The Influence of Gender and Internal Motivation For Indonesian Pre-Teen and Early Teen Years in Mastering English As A Foreign Language.
ABSTRACT
Dalam menyusun tesis ini saya meneliti tentang pengaruh jenis kelamin terhadap tingkat penguasaan Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing pada kaum remaja di Indonesia. Menurut penelitian sebelumnya di Amerika Selatan, pada umumnya perempuan memiliki kemampuan bahasa yang lebih baik dibandingkan dengan laki-laki. Oleh karena itu saya tertarik untuk meneliti apakah hal tersebut terbukti dalam penelitian saya, khususnya pada remaja di Bandung.
Teori yang digunakan dalam meneliti pengaruh jenis kelamin terhadap tingkat penguasaan Bahasa Inggris ini adalah psycholinguistics,
language learning dari Ellis, Lightbown dan Harmer, dan beberapa
penelitian yang telah dilakukan oleh de Haan dan Swain. Data yang digunakan untuk meneliti pengaruh tersebut adalah melalui hasil placement
test dari lembaga kursus Bahasa Inggris TBI cabang Bandung. Selain itu,
saya akan menggunakan wawancara untuk meneliti usia awal dan motivasi murid-murid yang mengikuti placement test di TBI, berdasarkan jenis kelamin.
Terdapat beberapa faktor yang dapat memengaruhi tingkat penguasaan bahasa seseorang. Faktor jenis kelamin dalam tingkat penguasaan bahasa menurut teori dijelaskan melalui perbedaan antara fungsi otak kiri dan otak kanan pada laki-laki dan perempuan. Hal tersebutlah yang
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dapat memengaruhi kemampuan verbal dan spatial mereka. Selain itu, saya akan meneliti faktor usia dan motivasi mereka berdasarkan jenis kelamin. Faktor usia dapat dilihat dari usia awal belajar dan jangka waktu mereka belajar Bahasa Inggris. Sedangkan faktor motivasi dapat dilihat melalui tinggi atau rendahnya motivasi internal mereka.
Hasil penelitian saya memperlihatkan bahwa jenis kelamin dan usia tidak berpengaruh terhadap tingkat penguasaan Bahasa Inggris seseorang. Hal ini dapat terjadi karena perbedaan faktor motivasi seseorang dan juga faktor lain yang tidak saya ikutsertakan, diantaranya faktor intelegensia, bakat, kognitif, dan kepribadian. Hal ini dikarenakan alat ukur yang berkaitan dengan faktor tersebut tidak dapat diperoleh.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS... ii
ABSTRACT ... iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study... 1
Statement of the Problem ... 3
Purpose of the Study ... 4
Methods of Research ... 4
Organization of the Thesis ... 5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 6
CHAPTER THREE: DISCUSSION ON THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND INTERNAL MOTIVATION FOR INDONESIAN PRE-TEEN AND EARLY TEEN YEARS IN MASTERING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE ... 14
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ... 27
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 31
APPENDICES: Appendix 1 ... 33
Appendix 2 ... 36
Appendix 3 ... 39
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1
The result of the placement test is as follows: Basic Level
No Gender Number of Students
Score
1 B 0 17
G 1
2 B 0 20
G 1
3 B 0 22
G 1
4 B 0 23
G 1
5 B 0 24
G 1
6 B 0 27
G 1
7 B 1 28
G 0
8 B 0 29
G 2
9 B 0 32
G 1
10 B 2 33
G 1
11 B 1 34
G 0
12 B 0 35
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No Gender Number of Students
Score
13 B 1 36
G 1
14 B 0 37
G 1
15 B 3 38
G 1
16 B 0 42
G 2
17 B 1 43
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Advanced Level
No Gender Number of students
Score
18 B 1 46
G 0
19 B 0 48
G 1
20 B 1 50
G 0
21 B 1 54
G 0
22 B 1 56
G 0
23 B 0 58
G 1
24 B 1 61
G 0
25 B 0 69
G 1
26 B 1 74
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Appendix 2
The data of starting age and time span of learning English in a private English course are as follows:
Basic Level
No. Score Gender Age Starting age Time span
1 17 G 13 11 years old 11-13 years old
(2 years)
2 20 G 13 12 years old 12-13 years old
(1 year)
3 22 G 13 6 years old, then
10 years old
6-8 years old 10-11 years old (3 years)
4 23 G 11 7 years old 7-11 years old
(4 years)
5 24 G 13 12 years old 12-13 years old
(1 year)
6 27 G 12 10 years old 10-12 years old
(2 years)
7 28 B 13 7 years old 7-11 years old
(4 years)
8 29 G 13 10 years old 10-11 years old
(1 year)
