Potential Dyslexic Child At ACE Kids Bandung.

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ABSTRACT

Pada zaman sekarang ini banyak masalah yang terjadi pada anak-anak di sekolah dan bermacam-macam istilah mulai bermunculan. Contohnya autis dan hiperaktif yang mempengaruhi sisi psikologis anak sehingga

kadang-kadang menimbulkan kesulitan pada cara belajar anak tersebut. Ada anak yang kesulitan belajar Matematika dan ada juga anak yang kesulitan membaca atau mengeja. Di Indonesia anak yang mengalami kesulitan-kesulitan seperti ini mungkin akan disebut bodoh, padahal ternyata ada penyebabnya. Contohnya adalah kesulitan mengeja dan membaca yang dikenal dengan nama disleksia.

Saya tertarik untuk membahas topik ini karena mulai ramai dibicarakan. Terlebih lagi saya ingin mengetahui penyebab sebenarnya yang terjadi dengan anak didik saya yang selalu mengalami kesulitan dalam mengeja dan membaca dalam Bahasa Inggris. Setelah saya mencari informasi lewat internet, ada kemungkinan dia mengalami disleksia. Saya ingin mengangkat pengalaman ini menjadi topik yang akan saya bahas dalam Tugas Akhir ini, mengingat masih jarang orang Indonesia yang tahu tentang disleksia.

Pada Tugas Akhir ini akan dibahas tentang masalah yang dihadapi salah satu murid saya saat magang. Ada kemungkinan bahwa dia mempunyai

disleksia, karena dia selalu mengalami kesulitan dalam mengeja dan membaca. Berbagai solusi telah dicoba untuk mengatasi masalah ini termasuk saran yang diberikan kepada supervisor agar memberi tahu orang tuanya mengenai

masalah anaknya. Namun karena tidak berhasil, akhirnya solusi yang paling baik yang diambil selama saya magang adalah mendukungnya dan

membantunya dalam mengeja dan membaca. Dengan dukungan, perhatian, dan bantuan yang diberikan, dia menjadi lebih percaya diri dan bisa mengeja lebih baik.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPROVAL PAGE ... i

PERNYATAAN ORISINALITAS LAPORAN ...ii

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ... iii

PREFACE ...iv

ABSTRACT... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS...vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION... 1 - 6

A. Background of the Study B. Statement of the Problem

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study D. Description of the Institution

E. Limitations of the Study

F. Organization of the Term Paper

CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 7 - 9 CHAPTER III. CAUSE AND EFFECT... 10 - 14 CHAPTER IV. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ... 15 - 17 CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION... 18 - 19


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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

When teaching in a school or a course, every teacher must face different character with various behaviour, and also different knowledge that the students have. Besides, the teachers often find problems of the children, whether

physical or mental. Sometimes the problem is easy or hard to be solved.

Not only the English subject do the children find difficult to learn, but some other subjects as well. Of course, they cannot handle the problem easily and they do not know the way out of their difficulties. There are some learning disabilities that make them very difficult to learn English well if compared to the normal students. One of the learning disabilities is called dyslexia, which makes a child difficult to spell, and this is usually followed by difficulty in reading or writing as well.

Dyslexia can be observed when an English teacher who does not know the problem keeps asking a student to spell a word. However the student always gets confused in pronouncing the words, no matter how often the teacher has spelled the word correctly for the student. Moreover,


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the dyslexic child cannot read or write well sometimes. In the end, both of the teacher and the student will be frustrated. That happened in Ace Kids, Bandung, with a student of mine during my internship. He could never spell correctly every time I asked him to spell. Furthermore, he could not read a sentence well.

Sometimes when he was asked to write one or two words, he could not do it correctly either.

Based on what I get during my internship, I want to choose this topic as my final-term paper writing because I think it is interesting as not so many Indonesian people know about dyslexia. Knowing how dyslexia affects the student and how a teacher can do things to help the dyslexic student in class will not make both the teacher and the student frustrated. I would like to find out why he has difficulty in spelling and sometimes in reading. This research also tries to give solutions to help my student overcome his problem.

B. Statement of the Problem

Based on the Background of the Study, I want to find out why my student has difficulty in spelling which is often accompanied by difficulties in reading and writing during my internship. I think it is caused by the presence of dyslexia and I will try to search for more information about the case and find out how to help him.

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

There are some objectives and benefits that I get from the study and I will explain it briefly below.


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o Objectives of the Study

I want to find out the cause of what happens with one of my students during my internship who cannot spell correctly, accompanied by being very slow in reading and difficulty in writing a simple word. This makes me think he maybe has dyslexia. From the information that I get, I will be able to know the possibility of the child’s condition and find the best way to help him. I will analyze this topic to help the teachers as well to know how to handle a child, especially dyslexia.

o Benefits of the Study

I will divide the benefits of the study into three parts, which are for the institution, for myself, and for DIII English Program and the Readers.

(a) For the Institution

By reading this term-paper, the teachers can know how to handle the students with difficulty in learning English and hopefully they can improve their techniques of teaching. The teachers will be able to learn more about children psychology, so when they face a problem with a student, they will know how to handle the student’s behaviour wisely and control their emotion.

