T1 112009136 Full text

Teachers’ Beliefs on Teaching English in Elementary School

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

Melawati Sugiyanto
112009136

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

Teachers’ Beliefs on Teaching English in Elementary School
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Melawati Sugiyanto
112009136

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

i

Teachers’ Beliefs on Teaching English in Elementary School

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

Melawati Sugiyanto

112009136

Approved by:

ii

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: Melawati Sugiyanto

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: Language and Literature

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: Undergraduate Thesis

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Teachers’ Beliefs on Teaching English in Elementary School
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iii

Made in

: Salatiga

Date

: June 20th, 2013

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accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my
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Copyright@ 2012 Melawati Sugiyanto and Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, MA.

All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the
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Melawati Sugiyanto :

iv

Teachers’ Beliefs on Teaching English in Elementary School
Melawati Sugiyanto

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the teachers beliefs’ on teaching English in elementary
school. The research participants were 10 elementary school English teachers in Salatiga. The
data were collected using a semi-structured interview which allowed the participants to share
their thought and experiences in English teaching and learning for young learners. The results
of this study reveals that the teachers believed English is important nowadays. They did not
agree about an issue of ommitting English in elementary school. Thus, they believed that
English should be learned as soon as possible. The teachers believed that they should
consider the characteristics of young learners in teaching learning English and their

psychological factors. Thus, most teachers believed that teaching and learning of English
should be fun. They used some techniques to make the teaching learning fun, for example by
using pictures, videos, songs, etc. They also used teaching procedures in their teaching.
Keywords: Elementary School, Teachers’ beliefs, English teaching and learning, Young
learners

Introduction
In this introduction, there are several aspects to be explained which include the reason
why the study is conducted, the aim of the study, and contributions that this study might give
to teachers in learning and teaching of English for young learners.
Recently, the growth of Teaching English for Young Learner (TEYL) has arisen.
English which is a foreign language and also as an international language taught in Indonesia
has a big role around the world. Therefore, teaching English for young learners is also a
trend. Many parents send their children to schools that offer English as a subject.
According to Karani (2008), English as a local content subject can be effective if
there are supports, such as: teachers, teaching material, methodology, and teaching media.
Those supports are related to each other to make the teaching and learning English sucessful.
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In other words, if one of the supports is not involved, English will be less effective. For

example, my nephew experienced learning English that was taught by using conventional
methods such as drilling and repeating vocabulary. Because of those methods, my nephew
were not interested in the lesson. Related to Karani’s idea, it indicates that his teacher’s
methods do not run effectively. In this case, by conducting study about teachers’ belief on
teaching English in elementary school, teachers can have knowledge on how to deliver the
material to young learners. Furthermore, researchers have shown that teachers beliefs has a
big role in organizing their classroom teaching and decision making in their classroom
practices (Richards, 1998).
With the above considerations in Teaching English for Young Learners (TEYL), one
research question addressed in this study is what the teachers’ beliefs are in teaching English
at elementary school. This study aims at investigating the teachers’ beliefs in the teaching
English for young learners at elementary schools. It focuses on teachers’ beliefs in teaching
and learning of English at elementary school nowadays and how English is taught to young
learners. It is expected that the study would provide knowledge about the teachers’ beliefs in
teaching and learning of English at elementary school. It seeks some information about the
teachers’ awareness toward the role of English and how that awareness affects their teaching
since they have a big role in teaching and learning of English. The results would give
benefits to the teachers on how to deliver the materials to young learners.

Literature Review

Many theories of the characteristics of young learners, the definition of beliefs, and
teachers’ beliefs and its influence of teaching and learning English are discussed in this
literature review. In addition, some opinions related to the researcher’ ideas will be involved.

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Nowadays, the number of children who learn English has increased. Pinter (2006)
said that in primary schools in many countries around the world, English has been taught to
children since they are still young. Teaching English for young learners become a trend
because children have to learn English to face the globalization era in which English is an
International Language. It means that English is seen as the language that should be acquired.
Moreover, Muro and Kottman (1995) say that children have a high capability when they learn
a foreign language (English) in primary school.
In teaching and learning of English for young learners, the age of the students is a
major factor for teachers in deciding about how and what to teach. People of different ages
have different needs, competencies, and cognitive skills. According to Scoot and Ytreberg
(1991), an elementary school usually consists of students from seven to twelve years old who
are enthusiastic to know and learn everything. They construct their physical knowledge about
their environment through the use of their sense to perceive object properties. Furthermore,
based on Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, children at approximate seven to eleven

years old are in the stage of concrete operations. In this stage, children start to give reasons,
but the ability is based on tangible objects and direct experiences (Wadsworth, 1979).
Brown (2001) points out that young learners’ characteristics are really important to be
noticed in order to conduct a successful teaching and learning. He states that young learners
are easily engaged with physical activities that capture their immediate interest. They like
activities that are interesting and fun. The sensory aids are really helpful to internalize the
concepts. In addition, they have a big sense of humor and curiosity. Consequently, the
teachers should consider young learners’ characteristics in order to achieve the learning
goals.

