Handling The Difficulties of Teaching English Vocabulary To Two Children Aged Six and Seven Years Old At Basic Class in ACE KIDS English Private Course.

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Berdasarkan pengalaman magang di tempat kursus ACE KIDS sebagai asisten guru, saya menghadapi masalah dalam mengajarkan kosakata kepada dua murid les. Oleh karena itu Tugas Akhir ini membahas berbagai macam penyebab, dampak dan solusi untuk menyelesaikan masalah tersebut.

Penyebab dari masalah yang saya alami adalah saya tidak mempunyai pengalaman mengajarkan kosakata dalam bahasa Inggris kepada anak umur lima dan enam tahun. Saya harus mengajarkan limabelas kosa kata baru dalam waktu 1,5 jam, dan murid les sudah terlalu lelah untuk belajar. Semua hal ini sangat berpengaruh kepada saya dan murid les saya yaitu murid les kurang tertarik dengan apa yang diajarkan sehingga tidak memperhatikan penjelasan saya, murid les sulit untuk mengingat limabelas kosa kata baru dalam 1 pertemuan les, dan saya sendiri merasa lelah ketika mengajar. Solusi yang tepat untuk masalah yang saya hadapi saat mengajar di ACE KIDS adalah saya mengajar dengan menggunakan gambar yang menarik yang diperoleh dari Internet, saya juga menggunakan permainan dan lagu untuk mengajar agar murid cepat hafal, saya memberikan penghargaan kepada murid les dan saya hanya mengajarkan lima hingga tujuh kosa kata baru dalam 1 pertemuan.

Sebagai solusi terbaik untuk menyelesaikan masalah, saya memilih 3 dari 4 pilihan solusi yaitu saya mengajar dengan menggunakan gambar yang menarik yang diperoleh dari Internet, dan saya juga menggunakan permainan dan lagu untuk mengajar agar murid cepat hafal, saya memberikan

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APPENDIX A

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FLOWCHART

Cause 1: I do not have any experience in teaching vocabulary to children aged six and seven years old

Cause 2: I have to teach fifteen new vocabularies in one class session.

Cause 3: The two children are tired and not able to concentrate on the lesson

Problem: I have difficulties in teaching English vocabulary to two children aged six and seven years old at Basic Class in ACE Kids English

Private course

Effect 1: The two children do not feel excited to learn vocabulary. Effect 2. : The two children are not able to remember some new difficult words which are learnt in one meeting

Potential Negative Effect: 1. 1.I willspend more time to prepare

the pictures

Potential Solution I: I teach the vocabulary using

pictures

Potential Positive Effects: 1. 1. The children have more

motivation to study 2. 2. It will be easy for me to

explain the new vocabulary.

Potential Positive Effects: 1. 1. The children will enjoy

learning vocabulary with games and songs.

2. 2. The children will remember the vocabulary quickly Potential Solution II:

I use games and songs to review the vocabulary Potential Negative Effect:

1. 1. It will be time consuming to play the games and sing the song. 2.

Chosen Solutions: 1. 1. I teach the vocabulary using pictures

2. 2. I use games and song to review the vocabulary 3. 3. I give rewards if they study the vocabulary well

Potential Positive Effect: 1. 1.The children will have

more motivation to study Potential Solution III:

I give rewards if they study the vocabulary well Potential Negative Effect:

1. 1. The children might only focus on getting rewards.

Potential Negative Effect: 1. 1. The lesson will be more

slowly to finish.

Potential Positive Effect: 1. 1. The children will remember

the new vocabulary well 2.

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APPENDIX B

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HISTORY OF ACE KIDS

-Ace Kids English Course adalah salah satu tempat kursus Bahasa inggris yang hanya adadi Jakarta dan Bandung.

-Pertama kali Ace Kids English Course ini di buka di Jakarta.

-Pemilik Ace Kids English course ini adalah Dra Leony Siswanti Tanama.

-Dra Leony Siswanti Tanama membuka cabang di Bandung yang tepatnya di jalan Pajajaran 10 tahunyang lalu yang tepatnya tanggal 1 April 2002.

