Students` and teachers` perceptions on the english competency-based curriculum implementation at the sixth grade of elementary school - USD Repository
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
STUDENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON
THE ENGLISH COMPETENCY-BASED CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION AT THE SIXTH GRADE
OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Brita Hapsari
Student Number: 021214046
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2007
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis which I wrote does not contain the works or part of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and bibliography, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, 18 August 2007 The writer, Brita Hapsari
(021214046)
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
God, please t each me
how t o accept t hings I cannot change. . .
And please give me br aver y
t o change t hings I can change. . .
Ever y second is pr iceless . . . Ever y second cannot be changed by anyt hing . . . Ever y second cr eat es happiness . . .
And when t he happiness can be f ound in t he
silence . . . I f ind it in my f amily . . .This t hesis is dedicat ed t o: My f at her , R. Sudj adi My mot her , Ar diat i Chamasiah My beloved f amily
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
I am very grateful to have Allah SWT in my life that always guides me and gives me chances to do my best. Thank God I have finally finished writing my thesis after striving until my last sweat to do the biggest part of my study.
I would like to begin giving my thankfulness to FX. Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd. and Y. Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum. for their guidance, patience, and worthy suggestions during the best time when I was finishing my thesis.
Furthermore, I sincerely appreciate the kindness and assistance of the lecturers and administrative staff of the English Language Education Study Program. This would not be easy without them all.
I also feel thankful to the Head Master, Dra. Erna Krusmaningsih, the
th
English teachers, Evi Ghiashofa, S.Pd. and Deny Eka Candrawati, S.Pd. and the 6 grade students of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta for their cooperation during my research.
I thank God for giving me the best parents in my life. My greatest and deepest gratitude goes to my parents, R. Sudjadi and Ardiati Chamasiah, who have given me a chance to study at Sanata Dharma University where I experienced many marvellous and fabulous events and met my best and close friends who gave colours in my life. Had they not supported me, I would not have been able to finish my thesis. I dedicate the last project of my study to them.
I give a million thanks to my beloved brothers and my sisters in-law who are always ready twenty-four hours to help me. In addition, my special thanks go to my cute nieces and nephews who always cheer me up with their naughtiness and funny things they made. I also feel thankful to Andreas Dimas who always
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
inspires me to be better. His jokes and spontaneous comments can cheer me up in my bad times. I thank Viera whose innocence really amuses me. I also thank Nisa and the big family of CMM.
I feel so grateful to have Iin as my best friend who is always next to me in my ups and downs. I thank her for the supports during my working days of thesis. Thanks for the nicest and unforgettable memories I made with her. I also feel so thankful to the big family of Ibu Restutami Slamet for giving me advice to work harder on my thesis. I thank her for giving me a chance to be a part of her family.
I also would like to whole-heartedly give my deepest gratefulness to I Ketut Wijaya Kusuma who has coloured my days. I thank him for his guidance, patience and fully supports on my thesis. I would not be this tough and have struggled harder without his supports. I thank him for drawing a picture and giving me a path in my heart. Never did I meet a person like him.
My special thank goes to EME’s family for giving me a chance to grow up and upgrade myself not only to be the real teacher with so much fun, but also to be a better individual and have another meaning of life. I would like to deeply thank the General Manager of EME, Mas Agga, who has given me a different sight of friendship, love, and life. I thank the big family of EME, Mbak Iiek and Mbak Nyta, Rina, Grace, Melly, and all EME’s students. Seldom did I have a great family that successfully brought me up.
Brita Hapsari
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………...Page i ii iii iv v vi viii xi xii xiii xiv xv
14 Page
12
12
8
8
5
4
4
3
3
2
1
b. Child Language Development ……………………...
APPROVAL PAGE ………………………………………………………. BOARD OF EXAMINERS ………………………………………………. STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ………………………….. DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………….. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………. TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………. LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………... LIST OF FIGURE ………………………………………………………… LIST OF APPENDICES …………………………………………………..
a. The Elementary School Children …………………...
1. Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language …………………………………………… 2. English for Young Learners ………………………...
CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW A. Theoretical Description ……………………………..
G. Definition of Terms …………………………………
F. Benefits of the Study ……………………………......
E. Objectives of the Study …………………………......
C. Limitation of the Problems ………………………… D. Problem Formulation ……………………………….
B. Identification of the Problems ………………………
I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study …………………………...
CHAPTER
ABSTRAK .....................................................................................................
