Chapter Report: Teaching Reading

 There are many reasons why getting students to read English texts are one of the teachers’ responsibilities: for future careers, study purposes, and pleasure (Harmer, 2001a p. 68).  Besides, Harmer (2001a p.68) also claims that providing an interesting and engaging reading activity also influences the success of language acquisition. Therefore in classroom activity teachers should be able to provide the reading activity which is suitable with students’ proficiency-level by choosing the appropriate topics and stimulating students to do further learning experiences, such as: conducting a group discussion or making a response based on the text explained.

The teaching reading which emphasizes only on the vocabulary and the generic structure will not enhance students’ understanding of the message conveying in the text. As we know, texts mainly deal with meaning, the message which the authors want to deliver to the readers. If teaching reading mainly focus on the grammatical rules or the structures of the text itself, how could the students identify what message conveyed in the texts? It is, probably, one of many aspects that make teaching reading somewhat difficult.

For many EFL (English as Foreign Language) students, reading is difficult to be mastered since there are many words, especially the new ones, which cannot be understand easily. Besides, they are also mainly bounded to the teaching of structure, generic structure of the text. This problem leads to distract the acquisition of understanding of the text itself.

This chapter report will highlight some basic concepts in teaching reading, such as: process in reading and the types of reading along with their brief description. Besides, it will also summarize and comment on the teaching reading demonstration conducted a few weeks ago by Ibu Ika.

Process in Reading

There are two processes that are recognized in reading: bottom-up process and top-down-process. In bottom-up process, readers must first recognize a multiplicity of linguistic signals (letters, morphemes, syllables, words, phrases, grammatical cues, discourse markers) and use their linguistic data-processing mechanisms to impose some sort of order on these signals. Meanwhile, top-down process deals with the understanding of texts based on readers’ own intelligence and experience (Brown, 2001 p. 298).

Types of Reading

            Beside two processes mentioned above, reading is also divided into two types: extensive reading and intensive reading. Extensive reading is carried out to achieve a general understanding of a usually somewhat longer text. It is usually performed outside of class time, for example in reading for pleasure. Meanwhile, intensive reading is usually a classroom- oriented focusing on the linguistic features of the text (Brown, 2001 p. 312-313). Basically, those reading categories cover two most important skills in reading: skimming and scanning. Skimming is a way to get a general idea of what the text is about (reading for the gist). Meanwhile scanning has something to do with the reading for detailed comprehension (specific information) (Brown, 2001; Harmer, 2001a p. 69; Harmer, 2001b p. 283).

Summary and Comment on Teaching Demonstration

            Teaching demonstration presented by Ibu Ika generally follow the principles in interactive reading: the task matches to the topic, the activity stimulate students to learn, include both bottom-up and top-down processing, and divide the activity into some phases (Brown, 2001 p.313-316; Harmer, 2001a p. 70).

In this teaching demonstration, teacher sequenced the reading activity into pre-reading, during-reading, and after-reading phases. Through the sequencing of activity, students will be helped to get better understanding of the texts. Although the series of activity may not fit all contexts, it serves a general guide for reading class at least (Brown, 2001 p. 315).

In the pre-reading activity, teacher stimulated students to predict what the text is about by giving a game containing the words (clues) which will be used in the text later on. Teacher used the whiteboard to make a semantic mapping or clustering of the text based on the clues given. The strategy of semantic mapping or grouping ideas into meaningful clusters helps the readers to provide some order of the chaos (Brown 2001, p. 308). In my opinion, by giving the students some inputs related to the text that will be learnt provide many advantages, such as: reducing the ‘shock’ that will be faced by students while reading a text because their lack of vocabularies, providing a general visualization of the text, etc. After getting the clues, teacher asked them to discuss in group what the text is going about (prediction). It is important since prediction is major factor in reading – people usually have a good idea of the content before actually read (Harmer, 2001a p. 70).

During the main activity, teacher gave the students an incomplete narrative text and asked them to read it carefully. After that, students are asked to compare their prediction to the text given. I personally believe that this main activity is engaging since teacher provide different technique to learn reading. In line with this, Harmer (2001 p. 70) noted that when students are stimulated with the topic or the task, they get much more from what is being learnt. In traditional technique, mainly students will focus on the linguistic features of the text, however, in this activity they are treated differently; making a prediction and comparing it to the real text.

Since the text is not a complete text, in post-reading activity teacher focused their lesson on how to respond to it: continuing the text using their understanding got from pre- and main-activity. Actually, in this activity students needed to predict the rest of the text. I think with the understanding and vocabulary received from previous activities, students will be easier to do it. The way students predict (response) indicates that they have got the point or message of the text. Thus it provokes their personal engagement of the text and language (Harmer, 2001 p. 70).

