AUTHENTIC LISTENING MATERIALS
BASED ON PRINCIPLED ECLECTICISM FOR SEVENTH GRADERS
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By:
Agnes Woro Dwi P. 041214031
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
A Sarjana Pendidikan Thesis On
AUTHENTIC LISTENING MATERIALS
BASED ON PRINCIPLED ECLECTICISM FOR SEVENTH GRADERS
Prepared and Presented by Agnes Woro Dwi P.
041214031
Defended before the Board of Examiners on September 25, 2008
and Declared Acceptable
Board of Examiners
Faculty of Teachers Training and Education Sanata Dharma University
Dean,
Agnes Woro Dwi P. 041214031
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama : Agnes Woro Dwi Priharini
Nomor Mahasiswa : 041214031
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
“AUTHENTIC LISTENING MATERIALS
BASED ON PRINCIPLED ECLECTICISM FOR SEVENTH GRADERS”
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me-ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 11 Oktober 2008
Yang menyatakan,
Agnes Woro Dwi Priharini
I asked the LORDto comfort me whenthings weren’t going my way,
HE said to me, “I will comfort youand lift your cares away.”
I asked the LORDto walk with me when darkness was all that I knew,
HE said to me, “Never be afraid for I will see you through.”
When I cried a tear, HE wiped it dry
When I was confused, HE cleared my mind
When I was cold, HE hugged me tight
When I was lost, HE took me home
When I was at the end, HE gave me hope
When I was weak, HE held my hand and
gave me strength to stand alone again,
HE gave me wealth unfold for the riches I didn’task
HE came to me when I needed HIM
HE guided my way to this beautiful moment
I thank theLORD for everything
And I count my blessings each day……
[
adapted
from song ‘I Asked the
Lord’
, lyric by
Johnny Lange &
Jimmy Duncan and song “You Needed Me” by Randy Goodrum
]I dedicate this thesis to those whom I love much,
Jesus Christ, who always cares about me My Mom and My Dad, who always love me My Sisters, who always cheer me up All of my friends, who are always there to give me a hand
And to all teachers who have dedicated themselves in educational field
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Praise be to God, my Lord Jesus Christ who never leaves me alone. I am so grateful for the gift of life, marvelous blessings, amazing miracles, miraculous
grace, everlasting love, friendship and for everything granted for me. I thank Him for
giving me the chance to shape my dreams and for bringing me to this wonderful
moment. Be with Him I will never be afraid. I also thank Virgin Mary for her kindness, love and strength that lead me to every step I take and guide me pass the
hard path.
I thank the great people in my life from whom I can learn many things,
bapak Matheus Poniman and ibu Fransisca Christina Sri Suharni for the care, love, prayer, understanding, patience, financial and spiritual support and for being
with me in my ups and downs. I also thank my beloved sisters, Rina and Esti for caring, loving, supporting, and praying. I am pleased to have them be willing to
listen to me and push me to do my best. I appreciate them for giving me joy and
spirit and for cheering me up when I seem to give up. I thank them endlessly for the
warm home and for every single beautiful moment.
I deeply thank my advisor, Mr. Gregorius Punto Aji, S.Pd., M.Hum. for the clear step by step guidance, valuable feedback, advice, support and patience. I am
very grateful to Mr. Ag. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A., the head of English Language Education Study Program and Drs. Tarsisius Sarkim, M.Ed., Ph.D., the dean of Teachers Training and Education Faculty for giving me permission to
conduct the study. I would also express my appreciation to Ms. Made Frida Yulia,
S.Pd., M.Pd. and Ms. Yohana Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum. for the suggestions and criticisms and to all lecturers and staff of PBI and of Sanata Dharma University.
My gratitude also goes to Bruder Agustinus Mardjito, the headmaster of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Klaten and Bp. Heru Sumarso, S.Pd., the headmaster of SMPN 1 Depok, who have permitted me to do a research and have allowed me to use
the available media. Special gratitude is directed to mbak Herning Retnowati, S.Pd. and Ibu Ratna Purwanti, S.Pd. who have helped me during my research. I thank them for the time, guidance, suggestions and chance to implement my
materials. Students of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Klaten class D and of SMPN 1 Depok class A and B also deserve my appreciation for being the subjects of the field testing and for the participation and cooperation.
I would also express my gratitude to all of my relatives for the
encouragement and inspiration, especially to Nova for the help and media and Potter for the free consultation dealing with media. Gratitude also goes to those who have
colored my life and have supported me, my wonderful friends, PBI 2004 (Tya, Tiwi, Retno, Sita, Rini, Chris, Fajar, Riri and many others), Basic Elements (Yosan, Icha, Mitha, Vina, Adit), KKN (Unang, Suksma, Felly, Budi, Alek, Eka, Paul, Rafael, Probo), UKMK (Melon, Tami, Agnes, Angga, Fidel, Ge, Yophie, Shinta, Nita, Tista, Gustin, Maria, Zie, Prima), mudika St. Vinsensius a Paulo and mudika St. Bonaventura specially to Vera, Yoeli, Yudi and Jaya. I would also express my appreciation to team of Intensive English Course especially to mbak Nina. I thank them for the support, help, strength, laugh, friendship, togetherness and understanding. I also need to appreciate Ayoe on 7 for the help, discussion and stuff.
I am so lucky to have them in my life. I owe gratitude to Stephanus Tulus for helping me transfer the listening passage to cassette.
I am indebted sincere thank to all people and parties, who are too many to
mention. I deeply thank anyone who has contributed their help and support from the
beginning to the end of my study physically, spiritually and/or financially.
