties and understanding every input in the
learning process. The other goal of applying strategies in language learning process is to
make the learners become competence in using new language.
The existence of learning strategies is important for learners in learning language.
Allwright (1990) believes that the use of strategies is important because it could help the
learners to plan their learning. By applying learning strategies, students will be independent,
autonomous, and lifelong learners, so that they could learn better (Little, 1991). Each student
has to find strategies which fit with their learning style, so they will be successful in the
learning process.
The importance of the use of strategies in learning process can be seen from many
interpretations about language learning strategy. According to Oxford (2003), second
language learning strategies are specific activity, behaviors or thought processes that each
student uses to enhance their own second language learning. It is almost the same with what
Brown (1994) has said. According to him, strategy deals with individual; each student has
different learning strategy for each learner has different characteristic and learning style. As
long as the learners feel comfortable with a certain strategy, and its strategy is suitable and
can be applied in doing task, this strategy is good for the learners. Once the learners find one
suitable strategy for them, it could “make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more selfdirected, more effective, and more transferable to new situations” (Oxford,1990). According

to Fedderholdt (1997), the language learner capability of using a wide variety of language
learning strategies appropriately can improve his language skills in a better way. It shows that

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

the use of strategies in language learning will improve learners‟ language proficiency
improvement.
As a 3rd year student of a pre- service teacher program in ELT Department of
SWCU, I have been accustomed with EMI in all of my classes. I am able to understand all
my teachers‟ instructions and also respond it in English smoothly. English has become my
second language which I use for educational purpose in this department. However,
considering the fact that I graduated from a high school which not uses EMI, the first year in
this university was really stressful for me. Almost anytime when I wanted to ask question to
the teacher, I canceled it since I did not know how to say it in English. Even when I asked my
friend, they were also reluctant to ask questions to the lecturer. I can still remember when the
first time I entered this department, the Dean of this faculty gave a welcoming speech for the
new students using English. Although I was good at English in my senior high school,
receiving all new information in English was not easy for me. I just understood some points

of the speech, but I confused when he made a joke in English, most of the people in that room
were laughing, except me. This confusion continued until I had my Integrated Course (IC)
class. Every time I had questions related to the material given to me, I couldn‟t ask questions
to my teacher. I worried if I make grammar mistake on my questions as I was not accustomed
to speak in English in front of the class. As the result, my confusion was not answered and I
got bad grade for the following test.
After some weeks in this faculty, I realized the importance of using strategy on my
learning. I decided to plan my learning and tried to use strategies to learn in English better. I
applied memory strategy by reviewing the lesson more often at home than what I did in the
junior and senior high school. When I got new vocabulary in IC class, I usually memorized
them one by one at night before sleeping. Whenever I had difficulties in understanding what
my lecturer said, I applied compensation strategy by guessing the meaning of what my

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lecturer said. Not only that, in applying social strategy I also made a good relationship with
my classmates and I enjoyed working in group discussions and practice using English for
communication. When I did not understand about what my teacher had instructed me in
English, I usually asked my friends to explain and repeat the instructions for me.
IC is a basic course and very important for 1st year students to master on the first
semester. It contains of 8 credits semesters which should be taken once on the first semester.
There are four IC class meetings in a week, and each meeting is taught by different teacher. It
means that each student will be taught by four different teachers, so the grading system of IC
class will not be subjective. This course contains all of the basic knowledge about English,
like reading, speaking, listening and writing skill. For those who fail this course once, they
could repeat it on the next semester. However, if a student fails twice, it means that he is not
capable to learn English in this Department. As the result, the Department will drop them out
or suggest him to transfer to another faculty. Hence, it is important for each student to find
learning strategies which fit to them to try to be accustomed with English as medium
instruction of this Department.
There have been a number of valuable studies on EMI. Such as studies done by
Hudson (2009) and Othman (2009), some of them are researching about EMI just for science
and math. However, according to my knowledge, none of them discuss about EMI for
teaching English itself. It triggers me in researching strategies about EMI for English in ELT
Department of Satya Wacana Christian University.
I believe that this study will be helpful for other students who are struggling with the
use of EMI. It will help them to choose the best strategies to cope with EMI which fit with
their learning style. The use of strategies have been associated with successful learning
(Borkowski, Carr, & Pressley, 1987; Garner, 1990. In language learning process learners