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The Definition of Beliefs
Pucta (1999) says that beliefs are guiding principle of people behaviors. He explained
that belief is like cause and effect, so it is sort of how people react or act about something. In
the number of studies, the definition of beliefs itself is provided even though researchers do
not seem to have reached the same agreement about the meaning of beliefs. Because of its
lack of agreement, it may be difficult to produce a certain set of meaning as a clear definition.
Pajares (1992) states that, “defining beliefs is at best a game of player’s choice” (p. 309).
Furthermore, he provides a broad list of words that can be found in the literature as a

reference of beliefs as follows; attitude, values, judgments, axioms, opinions, ideology,
perceptions, conceptions, conceptual systems, preconceptions, dispositions, implicit theories,
explicit theories, personal theories, internal mental processes, action strategies, rules of
practice, practical principles, perspectives, repertories of understanding, and social strategy
(p. 309)
The followings are some definitions of beliefs. Cabaroglu and Roberts (2000), define
beliefs as “a set of conceptual representations which signify to its holder a reality or given
state of affairs of sufficient validity, truth or trustworthiness to warrant reliance upon it as a
guide to personal thought and action” (p. 388). Huang (1997) views beliefs about language
learning as preconceptions language learners have about the task of learning the target
language. Kunt (1997) and Wang (1996) use the terms opinions and ideas or views to refer to
beliefs. Therefore, beliefs are opinion, judgement, valued, etc that affect on people’s desicion
about something.

Teachers’ beliefs and Its influence of Teaching and Learning English
Researchers’ interest in beliefs about language learning is not limited only to language
learners. Several studies have investigated beliefs about the language learning of both in4

service and pre-service teachers. The studies point out about two findings, the first is about
how the teachers deliver the material and the second is focused on how teachers create a

relaxed learning atmosphere for students. Firstly, the finding related to teachers’ beliefs,
(Caner, Kara & Subasi,2010) show that teachers preferred using various ways, such as
playing games and puzzles, singing and listening to the musics, participating in creative
movement. Secondly, another study came from a research (Burns, Copland, &Garton, 2011)
showed that instead of using AVA, the teachers also gave courage to the students in learning
English. Besides, Wang (2008) reveals that teachers who were involved in the teaching and
learning of English in primary school often make a great effort to create a comfortable and
attractive learning environment, such as maps, posters, pictures and children’s own work. The
learners were given frequent encouragement and praise. However, the praise generally
involved only a few expressions: very good, wonderful, marvelous, brilliant. Thus, the
teachers also should pay attention with students’ psychological factors.
Meanwhile, Johnson (1992) points out that research on teachers’ beliefs and its
influences share three basic assumptions. The first assumption is perception and judgment
which, in turn, affects what teachers say and do in classrooms. The second assumption is a
critical role in how teachers learn to teach that is, how they interpret new information about
learning and teaching and how that information is translated into classroom practices. It
implies that teachers have their own value on how they transferred the material to the
students and how the language learning should be undergone. Then, the last assumption is
improving teaching practices and professional teacher preparation programs.
Additionally teachers’ belief systems, including their attitudes, values, expectations,
theories, and assumptions about teaching and learning, are considered a primary source of
teachers’ classroom practices. These beliefs are usually guided by a number of factors, such
as: their own experience as learners in classrooms, prior teaching experience, classroom

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observations they were exposed to, and their previous training courses at school (Richards,
1998). Furthermore, a lot of literature on teacher education has suggested that teachers’
beliefs affect their teaching practices and instructional decisions in the classroom (Donoghue,
2003).
Beliefs play a role in teachers’ decisions, judgements and behaviors which have
strong affective connotations. Beliefs are also associated with powerful beliefs and feelings
about what the right ways of teaching are rooted in past life experiences (Connelly
&Clandinin, 1986; Wood, 1996). It indicates that teachers can have some their own teaching,
for example their educational philosophy, teaching strategies, method and techniques, etc.
In fact, teachers’ beliefs have already been classified into various sets of categories by
some researchers. William and Burden (1997) divide their discussion of teachers’ beliefs into
three areas namely about language learning, about learners, and about themselves as language
teachers. This study focuses on the teachers’ beliefs about the language learning process and
the learners as young learners. The focus was on how teachers conceptualized their teaching
in English classroom and decided the best strategy to teach materials and motivate the
students to achieve the learning objectives, so it could be seen how their personal values were
applied in English teaching and learning process.

