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Dictionary use in urban society: web-based and hand-held electronic dictionaries1 Shigeru Yamada, Waseda University
Abstract This paper focusses on web-based EFL dictionaries and hand-held electronic dictionaries, both of which have been improving. The latter are made convenient by the various functions which enable the user to conduct versatile and exhaustive searches using abundant reference materials included in the palmtop machine. To make the most of the wealth of reference materials available in the electronic age, in the first place, the user has to be familiar with their types and formats and understand how to make effective use of them. Strategic and comparative uses of dictionaries are keys for reference and learning, respectively. Dictionary use education by teachers and improvement of materials by makers can contribute to a good dictionary use. Keywords: EFL dictionary; dictionary consultation; electronic dictionary; example sentence search function; hand-held electronic dictionary; print dictionary; web-based dictionary 1. Introduction Digital technology has revolutionized the dictionary in its compilation, presentation, and consultation. With dictionaries available also in electronic media, dictionary consultation is not limited to flipping through pages of the print dictionary (slow, linear, and local) but keyboarding and even clicking on words in the electronic dictionary (quick, flexible, and exhaustive). This paper looks at two important genres of electronic dictionaries, web-based dictionaries and hand-held electronic dictionaries (henceforth HHEDs) with the needs of EFL students in mind. The paper provides an overview of their developments, characteristics, and functions, and makes suggestions for good dictionary use by people living in the contemporary urban society. 2. Two genres of electronic dictionaries 2.1 Web-based EFL dictionaries: their development EFL dictionaries were made available electronically to the general public first on CDROMs around 1990 and later on the Internet in the later 1990s for free of charge. Cambridge, Longman, and Oxford were the first to go online. The web version offered a restricted number of functions and features from its CD-ROM (and print) version2. By 2004, the web-based EFL dictionaries were equipped with such electronically enhanced search functions as follows: Cambridge and Longman: double-clicking to check a word’s definition Cambridge and Oxford: candidates shown for misspelled entry words Cambridge: searches on the basis of set phrases Longman: a click on an item on the Menu to go to the exact subentry However, there were teething problems to be overcome in terms of structure and presentation. At first, Cambridge’s “Guide Words,” the reflection of their unique “one meaning, one entry” policy, did not work well in its web version. The shortcomings of Guide Words (sporadic obscurity and lack of part-of-speech information) were aggravated online by the inconvenient structure: the list of Guide Words and phrases was presented in isolation from the dictionary texts. This sometimes made consultation difficult and awkward, including shifting between entries (in search of an appropriate sense of a word) because the list had to be called back on screen each time by the Back command. In terms of page layout, Oxford came out rather cramped with run-on definitions and examples3. The publishers’ main purpose of offering free-of-charge web dictionaries seemed to promote the dictionaries themselves and other products. Oxford’s advertisement was rather obtrusive, covering up half of the screen.
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The improvement in web-based EFL dictionaries was driven by more sophisticated technology (e.g., larger server capacity) as well as by generosity on the part of publishers. By 2007, for example, Longman added phonetic notations, audio recordings of some headwords and examples, collocation boxes, and Word Focuses. By 2011, Cambridge improved its interface, mostly overcoming the problems pointed out above. Lately, Oxford made its page layout much easier on the eye with more space, abandoning its policy of organizing different parts of speech under one headword in favor of separating them. COBUILD, Macmillan, and Merriam-Webster also went online. The recent EFL dictionary scene has seen such developments as follows. EFL dictionaries have become accessible via smartphone (as applications and by Internet access). On November 5, 2012, Macmillan announced that they would stop print versions of their dictionaries. Cambridge Dictionaries Online expanded and incorporated bilingual resources and translational equivalents. LDOCE6 (2014) dispenses with a DVD-ROM but gives purchaser a 4year access to the special online version of the dictionary and Longman Collocations Dictionary and Thesaurus (2013, http://global.longmandictionaries.com/home). With more revenue coming from the sale of applications and online advertisements than from print dictionaries, publishers seem to be in search of a new business model. 2.2 Hand-held electronic dictionaries The popularity of HHEDs seems to be limited to a few countries in the East Asia (Yamada 2011). In Japan, most students take their machines to the classroom. For instance, the survey by Yamada (2009b) reports that college student users of HHEDs outnumbered those of print dictionaries around 2004-5. This sections deals with the early stage of the development of HHEDs, their main characteristics and functions that make them convenient, and the two unique innovative developments of SII’s (Seiko Instruments Inc.) products. 2.2.1 Early stage of development Today’s proliferation of Japan’s HHEDs can be traced back to SII’s WP-6500, produced in the early 1990’s, which made LDOCE2 (1987) available in a portable, standalone machine. Dedicated to the single dictionary, the machine was exciting to use with the novel functions electronically made possible, the kinds of search methods impossible with print dictionaries: e.g., the command of instantly checking the meaning of an unknown word in the dictionary by highlighting the word and pressing the button, and the example sentence search function (calling all examples including the entered keywords from the dictionary cover to cover). The latter was not efficient by today’s standards – sometimes too time-consuming. Then several dictionaries – Japanese, kanji (Chinese-characters), English-Japanese, Japanese-English, (learner’s) monolingual English, etc. – went into the palmtop machine. The sophistication of HHEDs accelerated with many more reference and other works with innovative functions incorporated. The specifications of HHEDs have deepened according to the target users’ age and education levels (adults and college students down to elementary school students), subject categories (languages, law, medicine, etc.) and professions (translators, researchers, etc.). 2.2.2 Important features and functions The HHED is associated with such advantages as “ease, speed, flexibility and exhaustiveness of reference, portability, versatility, and consultation self-sufficiency” (Yamada 2013: 158). These set the palmtop machine apart from other genres of dictionaries. This subsection looks at several of the important features together with the functions bolstering the characteristics. I will consider primarily the recent machines by Casio, the market leader. Expanding volume of information The amount of information held in a HHED has been steadily growing. For example, Casio’s most advanced model, XD-U18000 (2014; 148.0x105.5x15.7mm, 280g [catalog];
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600USD), intended for professionals such as translators and researchers, boasts 180 reference and other works plus 2,000 literary works (1,000 Japanese and 1,000 foreign [in English]) and 2,000 extracts of classical music pieces. XD-U9850 (2014) caters to the needs of scientific experts in all fields except medicine (which separate models address) with 150 works: Specialized large dictionaries, including: New English-Japanese Dictionary of Natural Science (Ogura Shoten, 2011; 206,000 refs. and examples) New Japanese-English Dictionary of Natural Science (Ogura Shoten, 2011; 153,000 refs. and examples) As well as the general reference works incorporated in other advanced models, including: Digital Dai-Jisen Japanese Dictionary (Shogakukan, 2012; 255,700 refs, 9,500 color illus.) Kenkyusha’s English-Japanese Dictionary for the General Reader (3rd ed., 2012; 280,000 refs.) An Encyclopedic Supplement to the Dictionary for the General Reader (Kenkyusha, 2000; 190,000 refs.) Kenkyusha Dictionary of English Collocations (1995; 380,000 examples) Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE, 2nd ed., 2003) with Oxford Sentence Dictionary (OSD, 2008; one million examples) integrated New Oxford Thesaurus of English (2nd ed., 2004) EJ/JE Dictionary of 2 Million Technical Terms (CJK Dictionary Institute, 2010) Britannica Concise Encylopædia (Britannica Japan, 2013; 154,000 refs, 10,000 illus.) Multi-dictionary headword search function This function runs a search of a headword item on the relevant dictionaries included in the HHED on the basis of a search word. For example, if an English word is entered as a search word, this function simultaneously consults all English-Japanese and monolingual English dictionaries and lists up the dictionary titles including the word as a headword – in a split second. The user chooses a dictionary to consult from the shortlist. This function saves the user the time and energy of flipping through pages of one dictionary at a time and the trouble of working out which dictionaries to consult and in what order for the best result, while minimizing the cost to the user (consultation is of course limited to the predetermined set, though) and the potential disappointment. This function is particularly useful for consulting peripheral items. Phrase search and example sentence search functions The phrase search and the example sentence search functions can also run a simultaneous search across the relevant dictionaries included in the hand-held electronic machine on the basis of entered keywords. In response, these functions show all set phrase entries and all example sentences including the entered words, respectively. Recently, both functions allow the user to designate the order of the keywords to be reflected in the phrases and examples. The phrase search function saves the user the trouble of figuring out under which headword an idiom is entered. As mentioned above, the example sentence search function combs through all examples provided by the English dictionaries in the hand-held machine in search of those sentences which contain the requested keywords. This function greatly contributes to the ease of reference and learning. Importantly, the function provides a quick route to meaning, because most example sentences in English-Japanese dictionaries are provided with their Japanese translations. By means of this function – just entering a few appropriate keywords – the user can get to the desired meaning. The seven-component consultation process associated with the print dictionary proposed by Hartmann (2001: 89-92) can be greatly simplified, with the resulting
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reduced burden on the user. It becomes feasible to consult the meaning of a word without the knowledge of the dictionary structure and grammar (e.g., parts of speech, countability of nouns, and transitivity of verbs). Furthermore, the function helps the user to identify habitually occurring strings of words not given the status of set phrase (e.g., “could be forgiven for thinking” [Yamada 2010: 416-7]) and to come across the idiomatic Japanese translations not immediately apparent by adding up the meanings of words involved (…と思うのも無理はな い [Japanese translation for the above phrase s.v. forgive in Kenkyusha’s English-Japanese Dictionary for the General Reader]). Sekiyama (2010) summarizes how the example sentence search function has developed: SII’s SR8000 (1999): First example search, runs a search for the examples in the relevant included dictionaries on the basis of the entered keywords SII’s SR-E10000 (2005): Wordbank (5 million words from BoE [Bank of English]), example search with word order designated SII’s SR-G10000 (2006): searches examples in English-Japanese dictionaries on the basis of Japanese words (not of English words), results displayed with the key word in the middle SII’s SR-G10001 (2009): attribute-specific search with OSD (one million examples), can specify: mode (spoken, written edited/unedited), dialects (American, British, Canadian, etc.), and domains (fiction, law, medicine, news, etc.) (Sekiyama [2010] as quoted in Yamada [2013: 161]) OSD is only in electronic form, consisting of one million examples from Oxford English Corpus (two billion words). The examples were collected after the year 2000 with the purpose of providing examples for the unillustrated entries in ODE (Sekiyama 2010). In Casio’s XDU18000 and XD-U9850, the examples of OSD have been integrated into the senses of ODE. Dictionary-hopping: “jump” function Electronically bundled together in an HHED, the boundaries that exist between print dictionaries have been considerably lowered. The transfer between the included dictionaries has been facilitated. The function of double-clicking to see a word’s definition can be extended to other relevant dictionaries. For instance, in consulting a Japanese-English dictionary, you come across an unknown English word in an example sentence. Highlight the English word in question and press the “jump” function key, you are shown a list of English-Japanese and monolingual English dictionaries which include the word as a headword. Choose an EnglishJapanese dictionary to check the word’s meaning. Likewise, this function makes possible the consultation of the meaning of an unknown Japanese word, using a Japanese dictionary included in the machine. Opposite-direction search The electronic medium makes the directionality of dictionary consultation (decoding or encoding) less rigid. The medium allows the decoding dictionary to be used for encoding, and vice versa. For example, the English-Japanese (L2-L1) dictionary is primarily intended for decoding: the Japanese student consults an unknown English word (L2) for its meaning in Japanese (L1) while reading English texts. This consultation process can electronically be reversed. The function of “Unabridged Genius Japanese-English Index” allows Unabridged Genius English- Japanese Dictionary (Taishukan, 2001) to be used as if it were a JapaneseEnglish dictionary. By entering a Japanese word (L1), the user can get to the English headwords (L2) whose Japanese equivalents match or include the Japanese keyword. Moreover, the function of “Example Sentence Search by Japanese Keywords” enables the user to consult the wealth of example sentences contained in the unabridged English-Japanese dictionary and
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others on the basis of up to three Japanese words. Enter Japanese words, and all English examples which include the L1 words in question in the accompanying translations will appear4. Writing pad Casio first incorporated the writing pad in the HHED. The user can write an English or Japanese search word onto the pad with the accompanying pen. This function enables learners to undertake a search on the basis of orthography without necessarily knowing the reading of a Chinese character. Electronic technology has added a novel search path to the traditional three basic ones: readings, radicals, and stroke counts. Graphics to headwords There are functions that allow the user to start his/her search from graphics to headwords. Pictorial illustrations in the dictionaries and in the encyclopedias can be consulted by category (e.g., people, flora and fauna, countries, places, etc.). The world and Japan’s maps in Encyclopaedia Britannica (Japanese ed., 2013) can also be looked up for information categories (e.g. cities, mountains, rivers, lakes, etc.). With composite pictures in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (8th ed., 2010), the meanings of constituent parts can easily be checked in the dictionary by tapping on the item with the accompanying pen (e.g., looking up “eaves” in the picture of “house”). This means that the user can access information without knowing the orthography of a word. The fact that technology has rendered dictionary search less dependent on the knowledge of the spelling of lexical items is a significant development in the industry. Multi-media functions There are audio recordings of headwords, examples, and texts in human or synthesized voice. Casio’s XD-U18000 and XD-U9850, for example, enable the user to record his or her pronunciation of a headword to be compared with the audio recording. Other models include Little Charo, a TV animation of a puppy’s adventures produced for Japanese to study English and video clips of famous speeches such as that by President Obama, etc. Functions associated with print dictionaries Several functions associated with the print dictionary have been incorporated into the HHED. For instance, you can add notes (write in the blank space of the dictionary shown on the screen), highlight important parts in color, and insert “Post-it” notes. You can also create electronic vocabulary cards, resembling the analog counterparts, with an English word on one side and its Japanese translation on reverse. 2.2.3 Two innovations from SII One of the strengths of the HHEDs is their self-sufficiency. The portable machine is to be used independently and various linguistic and other problems can be solved within, which in itself is very convenient. On the other hand, this self-sufficiency poses problems. For example, in writing an email on the computer, you find it inconvenient to key in a word into the search box of the hand-held device and to type the expression you have found in the electronic dictionary onto the computer screen. To overcome this drawback, SII developed the “Pasorama” technology which enables the user to connect the HHED (e.g., SR-G9001 [2007]) to a computer with a USB cable so as to manipulate the dictionary data with the computer keyboard. This allows the user to cut and paste information into and out of the electronic dictionary bypassing typing altogether. As another important technological development, SII equipped their “Dayfiler” series (e.g., DF-X9000 [2012]) to access the Internet with Wi-Fi. Generally, print reference works incorporated in the HHED are in competition with those on the Internet: the former offer select but reliable information while the latter provide vast amounts of information but of mixed quality. SII chose to fuse their products with the web-based resources (rather than alienate them).
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3. Suggestions for good dictionary use There are varied reference materials available in terms of content, media, structure, and functionality. To make the most of them, two concepts are pivotal: strategy and comparison. The former has to do with reference while the latter with learning. In the age with various reference materials available, strategic use has become all the more important. Comparative use has realistically been made possible by the Internet, which has made several dictionaries of one genre available to the public free of charge. Comparative and strategic use is to be performed by users but can be supported by teachers’ tuition and be facilitated by makers’ improvement of their materials. Strategic dictionary use is the successive process of choice, execution, and adaptation: choosing to use available reference resources and their functions effectively and flexibly (in combinations and in prioritized orders) according to the purpose and situation. The strategy to adopt will be affected by the following factors: kinds of linguistic problems; purpose; availability of reference materials; Internet connection; user’s linguistic ability, reference skills, preference, character, time, etc. Comparative use of dictionaries of a genre was a luxury in the age of print dictionaries because it entailed cost (effort and storage space, too). Comparative dictionary use is useful and beneficial when there is no time pressure. For example, there are six free online EFL dictionaries for advanced students. The comparative use of these dictionaries with different information content provides not only more information but also depth, confirmation, and consolidation of understanding. Teachers and makers (including web designers and gadget manufacturers) have roles to play in improving dictionary use. Teachers should teach dictionary use to their students by making them aware of the availability of dictionaries (types and formats) and providing practical training on how to use them (including important functions of electronic dictionaries). With miscellanies of reference materials, dictionary use education should cover strategies: basic, useful, case-specific model ones. On the electronic front, information can be more discriminatorily presented in a way that helps consultation, and more options and flexibility should be incorporated. Considering the utility of the example sentence search function, biligualization should be extended. Consultation will be taken to greater heights if the one million examples in OSD were appended with the user’s L1 translations to be subjected to the example sentence search function on the basis of both English and the L1.
4. Conclusion With the increasing diversification of electronic dictionaries, a new world of reference has opened up for the residents in the contemporary urban society. To survive successfully in this new world, they should have at their disposal the knowledge of reference materials and the skills to use them and, importantly, try to improve their repertoire of dictionaries and reference skills for better reference, learning, and entertainment. The electronic medium lends dictionary consultation flexibility with which the user can execute each of these activities singly or combines them depending on the need. In this age, print dictionaries should not be dismissed as things of the past – remember many electronic dictionaries are based on their print ancestors. The familiarity with print dictionaries – their types, volume, length of description, structure, and organization – can actually help in the proficient use of electronic dictionaries. Notes 1 The author would like to express gratitude to Professor Leonid Yoffe for his help with the final draft. 2 For example, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE) Online lacked pronunciation and usage notes. 3 Longman Web Dictionary had improved its layout, adopting that of LDOCE4 (2003). 4 Gally (2010) and Yamada (2010: 414) are skeptical about whether dictionaries and materials (i.e., example sentences [and the accompanying translations in the case of bilingual dictionaries]) originally intended for reception are readily and equally useful for production.
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References Gally, Tom. 2010. “Wa-ei Jiten no Genjo to Tenboo” [The Present State and Prospects of Japanese-English Dictionaries]. The 35th Annual Convention of Japan Association of Practical English. Shizuoka Sangyo University, Iwata. Sept. 18, 2010. Hartmann, R. R. K. 2001. Teaching and Researching Lexicography. Harlow: Pearson Education. Sekiyama, Kenji. 2010. “Keitai Kopasu to shite no Denshi Jisho: Rebun Kensaku kara OSD made” [Hand-held Electronic Dictionaries as Portable Corpora: From Example Sentence Search to OSD]. The 11th JACET (Japan Association for College English Teachers) English Lexicography Society Workshop. Toyo University, Tokyo. March 27. Yamada, Shigeru. 2006. “Students’ Evaluation and Use of Web-based EFL Dictionaries.” Eds. Murata, Minoru, et al. English Lexicography in Japan. Tokyo: Taishukan. 311-324. Yamada, Shigeru. 2009a. “EFL Dictionaries on the Web: Students’ appraisal and issues in the Cambridge, Longman, and Oxford dictionaries.” Eds, Ooi, Vincent B. Y., et al. Perspectives in Lexicography: Asia and Beyond. Tel Aviv: K Dictionaries. 87-104. Yamada, Shigeru. 2009b. “Dictionary Use by Japanese College Students of English between 1997 and 2009.” The 6th Biennial Conference of the Asian Association for Lexicography. Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok. August 20-22, 2009. Yamada, Shigeru. 2010. “Electronic Revolution in Dictionary Consultation: Hand-held Electronic, Online, and CD-ROM Reference Tools in Japan.” Learner’s Lexicography and Second Language Teaching. Ed. Zhang, Yihua. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 405-420. Yamada, Shigeru. 2011. “Hand-held Electronic Dictionaries in Japan: Recent Developments and Challenges.” IX International School on Lexicography: “Multi-disciplinary Lexicography: Traditions and Challenges of the XXIst century.” Ivanovo State University, Ivanovo, Russia. September 8-10, 2011. Yamada, Shigeru. 2013. “Overview of Hand-held Electronic Dictionaries in Japan: Functions, Usage, and Impact on Print Dictionary Industry.” Eds. Karpova, Olga, et al. Multidisciplinary Lexicography: Traditions and Challenges of the XXIst Century. Ch. 14. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.158-165.
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The phenomenon of Code-Switching and Code-Mixing as Practiced among Faculty Members in a Saudi University Abdulkhaleq A. Al-Qahtani, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia
Abstract This is an exploratory investigation of the phenomenon of code mixing/switching as practiced in the College of Languages and Translation at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. The researcher has been observing how faculty members use this technique among themselves and with their students despite the fact that they are all very fluent in English. 18 faculty members (English Lecturers and professors) from five different cultures participate in this study. The results show that they use the technique for many different reasons. People from different cultures hold slightly different views about the topic. However, despite all the differences, they all contend that mixing and switching is a communicative and social necessity that perform certain tasks without which communication competence would suffer. Keywords: bilingualism; code mixing/switching; cross-cultural communication; multilingualism; Second Language Acquisition; sociolinguistics; TESL/TEFL
1. Introduction Code mixing/switching is a research area that is gaining momentum over the past couple of decades (Myers-Scotton, 2006). Scholars in the field attempted to define this phenomenon. Wardhaugh (2006) attests that language is only one type of code, which could encompass style, dialect or any other system used for communication. As for mixing and/or switching many researchers in the field identified the two terms as different phenomena (Muysken,2000). Poplack (2001) identified three types of code switching: tag, inter-sentential, and intra-sentential switching. However, other scholars see both phenomena as one (e.g. Clyne, 2000). For the purpose of this study, no distinction is made between the two terms. As for the various functions and uses of the phenomenon of code mixing/switching a lot of research has been probing the question of why would people employ such a strategy. Moyo, T. (1996) argued that the people code switch more when they are competent users of at least two languages drawing on the phenomenon as practiced in South Africa. Other researchers thought it is used as gap fillers to ease communication or to sound cool (Sumarsih, et al. 2014). Thus, the main impetus is to discover the various possible explanations of why people of all ages and in many diffident situations and contexts would resort to such technique. Reyes (2004) reports children using it for practical reasons, namely language deficiency. Children would switch to the mother tongue when they could not cope with the target language. Further, people in the educational context would utilize the technique for similar purposes (Bista, 2010; Skiba 1997). Some people would use it to show off modernity and sophistication. In most of the related literature, the phenomenon of code mixing/switching has been treated in the context of language contact in bilingual or even in multilingual communities. Very little research, if any, has treated the phenomenon in the workplace in a third country with its own dominant language that is associated with power, religious pride (Arabic). Thus, the present study is aiming to fill part of this gap. 2. The setting (context) The College of Languages and Translation at King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia is a unique place where Code Switching and Mixing is widely used among its 122 faculty members in the Department of English and the English Language Center. The faculty population consists of many nationalities including Arabs, Pakistanis, Bengalis, Indians, Romanians, Americans, and South Africans. All of them have colleagues from their respective
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mother tongues. They are engaged in academic tasks including various committees and councils. In fact, they form teams from different language and cultural backgrounds. In a single team, for instance, one would meet an American, an Indian/Pakistani, a South African and/or an Arab. Interestingly, most of them are multi-linguals or at least bilinguals with English as the common language among them. The researcher has been observing how different faculty members use code switching/mixing as a strategy in their communication. The context is unique as these colleagues are considered a community in their own right. However, this community is linguistically and culturally diverse. Further, it is situated in a larger community of the host country, Saudi Arabia, where Arabic is the dominant language and the natives are very well attached to it. Thus, members of the college, particularly non-Arabs, find themselves in a situation where they had to teach English and at the same time deal with colleagues from all corners of the world. The present paper reports on how these colleagues perceive, use, and manipulate code mixing/switching technique for their own purposes. 3. Procedure and results The researcher developed interview questions and were given to the language groups represented in the English department. The data was collected in two phases. The first phase was through informal chat with each possible participant in which the participants were oriented to the topic as to definitions and purpose of the present study. Then, they were intrigued to respond to the formal interview questions, which is the second phase. The original interview questions were ten but they were subsumed under four major areas. The first area inquires about the participants' general attitude about code mixing/switching (general attitude). The second asks about the pros and cons of the phenomenon (pros and cones). The third investigates the frequency of use in three different contexts: classroom, social gatherings, and with colleagues in the workplace (frequency of use in three contexts). The last area asks if they would want to say anything else about the topic in case it was not covered in their answers (additional input). The researcher managed to get 18 responses by participants from five different language backgrounds: Arabic, Bangla, English, Romanian, and Urdu. All of the participants are lecturers and professors of English in the English department. The results are listed below in alphabetical order in each domain of the four mentioned above: 1. Arabic native speakers: four participants from this language group. They code-mix and switch between English and Arabic and at times mix with Urdu as three of the four participants earned their PhDs from northern India and they had a working knowledge of Urdu. The results in the four domains are as follow: General attitude: The four Arabs describe the phenomenon of code switching/mixing as helpful and common among bilinguals. One of the four asserts that despite the usefulness of the technique he does not think positively about it because it is an insult to the mother tongue if used among same language speakers like Arabs among themselves, etc. Thus, three of the Arab participants think positively and one negatively about the phenomenon. Pros and cons: Pros: the four Arabs agree that code switching/mixing is helpful in educational and conversational situations when a speaker lacks a word or a phrase in one language and he/she would furnish it in the other language. Also it helps people recognize the special abilities of one person being fluent in a given language. In addition, it promotes social interaction among the speakers as it supplies a lively topic of shared interest particularly in language departments as our own where people usually are curious about languages and language learning. Cons: it could be an insult to the native language when code switching/mixing with a different language if used among same language speakers. It could demotivate EFL learners from
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seeking the exact needed words in the target language. It could be a needless way of showing off knowledge of a different language. Frequency and purpose of use in three contexts: In the classroom: the four participants agree that they sometimes code change to Arabic with their students in situations where it is too difficult for them to get the message across. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is never and 10 is always, two of them say 5; one says 3 and the other admits using it but refused to give a certain number as he thinks that the phenomenon is changeable and dependent on many varying factors. They also admit that they code switch rather than code mix because Arabic is the mother tongue of both: the teacher and the students. Thus, the purpose of usage is instructional in the first place. In social gatherings: the colleagues settle to the contention that code mixing/switching is a useful tool to show in-group membership particularly when speaking with other Arab colleagues from the department. Three of them code mix with Urdu speakers for the same purpose. The fourth added that he would never code switch in the presence of strangers to avoid being looked at as a showoff. In the workplace: they contend that they always use code change, and they mainly use it to reinforce solidarity when dealing with non-Arabs and sometimes to learn about other languages particularly Urdu. Sometimes they resort to the technique to seek more clarity particularly when they switch to English being professors of English by trade. Additional input Two of the four suggested further readings and research feedback while one of the remaining two argues that globalization necessitates code-mixing/switching because it rids the world from the one language hegemony (English) and brings about linguistic pluralism. While the other participant adds that the phenomenon occurs among bilinguals naturally and could be due to cognitive learning processes. 2. Bangla native speakers: three Bangla speakers respond to the questions. They report that hey code switch/mix with Arabic, English, and sometimes Hindi/Urdu. One of them denies that he mixes with Hindi or Urdu, as he doesn’t know them, while the other two admit that they mix with both languages because they are close to Bangla. The results in the four domains are as follow: General attitude: The three Bangla speakers seem to be descriptive and reluctant to show any specific attitude about this particular phenomenon. They all state that it is a fact and an emerging trend in the world as people from all walks of life come to contact and pressured to communicate. It could be discerned from their answers that switching and mixing are just strategies to make up for linguistic incompetency in a given language. Pros and cons: Pros: the three agree that switching and mixing help people from different languages to communicate more effectively. They are also time saving and encourage solidarity among members of certain speech communities. Cons: too much use of the technique would hinder attaining more proficiency in the context of language learning. It would be also problematic when a speaker is used to it and becomes inadequate in maintaining the flow of speech in a given language particularly in formal speeches. Frequency and purpose of use in three contexts: In the classroom: the three deny overusing the technique. The more experienced one of the three admits using it at level 4 on the scale from 1-10 (explained above). The other one with
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lesser experience admits using mixing rather than switching to save class time and it would be only isolated words to be used to the minimal. The third and the least experienced of the three says that he almost never use mixing with his students except for fun and rarely words for some abstract ideas. In social gatherings: they agree that they use switching between Bangla and English when among educated Bangla speakers, but they would stick to Bangla in the presence of "laymen" Bangla speakers. They would also mix with Arabic when interacting with Arab colleagues for fun or for knowing a better word in Arabic instead of an English one. Also two of them would code mix with Hindi & Urdu speaking colleagues despite the fact that English is the common language. One of them describes this as an instinctive trait to incite the closeness of these two languages and their cultures to Bangla. In the workplace: they would code mix with Arabic when interacting with Arab colleagues but they would avoid it with their students, as they perceive using it with students as a hindrance of language learning. They would also avoid using the whole technique when they are dealing with English native speaking colleagues. Additional input The three respondents decide that code mixing/switching is becoming a known trend in communication. However, it is still viewed by many as a characteristic of incompetency in a given language. Thus, code mixing/switching could have advantages and disadvantages depending on how it is used. 3. English native speakers: four participants from this group respond to the questions. Two South Africans and two Americans. Despite the fact that all of them were native speakers of English but they responded differently. The two South Africans (SA) came from multilingual country while the other two came from a monolingual country, the USA (monolingual here means only one dominant language). General attitude: The two South Africans contend that code mixing/switching is a perfectly natural and healthy phenomenon because of living in a multilingual country. The two Americans thought of the phenomenon as lack of linguistic competence. One of them sees code switching "a little pretentious". Thus, the two Americans hold negative attitude and the South Africans a positive one. Pros and cons: Pros: it improves fluency in another language and leads to effective communication. It is also easy and convenient in many situations. Cons: it could lead to misunderstanding when one fails to use the correct/suitable word in the other language. It shows lack of linguistic competence and might encourage laziness to find the correct word in the target language. Frequency and purpose of use in three contexts: In the classroom: they claim to have very little knowledge of Arabic and therefore could not switch but they would mix by using very few words in Arabic. In social gathering: In South Africa, the two colleagues admit to switching with Afrikaans all the time, as they are both fluent in that language. The two other colleagues say that they would mix a little in Arabic to promote social interaction. In the workplace: the Americans say they do not code mix/switch, the researcher attests to their statement. The South Africans admit doing it for better communication and for displaying linguistic competence in anther language.
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Additional input One of the South Africans enticed Nelson Mandela's words as he said, "When you speak to a man in a language he understands it goes to his head, but when you speak to him in his language it goes to his heart". The colleague thinks that switching and mixing could help reaching out to people's hearts from different cultures. Both colleagues do not see a stigma attached to the phenomenon but rather a natural process. 4. Romanian native speakers: three Romanians participated in this study. The general observation about this particular group is that they use switching/mixing for more sociolinguistic reasons rather than mere expressivity or clarity. They show inextricable interest in the process. They, for example, did not really capitalize on the axiomatic function of the phenomenon in which switching/mixing would intercede to fill in with a better/more precise word, phrase or even sentence in another language. They, instead, would think of how to code switch/mix to leave a given impression on the interlocutor. General attitude: The three participants contend that switching/mixing is a normal phenomenon. They also think that it could reflect a desire to showoff knowledge, include others or exclude them depending on purpose and situation. Generally, the three colleagues consider mixing/switching a pragmatic tool to convey certain messages either positive or negative. They do not believe it indicates a linguistic glitch. Pros and cons: Pros: the three decide that mixing/switching generates friendly atmosphere; switchers find common grounds with interlocutors. It would mark open-mindedness and flexibility on the part of switchers. Cons: the three colleagues assert that positive use of this technique could change into negative if used inappropriately, in the wrong time and place, or even with the wrong people. Misunderstanding could always happen. Frequency and purpose of use in three contexts: In the classroom: they say that they do not code-switch with their Arabian students due to lack of knowledge of Arabic and they would love to be able to strike a close rapport with their students by using this technique. They admit to using few expressions in Arabic to maintain closeness to their students. In social gatherings: the main purpose of code mixing/switching is to boast polite interaction, gain approval, create pleasant atmosphere, and perhaps attain admiration of the interlocutors. In the workplace: they say that they mix with Arabic mainly to demonstrate their appreciation of the language and the culture of the country in which they are living. Additional input: One of the three thought that code-switching could happen unconsciously and the person may not have a known reason for it except that he/she perhaps wants to impress his/her interlocutor. The other colleague add that code-switching could be a useful catalyst for language learning as they feel pressured to learn Arabic to cope with their surrounding environment. 5. Urdu native speakers: four Urdu native speakers took part in this investigation. They mainly code mix, switch with Arabic, and of course English. Interestingly, Speakers from this group tend not to code mix or switch with languages like Hindi and Bangla while speakers of these languages switch and mix with Urdu.
