Low proficiency students: can we help them to speak confidently?

This action research was carried out to find out whether the speaking activities that were done during English lessons could encourage the low proficiency students to speak English confidently. These students admitted that they were afraid of speaking English, particularly in front of their classmates. They had very low self- confidence and felt very anxious when they were asked to speak or present in English. For this research, five speaking tasks were incorporated in the English class with the aim of building up students’ confidence and at the same time encouraging them to speak and participate in the English speaking activities. The five tasks were: self- introduction, fairy tale role-play, open mic, product advertisement campaign and group decision making. These activities were carried out individually as well as in small groups. In short, all the students were given an equal chance to speak English and actively participate as individuals and as group members. Students’ positive responses signify the speaking tasks have helped to reduce their speaking anxiety, build up their confidence in speaking English and improve their speaking skills.

Clustering technique to improve ability of generating ideas in recount text writing

One of learners’ difficulties in the English language subject is writing. It also happened at MTs Darussalam Sengkubang, Kalimantan Barat. This classroom action research was conducted in the MTs to solve the learners’ difficulty in writing recount texts. The classroom action research that was used in this study consisted of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting in cyclical process. In this research, the data were collected using field note, observation checklist, interview guideline, documentation, and individual test. The finding was that there was improvement on learners’ behavior in the process of teaching and learning through the implementation of clustering technique. The researcher concluded that clustering technique was improving the learners’ ability in generating ideas in recount text writing. Therefore,clustering technique could help the learners in learning process because this technique encouraged learners to learn actively.

DEVELOPING HoPALM AS TEACHING MATERIALS FOR SECONDARY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

This research was aimed to develop a product named HoPALM, hot-potatoes assisted listening material for secondary high school students. This research applied development research and ADDIE procedure. In the analysis stage, the researcher found the fundamental problems and needs of the students as well as the opportunity as the background of developing HoPALM. In the designing and developing stage, the researcher collected the sources that needed and develop HoPALM by using the features available on the hot-potatoes program. After the product assessed by the material content and the multimedia experts, HoPALM considered as valid and applicable to use, the researcher implemented the product to the two school targets, SMA Negeri 1 and 2 Sungai Kakap. According to 208 students from two schools, as many as 156 students or 75% of them feel more motivated and prefer to learn English. As many as 123 students or 59.1% of them were able to overcome difficulties encountered. 120 students or 57.7% admitted that their listening ability increased. Furthermore, although not spontaneously, as many as 196 students or 95.6%, confessed being able to understand what they are listening to, especially if there are images in that section. Most importantly, as many as 120 students or 57.7% more motivated in learning English.

An investigation into metaphor use in learner language: the interaction of word class and L1

This study aims at investigating the use of metaphor in learner language with a focus on interaction of word class and L1. The findings of previous studies on metaphor use in learner language point to the fact that metaphor is found in all word classes in learners’ written production, but that some word classes clearly favor metaphorical usage more than others. In similar fashion, the present investigation looked into the interaction between metaphor, word class, and L1, although within a single register and text type, i.e. argumentative essays produced by 20 novice writers. The model underlying the current study was Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). Identification of metaphors was carried out based on MIP (Metaphor Identification Procedure) (Pragglejaz Group, 2007), a reliable and explicit tool for marking and identifying metaphorically used words. The hypothesis, based on previous research establishing this finding, was that prepositions top the list in this regard, being by far the most metaphorical word class. The cognitive predispositions made available by the student’s L1 are also of importance in this equation. Similar research would advance our understanding of the role of metaphor teaching, and in what form and to what degree it should be explicitly carried out.

English varieties in the Year-7 coursebook taught in Indonesia

The present research was designed to investigate the English varieties encountered in an English coursebook applied throughout Indonesia. It applied a descriptive analysis. The data were sorted out from corpora. The research found out that the coursebook applied in Indonesian schools included different varieties of English. They were American, British, and American and British-like. The varieties here covered vocabulary, spelling, and grammar.