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The Study
Method
This is a descriptive study which aimed at investigating teachers’ beliefs in teaching
and learning of English for young learners at elementary school. The data were gathered
through interviewing ten teachers in several elementary schools in Salatiga.
Participant
The participants in this study were ten elementary schools’ teachers of five schools in
Salatiga. They were selected based on a purposive sampling technique or criterion-based
selection (Blackledge, 2001 as cited in Zacharias, 2011). I purposefully selected a number of
teachers who fulfilled the criteria. The criteria description was : English teachers of
elementary schools who graduated from English Education Department. As we knew that
teachers who graduated from English Department had strong English background which
enabled them on how English should be taught.
Research Instrument
A semi-structured interview technique was used to obtain data to answer the research
question in this study. Semi-structured interview or “interview guided approach”
(Patton,1990) was similar to structured interview but it allows for greater flexibility. The
flexibility includes the order of the questions to provide opportunity for follow-up questions.
The questions in this study were about the teachers’ beliefs in teaching English at elementary
school. The questions focused on teachers’ opinion about English as a subject in elementary
school, an issue of ommitting English, the starting time to learn English, teachers’ techniques
on delivering material and a description of a series of teaching procedures.

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Data Collection
The data collection of the study was divided into some steps. Firstly, I sought
permission from the school’s principal. Then, I told about the background of this study to the
teachers and asked the teachers’ willingness to be the participants and interviewed. They had
their freedom to decide the time to be interviewed.
The interview was in Bahasa Indonesia because it provided greater flexibility for the
participants to answer the questions. By using Bahasa Indonesia, the participants shared their
thought and their experiences easily, so it was easy to gather a rich data from the teachers. It
also made the participants relaxed when they were being interviewed. The interview was
recorded using a mobile phone.
I gathered the data within a month, and then the data were transcribed using a clean
transcription. As stated by Zacharias (2011), a clean transcription of interview focuses on the
content of the interview. In this study, I collected the main information which was relevant to
the study. After that, I began to analyze and finished it by drawing the conclusion.
Data Analysis
The data gathered were transcribed using a clean transcription method. Then, the
transcriptions were coded. The points that emerged from the interview were grouped. The
quoted examples from the data were given to support each point in the process of analyzing
the data. The data were analyzed descriptively, and some supporting theories were included
to carry out the analysis.

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Finding and Discussion
This section discusses the elementary school teachers’ beliefs about English teaching
and learning of English for young learners which were divided into three themes namely
teachers’ beliefs on the importance of learning English at early age, teachers’ beliefs on
teaching English for young learners, teachers’ beliefs on English teaching and learning
process.

1. Teachers’ Beliefs on The Importance of Learning English at Early Age
When I asked ten teachers regarding their beliefs about English for elementary school,
all of them said that English at elementary school was very important. There were some
reasons of why English was important to be taught in Elementary school. The first reason was
: most information is written in English, for example, electronic books and information in the
internet which used English. This belief was clearly stated by teacher A, she said,
Pembelajaran bahasa inggris di sekolah dasar sangat penting sekali
alasannya karena sekarang buku- buku ilmu pengetahuan terus buku-buku
petunjuk penggunaan elektronik itu juga menggunakan bahasa Inggris jadi
lebih baik kalau anak-anak itu dikenalkan bahasa Inggris lebih dini
Another teacher also agreed with teacher A, she said,
Saya rasa cukup penting, alasannya karena bagaimanapun juga kita
menyiapkan anak untuk masa depannya mereka dan kalau melihat
perkembangannya

yang

sekarang

hampir

semuanya

itu

banyak

menggunakan istilah-istilah dalam bahasa Inggris. Karena kebanyakan
sekarang, contohnya seperti bahasa di internet itu seperti mengunduh atau
menggunggah itu kan dari bahasa inggris yang di Indonesiakan

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The teachers noticed that English has been used in all aspects of life, for example in
technology, education, social media, and work. The teacher has the same tought with Brown
(2001), who said that English is a tool for international communication in many areas, for
example transportation, commerce, banking, tourism, technology, diplomacy and scientific
research. In addition, because of all the teachers noticed that English would be useful in the
children’s future life, they did not agree about an issue of ommitting English in elementary
school.
As told by teacher A ;
Saya tidak setuju karena menurut saya itu merupakan suatu kemunduran
karena memasuki era global seharusnya anak-anak itu sudah diperkenalkan
bahasa inggris terlebih dahulu. Kalau sekarang saja sudah dimulai dari
kelas 4 SD bahkan kelas 1 SD juga sudah meskipun masih kosakata bendabenda yang ada di sekitarnya tetapi kan itu sangat penting sekali untuk
jenjang pendidikan yang berikutnya.
Teacher A did not agree with an issue of ommitting English, she believed that English should
be learnt since elementary school to face the globalization era.
The second reason of the importance English at early age was the need for
communication. The teacher said that learning English at early age could give benefits for the
children. English should not be seen only as a lesson but as a means of communication.
Teacher E, for example, explained his belief as follows;
Tujuan dari bahasa Inggris itu adalah untuk berkomunikasi, tetapi yang
terjadi disini kan tidak, itu sebenarnya bukan kesalahan bahasa Inggrisnya
yang sulit tetapi gurunya yang tidak terlatih untuk mengajarkan bahasa
Inggris sebagai means of communication.