-Ace Kids English Course diBandung di tangani oleh Ms. Rhimelda

-Awal tahun 2007 Ace English course pindah tempat ke Jalan Astina no 68D karena di jalan pajajaran tempatnya kurang memadai.

Ketua Cabang Bandung

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APPENDIX C

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SAMPLE OF SONGS

The ABC Rap

Teaching the Alphabet to Students of All Ages Music and Lyrics by Steven Widerman

(Refrain) And finally comes XYZ Aitch eye jay kay

El em en Oh peek you are Rest tea you vee

Alright, Yo, Thin

We heard ya’

Your crazy kid version

But now it’s time

For me to rap and rhyme

You can cross your T’s...

...

But dot your T’s...

...

(refrain)

One two three Four five six seven Eight nine ten eleven Twelve thirteen The smartest dudes

You’ve ever seen

You think you’re bad

But I am worse

That you have learned The alphabet

One two three Four five six seven Eight nine ten eleven Twelve thirteen The smartest dudes

You’ve ever seen!

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APPENDIX D

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Vocabulary is one of English subjects which is important in learning

English. In an article entitled “Learning Vocabulary in English Subject “, it

is stated that, “Vocabulary is one of the most important aspects of foreign

language learning (par.1). Furthermore, Richards and Rodgers explain

that, “language would never be built if there is no vocabulary over here

because language is the set of many vocabularies, which was built and

make something to express human emotion and others, which is called

language” (qtd. In “Language Vocabulary” par.1). Therefore, teaching

vocabulary to children is useful for developing English skills and

communicating with others.

Teaching vocabulary to children is not easy. The teacher has to think

creatively to make the children feel interested in the lesson.In an article

entitled “The Teacher In The Future”, it is explained that, “Being a teacher

must be creative and innovative. Creative and innovative is one way of

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I agree with that statement because to be a good teacher I must be

creative in teaching vocabulary when giving the explanation for children.

Before discussing the problem, I would like to explain the

characteristics of children aged six and seven years old. Brewer explains

that a child of six years old “is able to group objects” (16), and children of

that age “want to be first” (16-17). For example, the child is able to group

objects such as fruits anfd animals.When I was teaching the children aged

six at ACE KIDS, they usually want to be the first in playing the game.

Furthermore, Brewer states that a child of seven years old “shows more

persistence”, “is more independent at work and play”, and for him or her

“talking and discussion are important (16-17). It is true, when I was

teaching the children aged seven, they are more independent in doing

exercises.

Based on my internship at ACE KIDS (henceforth,AK), I found a

problem related to teaching vocabulary to children. AK is an English

private course. I taught English vocabulary to two children aged six and

seven years old twice a week for ninety minutes in one meeting. The

children in AK have a book of vocabulary from AK. While I was teaching, I

got some difficulties in teaching the vocabulary. When I was explaining

the lesson to the children, they did not pay attention to me. They talked

and also shouted . Therefore, the situation in the class was noisy. The

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the floor. Therefore. In such situation, I could not teach English vocabulary

effectively to the children. Therefore, I would like to obtain the solutions to

handle the problem.

In this term paper, I would like to analyze how to overcome the

difficulties in teaching vocabulary to two children aged six and seven years

old at Ace Kids. I would like to find the best solutions to solve the problem.

B. Identification of the Problem

Based on my experience as a teacher assistant at AK, I would like to

analyze:

1. Why did I have difficulties in teaching new English vocabulary for

two children of six and seven years old in AK private course?

2. How should I teach English vocabulary effectively to two children of

six and seven years old in AK private course?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

The objective of the study is to find out the causes and the effects of

the problem namely my difficulties in teaching English vocabulary to two

children at AK. Furthermore, I would like to solve the problem and to find

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By writing this term paper there will be some benefits for the readers,

the teachers at AK and especially for myself. For the readers, I would like

to give some tips of how to teach vocabulary to children of six and seven

years old effectively and make them interested in learning. For the

teachers at AK, they could learn some ways to make the children

interested to study. For myself, I could learn how to be a good teacher in

teaching vocabulary.

