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ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

FOR VISUAL IMPAIRMENT STUDENTS

(A Descriptive Study at Second Grade of SMU 1 Batukliang Lombok Tengah )

  

By:

TANTI NURLIANA

(E1D116068)

  

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MATARAM

2019

CHAPTER 1 A. Background of Study It is assumed that visually impaired foreign language learners experience more difficulties

  in their learning process than sighted learners. The obstacles derive mainly from the absence or reduced input of visual information which may negatively influence the teaching/learning process. In addition, the opportunities for incidental/implicit foreign language learning/ acquisition are limited in the case of low-vision or blindness

  Fulfilling the educational rights of students would not only be given in class or a particular race, but all students of the country with some different background should be accommodated to achieve the basis of justice, democratic, and non-discriminatory. So we have to maintain the principles of education that Education held in democratic and just and not discriminatory to uphold human rights, religious values, cultural values, and the plurality race.

  We can realize together that the nation of Indonesia has vast archipelago, and Indonesia also has tribes, races, cultures, religions, different beliefs. In addition, the government must also consider the differences of the presence of physical and or mental, as students who have been visually impaired, deaf or talk-back, quadriplegic, etc. which are in the country, to be a material consideration in maintaining adaptive educational system for those who have serious physical and mental retardation.

  Concerning with the educational needs of citizens who have physical limitations or mental illness, the government has issued several regulations related to it. One of them is the Law No. 4 of 1997 on the disabled. One article in the Law stipulates that every person is entitled to an education at all units, bands, and levels of education. We need to understand more, that the fulfillment of education is not only from the side of person acceptable to enter on a board of education, but how the institution able to accommodate the needs of person or student. Thus it is essential in fulfilling the educational rights of person in personal. Because the next chapter also explained that the government and society are obliged to fulfill the rights of working on personal.

  On the other hand, education makes people grow into their own as an individual person, as an independent social being that are part of the national. Integral education in life should be able to shelters and support all components of the nation, regardless of social background, economic, tribe, religion and belief, gender, and physical and mental differences and variations. Education like this is called education inclusion. Many school systems today tend toward inclusion, or incorporate students with disabilities into the general education classroom, because of many benefits in inclusion. The inclusions may be not for all students with disabilities.

  Inclusion in public education has dramatically changed how students with disabilities are taught. Where they once learned in separate classes taught by special educators, many children with a range of disabilities now learn in typical classes led by general education teachers.

  Until now, the fulfillment of the educational rights for students has been targeting as an important social project by many institutions in the form of segregation or inclusion. One of them is SMU 1 Batukliang. As it many public schools, the implementation of learning in SMU 1 Batukliang has the same system with public colleges. But SMU 1 Batukliang has able to receive and accommodate the student in personal method.

  Being the inclusion school is not easy. At least the school should handle themselves with innovations for Visual impairment students to follow the process of learning well. In addition, schools also should be able to provide awareness to all academicians that undergraduate students can also follow the blind education in public schools. Restructuring the curriculum, teaching methods, teaching aids, teacher competency, evaluation, and academic services must be arranged in such a way that would take time and a substantial investment. This is because learning model requires the inclusion of media, infrastructure facilities, curriculum, teacher competence, academic and non academic services in such a way, to be able to serve all students without exception.

  From these various problems, the author felt interested in studying inclusion school model developing at SMU 1 Batukliang. How SMU 1 Batukliang runs English language teaching and learning for students? Between visual impairment students that blends with the normal students, how do the teachers make learning in the classroom?. All the places to be addressed and further examined using more than raise the educational level of the nation, opened the school's vision of inclusion, and aims to provide a new view of society that children should not have school in SLB. There are schools that can teach and educate them with the inclusion, so they can mingle with all people that will improve their maturity and independence.

  As one of inclusion schools in Indonesia, SMU 1 Batukliang has become a model for other schools in the case of personal service. But what are the services provided is completely SMU 1 Batukliang inclusion? How it will be the implementation of learning activities is the essence of education? For this reason, research and studies like this need to be held, as a reference material for government-related institutions in the implementation of learning for visual impairment students in various fields of knowledge, including the English language.