Yogyakarta, September 25, 2008
The writer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
TITLE PAGE .……….. i
PAGES OF APPROVAL ………... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ……….. iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS………. v
PAGE OF DEDICATION ……… vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………. x
LIST OF TABLES ……… xiv
LIST OF FIGURES ……….………. xv
ABSTRACT ……….. ……… xvi
ABSTRAK ………..………. xvii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……….... 1
A. Research Background ………... 1
B. Problem Formulation ……….. 5
C. Problem Limitation ………. 6
D. Research Objectives ……….... 6
E. Research Benefits ……… 7
F. Definition of the Terms ………... 8
1. School-based Curriculum ………. 8
2. Authentic Listening Materials ……….. 8
3. Principled Eclecticism ……….. 9
4. Seventh Graders ……… 9
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ………. 10
A. Theoretical Description ……… 10
1. Instructional Design ……….. 10
2. Teaching Listening ……… 12
a. The Nature of Listening ……….. 12
b. Principles for Teaching Listening ………... 13
c. Media in Listening Classes ………. 19
d. Teaching Listening in Classroom ……… 20
3. Authentic Materials ………... 22
a. Types of Authentic Materials ……….. 22
b. The Importance of Authentic Materials ……….. 23
c. Authentic Materials Selection ………. 24
4. Principled Eclecticism ………... 26
5. Learners’ Characteristics ………... 29
a. Social Development ………. 30
b. Cognitive Development ………... 31
c. Emotional Development ……….. 32
6. School-based Curriculum ……….. 32
B. Theoretical Framework ……… 34
1. Identifying Learners’ Characteristics ……… 35
2. Considering Goals, Topics, and General Purposes ………. 35
3. Formulating Objectives ………. 36
4. Designing and Developing Materials ……… 37
5. Evaluation ……….. 38
6. Revision ………. 39
7. Classroom Implementation ……… 39
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ……….. 41
A. Research Method ………. 41
B. Research Participants ………... 43
C. Research Instruments ………... 46
D. Data Gathering Technique ………... 48
E. Data Analysis Technique ………. 49
F. Research Procedures ……… 50
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ………….. 54
A. The Ideal Design of Authentic Listening Materials Based on Principled Eclecticism for Seventh Graders ……… 54
1. Learners’ Characteristics and Needs ………. 56
2. Goals, General Purposes and Topics ………. 63
3. Authentic Listening Materials and Tasks ……….. 66
4. The Designed Authentic Listening Materials Based on Principled Eclecticism for Seventh Graders ………….. 68
5. Preliminary Testing ……… 76
6. Evaluation and Revision ……… 81
7. Classroom Implementation ……… 82
B. The Effects of the Designed Authentic Listening Materials Based on Principled Eclecticism on Seventh Graders ……… 83
1. Field Testing-Classroom Implementation ………. 83
2. Description of Participants of Field Testing ………. 84
3. Data Presentation ……….. 87
4. Discussion on the Effects ……….. 90
5. Evaluation of the Field Testing ………. 92
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ………... 94
A. Conclusion ……… 94
B. Suggestions ……….. 96
REFERENCES ………... 98
APPENDICES A. Appendix 1: Letters 1. Letter of Permission to the Headmaster of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Klaten ...….. 101
2. Letter of Permission to the Headmaster of SMP Negeri 1 Depok ...….. 102
3. Letter of Permission from Bappeda ……….. . ... 103
B. Appendix 2: Instruments 1. List of Questions for Interviewing the Teachers ………... 105
2. Raw Data of the Result of Interview ………. . ... 107
3. Open Questionnaires for Materials Evaluation ……….... 111
4. Questionnaires for Field Testing (Reflection for Students) ….. . ... 116
5. Samples of Filled-Instruments ...…... 119
C. Appendix 3: Materials’ Outline ... ... 128
D. Appendix 4: Lesson Plan ... ... 144
E. Appendix 5: Authentic Listening Materials Based on Principled Eclecticism for Seventh Graders ... ... 159
F. Appendix 6: Teacher’s Manual...…. . 175
LIST OF TABLES
page
Table 4.1 Summary of Interview of Learners’ Characteristics ... 61
Table 4.2 Summary of Interview of Learners’ Needs (Part 1)... 62
Table 4.3 Summary of Interview of Learners’ Needs (Part 2)... 63
Table 4.4 Competency Standards and Basic Competences ... 65
Table 4.5 List of Authentic Materials Used... 67
Table 4.6 List of Listening Tasks Used ... 68
Table 4.7 Major Section, Main Activities and Purpose (Part 1) ... 72
Table 4.8 Major Section, Main Activities and Purpose (Part 2) ... 73
Table 4.9 Variety of Activities in Each Unit (Part 1) ... 74
Table 4.10 Variety of Activities in Each Unit (Part 2) ... 75
Table 4.11 Topics and Units to be Developed ... 76
Table 4.12 Description of Respondents of Preliminary Testing ... 77
Table 4.13 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Designed Materials ... 80
Table 4.14 Section Revised and the Revision (Part1)... 81
Table 4.15 Section Revised and the Revision (Part 2)... 82
Table 4.16 Students’ Personal Data of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1(Class VII D) .... 85
Table 4.17 Students’ Personal Data of SMPN 1 Depok (Class VII B)... 85
Table 4.18 Students’ Personal Data of SMPN 1 Depok (Class VII A) ... 86
Table 4.19 Data Presentation of Students’ Reflection ... 88
LIST OF FIGURES
page Figure 2.1 Kemp’s Instructional Design Model ...12
Figure 2.2 Children’s Stages according to Hurlock ...32
Figure 2.3 The Writer’s Theoretical Framework ...40
ABSTRACT
Priharini, Agnes Woro. 2008. Authentic Listening Materials Based on Principled Eclecticism for Seventh Graders. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Listening is an important skill. Yet, it is probably the most difficult one to learn and teach since it depends on many factors such as unfamiliar topic, unclear voice, complicated language, classroom atmosphere, unavailability of supporting media and materials. However, both teachers and students cannot neglect the teaching and learning of listening since School-based Curriculum, curriculum recently used, expects the teaching of English in Junior High School should involve four skills including listening.
This study was aimed at helping Junior High School teachers provide interesting materials and improve students’ listening ability by designing authentic listening materials based on principled eclecticism for seventh graders. The materials were taken from authentic materials (movie clips, songs, comic strips or recording materials of native speeches) and were presented in various activities and tasks to avoid students’ boredom. There were two problems to be discussed: 1) what is the ideal design of authentic listening materials based on principled eclecticism for seventh graders? and 2) how do the designed authentic listening materials based on principled eclecticism affect the seventh graders?
This study utilized Educational Research and Development (R & D) which was adopted into five steps namely research and information collecting, planning and developing product, preliminary testing, product revision, and field-testing. This study also adapted Kemp’s instructional design model and considered relevant theories related to teaching listening, authentic materials, principled eclecticism, learner’s characteristics and School-based Curriculum to design the authentic listening materials based on principled eclecticism for seventh graders.