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

need to find a strategy as a technique in encountering problem in learning language (Brown,
1994). When the learners apply a strategy in their leaning process, that strategy will prevent
them from failing the course just because of the lack of language proficiency.
Literature Review
By applying EMI, the learners will not only listen but also will think, be instructed,
and speak in English in their learning process. Although learn through English is not easy,
learning English through English as the medium instruction will be beneficial for the learners
since they are learning language while learning content material. As the result, it will lead
them to successful and sustainable outcomes of learning, both the content material and the
English (Biggs, 1990). It means that the use of EMI will be beneficial for the learners. While
they are learning, they also trained to actively use English to speak, listen, read and write.
Later after they graduated from a certain school or university, they will be English skillful
graduates.
Language learning strategy itself, according to Oxford (1990), is divided into two
major categories: direct and indirect, both of them are divided into six groups of strategies;
each has different purpose. This study will explore kinds of strategy used by 2011 students of
ELT Department based on both direct and indirect strategies.
According to Oxford (1990), direct strategies are divided into three groups. These
groups of strategy are called as a direct strategy because these strategies involve the target
language directly in the learning process. It means that the learners will directly use English
in their learning. The first group of direct strategies is memory strategy; strategies which used
by the learners to intentionally memorize new input of learning. One example is when I took
notes new vocabulary on my notebook and memorize them one by one before sleeping.
Memory strategy is divided into four sets. They are creating mental linkages, applying

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

images and sound, reviewing well, employing action. The second group is cognitive strategy,
a strategy that emphasizes the development of thinking skills and processes to enhance
learning. Cognitive strategy is divided into four sets. Four sets of cognitive strategies are
practicing, receiving and sending message, analyzing and reasoning, and creating structure
for input and output. The last group of direct strategies is compensatory strategies. This
strategy is divided into two sets; they are guessing intelligently and overcoming limitation in
speaking and writing. Compensatory strategy is a strategy which is used by the learners in
facing limitation in the language leaning, for example when a learner switching using
Indonesian when facing difficulties in answering lecturer‟s question in English.
Table 1. Classification of Direct Strategy (Oxford, 1990)
Creating mental linkages
Memory strategies

Applying images and sounds
Reviewing well
Employing attention
Practicing

Direct strategy

Cognitive Strategies

Receiving and sending message
Analyzing and reasoning
Creating structure for input and output

Compensation Strategies

Guessing intelligently
Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing

The second is Indirect Strategy (Oxford, 1990). This strategy is called as indirect
because the learning process does not use the target language directly. This strategy contains
of three groups of strategy. The first group of this category is Metacognitive strategies, which
is strategy which “provide a way for learners to coordinate their own learning process”
(Oxford, 1990). By applying this strategy the learners will be able to plan their learning.
Metacognitive contains of three strategy sets; centering your learning, arranging and planning
your learning, and evaluating your learning. The second group is affective strategies, is the

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strategies which deal with the learners‟ emotion, feeling, motivation and attitude toward
learning. Making positive statement and playing classical music while studying are two
example of affective strategy. This strategy is divided into three sets of strategy; lowering
anxiety, encouraging yourself, and taking your personal temperature. The last group is social
strategy; a strategy which makes the learners need to make a good communication and to be
cooperative with the surrounding; classmates for example. This strategy is also divided into
three sets of strategies, which are asking question, cooperating with others, and empathizing
with others. Refer back to my experience in the IC class, the example of applying social
strategy was by asking help from my peer to translate my lecturer instruction into Indonesian
when I did not understand what my lecturer instructed in English.
Table 2. Classification of Indirect Strategy (Oxford, 1990)

Centering your learning
Metacognitive strategies

Arranging and planning your learning
Evaluating your learning
Lowering your anxiety

Indirect strategy

Affective Strategies

Encouraging yourself
Taking your emotional temperature
Asking questions

Social Strategies

Cooperating with others
Empathizing with others

This classification of the strategies refers to learning strategies in general. This study
will explore this classification of strategies, especially learning strategies in dealing with EMI
based on the interview data.