Overall, the teaching demonstration has successfully engaged students in reading activity through the variety of activities provided. Those activities help the students to get understanding of the text step-by-step (scaffolding). Besides, the activities also give the students a chance to think and respond to the text: they are first provided by the useful inputs in pre-reading activities which will be useful to respond to the text (continuing the rest of the text). Moreover, the interactive strategy applied by teacher during the whole lesson is the most important part in teaching reading. Through the application of interactive strategy, students will be more engaging so that it will also increase students’ involvement during the lesson.

Menyikapi Hidup

Hidup ini penuh teka-teki, rumit, sulit ditebak.
Kata siapa hidup ini indah?
Mungkin untuk mereka yang tak pernah dari bawah merangkak naik tercekik,
Memang iya hidup ini indah.

Satu hal yang pasti dari hidup ini -- baik dan buruk.
Namun, mereka tidak lah absolut, mutlak, kekal.
Baik menjadi buruk, begitu pun sebaliknya.
Seperti halnya saya, Anda, juga mereka -- manusia.

Lalu?
Harus bagaimana menyikapinya?

Hanya Tuhan, waktu, dan nurani Anda
yang bisa menjawabnya...

Pemerataan Pendidikan: Antara Harapan dan Realita

Posisi Indonesia menurut Human Development Index (Indeks Perkembangan Manusia) yang dirilis oleh UNDP tahun 2010 berada di angka 108. Posisi ini tidaklah terlalu jelek mengingat Indonesia masih mampu bersaing dengan negara-negara berkembang lainnya.  Berdasarkan posisi tersebut, Indonesia termasuk kedalam golongan medium human development. Hal ini terjadi karena pemerintah Indonesia menerapkan kebijakan dalam bidang pendidikan, yakni mewajibkan setiap warga negara Indonesia untuk mendapatkan pendidikan dasar selama sembilan tahun (enam tahun di sekolah dasar dan tiga tahun di sekolah menengah pertama). Melalui kebijakan tersebut, pemerintah berupaya untuk mempersiapkan manusia Indonesia yang terdidik guna menghadapi perubahan global di dunia.

Namun dalam pelaksanaannya, kebijakan yang mewajibkan warga negara Indonesia untuk mengenyam pendidikan dasar bukanlah tanpa masalah, salah satu masalah yang dihadapi ialah pemerataan pendidikan. 

Masih banyak saudara-saudara kita yang belum bisa mendapatkan pendidikan yang layak. Mereka yang tinggal di pelosok-pelosok negeri ini hanya, mungkin, mendapatkan sedikit saja pelayanan pendidikan dari yang sebagian besar kita dapatkan selama ini. Fasilitas pendidikan yang ada di sekolah-sekolah mereka, seperti; ruang kelas; perpustakaan; dan sebagainya; kualifikasi guru-guru yang mengajar, serta sumber-sumber belajar pun pastilah sangat jauh berbeda bila dibandingkan dengan sekolah-sekolah yang ada di benak kita pada umumnya. Akibatnya, masih banyak generasi pembangun bangsa ini yang masih buta terhadap ilmu pengetahuan. Hal ini diperburuk oleh mind set mereka yang berpikir bahwa hidup ini esensinya adalah untuk bekerja -- mencari uang. Jadi menurut mind set yang dipegang, mereka tidak membutuhkan tingkat pendidikan yang tinggi untuk menjadi seorang pekerja. Di samping itu, keadaan ekonomi mereka pun masih menjadi ganjalan dalam proses pendidikan. Hal itu wajar karena untuk membiayai kebutuhan dapur saja sudah susah, apalagi untuk membiayai pendidikan.

Pada dasarnya, tujuan pendidikan ialah untuk mempersiapkan sumber daya manusia (SDM) yang bermutu. Dengan sumber daya manusia yang bermutu tersebut akan memajukan daya saing bangsa Indonesia pada berbagai aspek penting, seperti: ekonomi, industri, teknologi, ilmu pengetahuan, dan lain-lain. Di samping itu, pendidikan juga merupakan batu loncatan pertama untuk memajukan sebuah bangsa di era globalisasi ini. Melalui sebuah sistem pendidikan yang baik dan diatur serta diawasi secara menyeluruh tanpa membedakan kelebihan dan kekurangan yang ada pada setiap daerah, akan tercipta manusia Indonesia yang terdidik serta memiliki kemampuan yang baik dalam berdaptasi dengan perkembangan zaman.

Dalam UUD 1945 Pasal 31 tentang pendidikan dinyatakan bahwa setiap warga Negara Indonesia berhak untuk mendapatkan pendidikan dan pemerintah wajib membiayainya. Pertanyaannya, "Pendidikan seperti apakah yang harus diterima oleh warga negara Indonesia?" "Apakah pendidikan di Indonesia sudah bisa dikatakan layak?" kemudian“Seberapa layak kah pendidikan yang layak itu?” Apakah dengan bangunan sekolah, ruang kelas yang memadai ditambah dengan fasilitas dan sumber-sumber belajar yang relevan serta guru-guru yang berkualifikasi baik itu bisa disebut layak? Jika memang pendidikan yang layak itu seperti yang disebutkan di atas, maka hanya mereka yang bersekolah di tempat yang memiliki karakteristik seperti di atas yang bisa dikatakan mendapatkan pendidikan yang layak. Lalu bagaimana dengan saudara-saudara kita yang bersekolah dengan fasilitas seadanya serta dengan segala keterbatasan yang ada di sekolahnya? Apakah masih bisa kita katakan mereka juga mendapatkan pendidikan yang layak?

