Jurnal Educate Vol. 2 No. 1 Juni

Jurnal Educate Vol. 2 No. 1 Juni 2013

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IMPROVING STUDENTS' WRITING SKILL THROUGH PEER REVISION A.K. Amarullah1 [email protected] Universitas Mulawarman ABSTRACT The use of peer revision in L2 writing classrooms has long been a controversy. Although it is commonly accepted that peer revision makes students' final text better than its initial version. This article is a report of a classroom-based study investigating the areas of improvement resulting from the practices of peer revision. As the results, this study found that short term improvement in students‟ writing resulting from a single practice of peer revision was in more technical, albeit important, areas of vocabulary and language use. However, long term improvement resulting from repeated practices of peer revision was in more substantial area of content development. This study also found that while a single practice of peer revision improved the overall quality of students' revised writing; a prolonged series of peer revision improved students' writing skill, out of which students would be able to produce better writing on their own. This suggests that continuous practices of peer revision would be beneficial for writing classrooms, as they improve not only students' writing, but also their writing skill. Keywords: writing skills, peer revision, collaborative writing

A. INTRODUCTION It has been a few decades since collaborative learning was brought into educational institutions. As it was proven to be successful in improving learners' achievement in speaking classes, soon it was adopted by and became quite common in writing classes. This model of learning, where students are engaged to work in group or pair to produce a piece of writing, is believed not only to improve students' writing achievement, but also to stimulate students' cognitive as well as social development in general. This, of course, lies on strong theoretical grounds, such as Piaget's (1970) developmental

theories and Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural constructivism. While Piaget puts the emphasis on the cognitive aspect, i.e., how a student synchronizes his/her previous knowledge with new input (s)he receives to finally gain new information (Diab: 2011); Vygotskian constructivism puts more emphasis on the social aspect, i.e., how a student's cognitive development arises in social interaction with more able member of the group, who provides him/her with the appropriate level of assistance (Storch: 2005). Such assistance, which is commonly known as scaffolding, facilitates the student to move from his/her current level of development toward his/her potential level of


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development. In collaborative writing, as Storch (2005) noted, the use of groups or pair work most commonly tends to be focused on the final stages, which are revising and editing. In these final stages, students assess each other's text and then give feedback to each other to find out if there is anything that could be done to improve the text. It is in these stages also that peer revision becomes crucial, because they give the student writers not only the opportunities to see the text they have written from different perspective, but also another change to make it a better final product. There have been many studies revealing important issues in peer revision. Zhao (2010) investigated how students perceived, understood and used peer revision. Although she found that students in her experiment preferred teacher revision to peer revision, 46% of feedback they received from their peers was integrated in their revisions. Jacobs et. al (1998) found not much different phenomenon than this. Students, as he stated, value both teacher-centered and peer revision. Both studies demonstrated that peer revision was useful in writing classrooms. Yet little is known about to what extent it is useful or what improvement it offers to students. Hedgcock and Lefkowitz's (1992) was among very few studies investigating this issue. He found that the students' peer revision improved students' writing in the areas of content, organization, and vocabulary. This current study might seem to replicate that of Hedgcock and Lefkowitz's, in a very limited sense that the investigation was also carried on to analyze the areas improved resulting from peer revision. However, with some crucial differences in

the way of how peer revision was conducted and how the data was analyzed, this study is purposed to answer the question "What improvement does peer revision contribute to students' writing?" B. METHOD Participants This classroom-based study was conducted in Writing class, with 48 students participated. They were third semester university students studying similar major, ranging from 19 to 21 years in age, and sharing more or less similar education background. They had been together since the time they were admitted to the university, had taken the same subjects, and shared the same experiences of learning. In classes that these students had experienced before, the learning process were mostly student-centered, where they were used to working individually or in groups. Projects, presentations, and discussions were commonly used. Their individual English proficiencies were varying from intermediate to lower intermediate, but no extreme difference in their GPAs. These students came from many different regions in Kalimantan, Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi; with different ethnicities and native language backgrounds (Banjar, Kutai, Dayak, Java, Bugis, Toraja, Minang, and Batak) as well as religion backgrounds (Islam, Christian and Catholic). None of these students used English in their daily lives or had any experience of living in English-speaking countries. Procedure The data analyzed to answer the question of this study is obtained from multiple drafts of essays that the students produced during the end-of-semester


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writing assignments, where the students were enrolled in four cycles of collaborative writing for four consecutive weeks, and the using of peer revision was intensely practiced. Before the first cycle took place, students were asked to make groups of three or to pair with a partner, where they were free to choose their partner(s). As groups and pairs were made, each group and pair was ask to choose another group or pair as their couple; a group with a group, and a pair with a pair. So there were couples of groups and couples of pairs. (For the reason of practicality, both terms "group" and "pair" are referred to as "group" in this article). They were also told that the members of groups and the couples would remain the same for the whole course. After this, the students were given a general description of the collaborative writing they were going to practice in the following four weeks, i.e., writing essays, assessing their couple's essays, giving feedback on each other's essays, and revising their essays based on the feedback they received from their couple. All four cycles of collaborative writing were conducted with similar procedure and identical instruction. Every cycle consisted of two sessions: the first session on the first day, and the second session on the following day. Both lasted for about 90 minutes long. The first sessions were the sessions for the students to plan and write their first draft. These sessions began with the instructor's short briefing. In the first cycle, the instructor's briefing was only about what the students were going to do on that day, i.e., writing an essay of 4-5 paragraphs long, on a topic that they chose themselves. On the second, third,

and fourth cycles, the briefing also included the instructor's review about what they had done and achieved in the previous cycle. After the briefing, the students spent the whole rest of the session to work on their first draft. When they had finished the draft, they submitted it to the instructor and the session ended. The second sessions were the sessions for peer revision. In these sessions, the instructor returned the students' first drafts. Each group exchanged their first draft with their couple and was given time to assess their couple's draft. After thirty minutes, every group met with their couple and spent another thirty minutes for discussion, to give review and feedback on each other's draft both orally and in written notes. Finally, every group used the last thirty minutes to revise their drafts.


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The cycles were scheduled presented in the following table.

as

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Briefing Planning and Writing

Cycle

Task

Session

Dur. Schedule

Briefing 1

(minute

I

1

Assessment Peer 2

Feedback

Briefing 1

30

30

15

75

First Draft II

Essay

Peer

2

Assessment Peer 2

Feedback

30

30

Draft Instructor's Briefing 1

15

Planning and Writing

75

First Draft III

Essay

Peer

3

Assessment Peer 2

Feedback

30

All the drafts that students submitted, both first and revised drafts, were analyzed to see what improvements were made as the result of peer revision. To see short term improvement resulted from peer revision, a group's first draft was compared to its revised version. Further, the first draft of the first essay that a group made is compared to the first draft of their last essay in order to see how much a group had improved after participating in a prolonged series of peer revisions.

30

Writing Revised

Revised

30


30

Draft

Draft Instructor's

Feedback

30

Writing 75

Writing Revised

Peer 2

First Draft Peer

Assessment

15


Essay

Peer

s) Instructor's

75

First Draft

C. DISCUSSION All the drafts submitted were scored using writing scale adopted from the scale developed by Jacobs et.al (1981) in Weigle (2002), which differentiates five components of writing i.e., content, organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanics. Scores of five groups chosen randomly are presented in the table below:

30

30

Writing Revised

30

Draft IV

Essay

1

Instructor's

15


4

Group

Essay 1 2

A 3 4 1 2 B 3 4 1 2 C 3 4 1 2 D 3 4 1 2 E 3 4

First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft First Draft Revised Draft

Content Organization Vocabulary (13-30) (7-20) (7-20) 22.5 16.3 15.3 22.8 17.0 16.6 24.2 16.6 15.9 24.4 17.3 16.6 24.6 16.8 16.3 24.6 17.4 17.0 25.8 17.3 16.8 25.9 17.4 17.3 21.4 17.0 15.9 21.4 17.3 17.2 22.3 17.3 16.3 22.5 17.4 17.3 23.8 17.5 16.1 24.3 17.7 17.3 23.9 17.9 17.2 24.5 18.1 17.5 24.2 16.1 16.3 24.2 17.0 17.2 23.8 16.6 16.6 23.8 17.3 17.7 26.0 16.8 17.4 26.2 17.2 18.1 26.7 17.4 17.9 26.9 17.5 18.6 22.5 16.6 15.9 22.5 17.3 16.8 22.5 16.8 15.9 22.8 17.3 17.2 24.6 17.2 16.1 24.6 17.4 17.3 24.7 17.7 16.8 24.7 17.7 17.9 22.8 16.3 14.7 22.8 16.6 16.6 23.8 17.3 15.2 24.2 17.4 17.2 24.4 18.1 16.1 24.4 18.3 17.4 24.7 18.1 17.3 24.7 18.1 17.4

Language Mechanics Total (5-25) (2-5) 21.0 4.2 79.2 21.9 4.6 82.9 21.6 4.3 82.6 22.7 4.6 85.5 21.6 4.3 83.6 22.7 4.6 86.3 21.8 4.6 86.4 22.7 4.6 87.8 21.0 4.0 79.3 22.3 4.6 82.8 21.8 4.3 82.0 22.7 4.6 84.5 22.2 4.6 84.2 22.8 4.6 86.8 22.2 4.6 85.7 23.3 4.8 88.2 21.9 4.3 82.9 22.8 4.5 85.7 21.9 4.6 83.5 22.8 4.6 86.1 22.3 4.6 87.1 22.7 4.8 89.0 22.8 4.7 89.5 23.3 4.8 91.0 21.6 4.3 80.9 22.2 4.7 83.4 21.8 4.6 81.6 22.8 4.7 84.8 22.2 4.7 84.8 22.9 4.7 86.9 22.3 4.7 86.2 22.8 4.8 87.9 19.7 4.3 77.8 21.0 4.7 81.7 20.3 4.7 81.3 21.7 4.7 85.2 21.5 4.7 84.8 21.7 4.7 86.4 21.0 4.7 85.8 22.3 4.8 87.3

The table above shows that the scores for students' essays had always increased during the implementation of peer revisions, which means that there was improvement in students' essays as well as in their writing skill. In this respect, the table shows that peer revision led to not only short term improvement,

but also long term improvement. Short term improvement can be seen by comparing the score of the essays before and after they were revised. The different scores between the first drafts of essays and their revised versions, where the latter were always higher, show that peer revision had improved the quality of the essays. Long term improvement can be seen by comparing the scores that each group got for the first draft of their first essays and the first draft of their fourth essays. As those scores represented the quality of the essays before they were revised, it can be inferred that those scores described the group's actual writing skill. The difference between those two scores, where the score for the first drafts of the fourth essay were higher than those of the first essays, indicated that the series of peer revision had improved the group's overall writing skill. Although the practice of peer revision improved students' writing in general, however, the improvement was different from one area to another. Short term improvement was greatest in the area of vocabulary, averaged at 6.4% in every cycle. The improvement in this area is indicated by wider range of the words used and better accuracy of the words. The areas of language use, mechanics, and organization made less improvement, each of which were averaged at 4.1%, 3.8%, and 2.1% in every cycle. The least improvement was in the area of content, with 0.6% average in every cycle, which means that peer revision hardly ever made any changes to the content of their first drafts. This study also revealed that the long term improvement students gained throughout the four cycles of practicing peer revision was quite different. The long


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term improvement of the students was greatest in the area of content, averaged at 11% for every group, while the area of language use is the least, with 4.8% average for every group. The improvement in the area of content means that all the groups showed deeper understanding about their topic or developed their topic better in their next essays than in the previous ones. In the last cycle, students were able to write essays which were much developed, supported and comprehensible than the essays they wrote at the first cycle. In the areas of vocabulary, mechanic, and organization, the improvement was averaged at 10.4%, 9.5% and 6.6% each for every group throughout the four cycles. D. CONCLUSION What this study found is that peer revision, regardless of some reservation on its use, had proven to bring significant improvement into writing classroom. The improvement occurred not in only short term, which was indicated by student essays' getting better after peer revision; but also in long term, which was indicated by the fact that students could produce better texts on their own after practicing a series of peer revision. The short term improvement was made possible by scaffolding provided by the collaboration, where students pooled and shared their expertise, which enabled groups' performance to go beyond what a single group could do. This is analogous to what many previous studies have proven, among which are Dobao's (2012) and Wigglesworth and Storch' (2009) to be mentioned here, who found that those who work collaboratively produced linguistically more accurate writing than

those who wrote alone. The long term improvement took place as students involved for several times in the practice of peer revision, where they learned from the mistakes that their peers or they themselves had made before, and kept attempting to produce better writing afterwards. In this sense, this is consistent with what Hedgcock and Lefkowitz (1992) suggest, that collaborative revision produces in learners awareness of rhetorical structure of their own writing and an ability to self-correct their errors. This helped the students overcome problems they encountered in producing their texts. These findings indicate that students' writing skill improved overtime. A single practice of peer revision led to improvement in only limited areas like vocabulary and grammar, the areas which many people considered of little importance. Greater improvement took longer time to take place. Peer revision needed to be practiced repeatedly before students got used to it and finally found it useful and positive. The constant repetitions of the practice might have stimulated students' self-reflection on their own writing, made them learn from both their peers' and their own mistakes, which, in turn, increased their motivation and effort to produce better writing and to improve their writing skill. The conclusion of this study suggests that peer revision, despite its exhausting and time-consuming nature, is worth practicing. By providing students with more opportunity to engage with their own and their peers' writing, teachers can help their students not only to gain better achievement, but also to be better learners.