  In education, ‘visual impairment’ and ‘blindness’ are conditions which cause specialeducational needs; being defined as “an impairment in vision which, even after correction, adversely affects educational performance” (Castellano 2005:15). In addition to the abovementioned definitions, Carol Castellano suggests to use a skills definition of blindness/visual impairment. According to that, blindness/visual impairment (BVI) means “using alternative skills and tools in place of, or in addition to, eyesight in order to gain information or perform tasks” (2005:16). The simplest definition of visual impairment used in practice is that a person is visually impaired if s/he cannot read ordinary printed text due to his/her vision loss without special aids or adaptations. In this paper, the WHO definition and the definition used in education based on special skills are kept in mind; however, the term “visually impaired” is used in the case there is no distinction between persons with blindness and low-vision/visual impairment in the context.

  B. Reasons for Choosing the Topic

  1. The researcher is interested in describing an English language teaching learning for visual impairment students because the impaired student has weakness in visualization. It has a big deal to language as communication tools.

  2. The researcher thinks that it is more difficult to teach visual impairment students with some weaknesses in reading the text, moreover foreign language (English). The researcher wants to know how to teach English for visual impairment students .

  C. Research Questions

  1. What materials are covered in English course for visual impairment students at second grade of SMU 1 Batukliang inThe Academic Year of 2013/2014?

  2. What methods are implemented in English teaching and learning process for visual impairment students at tenth grade of SMU 1 Batukliang in the academic year of 2013/2014?

  3. What obstacles results in English teaching and learning for visual impairment students at tenth grade of SMU 1 Batukliang in the academic year of 2013/2014?

D. Objectives of the Study

  

1. To describe the language materials in English course for visual impairment students

at SMU 1 Batukliang in The Academic Year of 2013/2014.

  

2. To describe some teaching and learning methods applied in English for visual

impairment students atSMU 1 Batukliang in The Academic Year of 2013/2014.

  

3. To describe some obstacles results in English teaching and learning for visual

impairment students at SMU 1 Batukliang in The Academic Year of 2013/2014.

CHAPTER 11 LITERATURE REVIEW

  

1. Therotical Aspects of Visual Impairments and Foreign Language Teaching

Learning

  Blind and visually impaired (BVI) students may face a variety of obstacles in their learning process caused by the inaccessibility of the visual medium. At the same time, teaching those students is a challenging task for their teachers due to the need for specific knowledge of special educational needs (SEN) of their students. Therefore, special measures are necessary to implement for supporting the foreign language acquisition and teaching/ learning process in the case of BVI learners. It has been found that it is necessary to identify strategies, materials and characteristics of BVI students that support learning of English for gaining “a better understanding of the unique challenges of students and methodologies that are most effective in meeting their diverse educational needs” (Topor and Rosenblum 2013: 90). Considering that the principles of inclusion have been acknowledged in the Batukliang education policy, there is a need for special knowledge about teaching students with blindness/low-vision also in Batukliang

  Technique is the specific activities manifested in the classroom that were consistent with a method and therefore were in harmony with an approach as well. There are nine approaches in foreign language teaching and learning:

  1. Grammar translation

  2. Direct method

  3. Reading

  4. Audio lingual

  5. Oral-Situation

  6. Cognitive

  7. Affective – Humanistic

  8. Comprehension – Based

  9. Communicative

2. Definitions of Blindness Low-Vision and Visual Impairment

  The terminology to define loss of vision or reduced vision is quite diverse. The terms used more often are: blindness, low-vision, vision/visual impairment, visual disorder, vision loss and visual disability. There are also different definitions in use depending on whether these terms are used in medicine, rehabilitation or education. However, two basic criteria to indicate that a person does not have vision, or has only partial vision, are vision acuity and vision field.

  According to the World Health Organisation’s classification (WHO 2010), a person is “visually impaired” (or with “low-vision”) if his/her vision acuity in the better eye with best possible correction is less than 0.3 (normal vision is 1.0) or vision field from the centre is less than 30 degrees (normal vision field 180°); a person is totally “blind” (or with “blindness”) if his/her vision acuity in the better eye with best correction is less than 0.05 (3/60) or his/her vision field from the centre is less than 10 degrees. For medical classification, there are several subgroups defining visual impairment and blindness more precisely. In rehabilitation, the term most often used is “visual disability”, and the definition is connected with the existence of social barriers and the need of additional assistance. There are also definitions based on functional use of vision.

