Getting Students' Attention in Grammar Lessons in The Sprinter Level At Creative Learning.

i Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam mengajar grammar, seorang guru harus menggunakan cara yang tepat agar anak tertarik untuk memperhatikan pelajaran. Pada tugas akhir ini, saya menganalisa permasalahan kesulitan pada anak dalam memperhatikan pelajaran grammar. Masalah tersebut saya alami selama menjalani masa magang sebagai guru di Creative Learning. Hal ini

merupakan masalah serius yang dapat mengganggu kelancaran kegiatan belajar dan mengajar. Saya menganalisa beberapa faktor penyebab kesulitan anak untuk memperhatikan pelajaran grammar di kelas. Selain itu, saya juga memaparkan beberapa dampak yang terjadi akibat

permasalahan ini.

Siswa tidak memperhatikan pelajaran grammar di kelas dipengaruhi oleh beberapa faktor penyebab, baik dari siswa tersebut maupun dari lingkungan sekitarnya, misalnya dikarenakan guru mengajar grammar menggunakan teknik yang tidak menarik sehingga siswa bosan, atau dikarenakan adanya kesenjangan kompetensi di antara siswa. Apabila permasalahan ini tidak diatasi, maka akan berdampak buruk pada kegiatan belajar di kelas. Namun permasalahan ini dapat diatasi dengan adanya beberapa solusi yang perpotensi membuat anak memperhatikan pelajaran grammar di kelas, misalnya dengan menggunakan teknik pengajaran yang membuat anak nyaman dan tertarik untuk

memperhatikan, yaitu menggunakan lagu, permainan, dll.

Dalam menganalisa permasalahan yang saya hadapi selama masa magang ini, saya menggunakan metode problem-solving. Saya

menganalisa permasalahan disertai dengan faktor penyebab dan dampak-dampaknya. Selain itu, saya memaparkan tiga solusi yang berpotensi mengatasi permasalahan tersebut. Dari ketiga solusi tersebut, saya menentukan solusi yang paling berpotensi dalam membuat anak memperhatikan pelajaran grammar di kelas, yaitu dengan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ……….i

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ………ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………...iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………...iv

CHAPTER Ι. INTRODUCTION ………1-5

A. Background of the Study B. Identification of the Problem

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study D. Description of the Institution

E. Method of the Study F. Limitation of the Study

G. Organization of the Term Paper

CHAPTER ΙΙ. PROBLEM ANALYSIS ……….6-9

CHAPTER ΙΙΙ. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ……….10-13

CHAPTER ΙV. CONCLUSION ……….14-15

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX:

FLOWCHART

Causes:

• The techniques used are not interesting.

• The students’ English competence is not the same.

• The topic used is not suitable with the students’ interest.

The problem Some students in the

sprinter level in Creative Learning do

not pay attention to the teacher’s that affect to their performance.

• The application of lesson plan will not be effective.

(+) effects:

• The students will be interested in the lesson because of the techniques used.

Combination of teacher explains grammar using interesting techniques and the teacher uses interesting topics.

Solution 3 topics that interest the students, e.g. animals, sport, holiday, etc.

(+) effects: more memorable if the students already had an experience related to the same topic.

(+) effect:

CHAPTER

Ι

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The topic of my study is how to get attention from students in grammar

lessons. I have chosen this topic to be analyzed in my term paper because

when I did my internship as a teacher in Creative Learning, I faced a

problem of students who did not pay attention to the grammar lessons.

When I explained grammar to the students, they felt boredom and did not

pay attention. Therefore, by analyzing this problem, it is expected that the

best solution to the problem can be found, and, as a result, the students

will understand the lesson. Moreover, they will be able to improve other

English skills such as writing and speaking skills, because grammar is the

basis of every sentence construction. “A sound knowledge of grammar is

essential if pupils are going to use English” (Hutchinson 14).

B. Identification of the Problem

From the topic, the identification of the problem can be described as

2 Maranatha Christian University 1. Why do the students in the Sprinter level in Creative Learning not

paying attention to the teacher while the teacher is explaining

grammar?

2. What is the impact for students who do not pay attention in

grammar lessons?

3. What should the teacher do to get the students’ attention while

teaching grammar in the Sprinter level in Creative Learning?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

The objectives of the study are to identify the causes and effects of the

problem of getting students’ attention in grammar lessons in the Sprinter

level at Creative Learning, and find the best solutions to solve the

problem.

Besides the objectives, there are some benefits from the study. Firstly,

for Creative Learning, as the institution of my internship, the institution will

get information about the real problem that happened in the

teaching-learning process and an effective solution to handle the problem. Thus,

the teachers in Creative Learning can use the information in the term

paper to teach grammar interestingly. Secondly, for me, this study will help

me to solve the problem of getting students’ attention when I work as a

teacher. Furthermore, for the readers who intend to teach, this term paper

will give information about how to teach grammar in an interesting way so

D. Description of the Institution

Creative Learning is an English course for children between the ages of

2 years and 18 years of age. This course was established by Mr. Setia

Budi Teja in 1995. The institution is located at Setrasari Plaza No.2 block

A, Jalan Suria Sumantri, Bandung. The program of Creative Learning is a

didactic educational program designed for teaching English as a foreign

language, or as a language development program for young students.