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REFERENCES Diab, M.N. 2011. Assessing between different types of student feedback and the quality of revised writing. Assessing Writing, 16. 274-292.

Dobao, A.F. 2012. Collaborative writing tasks in the L2 classroom: Comparing group, pair, and individual work. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21. 40-58. Ferris, D and Barrie Roberts. 2001. Error feedback in L2 writing classes: How explicit does it need to be? Journal of Second Language Writing, 10. 161-184.

Zhang, S. 1995. Reexamining the affective advantage of peer feedback in the ESL writing class. Journal of Second Language Writing, 4 (3). 209-222. Weigle, S.C. 2002. Assessing Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wigglesworth, G. and Neomy Storch. 2009. Pairs versus individual writing: Effects on fluency and accuracy. Language Testing, 26. 445-466.

Hedgcock, J., and Natalie Lefkowitz. 1992. Collaborative oral/aural revision in foreign language writing instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1 (3). 255-276. Piaget, J. 1970. Genetic Epistemology. Columbia: Columbia University Press. Storch, N. 2005. Collaborative writing: Product, process, and students' reflection. Journal of Second Language Writing, 14. 153-173. Vygotsky, L. 1978. Mind in Society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Zhao, H. 2010. Investigating learner's use and understanding of peer and teacher feedback on writing: A comparative study in a Chinese English writing classroom. Assessing Writing, 15. 3-17.


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THE ROLE OF ENGLISH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL EDUCATION Toyyibah1 [email protected] Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Kediri ABSTRACT English plays very important roles in the development of education in Indonesia. The roles are closely related to the function of English as lingua franca, i.e. as an international language and a global language. This article illustrates two important roles of the English language in the education field, they are access to knowledge and information and internationalization of education. However, despite those important roles of English, the widespread of the use of English is also criticized related to the impact on the Indonesian life and language. The influence of English on the shifting of local socio-cultural values and national identities, and the replacement of some Indonesian terms with English terms in widers contexts, are linked to the more fundamental issue: linguistic imperialism. Thus, before coming to the conclusion and suggestion, the impact of English on Bahasa Indonesia and vernacular languages is presented. Pertaining to this current issue, recommendations for the status of English in Indonesia, for Indonesian people in general, for media business, language researchers and English teachers are provided. Key words: English, national education, knowledge and information, education internationalization

A. INTRODUCTION English plays very important roles in the development of education in Indonesia. The roles are especially closely related with the function of English as an international and a global language, a lingua franca. The prospect that a lingua franca might be needed for the whole world is something which has emerged strongly only in the twentieth century, and since the 1950s in particular. The chief international forum for political communication – the United Nations – dates only from 1945. Since then, many international bodies have come into being,

such as the World Bank (also 1945), UNESCO and UNICEF (both 1946), the World Health Organization (1948) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (1957). Never before have so many countries (around 190, in the case of some UN bodies) been represented in single meeting places. Further, Crystal states that the need for a global language is particularly appreciated by the international academic and business communities, and it is here that the adoption of a single lingua franca is most in evidence, both in lecture-rooms and board-rooms, as well as in thousands of individual contacts being made daily all


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over the globe (Crystal, 2003: 11). This article is intended to illustrate some roles of English in the development of national education in Indonesia. The discussion is divided into three sections. The first two sections present the discussion on the role of English in accessing knowledge and information, and the internationalization of education. However, despite those important roles of English, the widespread of the use of English is also criticized related to the impact on the Indonesian life and language. Thus, before coming to the conclusion and suggestion, the impact of English on Bahasa Indonesia and vernacular languages will be discussed in the third section. B. ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION In the information society, free flow of information is a fundamental principle for bridging the knowledge gaps between privileged and under-privileged communities. Social inclusion and economic empowerment are also achieved in a society where citizens have universal access to information and knowledge, ranging from public information to specialized or customized information related to ones' profession, vocation or culture. Open access to information and knowledge is a key contributor in provisioning universal access to information and knowledge. Thus, the open access movement is gaining momentum in developed countries which already have necessary information infrastructure. The emerging economies amongst the developing countries are not far behind in building up necessary information infrastructure, essential for

sustainable economic development ( Das, 2008:2). Related to the development of education, access to knowledge and information discussed in this paper includes access to the current development of knowledge and information of opportunities to study abroad and get international scholarship. Access to the Current Development of Knowledge English is the medium of a great deal of the world‘s knowledge, especially in such areas as science and technology, and access to knowledge is the business of education. A 1980 study of the use of English in scientific periodicals showed that 85per cent of papers in biology and physics were being written in English at that time, whereas medical papers were some way behind (73 %), and papers in mathematics and chemistry further behind still (69 % and 67 % respectively). However, all these areas had shown a significant increase in their use of English during the preceding fifteen years –over 30 per cent, in the case of chemistry, and over 40 %, in the case of medicine – and the figures twenty years further on would certainly be much higher. This can be seen even in a language-sensitive subject such as linguistics, where in 1995 nearly 90 % of the 1,500 papers listed in the journal Linguistics Abstracts were in English. In computer science, the proportion is even higher (Crystal, 2003: 110). The development of education in Indonesia is certainly supported by such development of new information and knowledge which is mostly delivered in English. A large proportion of the scientific papers published in all subjects are in English. The information of the


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most current research reports in all fields of study which must be known by researchers in the field, for example, are mostly found in international journals in English. When the journals are published on-line, all instructions to access are also in English. Similarly, the majority of references containing grand theories in most disciplines are written in English. In short, the development of research in all disciplines, that is the gate for the development of knowledge and in turn the development of education, mainly relies on the researchers‘ English proficiency. This researchers‘ English proficiency is also required to disseminate the results of their research to the global society.

Acsess to Information of Studying Abroad Studying abroad is another way of accessing to knowledge and information. Having sufficient English proficiency is the chief requirement for those who want to continue their study in developed countries, even in the countries in which English is not spoken as the first language. Most international scolarship programs require a certain score of the TOEFL or IELTS test. National and International Scholarships The development of education in Indonesia cannot be separated from scholarship programs, either provided by national or international institutions. Through Ministry of National Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs, among other things, the government of Indonesia has provided many kinds of scholarships to study abroad with such various programs as non-degree, master, doctorate,

post-doctorate, research and fellowship. Sandwich Programs and Developing Countries Partnership Scholarship (DCPS) or KNB (Kemitraan Negara Berkembang) are the examples of the name of the scholarship programs (http://www.beasiswaonline.net/2011/03/i ndonesian-government-scholarship-for.ht ml). In addition, there are many international institutions which provide Indonesian students opportunities to get scholarship to study abroad. Most institutions even offer more than one programs, starting from training of English for academic purposes, Master and Ph. D programs to post-doctorate fellowship. Among the international institutions which provide scholarship for Indonesian students are : (1) AMINEF, that offer Fulbright Legacy Programs for Indonesians Programs for Americans Educational Advising Services; (2) Australian Development Scholarship (ADS), which is funded by the government of Australia for postgraduate study at Australian Universities; (3) British Chevening Scholarships, the UK government‘s flagship scholarship scheme, aiming at future leaders, high achievers, opinion formers and decision-makers. The programme is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and administered by the British Council; and (4) IIEF (Indonesian International Education Foundation), the collaboration of Yayasan Pendidikan Internasional Indonesia and the Institute of International Education (IIE) (http://education.indonesiadbase.com). The development of education in Indonesia, from elementary to tertiary levels, has been much supported by the


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contribution of educators who got their overseas education through international scholarship programs.

The student exchange program provides some benefits. The educational benefits of this program are: 

Student Exchange Programs A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions. The terms 'student exchange' and 'study abroad' are often used interchangeably, however study abroad usually involves the student study full time and not in partnered institution like student going for exchange where they will be studying in the partner university of their home institution. But in some countries, an exchange student is also considered a study abroad student because they are studying in different country than their own. Student exchange program does not necessarily require the student going out of the country but it could also be an exchange program within the continent and its territory which is the National student exchange program (NSE) The term ―exchanges‖ means that partnered institution exchange their student but not necessarily the students have to find a counterpart from the other institution to exchange with. No tradeoff is actually required. Two types of student exchange program are international and national student exchange program. A student exchange programs could be joined either by the secondary school or university student (http://www.isep.org/). Besides, there are also other kinds of exchange programs such as youth exchange programs and teacher exchange programs, all of which require good English proficiency.

 

 

International learning and knowledge propels students towards acceptance and understanding of an array of different cultural and community perspectives. Language acquisition is achieved through practical immersion. Increase awareness and adoption of alternative, multi-faceted approaches to learning. Acquire analytical and problem solving skills. Enhanced interest in global issues as well as broadening general knowledge.

The development of national education is also coloured with international programs of education, such as international scholarship and student excahnge programs. The role of English in these programs is undoubtedly very important. The sufficient English proficiency is required for those who are pursuing the education programs. C. INTERNATIONALIZATION OF EDUCATION Another imporant role of English in the development of national education in Indonesia is in the internationalization of education. According to De Witt (2000) Internationalization of education is the process of integrating an international and intercultural dimension into the teaching, research, and services functions of the institution. Besides, the term internationalisation often is used to replace the term globalisation, while in fact they have two different meaning (Albatch,


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2004). According to Knight (2003, p. 2), ‗internationalisation at the national, sector, and institutional levels is defined as the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of postsecondary education‘. Practically, the Australian Vice-Chancellors‘ Committee described that internationalisation of Australian universities includes a range of activities such as formal agreements with other countries, participation in international organisations, offshore activities, student exchange, international research collaboration, internationalisation of staff, internationalisation of curricula and recruitment of international students (AVCC, 2001). Moreover, the OECD (Henry et al., 2001, p. 148) defined a set of characteristics for international curricula as the following:  curricula with international content such as international relations;  curricula that add comparative dimension to traditional content;  career-oriented curricula;  curricula that address cross-cultural skills;  interdisciplinary programs such as region and area studies covering more than one country;  curricula leading to internationally recognised professions;  curricula leading to joint or double degrees;  curricula whose parts are offered at off-shore institutions by local faculty;  curricula designed exclusively for foreign students. The internationalization of education in Indonesia occurs not only in higher level of education but also in primary and secondary levels. This has been shown by the existence of international schools in

many cities in Indonesia and the government policy on RSBI and bilingual education. The discussion in this section is focused on the internationalization of higher education and international schools. Internationalization of Higher Education Indonesia is a country with population of 220 million, 81 public and 2.514 private higher education institutions; and 3.5 million students (Puruhito, 2006). Provision of higher education in Indonesia is managed by the Ministry of National Education (MONE) through the Directorate General of Higher Education (DGHE) and other ministries such as the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. Government has been reforming its public universities by giving a State-owned Legal Entity status (BHMN), which gives more independence in the management of financial, human resources, physical plant, organisation, decision making and new accountability (DGHE, 1999). A Law of Education Legal Entity covering issues on legal entity and status of higher education institution has recently been passed which aims to empower public universities with autonomy, transparency and accountability (DGHE, 2008). Other important issues in Indonesian higher education involve unmet increasing demand on high quality of higher education, equity and participation, funding, internal efficiency, relevancy and governance (Tadjudin, 2005, p.30). Currently, there are about 5.000 international students in the country, while around 20.000 Indonesian students study overseas annually (Soejatminah, 2009).


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The Government Policy Perceiving globalisation as a challenge, the government asserts the necessity of internationalisation for universities. Internationalisation is grounded in the National Education Strategic Plan and the Higher Education Long Term Strategic (HELTS) 2003 – 2010 (Mohandas, 2007). The first document mentions about the importance of national competitiveness in its vision, mission and the goal for national education. Whilst in the latter document, internationalisation of higher education is seen as a means to increase national competitiveness. In this context, every university is expected to play a role with the support of the DGHE to improve national competiveness as well as to counter the possibility of negative effects from globalisation. Moreover, the DGHE has used international collaboration as a criterion to rank institution positions within the system (Djanali, 2007). However, with regard to individual institutions‘ capacity, continuous quality improvement is much more appreciated than global engagement. Indonesian government supports internationalisation through various programs including seminars/ workshops on internationalisation, network establishment such as Indonesia Higher Education Network and Global Development Learning Network, the production of a book titled The-50 Promising Universities and scholarships (Irwandi, 2008). Providing grant for Indonesian writers/researchers to present their paper abroad is another form of our government support for education internationalization.

Current Practice of Internationalisation by Universities Indonesia covers a vast range of higher education institutions in terms of type, size and quality with total of 2684 higher education institutions. Soejatminah (2009) conducted an investigation on the internationalisation movement within the-50 promising universities selected by the DGHE which are classified as having academic credibility and eagerness to collaborate with overseas institution (DGHE, 2006). Investigating 28 public and 22 private institutions, she found the following pratices of internationalization of education reflected in the websites of the universities. Web-site in English Since English is needed to engage globally, existence of a website in English is the key criterion for this study. Most of the 50 promising universities under the study do not have website in English; the institution‘s website with almost fully in English is less than 50 % (around 54% public institutions using English wholly or partially, while in private group only 41% of institutions fall under this category). These data might suggest that the English usage for website requires serious attention. . Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Apart from English, ICT (as global interconnectivity) is another basic need for internationalisation, particularly for the system in the early stage of internationalisation. The finding shows similar picture between public and private institutions where there are about 68% institutions with a digital library, which represents the establishment of ICT.