Having designed and implemented the materials, conclusions could be drawn. First, the ideal design of authentic listening materials based on principled eclecticism for seventh graders was materials design which was based on data of learners’ needs, current curriculum, relevant and suitable authentic materials, variety of tasks that reflected principled eclecticism, materials’ evaluation and revision. More important, this design is ideal since it was developed through a research in which it was implemented in real classroom. This design was conducted step by step.
Second, through field-testing it could be known how the designed materials affected the seventh graders. From the three units (My Name is, Do & Don’t and Thank You) tried out to 3 different classes of Junior High School (class D of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Klaten, class A and B of SMPN 1 Depok), it could be concluded that the materials brought positive effects to the students. The materials motivated more than 80% of the students to learn English enjoyably. Using authentic materials (especially movie clips and songs) and different tasks and activities, the designed materials made the students actively participate in the teaching learning processes. Finally, the writer hopes that the designed materials would inspire English teachers and further researchers to provide attractive listening materials and apply them in classroom using various techniques and excellent media.
xvii ABSTRAK
Priharini, Agnes Woro. 2008. Authentic Listening Materials Based on Principled Eclecticism for Seventh Graders. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Listening atau mendengarkan adalah salah satu ketrampilan berbahasa yang penting tetapi juga sulit untuk dipelajari dan diajarkan karena tergantung pada beberapa faktor misalnya topik, suara, bahasa, suasana kelas, media dan materi mendengarkan. Namun demikian, guru dan siswa tidak dapat meniadakan pengajaran ketrampilan mendengarkan di kelas mengingat bahwa Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan, kurikulum yang digunakan saat ini, menyatakan bahwa pengajaran Bahasa Inggris untuk siswa Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) juga harus mencakup empat ketrampilan berbahasa termasuk ketrampilan mendengarkan.
Studi ini bertujuan untuk membantu guru SMP menyediakan materi mendengarkan yang menarik dan membantu meningkatkan ketrampilan mendengarkan siswa dengan membuat materi mendengarkan yang autentik berdasarkan principled eclecticism untuk siswa SMP kelas VII. Materi yang digunakan adalah materi autentik yang dipresentasikan dalam aktivitas dan tugas yang bervariasi untuk menghindari kebosanan siswa. Ada dua permasalahan dalam studi ini: 1) Seperti apa desain materi mendengarkan yang autentik berdasarkan
principled eclecticism untuk siswa SMP kelas VII yang ideal itu? dan 2) Bagaimana materi yang telah dibuat mempengaruhi siswa SMP kelas VII?
Studi ini menggunakan metode penelitian dan pengembangan (R & D) yang diadopsi menjadi 5 langkah yaitu penelitian dan pengumpulan informasi, perencanaan dan pembuatan materi, evaluasi, revisi dan penerapan materi di kelas. Dalam membuat materi, penulis mengadaptasi model desain materi Kemp dan mempertimbangkan teori yang berhubungan dengan pengajaran ketrampilan mendengarkan, materi autentik, principled eclecticism, karakteristik siswa dan Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan.
Setelah membuat dan menerapkan materi, ada dua kesimpulan. Pertama, desain materi mendengarkan yang autentik berdasarkan principled eclecticism untuk siswa SMP kelas VII yang ideal adalah desain materi yang berdasarkan kebutuhan siswa, kurikulum yang sedang digunakan, materi autentik yang sesuai, aktivitas yang bervariasi, evaluasi materi dan revisi. Terlebih lagi, desain ini dikembangkan berdasarkan data yang diperoleh melalui penelitian dan telah diterapkan di kelas.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents detailed information about the research background
that leads to the study, the problem formulation in a form of questions and the
limitation of the problem that will make this study more specific. Besides, this
chapter also presents the research objectives that are the aims of the study, the
research benefits which are about the contributions of this study, and definition of the
terms which includes some terms related to the study.
A. Research Background
Listening is very important. It is the language modality that is most
frequently used as what Goh (2002: 1) said in the following quotation, "Listening
takes up as much as 50% of our everyday communication time". In addition,
listening becomes the basis for the other skills. Through listening a base for more
fluent productive skills can be established (Peterson, 2001: 87). It is through listening
that people are able to communicate with others.
Although listening is an important skill, it is probably the most difficult one
to learn and teach. “Listening is the main channel of communication between
teachers and students but it is the most neglected of the four language skills,” wrote
Brownell (1996: 314). Basically, listening is the language skill that is first learned
and used, followed by speaking, reading and writing. Yet, it is the language skill that
is last taught after writing, reading and speaking (Brownell, 1996: 6).
For the teachers, listening is difficult to apply in classroom. “The teachers
may be interested in helping the students improve their ability, but they do not know
exactly where to begin” (Brownell, 1996: 6). The teachers do not know what and
how to teach in listening classroom. The teachers are confused what materials and
methods should be used to teach listening. In addition, it takes more time to make
interesting listening materials that are suitable and relevant for the students. Besides,
such factors as lack of proficiency and skill to make own materials and to use media
and unavailability of supporting facilities make the teachers find it difficult to teach
listening.
For some students, listening is difficult to learn since it depends on many
factors. According to Brownell (1996: 6), the students may be reluctant to learn
listening because it takes time. They need some more time to process the message
they have just heard. Brownell further wrote that there may be such factors as
anxiety, stress, personal style, motivation, willingness to learn and classroom
atmosphere that affect the students’ concentration in listening practices. Complex
and unfamiliar topic, unpredictable content, not understandable language, unclear
voice and accent of the speakers and inadequate effort of the students to remember
the details of what is said in the listening passage may also make the students think
that listening is difficult (Anderson and Lynch, 1988: 46).
However, both teachers and students cannot neglect the teaching and
learning of listening considering that School-based Curriculum (Kurikulum Tingkat
Satuan Pendidikan/KTSP), curriculum having been applied since 2006 by all level of
education, intends that English taught should involve the four skills including
four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing). Unfortunately, based on the writer's
teaching experience in two junior high schools in Yogyakarta, the English teachers
only give less time allotment for listening than other skills. Most of the time
allotment is directed to teach grammar or language focus and reading comprehension
following the handbook used.
Generally, the teachers depend on handbooks or provided materials used in
previous semesters. They rarely make their own materials for teaching English in
classroom especially for teaching listening considering the lack of experience and
skill in designing listening materials. Investigating handbooks for junior high school
students recently used, the listening exercises are less varied. Most of them deal with
recorded conversation. This can make the students bored and less interested in
comprehending the listening passage.