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General attitude: The four speakers contend that switching/mixing is a helpful technique. However, the three of them argue that this technique could be dangerous in EFL situation. Thus, generally this group holds a negative attitude towards the phenomenon in education. At the same time, they would think positively about it in other social contexts. Pros and cons: Pros: the four colleagues admit that switching/mixing is a convenient technique that eases communication. The messages are clearer and to the exact point. When switching back to Urdu from English it is relaxing and reassuring of ones' own identity. Cons: it could signify lack of linguistic competence in more formal situations. In addition, many misunderstandings could occur when one speaker uses inaccurate words. Frequency and purpose of use in three contexts: In the classroom: switching/mixing in the class was given 3-4 on the 10 scale (described above). They state that they use it only when a communication gap occurs. They intentionally avoid unnecessary use of it. In social gatherings: If they were among Urdu native speakers who are also fluent English users, they would switch a little to English (80% Urdu-20% English. But when they are in multilingual gathering in Saudi Arabia (in English in this case is the lingua franca) with Arab friends, they would mix as much Arabic with English as they possibly could particularly if the Arab friends were not that fluent in English. The stated purposes for doing so are first, it is considered a compliment to Arabs; second, it could be a topic and a means to learn more Arabic; and third; it of course reinforces their Muslim identity to identify with their Arab fellow Muslims. In the workplace: the four colleagues would code mix/switch with Arabic as they speak English for showing solidarity and from English to Urdu among themselves for identity and ease of use purposes. Additional input: They thought of the topic as interesting but warn against its overuse in the classroom or with students regardless of the purpose be it social or instructional. They also recognize the fact that this phenomenon is an emerging trend in the world as various people from different linguistic backgrounds come together for a whole range of reasons. 4. Discussion and conclusion The five language groups in this study use code mixing/switching as a strategy for communication. Some of them admit to mixing and that because of lack of competence in the other language as switching requires a higher degree of bilingualism. The rest of the participants admit to using both techniques. As the purpose of this investigation does not distinguish between the two strategies, both were considered one. Table 1 summarizes the main points found. The participants generally hold a positive attitude towards the phenomenon. Even those who have some reservations agree that it is an accepted world fact. Except for the Romanian colleagues, all of the others agree to its practical convenience in sheer communication i.e. clarity, expressivity, and exact lexicon. The Romanians, however, think it is not necessarily lack of competence in one language, though it is possible, but rather it is used for social functions i.e. gaining approval, impressing the interlocutors, complimenting the other, etc. The Romanian group also do not see a problem in mixing and switching with their students in their L1 because, they contend, the strategy performs pragmatic functions that cannot be accomplished by using the L2 only. On the other hand, the other four language groups voiced their disapproval of switching to their students' L1 in the class or anywhere else because, as they say, it is not healthy for L2 learning despite its practicality.
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The three contexts, as shown in table one, attest to the fact that people practice code mixing/switching despite their underlying attitudes, positive or negative. Except for the Arab group, all of the other colleagues do not use code mixing/switching with their students in their classrooms. The obvious reason, to which they attest, is that they do not possess the sufficient command of Arabic. The Romanian colleagues are willing to use switching with their students for social reasons but definitely not for instructional ones. The South African colleagues do not have a problem with mixing or even switching to Arabic with their students so long as it does not really affect the L2 instruction, had they had the sufficient command of Arabic. The other three groups think of the technique, as a possible threat to the learning process of their students, and therefore, ideally, should be avoided. As for the other two contexts, almost everyone agree that mixing and switching in social gatherings and in the workplace outside the classroom serve a host of sociolinguistic purposes. They all agree that it promotes social interaction; compliments other members of other cultures; signifies in-group membership, be it professional, cultural or even religious group. They extend their views to go beyond our department boundaries and provide that code mixing/switching is gaining more grounds around the world; they confirm that it characterizes the world communication nowadays. In conclusion, code mixing/switching is a trend that is gaining momentum in the field (sociolinguistics). As the world is shrinking by the hour due to the ever-expanding revolution in communication, many people and cultures come in contact, and consequently would resort to this technique for numerous purposes some of which are mentioned in this paper. As the case in the College of Languages and Translation where people who share the same profession but came from different cultures and language backgrounds make use of code mixing/switching, other situations would warrant, I suspect, similar results. Further research is definitely needed to unveil many other facets of this phenomenon.
Arabs
General attitude Positive
Table 1: summary of the results Pros and cons Three contexts More effective communication; demotivating to L2 learning
Bangla
Descriptive/ indifferent
Helpful in communication; not good for L2 acquisition
English
South Africans (SA): positive; Americans: negative
Effective communication, promotes social interaction; linguistic incompetence, offense in case of euphemism
In classroom: commonly used. Social gatherings: used for solidarity and in-group membership In workplace: a means to know other languages, compliment. In class: rarely used Social gatherings: switch and mix with English among highly educated and with Hindi and Urdu to incite shared backgrounds In the workplace: with Arab colleagues for fun and compliment In class: rarely used In social gatherings: used to promote interaction, a learning tool. In workplace: better communication and display of knowledge SA. Americans do not do it.
Additional input Promotes linguistic pluralism
Growing trend and a fact.
A means to reach out to other people in the world (SA).
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Romanians
Positive
Urdu
Positive socially; negative in education
Creates friendly atmosphere, marks open mindedness; misunderstandin g Easier communication and relaxing when falling back to mother tongue; indicates incompetence, bad for L2 learning
In class: rarely used In social gatherings: show friendliness, gain approval and admiration In the workplace: to show appreciation of the host culture In class: rarely used In social gatherings: identify with fellow Muslims when mixing with Arabic, compliment. Workplace: ease of use and a means to show solidarity.
Good tool for language learning
Emerging trend in the world but dangerous
References Bista, K. 2010. Factors of code switching among bilingual English students in the university classroom: a survey. English for Specific Purposes World, 29 (9). Clyne, M. 2000. Constraints on code-switching: How universal are they? In Li, W .(Ed). The bilingualism reader. London: Routledge. Moyo, T., 1996. Code-switching among competent bilinguals: a case of linguistic, cultural and group identity? Southern African Journal of Language Studies, 4 (1), 20-31. Muysken, P. 2000. Bilingual speech. A typology of code switching. Oxford: Cambridge University Press. Myers-Scotton, C. 2006. Multiple Voices: An Introduction to Bilingualism. Victoria: Blackwell. Poplack, S. 2001. Code-switching (Linguistic). In Smelser, N.J., Baltes, P.B. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, pp. 2062-2065. Reyes, I. 2004. Functions of code-switching in school children's conversations. Bilingual Research Journal, 28 (1), pp. 77-96. Skiba, R. 1997. Code Switching as a Countenance of Language Interference. The Internet TESL Journal. 3,10
Sumarsih, M. , Bahri, S., & Sanjaya, D., 2014. Code switching and code mixing in Indonesia: study in sociolinguistics. English Language and Literature Studies, 4 (1), pp. 77-92. Wardhaugh, R. 2006. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 5th ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
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An Overview of the Building Blocks of Casual Indonesian: Style Shift, Code Switch, and Code Mix Samuel Gunawan, Petra Christian University
Abstract Language variation in Indonesia provides rich resources for the building blocks of casual style of Indonesian. Among those linguistic resources are style shift, code switch, and code mix. They allow speakers, depending on their speech repertoire and the socio-pragmatic demands, to choose and use the linguistic resources of the speech community by shifting the codes within the major code, or by switching between different codes to and fro, and/or even mix up the elements of the existing codes. Based on a close scrutiny of the informal speech habits of Indonesian bilingual/multilingual speakers in an urban setting, this paper elucidates the distinction between those linguistic phenomena. Despite their distinctions, they display their unique regularities and contribution toward the most common formation of casual style of Indonesian as well as an informal in-group style of the major language in a conversation. Keywords: Style shifting, informal style, code switching, code mixing, casual style.
1. Introduction It has been well recognized that there are no single style speakers in the real world of language (see Labov, 1972: 208; Selting, 1985: 179-197). This means that speakers tend to shift styles as the the socio-pragmatic conditions demand. Sankoff (1972) recognizes that the network of communication among multilingual speakers allows them to shift between styles of the major language, and even to switch among various codes in their speech repertoire. Referring to Hymes (1967) and Gumperz (1970), Sankoff highlights that the choice of alternates of the same language by monolinguals, i.e. in the form of style shifting (hereafter SS), may have the same significance as that of alternates from other languages by bilinguals/multilinguals, i.e. in the form of code switching (hereafter CS). This paper is to explore the characteristics of a casual style of Indonesian which give way to the incorporation of CS, or even code mixing (hereafter CM), among its subjects, 4 coordinate adult bilinguals of Javanese and Indonesian. 2. Theories Studies on style-shifting is often framed after Joos’ seminal work (1977) on styles in English as (1) Frozen style, (2) Formal style, (3) Consultative style, (4) Casual style, and (5) Intimate style. Different groups of styles can be identified along the stylistic continuum within one major variety (Labov, 1972; Selting, 1985). In this paper, I interchangeably use the the term “a casual style of Indonesian” and “an informal style of Indonesian” as a cover term for a variety of Indonesian other than the formal one. Indonesian linguists such as Moeliono (1980) and Kridalaksana (1981) long recognized the existence of different ingredients for styles of Indonesian. However, the main focus of their attention was mostly directed toward promoting the standard variety of Indonesian. With such orientation, undoubtedly there was a dichotomy between standard and nonstandard variety (see Moeliono, 1980: 16-17; Kridalaksana, 1981: 1822). Some linguists, such as Tampubolon (1978), Poedjosoedarmo (1978), Soewito (1982), under the credential of sociolinguitics applied the sociolinguitc perspectives on the nature of Indonesian. In this paper, I explore the characteristics of a casual style of Indonesian and how such phenomena give way to the incorporation of CS, or even CM among my subjects. CS may be either intersentential or intrasentential, but this paper restricts its focus on intrasentential CS. Myers-Scotton (1997: 3; 2010, 3 ) defines CS as “the selection by bilinguals or multilinguals of forms from an embedded variety (or varieties) in utterances of a matrix
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variety during the same conversation”. The matrix language (hereafter ML) is the main language providing the morphosyntactic structure in CS, whereas the embedded language (hereafter EL) refers to other languages which participate in CS, but with a lesser role. Under Myers-Scotton’s (1997: 3-7) Matrix Language Hypothesis (hereafter MLH), the ML sets the morphosyntactic frame of sentences showing CS as ML + EL constituents. Whereas under the Blocking Hypothesis (hereafter BH) any EL content morphemes which are not congruent with ML counterparts will be blocked. The MLH is realized in two principles: (1) the Morpheme Order Principle (hereafter MOP), i.e. morpheme order must not violate ML morpheme order, and (2) the System Morpheme Principle (hereafter SMP), i.e. all syntactically relevant system morphemes must come from the ML. Any EL morpheme which is constrained by either MLH or the BH creates an obligatory EL island. What seems problematical with reference to Myers-Scotton’s scheme is probably the notion of CM as commonly understood in Indonesian linguistics. Myers-Scotton (2010, pp. 3) avoids using the term “mixing”, of which to her implies the creation of a new language. Instead, she uses the term “mixed constituent” to refer to any EL constituent with morphemes from two or more languages (p. 15). In this paper, I choose to use the term “mixed constituent” or simply as CM whereby the constituent is made of content morpheme from the ML and bound (system) morpheme from the EL. 3. Method Since this study was to focus on the formation of casual style of Indonesian among bilinguals of Javanese and Indonesian, the recording of the speakers’ speech exchanges containing the linguistic phenomena were done in the natural speech events. In comply with the Observer’s Paradox (Labov, 1972: 208, 209), over a period of one months, I recorded the data and immersed in some naturally occuring speech exchanges/conversations without giving the impression to the speakers that they were being systematically observed. The subjects were 4 coordinate adult bilinguals, 2 males and 2 females, who spoke both Indonesian and Javanese in the course of their everyday lives. By immersing in the most informal occasions with the subjects and recording their speech exchanges at their consent, I was able to collect a corpus of speech exchanges containing the phenomena under study of 10 hours long. The data for this paper were linguistic units in the forms of words, phrases, and clauses or sentences that were used to characterize the use of casual style of Indonesian, and that of CS and CM within a casual style of Indonesian. Therefore the sources of the data were the subjects’ naturally occuring speech exchanges. The analysis was qualitative as the data for this paper were linguistic units in the forms of words, phrases and clauses or sentences from the subjects’ naturally occuring speech exchanges that were analysed by non-statistical methods (see Dörnyei, 2007, pp. 19, 25, 39, 243-244). 4. Findings and discussion For most speakers of Javanese background speaking Indonesian in less formal context of situation would give way to the employment of a congruent variety of speaking known as informal style of Indonesian. This style is dominantly made of speech variation within Indonesian as displayed in Script 1. Since the grammatical constraints of the formal (=standard) variety is lifted in a casual variety, this phenomena give way to the employment of CS (see 4.2) and/or CM (see 4.3) in the use of the casual style of Indonesia as the socio-pragmatic conditions demand. 4.1. Style shift The phenomena of style shift are realized as a speaker shifs between existing different grouping of linguistic resources of a single (usually major) variety known as styles which are characterized by some distinct style markers (see Selting 1985; Joos, 1977). Along the existing continuum of styles, the casual style may often be observable in the casual context of situation. The following sample of naturally occuring speech exchanges may show some of the characteristics of the formation of casual style as shown by its distinctive style markers. In using
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the informal style/variety, a speaker was fully aware of the congruent linguistic forms. Both speakers in Script 1 basically had a talk in the casual style of Indonesian as obvious from its style markers. The nuance of the casual context of situation gives way to the employment other linguistic features such as borrowing, CS, and CM. Script 1 The host (=A) was having a talk with his guest (=B) about statues for home decoration. They were talking in casual Indonesian to be dispersed with a CS/El island in Javanese A (=guest : Patung-patungnya beli di mana, pak? ‘Where did you buy the statues, sir?’ B (=host) : Patung yang mana? ‘Which statue?’ A : (I)tu yang ijo-ijo di sana. ‘ That green one over there’ B : Dulu. Saya t(e)rima kiriman dari adik saya di Yogya. ‘Some time ago. I received a package from my younger brother in Yogya’. (Su)dah lama (i)tu. ‘It’s been quite long’. T(e)rima kiriman patung sama (i)ni ... lukisan ini. ‘(I )received the package along with this ... this painting’ A : Saya mo cari juga yang agak lain. Patung-patung di rumah (su)dah ‘I want to look for something different. The statues at home have banyak yang pecah-pecah. mostly been broken’. B : (I)ni juga (su)dah banyak yang pecah (k)ok. ‘These are also mostly broken, you see’. A : Mo milih, tapi nggak boleh; harus satu set. ‘(I) want to choose, but not allowed; (it) must be one set’. A : B(e)rapa satu set? ‘How much is one set?’ B : Mahal, pak. Ada yang ... pokoknya macem-macemlah. ‘Expensive, sir. There are one which ... could have been various’. A : Paling ‘ndak s(e)ratus ribu. ‘At least one hundred thousand’. B : ‘Ndak, ‘ndak sampe.Saya ingin beli kalo ada yang versi Jawa pake blangkon. ‘No, not that much. I want to buy if there is a Javanese version wearing blankon’. A : Lha ini saya kadang-kadang buat tandamata. Modelnya ‘gitu ... bongso wong katok koloran saja. ‘Look, I sometimes use this as a souvenir. The costume like that ... some kind of people just wearing short pants” Some characteristics of the casual style known as style markers can be identified: 1) Deletion Some phonological reductions: (I)tu, t(e)rima, (su)dah, (k)ok, b(e)rapa, s(e)ratus, 2) Diphthong monothong: mau mo; sampai sampe; pakai pake 3) Vowel substitution: macam-macam macem-macem 2) Choice of lexicon Particular list of words characterizing the style: tidak ‘ndak, 3) Nasal verbalizer milih = {N + pilih} 4) Others a) Borrowing from Javanese: ijo-ijo b) CS in Javanese: the EL from Javanese bongso wong katok koloran. 4.2. Code switching In the use of an informal style of Indonesian, the grammar of the formal style of Indonesian is lifted; and what concomitantly applies is the adherence to the grammar of an informal style. It follows that speakers may have more flexibility of expression; and this allows
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the activation of the constituent of their speech repertoire involving another language variety to be employed in the forms of CS. The following sample of speech exchange shows the casual conversation involving the ML in Indonesian, the EL in Javanese, CS, and CM/mixed constituent. Script 2 A and B were talking about their obstinate friend. A : Lha saya sudah jelaskan ning dheke tetep ngeyel.(CS) ‘You know, I have already explained but he is still stubborn’. B : Mungkin dia ‘nggak ngerti.(CS) ‘Perhaps he doesn’t understand’. A : ‘nggak mo ngerti, bukan ‘nggak ngerti.(CS) ‘Not wanting to understand, not doesn’t understand.’ B : Ya (be)gitulah rambut podo irenge tapi p(e)rangai beda-beda. (CS) ‘Yes like that, (we have) the same black hair, but different character’. In Script 3 both speakers had a talk in an informal Indonesian which allows the employment of CS and CM. The informal style of Indonesian provides the frame for the whole chunck of talk – the ML – whereas the EL was done in Javanese. It also involves a CM “S-duane”. Script 3 C and D were talking about their friend. C: Dia (s)udah s(e)lesai S-2 di Gama. Tapi s(e)karang malah njaluk b(e)r(h)enti kerjo.(CS, CS) ‘He has finished S-2 at Gama. But now (he) is even asking to resign work’. Alesannya macem-macem. Alasannya kar(e)na orangtuanya wis seda; (CS) ‘His reasons are various. His reason was that his parent is no more’. t(e)rus adik-adiknya masih kecil. ‘and his younger brothers are still kids’. D: Tapi S-duane wis mari ta? (CM, CS) ‘But his S-2 has been completed, hasn’t it?’ C: Sudah, lamanya rong tahun setengah.(CS) ‘It has, it took two years and a half.’ 4.3. Code mixing/ mixed constituent There is no doubt that the flexibility of expression in the informal style of Indonesian in Script 4 also allows the use of a mixed constituent, of which in this paper I consistently refer to as CM. Script 4: A : Coba sinio, liaten dulu. Yang ini punyae s(i)apa? (CM,CM) ‘Please, come here, have a look first. This one belongs to whom?’ B : Yang jelas bukan punyae bojoku. ‘Obviously it doesn’t belong to my wife’. A : Punyae bojomu. Dia lupa ‘ngkali. ‘It belongs to your wife. She could have forgotten’. B : Nanti tak sampekno dia. Dia suka lupa lek lagi banyak urusan. (CM) ‘I’ll tell her later. She is often forgetful if (she) has a lot of things to do.’ The forms such as sinio, liaten, were the product of a mixture betweem content morphemes in Indonesian and the imperative bound morphemes in Javanese, and punyae was the product of a mixture between a content morpheme in Indonesian and a possessive bound morpheme in Javanese. The flexibility of expression in the informal style of Indonesian in Script 5 allows the use of the mixed constituents dibuking and dikensel made of the Indonesian prefix and the borrowing content morpheme from English and the mixed constituent dikensal-kansel made of the Indonesian bound morpheme prefix and the established borrowing kensal-kansel from English content morpheme cancel that has undergone a reduplication as found in Javanese.
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Script 5: C: Kapan b(e)rangkat? ‘When are you leaving?’ D: Kamis depan, tapi tiket belum dibuking. (CM) ‘Next Thursday, but the ticket has not been booked’. C: Eh, ... aku denger, kar(e)na cuaca, belakangan plane sering dikensel.(Borrowing; CM) ‘Well, ... I have heard, due to the weather, planes have often been cancelled recently ’. D: Dari itu aku mo buking tiket jadi ragu-ragu. (Borrowing) ‘For that reason, I become in doubt to book’. Wah, yo susah kalo mo terbang s(e)lalu dikensal-kansel.(CM) ‘It’s really difficult if (we) want to fly 5. Conclusion This paper has attempted to identify the characteristics of the casual style of Indonesian as shown by its style markers. The informal or casual context of situation concomitantly requires the use of a congruent variety – a casual style. In the use of a casual style of Indonesian, the grammar of a formal style is lifted which gives way to the employment of CS as well as CM. By such linguistic behavior, the flexibility of SS is enriched by CS and CM.
References Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research method in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gumperz, J.J. (1970).Verbal strategies in multiligual communication. In Monograph Series on Languages and linguistics, Georgetown University, no. 23, pp. 129 -148. Hymes, D. (1967). Models of the interaction of language and social setting. In Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 23, no. M2, pp. 8-28. Joos, M. (1977). The isolation of styles. In Joshua A. Fishman (Ed). Readings in the Sociology of Language. The Hague: Mouton. Kridalaksana, H. 1981. Bahasa baku. In Majalah Pembinaan Bahasa Indonesia, Vol. 2, pp. 1724. Jakarta: Bhratara Karya Aksara. Labov, W. 1972. Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Moeliono, A.M. 1980. Bahasa Indonesia dan ragam-ragamnya. In Majalah Pembinaan Bahasa Indonesia. Vol. 1, Part 1, pp. 15-34. Myers-Scotton, C. 1997. Duelling languages: Grammatical structure in codeswitching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. _____________. (2010). Contact linguistics: Bilingual encounters and grammatical outcomes Oxford: Oxford University Press. Poedjosoedarmo, S. 1978. Interferensi dan integrasi dalam situasi keanekabahasaan. In Pengajaran Bahasa dan Sastra, Vol 4, part 2, pp. 21-43. Sankoff, G.(1972). Language use in multilingual societies: some alternative approaches. In J.B. Pride and J. Holmes (Eds.). Sociolinguistics, (pp. 33-51).Middlesex: Penguin Books. Selting, M. 1985. Levels of style-shifting. Journal of pragmatics, no. 9, 179-197. Suwito. 1982. Pengantar awal sosiolinguistik: Teori dan problema. Surakarta: Henary Offset. Tampubolon, D.P. 1978. Ragam standar dan monostandar Bahasa Indonesia. In Pengajaran Bahasa Indonesia, vol. 4, Part 1, pp. 9-25.
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Un-equivalent Biblical Terms Found in Kupang Malay Bible Compare with English and Indonesian Bible Concept Polce Aryanto Bessie
Abstract This study focuses on scrutinizing the concept of biblical terms found in Kupang Malay which are un-equivalent to the concept found in Indonesian and English bible and elaborating the implication of translating texts without considering the cultural values of either source language culture or target language culture. Descriptive qualitative method was used. Further, the theory of equivalent meaning proposed by Larson (1998) and the concept of culture proposed by Crystal in BBC Learning English enriched this research. The result indicates, there are certain special terms such as; pronoun in Kupang Malay bible is totally not equivalent to English’s and Indonesian’s concept; example; ‘Jesus’ or ‘Tuhan’ is supposed as ‘Bos’ in Kupang Malay. Furthermore, the implication of translating activity shapes new culture (foreign concepts come to target language). Thus finally it can be claimed that shifting in translation is unavoided. Keywords:
Culture, equivalent meaning, translation
1. Background Up to now, translation is still debatable. The debatable issue triggers linguists and researchers on translation study to think deeply about the issue. The issue is relying on un-equivalent concept between a source language text and target language text. The good evidence formulated in cultural values belong to either source language text or target language text. The word bos in Kupang Malay bible is a good case in point. It is supposed as the representative concept of Tuhan in Indonesian and God in English. The words are not equivalent enough since the concept brought by the word bos in Kupang Malay does not representing the figure or the characteristics of God or Tuhan. It refers to human’s characteristics. Even though we know that God or Tuhan is human when he born into Earth in the figure of Jesus for Christians. But in deed Jesus is totally different from human. He hes no sin as humans have. Further, this un-equivalent terms bring readers into a zone of vague. The vagueness of understanding what implied meaning in bible is. In addition, it can be a solid belief in human life if they are not told about the real one. Actually this research is not in the position of blaming translators who have done their job in rendering the message from source language into target language. But this research is going to elaborate the real linguistic phenomena inside those bibles. Further, those bibles provide good data for academic translators or linguists to enrich their comprehension and also the knowledge in terms of translation study. Then in this research, there are two main problems discussed. First, what are biblical terms found in Kupang Malay which are un-equivalent to the concept found in Indonesian and English bible. Second, what is the implication of translating texts without considering the cultural values of either source language culture or target language culture. Equivalent meaning theory is laying down in this elucidation. Larson (1998: 169) stated that lexical equivalents are the adequate words to represent the concept in source language into a target language. The lexical meaning which is meant by Larson (1998) is relying on synonym. Therefore, it is explicitly stated that those which have similar concepts. But actually what my couch idea is, synonym does not represent the whole meaning of a word. This is due to context of using a word. For example bini in Indonesian has different meaning from isteri. The word bini has rude sense while isteri is quite polite in using. That is why I believe that there must be un-equivalent in bible as well. For the detail, the elucidation about bible tems and their correspondences meaning are explained in the following sub-sections.
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2. Un-equivalent Biblical Terms in Bible Un-equivalent meaning is automatically existing in translation product. It cannot be avoided. It is claimed as an everlasting phenomena in translation because translation products produced by different people who work as translator. Each translator has different knowledge and different perspective in interpreting the concept of a term or word. Thus, a source language text cannot be similar with a target language text as a whole. To prove my statement above, the following sections have provide the answers. For the detail, let consider them meticulously. 3.1 Un-equivalent Concept of Biblical Terms Found in Kupang Malay, Indonesian and English Words in Kupang Malay which is supposed as un-equivalent meaning with Indonesian and English are cited as below. Kupang Malay : Ju itu tuan kabon manyao sang dong satu, bilang. ‘Bu, e! Beta sonde panake sang bu. Tagal bu sandiri satuju karja satu hari, deng dia pung sewa satu doi perak. Batul, to? Jadi, beta su iko kotong pung janji, wuang?’ Indonesian : Tetapi tuan itu menjawab seorang dari mereka: Saudara, aku tidak berlaku tidak adil terhadap engkau. Bukankah kita telah sepakat sedinar sehari? English : But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Mathew 20: 13 Those words indicated by the above data; bu, saudara and friend convey a very different concepts for bible readers. I do believe that what is going to the concept of those words are called domestication ideology. It means that, translator prefers providing a comprehension by having words that are familiar to readers. That is why those words are used. The word bu in Kupang Malay is a word which is used as a pronoun which indicates a male who is older than speaker(s). The word is borrowed from Rotenese language. Thus, if we go deeply into the cultural effect therefore other people who are living in Kupang area do not understand that word. Since Kupang is an urban area. The people who are living in Kupang are from various tribes such as Flores, Sabu, Sumba, Alor and so on. Then, it is absolutely true that those who are not from Rote cannot understand the implied concept in Kupang Malay bible. In addition, Kupang has a big number of Christians from various tribes in East Nusa Tenggara province. Comparing to the word saudara in Indonesian, we have known that this word is nationalized. It means that, the word is understood by everyone who are Indonesian. Then it is absolutely true that Christians in Indonesian know well the concept of the word. The same case also occurs in English bible. The word friend is understood by bible readers. Another data which has the similar phenomenon is cited as below. Kupang Malay
: Itu nona yang bodo dong u datang. Dong batarea noki-noki, bilang, Bos! Bos, e! Tolong buka pintu do. Indonesian : Kemudian datang juga gadis-gadis yang lain itu dan berkata: Tuan, tuan, bukakanlah kami pintu. English : Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us’ Mathew 25: 11. The data indicates that the word batarea noki-noki, berkata and saying are different semantically. The reduplication noki-noki in Kupang Malay is totally complex in denoting its meaning because it is not only understood by considering the implied event of ‘shouting’ but also the expression of the agent of the verb. Further, the reduplication noki-noki goes to representing the trend of agent in asking something in terms of shouting. Then in Kupang Malay, the speakers understand that batarea noki-noki means shouting aloud in many times. While the word berkata and saying have similar meaning. Those are different from Kupang Malay word batarea noki-noki.
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3.2 Implication of Translating Text without Considering Cultural Values Considering the elucidation in previous section, I deduce that there must be a significant implication into human life. Number new culture is going to be higher and higher in an urban area. This occurs since people need to communicate almost each part of their life. The existence of bible translation is a good case in point. Of course, translating a text into our language is good way of maintaining our local language. But we have to be aware of future effect. the un-equivalent meaning may produce a new comprehension that a word in Indonesian or English has equivalent word in our local language. This idea comes from translation perspective where translation product share that directly to readers. But have we considered that the real context of using a word in our local language must be different from other words’ concepts in other languages. The most important thing that I get from my study is translation product becomes the basic reason of nonequivalent meaning in translation study. Let see the figure below. A
A = B; B = A A = C; C = A B=C B
C
The figure above indicates that language A text is translated into language B and the same source language (language A) is translated into language C. The figure represents translation. Thus it can be claimed that the content of language A is similar with language B and C texts. This is illustrated as A= B, A= C, thus absolutely language B text is similar with language C text or B = C (B equals C). By considering the concept or the couch idea above, I have found a very different evidence that translation is impossible in terms of meaning. The impossibility comes in two ways. The first way is relying on back translation of a target language is translated again into its source language for example; SL : It’s hers TL : itu perbuatannya When the TL sentence is translated again into English, it does not mean that the result could be in the same form. Probably it could be it is her fault. Considering this data, thus it could be claimed that contextual meaning of the situation of the text which stimulates the translator to render the message into itu perbuatannya. Perhaps, the background of the text is on something happen and the event goes to what is done by a woman then the translator prefers to translate the SL sentence into itu perbuatannya. Sometimes, a single sentence of TL could be easy to be translated again into its SL, but it could be hard as well if the translator does not concern to the context of the text. The second way that translation is not totally having the similar content both SL and TL is proved by the content of TL content. If a Source Language text has two different target languages therefore, the meaning of each target language text could be different. The content between a target language text is wider than the other one. Wider which I mean here is the volume concept or meaning in target language one is not same with target language two of different Source Language text. This argument is proved in a simple sentence in bible translation. 3. Conclusion I can deduce that Kupang Malay, Indonesian and English bibles have no equivalent meaning in terms of word levels. They have similar meaning when they are mapping in a big
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frame such as text. Then the equivalent meaning is brought by a whole content of text. It means that translation study is not depending on linguistics only but also knowledge of text as well. Further translation product brings new culture in human life. The culture is embodied in human’s way of thinking that their local language has words which are representing similar concept as brought by other languages’ words, but actually it is wrong. The whole text is only the answer of equivalent in translation. References Bessie, Aryanto Polce. 2014. What is Behind? Ocehan Fakta di Balik Lembaran Studi Terjemahan. Yogyakarta: Deepublish. Bessie, Aryanto Polce. 2013. “English Inflectional Bound Morphemes and Their Equivalents in Indonesian Translation” (tesis). Denpasar: Universitas Udayana. Catford, J.C. 1965. A Linguistic Theory of Translation. New York: Oxford University Press. Cohen, Fram Miichelle. 1985. Reality, Language, Translation: What Makes Translation Possible. A Complete Paper of American Translators Association Conference. Miami 1985. Dye, T. W. 1985 The Bible translation strategy: An analysis of its spiritual impact. Dallas: Wycliffe Bible Translators (2nd ed.). Foley A. William. 1997. Anthropological Linguistics An Introduction.Massachusetts. Blackwell. Gideons. 1974. Perjanjian Baru New Testament.Jakarta: Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia. Larson, L. Mildred. 1998. Meaning-Based Translation; A guide to cross-Language Equivalence. New York: University Press of America. Pym, Anthony. 2010. Exploring Translation Theories. London: Routledge. Robinson Douglas. 2003. Becoming a Translator. London. Routledge. Roger, Bell. 1991. Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. England. Longman Group UK Limited. Tim Penerjemah. 2007. Janji Baru. Jakarta: Unit Bahasa dan Budaya.