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Acknowledgement of internationalisation How institutions‘ responses to the government opt toward internationalisation could be inferred from the policy statements such as vision, mission, objective and strategic planning which might reflect how an institution frames internationalisation. Approximately 58% institutions appear to show intention and awareness of internationalisation with the use of phrases such ―addressing global challenge‖, ―to be world class University‖ or to ―collaborate globally‖. In contrast around 42% of institutions did not indicate global awareness at all in their policy statements. Website for International matters. This indicator also aims to capture the level of commitment of universities to recognising the importance of internationalisation. It might reflect a higher level of commitment to internationalisation. Around 50% of private universities have a particular segment online describing their international engagement, while only around 30% of public institutions have a particular site for internationalisation. Internationalisation of the student body. To promote internationalisation of student body, the government provides several scholarship programs for foreign students such as Darmasiswa and Kemitraan Negara Berkembang. Apart from this, there are also international students who study on a private tuition basis to attend programs such as twinning or double degrees as well as regular degrees (International class at UGM, n.d.).

Furthermore, some universities have collaborations on student exchanges. From the 50 group, around 70% of institutions have international students, in which more public institutions have international students than private institutions. Internationalisation of academic/staff collaboration This initiative is supported with program called Program Academic Recharging (PAR) A, B and C. Other scholarships- sandwich and twinning programs are available for academics both at public and private institutions since 2008. At the national level, the top five destination countries for these scholarships are Australia, Malaysia, Japan, UK and Netherland. This study shows that more public institutions have international collaboration involving academic and management staff than private ones. In total about 70% of the 50 Group has engaged in this form of collaboration. Internationalisation of the curriculum Internationalisation of the curriculum includes curriculum preparation in the light of international collaboration consisting for inbound and outbound student mobility. This initiative is heavily involved with curriculum arrangement for sending students abroad under various programs such as sandwich, twinning and double degrees. Internationalisation of curriculum also refers to curriculum prepared for international students who come under various means such as scholarships, exchange or private. About 70% of institutions have a curriculum arrangement with overseas partners.


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Further, the data suggest that public institutions have more collaborations than private institutions. The above illustration on the internationalization of higher education in Indonesia provides sufficient evidences that English plays significant roles in the development of national education, especially that of higher education. Each efforts responding to the internationalization of higher education reported in the above study are impossible to make without sufficient English proficiency. International schools As an international language, English is required to develop international schools in Indonesia. The existence of international schools is part of the development of national education in Indonesia. There are at least 68 international schools in Indonesia, 30 of them are located in Jakarta and 38 are spread all over Indonesian archipelago, commonly in cities and towns near international companies such as Batam, Balikpapan, and Tembagapura, besides in such big cities as Bandung, Surabaya, and Medan. Currently there are 5 international schools in East Java, 3 in Subaraya and 2 in Malang (http://www.expat.or.id/orgs/schools.html) . All of the international schools in Indonesia offer an Education in English, and some of them apply bilingual education, English and another international language. The programmes vary from the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) programme, which includes PYP (Primary Years Programme), MYP

(Middle Years Programme) and Diploma to the British GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education) and GCE (General Certificate of Education) examination systems. All schools are required to satisfy the requirements of the Indonesian national system. The International Baccalaureate Organization‘s Diploma Programme was created in 1968. It is a demanding pre-university course of study that leads to examinations. It is designed for highly motivated secondary school students aged 16 to 19. The programme has earned a reputation for rigorous assessment, giving IB diploma holders access to the world‘s leading universities. The Diploma Programme‘s grading system is criterion-referenced, which means that each student‘s performance is measured against well-defined levels of achievement. These are consistent from one examination session to the next and are applied equally to all schools.The IBO has shown, over the course of 30 years, that students are well prepared for university work. They are accepted by universities in more than 110 countries. (http://www.expat.or.id/orgs/schools.ht ml).

D. THE UNDESIRABLE INFLUENCE OF ENGLISH ON INDONESIAN LIFE AND LANGUAGE. Basically, the debate about the effects of colonialism on English and the impact of English on other languages in countries where it is used is not particularly relevant to Indonesia. This is because it was not English that was the language of the colonizers, but Dutch. There is some ambivalence, however, about the dominant position that English


15

now has, in the minds of some Indonesian scholars and policy makers. This is the apparent push and pull between the need to benefit from communicating in English for national development and the fear that too much influence from English, in particular culturally, could exert an undesirable influence on Indonesian life and language (Lauder, 2008). Among the undesirable influence of the English on Indonesian life and language is ―language schizophreia‖. This term refers to a kind of love-hate view of English. Another term for this is ―exolinguaphobia‖ (Kartono, 1976: 124). He stated that such attitudes represent an emotional and irrational dimension in Indonesian national language policy which might have had a negative effect on development. In his article on the status and function of English in Indonesia, Lauder (2008) illustrated the phenomenon of language schizophrenia in the debate of such aspects as social and cultural values, English vocabulary, national identity, and linguistic imperialism. Social and Cultural Values The discussion of what role foreign languages in general and English in particular should play in Indonesia‘s national language policy has been framed since early on using the metaphor of English as a tool (alat) which is to be made use of by Indonesians to bring in selectively specific information, knowledge and technology that would accelerate development. Development is nationalistic, patriotic. English is essential but the role that English be allowed to play is restricted to its utilitarian value in accessing information that can promote economic growth (Lauder, 2008).

Further, Lauder explained that its role as an expression of general cultural and intellectual identity is kept out of the picture. English also represents a threat. Some educators in Indones ia have long worried that the widespread knowledge of English would have a negative impact on Indonesian culture, values and behavior. This threat has usually been portrayed as a threat of western ―liberal values‖ which is interesting because English of course encapsulates all of the values from the U.K. and the U.S.A. including conservative and other values and not only the liberal ones. According to Lauder (2008), it is hard to see how in fact a language can be stripped of the cultural and social values that it encodes, not to mention the idea that English can somehow be rewritten in English textbooks for Indonesian school students so that the original cultural values are replaced by Indonesian ones, with the presumed hope that the consumers of such an English will never notice the difference. And even if it were possible to write English textbooks with no undesirable western values and only really desirable Indonesian ones, one wonders what the nature of such an English would be? Is this an English of technical manuals, of dry legal documents, of generic Indonesian characters conversing in English, just as surrealistically fictional as their local soap opera counterparts? The worry on the influence of the wide-spread use of English on Indonesian culture may also come from news about the extinction of local languages that are are often heard. Pusat Bahasa signals that 15 local languages become extinct and another 150 are threatened with extinction (Kompas, July 9, 2010). The main cause is due to an increasingly reduced number of


16

speakers. Inversely proportional to the total population continues to increase. Extinction of local languages or regional languages is quite alarming, because the risk of erosion of the wealth of cultural diversity.

end of the wedge and a threat to Indonesian so that some policy makers wanted to pass a law that required all names to be in Indonesian (Alwi, 2000: 12).

Vocabulary One way that this split view of the role of English can be seen in regard to views about English vocabulary. Halim (1976a: 23-24) notes that one of the reasons that English is needed is that a large proportion of the books and other information resources which deal with modern knowledge and technology which are needed for national development are published in English, and because these sources can be of use in developing term banks in Indonesian (dapat kita manfaatkan sebagai salah satu sumber untuk kepentingan pengembangan bahasa nasional kita, terutama di dalam pengembangan tata istilah). On the other hand, for a time, there was quite a public debate about the large number of foreign names that were being used, for example in housing estates. The trends of using using some English vocabulary can also be found in many other fields, by people of various background. In small hotels and restaurants, all the facilities and menus are offered in English. Even in factories that are identical with the workers who are sometimes low educational background. The employees with steady say, ―Oh, Pak manajer sedang meeting!‖ At other times, an employee with the job foreman told his friend, ―Oh, saya lupa, belum menyerahkan daily report”. The widely use of driver and security instead of sopir and SATPAM is another example. This use of foreign terms was thought to be the thin

National Identity English is seen by many as carrying a certain amount of prestige. According to Gunarwan (1998) English has a prestige among Indonesians that may even surpass that of Indonesian. Knowledge of English is perceived of as either important or essential by large numbers of people, and knowledge of the language is a requirement for many types of employment, as well as being seen as a symbol of education, modernity or even sophistication. Some people also worried that the habit of educated Indonesians to sprinkle English words in their use of Indonesian was not only going to have a negative effect on Indonesian but also signaled a decline in nationalistic idealism (see Gunarwan, 1998). The fact that in some places that the students‘ scores of English are higher than those of Bahasa Indonesia in their National Examination can be one phenomenon which raises the worry on the dominance of English on the national language. However, as Alwi (2000: 12) says drolly, this behavior was hardly likely to endanger the spirit of national unity (membahayakan semangat persatuan bangsa). On the other hand, members of the Indonesian elite, from politicians to celebrities, increasingly can be seen code-mixing English into their daily use of Indonesian to appear in a positive light or to ―foreground a modern identity‖ (Lowenberg, 1991: 136). This habit of mixing English vocabulary in Indonesian


17

by the prominent in society is imitated by others (Renandya, 2000: 116). The impact of English on Indonesian, in particular the large number of loan words that are entering Indonesian, has been both discussed and worried over by a number of commentators (Lowenberg, 1991). Linguistic Imperialism The ‗threat‘ that English has been presumed to pose has also been framed in the discourse of post-colonial imperialism (Phillipson, 1992), with the use of Indonesian being nationalistic or patriotic and the use of English as somehow not. The strong nationalistic strand of thinking comes out clearly in (Halim, 1976b: 20) who mentions four main functions of Indonesian: as a symbol of national pride, as a symbol of national identity, as a tool to achieve unity among the different ethnolinguistic groups in the country, and as a common means of communication among different regional and cultural groups. Alwasilah (1997) sees the continued dominance of languages such as English as a form of post-colonial imperialism which are to be countered by bolstering feelings of nationalism which are to be expressed through the use of the national language. The author sees the need for English, but to promote English for the necessary purpose of obtaining its technology, Indonesians run the risk of having their own culture sullied or polluted (dikotori) by ―liberal‖ western cultural values. The problem is portrayed as a kind of defensive war against foreign values. He asks ―cukup tangguhkah nasionalisme kita ini untuk berlaga melawan penetrasi dan imperialisme budaya liberal?‖ (Alwasilah, 1997: 10). Where a strong sense of national identity is absent, it will be filled by the cultural values of the former colonial

masters. In order to avoid this, he adjoins educators to ―menangkal budaya liberal‖ (Alwasilah, 1997: 11). He warns people in the media business that they have a ―moral responsibility‖ to ensure that the programs they have are not just ―for profit‖. E. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION English plays many important roles in the development of national education in Indonesia. Besides English is the first foreign language taught in Indonesian schools, English proficiency is required to access new knowledge and information, and to develop internationalization of education in Indonesia. Having good English proficiency provides opportunities for Indonesian students to improve their education. National education has been getting internationalized by the internationalization of higher education and the existence of international schools in cities and towns in Indonesia. However, the increasing use of English and the continued dominance of English raises national debate. Some educators in Indonesia have long worried that the widespread knowledge of English would have a negative impact on Indonesian culture, values and behavior. Others worry about the decline of nationalistic idealism. Some experts also suspect that English can be a form of post-colonial imperialism which are to be countered by bolstering feelings of nationalism which are to be expressed through the use of the national language. This undesirable effects of the more widely-spread of English can be the most possible and logical reason of why, in the 2013 curriculum, English lesson at elementary schools is deleted and it is


18

given in 90 minutes or two lesson hours each week, decreased from 120 mimutes at the junior high school and 180 minutes at the senior high schools. Pertaining to the above illustration on the role of English in the development of education in Indonesia, I propose some recommendations as the following. 1. To provide more natural exposure of the use of English in any communication events, and give people more opportunity to learn English, the status of English in Indonesia should be changed into second language. The deletion or the decrease of the hours for English lesson at our primary education should be balanced with other policy which support the opportunity for the society to be exposed to the use of English in natural situations. 2. Media business should promote the use of Indonesian vocabulary instead of English as a part of their ‗moral responsibility‘. 3. Indonesian people should learn the English language without adopting the culture blindly, since modernization is not the same as westernization. This should be the principle of all Indonesian learners of any international language, so that the worry that western values can threat local values can be minimized. 4. For language researchers, related to the particular nature of the impact English is making on the development and modernization of Indonesian‘s national language and culture, it might be a good time to start investigating the possibility of what the features of English as International language might be, and what features of Indonesian English would fit that

5.

model. A region-neutral, internationally intelligible variety of English spoken in Indonesia is not an impossibility. English teachers should be careful with their critical position. Culture is inseparable part of language. It means that they also have to teach western, in this case is English, culture. If they cannot take their clear position, they can be western culture transmitters. Instead, they should promote national cultures and values to their students.

REFERENCES Albatch, P.G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalisation of higher education: motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3-4), 290-305. Retrieved March 10, 2011, from Sage Publication Database. Alwasilah, A.C. (1997). Imperialisme Bahasa dan Budaya. H. Alwa dan D. Sugono (Eds). Politik Bahasa dan Pendidikan (Language Politics and Education), 8-11. Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya. Alwi, H. (2000). Fungsi Politik Bahasa (The Function of Language Politics). H. Alwa dan D. Sugono (Eds). Politik Bahasa: Risalah Seminar Politik Bahasa (Language Politics: Procedings of the Seminar on Language Politics), 6-20. Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa dan Departemen Pendidikan Nasional. Crystal, D. (2003a). English as a Global Language, (2nd Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Das, Anup Kumar. (2008). Open Access to Knowledge and Information : Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives. New Delhi: The United Nations


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Educational Scientific Organization (UNESCO).