  In education, ‘visual impairment’ and ‘blindness’ are conditions which cause special educational needs; being defined as “an impairment in vision which, even after correction, adversely affects educational performance” (Castellano 2005:15).

  In addition to the abovementioned definitions, Carol Castellano suggests to use a skills definition of blindness/visual impairment. According to that, blindness/visual impairment (BVI) means “using alternative skills and tools in place of, or in addition to, eyesight in order to gain information or perform tasks” (2005:16). The simplest definition of visual impairment used in practice is that a person is visually impaired if s/he cannot read ordinary printed text due to his/her vision loss without special aids or adaptations. In this paper, the WHO definition and the definition used in education based on special skills are kept in mind; however, the term “visually impaired” is used in the case there is no distinction between persons with blindness and low-vision/visual impairment in the context.

3. Characteristics of Visual Impairments

a. Type of Visual Impairments

  Students with non-correctable vision problems have visual impairments. Depend on the severity of the condition. To qualify as a visually impaired student, certain criteria must be met, like low visual acuity, visual field limitation, progressive eye disease, or cortical visual impairment.

  Partially Sighted: A visual impairment that adversely affect a student's educational performance even when corrected to the extent possible. Low Vision: If someone's vision is between 20/70-20/160 and cannot be corrected, the student has moderate to low vision. Legally Blind: From 20/200-20/400 is legally blind with severe low vision. From 20/400 20/1000 is profound visual impairment, and is very close to total blindness. Totally Blind: The lack of light perception is known as total blindness or total visual

  impairment.At one point the term visual impairment referred to an eye disorder at the tissue level, but subsequently, visual impairments took on a broader meaning to include the

  

  Many factors determine how visual impairments affect students’ learning experience. Age of onset and severity of vision loss, as well as presence of multiple disabilities, are some of the factors that make each student’s situation unique. The cause of visual impairment and overall functioning level of a student also determine how the visual impairment affects a student's development. In general, visual impairments have cognitive, academic, social and emotional, and behavioral effects.

b. Sociological characteristic

  Students with visual impairments face tremendous challenges in school, both academically and socially. With struggles to keep up in inclusive classes, these students may not put forth the time and effort to learn how to develop social skills. Social difficulties in children with visual impairments are typically caused by a lack of information about the visual aspects of interacting with others. These difficulties are often reinforced by others’ hesitancy to establish relationships with and communicate appropriate expectations to individuals with visual impairments.

  Visual impairment indirectly causes personal problems. Personal problems are caused incline by negative attitude by their environment. Students with visual impairment have difficulties in mastering social skill, because that skill usually comes by visualization. They also incline feel suspicious to others, offended and dependence to others.

4. Statistical Data on BVI Learners

  Visual impairment is a rare condition. In Batuklian,the Social Security Office registers those blind and visually impaired who are getting disability allowances, and according to their statistics, there are approximately 36 children with visual disability in Batukliang . That number shows how many children are eligible for getting disability allowances; however, it does not indicate how many of them are of school-age or how severe their visual impairment is or whether these children need special accommodation of their study environment or special teaching methods in their education.

  It is obvious that upper secondary and university or vocational school students are also excluded from the data as the next group for such statistics is people of working age. In 2013/2014, there were 36 students with visual impairment. According to law, the special educational needs of those 36 BVI students should be taken into account and they are eligible for getting accommodations in education. The number of students registered as having visual impairment and following the regular curriculum was 16, including 12 in mainstream schools and 08 in special schools. However, there is no information about the severity of visual impairment and what kind of adaptive accommodations those students need due to their special educational needs.

5. The Impact of Foreign Language Learning in BVI

  Nowadays, teaching a foreign language to students with special educational needs is a common practice in mainstream schools and also in special schools. In Batukliang, one or more foreign languages are included as main subjects into schools’ curricula and taught according to the National Curricula for Basic School and Upper Secondary School (Gymnasium). The importance of foreign languages is emphasized by the fact that a foreign language will be one of the compulsory national examinations in Batukliang from 2014. Certainly, knowing more than just one language is beneficial considering social life and further work opportunities. Gray(1999: 254) emphasizes the beneficial effects of learning foreign languages to visually impaired students. In Batukliang, students with blindness/visual impairment have had the opportunity to study foreign languages for decades, and their teachers have been familiar with the aspects of teaching BVI learners. However, no information on any research in the field in Batukliang was found. Therefore, the following discussion in this theoretical part is based on the experience from other countries, mainly from the countries of the European Union and the USA. As was already mentioned, more research on teaching/learning English as a foreign or second language would be necessary. In the following part no distinction will be made between EFL, ESL and any other language learnt/taught as a foreign language in the case of BVI learners. This lies in the presumption that in the case of blindness and low-vision there are some issues and aspects which are common and have similar influence in all those cases.

