FACULTY OF HEALTH AND SCIENCES STUDENTS
’
PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS T
EACHERS’
USE OF L1
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Wulansari Ika Handayani 112010152
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
i
FACULTY OF HEALTH AND SCIENCES
STUDENTS’
PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS T
EACHERS’
USE OF L1
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Wulansari Ika Handayani 112010152
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
iii
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text.
Copyright@2016. Wulansari Ika Handayani and Athriyana Santye Pattiwael, S.Pd., M.Hum.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, SatyaWacana Christian University, Salatiga.
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This thesis would not have been completed without the help and support from
many people. Therefore, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the
following people who have assisted in completing this thesis. First of all, I would
like to express my sincere gratitude to:
- God Almighty because without His blessings, I will never complete this thesis
well.
- Mrs. Athriyana Santye Pattiwael, S.Pd.,M.Hum., my beloved supervisor,
who was abundantly helpful and gave meaningful assistance, support,
patience and guidance.
- Mrs. Anne Indrayanti Timotius, M.Ed., my second reader, without her
knowledge and assistance this study would not have been completed.
- My beloved parents and sister, thank you for always here to educate,
support and motivate in the process of the making of this thesis.
- My dearest man, who tirelessly cheered me up and encourage me when I
found difficulties in making this thesis.
- My best friends: Osa, Dina, Yuni, Cia, and Dika, thank you for the
motivation and support.
- My participants, for their cooperation during the process of data collection.
The last, I give my biggest gratitude for all whose names I cannot
mention here who help a lot during my study in English Department of Satya
viii
TABLE OF CONTENT
Cover Page i
Approval Page ii
Copyright Statement iii
Publication Agreement Declaration iv
Pernyataan Persetujuan Akses v
Pernyataan Tidak Plagiat vi
Acknowledgements vii
Table of Content viii
List of Appendices ix
Abstract 1
Introduction 1
The Study
Context of the Study 8
Participants of the Study 8
Instrument of Data Collection 9
Data Collection Procedures 10
Data Analysis Procedures 10
Findings and Discussions 11
Conclusion 22
References 25
ix
LIST OF APPENDICES
Questionnaire 26
1
FACULTY OF HEALTH AND SCIENCES STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS TEACHERS’ USE OF L1
Wulansari Ika Handayani
ABSTRACT
The issue about the teachers‟ use of first language in second language classroom has been debated for years. The debate over whether or not the teachers should use L1 also divides the students‟ point of view. The study was conducted to answer this research question, “What are the students‟ perceptions towards teachers‟ use of L1?” This study aims at investigating the students‟ perceptions toward the teachers‟ use of L1 in IC classrooms at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Satya Wacana Christian University. Based on the arrangement by the Faculty, twenty students were selected to participate in this study. The data of this study was collected by using questionnaire and interview. The finding of this study reveals that most of the students support teachers‟ L1 for different purposes. Those purposes are to creates students‟ confidence to join the lesson, facilitates students‟ better understanding, give clearer explanation, explain grammar and difficult materials, explain the meaning of words, and answer students‟ questions. The students also perceive that their teachers should not use L1 all the time. The students‟ thought that underlie their perceptions are teachers‟ L1 could create better atmosphere in the classrooms, be a helpful and facilitating tools in the learning process.
Keywords: First language (L1), Second Language (L2), Students‟ perceptions, Integrated Course (IC), Classroom.
INTRODUCTION
The issue about the use of first language (L1) in second language (L2)
classrooms has been debated for years. It becomes controversial because different
theories of second language acquisition give different hypothesis about the use of
L1 in L2 classrooms. Unconsciously, we often find students use their first
language if they find difficulties saying something in English. Seng and Hashim
(2006 as cited in Pan, 2010) indicated that lower proficiency students usually
difficult to express their thoughts use their L2, so they should be allowed to use
L1 to understand the L2. Ford (2009, as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011, p.144) noted
2
fundamental English skills. So, the used of L1 by teachers can help students to
have deeper understanding.
The context of this study is Faculty of Health Sciences because the
students do not use English to communicate. They learn English as a basic
knowledge that will help them in the whole semesters because most of their
textbooks are English. So, they should be able to understand the materials since
English as a language on the books. Based on preliminary interview with the
teacher, some students have difficulty to communicate in English after they
passed English courses. It is caused by the learning processes do not always use
English all the time. In their program‟s courses, most of the teachers use
Indonesian as a medium instruction. It makes the students lost their opportunity to
use English. This issue about students‟ problem in English make the writer wants
to investigate about their perceptions of teachers language use in the classrooms.
Some previous related studies reported that their participants agree with
the teachers‟ L1 in L2 classrooms. For example, Schweers (1999) conducted a
research on the use of Spanish (L1) in English (L2) classes at the university of
Puerto Rico. It is simmilar with this study because his participants are the students
of University of Puerto Rico, Bayamon Campus and their language‟s major is not
English, but their L1 is Spanish. Schweers (1999) used different methods that are
recording and questionnaire to collect the data. He reported that almost all of the
students supported the use of L1 in English classes.
