Methods and media in teaching vocabulary to pre-school student of ``Speak First`` Klaten - USD Repository
METHODS AND MEDIA
VOCABULARY TO PRE-SCHOOL STUDENTS OF “SPEAK FIRST” KLATEN A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Stefani Yustita Asdra Noveani
061214151
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2011
Dedication Page
emember what we receive &R orget what we give
F to others
dedicate this thesis for those whom I love much,
I Jesus Christ & Virgin Mary
My beloved family All of my friends
ABSTRACT
Noveani, Stefani Yustita Asdra. 2011. Methods and Media in Teaching
Vocabulary to Pre- School Students of “Speak First” Klaten. Yogyakarta: English
Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Teaching methods had an effect on the students’understanding, especially to learn English vocabulary for pre-school students. The teacher should vary methods in teaching, so the students understood what they learnt. Furthermore, the role of media was also very helpful in teaching-learning process. In this study, media helped the teachers to teach English to pre-school students, especially in teaching vocabulary. Teaching vocabulary to pre-school students would be interesting if media were included in it. The teachers used media to support their teaching methods. The participants of this study were early children whose ages are between 3-4 years old in 2009/2010 academic year. It was not easy for early- age young learners to learn vocabulary because they were also still learning
Bahasa Indonesia as their mother tongue. According to Dodge (1992: 7), English
as foreign language was best to be taught since early ages of school since pre- school was the basic education to develop human’s quality. According to Ritter (1950), young learners “learn by seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting.” There were three problems in this study: (1) What kinds of methods are used in teaching vocabulary for pre-school students of
“Speak First”? (2) What kinds of
media are used in teaching vocabulary for pre-school students of
“Speak First”?
and (3) What are the underlying reasons to use different methods and media in each meeting? This study was a qualitative research, which used three data gathering instruments, which included observation checklists, field notes, and interview. The writer conducted the observation in
“Speak First” Pre-School in Klaten. In
this study, field notes were used to write everything that happened in the classroom during the observation. Observation checklists and field notes were used to answer the first and second questions, which were about the methods and media that were used in teaching vocabulary for pre-school students. Then, interview was used to gain more data and to answer the third research question which was about the underlying reasons to use different methods and media in each meeting.
The results showed that Desuggestopedia, Multiple Intelligences (MI), and Total Physical Response (TPR) were the methods which were used in teaching vocabulary. The media used during the teaching-learning process were based on the methods used. The teacher used different media in turns based on the methods used in teaching vocabulary to pre-school students in each meeting. The general underlying reasons to use different methods and media in each meeting were to improve students’ motor, to increase students’ confidence, and to broaden students’ knowledge.
Keywords: methods, media, vocabulary, Pre-School students
ABSTRAK
Noveani, Stefani Yustita Asdra. 2011. Methods and Media in Teaching
Vocabulary to Pre- School Students of “Speak First” Klaten. Yogyakarta:
Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Metode pengajaran sangat berpengaruh terhadap pemahaman anak dalam menerima pelajaran, khususnya belajar vocabulary bahasa Inggris untuk anak- anak usia pra-sekolah. Pendidik hendaknya membuat variasi metode pengajaran agar anak-anak mengerti apa yang dipelajari. Selain itu, peran media juga sangat membantu dalam proses belajar-mengajar. Dalam hal ini, media juga dapat membantu proses pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak pra-sekolah. Pengajaran kosakata Bahasa Inggris akan menarik jika media disertakan di dalamnya. Pendidik menggunakan media untuk mendukung metode mengajar yang digunakan. Subyek dalam penelitian ini adalah anak-anak usia 3-4 tahun tahun ajaran 2009/2010. Tidaklah mudah belajar kosakata bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak usia pra-sekolah karena mereka masih belajar Bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa ibu. Menurut Dodge (1992: 7), bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing paling baik diajarkan sejak awal usia sekolah karena usia pra-sekolah sebagai dasar dalam mengembangkan pengetahuan seseorang. Menurut Ritter (1950), pelajar usia muda ”belajar melalui melihat, mendengar, merasakan apa yang dialami, mencium, dan mengecap rasa.” Ada tiga hal yang akan ditunjukkan dalam penelitian ini, yaitu: (1) Apa saja metode yang digunakan dalam mengajar kosakata bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak pra-sekolah di