Fluency and communication strategy use in group interactions for occupational purposes

Communication strategy use varies with proficiency in the target language and less proficient learners rely on L1 strategies for conversational repair. In an English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) context where the technical register is unfamiliar, little is known on whether communication strategies can enable learners with limited English proficiency to overcome hesitancy in speech. The study examined learners’ use of communication strategies and fluency in group interactions in an EOP context using an integrated problem-solving, interactional and discourse-based framework of communication strategies. A 13-week communication strategy training was conducted focusing on conversational repair strategies (fillers, approximation, code-switching), meaning negotiation strategies (clarification request, comprehension check, confirmation check), response strategies (rephrase, shadowing, reply) and discourse-based strategies (lexical repetition, topic fronting). The results on communication strategy use in three group interaction sessions involving three participants showed that the most frequently used communication strategies were lexical repetition and fillers. The participants’ fluency, as measured in C-units and frequency of fillers, was higher when they interacted on familiar topics. The participants learnt to use discourse-based strategies but not meaning negotiation strategies. The findings suggest that for better negotiation of meaning, the communication strategy training needs to create metacognitive awareness of the interlocutors’ communicative needs.

Digital storytelling: a systematic review

Digital storytelling (DST) is one of the helpful educational tools in the teaching and learning process. Nonetheless, there is a scarcity of systematic reviews to enlighten how it was applied and what was done in this area. This paper performed a systematic review of five articles on using DST to foster English speaking skills among learners. This research established continuous interest in the background of South-East Asian countries, including learners at the pre-school till tertiary education levels. DST has been used in the humanities and social sciences as either a stand-alone teaching or in conjunction with other teaching techniques. The review classified two directions (ideal and reflective) as well as six outcomes: affective, intellectual, educational, technical, linguistics, and communal. Hence, this study synthesizes and discusses further two issues: affective motivating passion and a creative, imaginative, and resourceful platform. It is hoped this study able to discuss potential explanations for these issues and offer insights for future studies.

Improving students’ interest in learning simple past tense using teams games tournaments

This study aims to describe the students’ interests and perceptions in learning simple past tense by using the TGT (Team Game Tournament) technique. The situation in the teaching-learning process at an Islamic Junior High School in Pontianak has shown that there are still many problems that must be addressed, concerning English grammar. The researcher has encountered several problems such as student’s reluctance to participate, lack of interest, motivation, and attention in the classroom. The researcher employed Classroom Action Research as a means to solve the problems. The findings presented information regarding the use of TGT that could serve as a beneficial alternative in teaching grammar, particularly the simple past tense. Furthermore, the information will provide the teacher with useful insights on ways to teach and to motivate their students in the classroom.

English teacher’s difficulties in designing lesson plan based on Indonesian 2013 curriculum

The aim of this research was to gain deeper understanding concerning English teacher's difficulties in designing lesson plan based on the 2013 Curriculum. This qualitative case study employed observation, interview and document analysis. The instruments of collecting data consisted of observation checklists, an interview guide and field notes. The subject was one English teacher at SMP Negeri X Singkawang who has implemented the 2013 Curriculum. This research revealed that English teacher encountered difficulties in designing lesson plan based on 2013 curriculum on three stages. In pre design stage, the teacher found the difficulties in term of inability to formulate and design lesson plan due to limited time constraints. In whilst design stage, the English teacher experienced difficulties in assessment with many variables. In post-design stage, the English teacher coped with students’ reluctance in the teaching learning proces since the learning process was not appropriate with the lesson plan and lacked of facilities at school. It is recommended that the teacher should put more efforts to improve professional competencies by participating in activities such as training and workshop and accelerate knowledge improvement, creativity and technology to be able to apply the 2013 curriculum effectively.

E-Learning readiness among English language teachers at secondary schools in Sabah-Malaysia

This paper aims to assess the reliability of the instrument adapted to identify the level of e-learning readiness among English language teachers at secondary schools in Sabah, Malaysia. Five dimensions selected from Chapnick’s (2000) E-Learning Readiness Model (i.e., psychological readiness, technological skills readiness, equipment readiness, content readiness, and human resource readiness) were subjected for investigation. Using a simple random sampling, this quantitative research employed an online cross-sectional questionnaire to collect data from English language teachers at different secondary schools in Sabah. 72 English language teachers responded to the online questionnaire, where Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the questionnaire items. Findings demonstrate that the overall Cronbach’s alpha of the survey reached 0.871. Further results show that the Cronbach’s alpha of the five dimensions ranges between 0.826 scored by Human Resource Readiness and 0.886 reported by Technological Skills Readiness. These findings show that the questionnaire is highly reliable to be used within the context of Sabah secondary schools. Limitations of the study and recommendations for further research are discussed.