  5. Methods of Teaching English as Foreign Language

  1. Definition of Method

  According to Douglas Brown that method is a generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to be concerned primarily with teacher and student roles and behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials. They are almost always thought of as

  

  being broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety of contextsLanguage teaching in the twentieth century was characterized by frequent change and innovation and by the development of sometimes competing language teaching ideologies. Much of the impetus for change in approaches to language teaching came about from changes in teaching method.

  The method concept in teaching the notion of systematic set of teaching practiced based on a particular theory of language and language learning is a powerful one and the quest for better methods was a preoccupation of many teachers and applied linguists throughout the twentieth century. Common to each method is the belief that the teaching practices it supports provide a more effective and theoretically sound basis for teaching than the methods that preceded it. It can be define that method is a procedure or process for attaining an object as a systematic plan followed in presenting material for instruction during the process of teaching and learning, when the latter suggests the dynamic interplay between teachers and learners.

6. Several methods used in English Language Teaching

  These are several methods that used in English Language Teaching:

a. Grammar Translation Method (GTM)

  This method out the traditional teaching of classical Latin and Greek when living language began to be widely taught in the nineteenth century. It was the dominant method until the end of century and has continued to be used in one form or another until the present day. But it has long been “out of fashion”. Grammar Translation Method are used for whom foreign language learning meant a tedious experience of memorizing endless lists of unusable grammar rules and vocabulary and attempting to produce perfect translations of stilted or literary prose.

  b. Direct Method (DM)

  This method developed as a revolution against the Grammar-Translation Method at the end of nineteenth century. It was based some extent on the new sciences of the nineteenth century, especially linguistics and psychology. The direct method receives it is name from the fact that meaning is to be conveyed directly in the target language through the use of

  

  demonstration and visual aids, with no recourse to the students’ native language. Languages are seen as system of communication, primarily oral, in which word are used together in sentences, a sentences are used discourse. Languages are believed to be learned best in a natural way, by haring words and sentences in context and imitating what you hear.

  c. Total Physical Response (TPR)

  Total Physical Response method was developed by James Asher. Total Physical Response consists basically of obeying commands given by the instructor that involve an overt physical

  

  responseThis method is suitable for beginners’ course only, and later needs to be supplemented by activities and techniques from other methods. It aims to develop listening comprehension before production, to associate language with action, and to reduce stress in language learning.

  d. The Silent Way

  According to Jack and Theodore that The Silent Way is the name of a method of language teaching devised by Caleb Gattegno. It is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom but the learner should be encouraged to produce

  

  as much language as possibleThese method contrasts almost totally with TPR, instead of giving extensive active listening comprehension practice, the teacher is silent for most of the time, giving only singe examples of new sentence and produce similar ones.

  e. The Audio-Lingual Method

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Audio-lingual is primarily an oral approach to language teaching, it is not surprising that

  the process of teaching involves extensive oral instruction. The focus is on immediate and accurate speech, there is little provision for grammatical explanation or talking about the

  

  languageAudio Lingual holds that language learning is like other forms of learning. Since language is a formal, rule governed system; it can be formally organized to maximize teaching and learning efficiency.

  f. Communicative Language Learning Method

  Communicative Language Learning (CLL) is the name of a method developed by Charles

  A. Curran which was given to a set of belief which included not only a re-examination of

  

  g. Suggestopedia

  Developed by GeorgiLozanov, Suggestopedia sees the physical surroundings and atmosphere of the classroom as of vital importance. By ensuring that the students are

  

  By using suggestopedia method, the learners learn not only from the effect of direct instruction but from the environment in which the instruction takes place.

