TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS: A Case Study of Three Elementary School Teachers in Solok, West Sumatera.

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ii DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this thesis which entitled “Teaching English to Young Learners: A case Study of Three Elementary School Teachers in Solok, West Sumatera” is completely my own work. I am fully aware that I have quoted some statements and ideas from various sources, and they are all properly acknowledged.

Bandung, August 2009

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iii ABSTRACT

This study investigates teachers’ way in planning and in implementing their English teaching to young learners and the way they assess their students’ learning progress and achievement. More specifically, this is a case study of three elementary school English teachers.

Participants of this research are three English teachers at three Elementary Schools in Solok, West Sumatera. The data of this study are collected through questionnaire, interview, observation and documents analysis. In other words, validity of data is obtained through triangulation. The data are analyzed qualitatively through the following stages: transcribing the raw data, coding the data, categorizing the data, synthesizing the data, interpreting the data, and making conclusion.

Major findings of this study among other are 1) eventhough the teachers conduct the same steps in planning the instruction, the plan is implemented and resulted in different ways; 2) all the teachers taught English integratively, but not all of them teach English contextually; 3) most of the teaching strategies the teacher apply seem effective to meet their teaching objectives; 4) majority of teaching strategies the teachers use are congruent with assessment strategies they apply; 5) regarding teachers’ way in assessing students’ learning progress and achievement, the teachers use both formative and summative assessment, but with different tendency.

There are two implications of this study: practical implication and methodological implication. In terms of practical implication, there are several suggestions proposed. First, it is recommended that quality (teachers’ qualification) and quantity (exposure to English) in English teaching should be maximized in order to enhance students’ learning. Second, beside having English educational background, elementary school English teachers have to posses sound knowledge of the principles of teaching English to young learners and apply them in their teachings. Third, the teachers should always conduct continious reflection on their teachings and continiously develop their professionalism. In terms of methodological implication, deals with limitations and shortcomings that occur in this study: limited time devoted and participants observed, further studies is recommended to be conducted with longer time and more participants in order to give contribution in another context. The prospect the researcher can consider not only observing the strategies but also facilities, materials, and so on.

This study is also expected to give meaningful contribution to the researcher herself, to those in charge for administering English teaching in elementary schools as well as to the English teachers as a whole.

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iv AKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ’Alamin. I do thank Allah, the Gracious and the Merciful that I have finally completed my thesis. It may not be perfect but it is the best I can do under the circumstances. I am fully aware that my thesis would not come into being without the assistance and support from the following people:

I am deeply indebted to my supervisors: Bachrudin Musthafa, Ph. D for ‘wings of freedom’ he gives me in order to be independent observer, and Dr. Rd. Safrina Noorman, M. A for her careful guidance and supports. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Yoyo Surjakusumah, M. Pd for his generosity and fatherly support and Dr. Iwa Lukmana, M. A and Emi Emilia, M. A, Ph. D whose advice has enriched my thesis, and to Dr. Didi Suherdi, M. Ed for his inspiring ‘muhasabah professional.’ On this occasion, I would like to express my respect, appreciation, and gratitude for all of my lecturers who have given me lots of contributions along my process of being an independent learner. I will always remember each of them with his or her own uniqueness.

I would like to thank all the English teachers in elementary schools in Kota Solok who are willing to be my participants in this research, the headmasters, the students, and all of the people who have involved in this research.

I would like to thank all my friends from DEPAG scholars 2007, the Indonesian mozaics, for all our togetherness in ups and downs living the ‘abnormal days’ and those sleepless nights, especially for Mawaddah, Desy, Lia, Henny, Mbak Melda, Yuyun, Anti, Arin, The Nung, Uni Reni, Iis, Mbak Herlin, Upi, Bu Asni, Pak Epul, Agung, Didi, Lukman, Kus, Pak Yana, Awan, Pak Yusep and Asep. I do thank Kak Fith and Teh Nina for their IT assistance. I do thank my thesis proofreaders: Ihsan, Rini, Lala, Arif and Yohan for the hands they lend me. All of you will always be in my heart.

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v I would like to thank my housemates: Winnie for her books and PC and for being my guide during the early days in the city; Selly for the readings, discussions, stories, cuisine, and visiting dinners; and Bu Sri for her advices of how to write in journals and how to be ‘forever young.’