Dealing with the problems stated above, the writer wants to give
contribution for both teachers and students by designing authentic listening materials
based on principled eclecticism for seventh graders. According to Martinez, in his
article Authentic Materials: An Overview, using authentic materials can arouse
students' motivation and make them feel fun with listening because authentic
materials may contain topics of interest to the students. Additionally, authentic
materials present students with actual everyday language, just as it appears in real
life. It means that the students can be exposed to the language used in daily life
context. The materials can be taught based on principled eclecticism in which the
teachers can employ various methods, strategies and techniques. By using principled
eclecticism, the students are presented with variety of teaching learning activities and
This study may not be a new study in designing authentic listening
materials since there was previous study dealing with the same topic. However, this
study is different from the previous one. The previous study Designing a Set of
English Instructional Listening Materials Using Authentic Materials for the First
Grade Students of Tourism Department in SMK Negeri 4 Yogyakarta was aimed at
helping the students of tourism department improve their spoken English skills by
giving listening drills. The study also used authentic materials to expose the students
who would come to the tourism industry with everyday language. Therefore, the
tourism department students would have enough input to communicate using English
with foreigners or tourists.
Different from the previous study, this study is aimed at helping junior high
school students grade VII improve their listening skill. This study concerns with
seventh graders considering that generally, they are not accustomed to listening
practices since mostly they only learn vocabulary and grammar in the elementary
school. The students may only have listening practices by listening to the teachers'
instructions and English songs. Therefore, the students will find difficulties to
process longer information they listen to. They also easily feel uninterested and
bored as they are listening to the passages which require a deep concentration. As a
result, they have to take a great effort to concentrate and focus on the listening
passage. The problems become more serious when listening is included in the final
examination, besides reading. That will be hard for junior high school students to
process the information of the listening if they have little input and are not
accustomed to listening practices. Therefore, the students should be introduced and
The designed materials are intended to help the students have listening
input before they come to the productive skills and finally are able to communicate
well orally and in a written way as what the School-based Curriculum expects to. In
addition, the seventh graders are introduced to the authentic listening materials and
prepared to the Final Examination which involves reading and listening from the first
grade of junior high school level as so they will be accustomed to listening practices
and have enough input for the listening part in the examination.
This study is also aimed at helping junior high school teachers provide
interesting listening materials. It is expected that the designed authentic listening
materials will give a new idea for the teachers in providing listening materials and
presenting the materials using principled eclecticism. In this way, the teachers can
apply different teaching methods, strategies or techniques to help the students
comprehend the listening passages and enable them to actively involve in the
interpretation of what they hear and come to the understanding on the listening
passage.
B. Problem Formulation
Considering the background presented above, the writer formulates the
problems of the study as follows:
1. What is the ideal design of authentic listening materials based on principled
eclecticism for seventh graders?
2. How do the designed authentic listening materials based on principled eclecticism
C. Problem Limitation
This study limits the discussion on English language teaching by working
on instructional design area. This study is to design and develop authentic listening
materials based on principled eclecticism for seventh graders. The use of authentic
materials can expose the students to daily life context and everyday language. It
enables the students to comprehend and use the language that is commonly used in
real situations. In addition, using authentic materials for listening practices can make
the students more motivated since the materials can be selected based on the
students’ interest.
This study also limits the discussion on language teaching methodology
which is focused on principled eclecticism. It is such language teaching methodology
that allows the teachers to apply different teaching methods, strategies or techniques
in classroom to present variety of listening teaching learning activities. Using
principled eclecticism can also avoid students’ boredom in listening activities. This
study concerns with seventh graders who have no enough experience in the listening
practices. They, however, are supposed to be able to listen and comprehend the
information in the listening exercises and expose it to their daily life context in order
to prepare themselves in the Final Examination. The students are in the first grade of
junior high school that they are given more exposure of listening practices as so they
can be accustomed to listening.
D. Research Objectives
This study is to bring about some objectives that are presented as the
1. To develop the ideal design of authentic listening materials based on principled
eclecticism for seventh graders.
2. To find out the effects of the designed authentic listening materials on seventh
graders.
E. Research Benefits
This study is expected to be able to give several contributions. The
contributions are formulated as follows:
1. For the material designers
The results of the study can give a reference to the material designers to
guide them in selecting and designing authentic listening materials based on certain
language teaching methodology for seventh graders.
2. For the teachers
This study is expected to help the English teachers provide enjoyable
listening activities using authentic materials. It will also enable the teachers to use
the designed materials as their teaching-listening materials in classroom by
employing various teaching methods, strategies and techniques which are applicable
for the students.
3. For the seventh graders
This study is to present authentic listening materials which can help the
learners in listening practice. It is supposed to give opportunities for the learners to
F. Definition of the Terms
There are some important terms related to the study. Those are:
1. School-based Curriculum
According to Pusat Kurikulum Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan
Pendidikan Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, School-based Curriculum is the latest
curriculum in Indonesia which is developed and carried out by each level of
education under the coordination and supervision of Department of Education. The
curriculum gives opportunity to teachers to make their own teaching materials based
on the competency standards and basic competences. It aims at developing the
teachers' role in making teaching materials suitable to the students' needs and
interest. It is also supposed that the materials used in learning process deal with daily
life context as so the knowledge will be applicable to students' real life. In relation to
School-based Curriculum, the authentic listening materials in this study are designed
by considering the Competency Standards and Basic Competences.
2. Authentic Listening Materials
Authentic listening materials are materials designed for listening practices
that are selected from everyday materials or passages which are not originally
constructed for language purposes (Lynch and Mendelsohn, 2002; Martinez, 2002).
The materials are originally produced to fulfill some social purposes in the language
community such as for entertaining, advertising or giving information. This study
will use authentic listening materials whether directly downloaded or recorded from
movie clips, TV programs, songs, comics, or narrative (short story) which are
selected in accordance with Basic Competences of School-Based Curriculum.
3. Principled Eclecticism
Kenneth Beare (2008: 1) in his article Teaching Technique: Principled
Eclecticism-How to Teach ESL statesthat principled eclecticism refers to the use of
various teaching styles, methods or strategies as required by learners’ needs or style.
It involves the use of variety of language learning activities (Mellow, 2002;
Xiao-Yun et al, 2007). In this study, principled eclecticism deals with various teaching
methods, strategies or techniques used in classroom by presenting variety of teaching
learning activities and tasks.
