CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Learning English
Hamalik (2005) in his book Learning Management in Higher Education in Bandung said learning is a process of changing behavior in a person thanks to experience and training, where distribution and training occur through interaction between individuals and their environment, both the natural environment and social environment. As stated in the previous chapter that English become a compulsory subject that must be learn by students especially at Junior High School and Senior High School. Moreover, English includes to one of four subject that is required in National Examination (Ujian Nasional).
There are some reasons of Indonesian learners to study this language. It can be due to academic purposes, their interest toward language, and the culture of English country. Camenson (2007) who stated that EFL students may live in a country where their own language is primarily spoken for communication and there students may required to learn English for their Academic studies, travelling activities to an English speaking country, or for business purposes. Indonesian learner do not often speak it for daily communication. According to Camenson (2007) further stated that EFL students only spend a view hour per week to study English. They have little exposure to English outside the classroom, have little opportunity to practice
their newly-acquired language skills and have native language background in the classroom.
B. Students’ Difficulties in Learning English
Mulyadi (2010) states that learning difficulties is a condition in learning that is characterized by certain obstacles to achieving learning outcomes.
Then according to Blassic and Jones in Irham and Wiyani (2013), learning difficulties experienced by students show the gap or distance between expected academic achievement and academic achievement achieved by students in reality. Whereas the second opinion states that from these difficulties will impact on academic achievement of students in class.
Hermayawati (2010) found that there were five kinds of difficulties for students in learning English in the Guidance and counseling study program, namely: (1) feeling compelled, (2) lack of understanding of basic concepts of English, (3) environment that is less supportive, (4) forgetting (lacking intensive) and (5) lack of opportunity to practice. A reality in school about students having learning problems, such as: being unable to concentrate on English lessons, less motivated in learning so slow in learning English, not going up to class, not even passing the final exam. Learning difficulties for students are allowed to drag on, it can actually make learning failures for students so as to obtain low learning outcomes. It can even have psychological effects, such as feeling embarrassed or inferior to his friends.
This is because English is not an everyday language of students at school or outside school, and some students are lazy to take English courses. The
reality at school shows that there are students who have learning problems or have difficulty learning English (Rahmatiah, 2014).
Ahmadi and Supriyono (2013) stated that there are two factors causing learning difficulties, namely internal and external factors. Internal factors are physiological factors (students 'physical condition) and psychological factors (students' mental condition). External factors come from outside the students, namely family, school, and social factors. Chang (2010), also indicated that reasons cause students’ weakness for English language learning derived from learners’ laziness, lack of efficiency of the school, and insufficient of parents’
promotions.
C. External Factors Affecting Students’ Learning English
According to Abu Ahmadi and Widodo Supriyono (2004), there are some external factors affecting students’ learning English:
1. Family
Family is a place that important for individual and as the first social group where the children are the member in it. Family also becomes the first place for the children to learn and to socialize. According to Abu Ahmadi (2004), family has some functions as follows:
a. Love function b. Economic function c. Educational function d. Protection function
Family is one of basic elements where the children learn everything for the first time. Family has a big obligation on students’ education. They have their own background and condition each other. For instance, the lack of parents education, single parent, economic problem, and had broken home family. Those situations determine how well and how far the learning can be achieved, so that they have a big role in supporting students’ learning.
Family is the center of education. But somehow, it also can be the factors of students’ learning, as stated Abu Ahmadi and Widodo Supriyono (2004):
a. The Way of Prents in Teaching The Children
Parents who are not playing attention and ignoring their children’s education may become the factors of students’ learning. Parents who act cruel, dictator, will cause unhealthy mental of their children. And generally, parents who are not supporting the children’s learning even can make them dislike to learn.
b. The Relationship between Parents and Children
Parents who care, give love, understanding and appreciation to their children will make them have healthy mental.
c. The Way of Parents in Guiding and Behaving
Parents are the closest example for children to act and to behave. Every behaviour done by their parents usually will be followed by them.
Therefore the family, especially the parents should give laudable behaviour and guide the to be a good learner.
d. The Situation in Family
The situation at home also has important role in learning. The noise, especially caused by broken home family, of cours will bring bad impat to the children. They will not able to concentrate, then they will seek some other place which more comfort outside at home.
e. The Economic Situation of The Family
The economic factor sometimes is the general one which can be found in the reality. The low economic situation can be a barrier for children in learning because it is needed some media like books, text book, dictionary, laptop, and stationary. A proper place for study is also needed in order to learn effectively.