I would not come this far without love and support from my family. A bouqet of special thanks is addressed for my beloved husband, Nofrizaldi, S. Ag for his enduring love and support; my wonderful brothers: Da Yen, Iin, and Eki; my beautiful sister, Ayu; my unique grandmothers; and my family-in-laws in Sirukam. Thank you for your understanding and constant pray. And then, a gratitude of lion’s share is dedicated to my late father and mother who have curved unforgettable beautiful memories and precious lessons in my life. This thesis is dedicated to all of you.

I do thank Allah the Al Mighty for sending me to learn in a university next to the oasis, the Daarut Tauhid mosque and its neighborhood, where I learn more about the essence of life and where I often meet the truth finders.

Last but not least, many thanks to all the people whose names I cannot mention one by one, but have considerably helped to pave my way to the thesis completion.

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vi TABLE OF CONTENT

Approval Sheet... Declaration ... Abstract……….. Acknowledgement... Table of Content... List of Tables... CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION……….………..……..………... 1.1. Background of the Research………... 1.2. Research Questions……… ….………... 1.3. Objectives of the Study…………... 1.4. Significance of the Study……….….…….... 1.5. Scope of the Study…………..………...………... 1.6. Definition of Key terms………..….…... 1.7. Thesis Organization………..……….…....…... CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE…………...….... 2.1. Teaching and Assessing Young Learners of English at

Elementary Schools... 2.1.1. Characteristics of Elementary School Students………..…… 2.1.2. Critical Period in Language Learning…..………... 2.1.3. Principles of Teaching English to Young Learners………... 2.1.4. Principles of Facilitating Children Foreign Language

Development……... 2.1.5. Principles of Assessing Young Learners’ English…………... 2.2. Aspects of Teaching and Assessing in the Classroom... 2.2.1. Planning the Instruction... 2.2.1.1. Mastering the Curriculum... 2.2.1.2. Designing the Lesson Plan... 2.2.2. Implementing the Instruction... 2.2.2.1. Opening the Instruction... 2.2.2.2. Delivering the Material... 2.2.2.2.1 Teaching Strategies... 2.2.2.2.2 Language as Medium of Instruction... 2.2.2.2.3 Contextual Teaching... 2.2.2.2.4 Integrative Teaching... 2.2.2.3 Managing the Classroom...

i ii iii iv vi ix 1 1 4 4 5 5 5 7 8 8 8 10 11 15 18 20 21 22 23 27 28 28 29 33 33 34 34

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vii 2.2.2.3.1. Seating Arrengement...

2.2.2.3.2. Voice and Body Language... 2.2.2.3.3. Rapport... 2.2.2.3.4. Rules in the Classroom... 2.2.2.4. Closing the Instruction... 2.2.3. Assessing Students’ Learning Progress and Achievement... 2.2.3.1. Conducting Formative or Classroom Assessment... 2.2.3.1.1. Assessing Students’ Learning Progress... 2.2.3.1.2. Checking Students’ Comprehension and Engagement.... 2.2.3.1.3. Providing Feedback for Students... 2.2.3.2. Conducting Summative Assessment... 2.3. Concluding Remark... CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

3.1. Research Design……….…... 3.2. Data Collection Technique……….……... 3.2.1. Observation………..………....…... 3.2.2. Questionnaire... 3.2.3. Interview...……….……... 3.2.4. Document Analysis... 3.3. Validity and Reliability... 3.4. Research Site and Participants of the Study... 3.5. Data Analysis Procedure... 3.6. Concluding Remark... .

CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1. Teachers’ Way in Planning the Instruction... 4.1.1. Making Lesson Plan... 4.1.2. Selecting Teaching Material ... 4.1.3. Selecting Learning Activities... 4.1.4. Preparing Teaching Aids... 4.1.5. Planning Assessment... 4.2. Teachers’ Way in Implementing the Instruction... 4.2.1. Opening the Instruction... 4.2.2. Delivering the Material... 4.2.2.1. Teaching Strategies... 4.2.2.2. Language Used in Delivering the Instruction... 4.2.2.3. Contextual Teaching... 4.2.2.4. Integrative Teaching...

35 35 36 36 37 37 38 39 41 42 44 44 46 47 48 48 49 50 51 52 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 64 67 67 67 79 83 84

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viii 4.2.3. Managing the Classroom...