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Turning Knight Rider into Arek Suroboyo: An Analysis on Audio Visual Translation Product Retno W Setyaningsih, FIB Universitas Airlangga
Abstract The present article examines the Javanese dubbing language, especially Surabayan dialect, from the point of view of its extreme adaptation. This study is a comparative analysis of dubbed and real dialogue in Knight Rider movie series broadcast by JTV. The aim of this article is to highlight the freedom and creative skills of the dubbing team in adapting the source text into the target culture. It is very interesting to analyze how an American television movie series turned into local Surabaya context, in a bid to maintain a local language. This paper focuses on the extreme example of both manipulative and effectively creative practices in audio visual translation. Keywords: Adaptation, audio visual translation, dubbing, Surabaya dialect. 1. Introduction Jawa Pos Media Television (JTV) is the pioneer of local television stations in Indonesia. It is established to accommodate the wants and needs of East Java residents. With its tagline ‘Satus Persen Jatim’ or one hundred percent East Java, JTV prioritizes and accommodates three big clusters which are Surabaya area (Javanese Surabaya dialect), Madura area (Madurese) and Mataraman area (fine Javanese dialect) through its programs. Yet, despite its local tendencies, JTV coverage includes all East Java, all areas of Indonesia, even all Asia through satellites television disk. Actually, Javanese Surabaya dialect is one variation of Javanese spoken in Surabaya area. It has thick tones and unique characteristic which differentiate it from other dialects. In addition, it has specific vocabulary which is somehow unknown to people who never live in Surabaya. Unfortunately, this Surabaya dialect is rarely used in formal situation since we have Bahasa Indonesia as our official language. As a consequence, people start forgetting this dialect and even facing difficulties in using it for formal occasions. JTV, as a television station that accommodate East Javanese residents, including in Surabaya areas, tries to revive Surabaya dialect through news programs and dubbed movies and television series. Since 2005, JTV has dubbed dozens of movies and television series either from America, China or India. In an article Sejarah Dubbing JTV, the President Director of JTV, Imawan Mashuri, stated that this is a fresh, funny and exciting program that is able to attract people’s attention. He added that the aim of the program is to build local culture identity, especially through language use. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (2009:17) defines dubbing as the re-recording of the original voice track in the target language using dubbing actors’ voices; the dubbed dialogue aims to recreate the dynamics of original, particularly in terms of delivery pace and lip movements. Further, according to Canu (2012), dubbing can be seen as an effective tool for linguistic transmission which also means cultural transmission. Thus, dubbing can be seen as a perfect way to revive Surabaya dialect, especially for Surabaya residents. Dubbing is part of audiovisual translation. According to Perego and Taylor (2012:47 in Sacconi, 2013) in general audiovisual translation not only refers to the translation of the scripts of films, but also to all the other programmes that TV can transmit, such as documentaries, TV news, advertising, etc. Heiss (1996:15 in Sacconi 2013) defines audiovisual translation or multimedia translation as the elaboration of a multimedia product and not only of its linguistic components. Thus, some scholars believe that the term “translation” is not correct and it would be more proper call audiovisual translation an “adaptation”.
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The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (2009:3) generally defines adaptation as a set of translative interventions which result in a text that is not generally accepted as a translation but is nevertheless recognized as representing a source text. Further, Vinay and Darbelnet (1995), considered adaptation as a procedure that can be used whenever the context referred to in the original text does not exist in the culture of the target text, thereby necessitating some form of re-creation. Since English and Javanese Surabaya dialect has a wide gap both linguistically and culturally, it can be expected that the dubbing version apply adaptation to certain degrees. One of the television series dubbed into Javanese Surabaya dialect is Knight Rider. Produced in 1982, this series is starred by David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight and a sophisticated car called Kitt. Yet, in the Javanese Surabaya dialect dubbing version, this American hero becomes a local hero whose dialect is thick and culturally fluent. In addition, the characters, the places and the story are twisted to suit the dubbing language used. This study is focused on analyzing how Knight Rider is reshaped from English language and culture into Javanese Surabaya dialect and culture. 2.
Methodology This study attempts to describe the findings and the data used are in a form of words so that the approach used is descriptive qualitative. The source of data for this study is the dubbed version of Knight Rider session one, episode 7, Not a Drop to Drink, and episode 13, Forget Me Not and the original scripts of the episodes. The episodes are used to show the extreme adaptation applied so that the original story of the series are deviated and the dialogues are completely changed. To do so, this paper explained the nature of dubbing, aspects of film changed and adaptation on the dialogues conducted by the dubbers in a bid to preserve local dialect. The steps in the data collection consist of watching the episodes and keeping a record of the changes on the story, names of characters, places and dialogues. The findings are compared to the original texts in order to measure the adaptation applied in dubbing Knight Rider into Javanese Surabaya dialect. Thus, the elaboration of the findings can be compared to the theory and definition of dubbing present in order to see whether they accommodate the phenomena analyzed. 3. Findings and Discussion Basnett-McGuire (2002) point out that dubbing means replacing the original cultural references in order to make the target version understood easily by the recipient. They added that domestication is a common practice in dubbing because there is a need to adapt and neutralize foreign contents. Further, Danan (1991) asserts that the use of dubbing reflects an assertion of a language and its unchallenged political, economic and cultural power within certain boundaries. Thus, it is clear that the tendency of dubbing practice is to domestication. According to Venutti (1995, in Munday, 2008) domestication is a translation method which is ‘invisible’, flexible and transparent to minimize sense of foreignness from the source texts. It can be said that this method of domestication is chosen to dub Knight Rider into Javanese Surabaya dialect. Below are the examples of domestication and adaptation found in Knight Rider television series episode 7 and 13 which are broadcast by JTV. Table 1. Example of domestication and adaptation Original script Dubbing version Well, you look very handsome. All the girls Ganteng koyok arjuno menek klopo will love you madly From table 1 we can see the physical difference already. The line on the original script was uttered by the main female character while commenting on Michael’s appearance.
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Ganteng koyok arjuno menek klopo (handsome like Arjuna who climbs a coconut tree, the writer’s translation) is rhythmic tough the original line does not. The use of Arjuna, the representation of handsome and charming man in Javanese culture, is to accommodate the viewers who are presumably familiar with the concept. Yet, climbing a coconut tree is a kind of work that is usually given to monkeys. Thus, the comment is a compliment and a mocking at once which can be understood by people who are familiar with Surabaya dialect and culture. Another example of adaptation is the changing of names. In translation practice, changing names, according to Klingberg (1986) can be categorized as localization in which the names and the whole location are changed and the story is set in a place familiar to the readers. Below are the elaborations on this adaptation or localization.
Episode 7 Not a Drop to Drink 1. Francesca 2. Josh 3. Kevin 4. Susan Wade 5. Bremen
Table 2. Example of Name Changes Dubbing Version Episode 13 Forget Me Not 1. Lik Karni 1. Mikki 2. Mbah joyo 2. The president 3. Precil 3. Rudi 4. Yu Darmi 4. Marie Elena
Dubbing Version 1. Mince 2. Pak Camat 3. 4. Ning Musrifah
We can see from table 2 that the names used on the original film are English names while the dubbing version adapts those names into local culture. On episode 7 for example, Josh is changed into Mbah Joyo. Josh is a name to indicate a person and no added information in it. On the other hand, Mbah Joyo indicates that the person is an elder whose name is Joyo. It is an accepted culture in Javanese to call an elder by adding Mbah (means grandparents and genderless). In addition, the visual aid also illustrate an appearance of a grandfather. In addition, the changing of Marie Elena into Ning Musrifah also brings certain impact. The address term Ning is applied to call women only in Surabaya culture while for male persons the common address term is Cak. Those address terms are to show intimacy between the speakers. On the other hand, the names such as Karni, Darmi, and Musrifah are not popular names in the 21 st century. Those are popular names used for traditional drama musical called Ludruk. Or it can be said that the names chosen in the dubbing version is the old names that bring back old memories about ludruk. Table 3. Story changes Episode 7 Original Not a Drop to Drink Dubbing version Michael and K.I.T.T. are send to protect a Michael Knight is asked to help group of ranchers whose water supply is being cut protect Kali Jagir from bandits who cut off off by a wealthy landowner. Michael meets his the water supply. Michael stays at Lik match in a hotheaded young widow who leads the Karni’s house who leads the fight for fight for their rights and is instructed to make sure saving Kali Jagir. she doesn't do anything too impulsive. Episode 13 Original Forget Me Not episode Dubbing version Michael Knight is staying at a beach Michael Knight is staying at a house with the daughter of newly elected beach house with Ning Musrifah and he president of the South American country of San has a duty to protect a subdistrict head of Marada. His assignment is to protect both her and Driyorejo, Surabaya. A young woman her father. A young woman named Mikki named Mince overhears a conversation overhears the conspirators' plot to assassinate El about buying materials in Sumenep and is Presidente and is thrown off a cliff. Michael thrown off a cliff. Michael manages to manages to rescue Mikki, though she ends up rescue Mince, though she ends up with with temporary amnesia. temporary amnesia.
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From table 3 above it can be seen that the story line does not change much since the original picture is maintained without any interference except for some cut scenes. Therefore, the story ends similar to the original. The adaptation is mostly happened in the dialogues leading to the main story. For example, in episode 7, Not a Drop to Drink, Michael is asked to find a shaman to protect Yu Darmi, a seller at Keputran Market as well as to protect kali Jagir which has no relation with water reservoir for ranchers. Keputran Market is a famous vegetable market along Wonokromo river while Kali Jagir is Surabaya main river which is the source of water supply for Surabaya city residents. Thus, the dubbing script writer tried to find similar object which has similar character to the one in the film but it is locally recognized. It is in line with Basnet-McGuire’s statement that there is an effort to find cultural references in the target viewers in order to make the dubbed film easily understood. On the other hand, on episode 13, Forget Me Not, the story is quite bizarre because there is no clear relation between Michael and the lady in the house aka Ning Musrifah. There is also no clear connection between conversations about buying groceries in Sumenep with an attempt to assassin a subdistrict head. On the other hand, Mikki who drinks too much champagne is dubbed as Mince who got stomachache for eating too much chilly sauce. Considering that champagne is alien to Surabaya culture and that a drunken woman is rare, those two are changed with wedang jahe or herbal drink and stomachache which are more familiar to the viewers. Thus, it can be seen that the dubbing into Surabaya dialect puts more attention to viewers understanding of the dialogues above any other aspects including visual image appeared. 4. Conclusion From the findings and discussion we can see that the dubbing version of Knight Rider episode 7 and 13 experienced domestication and adaptation to accommodate local dialect and culture. Some of the adaptation includes the story line, name changes and the dialogues. Dubbing allows the translators to do those because substituting the original soundtrack with the soundtrack in the target language to ensure the new text can be easily accepted by the target culture. Domestication can be seen from the choice of name of characters and the location of the story. As a result, a series which is very American can be transferred into Surabaya culture and dialect and becomes a means of reviving and preserving the dialect and the language.
References Baker, M. 1992. In Other Words – A Coursebook on Translation. London and New York: Routledge Baker, M. (ed). 2009. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge Basnett-McGuire. 2002. Translation Studies. London: Routledge Canu, L. 2012. Dubbing: adapting cultures in the global communication era, Between, vol. II, n. 4 (Novembre/November 2012) Chaume, F. 2006. Dubbing practices In Europe: Localization beats Globalization, a part of the research project HUM 200765518/FILO of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. Danan, M. 1991. Dubbing and Nationalism, Meta: Translators’ Journal, vol.36, n. 4, 1991, pp. 606-614 Klingberg, G. 1986. Children’s Fiction in the Hands of the Translators. Malmo: Liber Knight Rider. 1982. TV. JTV. Session 1. Episode 7 and 13 Munday, J. 2008. Introducing Translation Studies 2nd Edition. London: Routledge Sacconi, S. 2013. How The Nanny has become La Tata: analysis of an audiovisual translation product. Unpublished thesis. Università degli Studi di Padova: Spain
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Venuti, L. 1995. The Translator’s invisibility: A History of Translation. London: Routledge Vinay, J.P and Dalbernet, J. 1995. Comparative Stylistic of French and English: a methodology of translation. Amsterdam: Benjamin Translation Library Widhiandono. D. 2008. Sejarah Dubbing JTV. Available at http://teatergress.wordpress.com /2008/06/11/sejarah-dubbing-jtv. (accessed 1 July 2014)
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“Chiisai Mono” wa “Kawaii” dan Refleksi Budaya Jepang di Dalamnya Tia Saraswati-Universitas Airlangga
Abstrak Kata yang merupakan bagian dari tutur bahasa (language) memiliki arti yang merefleksikan budaya dari penuturnya. Seperti halnya dalam bahasa Jepang, chiisai dan kawaii adalah merupakan kata sifat dalam bahasa Jepang untuk menyatakan penilaian terhadap suatu objek, baik itu objek yang bernyawa maupun yang tidak bernyawa. Chiisai berarti ‘kecil”, sedangkan Kawaii memiliki arti ‘cantik’, ‘lucu’ atau ‘imut’. Terkait dengan sisi historikal yang menyatakan bahwa ‘sesuatu yang kecil memiliki nilai keindahan’, chiisai mono wa Kawaii juga terefleksikan hampir di seluruh segi kehidupan masyarakat Jepang, bahkan hingga Jepang modern saat ini. Tulisan ini secara khusus akan membahas tentang bagaimana ‘chiisai’ dan ‘kawaii’ tercermin di dalam aspek budaya Jepang, baik itu budaya tradisional maupun budaya pop Jepang dan bagaimana orang Jepang memaknai hal tersebut. Kata kunci : chiisai; estetika Jepang; kawaii; budaya Jepang
1. Pendahuluan Ketika Amerika menciptakan demam film “Jurassic Park” di tahun 1993 yang menceritakan tentang binatang purba berukuran raksasa yang dihidupkan kembali di dalam sebuah taman hiburan, Jepang malah menciptakan monster dinosaurus berukuran kecil. Saking kecilnya, monster tersebut bisa dimasukkan ke dalam kantong hingga dinamakan sebagai Pokemon (Pocket Monster). Pokemon sendiri merupakan karakter yang diciptakan tahun 1995 oleh Satoshi Tajiri dalam bentuk versi game. Tidak hanya industri hiburan, namun industri penerbangan seperti ANA di Jepang juga menggunakan karakter Pokemon. Jauh sebelum karakter Pokemon diciptakan oleh Jepang, Jepang pernah menciptakan netsuke, aksesoris penghias kantung yang dikenakan oleh pria pada abad 17. Selain netsuke, Jepang juga memiliki seni bonsai yang merupakan seni merawat pohon dengan cara mengkerdilkan ukuran pohon tersebut sehingga nampak indah. Tidak hanya itu saja, di dalam sastra klasik karyanya yang berjudul “Makura no soshi”, Seishonagon (Yomota : 2006) menyebutkan tentang benda kecil yang direfleksikan sebagai sesuatu yang indah. Kalimatnya adalah …….な に も 、 ちい さ き も の は 、 皆 美 しい (nanimo, chiisaki mono wa, minna utsukushii). Bila diterjemahkan, kalimat tersebut memiliki arti ‘benda yang kecil adalah benda yang indah’ yang dijelaskan dalam kata sifat ‘utsukushii’. Hal yang menarik di sini adalah yaitu beberapa produk budaya pop Jepang seperti Pokemon maupun produk budaya tradisional Jepang seperti netsuke dan bonsai memiliki karakteristik yang sama, yaitu mereka sama-sama berukuran kecil atau dalam bahasa Jepangnya disebut ‘chiisai mono’. Tidak hanya memiliki ukuran kecil saja, namun barang-barang tersebut memiliki nilai estetika keindahan tersendiri yang sesuai dengan zamannya, yang juga merefleksikan falsafah budaya Jepang. Terkait dengan hal itu, peneliti ingin membahas bagaimana kata ‘chiisai mono’ yang terwujud dalam benda-benda budaya tradisional maupun budaya popular Jepang memiliki makna keindahan yang juga sekaligus merefleksikan karakter orang Jepang pada umumnya. 2. Analisis 2. 1. Utsukushi dan Kawaii : Sisi Historikal ‘Chiisai mono wa kawaii’. Kalimat ini bukanlah sebuah ungkapan maupun pribahasa, namun sebuah pernyataan di dalam buku “Kawaii Ron” (Teori tentang Kawaii) oleh Yomota (2006 : 92) yang mengungkapkan bahwa Seishonagon, pengarang Makura no soshi pada abad 11 telah menyebutkan hal ini. Benda-benda mati maupun hidup yang berukuran kecil seperti anak kecil,
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burung kecil, daun yang mengapung di kolam, dan bunga marshmallow adalah benda-benda yang disebutkan sebagai sesuatu ‘yang indah atau ‘utsukushii’. Utsukushii dalam Kojien jilid 5 (1995: 248-249) memiliki makna yaitu : にくしん
あい
あい
び
あい
い
み
肉親への愛から小さいものへの愛に、そして小さいものの美への愛に、と意味が うつ
か
む ろ ま ち じ だい
び
移り変わり、さらに室町時代には、美そのものを表すようになった。 (nikushin e no ai kara chiisai mono e no ai ni, soshite chiisai mono no bi e ai ni, to imi ga utsuri kawari, sarani Muromachi jidai ni wa, bi sono mono wo arawasu youni natta) terjemahan : Utsukushii memiliki arti cinta/kasih sayang kepada orang yang memiliki hubungan darah dengan kita (orang tua, saudara kandung) dan kepada benda-benda yang kecil, yang kemudian makna tersebut mengalami pergeseran menjadi cinta/kasih sayang kepada bendabenda kecil yang memiliki nilai keindahan. Kemudian, di zaman Muromachi, utsukushi itu sendiri kemudian menjadi sebuah kata sifat untuk menyatakan benda-benda yang berukuran kecil tersebut. Berdasarkan penjelaskan makna di atas, kita bisa melihat bahwa makna utsukushii telah mengalami pergeseran hingga menjadi sebuah kata sifat untuk menilai benda, khususnya benda yang kecil. Lalu, Yomota (2006) juga menyatakan bahwa jika kata ‘utsukushii’ tersebut digunakan pada zaman Seishonagon pada abad ke-11, maka kata yang sifat yang bisa menggantikan kata tesebut di masa modern ini adalah kata kawaii. Kata kawaii itu sendiri di dalam kamus Koujien jilid 5 (1995: 248-249) juga disebutkan memiliki makna yang sama dengan kata utsukushii. Jika Yomota (2006) menyatakan bahwa kawaii memiliki makna yang sama dengan utsukushii, Kinsella, seorang peneliti budaya pop Jepang (1995: 220-254), mendeskripsikan kawaii sebagai sesuatu yang ‘cute’ essentially means childlike; it celebrates sweet, adorable, innocent, pure, simple, genuine, gentle, vulnerable, weak and inexperienced social behavior and physical appearances. Berkaitan dengan pendeskripsian makna kawaii oleh Kinsella di atas, maka makna kata tersebut sebenarnya sudah berasosiasi dengan benda-benda yang berukuran kecil yang sudah ada sejak zaman pra modern, seperti anak kecil, burung kecil hingga daun yang terapung di kolam yang dijelaskan dalam Makura no Soshi karya Seishonagon. 2. 2. Benda-Benda Kecil dengan Unsur Kawaii : Zaman Pra Modern dan Modern 2.2.1. Zaman Pra Modern Melanjutkan penjelasan di atas mengenai hubungan benda-benda kecil (chiisai mono) yang memiliki makna keindahan yang dijelaskan dalam kata ‘utsukushii’ dan ‘kawaii’, maka berikut adalah benda-benda yang termasuk dalam kategori benda benda kecil yang memiliki ねつけ
unsur keindahan yang ada sejak zaman pra modern yaitu netsuke 「 根付 」 dan bonsai ぼんさい
「盆栽」。 ねつけ
Netsuke （ 根付 ） menurut http://netsukeonline.org/htm/origin_of_netsuke_art.html, akses 11 Juli 2014 merupakan batu kecil atau potongan kayu yang dikaitkan dengan kantung untuk membawa tembakau dan pipa bagi para pria dan obat atau koin bagi para perempuan. Awalnya, netsuke yang ditemukan pada abad 17 ini memiliki fungsi murni sebagai aksesoris yang fungsional, bukan merupakan benda seni. Namun netsuke dianggap memiliki nilai seni sejak zaman Edo Tokugawa. Pada zaman inilah adalah zaman dimana masa kejayaan bagi para pedagang yang menjadi konsumen dari netsuke itu sendiri. Objek yang dibuat dalam bentuk netsuke bermacam-macam. Antara lain adalah profesi (misalnya seorang nelayan yang sedang menangkap ikan, seorang pengrajin yang sedang memahat), anak-anak, pendeta, binatang, tumbuh-tumbuhan, para dewa-dewa dalam mitologi dan lain-lain.
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ぼんさい
Sedangkan, bonsai （盆栽）menurut Encylopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture (Buckley, 2002 : 48) adalah the art of miniaturizing not only a tree but, in more elaborate examples, an entire landscape of mountain, rock, water and tree. Bonsai yang mulai berkembang di Jepang sejak abad ke-15 ini merupakan seni ‘mengkerdilkan’ pohon yang dilakukan secara bertahap, yaitu melalui proses perapihan pohon secara teratur, pemindahan pohon ke dalam pot yang berbeda secara berkala dan perawatan dahan. Lebih lanjut lagi, Virginia Relf dalam The Art of Bonsai (pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426601/426-601.html, akses 8 Juli 2014) menjelaskan bahwa bonsai berasal dari Cina, namun dikembangkan oleh orang Jepang. Pada abad ke -13, orang Jepang mengumpulkan pohon-pohon luar dan kemudian pohon-pohon tersebut dikerdilkan dengan secara alami. Bonsai sendiri dari asal katanya adalah memiliki makna pohon yang ditanam di dalam pot. Berdasarkan penjelasan di atas, maka peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa netsuke 「根付」 dan bonsai 「 盆 栽 」 yang termasuk dalam kategori benda seni yang berukuran kecil ini memiliki sisi keindahan yang dilihat tidak hanya dari bentuknya saja, namun juga unsur ‘chiisai’ atau kecil dari benda itu sendiri lah yang membuat benda tersebut menjadi indah. 2.2.2. Zaman Modern Masih berhubungan dengan benda-benda berukuran kecil yang diciptakan oleh orang Jepang, Yomota (2006 : 94) menyebutkan barang-barang teknologi yang telah diciptakan Jepang seperti radio transistor, walkman hingga telepon selular memiliki unsur yang sama yaitu ukuran yang kecil dan kompak. Bahkan seperti yang telah disebutkan sebelumnya ketika Amerika menciptakan binatang purba berukuran raksasa dalam film “The Jurrasic Park” pada tahun 1993, Jepang justru melakukan inovasi dengan menciptakan karakter Pokemon (Pocket Monster) yaitu monster berukuran kecil sehingga bisa dimasukkan ke dalam kantung. Karakter lain selain Pokemon yaitu Hello Kitty dan Doraemon juga merupakan sosok yang tidak hanya kecil, namun juga memiliki unsur-unsur kawaii seperti bentuk tubuh yang bulat (roundness), bersifat kekanak-kanakan (childishness) serta memiliki unsur kemudaan (youth). Yomota (2006) mengatakan bahwa orang Jepang memang cenderung untuk menciptakan barang dengan tingkat detail yang tinggi, berbentuk kecil sehingga mudah untuk dibawa kemana-kemana. Kecenderungan untuk menciptakan barang yang kecil tersebut adalah karena dengan mengecilkan ukuran suatu produk dan ‘memadatkan’ berbagai fungsi di dalam produk tersebut, maka benda tersebut menjadi lebih bertenaga atau disebutnya sebagai ‘chikara zuyoi’. 2.3. Refleksi Budaya Jepang di dalam ‘Chiisai Mono’ 2.2.3.1. Kawaii sebagai Estetika Modern Jepang Jepang telah banyak menciptakan benda-benda yang bersifat seni maupun memiliki unsur teknologi yang tinggi. Meskipun kecil, benda tersebut memiliki unsur keindahan yang berasal dari ukuran benda itu sendiri. Unsur kecil (small) adalah termasuk dalam salah satu dari enam penentu karakter kawaii yang dicetuskan oleh Masubuchi Soichi (1994) dalam Kanai (2007). Selain dari unsur kecil tersebut adalah adanya unsur bulat (roundness), kemudaan (youth), kekanak-kanakan (childishness), suara yang cute, amae (ketergantungan antara anak dengan orang tua, adik dengan kakak) serta warna-warna yang soft (pink, white, pastel). Kawaii yang menurut Nipponia (2007) berkembang sejak tahun 1983-1984 ini telah menjadi bagian dari kebudayaan popular Jepang dan bahkan sudah menyatu di dalam masyarakat Jepang. Menurut Kanno dalam Nipponia (2007 : 4), karakter yang bisa dianggap memiliki sifat kawaii adalah karakter Hello Kitty serta Doraemon karena keduanya memiliki bentuk tubuh yang bulat (roundness). Jika kita bandingkan dengan netsuke dan bonsai yang telah dijelaskan sebelumnya, maka netsuke dan bonsai ternyata juga memiliki unsur-unsur yang termasuk dalam kawaii yang merupakan estetika modern Jepang. Unsur-unsur yang dimiliki oleh kedua benda tersebut adalah seperti bentuk yang bulat dan berukuran kecil. Selain ukuran yang bulat dan kecil,
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warna-warna yang digunakan pada netsuke dan bonsai adalah warna-warna yang juga termasuk dalam unsur kawaii yaitu warna-warna yang lembut. Maka, di sini penulis ingin menggarisbawahi bahwa kawaii sebagai estetika modern Jepang tidak terbatas hanya untuk menilai produk budaya pop Jepang saja, namun juga bisa untuk menilai seni tradisional Jepang yang ada sejak zaman pra modern. Hal ini disebabkan karena selain kawaii yang memang memiliki kemiripan makna dengan utsukushii, benda-benda kecil yang ada pada zaman pra modern yang memiliki sifat kawaii pun juga memiliki unsur penentu karakter kawaii yang sama dengan benda-benda kecil yang ada pada zaman modern ini. 2.2.3.2. Estetika Tradisional Jepang (Bigaku) dalam Produk Budaya Jepang Dalam http://www.jpf.org.au/06_newsletter/hitokuchi_4new.pdf akses 10 Juli 2014, Maxwell mengatakan bahwa keindahan yang ditampilkan di dalam budaya Jepang berbeda dengan keindahan yang ditampilkan dalam seni dan budaya barat. Jika Barat menampilkan keindahan dari sisi yang sudah terlihat secara kasat mata, maka keindahan dari sudut pandang budaya Jepang adalah justru sesuatu yang tidak dilihat oleh orang kebanyakan. Keindahan tersebut bisa dilihat dari unsure-unsur yang justru bukan merupakan bagian dari estetika pada umumnya seperti misalnya ordinary things (hal-hal yang biasa), ketidaksempurnaan (imperfect), sesuatu yang bisa ditemukan di keseharian; dalam warna-warna yang lembut, natural, warna yang tidak cerah (everyday, in soft, natural and subdued colours) serta bentuk dan tekstur yang tidak beraturan (irregular shapes and textures). Salah satu contoh bentuk keindahan yang sudah diakui oleh orang pada umumnya adalah bunga Sakura yang sedang mekar. Jika estetika Barat melihat keindahan adalah saat bunga tersebut sedang mekar, namun estetika Jepang justru melihatnya dari sisi yang berbeda. Keindahan bunga Sakura menurut estetika keindahan Jepang adalah bukan terletak dari mekarnya bunga Sakura, namun justru ketika bunga Sakura itu gugur, berjatuhan dan ditiup angin. Bunga Sakura sendiri adalah bunga yang memiliki masa mekar yang pendek. Sesuatu yang tidak berumur panjang, kesepian yang ditimbulkan ketika bunga Sakura gugur dan keindahan ketika bunga Sakura gugur tersebut adalah yang disebut dengan keindahan menurut estetika Jepang yaitu mono no aware. Selain fenomena alam, kita bisa melihat keindahan dalam perspektif Jepang melalui benda-benda seni dan kerajinan yang mereka hasilkan. Seperti halnya netsuke. Netsuke adalah benda seni yang berasal dari zaman Edo Tokugawa yang memiliki sisi keindahan Jepang yaitu kesederhanaan (kantansa). Bentuk dan motif dari netsuke adalah bentuk yang diambil berdasarkan keseharian orang Jepang seperti profesi, binatang, tumbuhan dan lain-lain. Selain itu, bentuk yang tidak beraturan yang menghasilkan ketidaksimetrisan (hitaishousei) sehingga terkesan tidak formal atau kaku juga dinilai sebagai sesuatu yang indah. Begitu juga dengan bonsai, bonsai yang merupakan seni mengkerdilkan pohon adalah adalah seni yang memiliki nilai estetika Jepang yaitu kesederhanaan (kantansa), ketidaksimetrisan (hitaishousei) dari sisi bentuk ranting pohon bonsai itu sendiri serta mencerminkan keindahan wabi sabi. Wabi Sabi adalah salah satu dari estetika Jepang yang berasal dari pemikiran agama Buddha, khususnya Zen Buddhism pada zaman abad pertengahan. Menurut Ohbunsha Kogojiten 1988 : Shinsen Kokugojiten 1992) dalam Davis, Ikeno (2002: 224), wabi berarti : Simple, austere type of beauty, a serene, transcendental frame of mind yet also points to the enjoyment of a quiet, leisurely time, free from wordly concerns. In its archaic form, it expressed a quality of loneliness or sadness, but when used with reference to haiku or sado, it suggests a calm, quiet austere state of mind. Masih dalam Davis, Ikeno (2002 : 224) yang menyatakan bahwa Sabi also developed as a medieval aesthetic, reflecting qualities of loneliness, resignation, tranquaillity, and old age while also connoting that which is subdued, unobtrusive, yet tasteful. Jika melihat hubungan dari makna keduanya, wabi sabi bisa digambarkan sebagai keindahan dari sisi pandang orang Jepang yang melihat keindahan dari sesuatu yang kosong (emptiness). Seseuatu yang kosong itu ditandai dengan ornamen yang minim (lack of ornament) dan kesederhanaan (simplicity). Karena keindahan tersebut muncul dari sesuatu yang kosong,
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maka untuk merasakan keindahan tersebut, kita tidak bisa hanya menggunakan mata kita saja, namun kita harus berkontemplasi dan mengosongkan pikiran. Karena, keindahan ini tidak terlihat secara kasat mata, namun hanya bisa dirasakan dengan pikiran kita. Estetika Jepang ini bisa terlihat dalam berbagai bentuk seni tradisional seperti upacara minum teh yang memang membutuhkan konsentrasi dan kemampuan untuk melaraskan dengan alam serta bentuk-bentuk puisi Jepang seperti haiku. Bonsai pun menurut penulis adalah merupakan bentuk seni tradisional Jepang yang juga memiliki elemen keindahan wabi sabi. Hal itu bisa terlihat dari bagaimana orang yang sedang memotong bonsai harus berkonsentrasi penuh dalam suasana yang sunyi supaya bisa menghasilkan bentuk yang selaras dengan alam. Selain itu, ketika kita melihat bonsai, kita merasakan suasana yang tenang dan damai, yang juga merupakan salah satu unsur wabi sabi. 2.2.3.3. Semangat Wakon Yosai dalam Produk Teknologi Jepang Jika dalam sub bab sebelumnya dibicarakan tentang kaitan antara seni tradisional Jepang dengan estetika Jepang (bigaku), maka bab ini akan membahas bagaimana Jepang menerapkan spirit Wakon Yosai dalam produk yang pernah diciptakan. Morris Low (2008 : 131) menyebutkan bahwa Wakon Yosai adalah Wakon (Japanese spirit) dan Yosai (western technology). Slogan ini dicetuskan pada zaman Meiji (1868-1912) dimana pada saat itu Jepang berada dalam era modernisasi, yaitu era dimana budaya Barat menjadi acuan dalam segala hal. Jepang berusaha untuk bangkit dari keterpurukannya sejak dikalahkan pada PD 2 dan kemajuan pendidikan serta teknologi adalah cara untuk mensejajarkan Jepang dengan Negara Barat. Masih dalam Low (2008 : 131), slogan ini khususnya digunakan di dalam penerapan teknologi Jepang dimana Jepang mengadopsi ide-ide yang ada dalam teknologi Barat, namun ide tersebut disesuaikan dengan nilai-nilai yang ada dalam budaya Jepang. Sehingga, teknologi yang dihasilkan adalah teknologi hybrid yang tetap menunjukkan ciri khas nilai-nilai budaya Jepang. Salah satu Inovasi yang dilakukan oleh Jepang adalah keitai shousetsu (mobile phone novels). Keitai shosetsu yang bisa diunduh lewat telepon seluler dan sekaligus dibaca melalui telepon seluler ini menyatukan ide membaca novel dalam media yang portable, compact dan sekaligus mengusung kepraktisan. Unsur-unsur seperti produk yang berukuran kecil (small), simple (simplicity), dan praktis inilah yang menurut Yomota (2006) adalah karakter dari produk Jepang yaitu ‘chikara zuyoi’ (powerful) yang juga sekaligus memiliki hubungan dengan estetika Jepang. Karakter dari produk-produk tersebut tentu saja mencerminkan karakteristik orang Jepang yang gemar membuat produk berukuran kecil secara mendetail, teliti, pandai melakukan inovasi serta menyelaraskan diri dengan alam. 2.2.3.4. Estetika Modern dan Tradisional Jepang dalam Seni Tradisional dan Produk Jepang Berkaitan dengan chiisai mono (benda kecil) dan hubungannya dengan estetika Jepang tradisional maupun modern, penulis ingin ingin menarik benang merah antara antara kedua benda yang berada dalam fase yang berbeda, yaitu fase pra modern yang diwakili netsuke dan bonsai serta fase modern yang diwakili oleh alat elektronik seperti strap telepon genggam, keitai shousetsu serta karakter-karakter seperti Hello Kitty dan Doraemon. Benang merah yang dimaksud oleh penulis di sini adalah bahwa kedua benda tersebut sama-sama memiliki unsur keindahan yang dilihat dari sisi bentuk, ukuran serta kapasitas dari benda-benda tersebut. Utsukushii ataupun kawaii adalah kata sifat yang bisa menggambarkan benda-benda kecil tersebut karena memang benda-benda tersebut memiliki unsur-unsur yang termasuk dalam kriteria kawaii. Kriteria kawaii yang dimaksud adalah adanya unsur kecil (small) dan bulat (round) pada seni tradisional netsuke. Netsuke yang berawal pada abad ke-17 dan memiliki fungsi sebagai aksesoris yang digantungkan pada kantung tempat menyimpan tembakau, koin maupun obat ini ternyata memiliki kemiripan dengan strap (gantungan) telepon genggam yang digunakan saat ini. Selain itu, estetika Jepang tradisional yang bisa terlihat dari berbagai produk ini adalah simplicity (kesederhanaan), elegan, loneliness (kesendirian) serta chikara zuyoi (sesuatu yang
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powerful). Melalui seni Bonsai, nilai-nilai estetika yang bisa terlihat dalam seni ini adalah tidak hanya unsur kecil (small) melalui bentuk bonsai yang memang berbentuk miniatur pohon, namun juga sifat-sifat seperti kesederhanaan, elegan, kesendirian, kekosongan (emptiness) yang termasuk dalam wabi sabi. 3. Kesimpulan Setelah pembahasan di atas, penulis memberikan kesimpulan yaitu sebagai berikut : Pertama, yang dimaksud dengan pernyataan chiisai mono wa kawaii adalah benda-benda seni yang sudah ada sejak zaman pra modern (dalam hal ini penulis member contoh netsuke dan bonsai) serta benda-benda yang disebut dengan kawaii goods. Kedua, di dalam benda-benda yang termasuk dalam chiisai mono wa kawaii tercermin estetika Jepang (bigaku) seperti wabi sabi yang memiliki unsur simplicity (kesederhanaan), elegan, loneliness (kesendirian) serta spirit wakon yosai yang membuat produk teknologi Jepang menjadi produk yang memiliki karakter kecil, praktis, elegan, multi fungsi sehingga menjadi chikara zuyoi (sesuatu yang powerful). Ketiga, estetika Jepang yang tercermin di dalam seni tradisional dan juga produk teknologi turut merefleksikan karakter orang Jepang pada umumnya yang menyukai hal-hal yang kecil, praktis, detail dan teliti dalam membuat sesuatu, pandai melakukan inovasi yang disesuaikan dengan dirinya serta selaras dengan alam.