By writing this term paper, I would like to share my experiences in

teaching vocabulary for children of six and seven years old at AK. I could

learn how to motivate the children to study the vocabulary. And if one day I

teach in an institution of education I will know how to teach vocabulary

well to the children.

D. Description of the Institution

This description is based on the information from Ms. Rhimelda as a

supervisor at AK Bandung (see Appendix B). AK is one of private English

courses in Bandung. It has a motto “AK starts with the end of mind”. The

owner of this course is Dra. Leonny Siswanti Tanama. She first

established AK in Jakarta. After that, she established AK in Bandung on

the 1st of April, 2002 on Jalan Pajajaran no 87 Bandung. In August 2002,

AK moved to a new location at Jln.Astina no 68D Bandung. Now, Ms

Rhimelda is the manager of AK and the teachers are Mrs. Susanti and

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DVD players, whiteboards and playrooms. The children can learn many

subjects at AK such as Vocabulary, Grammar, Speaking and Reading.

E. Method of the Study

Based on my teaching experience, I choose to analyze the problem in

teaching vocabulary for two children of six and seven years old as the

topic of my term paper. For the process of collecting data I use several

ways. First, I get data from teaching the two children during my internship

in AK. Second, I use my internship journal which contains the data of my

teaching experiences at AK. Third, I read some books from Maranatha

Christian University’s library that are related to my problem in this term

paper. Last, I also read some articles from the Internet to solve the

problem and to find the best solution based on the theories.

F. Limitation of the Study

My term paper focuses on how to teach English vocabulary which is

effective and interesting for the two children of six and seven years old at

AK. The period of internship is from August 1st, 2011 to August 27, 2011

at AK Bandung. The subject of my research are two children aged six and

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G. Organization of the Term Paper

This term paper starts with the Abstract, the summary of the term paper

in Indonesian. Next, there are Declaration of Originality,

Acknowledgements and Table of contents. The content is divided into four

chapters. Chapter I is Introduction, Chapter II is Problem Analysis, Chapter

III is Problem Solutions, and Chapter IV is Conclusion. In the last part of

my term paper there is a Bibliography containing the list of references, and

Appendices (Flowchart, History of AK, sample of songs and sample of AK

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

After analyzing the problem along with several potential solutions, I would

like to present the chosen solutions in this chapter. During my internship I

faced a problem namely difficulties in teaching English vocabulary to two

children aged six and seven years old at Basic class in AK English private

course. The causes of this problem are I do not have any experience in

teaching vocabulary to children aged six and seven years old, I have to teach

fifteen new vocabularies in one class session and the two children are tired

and not able to concentrate on the lesson. This problem has three effects,

first, the children do not feel excited to learn vocabulary. Second, the children

are not able to remember some difficult words which are learnt. In order to

handle the problem I analyze four potential solutions, namely I teach the

vocabulary using pictures, I use games and songs to teach the vocabulary, I

will only teach five-seven new vocabulary in one meeting and I give rewards if

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In order to overcome my problem, the best solution is the combination of

three out of four potential solutions. First I teach the vocabulary using

pictures, I use games and songs to teach vocabulary and I give rewards if

they study the vocabulary well.

I choose three out of four solutions because I believe that they are the

most effective solutions to solve the problem. I will be able to teach English

vocabulary well when using pictures, songs and games. Ginap states :

That is why games, songs with actions, entirety physical

response activities, and tasks that involves coloring, cutting,

and sticking, simple, and recurring stories work excellent. If

the actions are pleasurable, they will be unforgettable,

children will have a sense of accomplishment, and this will

expand inspiration for further education (1).

In addition, I will give rewards if the children study the vocabulary well. Dawe

said that, “Rewards tend to create a feeling of pride and achievement among

student thus motivating them to be more productive” (par.5). I choose three

out of four solutions because the three solutions can make the children learn

well. I do not choose the fourth potential solution because sometimes the

children can learn more than seven new words in one meeting and

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I suggest that the teachers of AK should have a wide variety of teaching

techniques of Basic English Vocabulary. I believe that the solutions that I

choose can be applied by the teachers at AK private course in the process of

teaching. Therefore, the teacher can improve their skills in teaching at AK

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Printed Source

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2002

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