4. Seventh Graders
Seventh graders are students who are in the first grade of junior high
school. They are the students of seventh school year after elementary school who are
usually 12-13 years old (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_grade). In this study,
seventh graders are students who are in the seventh years of formal education held in
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter is divided into two main parts, namely theoretical description
and theoretical framework. In the theoretical description, the writer reviews some
theories used as the references of the study. Then, the writer draws a theoretical
framework based on the theoretical description which is used as the guideline to
answer the problems of this study.
A. Theoretical Description
In the theoretical description, the writer discusses some theories which will
be used as the guidance to the development of the listening materials. They are
instructional design, teaching listening, authentic materials, principled eclecticism,
learners’ characteristics and School-based Curriculum.
1. Instructional Design
Briggs (1977: xx) states that instructional design can be defined as “the
entire process of analysis of learning needs and goals and the development of a
delivery system to meet the needs; includes development of instructional materials
and activities; and tryout and revision of all instruction and learner assessment
activities”. In this study, the theory of instructional design is needed as the guidance
to design the materials. Knowing the theory of instructional design will help the
writer conduct some steps in order to design and develop the materials.
In this study, the writer would consider Kemp’s instructional design
model to design and develop the authentic listening materials. Kemp follows the
system approach where the goal and evaluation are used for adjustment and
improvement. “System approach is the overall plan of the instructional design
compiled in order” (Kemp, 1977). Kemp’s model of instructional design is a flexible
one. The designer can start from any steps as long as the whole elements are done.
Kemp (1977: 8-9) states that the designer should consider three elements
that are objectives, activities and resources, and evaluation as the basic of creating an
instructional design. If one of them is missing, then the designer fails to make a good
design.
Kemp’s design (1977: 19-91) consists of eight parts. The first is
considering the goals, list topics, and stating the general purposes for teaching each
topic. The second is identifying the important characteristics of the students for
whom the instruction is to be designed. The third is specifying the learning
objectives to be achieved. The fourth is listing the subject contents that support each
objective. The fifth is developing pre-assessments to determine the students’
background and present level of knowledge about the topic. The sixth is selecting
teaching learning activities and instructional resources that will treat the subject
contents so that the students will accomplish the objectives. The seventh is
coordinating support services such as budget, personnel, facilities, equipment, and
schedules to carry out the instructional plan. The eighth is evaluating students’
learning in terms of their accomplishment of objectives, with a view to revise and
reevaluate any phases of the plan that need improvement. The model of Kemp’s
Revision Learning activities, resources Supporting services Evaluation Goal, topic, general purposes Subject content Pre- assessment Learning objectives Learners’ characteristics
Figure 2.1 Kemp’s Instructional Design Model (Kemp, 1977 : 9)
2.Teaching Listening a. The Nature of Listening
Every day we listen to many different things in many different ways. We
listen to songs, listen to teachers’ instruction, listen to people’s talk, listen to radio
news or listen to the TV programs. According to Goh (2002: 1), listening is crucial in
people’s studies, business, careers and personal relationship as it is the most used
language skill at work and home. For language learners, listening is also important. It
is the main channel of classroom instruction that exposes the learners to spoken
Listening is a receptive skill. It requires people to receive and understand
incoming information or the input. Thus, listening is an active and purposeful
process of making sense of what people hear. It is a process to understand what they
hear and to connect it with other information they already know or their background
knowledge (Helgesen, 2003: 24). In addition, in the listening process, people employ
their mind as they listen to the listening passage. It means that as people listen to the
message conveyed, they process the information on their mind and start to think how
to respond. The way people respond to what they are listening depends on what they
are listening for whether to find the detailed information or find the general idea. The
theory of listening is important to consider in this study in order to select and
determine what materials and tasks should be used for teaching listening.
b. Principles for Teaching Listening
In this study, the writer also includes theory of principles for teaching
listening. The theory is useful to consider in designing listening materials. Knowing
the theory will help the writer to determine what kind of materials to be exposed,
what activities to be applied and what strategies or techniques to be employed in
listening class.
It is stated earlier that teaching listening is not easy. Most teachers do not
know what and how to teach in listening class (Brownell, 1996: 6). Therefore, it is
useful to know some principles for teaching listening. Knowing the principles will
help the teachers be knowledgeable of what to do in listening class. Helgesen (2003:
26-35) suggests some principles the language teachers can use for teaching listening.
1. Expose students to different ways of processing information
To understand how people make sense of the sound heard, it is helpful to
think about how to process the input; through bottom-up or top-down processing.
Gebhard (1996: 144) states, “listening is the way we process what we hear, and there
are two distinct processes involved in comprehending spoken English, bottom-up
processing and top-down processing”. Bottom-up processing refers to a process of
decoding a message that the listener hears through the analysis of sounds, words and
grammar. With bottom-up processing, the students start with the component parts
such as vocabulary, grammar and sounds. In the listening activities, this way of
processing information can be done through identifying the specific words relevant
to the message, recognizing strings of sounds, indicating or identifying grammatical
and functional clues relevant to the message (Gebhard, 1996).
While successful bottom-up processing relies on recognition of sounds,
grammar and words, successful top-down processing refers to the kind of
background knowledge needed to comprehend the meaning of the message. Here, the
students start from their background knowledge, either content schema (general
information based on previous learning and life experience) or textual schema
(awareness of the kinds of information used in a given situation) (Helgesen, 2003:
26).
In listening activities, language teachers can use the combination of these
two ways of processing information called interactive processing. It may result on a
more integrative attempt at processing in which in the pre-listening activities, the
2. Expose students to different types of listening
Teaching listening in classroom has many different reasons. Language
teachers should decide what their purpose of teaching listening in classroom, what
their students are listening for, before they pick a particular listening exercise. It is
also important to expose the students to different types of listening as so the students
will experience listening for different reasons. There are two common types of
listening exercise namely listening for specific information and listening for gist.
Listening for specific information is used to find specific details. It intends
the students to try catching the concrete information such as names, time, specific
language forms, etc. (Helgesen, 2003: 31). This type of listening encourages the
students to pay attention to the specific items they are looking for. Language teachers
can modify activities and tasks to increase listening for specific information. The
teacher can apply micro-listening by exposing the students to the target items chosen
from the recording or bits and pieces by asking the students to work in pair or groups
and to brainstorm vocabulary that may come up on the recording. Dictation and
cloze may be the common way for listening for specific information. The students
are intended to fill in the blanks with words they hear from the recording (Helgesen,
2003: 37).