“Speak First”? (2)
Media apa saja yang digunakan dalam mengajar kosakata bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak pra-sekolah di
“Speak First”? dan (3) Apa alasan yang mendasari
penggunaan metode dan media dalam setiap pertemuannya? Penelitian ini merupakan jenis kualitatif deskripsi yang menggunakan tiga cara pengumpulan data, yaitu pengamatan, catatan lapangan, dan wawancara; digunakan. Penulis melaksanakan pengamatan terhadap anak-anak usia pra- sekolah
”Speak First” di Klaten yang berusia 3-4 tahun dalam tahun ajaran
2009/2010. Dalam penelitian ini, catatan lapangan digunakan untuk menuliskan segala sesuatu yang terjadi di kelas selama pengamatan berlangsung. Pengamatan dan catatan lapangan digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama dan kedua, yaitu tentang teknik dan media yang digunakan dalam pengajaran kosakata bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak usia pra-sekolah. Wawancara terhadap pendidik juga digunakan untuk menggali data lebih dalam dan menjawab pertanyaan ketiga, yaitu tentang alasan yang mendasari penggunaan teknik dan media dalam setiap pertemuan.
Dari data penelitian, diperoleh bahwa Desuggestopedia, Multiple Intelligence (MI), dan Total Physical Response (TPR) adalah pendekatan dan metode yang mendasari metode mengajar kosakata bahasa Inggris. Media yang digunakan dalam pengajaran ternyata berdasarkan pada teknik yang diterapkan oleh guru. Pendidik menggunakan media yang berbeda-beda berdasarkan metode yang diterapkan di kelas dalam setiap pertemuannya. Alasan secara garis besar yang mendasari untuk menerapkan metode dan media yang berbeda setiap pertemuannya adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan motorik anak, meningkatkan rasa percaya diri, dan menambah pengetahuan anak. Kata kunci: methods, media, vocabulary, Pre-School students
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I want to express my greatest gratitude to Almighty Jesus
Christ for the everlasting love, blessing and amazing grace in every step of my
life. I thank Him for giving me a great chance to fill this world with anything I can do my very best for the people around me. I always believe that there is nothing impossible in Him. I also thank Mother Mary, who always teaches me to be patient and strong whenever the situation is.
My sincere gratitude goes to my sponsor, Christina Kristiyani, S.Pd.,
M.Pd., for her correction, advice, suggestion, and support during my thesis. I am
deeply grateful to all PBI lecturers for guiding and teaching me during my study in Sanata Dharma University. I would also like to thank all secretariat staffs of
PBI for always helping me with the administrative matters. Furthermore, I thank
all librarians of Sanata Dharma University for giving me their kind service and
enjoyable place to study.
My special thanks are addresed to Speak First Klaten where I conducted the research. I thank Mrs. Siska, Ms. Ayun, Ms. Cici, and Ms. Tanti very much for helping and guiding me conducted the research. I also thank all Pre-school students who actively and enthusiastically studied in class.
From my deepest heart, I thank my beloved parents, Bapak St. Agus
Sriyanta and Ibu V. Sri Wigiarti. I thank them for their prayer, love, support,
advice, patience they have given to me. My gratitude also goes to my brother
Ridwan for giving me support and moments we have shared together. With all
my love, I thank Pius for his praying, support, patience, and everlasting love.My special thanks are addressed to all the fighters: Yoana, Indi, Kaje,
Siskey, Niken, Ata, Nana, Esti, Oliph, Septi, Nita, and Zico for the support and
friendship, and all the happiness and sadness we have spent together. We have worked hard and worked smart together. Then, I will never forget the beautiful life in the nicest boarding house
“Kost Pelangi” with all togetherness in happy
and sad moments: mbak Weni, Riyutz, Popon, Cepti, Ningsih, Dora, Nina, Nita, and Vida.