&

Cultural

De Witt, H. Changing Rationales for the Internationalization of Higher Education. Papers on Higher Education, in UNESCO-CEPES. Internationalization of Higher Education: An Institutional Perspective. Bucharest, 2000. Gunarwan, A. (1998). Kedudukan dan fungsi bahasa asing di Indonesia dalam era global. Kongres Bahasa Indonesia VII, 26-30 Oktober 1998, Jakarta. Halim, A. (1976a). Fungsi politik bahasa nasional (The Function of National Language Politics). In A. Halim, Politik Bahasa Nasional (National Language Politics). Jilid 1 (Vol. 1), 13-26. Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. Halim, A. (1976b). Fungsi dan kedudukan bahasa Indonesia (The Function and Status of Indonesian). In A. Halim, Politik Bahasa Nasional (National Language Politics). Jilid 2 (Vol. 2), 17-26. Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. Henry, M. et al. (2001). The OECD, globalisation and education policy. Oxford: Pergamon. Indonesia market introduction. (n.d). [Online] Available: http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-inform ation-background-indonesia.htm Lauder, Allan. The Status and Function of English in Indonesia: a Review of Key Factors. Makara, Sosial Humaniora, Vol. 12, no. 1, Juli 2008: 9-20.

Lowenberg, P.H. (1991). English as an Additional Language in Indonesia. World Englishes, 10;127-138. Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Puruhito. (2006). Challenging changes facing Indonesian higher education reform. [Online] Available: www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ ProgramsServices/cii/current/dialogues/Pu ruhito.ppt (March 12, 2011) Renandya, W A. (2000). Indonesia. In Wah Kam Ho and Ruth Y. L. Wong (Eds). Language Policies and Language Education: The Impact in East Asian Countries in the Next Decade, eds. 113-137. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Soejatminah, Sri. Internationalisation of Indonesian Higher Education: A Study from the Periphery. Asian Social Science. Vol. 5, No. 9, September 2009. [Online]: http.www.ccsenet.org/journal/htmn. Retrieved March 1, 2011. Tadjudin. (2005). Higher education in Indonesia and the role of cross border higher education. [Online] Available: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001 467/146742E.pdf (March 13, 2011) http://en.wikipedia.org) /wiki/Student_exchange_program http://www.isep.org/. http://www.expat.or.id/orgs/schools.html.

:

http://www.beasiswaonline.net/2011/03/indones ian-government-scholarship-for.html


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COMMON PROBLEMS FOUND IN SECTION 2 TOEFL: STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSIONS Maisarah1 [email protected] Universitas Pesantren Tinggi Darul Ulum Jombang ABSTRACT The TOEFL test is an internationally accepted standard of English that measures the academic English proficiency of a non-native speaker of English. This article is to identify common problems found in section 2. Structure and Written Expressions. For the purpose, 400 test items presented in TOEFL Practice Test workbook published by ETS (Educational Testing Service) in 1998 and the Test Preparation Kit Workbook published by ETS in 2002 were identified. Taken as a whole, the common problems found in Section 2: Underlined Words can be listed as follows. a. Incomplete sentences: Conjunctions, comparisons, subject missing, adjective clauses b. Underlined words: count/non-count nouns, banana rule, adjectives, prepositions, noun-pronoun agreement, singular/plural noun Key words: TOEFL grammar, common problems, incomplete sentences, underlined words A. INTRODUCTION The TOEFL test is an internationally accepted standard of English that measures the academic English proficiency of a non-native speaker of English. TOEFL (TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE) measures the ability of non-native speakers of English to use and understand English as it is spoken, written and heard in college and university settings. This article is to identify common problems found in section 2. Structure and Written Expressions. This identification is important to do as the basis for preparing more effective TOEFL teaching material, more specifically Section 2. Structure and Written Expressions. For the purpose, 400 test items presented in TOEFL Practice Test workbook published by ETS (Educational

Testing Service) in 1998 and the Test Preparation Kit Workbook published by ETS in 2002 were identified. B. COMMON PROBLEMS FOUND IN SECTION 2 TOEFL 1) Incomplete Sentences Questions number 1 to 15 in Structure and Written expressions section are called ‗incomplete sentences‘. Here the test takers are required to complete a sentence with one of four possible answers provided. In this type of question, out of 150 questions analyzed, 35 problems are identified and nine out of them can be categorized as commonly found ones: Adjective clauses, conjunctions, verbs, subject missing, S+V missing, comparisons, adverbs, participial phrases, and appositives. The problems in this type of


21

questions can be classified into five groups: sentence construction, phrasal construction, connectors, degrees of comparison, and classes of words. a) Sentence Construction The sentence construction is represented by the questions on subject missing and S+V missing. The first problem deals with subject missing. Here the test takers are required to fill out the blank with the correct word or noun phrase which acts as a subject of the sentence/clause. There are 5 questions (3.33 %) dealing with this problem. For example:

phrasal construction are those on appositives and participial phrases. An appositive can also be regarded as common problem in this section. 6 questions (4.00 %) deal with this problem. An appositive is a word or phrase that follows a noun and defines it. An appositive usually has a comma before it and a comma after it. For example: Speciation, _____, results when an animal population becomes isolated by some factor, usually geographic. (A)

form biological species

(B)

biological species are formed

(C)

which forming biological species

(D)

the formation of biological species

A regional writer with a gift for dialect, _____ peoples her fiction with the eccentric, comic, but vital inhabitants of rural Mississippi. (A) and Eudora Welty (B) Eudora Welty (C) because Eudora Welty (D) Eudora Welty who

The second problem dealing with sentence construction is Subject+Verb missing. This problem requires the test takers to identify not only the right verb but also the right subject based on the context of the sentence. Among the questions analyzed, Nine questions (6.00 %) deal with this problem. For example: _____ initial recognition while still quite young. (A) Most famous scientists achieve (B) That most famous scientists achieved (C) Most famous scientists who achieved (D) For most famous scientists to achieve

b) Phrasal Construction The questions that have to do with

The next problem related to phrasal construction is participial phrases. Among the questions analyzed in this section, 7 questions (4.67 %) are concerning this problem. A participial phrase is a word group consisting of a present participle or past participle, plus any modifiers, objects, and complements. For example: ______, the hummingbird gets its name from the sound that its wings make during flight. (A)

Has a brilliant color

(B)

The brilliant color

(C)

Which is brilliantly colored

(D)

Brilliantly colored

c) Connectors The questions on adjective clauses and conjunction assess the test takers‘ knowledge of English connectors. As can be seen in the table 4.4, the problem on adjective clauses is the most commonly found one. Out of 150 questions analyzed, 21 questions (14.00 %) are about this


22

problem. The questions mainly relate to the relative clauses (e.g. who, which, that, etc) that should be used in a certain context of sentence. For example: Algonkian-speaking Native Americans greeted the Pilgrims _____ settled on the eastern shores of

comparative pairs such as ‗more…than…‘, ‗less…than…‘, and ‗-er…than…‘; or double comparatives such as ‗the more…the more…‘. Besides, the superlative forms such as ‗the most…‘ and ‗the least…‘, are often found. The following is the example of questions dealing with this problem.

what is now New England. (A) to whom

The knee is _____ most other joints in the body

(B) of which

because it cannot twist without injury.

(C) who

(A) more likely to be damaged than

(D) which

(B) likely to be more than damaged (C) more than likely to be damaged

Another problem dealing with connectors is conjunctions. Conjunctions are words or phrases that clarify relationships between clauses. "Conjoin" means "to join together." There are 12 questions (8.00 %) dealing with this problem. The questions ask the test takers to choose which conjunction best completes a sentence. The conjunctions can be in form of coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and paired conjunctions. The following is an example of questions dealing with conjunctions.

(D) to be damaged more than likely

e) Classes of words In incomplete sentence type of question, the problems related to word classes commonly deal with verb and adverb forms. Some questions will require the test takers to identify the correct form of a verb and some ask which verb agrees with the subject. This problem is sometimes called verb missing because the test takers must fill out the blank with one of the verbs provided. Out of 150 questions, 9 questions (6.00 %) have to do with this problem. For example:

The chair may be the oldest type of furniture, _____ its importance has varied from time to time

After the Second World War the woman wage

and from country to country.

earner _____ a standard part of middle-class life

(A)

but when

in the United States.

(B)

until then

(A)

who became

(C)

in spite of

(B)

becoming that which

(C)

became

(D)

to become

(D) although

d) Degrees of comparison Eight questions (5.33%) out of 150 assess the ability of the test takers on comparison problems. More frequently the questions deal with comparatives, double comparatives, and superlatives. The test takers are often asked about the

The next problem dealing with word classes is adverbs which accounts for 4.67 % (7 questions) of the incomplete sentence questions analyzed. An adverb is a part of speech. It is any word that modifies any part of speech or other verbs


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other than a noun. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, clauses, sentences and other adverbs. Adverbs typically answer questions such as how? in what way? when? where? and to what extent? This function is called the adverbial function, and is realized not just by single words (i.e., adverbs) but by adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses. Some questions address the adverb of manner (how?), while some address the adverb of time (when?). For example: Helicopters can rise or descend vertically, hover, and move forward, backward, _____. (A) they move laterally

choose the incorrect words/phrase among four underlined words/phrases. There are 250 questions analyzed. Out of them 37 problems are identified (see appendix 1). As can be seen in the table above, 16 problems can be said as commonly found problems. They are adjectives, prepositions, noun forms, singular/plural nouns, articles, adjective clauses, passive voice, adverbs, subject-verb agreement, conjunctions, noun-pronoun agreement, count/non count nouns, banana rule, word order, tenses and phrasal verbs. The problems can be grouped into seven groups: sentence patterns, phrasal construction, connectors, verb tenses, preposition, word classes, and agreement.

(B) and are lateral (C) or lateral motion (D) or laterally

Taken as a whole, the common problems found in Section 2: Incomplete Sentences can be listed as follows. Commonly found problems in Section 2: Incomplete Sentences No

Problems

Percentage

a) Sentence patterns Passive voice is the problem that deals with sentence pattern found in the ‗underlined word‘ type of question. The questions mainly concern with the rule to form English passive voices (be + verb III). The questions sometimes deal with the ‗be‘ and sometimes with the ‗verb III‘. To be able to answer the questions well, the test takers must consider the context of the sentence. Out of 250 questions analyzed, 14 questions (5.60 %) are dealing with this problem. The following is an example of the question addressing this problem.

1

adjective clauses

14.00

2

conjunctions

8.00

3

verbs

6.00

4

S+V missing

6.00

5

comparisons

5.33

Rainbows in the shape of complete circles are

6

adverbs

4.67

sometimes seen from airplanes because they are

7

participial phrases

4.67

not cutting off by the horizon

8

appositives

4.00

9

subject missing

3.33

2) Underlined Words Questions number 16 to 40 are underlined words. The test takers are to

b) Phrasal construction The first problem that relate to phrasal construction in the underlined word type of questions is phrasal verbs. Five questions (2.00 %) deal with this problem. Commonly a phrasal verb is a


24

combination of a verb and a preposition. Phrasal verbs are particularly frequent in the English language. A phrasal verb often has a meaning which is different from the original verb (e.g., take off). Similarly, an adjective preposition is a combination of an adjective and a preposition, and this combination is unchanging (e.g. dependent on). For example: The ease of solving a jigsaw puzzle depends the number of pieces, their shape and shadings, and the design of the picture.

Word order is another common problem in the underlined word type of question that deals with phrasal construction. Word order is very important in English. The wrong word order may result in different meaning or even make a sentence meaningless. The primary word orders are the constituent order of a clause—the relative order of subject, object, and verb; the order of modifiers (adjectives, numerals, demonstratives, possessives, and adjuncts) in a noun phrase; and the order of adverbials. There are 7 questions (2.80 %) addressing this problem. For example: The walls around the city of Quebec, which was originally a fort military, still stand, making Quebec the only walled city in North America.

c) Connectors In the ‗underlined word‘ type of question, the problem of adjective clauses commonly deal with the use of connectors. Out of 250 questions, 14 are addressing this problem. The questions, as in incomplete sentence type, usually require the test takers to decide whether the

relative pronouns used have already been correct or not or whether a certain clause needs a relative pronoun or not. For example: Ripe fruit is often stored in a place who contains much carbon dioxide so that the not decay too rapidly.

Besides adjective clauses, conjunction is the common problem that has to do with connectors. As in the ‗incomplete sentence‘, the questions on conjunctions are commonly about the coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and paired conjunctions used in the sentences. There are 9 questions out of 250 dealing with this problem. For example: Despite television is the dominant entertainment medium for United States households, Garrison Keillor‟s Saturday night radio show of folk songs and stories is heard by millions of people.

d) Verb tenses Questions on tenses are common in this type of question. Usually the questions are dealing with the following tenses: the simple present, simple past, present and past perfect, and future. The test takers must be able to choose the correct tense based on the time signal that exists in the sentence. Among the questions analyzed, 7 questions are dealing with this problem. For example: In the 1800's store owners sold everything from a needle to a plow, trust everyone, and never took inventory.