2. Teacher
According to UU RI No. 14 tahun 2005 pasal 1 ayat 1 tentang Guru dan Dosen, it is stated that:
“Guru adalah pendidik profesional dengan tugas utama mendidik, mengajar, membimbing, mengarahkan, melatih, menilai, dan mengevaluasi peserta didik pada pendidikan anak usia dini jalur pendidikan formal, pendidkan dasar, dan pendidikan menengah”
(Teacher is a professional educator who has main task to educate, teach, guide, direct, to train, to appraise, and to evaluate the learner on early age children education on formal education, elementary education, and middle education).
English teacher can be defined as a person who gives knowledge of English language component (for example: vocabulary, grammar) it is
means to learn language skills and make the students able to overcome the English language skills.
According to Jeremy Harmer (2001) in The Practice of English Language Teaching, he classified the roles of the teacher as follows:
a. Controller
When teachers act as controllers they are in charge of the class and of the activity taking place in a way that is substantially different from situation where students are working in their own groups. Controllers take roll, tell, students things, organize drills, read aloud, and in varoius other ways exemplify the qualities of a teacher-fronted classroom.
b. Organizer
One of the most important roles that teachers have to perform is that organizing students to do various activities. This often involves giving the students information, telling them how they are going to do the activity, putting the into pairs or group, and closing things down when it is time to stop.
c. Assessor
One of the things that students expect from their teachers is an indication of whether or not they are getting their English right. This is where we hve to act as an assessor, offering feedback and correction and grading students in various ways.
d. Participant
The danger of teachers as participants, of course is that the teachers can easily dominate the proceedings. This is hardly suprising since the teacher usually have more English at their disposal than their students do.
e. Resource
Students might ask how to say or write something, a word or phrase meaning. They might want to know information in the middle of an activity about that activity or they might want information about where to look for something, a book or a website for example. This is where we can be on of the most important resources they have. When the teachers are acting as a resource they will want to be helpful and available but at the same time we have to resist the urge to spoon-feed their students, so that the students become over-reliant on them.
f. Tutor
When the students are working on longer projects, such s pieces of writing or preparations for a talk or debate, the teachers can act as a tutor, working with individuals or small groups, pointing them in direction they have not yet thought of taking. In such situation the teacher are combining the roles of prompler and resource, acting as a tutor.
g. Observer
When observing the students, the teachers should be careful not to be intrusive by hanging on their every word, by getting too close to them or by officiously writing things down all the time. The teachers should avoid drawing attention to them since to do so may well distract them from the task they are involved in.
Richard I. Arends (2001) stated an educational researcher, that the effective teachers exhibit the characteristics of warmth, fairness, responsiveness, understanding, democratic, kind alert, attractive, steady, poised and confident. Furher more, he summarized the personal qualities of the teacher and some of them are:
a. Superior intellectual abilities b. Good emotional adjustment c. Favorable attitudes toward pupils d. Enjoyment of pupil relationship e. Generosity in the appraisal of others
f. Strong interests in reading and literary matters g. Interest in social and community affairs
h. Early experience in caring for and liking children i. Family support of teaching as vocation
j. Strong social service interest
According to Abu Ahmadi and Widodo Supriyono (2004), the teacher can be the factor of students’ learning problems if he/she are having some of criterion:
a. Unqualified, it can be in using the methodology or in mastery the materials.
b. Having negative relations with the pupils.
c. Ignoring the ability standard of the students.
d. Having no ability in diagnose the students’ problem.
e. Inappropriate methodology.
3. Learning Facilities
Accoding to E. Mulyasa learning facility is all of instruments or tools used to conduct education process especially teaching learning process, like school building, classroom, table, chair, and teaching media.
While Ibrahim Bafadal states learning facility is all of instruments, tool, equipments which are directly used in education process in school. From those definitions, it is obvious that learning facility is the equipments, instruments or tools used to support the teaching learning process.
The importance of learning facility is also considered by our government. It is stated in UU Sisdiknas Tahun 2003 pasal 45 ayat 1:
“Setiap satuan pendidikan formal dan non formal menyediakan sarana dan prasarana yang memenuhi keperluan pendidikan sesuai dengan pertumbuhan dan perkembangan potensi fisik, kecerdasan intelektual, sosial, emosional dan kejiwaan peserta didik”. (Every formal and non formal education unit provides facilties which fulfill the needs of education according with the growth and development of physic potential, intelligence quotient, social, emotional and spritual of the learner.