Next, I would like to thank all the members of
“Cantus Firmus” choir,
friends of KKN Angkatan 39 Desa Gedogan, play performance group
“Fatal
Desire” and LPPM staffs of Sanata Dharma University for the togetherness,
sadness, and happiness moments
- – I miss them. Thanks for the unforgettable memories during the struggle.
Last but not least, my gratitude also goes to all PBI 2006 students for the unforgettable moments during the study in Sanata Dharma University, and to all people who cannot be mentioned one by one. God bless us.
Stefani Yustita Asdra Noveani
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
TITLE i PAGE ………………………………………………………...........
APPROVAL PAGES .................................................................................. ii DEDICATION PAGE ................................................................................ iv v STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...........................................
ABSTRAC T ……........................................................................................ vii
ABSTRAK .................................................................................................... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................ x TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ xii LIST OF APPENDICES............................................................................. xviii
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Research Background ...................................................................... 1 B. Problem Formulation ……………………………………………... 4 C. Problem Limitation ……………………………………………….. 5 D. Research Objectives ……………………………………………… 5 E. Research Benefits ………………………………………………… 6 F. Definition of Terms ………………………………………………. 7 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoretical Description ............................................................. 10 1. Principle of Teaching .......................................................... 10
a.
Total Physical Response ............................................... 23 4. Teaching Media .................................................................. 24 a.
Teaching Children in the Pre-School Ages ........................ 28 a.
2.) Events / Real Pictures ............................................ 28 5.
1.) Object ..................................................................... 28
Structured-Oriented Picture ................................... 27 b. Real Things .................................................................. 27
Context-Oriented Picture ....................................... 27 2.)
Pictures ......................................................................... 26 1.)
7.) Intrapersonal ............................................................ 22 c.
The Important of Vocabulary ........................................ 14 b. Vocabulary Learning ..................................................... 15 c. Vocabulary Teaching .................................................... 16 3. Methods .............................................................................. 17 a.
6.) Interpersonal ............................................................ 22
5.) Visual / Spatial ......................................................... 22
4.) Musical / Rythmic .................................................... 21
3.) Bodily / Kinesthetic ................................................. 21
2.) Verb / Linguistic ....................................................... 20
1.) Logical / Mathematical ............................................ 20
Desuggestopedia ........................................................... 18 b. Multiple Intelligences (MI) ........................................... 20
The Characteristic of Children in Pre-School Ages ........ 28
b.
Principle of Teaching Pre-School Students .................. 31 B. Theoretical Framework ............................................................. 32
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ........................................................... 34 A. Research Method ...................................................................... 34 B. Research Participants ................................................................ 35 C. Research Instruments ................................................................ 36 1. Observation Checklist ......................................................... 36 2. Field Notes .......................................................................... 39 3. Interview ............................................................................. 39 D. Data Gathering Techniques ....................................................... 40 E. Data Analysis Techniques ......................................................... 41 F. Research Procedures ................................................................. 43 CHAPTER IV.RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................ 45 A. Research Findings .................................................................... 45 Table 4.1. Teaching Topic ....................................................... 45 Table 4.2. Classroom’s Daily Activities .................................. 46 Table 4.3. Teaching Activities ................................................. 47 Table 4.4. Teaching Media ...................................................... 50 Table 4.5. Classification of Methods and Media ..................... 55 B. Discussion ................................................................................ 56 1.)
The Methods Used in Teaching Vocabulary to “Speak First
” Pre-School ................................................................. 56
a.
62 a. Pictures ....................................................................... 63
b) Dry Leaves, Drawing Pictures, and Glue ......... 65
a) Money ............................................................. 65
Objects .................................................................. 65
Real Things ................................................................. 65 1.)
3.) Structured-Oriented Pictures: Photos .................... 64 b.
Context-Oriented Pictures: Decoration Pictures, Glue, and a Piece of Paper ...................................... 64
Glue ........................................................................ 63 2.)
1.) Context-Oriented Pictures: Crepe Paper and
2.) The Media Used in Teaching Vocabulary to “Speak First” Pre-School ........................................................................
Total Physical Response ............................................ 57 b. Multiple Intelligences (MI) .......................................
Intrapersonal Intelligence ..................................... 61 c. Desuggestopedia ......................................................... 62
Interpersonal Intelligence ..................................... 61 7.)