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It indicates when English is taught since they are at elementary school, they will be able to
communicate in English through a simple conversation between the teachers and the students.
The importance of communication discussed by Paul (2003) is relevant with the teacher E’s
idea which emphasized that children need to practice alot to improve their speaking skill as
well as to get “the feel” of what communicating in the foreign language is like.
The third reason, the importance of English at early age for elementary school was
useful for preparing the children to go to junior high school so they had basic of English.
Teacher F said,
Menurut saya, pembelajaran bahasa inggris itu penting karena kalau di
SMP/SMA kan juga ada kelas bilingual. Kalo dari SD tidak sedini
mungkin dikenalkan ya nanti waktu mereka di SMP pas billingualnya
kosong, karena itu dasarnya.mengenal greeting, paling tidak semudah
itukan mereka sudah tahu. Kalau dari SMA sudah, dari SMP mulai
diajarkan kan otomatis mereka untuk mengucapkan salam saja mereka
pasti gagu dan tidak tahu.
Based on teacher F’s explanation, the children could understand the material easily at junior
high school because they already had the basic knowledge since at elementary school. The
teacher believed that when English has been already taught since the children are at early
age, they can easily understand the material at higher level of education, such as in junior and
senior high school.
Since all the teachers believed that English at elementary school was very important,
teacher F added that English should be learnt as early as possible, even before the children
were in elementary level. Teacher F explained that;
Mulai dipelajari ya sejak sedini mungkin, sejak mereka mengenal belajar.
mengenal belajar yaitu dari Paud, 4 5 tahun, 3 4 5 tahun.
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Teacher F believed that English should be learnt as early as possible. In line with teacher F
statement, teacher C also agreed with teacher F.
He gave explanation as follows;
Diajarkan sedini mungkin alasannya karena otak anak menangkap sekecil
apapun dia akan tersimpan walaupun mungkin dia kelihatannya tidak
mengerti kita ngomong kita memasukan bahasa sedikit-sedikit.
He believed that children could learn easily if they learned English as early as possible. In
other words, when they become adults, this process enables the children to continue learning
because everything they have learned is internalized in the brain. The teachers’ idea is related
to what Krashen (1982) points out that age actually can be a measurement of language
proficiency. It implies that young learners are better on acquiring numerous new things in
learning a foreign language than the old one so they also can improve their language
proficiency quickly.
2. Teachers’ beliefs on Teaching English for Young Learners
All the teachers believed that teaching English for young learners was different than
teaching English for adult. As stated by teacher I ;
Mengajar anak itu tidak bisa disamakan dengan mengajar orang dewasa ya,
mereka cenderung cepat bosan mereka kan juga gak bisa terus diam
mendengarkan, jadi kita sebagai guru ya harus sabar dan pintar-pintar dalam
penyampaian materi.
Teacher I understood one of young learners’ characteristics that is they could get bored
easily. She tried to create something in order to make fun teaching and learning. In relation to
fun teaching and learning, Scoot and Yteberg (1990) agreed with teacher I. They stated that

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learning activities designed for young learners should not to be long, monotonous, and
boring. In teaching for young learners, based on his experiences, Teacher C also added;
Kalau atmosfer murid merasa terancam jadi mereka tidak akan pernah
merasa belajar tapi kalau disitu dia nyaman dan fun maka dia akan suka
dengan pelajaran tersebut. Paling tidak ketika murid mulai menyukai
gurunya maka dia kan menyukai pelajarannya. Tapi kalu suka pelajarannya
tapi gurunya tidak enak misalnya membawa ancaman, sesuka-sukanya maka
murid menjadi tidak nyaman
Teacher C understand that creating a fun atmosphere is necessary because it can affect on how
the students like the lesson and even the teacher.
Along with those statements, teacher E added ;
Misalnya saya mengajarkan tentang present perfect tense maka saya akan
berbicara tentang petualangan saya go somewhere, dengan cerita lucu, kisah
tentang makanan atau apa dan mereka excited , dan mereka akan bisa masuk
ke dalam atmosfer pembelajaran karena mereka excited dengan cerita
tersebut. Ketika mereka masuk atmosfer learning baru saya masuk ke
pelajaran.
Teacher E believed that creating good atmosphere in the class made the student to understand
the lesson. The teacher noticed that they should build the mood of students so the teacher can
easily deliver the knowledge to the students. Teacher E got the same idea with Scoot and
Yteberg (1990) who said that the good atmosphere is an important need. They mentioned that
the learning depends on class atmosphere. If the class atmosphere is boring, they will keep
silent.

