T1 112009139 Full text

THE USE OF INDONESIAN IN ENGLISH CLASSES IN SMP N 1
SALATIGA

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

Erlina Nur Ratriningrum
112009139

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

THE USE OF INDONESIAN IN ENGLISH CLASSES IN SMP N 1
SALATIGA

THESIS

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

Erlina Nur Ratriningrum
112009139

Approved by:

Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, M.A
Supervisor

Dian Toar Y. G. Sumakul, M.A
Examiner

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Salatiga.

Erlina Nur Ratriningrum:

THE USE OF INDONESIAN IN ENGLISH CLASSES IN SMP N 1
SALATIGA

Erlina Nur Ratriningrum

ABSTRACT
Pro and cons about the use of L1 in L2 classes has been discussed for many
years. There have been many arguments stated by the opponents and proponents
of L1 use. Much research has also been conducted to find whether it is better to
use or avoid the use of L1 in L2 classes. However, the agreement of the use of L1
in English classes has not been reached. The aim of this study was to analyze the
use of Indonesian by the teachers of English in SMP N 1 Salatiga. The
participants were two teachers from grade 7 and 8 from the school. The data were
collected using observation and stimulated-recall interview. This study found that
the teacher used nine types of Indonesian use in their English classes. Their main
reasons for using Indonesian were to help the students to learn English.
Key words: First Language, Second Language, L2 Classroom

Introduction
The question of whether to use or not to use the first language (L1) in
second language (L2) classes has become an issue among language experts and
educators since few decades. The agreement about the use of L1 has not been
reached yet. There are different opinions about L1 use in L2 classes. For some
language experts, the use L1 is viewed negatively in the context of L2 teaching.
The opponents of L1 argue that L1 should be avoided in foreign language
classroom because it gives bad impact on L2 learning. On the other hand, the
proponents of L1 argue that it needs to be included in L2 teaching because it has
important roles in acquiring L2.

1

Some language experts like Selinker (1992) as cited by Kim and Petraki
(2009) argues that the dependence to L1 will have an effect on interlanguage
fossilization. They refuse the use of L1 in L2 classes because students will not to
use L2 correctly, so they will just fossilize their mistakes in learning L2. On the
other hand, Vygotsky (1986) in Manara (2007) argues that “L1 would quite
naturally serve as a tool to help students think about and make sense of (i.e.,
mediate their thinking about) the structures, content and meaning of the L2 texts

they read”. It means that L1 use is a good tool to learn L2.
Some research about the use of L1 has been conducted. For example,
Usadiati‟s research (2009) which aimed to increase students achievement in
learning present perfect tense. The result showed that, when Indonesian and
English was used equally, it could make students reach higher achievement. It
was different when the use of Indonesian was only 25%; the students‟
achievement in learning present perfect tense was lower. In this study, Indonesian
was used with the right portion to explain difficult concept of English. Another
example is in Khresheh (2012) whose the study shows that Arabic is needed in
teaching English. Arabic has different structure and rules from English. That is
why, in some cases, teachers need to use Arabic to explain words or sentences in
English to students.
From many theories and studies about the use of L1 in L2 classes, it is clear
that people have different opinions and thoughts about the use of L1 in L2 classes.
In teaching, some teachers use fully L2 because students can get more exposure
on L2. On the other hand, there are also some teachers who still use L1 in their L2
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classes. From this issue, a study about the use of L1 was conducted in Salatiga.
This study needed to be conducted since some previous research were mostly

conducted in university level. For this study, it would be conducted in secondary
school level because students‟ level of English is not advanced enough so the use
of L1 by the teachers may be different.
This study aimed to find the use of Indonesian in English classes in SMP N
1 Salatiga. It was chosen because this school is a famous with its good quality of
education. Since the study is conducted in Java, the L1 in this study refers to
Indonesian and Javanese. This study attempted to answer two questions below.
1. When do teachers use L1 in their EFL classrooms?
2. Why do teachers use L1 in their EFL classrooms?

Review of Literature
The use of first language in second language classroom has become a
debatable topic since a few years ago (Brown, 2000, in Miles, 2004). The ongoing
debate whether to use or hinder L1 in L2 classes has not reached the final answer.
The proponents and opponents of L1 has their own arguments which shows their
supports to use or to avoid L1 in L2 classes. Much research which has been
conducted in different contexts of

study also yielded different results. The

research which were done in university contexts showed different results
compared to other research in senior high school contexts. The following sections

