Classroom interaction in english learning - USD Repository
CLASSROOM INTERACTION
IN ENGLISH LEARNING
A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree
in English Language Studies
by
SITI MURTININGRUM
Student Number: 056332023
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdulillahirobbil'alamin. Thank you, Alloh, the Almighty. It is You who can help me. Finally, I can finish this thesis.
I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. J. Bismoko, for his assistance and encouragement during the writing of this thesis. I am also grateful to Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A., Drs. F.X. Mukarto, M.S., Ph.D., Dr. Novita Dewi. M.S., M. A. (Hons)., Ph.D., Dr. Fr. Alip, M.Pd., M.A., and all lecturers in the Graduate Program in English Language Studies of Sanata Dharma University.
Particular thanks are given to Mrs. Nissa and Mr. Kris for their helpful cooperation and valuable time. Many thanks are also given to all students of 2OB for the chance given to me to be with you in class. All of you have helped me open my mind about teaching. Much gratitude is given to SMK “P” for giving me place to get the data for this research. Many thanks are given to the headmaster and the curriculum staffs.
I would like to give my special thanks to my husband for his sweet encouragement, understanding and prayers. You always love me, support me, and help me. You have given me much time, energy, and chance to finish this thesis. May Alloh is always with us forever and bless us and our children. I also thank my lovely daughter, Firda, and my cute son, Hamid, for your understanding and time given to me. You are my spirit and my soul.
Last but not least, I also thank all my classmates in KBI Sanata Dharma. We have learnt together, spent our time together, and supported each other. All of you have supported me to encourage my teaching and learning.
Yogyakarta, May 16, 2009 Siti Murtiningrum
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................. i APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………….................................. ii DEFENSE APPROVAL PAGE …………………………………………………........... iii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ……………………………………………….......... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………………....... viii LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………………. ix LIST OF APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………….. x ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………........ xi ABSTRAK ……………………………………………………………………………... xii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ........................................................................................... 1 B. Problem Identification ...............................................................................................
3 C. Problem Limitation ...................................................................................................
5 D. Research Question ..................................................................................................... 6 E. Research Goals and Objectives .................................................................................
7 F. Research Benefits ......................................................................................................
7 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Theoretical Review
1. Interaction and Communication …………………………………………………. 9 2. Learning and Language Learning ………………………………………………..
18 3. Communicative Language Teaching ………………………………………….....
20 4. Vocational High School ……………………………………………………….....
22 B. Related Studies ……………………………………………………………………....
23 C. Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................
26 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Research Method …………………………………………………………………… 31 B. Nature of Data ……………………………………………………………...............
31
C. Data Sources …………………………………………………………………... ....... 34 D. Data Collection ………………………………………………………………….....
37 E. Data Processing/Analysis and Interpretation ……………………………………..... 38
CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Data Presentation …………………………………………………………………....
40 1. Classroom and Multimedia Laboratory Setting …………………………………..
40 2. English Learning in Class 2OB SMK "P" Sleman …………………………….....
41
3. The Result of the Interview ……………………………………………………..... 41 4. The Result of the Observation …………………………………………………....
47 B. Discussion and Interpretation ………………………………………………………..
57 C. Findings ……………………………………………………………………………… 76
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND RECOMMENDATION A. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………..
82 B. Implication …………………………………………………………………………..
84 C. Recommendation …………………………………………………………………..... 85 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................
87 APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………………….....
89
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Flanders Interaction Analysis Coding Instrument ………………………............ 17Table 2.2 Research Construct Mapping ………………………………………………… 27Table 3.1 Types of Data and Source of Data …………………………………………… 32Table 4.1 Summary of the Teacher Interview …………………………………………… 42Table 4.2 Summary of the Student Interview ………………………………………….. .. 45Table 4.3 Summary of the Observation ………………………………………………..... 48
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1 The Triangulation ……………………………………………………………... 35Figure 3.2 The Process of Analyzing the Data ……………………………………………. 39LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Observation Guide …………………………………………………………… 89 Appendix 2 Interview Guide ……………………………………………………………… 91 Appendix 3 Interview Report Sheet ………………………………………………………. 92 Appendix 4 Summary of the Teacher Interview …………………………………………... 106 Appendix 5 Summary of the Student Interview …………………………………………... 109 Appendix 6 Observation Report Sheet …………………………………………………... 111 .