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In accordance with other teachers, teacher J also said,
Mengajar anak kecil itu tidak bisa kalau cuma selalu menjelaskan materi
seperti mengajar orang dewasa, mereka itu tidak bisa cuma diam, mereka itu
suka kalo dikasih aktivitas yang menyenangkan
Teacher J believed that she could not teach the students through the explanation like teaching
adults. The children could not sit down all the time and they liked various activities which
were fun. Adults can just listen the explanation from the teacher, but the children can not do
it because they get bored quickly. Then, teacher J’s idea of the need of fun learning was
discussed by Scott and Ytreberg (1990) who suggested that teachers can not rely on spoken
words only, but they should play with the language using stories and songs and provide
various activities. Teachers should let the children to be free, they can play and enjoy
themselves while they are learning. It shows that teachers play an important role in teaching
English, especially when English is taught as foreign language. Moreover, teacher also
should think that children also learn by doing, they should teach English creatively.
Not only good class atmosphere but also praising the students is also important to young
learners. Noticing the characteristics of young learners, teacher B added ;
Jadi kita sebagai guru ya harus praise student,sehabis dia menjawab atau
melakukan sesuatu, ya kita bilang good atau awesome. Soalnya anak kecil
kan juga perlu dihargai ketika mereka menjawab dengan benar, meskipun
belum benar ya kita tetap harus praise students, soalnya mereka berani
menjawab. Kalo salah kita malah memarahinya malah itu akan bikin mereka
down dan tidak suka pelajarannya.
Teacher B believed that praising the student is very important because it can bring positive
result in learning. Likewise the teacher B’s idea, the need of praising students was also said

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by Kinsvatter (1992). He suggested that teachers of young learners must praise students who
answer correctly , the role of praise can bring positive results in learning. So, Claiming that
praise can bring postive results in learning.
3. Teachers’ Beliefs on English Teaching and Learning Process
All the teachers in this study believed that the language learning process at elementary
school should be taught in fun way. For example, teacher B explained her belief of how
English should be learnt as follows;
Bahasa Inggris harus diajarkan dengan fun, drilling pun harus diajarkan
dengan fun. Alasannya kalau anak-anak tertekan saya kasian saja,orang
yang tidak tertekan saja mereka masih apa itu? , dengan keadaan yang
menyenangkan, memang harus extra energi untuk mengajarkan bahasa
Inggris.
In line with the statement above, the teachers should equip themselves with many kinds of
teaching techniques so that the teaching and learning process will be fun and success. There
were some techniques that was used by the teachers to deliver fun teaching learning of
English for elementary students.
The first technique is using pictures, As teacher H’s explained based on his
exeriences;
Kalau untuk yang misalkan tentang feeling itu tadi. Mereka saya beri
picture dulu, jadi misalkan mereka melihat ada berbagai macam
expresi, ada seneng, ada sedih...
Teacher H believed that the use of pictures was useful in teaching young learners. The belief
of teacher H about the benefit of using pictures was clearly stated by Wright (2007) who said
that pictures as a visual representation of mind can better affect students in a learning
language.
15

The second technique is using videos, based on teacher B’s experiences, in the
interview teacher B said,
Contohnya video, saya mengkosepkan yang namanya perkalian dan
pembagian nah disitu saya tidak akan mengajarkan how to divide how
to multiply saya coba mendownload dari youtube dengan membagi
sederhana pakai video cartoon.
In line with teacher B, teacher C also used video to deliver the material;
Kalau video kan kita punya kaset seperti kartun dora the explorer nah
disitu anak-anak diajarkan tentang vocabulary, dan juga ketika
peristiwa alam seperti gunung meletus atau menetasnya telur maka akan
mudah dipahami dengan melihat dan mendengar juga.
Both of the teachers have a similiar idea to Hathering & Parke (1999) who revealed that the
use of a video program is valuable in helping children to understand educational and
generalize their environment. In this program, children will watch many activities they
usually do everyday. It can be fun for children because it is interesting for them. With
colorful and interesting pictures to see, it can help children to keep their attention to the
lesson.
The third technique is using realia, As told in the interview, based on teacher C’s
experiences;
Kalau anak SD mungkin bukan cuma pictures tapi realia juga yang bisa
dipegang dan bisa dilihat, bisa dirasakan itu akan lebih cepat masuknya
contohnya : mengajarkan rasa, cabe itu pedas misalnya kita bawa cabai ke
kelas oh ini yang namanya cabai dalam bahasa Inggris nah mereka bisa

