RESOLVING STUDENTS‘ INAPPROPRIATE RESPONSES : AN
ACTION RESEARCH
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Maria Trian Adventy
112007139
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
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This study is aimed to analyze kindergarten student‘s response towards teacher‘s initiation during English class. The participants of the research were 27 kindergarten students in TK Virgo Maria Ambarawa. The data were collected by recording the class activity in order to see the real situation of the students. This study found that there are several method that effectively can help the students to give appropriate responds to the teacher‘s initiation. Media and material play an important role toward the students‘ ability to give appropriate responses as it seen in the study. Students shown different attitude when they were taught (for example, vocabulary and greeting) using explanation or picture compared to songs and gestures. It also related with student‘s psychological needs, especially when a teacher decide to use certain method, media and material. If only the teacher can fulfill those three aspects appropriately (method, media and material), the purpose of the study, which is getting appropriate responses from the students, would be achieved successfully.
Keywords: student‘s response, inappropriate responses, teacher‘s initiation, media, material, method, gesture, song
Introduction
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This study is aimed to analyze kindergarten student‘s response towards teacher‘s initiation during English class. The participants of the research were 27 kindergarten students in TK Virgo Maria Ambarawa. The data were collected by recording the class activity in order to see the real situation of the students. This study found that there are several method that effectively can help the students to give appropriate responds to the teacher‘s initiation. Media and material play an important role toward the students‘ ability to give appropriate responses as it seen in the study. Students shown different attitude when they were taught (for example, vocabulary and greeting) using explanation or picture compared to songs and gestures. It also related with student‘s psychological needs, especially when a teacher decide to use certain method, media and material. If only the teacher can fulfill those three aspects appropriately (method, media and material), the purpose of the study, which is getting appropriate responses from the students, would be achieved successfully.
Keywords: student‘s response, inappropriate responses, teacher‘s initiation, media, material, method, gesture, song
Introduction
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2005). With this notion, many people wish to introduce English to their children at their early age.
I am an English teacher and I teach in kindergarten level B, a second level of grade which is a preparation level for elementary school. Some educationists argue that if children learn foreign language early in his or her life, they would master it quickly (Hery, 2003). Mc Laughlin and Genesee (Hery, 2003) state that children can learn language faster and with a little difficulty compare to the adult. Moreover, Erik (Hery, 2003) a neurologist also argues that before puberty, the brain ability of human person is more capable to learn a language; meanwhile, after puberty, brain ability will less able to learn. In similar view, Purwo (2003) argues that 4-12 year old is the best stage of life to learn a new language. As I observed during my English class, I found that some of my students have a significant difficulty. They were not able to give appropriate responses to my question or my statements that I utter to them. To make it clear, I will refer to some examples of the inappropriate cases. First, to begin the lesson in the classroom, I always greet them with a simple dialogue, like ―good
morning‖ or ―how are you‖. I explained and gave example already to them about the
greeting that their respond should correspond with the question. However, many times, they give inappropriate responses as they just imitate my greeting, like ―how are
you‖. Moreover, my students also repeat my instruction, like when I ask them ―what is
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though they do not use English. These are the examples of what I call inappropriate responses from my students. As I noticed, this inappropriate responses are significantly getting more serious and more often. I am aware not to simply judge them that they are not intelligence enough, but I try to see in different angle to find method that can reduce their inappropriate responses. Moreover, I realized that concrete action must be done to improve the situation so that they can have a good foundation for their learning in English. As Hery (2003) explains that in the stage of 4-12, children learn very fast; therefore, if they do not get a solid and good foundation in learning English, it can give negative impact for their future study in English. Gadner (1975 : 89) says that ―a children will be a successful person if we teach them seriously
and properly, but if we fail to teach them, it will be the beginning of their failure‖.
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management‘. Therefore, a teacher is expected to be able to create a positive
classroom environment—a learning situation which is interesting, stimulating and energizing. He pointed out the importance of class management by focusing on the media which are interesting, simulating and energizing. As a conclusion, from both previous studies above, the creative media was the key element in the success of teaching English in kindergarten. The importance of the creative media is also my concern in this thesis.
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The focus on this thesis is to find out the kind of stimulus or methods as the solution for inappropriate responses. Therefore, for a conclusion, this study will present a method which can be a better method to overcome the inappropriate responses in the context of my kindergarten students in English class. This method is basically a method which pays attention to the psychological background of the kindergarten students as they like to do a lot of activities (sing a song, dance, etc) and to have a visual reality (pictures, models, etc). By addressing their psychological needs, this method will be more adequate and applicable for kindergarten students. This method is also based on the real struggle in the particular situation as the writer experienced; therefore, the method perhaps is not applicable in other context which has different settings.