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

The Study
Context of the Study
This study was conducted in ELT Department, Faculty of Language and Literature of
Satya Wacana Christian University. It is located in a small town Salatiga, in Central Java,
Indonesia. This Department uses EMI for all academic purposes. Both inside and outside the
class, using English for communication and as medium instruction is obligatory for all
students and lecturers.
Integrated Course (IC) class becomes one focus on my study because IC is a crucial
class for all first year students of ELT Department of Satya Wacana Christian University; it
contains all basic rules and knowledge of English. English becomes the obligatory language
for all of the lecturers and students to use as the medium instruction in the classroom. As the
result all of the first year students have to make themselves accustomed with EMI. There is
only one failure tolerance for the students, if a student fails in IC class twice, they will be
dropped out. If they want to pass IC class it means that they have to have good strategies to
cope with EMI in order to understand all explanation in English and get good grades on IC
class.
Participants
To fulfill the minimal number of participant in this qualitative study, 20 of ELT
Department students year 2011 who were easy accessible for the interviewer were chosen in
the interview for this study. Every 2011 students have the same chance to be involved in the
interview. The reason why I choose 2011 students is because they are already accustomed
with the use of EMI. Besides, they are still on their second year in this department, so when I
ask them questions about their learning strategies how to be accustomed with EMI, they still

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have fresh memory about the strategies they used to cope with the used of EMI during their
first year in IC class. They also could share their experience about useful strategies they used
when they were in IC class.
Instrument of Data Collection
In order to answer the research question of this study, the data was collected through
20 to 30 minutes semi- structured interview to 20 students of 2011. The interview was
recorded by hand phone and transcribed using Express Scribe Dictation program. The
interview was conducted on June. The interview contains of 5 questions, which try to dig and
recall interviewees‟ experiences when they were in IC class. The questions were in
Indonesian, and the interviewees did not need to use English to answer the questions, so the
interviewees will not face difficulties in answering the question in English.
Procedures of Data Collection
As it is mentioned before, this study used interview as the instrument of data
collection. It allows the participants to share their experiences during their IC class. Each
interviewee would be interviewed around 20 to 30 minutes in the informal setting to make the
interviewee feels comfortable to share their experience. Before the interview, the interviewee
will be informed that the interview will be recorded. Interview will be recorded and
transcribed in Indonesian using Express Scribe Dictation program.
Data Analysis
The data collected were analyzed qualitatively, and in the data display the data
would be translated into English. As what stated before, this study focused on the
classification on learning strategies according to Oxford (1990). Then the data explored
descriptively based on Oxford classification of strategy in order to give clear explanation to

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the readers. By using the classification of learner strategies, this study would be focused more
on the learners‟ strategy in dealing with EMI.
Finding and Discussion
This section shows the finding of the study which was collected from the interview
with 20 students year 2011 of English Language Teaching Department. From the data
gathered, I found three main strategies which were used by 2011 students of English
Language Teaching Department of SWCU. These three main findings are classified into three
themes, which are:


Social strategy by building relationship with classmates through questioning
and asking help from peers,





Cognitive strategy, by taking notes and highlighting the material, and
Metacognitive strategy, by optimizing speaking English to elicit the use of
English to communicate inside and outside the classroom.

In the following paragraphs, strategies used by 2011 students of ELT Department of SWCU
on how to cope with EMI in IC class. The finding will be discussed from the most to the least
frequently used by the students.
A. Social Strategy by Asking Help from Peers
During the IC class, both outside and inside the classroom, all of the interviewees
stated that they always had communication with their classmates. Based on the interview
data, all interviewees said that they ever faced difficulties in understanding what their
lecturers said, especially in explaining the material and giving instruction to them in English
in the classroom. As their strategy, they would ask help from their peers. Asking questions
and cooperating with peers are the examples of Oxford‟s social strategy (1990). According to