Visual-Spatial Intelligence .................................... 60 6.)
Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence ............................ 60 5.)
Bodily- Kinesthethic Intelligence ........................ 59 4.)
Verb- Linguistic Intelligence ............................... 58 3.)
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence ...................... 57 2.)
57 1.)
c) Chocolates and Kitchen Utensils ....................... 66
d) The Greeting Cards, Stamps, and Glue .............. 66
e) Musical Instrument, Songs, Sponge Blocks,
Puzzles, Sand and Water, and Table Toys .......... 66 2.)
Events / Real Places ............................................. 68
a) Swimming Pool .............................................. 68
b) Post Office ...................................................... 69
3.) The Underlying Reasons Using the Methods and Media Used in Teaching Process ................................................
69 Table 4.6. The Classification of Methods and Media
st in The 1 Meeting ........................................................
70 Table 4.7. The Classification of Methods and Media
nd in The 2 Meeting .......................................................
72 Table 4.8. The Classification of Methods and Media
rd in The 3 Meeting ........................................................
74 Table 4.9. The Classification of Methods and Media
th in The 4 Meeting ........................................................
74 Table 4.10. The Classification of Methods and Media
th in The 5 Meeting ........................................................
76 Table 4.11. The Classification of Methods and Media
th in The 6 Meeting ........................................................
78 Table 4.12. The Classification of Methods and Media
th in The 7 Meeting ........................................................
79 Table 4.13. The Classification of Methods and Media
in The 8
th Meeting ........................................................
81 CHAPTER V.CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ........................
85 A. Conclusions ............................................................................ 85 B.
Suggestions ............................................................................. 88 1.
For Students ...................................................................... 88 2. For English Teachers ........................................................ 88 3. For Future Researchers ..................................................... 89 REFERENCES ........................................................................................
91
LIST OF APPENDICES Page APPENDIX A .........................................................................................
53 APPENDIX G .........................................................................................
64 Figure 3. One Teacher Guided Three Students .......................................
64 Figure 2. Cooking Chocolates ..................................................................
44 Figure 1. Snack Time ...............................................................................
63 Figure 3.1. ................................................................................................
59 APPENDIX H .........................................................................................
55 Interview Transcripts (English language).........................................
54 Interview Transcripts (Bahasa Indonesia).........................................
52 List of Interview Questions (English language) ...............................
1 Letter of Permission .........................................................................
51 List of Interview Questions (Bahasa Indonesia)...............................
43 APPENDIX F .........................................................................................
42 Vocabulary Learnt through Each Meeting .......................................
24 APPENDIX E .........................................................................................
23 Observation Checklists .....................................................................
14 “Speak First” Pre-School ..................................................................... 15 APPENDIX D .........................................................................................
3 Teaching and learning Process in “Speak First” Pre-School ............... 4 APPENDIX C .........................................................................................
2 APPENDIX B .........................................................................................
64
Figure 4. Students Played in The Playing Area .......................................... 65 Figure 5. The Teacher Guided the Students Sticking a Stamp..................
65 Figure 6. A Student Sent a Greeting Card ................................................. 66 Figure 7. The Students Played in the Playing Ground .............................. 66
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the methods and media that the teacher used in
teaching vocabulary. The methods and media which are used will be in line for the teaching-learning situation nowadays.
A. Research Background
English language becomes an important language nowadays. Smith (1976) defines the term “international language”, noting that an “international” language is one which is used by people of different nations to communicate with one another. English becomes an international language as well due to the fact that it has been widely used around the world. In addition, English has been involved in wider communication between individuals of a country and among different countries.
In Indonesia, English is taught as a foreign language. It is introduced to very young learners. “In its development, English is not only introduced and taught to adult anymore, but also today, English has early been introduced to children as young learners” (Suyanto, 2005: 15). What is meant by young learners here are the children whose ages are between 1 - 4 years old. In this study, the writer focuses on young learners whose ages are 3 - 4 years old. Pre-school is the right choice to start learning English because the children are still fresh in their mind and they are easy to accept the materials. Pre-school is the basic education to develop human‟s quality (Depdiknas, 2005: 1). The purpose of pre-school is preparing the children to continue their education to the higher level. According to Ritter (1950), young learners “learn by seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting”. Moreover, pre-school students are always active. They still like learning by playing. In their ages, they still cannot write well, but they use their senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch to understand the language. With respect to the students as young learners and the objective of teaching English, the teachers can introduce them to the language study habits beginning in the early grades.