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………….
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
33
26
28
29
30
30
30
31
32
34
22
36
36
36
38
41
42
43
45 Page
23
c. Children’s Attitudes Towards Learning .....................
3. Curriculum Development in Indonesia ……………..
F. Research Procedure …………………………………
a. 1994 Curriculum …………………………………… b. Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
c. The Differences between 1994 Curriculum and Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
d. Perceptions ………………………………………….
B. Theoretical Framework ……………………………..
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY A. Method ……………………………………………... B. Research Participants ………………………………. C. Setting ……………………………………………… D. Research Instruments ……………………………….
1. Questionnaire ……………………………………….
2. Interview …………………………………………… 3. Field Notes ………………………………………….
E. Data Gathering Technique ………………………….
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Research Findings …………………………………..
17
1. The Implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum ………………………………………….
a. Reading Skill ………………………………………..
b. Speaking Skill ……………………………………… c. Writing Skill ………………………………………...
d. Listening Skill ………………………………………
2. The Students’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
a. The Students’ Background Knowledge of English …
b. The Implementation of Competency-Based
15
16
18 Curriculum in Teaching Learning Process ………….
c. The Facilities for the Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
51
75
72
70
69
68
66
65
65
64
62
58
56
56
56
49
d. The Result of the Competency-Based Curriculum Implementation ……………………………………..
2. The Students’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
3. The Teachers’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
B. Discussion ………………………………………….
1. The Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum ………………………………………….
a. Reading Skill ………………………………………..
b. Speaking Skill ……………………………………… c. Writing Skill ………………………………………...
d. Listening Skill ………………………………………
a. The Students’ Background Knowledge of English …
47
b. The Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum in Teaching Learning Process …………
c. The Facilities for the Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
d. The Result of Competency-Based Curriculum Implementation ……………………………………..
3. The Teachers’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum …………………….
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions ………………………………………… B. Suggestions ………………………………………… BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………
45
76 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. A Competency-Based Curriculum Guideline for the 1
st
Semester of 6
th Grade of Elementary School ……………………………...
Table 2. A Competency-Based Curriculum Guideline for the 2
nd
Semester of 6
th Grade of Elementary School ……………………………...
Table 3. The Differences between 1994 Curriculum and Competency- Based Curriculum ……………………………………………..... Table 4. A Blueprint of the Questionnaire …………………………………. Table 5. A Blueprint of the Interview ………………………………………
Page
19
20
22
31
32 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF FIGURE
Figure 1. Perceptions in This Research …………………………………… Page
23 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Page APPENDIX 1 A Permission Letter for a Research ………………………..
79 APPENDIX 2 A List of Students’ Marks ………………………………….
80 APPENDIX 3 Field Notes ………………………………………………....
81 APPENDIX 4 An Interview Guideline ……………………………………
92 APPENDIX 5 A transcript of an interview with the first teacher …………
95 APPENDIX 6 A transcript of an interview with the second teacher ……... 105 APPENDIX 7 A Curriculum Guideline …………………………………... 111 APPENDIX 8 A Syllabus of Speed Up English 6 ………………………... 114 APPENDIX 9 Research Calendar ………………………………………… 118 APPENDIX 10 A Questionnaire …………………………………………… 121
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRACT
Hapsari, Brita. 2007. Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions on the English
Competency-Based Curriculum Implementation at the Sixth Grade of Elementary
School. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.English is a language which is widely used through all over the world. It has been taught to the students from the first grade of Elementary School students to college students. It is taught to Elementary School students as one of the non-compulsory subjects. At SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta, the English teachers implemented Competency-Based Curriculum.
This research was attempted to observe the implementation of English Competency-Based Curriculum at the sixth grade of Elementary School as one of the non-compulsory subjects taught at school. This research aimed at identifying how the Competency-Based Curriculum was implemented at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta. The students’ and teachers’ perceptions on Competency-Based Curriculum were studied in this research.
This research took the two English teachers and ten students of the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta as the subjects of the research. The questionnaires were distributed to the ten students to gather the data. The researcher also collected data by interviewing the two English teachers. The field notes were also used in this research to complete the existing data by observing the classroom situation which consisted of 29 students.