3

present the discussion about the theories of avoiding and using L1 in L2 classes,
and suggestions to judiciously use L1 in L2 classes.
Avoiding first language(L1) use in L2 classes
The issue of avoiding L1 in L2 classroom started a long time ago. There are
some arguments against the use of L1 in Grammar Translation Method which
failed to maximize the learning of L2. The use of L1 to translate every of
teachers‟ utterance is considered to make learners loose their chances to learn L2.
The opponents of L1 use have their own arguments which show that L1 should be
avoided in L2 classes.
The use of L1 in L2 classroom is seen negatively by the opponents of L1
use. They judge that the use of L1 can cause danger in the process of learning L2.
Althought he is not the opponents of L1 use, Atkinson (1987), admitted that there
are four possible dangers of using L1 in English classroom. They are: a.) the
overuse of L1 makes the students and the teacher think that they will not know the
meaning of L2 unless they look up for the translation, b.) the students and the

teacher are not able to recognize the difference between L1 and L2, c.) the
students will tend to use their L1 to speak to the teacher although they actually
they can use L2 to show what they mean, and d.) the students are not aware of the
importance of using L2 in the classroom.
From the four possible dangers above, it can be inferred that the use of L1 in
L2 teaching cause students‟ dependence toward L1. Jadallah and Hasan (2011)
said that, the use of L1 may become a habit for the students to use L1 whenever

4

they find difficulties. It means that, if the teachers use L1 in their teaching,
students will tend to hesitate with their own knowledge of L2. They tend to look
up for the translation of difficult words in L2 even though they think they already
knew the meaning. They are afraid of being wrong.
The opponents of L1 use not only judge L1 as something negative to be
used in L2 teaching, they also argue that the use of L2 is better that the use of L1.
According to Cook (2001) as cited by Zacharias (2002), there are two important
things in language learning process. The first is, when children are acquiring one
language, they do not need another language to help them in acquiring process.
Krashen (1981) stated that the learning of L2 has to be learnt as how learners

learn their L1. Learners learn their L1 from their environment. They learn and get
accustomed how to use it from people around them who speak their L1. Thus, L2
should be given to the learners as much as possible in order to make them get
accostumed to L2. The more they listen to and use L2, the easier they acquire L2.
The second important thing is, when they know two languages (L1 and
L2), those should be kept separate in order to make children become independent
in acquiring the L2. In language learning process, it is related to the use of
translation technique. Macdonald (1993) stated, as cited by Khresheh (2012 ),
that translation is not needed in teaching L2, but the teachers can use the simpler
words and structures to explain the meanings of phrases, abstract words, and
language expressions of the L2. By doing this, he said, that students have more
chances to know about L2 words and language grammar, lexis, and phonology.
Students learn new words or structures of L2 while they are learning it. In

5

addition, according to Wong-Filmore (1985) in de Oliveira (2002), trying to
figure out the meaning of utterances is one of language learning processes. Thus,
the learning process will not occur if the teachers use L1 in teaching L2. By
giving L1 translation of the L2 utterances, students will ignore the L2 and just
wait the L1 translation. It means that the use of L1 to translate L2 utterances omit
the chance for the students to learn from the L2 given.
On the other hand, argument for the use of L2 in the classroom is that L2
has positive roles . Macaro (1997), as cited by de Oliveira (2002) described five
positive roles of the L2 use in the classroom. The use of L2 can improve students‟
listening skills, lead to new teaching and learning strategies, provide students
with more chances to subconciously acquire their L2, give them a demonstration
of the importances of learning L2 and how the language can be used to do things.
These five positive roles of L2 show that the more L2 is used in the classroom, the
more advantages that the students will get to learn the L2. It is obvious that the
use of L2 in the classroom is good to help students acquire their L2.
There are also some implementation of L2 use showed in some studies
conducted by language researchers. For example is in Manara‟s (2007), whose
study was conducted in three universities in Central Java. The implementation of
L2 use in her study was that both teachers and students preferred more English
than Indonesian use in classes. That was because students could get more
exposure of English in their learning process. Students got more chances to learn
about English if the teachers and they use English at maximum rate during the
classes. For them, the use of Indonesian would only reduce their chance to learn

6

English. This study proved the theory of avoiding L1 in L2 classes could give the
students more chances to learn their L2 by using the L2 itself.
Using L1 in the L2 classroom
Although the use of L1 in L2 learning is judged negatively, there are some
proponents of L1 use who argue that L1 cannot be fully removed from EFL
teaching and learning. Although there are many arguments state that the use of L2
has positive roles for the students, there is no evidence that the use of only L2 in
the classroom is more effective to acquire a language (Atkinson, 1930, in de
Oliveira, 2002). On the other hand, proponents of L1 also have arguments that L1
should be used in L2 classroom because it can help students to learn L2.
Firstly, the proponents of L1 use argue that L1 gives advantages in the
process of L2 learning. It can help students to acquire their L2 . As cited in AlShidhani (2009), Nation (2003) said that L1 has an important role in L2 learning
to convey the meaning of L2 words or sentences. Here L1 can help the learning
process of L2 as a facilitator. Also in Atkinson (1987), Balitho (1983) said that L1
gives chances for learners to say what they want to say. It means that by using L1,
students can express what they want to say in L2.
Secondly, they argue about positive role of L1 for the students to acquire
L2. According to Prodomou (2001) in Zacharias (2003), there are three
metaphores of L1. First, L1 as a window, which means that L1 can be used as
window to come into students‟ understanding toward the concept they learn. We
can make sure if students have really understood a particular conccept or not. The

7

second metaphor is L1 as a lubricant. L1 can make the learning process efficient
in time (Cook, 2001).