To teach vocabulary beginning in the early grades, the teacher should use interesting methods so the students will understand what they have learnt.
Interesting teaching method can make the students enjoy the teaching-learning activities. As stated in Larsen-Freeman (2000: ix), methods can aid teachers in bringing to conscious awareness the thinking that underlies their action. Methods offer teachers alternatives to what they currently think and do. Teachers can vary the methods in their teaching process.
Teaching vocabulary to pre-school students will also be interesting if the teachers use media. Media means the tools that are used to transfer the knowledge from the teacher to the students. “The most common conception of the role of a teacher is that of an information giver, so teaching has been described as a transmission of the material from an instructor‟s notebook to a student‟s notebook by passing the mind of both” (Gerlach & Ely, 1980: 5). To change this paradigm, the teachers are rapidly becoming a facilitator of the learning experiences. The teachers use media to support their teaching methods. Kinds of media are pictures and real things. Those kinds of media give a big contribution to the students in their learning process. The teachers have to know the basic concept of English vocabulary so that they know what they want to teach to their students. The more technology develops, the more media can be used by the teacher to conduct the teaching method. Both methods in teaching English and media are needed to make the pre-school students learn better.
In this study, the writer is interested in conducting a research in
“Speak
First” Pre-school since it is a new billingual school in Klaten. There are two
reasons why the writer chooses
“Speak First” to be observed. The first reason is
practicality. Since the distance of
“Speak First” is near to the writer‟s house, the
writer knows well about the school. The second one is that
“Speak First” has
experienced teaching English for six years. Since
“Speak First” has lots of
experiences, most people in Klaten believe that
“Speak First” gives the best
education quality from the early grades. In this study, the writer wants to know what methods the teachers of
“Speak First” conducting in teaching-learning process and what kinds of media used to support their teaching process.
The participants in this study were students of
“Speak First” pre-school
whose ages are between 3
- – 4 years old. The students belonged to pre-school in the academic year 2010-2011. Based on my informal observation, each student has different characteristics. There were active, passive, shy, and brave students in one class.
Based on The Policy of (Indonesia) Department of National Education RI
No. 20/2003 Section 26 Subsection 3 , life skill education belongs to pre-school education, including interpersonal skill, social skill, and academic skill to learn independently. According to Napitupulu (2001: 2), this policy is related to UNESCO‟s educational pillars, those are learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together. Learning to know means that children learn through media and teacher‟s explanation. Learning to do means that children do learning activities directly, and learning to live together means that children have interaction with other people. In the teaching process, pre-school students will have social interaction with other students. It is very difficult to teach pre- school students because they are not able to write well. Their process of learning is still to learn through the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Based on those senses, it is hoped the students will be accustomed to understand the meaning of vocabulary list step by step with continuous teaching process through appropriate methods and media. The vocabulary lists will be useful for the students to face life skill education in their future.
In today‟s circumstances, life skill education for pre-school students has not appeared yet because they are still too young to understand the meaning of life skill. Life skill will be used throughout their lives.
B. Problem Formulation
This study aims to identify the methods and media used in teaching English and to identify why the methods and media can be applied correctly in class. The problems are formulated as in the next page.
1. What kinds of methods are used in teaching vocabulary for “Speak First” pre-school students?
2. What kinds of media are used in teaching vocabulary for “Speak First” pre- school students?
3. What are the underlying reasons to use different methods and media in each meeting?
C. Problem Limitation
In order to limit the scope of the study in conducting the research, the writer deals only with the vocabulary activities conducted by English teachers in
“Speak First” Klaten. The observation on the vocabulary activities was about
how an English teacher teaches vocabulary in every meeting by using methods and media. The observation also covers in what situation the methods and media can be applied in class.
D. Research Objectives
The general objective of this study is to investigate what the English teacher in
“Speak First” Klaten conducts vocabulary teaching-learning for pre- school students. The specific objectives can be stated as follows.