Tang (2002) also conducted the similar study in the Chinese context and
3
language‟s major is Chinese. On the data collection methods he used
observations, interviews, and questionnaires. The study reported that the use of L1
in L2 classess not only does not hinder L2 learning but also it helps teaching and
learning.
The writer conducted a study about Faculty of Health Sciences students‟
perception toward the teacher‟s use of L1 (Indonesian) in L2 (English) classroom.
The writer choose this participant because these students‟ major is not in English.
They focused on learning about nursing and health sciences, but they are required
to learn English as the basic knowledge. They should be able to understand and
communicate in English because most of their textbooks are written in English.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the students‟ perception toward the
teachers‟ use of L1 (Indonesian) in L2 (English) classroom of Faculty of Health
Sciences in Satya Wacana Christian University. This study was conducted to
answer this following research question “What are the students‟ perception toward
the teachers‟ use of L1 (Indonesian) in L2 (English) classroom?”
Therefore, this study focused on the students‟ perception toward the
teacher‟s use of L1 in L2 classroom. The significance of the study was to
investigate students‟ perception whether they agree or disagree toward the
teacher‟s use of Indonesian (L1) in English (L2) classroom. This study can be
useful to English teachers on how to manage in using L1 in L2 classrooms and to
improve their teaching quality at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Satya Wacana
4
LITERATURE REVIEW
Students’ Perception
The study about perception has been conducted for several times, whether
it talks about students‟ perception or teachers‟ perception. The definition of
perception according to Searle (2006 as cited in Blake and Sekular, 1990) and
Maryanah‟s study (2011) is what someone (students) feels about particular thing
even conscious or unconscious, whether visual or auditory and thoughts that are
caused by processes going on the brain. In learning English, Health Sciences
students‟ perceptions are essential since it influences their intellectual curiosity or
their individual perception toward the language they get in learning English
(Maryanah, 2011). Students‟ perception is important to investigate because it
shows students‟ thought about the teachers‟ use of English in the classrooms.
Whether it is clear or not, so it can influence teaching and learning processes.
Reasons and Support for Using L1
The teachers use L1 in L2 classrooms because of some reasons: to
maintain a comfortable classroom atmosphere, to promote the students‟
comprehension and to use the class-time efficiently (Tsukamoto, 2011).
Wilkerson (2008 as cited in Grim, 2010) found that teachers use English “to save
time, demonstrate authority, and reduce ambiguity” (p.315). Teachers use of L1
also has some functions, Cook (2005 as cited in Grim, 2010) already mentioned
that in learning and teaching, L1 as a way of conveying L2 meaning; a short-cut
for explaining tasks and tests (for example as a way of explaining grammar); and
5
Moreover, Franklin (1990 as cited in Pan, 2010) reported that 45%
teachers in his study prefered the L1 for discipline, the reasons such as for
efficiency of comprehension and to show that the threat is real rather than
imagined. In addition, Atkinson (1987 as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011) said that the
use of L1 by teachers is to save the time because communicate in L1 can be used
for more productive activities.
The use of first language by the teachers makes learning English as second
language is more understandable. Thompson (2006 as cited in Grim, 2010) found
that most of L1 used for grammar instruction at beginning levels, while at
intermediate levels; translation of new vocabulary was the primary reason for the
L1. In the same line, Polio and Duff (1994 as cited in Grim, 2010) determined
other possible variables: classroom administrative vocabulary (e.g. tests, review
session), grammar instruction, classroom management, empathy/solidarity,
practicing English (as an L2 for them), and lack of vocabulary and
comprehension.
The use of L1 by the teachers could also caused by the students‟
background knowledge or proficiency level. Not all of the students come from
similar background knowledge who already mastered English. Ford (2009 as cited
in Tsukamoto, 2011) noted there are some students who do not mastered
fundamental English skills come to universities. In addition, Seng and Hashim
(2006 as cited in Pan, 2010) indicated that lower proficiency students usually
difficult to express their thoughts, so they should be allowed to use L1 to
6
Polio and Duff (1994 as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011) noted that L1 use can
be useful to create relax atmosphere in the classroom. L1 also can be used to
reduce student anxiety as Harbord (1992 cited in Pan, 2010) said that teachers use
of L1 will make a relax atmosphere and to reduce students‟ anxiety. Burden (2000
as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011) found starting with the L1 provides students with a
sense of security and validates the learners‟ lived experiences, allowing them to
express themselves. It makes learners want to experiment and take risks with
English (Burden, 2000 as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011). Similarly, Anton and
Dicamilla (1994 as cited in Pan, 2010) found that L1 can give useful cognitive
tool, providing scaffolding for students in their effort to achieve learning tasks.
The teachers use L1 will give good inputs that are learners more silent, easy to
process, and increase their learning. Van Lier (1995 as cited in Pan, 2010).