The data gathered showed that the implementation of English Competency-Based Curriculum at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta obtained positive responses from the students. The class activities developed the four English skills. The reading skill was built up by asking the students to take turn reading passages while the teacher corrected their mispronunciations. The speaking skill was developed by mostly having card games as the media to help the students talk actively to achieve the competencies of speaking skill. The teacher developed the writing skill through writing assignments. The students were asked to make correct English sentences as the class activities as well. Meanwhile, the listening skill was built up by assigning the students to memorize and pay attention to the story read by the teacher. The teacher checked whether the students understood the story by giving some comprehending questions.
The teacher sometimes used media to do the class activity as well, so the competencies of the four English skills required in the curriculum guideline could be achieved successfully. The class atmosphere was so alive that the students could reach the competencies of the English skills when the teacher checked them. The teaching learning process also made the students enjoy learning English especially through the media available at school. The students could respond positively towards the class activities. They stated that the class activities at school such as games made them learn English more easily. Besides, the teachers stated that Competency-Based Curriculum was appropriate to be applied to the classroom since this curriculum could make the students achieve the competencies of the English skills. These evidences proved that the Competency- Based Curriculum was good and suitable to the condition of the sixth grade classroom at SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRAK
Brita Hapsari. 2007. Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions on the English
Competency-Based Curriculum Implementation at the Sixth Grade of Elementary
School. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.Bahasa Inggris adalah sebuah bahasa yang di gunakan secara umum di seluruh dunia. Bahasa Inggris sudah diajarkan kepada siswa-siswi mulai dari kelas
1 Sekolah Dasar hingga mahasiswa. Bahasa Inggris diajarkan pada siswa-siswi Sekolah Dasar sebagai salah satu muatan lokal. Di SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta, guru-guru bahasa Inggris menerapkan Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi.
Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui penerapan Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi untuk bahasa Inggris pada kelas 6 Sekolah Dasar sebagai salah satu muatan lokal yang diajarkan di sekolah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi diterapkan di kelas 6 SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta. Persepsi siswa-siswi dan guru-guru terhadap Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi juga dipelajari dalam penelitian ini.
Penelitian ini menempatkan dua orang guru bahasa Inggris dan sepuluh siswa-siswi kelas 6 SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta sebagai subyek penelitian. Kuesioner-kuesioner dibagikan kepada 10 siswa-siswi untuk mendapatkan data. Peneliti juga mengumpulkan data dengan mewawancarai dua orang guru bahasa Inggris. Field notes juga digunakan untuk melengkapi data yang ada dengan cara mengobservasi keadaan kelas yang terdiri atas 29 siswa.
Data yang terkumpul menunjukkan bahwa penerapan Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi untuk bahasa Inggris pada kelas 6 SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta mendapatkan tanggapan positif dari siswa-siswi. Aktifitas di kelas mengembangkan empat keterampilan berbahasa Inggris. Keterampilan membaca dikembangkan dengan meminta siswa-siswi untuk membaca bacaan bergiliran sementara guru membetulkan kesalahan pengucapan. Keterampilan berbicara dikembangkan melalui permainan kartu sebagai media untuk membantu siswa- siswi aktif berbicara untuk mencapai kompetensi-kompetensi dari keterampilan membaca. Guru mengembangkan keterampilan menulis melalui tugas-tugas menulis. Siswa-siswi juga diminta untuk membuat kalimat-kalimat bahasa Inggris yang benar untuk aktifitas di kelas. Sementara keterampilan mendengarkan dikembangkan dengan meminta siswa-siswi untuk menghafal dan memperhatikan cerita yang dibacakan oleh guru. Guru mengecek apakah siswa-siswi mengerti ceritanya dengan memberi beberapa pertanyaan yang berhubungan dengan bacaan.
Guru terkadang juga menggunakan media untuk aktifitas kelas sehingga kompetensi-kompetensi dari empat keterampilan berbahasa Inggris dalam pedoman kurikulum dapat dicapai dengan sukses. Suasana kelas sangat hidup sehingga siswa-siswi dapat mencapai kompetensi-kompetensi dari keterampilan berbahasa Inggris ketika guru mengecek. Proses belajar mengajar membuat siswa-siswi menikmati belajar bahasa Inggris khususnya melalui media yang ada di sekolah. Siswa-siswi dapat merespon dengan positif terhadap aktifitas- aktfitas kelas. Mereka mengatakan bahwa aktifitas-aktifitas kelas di sekolah seperti permainan membuat mereka belajar bahasa Inggris dengan lebih mudah. Disamping itu, dua orang guru bahasa Inggris menyatakan bahwa Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi cocok diterapkan di kelas karena kurikulum ini dapat membuat para siswa mencapai kompetensi-kompetensi dari keterampilan berbahasa Inggris. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi itu bagus dan sesuai untuk situasi kelas 6 di SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses the study which is investigated in this research. This chapter is divided into seven parts; they are background of the study,
identification of the problems, limitation of the problems, problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms.