Daftar Pustaka Buckley, Sandra.2002. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture. London : Routledge. Davies, J. Ikeno, Osamu. 2002. The Japanese Mind. USA: Tuttle Publishing. Kanno. 2007. ニッポンはかわいい？！(Nippon wa Kawaii ?!). Nipponia. No. 40, 2007. 4-5. Kinsella, Sharon. 1995. "Cuties in Japan." Women, Media, and Consumption in Japan. Ed. L. Skov and B. Moeran. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 220-254. Low, Morris. 2009. Ed. Yoshio Sugimoto. Technology Culture. Sugimoto, Yoshio (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture. Australia : Cambridge University Press. 131. Maxwell. Wabi Sabi : The Essential of Japanese Aesthetics. http://www.jpf.org.au/ 06_newsletter/hitokuchi_4new.pdf (akses 10 Juli 2014). Shinmura Izuru. 1995. 広辞苑（Koujien). Japan. Steve Strayer. The Origin of Netsuke Art. http://netsukeonline.org/htm/ origin_of_netsuke_art.html, (akses 11 Juli 2014 ). Virginia Relf. The Art of Bonsai (pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-601/426-601.html. (akses 8 Juli 2014). Yomota. Inuhiko. 2006. 可愛い論（Kawaii Ron). Japan : Chikuma Shinsho.
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Penerapan Metode Pia Suikou dalam Youyaku pada Mata Kuliah Dokkai Tingkat Menengah: Pada Kasus di Unnes Yuyun Rosliyah, Universitas Negeri Semarang
Abstrak Mata Kuliah Dokkai tingkat menengah yang dilaksanakan di Universitas Negeri Semarang dilaksanakan dengan bobot keseluruhan 4 sks, masing-masing dua sks. Beberapa tahun terakhir dengan gagasan dan dukungan dari the Japan Foundation, metode pengajarannya selalu diupayakan agar perkuliahan dapat meningkatkan pencapaian tujuan belajar. Upaya yang dilakukan pada pembelajaran Dokkai tingkat menengah adalah dengan mencoba menerapkan metode Pia Suikou atau berelaborasi dengan teman sejawat. Tujuan makalah ini adalah memperkenalkan metode ini sebagai suatu cara yang dianggap lebih baik dari metode sebelumnya. Buku ajar yang digunakan adalah Tema Betsu Chukyu kara Manabu Nihongo. Makalah ini lebih tepat dikatakan sebagai laporan hasil kegiatan belajar mengajar selama satu semesterpada mata kuliah Shin Dokkai Enshuu. Pelaksanaannya adalah: pada 2 sks pertama dilakuakan tes kecil 10-15 menit, pengenalan tema, memperdenganrkan bacaan secara keseluruhan dengan CD, membaca secara keseluruhan, kemudian menjawab pertanyaan. Bila masih ada waktu mahasiswa memikirkan sub-judul setaiap paragraf. Pada 2 sks kedua dilakuakn fukushuu, kembali memikirkan sub-judul, setelah diputuskan dilakukan shadooingu. Tahap berikutnya adalah merangkum dengan kata kunci pada kertas berformat tetap. Setelah selesai, dilakukan Pia Suikou tersebut. Kata kunci: Pia Suikou, Youyaku, Shin Dokkai Enshuu
1. Latar Belakang Masalah Mata kuliah Dokkai (membaca) tingkat menengah (selanjutnya disebut dengan Shin Dokkai Enshuu) yang dilaksanakan di Universitas Negeri Semarang adalah mata kuliah yang wajib ditempuh. Tujuan pembelajaran Shin Dokkai Enshuu (semester 6) adalah mahasiswa dapat membaca dan memahami bacan yang berhubungan dengan topik-topik yang bersifat umum, dan dapt memahami alur cerita dan maksud-maksud ungkapan bacaan tersebut. Tujuan pembelajaran ini disetarakan dengan kemampuan yang dimiliki oleh mahasiswa untuk mengikuti tes kemampuan bahasa Jepang level 2 (N2), sedangkan tujuan pembelajaran selesai semester 6 adalah mahasiswa dapat membaca bacaan sederhana dari tema yang bersifat umum, dan dapat memahami ringkasannya. Ada tiga unsur yang dibahas dalam mata kuliah baik Dokkai Enshuu maupun Shin Dokkai Enshuu, yaitu goi ‘kosakata’, bunpou ‘struktur’dan bacaan. Mata kuliah Dokkai Enshuu dan Shin Dokkai Enshuu adalah mata kuliah yang menjadi satu paket sebagai mata kuliah untuk mengukur kemampuan membaca. Kedua mata kuliah tersebut dilakukan pada hari yang sama secara berjenjang yang ditempuh di semester 6 dengan bobot 4 sks. Keempat sks tersebut dilaksanakan secara bertahap, baik bertahap dalam hal waktu maupun materinya. Sebelum menempuh mata kuliah Shin Dokkai Enshuu, mahasiswa dari semester 1 sampai semester 5 menempuh mata kuliah Dokkai Shokyu Zenhan, Dokkai Shokyu Kohan, Dokkai Shochukyu, dan Dokkai Chukyu Kohan. Akan tetapi, pelaksanaan perkuliahan Shin Dokkai Enshuu direspon oleh mahasiswa semakin menurun sampai pada akhir perkuliahan. Di awal perkuliahan mahasiswa masih mengikuti perkuliahan dengan sungguh-sungguh, namun di tengah perjalanan kesungguhan belajar mahasiswa berangsur-angsur mulai berkurang. Alasan tersebut beberapa di antaranya adalah karena materi bacaan semakin banyak, misalnya kosakata baru yang semakin bertambah pada setiap bab dan tata bahasa yang semakin kompleks. Di dalam kosakata, terdapat pula sejumlah huruf kanji baru yang perlu dipersiapkan terlebih dahulu agar isi bacaan dapat dibaca dan dimengerti. Namun demikian, untuk dapat sampai pada tahapan pemahaman bacaan tersebut, dengan waktu 4 sks masih tetap dirasakan kurang.
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Sebelumnya,waktu yang disediakan untuk membahas kosakata dan isi bacaan adalah 100 menit, dengan pembagian waktu 30 menit untuk membahas kosakata baru, dan 70 menit untuk menjelaskan isi bacaan. Hal ini dirasakan tidak efektif karena pembahasan kosakata tidak hanya memahami kosakata dengan cara mencari makna harfiahnya saja, tetapi perlu juga pemahaman mengenai penggunaan kosakata tersebut dalam kalimat, sehingga lebih dipahami. Alasan lainnya adalah karena mata kuliah Shin Dokkai Enshuu sering dilakukan pada siang atau sore hari, sehingga baik secara fisik maupun secara psikologis kesungguhan belajar mahasiswa sudah berkurang. 2. Kajian Pustaka Metode Pia Suikou merupakan satu dari banyak metode pembelajaran yang digagas oleh Spencer Kagan (2009), yakni Cooperative Learning. Menurutnya Metode ini menempatkan siswa pada sisi yang sama, saling mendorong, saling membimbing, dan saling menyukai satu sama lain. Hasil dengan metode ini lebih baik bila dibandingkan dengan siswa bekerja secara individu. Pengertian Pia Suikou secara semantis memiliki dua makna leksikal, yakni terdiri dari kata Pia atau disebut juga Piaa berasal dari bahasa Inggris peer yang memiliki makna ‘sebaya’, sedangkan kata Suikou dalam bahasa Jepang memiliki makna ‘elaborasi’. Dengan demikian, Pia Suikou menurut Fukaya (2009: 121) adalah penggabungan dua hal, yakni tentang isi bacaan dan pengetahuan pembaca. Dengan kata lain Pia Suikou menyangkut penulis dan pembaca. Penulis berkaitan dengan kemampuan menulis isi, sedangkan pembaca berkaitan dengan kemampuan memahami bacaan. Yang petama, isi bacaan berkaitan dengan siapa penulisnya atau berkaitan dengan kompetensi si penulis bacaan tersebut. Isi bacaan sebuah teks dapat dimengerti atau tidak sangat bergantung pada kemampuan mencurahkan gagasan si penulisnya. Yang kedua adalah pengetahuan tentang pembaca. Ini berkaitan dengan seberapa banyak si pembaca dapat memahami apa yang dibacanya. Semakin banyak pembaca yang dengan mudah memahami isi bacaan, maka isi bacaannya adalah semakin baik. Awalnya pengajaran dengan Pia Suikou ini dilakukan dalam pengajaran sakubun ‘menulis’, karena hubungan antara isi bacaan dan si pembaca terlihat sangat jelas. Mata kuliah menulis sebagai mata kuliah yang mengukur kemampuan produktif juga sebenarnya menggunakan metode Pia Suikou. Akan tetapi mata kuliah menulis berkaitan erat dengan mata kuliah membaca. selain itu mata kuliah menulis diajarkan setelah mata kuliah Shin Dokkai Enshuu. Agar pada mata kuliah menulis mahasiswa dapat melakukan Pia Suikou, maka sebelumnya mahasiswa dilatih melakukan Pia Suikou utamanya pada saat membuat youyaku ‘ringkasan’. Suikou dimaknai sebagai ‘elaborasi’, meskipun dalam beberapa makalah yang diedit oleh Gillies (2003:52, 98, 183, 184, 185, 186) kata ‘peer’ lebih sering dipasangkan dengan kata ‘collaboration’ daripada ‘elaboration’. Tanaka (dalam Tanaka, 2009: 9) mengatakan bahwa untuk melakukan elaborasi dalam kegiatan menulis, di antara para peserta itu sendiri secara bergantian bertukar posisi sebagai penulis dan sebagai pembaca saling mempertimbangkan apa yang ditulis oleh satu sama lainnya. Meskipun elaborasi dalam hal ini lebih sesuai dengan kegiatan menulis, namun sebagai latihan awal untukl dapat melakukan elaborasi pada kegiatan menulis, maka dalam kegiatan membaca pun, utamanya dalam penulisan youyaku, mahsiswa dilatih secara sistematis bagaimana secara bergantian di antara mahasiswa tersebut bertukar posisi sebagai penulis dan sebagai pembaca, kemudian keduanya saling mempertimbangkan apa yang ditulis oleh satu sama lainnya. Pengertian youyaku menurut kamus Daijisen adalah meringkas poin utama, seperti yang terdapat pada teks. Selain itu dapat bermakna sesuatu yang telah terangkum. Contoh kalimat yang menggunakan kata youyaku adalah yonda hon no naiyou o youyaku shite hanasu bermakna ‘meringkas isi buku yang saya baca, kemudian membicarakannya’. Pendapat lain tentang youyaku adalah kalimat panjang dalam bahasa Jepang yang diringkat menjadi pendek, agar dapat dimengerti meskipun dibaca oleh orang lain (http://blog.livedoor.jp/nagano112/ archives/11749385.html). Lebih lanjut dikatakan bahwa youyaku secara umum adalah tulisan yang bukan ditujukan pada diri sendiri, melainkan ditulis dalam rangka untuk menjelaskan
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kepada pembaca yang belum pernah membaca naskah aslinya, dan ditulis untuk menjelaskan bagaimana isi yang ditulis tersebut. Banyak manfaat yang didapat dengan melakukan youyaku, seperti yang ditulis oleh Behrens (2005:1). Menurutnya dengan melakukan youyaku maka dapat diperoleh empat hal yakni: 1) bacaan yang kita baca, isinya dapat dipahami lebih mendalam, 2) isi yang kita baca dapat diperkirakan seberapa jauh dapat dipahami, 3) dapat memperoleh kebiasaan ‘menulis’, dan 4) memperoleh kemampuan menulis dengan jelasm bernalar, dan benar. 3. Pelaksanaan Pia Suikou pada Youyaku Dengan gagasan dan dukungan dari the Japan Foundation, selalu diupayakan metode agar perkuliahan dapat meningkatkan pencapaian tujuan belajar. Upaya peningkatan tujuan pembelajaran pada mata kuliah Shin Dokkai Enshuu adalah kegiatan membuat youyaku ‘ringkasan’ dengan mencoba menerapkan metode Pia Suikou atau berelaborasi dengan teman sejawat. Pia Suikou yang dilaksanakan ini merupakan serangkaian dua mata kuliah yang bertumpu pada kegiatan membaca, kuliah Dokkai Enshuu dan Shin Dokkai Enshuu. Keduanya menggunakan buku ajar yang sama, yaitu Tema Betsu Chuukyuu kara Manabu Nihongo. Dokkai Enshuu menitikberatkan pada kegiatan membaca, sedangkan Shin Dokkai Enshuu menitikberatkan pada kegiatan membuat ringkasan. Pia Suikou dimulai pada pertengahan pelajaran, yakni mulai bab 14 sampai dengan bab 25. Materi yang disampaikan pada bab 1 sampai dengan bab 13 telah dilaksanakan pada semester 5 yakni pada mata kuliah Dokkai Chuukyuu Kouhan Pelaksanaan kedua mata kuliah ini dilaksanakan berdasarkan silabus yang telah disiapkan sebelumnya. Perkuliahan dilaksanakan dua tahap, yakni sesi pertama untuk mata kuliah Dokkai Enshuu dan sesi kedua untuk mata kuliah Shin Dokkai Enshuu. Kedua mata kuliah tersebut masing-masing dilaksanakan pada jam 11:00 dan jam 15:00. Pada sesi pertama dilakuakan tes kecil selama 10-15 menit. Tes kecil ini adalah pretes terhadap kosakata dan huruf kanji baru yang muncul pada bab yang akan diajarkan pada hari itu, sedangkan postes adalah tes untuk mengetahui sejauh mana mahasiswa mempelajari materi Bunpou yang telah diajarkan pada bab sebelumnya. Settelah dilaksanakan tes kecil, selanjutnya adalah pengenalan tema, memperdenganrkan bacaan secara keseluruhan dengan menggunakan CD. Pada kegiatan ini mahasiswa mendengarkan isi bacaan yang belum dibacanya sambil mengecek kemungkinan munculnya kosakata atau huruf kanji yang belum dipahami. Selanjutnya adalah kegiatan membaca secara keseluruhan, kemudian menjawab pertanyaan 1 sampai 8. Bila masih ada waktu mahasiswa diberi waktu untuk memikirkan sub-judul setiap paragraf. Pada sesi kedua dilakuakn ulasan kembali bacaan yang disampaikan pada sesi pertama, misalnya dengan membahas soal 1 sampai 8. Selanjutnya mahasiswa kembali diminta untuk memikirkan sub-judul. setelah diputuskan dilakukan shadooingu yakni sekali lagi diperdengarkan bacaan dengan menggunakan CD. Kali ini mahasiswa mengikuti/membayangbayangi isi bacaan yang didengar. Sebisa mungkin shadooingu dilakukan tanpa melihat buku. Tahap berikutnya adalah membuat yoyaku ‘ringkasan’ dengan kata kunci yang telah disiapkan pada kertas berformat tetap (lembar kerja). Pada tahap ini mahasiswa berpasanagan. Bila telah selesai meringkas, secara berpasangan mahasiswa melakukan Pia Suikou, lalu pekerjaan dikumpulkan. Selanjutnya masih tersisa dua kegiatan, yakni mendiskusikan soal no 9 dan 10 dan melakukan pengembangan tema. Fokus diskusi adalah membicarakan tema yang sedang dibahas pada bab itu (berkaitan dengan isi bacaan dan soal no 1 sampai 8) yang disesuaikan dengan kondisi masing-msing mahasiswa. Terakhir beberapa wakil dari mahasiswa menceritakan hasil diskusi, kemudian disusul denan tanggapan oleh teman sejawat lainnya sehingga terjadi pengembangan tema. 4. Kelebihan Pelaksanaan Pia Suikou pada Youyaku Kelebihan Pelaksanaan Pia Suikou pada Youyaku didapat dari dua sumber, yakni dosen dan mahasiswa. Dosen yang terdiri dari tiga dosen tim melakukan evaluasi setelah mata kuliah satu
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semester berakhir. Evaluasi dari mahasiswa diperoleh dengan mengumpulkan angket kepada 22 mahasiswa. Evaluasi dari dosen: 1. Pembagian waktu lebih tersusun secara sistematis. 2. Goi ditempatkan pada mata kuliah Kanji, struktur yang terdapat dalam mata kuliah Dokkai Enshuu ditempatkan pada mata kuliah Bunpo, mahasiswa waktu mendengarkan isi bacaan per bab melalui CD 3. Pembagian urutan materi jadi lebih baik 4. Mahasiswa menjadi lebih cepat menangkap poin-poin yang terdapat dalam bacaan 5. Penggunaan lembar kerja dengan format yang telah ditetapkan (kousei memo) memudahkan mahasiswa dalam membuat youyaku 6. Melalui youyaku kemampuan mahasiswa dalam memahami maksud yang diungkapkan menjadi baik. Sedangkan evaluasi dari mahasiswa adalah: 1. Mahasiswa bisa memperbaiki kesalahan meringkas 2. Pemahaman terhadap alur cerita dalam bacaan menjadi baik 3. Bisa membuat ringkasan dengan baik 4. Tidak malu bertanya terhadap teman sendiri 5. Pemahaman terhadap materi yang diajarkan menjadi lebih baik 6. Bisa memperbaiki dan mendiskusikan kesulitan dalam meringkas 7. Bisa saling memperbaiki ringkasan dengan teman 8. Pemahaman terhadap kata kunci/pokok bahasan menjadi lebih baik 9. Bisa saling memperbaiki kesalahan, bisa saling bertukar informasi dan memberi masukan 5. Kekurangan Pelaksanaan Pia Suikou pada Youyaku Di samping keberhasilan-keberhasilan yang dilakukan dengan melaksanakan Pia Suikou pada penyelengaraan mata kuliah ini, masih ditemukan beberapa kelemahan yang dirasakan mahasiswa di dalam kelas. Hasil evaluasi dosen sebagai berikut: 1. Pengerjaan soal no 9 dan 10 melalui diskusi sering tidak dilakukan karena kekurangan waktu. 2. Karena waktu untuk mengerkakan soal no 9 dan 10 tidak ada, maka pengembangan tema yang seharusnya didapat dengan melakukan kegiatan diskusi pun menjadi tidak terlaksana. 3. Meskipun sangat kurang, kegiatan diskusi pernah dilaksanakan. Diskusi yang idealnya dilakukan dalam bahasa Jepang, ketika dilakukan pemantauan masih terdapat mahasiswa yang mendiskusikannya dalam bahasa Indonesia 4. Perkuliahan Dokkai Enshuu dan Shin Dokkai Enshuu dengan menggunakan metode Pia Suikou dimulai dari pertengahan bab, yaitu bab 14. Pelaksanaan perkuliahan yang dimulai dari pertengahan ini yang menjadi alasan mahasiswa awalnya kesulitan melakukan adaptasi. sedangkan evaluasi dari mahasiswa berdasarkan angket yang diterima, hasilnya adalah sebagai berikut: 1. Belum puas, karena masih didapati teman sebaya yang hanya membaca dan menyerahkan lembar kerja tanpa mengoreksinya terlebih dahulu, sehinga tidak ada masukkan. 2. Membosankan 3. Membutuhkan waktu lama untuk meringkas bagi mahasiswa yang berkemampuan berbahasa Jepang kurang 4. Waktu yang akan digunakan untuk menulis kembali ringkasan jadi berkurang 5. Dikerjakan secara berdiskusi sejak awal membuat youyaku 6. Hasil ringkasan kadang-kadang sama persis antar teman sebaya 7. Tidak semua mahasiswa mengerjakan 8. Lebih bersifat ke arah menyamakan jawaban daripada membuat sendiri (saling mencontoh)
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6. Saran untuk Perbaikan Beberapa saran disampaikan agar ke depannya mata kuliah ini lebih bermanfaat. Saran perbaikan dilakukan oleh dosen setelah dilakukan evaluasi hasil pengajaran, dan dilakukan mahasiswa melalui angket yang dikumpulkan. Saran dosen terhadap penyelenggaraan mata kuliah ini adalah: pemberlakuan penggunaan metode Pia Suikou sebaiknya dilaksanakan mulai semester 5 dan dimulai dari awal (bab 1), agar mahasiswa secara perlahan diperkenalkan dan dibiasakan menggunakan cara tersebut. Saran mashasiswa: 1. Sebaiknya tidk terlalu menggunakan banyak kata kunci, agar mahasiswa memiliki kebebasan dalam meringkas, dan diperoleh hasil yang berbeda antar teman sebaya 2. Pengawasan dalam Pia Suikou lebih ditingkatkan 3. Pelaksanaan Pia Suikou sebaiknya dilaksanakan segera setelah masuk kelas, agar waktu lebih lama 4. Lebih baik tidak ada shadooingu agar pelaksanaan Pia Suikou lebih lama 5. Perlu penambahan waktu
Daftar Pustaka Behrens, L. dan L. J. Rosen. 2005. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Pearson: Longman Fukaya, Yuuko. 2009. Dokkai oyobi Sakubun o Koujou Saseru Pia Rebyuuo Mochiita Kyoudou Suikou. Touhoku Daigaku Daigakuin Kyouikugaku Kenkyuuka Kenkyuunenpou. Dai 57 shuu. Dai 2 gou http://blog.livedoor.jp/nagano112/archives/11749385.html diunduh tanggal 10 Juli 2014 http://www.weblio.jp/content/youyaku Ikeda, Reikou. 1999. Nihongo Sakkubun Suikou ni Okeru Pia Resuponsu Kouka: Chuukyuu Gakushuusha no Baai. Departmental Bulletin Paper. Ochanomizu University. This document is downloaded at: 2014-04-30T07:26:49Z Kagan, Spencer dan Miguel Kagan. 2009. Kagan Cooperative Learning. San Clemente. Kagan Publishing (www.KaganOnline.com ) Matsumura, Akira. Dejitaru Daijisen. Shougakukan. Dictionary.goo.ne.jp › 国語辞書 Tanaka, Nobuyuki. 2011. Pia Resupomsuga Suikou Sakubun ni Oyobosu Eikyou: Bunsekihou to Fuiidobakku no Kyouji ni Chumoku Shita. Akademikku Japaniizu Jaanaru (2011) 9-20 Gillies, Robyn M. dan Adrian F. Ashman. Cooperative Learning: The Social and Intellectual Outcomes of Learning in Groups. London: Routledge Palmer
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Tradisi dan Modernitas Sastra Lisan Masyarakat Besemah serta Implikasinya dalam Pembelajaran Arono, Universitas Bengkulu
Abstrak Tradisi bukan saja bisa berdampingan dengan modernitas, tetapi dapat memperkuat tradisi demi perkembangan dan kemajuan, salah satunya melalui dunia pendidikan. Penelitian ini untuk medeskripsikan tradisi dan modernitas sastra lisan masyarakat Besemah dan implikasinya dalam pembelajaran. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif kualitatif dengan metode analisis isi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tradisi dalam modernitas sastra lisan meringit dan andai-andai masyarakat Besemah, yaitu (1) latar belakang terciptanya modernitas sebuah tradisi (a) adanya cerita rakyat yang tersebar secara lisan pada warga masyarakat Besemah, (b) adanya beberapa kepercayaan yang dianggap oleh warga masyarakat suku Besemah, (c) adanya beberapa adat istiadat atau budaya tradisi yang diwariskan secara turun temurun menjadi latar belakang terciptanya lagu atau tembang daerah suku Besemah, (d) adanya sejarah budaya, (e) adanya tata kelakuan dan kebiasaan orang-orang suku Besemah yang bertempat tinggal di gunung atau perbukitan dan aliran sungai. (2) Nilai yang terkandung dari tradisi lisan masyarakat Besemah banyak mengungkapkan tentang makna sosial masyarakat dan tentang cinta kasih sesama manusia. Implementasi tradisi sastra lisan Besemah dilakukan dengan menggali nilai-nilai karakter berdasarkan metode terjemahan yang dilakukan dalam pembelajaran puisi dan prosa pada pendekatan saintifik, yaitu mengamati, menanya, menalar, mencoba, dan mengomunikasikan. Kata kunci: Tradisi sastra; modernitas sastra; masyarakat Besemah; pembelajaran.
1. Pendahuluan Tradisi lisan di masyarakat saat ini mulai tergerus oleh perkembangan dan kemajuan zaman. Hal itu dapat kita amati mulai dari resepsi pernikahan, syukuran, acara muda-mudi hingga acara keluarga semua menjadi praktis dan kurang sesuai dengan tradisi masyarakat kita. Ada beberapa daerah yang masih mempertahankan tradisi tersebut, tetapi lebih dominan sebagai simbol belaka. Kenaturalan dan prosesi yang kental ada dalam masyarakat tersebut sudah mulai luntur oleh polesan kemajuan teknologi dan perkembangan zaman, misalnya pemakaian musik dalam resepsi pernikahan sudah diubah menggunakan organ tunggal atau kaset atau sejenisnya, menggunakan petatah-petitih atau pantun sudah menggunakan teks. Masyarakat Bengkulu yang wilayahnya sebagian besar berada pada daerah pesisir memuliki keunikan dalam penggunaan bahasanya dan begitu juga dengan budaya dalam hal ini tradisi lisan. Keunikan dan keragaman tersebut dapat dilihat berdasarkan bahasa daerah yang ada. Berdasarkan geografis dan daerah administratif bahwa bahasa daerah yang ada di Provinsi Bengkulu terdiri atas sembilan bahasa, yaitu bahasa Serawai, Besemah, dan bahasa Mulak yang terdapat di Bengkulu bagian selatan, bahasa Melayu Bengkulu di Kota Bengkulu, bahasa Lembak di Bengkulu bagian utara dan Kota Bengkulu, bahasa Rejang di Rejang Lebong dan di Curup, bahasa Muko-Muko dan bahasa Pekal, serta bahasa Enggano terdapat di Bengkulu bagian Utara (Arono, 2004:4). Keanekaragaman membuktikan bahwa wilayah Bengkulu memiliki kekhasan dalam tradisi dan pola hidup masyarakatnya, seperti daerah Enggano, Lebong, dan Mulak Bintuhan. Ketiga daerah ini memiliki keunikan tersendiri dalam hal bahasa dan budayanya. Salah satu alasannya, jika kita ke daerah tersebut, kita akan kesulitan dalam memahami dan berkomunikasi kepada masyarakatnya, begitu juga sebaliknya. Salah satu pelestarian tradisi lisan yang dapat dilakukan dalam dunia pendidikan melalui pembelajaran bahasa dan sastra Indonesia mulai dari tingkat prasekolah hingga pada
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perguruan tinggi. Dunia pendidikan dalam hal ini pendidikan menangah, tetapi guru kadang kala masih kurang menggali potensi daerah yang bisa dikembangkan dalam pembelajaran bahasa dan sastra Indonesia. Tradisi lisan masyarakat Besemah yang bisa dikembangkan dalam pembelajaran di antaranya tradisi lisan meringit, betadut, andai-andai, begadisan, berasan, pantauan, bimbang, ngayikah anak, geguritan, memuningan, dan bimbang kule (Arono, 2004:162-66). Padahal, tradisi lisan akan memungkinkan siswa menghargai dan melestarikan budayanya sendiri yang pada akhirnya akan membentuk nilai karakter peserta didik. Tidak bisa dipungkiri bahwa perkembangan zaman akan membawa pada perubahan perilaku masyarakatnya sehingga memerlukan sikap kita sebagai masyarakat yang menghargai budaya dan sejarah dalam pemertahanan nilai-nilai pendidikan anak bangsa. Inovasi, kreatifitas, dan modivikasi diperlukan oleh seorang guru agar tradisi lisan tersebut mampu mengakar dan membudaya terhadap tradisi lisan yang ada di masyarakat Besemah yang disebut modernitas. Modernitas tersebut bagaimana guru mampu membawa dan mengembangkan tradisi lisan sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan perkembangan zaman. Hal tersebut didukung dengan adanya tradisi lisan yang sudah digubah dalam bentuk teks, audio/video rekaman, dan dalam lagu-lagu daerah. Hal tersebut memungkinkan guru mengembangkan dan menggali potensi daerahnya terhadap pengembangan tradisi lisan daerahnya. Untuk itu, dalam tulisan ini penulis mengungkapkan beberapa gambaran tradisi dan modernitas sastra lisan masyarakat besemah dan mengaplikannya dalam pembelajaran bahasa dan sastra Indonesia berbasis saintifik khusus pada tradisi lisan andai-andai dan meringit. 2. Metodologi Penelitian Penelitian ini mengunakan penelitian deskriptif kualitatif dengan metode analisis isi. Secara deskriptif penelitian ini dilakukan semata-mata berdasarkan pada fakta yang ada atau fenomena yang memang secara empiris dilakukan oleh masyarakat tuturnya dalam tradisi lisan, sedangkan secara kualitatif bertujuan mengungkapkan isi dan pesan-pesan atau maksud yang terkandung dalam tradisi lisan jika dihubungkan dengan pembelajaran di sekolah (Mardalis, 1995:26 dan Muhadjir, 1996:49). Metode analisis isi merupakan metode yang memberikan perhatian pada isi pesan, dilakukan dalam dokumen-dokumen yang padat isi, pemaknaan isi komunikasi lisan, memaknakan isi interaksi simbolik yang terjadi dalam peristiwa komunikasi (Ratna, 2010:48-49). Isi dalam metode analisis isi terdiri atas dua macam, yaitu isi laten dan isi komunikasi. Isi laten adalah isi yang terkandung dalam dokumen dan naskah, sedangkan isi komunikasi adalah pesan yang terkandung sebagai akibat komunikasi yang terjadi. Isi laten adalah isi sebagaimana dimaksudkan oleh penutur, sedangkan isi komunikasi adalah isi sebagaimana terwujud dalam hubungan naskah dengan konsumen. Dengan kalimat lain, isi komunikasi pada dasarnya juga mengimplikasikan isi laten, tetapi belum tentu sebaliknya. Objek formal metode analisis ini adalah isi komunikasi. Analisis terhadap isi laten akan menghasilkan arti, sedangkan analisis terhadap isi komunikasi akan menghasilkan makna. Data diperoleh menggunakan teknik observasi, dokumentasi, dan pencatatan. Penelitian ini menggunakan. 3.