ABSTRACT
Siti Murtiningrum. 2009. Classroom Interaction in English Learning. Yogyakarta: Graduate Program in English Language Studies.
Interaction is becoming more and more important in English learning. It is in relation with the need of the ability of the students to communicate in English. Success or failure in classroom language learning typically has something, if not absolutely everything, to do with the nature of interaction that takes place during lessons. Language learning is the result of opportunities for meaningful interaction with others in the target language. Learning to interact in English means learning to communicate in English. Interaction is an important aspect in language learning because it is what people do in daily lives. There is a willingness to cooperate verbally as the part of the interaction.
This research question was what the meaning of classroom interaction in English learning was. It aimed to describe and interpret the meanings of classroom interaction. It would describe what the meanings of interaction were, what the content or message in the interaction was, who expressed the content or the message and to whom it was expressed, how the content or message was expressed, and why the participants did such an interaction with others. It used qualitative research approach. The observation, field note, and open-ended interview were the data collection techniques. The participants were two English teachers and three students. The teachers and the students were observed in their interaction in the English class. The data were presented in the form of descriptive and narrative report.
This research found that the teacher interacted with the whole class by accepting feeling, praising or encouraging, accepting or using ideas of students, asking questions, lecturing, and giving directions. The teacher interacted with individual students by accepting feeling, praising or encouraging, accepting or using ideas of the student, asking questions, lecturing, giving directions, reminding noisy students, and helping the student’s work. The student interacted with the teacher by giving response to the teacher’s questions, and giving initiation. The students’ silence often happened when they were asked by the teacher. The student did not directly answer or respond to the teacher’s questions. The interaction among the students happened most of the time. In relation to the English lesson, the students interacted with their friends by talking about the activity asked by the teacher, discussing the teacher’s questions, and asking about difficult words or expressions.
The results of this research were in the form of description and interpretation of the meaning of interaction. It enriched the knowledge in English Education Studies. It also gave better understanding for the students, teacher, other language learners and the researcher herself. For teachers, it would be useful as one of the references in applying the teaching method in class to get maximum result in English interaction in classroom. For students, it would be used as a reflection to make a better improvement in their participation in class and to interact more meaningfully. Interaction was not just the action of the language learners. It was an active process. There were willingness, awareness, intention, emotion, creativity, and feeling of relax in it. In the classroom, both the teacher and the students should have the willingness to participate in the interaction.
Keywords: classroom interaction, qualitative research approach, descriptive and narrative report, interpretation
ABSTRAK
Siti Murtiningrum. 2009. Classroom Interaction in English Learning. Yogyakarta: Graduate Program in English Language Studies.
Interaksi merupakan hal yang semakin penting dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris. Hal ini ada hubungannya dengan kemampuan siswa untuk berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Inggris. Kesuksesan atau kegagalan dalam pembelajaran bahasa di kelas ada hubungannya dengan kealamiahan interaksi yang terjadi selama pembelajaran. Pembelajaran bahasa merupakan hasil kesempatan interaksi bermakna menggunakan bahasa target. Belajar berinteraksi dalam bahasa Inggris berarti belajar berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Inggris.
Interaksi menjadi aspek yang penting dalam pembelajaran bahasa karena inilah yang dilakukan orang dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Ada kemauan untuk berkooperasi secara verbal sebagai bagian dari interaksi.
Pertanyaan penelitian ini adalah apa makna interaksi kelas dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris? Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan dan menginterpretasikan makna interaksi. Ini akan mendesdripsikan apa makna interaksi, apa isi pesan interaksi, siapa yang menyampaikan pesan dan kepada siapa ini disampaikan, bagaimana pesan ini diekpresikan, dan mengapa partisipan berinteraksi seperti itu. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan penelitian kualitatif. Observasi, catatan lapangan, dan interview digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data. Partisipannya adalah dua orang guru bahasa Inggris dan tiga orang siswa. Para guru dan siswa tersebut diamati dalam interaksi mereka di dalam kelas pembelajaran bahasa Inggris. Data dipresentasikan dalam bentuk deskriptif dan naratif.
Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa guru berinteraksi dengan keseluruhan kelas dengan memahami perasaan, menghargai atau memotivasi, menerima atau menggunakan ide siswa, memberi pertanyaan, menjelaskan, dan memberi petunjuk. Guru berinteraksi dengan siswa secara individu ketika memahami perasaan, menghargai atau memotivasi, menerima atau menggunakan ide siswa, memberi pertanyaan, menjelaskan, memberi petunjuk, mengingatkan siswa yang ramai, dan membantu pekerjaan siswa. Siswa berinteraksi dengan guru ketika merespon terhadap pertanyaan dan petunjuk guru, dan mengajukan pertanyaan (seperti pertanyaan tentang tulisan yang tidak jelas, petunjuk pengerjaan latihan, atau kata-kata sulit). Kondisi diam (silence) siswa terjadi ketika siswa diberi pertanyaan oleh guru. Siswa tidak langsung menjawab ketika ada pertanyaan dari guru. Interaksi antar siswa terjadi paling sering. Dalam hubungannya dengan pembelajaran bahasa Inggris, interaksi antar siswa terjadi ketika membicarakan tentang latihan yang ditugaskan guru, berdiskusi tentang pertanyaan guru, dan bertanya tentang kata-kata sulit.
Hasil penelitian ini dalam bentuk deskripsi dan inetrpretasi makna interaksi. Ini akan memperkaya pengetahuan dalam ilmu pendidikan bahasa Inggris Ini juga memberi pemahaman yang lebih baik kepada siswa, guru, pembelajar bahasa yang lain, dan peneliti sendiri.. Bagi guru, ini akan bermanfaat sebagai salah satu referensi dalam menerapkan metode mengajar di kelas untuk dapat memperoleh hasil maksimal dalam interaksi berbahasa Inggris di kelas. Bagi siswa, ini akan digunakan sebagai refleksi untuk meningkatkan partisipasi mereka di kelas dan berinteraksi dengan lebih bermakna. Interaksi tidak hanya tindakan pembelajar bahasa. Ini sebuah proses aktif. Terdapat unsur kemauan, kesadaran, tujuan, emosi, kreatifitas, dan perasaan rileks di dalamnya. Di dalam kelas, sebaiknya guru dan siswa mempunyai kemauan ini untuk berpartisipasi dalam interaksi. Kata-kata kunci: interaksi kelas, pendekatan penelitian kualitatif, penulisan deskriptif dan naratif, interpretasi.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses the background of the study, the problem identification, the
limitation of the problem, the research question, the research goals and objectives, and the research benefits.
A. Background of the Study
Interaction is becoming more and more important in an English learning. Success or failure in classroom language learning typically has something, if not absolutely everything, to do with the nature of interaction that takes place during lessons. Interaction has an important role to play in developing a learner’s ability in that language. By interaction, a learner will engage with the language and master it.
Mastering a new skill needs our active participation in it and our reflection on what we attained. Experience and reflection teach more than any manual or lecture ever could. In learning a skill, we do some practice, see the consequences of that practice, and choose either to continue or to take a new and different practice. It also happens in learning to communicate in English. Learners do some practice to communicate in English. They see the consequences of the communication. Finally, they choose either to continue or to take a new and different form of communication.
In the classroom, the teachers and the students are the language learners. The teachers’ experiences in language learning influence what and how they teach in the classroom. The students’ experiences in language learning also influence what and how they learn the language in the classroom. This study discusses the interaction experiences of the language learners, i.e. teachers and students. It investigates what the students and the teachers think of the meaning of interaction in English learning, how they experience the interaction, how they interpret it, and how they actualize themselves through interaction. It also investigates how classroom interaction develops the participants’ personal development in English learning.
A successful language learner should be able to use the language in meaningful interaction to others. S/he is able to understand the other’s speaking. S/he is also able to express her/his own ideas or opinion. S/he is also able to respond the other’s speaking. Language learning is not a result of the transmission of facts about language or from a succession of rote memorization drills. It is the result of opportunities for meaningful interaction with others in the target language (Walqui, 2000).