4.2.3.1. Seating Arrangement... 4.2.3.2. Voice and Body Language... 4.2.3.3. Rapport... 4.2.3.4. Rules in the Classroom... 4.2.4 Closing the Instruction... 4.3 Teachers’ Way in Assessing Students’s Learning Progress and Achievement... 4.3.1 Conducting Formative or Classroom Assessment... 4.3.1.1. Assessing Students’ Progress... 4.3.1.1.1. Assigning Daily Classroom Task, Homework,

and Quiz... 4.3.1.1.2. Marking Students’ Works... 4.3.1.2. Checking Students’ Comprehension and Engagement... 4.3.1.3. Providing Feedback... 4.3.1.3.1. Rewards... 4.3.1.3.2. Error Correction... 4.2.1.3.3. Remedial Activity... 4.3.2. Conducting Summative Assessment... 4.3.2.1. Posttest... 4.4. Concluding Remark... 4.4.1. Teachers’ Way in Planning the Instruction... 4.4.2. Teachers’ Way in Implementing the Instruction... 4.4.3. Teachers’ Way in Assessing Students’ Learning Progress and Achievement... CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND

RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusion... 5.2 Limitations... 5.3 Recommendations... BIBLIOGRAPHY……….. APPENDICES:

Appendix 1. Questionnaires ……….. Appendix 2. Interview Guide………. Appendix 3. Transcript of Classroom Observations……….. Appendix 4. Transcript of Interviews……… Appendix 5. Documents of Lesson Plans, Test Items, and Pictures…….

87 88 88 90 93 96 97 97 98 98 100 101 104 105 109 112 114 114 118 118 118 120 123 125 125 127 133 136 138 156 175

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ix List of Tables

Table 1. Profile of Participants under Study 54 Table 2. Congruency of Teaching Strategies and Teaching Objectives 86 Table 3. Congruency of Teaching Strategies and Assessment Strategies 116

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1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This study is intended to investigate the way used by three English teachers of three Elementary Schools in Solok, West Sumatera in planning and implementing their instruction and the way they assess their students’ learning progress and achievement.

This chapter is an introductory part of this thesis which consists of seven sub-headings. They are background of research, research questions, objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, defenition of key terms, and thesis organization.

1.1Background of Research

The process of teaching learning and assessment are two sides of the same coin. Brown (2001: 420) defines, “Assessment and teaching are partners in the learning process.” This indicates that both elements are two interrelated entities of equal importance. A sound research conducted by Luciana (2004) reveals that there is a gap between what the teachers taught to the students and what they assess on the part of the students. Therefore, the researcher is interested to investigate these two essential elements in relation to the ways English teachers plan and implement the instruction and the way they assess students’ learning progress and achievement.

In line with the above fact, the researcher finds the phenomenon of EFL in Indonesia that views mastering English has been of great importance for recent years concerning the influence of scientific and technological development. Therefore,

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there is an assumption that it will be easier for anyone to grasp ideas and gain information across the globe – which is mostly uttered in English—if he or she possesses good ability in English.

In response to that assumption, there is a growing demand of Indonesian citizens on starting teaching English at elementary school level. They believe that mastering English is one of several competences to be acquired to live in this globalization era. There is a common assumption that the younger children learn foreign languages, in this case English, the better the result would be, since, as Harmer (2002, 37) says, children learn foreign language faster than adults. A national survey on teaching and learning English at Junior and Senior High school levels conducted by Retnaningsih (2002 cited in Harun, 2005) indicates that almost all the parents interviewed by the researcher state that they wish their children to have good English competence and performance. This expectation can be fulfilled only when the students, especially young children, have opportunities to learn English appropriately.

Coping with such demand, the release of a number of decrees which then followed by relevant curriculum have taken place. First, the Decree of Minister of Education and Culture (RI/No. 0478/4/1992, chapter viii) which states that an Elementary School can add some extra lessons in its curriculum as long as they are not in contradiction with the objective of National Education. Second, a follow up Decree of Ministry of Education and Culture, number 060/U/1993 dated February 25th 1993 which states that English can be introduced to the fourth grade students of Elementary School (Suyanto, 1997 cited in Sary, 2006).

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In line with the above Decrees, the implementation of 1994 Curriculum for Elementary School enables Elementary Schools’ teachers to teach English as a Local Content subject to their students. The implication is that English becomes an official subject in Elementary Schools now. As a result, having included English into Elementary school curriculum, majority of Elementary Schools then have been providing English in the classroom for their students. Nowadays, teaching English at Elementary Schools has been carried out as an official subject, since it is supported by an official policy.

As a Local Content Subject, as Suyanto (1997, cited in Sary, 2006) says, the basic goal of English teaching in Elementary Schools is to make the students aware of the fact that there are international languages, in this case English, they can learn other than their local and national languages. It also aims to develop basic receptive skills (reading and listening) in spoken and written English (Huda, 1999).