Pembahasan Tradisi merupakan kebiasaan turun-temurun sekelompok masyarakat berdasarkan nilai budaya masyarakat yang bersangkutan. Tradisi memperlihatkan bagaimana anggota masyarakat bertingkah laku, baik dalam kehidupan yang bersifat duniawi maupun terhadap hal-hal yang bersifat gaib atau kegamaan (Sobenadio dalam Esten, 1992:14). Menyalahi tradisi berarti keluar dari sistem yang ada, berarti pula mengganggu keselarasan serta merusak tatanan dan stabilitas (baik dalam hubungan yang disampaikan secara lisan. Sastra lisan adalah cerita yang disebarluaskan dari mulut ke telinga, tersebar secara lisan dan diwarisi secara turun temurun. Hal tersebut sebelumnya juga dipertegas oleh Endraswara (2003:151) bahwa sastra lisan sebenarnya adalah kesusastraan warga suatu kebudayaan yang disebarkan dan diturunkan secara lisan (dari mulut ke mulut). Jadi, tradisi sastra lisan adalah kesusastraan warga suatu nilai kebudayaan yang disebarkan dan diturunkan secara lisan (dari mulut ke mulut).
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Modernitas merupakan suatu konsepsi kebudayaan yang tumbuh dalam peradaban manusia sebagai akibat kemajuan manusia (Sumantri dalam Esten,1992:15-16). Itu artinya modernitas merupakan nilai dasar yang penerapannya harus disesuaikan dengan pandangan hidup suatu bangsa atau masyarakat. Hal itu juga dinyatakan oleh Bradbury (1972:8) bahawa pemikiran, kepercayaan, dan ideologi merupakan instrumen yang esensial dan modernitas baik berbentuk kecerdasan, inovasi pengetahuan yang abstrak, atau pernyataan akal, praduga, dan anggapan dari dialog sosial umumnya. Jadi, modernitas dapat digambarkan sebagai sebuah titik puncak yang logis dari pengetahuan, pandangan yang rasional, dan manusia dari manusia menjadi unsur di dalam relistas sosial yang utama melalui pikiran, kesenian, gaya hidup, usaha yang terus menerus terhadap pencabutan dari keterkaitan masa lalu. Proses transormasi terjadi disebabkan oleh terjadi dialog antara nilai budaya etnis dengan nilai budaya Barat bersifat universal, terjadi dialog antaretnis yang bisa diterima bersama, dominananya nilai budaya etnis tertentu, dan transformasi dalam tahap transisi (Esten, 1992:22). Itu artinya tradisi bukan hanya produk masa lalu, tetapi juga bagian masa transisi yang panjang, yakni ketegangan antara transisi dan modernitas. Adapun ciri-ciri sastra lisan (Suripan, 1991:3), yaitu (1) Penyebaran melalui mulut maksudnya dituturkan oleh tukang dendang, penutur, dan pelipur lara dengan bahasa lisan (dari mulut ke mulut). (2) Lahir dalam masyarakat yang tradisional atau masyarakat desa. Menggambarkan ciri budaya suatu masyarakat sebab sastra lisan merupakan warisan budaya yang menggambarkan budaya masa lampau. (3) Tidak diketahi siapa pengarangnya (anonin) karena itu menjadi milik masyarakat secara kolektif. (4) Bercorak puitis, teratur, dan berulang-ulang. Ini dimaksudkan untuk menjaga supaya sastra lisan itu tidak cepat berubah. (5) Tidak mementingkan fakta dan kebenaran, bahkan lebih mementingkan aspek khayalan/ fantasi yang kurang diterima oleh masyarakat modern. (6) Terdiri atas berbagai versi. Menggunakan gaya bahasa lisan ( seharisehari), mengandung dialek, dan kadang-kadang diucapkan tidak lengkap. 3.1. Tradisi dan Moderintas dalam Sastra Lisan Masayarakat Besemah Adanya interaksi, perkembangan, dan kemajuan teknologi menyebabkan terjadinya modernisasi dalam sastra lisan masyarakat Besemah, tetapi hal tersebut tidak mengurangi kebiasaaan masayarakat Besemah dalam melaksanakan aktivitas pada sauatu kebudayaannya. Sastra lisan Besemah mampu menyeseuaikan dengan perekmbangan dan kebutuhan masyarakat dalam suatu kebudayaannnya hingga dapat tumbuh dan berkembang sampai sekarang, seperti meringit dan andai-andai. Meringit ini merupakan pantun yang dilagukan dengan diringi gitar, sedangkan andai-andai merupakan cerita atau dongeng pada dunia anak-anak yang biasanya disampaikan oleh ibu-ibu masyarakat besemah sebagai pengantar tidur pada anaknya. Berikut ini diuraikan beberapa alasan sehingga terciptanya modernitas sebuah tradisi sebagai berikut. a. Adanya Cerita Rakyat yang Tersebar Secara Lisan pada Warga Masyarakat Besemah Cerita rakyat masyarakat Besemah disampaikan dengan menggunakan bahasa daerah, yaitu bahasa Besemah. Cerita rakyat in atau disbut oleh masayakat Besemah dengan andai-andai dapat dikategorikan sebagai seni pertunjukkan. Adapun unsur seni pertunjukkan, yaitu pencerita, pendengar, peralatan, waktu, tempat, dan tujuan bercerita. Penutur cerita umumnya dismapaikan oleh orang tua berkisar 50 tahunan, sedangkan anak-anak dan remaja atau anak muda hanya dominan senang mendengarkan saja tapa ada usaha untuk memahami dan menceritakannya kembali. Cerita ini disampaikan oleh ibu, ayah, nenek, kakek, atau orang yang lebih tua yang mereka kenal. Peralatan bercerita, yaitu bakul sirih, rokok, dan makanan serta minuman. Peralatan ini tidak meruapakan suatu ketentuan yang harus ada tergeantung pada kondisi pencerita. Pendengar, umumnya pendengar tidak terbatas hanya berkisar dua hingga lima belas orang. Lebih dari itu akan kurang efektif dan menyebabkan cerita yang dsampaikan kurang jelas. Waktu bercerita, waktunya pada pelaksanaan pesta, menuai padi, menjelang tidur, serta pada saat santai. Tempat bercerita, yaitu di sawah, berna rumah, pondok, maupun di tempat tidur. Itu artinya tempat cerita tidak memerlukan tempat yang khusus. Tujuan bercerita, yaitu mendidik, mengungkapkan sejarah, mengetahui asal-usul suatu tempat atau nama, dan menghibur.
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b. Adanya Beberapa Kepercayaan yang Dianggap oleh Warga Masyarakat Besemah Sidang belawang diangkat sebagai tanda untuk mengenang putra dari Ratu Begil di Kecamatan Kikim. Tembang ini khusus digunakan pada saat muda-mudi meingggal atau orang yang meninggal dalam usia muda. Dalam melantunkan tembang, tembang dilantunkan berbalasan antara orang yang ditinggalkan dengan orang yang mewakili orang yang telah meninggal dunia tersebut. Awalnya kisah ini dialami oleh putri raja (Baju Abang) Tanjung Aur yang meningggal sebelum sempat dinikahi secara resmi. Namun, untuk menghormati kesaktian dan keberadaan Ratu Begil pada saat itu masyarakat Pagar Jati dan sekitarnya menjdaikan hal itu sebagai simbol untuk mengingat yang mulia penguasa Ratu Begil. Masyarakat Besemah mengonvensikan peristiwa itu sebagai peristiwa bersejarah dan patut dijadikan pelajaran bagi kaum raja untk tidak memperkerjakan calon menantu sebelum dinikakan. Diyakini oleh masayarakat Besemah bahwa hal itu akan membawa bencana. Biasanya tembang ini ditembangkan pada saat mengisi kesunyian tuan rumah pada saat nige akhi (tiga hari). Tujuan kegiatan ini untuk mengingatkan keluarga yang ditimpa untuk tetap sabar dan tabah menerima cobaat itu sehingga lebih mendekatkan diri kepada Allah SWT. Tembang ini dismapaikan oleh ketua masyarakat. c. Adanya Beberapa Adat Istiadat atau Budaya Tradisi yang Diwariskan Secara Turun-temurun Menjadi Latar Belakang Terciptanya Lagu atau Tembang Daerah Besemah Seni tembang merupakan sebuah pertunjukkan tradisional yang tercipta atas kreativitas masayrakat dan berkembang secara turun temurun pada mayarakat Besemah. Seni ini dsampaikan pada saat acara syukuran, hajatan, musibah kematian, acara perpisahan, dan acara bekhusik bagi bujang-gadis. Pertunjukkan umumnya dsiampaikan oleh orang tua, baik laki-laki atau perempuan. Tidak jarang pertunjukkan tembang juga dilakukan oleh kaum muda-mudi, misalnya tembang Nasib, Rawas, Serai Serumpun, Erai-erai, Ribu-ribu, dan Sidang Belawang. Kemajuan dan perkembangan teknologi memengaruhi alat yang digunakan oleh penembang yang semulanya tidak menggunakannya. Alat pengiring yang digunakan dalam pertunkukkan tembang adalah gitar. Dalam pertunjukkan tembang, pemetik gitar dalam pertunjukkan tembang, pemetik gitar dan penembang bendiri sendiri, tetapi tidak jarang antara pemetik gitar dan penembang melantunkan tembang secara berbalas-balasan (pantun bersahut). Tradisi pantun bersahut tersebut dilakukan pada saat kaum muda-mudi melakukan acara bekhusik, yakni dalam acara pernikahan. Konteks ini tembang dilakukan, yaitu ribu-ribu. Selain itu, tembang dilakukan juga saat perpisahan dan kematian atau musibah. Waktu digunakan untuk melaksankan pertunjukkan meringit ini dilakukan pada malam hari antara pukul 23.00 – 04.00 WIB. Pertujukan tembang umumnya dilaksanakan setelah acara pokok dalam suatu sedekah atau hajatan selesai. Meringit bagi muda-mudi dilakukan sampai hari menjelang siang atau acara pernikahan atau saat bekhusik. Bekhusik merupakan acara yang dikhusukan bagi muda-mudi dalam rangka menjalin silaturahmi antara pendduduk yang satu dengan yang lain atau saling mengenal antarmuda-mudi atau dalam mencari pasangan hidup. Sebelum pertunjukkan tembang dilaksanakan, tuan rumah yang hajatan akan mengundang penembang dan tukang gitar. Syarat mutlaknya setelah pelaksanaan tembang dengan memberikan tingkat (tempat nasi dan sayur). Dengan tingkat dimaksudkan bahwa tuan rumah memberikan tanda syukur atau terima kasih yang tulus kepada penembang dan tukang gitar. Isi tingkat tersebut berupa gulai ayam kampung dan nasi secukupnya. Peksanaan tembang diatur oleh tuan rumah atau oleh penembang. Biasanya dilakukan setelah pokok hajatan selesai, seperti tembang ribu-ribu saat acara bekhusik muda-mudi, tembang erai-erai dilaksanakan saat perpisahan, dan tembang sidang belawang pada saat kematian. d. Adanya Sejarah Tradisi Budaya Masyarakat Besemah Cerita andai-andai pada masyarakat Besemah dapat berupa cerminan kehidupan manusia. Dalam cerita andai-andai terdapat tokoh manusia, binatang dan benda-benda alam. Melalui tokoh-tokoh ini pencerita dapat bercerita mengenai kehidupan sehari-hari. Dalam
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sebuah cerita dapat diceritakan tokoh-tokoh binatang. Tokoh binatang diceritakan sebagai cerminan dari kehidupan manusia, misalnya dalam cerita tokoh bintang dilengkapi dengan perasaan dan akal seperti manusia. Hal ini dimaksudkan sebagai suatu cerita yang memberikan sindiran ataun kiasan terhadap perbuatan manusia itu sendiri. Orang tua tidak mau secara langsung memberikan pelajaran atau nasihat kepada seseorang, tetapi pelajaran atau nasihat itu dapat dsampaikan sambil bercerita. Selain memperlihatkan tokoh binatang, cerita lisan andai-andai pada masyarakat Besemah juga menampilkan tokoh manusia. Tokoh manusia ditampilkan bukan hanya bertujuan menghibur, tetapi sekaligus memberi gambaran langsung kepada pendengar. Dengan adanya cerita tersebut, pendengar dapat memetik nilai-nilai pendidikan yang terkandung dalam cerita itu. Dari cerita dapat diambil pesan bahwa setiap perbuatan manusia itu ada karmanya. Orang yang selalu berbuat kebaikan akan mendapatkan kebaikan juga, sedangkan orang yang mempunyai sifat jahat, iri, dengki, akan mendapatkan balasan setimpal. Hidup bersama dan keserasian berteman harus diperjuangkan sedimikian rupa. Hal itu sesuai dengan pendapat Robson (dalam Esten, 1993:4) menyatakan bahwa sastra lisan memegang peranan untuk jangka waktu lama sehingga dapat dijadikan pedoman bagi orang banyak. Begitu kuat pengaruhnya pada masyarakat sehingga memberi pikiran dan membentuk norma baik sesama saat ini, maupun yang akan datang. e. Adanya Tata Kelakuan dan Kebiasaan Orang-orang Suku Besemah yang Bertempat Tinggal di Gunung atau Perbukitan dan Aliran Sungai. Tradisi masyarakat Besemah yang tinggal umumnya di daerah aliran sungai, yaitu menangkap pada saat air sungai mengalami surut saat musim kemarau. Aktivitas tersebut dinamakan dengan ngakha dan ngipun. Ngakha maksudnya mencari ikan dengan mengerikan daerah tertentu sehingga ikan mudah ditangkap. Ngipun maksudnya mencari anak ikan dengan memasang sangkak atau bubu sejenis perangkap yang diarahkan ke hilir sungai. Itu dilakukan agar ipun lebih mudah masuk dalam perangkap karena ipun akan berbondong-bondong melewati aliran sungai dari hilir ke hulu. Ipun ini merupakan ikan muara atau berbatasan laut dengan sungai. Ipun kecil ini yang ribuan bahkan jutaan ekor akan menuju ke hulu sungai. Saat melakukan aktivitas seharian inilah bahwa masyarakat sering melakukan menembang sambil menunggu hasil tangkapan ikannya. Persoalan yang dibahas dalam meringit menyangkut peruntungan dalam menjalani hidup dan persoalan perpisahan. Persoalan yang menyangkut rasa penyesalan seorang yang mengalami nasib yang tidak bertuah dalam menjalani hidup. Meringit nasib, mengisahkan keadaan hidup aku lirik sebagai seorang yang tidak beribu dan tidak memiliki bapak umang. Uamang bagi masayarakat Besemah identik dengan satu atau hidup sebatang kara. Persoalan kedua mengenai kekecewaan terhadap sanak saudaranya. Rasa kecewa terhadap keberadaan hidup yang tidak dihiraukan oleh keluarga serta sanak saudara di kampung halaman, seperti pada tembang rawas. Kekecewaan aku lirik terhadap sanak saudaranya. Adapun persoalan lain tentang kekecewaan terhadap usaha yang gagal, terutama kegagalan dalam mencari nafkah. Itu artinya nasib, rawas, dan serai serumpun dikategorikan ke dalam kelompok pertama. Persoalan kedua yang terdapat dalam tembang masyarakat Besemah mengenai persoalan perpisahan. Perpisahan yang diungkapkan dari ketiga tembang pada kelompok ketiga, yaitu perpisahan dengan orang tua, perpisahan dengan kekasih, dan perpisahan dengan pasangan hidup. Hal itu terdapat pada tembang Erai-erai, Ribu-ribu, dan Sidang Belawang. Memahmi nilai tradisi lisan masyarakat Besemah tidak terlepas dari pemahaman makna dalam seni tembang, yaitu adanya keterkaitan beberapa sisi pokok dalam segitiga semiotik (Zoest, 1993). Ground sebagai teks tembang berupa tanda yang bermakna. Denotatum merupakan dua kemungkinan yang ditunjuk oleh teks tembang berupa pengalaman pribadi pengarang maupun realitas kehidupan masyarakat. Interpertant meruapakan suatu reaksi yang timbul diri pendengar atau penikmat tembang setelah menyaksikan tembang. Nilai yang terkandung dari tradisi lisan masyarakat Besemah banyak mengungkapkan tentang makna sosial masyarakat dan tentang cinta kasih sesama manusia. Adapaun nilai cerita atau andai-andai
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masyarakat Besemah dalam makna sosialnya, yaitu kecerdikan ketabahan (Langkah Panjang), kehati-hatian, suka bekerja (Kera Kurus), rendah hati, memanfaatkan lingkungan (Sinam Nam Tujuh Bersaudara dan Beteri Bersuamikan Ular), tolong menolong (Beteri Bersuamikan Ular), dan besikap adil (Kera Kurus). Adapaun nilai cerita atau andai-andai masyarakat Besemah dalam makna cinta kasih sesama manusia, yaitu kesetiaan pada pasangan (Beteri Bersuamikan Ular), patuh terhadap orang tua (Beteri Bersuamikan Ular), menepati janji (Kera Kurus), dan kasih sayang (Janji Raja). Adapun seni tembang memiliki fungsi sebagai alat hiburan dalam rangka memeriahkan berbagai acara atau hajatan yang dilakukan. Selain itu, seni tembang dari sisi diri penembang, pendengar, dan bagi yang melkukan hajatan. Bagi penembnag, sebagai ekspresi pengalaman, ajakan serta kritik atau nasihat. Bagi pendengar, mengingatkan, menyarankan, serta memberi petunjuk terhadap permasalahan yang sedang dihadapi. Bagi yang punya hajatan, sebagai saran dan nasihat, serta solusi dalam menghadapi berbagai hal yang sedang berkembang. 3.2. Implikasi Tradisi Lisan Masyarakat Besemah dalam Pembelajaran Implementasi tradisi sastra lisan Besemah dilakukan dengan menggali nilai-nilai karakter berdasarkan metode terjemahan yang dilakukan dalam pembelajaran puisi dan prosa pada pendekatan saintifik, yaitu mengamati, menanya, menalar, mencoba, dan mengomunikasikan. Permendikbud No.65 Tahun 2013 tentang Standar Proses mengamanatkan penggunaan pendekatan saintifik dengan menggali informasi melalui mengamati, menanya, mengeksplorasi, menalar, dan mencoba. Tahap mengamati mengutamakan kebermaknaan proses pembelajaran (meaningfull learning). Metode ini memiliki keunggulan tertentu, seperti menyajikan media objek secara nyata, peserta didik senang dan tertantang, dan mudah pelaksanaannya. Siswa mengamati tayangan tembang atau teks cerita rakyat Besemah kemudian mentranskripsikannya atau menginterpretasikannya dengan metode terjemahan serta menemukan berbagai permasalahan yang ada dalam tradisi lisan tersebut, seperti alur, tema, amanat, gaya bahasa, sudut pandang, penokohan, dan setting. Selain itu, siswa dapat juga menentukan rima, gaya bahasa, makna, dan ungkapan yang terdapat dalam tembang meringit tersebut. (2) Pengetahuan yang dimiliki seseorang, selalu bermula dari ‘bertanya’. Bertanya merupakan strategi utama pembelajaran yang berbasis Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL). Bertanya dalam pembelajaran dipandang sebagai kegiatan guru untuk mendorong, membimbing dan menilai kemampuan berpikir siswa. Bagi siswa, kegiatan bertanya merupakan bagian penting dalam pelaksanaaan pembelajaran. Siswa dalam mengajukan pertanyaan didorong rasa ingin tahu. Setiap pertanyaan merupakan saat yang berguna karena saat ini akan memusatkan seluruh perhatian untuk memahami sesuatuyang baru. Setiap pertanyaan yang diutarakan menunjukan bahwa siswa menyadari adanya suatu masalah. Siswa merasa kekurangan pengetahuan seputar materi yang diajarkan oleh guru. Guru harus mampu merangsang minat siswa bertanya serta mampu merespon setiap pertanyaan dengan baik. Keterampilan bertanya yang harus dimiliki siswa ketika bertanya yaitu frekuensi pertanyaan selama proses pembelajaran, substansi pertanyaan, bahasa, suara, dan kesopanan. Kegiatan bertanya ini dilakukan oleh siswa dalam menggali informasi yang terdapat dalam tradisi lisan tersebut. Pertanyaan tersebut berupa unsur yang terdapat dalam cerita maupun dalam tembang dan bebrapa pemakaian bahasa yang digunakan yang dirasa kurang dapat dipahami oleh siswa. Pertanyaan ini bisa dikemukakan oleh siswa kepada temannya atau dengan guru. Penalaran adalah proses berpikir yang logis dan sistematis atas fakta-kata empiris yang dapat diobservasi untuk memperoleh simpulan berupa pengetahuan. Penalaran dimaksud merupakan penalaran ilmiah. Istilah menalar di sini merupakan padanan dari associating. Karena itu, istilah aktivitas menalar dalam konteks pembelajaran pada Kurikulum 2013 dengan pendekatan ilmiah banyak merujuk pada teori belajar asosiasi atau pembelajaran asosiatif. Istilah asosiasi dalam pembelajaran merujuk pada kemamuan mengelompokkan beragam ide dan mengasosiasikan beragam peristiwa untuk kemudian memasukannya menjadi penggalan memori. Kegiatan menalar ini merupakan proses pemahaman siswa dalam memahami kompetensi yang diinginkan dalam pembelajaran sesuai dengan permasalahan yang dibahas
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dalam karya sastra tradisi lisan melalui beberapa pertanyaan yang dikemukakan. Hal itu dapat dilakukan melalui diskusi kelompok kecil atau berpasangan dalam menyelesaikan berbagai permasalahan yang dibahas. Kegiatan ekplorasi/mencoba adalah kegiatan pembelajaran yang didesain agar tecipta suasana kondusif yang memungkinkan siswa dapat melakukan aktivitas fisik yang memaksimalkan pengunaan panca indera dengan berbagai cara, media, dan pengalaman yang bermakna dalam menemukan ide, gagasan, konsep, atau prinsip sesuai dengan kompetensi mata pelajaran. Dalam kegiatan eksplorasi, guru: (1) melibatkan peserta didik mencari informasi yang luas tentang topik/tema materi yang akan dipelajari dengan menerapkan prinsip belajar dari aneka sumber; (2) menggunakan beragam pendekatan pembelajaran, media pembelajaran, dan sumber belajar lain; (3) memfasilitasi terjadinya interaksi antarpeserta didik serta antara peserta didik dengan guru, lingkungan, dan sumber belajar lainnya; (4) melibatkan peserta didik secara aktif dalam setiap kegiatan pembelajaran; dan (5) memfasilitasi peserta didik melakukan percobaan di kelas dengan menampilkan tradisi lisan yang dipelajari, misalnya bercerita dan betembang atau meringit. Tahap mengomunikasikan. Pada tahap ini peserta didik memaparkan hasil pemahamannya terhadap suatu konsep/bahasan secara lisan atau tertulis. Mengomunikasikan berbagai unsur cerita dan unsur tembang serta nilai-nilai karakter di dalam karya satra tersebut. Kegiatan yang dapat dilakukan adalah melakukan presentasi hasil kegiatannya di dalam kelompok mapun secara klasikal. Berdasarkan penjelasan tersebut di atas, bagan setiap tahapan dapat dilihat pada gambar berikut ini.
Gambar 1. Pendekatan Saintifik dalam Pembelajaran Bahasa Pendekatan pembelajaran dapat dikatakan sebagai pendekatan ilmiah apabila memenuhi tujuh kriteria pembelajaran (Komara, 2013). Pertama, materi pembelajaran berbasis pada fakta atau fenomena yang dapat dijelaskan dengan logika atau penalaran tertentu. Kedua, penjelasan guru, respon siswa, dan interaksi edukatif guru siswa terbebas dari prasangka yang serta merta, pemikiran subjektif, atau penalaran yang menyimpang dari alur berpikir logis. Ketiga, mendorong dan menginspirasi siswa berpikir secara kritis, analitis, dan tepat dalam mengidentifikasi, memahami, memecahkan masalah, dan mengaplikasikan materi pembelajaran. Keempat, mendorong dan menginspirasi siswa mampu berpikir hipotetik dalam melihat perbedaan, kesamaan, dan tautan dari materi pembalajaran. Kelima, mendorong dan menginspirasi siswa mampu memahami, menerapkan, dan mengembangkan pola berpikir yang rasional dan objektif dalam merespon materi pembelajaran. Keenam, berbasis pada konsep, teori, dan fakta empiris yang dapat dipertanggung jawabkan. Ketujuh, tujuan pembelajaran dirumuskan secara sederhana dan jelas, namun menarik sistem penyajiannya. 4. Simpulan Tradisi bukan saja bisa berdampingan dengan modernitas, tetapi dapat memperkuat tradisi demi perkembangan dan kemajuan, salah satunya melalui dunia pendidikan. Berdasarkan uraian di atas, tradsisi dan modernitas tradisi lisan meringit dan andai-andai masyarakat Besemah, yaitu (1) latar belakang terciptanya modernitas sebuah tradisi (a) adanya cerita rakyat yang tersebar secara lisan pada warga masyarakat Besemah, (b) adanya beberapa kepercayaan yang dianggap oleh warga masyarakat suku Besemah, (c) adanya beberapa adat istiadat atau
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budaya tradisi yang diwariskan secara turun temurun menjadi latar belakang terciptanya lagu atau tembang daerah suku Besemah, (d) adanya sejarah budaya, (e) adanya tata kelakuan dan kebiasaan orang-orang suku Besemah yang bertempat tinggal di gunung atau perbukitan dan aliran sungai. (2) Nilai yang terkandung dari tradisi lisan masyarakat Besemah banyak mengungkapkan tentang makna sosial masyarakat dan tentang cinta kasih sesama manusia. Implementasi tradisi sastra lisan Besemah dilakukan dengan menggali nilai-nilai karakter berdasarkan metode terjemahan yang dilakukan dalam pembelajaran puisi dan prosa pada pendekatan saintifik, yaitu mengamati, menanya, menalar, mencoba, dan mengomunikasikan. Pustaka Acuan Arono. 2004. “Bahasa Besemah di Kabupaten Bengkulu Selatan dan Kabupaten Kaur: Sebuah Kajian Giografi Dialek”. Padang: Tesis Program Pascasarjana Universitas Negeri Padang. Bradbury, Malcolm. 1972. The Social Context of Modern English Literature. London: Basil Blakwell & Mott Limited. Endraswara, Suwardi. 2003. Metodologi Penelitian Sastra: Epistemologi Model Teori dan Aplikasi. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Widyatama. Esten, Mursal. 1992. Tradisi dan Modernitas dalam Sandiwara. Jakarta: Intermasa. Fang, Liaw Yock. 1993. Sejarah Kesusastraan Melayu Klasik. Jakarta: Erlangga. Komara, Endang. 2013. ”Pendekatan Saintifik dalam Kurikulum 2013”. http://endangkomarasblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/pendekatan-scientific-dalamkurikulum.html. Bengkulu, 16 Maret 2014. Mardalis. 1995. Metode Penelitian Suatu Pendekatan Proposal. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika Offset. Muhadjir, Neong. 1996. Metode Penelitian Kualitatif. Yogyakarta: Rake Sarasin. Ratna, Nyoman Kutha. 2010. Teori, Metode, dan Teknik Penelitian Sastra. Denpasar: Pustaka Pelajar. Suripan, Sadi Hotomo. 1991. Mutiara yang Terlupakan: Pengantar Studi Sastra Lisan: Jatim: HISKI. Zoest, Art Van. 1993. Semiotik dan Cara Kerjanya. Jakarta: Yayasan Sumber Agung.
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Pengembangan Model Pembelajaran Apresiasi Puisi Berkarakter Berbasis STAD_Sugestopedia Marwiah, Universitas Sembilanbelas November Kolaka Wayan Pageyasa, Univesitas Sembilanbelas November Kolaka
Abstrak Masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimanakah model pembelajaran apresiasi puisi yang berbasis STAD-Sugestopedia dalam peningkatan hasil pembelajaran dan penanaman nilai-nilai karakter pada siswa. Pembelajaran apresiasi sastra bebasis STAD-Sugestopedia bertujuan untuk meningkatkan minat siswa terhadap sastra/puisi sehingga nilai-nilai yang terkandung dalam puisi tersebut dapat membentuk karakter. Selain itu, guru dapat mengembangkan model pembelajaran yang berbasis SATD-Sugestipdia yang pada akhirnya pembelajaran apresiasi sastra menjadi pembelajaran yang menarik, menyenangkan, dan bermakna terutama dalam pembentukan karakter siswa. Tujuan khusus yang akan dicapai dalam pelitian ini adalah ditemukannya model panduan implementasi pembelajaran yang berbasis STAD-Sugestopedia pada apresiasi sastra khusnya puisi, beserta perangkat assesment yang digunakan sebagai akhir dari penelitian ini. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dengan bermitra dengan Guru Bahasa Indonesia dalam penerapan model pembelajaran pendidikan karakter melalui apresiasi puisi yang berbasis STAD-Sugestopedia. Keterkaitan penelitian ini dengan tema kongres adalah bagaimana bahasa sebagai medium karya sastra dapat menjadi media dalam penanaman nilai-nilai yang terdapat pada karya sastra/puisi tersebut terhadap pembentukan karakter pada siswa. Fenomena degradasi nilai-nilai yang mulai melanda bangsa ini dapat ditanamkan kembali dengan bahasabahasa sastra yang padat makna dan sarat nilai diterapakan melalui pembelajaran apresiasi puisi berbasis STAD-Sugestopedia. Keywords : Model, STAD-Sugestopedia, Apresiasi puisi, berkarakter 1. Pendahuluan Pendidikan karakter pada dasarnya bukan hal yang baru. Pendidikan karakter telah ditanamkan dalam dunia pendidikan sejak dulu walaupun dalam model dan pendekatan yang berbeda-beda. Hal ini dapat dilihat pada rumusan undang-undang No. 20 tahun 2003 tentang Sistem pendidikan Nasional yang ditegaskan bahwa “Pendidikan nasional berfungsi mengembangkan kemampuan dan membentuk watak serta peradaban bangsa yang bermartabat dalam rangka mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa, bertujuan untuk berkembangnya potensi peserta didik agar menjadi manusia yang beriman dan bertakwa kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, berakhlak mulia, sehat, berilmu, cakap, kreatif, mandiri, dan menjadi warga negara yang demokratis serta bertanggung jawab.” Hal ini dikonkretkan dalam visi Kemendiknas tahun 2025 untuk membentuk insan paripurna. Namun, dapat dikatakan bahwa sampai pada saat ini belum menunjukkan hasil yang memuaskan, dibuktikan dengan banyaknya fenomena dimasyarakat yang menunjukkan bahwa perilaku masyarakat baik dari kalangan bawah, menengah, sampai kalangan masyarakat atas memiliki karakter yang kurang bagus. Kondisi ini pun tidak terkecuali pada generasi penerus bangsa ini baik di kalangan yang masih berstatus pelajar/ siswa maupun mahasiswa banyak perilaku mereka yang tidak berkarakter. Dengan cara membimbing siswa ke arah kehdupan bermakna, menjadi pribadi yang utuh dan memiliki kecerdasan emosi yang baik. Begitu pentingnya kualitas pendidikan karakter harus ditingkatkan , karena pada dasarnya pendidikan karakter pada intinya adalah penanaman nilai sebagaimana penelitian Ali Ibrahim Akbar yang dilakukan di Harvard University Amerika Serikat sebagaimana yang dikutif oleh (Zubaedi,2011) menyimpulkan bahwa kesuksesan seseorang hanya ditentukan sekitar 20 % dari kemampuan teknis (hard skill) dan 80 % kesuksesan ditentukan oleh kemampuan seseorang mengelola diri dan orang lain (soft skill).