9 29 G 13 12 years old 12-13 years old
(1 year)
10 32 G 14 13 years old 13-14 years old
(1 year)
11 33 G 13 9 years old 9-11 years old
(2 years)
12 33 B 13 9 years old 9-13 years old
(4 years)
13 33 B 12 9 years old 9-11 years old
(2 years)
14 34 B 13 9 years old 9-13 years old
(4 years)
15 35 G 12 8 years old 8-11 years old
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No. Score Gender Age Starting age Time span
16 36 B 12 7 years old 7-11 years old
(4 years)
17 36 G 14 7 years old 7-14 years old
(7 years)
18 37 G 12 9 years old 9-10 years old
(1 year)
19 38 B 15 12 years old 12-15 years old
(3 years)
20 38 B 13 11 years old 11-13 years old
(2 years)
21 38 G 13 7 years old 7-13 years old
(6 years)
22 38 B 12 9 years old 9-11 years old
(2 years)
23 42 G 15 9 years old 9-12 years old
(3 years)
24 42 G 15 11 years old 11-15 years old
(4 years)
25 43 B 14 13 years old 13-14 years old
(1 year)
26 43 G 13 11 years old 11-13 years old
(2 years)
Advanced Level
No. Score Gender Age Starting age Time span
27 46 B 11 8 years old 8-11 years old
(3 years)
28 48 G 13 11 years old 11-13 years old
(2 years)
29 50 B 14 13 years old 13-14 years old
(1 year)
30 54 B 14 10 years old 10-11 years old
(1 year)
31 56 B 14 8 years old 8-11 years old
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No. Score Gender Age Starting age Time span
32 58 B 15 9 years old 9-14 years old
(5 years)
33 61 B 13 9 years old 9-10 years old
(1 year)
34 69 G 15 11 years old 11-15 years old
(4 years)
35 74 B 12 9 years old 9-11 years old
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Appendix 3
The seven questions about motivation are as follows: 1. Why do you want to join an English course?
2. Are you satisfied with the level of English language you are studying now? 1. Not satisfied 2. Satisfied 3. Very satisfied
3. What do you try to do to improve your English? 4. Do you think English is interesting or not? Why?
5. Do you have an intention to deepen your English ?
6. Do you personally think learning English is necessary or do you think it is just an academic fulfillment?
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Appendix 4
The data of motivation are as follows: Basic Level
No. Score Gender Motivation
1 17 G Low
2 20 B Low
3 22 G High
4 23 G Low
5 24 G Low
6 27 G Low
7 28 B High
8 29 G Low
9 29 G High
10 32 G Low
11 33 G Low
12 33 B Low
13 33 B Low
14 34 B High
15 35 G High
16 36 B Low
17 36 G Low
18 37 B High
19 38 B High
20 38 B Low
21 38 B Low
22 38 B High
23 42 G Low
24 42 G Low
25 43 B Low
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Advanced Level
No Score Gender Motivation
27 46 B High
28 48 G Low
29 50 B High
30 54 B Low
31 56 B High
32 58 B High
33 61 B High
34 69 G High
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Language is an inseparable part of human life. Generally, every country has its national language or dialects, yet English is an international language used by people worldwide. That is why English is important to be learned by human beings throughout the world.
There are a number of researchers who reveal that gender influences the mastering of a language. One of these researchers is Dorian de Haan. He observes that gender influences the mastering of both the mother tongue and also a second or foreign language. de Haan. 12 May. 2007 <http://www.ecr.sagepub.com/ cgi/content/short/1/1/95>
The difference between foreign and second language can be stated as follows: a Foreign Language is a language not spoken by the indigenous people of a certain place while a Second Language is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue. (Littlewood, 1994: 3)
Based on Dorian de Haan’s research of some children between 11-15 years of age in Suriname, South America, de Haan concludes that girls are better at mastering
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Dutch as a foreign language than boys. (de Haan, 1987) This makes me curious to find out whether the same result will be gained if a similar research is done in Indonesia. This is the main reason I would like to analyze in this thesis how gender influences the mastering of English as a foreign language for Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years. The data will be taken from students of the TBI English course.