16

pegang itu oh iya ini cabai, cabai itu kayak gini, dalam bahasa Inggris , terus
it’s hot coba kalian cicipi, oya pedas.
Instead of using pictures, the teacher noticed that the students needed to know, see, feel, and
touch what they learned so the students could enjoy the materials given by the teacher.
Teacher C’s thought about the benefit of using realia was stated by Gower, et al (2005). They
suggested that, it is better to use real things rather that rely on wordy explanations and
discussions. Furthermore, concrete items can create the teaching-learning activity more
enjoyable and lively.
The fourth technique is using songs, based on teacher B’s experiences, in the
interview she explained;
Saya create a song, ya mungkin ada lagu mana terus saya buat sendiri
atau kadang kadang saya buat sendiri, nada-nadanya buat sendiri itu juga
ada. Misalnya kemaren belajar on diatas in di dalam, itu kan gak ada lagu
dimana-mana. Saya mengarang saja. Anak-anak kalau dengan lagu dan
dengan gerak mereka lebih cepat nyantol.
In line with teacher B, teacher E also used songs :
Menggunakan song salah satunya twinkle, twinkle little star, yang pasti
harus disesuaikan dengan topiknya.
Teacher B and teacher E believed by using songs, the students could absorb the material
quickly. Two of them agree with what Paul (2003) claimed that the use of songs in language
teaching can add the emotion and rhythm and draw extra children’s attention intensly to the
lesson. Songs and musics can be used effectively in the classroom with learners from all ages
and levels as they have dynamic, motivating effects within the classroom.

17

The fifth technique is using games, teacher B said that;
Games dengan contoh hang man, untuk penguasaan vocab kan sangat
membantu, spelling. Dan binggo, saya buat kotak yang isinya 25 atau 30
dibagi tiga tiga kita buat besar seperti tabel perkalian,kalau ada kelompok
memberikan jawaban benar maka mereka akan mendapat satu bintang...
Teacher B believed that games were one of techniques to teach English in fun way. Games let
the students to compete among the others when they played the game. She noticed that games
are one of tools to make students get not bored when they deliver the material since the
students are young learners. In accordance with teaching English in fun way, Crookal and
Oxford (1990) who have the same idea as teacher B, explained that games can encourage
good learning strategies because of several reasons. First, by considering one of
characteristics of games that is providing active participation and the uses of four language
skills such as speaking, listening, writing, and reading. Furthermore, games can develop
communicative competence. Second, games will motivate learners to be more enthusiastic
and active in the learning proccess because they are challenged to do certain activities.
The sixth technique is using short stories, this statement was based on Teacher G’s
experiences:
Selain itu reading, membaca short story, mereka sudah mulai kaya reading
comprehension, memberi karakternya kenapa disitu, messagenya apa dari
fable itu. Ya walaupun story nya masih sedikit-sedikit tapi minimal mereka
sudah mulai.
Teacher G believed that short stories could make the students got in their imagination and
linked to the real world. In along with teacher G’s statement on the use of short stories,
according to Bachrudin (2003), stories give some advantages for children, stories are

18

motivating and fun. They create a desire in children to continue learning, build the
imagination of the children, help them to develop their own creative powers, and link fantasy
with real world.
Furthermore, the techniques are used by the teachers in their teaching procedures.
Teacher A explained her steps in a series of teaching and learning ;
Saya pertama-tama menyapa murid, lalu pemanasan dengan menyanyikan
lagu “Good morning, how are you ? “ setelah itu saya mengejarkan
vocabulary tentang benda-benda yang ada disekitar kelas. Saya list dulu
vocabulary yang diajarkan, misalnya whiteboard, eraser, dan lain-lain.
Setelah itu saya membuat teka- teki silang, lalu setelah itu saya menyuruh
murid untuk maju. Menuliskan vocab sesuai gambar yang ada di teka-teki
silang. Yang terakhir saya mencoba mengevaluasi murid dengan
menayakan vocabulary yang telah dipelajari
It indicated that teacher A used some steps to manage the material, so the lesson taught could
go well.
In line with teacher A, teacher J explained her steps in a series of teaching learning;
Saya menyapa siswa, menunujukkan beberapa gambar dan meminta
murid untuk menebaknya seperti menunjukkan gambar orang yang
sedang menyapu, menutup pintu dan menyiram bunga. Setelah itu
bertanya bagaimana cara mengungkapkan permintaan dalam bahasa
inggris dan menjelaskan pertanyaan tersebut. Saya meminta 5 orang
murid untuk satu per-satu melakukan permintaan dari saya, contohnya “
could you open the door, please? lalu meminta beberapa anak untuk maju

19

ke depan dan memberi perintah ke teman yang lain. Sebelum menutup
pelajaran, saya bertanya apakah ada pertanyaan atau tidak.
Both teachers used teaching procedures which were pre-teaching, whilst teaching, and
post teaching. For example, from the interview with teacher J, we could clearly see that in
pre-teaching, the teacher greeted the students and asked questions about the topic learnt.
Then, the teacher presented the topic and gave some activities in the whilst teaching such as;
giving example about the topic and explaining it, and asking some students to practice what
the teacher had explained to them about the topic. At last, in the whilst teaching, the teacher
would end the lesson by concluding what the students had learnt. It can be seen through
asking questions before ending the lesson whether the students had any questions or not.