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Oleh karena itu, pendidikan karakter yang intergratif dapat dilakukan melalui model pembelajaran apresiasi puisi dengan pembelajaran kooperatif yang berbasis STADSugetopedia. STAD-Sugetopedia merupakan suatu model pembelajaran kooperatif dan kolaboratif dengan kelas atau pembelajaran yang berlatar musik. Strategi ini mengembangkan prinsip kerjasama dan penghilangan beban-beban psikologis siswa melalui latar musik sehingga pembelajaran menjadi menarik dan menyenangkan. Pembelajaran apresiasi sastra khususnya apresiasi puisi pada mata pelajaran bahasa Indonesia merupakan pembelajaran yang belum berjalan secara optimal. Jika pembelajaran ini dapat dioptimalkan maka penanaman nilai-nilai yang ada pada karya tersebut dapat diinternalisasi dengan baik oleh siswa yang pada akhirnya nilai-nilai yang terdapat pada puisi atau karya sastra tersebut dapat membentuk karater siswa dengan baik. Sastra merupakan bagian dari pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia yang memiliki kraterisik khas dari mata pelajaran yang lain. Kemampuan yang dikembangkan adalah daya tangkap makna, peran, daya tafsir, dan mengekspresikan diri dengan berbahasa dan bersastra. Oleh karena itu, disebutkan dalam kurikulum untuk SMP disebutkan bahwa tujuan pembelajaran bahasa dan sastra Indonesia secara umum meliputi (1) siswa menghargai dan membanggakan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa persatuan (nasional) dan bahasa negara (2) siswa memahami bahasa Indonesia dari segi bentuk, makna, dan fungsi, serta menggunakannnya dengan tepat dan kreatif untuk bermacam-macam tujuan, keperluan dan keadaan (3) siswa memiliki kemampuan menggunakan bahasa Indonesia untuk meningkatkan kemampuan intelektual, kematangan emosional, dan kematangan social, (4) siswa memiliki disiplin dalam berpikir dan berbahasa (berbicara dan menulis), (5) siswa mampu menikmati dan memanfaatkan karya sastra untuk mengembangkan kepribadian, memperluas wawasan kehidupan, serta meningkatkan pengetahuan dan kemampuan berbahasa dan (6) siswa menghargai dan membanggakan sastra Indonesia sebagai khazanah budaya dan intelekual manusia Indonesia. Mencermati tujuan pengajaran bahasa Indonesia di atas dapat disimpulkan bahwa lima tujuan tersebut mengintegarasikan pendidikan karakter, sebagaimana program pemerintah yang mewajibkan terintegrasinya pendidikan karakter pada semua bidang studi dan seluruh jenjang pendidikan. Hal inilah yang menjadi motivasi sehingga penelitian ini diadakan untuk meberikan inovasi pada model, strategi, dan metode pembelajaran guru untuk pencapaian tujuan dan hasil belajar sebagaimana yang diharapkan bahwa pendidikan karakter terdapat pada seluruh bidang studi. Model ini menerapkan Pembelajaran kooperatif merupakan salah satu strategi pembelajaran yang berorientasi pada pembelajaran kontekstual yaitu masyarakat belajar ( learning community) . Dalam masyarakat belajar, hasil pembelajaran dapat diperoleh dari kerja sama dengan orang lain , hasil belajar diperoleh dari saling berbagi antarteman, antarkelompok, dan antarsiswa yang tahu kepada siswa yang belum tahu. Lie (2005) mengemukakan bahwa terdapat lima unsur pembelajaran kooperatif yaitu (1) saling ketergantungan positif (2) interaksi tatap muka,(3) akuntabilitas individual (4) keterampilan menjalin interaksi interpersonal, dan (5) evaluasi proses kelompok. Metode STAD ( Student Teams Achievement Divisions) dikembangkaolh Robert Slavin dan kawan- kawannya dari Universitas John Hopkins pada tahun 1985. Metode ini dipadang sebagai metode yang paling sederhana dan langsung dari pendekatan pembelajaran kooperatif . Metode STAD digunakan untuk mengajarkan informasi akademik baru kepada siswa setiap minggu, baik melalui penyajian verbal maupun tertulis. Para siswa di dalam kelas dibagi menjadi beberapa kelompok. Model pembelajaran yang berbasis Sugestopedia adalah model pembelajaran berlatar musik yang populer dengan nama ‘metode sugestopedia’ dipelopori oleh Lozanov (1978) berasal dari Bulgaria yang berprofesi sebagai seorang pendidik, psikoterapis, dan ahli fisika. Metode sugestopedia ini dikenal juga sebagai pembelajarandan pengajaran sugestifakseleratif (sugest ive-accelerative learning and teaching) atau metode Lozanova (Omagio,1986; Tarigan 1988). Sugestopedia merupakan seperangkat khusus rekomendasirekomendasi pembelajaran yang diturunkan dari sugestologi yang diperikan oleh Lozanov
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sebagai suatu ilmu pengetahuan mengenai telaah bersisitem terhadap pengaruh-pengaruh yang tidak rasional atau tidak sadar yang secara konstan ditanggapi oleh manusia (Stevick,1976). Oleh karena itu model pembelajaran yang berbasis STAD-Sugestopedia adalah suatu pembelajaran yang mengembangkan pembelajaran kooperatif yang proses pembelajarannya berlatar musik. Pembelajaran yang berlatar musik bertujuan untuk menghilangkan beban psikologis siswa sebelum memasuki inti pembelajaran. 2. Metode Penelitian a. Jenis dan Rancangan Penelitian Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian pengembangan. Rancangan penelitian ini diadaptasi dari rancangan pengembangan Plomp (1997) yaitu tahap: pengkajia awal, perencanaan, realisasi konstruk, evaluasi dan revisi dan impementasi. b. Sumber Data Sumber data adala 30 siswa Kelas VII SMP Negeri 1 Kolaka. c. Teknik Anlisis Data Menentukan tingkat pembelajaran apresiasi puisi yang berkarakter dengan perhitungan persentase untuk perhitungan skala lima yang diadaptasi dari Nurgiantoro (2001) seperti pada Tabel 1 berikut ini. Tabel 1. Penentuan Patokan dengan Perhitungan Persentase untuk Skala Lima Interval Persentase Tingkat Penguasaan Keterangan 85 persen - 100 persen Amat Baik 75 persen - 84 persen Baik 60 persen - 74 persen Cukup 40 persen - 59 persen Kurang 0 persen - 39 persen Gagal Sumber: Adaptasi Nurgiyantoro (2001:399) 4. Pembahasan Hasil Penelitian Pada pembahasan ini hanya akan ditaangkan hasil rekapitulasi akumusai nilai dari empat jenis tes yang telah diujicobakan kepada 30 siswa kelas VII di SMP Negeri 1 Kolaka, Kabupaten Kolaka, Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara. Hasil Ujicoba tersebut dapat dilihat pada tabel 2 berikut ini.
Kategori /persentase Gagal Kurang Cukup Baik Amat Baik
Tabel 2. Akumulasi Hasil Tes Penerapan Model ApresiaSI/konsep Keterampilan Keterampilan Membaca Puisi Menulis Puisi 0 0 0 0 0 0 16,6 0 16,6 66,6 56,66 66,6 16,6 33,33 16,6
Karakter 0 0 6,66 43,33 50,00
Dari akumulasi dan rekapitulasi nilai pada tabel 2 di atas, dapat dimaknai bahwa penerapan model model STAD-Sugestpedia pada pembelajaran apresiasi puisi berkarakter sangat berdampak positif terhadap peningkatan kemampuan siswa. Selain itu, pengintegrasian pendidikan karakter sangat sesuai dengan fungsi-fungsi sastra yang dapat memperhalus budi pekerti. Seperti yang terdapat pada akumulasi nilai hasil tes dari seluruh indikator menunjukkan bahwa keampuan siswa pada indikaor pengusaan konsep meliputi: kategori baik mencapai 66,6% dan kategori sangat baik 16,6% sama dengan kategori cukup 16,6% berarti 0% untuk
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kategori kurang dan gagal. Keterampilan membaca puisi 33,33 % kategori sangat baik dan 56,66 kategori baik sedangkan kategori kurang dan gagal 0%. Indikator menulis puisi untuk kategori sangat baik mencapai 16,6%, kategori baik 66,6%, dan kategori cukup 16,6% sehingga kategori kurang dan gagal o%. Sedangkan kontribusi karakter nilai –nilai kepedulian terhadap sesama untuk kategori sangat baik mencapai 50,00%, kategori baik 43,33%, dan kategori cukup 6,66% sehingga kategori kurang dan gagal 0%. Dari ahsil analisis data tersebut maka disimpulkan bahwa model ini dapat memberikan kontribusi yang sangat baik terhadap peningkatan komptensi siswa terhadap apresiasi puisi dan pendidikan karakter anak khususnya pilarkarakter “OLAH HATI dan OLAH PIKIR” yang terwujud pada kemampuan siswa memahami dan mengapresiasi puisi serta tumbuhnya rasa kepedulian dan rasa empati siswa terhadap orang lain. 5. Simpulan Penelitian ini menemukan dan menghasilkan model pembelajaran apresiasi puisi berkarakter berbasis STAD- Sugestopedia yang terdiri atas model pengembangan silabus, model pengembangan materi, model pengembangan RPP dan model pengembangan evaluasi, sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa: 1. Model pembelajaran ini memudahkan guru untuk pembelajaran apresiasi puisi dan meningkatkan kemampuan siswa dalam mengapresiasi puisi. 2. Meningkatkan kinerja guru dalam merencanakan, melaksanakan, dan mengevaluasi pembelajaran. 3. Model ini menciptakan akselerasi dan percepatan pembelajaran khususnya dalam apresiasi puisi. 4. Model ini membantu siswa dalam mengapresiasi puisi dan menginternalisasi nilainilai luhur dalam pembentukan karakter yang positif dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.
Daftar Pustaka Lie, Anita. 2005. Cooperative Learning. Mempraktikkan Cooperative Learning di Ruangruang Kelas. Jakarta: Grasindo. Lozanova,G. 1978. Sugestology and Outline of Suggestopedy. New York: Gordon & Biech. Moody, H.L.B. 1971. The Teaching of Literature. London: Longman Group Ltd. Plomp,T. 1997. Educational and Training System Design. Enschede, The Netherlands University of Twente. Santidarma, Monti P. 2002. Terapi Musik. Jakarta: Milenia Populer. Stevik, E. 1976. Memory, Meaning & Method: some psychological Perspekives on Language Learning. Rowley, Mass:Newbury House Publiskers, Inc. Sultanova, R.R. 1992. The Emotional Expressioness of the Oriental Traditional Music: The Look from without and from Within. Perm: Perm Institute for Arts and Culture. Sudarajat, Akhmad. 2010.” Konsep Pendidikan Karakter” word press Com. http://akhamadsudrajat.wordpress.com/2011/12/10 konsep pendidikan Karakter. Diakses pada tanggal 10 Desember 2011. Suparlan. 2010. “Pendidikan Karakter: Sedemikain Pentingkah, dan Apakah Yag Harus Kita Lakukan”dalam Suparlan. Com, dipubliasikan 15 Oktober 2010 http://www.supalan.com/pages/post/pendidikan karakter-sedemikian-penting kahdan-apa-yang-harus-kita lakukakn-305.php. Tarigan, Henry Guntur. 1989. Metodology Pengajaran Bahasa. Jakarta: Ditjen Dikt Tony, Stockwell. 1992. Accelerated Learning in Theory and Practice. EFFECT: Lic Chtenstein. Vos, Jeannette dan Dryden, Gordon. 2004. The Learning Revolution. Terjemahan Word Translation Service. Bandung: Kaifa. Zubaedi. 2011. Pendidikan Berbasis Masyarakat. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
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Code-switching among the City Councilors of a City in Region IV-A, Philippines during the Regular Session Kristine May D. Martinez, M.A., University of Santo Tomas
Abstract Language is communication packed with meanings. People interchange thoughts, feelings, and information using language for numerous reasons that are critical in establishing relationships in the society. In the Philippines, code-switching is a linguistic phenomenon that reflects Filipinos’ capacity to gain competence in using at least two languages: the mother tongue and English. This study explored and described how and why the City Councilors of a city in Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog Region) code-switch during their Regular Session. It intended to emphasize the importance of knowing and understanding the language employed by the City Councilors in performing acts of public service in one of the most significant domains of language --legislation (as cited in Sibayan, 1990). The legislative proceedings of the Regular Session were observed, recorded, and analyzed. Two City Councilors representing the two districts of the city were interviewed about their insights on legislative discourse. John Gumperz’s framework for the conversational functions of code-switching and Poplack’s types of code-switching were considered in analyzing the phenomenon of code-switching in the City Council. Results show that code-switching is vital to the City Councilors in performing their duties and responsibilities as local legislators who enact measures for effective public governance and accountability. Keywords: Bilingualism, code-switching, conversational functions, language of politics, communication in legislation.
1. Introduction The Philippines is a bilingual country where most Filipinos have command or competence in mastering two languages, Filipino and English. Filipinos are known to be flexible when they encounter different circumstances and sometimes, they tend to be automatic in using languages in communication: they use English in formal occasions and Filipino in casual events. Code-switching is a linguistic phenomenon in the Philippines. It is defined as “the alternate use of two or more distinct languages, varieties of a language, or even speech styles, within the same speech situation by the same individual” (Pascasio, 1983 & 1984: 122). It is incorporated into Philippine culture which has long been made rich, colorful, and dynamic by historical episodes of colonialism in the past centuries. One can find traces and manifestations of code-switching almost everywhere in the country: in schools, churches, business establishments, government and private offices, markets, streets, and at home. Generally speaking, where there is communication, there is code-switching. Diverse instances of this phenomenon happen each day in the most common places and circumstances in the Philippine society. Code-switching takes place within the parameters of local government units in the Philippines. The languages used by Philippine government officials and employees are their native tongue (i.e., Filipino or any of the local dialects) and English. They use these languages in conducting important transactions with their constituents who seek their services. Each local government unit (LGU) in the country is conferred with duties and responsibilities that are significant in aspiring for the consummate progress and advancement of its jurisdiction. It possesses critical tasks of providing efficient political direction and effective control over and management of the actions or affairs of its constituents. It is primarily responsible and accountable for the constant and effective promotion of the welfare of its inhabitants who,
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despite the occurrences of political conflicts and social squabbles, remain optimistic about the contribution of the government in the betterment of their lives. In a city in Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog Region), Philippines, the use of language in communication is indispensable to the critical proceedings that happen within the boundaries of the City Government including the City Council where acts of local legislation occur. The City Council, more commonly known as the Sangguniang Panlungsod, is comprised of the City Vice Mayor as the Presiding Officer, the City Councilors who represent the two districts of the city, the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) President, and the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President. They are given the critical task of performing legislative acts, which pertain principally to the enactment or adoption of laws (i.e., ordinances and resolutions) that are implemented in the city. Such enactment of ordinances and resolutions is done during the Regular Sessions of the City Council. These pieces of legislation are adopted in order to address and respond to the needs and predicaments of the city’s residents. 1.1. Statement of the Problem This research seeks to explore and describe how the City Councilors of a city in Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog Region), Philippines code-switch in performing legislative acts during the 30th Regular Session. Specifically, it intends to answer the following questions: 1. What are the conversational functions of code-switching among the City Councilors during the Regular Session? 2. Why do the City Councilors code-switch during the Regular Session? 3. What are the implications of code-switching on legislation in the local government? 1.2. Significance of the Problem This research intends to contribute to the studies on bilingualism and code-switching in the Philippines. It is beneficial because it provides meaningful and useful information necessary in acquiring better understanding of the phenomenon of code-switching. It features specific instances of code-switching as they occur in legislation, which is one of the language domains identified by Sibayan (1990), and these give a vivid representation of how elected government officials communicate in a formal context. This research is important because it offers suggestions on the practical improvement of administrative and legislative practices of local legislators in the Philippines. It encourages government officials to enhance their communication skills in order to effectively and efficiently perform their duties and responsibilities as public servants. It also emphasizes the significance for the constituents to gain knowledge about the language used by the local legislators since “the use of languages and the language patterns in common (often unconscious) use in different sub-domains of political life (legislation, administration, propaganda, elections, and campaigns) are indicative of the state of a society” (Gonzalez & Alberca, 1991: 62). 2. Review of Literature and Conceptual Framework 2.1. Review of Literature The City Council or Sangguniang Panlungsod is the legislative body of the city that is vested with powers, duties, and functions to “enact ordinances, approve resolutions, and appropriate funds for the general welfare of the city and its inhabitants” (Tabunda & Galang, 1991: 187). In his work entitled Language Domains and the Development of Filipino, Sibayan (1990) identified legislation as one of the most significant domains of language in which the communication process regularly takes place. He stated that the legislation is a controlling domain and therefore, “practically dictate[s] what language is to be learned for use in the domain because the domain dictates the language of work” (Sibayan, 1990: 151). Language prepares and conditions the human mind for thought processes that make man capable of articulating his ideas on the physical and social environment. In the realm of politics, achieving goals and objectives that include finding solutions to social predicaments entails the art of talking. Thus, the use of language in communication is embedded naturally in politics
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since it is an activity that involves interaction among people. Roelofs (1967) signifies that the definition of politics as talk secures interest on the significant aspects of political experience that have intrinsic significance to both the political process and to people as liberal democrats. Concerning the language in Philippine government, Arcelo (1990), in his journal article entitled The Role of Language in Philippine Society, stated that English is the predominant language. The development of communication skills among government officials and employees is encouraged and this entails competence in the use of both native tongue and English since they belong to a bilingual society. By having two or more languages in their linguistic repertoires, Filipinos code-switch inevitably. Code-switching is defined as “the alternate use of two or more distinct languages, varieties of a language or even speech styles, within the same speech situation by the same individual” (Pascasio, 1983 & 1984: 122). Because the Philippines has a wide range of regional dialects and Filipinos recognize English as a global language that they need to be competent of, code-switching has become a linguistic phenomenon in the country. Studies on code-switching in different Philippine contexts were produced by researchers and two of these were conducted by De Torres (1987) and Limoso (2002) who concentrated on code-switching in the business domain and classroom context, respectively. Pascasio (2003 & 2004), in one of her articles, stated, “The Filipino bilingual of today possesses a strong national identity but needs to seek to render it more functional for the purposes of national well-being in the modern world” (p.69). Filipinos are bilingual or multilingual speakers who “have a real intrapersonal advantage because they are able to shift from one language to another, and they have a variety of perspectives to use as they formulate ideas, assess problems, and come up with creative thoughts” (Antonio, Litao, & Madrunio, 2011: 104). It is at this juncture that the choice of language becomes crucial and dependent on a person’s background, motivation, purpose, topic, and context. Pascasio (1977) articulated, “Language maintenance and code-switching are both used as devices to maintain, or alternatively, to reduce language distance or cultural distance between those who come from a linguistically diverse and highly stratified society” (p.322). 2.2. Conceptual Framework Figure 1 represents the conceptual framework employed in this study. It reflects the Order of Business of the Regular Session of the City Council. The arrows show the sequence of events that happens during the Regular Session. A brace extends to the right where there is a list of Gumperz’s conversational functions (as cited in Pascasio, 1978) and Poplack’s types of codeswitching (as cited in Hamers & Blanc, 2000). This signifies that there are possibilities that these types and functions of code-switching are present in the different parts of the Order of Business. This entails the proper identification and description of the most and least frequent among the conversational functions and types of code-switching in the Regular Session. 3. Methodology 3.1. Research Locale and Participants This research was conducted in the City Council or Sangguniang Panlungsod of a local government unit (LGU) situated in Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog Region), Philippines. The research subjects or participants were the members of the City Council who were elected government officials responsible for enacting legislative measures: the City Vice Mayor as the Presiding Officer during the Regular Session, the 16 City Councilors representing the two districts of the city, the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) President, and the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President. 3.2. Research Design A qualitative research design, specifically a grounded theory design, was employed in this study. This approach was appropriate to use because it corresponded to the research problem that required the exploration of code-switching during the Regular Session of the City Council in order to obtain knowledge and understanding of it. Grounded theory design was
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utilized for the purpose of developing a general explanation on the legislative process and the interaction among local legislators. The explanation on instances of code-switching among the City Councilors during the Regular Session was grounded in the data obtained from the research participants. Figure 1. Code-switching in the Regular Session of the City Council Order of Business
Call to Order Roll Call Reading and Consideration of the Minutes of the Previous Session Privilege Hour Reading and Referral of Proposed Measures Committee Reports
Calendar of Business Unfinished Business 2nd Reading Business for the Day
Gumperz’s Conversational Functions (as cited in Pascasio, 1978) 1) quotation 2) addressee specification 3) interjection 4) reiteration or repetition 5) message qualification 6) personalization vs. objectivization Poplack’s Types of Code-switching (as cited in Hamers & Blanc, 2000) 1) extra-sentential 2) intersentential 3) intrasentential
3rd Reading 2nd Reading Unassigned Business
Announcements Adjournment
3.3. Data Gathering Procedure Permission to gain access to the 30th Regular Session of the City Council on February 11, 2008 was acquired through a request made to the City Vice Mayor who was its Presiding Officer. The City Vice Mayor issued a certification attesting his permission to conduct a video recording of the proceedings that took place during the 30th Regular Session. The videotape recording was transcribed for inclusion in the analysis and interpretation of research findings.
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The transcript provides a verbatim record of the proceedings in the Regular Session. It contains 14 pages with 626 lines that cover an approximate time of 60 minutes of the Regular Session. Request letters attached to the questionnaires were provided to the two City Councilors, identified as CCD1 and CCD2 (i.e., City Councilor of District I and City Councilor of District II), for the purpose of seeking their participation in the research. The questionnaire contains open-ended questions that deal with the language that the City Councilors employ during the proceedings involved in the legislative process of the Regular Session. The questions were the following: 1) As a City Councilor, what are your roles and functions during the Regular Session?; 2) How do you describe the process of enacting legislative measures during the Regular Session?; 3) What language do you usually employ during the Regular Session?; 4) What do you think of the language used during the Regular Session?; and 5) What are your suggestions for the improvement of the language used by the City Councilors during the Regular Session? Probes about code-switching in the Regular Session were also included to elicit more information from the respondents and encourage them to expound their insights on the said phenomenon. Responses to these probes and additional notes on the interview are manifested in the interview protocol. 4. Discussion of Results and Conclusion 4.1. The City Council (Sangguniang Panlungsod) and its Regular Session This study conducted videotape recording of the 30th Regular Session of the City Council that was held on a Monday afternoon at the Sangguniang Panlungsod Session Hall. The video featured the process involved in the deliberations on the enactment of legislative measures during the Regular Session. The proceedings were generally in English because it is the official language used in formal courses of action like the legislation. The use of English promotes wider communication and appeals to diverse audiences. Nevertheless, most of the City Councilors did not communicate entirely in English. Instead, they code-switched when they articulated their thoughts and viewpoints on important public matters and concerns such as health, peace and order, public utilities, housing and land use, youth development, and barangay affairs. It was also observable that some City Councilors exerted efforts to express themselves in English and use less of the vernacular. This manifests that they were still conscious of the fact that legislative measures as well as deliberations on these should be addressed in English. They were aware of the formality of legislation that chiefly requires the use of English. In the questionnaires provided, both CCD1 and CCD2 articulated that their functions as local legislators during the Regular Session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod include the introduction and enactment of legislative measures such as ordinances and resolutions that promote the interest and welfare of the city’s constituents. As the Minority Floor Leader, CCD2 emphasized his role in ensuring “that issues are well amplified.” With reference to the process of enacting legislative measures during the Regular Session, CCD1 and CCD2 described it by stating the following: 1) First Reading – citation and referral of proposed measures; 2) Second Reading – deliberation on the proposed measures; and 3) Third Reading – voting for the final approval of the proposed measures. Both City Councilors conveyed the fact that they use English generally during the Regular Session although CCD1 affirmed that “…if what I have in mind can’t be expressed in English, I use Tagalog.” They mentioned that the language used in the Regular Session is English so that “everyone can understand what is being discussed inside the Session Hall;” however, CCD2 confirmed that the use of “Filipino is also allowed.” As a matter of fact, most of the City Councilors code-switched to best express their thoughts and judgments. CCD1 and CCD2 were also asked to give suggestions for the improvement of language used in the Regular Session. The former recommended “that short term courses on English language and speech proficiency must be offered to the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod,” which will be partly allocated by the City Government. “There must be strict implementation of one language policy” during the Regular Session was the suggestion formulated by CCD2.
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Figure 2. Code-switching in the 30th Regular Session of the City Council Order of Business
Call to Order
no code-switching
Roll Call
no code-switching
Reading and Consideration of the Minutes of the Previous Session
very minimal code-switching
Privilege Hour
frequent code-switching *conversational functions (Gumperz) 1) addressee specification; 2) interjection; 3) repetition (most frequent); 4) message qualification 5) personalization vs. objectivization; and 6) expressions of politeness *additional functions (based on research findings) 1) clarification and 2) call attention *types of code-switching (Poplack) 1) intersentential (most frequent) and 2) intrasentential
Reading and Referral of Proposed Measures
very minimal code-switching
Committee Reports
very minimal code-switching
Calendar of Business
Unfinished Business 2nd Reading Business for the Day 3rd Reading 2nd Reading
minimal code-switching *conversational function (Gumperz): quotation *type of code-switching (Poplack): intrasentential
no code-switching frequent code-switching *conversational functions (Gumperz) 1) addressee specification; 2) repetition; and 3) expressions of politeness (most frequent) *additional function: clarification (most frequent) *type of code-switching (Poplack): intersentential
Unassigned Business
no code-switching
Announcements
no code-switching
Adjournment
no code-switching
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In the Philippines, the use of two or more languages is, undeniably, “an integral aspect of social and political interaction in the bilingual society” (Pascasio, 1977: 322). The language that the City Councilors use is the one in which they can present themselves well in delivering their arguments during the Regular Session. In this way, they are capable of conveying their thoughts and concerns on significant issues that need to be articulated for effective and efficient public service and governance. They are also assured and confident that their audience is capable of grasping their intentions and understanding the importance of their acts and intercessions. 4.2. Code-switching: A Linguistic Phenomenon in the Local Legislative Process Figure 2 shows instances of code-switching as they happened in the 30th Regular Session of the City Council. The arrows placed beside each part of the Order of Business signify the occurrences of code-switching among the City Councilors. The conversational functions of code-switching according to John J. Gumperz (as cited in Pascasio, 1978) as well as its different types according to Poplack (as cited in Hamers & Blanc, 2000) were identified. During the 30th Regular Session of the City Council, code-switching frequently happened during the Privilege Hour when the City Councilors conveyed their viewpoints about public matters and the Calendar of Business when they delivered arguments for the effective deliberation of proposed measures. As presented in Figure 2, parts that are labeled with “no code-switching” suggest that the language employed was English. The most frequent type of code-switching in the Regular Session was the intersentential code-switching, which Poplack (as cited in Hamers & Blanc, 2000) defined as switch at clause or sentence boundary. Codeswitching had diverse conversational functions in the Regular Session and the most frequent of these were repetition, expressions of politeness, and clarification. CCD1 and CCD2 agreed to the fact that code-switching is inevitable to happen among the City Council members. CCD2 expressed that, it is not acceptable or appropriate to codeswitch because “it is a manifestation of weakness of one’s command of language” and “one cannot compromise practice with what’s proper and right.” Nevertheless, he admitted that codeswitching is helpful and advantageous to the City Councilors most especially “to those who find it hard to express their thoughts in English.” According to CCD1 and CCD2, the reasons for and implications of the occurrences of code-switching during the Regular Session are: 1) poor command of the second language; 2) emphasis of a matter in the vernacular; and 3) quotation of the words used in utterances. The following examples of code-switching in the Regular Session, which were extracted from the verbatim transcript, are presented on the basis of the conversational functions generated by Gumperz (as cited in Pascasio, 1978) and Poplack’s (as cited in Hamers & Blanc, 2000) three types of code-switching. Quotation. Intrasentential code-switching: “No. 3, Draft Resolution No. 2008-26, “A Resolution Approving the Brgy. San Jose Kapasyahan Blg. F-12 -07 Serye 2007 “Ang Sangguniang Barangay ng San Jose, Lungsod ng Antipolo, sa ilalim ng kanilang bawat Committee Chairmanship ay Sumasang-ayon na ang kanilang Co-Chairman ay Lumagda sa Pangalan nila sa Panahon ng Pangangailangan.” (lines 407-410) Addressee Specification. Intrasentential code-switching: “Magandang hapon po sa ating Presiding Officer at sa mga Konsehal po.” (lines 109-110) Interjection. Intersentential code-switching: “Alam na natin ‘yung level of awareness!” (line 234) Repetition. Intersentential code-switching: “Satellite office lang naman po hindi ‘yung parang district kundi satellite office.” (lines 558-559) Message Qualification. Intersentential code-switching: “… sabi ko na nga there was a chance for us to have income from… deriving from the operation of the issuance of permits.” (lines 237-238) Personalization versus Objectivization. Intrasentential code-switching: “Para po sa kaalaman ng lahat, ang Antipolo po ay bahagi ng isang malaking watershed at ang Antipolo sa
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loob nito ay mayroong malaking watershed ang tawag po natin ay Marikina Watershed. At sa loob mismo ng Antipolo, meron ho tayong tinatawag na seven or pitong sub-watershed.” (lines 201-204) Inquiry versus Giving Information. Intersentential code-switching: “So, is it clear to the [pause] to Chairman of Public Utilities and Facilities na baka na naman isa rin ‘yon na requirement?” (lines 621-623) Expression of Politeness. Intersentential code-switching: “Ang ibig sabihin ay masangguni rin sapagkat napansin namin na ang mga nakakausap lang, with due respect po, ay hindi siguro uhh…” (lines 101-103) Additional conversational functions of code-switching, which are not included in Gumperz’s framework, were perceptible during the Regular Session of the City Council. These functions are the following: Clarification. Intrasentential code-switching: “So, ang akin lang, let it be put on record na hindi tayo sisihin ‘pag nagkaroon tayo ng pagkakataon next time na meron na tayong sarili naman nating…” (lines 247-249) Call Attention. Intrasentential code-switching: “Ang atin lang pong concern ay… sana nandito po ang Chairman ng Overside Committee ng Public Works para…” (lines 72-73) Among the conversational functions enumerated above, the most frequent of these were repetition, expressions of politeness, and clarification. The reason for this is that the City Councilors normally repeat their ideas and messages from English to Filipino or vice versa in order to make some necessary clarifications or emphases. Another reason is that Filipinos are intrinsically polite that is why they usually insert honorifics such as po, opo, ho, and oho into their statements that are addressed to their fellow government officials and their constituents. The least observable function of code-switching in the Regular Session was personalization versus objectivization. With regard to the types of code-switching, the most discernible was intersentential code-switching because of the apparent switches at clause or sentence boundaries, one clause in English, the other clause Filipino. Extra-sentential code-switching was not perceptible in the Regular Session because the City Councilors did not insert a tag from English into an utterance which was entirely Filipino or vice versa. 5. Conclusion The core of politics is talking and “the essence of political experience, and not just its basic condition, is that it is an activity of communication between persons” (Roelofs, 1967: 19). The indispensable notion that politics involves talk primarily suggests that it is an activity that involves transmission of thoughts or ideas about certain matters. It is essential to know and understand that “any particular language of politics by which actual men and women go about talking politics to each other is always but a part of the total language of the particular culture, taken as a whole, in which these men and women live their lives” (Roelofs, 1967: 52). Unquestionably, language possesses a critical function in the study of political communication in the Philippines. The use of both Filipino and English languages by the City Councilors of a city in Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog Region) is crucial in their legislative functions. Code-switching is of huge importance to the City Councilors in performing their duties and responsibilities as local legislators who propose and enact measures that are significant to public governance and are beneficial to the welfare of their constituents.
References Antonio, M. A. K., Litao, R. A., and Madrunio, M. R. 2011. Contextualizing oral communication. Manila: UST Publishing House. Arcelo, A. 1990. The role of language in Philippine society. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 21(1), 51-54. De Torres, A. Q. 1987. Code switching in the business domain: Batangas setting. Thesis paper presented at the Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City.
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Gonzalez, A. and Alberca, W. 1991. Language and politics in the Philippines: A bibliographical survey. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 2(1 & 2), 61-70. Hamers, J. and Blanc, M. 2000. Bilinguality and bilingualism. (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Limoso, R. J. 2002. Code switching among Literature teachers of Miriam College: Patterns, functions and implications. Thesis paper presented at the Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City. Pascasio, E. 1977. Language and communication for national development. In B. Sibayan & A. Gonzalez (Eds.), Language planning and the building of a national language: Essays in honor of Santiago A. Fonacier on his ninety-second birthday (pp. 322-337). Manila: Linguistic Society of the Philippines and Language Study Center. Pascasio, E. 1978. Dynamics of code switching in the business domain. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 9(1 & 2), 40-50. Pascasio, E. 1983 & 1984. Philippine bilingualism and code switching. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 14(2) & 15(1), 122-134. Pascasio, E. 2003 & 2004. The Filipino bilingual from a sociolinguistic perspective. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 34(2) & 35(1), 69-77. Roelofs, H. M. 1967. The language of modern politics: An introduction to study the government. Homewood, Illinois: The Dorsey Press. Sibayan, B. 1990. Language domains and the development of Filipino. The Philippine Journal of Education, 69(4), 150-154,183,185. Tabunda, M. and Galang, M. 1991. Primer Q & A Local Government Code of 1991. Sampaloc, Manila: Mary Jo Educational Supply.
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Fishing Village to an Urbanised Town – Influence of English Language Manoj Chandrasenan , Tutor , District Centre For English, Kerala , India Affiliated To The English And Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.