So, the use of L1 by the teachers does not always give negative or harmful
effects for L2 teaching and learning. The teachers‟ L1 gives a better atmosphere in
the classroom and it facilitates students to get deeper understanding in learning
English.
The Cons against L1 Use
The issue about the use of L1 in L2 classroom does not always supported
by all experts. Some of them for example Krashen (1987), Littlewood (1981), and
Turnbull (2001) as cited in Tsukamoto (2011) support to use one language (L2)
only. This are the reasons of avoiding L1 use in L2 classroom. Krashen (1985 as
cited in Tsukamoto, 2011) insisted that the students‟ L1 should not be used in the
7
Selinker (1992 as mentioned in Kim & Petraki, 2009) pointed out that too much
depend on the L1 will give result fossilization of an interlanguage. So, the
students will have difficulties to pronounce some words clearly in English if they
use L1 too much. Additionally, Turnbull (2001 as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011) also
argued that the use of L1 will reduce students‟ opportunity to use L2. Similarly,
Burden(2000 as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011) found that an integral part of language
learning is lost when the students‟ L1 is used by the teachers in the classrooms.
The students will depend on L1 when they find difficulties in learning L2. Ellis
(2005 as mentioned in Tsukamoto, 2011) also demonstrated that maximize the use
of L2 will make the students learn faster.
When L1 Should be Used
Therefore, L1 could be used in some situations. Atkinson (1987, p. 224 as
cited in Tsukamoto, 2011, p.148) allowing limited L1 use in the classroom first, a
learner-preferred strategy (for example given the opportunity, learners will choose
to translate without encouragement from the teacher); second, a humanistic
approach in that it permits them to say what they want; the last, an efficient use of
time (L1 strategies are efficient in terms of time spent explaining). Similar
thought, Reineman (2001 as cited in Stapa & Majid, 2006) mentioned sometimes
L1 should be allowed to use, for example to introduce new vocabulary.
L1 also should be used by the teachers when their students come from low
proficiency level. Lucas and Katz (1994 as cited in Majid and Stapa, 2006)
claimed that for students with little or no proficiency in English, their L1 is the
8
students and teachers switch between the L1 and L2 when interacting with each
other (Grim, 2010, p. 194).
THE STUDY
Context of the Study
The setting of the study is a university level where is in Satya Wacana
Christian University. Faculty of health sciences is chosen because the students‟
major is learn about nursing and health sciences, but they require to take English
in three beginning semesters. In first and second semesters the students from all
programs get IC, while third semester there is English for specific purposes
related to each programs. They learn English as a basic knowledge because most
of their textbooks use English. They can also use English to communicate if it is
needed. Even they learn English, but sometimes the teacher use Indonesian to
explain the materials.
Participants of the Study
Based on the arrangement by the Faculty of Health Sciences, the
participant of this study is an IC class; consist of around twenty students. The
participants take from intermediate level in Faculty of Health Sciences in Satya
Wacana Christian University. They already tested to place them in introduction or
intermediate level before the first semester begin. Most of the students come from
the East part of Indonesia and they are around twenty years old.
English is not commonly used by the students in the classrooms, especially
in teaching and learning process. According to English teacher in preliminary
9
The students get English courses at the three beginning semesters, but English is
not actively use to communicate with each other. So, it is allowed to use
Indonesian for teachers and students in English classes.
Instruments of Data Collection
To conduct this study, the writer used two methods that are questionnaires
and interviews. Questionnaires were given to twenty students to discover their
perceptions on the use of L1 by the teacher. Then, the writer also conducted
interviews to get specific and deeper information from the participants. In this
study, twenty students of IC class are required to answer several questions related
to the used of Indonesian by their teacher. They gave their perception whether L1
should be used or not.
First, close-ended questionnaires were used to get more specific data. The
questionnaire was adapted from Matsumoto (2010) to collect the data about
students‟ perception toward the teachers use of L1. He also used questionnaires to
collect the data about Japanese students‟ perception about the use of English by
the teachers. On the questionnaires, the students required to response whether they
agree or disagree about the teachers‟ use of Indonesian to explain the materials.
Second, the writer also conducted semi-structured interviews to give
relevant questions and informal interviews. Therefore, the writer contacted all the
participants to be interviewed and gave flexible questions to the interviewee
related to their explanation. Group focus discussion is used to conduct the
interview section because of the time limitation. The writer took five students in
10
on questionnaires, for example „Why do you agree that teachers should use
Indonesian only in classroom?‟. They were required to explain more and give
perceptions about their answers in the questionnaires before. Face-to face
interviews as part of group discussion were conducted to get more detail response
and explanation from the students according to their answers on questionnaires
before.
Data Collection Procedures
The data for this study were collected by passing some procedures. Firstly,
the writer asked permission from the Faculty of Health Sciences‟ office,
especially the dean and the coordinator of English course. Their permission is
used to collect the data of IC class. Second, after getting permission, the writer
distributed the questionnaires to twenty students. Then, asked the students to
response to the questions are provided on the questionnaire sheets. Third, the
writer prepared for the interviews section. The writer contacted all the students to
be interviewed. Face-to face interview is used to get more explanation based on
the students‟ responses in the questionnaires before.