1. To find out the methods the teachers applied in teaching-learning vocabulary as the foreign language.
2. To find out the media the teachers used in teaching-learning vocabulary as the foreign language.
3. To know what the underlying reasons are to use the methods and media in each meeting in teaching vocabulary.
E. Research Benefits
This study is expected to be able to give several benefits for the students, teachers, and the future researchers.
For students, this study aims to give new experience to the students in learning vocabulary as their foreign language and the basic knowledge of their learning English language. The students can understand the meaning of vocabularies that they learn although they are not able to write yet. The students can get experiences in vocabulary and also expand their understanding of word meaning.
For the English teachers, the result of this study is to gain insight into methods in teaching vocabulary. After knowing the methods in teaching vocabulary, the English teachers are expected to provide better methods in teaching vocabulary in which vocabulary is an important element that can support students‟ quality in learning English. The English teachers may also find out whether the learning activities and teaching methods and media they planned and applied are useful or not in order to encourage students during the class. In addition, English teachers may also find out whether the teaching-learning activities through the methods enable students to learn vocabulary in easier ways.
To other researchers, hopefully this study gives understanding and knowledge in teaching vocabulary to the students in pre-school ages as the basic level to learn English. It is also expected in the future that the researchers can know the underlying reasons of using the methods and media during the teaching process.
F. Definition of Terms
This section presents the definition of term used in this study. The terms defined here are the methods, media, teaching vocabulary, and the pre-school students in “Speak First”.
1. Methods
According to Brown (2001: 16), a method is a generalized set of classroom specification for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to be concerned primarily with teacher and students roles and behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguisitc and subject-matter objectives and materials.
In this study, the methods refer to the generalized set of classroom specification which is conducted by the English teacher in teaching vocabulary to
“Speak First” pre-school students during the teaching-learning process. The
methods which are used will be effective for the students in understanding vocabulary. Moreover, the teachers can improve their creativity in teaching vocabulary based on its various genres so that the students grasp more the words that they learn.
2. Media
According to Soeparno (1988: 1), “media is a mean that are used by the education world, the source of information is the teacher and the receiver is the students. The information is the lesson that students have to learn in every meeting. The purpose of media is to communicate the transformation of knowledge from the teachers to the students. In this study, media are used appropriately based on the teaching methods which are applied by the English teacher in teaching vocabulary to pre-school students. One method can be used with the same and different media in the teaching-learning process. The examples of media are pictures and real things.
3. Teaching Vocabulary
According to Channel (1988), “a new vocabulary item is acquired when the learner can identify its meaning in and out of context and it can be used naturally and appropriately.” There are five genres of vocabularies; those are vocabulary of noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and chunks. What are learnt by pre- school students are vocabulary of noun and vocabulary of chunks. In this study, teaching vocabulary refers to how the teachers teach vocabulary of noun and chunks, then to how pre-school students learn and respond to those kinds of vocabularies as the basic knowledge in learning English in the future. Allen (1983) pointed out that “it is useful to provide the learner with words for „classroom language‟ just at the early stages of the course. It is important for the teacher to predict what words the student needs to know for talking about everyday life, people, and things surrounding them.”
4. Pre-school Students in “Speak First”
“Speak First” objectively accepts the students every year. The students
who study in this school are children whose ages between 1
- – 4 years old. This research will focus on students whose ages are 3-4 years old. The comparison between the teacher and students are 1:3. It means that one teacher will handle three students at most, so that the teachers can observe the students‟ process of learning.
“Speak First” was built for about six years ago. Although it belongs to
a new school in this era, the quality of the teachers is good. Because of the development of technology and curriculum, this school starts to teach English as the basic knowledge for students from the beginning in the early grades in learning English, especially vocabulary, as foreign language.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter presents the literature review of the study. This chapter
includes two main parts, namely theoretical description and theoretical framework.
A. Theoretical Description
This part elaborates five key points used in this study. They are principles of teaching, vocabulary, method, media, and teaching children in the pre-school ages.