This study would be beneficial in terms of providing method about how kindergarten‘s teachers should overcome the inappropriate responses from their
students. In addition, the findings of this study may encourage more research in the teaching of English in kindergarten school and issues of teachers‘ professional development in this area.
Literature Review / theoretical framework
Teaching and learning English for young learners
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accomplished. Many kindergarten‘s students find it difficult to express their thoughts and feelings in discussion in the classroom. Even, the teacher sometimes needs to motivate them to talk or say something. It happens primarily with English as one of the subject which is introduced in the kindergarten. Learning English is considered difficult and challenging for kindergarten level that makes teachers feel reluctant and not motivated. The problem of inappropriate responses perhaps is one of the common problems in learning English. Some educationists say that the inappropriate responses are caused by the lack of vocabularies in English. Wilkins (1972) argued that ―without grammar very little can be conveyed, and without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.‖ Numerous studies have investigated English learning, and have particularly emphasized the importance of vocabulary learning. Among many, Harmon (1998) and Rupley, Logan, & Nichols (1999) argue that excellent vocabulary abilities are beneficial in inferring meaning from English sentences. The English language education field thus should pay more attention to developing innovative English vocabulary learning tools. Vygotsky (1978) argues that vocabularies are important for the students in their early stage of education.
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students, the medium of learning English is very important. According to Arsyad (2002:26), appropriate medium can help the student to cope with the limitation of senses, time and space and it can give a concrete experiences in their daily life.
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Those theories above basically suggest two things that inappropriate responses in kindergarten are caused by the lack of vocabularies from the students and by the lack of creative media in teaching English. As I observed, one common inappropriate response during my English lesson is that my students give answers in other languages (Javanese or Indonesian) other than English. If I connect this situation to the theory above, the inappropriate responses is precisely because of the lack of English vocabularies (Wilkins, 1972; Harmon, 1998; Rupley, Logan, & Nichols, 1999). My students actually know the answers of my question; however, they are not able to express it correctly because they do not have words to say it. This lack of vocabularies sometimes is also accompanied by lack of correct pronunciation. Regarding to the second suggestion about creativity in teaching English, I found that sometimes I didn‘t
prepare a creative and interesting media so that my English lesson does not attract their attention. Many times, I use pictures and songs to teach English and I do not try other media. Two suggestion of the theory above that creativity can be done in giving flashcard and simulations or games perhaps can give another solution to my problem. Media is appropriate stimulus for the students so that the students can give appropriate responses (Vygotsky, 1980).
Based on the theories in previous section, the better solution for my problem is providing creative media in teaching English. In my opinion, creative media is the most important aspect in teaching in kindergarten, since children‘s psychological
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Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia tentang Pendidikan di Taman
Kanak-Kanak Pasal 1.14 UU Republik Indonesia Nomor 20 Tahun 2003: “Pendidikan
Taman Kanak-Kanak bertujuan membantu pertumbuhan dan perkembangan jasmani
dan rohani agar memiliki kesiapan bagi pendidikan selanjutnya dengan prinsip
belajar sambil bermain” (Kindergarten school is meant to help the children to grow and develop physically and spiritually so that they have readiness to enter the following education with a principal playing and studying). Based on this regulation, kindergarten students are not primarily meant to gain knowledge, but they are prepared to gain knowledge; therefore, they should have a good impression that study is pleasing and nice. Studying is not simply memorizing many things and preparing for exam, but it is a happy process of learning. Giving a creative media is meant to introduce them to enjoyable and interesting learning. Creative media also make the process of learning more alive and not boring for both teacher and students.
In a practical level, I will apply this solution by making a creative media in teaching English. This creative media, as Vygotsky says, plays an important role as a stimulus for my students so that they can give appropriate responses in return (Vygotsky, 1980). The creative media will be applied in my lesson in the beginning of class, during the process of learning and in the end of lesson. I will develop three models, namely using models (like pictures, caricature, an imitation of something, etc), activities (games, songs) and simulations (imitating a gesture of something).
Understanding the Term “Inappropriate Responses”
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differentiated into six categories: (1) an appropriate or correct response; (2) a partially correct response; (3) an incorrect or inappropriate response; (4) a response in their native language, rather than in English; (5) another question; (6) or no response. This study focuses on the ―incorrect or inappropriate responses,‖ a situation when the
students respond insufficiently to the teacher questions which causes the teaching-learning process does not seem to be proceeding smoothly and efficiently (Kathleen, 2007). Therefore, it can be concluded that inappropriate responses includes any kind of students‘ responses that hinder and distract the learning process in the classroom which is in this study is during English lesson. The causes of inappropriate responses are two, namely the content and language (Kathleen, 2007). Some students lack the linguistic ability in English to express themselves clearly, but this does not preclude their comprehension of the material. However, it is also true that some students cannot give appropriate responses because they do not know the content itself.