25

e) Preposition Many questions deal with English prepositions. Prepositions are words or phrases that clarify relationships. Prepositions are usually followed by nouns and pronouns. In grammar, a preposition is a part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. For example, in the sentence "The cat sleeps on the sofa", the word "on" is a preposition, introducing the prepositional phrase "on the sofa". In English, the most used prepositions are "of", "to", "in", "for", "with" and "on". The following is a question dealing with this problem.

group is noun forms. Often the test takers are required to identify the correct form of a noun. The questions commonly pose the test takers to nouns which are constructed through inflectional endings such as ‗development‘, ‗trial‘, ‗correctness‘, etc. Such questions are quite tricky because, besides there are many kinds of noun endings (e.g. -ness, -ing, -ment, -al, -er), not all words need an inflectional ending to become a noun like ‗increase‘ and ‗decrease‘. There are 19 questions out of 250 questions (7.60 %) concerning this problem. For example:

Homo erectus is the name commonly given into the primate species from which humans are believed to

According to most psychological studies, body

have evolved.

language expresses a speaker's emotions and attitudes, and it also tends to affect the emotions

f) Word classes The most common problem in this group is the questions on adjectives. Adjective is the most commonly found problem in this type of question. An adjective is a word that modifies a noun. Out of 250 questions, 27 questions (10.80 %) deal with this problem. The questions commonly require the test takers to identify the correct form of the adjective. This problem is sometimes difficult because there are many ways to form adjectives in English such as adding the inflectional endings of –ful (e.g. beautiful), -ish (e.g. childish), -ly (e.g. manly) or -al (e.g. rectal). The following is an example of question dealing with this problem. Chocolate is prepared by a complexity process of cleaning, blending, and roasting cocoa beans, which must be ground and mixed with sugar.

Another common problem in this

and attitudes of the listen.

The problem of singular/plural nouns is another problem that can be classified into this group. There are 17 questions (6.80 %) which address this problem. The test takers are to identify whether they have to use a singular or plural noun in a sentence based on the quantity marker that exist (e.g. a, some, various, 4, 5, etc). For example: Although

pure

transparent,

diamond

when

is

colorless

contaminated

with

and other

material it may appear in various color, ranging from pastels to opaque black.

Questions on articles are also common in EPT. An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun. The articles in the English are ‗the‘ and ‗a‘/‗an‘. There


26

are 16 questions (6.40 %) out of 250 which deal with this problem. For example: All nations may have to make fundamental changes in their economic, political, and the technological institutions if they are to preserve the environment.

The next common problem in this group is adverb. However, in the underlined words the questions mainly deal with the correct form of adverb of manner. As can be seen in the table above, 11 questions (4.40 %) have to do with this problem. For example: Although they reflect a strong social conscience, Arthur Miller's stage works are typical more concerned with individuals than with systems.

The next common problem is dealing with countable/uncountable nouns. The questions sometimes ask the test takers to identify whether a certain noun can be categorized as a count noun or a non count noun. And at another time, the questions focus on the quantifiers (e.g. few, little, much, and many) that should be used before a certain noun. There are 8 questions (3.20 %) which deal with this problem. For example:

important rules on English is this: A singular count noun cannot stand alone. The test takers must understand that if they see a singular count noun with no determiner, then it is wrong. This problem is very tricky, and many test takers failed on this problem. The following is an example of the question addressing this problem. Among the questions analyzed, there are 7 questions (2.80 %) dealing with this problem. For example: The manufacture of automobile was extremely expensive until assembly-line techniques made them cheaper to produce.

g) Agreement There are two types of agreement found: subject-verb agreement and noun-pronoun agreement. In subject-verb agreement, the test takers are required to identify whether the subject of the sentence (in the main or sub-clause) has already agreed with its verb. The subject and verb must agree in number: both must be singular, or both must be plural. Problems occur in the present tense because one must add an -s or -es at the end of the verb when the subjects or the entity performing the action is a singular third person: he, she, it, or words for which these pronouns could substitute. Among the questions analyzed, 10 questions (4.00 %) address this problem.

Of the much factors that contributed to the growth of international tourism in the 1950‟s, one of the

For example:

most important was the advent of jet travel in 1958.

Several million points on the human body registers either cold, heat, pain, or touch.

The last common problem in this group is the banana rule. One of the most

Besides subject-verb agreement, noun-pronoun agreement can also be


27

categorized as one of the common problem. 8 questions (3.20 %) address this problem. Here, the test takers must be able to identify whether the pronouns used have already agreed with the nouns referred or not (e.g. plural noun with ‗they‘/‘we‘). The agreement may deal with two things: number (singular/one or plural/more than one) and gender (male, female, neutral). The following is the example of a question dealing with this problem. For most of their history, especially since the

Underlined Words No

C. CONCLUSION An important advantage of specifying the target readers is contextualization. A key criticism of commercial materials, particularly those produced for the world-wide market is that they are necessarily generic and not aimed at any specific group of learners or any particular cultural or educational context. Thus by specifying the target readers, the problem of lack of ‗fit‘ of the course book will be able to overcome. In relation with the nature of TOEFL grammar questions, it can be concluded that the questions are aimed at assessing the readiness of the students in studying in college or university. The grammar section tests the knowledge of the students in building good English sentences. Taken as a whole, the common problems found in Section 2: Underlined Words can be listed as follows (from the most common to the least one).

Percentage

1

adjectives

10.80

2

prepositions

8.40

3

noun forms

7.60

4

singular/plural nouns

6.80

5

articles

6.40

6

adjective clauses

5.60

7

passive voice

5.20

8

adverbs

4.40

9

subject-verb agreement

4.00

10

conjunctions

3.60

11

noun-pronoun agreement

3.20

1860's, New York City has been undergoing major ethnic population changes.

Problems

12

countable/uncountable nouns

3.20

13

banana rule

2.80

14

word order

2.80

15

tenses

2.80

16

phrasal

verbs/adjective

prepositions

2.00

REFERENCES

_______. EPT Practice Test workbook. ETS (Educational Testing Service), Princeton. 1998 _______. EPT: Test Preparation Kit Workbook. ETS (Educational Testing Service). Princeton. 2002 Richards, J. C. and T. S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: a Description and Analysis, Cambridge Teaching Library. Cambridge. 1986. Richards, J. C. Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 2003

Commonly found problems in Section 2:


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COMMON ERRORS MADE BY BEGINNER LEVEL STUDENTS IN FORMING ENGLISH INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES Achmad Fanani1 [email protected] Universitas Pesantren Tinggi Darul ‟Ulum Jombang ABSTRACT In a dialogue or two-ways communication, interrogative sentences play an important role in the sustainability of a conversation. Without asking it is nearly impossible we can maintain our dialogue smoothly. Unfortunately forming the interrogative sentences in English is often not an easy task for the Indonesian learners especially those in beginner level. The result of the study shows that the errors made by the students were due to two factors: 1) L1 interference (a) Not using the auxiliary verb, (b) Using simple present for past tense, (c) Using the question word „what' to form 'yes/no' questions, and 2) overgeneralization (a) Using „to be‟ to form „yes/no‟ questions in verbal sentence (b) Using an auxiliary verb to form questions about the subject of the sentence, (c) Adding the suffix -s to the verb although there has been an auxiliary verb 'does'. (d) Using question words 'who ' to ask objects Keywords: interrogative sentence, interference, overgeneralization

A. Introduction In any kind of dialogue, an interrogative sentence is almost always used. In a dialogue or two-ways communication, interrogative sentences play a key role in the sustainability of a conversation. Without asking it is impossible to maintain a smooth dialogue. Unfortunately forming interrogative sentences in English is often not an easy job for ESL learners, especially those in beginner level. It is quite common to see ESL learners have difficulty forming interrogative sentences which in turn makes the sentences they produce grammatically wrong. It is also not uncommon to hear or read questions like these: What you doing? or Where you go to school?

This paper is intended to reveal some common types of errors made by the beginner level students in forming interrogative sentences as well as the causes of the errors. In addition, it will also give suggestion for English teachers about what they should do in their teaching process. The subject of this study is the first semester students of The English Department, Unipdu Jombang. There were 15 students used as the respondents of this study. B. Types of errors in forming interrogative sentences 1. Using to be to form yes/no questions in verbal sentence The respondents seemed confused


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when they had to choose whether to use a to be or an auxiliary verb (do/does/did) in forming yes/no questions. Most of them used to be to start the ‗yes/no‘ questions in any situation, either verbal or nominal sentences. They tended to overgeneralize the use of to be for all types of sentence. In the study of language acquisition, such phenomenon is called overgeneralization. Example: Are you go to school every day? Is she do the homework? 2. Using simple present for past tense This is a very common mistake. Students often used simple present to form simple past interrogative sentences. It is likely that the problem is related to L1 interference into the respondents‘ English acquisition. In such case they referred to the grammar of Bahasa Indonesia to form the structure of the English language. In Bahasa Indonesia the forms of verbs/to be/auxiliary verb do not change in any situation either in present, past or future times. As a result, when they were required to formulate an English interrogative sentences for the simple past tense, they made errors, more specifically in using to be or auxiliary verbs. Example: Does she go to your house yesterday? Is she happy yesterday? 3. Using an auxiliary verb (do/does/did) to form questions about the subject of a sentence. In English, to compose an interrogative sentence that asks the subject of a sentence, we do not need any auxiliary verb in a verbal interrogative sentence (e.g. Who came to your house yesterday?). Unfortunately, when forming interrogative sentences that ask the subject

of a sentence, many respondents made errors. They added do/does/did in their interrogative sentences they composed. This addition is mainly because they assumed that all forms of verbal sentence interrogative sentences should be supplemented with an auxiliary verb (do/does/did). Example: Who does play the song? What did make you happy? 4. Using the question word ‗what' to form 'yes/no' questions. The respondents seemed confused either to use 'what' or 'do' when forming 'yes/no' questions. Consequently they often used the word 'what' to form such type of question, for example, What does she plays a song? Yes, she does. In forming a yes/no question in English, we just need to move the to be or auxiliary verb to the front position of a sentence (e.g. Is he your father?).. 5. Adding the suffix -s to the verb although there had been an auxiliary verb 'does'. Such errors were common and more often due to the respondents‘ limited knowledge who think that all third person singular noun requires a verb plus -s (e.g. He sleeps). Example: Does her dad enters the room? Similar phenomenon occurs when they formed the simple past interrogative sentences. Many respondents often used the past verb forms although there had existed an auxiliary verb 'did '. Example: Did he went to school? 6. Leaving out the auxiliary verb (do / does / did)


30

This kind of error was commonly found. The error was more likely due to the students‘ reference to the structure of Bahasa Indonesia in forming interrogative sentences. As we know in Bahasa Indonesia an additional auxiliary verb is not required when forming an interrogative sentence. It is such reference that made their interrogative sentences grammatically wrong (e.g., What she plays?). In English, we need an auxiliary verb to form a verbal sentence interrogative sentence unless that asking the subject of a sentence. 7. Using the question word 'who ' to ask the object of a sentence This is another error caused by overgeneralization in the production of English sentences. The respondents tended to oversimplify the use of ‗who‘ to ask the subject of a sentence, no matter whether the subject is a person or a thing. Example: Who howls to the music? Her dog. C. Discussion Based on the common errors described above, we can see that the errors were commonly caused by two factors: L1 interference and overgeneralization. L1 interference is the influence of the mother tongue in second language production (Ellis in Fanani, 2011), in this case the influence of Bahasa Indonesia into English language production (e.g. I go to Surabaya yesterday); while overgeneralization is oversimplifying the language pattern either in pronunciation or grammar in the second language production as a result of the limited knowledge of the learner (e.g., I goed to Surabaya yesterday) (Ellis in Yusuf, 2012).

The following errors made by the respondents can be classified as native language interference into second language acquisition: 1) Leaving out the auxiliary verb (e.g., What she sing yesterday?), 2) Using the simple present for the past tense (eg , Does she sing yesterday?), 3 ) Using the question word 'what' to form ' yes/no' questions (e.g., What are you a teacher?). While the errors associated with overgeneralization are as follows: 1) Using to be to form yes/no questions of verbal sentence (e.g., Is she do the homework?). 2) Using an auxiliary verb to form interrogative sentences about the subject of the sentence (e.g., Who does play the song?). 3) Adding the suffix -s to the verb although there has been an auxiliary verb 'does' (e.g., Does her dad Enters the room?). 4) Using the question word 'who' to ask about objects (e.g., Who howls to the music? Her dog.) D. Suggestions for English Teachers Based on the above description of the errors, we can map out what should we anticipate in teaching the formation of English interrogative sentences to the students. The seven types of errors were very common, and therefore drills on the patterns of interrogative sentences need to be enhanced especially on the areas where the errors are commonly made. From the standpoint of behaviorismm, the drill is very important to establish the students‘ good habit (Fanani : 2013). Teaching materials made should also refer to these common errors, so the teaching process provided will be more effective and time-efficient. Besides, the students should also be informed first about the errors often made by the learners in constructing the


31

interrogative sentences. It is expected that they are able to prevent themselves from getting caught up in the same errors. In addition, they could correct their own mistakes they might make, so that their understanding will also be better.

“Chapter 9: Second-Language Acquisition.” Linguistics for non-linguists: A primer with exercises (pp.209-230). MA: Allyn & Bacon.

E. Conclusion Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that forming interrogative sentences in English is not an easy job for the beginner level ESL learners. At least it can be seen from the many errors that were often made by the respondents. The causes of the errors can be classified into two: L1 interference (Bahasa Indonesia influence into the acquisition of English language) and overgeneralization (Oversimplifying sentence patterns as a result of the limited knowledge of the students).