In addition, concerning the teaching of English, Sinaga (cited in Sadtono, 1997: 173, cited in Sary, 2006) says that one of the most important elements in an English teaching is the quality of teachers, which includes qualifications of English and qualification of teaching methodology. The former is essential since the teachers are the model for their students. Moreover, the latter is of the same importance since it deals with knowledge of how to teach children and the ability to perform it in the classroom.

Despite the fact that many private (which then followed by public) elementary schools have applied teaching English for several years, the results of previous studies reveal shortcomings in the teaching of English to young learners (TEYL).

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Those facts are among other: the teaching of English at the elementary schools studied is unsatisfactory (Suyanto, 1994, cited in Sary, 2006); what the teachers taught to the students and what they assess on the part of the students are incongruent (Luciana, 2004); the teachers could not apply most of the principles of TEYL even if they shared the understanding (Suharno, 2005); and the teachers did not consider principles of assessing young learners in assessing their students (Defianty, 2007).

Many factors contribute to the occurrence of those facts. Alwasilah (2004: 80) argues that graduates of educational universities and institutes are not specially prepared for teaching English in elementary schools. They are not provided with knowledge on psychology of children, and theories of teaching and learning appropriate for the young learners. They are not professionally ready for it and lack of field experience. Therefore, the researcher is interested to investigate the ways employed by the English teachers in planning and in implementing the instruction and the ways they assess their students ‘ learning progress and achievement in three elementary schools in Solok, West Sumatera.

1.2 Research Questions

To meet the objectives of the study, the formulation of the research questions is broken down as follows:

1. How do the teachers plan their instruction?

2. How do the teachers implement their

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3. How do the teachers assess their students’ learning progress and achievement?

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this study are formulated based on the problems to be investigated. Thus, the purposes of this study are as follows:

1. To find out the way the teachers plan the instruction.

2. To find out the ways the teachers implement the instruction.

3. To find out the way the teachers assess students’ learning progress and achievement of English.

1.4 Significance of the Study

It is expected that the findings of the study can enrich the literature of English teaching in Elementary School. It is also hoped to provide the teachers fruitful information on teaching and assessing in Elementary School.

1.5 Scope of the Study

This research aims to illustrate the process of EFL teaching at three Elementary Schools in Solok, West Sumatera. Particularly, it aims to investigate the ways the teachers prepare and implement their teaching in teaching English to their students and the way they assess their students’ learning progress and achievement. This is done because as the ones who teach English in the classroom, it is the teachers themselves who prepare the instruction, apply the teaching and learning process in the classroom, and then assess their students’ learning progress and learning

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achievement. As a case study, the findings of this research are only true to the respondents participating in it. Therefore, there is not any effort for generalization.

1.6 Definition of Key Terms

Several key terms need to be defined clearly and correctly in order to avoid misinterpretation and ambiguity. The definitions of the key terms are as follows:

1. Teaching: Brown (1987: 6, cited in Sary, 2006) defines teaching as an activity to guide and facilitate learners in learning in order to enable them to learn, and to set the supportive conditions for learning.

2. Learning: Kimble and Garmezy (1963, cited in Brown, 1987: 5, cited in Sary, 2006) define it as the result of reinforced practice and a relatively permanent change of behavioral tendency.

3. Assessment: Cameron (2001: 220) defines assessment as an analysis describing learners’ learning or performance in order to provide information that can be used in evaluation. It is an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider domain in which the teacher subconsciously makes an assessment of students’ performance whenever they respond to teacher’s question, offer comments, or try out a new word or structure (Brown, 2004: 4).

4. Elementary students are students of elementary school who are generally six to twelve years old (Nasution, 1992: 43, cited in Sary, 2006).

5. Method of teaching is an overall plan for teaching students a certain material based on a selected approach (Richards and Rodgers, 1992: 15).

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6. Strategy of teaching is a particular way applied by the teachers to enhance students’ learning in order to achieve instructional objectives (Herrel and Jordan, 2004: 5).

7. Techniques of teaching refers to specific activities manifested in the classroom to promote students’ learning that are consistent with the method and therefore in harmony with the approach as well (Anthony cited in Brown, 2001).

8. Students’ achievement is the result of the evaluation of learning outcomes during and at the end of the term (Brown, 2004).

