Dealing With Students Who Have Problem in Concentrating on Language Lessons in The Moon Class At Tunas Cemara Kindergarten.

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam proses belajar mengajar terdapat banyak masalah yang cukup mengganggu, terutama bagi guru baru yang belum mengetahui sifat dan karakteristik murid satu per satu. Selama masa magang di TK Tunas Cemara, saya menemui kesulitan ketika menangani murid-murid yang memiliki masalah dengan konsentrasi. Dalam tugas akhir ini saya

mencoba untuk membahas dan menganalisa permasalahan yang dialami oleh murid-murid yang kesulitan berkonsentrasi di kelas Moon di TK Tunas Cemara tersebut.

Kesulitan berkonsentrasi yang dialami murid-murid tersebut

disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor: masih merasa mengantuk karena tidur larut malam, tidak dapat berkonsentrasi dengan baik pada tiga pelajaran bahasa (Inggris, Mandarin, dan Bahasa Indonesia), merasa lapar karena belum sarapan, dan tidak berkonsentrasi dengan baik ketika menghafal. Kesulitan berkonsentrasi dikalangan murid-murid tersebut, dapat

menimbulkan efek pada kegiatan mereka, diantaranya: mereka tidak mengerti pelajaran yang diajarkan, mereka tidak dapat mencapai nilai yang baik, dan kehilangan waktu istirahat untuk makan siang dan bermain karena masih harus menyelesaikan tugasnya. Hal-hal tersebut di atas dapat diatasi dengan berbagai kemungkinan solusi, diantaranya: melakukan pemanasan, menggunakan alat bantu mengajar sehingga pelajaran menjadi lebih menarik, dan memberitahu murid-murid tersebut bahwa mereka akan mendapat hadiah bila menyelesaikan tugas dengan baik dan mengumpulkan tepat pada waktunya.

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Flowchart

Causes:

1. They are still sleepy in the class because they sleep late the night before 2. They are anxious

because they are not really good in learning language

3. They are not good in memorizing lessons 4. They are hungry because

they do not have

break time to have lunch and play because they had to finish the exercises

Problem:

Dealing with students who have problem in concentrating when the

teacher teaches language lesson in class

Potential Solution I:

The teachers lead the students to do warming

up before starts the lesson

Potential Positive Effects:

The students’ concentration can improve

The students will be able to concentrate better Potential Solution II:

Using teaching aid to make the lesson more interesting and make the

students’ concentrate better Potential Negative Effects:

The teachers need long time to explain the lesson using teaching aids

These three students will depend too much on the teaching aid

Potential Negative Effects:

The rewards make the students do not have intrinsic motivation

When the students do not like the rewards, they will not be motivated to concentrate in doing the exercises

Potential Solution III:

The teachers inform to the students that they will get a reward when they can

finish the exercises on time and get good marks

The children will be enthusiastic to do the exercises

Chosen solution:

Solution II: Using teaching aids to make the lesson more interesting and make the students’

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Teaching children is not easy, especially if the children have problem in

concentrating. Concentration is “the ability to direct your thinking” (Zweig

par. 1). From what has been stated, concentration is needed when

children do any activities, especially when studying. If a child can direct his

or her thinking well, the child will study well too.

From my observation during my internship at Tunas Cemara

Kindergarten in Moon Class since July 21st until August 21st, I found many

problems. However, the problem that I want to focus is dealing with three

students who have a problem in concentrating on language lessons

(English, Mandarin, and Indonesian) in the class. This is the most difficult

problem that I found during the internship.

This problem is interesting for me to discuss because from my

observation there are three 5-year-old children in the class with difficulty in

concentrating at TCK in Moon Class. As Jiva Specialist states that “Lack of

concentration among children or an inability to focus on the task at hand is

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problem, but it is a big problem for me when I see that these three children

cannot concentrate while the other students can. As a teacher, I have

responsibilities to make all the students understand the lesson.

I would like to explain the causes and the effects of difficulty in

concentrating that happen to Steven, Melvin, and Macell based on my

observation during my internship at TCK and supported by theories from

library research. Also, I would like to find the best solution to handle the

problem.

B. Identification of the Problem

The problem I am going to discuss in this term paper will be analyzed in

these questions:

1. Why did the three children (Steven, Melvin, and Marcell) at TCK in

Moon Class experience difficulty in concentrating?