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Vygotsky (1978), as what cited on Day (2002), learning process is not only happening inside
the learner but also through dialog with the more capable peers; by asking questions for
example. It could be inferred that in learning language, learners could not develop their
language competence individually better then working with peers.
When facing difficulties in understanding what their lecturer said, learners would
ask for help from their peers as their strategies to solve that difficulties. This strategy, which
focuses more on the language used, is showed from Evy‟s response.
“I have ever experienced that [difficulties in understanding what their lecturers
said; in explaining material, and asking question to the lecturer], I usually asked
my friend first [how to express her thought in English], if I wanted to ask this [her
difficulties], how to use English to ask this [asking her difficulties in English]?
And then she told me how to ask it in English, and after that I asked the lecturer”.
[…]. So far, when I was in the IC class I understood what my lecturer said and
asked me to do. The lecturer expected answer form us, but then, when I wanted to
speak, it was hard for me to express it in English spontaneously”.
(Evy Interview, June 7th, 2012), (my translation)
From her explanation, it can be inferred that her problem is in the language use. The
difficulty in a way to express what is in her thought is the reason why she asks help from her
peers.
As the result of learners‟ lack of competence in understanding lecturers‟
explanations using EMI, learners preferred to use Indonesian as the medium to ask help from
friends to explain what the lecturers‟ said in English.

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“Yea, my friend helped me [asking question to peers], if I had a problem
[language problem], I asked my friend, in Indonesian for sure. I asked her to
explain anything that I did not understand from my lecturer [in understanding the
lecturers‟ explanation and instruction]”.
(Wenny Interview, June 22nd, 2012), (my translation)
From Wenny‟s response, it is clear that peers have a big role in learning process. According
to Wenny, in overcoming the difficulties in asking questions to the lecturer in English, one
suggested strategy learners should use is by asking help from peers.
The interview data shows that all of the interviewees have ever used this strategy to
deal with language difficulties. The reason why learners tend to ask help from peers in the
classroom is because explanations from peers are easier to remember by the learners
compared to lecturer‟s explanation.
“Em, it would be more effective to ask friend. Because by asking friend it, em, it
will be easier to remember, um, like one day [the day when she asked question
to her peers] I remember, oh, I have asked my friend about this [a particular
question]. I can remember it until now”.
(Femmy Interview, June 22nd, 2012), (my translation)
The data above shows that when asking questions to peers, learners would remember it longer
than directly asking question to the lecturer. Femmy stated that it will be more effective to ask
friends, because according to her, explanations and helps from peers would help her to
memorize the material from the lecturers.
This finding shows a tendency that in the learning process learners prefer to ask help
from their peers when the they face language difficulties in understanding the language,

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especially in understanding and respond the lecturer‟s explanations and instructions in
English. This tendency will lead the learner to effective learning process, because learning is
a process in which the learners having connection with others. It is obvious that language
learner will not be able to learn by themselves. According to Vygotsky‟s theory of zone of
proximal development (ZPD), learner would have potential development when they get
guidance or collaboration with the more capable peers (Day, 2002). In cooperating with
peers, especially with those who have higher language proficiency, learners will be helped to
deal with the language difficulties in the learning process using EMI in the classroom.
B. Cognitive strategy, by taking notes and highlighting the material to enhance English
Vocabulary.
Another frequently used strategy is cognitive strategy. From the interview data 18
of 20 interviewees stated that they were applying cognitive strategies when they were in the
IC class. The data which shows that the interviewee used cognitive strategy was stated by
Widya,
When I was learning the material of IC, I tried to find [English] vocabulary that I
did not know the meaning. After that I noted the meaning of those words. By
writing those words, I would unconsciously remember that word. […]For me
maybe, I underlined it [the difficult words], using colorful markers. I used blue,
red and black markers. It would make it [the note] attractive. It would be easier to
find and then read the note if I made it colorful. […]. I learnt many new
vocabularies in IC class. I still remember one word, I still remember I took note
on that word „extraordinary‟, I used purple pen.
(Widya_ Interview, June 6th, 2012), (my translation)

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During her IC class, Widya applied Cognitive strategy by making note of English vocabulary
that she did not know the meaning. She used colorful marker to make her note attractive. She
believed by making her note colorful, it would be easier for her to find it. It also would
increase her interest to read the notes. From the note taking and underlining vocabulary,
Widya could memorize those words even though she did not intentionally try to memorize
the words one by one.
As what Widya said, Femmy stated that the use of colorful pen and highlighting pen
will help to attract her interest to read her notes. She mentioned the place where she made
the notes.
I took note of material that I think important for me [new material and material
that she doesn‟t understand yet]. I made the note on my binder so every time I
opened my binder, I will be attracted to read and memorize what I had written on
that binder. […] when I was in the IC class, I always brought many markers and
highlighting pens. I used those markers and highlighting pens to mark sentences
and words that I think important for me to memorize. […] those colorful marker
and highlighting pen were attracting for me, especially for my notes. […] I think
using colorful marker is effective, because if I only used black marker, my notes
would be monotone and not attractive to read. In the other hand, if I found it [the
note] is colorful, I would be attracted to read that note.
(Femmy Interview, June 22nd, 2012), (my translation)
Similar with Widaya‟s response, Femmy believed that using colorful pen would make her
note became more attractive to read. From Femmy response, it can be inferred that she took
notes only for material that she think is important to memorize. She also took time to reread
the notes that she made on her binder to memorize them. Almost the same with Widya‟s