9. Hybrid Elementary School is a term used in Kota Solok, West Sumatera, for an Elementary School that provides the students more time allocation for learning Arabic, Islamic Religion and English Language in order they can speak both languages in daily classroom activities as well as have good moral (Dinas Pendidikan Kota Solok, 2003).

1.7 Thesis Organization

This thesis is organized into five chapters. The first chapter is introduction, which highlights the basic description of this study. The second chapter deals with theoretical framework which builds up the theories and references for this study. The third chapter describes the methodology used to conduct this research. It presents research design, method of data collection, participants and sites of the study, and procedure of analysis. The fourth chapter elaborates research findings and discussion.

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The fifth or the last chapter presents conclusion, limitations of the study, and recommendations.

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46 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

This chapter describes some important elements related to research methodology. The elements are research design, data collection technique, validity and reliability of data, participants and site of the study, and procedure of analysis.

3.1. Research Design

When one concerns with exploring people’s life histories or everyday behavior, a qualitative method should be used (Silverman, 2000). A qualitative study attempted to identify unexpected phenomena and influences as well as provided rich narrative descriptions. It also attempted to understand the process by which events and actions take place (Alwasilah, 2002: 108). The design of this study was a qualitative case study in nature, since it dealt with a small-scale case; interpretation as its main method; and put emphasis on the development process in which events and actions took place (Maxwell, 1996: 71). Thus, this study used qualitative case study research method in collecting and analyzing data.

Since this study investigated deeply the issue of the teaching of English for young learners, the researcher used a qualitative case study research methodology in order to document the detail of information of how people react and interact in certain situation. This is in line with the characteristic of case study: examining a specific phenomenon. The specific phenomenon can be a teaching program, an event, a person, a process, an institution or a social group (Merriam, 1991).

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47 A case study aims to uncover the interaction of essential factors that characterize the phenomenon under investigation. Becker (1968, cited in Merriam: 1988) defines the purpose of case study as to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the groups under study. In addition, Stake (1988, in Nunan, 1992) views that the difference between case study with other research studies is that the focus of attention is the case, not the whole population of cases.

3.2. Data Collection Technique

The data for this research were collected using qualitative research method. Fraenkel & Wallen (1993) say that the collection of data in qualitative research is ongoing. The researcher is continually observing people, events, and occurrences, often supplementing his or her observations with in-depth interviews of selected participants and the examination of various documents and records relevant to the phenomenon of interest.

In this study, the process of collecting the data involved both the selection of instruments and the sites where the instruments would be appropriately administrated. In collecting the data, the researcher conducted four techniques: questionaire, interview, observation, and document analysis. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1993), the use of multiple sources of evidence in case study allows a researcher to gain valid data. Below is the explanation of the techniques used in collecting the data.

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48 3.2.1. Observation

In this research, the researcher acted as a non-participant observer. The researcher sat at the back of the classroom, took notes on, and videotaped “what was said and done” (Van Lier, 1988) by the teacher and the students. These classroom observations were done to answer research questions.

The observations were conducted seven times in the class of teacher 1 (T1) and teacher 2 (T2). Unfortunately, it could only done five times in T3’s class because she was absent on the agreed days. As a whole, the observations were administered from February 11th up to February 27th 2009. Detailed dates of each observation could be seen in appendix 3 of this thesis. During the observations in T1 and T2’s classes, in first three observations, the researcher took field notes, and for the following sessions she videotaped the instructional activities occured in the classroom in order to keep the authenticity of the data. In T3’s class, field note was taken in the third observation only, while the rest observations were videotaped. Data from observation were transcribed, coded, categorized, synthesized, and interpreted by relating them to relevant theories.

3.2.2. Questionnaire

Questionnaire is one of research tools for collecting data. It provides a means of communications between respondent and researcher (Labaw, 1980). The kind of questionnaire used in this research was that of open-ended one which allows the respondents to give a totally free answer and they were expected to chose the answer

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49 category which came closest to or best represented their feeling, beliefs, attitudes, opinions, behavior, or knowledge of a situation (Labaw, 1980: 131).

In this study, the distribution of questionnaire for T1 and T2 was done on February 18th and for T3 on February 19th. The questionnaire consists of certain elements related to topic under study (see appendix 1, questionnaire). Data from questionnaire were categorized and percentaged. The researcher used this type of questionnaire also to answer both research questions.