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CHAPTER III Research Methodology A. Research Design The research method is used in ways in which research in the research process. This is

  done to determine the selection of appropriate methods in influencing the success or failure of research, as with any method, is expected to obtain objective data.

  1. Type of Research.

  The type of research is case study research. The case study is the investigation depth (in-depth study) of a social unit such that it produces well-organized picture and

  

  2. Research Approach.

  The approach in this study is a qualitative approach, namely the research procedures which produce descriptive data in the form of words written or spoken about

  

  3. Subject In a qualitative study did not use the term population, but according to Spradley called "Social Situation" or social situation that consists of three elements: places, actors, and activities that interact synergistically. So the subjects of this study are visual impairment students.

B. Techniques of Data Collection

  In terms of the way or data collection techniques, the data collection techniques can be done by observation, interviews, questionnaires, documentation, and fourth combined. As in this study, the researcher will use data collection methods as follows:

a. Observation

  The observation is carried out by means of observation and recording of the object under study, then recording conducted necessary to obtain the corresponding data to the

  9 research. Methods of data collection will be conducted to see firsthand how the evaluation techniques applied in English course for students with visual impairment in MAN Maguwoharjo and to observe directly form about the English language.

b. Interview

  The interview is a process of interaction, dialogue, question and answer verbally committed by two or more persons directly to obtain the required information. In the

   interview, the interview took only a guideline that outlines the things that will be requested.

  The targeted interviewsconducted by researchers directly is:

  1) Visual impairment students of SMU 1 Batukliang. Information to be

  excavated is about how their English language teaching and learning experience as well as the obstacles they encountered in the teaching and learning process.

  2) English teacher who teaches visual impairment students. The information will

  be applied on the subject of this study that related to how the planning process of teaching and learning English.

c. Documentation

  Documentation is a technique of data collection by gathering and analyzing documents, whether written documents, pictures, and electronic.

C. Data analysis technique

  Data analysisis the process of systematically searching andcompiling the data obtained from interviews, field notes, and other materials, so it can be understood easily, and its

  

  In analyzing data had been collected, the researcher uses descriptive qualitative research. As using this technique, the researcher collects data, arranges data and presents data. The qualitative method is kind of research without using any calculation or statistic procedure. To know the English learning process at SMU 1 Batukliang, the steps done are as follow: 1. Data Reduction.

  Data reduction is a form of analysis that classifying, directing, and organizing data in

  

  such way, so that it can be reduced data verificatiCollecting the data obtained from interviews, observations, and documentations.

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  2. Data Display. The data have been reduced and then made the presentation of data. The presentation of data can be done in the form of brief description, charts, relationship between categories, and so on. The most frequent form of data display for qualitative research data in the past has been narrative text. By data display, then the data is organized, arranged in a pattern of relationships that would be easily understood.

  Conclusion

  Visual impairment is one of the conditions causing very specific needs and specialmeasures are necessary to meet those needs. Even though the occurrence rate of blindness and severe low-vision is relatively low, special adaptive and technical accommodations are unavoidable for providing an accessible teaching/learning environment in the case of blind/visually impaired learners. Due to their special educational needs also specific activities and ways of organizing teaching process may be necessary to implement.

  Presented preliminary conclusion is still tentative and will change if not found evidence that supports strong data collection on the next stage.The conclusion in qualitative research may be able to answer the formulation of the problem that formulated from the beginning, but maybe not, because as has been stated issues and problems in the qualitative research is still tentative and will be developed after research in the field. From the explanation above, the researcher will apply this technique to describing and analyzing data from the result or research about English language teaching for students with visual impairment systematically.

  That kind of specific knowledge and practical experiences on teaching BVI learners have traditionally been available at special schools for the blind. Considering the abovementioned trends towards inclusion, and that there have already been some BVI learners at mainstream schools, the need for that kind of information may increase among mainstream school teachers. That was also one of the reasons why the question on supportive measures in the case of BVI EFL learners arose.

  The purpose of the survey was to get information about aspects connected with adaptive and technical accommodations and promising activities and ways of organizing teaching/learning process from the point of view from the respondents of both sample groups. Even though, the results based on those data may not be generalized for the whole population of BVI learners of EFL, it may be considered reliable for describing the variety of aspects connected with teaching/learning of foreign language in the cases EFL learners with BLV,mainly qualitative method was used