Conclusion
This study has discussed the teachers’ beliefs in teaching English at elementary
school. According to the research results, the teachers believed that childern should learn
English as early as possible. This belief is related to the importance of English in
globalization era that used in all of the aspects of life. Furthermore, learning English since
early age can give benefits to the children when they enter world’s work in the future. In
teaching young learners, the teachers should notice young learners’ characteristics in order to
archieve the learning goals. Thus, the teachers should deliver the materials in fun way. The
teachers should use some techniques in order to make the lesson fun, for example by using
pictures, videos, songs and etc. Because of children can easily get bored, the use of AVA is
useful to get young learners’ attention in order to make teaching and learning success.
There are two limitations in this study. The first, this study focused on teaching
context in Salatiga. Second, this study involved a small number of participants. Further
20

research can involve more participants to cover more issues in teachers’ beliefs. I would
suggest that further research needs to be look at what teachers’ beliefs between teachers who
graduate from English Department and who are not graduate from English Department in
teaching English at elementary school. The purpose of this study is to compare the beliefs
between the teachers who are graduate from English Department and who are not.

21

Acknowledgement
All my best I give to Allah SWT so I can finish this study in time by His plan. This thesis
would not have been possible without the support of many people. I wish to express my
gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, MA. who was abundantly helpful and
offered invaluable assistance, support and guidance. Deepest gratitudes are also due
Athriyana S. Pattiwael, M.Hum. without whose knowledge and assistance this study would
not have been completed. I would like to thank to the English elementary school teachers in
Salatiga who were willing to share all their thought, experiences and knowledge to support
this thesis. I also wish to express my love and gratitude to my beloved families for their
understanding & endless love. Special thanks also go to all my friends who also support me
by their prayers, especially to Wida, Yuyun, and Maria who gave me some advice for my
thesis revision.

22

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24

Appendix A
List of questions for the interview
1. Bagaimana pendapat anda tentang pelajaran Bahasa Inggris untuk anak di Sekolah
Dasar?
2. Bagaimana pendapat anda tentang issue penghapusan pelajaran Bahasa Inggris untuk
anak di Sekolah Dasar?
3. Menurut anda, kapan sebaiknya Bahasa Inggris mulai dipelajari? Mengapa demikian?
4. Bagaimana teknik/strategi anda dalam mengajarkan Bahasa Inggris kepada anak SD?
5. Deskripsikan rangkaian pembelajaran dalam satu jam pelajari? Aktivitas apa saja
yang di kelas?

25

Appendix B

Teacher

Q1
 Penting sekali
karena bukubuku telah
menggunakan
bahasa Inggris

A

Q2
 Kemunduran, era
global harusnya
anak-anak sudah
diperkenalkan
dengan bahasa
Inggris

Item
Q3
 Mulai SD sudah
bagus
 Untuk jenjang
pendidikan
berikutnya anak
akan terbiasa
menggunakan
bahasa Inggris

Q4
 Lagu
 Gambar
 Karena lebih menarik








B

 Lebih baik,
untuk
persiapan
mereka saat
dewasa
 Karena semua
informasi
disebarkan
dalam bentuk
bahasa Inggris

 Tidak setuju,
karena akan
mengalami
kemunduran

 Sedini mungkin
 Pada tahap itu
akan mudah
menyerap bahasa






Lagu
Video
Games
Sebagai guru harus
praise the setudent
ketika menjawab
pertanyaan










26

Q5
Menyapa murid
List vocabulary
Membuat teka-teki
silang
Menyuruh anak
maju
Menuliskan vocab
sesuai gambar
Menanyakan
vocabulary yang
telah dipelajari
menyapa
saya membwa
barang-barang
seperti boneka
untuk mengajar
preposition
saya membuat lagu
untuk latihan biar
anak lebih nyantol
karena, bahasa
inggris harus
diajarkan dengan
fun, kasian kalau
anak-anak tertekan
mengajar bahasa
Inggris harus
dengan extra

 Perlu, sebagai
alat
komunikasi
internasional

 Tidak setuju,
karena alasan
bahasa Inggris
ditiadakan untuk
meningkatkan
kecintaan
terhadap bahasa
nasional sedikit
tidak relevan

 Sedini mungkin
 Anak akan cepat
mengerti pola-pola
dalam bahasa
Inggris

 Gambar
 Realia, berinteraksi
dengan benda yang
nyata

 Cukup penting,
persiapan di
masa depan
 Banyak istilah0stilah yang
telah
menggunakan
bahasa Inggris

 Tidak setuju,
karena alasan
untuk
memperkuat
basic berbahasa
Indonesia itu
tidak relevan

 Ketika anak sudah
menguasai bahasa
Ibu
 Pada saat SD
sudah cukup baik
bahasa Inggris
dipelajari

 Video
 Gambar,dll

C

D

27

energi
 Menyapa
 Picture untuk
ditempel dengan
te a part of the
body
 Membentuk group,
untuk diskusi
dimana letak
bagian tubuh
tertentu
 Representative dari
group maju ke
depan kelas
 Di dalam interview
guru
menambahkan
atmosfer perlu
dijaga, karena
ketika merasa
nyaman murid akan
menyukai pelajaran
tersebut.
Topic : gardening
 Menyapa
 Diajak ke taman
uksw untuk melihat
tanaman di sekitar
 Fokus ke flower,
diajarkan
bagaimana
merawat bunga
 Memanam

 guru
menambahkan :
bahasa Inggris
harus diajarkan
dengan fun supaya
murid pay
attention
 Baik, karena
bahasa inggris
harus
dipelajari sejak
dini

