i CURRICULUM AND THEIR PRACTICE OF USING EFL TEXTBOOKS TO ACHIEVE THE LEARNING OBJECTIVES ... 6
2.1 Communicative Language Teaching ... 6
2.2 English Curriculum ... 9
2.3 EFL Textbooks... 16
2.4 Communicative Competence ... 19
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Chapter 4 DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS, AND DISCUSSIONS . 28 4.1 Data Analysis ... 30
4.1.1 The Analysis of Teachers’ Understanding of the Present English Curriculum ... 30
4.1.2 The Analysis of the Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions on the EFL Textbooks ... 32
4.1.2.1 The Analysis of the Teachers’ Perception of the EFL
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5.1 Conclusions ... 120
5.2 Recommendations ... 122
References ... 124
Appendices ... 126 Lesson Plans
Classroom Observation Sheets
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The national development in Indonesia is aimed to improve the quality of human resources in order to achieve a better economic condition. One aspect to reach the objective is the improvement of the mastery of foreign languages, particularly English.
English is the first foreign language to study by the students of junior and senior high schools. English is also recommended to learn by the students of elementary schools. The aim of English teaching is to develop students to be able to communicate in English.
To develop students’ communication skills, teacher has to create an enjoyable and motivated non-threatening classroom atmosphere for the students to practice the language they are learning. Teacher is required to provide the activities where students can work together, talk together, and learn together using the target language. It means that the teacher is expected to active, imaginative and innovative to create an effective language teaching and learning situation.
that course books are best seen as resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set in terms of students needs.
1.2 Purpose of the Study
The primary purpose of this study is to describe the teachers’ understanding of the curriculum related to their practice of using the EFL textbooks in the classrooms to achieve the learning objectives.
1.3 Research Questions
The following research questions were developed to guide the inquiry process: 1. What is the teacher’s understanding of the present English Curriculum (The
2004 English Curriculum and the Content Standard)?
2. What is the teacher’s and student’s perception on the EFL textbooks used in the classrooms?
3. How do the teachers use the EFL textbooks in the classrooms to achieve the learning objectives?
1.4 Significance of the Study
The findings of the research are expected to describe the teacher’s understanding on the present English Curriculum (The 2004 English Curriculum and the Content Standard) the teachers’ and students’ perception on the EFL textbooks used in the classrooms, and the ways the teachers use the EFL textbook influence achievement of the learning objectives. To be more specific, the findings would likely:
1. Provide the information about the teachers’ understanding on the present English Curriculum (The 2004 English Curriculum and the Content Standard).
2. Provide the information about teachers’ and students’ perception on good EFL textbooks.
3. Provide the ways/stages implemented by the English teachers in using the EFL textbooks in the classrooms.
4. Provide the information about the activities in the classrooms expected by the students.
5. Provide the information about kinds of tasks/exercises expected by the students to be available in a textbook.
6. Raise the awareness of EFL textbook writers’ and publishers’ to write/publish materials that can meet the students’ needs and interests in learning English. 7. Provide data for other investigation on the use of EFL textbooks to achieve the
learning objectives.
1.5 Research Methodology
This research implements three methods of collecting the data: Classroom observations: note-taking and videotaping, Interview, and Document analysis.
The thesis is organized into five chapters. Chapter one discusses the background of the study, the purpose of the study, the research questions, the significance of the study, the research methodology, and the thesis organization.
Chapter two explains the related literature review to the study. It contains the full explanation of Communicative language teaching, the Present English Syllabus/Curriculum, the EFL textbooks. and the Communicative Competence.
Chapter three describes the methods applied in the research to gain the data covering the research design, the research site: the choice of the site, the access to the research setting, the classrooms, the teachers, the students, the research objectives, the research methods, and the data analysis.
Chapter four focuses on the findings and the discussions of the research findings.
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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHOPOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
Maxwell (1996) describes that research design is like a philosophy of life; no one is without one, but some people are more aware of theirs, and thus are able to make more informed and consistent decisions.
Biklen (1992) also states that design is used in research to refer to the researchers’ plan on how to proceed.
Meriam (1988) explains that a case study design is considered to be the most suitable research strategy. She also describes that recently education has turned to case study research to explore the processes and dynamics of practice. This design is used as an effort made to attain an in9depth understanding of the situation and its meaning for those involved.
On the basis of the statements above, the researcher design this study as an attempt to understand the use of EFL textbooks to develop students’ communicative competence. She will employ a case study design as the method of the research. She will portray and document the use of EFL textbooks to develop students’
communicative competence through the investigation conducted in the classroom setting.
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The research took place at one SMA Negeri in Kota Cimahi. The school was chosen because of practical and economical reasons. She assumed that she has sufficient information and knowledge about the school and its environment.
3.2.1 Choice of the Site
The school was chosen because of practical and economical reasons. The researcher found that it was easier for her to conduct the observation since the location of the school is quite near to her house and her office.