In contrast to listening for specific information, listening for gist is used to
understand the passage in general way. This type of listening means not stopping for
every word and not analyzing everything included in the passage (Harmer, 2001:
202). Using this type of listening encourages the students to have a quick look to the
passage and help them to get general understanding of the passage. The students are
main idea and guessing what is going on. Tasks that commonly used for listening for
gist are prediction and matching.
Another critical type of listening is inference. It is listening for meaning
that is implied but not stated directly. It requires the students to catch specific or to
understand a text generally when they come across information that is not stated
directly (Helgesen, 2003: 31). The tasks for this type of listening can be focus on
emotions which deals with what the speakers feel and how the students know it or
look for background information which deals with the speakers’ intend of their
speaking.
3. Teach a variety of tasks
The listening tasks should not demand too much production of the students.
It is because they have to process not only the meaning of what they are listening to
but also the language itself. In addition, listening also deals with the students’
working memory. Therefore, it is suggested that language teachers expose the
students to short and focused tasks which will enable the students to understand and
do what they need to do (Helgesen, 2003: 32). According to Helgesen, it is also
important to expose the students to a variety of tasks in order for them to deal with
different types of passages which may also increase the students’ interest. The
listening tasks are:
a) Pre-listening. It serves to activate top-down and bottom-up processing. It allows
the students to brainstorm the tasks by relating the tasks to their own lives.
b) Main listening. It puts the students to listen to the spoken input and try to
c) Post-listening. It may ask the students to review of what they have done and do
reflection of what they have learnt.
4. Consider text, difficulty and authenticity
Exposing the students to listening passages should also consider the topic,
genre, level of difficulty and authenticity. If students are not interested in a topic, or
if they are unfamiliar with the genre, or if they think that the passage is too long and
difficult, they may be reluctant to engage actively in the activity. Dealing with the
problem, Harmer (2001: 206) suggests language teachers to try and choose topics
which the students will be interested in. However, each student has different interest
and it is unlikely that the students of the whole class will be interested in the same
things. Therefore, it is needed to include a variety of topics in listening class.
Students’ unfamiliarity with certain spoken genre can be solved by
exposing students to a variety of different text types such as spoken announcements,
spontaneous conversation, internet-downloaded passages, and radio dramas (Harmer,
2001: 206). Language teachers can also make a list of text genres which are relevant
to the students’ needs and interests in order that the students will experience an
appropriate range of texts.
Choosing appropriate text or passage should also consider the difficulty. It
does not only deal with speed but also deal with other factors. Brown as quoted by
Helgesen in Nunan’s Practical English Language Teaching (2003: 33) mentions
such factors as the number of individuals in a text, clarity of individuals’ voice,
between information and what the listeners already know that can increase or
decrease the ease of students’ understanding.
It is suggested that everything that the students work with be authentic
(Helgesen, 2003: 33). Authentic text can expose the students to real language which
they will use as they come into contact with target-language speakers. However, it
should be noted that authentic material used in classroom should be carefully chosen.
The tasks should be well-designed and help the students to understand better
(Harmer, 2001: 205).
5. Teach listening strategies
There are several strategies for listening:
a) Predicting requires the students to think about what they are going to hear.
b) Inferring requires the students to listen between lines that they have to fill in gaps
or blank information in the input.
c) Monitoring requires the students to notice what they do and do not understand of
what they are listening to.
d) Clarifying requires the students to ask such questions as what does it mean? Do
you mean _________? for clarification.
e) Responding requires the students to react to what they hear whether commenting
or asking questions.
f) Evaluating requires the students to check on how well they have understood
c. Media in Listening Classes
Brinton (2001: 459) states that “as a tool for language learning, media have
always facilitated the task of language learning for the students”. Media can serve as
an important motivator in the language teaching process as it may stimulate
imagination and bring students to everyday life so that the students can learn more.
In addition, media can also expose the students to various sources of language input,
more than just the language presented by the teacher and the text. Therefore, it may
help the students to process information (Gebhard, 1996). In short, media can
enhance language teaching.
Theory of media in listening class is important to consider in this study
since the writer deals with listening skill. Teaching listening skill will certainly need
media as a means to provide comprehensible input. It is the media which provide a
density of information and richness of input for developing students’ listening skill
and help them to process the information. In this study, the writer needs media as a
means to deliver the materials. In addition, the media used may be varied. It does not
merely rely on tape-recorder. There are many ways in which the language teachers
can make use of the media in the listening class (Goh, 2002):
1. Videos
It provides the students with visual clues that are an important source of
information in real-life communication. This visual support can be used to practice
top-down strategies by contextualizing what the students hear and making inferences
about things that the students do not hear clearly. There are some considerations to
knowledge, appropriate segments, length of sequences and viewing time between
listening activities.
2. Interactive CD ROMS
It provides a multi-media experience by combining video, images, sound,
animation and text. It can give the students a powerful tool for controlling language
input, although not all aspects of listening can be practiced and developed with
CD-ROMs.
3. Audio Tapes
Audio tapes can contain instruction, drills and songs which can be used to
capture the students’ attention.
4. Radio broadcast
Radio programmes provide an endless source of current and updated
materials. The teachers can use the recordings from the radio to keep things new and
relevant for their students.
However, such considerations as the appropriateness of the materials for
the target audience, the quality of the media, the teaching objectives and the intended
audience should be used as the basis of the selection, adaptation, development and
implementation of media in language classes (Brinton, 2001: 463).
d. Teaching Listening in Classroom
A common practice of teaching listening in many language classrooms is
by applying pre-listening, whilst-listening and post-listening activities. Pre-listening
activities aim to prepare the students to the topic and type of language they may hear
processing that the students are noticing to the vocabulary and words and how they
are pronounced. In addition, pre-listening activities can also facilitate top-down
processing by encouraging the students to connect the listening topic with any
information they already know related to the topic.
Some types of pre-listening activities are brainstorming that is calling out
words or phrases to be put on the board, mind mapping that is writing down words in
a web, game that is playing game related to topics, and questioning that is drawing
some questions to ask about the topic. Prediction can also be used as pre-listening
activity that is by asking the students to guess what the listening passage is about
(Goh, 2002: 28-29).