2. What can the teachers do to help the children have better

concentration?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

- Objectives

There are several objectives of this term paper. First it is to know the

causes and the effects of children with problem in concentrating. Second it is

to find out the potential solutions to handle it with their positive and negative

effects. Last it is to find out the best solution to this problem.

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The benefit of this term paper for the school is that this paper would be

useful for the teachers to know how to deal with children who have problem in

concentrating. For the readers, this paper explains the real situation about the

problem of dealing with the children who have problem in concentrating, thus

they can use the solution to handle the same problem. For me as the writer,

the benefit is that I get more knowledge from writing the paper about handling

children with problem in concentrating both in theories and practice. Thus, it

will be useful for me when someday I become a teacher.

D. Description of the Institution

TCK was established in April 17th, 2000. It was located at Jalan Sumber

Hurip No. 31, Bandung. In July 2004 it moved to Jalan Situ Aksan No. 41,

Bandung. It is an education center where children can learn three languages:

Indonesian, Chinese, and English. The headmaster is Miss Lanny Senjaya.

There are two causes that make TCK give priority to these three

languages. First, English and Mandarin are necessary for the children’s

future. Second, the age 3 until 6 years are the golden age to learn languages

to provide a good foundation, for them to be able to speak foreign languages

fluently.

E. Method of the Study

To collect the information for the research, I did an internship for thirty days

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journal. I read relevant books and articles in the Internet which inform theories

about children with problem in concentrating.

F. Limitation of the Study

The observation was done in TCK. I was an assistant teacher for a month

in Moon Class, from July 21st to August 21st, 2009. The subject of my research

is three kindergarten students: Steven, Melvin, and Marcell who have problem

in concentrating when their teacher teaches the three languages in the class.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

The main content of this term paper consists of four chapters. The first chapter is the Introduction. This chapter is an introduction and general

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

There are three students (Steven, Melvin, and Marcell) who have

difficulty in concentrating at TCK in Moon Class during my internship. The

causes are in the morning they are still sleepy in class, they are anxious

because they are not really good in learning the three languages, they are

hungry because they do not have breakfast, and they are not good in

memorizing lessons. From the problem, there are three effects that I have

discussed. The effects are the three students do not understand the

lessons, they lose their break time to have lunch and play because they

have to finish the exercises, and they could not get good marks. Later,

there are three potential solutions. The three potential solutions are the

teachers lead the students to do warming up before starting the lesson,

using teaching aids to make the lesson more interesting, and the teachers

tell the students that they will get a reward when they can finish the

exercises on time and get good marks.

In this chapter I would like to explain about the best solution from the

three potential solutions discussed in the previous chapter. The three

potential solutions are giving warming up activities before starting the

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telling the students that they will get a reward when they can finish the

exercises on time and get good marks. From my analysis, I think the best

potential solution for the three students with difficulty in concentrating

when the teacher teaches the three languages is by using teaching aid to

make the lesson more interesting.

The second potential solution is the best one compared to the other

potential solutions. The first potential solution, doing warming up, will make

both the teachers and the students tired because they do physical

activities, such as running, jumping, walking, and dancing. If the students

feel tired, they may actually not be able to concentrate while studying the

main lessons. Then, it makes them not be able to do the exercises well.

Another negative effect can also happen if the warming up activities are

boring. The aim of warming up is to make students enthusiastic for the

main lesson. However, it will not happen if the warming up activities make

them bored. The third potential solution, which is giving rewards, will make

the students expect more and more rewards. When the teachers stop

giving rewards, they will not have motivation to do the exercises well.

Besides, these three children have different preferences (for example:

Steven likes sticker, but Marcell likes candy). For example: when the

reward is a sticker, it makes Steven enthusiastic to do the exercises

because he likes stickers and he wants it. However, Marcell will not do the

exercises well because he does not like stickers.

The condition will be different if the teachers apply the second potential

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the three students concentrate and understand the lesson better because

they like the teaching aids, such as cassettes, pictures, and realia.

Teaching aid is usually used when a teacher teaches preschool students.

In this level, using teaching aids can improve children’s concentration.

Children in preschool age like any kind of teaching aid. Using it will make

the children focus on the teacher’s explanation which means they will

concentrate better. If they concentrate better, they will do the exercises

well, in the end they will understand the lessons.

Using teaching aids also has a negative effect. The students may

depend too much on it. To anticipate it, the teachers should not use

teaching aids for a long time, but use it if the material is hard to remember,

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