Moreover, according to the facility standard which is developed by BSNP (Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan) and approved by the regulation of Ministry: “Every education unit is obligated to have facilities including tools and equipments of education, media, texbook, and other resources of learning, emptyused matter and the other equipments which is needed to support the learning process ordered and continuosly.
However, the facility has important role in supporting teaching and learning process, in fact the globalization era many school which are lack of falities. Therefore the students still can not learn effectively.
D. Education 4.0
Human literacy is important to survive in this era, the goal is so that students can function well in their environments and societies. This circumstance shows the need for change in the field of English language teaching and learning. Schools are expected to develop data literacy, technological literacy, and human literacy. Within the industrial revolution 4.0, students are expected to be equipped with literacies which make them survive within the rapid growth of science and technologies. Regarding to the rapid growth of science and technology in the context of schooling in Industrial revolution 4.0, English teachers appear to have a great number of roles toward the successfulness of the students in English learning, since they can equip students with capacities for living and working through and within the rapid changes of technologies and industries (Aoun, 2017).
In the industrial revolution 4.0 we have know the term of education 4.0.
Education 4.0 is a response to the needs of IR4.0 where human and technology are aligned to enable new possibilities. Fisk (2017) explains that the new vision of learning promotes learners to learn not only skills and knowledge that are needed but also to identify the source to learn these skills and knowledge. Learning is built around them as to where and how to learn and tracking of their performance is done through data-based customization.
Peers become very significant in their learning. They learn together and from each other, while the teachers assume the role of facilitators in their learning.
There are nine trends related to Education 4.0 (Fisk, 2017).
First, learning can be taken place anytime anywhere. e-Learning tools offer great opportunities for remote, selfpaced learning. Flipped classroom approach also plays a huge role as it allows interactive learning to be done in class, while the theoretical parts to be learned outside the class time.
Second, learning will be personalized to individual students. They will be introduced to harder tasks only after a certain mastery level is achieved.
More practices will be provided if the instructors see a need in it. Positive reinforcements are used to promote positive learning experience and boost students’ confidence about their own academic abilities.
Third, students have a choice in determining how they want to learn.
Although the learning outcomes of a course are preset by the institutions/bodies in charge of the curriculum, students are still free to choose the learning tools or techniques that they prefer. Among the options
that lecturers can adopt to enable students to be creative in their learning are blended learning, flipped classroom and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) approach.
Fourth, students will be exposed to more project-based learning.
Students are required to apply their knowledge and skills in completing a couple of short term projects. By involving in the projects, they are practicing their organizational, collaborative and time management skills which are useful in their future academic careers.
Fifth, students will be exposed to more hands-on learning through field
experience such as internships, mentoring projects and collaborative projects.
The advancement of the technology enables the learning of certain domains effectively, thus making more room for acquiring skills that involve human knowledge and face-to-face interaction.
Sixth, students will be exposed to data interpretation in which they are
required to apply their theoretical knowledge to numbers and use their reasoning skills to make inferences based on logic and trends from given sets of data. The manual part of mathematical literacy will become irrelevant as computers will perform the statistical analysis and predict the future trends.
Seventh, students will be assessed differently and the conventional
platforms to assess students may become irrelevant or insufficient. Students’
factual knowledge can be assessed during the learning process, while the application of the knowledge can be tested when they are working on their projects in the field.
Eighth, students’ opinion will be considered in designing and updating
the curriculum. Their inputs help the curriculum designers maintain curriculum contemporariness, up-todate and usefulness.
Lastly, students will become more independent in their own learning,
thus forcing teachers to assume a new role as facilitators who will guide the students through their learning process.
The nine trends of Education 4.0 shift the major learning responsibilities from the instructors to the learners. Instructors should play their roles to support the transition and should never consider it a threat to the conventional teaching profession.
E. Relevant Study
1. In addition, many students have problem in learning English. A study has been conducted by (Muhammad, 2007), on the investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners influence it casts on communication in the target language found difficulties of language learning, differences in learners’ and target language cultures, the difference in social status of the speakers are the factors that affect to the students’ weakness of language learning.
2. Ngalim Purwanto (2004) in his book Psikologi Pendidikan said that the external factors that influence the learning achievement of factors that are outside the individual or we call social factors. Which includes social factors include: family factors (household), the teacher and how to teach,
the tools used in teaching and learning, the environment and opportunities available and social motivation.