I choose The British Institute English (TBI) for my place of analysis as it is committed to providing excellent quality courses, first-rate customer service and individualized attention. The teachers are well-qualified to teach English and are carefully selected for their ability to deliver a rich variety of interesting and effective lessons. There is an informal classroom atmosphere there which encourages the students to communicate with other people in English. TBI special training courses focus on key workplace and professional skills development. TBI is highly regarded for its courses by students in Bandung and the courses are being continually upgraded. TBI’s goal is to ensure that study at TBI is of the highest quality, through well-designed and well-presented courses using the latest course books and methodologies.
I use a psycholinguistic approach in this thesis to help me in analyzing the topic. Psycholinguistics is derived from the words Psychology and Linguistics. Psychology is the study of human behavior. Linguistics is knowledge about the essence of language, structure of language, how the language is acquired, and how the language develops. (Chaer, 2003: 5) Psycholinguistics is the study of language behavior; and of how people learn and use language to communicate ideas. (Taylor
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and Insup, 1990: 3) Language activity is related to the mental activity; it has a close relationship with the process of the lateralization in the brain. The lateralization organizes the functions of either the left or the right side of the brain. Swain states that there are differences between boys’ and girls’ brains, related to the different lateralization process of the brain. (Swain, 1980) Lateralization reveals general differences between the brains of boys and girls, which impacts the language process between boys and girls.
Rod Ellis, Patsy Lightbown and Jeremy Harmer state certain other factors which can influence one’s foreign language learning. They are: age, intelligence and aptitude, cognitive style, motivation, and personality. In analyzing this topic, I only consider age and motivation factors related to gender. The learner’s age has a relationship with one’s potential for success in language learning. According to Ellis’s theory, the starting age of learning English and the time span of learning English is included in the same factor as age. (Ellis, 1984: 106-107) These factors can affect one’s success rate. Moreover, motivation from the individual is an other factor. Motivation is divided into two types, namely, integrative and instrumental.
In analyzing this topic, gender is viewed by comparing the score of placement tests between boys and girls who want to join the general English course at TBI. After viewing the scores, I consider two of five factors, namely, age and motivation. The other factors mentioned in the previous paragraph are not considered owing to the fact that the parameters are not clear; in addition, the instrument to measure any influence towards the learning process of foreign language cannot be gained.
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Statement of the Problem
In this thesis I would like to discuss the following questions:
1. How does gender influence the mastering of English as a foreign language for Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years?
2. How do the factors of age and internal motivation influence the mastering of English as a foreign language by Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years, in terms of gender?
Purpose of the Study
The aim of this study is:
1. To find out how gender influences Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years in mastering English as a foreign language.
2. To find out the influence of the factors of age and internal motivation at the mastering of English as a foreign language for Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years, in terms of gender.
Method of Research
First of all, I take 35 students between 11-15 years of age who have done a placement test in English language at TBI Bandung. Then, the data is collected from the result of the placement test of TBI students. After that, I interview the students to know their starting age of learning English, their time span of learning English and their internal motivation.
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Organization of the Thesis
The present writer divides the thesis into three chapters. The first chapter, Introduction, contains Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Methods of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Next, Theoretical Framework is presented in Chapter Two. Chapter Three is the Discussion of my Analysis. The last chapter, Chapter Four, is Conclusion. It contains my comments on the findings. At the end of the thesis is the Bibliography, listing all books and Online information used in my thesis as references, and Appendices, presenting all the data of my analysis.
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
According to my research, I find that boys are more successful than girls in mastering English as a foreign language. This fact is against the research of de Haan and Swain which says that girls are better at mastering languages than boys. Swain states that this matter is influenced by the difference of dominant functions of the brain between girls and boys. Based on de Haan’s and Swain’s research, girls are dominant in verbal capability while boys are dominant in spatial capability. The human brain is divided into two sides, called the left and the right brain. Each hemisphere, has its own specialized functions. The left brain controls language while the right brain controls spatial perception. However, one side of the brain is usually more dominant. Humans can use both their left and right brain, however they make use of their brain’s function differently.