3.2.3. Interview

Interview is the third technique applied in this study, but it functions as a secondary source of qualitative data needed to comprehend the phenomena under study. Merriam (1988: 72) states, “Interviewing is necessary when we cannot observe behavior, feeling, or how people interpret the world around them.” Moreover, Fraenkel and Wallen (1993:385) state that the purpose of interviewing people is to find out what is in their mind, what they think and how they feel about something. In line with this, Silverman (2000) defines interview as an effort used to elicit respondents’ perceptions.

The interview of this study consists of questions formulated in order to gather data for answering the research questions. Hence, it was addressed to three participants and their fourth-graders about the information needed by the researcher. In this case, the interview aims to obtain more information to support the questionnaires results. The researcher provided list of questions before the interview session began.

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50 In this research, the researcher adopted semi-structured interview in order to get more complicated informations about the topic under study (see appendix 2, Interview Guide). By this kind of interview, it is assumed that individual participants define the world in unique ways, and the purpose is not to put things in someone else mind but rather to access the perspective of the person being interviewed (Patton, 1980, cited in Merriam, 1991: 73). In this research, this kind of interview was used because it provided freedom for both interviewer and interviewees. In addition, the researcher could also gain in-depth information on the practice of how the teachers plan and implement their teaching and assess their students’ learning.

The interviews of teachers were conducted on 23rd of February (T1 and t2), and on February 26th (T3). The interviews of the students were administered for 18 students (boys and girls) from the three schools. They were chosen as lower (6 students), middle (6 students), and higher (6 students) students. They were interviewed on February 19th (T2’s students) and on February 26th (T1 and T2’s students). All of the interviews were conducted in sequence and recorded.

3.2.4. Document Analysis

Regarding the importance of document in a research, Merriam (1998: 120) explained that since the investigator is the primary instrument for gathering data, he or she relies on the skills and intuition to find and interpret data from documents. “Document is an umbrella term to refer to a wide range of written, visual, and physical material relevant to the study at hand” (Merriam, 1998: 112). Further, Merriam elaborates that the data found in documents can be used in the same manner

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51 as data from observations and interviews. It also, as Merriam adds, can furnish descriptive information, verifies emerging hypotheses, advances new categories and hypotheses, and offers historical understanding. By using documentary materials, the researcher uses objective and unobtrusive instrument.

Therefore, in order to complete the data for answering the research questions, the researcher copied and collected teachers’ lesson plans and posttest items (see appendix 5, documents of lesson plans). In addition, some relevant pictures were also taken. These documents were necessary to complete the data obtained in the classroom.

3.3. Validity and Reliability of Data

In attempting to get valid and reliable data, triangulation was done by collecting information from diverse range of individuals and settings, using a variety of methods (Maxwell, 1996,cited in Alwasilah, 2008; 175; Cresswell, 1994; 167) which was conducted to make a contrast and comparison of all the data obtained from diffrent sources (Free body, 2003, cited in Emilia, 2005). This is in line with Merriam (1998), and Fraenkel and Wallen (2003) who argue that validity and reliability of data can be strengthened by triangulation. Thus, by relying on the four instruments as sources of data, the researcher builds the so-called triangulation. It can be traced to Fraenkel and Wallen (1993: 400) who highlight, “When a conclusion is supported by data collected from a number of different instruments, its validity is thereby enhanced.” In this way, the researcher has conducted “methodological triangulation, which involves the convergence of

data from multiple data collection sources” (Denzin, 1978 retrieved at

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52 3.4. Research Site and Participants of the Study

Before conducting a research, a researcher needs to consider what, whom, where, and when to observe (Merriam, 1998: 60). In other words, sampling in field research involves the selection of events, people, site and time. Further, Merriam (1998: 61) states, that nonprobability sampling is the method of choice for most qualitative research. It is chosen because it suitably answers qualitative problems, such as discovering what occurs, the implication of what occurs, and the relationship linking occurrences (Honigmann, 1982: 84, cited in Merriam, 1998: 61). Thus, the most appropriate sampling strategy is non-probabilistic—the most common form of which is called purposive (Chein, 1981, cited in Merriam, 1998: 61). In line with this, Maxwell (1996) states that qualitative paradigm had a close-link with purposeful sampling.

As Merriam (1998: 61) further argues, purposeful sampling is based on criteria that directly reflect the purpose of the study and lead to the identification of information-rich cases. Purposeful sampling is the technique of sampling used by the researcher that concerns some considerations, such as limitation of time, money, and availability of sites and respondent, in order to acquire a certain objective (Merriam, 1998; and Arikunto, 2005). It was based on this kind of sampling, the site and participants of research were selected.