REFERENCES Yusuf, Adi. 2012. Grammatical Overgeneralization Made By Level 1 Learners of Firdaus English Course (FEC) Patianrowo Nganjuk. Jurnal Educate Vol 1. N. 1. Juni 2012 Fanani, Achmad. April 2011. The Interference of Indonesian Grammar Into The Acquisition Of English Grammar (An Analysis on The 2nd Semester Students‟ Written Tasks at The English Department, Unipdu Jombang. Jurnal Diglossia. Vol. 2 No 2. hal 85-102. Lekova. B. 2010. ―Language Interference And Methods Of Its Overcoming In Foreign Language Teaching.‖ Trakia Journal of Sciences, Vol. 8, Suppl. 3, pp 320-324. Trakia University. Stara Zagora. Parker, Frank, Kathryn Riley. 2000.


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STRATEGI PENGHINDARAN KESALAHAN DALAM PROSES BELAJAR MENGAJAR BAHASA JEPANG Nurul Laili1 [email protected] Universitas Pesantren Tinggi Darul ‟Ulum Jombang ABSTRAK Penghindaran kesalahan penting dilakukan dan diketahui oleh para pengajar ataupun pembelajar bahasa asing (B2). Kesalahan yang sering dialami dalam proses belajar mengajar bahasa asing di kelas ataupun untuk pembelajar yang tidak menggunakan pengajar (proses otodidak), adalah adanya kesalahan pada tataran gramatikal, leksikal, dan pemahaman konsep yang telah terinferensi oleh pemahaman bahasa pertama baik bahasa Indonesia atau pun bahasa lain yang digunakan dalam keseharian misalnya pada pembelajar bahasa Jepang sebagai bahasa kedua. Untuk mengetahui beberapa bentuk kesalahan tersebut, setiap pembelajar bahasa kedua dapat menghindari berbagai bentuk kesalahan untuk mencapai tujuan utama dari suatu komunikasi yaitu, tersampaikannya maksud dan tujuan dari diadakannya suatu komunikasi. Berbagai macam bentuk kesalahan yang sering terjadi dalam belajar bahasa Jepang dan solusi serta strategi penghindaran yang bisa dilakukan oleh pengajar dan pembelajar untuk mengatasi berbagai macam kendala dalam proses belajar mengajar bahasa Jepang dianalisis dalam artikel ini, seperti halnya kesalahan, kekeliruan, slip, fosilisasi dan stabilisasi, dan lain-lain. Strategi penghindaran tersebut dapat dilakukan dengan bentuk penghindaran langsung atau bahkan melalui pengetahuan tentang berbagai macam bentuk kesalahan yang muncul dalam suatu komunikasi bahasa asing, khususnya dalam penggunaan bahasa Jepang baik yang dilakukan oleh pengajar dan pembelajar bahasa Jepang.

Kata kunci: Analisis Kesalahan, komunikasi, pengajar, pembelajar

A. PENDAHULUAN Kesalahan dan koreksi kesalahan merupakan hal penting dalam proses belajar mengajar bahasa asing terutama belajar bahasa Jepang. Ini telah menjadi isu yang sangat sensitif dan kontroversial karena guru atau pengajar dan sikap peserta didik terhadap kesalahan dan koreksi kesalahan berbeda tergantung pada pendekatan pengajaran atau pembelajaran yang dipilih. Beberapa penelitian observasional awal bahasa kedua di kelas diperiksa tanggapan guru terhadap kesalahan pembelajar. Fokus ini logis dari pergeseran dalam penekanan dan analisis

kontrastif untuk analisis kesalahan. Sebenarnya, pergeseran ini telah mengubah seluruh tampilan kesalahan dan telah mempengaruhi para guru dan sikap peneliti terhadap kesalahan ke tingkat yang sangat besar. Menurut Ellis dalam Brown, kontribusi paling signifikan dari analisis kesalahan terletak pada keberhasilan dalam mengangkat status kesalahan dari undesirability dengan sebuah panduan untuk ditelaah dalam proses belajar mengajar di kelas. Sehingga kesalahan yang dilihat dapat dijadikan bukti kontribusi aktif pembelajar bahasa kedua atau bahasa asing. Belajar bukan sebagai


33

tanda ketidakmampuan pembelajar untuk mengelola bahasa baru tetapi sebagai dampak dikuasainya beberapa bahasa dalam proses pemerolehan bahasa kedua yaitu bahasa Jepang disamping bahasa asing yang lain. Kesalahan yang sering dialami dalam proses belajar mengajar bahasa asing di kelas ataupun untuk pembelajar tanpa menggunakan pengajar (proses otodidak), adalah adanya kesalahan pada tataran gramatikal, leksikal, dan pemahaman konsep yang telah terinferensi oleh pemahaman bahasa pertama baik bahasa Indonesia atau pun bahasa lain yang digunakan dalam keseharian pembelajar bahasa Jepang sebagai bahasa kedua. Kesalahan-kesalahan yang biasa terjadi tersebut dapat dihindari dengan mengetahui terlebih dahulu kesalahan apa saja yang biasa terjadi pada pembelajar bahasa kedua khususnya dalam belajar bahasa Jepang. Untuk mengetahui beberapa bentuk kesalahan tersebut, setiap pembelajar bahasa kedua dapat menghindari berbagai bentuk kesalahan untuk mencapai tujuan utama dari suatu komunikasi yaitu, tersampaikannya maksud dan tujuan dari diadakannya suatu komunikasi. Berbagai macam bentuk kesalahan yang sering terjadi dalam belajar bahasa Jepang dan solusi serta strategi penghindaran yang bisa dilakukan oleh pengajar dan pembelajar untuk mengatasi berbagai macam kendala dalam proses belajar mengajar bahasa Jepang dianalisis dalam artikel ini. Hal ini bertujuan untuk meminimalisir kesalahan dan untuk mencapai suatu tujuan yang diharapkan dari proses komunikasi. B. PEMBAHASAN Strategi komunikasi

sebagai

rencana-rencana yang sepertinya sadar untuk memecahkan apa yang menjadi masalah dalam peraihan sebuah tujuan komunikasi tertentu. Hal ini penting diketahui baik pengajar dan pembelajar bahasa untuk menghindari adanya kesalahan perspektif dalam suatu komunikasi tertentu. Terdapat berbagai bentuk strategi penghindaran yang dapat dilakukan agar tujuan komunikasi dapat tersampaikan sesuai dengan maksud dan tujuan yang ingin dicapai dalam suatu komunikasi tersebut. Strategi Penghindaran (Avoidance Strategies) adalah sebuah strategi komunikasi lazim yang bisa dipecah kedalam beberapa subkategori. Jenis yang paling umum dari strategi penghindaran adalah penghindaran sintaksis atau leksikal di dalam kategori semantik. Penghindaran Fonologis juga merupakan strategi yang dapat dilakukan oleh penutur asing yang biasanya kesulitan untuk menirukan salah satu bentuk bunyi tertentu dalam kalimat. Jenis penghindaran secara langsung adalah penghindaran topik, dimana seluruh topik percakapan (misalnya, pembicaraan tentang kejadian kemarin jika bentuk lampau tidak familiar) mungkin dihindari sepenuhnya. Para pembelajar berhasil memikirkan cara-cara kreatif untuk menghindari topik: mengganti subjek, berpura-pura tidak mengerti (cara klasik menghindar dari menjawab pertanyaan), tidak menjawab sama sekali, atau terlihat menghentikan pesan ketika sebuah pemikiran menjadi terlalu sulit untuk diungkapkan. Bentuk penghindaran ini, lazim digunakan ketika bertemu dengan orang Jepang langsung yang menuntut untuk menggunakan bahasa Jepang aktif. Peserta tutur dapat menghindari dengan mengangkat tema umum yang mudah


34

untuk menggunakan kata-kata dalam kalimat. Misalnya dengan mengangkat tema kehidupan sehari-hari dengan menggunakan kosakata-kosakata yang sering muncul. Untuk bentuk penghindaran langsung yang lain, adalah dengan menghentikan pesan diantara keduanya, misalnya ketika terjadi seatu pembicaraan serius tentang gosip dari seorang artis, ketika pembelajar bahasa Jepang tidak dapat meneruskan topik yang dibahas dikarenakan merasa kesulitan untuk menyampaikan pesan selanjutnya, bisa dihindari dengan mengakhiri bentuk percakapan tersebut dengan kata-kata yang lazim digunakan, seperti : a. あ、もう９時でしたね、そろそろ失礼します a, mou 9jideshitane, sorosoro shitsureishimasu Sudah jam 9, maaf mohon undur diri dulu ya b. ちょっと、じゃね chotto, ja ne Maaf ya, bye Selain kedua bentuk contoh kalimat tersebut, terdapat banyak bentuk contoh lain yang secara sengaja digunakan oleh penutur untuk menghindari adanya suatu komunikasi langsung dengan orang Jepang (native speaker). Para pembelajar tingkat awal, misalnya dengan mengingat beberapa frase atau kalimat tertentu tanpa menanamkan pengetahuan dari komponen-komponen frase tersebut. Potongan-potongan bahasa yang diingat ini, dikenal sebagai pola tinggal pakai, sering ditemui di buku saku frase bilingual, yang mendaftar ratusan kalimat untuk berbagai keadaan: onamae wa, ikura desu ka, nihongo o benkyoushimasu ka, nihongo ga sukidesu ka, ima nanji desu ka, dan lain-lain. Frase-frase

semacam ini diingat melalui hafalan untuk dipakai sesuai dengan konteks pembelajar. Strategi lain yaitu kompensantoris adalah permintaan tolong langsung, sering diistilahkan mengandalkan otoritas (appeal to authority). Apabila pembelajar terhenti pada kata atau frase tertentu dapat langsung minta tolong kepada pembicara mahir atau guru untuk mengungkapkan yang dimaksud. Kalimat yang digunakan misalnya dengan ―sensei, sumimasen. _____ nihongo de nan desu ka”(maaf, bahasa Jepangnya ____ apa ya?), atau ______ to iu no wan nandesu ka (_____ apa maksudnya?) atau pembelajar dapat langsung melontarkan sebuah penebakan dan kemudian meminta verifikasi dari pembicara mahir akan ketepatan upaya tersebut. Hipotesis Analisis Kontrastif (CAH) Analisis kontrastif adalah analisis yang biasa digunakan dalam pengajaran bahasa asing maupun bahasa kedua. Analisis kontrastif merupakan analisis kesalahan berbahasa yang dipengaruhi oleh paham behaviorisme, yaitu paham psikologi yang beranggapan bahwa tingkah laku dipengaruhi oleh kebiasaan dan kesalahan. Secara spesifik, analisis ini berpendapat bahwa kesalahan berbahasa disebabkan oleh suatu transfer negatif. Artinya, pemakai bahasa asing atau bahasa kedua menggunakan aturan yang berlaku dalam bahasa pertama ke dalam bahasa kedua, padahal aturannya berbeda. Menurut Tarigan (1990:23) kesalahan berbahasa tersebut dapat dihilangkan dan dihindari dengan cara menanamkan kebiasaan bahasa kedua melalui latihan, pengulangan, dan penguatan (hukuman dan hadiah). Sebagai prosedur kerja, analisis kontrastif adalah aktivitas atau kegiatan


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yang mencoba membandingkan struktur bahasa pertama dengan struktur bahasa kedua untuk mengidentifikasi perbedaan-perbedaan di antara kedua bahasa. Perbedaan antara dua bahasa yang diperoleh melalui analisis kontrastif, dapat digunakan sebagai landasan dalam meramalkan atau memprediksi kesulitan-kesulitan belajar bahasa yang akan dihadapi para siswa di sekolah, terlebih-lebih dalam belajar bahasa kedua. Hipotesis Analisis Kontrastif muncul sebab para ahli berusaha memperkirakan kesulitan-kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh para pelajar dalam mempelajari bahasa kedua (B2). Hipotesis yang muncul kemudian mengkristal menjadi dua kubu, yaitu kubu garis keras dan kubu garis lunak. Hipotesis garis keras beranggapan bahwa semua kesalahan dalam B2 dapat diramalkan dengan mengidentifikasi perbedaan antara B1 dan B2 yang dipelajari oleh para siswa (Ellis dalam Tarigan & Tarigan, 1990: 24). Hipotesis garis keras di atas didasarkan kepada asumsi-asumsi sebagai berikut. 1) Bahwa penyebab utama atau bahkan satu-satunya penyebab, dari kesukaran dan kesalahan dalam belajar bahasa asing adalah interferensi dari bahasa pertama si pembelajar; 2) Bahwa kesukaran terutama, atau secara keseluruhan, disebabkan oleh adanya perbedaan antara kedua bahasa; 3) Bahwa semakin besar perbedaan tersebut akan semakin besar kesukaran belajar yang dialami; 4) Bahwa hasil perbandingan antara kedua bahasa dimaksud diperlukan untuk memperkirakan kesukaran-kesukaran serta kesalahan-kesalahan apa yang dialami dalam belajar bahasa asing tersebut;