By providing a quick and accurate translation, the

explanation of L2 can go faster and smoothly. Howecer, it does not guarantee that
students correctly understand the explanation. The last metaphor is L1 as a shelter.
According to Knibbeler‟s (1989) suggestion, providing low anxiety in classroom
can maximize language learning proccess. In the same line, Auberach (1999)
argued that anxiety level can be reduced and affective learning environment can
be made by using L1 in L2 classes. Here, the use of L1 can help classes
atmosphere become less threathening. From the three metaphors, it can be
concluded that L1 has many positive sides.
Thirdly, the proponents of L1 use give significant reasons for using L1 in
L2 classes. The proponents of L1 do not only state about the positive side of L1
use, but there is also one of them who sees another factor from the linguistic
problem. Atkinson (1987) states “for most students of English there are some
aspects of the language which present difficulties principally because of the
way in which they differ structurally from the mother tongue”. Every nonEnglish country has its own L1. The structure between L1 and L2 must be
different, so it becomes one problem in L2 learning. Each non-English country
may have each level of difficulty related to the differences in language structure.
For example, the learning of L2 in Arabian maybe more difficult or complex than
in Indonesia. Arabic does not have adjective, so the use of L1 is recomended to
help L2 learner to cope with difficulties. Cook (2001) stated that students will
athink more flexible when they know two languages rather than when they only

8

know one languages. By knowing two languages, student can learn the differences
between L1 and L2 structure. After they know the differences between their L1
and L2, they will be able to use or to write L1 sentence into L2 in correct way.
There is an example of implementation of L1 use that is showed by
Pasaribu‟s study (2001). He conducted his study in some private universities in
Bogor and used 265 students as the participants. There were two kinds of L1
implementation in this study. The first, for them who are accostumed to use
Indonesian in English classroom, they preferred their teacher to use Indonesian in
their English classes. Their reasons were mostly in order to ease them to
understand English, give a calm feeling and reduce nervous, and give a comfort
feeling and raise self confidence. It was different for them who were accustomed
with communicative approach to learn English. They mainly needed Indonesian in
three

occations:

in

explanation,

checking

comprehension,

and

class

administration. From the result, we could see the danger and the positive role of
using Indonesian. Student who were accustomed to use Indonesian seem to have a
dependenc toward Indonesian. They thought that by using Indonesian, they would
understand English well and give them a comfort feeling that can raise their
confidence to learn English. On the other hand, students who

used

communicative approach to learn English, seemed to reject the dependency of
Indonesian use in the classes. They only needed the teachers to use Indonesian to
check their comprehension and explain about classroom adsminitration.
Another example of L1 implementation is from the study conducted by
Khreseh (2011) in Arabian, which its language is Arabic. In his study, he found
9

that the teachers and students needed Arabic in their English classroom. One of
their reasons in using Arabis was because its structure was different with English.
Arabic does not have verb, so teacher needed to use Arabic in order to make the
students get more understanding of how to use English. For example, Arabic does
not have verb to be (in English: is, am, are), so the teacher needed to explain that
verb to be is needed in English to describe about noun or people(e.g: the flower is
beautiful). Beside the different structure factor, the study also found another factor
of using Arabic in English classrom. The other reason was related to the cultural
conception in the country. The teacher prefered to use Arabic for the sake of
avoiding being ashamed in front of students. In Arabian, there is a cultural
conception that it is taboo for teacher to do mistake in front of their students. They
chose to use Arabic than English, so they would not need to worry about making
mistakes and being ashamed.
Using L1 in a judicious way in L2 classes
The arguments against the use of L1 in L2 classes point to the possible
danger that happens because of its overuse. Using L1 in L2 classroom does not
mean that L1 should be used in the learning process all the time. It depends on
when L1 is really needed. Stern (1992) in Kahraman (2009) stated the use of L1
and L2 should be seen as complementary depends on the characteristics and
stages of the language learning process. It means that teachers need to see
learners‟ motivation, attitude and anxiety toward language and their proficiency
level as important variables in English classroom. As an example, teachers can not
use the same ammount of L1 in L2 classres for learners in beginner and advance
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level. Advance learners need less L1 in English classroom than the beginner
learners.
Responding the issue, some proponents of L1 come with their new thoughts
about the judicious use of L1. As cited in Kafes (2011), Rinvolucri (2001) states
that “Using the L1 in a judicious and highly technical way in the EFL classroom
allows the fullness of the learners‟ language intelligence to be brought into play.
By excluding the L1, there might be a risk of alienating the student and reducing
her mind‟s openness to pleasurable and creative play, which is essential to fast
and deep learning”. From this statement, it can be seen that using L1 judiciously
and with high technique can make students‟ L2 learning maximal. The judicious
use of L1 can create comfortable atmosphere in learning L2 and encourage
students to say their opinions and thoughts. There are some judicious ways of
using L1

in L2 classes, like what are suggested by Atkinson (1987) and

Moskowitz (1971) in Linggar (2011) in the following table.