3.2.2 Access to the Research Setting
The researcher found that it was easy to have the access with the school members: the headmaster, the English teachers, the students and the staff.
3.2.3 The Classrooms
Everything happens in the classroom is always interesting to investigate. Allwright and Bailey (1991) draw the classroom as the place where teachers and learners come together and language learning, we hope, happens. The researcher visited eleven classes (three classes of year ten, two classes of year eleven, and five classes of year twelve). The different number was because of the different number of classes taught by the three teachers and the different activities being conducted by them during the research. For example, since the eleven year English teacher was quite busy with her position as the vice headmaster of students’ affair, so the researcher found it difficult to observe her class.
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Besides observing the ways the three teachers conducted the teaching9learning process in their classrooms using the textbook, the researcher also conducted some interviews with them to have a better understanding on how well they understand the present English Curriculum/Syllabus, their perception on good EFL textbooks, and their ways of using the textbooks in the classrooms to achieve the learning objectives.
3.2.5 The Students
There are twenty9seven students interviewed by the researcher to know if English lesson is favorable, their perception on the textbooks used by them in the classrooms, and their perception on the ways their teachers use the textbooks in the classrooms.
3.3 Research Objectives
The main objectives of the research are to have a better understanding on how well the English teachers understand the present English Curriculum, their perception on good EFL textbooks, and their ways of using the textbooks in the classrooms to achieve the learning objectives.
3.4 Research Methods
The data in this research gathered using three methods of data collection: observations, interviews, and documents analyses.
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• Interview is questioning or discussing issues with your sample. Besides interviewing the teachers whose classes being observed, the researchers also had twenty seven students to interview. during the interviews, the researcher using a tape recorder to have a verbatim record of the whole interview and to concentrate on the whole interview with the permissions of the teachers and the students being recorded.
• Pocument analysis: the activity of using written materials as a basis for the research. The researcher analyzed the present English Curriculum: the 2004 English Curriculum and the Content Standard, the Syllabus, and the Lesson Plans made by the teachers.
Observation
Merriam (1988) suggests that observation is the best technique to use when an activity, event, or situation can be observed first hand, when a fresh perspective is desired, or when participants are not able or willing to discuss the topic under study. In line with Merriam suggestion, Maxwell (1996) also clarifies that observation often
enables a researcher to draw inferences about someone’s meaning and perspective that she could not obtain by relying exclusively on interview data.
The role of the researcher was first observer as participant. The researcher participation in the group is definitely secondary to his or her role of information gathered. Second, as collector, she collected the data from the interview.
Interviews
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access of gaining a description of actions and events. These can provide additional information that was missed in observation and can be used to check the accuracy of the observation.
Blaxter et al (1998) clarifies that the interview method involved questioning or discussing issues with people. It can be a very useful technique for collecting data which would be unlikely accessible using techniques such as observation or questionnaires.
Document analyses
CHAPTER 5
COPCLUSIOPS APD RECOMMEPDATIOPS
5.1 Conclusions
The call to change seems to be constant in education (Jacobs and Farrell, 2003). In second language education, a constellation of changes have been proposed and, to some extent, implemented. The constellation of interconnected changes can be termed as a paradigm shift, with this paradigm, fitting under the general umbrella of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).
The key components of the shift concern:
5. In research and theory-building, focusing greater attention on the views of those internal to the classroom rather than solely valuing the views of those who come from outside to study classrooms, investigate and evaluate what goes on there, and engage in theorizing about it. This shift is associated with such innovations as qualitative research, which highlights the subjective and affective, the participants’ insider views and the uniqueness of each context.
6. Along with this emphasis on context comes the idea of connecting the school with the world beyond as a means of promoting holistic learning.
7. Helping students to understand the purpose of learning and develop their own purposes.
8. A whole-to-part orientation instead of part-to-whole-approach. This involves such approaches as beginning with meaningful whole texts and then helping students understand the various features that enable to text to function, for example, the choice of words and the text’s organizational structure.
9. An emphasis on the importance of meaning rather than drills and other forms of rote learning.
10. A view of learning as a lifelong process rather than something done to prepare for an exam.
school with the world beyond, help the students to understand the purpose of learning and develop their own purposes, a whole to part orientation, and the importance of meaning rather than drills and a view of learning as a lifelong process rather than something done to prepare for an exam.
5.2 Recommendations
Teacher training, more or less, is one of the ways to upgrade the teachers’ understanding and knowledge about the phenomenon in the society of education. Any kind of policy launched-out by the government should touch the agents of change in education. The teachers are one of the agents that have very close relation with the students.
As stated in the introduction part that the national development in Indonesia is aimed to improve the quality of human resources. The mastery of foreign languages, particularly English, needs to be improved. Students are the subjects expected to master English. But, the teacher needs also the training to improve their competences. They need to know about the development of the curriculum, the models of teaching, the instructional materials, etc. to make them become competent teachers. Competent teachers are expected to make competent learners.
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