5) Bahwa apa-apa yang akan diajarkan itu sebaiknya diperoleh melalui perbandingan kedua bahasa dan kemudian dipisahkan mana unsur-unsur yang sama, sehingga apa yang harus dipelajari oleh si pembelajar adalah ke semua unsur-unsur yang berbeda yang diperoleh dari analisis kontrastif. Berdasarkan lima asumsi tersebut, analisis kontrastif garis keras menyatakan bahwa kesalahan si pembelajar bahasa asing/B2 dapat diprediksi dari besar kecilnya perbedaan antara B1 dan B2. Para ahli kemudian mengidentifikasi tingkat kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh si pembelajar dalam mempelajari bahasa asing/B2. Clifford Prator mengidentifikasi enam tingkat kesulitan tersebut, yaitu: 1. Tingkat Nol – Transfer Pada tingkat ini tidak terdapat perbedaan atau kontras antara bahasa pertama dan bahasa kedua. Si pembelajar cukup membawa alih (positive transfer) bunyi, struktur, atau butir leksikal dari bahasa pertama ke bahasa kedua. Transfer seperti ini tidak menimbulkan kesulitan apapun, seperti label yang diberikan terhadapnya, yakni tingkat kesulitan nol. Contoh-contoh pada pembelajar bahasa Jepang misalnya untuk kosakata baru dari serapan asing, teburu untuk table atau meja, toire untuk toilet, dan lain-lain. 2. Tingkat Pertama (Perpaduan) Pada tingkat ini dua unsur dalam bahasa pertama menyatu menjadi satu unsur dalam bahasa kedua. Si pembelajar diharapkan akan melupakan kebiasaannya untuk membedakan kedua unsur yang terdapat dalam bahasa pertama. Sebagai contoh, kata ganti orang ketiga tunggal untuk membedakan antara laki-laki dan perempuan (his/her) dalam bahasa


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Inggris yang dalam bahasa Indonesia tidak terdapat perbedaan tersebut. Untuk kedua kata ganti itu hanya ada satu kata ganti, yaitu /nya/ dalam bahasa Indonesia. Dalam bidang fonologi misalnya, dapat diambil contoh dari bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa pertama dan bahasa Jepang sebagai bahasa kedua. Dalam bahasa Inggris, bunyi / r / dan / l / adalah dua fonem yang berbeda, sedangkan dalam bahasa Jepang, kedua fonem itu menjadi satu, yaitu / r /. Pada pembelajar bahasa Jepang tingkat dasar, penggunaan akhiran –san, -kun, -chan (untuk memanggil nama orang) tidak dapat disamakan dalam pemerolehan bahasa pertama yang tidak menggunakan klasifikasi usia dan jenis kelamin, serta tingkat keakraban tertentu. 3. Tingkat Kedua (Subdiferensiasi) Pada tingkat ini, untuk butir yang terdapat dalam bahasa pertama tidak menemui padanannya dalam bahasa kedua. Kesulitannya terletak pada upaya yang harus dilakukan oleh si pembelajar untuk melupakan butir tersebut ketika mempelajari bahasa kedua. Salah satu contohnya adalah bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa pertama dan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa kedua. Dalam bahasa Inggris terdapat kata bantu do sebagai penanda tenses, kata ganti penunjuk tak tentu (other, certain), bentuk posesif dari kata tanya (whose), atau penggunaan kata some di muka kata benda dalam bahasa Indonesia tidak terdapat padanannya. Seperti halnya bahasa Jepang, untuk pembelajar tingkat dasar untuk penggunaan partikel wa, ga, desu yang tidak memiliki padanan kata dalam bahasa Indonesia. Pembentukan pemahaman pada tingkat partikel

penting dikuasai oleh pembelajar tingkat dasar, agar dapat menghindari beberapa bentuk kesalahan yang akan terjadi di masa mendatang. 4. Tingkat Ketiga (Reinterpretasi) Pada tingkat ini, sebuah butir yang terdapat dalam bahasa pertama diberikan interpretasi baru dalam bahasa kedua. Sebagai contoh, dalam bahasa Jepang, penggunaan beberapa partikel yang tidak dapat digunakan untuk partikel sejenis meskipun mempunyai arti berbeda. Misalnya : untuk perbedaan penggunaan partikel -ni dan –de meskipun mempunyai makna yang sama yaitu –di, tidak dapat disamaratakan untuk seluruh kalimat dengan kata tunjuk –di. Misalnya : 机の上に本があります Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu (Ada buku di atas meja). Sedangkan pada kalimat 高校で日本語を勉強します Koukou de nihongo o benkyoushimasu (Belajar bahasa Jepang di SMA). Meskipun kedua kalimat tersebut menggunakan makna di- pada kedua kalimatnya, dalam bahasa Jepang menggunakan partikel yang berbeda. Hal ini dikarenakan ada bentuk kegiatan dalam penggunaan partikel –de sedangkan dalam kalimat yang hanya menjelaskan keberadaan sesuatu dengan menggunakan partikel –ni. 5. Tingkat Keempat (Diferensiasi Berlebihan) Pada tingkat ini, terdapat suatu unsur dalam bahasa kedua yang benar-benar baru dan tidak memiliki kesamaan sama sekali dengan unsur dalam bahasa pertama. Kesulitannya terletak pada upaya mempelajari sesuatu yang benar-benar baru. Sebagai contoh, bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa pertama dan bahasa Jepang sebagai


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bahasa kedua. Dalam bahasa Jepang terdapat ungkapan arigatou gozaimasu (terima kasih), yang harus dijawab dengan jawaban iie, douitashimashite (tidak, sama-sama). Berbeda dengan apa yang biasa diucapkan dan jawaban dalam pembelajar dengan bahasa pertama, (terima kasih - ya, sama-sama). 6. Tingkat Kelima (Split/Pembelahan) Satu unsur dalam bahasa pertama menjadi dua unsur atau lebih dalam bahasa kedua. Split ini merupakan kebalikan dari tingkat yang pertama yaitu, Perpaduan. Kesulitannya terletak pada upaya yang harus dilakukan oleh si pembelajar untuk dengan sengaja membuat suatu pembedaan baru. Ketika si pembelajar mempelajari B2 tersebut dan kesalahan-kesalahan terjadi, para guru dapat menggunakan pengetahuan mereka tentang B1 si pembelajar dan B2 untuk memahami sumber-sumber kesalahan dimaksud. Interferensi merupakan salah satu penyebab kesalahan si pembelaajar. Namun faktor lain yang mempengaruhi kesalahan adalah: Tingkat penguasaan bahasa yang dimiliki si pembelajar, Kejelasan dan ketepatan keterangan dan bimbingan yang diberikan guru, Faktor lingkungan si pembelajar termasuk di dalamnya penggunaan bahasa yang dijadikan model seperti penggunaan bahasa oleh para kelompok panutan masyarakat dan media massa. Sebagai tambahan, Dulay (dalam Brown 2000) juga mengungkapkan bahwa hipotesis garis keras mempunyai beberapa kelemahan, yaitu: 1. Dalam penggunaan B2 baik oleh penutur anak-anak atau pun penutur dewasa, kebanyakan kesalahan

gramatikal yang ditemui tidak mencerminkan pengaruh B1. 2. Pembelajar B2 membuat kesalahan dalam bidang ketatabahasaan, padahal antara B1 dan B2 terdapat kesejajaran, yakni kesalahan-kesalahan yang seharusnya tidak akan terjadi apabila ‖transfer‖ (secara positif) memang berfungsi. 3. Penilaian si pembelajar atas kebenaran kalimat-kalimat dalam B2 dari segi tata bahasa lebih terkait dengan tipe-tipe kalimat dalam B2 tersebut daripada dengan struktur B1-nya. 4. Pengaruh B1 lebih banyak terlihat pada kesalahan-kesalahan fonologis daripada kesalahan-kesalahan gramatikal, walaupun banyak diantara kesalahan-kesalahan fonologis yang dibuat oleh penutur anak-anak mirip dengan kesalahan-kesalahan yang dibuat oleh penutur B1 yang monolingual, dan sedikit sekali dari kesalahan-kesalahan fonologis yang terdapat dalam membaca yang dapat ditelusuri dari sisi B1 si pembelajar. Mengakar pada pendekatan behavioristik dan strukturalis, Hipotesis Analisis Kontrastif atau Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) menyatakan bahwa hambatan utama pemerolehan bahasa kedua adalah interferensi sistem bahasa pertama dan bahasa kedua. CAH juga menyatakan efek mengganggu bahasa pertama terhadap pembelajar bahasa kedua dan menyatakan, dalam bentuk kuatnya, bahwa pembelajaran bahasa kedua terutama, jika bukan semata-mata, adalah sebuah proses pemerolehan item apa saja yang berbeda dari bahasa pertama. Pandangan sempit semacam itu mengabaikan pengaruh intralingual dan strategis dalam pembelajaran.


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Masalah lain yang muncul yaitu, Kekeliruan merujuk pada kesalahan performa yang merupakan tebakan acak atau sebuah ―slip‖. Hal ini adalah kegagalan memanfaatkan sebuah sistem yang dikenal dengan tepat. Para penutur asli normalnya mampu mengenali dan mengoreksi ―kegagalan‖ atau kekeliruan semacam itu, yang bukan hasil dari kurangnya kompetensi melainkan dari semacam kemacetan sementara atau ketidaksempurnaan dalam proses produksi wicara. Sedangkan sebuah kesalahan merupakan penyimpangan gamblang dari tata bahasa penutur asli dewasa, mencerminkan kompetensi pembelajar. Contoh: dalam pembelajar bahasa Jepang tingkat dasar, untuk pembelajaran yang mengutamakan kemampuan anak dalam berbicara aktif, siswa didik akan merasa kesulitan untuk membedakan penggunaan di- seperti yang telah dijelaskan, tetapi dapat memahami ketika makna yang ingin disampaikan adalah di- kata tunjuk (kesulitan dalam partikel –de dan -ni). Pada prinsipnya meskipun mengurangi kesalahan adalah kriteria penting bagi peningkatan kecakapan bahasa, tujuan akhir pembelajaran bahasa kedua adalah pencapaian kelancaran komunikatif. Kelemahan lain dari analisis kesalahan adalah penekanan berlebihan pada data produksi. Bahasa adalah berbicara dan mendengarkan, menulis, dan membaca. Pemahaman bahasa sama penting dengan produksi. Sistem bahasa pembelajar mempunyai unsur-unsur yang tidak mencerminkan baik bahasa sasaran maupun bahasa asal, tetapi lebih merupakan ciri universal bahasa tersendiri. Kesalahan produksi hanyalah satu bagian kecil dari keseluruhan performa pembelajar. Langkah pertama dalam proses

analisis kesalahan adalah mengenali dan menjelaskan kesalahan. Corder 1971 (dalam Brown) menyediakan sebuah model untuk mengenali ujaran salah dan janggal dalam bahasa kedua. Menurut model Corder, setiap kalimat yang diucapkan pembelajar dan kemudian ditranskripsikan bisa diperiksa kejanggalannya. Sebuah pembedaan utama dilakukan sejak awal antara kesalahan terbuka dan tertutup. Ujaran-ujaran salah yang terbuka adalah salah secara gramatikal pada taraf kalimat. Ujaran salah yang tertutup adalah benar secara gramatikal tetapi tidak bisa ditafsirkan dalam konteks komunikasi. Contoh : 学校へ何で行きますか gakkou e nande ikimasuka (Pergi naik apa ke sekolah?) dijawab dengan kalimat 歩いてで行きます Aruite de ikimasu (Saya pergi dengan jalan kaki). Secara konsep aturan penggunaan partikel –de yang memiliki makna -dengan alat, hal tersebut sesuai. Namun hal tersebut adalah pola yang salah ketika partikel –de bertemu dengan bentuk kata kerja. Secara gramatikal penggunaan partikel –de yang mempunyai arti dengan tidak bisa digunakan untuk menjelaskan bahwa ia pergi dengan jalan kaki, karena aruku-aruite merupakan sebuah kata kerja bukan sebuah alat transportasi. Sehingga jawaban yang benar adalah Aruite ikimasu. Setelah menelaah prosedur-prosedur analisis kesalahan yang digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi kesalahan-kesalahan dalam data produksi pembelajar bahasa kedua, langkah terakhir pengajar dan pembelajar adalah menentukan sumber kesalahan-kesalahannya. Dengan upaya mengenali sumber, selanjutnya bisa mencoba memahami bagaimana proses kognitif dan efektif pembelajar terkait