A. Background of the Study
English has been taught to students in Indonesia. As a foreign language, English has become a complementary subject in formal schools in Indonesia. As a major subject, English starts being taught in Junior High School and continuously until the first year of college. At the age of thirteen years old, the Junior High School students used to be said as the appropriate level to begin learning English. However, the government changed the decision and made a new policy that English should be taught earlier in the Elementary School. Based on the Indonesian decree, English has been taught to the students of the fourth grade of Elementary School. The fourth grade of Elementary School is considered as an appropriate level to start learning English since the students at the early age of ten years old are still eager to learn something new especially to study a new subject.
Moreover, the younger the learners the easier they study English because children have unique attitude towards learning, especially a new language.
When they learn what they are curious about, they go faster, cover more territory
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
taught to the students in the very beginning level since the purpose of teaching English for children is to give basic knowledge to the students so as to prepare the students to learn English in the next level.
In 2001, the government changed the curriculum and started implementing a new curriculum. The previous curriculum was the 1994 English curriculum which put emphasis on the development of communicative competence and cover the four language skills based on the teacher-centered method (Depdikbud, 1994: 1-2). However, in the new curriculum, the Competency-Based Curriculum, the learners are the center of the teaching learning process.
This research attempts to investigate the classroom activities in the implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum to teach English at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta. The sixth grade students and the English teachers of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta are taken as the subjects of this research. The researcher takes the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta as the participants under a consideration that they have had the basic knowledge of English because they have learnt English since they were at the fourth grade and the fifth grade of Elementary School.
B. Identification of the Problems
The students in formal school in Indonesia used to begin learning English from the first grade of Junior high school. The aim of teaching English should be to enable our learners to communicate in that language (Golebiowska, 1990). However, English has been taught to the fourth grade of Elementary School because the fourth grade of Elementary School is considered as an appropriate
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
level to start learning English. The purpose of teaching English to children is at least to give the basic knowledge of English to the students to prepare the students to learn English in the next level.
In this research, the researcher analyzed the implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum to teach English at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta. The researcher also presented the students’ and teachers’ perceptions on the implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum of English at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta.
C. Limitation of the Problems
This thesis discusses the classroom activities in class and also the teacher’s and the students’ perceptions on the implementation of Competency- Based Curriculum at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta. This thesis also offers explanation about implementing Competency-Based Curriculum to teach English to children.
D. Problem Formulation
Based on the problem limitation, the problems are formulated as follows:
1. How is the English Competency-Based Curriculum implemented at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta?
2. What are the students’ perceptions on the implementation of Competency- Based Curriculum of English at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta?
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3. What are the teacher’s perceptions on the implementation of Competency- Based Curriculum of English at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta?
E. Objectives of the Study
Related to the questions mentioned in the problem formulation, there are two objectives presented in this thesis. The first objective is to describe the implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum of English at the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta. The second objective is to find out the perceptions of students and teachers on the implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum to teach English to young learners. This research also provides some explanation whenever the writer finds classroom problems in the implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum to teach English at the six grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta.
F. Benefits of the Study
This thesis is expected to give valuable contributions to the teachers, the curriculum writer, and also the next researchers dealing with teaching and learning for young learners.
1. Teachers This thesis is expected to give valuable contribution to the teachers especially those who teach the young learners. It can make the teachers aware of the classroom difficulties. Also, it can help the teachers and give some alternatives to overcome the difficulties which usually occur in
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
teaching English to young learners. The teachers are expected to be able to handle the problems.
2. Curriculum writers This thesis is supposed to give a valuable contribution to the curriculum writers. This thesis can be a consideration in making a new curriculum which is appropriate for teaching Elementary School students. It can help the curriculum writer to decide what is suitable for Elementary School students.
3. Further researchers Hopefully, this thesis can contribute something important and useful to the education field. This thesis is expected to be useful as a reference for the next researchers to conduct an observation dealing with teaching English to young learners.