Data Analysis Procedures
The data were analyzed qualitatively. First, after got the data from
questionnaires the writer started to list how many students who agree and disagree
toward the teacher‟s use of Indonesian in English classroom based on their
responses. Second, after the interview process with the participants, the writer
transcribed the interview recording one by one. The writer used clean
11
made lists based on the data interviews. Then, it showed the students‟ perceptions
and their reasons whether they agree or disagree. From those data, the writer was
able to know the students‟ perceptions toward the teacher‟s use of L1.
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
This part discusses the finding of the study. The finding was about Faculty
of Health Sciences students‟ perceptions towards their teachers‟ use of first
language in the IC classrooms resulted from the questionnaires and interviews. It
also would discuss about the participants‟ perceptions whether L1 should be used
or not by their teachers.
“Saya tidak setuju, karena dia tidak selalu memakai bahasa Indonesia. Kadang-kadang pakai bahasa Inggris terus dicampur lagi dengan bahasa Indonesia.”
(I disagree because the teacher does not always use Indonesian. Sometimes, the teacher uses English and then switch to Indonesian.)
In addition, participant B also mentioned,
“Saya tidak setuju. Karena kalau di kelas saya dulu tidak pakai bahasa
Indonesia atau Inggris terus, karena campuran mahasiswa dari latar belakang pengetahuan yang beda-beda, tingkat pemahaman bahasa Inggris kita juga berbeda-beda. Jadi dikombinasi juga antara bahasa Indonesia dan bahasa Inggris.”
(I disagree. Because the teacher does not always use Indonesian or English only. They combined between Indonesian and English, since the students come from different background knowledge, that is means the students have different level in
12
The finding above shows that IC‟s teachers use both languages. The
teachers mix the languages between Indonesian and English to help the students‟
better understanding. As participant B mentioned that the students come from
different background knowledge, that is means the students have different level in
understanding English. The result shows that students‟ background knowledge was
a reason for teachers‟ using both languages.
B. Overall Result of Questionnaires (Question 2-8)
Based on the questionnaires, the result about Faculty of Health Sciences
students‟ perceptions towards teachers‟ use of first language in the IC‟s class are
presented in the chart below.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
13
From the data of the study, each of the participants has their own
perceptions on the use of L1 by the teachers in the IC‟s classroom. The finding
shows that the highest number of responses stated on the “agree” part, that means
most of the participants perceive the use of L1 by their teachers in IC‟s class is
useful. Then, the lowest number of responses stated on the “strongly disagree”
part.
C. Perceptions
1. Teachers’ use of L1 creates students’ confidence to join the lesson.
There are some perceptions toward the teachers use of L1 in L2
classroom. 10 participants (50%) perceive that their teachers‟ use of first
language has boosted their confidence in joining the lesson. In the
interview, the participants stated that they feel more comfortable when
their teachers use L1 in IC classroom. Participant C stated that,
“Di sini saya sangat setuju karena materi IC sangat susah, jadi kalau menggunakan bahasa Inggris akan lebih susah lagi dimengerti. Saya juga merasa lebih nyaman saat dosen menjelaskan menggunakan bahasa Indonesia. Nyamannya karena tidak ada rasa takut, misal nanti kalau pakai bahasa Inggris terus tidak mudeng jadi tidak bisa mengerjakan latihan-latihan dengan benar.”
(Here I strongly agree because IC is a hard subject, so when teachers use English, it will be harder to understand. I also feel more comfortable when teacher explains in Indonesian. I am not worried to gain better understand, because if the teachers use English maybe it will influence me to do the exercises.)
In the same line with participant C, participant D added,
“Saya setuju. Di samping saya juga bahasa Inggris saya juga kurang, jadi saya merasa nyaman. Karena lebih bisa berkomunikasi, kalau misalnya pakai bahasa Inggris dan kita mau coba ngomong bahasa Inggris rasanya berkecil hati dan malu untuk mengungkapkan. Jadi saya lebih nyaman kalau dosennya pakai bahasa Indonesia. Seperti untuk mengungkapkan ide saya atau tanya-tanya yang belum jelas. “
14
The students perceive their teachers‟ L1 use creates students‟
confidence to join the IC‟s class because it reduces students anxiety, in
Harbord (1992) also report the similar finding. Sometimes the students are
worried to teachers‟ L2 and they will have difficulties to understand their
teachers‟ explanation during the lesson.
Participant C and D similarly stated that their teachers‟ use of L1
can avoid their anxiety during the learning process. Sometimes the
teachers‟ use English most of the time, triggers students‟ anxiety as they
face difficulty in understanding teachers‟ explanation. As the result, the
students could not work on the exercise well because they have limited
information regarding what the teacher wants them to do.