Interaction is the essence of communication. Learning to interact in English means learning to communicate in English. Interaction becomes an important aspect in language learning because it is what people do in daily lives. They may talk, challenge, interrupt, or query each other. There is a willingness to cooperate verbally as the part of the interaction. In the classroom, both the teacher and the students should have the willingness to participate in the interaction.
English is one of the adaptive subjects in Vocational Schools. The goal of the English subject is to provide the students the English communication skills in the communication material context needed for their vocational program, both orally and written. Communication skill is one of the students’ competencies that the students must master in Vocational Schools.
It is as their preparation to be able to work effectively and efficiently. It also prepares for further education level based on the vocational programs (Vocational School Curriculum, 2004). English subject provides the students' communication ability in their life as needed in globalization era and provides the students to develop communication ability to higher level.
Vocational Schools graduates, who are prepared for employment, need this ability. The lack of it will delay them in various work place competitions.
Language learning is a process that involves both an individual and context as the main elements. An individual is the learner her/himself. The context is the events and community where the language learner is struggling to achieve communicative goals through the means of the target language. Learners’ experience is another aspect that also plays an important role in their language learning.
The goal of language learning based on the Vocational School Curriculum in 1994 is the learners’ ability to communicate using the target language (in this context, English). The essence of the communication is meaningful interaction. In interaction, a learner understands others’ speaking, expresses his/her own ideas or opinion, and responds others’ speaking by talking, challenging, interrupting, or querying. A learner also has a willingness to cooperate verbally.
The understanding of the meaning of interaction may vary from one language learner to another. This factor influences how the learners actualize themselves in interaction. It is a need to do a research in describing and interpreting the meaning of interaction. The description and interpretation will figure out the real interaction completely with the factors underlying it. It is the understanding of the meaning of the interaction that based the real interaction that happened in the classroom.
B. Problem Identification A communication process in the classroom is similar with the one in other settings.
But, the function and pattern of the classroom communication is unique. Its primary goal is information sharing among teacher and students.
Interaction is a necessary component in communication. The communication is in the form of intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and cultural. The participations and/or roles of the elements in each form have effect on the success of the communication. The quantity and the quality of teacher-student interaction are affected by the communication climate in the classroom (Barker, 1982: 14).
Intrapersonal communication takes place within the individual. In classroom, there are two forms of the intrapersonal communication. Those are teacher to self (within a single teacher) or student to self (within a single student). Interpersonal communication involves two individuals. The forms of the interpersonal communication are teacher to student, student to teacher, and student to student. Group communication involves communication between the teacher and several students, between several students and the teacher, or between a single student and several students. Cultural communication is the most abstract form of classroom communication. In the classroom, the culture communicates to the teachers as well as to the students. The influence of culture is also found in group, interpersonal, and intrapersonal communication. Culture contains moral values, ethical consideration, and educational values which affect perception of the communication setting (Barker, 1982: 8-14).
Classroom interaction needs the participation of both the teacher and the students. The teacher’s role is most important in designing tasks and monitoring the process of doing it.
Whether by whole class discussion or small groups, teacher can do much to create an interactive classroom. Students need to think, speak, and be listened to as they participate in the classroom. Students will not get enough practice just by talking to the instructor, and very little by just listening to the instructor. They need to practice with other students in the classroom. They develop competency and become critical thinkers in classroom that provides opportunities for intensive, structured interaction among students (Bishop, 2000).
Interaction involves both social and personal input, and, forms the basis of the vast majority of everyday talking done by natives. Interaction involves the emotions; creativity; agreement; disagreement; people waiting patiently to get in a word; sighing, nodding, gesticulating, and so on. Interaction is not waiting to be asked a question (Counihan, 1998).
Interaction is not limited in the form of verbal response. A non-verbal interaction may also happen. Another possibility is the combination between verbal and non-verbal interaction. As the response to the teacher, students may answer by saying words expressing their idea, agreement or disagreement. It can also be in the form of written. Students may also give response by nodding, eye-contact, facial expressions, gesturing, etc. Students can also give response by gesturing followed by saying some expression (Willson, 1999).