Moskowitz’s (1971; Safitri, 2011)

Atkinson’s (1987)
Eliciting language



Checking comprehension



Co-operation among learners
Discussions
methodology

of



classroom





Presentation and reinforcement
of
language checking for sense
Testing

11

Indirect
Dealing with feeling
Praising or encouraging
Joking
Using of students idea
Asking queston










Direct
Giving information
Correcting without rejection
Giving direction
Criticizing students‟
behaviour
Criticizing student respons

From those suggestions above, it can be concluded that the use of L1 in judicious
way can help the process of L2 learning. It can ease both the teacher and the
students during the learning process.
The implemeantation of judicious way of using L1 is showed in Duff and
Polio‟s study (1994), as cited in de Oliveira (2002). There were eight types of L1
use which were used by the teachers. The teachers used L1 in explaining grammar
instruction and unknown

vocabulary/translation, practicing L2, explaining

classroom administrative vocabulary and classroom management, giving
empathy/solidarity, and helping students who lack of comprehension. From the
research, it could be seen that the teachers did not use too much L1 in the
teaching. Some types of the L1 use in the research also used Atkinson‟s and
Mozkowits‟ suggestions to use L1 like using L1 to discuss classroom
methodology (in the research, classroom administrative vocabulary) and dealing
with feeling (in the research, empathy/solidarity). The research also showed that
the participants used L1 in judicious way.

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The Study
This study was a qualitative study since it aimed to find out teacher of
English‟s use of Indonesian in English classroom. This study described the use of
Indonesian by teachers in English classes and analyzed the teachers‟ reason in
using Indonesian in their teaching. This study took place in SMP N 1 Salatiga,
one of prominent junior high schools in Salatiga, Central Java. This school has
competent teachers of English.
Participant
The participants of this study were two teachers teaching in the 7th and 8th
grades. The teachers were chosen from different grade in order to obtain sufficient
data. The teacher from grade 7 has thaught English in SMP N 1 Salatiga for more
than three years, and the teacher from grade 8 has taught English for more than
eight years.
Research instruments
To fulfil the aims of this study, two instruments of data collections was
used to get reliable data about teachers‟ use of First language in their EFL
classroom.
-

The first research instrument was time-sampling protocol. According to
Dornyei (2007) as cited in Zacharias (2011), when conducting observation
using time-sampling protocol, we note what is happening on the stroke of
interval. This protocol was used to ease the note-taking about the teachers
use of Indonesian in their teaching. This protocol also eased the teachers to
recall their reasons of using Indonesian in the interview. The teachers‟ use
of Indonesian was categorized by borrowing some suggestions of L1 use
from some language experts. This study aslo used an evaluative or
structural observation technique. In conducting this observation, we come
to the classroom with a specifif observation focus (Zacharias, 2011). Thus,

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the observation only focused on the use of L1 by the teachers in the
English classroom..
-

The second research instrument was interview questions which were used
to interview teacher about their reasons of using Indonesian in English
classes. This study used stimulated-recall interview technique to interview
the teachers about their reason for using Indonesian. Stimulated-recall
interview needs us to record and transcribe parts of lessons and get
comments from participant about what as happening when the activity
under study took place (Brown and Rodgers, 2002;Nunan 1989; in
Zacharias 2011). The interview questions from the classroom observations
were based on what was happening during the classroom observation and
made after the observation. The questions are to find out teachers‟ reason
in using Indonesan in when they teach English. Some of the questions
were different since the two teachers used different types of Indonesian
use.

Data collection procedure
Classroom observations were done five times for each teacher, so there
were ten classrooms observations in total. The observations were done in different
classes

depended on teachers‟ availability to be observed. Each classroom

observation was about 70-80 minutes of lesson. All of the classroom observations
were video-recorded. In the observations the time-sampling protocol was used to
take notes and get more detail data about when teachers use Indonesian. This
protocol was to help teachers to recall about what happen during classroom
observations in the interview sessions.
After the classroom observations were done, the teachers were asked to be
interviewed. The interview was conducted after each observation was done, so
the teacher could still recall what they did in their teaching and it could digest
more reliable data. The interviews were all in English because the teachers
themselves who asked to be interviewed in English. The duration of each
interview was about 10-20 minutes and recorded using a voice-recorder.

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Data analysis procedure
The data gathered from the classroom observations were transcribed using
clean-trascription, which focused on its content (Zacharias, 2011). The data were
categorized into some types of L1 use, which then were used to make interview
questions from the teachers.
The same technique of transcription was also used to transcribe the data
from the interview. After the data of the teachers‟ reason of using L1 transcribed,
they were coded based on each type of L1 use which the teachers used in their
teaching. The data in this study were analyzed qualitatively, and supported with
theories from language experts.