The sites of the study were three elementary schools that are located in Kota Solok, West Sumatera. There are some reasons for choosing the teachers and the schools as research sites. First, all the teachers are civil servants. In fact, Education Bureau (Dinas Pendidikan) of Kota Solok officially and specially had appointed

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53 English teachers for all Elementary schools in Kota Solok as civil servants. Second, all the teachers are undergraduates who are majoring English. Third, all the teachers teach in public schools. In other words, all the participants have the same characteristics: civil servants, undergraduates majoring English, and teach in public schools.Therefore, this study fulfills the recommendations of several previous researches (Sutiyono, 2003; Luciana, 2004; Suharno, 2005; Suryawati, 2005; Sary, 2006; and Defianty, 2007) in which the participants were non civil servants, not all the participants were undergraduates majoring English, and not all of them taught in public schools.

Nevertheless, there are some differences between the three schools. The first two schools are noted as the members of HES Program. This program was initiated and sponsored by Gebu Minang (GM), an Association of Minangkabau (native ethnic of West Sumatera province) people who lived outside Minagkabau region. This program is specially designed as a pilot program for Elementary school in West Sumatera. It provides more duration for teaching Arabic, English, and Islamic Religion in order to make the students can speak both languages in daily classroom activities and have good morals. In fact, in SDN 05 all students from grade 1-6 are taught both languages 280 minutes a week, four days in a week; and in SDN 03 all students are taught both languages 210 minutes a week, six days in a week. Meanwhile, as a non-hybrid Elementary School, SDN 02 PPA is selected because it provides more duration (140 minutes) for English teaching than other non-hybrid schools do. Moreover, the three schools are located nearby and do not have overlapped schedules, as the researcher found in some previous schools identified.

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54 Therefore, the participants of this study are three English teachers, coded as teacher 1 (T1), teacher 2 (T2), and teacher 3 (T3). The participants under study are numbered sequentially based on the amount of their teaching period in a week: from the most (T1) to the least (T3). Their participation is voluntary-based: the teachers are willing to participate in the study and to have their classes observed by the researcher. The participants profile is presented as follow:

Table 1. Profile of Participants under Study

Fourth, in relation to the students, the researcher’s reason to particularly select grade four is that the students at this age are in the transition of developmental stage. As Bradway and Hill (1993: 157) explain, children at grade four transform from the children who have long depended on parental approval for every word and deed, to those who develop greater allegiance to peers. In this stage, as Bradway and Hill (1993: 157) further argue, much of attention which previously lavished on dolls, toys car, or soccer begins to refocus on clothing trends, friends, the opposite sex, and the social acceptability of everything, from hobbies and possessions to taste in music and TV viewing habits.

Participants Age Gender Teaching Experience Educational Background

T1 31 years Female 6 years S1 English Education, 2003,

Public University

T2 36 years Female 6 years S1 English Education, 2000,

Public University

T3 34 years Female 9 years S1 English Education, 1998,

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55 Hence, concerning the reasons, it is expected that this study is very appropriate to be done in this setting. It is hoped that the results of the study can give meaningful contribution to the teaching of English at Elementary Schools.

3.5. Data Analysis Procedure

Data analysis was conducted during and after data collection. This was done in line with Krueger (1998), in order to “strike when the iron is hot” and avoid “jeopardized by delay.” In other words, the data were soon analyzed after collecting them. In this study, the analysis was done simultaneously as an ongoing activity during data collection and after data collection. The analysis was done based on central themes of the study, which were the two research questions.

The data for this research were analyzed through qualitative data analysis. Fraenkel and Wallen (1993) state that analyzing data in a qualitative study involves coding, categorizing, synthesizing, and interpreting the data, and finally making the conclusion based on the data the researcher obtains from various sources into coherent description of what he or she has observed or discovered. Thus, all data obtained from the instruments are categorized and analyzed based on the research questions.

In order to answer the research questions, data from classroom observations, interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis were analyzed. Both observation and interview data were transcribed (see appendix 3 and 4), and then categorized as it was done to data from questionnaire. After categorizing, the data were interpreted and synthesized. Descriptive statistics was also used to percentage the participants’

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56 responses. In addition, the data from documentation were used to equip the data from the previous three sources. At last, the whole data were concluded in findings.

3.6. Concluding Remark

This chapter has discussed a detailed methodological description of the research. It covers the discussion of instruments used to answer the two research questions. The instruments used in this research are observation, questionnaire, interview, and document Analysis. All of them are used to answer the research questions. The whole research findings are presented in the next chapter.