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dengan sistem liguistik dan merumuskan pemahaman utuh tentang proses memperoleh bahasa kedua. Hal lain yang merupakan sumber utama kesalahan, walaupun bertumpang dengan kedua tipe lain, adalah konteks pembelajaran. ―Konteks‖ merujuk misalnya, pada ruang kelas berikut guru dan materi – materinya dalam hal pembelajaran sekolah atau situasi sosial dalam pembelajaran bahasa kedua tanpa guru. Murid-murid membuat kesalahan karena sebuah penjelasan menyesatkan dari guru, persentasi sebuah struktur atau kata dalam sebuah buku teks, atau bahkan sebuah pengertian yang dihafalkan dalam sebuah drill tetapi digunakan secara tidak tepat. Bentuk lain bahasa yang dipelajari di kelas adalah kecenderungan para pembelajar untuk menyampaikan bentuk – bentuk bahasa formal yang tidak tepat. Konteks sosioliguistik pemerolehan bahasa alami tanpa guru bisa menyebabkan pemerolehan dialek tertentu yang dengan sendirinya mungkin merupakan sumber kesalahan. Pemerolehan secara otodidak dapat menimbulkan interpretasi negatif tentang suatu topik atau tata bahasa. Misalnya seorang imigran Jepang yang tingal di kawasan dominan Amerika Meksiko sebuah kota Amerika Serikat memproduksi bahasa pembelajar yang merupakan campuran menarik antara bahasa Inggris Amerika Meksiko dan bahasa Inggris bahkan yang dia peroleh di universitas, diwarnai oleh aksen Jepangnya. Ahli Linguistik yang lain, Michael Long dalam Brown (2000) menyebut bahwa dalam proses pembelajaran bahasa asing sering terdapat Fosilisasi dan Stabilisasi. Bedanya adalah dengan memaknai kumpulan kesalahan yang

dilakukan oleh pembelajar bahasa asing yang sifatnya menetap dan sulit berubah. Pada fase Stabilisasi, maka diharapkan suatu saat ada kemungkinan perubahan dan perkembangan dari kesalahan tetap yang dilakukan oleh pembelajar bahasa kedua. Selain hal tersebut, saat metode Audiolingual digunakan, kesalahan dipandang sebagai fenomena yang harus dihindari dengan belajar ekstra, menghafal dan ―berhasil‖ sejak pertama belajar bahasa kedua. Pada umumnya, murid-murid yang belajar bahasa kedua di kelas mengharapkan kesalahan yang mereka lakukan dikoreksi. Kathleen Bailey dalam Brown (2000) menyarankan agar guru bahasa mempunyai sejumlah topik dasar ketika berhadapan dengan murid yang melakukan kesalahan, termasuk melakukan penanganan atau mengabaikan kesalahan itu, memperlakukannya sekarang atau nanti, merangsang para pembelajar lain untuk memberikan penanganan dan menguji efektivitas penanganan. Hal yang harus dihindari oleh guru dalam mengajarkan bahasa kedua adalah: memberikan pendorong yang bersifat menghukum, koreksi yang dipandang para pembelajar sebagai lampu merah afektif, yaitu: merendahkan, mempermalukan, dan menghina mereka. Tugas guru dalam mengajarkan bahasa kedua adalah menilai pembelajar, memuji usaha untuk berkomunikasi, memberikan umpan balik optimal pada siswa agar berkembang dalam tahap berurutan hingga para pembelajar berkomunikasi secara bermakna dan jelas dalam bahasa kedua. Dengan adanya suatu pengetahuan tentang berbagai macam bentuk kesalahan yang dapat muncul dalam pembelajaran bahasa asing, pembelajar dan pengajar dapat mengantisipasi dan memilimalisir


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terjadinya kesalahan untuk mencapai tujuan dari pembelajaran dan komunikasi yang dilakukan. Selain strategi untuk mengurangi adanya bentuk kesalahan tersebut, strategi penghindaran juga penting dilakukan untuk menghindari adanya bentuk kesalahan dan ketidaktahuan peserta tutur dalam suatu bentuk komunikasi tersebut. C. SIMPULAN DAN SARAN Strategi komunikasi adalah upaya pembelajar secara sistematis untuk mengekspresikan arti dalam bahasa target ketika ia tidak dapat membentuk atau memilih kaidah bahasa target dengan tepat. Strategi komunikasi sebagai rencana-rencana yang sepertinya sadar untuk memecahkan apa yang menjadi masalah dalam peraihan sebuah tujuan komunikatif tertentu. Hal ini penting diketahui baik pengajar dan pembelajar bahasa untuk menghindari adanya kesalahan perspektif dalam suatu komunikasi tertentu. Terdapat berbagai bentuk strategi penghindaran yang dapat dilakukan agar tujuan komunikasi dapat tersampaikan sesuai dengan maksud dan tujuan yang ingin dicapai dalam suatu komunikasi tersebut. Strategi penghindaran tersebut dapat dilakukan dengan bentuk penghindaran langsung atau bahkan melalui pengetahuan tentang berbagai macam bentuk kesalahan yang muncul dalam suatu komunikasi bahasa asing, khususnya dalam penggunaan bahasa Jepang baik yang dilakukan oleh pengajar dan pembelajar bahasa Jepang. Faktor-faktor kesalahan tersebut dapat dihindari untuk mencegah terjadinya persepsi yang berbeda baik kepada mitra tutur ataupun penutur sendiri untuk menghasilkan bentuk komunikasi yang diinginkan. Meskipun dalam

pembelajaran bahasa asing, bentuk kemampuan bahasa pertama juga berpengaruh terhadap pemerolehan bahasa asing, khususnya bahasa Jepang. Hal ini tidak dapat dihindari karena konsep yang ada dipadukan dengan proses pemerolehan bahasa asing (bahasa Jepang). Oleh karena itu, pemahaman bahasa Jepang yang baik antara pengajar dan pembelajar bisa menghindari berbagai bentuk kesalahan yang dapat muncul selama belajar bahasa Jepang. DAFTAR PUSTAKA Brown, H. Douglas. 2000. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, second edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall inc. Chaer, Abdul. 2006. Bahasa Indonesia dalam Masyarakat: Telaah Sematik. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta. Faerch, Claus. & Kasper, Gabriele (Eds).Tanpa Tahun. Strategies in Interlanguage Communication. London: Longman. Huda, Nuril.1999. Implikasi Kajian Strategi Belajar Bahasa Kedua. Malang: Depdikbud. Tarigan, Henry Guntur dan Djago Tarigan. 1990. Pengajaran Analisis Kesalahan Berbahasa. Bandung: Angkasa.


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RECIPROCAL TEACHING METHOD IN READING ENGLISH TEXTS FOR NURSING STUDENTS Nailul Fauziyah1 Trikaloka H. Putri2 [email protected] Universitas Pesantren Tinggi Darul Ulum Jombang ABSTRACT Reading the English texts for ESP learners – nursing department makes the lecturer provide the available strategy guided to the learners‟ reading comprehension. Whereas, reading comprehension is a very complex process and precedes the learners as readers to make sense of written symbols, it is essential that the process of reading comprehension and the role of factors leading to the product of this process be understood properly. Reciprocal Teaching Method is an instructional activity that involves dialogue between teachers and students about a text. The dialogue is structured by the use of four strategies: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. This process encourages students to think about their own thought process during reading. It also helps students learn to be actively involved in – and actively monitoring their comprehension as they read. The teaching learning method in reciprocal makes the students interest and motivated to comprehend the English text. Key words: Reading comprehension, Reciprocal teaching method.

English is, in context, as the first foreign language taught in Indonesia. This has become one of a major subject in our national academic curriculum for every grade. Hence, English has been taug0ht in all kind of disciplines and professions. For instance, English is being taught from the early learners as pre-school students till university learners. Moreover, in English foreign language teaching, reading comprehension is one of the most important factors in assessing a learner‘s linguistic competence. Moreover, the ability to read in EFL learners is acknowledged to be the most stable and durable of the second language modalities. In other words, reading plays a vital role in second language acquisition.

In the globalization era, English has an important role in all aspects of life such as politic, economy, social, and education. As English is a means of international language communication, most people in the world are required to understand spoken and written English. Realizing the importance of English mastery, the Indonesian government has decided that English becomes a compulsory subject which is taught for students of the English Department and non-English Department. Nursing department in which the contents and aims of ESP instruction are settled within the learners‘ specific needs. The lecturer provides more selective text for their materials that relate to students‘ purposes and disciplines (Strevens, 1983).


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Teaching ESP is not easy. Therefore, discovering a better method to teach ESP is much needed to make teaching an English text interesting. Teaching English in ESP also performs four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Those skills support each other, and reading plays an important role in getting various information, knowledge, and variety of written texts, such as books, newspapers, brochures, and advertisements. By having knowledge from reading, people have the ability to express their knowledge in the form of spoken or written texts. Moreover, many scientific books and academic references printed in English, e.g. mathematics, science, education, economy, technology, sociology, etc. Burns, et al. (1994:477) state that reading is an important way for learners to access new language and practice language. Thus, the English lecturer has to understand about the teaching learning method which is able to improve the students‘ involvement and achievement in studying English, especially in reading comprehension. Reciprocal teaching method is one of the reading method that helps the students to restore meaning in the text. It attempts to train students in specific and discrete strategies to prevent cognitive failure during reading. Palincsar and Brown (1984) identified four basic strategies that help students recognize and react to signs of comprehension breakdown: Clarifying, Predicting, Questioning, and Summarizing. These strategies serve dual purposes of being both comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring; that is, they enhance comprehension while at the same

time affording students the opportunity to check whether it is occurring. To comprehend the content of written text well, Burns, et al. (1996:477) state ―the learners need good general reading strategies, including word recognition and comprehension.‖ It means that if they cannot recognize the words which they encounter, they will be unable to take the information from the material. The students will not understand the message comprehensively without good literal, interpretive, critical, and creative reading comprehension strategies. Poor readers, on the other hand, do not demonstrate the same reaction when comprehension failure occurs. Some simply do not recognize the triggers that signal comprehension breakdown. Others are conscious that they do not understand the text, but do not have or are unable to employ strategies that help. Moreover, the four strategies of reciprocal teaching method excercise the readers to ease their reading comprehension. To know the influence of the reciprocal teaching method on the students‘ reading comprehension, the researcher implements some instruments in the form of observation, field notes, questionnaire, and students‘ self assessment in classroom action research. The instruments were used to collect the data and to gather the result of the implementation of the reciprocal teaching-learning process. The participants of the study involved 20 students of the second semester students,the academic year of 2012/2013. The analysis and reflection were done after the accomplishment of the action plan. All data concerning about the result of the implementation of Reciprocal Teaching Method in


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teaching reading comprehension were analyzed. Then, the reflection had been made based on the analysis of the obtained data. The improvement of students‘ comprehension is mostly shown with their ability in generating questions throughout the reading process. It can be read on the students‘ result in improving on responding to teacher‘s questions and commenting on another students‘ summary. Hence, the students practice the production of good literal questions for paragraphs and then for the text. The teacher guides the students to activate their self-monitoring in understanding the text. Whereas, its instruction encourages students to consider both information in the text and their own background knowledge when they answer questions. The students are helped in comprehending the text by generating their own questions to monitor their self-understanding. Thus, the students‘ self-questioning affect their ability in eliciting the main idea of the text. And it caused the students The achievement gain shows encouraging upshot as indicated by the increase of the students‘ reading score starting from the preliminary study that 14 students who got the minimum score of 65 gradually decreased into seven students in Cycle 1. And one students got score 65 and 19 students achieved greater than 65 points in Cycle 2. Thus, in this study, the reciprocal teaching method succeeds improving the students reading comprehension. Because, each student achieved the reading score 65 and greater than 65 at the last cycle. In regard with the students‘ participation in the teaching and learning process in the two cycles of the research, the analysis of observation, field notes, and questionnaire data demonstrated

positive result in that each student is getting more active, interactive, interest, and motivated involving in the learning process. The improvement of the achievement tests and learning participation are encompassed through all the instructions applying four techniques – clarifying, predicting, questioning and summarizing of reciprocal teaching method in pre-reading, whilst-reading and post-reading. In pre-reading, the students were guided to activate their schemata by reading the text, responding the teacher‘s questions then, predicting what the text told about orally. These instructions were introduced to promote students‘ language proficiency. It is worth pointing out that during the pre-reading till post-reading phases in every meetings of cycle 2, the students appeared getting more active and motivated involvement than through the learning process in cycle 1. The majority of the students were enthusiastic at the activities because they found Reciprocal Teaching Method challenging for them and they realized that the four strategies in reciprocal method effectively and helpful impacted their improvement in comprehending the text. To follow up the conclusion, some suggestions are proposed to the English teachers/lecturers, students, and other researchers. The reciprocal teaching method is effective and suitable to improve reading comprehension of low proficient students. It is one effective way of getting students to monitor their reading skills. And, it is a dynamic and exciting way to get the low proficient students involved with texts. Whereas, the students of low level proficiency as the majority in the class have demonstrated the positive


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improvement of achievement and learning participation. And for the high proficient students, they find a new way to develop their reading skills within four strategies in reciprocal learning process; though, they sometimes get boredom in learning activities. Then, there are some suggestions to overcome it; such as, for English teachers are asked to adapt the technique by combining the procedure or instruction with variety of challenging tasks. And they also should attend on how their students‘ competence, and selecting the appropriate instruction and reading material within students‘ purpose. Whereas, it can bring them from the greater understanding of texts to the ability in retelling their comprehension with their own language. For ESP students, by implementing Reciprocal teaching method it can build your reading comprehension independently. Whereas, the four strategies of reciprocal learning activities are applicable for the self-monitoring as well. You can apply the strategies with any text types. The strategies will guide you to comprehend the passage and make you to be more confident readers, and to be active, interactive, interested and motivated learning process. For further researchers, you can conduct the investigating of the effect of a reciprocal teaching method on the other English language skills besides a reading skill or at the same one. The development of appropriate procedure of reciprocal teaching method in another action research can be conducted with the diversity of reading micro-skills and the variety of students‘ proficiency in learning English in order to reduce boredom and enhance active involvement and positive motivation in teaching-learning process.

While for the experimental researcher can find out the effectiveness of this method to others in the improvement of ESP learners‘ reading comprehension in learning English. REFERENCES Brown, J.D. 2001. Teaching by Principles; and Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (2nd ed.). New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Burns, P. C., et al. 1994. Teaching Reading in Today‟s Elementary Schools. Boston: Houghton Millan Company Palinscar, A.S., and Brown, A.L., 1984. Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-fostering and Comprehension Monitoring Activitie: Cognition and Instruction. New York: College Board Publication. Strevens, P. 1983. New Orientation in the Teaching of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press


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Jurnal Educate Vol. 2 No. 1 Juni

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