In the English class, many students use Indonesian language to communicate with friend(s) and/or the teacher. Some of them try to use English. Some others mix between Indonesian and English. It also happens to the English teacher. In classroom, some teachers use English all the time and some use English mixed with Indonesian.
In the classroom, the content of the communication among the students or between the teacher and the students can be about English subject, other subject (non English), or other topics. Students also communicate about the current issue or news. A various information is probably shared in the English class.
C. Problem Limitation
In the classroom, the main goal of the interaction between the teacher and the students is transferring knowledge or information. Interaction is the heart of communication (Douglas, 2001: 165). The channel used in communication can be in the form of verbal or non verbal. This research is more focused on the verbal communication. The non-verbal communication is used to support the verbal one.
Verbal communication can be connected to talk. In the classroom, there will be teacher's and students' talk. Other elements that support the success of transferring knowledge or information in the verbal communication are included in the emergent themes.
This research is limited on searching about the meanings of the interaction in English teaching learning. The meanings are based on the participants’ lived experiences. Experiences are the personal basis in reflection. In other words, reflection concentrates on what the experience means to the experiencer. The investigation and discussion are focused on the students’ process of interaction and how they actualize their meaning of interaction. The meaning is also related to the real interaction in classroom. The interaction happened in class is seen in its content, who say the information, to whom it is transmitted, and how it is transmitted. The content includes the topic, message, or information that is communicated by the participants in the interaction. How the participants experienced interaction, what interaction meant to them, what they felt about it, how they did it, what motivated them, and how they experienced difficulties, failures, success will be discussed. All those result in better understanding of the teachers and the students. They can understand themselves better to become more autonomous, empowered, and self-fulfilling in interacting in English learning.
This study used the qualitative paradigm in which interpretive approach was applied to answer the research question through the narratives of the research participants on interaction.
Classroom observation was used to collect the data. The field note and audio-video recording were used to help to get a complete data. The observation was written in descriptive and narrative forms. The participants were interviewed before and after the observation. The result of the interviews was written in the form of transcript.
D. Research Questions
Interaction is important for students of vocational schools. It will influence their success in English learning. Due to several constraints of time, availability and accessibility, this research specifically aims to find answers to the following question:
What is the meaning of classroom interaction in English learning?
E. Research Goals and Objectives
In line with the research question, the goals and objectives of this research are as follows:
1. The goal of this research is to discover and interpret the meaning of classroom interaction in English learning
2. The objectives of this research are
a. to discover what the interaction means to the students and the teacher
b. to discover the content or message in the interaction
c. to discover who express the content or the message and to whom it is expressed
d. to discover how the content or message is expressed e. to discover and interpret why the participant(s) do such an interaction with others.
F. Research Benefits
This research describes the meaning of classroom interaction in English learning. It also describes how the participants experience interaction, what it means to them, what they feel about it, what motivates them, and how they experience difficulties, failures, and success. The results of this research give some benefits for English Education Studies, English teachers, and students.
In relation with the English Education Studies, there are some benefits. Firstly, it is useful as reference in determining the teacher’s teaching plan before coming into classroom.
The plan influences the success of the teaching-learning. Secondly, it enriches the knowledge about the meaning of interaction as it is reflected in the real interaction that happened in the English learning in classroom. Thirdly, it is useful for further research about the application of an effective method to get maximum result of learning, especially in learning to communicate using English.
For English teachers, the result of this research enriches the teachers’ knowledge about the meaning of interaction as it is reflected in the real interaction that happened in English class from the participants’ point of view. It can be used as one of the materials in determining the teaching-learning plan. It can be used as one of the references in applying the teaching method in class to get maximum result in English interaction in classroom.
Students use the result of this research as a reflection to make a better improvement in their participation in class and to interact more meaningfully. The result of this research also helps the students understand more about the meaning of classroom interaction in relation to their personal development in the English learning.
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the researcher will present the theoretical review related to the
research. It will discuss the interaction and communication, learning and language learning, communicative language teaching, Vocational High School, and some related studies. It will also discuss about the researcher's framework of thinking that will be presented in the theoretical framework.