Creative Learning has a motto, a vision and a mission concerning its

educational service. The motto is that the personality of every child is

unique. The vision is the teaching program will motivate students to be

more confident, diligent, and enthusiastic in the learning process, so they

can improve their intellectual, emotional and creative skills. The mission is

that teaching with an individual approach to help the students learn

English step by step.

In the teaching learning process, Creative Learning uses module

presentation to teach ten topics for each level. Additionally, the students

are divided into three levels, they are Runner (introductory level), Jumper

level (middle level), and Sprinter (advanced level). These levels are based

on the students’ ability and understanding of English.

Since January 2009, Creative Learning has two additional levels.

Firstly, the preschool level and secondly, general English for students who

4 Maranatha Christian University

E. Method of the Study

The process of the study is done by collecting the useful data related

to the topic. There are several methods used. The methods are library

research, Internet research, teaching experiences during the internship

and observation of several classes during the internship at Creative

Learning.

F. Limitation of the Study

The study is focused on students in Sprinter level, two classes out of

the four classes that I taught in Creative Learning. The study is based on

my internship, form December 5th 2008 until February 27th 2009. The

problem discussed is focused on the difficulty of getting students’ attention

in grammar lessons. The number of students observed is four out of eight.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

The term paper is divided into several parts. The first part is the

Declaration of Originality which states the originality of the term paper.

After that is Acknowledgements, which expresses my gratitude to those

who have been helpful in the writing of the term paper, followed by Table

of Contents. The next part is Chapter One. It is Introduction, which

contains the Background of the Study, the Identification of the Problem,

the Objectives and the Benefits of the Study, the Description of Institution,

the Limitation of the Study and the Organization of the Term Paper. The

cause-effect analysis. Chapter Three describes the potential solutions to

the problem. The last chapter, Chapter Four, explains the potential

solutions to gain students’ attention and the best solution to be applied to

teach grammar to students in Sprinter level. This is followed by

Bibliography, which contains the sources of information used in the term

paper. Finally, the term paper will be closed with Appendix, which contains

14 Maranatha Christian University

CHAPTER

Ι

V

CONCLUSION

The reasons that cause students do not pay attention in grammar

lessons are the teaching techniques used by the teacher are not

interesting, the students’ English competence in the class are not the

same and the topic used is not suitable to the students’ interest. If

students do not pay attention to the lessons, their performance will be

affected and the lesson plan will not be effective. In order to attract

students’ attention, the teacher can use three potential solutions. The

solutions are, firstly, teacher teaches grammar using techniques that

interest the students, including games, songs, realias, etc. Secondly, the

teacher teaches by using interesting topics, and thirdly, the teacher gives

rewards to the students who pay attention.

Those three potential solutions are applicable to make students pay

attention in grammar lessons. However, the most effective solution to get

students’ attention in grammar lessons is by combining two potential

solutions, namely, teacher uses interesting techniques and uses topics

that interest the students.

The reason for combining the teaching using interesting techniques

the application of this combination worked successfully to get students’

attention in grammar lesson.

From the discussion of potential solutions and the most effective

solutions to be applied in the classroom, the teacher can prevent the

negative effects that may come from the problem by teaching using

interesting techniques and topics that are interesting for the children.

When applying the solutions to solve the problem, a teacher needs to think

of the techniques and topics that are appropriate to all the students in the

class. The learning process in the grammar lesson will be effective if

students pay attention. And as a result, they will understand the lesson

and be able to apply the use of grammar in other language skills, namely,

Maranatha Christian University

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Printed Sources

Anderson, R. John. Learning and Memory. New York: John Wiley and

Son, 2000.

Ellis, Gail, Jean Brewster, and Denis Girard. The Primary English

Teacher’s Guide. London: Penguin Book, 2002.

Fredericks, D. Anthony. Success as a Teacher. New York: Alpha, 2005.

Hutchinson, Tom, and Alan Waters. English for Specific Purposes. New

York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Thornbury, Scott. Hot to Teach Grammar. New York: Longman Pearson

Education, 1999.

Electronic Sources

Leveridge, N. Aubrey. Class, Pay Attention. Slide Share Inc. 2009. 5

August 2009 <http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:c2yvG3fT_4oJ:

www.slideshare.net>.

Maria, Xanthou, and Pavlou Pavlos. Advance in Research on Language

Acquisition and Teaching. Greek Applied Linguistic Association 16

December 2007. 20 April 2009

Vernon, Shelley. Teaching Grammar with Games in ESL Classroom.

Teaching English Games 2006-2009. 25 March 2009

<http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/Articles/Teaching_Grammar