The use of L1 can facilitate the learning process by creating the
less-anxiety classroom. It also creates students‟ confidence that can lead
the students to actively participate and communicate such as discuss the
material, to speak up their thought and ask about unclear material to the
teachers in the learning process.
2. Teachers should not use L1 all the time.
Based on the questionnaires, the result shows that most of the
participants support the teachers‟ L1. But, when they are asked about the
frequently of teachers‟ L1, most of the participants, 16 participants (80%)
perceive that their teachers should not use L1 all the time. As the
participant E mentioned that,
15
Sedikit-sedikit kita tahu bahasa Inggris, jadi harus sesekali memakai bahasa Inggris juga.”
(I disagree because IC is a part of English, so it will be not effective if the teachers only use Indonesian all the time. We could understand English a bit, so it will be better if the teachers sometime use English.)
Participant F added,
“Tidak setuju. Karena tujuan dari IC kan bahasa Inggris dan dimulai dari dasar dulu, jadi tidak terus-terusan pakai bahasa Indonesia. Walau mungkin kalau dosen pakai bahasa Indonesia kita akan lebih mengerti. Tapi karena tujuan dari IC kan bahasa Inggris jadi akan lebih baik kalau pakai bahasa Inggris.”
(Disagree because the purpose of IC is to learn English and we start from the
basic English‟s level. So, it will be better if the teachers use English.)
Participants‟ responses reveal that their IC‟s teachers should not
use L1 all the time. The participants perceive that IC is part of learning
English, it will be not effective when teachers explain the materials use
Indonesian only. Since the participants here in the English learning
process, it will be beneficial for the students if the teachers use English for
the purpose of exposing them to English. Therefore, teachers‟ L2 is
considered as a tool to help them in learning IC as part of English.
It is in line with what Turnbull (2001 as cited in Tsukamoto, 2011,
p.146) stated that too much use L1 in the IC class can reduce students‟
opportunity in learning English. The participants believe that they are quite
understand English, then IC‟s teachers should not use L1 only. The
purpose of IC‟s lesson is to learn English, so the participants perceive that
they could learn better if their teachers also use English.
The result above shows that the participants perceive that IC‟s
teachers should use both languages. The students are too much depending
16
impact is that too much depend on the L1 will give result fossilization of
an interlanguage (Selinker 2009 as cited in Kim & Petraki 1992).
Moreover, if the teachers too much use L1 in the L2‟s classroom, it
avoids students‟ opportunity to learn English. So, the real impact such as
the students will have difficulties to pronounce some words clearly in
English if they use L1 too much. L2 also should be existed during the IC
learning process because IC is part of English.
3. Teachers’ L1 use facilitates students’ better understanding.
Discussing about IC‟s teachers could use first language to help
students‟ understanding, 18 participants (90%) perceive that teachers‟ L1
use facilitates them with better understanding. Teachers‟ explanation is the
central part of teaching and learning process. The students‟ understanding
and achievement depend on how the teachers deliver the materials.
Because teaching is not only about teachers should know many things, but
they should know how to share their knowledge to the students.
Participant G expressed,
“Karena materi yang disampaikan dosen akan lebih mudah dicerna saat dosen menggunakan bahasa Indonesia. Karena materi IC adalah materi yang cukup sulit bagi kami.”
(It will gain better understanding when teachers explain using Indonesian because IC is quite hard for us.)
On the same perception participant H added,
“Setuju. Karena bahasa Indonesia kan bahasa yang sering kita gunakan sehari-hari, jadi kalau kita pakai bahasa itu kita pasti lebih mudah memahami dan enak juga untuk komunikasi dengan dosen. Kalau semua-semua pakai bahasa Inggris langsung panik duluan.”
17
The responses above reveal that teachers‟ L1 can help the students
to have deeper understanding toward the lesson. The participants
mentioned that IC is quite hard lesson. Their teachers‟ L1 could be a
helper in following IC‟s lesson. Then, the students get depper
understanding toward the teachers‟ explanation.
This result indicates that L1 serves the function of facilitating tools
to increase students‟ comprehension and minimize their confusion. From
the interview, participant I ever experienced that she was hard to
understand the material when the teachers use L2. She mentioned,
“Saya setuju karena saya pernah kurang memahami materi IC saat dosen menjelaskan dengan bahasa Inggris dan karena dosen terlalu cepat jadi kita menangkapnya kesulitan.”
(I ever experinced that it was difficult to understand the lesson when teachers use English in explaining. Sometimes, the teachers quite fast in speaking English, so it becomes harder to understand.)
Based on the interview with participant I, she was worried that she
cannot understand well through the teacher‟s explanation if the teachers
use English. If this case happens, the teachers‟ explanation will be hard to
understand by the students.
Since L1 can serve the facilitation to the students in IC learning
process, L1 could be used by the teachers to facilitate students‟ better
comprehension.