A. Theoretical Review 1. Interaction and Communication Interaction is synonymous with the learning process itself (Allwright, 2008).
Interaction develops the learner’s ability of a language. By interaction a language learner can get more opportunity to use language successfully. Interaction also measures the learners’ progress. .
Interaction is the hearth of communication (Douglas, 2001:165). It is in the interaction what communication all about is found. It can be in the forms of sending messages, receiving them, interpreting them, or negotiating meanings.
Communication plays a central role in all classroom activities. Classroom communication is similar to other communication forms. But, the classroom communication differs as a function of unique purposes, environment, and participation forms.
The classroom communication involves some components. They are: the originator, encoding process, transmission, message, channels, communication climate, interference, reception, decoding, responder, and feedback (Barker, 1982: 14).
The originator is the sender of the message, that is, teacher or students. Encoding process is the process of transforming the message into appropriate words or movements.
Transmission is the process of sending message through specific channels. Message carries meaning from originator to responder via words or movements. Channels are the pathways on which messages travel – usually light or sound waves. Communication climate is the total of social, hereditary, and personal influences which affect both originator and responder's communication behavior.
Interference is the noise in the communication system which alters or changes meanings of the message. Reception is the process of receiving the message by eyes, ears, nose, and so on. Decoding is the process of transferring the raw aural or oral stimuli into meaningful thought, or word symbols.
The responder is the person or persons who are the destination of the originator's message. Feedback completes the communication cycle by sending messages back from respondent to originator indicating that the message was received and/or understood (Barker, 1982: 3-8).
The nature of the classroom communication is affected by the components above. The components also make the classroom communication differs from other communication forms. The students' way of communication with their teacher outside the classroom differs with the one inside the classroom. The communication among the students outside the classroom also differs with the one inside the classroom. The classroom communication has a very specific characteristic.
Students' communicative abilities are enhanced when they interact with each other through oral or written discourse (Douglas, 2001: 48). Students can read or listen to authentic material. They can join a discussion, problem-solving tasks, or dialogue journals. The extent to which the intended message received is the factor of speaker's production and listener's reception. Most meaning is a product of negotiation of give and take.
In an interactive classes, there are some activities that can be found, such as doing a significant amount of pair work and group work, receiving authentic language input in real- world contexts, producing language for genuine, meaningful communication, performing classroom tasks that prepare them for actual language use "out there'', practicing oral communication through the give and take and spontaneity of actual conversations, and writing to and for real audiences, not contrived ones. In the activity, students use the language in real communication to others (Douglas, 2001: 48).
In the classroom interaction, teacher and students have a reciprocal effect upon each other through which they say and do in the classroom. This aspect succeeds the transmission of the messages between teacher and students (Metelo, 2006). The teacher and students are not separate parts in the classroom. They are tied together.
In the classroom, the purpose of the teachers is teaching a language. Teachers mainly focus on the verbal interaction or communicative interaction (Cummins, 1994 in Abarca, 2004). They do not separate the nonverbal interaction that presents. The nonverbal interaction is used to support the verbal one. Students are normally expected to take an active role in the class. They show their mastery of the language by performing it.
Meaningful interaction with others in the target language in the classroom is much more important in language learning. The language learning is supposed to conduct activities to get the meaningful interaction for the language learners. Lecturing and recitation are not the most appropriate modes of language use in the second language classroom. Teachers need to move toward more richly interactive language use, such as that found in instructional conversations and collaborative classroom work (Walqui, 2000). Chet Meyers in Bishop (2000) suggests some basic rules for consistently encouraging student interaction: begin each class with a controversy or problem, use silence to encourage reflection, arrange and use classroom space to encourage interaction, and create a friendly environment.
Counihan (1998) states that interaction happen when the whole class is engaged in a group conversation. Interaction can involve the teacher but it must involve the second language. Interaction happens when the second languages direct the dialogue at one another and not at or through the teacher; the second languages comment immediately on what another second languages just said; the second languages disagree with or challenge another second languages’ statement; the second languages don’t have to be invited (by the teacher) to speak; the second languages speak when there is a short silence indicating the end of someone else’s turn; the second languages interrupt one another, diplomatically, to insert an opinion or question, etc; the second languages use the personal pronouns “I” and “You”; they use paralinguistic, such as exclamations, gestures, body language and so on; and the second languages are as relaxed as possible.