(b) For Myself

By conducting this research, I know a new term called dyslexia based on some signals that I see from a student of Ace Kids who cannot spell and read


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correctly. Furthermore, I can gain new information as well as solutions on how to help this child and this can add to my knowledge about teaching and about children psychology.

(c) For DIII English Program and the Readers

Both the lecturers in DIII English Program and the readers will be able to know about dyslexia so that they will be able to know how to handle a dyslexic child. The readers can also know what Ace Kids is like and what some parents should do with their child if they find the child has difficulty in learning English.

D. Description of the Institution

Ace Kids was firstly built in Jakarta by Dra. Leony Siswati Tanama in 1998 with its slogan “Ace Kids starts with the end in mind”, which means that the students, who do not really know about English language and come to Ace Kids, will learn and speak in English and Ace Kids will teach all types of English

lessons practically as well. Therefore, when the students do not study in Ace Kids anymore, they will still understand and be able to use English language everywhere. Ace Kids does not want to teach only theories.

On April 1st, 2002, Dra. Leony opened Ace Kids’ first branch at Jalan Pajajaran no. 87, Bandung. Then on May 1st, 2006, the next branch was

opened at Kopo Permai III 47A/no. 11, and the last branch was opened at Jalan Astina no. 68D. However, Ace Kids in Jalan Pajajaran has been closed due to the small building in Jalan Pajajaran that could not provide enough space to accomodate the students who wanted to learn English there. At present there


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are approximately 100 students who join English course at Ace Kids – Bandung branch with eight teachers, including the owner, Ms. Rhimelda, and two

receptionists, one of whom is also a teacher.

Ace Kids is an English course which teaches Vocabulary, Writing,

Reading, Conversation, Listening, and Grammar. The three-floor building in Ace

Kids Astina branch is complete with teaching equipment, such as: whiteboard, colourful markers, colour pencils, TV, DVD player, radio tape, cards, board games, such as Scrabble. In all Ace Kids branches are divided into 13 classes based on the children’s ability and their grade at school, such as : Toddy, Joey, Kiddy, Pre Basic, Basic 1, Basic 2, Basic 3, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Intermediate 3, Advance 1, Advance 2, Advance 3.

E. Limitations of the Study

I will try to find out what has caused my student to have difficulty in spelling and reading in Ace Kids Bandung by gathering some data from the internship journal I wrote. I also talked with the supervisor and the receptionist at Ace Kids Bandung, interviewed Dr. Dewi, a children’s psychologist, read some books, and got information from the internet resources to fulfill my curiosity. Afterwards, I will conclude and choose the best solution for this child.

F. Organization of the Term Paper

This final term-paper starts with an Abstract, a brief summary of the entire paper in Bahasa Indonesia. This Abstract is followed by the Declaration of Originality to certify that I write this paper based on my own work, and then the


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Acknowledgements to all the people and God who have helped me in writing this paper. After that is the Table of Contents, which is followed by its five chapters.

Chapter I consists the introduction of the paper’s analysis and Chapter II contains relevant theories that will be used to help my research in writing. Furthermore, Chapter III contains the cause of the problem that the child faces and the effects of it. Afterwards, I will analyze possible solutions including the positive and negative effects from doing it and the real situation analysis in Chapter IV. After that, I will choose the best solution with the reasons that will be explained in Chapter V. Lastly, I put the Bibliography.


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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION

Based on my experience during my internship, talking with Ace Kids teachers and the receptionist, interviewing a children’s psychologist, Dr. Dewi, and gathering information from books and internet resources, personally, my first thought and hope would be that his parents knew the real situation about their child, Raldy, and have the child tested psychologically so they could help him academically and psychologically. Then, the parents would know what actually happened with their child and had the psychologist provide some help so that Raldy could understand his English lessons better and he would be able to spell, read, and write well.

However, since the real situation came unexpectedly that neither my supervisor nor the receptionist wanted to tell the parents, the best solution overall would be the second solution, which was giving him support and compliments when he could spell or read correctly. For example, say,”Good boy” or “good work. Nice!” when he could do a task well in order to regain his self-confidence to memorize faster and be able to do his task well. Still, we had to help him too how to spell and read better until


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he could spell, read, and finally write without any problem. As an example, we could teach him “b” where the round shape is facing right using our body gesture. We could also tell him that spelling the word is not the same as it sounds as he is a dyseidetic dyslexia. In my opinion, that was the only solution which worked well during my internship at Ace Kids.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Printed Sources

Bawkin, Harry, and Ruth Morris Bawkin. Behaviour Disorders in Children. 4th ed. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1972.

Snowman, Jack, and Robert Biehler. Psychology Applied to Teaching. 10th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

Electronic Sources

Bailet, Laura L. “Understanding Dyslexia.” Kids Health. August 2006. 17 September 2007 <http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/ school/dyslexia.html>.