Contrary to the theory presented by de Haan and Swain, my research of Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years learning English as a foreign language shows that boys are more successful than girls at mastering English. This can be seen from the result of the placement test at TBI, Bandung, from the total number of girl and boy students, that is, 35 students (100%), in both
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Basic Level and Advanced Level. There are seven boy students (20%) who are more successful in mastering English and are put in the higher level (Advanced Level); on the other hand, there are only two girl students (5.71%) in the Advanced Level. This can be compared to the largest number of students being girls in the Basic Level: there are 17 girl students (48.67%), while there are 9 boy students in the Basic Level (25.71%). The lowest score from the placement test’s result is possessed by a girl student.
The theory of Ellis states that the starting age and time span of learning English affects the achievement speed and the success rate of learners of a foreign language. It has been stated in Chapter Two that early adolescents are better academically in the standard of English in mastering English as a second language than starting to learn English at primary level. As a result, in my findings, a young starting age and the time span of learning English do not influence the mastering of English. It is proven by the result that if a girl student begins to learn English in a private course at an earlier age, it does not guarantee that she would be better compared to a boy student who begins to learn English in a private English course at an older age. For example, in data number 3, a girl student who learns English at the age of six is not in the higher level. This can be compared with a boy student, in data number 29, who begins to learn English at thirteen years of age, and who is in the higher level (Advanced Level).
For the discussion of time span of learning English, it is found that a girl student who learns English for 7 years, that is, from 7-14 years of age, in data number 17, does not guarantee that she can enter the higher level, compared to a boy
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student who learns English for only 1 year, that is, from 13-14 years of age, in data number 29, who is in the higher level (Advanced Level).
The theory states that inner motivation can influence the success of learners in learning English. Each learner will be stronger in either integrative or instrumental orientation.
According to my analysis, I find that the largest number of students who possess high inner motivation are boy students. It can be proven from the large number of boy students who are in the Advanced Level (7 students). On the other hand, the largest number with low inner motivation are possessed by girl students (10 students). It is supported by the large number of girl students in Basic Level. Therefore, it shows that motivation affects the success of mastering English. In addition, the result of my analyses show that all the students have instrumental orientation: their goals for learning English are functional, namely, passing English examinations and furthering career opportunities in the future.
As a closing remark, the result of my analysis regarding the influence of gender for Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years, especially at TBI English course in Bandung, in mastering English as a foreign language does not accord with the theory applied. We can draw a conclusion regarding gender that the boys are more successful than girls in learning English as a foreign language. Starting age and time span do not really influence the mastering of English. However, inner motivation affects the success in the mastering of English as a foreign language for the learners. This can happen for the simple reason that the field of my analysis is limited to only the result of the placement test at TBI Bandung.
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Other factors which can influence the success of learners in the mastering of English are intelligence and aptitude, cognitive style, and personality. These factors are not be discussed, owing to the fact that the parameters are not clear and the instrument to measure any influence towards the learning process of foreign language cannot be gained.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Blanchard, K. and Root, C. For Your Information 2, New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996
Brouwer, Dede and Dorian de Haan. Women’s Language, Socialization and Self Image. Providence: Foris Publication, 1987.
Chaer, Abdul. Psikolinguistik. Kajian Teoretik: Pt. Bhineka Cipta, 2003.
Ellis, Rod. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press, 1985.
Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Pearson Education Limited, 2001.
Lightbown, P. and N. Spada. How Languages are Learned. Oxford University Press, 1993.
Littlewood, William. Foreign and Second Language Learning. Cambridge University Press, 1984
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Swain, M. and B. Burnaby. Personality Characteristic and Second Language Learning In Young Children: a pilot study. Working Paper On Bilingualism 11: 76-90, 1976.
Taylor, Insup and Martin Taylor. Psycholinguistic: Learning and Using Language. United States of America: Prentice-Hall International Edition, 1990.
Thompson, Della. The Pocket Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Electronic Publication
Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition. Krashen, Stephen. 2005. Stephen Krashen. 9 March. 2007 <http://www.sk.com.br/sk-insp.html#insp>
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
According to my research, I find that boys are more successful than girls in
mastering English as a foreign language. This fact is against the research of de Haan
and Swain which says that girls are better at mastering languages than boys. Swain
states that this matter is influenced by the difference of dominant functions of the
brain between girls and boys. Based on de Haan’s and Swain’s research, girls are
dominant in verbal capability while boys are dominant in spatial capability. The
human brain is divided into two sides, called the left and the right brain. Each
hemisphere, has its own specialized functions. The left brain controls language while
the right brain controls spatial perception. However, one side of the brain is usually
more dominant. Humans can use both their left and right brain, however they make
use of their brain’s function differently.