Most activities in the classroom are instructed by the teacher. The teacher has an important role in designing the activities or task. The activities in the classroom can be categorized into three basic forms (Nuthall and Snook in Barker, 1982: 58): individual work, extended discourse, and interactive discourse.
In individual work, the student works on his or her own. Individual work accounts for between 25 and 45 percent of all class time. The teacher talks, performs, demonstrates, or exhibits materials in the extended discourse. It accounts for between 18 and 22 percent of all class time. In an interactive discourse, the teacher and students are talking with each other.
The degree of teacher control varies. Interactive discourse accounts for between 34 and 53 percent of all class time In an interactive discourse, the teacher and students talk with each other. It means that there is a two-way communication. It is not only the teacher who talks in the class and the students listen. Both the teacher and the students talk with each other. The teacher interacts effectively with the students. The teacher can also give time to students to talk to their friends.
The interaction between the students and students also happens.
Quality of classroom communication is one of the variables that affect the level and type of achievement – that is, the degree to which the student acquires specified knowledge, skills and/or attitudes (Barker, 1982: 64). The classroom communication is an interactive activity of the teacher and the students during an academic term. The primary goal of classroom communication is information sharing among teacher and students. The vehicles of the transmission of communication can be intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and cultural communication.
Intrapersonal communication takes place within the individual. It ranges from thinking, mediating and reflecting to talking aloud to oneself or writing oneself a memo. The forms of the intrapersonal communication are teacher to him/herself (within a single teacher) or student to him/herself (within a single student).
Interpersonal communication involves two individuals: an originator and a responder. The forms of the interpersonal communication are teacher to student, student to teacher, and student to student. Both the originator and responder often change roles several times within a communication incident. The originator will initiate a message, the responder will reply, and the originator, in effect, may then respond to the feedback of his initial message. This implies that the responder must be an active participant in the communication.
Group communication involves communication between the teacher and several students, between several students and the teacher, or between a single student and several students. The distinction between the interpersonal and group communication is that interpersonal communication takes place between the teacher and a single student or between two students, whereas group communication occurs between many students and the teacher or among several students.
In cultural communication, the originator of the message is often unknown; it can be in the forms of laws, mores, folkways, or art. In the classroom, the culture communicates to the teachers as well as to the students. The influence of culture is also found in group, interpersonal, and intrapersonal communication. Culture contains moral values, ethical consideration, and educational values which affect perception of the communication setting.
Interpersonal and group communications are two communication forms that can be seen clearly in the classroom. Students can inter act each other most of the time in this form of communication. Classroom activities that need interpersonal or group communication is useful to give students chances to interact each other.
In order to understand more about the interaction process in relation with the second language learning, the following part will discuss about the Input hypothesis that is proposed by Michael Long, and Krashen.
Long’s discussion is related with the input in the second language learning. Greater attention to the interactions in which learners are engaged gives more understanding about the nature and usefulness of input for second language learning. The interaction should not be seen simply as a one-directional source of target language input. When learners engage with their interlocutors in negotiations around meaning, the nature of the input might be qualitatively changed. The more the input is queried, recycled and paraphrased, to increase its comprehensibility, the greater its potential usefulness as input (Mitchell and Myles, 2004: 159-61).
Krashen differentiates between acquisition and learning in second language learning. Acquisition is a subconscious process; it is similar to the way a child acquires his/her first language. Learning is a conscious process; it is more related to knowing certain rules about a language such as grammar.
There are five main hypotheses proposed by Krashen. Those are the acquisition hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the natural hypothesis, the input hypothesis, and the affective filter hypothesis.
The acquisition hypothesis states that “Learning cannot become acquisition and that
fluency in a second or foreign language is due to what learners have acquired, not what they
have learned.” (Brown in Shannon, 2005) Second language learners should attempt to acquire
linguistic rules subconsciously and in a natural way.
The monitor hypothesis sates that “Learned system acts as a monitor, making minor
changes and polishing what the acquired system has produced .”(Lightbown and Spada in