The Study
Problem in my Classroom
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they did not give correct answers. They seemed to have difficulty to give correct answers even though I showed them the replicas of the fruits. In my preliminary observation, these inappropriate responses were caused by the inappropriate methods in my English lesson. This study basically wants to address this particular situation of inappropriate responses of my students during the English lesson by providing a better media of teaching as a stimulus.
The critical question/research that I want to analyze is what kind of method or stimulus which can solve the problem of inappropriate responses during English class
in my kindergarten school? I specify the solution to the school where I teach English, namely Virgo Maria I Kindergarten School Ambarawa, since I encounter the problem of inappropriate responses on that particular context and situation. It is observed that the students did not give respond appropriately to the teacher‘s teachings. The students
gave inappropriate responses during my English lesson by giving answers in other language and by giving wrong answers.
Class Description
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a difficulty for my students to recall their memories or learn English more outside my class. The goal of this English class is to teach the basic English for the kindergarten students, for example, English vocabulary and grammar.
Reflection of My Teaching
My students are 6-7 years old and in this context, they are very much in the visual and motoric stage of learning. Their developmental stage of life is in visual and motoric ability; therefore, they will be effectively learnt something which is visually interesting and actively involving them. It does not mean that they do not have ability to think or analyze logically, but they think and learn by seeing things or using their senses. Children at this stage also learn by imitating other people, especially their role figures, like parents and teachers. Realizing their stage of life, I aware that simply make a dialogue in my English lesson without addressing their needs of visualization and playing will not give an optimal result. Therefore, my method should involve their needs to playand to have fun.
Moreover, I also realize that their vocabulary is limited because English is a new lesson for them; therefore, they are not able to give appropriate responses, and that‘s one reason why I give more portion in teaching vocabulary. Even though other
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Therefore, we can conclude that the teacher should first of all find a method which addresses the psychological needs of the students so that they can enjoy in learning English which eventually can help them to give appropriate responses which is the correct answer.
My Project of Action Research
Following up the observation above I decided to apply new actions to my teaching. My project involved one partner. She helped me in collecting the data, especially in the process of recording, but she did not involved in my class activities at all. By doing this, I could maintain the natural flow of the learning process in my English class as it happens in my daily class.
Following the notion of media of teaching which is the visual instrument that effectively helps the students to learn (Mujianto, 2007:4) and appropriate stimuli of Vygotsky which is the key element in achieving the appropriate responses from the students (Vygotsky, 1978), three steps were taken to implement the plan:
First, I chose the simple material for her English lesson so that the students were not too overburdened and they could enjoy the lesson. In kindergarten, there are themes that become guidance for the teacher in their lesson plan. I have to follow these theme create a suitable material to teach. In this case, I chose one of the themes - the simple material – about English conversation.
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Therefore, I used a song to introduce the material to the students in order to attract their attention and to make them actively involved in the process of learning. The process went on that I gave example and the students followed. Through this approach, the teacher was able to guide the students and to correct immediately some inappropriate responses that happened.
Third, I also introduced a song which was combined with some simple gestures. I invited my students to imitate my gestures of some objects. By combining a song with some gestures, the students were physically involved in the learning process. This method helped the students to memorize the new vocabularies, because they were not only listening my explanation or see the replicas of some objects, but they imitated and performed it through their body language. They memorized some new vocabularies by experiencing them in their body language. That is one of my considerations to put gestures in my song. For example, when they sing ―Pantai -Beach‖ song, they made a certain movement of objects that they mention in the song.
They also have a version in Bahasa so they are able to get the idea faster and their memory will last longer. For the children at their age, this experience address their motoric ability which will help them to memorize better and eventually it will help them to give appropriate responses. To give you a clear description, here I provide the song : Ini pantai, ini gunung, ini bonbin dan ini candi
This is a beach, this is mountain, this is a zoo and this is temple.
Discussion
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partner for the next activity. They were curious because they usually sit and listen to the teacher for the whole time of the lesson, but at that time, I asked them to do something new for them. This strategy was really helpful to create a joyful and curiosity atmosphere for the students so that they wanted to pay attention again. Based on my observations, many of my students immediately stood and run to find a partner, but some seemed not really interested even though they still followed my instruction. In my opinion, this situation was normal, since each student has their own personality and way of reacting something. However, by the fact that many of them enthusiastically followed my instructions, I felt that this method would be a successful method.
16 together with their partner so that they can help each other. My students learnt English in a team and in their partnership. They can learn how to help each other in their study, particularly in English lesson. I also found something interesting that some students asked me to give other dialogue, since they had already mastered the one that I previously taught to them. These students are the intelligent students, students with the IQ level above average. So, I gave them a few more words, like ―what is your name.‖
This event was a consolation for me because I knew that some of them were really enthusiastic and serious in my English lesson. In my opinion, a simple song helped them to give appropriate responses because a song actively involved their participation in the learning process. They were not only sitting for the whole lesson, but they sang a song together with their partner.