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response, Femmy believed that using colorful markers and highlighting pens is effective,
since it could make the learners attracted to read the notes they made.
Knowing the fact that using colorful pen is effective to attract Femmy, it is not less
important thing to pay attention on where should the learners make and put their note.
“The night before IC class, I read the material first. […] I enjoy learning material
through writing because I think, by writing it would be easier for me to memorize
the material that I learn. […] Everywhere I go, I usually bring a note book with
me, so when I found new vocabulary I would write it down on that note book. For
me, in learning English vocabulary, the effective way is by writing. […] I also
made many notes on my IC handbook, when I wanted to learn IC I did not have
to open other book”
(Natasya Interview, June 24th, 2012), (my translation)
From that response, Natasya showed that learning through writing could make her easier to
memorize the material she learnt. She also noted that she prepared note book and brought it
every where she goes, so that she could to write every new vocabulary she found. She thinks
that it is effective to memorize new words by writing them down. Beside on her note book,
Natasya also made many notes on her IC book. She wrote all notes on the IC handout so she
did not need to open many books when she wanted to learn IC material.
Cognitive strategy is a direct strategy which important for language learners since
this strategy helps the learners to understand and produce new language (Oxford, 1990). By
highlighting important part of the material, taking notes of important information and new
vocabulary, the learners will unconsciously memorize that information without intentionally
memorize the materials. In order to attract the learners‟ attention in learning new material, it

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is better for the learners to use colorful markers in the taking note and highlighting the
material. According to Krasen‟s affective filter hypothesis (1985), by providing a low
affective filter optimal language learning would occur. When the learners enjoy the learning
process as they are attracted by the colorful notes that they made, they will lower their
affective filter which results easier learning process and a maximal learning output.
C. Metacognitive Strategy, by Optimizing Speaking English to Elicit the Use of English
to Communicate Inside and Outside the Classroom
The last strategy done by the interviewees to elicit the used of EMI is Metacognitive
strategy. According to Rubin‟s (1975) characteristics of the good a language learner, one of
the characteristics of a good language learner is the willingness and the ability to create
opportunities to practice using the language in order to increase their ability in language.
Based on the interview data, 10 of 20 interviewees also stated that they practiced using
English to communicate.
“I used English, in, um, anytime as long as they [Kevin‟s friends] can speak in
English too. […] with anyone I met, so when I talked to my friend, when we were
talking about something, we used English. […]. Um, outside the class I usually
had a talk with my friends, I tried to use English, and I found it really helpful for
me [to improve his English]. If my friends could speak in English, we usually
spoke in English, on the café, we used to talk about many things, and we tried to
speak in English for fun and learn to speak English fluently at the same time.”
(Kevin Interview, June 22nd, 2012), (my translation)
According to Kevin, trying to find opportunity to communicate with his friend who could
speak in English is a helpful strategy to improve his English especially for communication

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

with peers inside and outside the classroom. Kevin, as he said on the interview, always tried
to create opportunity to speak in English outside and inside the class. As long as the one he
spoke to could speak in English, he would speak to that person in English. Kevin believed
that besides having fun to speak in English with his friend, he could get benefit to develop his
language proficiency, especially in speaking.
Not only from friends, another interviewee, Melisa said that she could practice
speaking in daily conversation using English to elicit the use of English from her family.
“[…] the first thing is learning from my friends; learn from my family at home, I
asked them to speak in English. I learnt to speak English which I usually used for
daily conversation. […]. I learnt by, um, practiced using English, would make me
accustomed with English vocabulary, I also talk to my friend using English […]
so that I would know English more.”
(Melisa Interview, June 22nd, 2012), (my translation)
Similar to Kevin, Melisa tried to create opportunity to practice speak in English outside the
classroom. She tried to use English for daily conversation with her friend and especially with
family at home by using daily conversation. She found it useful to help her to be accustomed
with the use of English and enhance her English vocabulary.
Evy explained how and with whom she practiced speaking in English.
“For me, to be able to speak English smoothly, usually, with my friends in my
boarding house, who also my senior in ED SWCU, I usually talked with her using
English, like that. […]. Anytime we met, we talked like that [using English]. […]
usually she came to my room and then we had a talk by using English. […]. It
helped me a lot”