The whilst-listening activities certainly deal with the main listening tasks
that the students should do to achieve the objectives. However, to present a good
listening lesson, language teachers should consider the listening skills and strategies
they want to focus on. Language teachers should also select appropriate materials to
achieve the objectives. Once the materials are carefully selected, they can be very
important language input for the students (Goh, 2002: 27, 32).
Language teachers will also need to employ post-listening activities to help
the students follow up on what they hear. In addition, Goh (2002: 29-30) states that
post-listening activities can help the students practice other language skills
(speaking, reading, writing) using the same topic and reinforce language elements
(grammar, vocabulary and useful expressions). Post-listening activities are usually
carried out in the last part of a lesson. Some types of post-listening activities are
short-written texts, summary, oral presentation, role play, group sharing and oral
3.Authentic Materials
There are many sources the language teachers can use to get the materials
of teaching, but most likely they will use textbooks in the classroom. Textbook is a
learning tool that is used by the teachers and students in which it has been organized
and packaged with topics should be covered in language teaching. Following
textbook can save time and effort. However, to get beyond the limitations of a text,
many teachers can adapt or create authentic materials (Gebhard, 1996).
According to Martinez (2002) in his article Authentic Materials: An
Overview, authentic materials are materials that are not originally constructed for
teaching purposes. Instead, they have been produced to fulfill some social purpose in
the language community such as for entertaining, advertising or giving information.
Authentic materials are used to expose students to the language used in everyday
communication.
Information of authentic materials is also important to consider in this
study. It will give description and explanation to the writer in order to select the
appropriate authentic materials that can be used in listening class. In addition, it will
also give information on how to select authentic materials which meet the students’
needs.
a. Types of Authentic Materials
According to Gebhard (1996: 100-101), there are many types of authentic
1. Authentic listening materials
Silent films, TV commercials, quiz shows, cartoons, news, comedy shows,
dramas, movies, radio news, advertisements, professionally audiotaped short
stories, songs, and documentaries.
2. Authentic visual materials
Slides, photographs, paintings, wordless street signs, calendar pictures, popular
magazines, postcard pictures, stamps, and drawings.
3. Authentic printed materials
Newspaper articles, magazines, department store catalogs, comic books, tourist
information brochures, sports reports, short stories, novels, books of photograph,
lyrics to popular songs, restaurant menus, telephone books, hotel registration
forms, cards, and advertisements.
4. Realia used in language classroom
Dolls, puppets, folded paper, glue, scissors, rulers, paper clips, furniture, play
money, plants, sands, clay, ink, sticks, jars, chalk, credit cards, manikins,
balloons, string, and etc.
b. The Importance of Authentic Materials
Authentic materials can expose the students to the actual everyday language
and encourage them to learn enjoyably. They are given examples of real language
usage to help them become knowledgeable of language used in everyday
communication. In addition, using authentic materials can give the students the
chance to develop the skills needed to comprehend and to use language that is
Goh states that authentic materials are important in teaching listening as a
means to understand the spoken language that will help the students to understand
English in everyday oral communication. “To this end, the most useful resource
would be recordings of authentic speech” (Goh, 2002: 43).
Goh (2002: 43-47) further wrote that listening materials drawn from
authentic sources are interesting and motivating because they are relevant to the
students’ lives and work. These materials also introduce different varieties of spoken
language into language classroom. There are many sources of authentic listening
materials such as videos, songs, literary texts, radio broadcasts, interactive CD
ROMS but mostly internet is one of the sources the teacher can use for helping the
students develop their listening competence. It serves the teachers with audio and
video clips that provide current and interesting materials. In addition, the internet
also provides many listening materials which are free and easy to download. The
transcripts of many of the recordings are also available.
c. Authentic Materials Selection
There are some general criteria for selecting authentic listening materials,
namely (Goh, 2002):
1. Language
The language should be of a level of the students understanding capability.
The materials should not contain language that is too difficult for the students no
2. Purpose
The selection should consider the aim and objectives of the lesson. It is
supposed that before selecting the materials, we should decide what types of
tasks and activities are appropriate.
3. Speaker
Characteristics of speakers can have an important influence on the
comprehension of the listeners. The characteristics include accent, speech, rate,
pronunciation, clarity of thought and gender. It is a good idea to limit the number
of speakers and accents at the early stages of listening. Speech should be at
normal speed, not deliberately slowed down.
4. Intended audience
It is expected to match the intended audience of the material to the type of
students. In addition, the content of the material should be applicable to the
intellectual and maturity level of students.
5. Length
The length of listening texts varies according to several factors, not least
the types of listening skill that are practiced and the proficiency level of the
learners. It has been suggested that instead of reducing the length of a listening
text, the teacher could vary the types and demands of listening tasks.
6. Visual support
Illustrations, maps, charts, and videos can help the listeners focus their
attention to the topic and provide a context for comprehension. For video
recordings such as films and documentaries, materials with strong visual support
4.Principled Eclecticism
This part provides information of principled eclecticism that is useful to
note in order to choose variety of techniques and tasks that are applicable in listening
classes which use authentic materials. Principled eclecticism refers to the use of
language teaching methods which involve the use of variety of language learning
activities and tasks (Mellow, 2002; Xiao-Yun et al, 2007). The teachers pick and
choose from among methods or techniques and create their own method or technique
to present variety of teaching activities. However, teachers who practice principled
eclecticism should be able to give reason for why they do what they do
(Larsen-Freeman, 2000: 183).
There are some possible methods and strategies that can be employed to
teach listening in classroom. a. Content-based Instruction
The goal of content based instruction is to make the students understand a
content using the language they want to learn. The students are intended to master
the content or materials which are selected according to the students’ needs with
target language in a meaningful form. The students are not learning the language
itself but the language is used as media to acquire information. Therefore, the
students have to take an active participation and become autonomous individuals.
The teachers, on the other hand, play a role as the students’ need analyst. They must
be knowledgeable in related subject as so they can present materials based on the
students’ needs (authentic or real world materials). The teachers are also expected to
help the students acquire information communicated through discourse or text
b. Communicative Language Teaching
The main goal of communicative language teaching is to enable students to
communicate in target language. The students are the communicators that should
engage themselves in negotiating meaning through communicative activities such as
games, role plays and problem solving tasks (Larsen-Freeman, 2000: 129).
According to Larsen-Freeman, one basic assumption of communicative language
teaching is that by learning to communicate the students will be more motivated to
study a foreign language since they will feel they are learning to do something useful
with the language.