Finding and Discussion
This section discusses teachers‟ use of Indonesian in English classes. In
each category of Indonesian use, there are excerpts from the data. The analysis
shows that there were nine categories of Indonesian use in the classroom. The
categories were based on Atkinson‟s (1987) and Moskowitz‟s (1971) as cited by
Safitri (2011) frameworks.

a. Eliciting language/vocabulary
Elicitation is a technique which teachers can get information about
what is known and is not known by the students. In eliciting vocabulary,
teachers can use visuals or objects, synonyms, antonyms, gestures or mimes
(Adams, 2012). On the other hand, Atkinson (1987) gave another example of

15

elicitation technique like the following: How do you say X in English? .
According to him, this technique can reduce time consuming and ambiguity
compared to other elicitation technique like use of mime and visual. In the
observations, the teachers used this eliciting technique to elicite vo. Below is
an example when the teacher used Indonesian to elicit vocabulary.
Excerpt 1
Teacher : What is penyelesaian in English?
Students: Resolution...
Teacher : Yes, resolution. Very good.
From the excerpt, it can be seen that, the teacher use elicitation
technique to elicit the word penyelesaian. The teacher tried to draw students‟
idea about how to say penyelesaian in English, and then the students gave an
answer that the English word for penyelesaian was resolution. In eliciting
vocabulary, the teacher seemed to hope that the students would provide
correct information. In the interview, teacher A gave her reason for using this
type of Indonesian use. She said,
Sometimes if they use their dictionary English-English, it is
okay, but according to my experience, that they have their own
level of studying English, they are different with others so, I
don‟t underestimate but it is effective learning that I usually,
historycally, it is the effective learning for all students.

16

From the reason it can be inferred that the teacher wanted it to be
effective when she explained how to say Indonesian vocabulary. The teacher
undersood that not all students had the same level of English, so she tried to
make all students understand by using this technique. This finding proves
Cook‟s statement (2001) in Zacharias (2003) that L1 can make the learning
process efficient in time. By using Indonesian, the teacher did not spend too
much time to explain how to say Indonesian vocabulary in English.

b. Explaining grammatical item
According to Harbord (1992), teachers mostly use L1 to explain
grammar since they feel that it is difficult to explain L2 grammar, and they
may feel unable to give clear and unambiguous explanation for the students.
It means that teachers usually explain grammar in L1 because of the difficult
explanation and to avoid unclear explanation. Excerpt 2 below is an example
when the teacher used Indonesian to explain grammatical item.
Excerpt 2
Teacher: It is the grammar used in narrative, ya. Jadi di narrative
memang menggunakan was dan were. But, the question,
pertanyaan tidak selalu lampau. Kalau pertanyaannya
tidak lampau jawablah dengan tidak lampau, apalagi
kalau direct speech. Kalau kalimat langsung tidak
menggunakan lampau. For example “Go away” ya
jangan “Went away”. Lho bu, ini kan narrative, kenapa

17

tidak pakai lampau? karena ini direct speech. Karena ini
kalimat langsung maka menggunakan bentuk present.

From the exceprt above, it can be seen that the teacher might have
thought that grammar was a difficult thing for students to learn since the
structure between English and Indonesian is different, so Indonesian was used
to make students understand the structure of English. It is in the same line
with Cook‟s arguments (2001) that students will think more flexible when
they know two languages. By using English and Indonesian to explain
grammar, the students could know the differences between the two languages.
In the interview, teacher B said,
I just translate it from my previous language, my English. I
should tell them in English and translate it into Indonesian and
make it more understandable for my students.
Atkinson(1987) stated that, the use of L1 to explain L2 grammar can
provide reinforcement of differences between L1 and L2 in terms of their
structure or concepts. In the interview, the teachers‟ reasons were in the same
line with Atkinson‟s that they used Indonesian to explain grammar in order to
give students better understanding about the structure, which is the structure
of gerund. Since there is no gerund in Indonesia, it was easier for the teacher
to explain in Indonesian about how to use gerund in sentences.

18

c. Checking students‟ understanding
L1 can be used to check comprehension of the concept behind a
structure (Atkinson, 1987). By asking question in L1, teachers can check
students‟ understanding in quicker and accurate way. In this study, the
teachers used Indonesian to check students‟ comprehension about grammar.
The example of this suggestion was clearly showed by both teachers in the
following Excerpt.
Excerpt 3
Teacher : A long time ago, there was a kingdom. Why do we use was in
here, kenapa menggunakan was di sini?
Students : Lampau..
Teacher : Yes.. If it is not a long time ago, if it is everyday. For
example, take another sentence. “They wanted to live in the
kingdome everyday.” Wants or wanted?
Students : Wants..
Teacher : They want or they wants?
Students : They want.