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

(Evy Interview, June 7th, 2012), (my translation)
Similar to what Kevin and Melisa did, Evy asked her friends to help her practicing using
English for communication. She explained clearly that she always practiced to speak in
English when she gathered with her friend in her boarding house who was also her senior in
English Language Teaching Department. Evy found that it was helpful for her because every
time she had a chance, she always practiced to speak in English with that person.
This Metacognitive strategy of using English to communicate with classmates is one
option of strategy to make the learner of English become accustomed with English. Research
done by Osamu Taeuchi (2003), which analyzed 160 Japanese speakers who had successfully
learnt another language shows that pushing language learners as often as possible to that new
language is very important and effective to acquire new language. Moreover, it has been
recognized recently that the remarkable use of language for communication will benefit the
learner a great vocabulary development (Thornbury, 2002, p. 13). It means that the learners
will get higher proficiency of that language. It is obvious that by applying Metacognitive
strategy, especially in seeking practice opportunities, the learners will improve their ability to
speak in English and also will help them become accustomed with the use of EMI
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to find strategy used by 2011 students of ELT
Department of SWCU on how they overcome the use of English as medium instruction in IC
class. The finding showed that there were three main strategies used by the interviewees. The
first strategy was social strategy. Knowing the fact that learning is not only happening inside
individual learner, building relationship with peers to cooperate and discuss questions with
the more capable peers will give benefit to language learners. It will increase learners‟
language proficiency. The second strategy was cognitive strategy which was done by note

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

taking and highlighting. In this strategy the learners directly use the language to understand
and produce the new language itself. The last strategy was general management of learning;
Metacognitive strategy. In this strategy the learners had responsibility to create and find
practice opportunity and coordinate leaning process to elicit the use of English especially in
speaking.
Before applying a certain strategy, it is important to see how the strategy was
successful and effective or not to be used in a certain situation. Language learners who are
still having difficulty in coping the use of English as medium of instruction are suggested to
refer to the finding of this study. Good language learners are able to use a number of
strategies which vary according to the individuals‟ learning styles. Learners also need to
reflect their own leaning behavior and style to make sure that these strategies are appropriate
to them and for their learning environment.
The finding of strategies used by 2011 students of ELT Department of SWCU is
beneficial for the other first year ELT Department and the other department students which
have regulation to use EMI in all of the courses who are not accustomed with EMI. It will
help them to find frequently used strategies which succeed to help the senior students of ELT
Department to cope with EMI.
In addition, this study was only focus on the strategy used by first year students in
the ELT Department. This finding can not be directly applied for other student who comes
from other Department which does not apply EMI in all of the class and having regulation
that makes the students speak in English in all of the classes. It also could not be directly
applied by last year students in this department, as pre- service teachers, in handling language
difficulties in teaching.

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

The researcher realizes that this finding will only give benefit for first year students
of ELT when they are struggling and in the process of adjusting their self with the use of EMI
in this department. As language learners, especially who are educated to be teachers in the
future, they would not only need strategies to cope with EMI in their first year. Later on, on
their last year, all ELT Department students have to do their Teaching Practicum. As preservice teachers, the students still have to be able to cope with EMI in explaining, giving
instructions and questioning the students. However, according to the researcher‟s
experiences, there were still some last year students in this department who does not have
enough language proficiency to apply EMI in teaching students in the Teaching Practicum
site. For the further research, the researcher hopes for the research on the strategies used by
pre- service teachers to cope with EMI in teaching in the Teaching Practicum site. The
researcher hopes for the other researches which will give benefit for last year students of this
department to cope EMI outside this university as a pre- service teacher. Hence, future
research finding strategies for pre- service teacher in overcoming language difficulty in using
EMI to teach will greatly benefit for all students in ELT Department in this university.