4. Teachers should use L1 to give clearer explanation.
12 participants (60%) perceive that their teachers should use L1 to
give them clear explanation. Using L1 would turn teachers‟ explanation
18 Participant J mentioned that,
“Karena ada beberapa materi yang sulit untuk dipahami walaupun itu menggunakan bahasa Indonesia, jadi kalau menggunakan bahasa Inggris akan lebih susah. Apalagi bahasa Inggris bukan bahasa keseharian jadi akan lebih mudah dipahami dengan bahasa Indonesia.”
(There are some materials that is hard to understand, even the teachers already
explained in Indonesian. So, it will be harder and harder if teachers‟ use English.
Since English is not our first language.) Similarly, participant K stated that,
“Saya sangat setuju. Karena kita kan juga masih tahap belajar, kita tidak tahu grammar-grammar yang sulit atau kata-kata yang sulit jadi dosen itu harus wajib menggunakan bahasa Indonesia walaupun hanya sesekali saja.”
(I strongly agree. Because we are in the learning process, we do not know about grammar or difficult words. So the teachers should use Indonesian occasionally to gives clear explanation.)
The responses show that sometimes the teachers‟ explanation in
English will be hard to understand, since English is not the participants‟
first language. The second one is that the participants are in the English
learning process. So, they perceive that their IC‟s teachers should use
Indonesian occasionally to give clearer explanation.
Even L1 is used occasionally, but L1 here provides a tool to help
the students in learning IC. The use of L1 in L2 classess does not only
hinder L2 learning but also it helps teaching and learning (Tang 2002).
The participants perceive there are some difficult materials that
should be explained in Indonesian. So, the existing of L1 in the IC lesson
will help the students in gaining more knowledge.
5. Teachers use L1 to explain grammar and difficult materials.
The majority of participants, 11 participants (55%) perceive that
their teachers use L1 to explain grammar and difficult materials during the
19
“Materi rumit itu jelas materi yang sulit untuk kita tangkap, jadi saya pribadi akan susah memahami jika dijelaskan dengan bahasa Inggris karena bahasa Indonesia adalah bahasa kita sendiri jadi akan lebih dimengerti. Apalagi grammar adalah tata bahasa yang harus benar-benar dipahami, karena jika sekali saja kita salah mengerti bisa berakibat salah seterusnya.”
(Of course we will hard to understand difficult material, so I my self will be difficult to understand it in English. It will be better if teachers explain it use our first language. Grammar is hard for me, the teachers should explain clearly. Because if we do not really understand, it will give bad impact for the future.) In addition, participant M stated,
“Setuju kalau misalkan menjelaskan grammar harus menggunakan bahasa Indonesia karena jangankan grammar kadang materi mudah pun sulit dipahami, apalagi grammar. Jadi mending menjelaskannya pakai bahasa Indonesia saja.”
(I agree of the grammar‟s explanation, the teachers use Indonesian. Because
sometimes, simple material can be difficult if the teachers explain in English. So, when the teachers will explain about grammar, they could use Indonesian.)
The participants above mentioned that grammar is very hard for
them. They perceive that their IC‟s teachers should use L1 to explain
grammar and difficult materials. Since grammar is very important for them,
so the teachers‟ explanation is very influence their understanding.
Indonesian used by the teachers is the best way to help them in learning
grammar.
It relates to the fact that they view grammar as a difficult subject.
The use of L1 here could help the students appropriately to identify the
structure of each grammar points. Moreover, most of L1 used for grammar
instruction at beginning levels (Thompson (2006 as cited in Grim, 2010).
Then, L1 also can be useful for explaining grammar to the students (Cook
2001).
So, it is necessary for the teacher to use L1 when explaining
grammar to the students in order to help the students reduce their confusion
20
6. Teachers use L1 to explain the meaning of words.
10 participants (50%) perceive that IC‟s teachers use L1 to explain
the meaning of words. Participant N clearly stated that,
“Akan lebih nyaman saat dosen menggunakan bahasa Indonesia karena itu bisa tepat sasaran. Contoh kata ini artinya ini, kalau pakai bahasa Inggris kita harus menelaah lagi untuk tahu artinya apa.”
(I prefer to use Indonesian because it will be straight to the main point. For example to explain the meaning of words because if the teachers explain in English, we should try to get what does it mean.)
On the similar thought, participant O mentioned,
“Saya setuju. Karena banyak kata sukar yang mungkin baru pertama kali kita dengar dan kita tidak mengerti ini artinya apa. Terus bahasa Inggris juga kebanyakan vocab jadi dosen harus sesekali menjelaskan maknanya pakai bahasa Indonesia.”
(I agree. Because there are many difficult words and that is the first time we hear it, of course we do not know the meaning. There are also many vocabularies, so the teachers sometimes could use Indonesian to explain it.)
The responses reveal that most of the participants perceive that L1
used by their teachers to explain the meaning of word, and it is in order to
give exact definition. The participants also mentioned that there are many
vocabularies and sometimes they do not understand the meaning. So, there
is no students‟ misunderstanding because the teachers already used L1 to
explain the meaning of words.