Teacher A and Teacher B used Indonesian when they checked students‟
understanding about grammar which they had explained to students. From
Excerpt 4, it can be seen that the teacher used Indonesian to check students‟s
understanding about when to use present tense and past tense. According to
Prodomuou (2001) in

Zacharias (2003),

19

L1 is a window to come into

students‟ comprehension toward the concept they have learnt.

By using

Indonesian to check students‟ understanding, the teachers could see if the
students already knew that they needed to add the verb with –s or –es when
the subject is singular. For the reason, the teacher said,
Yes, it is very important. Still important for the students in the
7th grade to understand English by using L1. I just want to
make sure the students understand about it. If I use English,
they won‟t give any response.

The reason supports Stern‟s (1992; Kahrama, 2009) statement that
teachers need to see L1 and L2 as complementary depend on the
characteristics and stages of the language learning process. He considered the
students‟ proficiency stage or level when he asked question to students. He
also considered students‟ motivation, like when he said If I use English, they
won’t give any response, in the interview. The teacher seemed to think that
asking question used Indonesian was more effective reather than English.
Student understood what was being asked and they gave response toward the
given question.

d. Correcting without rejection
Correcting without rejection is, tell students‟ mistake by giving the
correct response without using words or intonation (Moskowitz, 1971 in
Safitri, 2011). It means that teachers tell students when they make mistake,

20

but without using word or intonation to make students feel that it is fine to
make mistake in the learning process. This type of L1 use was also used by
the teachers in this study. They did not blame for students‟ mistake when
correcting students‟ mistake. They just corrected it by giving the right
answer. The example when the teacher used Indonesian in correcting mistake
is showed in the following excerpt.
Excerpt 4
Teacher : Lita loves listening(/lisəning/) to music
Students : Lita loves listening(/listening/) to music
Teacher: Bukan listen ya, tapi listen(lisen/). “T”-nya tolong
dihilangkan.
Students : Lita loves listening(/lisening/) to music
Teacher B corrected students‟ mistake when they mispronounced the
word listening. When he was giving the correction, he did not use intonation
that showed that she blamed students for the mistake they made. He just told
students how to read the word listening with correct pronounciation. By the
use of Indonesian, he might have wanted the students to be aware of the
difference between noun and adjective. With the use of Indonesian, it also
seemed that he did not want to make students feel anxious or guilty when he
was giving the correction for their mistake. For this type of Indonesian use,
teacher A explained,

21

Because in Indonesia, or maybe in all the countries, which
use English as Second language, oh it is not Second
language, but Foreign language. English here is not as
Second language, but Foreign language, so we usually use
bilingual. It just making habit, it means the meaning of the
sentence is truly impressed and understood well by the
students.

According to Cook (2001), students will think more flexible when they
know two languages. Teacher A used bilingual in her teaching because she
thought that it could make students more impressed and remember about
English that she had been taught. When she used Indonesian to correct
students‟ mistake, they could be aware of the mistake they made and then
knew how to correct it.

e. Tell jokes to students
Moskowitz (1971; Safitri, 2011) pointed out that tell jokes in another
language will decrease its funny meaning. This statement means that it is
better to tell jokes in L1 in order to make it funny. If the joke is delivered in
L2, it will not sound funny anymore. During classroom observations, the
teachers used Indonesian and Javanese

in telling jokes, since they are

Javanese people. Below is an example when the teacher use Javanese to tell
jokes.

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Excerpt 5
Teacher: Namanya Verb-ing, yang berfungsi sebagai kata benda
seperti ini,

Verb-ing which can replace a Noun, it is what

people ing English called as? How do you say it? Do you
know?
Students: Gerund. (/gerand/)? Gerund(/jerund/)? Hahaha....
Teacher: Gerund (/gerand/)
Students: Gerund (/gƷer^nd/)
Teacher: Gerund (/gƷer^nd/), not jaran ya...
Students: Hahaha....

The teacher made joke by using students‟ mistake when some of them
mispronounced the word gerund (/gerand/). He twisted the wrong
pronounciation into Javanese word (jaran) which the sound was resemble the
wrong pronounciation that they made. The students thought that it was funny
and they laughed.
The teacher might have thought that the students would not think that it was
funny if he used English, for example he said Gerund (/gƷer^nd/) not horse.
The students did not know that he told joke for them they would just keep
silent. In the interview, teacher A said,
I just want them understand the jokes i want to say to
them because it is very easy for students to understand
the jokes in 1st language rather than in L2. With L1 is

23

much funnier my students, so I have jokes in Indonesian
rather than in English. When tell a joke, I just want to
make interactive class.
From the excerpt of observation and interview above, it can be seen that
the teacher used Indonesian or Javanese because it was easier to make
students understand what they were joking. He thought that it would be
wasteful if they tell joke but the students did not understand it. He stated that
he wanted to make the class become interactive by telling the jokes in L1.
Charles (2007, in Copland and Neokleous, 2010) argued that “in order to
maintain students‟ attention, interest or involvement, contributions in the MT
[mother tongue] needed to be permitted”. Like Charles‟ statement, the teacher
thought that the students would not be interested if they told joke in English.
In this study, the use of Indonesian in telling jokes was funnier for the
students and more effective to create interactive clasroom.