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123 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the conclusions or the major findings of the study and recommendations for further study. The presentation covers three sub parts. The first part is conclusions, the second part is the limitations, and the third part is the recommendations for further study.

5.1. Conclusions

This study investigates the way three English teachers plan and implement the instruction, and the way they assess students’ learning progress and achievement. Based on the analysis of data in the previous chapter, some conclusions can be drawn in terms of research questions.

In answering the first research question, how the teachers plan their instruction, it is found that all the teachers plan their instruction by making the lesson plans. They made the lesson plans by considering their students’ character and competence, instructional objectives, teaching material, learning activities, teaching aids, and kinds of assessment to be administered. However, they did not make the lesson plans for each meeting and the lesson plans made are not necessarily brought to the classroom. This implies that the teachers get used to teach so that they do not need formal lesson plans anymore.

Responding to the second research question, how the teachers implement their instruction, it is found that all of the teachers implement their instructions by

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124 conducting four aspects. The aspects are opening the instruction; delivering the material, which includes teaching strategies, languages as medium of instruction, contextual teaching, and integrative teaching; managing the classroom, which includes seating arrangement, establishing good voice and body language, rapport, and rules; and closing the instruction. It is found that the teachers show some similarities and differences regarding the four aspects.

Concerning the third research question, how the teachers assess students’ learning progress and achievement, analysis of data reveals that all the teachers administer both formative or ongoing classroom assessment and summative assessment. Through the former, they assess students’ learning progress throughout the instruction, namely by assigning the students daily classroom tasks, homework, and quiz, and by marking students’ works; check students’ comprehension by administering questioning for comprehension checking (QCC) and monitor students’engagement by conducting classroom observation; and provide feedback for the students by giving rewards, doing error correction, and administering remedial activity. Through the latter, the teachers assess students’ achievement by administering posttest at the end of a unit of lesson. It might be suggested that the posttests administered are consistent with the material delivered and the way the students’ are taught.

It is found that in assessing students’ learning progress and achievement, the three teachers conduct both formative and summative assessment, but with different emphasis and portion. Both T1 and T2 have a preference to conduct classroom assessment rather than the summative one (test) and focus on developing students’

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125 speaking skill. On the other hand, T3 has a tendency to conduct and rely on the summative assessment and put big emphasis on writing skill.

Despite distinct tendency the teachers apply in assessing the students, a large number of assessment strategies used are congruent with teaching strategies the teachers apply. It is likely that the teacher of regular or non-hybrid elementary school only focus on developing students’skill in terms of reading and writing, as the curriculum demand. Limited time provided for English teaching make the teacher unable to highly develop the two other skills. On the other hand, the teachers of the schools which provide more time for English teaching (Hybrid Elementary Schools) put greater emphasis on developing students’ skills in terms of listening and speaking. It is obvious that the more time provided for English teaching the more skills the teachers can develop and the more exposure the students can engage in.

5.2 Limitations of Study

There are several limitations of this study. First, this study deals with the fact that the researcher conducted classroom observations of the three teachers with unequal quantity due to limited time available. Second, despite some similarities in their profiles, the three teachers teach in different backgrounds of schools. It will be better if the observations conducted in each classroom are equal in number and the teachers studied have profiles which closely resemble in order to avoid unfair judgment on the participants.

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126 5. 3 Recommendations

Based on the conclusions and the limitations of the research, there are two implications that can be taken into consideration, i.e. practical implications and methodological implications. In other words, the recommendations deal with the implications of English teaching at elementary schools and of further researches.

In terms of practical implications or the practice of English teaching at elementary school, four things are recommended. First, the quality of teachers’ qualification and the quantity of exposure to English (duration of English teaching) should be maximized in order to enhance students’ learning. Second, beside having English educational background, elementary school English teachers have to possess sound knowledge of the principles of teaching English to young learners and principles of assessing young learners of English. Third, the teachers should always conduct continous reflection on their teachings. Fourth, the teachers need to develop their professionalism by reading relevants sources, joining English teachers club, attending workshops and seminars, and so on.

Meanwhile, in terms of methodological implications, recommendations concern the delimitations of the present study and its possible enhancement for further studies. First, since this study is not a longitudinal study, longitudinal studies investigating the TEYL are recommended to be conducted in order to give contribution in another context. Second, due to the fact the present study investigates only three English teachers at three elementary schools in Solok, further studies are recommended to be conducted with more participants in different contexts.

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