L1 here could facilitate the teachers in explaining new words to their
students, and it can be a helpful tool for explaining new words in the
classroom because it will not complicate the process of the students in
understanding the meaning of the words (Schweers 1999). By using L1 in
explaining the the meaning of words can avoid misunderstanding between
the students and the teacher in differentiate the the meaning of words
21
introduce new vocabulary (Reineman 2001 as cited in Stapa & Majid,
2006).
Since the meaning of words are important, it will be better to
explains it in Indonesian. When IC‟s teachers use L2 in explaining the
meaning of words, it will only complicate the process.
7. Teachers use L1 to answer students’ questions.
12 participants (60%) perceive that their teachers use first language
to answer students‟ question.
Participant P mentioned that,
“Karena kita bertanya itu karena kita belum jelas, jadi kalau dijawab dengan bahasa Inggris tambah tidak jelas. Jadi pakai bahasa Indonesia kita akan lebih mudah menangkap jawaban pastinya.”
(We ask question because we still do not understand the material, if teachers answer it in English it will be harder for us to understand. So, it will be better if
teachers answer the students‟ question use Indonesian.)
Participant Q added,
“Saya setuju. Kalau menggunakan bahasa Indonesia saat menjawab pertanyaan mahasiswa, jadi biar mahasiswanya tidak bingung dengan jawaban dosennya.”
( I agree. If the teachers use Indonesian to answer the students‟ questions, it will
help us to understand the teacher‟s answer.)
The participants perceive that their IC‟s teachers should use first
language to answer the students‟ question. The students‟ questions mean
that they have not understand the material yet. Therefore, teachers use of
L1 in order to answer the students‟ question can facilitate the students‟
deeper understanding about IC lesson. So, if the teachers answer it in L2
22
It implies what Van Lier (1995 as cited in Pan, 2010) who stated
that teachers‟ use of L1 here will give good inputs that is students are
easily to process the teachers‟ answer and increase their learning. L1
used by the teachers in order to answer students‟ questions can be a role
to help students to get deeper understand toward the teachers‟ answer
itself (Tang 2002 as cited in Afzal, 2013)..
Teachers‟ answers provided in Indonesian aim at avoiding
misunderstanding to the IC students. The participants will be easily to get
their teachers‟ answer. They are able to identify main points in teachers‟
answers.
CONCLUSION
This study investigated the students‟ perceptions of teachers‟ L1 in IC
classrooms. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect the data.
Questionnaires were given by the writer to twenty Faculty of Health Sciences
students in Satya Wacana Christian University. Furthermore, twenty participants
were interviewed use focus group discussion. The aims of the study is to
investigate the students‟ perceptions toward the teachers‟ use of L1 in IC
classrooms at Faculty of Health Sciences in Satya Wacana Christian University.
The result from this study reveals that most of the students support the use
of L1 by the teachers in IC classrooms. They perceive that IC teachers use L1 for
different purposes. Teachers use L1 in order to creates students‟ confidence to
join the lesson, facilitates students‟ better understanding, give clearer explanation,
23
answer students‟ questions. The students also perceive that IC teachers should not
use L1 all the time during the lesson.
It was also found that the participants perceive that the use of L1 by the
teachers could create less-anxiety classroom that boosted students‟ confident and
led the students‟ participation in the classroom. Then, they also believed that L1
was a helpful tool for them since it could help them to understand the materials.
Therefore, the participants also perceive that teachers should not use Bahasa
Indonesia only. Teachers‟ L2 is considered as a tool to help them in learning IC as
part of English. Then, IC teachers should mix both languages between Bahasa
Indonesia and English.
The finding of the study reveals that most of the students perceive that
sometimes IC teachers should use L1 during the learning process to serve
different learning needs. Therefore, it may have possible implication to the
teachers who teach the students with different proficiency level. Thus, the teachers
should realize that they have freedom to choose which language to use in the
classroom interaction. Although the majority of the participants perceive that
sometimes IC teachers should use L1, but the teachers need to be aware of when
to use and not to use it. The teachers cannot always use L1 in all the time during
the lesson, but it should balance the portion of L1 and L2 in order to facilitate the
students in understanding the IC lesson.
This study also has the limitation which is the number of participants of
the study is small, only twenty students and might not represent the majority of IC
24
which are questionnaire and focus group interview. Later, further study can
develop by adding or changing the research instrument to give deeper findings
about the research of L1 use in the classroom.
Throughout this study, the writer realized that there are needs to develop a
further study and research related the use of first language in second language
classroom. Therefore, in the future, it is strongly recommended for those who
want to conduct a similar study, that they can do a similar research with a broader
scope involving more strategy in research (by observing the class). Overall, the
writer hopes that the findings on this study can be useful on how to manage in
25 References
Afzal, S. (2013). Using of the First Language in English classroom as a way of scaffolding for both the students and teachers to learn and teach English. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, 4(7), 1846-1854.
Amirkhiz, S.Y., & Mahmoudi, L. (2011). The use of persian in the EFLclassroom-the case of English teaching and learning at Pre-university level in Iran. English Language Teaching, 4(1), 135-140.