Since the language teaching focuses more on communicative proficiency,
the teachers should establish situations that promote communication. The teachers
act as facilitators in setting up communicative activities and encouraging the students
to interact with one another. It will give the students an opportunity to work on
negotiating meaning by cooperative interactions which can be done through pairs,
small groups or whole group.
c. Cooperative Learning
Besides communicative language teaching, cooperative learning is one of
the methods that can develop the students’ communicative competence through
interaction activities. However, cooperative learning focuses more on positive
interdependence which means that the students are encouraged to think cooperatively
rather than individually. The students mostly work together in groups and build
positive relationship among students. Therefore, the students have to participate in
become more independent and build an effective interpersonal communication by
staying in contact with each other and making sure that their communication is clear
(Larsen-Freeman, 2000: 164-168).
To enhance learners’ motivation and to reduce learners’ stress, the teachers
should be able to create positive affective classroom climate and environments with
various learning activities which cooperative learning can occur. Cooperative
learning can take place in the environment in which the students feel free to share
ideas and experience in the group. Therefore, the teachers as learning facilitators
should create environments which aim at high standards of performance for all
students as so all students can take the opportunity to interact actively and
communicatively with their peers in the group.
d. Multiple Intelligences
Teachers may experience to have students with different strengths. The
students bring with them their own intelligences which may differ one another.
According to Howard Gardner cited in Larsen-Freeman (2000: 169), the students are
said to have multiple intelligences that has been influential in language teaching
process. Gardner in Larsen-Freeman (2000: 169-170) further states that individuals
have at least seven distinct intelligences that can be developed over a lifetime, those
are:
1) Logical/mathematical- the ability to use numbers effectively, to see abstract
patterns and to reason well.
2) Visual/spatial- the ability to orient oneself in the environment, to create mental
3) Body/kinesthetic- the ability to use one’s body to express oneself and to solve
problems.
4) Musical/rhythmic- the ability to recognize tonal patterns and a sensitivity to
rhythm, pitch, melody.
5) Interpersonal- the ability to understand another person’s moods, feelings,
motivation, and intentions.
6) Intrapersonal- the ability to understand oneself and to practice self-discipline.
7) Verbal/linguistic- the ability to use language effectively and creatively.
Each individual may have those seven intelligences, but they are not
equally developed in any one individual. However, the teachers need to create
activities that will help the students to realize their potential and to develop their
intelligences. The teachers are expected to be aware of the type of intelligences and
of the activities used in classroom that fit each type of intelligences such as puzzles
and games (logical/mathematical), videos (visual/spatial), pantomime
(body/kinesthetic), songs (musical/rhythmic), pair work (interpersonal),
self-evaluation (intrapersonal), and note-taking (verbal/linguistics). There are many other
activities that can be used in classroom categorized according to the intelligences
type (Larsen and Freeman, 2000: 170).
5.Learners’ Characteristics
Junior high school consists of three grades namely grade seven, grade eight
and grade nine. In this study, the writer concerns with grade seven. According to
Hurlock (1980: 185), the students of grade seven are of the age 12 or 13 where they
reproductive maturity. They are to develop physically, socially, emotionally and
cognitively. Therefore, they are also considered as adolescence. The individuals at
this stage are trying to look for some approval, recognition and self identity as a part
to attain the maturity. Hurlock in Psikologi Perkembangan (1980: 207) says that
adolescence is a transition period that is the period or time in the individuals’ life
when they develop from a child into an adult. The individuals try to leave their
childishness and learn a new pattern to behave like an adult.
a. Social Development
Much adolescence spends more time outside their home. They prefer
hanging out with their friends to spending time with their family. Therefore, the
individuals will get more influence to their behavior, attitude, interest and
appearance from their friends rather than their family (Hurlock, 1980: 213).
The students as adolescence are trying to acquire knowledge of others’
needs and expectations which will help them to improve their sensitivity to the
wants, likes and preferences of their peers. They attempt to gain popularity and
become a member of a prestigious group. Many of their activities are done in pairs or
in groups. Generally, they are likely to choose activities that offer opportunity for
conversation. They feel free to share their personal experiences with peers and they
tend to spend the leisure time lounging around places where they can have a
conversation for self-expression and social interaction.
Adolescent topics for conversation center on boy-girl relationship, travel
and recreational activities, athletic events and individual performance, movie and
1976). Pikunas (1976: 263) further states that discussion with peers facilitates the
students to improve their communication skills as well as to generate new interests
and attitudes, broaden viewpoints, and enrich personality resources. Much of their
communication promotes maturity and the development of social interaction. In
conclusion, peers can be an important source of self-esteem of an individual and lead
an individual to the maturity.
b. Cognitive Development
According to Piaget’s stages of cognitive development (Johnson, 1979:
63-64), at this age the students acquire formal thinking or formal operation. It is the
stage where the students deal with hypothetical subject matter and are able to think
logically with abstraction. Their intellectual processes grow from being able to think
only about everyday, concrete, here and now happenings to complex social issues
and the meaning of life itself. In addition, they can draw conclusions, offer
interpretations, and develop hypothesis. Hamachek (1985: 113) adds that it is during
adolescence that one develops the capacity for imagining or hypothesizing that a
certain situation exists.
In the stage of formal operations, the students become introspective and
self-critical as they have the ability to think about their own thinking and to evaluate
the logic. They also begin to analyze critically the older generation’s values and
behavior. Hamachek (1985: 116) states that adolescence is a time in their lives when
they work on refining self image and begin to develop, at a deeper level, that special
c. Emotional Development
Emotionally, the students become increasingly sensitive and react strongly
to events and social situations. It is a series of fluctuating ups and downs, with the
ups being very up and the downs being very down. During adolescence, depression
is the most common emotional experience. It is part of the moodiness of the
adolescence. Depression may be a consequence of the feelings of lowered
self-confidence and response to circumstances that seem bigger than life. Furthermore,
adolescence is the stage of searching for self concepts and during this stage they need
to experiment with themselves in relation to others in order to have a direction and
help of positive identity development (Hamachek, 1985).
puberty
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 13141516 17 18 (Age) children Teenager (stage)
Figure 2.2 Children’s Stages According to Hurlock (Hurlock, 1980: 185)
6. School-based Curriculum
Since the materials designed are intended to be applied in classroom, it is
important to know school-based curriculum, the curriculum that is recently being
used. According to Pu
