Yosafat Yeduhardy Gultom English Education C22 No. 15 (2223121063)
Comparing Situations
Here are three different situations for learning English. Which situation is closest to the one in which you teach?
1. Junko is an eight-year-old Japanese girl. Her parents are working in England. She attends a Japanese school. After one year, she has picked up quite a lot of English from the au pair girl who works for the family and from the children who live next door. She can chat away quite happily with other children and she often translates for her mother when they go shopping to the market. Her mother finds it difficult to speak English.
2. Rosa is an eight-year-old girl who lives in Colombia in South America. She learns English at school. She doesn't hear or use any English outside school.
She is not sure why she is learning English, except that her parents think it is important. At the end of one year of English, she knows a few words of English.
3. Dorji is an eight-year-old boy from Bhutan in the Himalaya. He is in Class 2 and he is learning all his subjects through English. Outside school, he will see some shop signs in English and he may watch English films at home on his video with his parents. By the end of two years, he already knows a lot of English and can use it to communicate with his teachers, who speak to him in English.
Situation A (Junko)
Situation B (Rosa)
Situation C (Dorji)
Plenty of time for English √ √
Exposure to English inside/
outside school
√ √
Need to use English √ √ √
Exposure to a variety of different uses of English.
√ √
Meaningful input- focus on √ √ √
meaning and communication
Reason
Situation A (Junko)
Yes, junko has a lot of time to use English in her daily activities.
Yes, junko is very good at using English to communicate both in the classroom and outside of school.
Yes, in her activities junko always attaches importance to the need to use English to improve her fluency in the language
Yes, junko is able to use English in a variety of different situations and pays attention to the right way of
Yes, junko is very aware that the use of English is necessary in her life activities and is clear in conveying meaning and communicating in English.
Situation B (Rosa)
No, Rosa does not use English according to the time available, very rarely uses English
No, Rosa does not apply English in learning in class and life outside the classroom
Yes, Rosa needs a lot of time and must realize that the use of English has a good impact on her
No, Rosa does not know how to use different applications of language because she considers language less important
Yes, Rosa must be able to understand that English is needed because it has meaning and power in communication.
Situation C (Dorji)
Yes, dorji spends a lot of time using English in his daily life activities well.
Yes, Dorji can use and communicate English in class activities and activities outside of school.
Yes, dorji needs the use of English because he already knows the benefits and functions of the language itself
Yes, dorji is able to use the language in a variety of different situations according to the function of the English language
Yes, dorji knows that it is important to use English in his life because it contains meaning and strengthens communication in English.
Which situation is closest to the one in which you teach?
In my opinion, based on the 3 different situations above there is one that is closest in the teaching process in some schools later like me when teaching English in the classroom, namely situation 2 which is relevant because in this situation a student does not really like English because there are difficulties in it and this also happens in the educational environment in Indonesia where students do not know that there are interests and benefits obtained in learning English. Therefore, later as a teacher, if involved in this situation then:
1. I will motivate students that English has become a necessity in daily communication.
2. It is important to introduce all students to the purpose and benefits of mastering English.
3. Provide directions for students to practice or be active more to be curious and even really need to learn in English.
So, it can be concluded that later through the teaching of English that I teach that every student already needs English in communicating in daily life and directs that it is important / very functional to use the English language.