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

Acknowledgements
The biggest thank and praise is only for my only God, Jesus Christ. For His
blessings I could finally finish my thesis, which will open the last door to my graduation day.
Without Him, I believe I couldn‟t be this far.
I would like to address my sincerely gratitude for my thesis supervisor, Nugrahenny
T. Zacharias, Ph. D. Thanks you for supervising me in starting, revising, and finishing my
thesis, thanks for your patience and valuable time for consultations. I would also give my
appreciation for my thesis examiner, Anne I. Timotius, M. Ed., for her willingness to give
meaningful suggestion, read and examine my thesis.
My biggest gratitude is for Mbak Wemmy and Pak Hendro, thanks for helping and
supporting me when I was in the hardest time in this University. Also for all my friends in
ED, I would like to say thanks for being good partners for me in this department.
Saying thanks is not enough to express my great feeling to my family. More than
just thanks for Papa, Mama, Mas Indra, Widya, Mbak Citra, thank you for all support, time,
prayer, care, and also money for my time in this University. Thanks also for taking care my
daughter when I had to deal with everything about my campus. The last but not the least, my
lovely daughter, Gracia, thanks for being a nice girl for me, I got the new spirit every time I
see your beautiful smile.

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Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching and Learning . Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
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Appendix 1
Semi- Structured Interview Questions

1. Does your high school use English as medium of instruction?
2. How long have you been learning English?
3. What did you do the first time when you know that the ELT Department regulates all
of the students and lecturers to use English in all courses in this department?
4. What kind of strategy did you use to make your self accustomed with the use of
English as medium instruction (EMI) in this department?
5. According to your strategy you used in the IC class to be accustomed with EMI, what
kind of strategy do you suggest to your junior to apply?

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First Year Students’ Strategies to Cope with English as Medium Instruction

Appendix 2
Sample of Interview Transcription

Kevin, 112011098 (a students of ELT Department, Faculty of Language and Literature of
Satya Wacana Christian University)
Interviewer: Halo selamat pagi, kenalan dulu nama nya siapa?
Interviewee: Kalau nama panggil aja Kevin
Interviewer: Nim nya?
Interviewee: 112011098
Interviewer: Oke selamat pagi kevin, kita santai aja ya, sambil ngobrol- ngobrol. disini aku
mau jelasin dulu ni tujuan nya, kita mau cari, aku mau tanya ke kamu, tentang
strategi belajar waktu di IC dulu, bagaimana cara kamu untuk terbiasa dalam
menggunakan bahasa Iggris sebagai medium instruction di kelas IC. E, tapi
sebelum interview nya lanjut, sebelum nya saya mau tanya dulu, waktu SMA
kamu di SMA yang seperti apa sih?
Interviewee: e, SMA negeri satu yang guru nya itu juga kadang full english kalau kelas. Jadi
udah biasa sih dari SMA.
Interviewer: jadi memang sudah terbiasa menggunakan bahasa Inggris sebagai medium
instruction. Oke, di waktu masuk FBS ini perassn nya gimana waktu tahu
ternyata di kelas IC harus pakai bahasa Inggris, full English dari student sama
dosen nya?
Interviewee: E, biasa aja, karena emang dari SMA udah dibiasakan seperti itu.
Interviewer: sudah terbiasa dengan menggunakan bahasa Inggris, oke. E, strategi nya itu
gimana sih untuk lebih membiasakan diri menggunakan bahasa Inggris?
Interviewee: Pakai bahasa Inggis,di, ya kapan aja kalau ngomong sama orang yang bisa
pakai bahasa Inggris.
Interviewer: Itu di dalam atau di luar kelas?
Interviewee: E, di luar kelas juga.
Interviewer: Diluar kelas berbicara dengan bahasa Inggris gitu ya? Itu kamu yang nyari
mereka atau mereka. Em, siapa pun mereka kamu ajak ngomong aja se ketemu
nya?
Interviewee: E, iya seketemu nya. Jadi kalau aku ngobrol sama temen, kadang kita lagi
ngobrol-ngobrol gitu pakai bahasa Inggris biar orang lain gak tau kita ngobrolin
apa, hehe.

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