Contrary to the theory presented by de Haan and Swain, my research of
Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years learning English as a
foreign language shows that boys are more successful than girls at mastering English.
This can be seen from the result of the placement test at TBI, Bandung, from the total
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Basic Level and Advanced Level. There are seven boy students (20%) who are more
successful in mastering English and are put in the higher level (Advanced Level); on
the other hand, there are only two girl students (5.71%) in the Advanced Level. This
can be compared to the largest number of students being girls in the Basic Level:
there are 17 girl students (48.67%), while there are 9 boy students in the Basic Level
(25.71%). The lowest score from the placement test’s result is possessed by a girl
student.
The theory of Ellis states that the starting age and time span of learning
English affects the achievement speed and the success rate of learners of a foreign
language. It has been stated in Chapter Two that early adolescents are better
academically in the standard of English in mastering English as a second language
than starting to learn English at primary level. As a result, in my findings, a young
starting age and the time span of learning English do not influence the mastering of
English. It is proven by the result that if a girl student begins to learn English in a
private course at an earlier age, it does not guarantee that she would be better
compared to a boy student who begins to learn English in a private English course at
an older age. For example, in data number 3, a girl student who learns English at the
age of six is not in the higher level. This can be compared with a boy student, in data
number 29, who begins to learn English at thirteen years of age, and who is in the
higher level (Advanced Level).
For the discussion of time span of learning English, it is found that a girl
student who learns English for 7 years, that is, from 7-14 years of age, in data
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student who learns English for only 1 year, that is, from 13-14 years of age, in data
number 29, who is in the higher level (Advanced Level).
The theory states that inner motivation can influence the success of learners
in learning English. Each learner will be stronger in either integrative or instrumental
orientation.
According to my analysis, I find that the largest number of students who
possess high inner motivation are boy students. It can be proven from the large
number of boy students who are in the Advanced Level (7 students). On the other
hand, the largest number with low inner motivation are possessed by girl students (10
students). It is supported by the large number of girl students in Basic Level.
Therefore, it shows that motivation affects the success of mastering English. In
addition, the result of my analyses show that all the students have instrumental
orientation: their goals for learning English are functional, namely, passing English
examinations and furthering career opportunities in the future.
As a closing remark, the result of my analysis regarding the influence of
gender for Indonesian children in their pre-teen and early teen years, especially at
TBI English course in Bandung, in mastering English as a foreign language does not
accord with the theory applied. We can draw a conclusion regarding gender that the
boys are more successful than girls in learning English as a foreign language.
Starting age and time span do not really influence the mastering of English.
However, inner motivation affects the success in the mastering of English as a
foreign language for the learners. This can happen for the simple reason that the field
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Other factors which can influence the success of learners in the mastering of English
are intelligence and aptitude, cognitive style, and personality. These factors are not
be discussed, owing to the fact that the parameters are not clear and the instrument to
measure any influence towards the learning process of foreign language cannot be
(5)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Blanchard, K. and Root, C. For Your Information 2, New York: Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, 1996
Brouwer, Dede and Dorian de Haan. Women’s Language, Socialization and Self
Image. Providence: Foris Publication, 1987.
Chaer, Abdul. Psikolinguistik. Kajian Teoretik: Pt. Bhineka Cipta, 2003.
Ellis, Rod. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press,
1985.
Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Pearson Education
Limited, 2001.
Lightbown, P. and N. Spada. How Languages are Learned. Oxford University Press,
1993.
Littlewood, William. Foreign and Second Language Learning. Cambridge University
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Swain, M. and B. Burnaby. Personality Characteristic and Second Language Learning
In Young Children: a pilot study. Working Paper On Bilingualism 11: 76-90,
1976.
Taylor, Insup and Martin Taylor. Psycholinguistic: Learning and Using Language.
United States of America: Prentice-Hall International Edition, 1990.
Thompson, Della. The Pocket Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Electronic Publication
Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition. Krashen, Stephen. 2005.