G. Definition of Terms
1. Sixth grade students of Elementary School According to ‘Undang-Undang nomor 2 Sistem Pendidikan Nasional’ about elementary education, elementary school refers to the first part of the nine- year system of the elementary education program which has the duration of six years (Soedijarto, 1992: 28). Whereas the regulation of the Republic of Indonesia states that those who are not less than six years old permitted to join a basic education (Depdikbud, 1994: 2).
Therefore, based on the definition mentioned before, Elementary School students are those who join a system of elementary education program which
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2. Competency It is stated in the fifth edition of Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture (2002) that competency which is the same as competence means an ability or skill to do what is needed. Webster’s New Explorer Dictionary and Thesaurus (1999) states that competency is the same as competence as well. Competency, and also competence, is defined as an ability or skill. According to Curriculum Centre (Pusat Kurikulum, Balitbang Depdiknas), competency is “a basic knowledge and an ability that are reflected in the attitude of thinking and acting” (2002: 1). This research studies the Competency-Based Curriculum. This curriculum is based on the learners-centred which requires the students to achieve the competencies written in the curriculum.
3. Curriculum According to Richard (2005: 8), a curriculum is a teaching guideline that covers all subjects in one situation.
A curriculum is a guideline for teaching learning process so that the aim of education can be achieved (Suprapranata-Hatta, 2004:1).
This research aims at evaluating whether the curriculum is acceptable and applicable to the real class situation.
4. Competency-Based Curriculum According to the Curriculum Centre (Pusat Kurikulum, Balitbang
), this curriculum focuses on the competence to be formed by the
Depdiknas
students (2002: 8). The competency-based approach puts emphasis more on
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
the consideration that curriculum must contain learning materials that equip the graduates with various competencies that are needed in the field.
5. Competency-Based Learning According to the Curriculum Centre (Pusat Kurikulum, Balitbang
Depdiknas ), Competency-Based English Learning is expected to function as
a means to develop students’ personality, knowledge, technology and arts, global concept and international communication capability (2002: 7-8).
The Competency-Based Learning aims at generating optimal outputs that prepare the graduates to have good skills, knowledge, and capabilities to compete with the others.
6. Perception A perception is defined as the process whereby the external tokens of objects and phenomena are reflected in someone’s consciousness (Leontive, 1981: 31). Through this definition, it means that someone is creating his or her perception when he or she is aware of experiencing an event or observing an object.
7. SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta This school was located at Jl. Juwadi 2 Kotabaru Yogyakarta. There were 15 classes in total and the sixth grade of SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta consisted of 3 classes. The number of the students was 393. The class C which was observed consisted of 29 students. Furthermore, there were two English teachers at SD Negeri Serayu Yogyakarta who were responsible for teaching English to all classes.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the writer discusses some theories related to the
research problems. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is about theoretical description. The theoretical description discusses some related theories used in the research. The second part is about theoretical framework which presents the discussion of how the theories are integrated in this research.
A. Theoretical Description
1. Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language
In Indonesia, English is learnt after people learn their first or native language. For most people, learning a second or foreign language is more difficult than learning their native language. Lado (1964: 38) states that, “Learning a foreign language is defined as acquiring the ability to use its structure within a general vocabulary under essentially the conditions of normal communication among native speakers at conversational speed.” It means that when students learn a foreign language, they have to learn its structures and general vocabularies, so they can have a conversation with the native speakers of the language.
As stated by Finocchiaro (1989: 17-18), there are five crucial factors that need to be considered in learning English as a foreign language. Age is one of the crucial factors. It also becomes a measurement to determine whether the learners are the children who can imitate the teacher easily and prefer to learn
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
native language habits are more deeply established and can analyze the new language. Therefore, age is important in learning English as a foreign language to select the appropriate methods and materials.
Another factor is ability which measures whether or not the learners have the ability to master a new language easily. In this case, each student has different level of ability of English, so everyone has different progress in learning English. Aspirations and needs are also important to determine whether the learners need to learn English to find a job, do further studies, conduct a business, or take a trip. Everyone learns English based on his or her objectives so that he or she has to know the goal first before deciding to study English.
Native language becomes the next crucial factor which finds out whether or not there are similarities between English and the native language of the learners, especially in sounds, structure, and vocabulary. Sometimes, people find difficulties in learning a new language because of the accent and the culture.
The last factor is previous learning. This factor tries to find out whether the learners have studied any other foreign language or not. It aims at measuring the learners’ background knowledge of English and how much English they already know.