 Tidak bijak,
karena bahasa
Inggris sudah
menjadi bahasa
Internasional

 As early as
possible, untuk
tujuna
berkomunikasi

 Games
 Lagu

 Sangat
penting,

 Kurang setuju

 Paud, mungkin, 3,
4, 5 tahun

 Picture
 game

E

F

28

 Warming up,
memakai cerita
atau lagu
 Mengajarkan
present perfect
tense maka saya
akan berbicara
tentang
petualangan, go
somewhere
 Setelah murid
excited, mereka
akan masuk ke
atmosfir
pembelajaran, baru
setelah itu saya
masuk ke latihan
 Setelah itu baru
evaluasi, murid
mengerti atau tidak
Topic : telling time
 greeting
 bertanya pada
murid, who knows,
what’s telli g ti e?

 persiapan
pendidikan ke
jenjang lebih
tinggi



 Penting,
persiapan
endidikan ke
jenjang lebih
tinggi

 Tidak setuju,
mematikan karir
guru sd, selain itu
bahasa Inggris
tetap bisa
berdampingan
dengan bahasa
Indonesia

 Sejak 3 tahun atau
5 tahun
 Kemampuan
menyerap bahasa
baru masih bagus

 Game
 Short stories

 Penting,
karena lebiih
dini lebih baik

 Tidak setuju

 Sejak dini,
mungkin preschool

 Video
 Lagu

G

H

karena terlalu
terlambat jika
mengenalkan
bahasa Inggris di
tingkat SMP

 Otak anak masih
brilliant ketika
masih dalam usia
dini

29

 Setelah murid
mengerti, saya
menjelaskan
tentang
penggunaan waktu
 Setelah itu latihan,
mereka menebak
waktu dengan
gambar jam
misalnya
 Menanyakan
kembali, murid
mengerti atau
belum (evaluasi)
 Menyapa
 Menanyakan
bagaimana
perasaan mereka
jika mereka cacat
(materi reading)
 Memberikan
sebuah cerita
tentang anak cacat
 Mereka membaca
dan akan
mengambil
pelajaran dari
materi tersebut
Topic : feeling
 Menyapa
 Menyanyi dulu agar
murid senang
 Diberi gambar

 karena lebih
mudah belajar
bahasa Inggris
ketika anak masih
kecil



karena
penerimaan akan
Bahasa akan
mudah






 Penting,
karena anak
kecil
menangkap
pelajaran lebih
baik

 Tidak setuju,
karena sangat
penting untuk
memberikan
dasar bahasa
Inggris yang kuat
dikemudian hari

 5 tahun, ketika
masih dini akan
memberi dasar
bahasa Inggris
yang kuat sehingga
timbul kesukaan
terhadap Bahasa
Inggris

 Gambar
 Video animasi







I




30

tentang beberapa
ekspresi, ada
senang, sedih dll
Bertanya tentang
kapan mereka
sedih atau waktu
apa mereka merasa
senang
Memberikan
vocabulary tentang
feeling
Pada akhir materi,
diberikan game
Menyapa
Menebak hewan
apa?
Diberikan
vocabulary
berkaitan tentang
part of body hewan
Dilatihan, diberikan
games kecil,
Satu murid maju
mendeskripskian
tentang binatang : I
have a leg, i have
long nose
Teman-teman yang
lain menebak
hewan apakah itu

 Penting, untuk
memberikan
pondasi untuk
pendidikan
selajutnya

 Kurang setuju,
karena bahasa
Inggris adalah
bahasa global
sehingga
sebaiknya
diajarkan sejak
dini

 Sejak usia SD, usia
dini lebih mudah
untuk diajari
bahasa Inggris

J

31

 Gambar
 Games
 Mengajar anak kecil

itu tidak bisa kalau
cuma selalu
menjelaskan materi
kayak mengajar
orang dewasa,
mereka itu gak bisa
cuma diam, mereka
itu suka kalo
dikasih aktivitas
yang
menyenangkan

topic : request
 menyapa siswa
 menunujukkan

beberapa gambar
dan meminta
murid untuk
menebaknya
seperti
menunjukkan
gambar orang
yang sedang
menyapu,
menutup pintu
dan menyiram
bunga.
 Saya meminta 5
orang murid untuk
satu per-satu
melakukan
permintaan dari
saya, contohnya “
could you open
the door, please?
lalu meminta
beberapa anak
untuk maju ke
depan dan
memberi perintah
ke teman yang
lain
 Sebelum menutup
pelajaran, saya

bertanya apakah
ada pertanyaan
atau tidak.

32