f. Asking Question to Students
What is meant by asking question is asking question to which the
answer is anticipated (Moskowitz, 1971; Safitri, 2011). The teachers have to
ask questions which must be answered by students, so rethorical question is
not included here. This category is almost the same with the first category,
that is eliciting vocabulary. In eliciting vocabulary, teachers also used
questions to get students provide information. However, in asking question,
the teachers can ask different types of question and get other information
24

from students In this study, the teachers used Indonesian when they asked
referential questions to students. Lynch (1991) as cited in Fakeye (2007)
defines that referential question is a question to ask answers which the
teachers do not know. Below, there are two example of the teacher use of
Indonesian in asking referential questions.
Excerpt 6a
Teacher : Anda sudah membaca teks yang kemarin?
Students: Sudah...
Excerpt 6b
Teacher: Yang setuju milih sendiri siapa? Kalau yang setuju milih
sendiri silahkan tunjuk jari. Raise your hand. Kalau yang tidak setuju
tidak usah tunjuk jari. Siapa yang setuju milih sendiri kelompoknya?

From excerpt 6a and 6b, it seems that the teachers did not know the
answers from the questions they asked. They did not know if the students had
already read the text or if the students agree with their idea. It seems that the
use of Indonesian to ask question helped the students to understand the
question being asked, so they could give answer or response. For this type,
the teacher explained,
Sometimes we use L1 because we usually use Indonesian as
the L1, so sometimes we forget that we should use always in
English. But it is actually to get them more impressive one.

25

The teacher‟s reason for using Indonesian in asking question in this
study was actually just because the teacher were not deliberately use it. Since
the teacher is the native speaker of Indonesian, sometimes it might be
possible for the teacher to naturally use Indonesian in teaching English.
However, the use of Indonesian in asking question could make make the
students more understand about what was being asked and motivate them to
give the response or answer toward the questions.

g. Giving direction
Giving direction is to make students understand direction, request, or
command which is asked by the teacher to follow (Moskowitz, 1971; Safitri,
2011). If teacher use their L1 to give direction or command to students, it will
be more effective for students to understand it. The direction or instruction of
task may cause confussion for the students about the task itself, moreover if
the direction itself is the complex one. In order to make the students
understand well about the given instruction, the teachers used students‟ L1 to
make them understand. Excerpt 8 below is an example when the teacher in
this study use Indonesian to give direction to students.
Excerpt 7
Teacher: (Reading an example of dialogue about hobby)
So, buatlah dialog seperti itu ya. Short saja. About
your hobby and about what you need.
Students: Kelompok, Pak? Kelompok ya, Pak..

26

Teacher: In pair. With your pairs..
Or
Teacher: Satu grup hanya mengumpulkan 1 report saja.

In the example above, teacher used Indonesian to explain the
instruction. The teacher gave the example of the dialogue and asked them to
make a dialogue like the example. The teacher might have wanted their
students to really understand what they asked the students to do. In the
excerpt, it could be seen that students also understood the teacher‟s
instruction and they just asked if the task should be done individually or in
group.In the insterview, teacher A gave her reason for this type of L1 use. She
explained,
I just help the students which have different ability, so
because it is not homogenous but heterogeneous, I don‟t
judge that they have lower ability but actually we know
them well, so we have known about them well, so we try to
give bilingual in order to make the students feel that it is
too hard to study English. In a short say, just avoid
students feeling hard to study English. so we need the first
language, first language is very important.

The teacher understood that even in one class, each student still has
different ability to understand English. She used bilingual in order to make all

27

her students understand her instruction. In giving instruction, she also paid
attenction to students‟ feeling in learning English. It is like Prodomou‟s
statement(2001) as cited by Zacharias(2003) that L1 has a role as a shelter for
students to learn English which is to make them feel that learning English is
not hard and threatening. For teacher A, using both English and Indonesian
was easier to be understood by students, so they would not feel hard to
understand the instruction of task which was being given.

h. Criticizing students‟ behaviour
Criticizing students behaviour is, according to Moskowitz (Moskowitz,
1971; Safitri, 2011), teachers tell or ask students to stop the unacceptable
behaviour they are doing. It means that teachers use L1 to warn students when
they are doing sonething wrong and unacceptable. In this study, the reasearcher
also found that both teachers used this type of L1 use in their classroom. The
following excerpt is an example when the teacher criticized students‟
behaviour by using Indonesian.

Excerpt 8
Teacher: Excuse me, sik sik. Kalau anda tidak dengar ada orang
yang ngomong di depan apakah harus pakai „APA??‟.
Jadi, apa yang harus diucapkan? What should you say?
Excuse me,,
Students: Excuse me, I can‟t hear you..