Richards and Rodgers (1986: 72) state that there are three principles of language learning. The first is the communication principle, i.e. activities that involve real communication promote learning. The second is the task principle, i.e. activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning. The third is the meaningfulness principle, i.e. language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Krashen and Terrel (1983: 26) state the theory on second language acquisition and second language learning. The theory claims that adults have two distinctive ways of developing competence in second language. The first way is language acquisition that is by using language for real communication. Language acquisition is a natural way to develop linguistic ability, and is subconscious process. Children, for example, are not necessarily aware that they are acquiring a language. They are only aware that they are communicating.
The second way to develop competence in a second language is by language learning. Language learning is “knowing about” language, or “formal knowledge” of a language. While acquisition is subconscious, learning is conscious. Learning refers to “explicit” knowledge of rules, being aware of them and being able to talk about them. This kind of knowledge is quite different from language acquisition, which should be termed “implicit” (Krashen-Terrel, 1983: 26).
There are some techniques in teaching English as foreign language that are better known by the teacher. Newton (1976: 337-340) stated, at least, eleven techniques. The first one is that the teachers should create an atmosphere which encourages the students to speak English in the classroom because the students need to be accustomed as soon as possible to the unfamiliar sounds of the new language. The second technique is to let the students do most talking because the students are they who need to practice speaking, not the teacher, and in order to learn the language, they must use it.
The third technique is to correct the student errors by having students repeat the right form. This technique is needed because when a student makes an
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
error, either in pronunciation or in structure, the teacher should immediately produce the correct form and have the students repeat it after you do it several times. Adequate English language habits are developed by listening to and imitating correct methods of English speech.
The fourth one is that the teachers should introduce one new structure at a time. The teachers should let the students hear the structure a number of times, then have them repeat it many more times. They have to be sure that the students understand and are able to use the new structure correctly before the lesson goes on to new material.
Another technique stated by Newton (1976: 337-340) is that the teachers should insist on plenty of repetition. In this case, an approach of repetition drills with interest and enthusiasm might be needed. The teachers have to strive to obtain a good imitation not only of the words that constitute the structural pattern but also of its pronunciation and intonation as well. The next technique is that the teachers should give plenty of substitution drill. The value of the substitution drill is that it trains the student to use a great variety of words within a limited number of grammatical patterns, and hence be able to express in English a variety of concepts.
The seventh technique is that the teachers have to train the students to ask questions in English. The teachers should give plenty of drill on question forms, and then have the students ask questions of each other. The eighth technique is that the teachers have to prepare for the class. They should divide the semester’s work by the total number of teaching hours, and decide what they will teach in each class period. They do not have to forget to allow ample time for
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
review. The ninth technique is that the teachers should treat the textbook as a tool, not a tyrant. They use a textbook as a supplement to the teaching. Introduction of new material and preliminary oral drill should come from the teachers, and textbook should be closed while new structures and vocabularies are practiced.
The teachers should be creative in the use of a textbook, employing its materials in a variety of ways.
The next technique is that the teachers should encourage the students and help them by praising their good performances and their progress (Newton, 1976: 337-340). The teachers should ask the harder questions of the better students and give them compliments towards their good effort because it can make them do their best.
The last technique is that the teachers have to create and have a fun atmosphere. They should let the English class be an enjoyable experience for them and the students. They might tell an occasional joke in English, simplifying structure and vocabulary as necessary.
2. English for Young Learners
a) The Elementary School Children
The elementary school children grow and develop during their six years in school. According to Cole (1956: 124), the elementary school children are divided in two groups; the first three years are called the primary grade, and the last three years are called the intermediate grade. There are some characteristics, which differentiate the primary and intermediate grades. As a teacher we have to
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
The subjects of this research are the sixth grade of elementary school children. They are considered in the intermediate grade. According to Cole (1956: 132-137), the development characteristics found in this period cover the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social aspects.
1. Physical Characteristics The last three years of elementary school are usually a period of slower growth in height but more marked growth in weight than the previous period (Cole, 1956: 132-137). Because of the increased size and strength of the muscles and the development of better nervous control, children in the intermediate grade can do many things easily that were impossible at the earlier level. The children are now old enough to indulge in considerable amounts of handwork and are usually passionately interested in building practically anything.
2. Intellectual Characteristics The children in this period are interested in learning all kinds of things, and they want to know as many facts as possible about as many different things as possible. During this period, the teacher should make arrangements for satisfying each pupil’s curiosity in as many fields as possible (Cole, 1956: 132-137).