Abstract Kovalam, located in the south India, with its pristine beaches have attracted tourists from the days since the British occupied India. Realizing the importance of English, locals started sending their children to English medium schools. Slowly, business establishments came under the local educated people. The study conducted by the author revealed that almost 80 percent of the fishermen community stopped their traditional fishing vocation. Instead, most of them set up several institutions congenial to tourism sector such as hotels, Restaurants, fancy stores, fruit stalls and even tourism facilitation centres. Now the community leads an urbanised life.The English language using capacity gained them great respect from the city dwellers. Around 90 percent of the local people speak English without much difficulty. Tourists appreciate the quality of English language spoken by locals and this provides them great comfort while in Kovalam. The study clearly reveals that the Urbanisation of the local community is purely because of the acceptance of a foreign language (English) and mastering it, realizing the importance of it. Keywords: Business, English language, fishing village, standard of living, township, tourist inflow, urbanisation
1.Introduction Kerala the land of coconuts and beautiful landscapes had always attracted hoards of tourists.Tourists come to enjoy the serenity and tranquility which is available here abundantly. Within no time Kovalam beach became one of the hot spots of beach holiday makers. The great flow of tourist towards Kovalam started during the seventies by some favourable policies of the government towards Tourism Kovalam is located further south to Trivandrum city. It’s hardly fifteen kilometers from the heart of the City. Due to its natural geographical peculiarities congenial for fishing it was known to be a large fishing village in the seventies. The hamlets of fishermen and their fishing equipments thronged the beach during those days. By some liberal policies the Government of Kerala opened their doors for tourism during the mid seventees. Foreign beach lovers who visited kovalam started liking the beach for its low tide and clean waters. The tropical climate prevailed in kovalam also paved way for the influx of tourists. While taking a set of students for a field trip to Kovalam the researcher noticed a city like atmosphere prevailed in Kovalam. Innumerable shops and commercial establishments were found to be established all along the beach as well as in the adjacent areas. But the most striking factor was that several residential blocks were found to be constructed in and around Kovalam. We were astonished to see that the natives , shopkeepers and sales persons were speaking good English. It was also found that these people are really the natives of that village and left their traditional fishing trade and now got involved in tourism. The researcher felt the need of a proper study which resulted in this transformation. As part of our educational project it was decided to conduct a detailed study about the transformation of Kovalam from a fishing hamlet to an urbanized town. 2. Research methodology For this study a combination of research methods have been used. 1. Survey 2. Interviews
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3. Observation 4. Focused group discussions This study is primarily a qualitative research with the adoption of quantitative methods as and when required. As per Strauss and Corbin (1990) qualitative research , broadly defined , means “any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification”. Based on this, a survey was conducted in the village of Kovalam with the help of Revenue authorities. Photographs and revenue records relating to the standard of living of the natives during the seventy’s were collected. Along with that the present status and whereabouts of the natives were also collected. Upto nineteen eighties only a handful of applications were received by the revenue authorities for the construction of houses. Until such time the people lived in thatched huts and engaged in fishing for a living. But from the last decade itself the local revenue office was upgraded to a higher level office due to the volume of applications of building permits and such developmental requirements. The present survey was focused on the people who are living there. There were questions relating to their educational background, parental occupation and their present financial position and the like. Based on the observation schedule evidence were collected to record the present position of Kovalam and its infrastructural development. Discussions were also conducted among different age group members of the village and also according to the different business groups 3. Analysis of the data The data thus collected were analysed in a detailed manner. The survey results clearly denotes the drastic development of a small fishing village Kovalam to a modern tourist resort centre with all modern facilities and amenities. The most striking factor in this is that the natives of that village never allowed outside incursions towards their own villages’ potential growth and development. They have grown with the time adapting to changes and the requirements of the tourists. The foreign tourists found them a simple fisher folk in the seventees and tried to converse with them with much difficulty. Nature has abundantly blessed Kovalam with its scenic beauty and calm , clean beaches. This made the tourists stay more in Kovalam and they started to come repeatedly.This regular arrivals gave lessons to the local fishermen the need of conversing with these tourists. The Colonial Kerala culture had its own basic English knowledge and paved way for mastering the language for these fishermen when they realized that there is a great opportunity in knowing to converse with these tourists. As the major tourist inflow was from England, America and Australia the English language became the most popular language of exchange By the beginning of eighties several small scale hotels and eateries came to be established. This was the real transition period for the villagers. Here also the survey states that very few land transactions have been effected during this period quite contrary to any new developing tourist destination. It was during this period that the local children were sent to English medium schools. Revenue from fishing was not steady and was involved with several risk factors. However the fishermen in this area began to make use of the opportunity by establishing various shops and eateries. Several of them became car and rickshaw drivers. By ninetees the locals started establishing good restaurants and hotels. As the business boomed during these years and the banks showed a very lenient policy towards loan approvals the small scale local hotel owners started establishing big star class hotels. Several locals started venturing into collaborative business associations with foreigners also. Year by year the english language speaking skills of the locals started improving and the younger generation who secured better education came to the forefront of all types of business ventures. Related business opportunities developed in that village turned town. The total outlook of the town got changed.
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Fishing became alien to the locals. Another nearby town named Vizhinjam got established as a fishing hub. The standard of living of the people developed considerably as they started constructing mansions and each family started to own vehicles. 4. The great changes 1. The standard of living and financial stability was achieved by the onetime fishermen community is purely because of how they made use of the opportunity by utilizing the situation fully with the strength of English language. 2. By realizing the importance of the English language they sent their children to English medium schools to get upgraded. Along with that they made use of every opportunity to converse with the tourists in English. 3. Majority or almost the whole community tried to use Tourism and its potential for their livelihood by engaging in various tourism related entrepreneurships. 4. As an undivided society they gained respect among others. They stood together in not letting other business tycoons to exploit their land and opportunities. 5. The village mosque and church authorities also played a leading role in this progress. 6. Even the housewives are seen helping their husbands in manning the establishments and business outlets. 7. It is established beyond doubt that the English language has created and moulded an urbanized society in Kovalam in the place of a fishing hamlet. References Kvale. Steinar. 1996. An Introduction To qualitative Research Interveiwing. Sage Publications. Mc Namara, Carter. 1999. Guidelines for Interview. Minnesota. Strauss. A. & Corbin, J. 1990. Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques.Newbury Park.CA: Sage Publications.
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Improving EFL Students' Speaking and Writing by Teaching Dictionary Skills and Maximizing Dictionary Use Ferry Hidayat, LBPP-LIA Harapan Indah
Abstract Speaking and writing of EFL students can be improved through many ways and strategies, one of which is through teaching them dictionary skills and maximizing their use of dictionaries. The writer of this paper chose these two strategies because his reference research suggests that, by doing so, students' writing and speaking are improved quite significantly. To test whether or not these two ways succeed in bettering his students' skills, he did a classroom action research (CAR) between January and April 2014. The CAR results indicated the two strategies were successful. In this paper, he shared his reference research, CAR results, and successful strategies. Keywords: English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Lexicography, English Language Teaching (ELT), Dictionary Skills, Dictionary Use, Second Language (L2), Classroom Action Research (CAR)
1. Introduction For both native speaker learners and EFL learners, writing skill is a difficult skill to acquire (Hadfield & Hadfield 2008:116). It becomes even more difficult for EFL learners in Indonesia since English is a foreign language to them. Writing effectively in their mother tongue has already been, as a general rule, a difficult task, let alone writing in a language having very different writing system from the language they acquire naturally. Being aware of the difficulty, EFL teachers in Indonesia rise to the challenge and do their best in helping their students overcome the toughness of writing in English. There are many methods and strategies employed in so doing. Jeremy Harmer (2005) listed five approaches to apply in writing classroom. First of all, product approach, which focuses on teaching students to produce modes of writing by imitating, copying, and transforming models of typical written products. Second, process approach, which favours teaching students to write by guiding them through procedures or stages of writing, begun with brainstorming and ended with finalizing the draft. Third, genre approach which, like product approach, emphasizes on teaching students to write by identifying writing genres, mastering their characteristic conventions, proceeding with the mastery of specific language use which is common to those genres. Fourth, creative writing, which teaches students to write creatively and imaginatively in the form of language art products such as poetry, haiku, a short story, or the like. Finally, cooperative writing, which encourages students to write cooperatively with their classmates or in groups in the form of group writing projects using computers, where students draft, peer-edit, revise, and produce a blog or Wikipedia article (Harmer 2005: 325-327). The process approach, however, according to David Nunan—an EFL pedagogy expert—is considered the wisest of all and the nearest to the real world of writers (Nunan 1994). He stated: ‘competent writers do not produce final texts at their first attempt, but that writing is a long and often painful process, in which the final text emerges through successive drafts.’ (Nunan 1994: 87). This is not the case with speaking skill. Being a productive skill as writing skill, speaking skill is considered less difficult to EFL students, since speaking requires less rigid accuracy than writing (Hadfield & Hadfield 2008). Surprisingly enough, however, the discourse of the role played by dictionary use and by dictionary skills in teaching writing and speaking to EFL students, is absent in the writings of EFL teaching experts like Jeremy Harmer (2004),
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David Nunan (1994), Jill Hadfield & Charles Hadfield (2008), and H. Douglas Brown (2000). This discussion, conversely, is clearly demonstrated in the field of pedagogical lexicography (Hartmann 2002:107), or as Cowie called it, ‘EFL lexicography’ (Cowie 2009:386). In this branch of lexicography, the interconnection between dictionary use, dictionary skills, and EFL writing and speaking is largely exposed. Studies undertaken by lexicography researchers such as Hilary Nesi (1987), George M. Jacobs (1989), Martin East (2008), Chikako Takahashi (2012), and Adrian Underhill (1980), definitely contribute to teachers’ effective writing and speaking instruction. This paper makes an effort to bridge an academic gap between EFL teaching pedagogy and EFL lexicography and to show that insights gained from the lexicographical studies will benefit EFL writing teachers as well as speaking teachers alike, particularly in the improvement of their students’ writing and speech quality. 2. Literature Review Lexicographical studies on dictionary use and dictionary-skills instruction for teaching writing skills and teaching speaking skills authenticate the truth that the use of dictionary and the teaching of dictionary skills in classrooms improve the writing and speech quality. By way of illustration, regarding writing skill, Idoia Elola et al. (2008) found that dictionary use and dictionary-using skills by students has a positive effect, especially when making vocabulary choices in their L2 writing. They tended to be more successful in their choices if they consulted the dictionary (Elola et al. 2008:78). Chikako Takahashi (2012) reviewed and summarized studies on the efficacy of dictionary skills training on writing carried out by Martin East (2006), Laufer and Hadar (1997), Harvey and Yuill (1997), George M. Jacobs (1989), and Bishop (2001). After reviewing all the studies respectively, Takahashi concluded dictionary skills training is potentially useful for reading and writing alike, which language teachers should be aware of (Takahashi 2012:130). George M. Jacobs in his ‘Dictionaries Can Help Writing—If Students Know How to Use Them’ (1989) found that dictionary skills utilized during error correction before writing and during writing a draft, can lead to an improvement of the students’ writing and greater dictionary use (Jacobs 1989:8). Similarly, concerning speaking skill, Adrian Underhill (1980) stated that maximization of dictionary use facilitate learners to have correct pronunciation while speaking since it is by the dictionary that learners will get informed on the correct pronunciation by means of its phonetic symbols (Underhill 1980:16). 3. Methodology 3.1. A classroom action research (CAR) To further test the efficacy of teaching dictionary skills and the effect of maximization of dictionary use in writing and speech quality of EFL learners as suggested by studies above, a classroom action research (CAR) was undertaken by the writer of this article. The purpose of the CAR is to test whether or not teaching dictionary skills and maximization of dictionary use in his classroom improve his EFL learners’ writing and speech quality (or rather, their oral essay presentation). 3.2. Participants profile Participants of the CAR are 12 EFL students with upper intermediate level of proficiency (namely, Higher Intermediate 4), learning on Mondays and Wednesdays on weekly basis at LIA School of English (LBPP-LIA Harapan Indah, Bekasi). They go to Senior Secondary Schools around Jakarta and Bekasi, majoring in Natural Sciences and Social Sciences, aged between 17-20. Between January-April 2014, they attended a class whose final learning objectives were writing an effective argumentative essay and presenting it in an effective oral presentation. In questionnaires distributed before the CAR, it was revealed that 7 of them owned 1-3 dictionaries, while 4 of them owned 4-6 dictionaries, and 1 of them owned more than 6 dictionaries. Dictionaries owned are mostly learners’ English-English ones (printed, electronic, Android-based apps), English-Indonesian ones, Indonesian-English ones as well. They also
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often consulted online dictionary; the most famous among them is undoubtedly Google Translator. Frequency of dictionary lookup is that 10 of them stated they look up dictionary on weekly basis 1-7 times, whereas 2 of them claimed to look up more than 16 times a week. When asked about benefits they would gain in dictionary use, they answered as follows: knowing word meaning (12 students); knowing correct pronunciation (9 students); knowing parts of speech (8 students); knowing word contexts in sentences (7 students); knowing antonyms (7 students); knowing register [formal/informal word] (7 students); knowing technical slang (5 students); knowing idioms (5 students); knowing synonyms (3 students), and knowing word etymology (3 students). When asked about purposes of their dictionary consultation, they responded as follows: finding word meaning (12 students); finding correct pronunciation (11 students); identifying parts of speech (11 students); ensuring words are put in correct contexts (10 students); finding synonyms (9 students); finding antonyms (9 students); finding meaning of idioms (8 students); searching for etymology (6 students); searching for technical slang (6 students); ensuring the correct register (5 students). When asked if they had been trained in a deliberate dictionary skills training by their schoolteachers and LIA teachers, their response was as follows: trained once (5 students); trained about 2-5 times (5 students); never trained (2 students). When asked if they read the front or back matter of dictionary they owned, a unanimously negative response was received. When asked about the most frequent problems they encountered during consultation, their answer is as follows: failure to find the looked-up words (12 students); failure to look up quite quickly [less than 2 minutes a word] (11 students); confusion due to too many meanings found (11 students). The objective of questionnaire in the pre-CAR stage is to find possible class problem, on which teachers can give intervention so as to overcome it. From the questionnaire above, the writer found that the class had some problems related to dictionary use and dictionary skills. They owned more than one dictionary, and looked up dictionary on weekly basis almost frequently. However, they only had little training in dictionary skills and had never read the preliminaries of dictionaries owned. Consequently, they encountered problems when consulting dictionary such as failure to find the looked-up words, failure to look up quite quickly [less than 2 minutes a word], and getting confused as too many meanings are found. This problem calls for teacher’s intervention that is carried out in during-CAR stage. 3.3. Data-finding method Data-finding methods utilized in pre-CAR stage, during-CAR stage and in the postCAR stage are questionnaires distributed before, during, and after the CAR among the study participants. To accompany the questionnaire, an overall test of dictionary skills taught in the classroom is conducted in the post-CAR stage, to ensure that students acquire the skills successfully. 4. CAR activities The hypothesized intervention for solving the class problem is that the writer should teach them dictionary skills and maximize their dictionary use in order to improve their writing and presentation quality throughout the class term (January 6-April 2, 2014), so that when tested, they can show their improved performance. 4.1. Teacher’s intervention First of all, the writer prepared the stages of writing for students to do in the process of writing production, such as drafting, peer-editing, producing another draft, and finalizing the essay and listed the common activities that will be done by students in the stages (see Table 1), and so did he for the stages of oral presentation (Table 2). Then, he collected and found reference works that can help students in all the stages they go through in writing and in speaking, such as dictionaries (offline or online, electronic or printed), thesauri (offline or online, electronic or printed), and online concordancers, then went back to the list written, and wrote the reference works that would be used by students to help them finish activities in all the
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stages successfully (Table 3 and Table 4). Afterwards, the writer then prepared a complete lesson plan for teaching dictionary skills and maximizing dictionary use, together with teaching writing skills and oral presentation skills (see Table 5). In addition, he prepared exercises for all dictionary skills practice in the stages of writing and of oral presentation, prepared questionnaires after completing the teaching of dictionary skills and giving knowledge of dictionary features, and prepared a test of all dictionary skills. Table 1: Stages of writing and activities within them DRAFTING Students are asked to choose from available topic choices a topic to write about. They work towards thesis statement They write introductory part (background) of the first paragraph They write body paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 They write a concluding paragraph PEER-EDITING Students correct essay format/organization They correct spelling errors They correct grammatical errors such as plurals/singulars, subject-verb agreement, pronouns, 1. collocation, colligation etc.
2. 3. 4. 5.
PRODUCING ANOTHER DRAFT They write another draft based on corrections done FINALIZING THE ESSAY Students improve the text by varying the words with their synonyms They correct usage and grammar one more time They look up for the correct word to convey They look up for alternate expressions to use
4.2. Interviews after intervention 1. After being taught dictionary skills for checking spelling errors, they are asked to practice the skills by peer-editing the first draft of their classmates’ essays. Then, after practice, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer: a. Do you use dictionary to check spelling errors in your friends’ essays? NO : 12 students YES : 0 student b. Why not? It’s easy, so I don’t need to check with dictionary : 10 students I am lazy to open dictionary only to check spelling : 2 students 2. After being taught dictionary skills for checking grammatical errors, they are asked to practice the skills by peer-editing the first draft of their peer’s essay. Then, after practice, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer a. Do you use dictionary to check grammatical errors? NO : 0 student YES : 12 students b. Which reference work do you prefer to use to check the errors? Printed dictionary : 0 student CD-Rom version : 0 student Online dictionary : 0 student Online concordancer : 12 students
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c. Why do you use online concordancer? Because it can be used to check more than one words Because it is easier than using printed dictionary Because you only do the typing, not look up Looking up the printed dictionary may be tiring
: 12 students : 12 students : 12 students : 12 students
Table 2: Stages of presentation and their activities PREPARING PRESENTATION Students study organization/common structure of an oral presentation They learn expressions to use in presentation parts They memorise the text (the previously-written essay) They prepare a MS Powerpoint file FIRST PRESENTATION REHEARSAL They use the correct structure of the presentation They use the expressions learned They use the MS Powerpoint file They do the presentation by memorization FIRST SELF-EVALUATION Students correct pronunciation They find synonyms (varying from the words of the text to those of the presentation) They check presentation organization SECOND PRESENTATION REHEARSAL They use the correct pronunciation They use the synonyms They improvise the presentation (not by memorization anymore) SECOND SELF-EVALUATION Students correct pronunciation Students find synonyms PRESENTATION
3. After peer-editing of spelling and grammar, they are asked to revise their essays and write the second draft. After their writing the second, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer: a. Do you think your writing quality is improved after the correction? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student b. Do you want to use again dictionary or concordancer to check the errors? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student c. Do you feel more confident to write the 2nd draft after correction? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student 4. After being taught dictionary skills for varying the words in their essays using thesauri, they are asked to practice the skills by finding the synonyms and change the original words with the synonyms. Then, after practice, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer: a. Which thesaurus do you prefer to use? Online thesaurus : 12 students
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Printed thesaurus : 0 student b. Why online thesaurus? Because it is easier than using printed thesaurus Because you only do the typing, not look up Looking up the printed thesaurus could be tiring
: 12 students : 12 students : 12 students
Table 3: Reference works to use in the writing stages DRAFTING Students are asked to choose from available topic choices a topic to write about. They work towards thesis statement They write introductory part (background) of the first paragraph They write body paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 They write a concluding paragraph PEER-EDITING Students correct essay format/organization They correct spelling errors (any good dictionary will do, like ALDCE, LDOCE, the online www.merriam-webster.com) They correct grammatical errors such as plurals/singulars, subject-verb agreement, pronouns, collocation, colligation etc. (ALDCE, LDOCE, and the online concordancers like www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/text_concord, www.collins.co.uk/corpus, or www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk). PRODUCING ANOTHER DRAFT They write another draft based on corrections done FINALIZING THE ESSAY Students improve the text by varying the words with their synonyms (thesauri like Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, Webster’s New World Dictionary, and The Oxford Thesaurus: An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms, also the online www.thesaurus.com, www.merriam-webster.com, www.learnersdictionary.com, etc.) They correct usage and grammar one more time (ALDCE, LDOCE, and the online concordancers like www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/text_concord, www.collins.co.uk/corpus, or www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk). They look up for the correct word to convey (Longman Essential Activator, or any good dictionary such as ALDCE and LDOCE.) They look up for alternate expressions to use (Longman Essay Activator or Longman Essential Activator [especially its Communicator part])
5. After being told that thesauri often do not give the synonyms with exact meaning like the original words, students are taught dictionary skills for finding the correct synonyms by using activators. Afterwards, they are asked to practice the skills by using activators. After practice, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer: a. Can you check the meaning of synonyms easily using activators? NO : 12 students YES : 0 student b. Why not? We have to look up : 12 students Not all synonym is explained : 12 students 6. After being taught dictionary skills for finding alternative expressions to use in essay using communicator in activators, they are asked to practice the skills by finding alternative expressions using the communicator. After practice, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer:
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a. Do you think it’s easy to find alternative expressions using communicator? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student b. Why? It is arranged on functions : 12 students c. Do you feel lazy to look up communicator? YES : 3 students NO : 9 students Table 4: Reference works to use in the presentation stages PREPARING PRESENTATION 4 oral presentation Students study organization/common structure of an They learn expressions to use in presentation parts (Longman Essay Activator) They memorise the text (the previously-written essay) They prepare a MS Powerpoint file FIRST PRESENTATION REHEARSAL They use the correct structure of the presentation They use the expressions learned They use the MS Powerpoint file They do the presentation by memorization FIRST SELF-EVALUATION Students correct pronunciation (any good dictionary with phonetic symbols like ALDCE, LODCE, or CD-Rom version of theirs with audio facility, any online dictionary with sound, such as www.merriam-webster.com, or specialised dictionary like Daniel Jones’ English Pronouncing Dictionary or Longman Pronunciation Dictionary) They find synonyms (thesauri like Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, Webster’s New World Dictionary, and The Oxford Thesaurus: An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms, also the online www.thesaurus.com, www.merriam-webster.com, www.learnersdictionary.com, etc.) They find alternate expressions to use during presentation (Longman Essay Activator) They check presentation organization SECOND PRESENTATION REHEARSAL They use the correct pronunciation They use the synonyms They improvise the presentation (not by memorization anymore) SECOND SELF-EVALUATION Students correct pronunciation (any good dictionary with phonetic symbols like ALDCE, LODCE, or CD-Rom version of theirs with audio facility, any online dictionary with sound, such as www.merriam-webster.com, or specialised dictionary like Daniel Jones’ English Pronouncing Dictionary or Longman Pronunciation Dictionary) Students find synonyms (thesauri like Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, Webster’s New World Dictionary, and The Oxford Thesaurus: An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms, also the online www.thesaurus.com, www.merriam-webster.com, www.learnersdictionary.com, etc.) They find alternate expressions to use during presentation (Longman Essay Activator) PRESENTATION
7. After being taught dictionary skills for checking pronunciation errors in the first presentation rehearsal, they are asked to practice the skills by listening their peer’s presentation, identifying pronunciation errors, and using dictionaries for correction. Then, after practice, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer a. Which dictionary do you prefer for correcting pronunciation?
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Printed dictionary : 0 student CD-Rom version : 2 students Online dictionary with audio : 10 students b. Why online dictionary with audio? You don’t need to understand phonetic symbols Just click, no look up You don’t need to install on computer
: 12 students : 12 students : 10 students
8. After correcting pronunciation errors, varying the words with synonyms, varying the expressions using communicators in the 1st rehearsal, they are asked to revise their presentation and practice the second rehearsal. After the 2nd rehearsal, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer: a. Do you think your presentation quality is improved after the correction? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student b. Do you want to use again dictionary with audio, online thesaurus, and communicators to check the errors? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student c. Do you feel more confident to do the 2nd rehearsal after correction? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student 9. After correcting pronunciation errors, varying the words with synonyms, varying the expressions using communicators in the 2st rehearsal, they are asked to revise their presentation and practice the finalized presentation. After the final, they are asked some questions by the teacher. Here is their answer: a. Do you think your presentation quality is improved after the correction in the 2nd rehearsal? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student b. Do you want to use again dictionary with audio, online thesaurus, and communicators to check the errors? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student c. Do you feel more confident to do the final presentation after correction? YES : 12 students NO : 0 student Table 5: A complete lesson plan of writing and speaking Date 6/1/2014 8/1/2014
13/1/2014
15/1/2014
Lesson Previewing a lesson of how to write an argumentative essay Essay topic selection Formulating a strong thesis statement Drafting the 1st paragraph
Learning Outcome/Goal Students remember and know how to write an argumentative essay Students can formulate a strong thesis statement as taught
Drafting body paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 4
Students draft the body paragraphs
Drafting a concluding paragraph Checking the structure/format and organization of the essay (peer editing) Checking the unity of paragraphs (peer editing)
Students have correct organization and correct format of essay and have the required unity of paragraphs within the essay
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20/1/2014
22/1/2014
27/1/2014
29/1/2014
3/2/2014
5/2/2014
10/2/2014
12/2/2014
17/2/2014
19/2/2014
Checking the unity of paragraphs (continuation) Checking the coherence of paragraphs (peer editing) Correcting spelling errors in essay (peer editing) Introducing some dictionaries (offline or online) for checking spelling errors Teaching dictionary skills for checking spelling errors Practise using the dictionaries for checking spelling errors (peer editing) Correcting grammatical errors in essay Introducing some dictionaries (offline or online) for checking grammatical errors Teaching dictionary skills for checking grammatical errors Practise using the dictionaries for correcting grammatical errors (peer editing) Correcting grammatical errors in essay (continuation) Teaching dictionary skills for checking grammatical errors Practise using the dictionaries for correcting grammatical errors (peer editing) Correcting grammatical errors in essay (continuation) Teaching dictionary skills for checking grammatical errors Practice using the dictionaries for correcting grammatical errors (peer editing) Writing the second draft based on corrections made Improving the text by varying the words with their synonyms Introducing some dictionaries or thesauri (offline and online) for varying the words Teaching dictionary skills for varying the words Practise using dictionaries or thesauri for varying the words in essay Correcting usage and grammar one more time Introducing the online concordancers for correcting grammar and usage Teaching dictionary skills for correcting grammar and usage using the concordancers Practise using the concordancers for correcting grammar and usage Finding the correct word to convey in essay Introducing activators for finding the correct word to convey Teaching dictionary skills for finding the correct word to convey Practise using the activators for finding the correct word to convey Finding alternate expressions to use in essay Introducing essay activator and communicator for finding alternate expressions to use
Students have the coherence required within their essay Students can identify spelling errors in their peer essay and apply the dictionary skills for checking spelling errors
Students can identify grammatical errors in their peer essay and apply the dictionary skills for correcting grammatical errors
Students can identify grammatical errors in their peer essay and apply the dictionary skills for correcting grammatical errors
Students can identify grammatical errors in their peer essay and apply the dictionary skills for correcting grammatical errors
Students can improve the text based on the corrected mistakes and errors Students can vary the words in their essays, use dictionaries or thesauri to help them do it , and apply dictionary skills for varying the words
Students can identify usage mistakes and grammatical errors, apply dictionary skills taught for correcting usage and grammar
Students can apply dictionary skills taught for finding the correct word to convey by using activators
Students can apply dictionary skills for finding alternative expressions to use in essay and can write the essay
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24/2/2014
26/2/2014
3/3/2014
5/3/2014
10/3/2014
12/3/2014
17/3/2014
Teaching dictionary skills for using the activator and communicator Practise using the activator and communicator for finding alternate expressions to use Assigning to finish the essay Submitting the finished draft of essay Preparing presentation of the written essay Studying organization/common structure of an oral presentation Finding expressions to use in presentation parts by practising using Longman Essay Activator Memorising the text (the previously-written essay) Preparing a PowerPoint file Rehearsing presentation (the first) Correcting pronunciation Introducing dictionaries with phonetic symbols and audio facility for correcting pronunciation Teaching dictionary skills for correcting pronunciation Practise using dictionaries for correcting pronunciation Rehearsing presentation (continuation) Practise using dictionaries for correcting pronunciation Finding synonyms Practise using dictionaries or thesauri for varying the words in presentation Finding alternate expressions to use during presentation Practise using Longman Essay Activator for finding alternate expressions to use during presentation Rehearsing presentation (continuation) Practise using dictionaries for correcting pronunciation Practise using dictionaries or thesauri for varying the words in presentation Practise using Longman Essay Activator for finding alternate expressions to use during presentation Rehearsing the presentation (the second) Improvising the presentation Rehearsing presentation (continuation) Improvising the presentation Practise using dictionaries for correcting pronunciation Practise using dictionaries or thesauri for varying the words in presentation Practise using Longman Essay Activator for finding alternate expressions to use during presentation
better based on the corrected mistakes, on varied synonyms, and varied expressions
Students know the correct organization/structure of an oral presentation and can apply dictionary skills taught for finding expressions to use in their presentation Students master their presentation text (the essay) and can put the extract of the presentation in slides of PowerPoint file Students practise the presentation, can identify the pronunciation errors, and can apply dictionary skills for correcting the pronunciation mistakes
Students can apply dictionary skills for correcting pronunciation mistakes, can apply the skills for varying the words in presentation, and can apply the skills for finding alternative expressions to use during presentation
Students can apply dictionary skills for correcting pronunciation mistakes, can apply the skills for varying the words in presentation, and can apply the skills for finding alternative expressions to use during presentation Students can do presentation better based on the corrected mistakes and can improvise the presentation without memorization Students can apply dictionary skills for correcting pronunciation mistakes, can apply the skills for varying the words in presentation, and can apply the skills for finding alternative expressions to use during presentation
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19/3/2014
Rehearsing presentation (continuation) Practise using dictionaries for correcting pronunciation Practise using dictionaries or thesauri for varying the words in presentation Practise using Longman Essay Activator for finding alternate expressions to use during presentation
24/3/2014
Presenting the essay
2/4/2014
A test of all dictionary skills taught
Students can apply dictionary skills for correcting pronunciation mistakes, can apply the skills for varying the words in presentation, and can apply the skills for finding alternative expressions to use during presentation Students can do the presentation better based on the corrected mistakes and on improved vocabulary and varied expressions
5. Results 5.1. Writing stages When peer editing the first draft of their classmates’ essays, they (all of them) did not want to use dictionary to check spelling errors since they believed they could do the checking without dictionary help. After the writer checked the peer-edited essays, he found that his learners’ ability to check spelling errors without dictionary assistance was fairly excellent. Their ability must be due to their high level of English proficiency. In peer-editing of the 1st draft of essay, they (all of them) used reference works to correct grammar mistakes. For a start, they were seen underlining words they thought wrong, then they corrected the errors without dictionary help if they knew to correct them. However, when they failed to correct, they started opening the reference works. None of them were seen to use printed dictionary, nor electronic one or CD-Rom version of dictionary. They preferred to use an online concordancer (namely, www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/ text_concord). Reasons behind this are online concordancers can be used to check more than words; they are lazy to look up for correction of grammar errors in more than 1 essay they peer-edited (one person has to peer-edit 11 essays, excluding his/her own). After the correction of grammar errors by using the online concordancer, they felt more confident in writing the 2nd draft. In self-editing session, after being taught dictionary skills of how to use thesauri for varying the words in their essays, students were seen to use thesaurus for this purpose. However, they (all of them) chose to use an online thesaurus (that is, www.thesaurus.com). It is considered easier to use than the printed thesauri available. In self-editing session, when taught that not all synonyms given by thesauri have the similar meaning to original words in their essays, they were seen to get worried. However, when taught dictionary skills of how to use activator to find the exact meaning, they were seen to get less worried. Sadly, in practice, they failed to locate some synonyms and their meanings since not all synonyms were explained in activator. As a result, they did not use activator anymore. Instead, they still wanted to find synonyms from online thesaurus, but did not want to crosscheck if their meanings are similar to the words previously written. In self-editing session, when taught dictionary skills of how to vary expressions used in their essays by using communicators, they were seen to do the varying well. During practice, they (all of them) were seen to succeed in using the communicators in order to vary the expressions used in their essays.