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did not push them, but I gave some example of some simple gestures so that they can imitate and create their own gestures. They enthusiastically followed my gestures and they laughed at some points because I imitated a funny gesture, like a dog. I combined these gestures with a song as well which made them more interested in.
(2)S : ini pantai
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This happened when I asked one of them to mention the English word for ―anjing‖
(dog) and ―bebek (duck) and they made it into a gesture. In other words, this method can help them to give appropriate responses, since it help them to have imagination of the word.
After singing and doing some gestures, I looked at their face and they were happy, because they enjoyed the lesson. This situation created a good condition in learning English so that they would be more attentive during the class. Moreover, these methods helped them to give appropriate responses, because by gesturing the English words, they can memorize easily, since they have the imagination in their mind. A simple song was helpful to my students because by singing a song, they could easily memorize the words more than using replica methods. A song is an appropriate stimulus for the students at their age.
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the content and ignored the psychological need of my students. My focus at that time was on the material and to make sure that my students knew a lot about English vocabularies and grammars. I did not really address their needs and situation in their stage of life; therefore, I did not apply any creative media in my English class. However, the result was not optimal, since my students made many inappropriate responses. By focusing on the learners, particularly on their psychological needs as I have made during this research, I found that my students were able to give appropriate responses. Therefore, I can conclude that the learner is the primary agent in the learning process, since the success of learning process depends on the learners themselves. In other words, the student-center approach which puts the students or learners at the center of learning process higher than the teacher or the lesson plan is a helpful and recommended approach for the kindergarten students, especially in teaching English.
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Based on the research, English lesson for kindergarten students basically applied more Indonesian than English vocabularies. There are two reasons for that situation. First of all, by using Indonesian, the students can understand easily the instruction so that they can give appropriate responses. I found out that sometimes my students did not really understand the instruction which eventually caused inappropriate responses. Secondly, learning English in kindergarten school is meant to give the students a general idea of English. It is the first time for them to learn English; therefore, English lesson should not be too heavy and too complicated, but it should be simple, fun and entertaining so that they have a good experience in learning English and it is not meant to prepare them for the next level of study English in elementary school.
Conclusion
This study is aimed to find kind of stimulus that appropriate for kindergarten students to solve the problem of inappropriate responses in English class. Based on the data above, we could see the improvement on students‘ respond to the teacher‘s lesson
plan. The students obviously followed teacher‘s invitation to sing a song and to respond her simple conversation. This method successfully helped the students to learn English conversation. The teacher also successfully taught her students to learn some new English vocabularies through a creative way: by imitating some objects using their body. This method was simple but can attract the students‘ attention and
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The significant changing happened at the time when the students gave enthusiastic reaction to the teacher‘s new method, namely a song with simple gesture.
This spontaneous reaction indicated that the students get bored with the replica method, since it stopped the creativity of the students and simply invite them to give correct answers. The students, as I mentioned before, need a more participative method which can address their creative imagination. This precisely can be achieved through a song combined with a simple gesture. The significant changing also occurred when the students gave appropriate answers during my English class. Comparing with previous lesson where I applied replicas approach, this song method unbelievably showed significant development of my students‘ responses.
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not very much on the success of the lessons. Song method is clearly can help the students to give appropriate responses.
This study focuses on one teaching context in a small area like Ambarawa and in a particular context which is Virgo Maria kindergarten school in Ambarawa. This is the limitation of this study, since the findings cannot be generalized for all teaching context in Indonesia. The findings perhaps can be a model in which other teacher can learn and compare to their context. The findings can be modified so that it can be implemented in other context. Another limitation is that this study involves a small number of participants. Therefore, it is hoped that this study can encourage more studies to be conducted at other teaching contexts in which the need towards English in kindergarten is higher. It is hoped also that further research can extent the number of the participants to cover more issues that happen during English class in kindergarten.
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repeating the instruction and by giving clear example so that the students can imitate it. By giving clear instructions, the song with gesture can be understood clearly.
24 Acknowledgement
This thesis would not have been completed without the help and support from many people. Therefore, I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my advisor Christian Rudianto, M.Appling for his guidance,
monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this thesis.
I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to Maria Eko, M.Hum for her cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in completing this task through various stages.
I am obliged to Ibu Agatha and Miss Dewinta. It is an honor for me to have my research in TK Virgo Maria I Ambarawa. I am grateful for their cooperation during the period of my assignment.
My special thanks to Alexander Hendra who always be a friend and teacher for me. Aprillia, Inneke, Dewinta, Dewi, Nanda, Tyas, thank you for always be with me.
I thank almighty, my parents, Siska and Anton, my dearest sister Maria, and Leonardus Yosi for their constant encouragement without which this assignment would not be possible. I love you.
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