1. Principles of Teaching
According to Gerlach & Ely (1980: 49), one of the tasks as a teacher is to facilitate learning. Teachers are to establish conditions which make it probable that learning will occur within a period of time. Teaching cannot be defined apart from learning. Nathan Gage (1964: 269) as cited in Brown (1994: 7) noted that “to satisfy the practical demands of education, theories of learning must be stood on their head so as to yield theories of teaching.” Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the conditions for learning. Teachers’ understanding of how the learner learns will determine teachers’ philosophy of education, teachers’ teaching style, teachers’ approach, methods, and classroom methods.
Teachers who teach pre-school students have the limitation of the curriculum because pre-school students are unique. The major element of developing pre- school students’ education is through playing. Albrecht and Miller (2000: 216-218) stated that the development of curriculum for pre-school students should give priority to the freedom of students’ creativity. According to Kitano and Kirby (1986: 27-167), curriculum for pre-school students is a plan to maximize the interaction of learning in order to have potential behavior.
Curriculum should have major element in every stage of education which covers all the teaching-learning process. According to Catron and Allen (1999: 30), curriculum covers the answer of all the questions about what have to be taught to the students and how to teach them by using a planner program which based on the philosophy of children’ development and learning. The teachers can apply playing as one of the effective ways to be done in the curriculum, which will be used as the main level for children’ development.
The creative curriculum is rooted in educational philosophy and theory as well as practice.
“It builds on Erik Erikson’s stages of socio-emotional development, Jean Piaget’s theories of how children think and learn, on principles of physical development, and appreciation of cultural influences” (Dodge, 1992: 5). During the early childhood years, children deal with three of eight stages of socio-emotional growth. They learn to trust others outside their families, to gain independence and self-control, and to take an initiative and assert themselves in socially acceptable ways. The creative curriculum shows teachers how to encourage positive responses to the three stages. The type of environment helps children develop a sense of trust and belonging. Children can feel safe and encouraged to explore not only materials but also their relationship with peers and adults. The environment encourages both autonomy and self-control. Children learn to handle their feeling in acceptable. When they are encourage to make decisions for themselves, children experience a sense of control over their lives. Competence and initiative are fostered in this type of environment. By setting clear, age-appropriate expectations for behavior and by letting children know what is expected of them, teachers can endanger success and minimize frustration. Children’s concern about doing things because they are encouraged to learn from their mistakes, to explore, and to take risks.
Creative curriculum explains how children learn to think. “Children learn by doing. Through active involvement with their environment, children attempt to make sense of the world around them” (Dodge, 1992: 7). They learn by observing what happens when they interact with materials and other people. They spontaneously engage in activities such as block building, house corner or dramatic play. They learn simple concepts and then used the concepts to grasp more complex ideas.
“Children learn concrete and literal thinking. Young children view the world concretely, as they mature, their view changes” (Dodge, 1992: 6). What they know at any given point will depend on the first-hand experiences they have had. By interacting with indoor and outdoor physical environment and their social environment, children broaden their frame of reference.
“Children learn from the environment.” The creative curriculum builds on Piaget’s theories of development of young children. Piaget believed that all children learn through active exploration of their environment” (Dodge, 1992: 7).
By grasping, rolling, pounding, smelling, sucking, and crawling around and over everything they come in cont act with. As children’s learning expands, the environment plays a critical role. The richer the environment, the more concrete opportunities there are for children to learn by interacting with materials and people.
“The creative curriculum also explains how the children develop their physical, both gross and fine motor physical development. Physical development is taken for granted in early childhood education” (Dodge, 1992: 9). Normally physical development relies on good health, proper nutrition, and safe environment. Proper nutrition is crucial to both mental and physical development. Proper nutrition comes from nutritious food. Dodge (1992: 271) stated that “cooking enables children give experience the world of food firsthand.” It means that the students are given an opportunity to experiment with the food, to be creative, and to prepare nutritional snacks. The students had experience how to prepare the ingredients, to stir and decorate the chocolate creatively. Moreover, cooking activity gave positive impact to the students. The students also learnt about science, developed physical skills and increased vocabularies. A safe environment is also a prerequisite for promoting physical development. Children need indoor and outdoor space where they can try out all their newly acquired skills without danger of injury.