Hodge, Patricia Lynn. “A Dyslexic Child in the Classroom.” Dyslexia the Gift. 2000. Davis Dyslexia Association International. 19 September 2007 <http://www.dyslexia.com/library/classroom.htm>.

Moats, Louisa Cook. “Spelling.” 2000. The International Dyslexia

Association. 19 September 2007 <http://72.14.235.104/search?q= cache:j-hJRJKYMQJ: www.interdys.org/servlet/compose%3Fsection _id%3D5%246page_id%3D5+%22spelling+disability%22&hl=id&ct= clnk&cd=1&gl=id>.


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“What is the difference between dysphonetic and dyseidetic dyslexia?”

www.dyslexia.com. 1 August 2006. Davis Dyslexia Association International. 15 December 2007 <http://faq.dyslexia.com/cgi-bin/


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are approximately 100 students who join English course at Ace Kids – Bandung branch with eight teachers, including the owner, Ms. Rhimelda, and two

receptionists, one of whom is also a teacher.

Ace Kids is an English course which teaches Vocabulary, Writing,

Reading, Conversation, Listening, and Grammar. The three-floor building in Ace

Kids Astina branch is complete with teaching equipment, such as: whiteboard, colourful markers, colour pencils, TV, DVD player, radio tape, cards, board games, such as Scrabble. In all Ace Kids branches are divided into 13 classes based on the children’s ability and their grade at school, such as : Toddy, Joey, Kiddy, Pre Basic, Basic 1, Basic 2, Basic 3, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Intermediate 3, Advance 1, Advance 2, Advance 3.

E. Limitations of the Study

I will try to find out what has caused my student to have difficulty in spelling and reading in Ace Kids Bandung by gathering some data from the internship journal I wrote. I also talked with the supervisor and the receptionist at Ace Kids Bandung, interviewed Dr. Dewi, a children’s psychologist, read some books, and got information from the internet resources to fulfill my curiosity. Afterwards, I will conclude and choose the best solution for this child.

F. Organization of the Term Paper

This final term-paper starts with an Abstract, a brief summary of the entire paper in Bahasa Indonesia. This Abstract is followed by the Declaration of Originality to certify that I write this paper based on my own work, and then the


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Acknowledgements to all the people and God who have helped me in writing this paper. After that is the Table of Contents, which is followed by its five chapters.

Chapter I consists the introduction of the paper’s analysis and Chapter II contains relevant theories that will be used to help my research in writing. Furthermore, Chapter III contains the cause of the problem that the child faces and the effects of it. Afterwards, I will analyze possible solutions including the positive and negative effects from doing it and the real situation analysis in Chapter IV. After that, I will choose the best solution with the reasons that will be explained in Chapter V. Lastly, I put the Bibliography.


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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION

Based on my experience during my internship, talking with Ace Kids teachers and the receptionist, interviewing a children’s psychologist, Dr. Dewi, and gathering information from books and internet resources, personally, my first thought and hope would be that his parents knew the real situation about their child, Raldy, and have the child tested psychologically so they could help him academically and psychologically. Then, the parents would know what actually happened with their child and had the psychologist provide some help so that Raldy could understand his English lessons better and he would be able to spell, read, and write well.

However, since the real situation came unexpectedly that neither my supervisor nor the receptionist wanted to tell the parents, the best solution overall would be the second solution, which was giving him support and compliments when he could spell or read correctly. For example, say,”Good boy” or “good work. Nice!” when he could do a task well in order to regain his self-confidence to memorize faster and be able to do his task well. Still, we had to help him too how to spell and read better until


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he could spell, read, and finally write without any problem. As an example, we could teach him “b” where the round shape is facing right using our body gesture. We could also tell him that spelling the word is not the same as it sounds as he is a dyseidetic dyslexia. In my opinion, that was the only solution which worked well during my internship at Ace Kids.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Printed Sources

Bawkin, Harry, and Ruth Morris Bawkin. Behaviour Disorders in Children. 4th ed. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1972.

Snowman, Jack, and Robert Biehler. Psychology Applied to Teaching. 10th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

Electronic Sources

Bailet, Laura L. “Understanding Dyslexia.” Kids Health. August 2006. 17 September 2007 <http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/ school/dyslexia.html>.

Hodge, Patricia Lynn. “A Dyslexic Child in the Classroom.” Dyslexia the Gift. 2000. Davis Dyslexia Association International. 19 September 2007 <http://www.dyslexia.com/library/classroom.htm>.

Moats, Louisa Cook. “Spelling.” 2000. The International Dyslexia

Association. 19 September 2007 <http://72.14.235.104/search?q= cache:j-hJRJKYMQJ: www.interdys.org/servlet/compose%3Fsection _id%3D5%246page_id%3D5+%22spelling+disability%22&hl=id&ct= clnk&cd=1&gl=id>.


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“What is the difference between dysphonetic and dyseidetic dyslexia?”

www.dyslexia.com. 1 August 2006. Davis Dyslexia Association International. 15 December 2007 <http://faq.dyslexia.com/cgi-bin/

faq_wiki.pl?Dysphonetic_And_Dyseidetic_Dyslexia>.