Blake, R., & Sekular, R. (2009). Perception. New York: Mc.Graw-Hill.
Cook, V. (2001). Using First Language in the Classroom.The Canadian Modern Language Review, 57.
Grim, F. (2001). L1 in the L2 classroom at the secondary and college levels: A comparison of functions and use by teachers. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 7(2), 193-209.
Kim, Y., & Petraki, E. (2009). Students‟ and teachers‟ use of and attitude to L1 in the EFL classroom. Asian EFL Journal, 11(4), 58-77.
Littlewood, W. (1992). Communicative Language Teaching . Cambrigde : Cambridge University Press.
Majid, A.H., & Stapa, S.H. (2006). The use of L1 in limited English proficiency classes: Good, bad or ugly?. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1, 1-12.
Maryanah. (2011). Students‟ perceptions toward ESP courses textbook in faculty of health sciences of Satya Wacana Christian University. Koleksi Tugas Akhir Digital Perpustakaan UKSW. Retrieved from http://192.168.161.9/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/4870/T11200711 9.pdf?sequence=1
Matsumoto, H. (2010). Students‟ perceptions about teacher talk in Japanese -as-a-second-language classes. Arizona Working Papers in SLAT, 17, 53-74. Nazary, M. (2008). The role of L1 in L2 acquisition: Attitudes of Iranian
university students. Novitas-ROYAL, 2(2), 138-153.
Pan, Y., & Pan, Y. (2010). The use of L1 in the foreign language classroom.
Turnbull, M. (2001). There is a role for the L1 second and foreign teaching, but... The use of L1 in the Foreign Language Classroom, 12, pp. 87-96.
Tsukamoto, M. (2011). Students‟ perception of teachers‟ language use in an EFL classroom,. 143-154.
26 APPENDIX 1
Questionnaire
Students’ Faculty of Health Sciences Perceptions towards the Teachers Use of L1
Kepada :
Mahasiswa IC Fakultas Ilmu Kesehatan Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana.
PENGANTAR :
Angket ini bukan merupakan suatu tes dan tidak berpengaruh terhadap hasil
belajar anda. Isilah angket ini tanpa ada perasaan khawatir, sebab tidak ada
jawaban yang benar dan salah. Jawablah dengan jujur sesuai dengan persepsi anda
sendiri. Jawaban anda bersifat pribadi dan dijaga kerahasiaannya.
PETUNJUK PENGISIAN
1. Bacalah pernyataan-pernyataan di bawah ini dengan teliti.
2. Pilihlah jawaban yang paling sesuai dengan persepsi anda dengan cara memberi tanda cek (√) pada kolom pilihan.
27 materi yang dijelaskan saat
dosen IC menggunakan
Untuk wawancara yang bersangkutan dengan alasan-alasan anda mengenai
jawaban anda di atas, maka isilah biodata di bawah ini dengan lengkap.
28 APPENDIX 2
Interview Protocol Interview Protocol :
Pendahuluan
Halo saya Wulan mahasiswa akhir dari fbs. Hari ini saya meminta bantuan
anda semua untuk wawancara tentang bahasa Indonesia yang dipakai oleh
dosen IC anda. Tentu saja ini berkaitan dengan judul skripsi saya dan hasil
wawancara anda akan sangat membantu saya.
Pertanyaan pembuka
1. Apa kabar semuanya? Apakah anda menyukai belajar bahasa inggris
terutama dalam mata kuliah IC?
2. Apakah dosen IC di kelas anda sering menggunakan bahasa Indonesia?
Pertanyaan inti
1. Apa alasan anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju”
apabila dosen IC anda selalu menggunakan bahasa Indonesia saat
mengajar.
2. Mengapa anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju”
jika anda merasa lebih nyaman saat dosen IC menggunakan bahasa
Indonesia.
3. Mengapa anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju”
saat dosen IC harus menggunakan bahasa Indonesia sepanjang waktu saat
menjelaskan materi di kelas?
4. Apa alasan anda mengatakan bahwa anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju” dapat memahami materi yang dijelaskan saat dosen IC menggunakan bahasa Indonesia?
5. Apa alasan anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju”
saat dosen sesekali menggunakan bahasa Indonesia hanya untuk
memperjelas materi IC yang sedang dijelaskan kepada mahasiswa?
6. Mengapa anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju”
saat dosen IC harus menggunakan bahasa Indonesia untuk menjelaskan
29
7. Apa alasan anda sehingga anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju” saat dosen IC harus menggunakan bahasa Indonesia saat menjelaskan makna beberapa kata sukar?
8. Mengapa anda “sangat tidak setuju/ tidak setuju/ setuju/ sangat setuju”
bahwa dosen IC harus menggunakan bahasa Indonesia saat menjawab
pertanyaan tentang materi IC dari mahasiswanya.
Penutup
Baiklah, demikian beberapa pertanyaan yang telah saya ajukan kepada