28

Teacher: Yes.. or?
Students: (make noises)
Teacher: Oke, dengarkan.. Jadi kalau tidak dengar, apa yang harus
diucapkan?
Student: Excuse me, Sir. Can you repeat again?
Teacher: Nah..(Agreeing the student‟s answer)

The teacher wanted to remind students that it was bad to shout when
they did not hear what he in front of the class. He explained to the students by
using Indonesian, that it was better to politely ask the teachers to repeat what
they said. When the teacher talked in English and Indonesian, for example,
Jadi, apa yang harus diucapkan? What should you say? Excuse me,, , the

students gave response by continuing what the teacher said. On the other hand,
when the teacher asked again, Yes.. or? , the students did not give any response
and just keep making noises. They finally listened to the the teacher again after
he asked in Indonesian, Oke, dengarkan.. Jadi kalau tidak dengar, apa yang
harus diucapkan? . It can be seen that they listened to the teacher when

Indonesian was used. The students seemed to be more motivated to listen to and
give response to the teacher when he use Indonesian. Teacher A explained her
reason for using Indonesian in criticizing students‟ behaviour. She said,
Yes, for moral value, for message, for advice, I prefer using
L1, so they,,, I just avoid misunderstanding of something I
give to them. I usually use L1 to make it clear.

29

The reason above shows that by using Indonesian to criticize students‟
behaviour, it would make students understand directly about their unacceptable
behaviour. According to her, Indonesian was effective to remind students when
they were doing something wrong. It also effective to avoid misunderstanding
about what she suggested to students, because it clearer for them.

i.

Giving information
The last type of L1 use in this study is giving information to students.
The information given includes information about facts, own opinion or
ideas, lecturing or asking rhetorical question (Moskowitz, 1971; Safitri,
2011). In the observation, the teacher mostly used Indonesian when they gave
information about grammar. The example of this type of Indonesian use can
be seen in the excerpt 11 below.
Excerpt 9
Teacher: Ini hanya untuk pengetahuan saja. Gerund, kata kerja
dalam bentuk Verb-ing yang berfungsi menggantikan
kata benda. Kalau anda bertemu kata love, like,
enjoy, hate, harus diikuti Noun atau Verb-ing.

From the excerpt above, it can be seen that the teacher used Indonesian
when he gave information about gerund. In the information he gave, he might
have wanted the students to understand about the function of gerund and how

30

to use it. The use of Indonesian in this study was efficient in time because it
could to make students more understand about the concept of gerund. For this
use, the teacher explained,

That‟s right. It is just because I need to give stress because if I
speak in English, they do not understand. But if I speak in
Indonesian, they will have a lot of understanding more than if
I use English.

We can infer, from the excerpt, that the teacher did want to emphasize
what he was informing about. By using Indonesian in giving information, the
teacher wanted the students to have a lot of understanding. This data is the
same line with Cook (2001 in Zacharias, 2003) that the role of L1 is as
lubricant which can make the learning process becomes efficient. For the
teacher it was more efficient to use Indonesian to make students catch the
main point in the given information rather than to inform in English for more
than one time to finally make the students really understand.

31

Conclusion
The aim of this study was to analyze when and why the teachers in SMP N
1 Salatiga used Indonesian in their English classes. It was found that the teachers
used nine types of L1 use. The teachers gave different reasons for each type of
Indonesian use in their teaching. However, the teachers‟ main reasons of using
Indonesian in this study was that the use of Indonesian helped the teachers to
explain the material and for the students to understand what were said by the
teacher. It can be concluded that Indonesian in English classes was stlil used in
judicious way because gave positive contribution to their teaching.
Based on the finding, this study recomended that the teacher in junior high
school can use Indonesian to make their English teaching effective and successful.
The use of Indonesian in judicious way can bring advantages for English teaching
and learning. This study was only conducted in one of junior high schools in
Salatiga. The focus of this study was only on the teachers, as the participants. For
further study, the same topic can be conducted

in more than one junior high

schools in order to get more data about the use of Indonesian in English classes. It
is also recomended to take students as the participant since they may have
different perceptions and preferences toward the language used in their English
learning.

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Acknowledgement
It is great to have an opportunity to thank those who made this thesis
possible. Firstly, I would like to praise Allah SWT who has given me life and
blessings. I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Bapak Astika who was
abundantly helpful and offered invaluable assistance, support and guidance to
finish my thesis. This gratitude also goes to Bapak Toar who has shared useful
thought and help during my research. A great thank goes to my family for their
endless love and encouragement during my research and study. Many thanks to
Andika who always support and encourage me to finish this thesis. I would also
like to thank my friends for the supports and boost of spirit. Especially for
NINERS and “my persons”, I am really thankful to have and grow up with you for
these 4 years in English Departement. The last yet important, I really thank SMP
N 1 Salatiga and my participants for their cooperation and contribution during data
collecting process.

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References
Adams, P. (2012). Eliciting from St