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5.2. Speaking stages In the first presentation rehearsal, when checking and correcting their peer pronunciation, 10 of them were seen to use an online dictionary with sound (www.merriam-webster.com); while 2 of them used CD-Rom version of Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (CALD). Their choice is based on their inability to read phonetic symbols, although phonetic symbol reading was taught beforehand. When asked to find synonyms and alternate expressions for their presentation, they were seen to master dictionary skills required. It must be due to their recurrent practice in writing stages. In the 2nd rehearsal, they were seen to be more confident because their dictionary skills enabled them to improve their presentation quality. 5.3. The end-of-the-class overall test When given a test essay to check in the matter of grammar mistakes, to vary words with synonyms, and to vary expressions with alternative ones, they were seen to master all dictionary skills taught upfront. They were seen to masterfully use the reference works available. When given a recorded oral presentation and its audio script, intended for testing their mastery of dictionary skills in correcting pronunciation, in varying words and varying expressions, they were seen to know well how to use reference works for so doing. This mastery must result from their recurrent practice of the dictionary skills taught. 6. Discussion The CAR results done by the writer confirmed Idoia Elola et al.’s findings in their study (2008) that dictionary use and dictionary-using skills by students has a positive effect, especially when making vocabulary choices in their L2 writing (Elola et al. 2008:78). The writer’s EFL students’ choice of word was improved when taught dictionary skills of how to vary words and expressions in their essays and in presentations using online thesauri and printed activator. In addition, the CAR results also authenticated George M. Jacobs’ findings that dictionary skills utilized during error correction before writing and during writing a draft, can lead to an improvement of the students’ writing and greater dictionary use (Jacobs 1989:8). The students’ use of an online concordancer in the writer’s class for correcting grammatically-mistaken longer words led to a progress of writing quality. Moreover, the CAR results shown above corroborated Adrian Underhill’s statement that maximization of dictionary use facilitate learners to have correct pronunciation while speaking since it is by the dictionary that learners will get informed on the correct pronunciation by means of its phonetic symbols (Underhill 1980:16). The participants of this study were shown to acquire better pronunciation after their recurrent consultation of dictionaries with sound/audio facility. For EFL students with upper intermediate level of proficiency, correction of grammar mistake in one-lexis level is shown not necessary; what is really necessary for them is correction in level of two-lexis, three-lexis, four-lexis, or even sentence level or at least phrase level. To do this, most printed dictionaries fail; only concordancers with real authentic sources can do so. Phonetic symbols, instead of easing students’ problem of pronunciation correction, precisely stifle them in so undertaking. Only dictionaries with audio facility are preferably used by the stifled students. Today’s students are shown lazy to look up; they prefer to just click. They only want to look up the easy reference to look up, as it is the case with the communicators. The successful results of the CAR are made possible because of the integration of teaching dictionary skills and maximization of dictionary use into teaching of EFL writing and of EFL speaking.
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7. Conclusion & suggestion Teachers of EFL who aspire to improve their students’ writing and speech quality can consider the utilization of a ‘lexicographical approach’—that is, teaching dictionary-using skills and maximization of dictionary use—as an alternative, promising approach. Phonetic symbol teaching to improve EFL students’ pronunciation does not give much fruits to students that are too lazy to break mysterious code of the symbols. Teaching them how to correct pronunciation using dictionary with sound is proven to be more fruitful. The communicator part of the activators is demonstrated to be enormously effective in providing students with varying expressions since it is arranged on functions. The communicator makers are strongly suggested to make it more complete with much more varying language functions in the future. The thesaurus makers of the future should write headwords with synonyms in the entries that have the most similar and the nearest meaning to their headwords, so that thesaurus users do not need to crosscheck if the synonyms provided in the entries really have the similar meaning to the headwords or not, which is time-consuming and exhausting to do. The dictionary makers of the future should consider the making of CD-Rom version of their dictionaries with features of a clickable concordancer that enables students to correct grammatically-mistaken long phrases, long collocations, as well as long colligation, and a clickable audio that enables students to correct pronunciation in long connected speech as today’s students prefer to just click to lengthily look up.
References Brown, H.D. 2000. Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy. London: Longman Group Limited. Cowie, A.P (ed.). 2009. The Oxford history of English lexicography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cowie, A.P. 2009. The earliest foreign learners’ dictionaries. In Cowie, A.P (ed.). 2009. The Oxford history of English lexicography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 385-411. East, M. 2008. Dictionary use in foreign language writing exams: impacts and implications. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Elola, I. & Rodreguez-Gracia, V. & Winfrey, K. 2008. Dictionary use and vocabulary choices in L2 writing. ELIA (8), 63-89 Hadfield, J. and Hadfield, C. 2008. Oxfordbasics: introduction to teaching English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Harmer, J. 2005. The practice of English language teaching. London: Pearson-Longman. Hartmann, R.R.K & James, G. 2002. Dictionary of lexicography. London & New York: Routledge. Impact of Dictionary Use Skills Instruction on Second Language Writing. Available at http://www.tc.columbia.edu/tesolalwebjournal. (Accessed 18 June 2014). Jacobs, G. M. (1989). Dictionaries can help writing: If students know how to use them, Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii, Department of Educational Psychology, 1-15. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 316 025). Longman Essay Activator: Your Key to Writing Success, 1st ed. 2003. London: PearsonLongman. Longman Essential Activator: Put Your Ideas into Words, 1st ed. 2002. London: Longman Group Limited. Longman Pocket Activator, 1st ed. 2001. London: Pearson Education Limited. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com (Accessed March 3, 2014). Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary (MWLD). Available at http://www.learnersdictionary.com (Accessed March 3, 2014).
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Nesi, H. 1987. Do Dictionaries Help Students Write?. In Written Language: British Studies in Applied Linguistics 2. Papers from the Annual Meeting of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (Reading, England, September 1986), 85-97. Nunan, D. 1994. Language teaching methodology:a textbook for teachers. New York: Prentice Hall. Online Free Concordancer. Available at http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/text_concord (Accessed March 3, 2014) Online Free Thesaurus. Available at http://www.thesaurus.com (Accessed March 3, 2014). Quirk, R. 1983. The use of English. London: Longman Group Limited. The British National Corpus (BNC). Available at http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk (Accessed March 3, 2014). The Collins WordbanksOnline. Available at http://www.collins.co.uk/corpus (Accessed March 3, 2014). Underhill, A. 1980. Use your dictionary: a practice book for users of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English and Oxford Student’s Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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A survey of the Dictionary Use by Faculty Members : The case of a Private University in Karawang-West Java Indonesia Elih S. Yanto, Universitas Singaperbangsa, Karawang, Indonesia Kelik Wachyudi, Universitas Singaperbangsa, Karawang, Indonesia
Abstract This paper presents a survey of dictionary use conducted in Karawang on a participants of 20 faculty members as teachers from the Department of English Education, Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang-West Java. The first parts investigates the profile of the teachers as dictionary users, their genders, ages, degrees, teaching experiences and subjects they teach, and describe the questionnaires used in the study. The second part presents the results of the knowledge of dictionary users (how well the teachers know the various dictionaries and their features) and the user’s habits (how often the teachers use dictionary and for what purposes). though the teachers’ participant is somewhat small, certain tendencies emerge as they show familiarity with dictionaries as an indivisible part of English language learning kit. The whole teachers are knowledgeable about dictionary and they agree that it is very important for student teachers in the English Department at Unsika to be taught how to use dictionaries. The finding of this research might be of significance to other researchers, teachers, language learners; and the results may be applicable in many similar EFL environments around the world. Keywords: Dictionary use; habit; knowledge; Questionnaire; Survey 1. Introduction In social constructivists’ orientation, dictionaries are meditational tools for helping users make meanings. Dictionary have long been the focus of a huge body of research (e.g. Atkins, 1998, Bejoint, 1994, Stein, 1991, 1999, 2002; Hartmann, 1991 and Wright, 2001), but inadequate interest is shown in studying the attraction of users in the use of dictionaries; Hence there is a gap that this study will attempt to fill. Consequently, the dictionary users (teachers and learners) have exclusively been left out of the delineation, ignored or overlooked. The knowledge and the habits of dictionary users, in this case English teachers, should be surveyed and this paper is an attempt of this type of struggles, as it will discuss the knowledge and the habits of teachers in using dictionaries at Department of English of Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang. According to Whitcutt (1986:121), there is a general agreement in the field of pedagogical lexicography that “the improvement of dictionary use and the improvement of dictionaries should go hand in hand. The advanced technical development and complexity of dictionaries and the education of users are apparently a mutual process, and it is obvious that consulting dictionaries do not guarantee success, unless the user is equipped with particular skills and knowledge about using dictionaries. This is in line with Carduner’s opinion, “even the best dictionaries will be useful only to the extent that the learners knows how to use them effectively.” The study attempts to survey teachers’ knowledge and practices in using dictionaries; it is specifically designed to provide answers for the following questions: 1. How well the teachers know the various dictionary and their features? 2. How often the teachers use dictionary and for what purposes? In line with the research questions proposed above, the research objectives of this research are to surveying aspects pertaining to teachers’ knowledge of the various dictionaries and their features and to surveying aspect pertaining to teachers’ frequency and habits in using dictionaries and for what purposes.
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The significance of this research originates from the scarcity of studies on the pedagogical implication of lexicography from teachers’ view points, in general and in Karawang in particular. 2. Literature Review The largest dictionary research focused on studying the habits of learners in the use of their dictionaries; but a little is said about studying the habits or attitudes of teachers in the use of dictionaries in their everyday activities. This survey is an attempt to fill this gap by conducting the survey to 20 teachers. Miller (2008), in Australia, conducted a similar study and came out with some findings. She contended that is has long been the desire of dictionary makers that students should not only use dictionaries more, but receive training in their use. Miller’s survey targeted teachers of English to non-native speakers in Australia language schools and universities. It was aimed to discover teachers’ attitudes to and use of dictionaries in their English classes, particularly in relation to learners’ dictionaries in the teaching of grammar, collocations and idioms. The majority of the teachers community who responded to the survey used dictionaries when preparing teaching materials, but a few said that they provided dictionary training in class, and very few commented on specific uses that could be made of dictionaries. She found that several of the participants to the questionnaire had good dictionary skills themselves, and some had ideas for dictionary improvement. Miller found that most respondents were caring toward dictionary use, but few had received training in this topic. She also found that many others seemed still to be unaware of the potential advantages of an English learners’ dictionary in the language classroom. The majority of teachers in her survey were thus not adequately equipped to give comprehensive training in dictionary skills for their students. Stein (2013) argues that foreign language teaching has to include the use of both bilingual dictionaries and those monolingual dictionaries specially written for learners. Bilingual dictionaries are an essential tool for providing ready translation equivalents for common words, and exact translation equivalents for technical terms. He believes that Monolingual learners’ dictionaries provide access to the world of meaning discriminations made by the target language; and provide definitions which distinguish subtle differences in meaning. The dictionary, according to Kirkness (2004:54), is well established as “an essential source, if not indeed the principal source, of information on language for all members of literate societies who might have questions on any aspect of the form, meaning, and/or use of a word or words in their own or in another language”. The importance of dictionaries in language learning is unquestionable. The prominence of dictionaries as tools for language learning and communication has long been recognized by the majority of language learners across the world. Especially in countries where English is not a daily medium of communication, learners tend to rely on them. Dictionary use is additional activity in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating, but also enhance active or independent learning is one of the conscious learning strategy, as students have to notice what is being learned and explore texts for themselves. Consulting the dictionary is a quite complicated activity, involving combining the skills of noticing, searching, selecting and summarizing. Referring to Nation (2001:289-290) , in general, monolingual dictionary contain much more information about each word than bilingual dictionaries do, and some teachers recommend that bilingual dictionaries be used in conjunction with monolingual dictionaries for writing and speaking. He adds that bilingual dictionaries use two languages. The head word and the examples are in one language and the meaning is in another. Sometimes the example sentences are also provided in two languages. Many bilingual dictionaries contain little information about each word; they can be seen as a complement, rather than a competitor, to monolingual dictionaries. Moreover, some bilingual dictionaries provide substantial information about each word.
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Nation (2001:290) asserts that the major advantages of bilingual dictionaries are: (1) they provide meanings in a very accessible way, and (2) they can be bi-directional – English – first language and first language – English. In addition, He states that dictionaries can be used for both receptive and productive use. Bilingual dictionaries which go from the first language to the second language provide easy access to vocabulary for productive use. This access is not easily provided in monolingual dictionaries. If bilingual and monolingual dictionaries are used to complement each other for productive purposes, then the best qualities of both can be used. Bilingualised dictionaries contain the information that is in a monolingual dictionary plus a translation of the head word. Its idea is to combine the advantages of the monolingual with the convenience of the bilingual dictionary. The example of bilingualised dictionary sold in Indonesia is Password English Learner’s Dictionary for Speakers of Bahasa Indonesia, 3rd edition (PBI3, 2011). PBI3 is a semi-bilingual dictionary which provides both the English definitions and the Indonesian equivalents for the English headwords. This means that if a student cannot understand the English definition of an English headword, the student can be assisted with the Indonesian equivalent of the English word. Laufer and Hadar (1997) found that bilingualised dictionaries generally gave better results than bilingual and monolingual dictionaries on comprehension and production test. The more skilled users were, the better they performed with the monolingual dictionary. However, the bilingualised dictionary users still achieved better results. Based on Oh (2006)’s study which explored Korean English teachers’ dictionary use and instruction, less than 5% of the teacher have ever received any kind of instruction on dictionary use themselves, and only a small percentage of them make plans for the teaching of dictionary use for their students. Moreover, the time constraints imposed by their curricula make language teachers reluctant to spare the time to teach dictionary using skills, even though they may acknowledge that such skill are necessary to their students (Chi 2003). The study of dictionary use in EFL learning is one of the crucial areas of applied linguistic research. Similarly, Thornbury (2008:151) recommended that dictionary can also be used productively, both for generating text and as resources for vocabulary acquisition. As a result, in a dictionary, the students will find information such as the different meanings that words have, how they are pronounced, what other words they collocate with, and when they can be used. As the dictionary is an essential instrument for learning a second or foreign language, a lot of research has been conducted into language learners’ dictionaries, which has in turn improved the quality of these dictionaries. As Hartmann (1994:pp.239-240) reveals, the commercial success of dictionaries for foreign learners of English has been made possible by four kinds of research into dictionaries including the history, typology, criticism, and use of dictionary. But several studies (Berwick & Horsfall 1996; Weight 1998; Nesi 2000) show that dictionaries use now used poorly and inefficiently, which may result from low level skills of the dictionary users. Many teachers and college students have not recognized dictionary consultation as one important tools of acquiring English proficiency. Dong (2000) noticed that looking up dictionaries had no effect on the first year English majors, but had some effect on the second years one, and she found: a) the first year students were not sure what words need consulting; b) they could not make full use of dictionaries; c) they had not developed habits of conscious study and consulting dictionaries conscientiously. In the last two decades, a number of research projects have been conducted investigating users’ reference skills and needs, as well as users’ habits in the field of dictionary use. In Karawang, no study has ever been carried out concerning dictionary users and their use of dictionaries. This articles presents the investigation conducted in order to find out the knowledge of dictionary users (how well the teachers know the various dictionary and their features) and the user’s habits (how often the teachers use dictionary and for what purposes).
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3. Methodology This section presents a description of the methodology employed in this study to achieve the intended objectives. In pursuance of these goals, the participants of the study are described and so it the allocation of sample size as well as data collection instruments. The section also covers the validity and reliability of the instruments used to obtain the information and the pilot administration for the tools. Finally, the section overviews the methods adopted in carrying out the study 3. 1. Research participants The participants of this study were teachers of English language at the department of English Education Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang-West Java. . A sample of 20 teachers of undergraduate and graduate degrees mostly educated in an EFL context filled in the questionnaire. For the purpose of demographic information, the teachers were asked some personal information such as their gender, their age, their degree, their teaching experience, and their teaching subject. The participants in this survey were 8 female and 12 male with ages varying between 25 and 50 years. The subjects taught by the teachers at the department of English Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang are the following: Exploring poetry Psychology of Education Grammar Writing Reading Introduction to literature Language Learning Media Listening Cross culture understanding Speaking Vocabulary Exploring prose Research in ELT Phonetics and phonology
1 1 2 3 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
The question about what is the highest level of education they completed was answered as follows: There are 14 teachers who are still pursuing their postgraduate degrees and there are 6 teachers who have had postgraduate degrees. 3. 2. Validation and Instruments Administration The questionnaire was piloted on five English lecturers from Universitas Singaperbangsa to obtain comments on the statements of the questionnaire. The referees checked the questionnaire and suggested some modification so the questionnaire that made to be reduced to 14 items in the final draft. Then questionnaire was handed out to the examinees and collected by the researchers themselves. The questionnaire given to the participants in the survey dealt with the following 14 items: (1) First use of a dictionary (2) Types of dictionaries owned based on its language (3) Types of dictionaries owned based on its form (4) Knowledge of semi bilingual dictionary or bilingualised dictionary (5) Number of printed dictionaries owned (6) Type prioritized when buying a new dictionary (7) Circumstances under which a dictionary is used (8) Reasons for using a dictionary (a) (9) Reasons for using a dictionary (b) (10) Use of information in the appendices of dictionaries (11) Awareness of the user guide notes in the front matter of dictionaries
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(12) Opinions regarding the use of a dictionary (13) Instruction in dictionary use (14) Important of being taught to use a dictionary 4. Analysis, Discussion and interpretation of survey In this part of the research we are going to deal with the analysis of the questionnaire. Our analysis is going to be based on examining each statement and make general conclusion from the whole section. We have used the percentage as a simple means of eliciting responses from our participants. A comment is used when some discrepancies are encountered where the researchers would expect a different response. 4.1. When did you start using a dictionary? Four choices were offered, and ticked as follows: 35% of the teachers claimed to have started using a dictionary at primary school, 60% at secondary school and 5% at university. This is an essential question because it indicates when there should be started with teaching the use of dictionaries. Dictionaries are introduced at primary school in Indonesia. Therefore, instruction in dictionary use should also start at this time. 4.2. Based on its language, what types of dictionaries do you own? The following were specified: L1 – L2 dictionary (e.g. English-Indonesia dictionary) : 65% L2 – L1 dictionary (e.g. Indonesia – English dictionary):50% Monolingual dictionary (e.g. English – English dictionary): 30% Semi bilingual dictionary (e.g. English – English – Indonesia dictionary): none The results show that 65% teachers have L1 - L2 dictionaries, with 50% saying that they own L2 – L1 dictionary, 30% teachers claimed to have monolinguali dictionaries and No one of teachers has Semi bilingual dictionary or bilingualised dictionary. These results indicate that on the whole the teachers are knowledgeable about dictionary. 4.3. Based on its form, what types of dictionaries do you own? The results indicating the answers to this question are as follow: 25% teachers claimed to have pocket electronic dictionary 5% teachers claimed to have electronic dictionary installed on their cellphone 75 % teachers claimed to have electronic dictionary installed on their Personal Computer 4.4. Would you like explain what the semi bilingual or bilingualised dictionary is? (You can explain in Indonesian) As we found from the answers to the questionnaire item, 6 teachers answered nothing (there was no response) 4 teachers answered as follows Saya belum lihat wujud dari kamus semi lingual ( I have not seen yet the semi bilingual dictionary physically) I’m sorry I don’t know to explain it since I never use it. I don’t know Saya belum pernah menggunakan kamus semibilingual sebelumnya ( I never use semi bilingual dictionary before) 10 teachers tried to define by themselves what the semi bilingual dictionary is as follows:
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A dictionary that uses two languages like from L2 to L1 or vice versa but maybe it focuses on more on the first language of a country that dictionary is written from. Semi bilingual dictionary is a dictionary that hasn’t totally been written in two languages but partly or in parts. A dictionary in L2 – L1 with explanation in both L2 and L1 It uses 2 languages but some... Semi bilingual dictionary, there are two types of word translation that is from L1 to L2 and from L2 to L1. Kamus yang cukup lengkap disesuaikan dengan budaya setempat. (Type of comprehensive dictionary that is in line with the local culture). Semi bilingual dictionary is the dictionary written in half source and target language. In my opinion semi bilingual dictionary is a set of book that’s content of two languages both of Indonesian or mother tongue and foreign language. Semi bilingual is dictionary written in two languages. The dictionary can describe not only the meaning but also the meaning in various use. 6 teachers answered nothing, with 4 saying that they have not seen yet even they do not know the semi bilingual dictionary while 10 teachers tried to define by themselves what the semi bilingual dictionary is with unexpected answer. These results indicate that almost all teachers cannot explain satisfactorily what the semi bilingual dictionary is. 4.5. How many printed dictionaries do you have? The results indicating the answers to this question are as follow: 1 (5%) teacher claimed to have 2 dictionaries 3 (15%) teachers claimed to have 3 dictionaries 16 (80%) teachers claimed to have more than 3 dictionaries 16 Teachers have more than 3 dictionaries, with only 1 saying that he own 1 dictionary. These results indicate that on the whole the teachers are knowledgeable about dictionary. 4.6. What is your priority when buying a new dictionary? A choice of six reasons their priority for dictionary purchase was offered, producing the following answers: because the number of pages: 5% because the number of words:25% because the number of examples:10% because a reasonable prize: None because the reputation of the publisher:35% other reasons :25% - The content - More details - The demand - Complete information about words, examples, grammar, diction etc. - The newest edition 35% of the teachers buy dictionary because of the reputation of publisher, 25% because of the number of words, 25 % because of other reasons, 10% because of the number of examples and 5% due to the number of the pages and affordable price received null percentage. 4.7. When do you use a dictionary? (You may select more than one answer!) We offered four choices, and the answers were as follows: during class:60%
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while preparing teaching material in the office (lecturer room):55% while preparing teaching material at home:65% while preparing teaching material at the library:20% The majority of the teachers (65%) make use of dictionaries while preparing teaching material at home, and a lesser number (60%) during class and 55% use a dictionary while preparing teaching material in the office (lecturer room) and a small 20% use a dictionaries while preparing teaching material at the library. 4.8. Do you use a dictionary while you....... (You may select more than one answer!) Six activities were on offer, and teachers made the following multiple choices: read newspaper and magazines:20% read textbooks:60% read academic journals: 75% read a book for entertainment: 10% work on a translation tasks: 70% play word games: 10% other (please specify) teach pronunciation :5% These results show that 75% of the teachers use dictionaries while they read academic journals. Nearly the same number use dictionaries when working on a translation tasks and reading textbook. Only 20% use dictionaries while reading newspapers and magazines and a small 10% and 5% use dictionaries while reading a book for entertainment, playing word games and teaching pronunciation. 4.9. Do you often use a dictionary....... (You may select more than one answer!) Subjects were asked how often and for which (four) activities and (five) information categories they consulted their dictionaries, and they gave the following responses when you write English articles:70% when you read English articles:45% when you listen:20% when you speak:1% to look up pronunciation:75% to look up a definition/equivalent of a word:60% to look up synonyms/words of a similar meaning:55% to look up examples of a word’s use:45% to look up collocation:30% Most teachers use a dictionary for looking up pronunciation (75%) followed by looking up a definition/equivalent or a word (60%), synonyms/words of a similar meaning (55%), and examples of a word’s use (45). Only 30% use a dictionary for looking up collocation. Teachers use dictionaries for communicative purposes, i.e. encoding or decoding purposes: 70% when they write, 45% when they read. 4.10. Do you ever use information contained in the appendices The teachers were asked to express their experiences in using the appendices including the most common information appendices found in different dictionaries. Three choices were offered and answered as follows: yes: 75% no: 25% If yes please specify:From the above results, it becomes obvious that teachers ever use information contained in the appendices but they cannot specify them. Thus, they should learn the structures of the dictionary so that they can specify what kinds of information contained in the appendices they ever use i.e., list of abbreviation, live of regular/irregular verbs, proper names, units of measurement and others.
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4.11 If you are aware of the user guidance notes in the front matter of the dictionary, do you....? Three options were offered, prompting the following answers: study them: 25% find them user-friendly:30% manage without them: 45% These results shows that 45% of the teachers pay no attention to the information in the user guide notes, which is considered that these provide useful information (such as the organization of the dictionary, the list of abbreviations used in compilation of the dictionary, an explanation of the pronunciation, table of contents, etc.). Familiarity with the user guides could produce direct effect in both understanding and reducing the lookup process. Hence, teachers should consider the importance of the user guide notes. 4.12
Based on your experience, with which of the following statements do you agree with? We used the question to elicit reactions to five ways in which dictionaries can be of use: using dictionaries can improve my reading:40% using dictionaries can improve my writing:35% using dictionaries can improve my speaking:35% using dictionaries can improve my listening:15% using dictionaries can help me to perform better in my teaching:60% A large percentage of teachers (60%) state that using dictionaries can help them perform better in their teaching, followed by 40% who think that using dictionaries can improve their reading. Slightly less than half (35%) of the teachers think that using dictionaries can improve their writing and their speaking. Only 15% think that using dictionaries can improve their listening. 4.13
Have you ever been taught how to use a dictionary when you were at secondary school? In this question, answers were given in terms of three alternatives: yes:25% a little:45% never:30% As can be seen from these answers, 30% has never been instructed in dictionary use and 45% only slightly. These results show that teachers should insist more on the importance of the learning of dictionary use by themselves. 4.14
Do you think it is important for student teachers in the English Department at Unsika to be taught how to use dictionaries? Four choices of answering this question were suggested: It is very important: 80% It is important: 20% It is not important: none I don’t know: none All of teachers (100%) think it is very important or important to teach their students how to use dictionaries. From these results, it can be concluded that there is a need for user education at Unsika, especially for student teachers. According to Hartmann and James (1998:152), User education is defined as ‘the training of users in the reference skills in response to reference needs’. Reference skills are ‘the abilities required on the part of the dictionary user to find the information being sought’ (Hartmann and James 1998:117), while reference needs are ‘the circumstances that drive individuals to seek information in reference works such as dictionaries’ (Hartmann and James 1998:116). It is in line with Hadebe (2004:90) that ‘by training teachers to be good users
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themselves, it is envisaged that they could pass these skills on to students and eventually to society in general’. In addition, student teachers even teachers should be taught reference skills as part of their training in order to enable them to make maximum use of dictionaries and reference books and teach this knowledge to students in all levels. Moreover, teachers are in better position than researchers or even lexicographers to assess the students’ lexicographic needs. If teachers acquire dictionary skills and pass on these skills to students, a dictionary culture could develop in the community. 5.
Conclusion To conclude, though the teachers’ participant is somewhat small, certain tendencies emerge as they show familiarity with dictionaries as an indivisible part of English language learning kit. It is here to recall our questions of the study: 1. How well the teachers know the various dictionary and their features? 2. How often the teachers use dictionary and for what purposes? Through our investigation pertaining to teachers’ knowledge of the various dictionaries and their features, we have found out that they mostly own L1-L2 dictionary and claim to have more than one dictionary. They are less familiar with semi bilingual dictionaries or bilingualised dictionary. When they buy a new dictionary their priority is the reputation of the publisher. In their opinion, using dictionaries can improve their reading, writing, and speaking, and help them perform better in their teaching. In addition, through our survey pertaining to teachers’ frequency in using dictionaries and for what purposes, we have found out that teachers start using dictionaries mostly at secondary school. They claim that they usually use electronic dictionary installed on their Personal Computers. They use a dictionary when during class and while they prepare their teaching material in the office and while they prepare their teaching material at home. They use a dictionary while they read academic journals, textbooks and work on a translation tasks. They use a dictionary mostly when they write English articles and look up pronunciation, a definition/equivalent of a word, synonyms/words of a similar meaning. They ever use information contained in the appendices but they cannot specify them. They claim that they received less instruction how to use a dictionary when they were at secondary school. They agree that it is very important for student teachers in the English Department at Unsika to be taught how to use dictionaries. This survey is a preliminary study in terms of dictionary use on faculty members at Unsika. It is not comprehensive. Further quantitative and qualitative research need to be conducted at Unsika with reference to different dictionary users, dictionary types, etc. In addition, we recommend and suggest some points as follows: Teachers should develop their students the importance of dictionaries in language learning and help the students to realize that teachers are not a dictionary and therefore should not be treated like one also encourage their students more independent – not relying on the teacher the whole time – and more able to study outside the classroom, at home, or whatever, and to continue studying after the course has finished. Teachers should realize that the bilingualized dictionary, a term used by Laufer and Melamed (1994) for the mono-bilingual dictionary, is a combination of the monolingual and bilingual dictionaries and has most of the advantages of both. Teachers should study the research conducted by Laufer and Melamed (1994) in comparing the three types of printed dictionaries – the monolingual, bilingual, and ‘bilingualized’. They show that the ’bilingualized’ dictionary is more suitable than the other two types for learners of all levels as a learning tool in comprehension of EFL texts, and for all except the lowest level in production of writing answers to questions. Teachers should exert themselves to correct the view about dictionaries from one more passive book on the library shelf to source of help in time of need. Teachers should integrate paper based dictionaries versions including electronic version (of e.g., OALD on CD-ROM) and internet online dictionaries to provide learners with the versatility and inspiration of these up-to-date sources.
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Further investigations are needed in the area in order to enrich our teaching practice in the classroom and, to encourage the teaching force to understand the role that the dictionary can play as a tool of language teaching and learning and, to remind us about the role of dictionaries as encyclopedic source of general human knowledge and lastly, to tell us about how pleasant the navigation in dictionary could be! References Atkins, B.T.S. and Rundell, M. 2008.The Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography. New York: Oxford University Press. Atkins, B.T.S.(ed.). 1998. Using Dictionaries: studies of dictionary use by language learners and translators. Niemeyer: Tubingen. Bejoint, H. 1994. Tradition and Innovation in Modern English Dictionaries. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Berwick, G& P. Horsfall. 1996. Making Effective Use of Dictionary. London: Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research Chi,M.L.A. 2003. An Empirical Study of the Efficacy of Integrating the Teaching of Dictionary Use into a Tertiary English Curriculum in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Language Centre, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Dong, Yamping. 2001. Direct and indirect L2 Vocabulary Learning in the Communicative Approach. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press East, Martin. 2008. Dictionary Use in Foreign Writing Exams: Impact and Implication Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benyamins Publishing Company Ekwa Ebanega, G.M, Fatimah Tomba Moussavou.2008. A Survey of the Dictionary Use of Gabonese Students at Two South African Universities. Thohoyandou: African Association for Lexicography,349-365 Hadebe,S. 2004. Improving Dictionary Skills in Ndebele. Lexicos 14: 89-104 Harmer, J. 2007. The Practice of English Language Teaching. England: Pearson Education Limited Hartmann.1991. What is the Use of Learners’ Dictionaries? Institute of Language in Education Journal.8:73-83 Hartmann,R.R.K. 1994. The learner’s dictionary – Unilingual or interlingual? In L.Flowerdew & K.K. Tong (Eds.), Entering text (pp.239-250), Hong Kong: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Language Centre. Hartmann, R.R.K. & James,G.1998. Dictionary of Lexicography. London/New York: Rutledge Hartmann,R.R.K. 1999.Case Study: The Exeter University Survey of Dictionary Use. Hartmann R.R.K (Ed.).1999.Dictionaries and Language Learning: Recommendations, National Reports and Thematics Reports from The TNT Sub-Project 9. http://web-fuberlin.de/elc/tnp1/SP9dossier.doc. Kirkness,A.2004. Lexicography. In A.Davies & C. Elder (Eds.). The handbook of applied linguistics (pp.54-81). Oxford, UK: Black Well
Kwary, D. A. (ed.) (2011). Password English Learner’s Dictionary for Speakers of Bahasa Indonesia. Jakarta: Kesaint Blanc. Laufer,B. and Hadar, L.1997. ‘Assessing the effectiveness of monolingual, bilingual and “bilingualised”dictionaries in the comprehension and production of new words’, Modern Language Journal,81, 189-196 Laufer,B. & Melamed, L. 1994. Monolingual, bilingual and ‘bilingualised’ dictionaries: Which are more effective, for what and for whom? In: W.Martin, W.Meijs, M.Moerland, E.ten Pas, P.van Sterkenburg& P.Vossen (Eds.) EURALEX 1994 Proceeding, pp.565-576. [14-] Li,L.& Lou,X. 2012. A survey on English majors’ dynamic trends of dictionaries using. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 2(2),79-83
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Miller, Julia. 2008.Teachers and Dictionaries in Australia: Is There a Need to Train the Trainers? TESOL in Context, Vol.17,No.2, Feb 11-19. Nation, I. S. P. 2001. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nesi, H. 2000. The Use and abuse of EFL dictionaries: How Learners of English as a Foreign Language read and interpret dictionaries entries. Lexicographical Series Major Tubingen: Max Nie Meyer Verlag. Oh, H. J. 2006. “Korean English teachers’ use of English dictionaries and instruction on their use:. Foreign Language Education 13(3) 419-443 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.8th ed. [print and CDROM]. 2010. Oxford: Oxford University Press Stein,G. 1991. From the Bilingual to the Monolingual Dictionary. Hamburg University. Stein,G. 1999. Illustration in Dictionaries. International Journal of Lexicography 4.2:99 Stein,G. 2002. Better Words: Evaluation of EFL Dictionaries. Exeter: Exeter University Press Stein,G. 2013. EFL Dictionaries, the Teacher and the Student. JALT JOURNAL Vol.11. No 1. Retrived at jalt.publications.org/files/pdf-article/jj-art3.pdf on July 19. Sterkenburg,van Piet. 2003. A Practical guide to lexicography. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company Thornbury,S. 2002. How to teach vocabulary. England: Pearson Education Limited Wright,J. 2001. Dictionary, Resources Books for Teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press