Pemerintah seharusnya bisa mengupayakan dan memberikan yang terbaik untuk semua warga negaranya di mana pun, termasuk dalam bidang pendidikan, karena dengan pemerataan pendidikan yang menyeluruh di Indonesia, maka salah satu cita-cita luhur bangsa ini yang dituangkan dalam pembukaan Undang Undang Dasar Republik Indonesia tahun 1945 yakni “mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa” akan bisa tercapai dengan baik.

Meski pemerintah sudah menerapkan sebuah program Bantuan Operasional Sekolah, atau yang lebih dikenal dengan BOS, untuk meringankan beban biaya pendidikan saudara-sudara kita, tetap masih banyak saudara-saudara kita yang belum mendapatkan pelayanan pendidikan yang layak. Dengan pengadaan sumber belajar seperti buku-buku, bantuan biaya pendidikan, dan sebagainya, BOS sebenarnya sangat membantu saudara-saudara kita untuk, setidaknya, mendapatkan pengetahuan yang lebih baik. Namun, faktanya tidak demikian. Masih banyak yang belum bisa bersekolah dengan layak sebagaimana halnya kita. Untuk menanggulangi hal ini, sebaiknya bukan hanya pemerintah yang bekerja untuk memecahkan masalah ini. Kita sebagai civitas akademika dan agent of change yang mungkin sedikit lebih tahu mengenai hal tersebut juga harus bisa memberikan kontribusi nyata terhadap masalah pemerataan pendidikan.

Sebagai contoh, kita pun bisa memberikan, setidaknya penyuluhan, kepada masyarakat di sekitar mengenai pentingnya mengenyam pendidikan. Dengan penyuluhan tersebut masyarakat akan bisa merubah mind set mereka bahwa untuk menjadi seorang pekerja tidak membutuhkan pendidikan yang tinggi. Namun, dengan bekal pendidikan yang cukup, meski pada akhirnya mereka juga memutuskan untuk menjadi seorang pekerja, setidaknya pekerja yang memiliki background pendidikan yang baik akan berbeda dengan mereka yang tidak. Kenyataannya, skilled labour (pekerja yang terdidik dan terlatih) memiliki kreativitas dan visi yang lebih baik dari mereka yang tidak memiliki background  pendidikan yang cukup. Dengan demikian, usaha menyadarkan masyarakat akan pentingnya pendidikan akan berpengaruh terhadap partisipasi mereka dalam pendidikan. Diharapkan angka manusia Indonesia yang tidak mengenyam pendidikan dasar  akan berkurang.

Dengan pemerataan pendidikan yang baik akan tercipta manusia Indonesia, baik di kota maupun di pelosok, yang berbekal pengetahuan yang cukup guna bersaing di era globalisasi ini. Di samping itu, pemerataan pendidikan pun juga memberikan kesempatan masyarakat pelosok untuk berkembang dan maju sejajar dengan mereka yang berada di kota. Dengan demikian tujuan negara "mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa" yang tercetus dalam Pembukaan Undang-Undang Dasar Republik Indonesia tahun 1945 akan tercapai dengan baik pula. Pada akhirnya, dengan adanya SDM yang bermutu, bangsa ini akan lebih kompetitif dalam menghadapi perubahan-perubahan yang terjadi di dunia.

Kami Orang Bodoh yang Dibodohi oleh Kebodohan Anda

Di mata Anda, kami ini kecil bak partikel yang tak berarti

Ya, memang. Dan itu adalah kenyataan.

Kami ini bodoh; tak sepintar dan secerdas Anda,

Tapi, kami juga sama seperti Anda – bodoh.

Kami punya rasa sakit seperti halnya Anda – Manusia yang seolah beradab.

Kami punya aspirasi yang seharusnya Anda dengar.

Namun, suara dan tanya yang kami buat

Hanya dianggap ocehan-ocehan gembel yang tak memiliki arti.

Hey! Bukankah Anda dulu mendekati kami?

Membutuhkan kami? Mengharapkan kami

Untuk menelan dan mencerna semua bualan indah mu itu?

Hah, memang lucu ya! Siasat Anda berhasil, Well done!

Anda memang hebat, mengacuhkan kami ketika sebuah tanya besar muncul.

Ketika dahaga haus tahta dan harta Anda telah terpenuhi

Terima kasih banyak!

Percuma juga untuk mengadu dan merengek,

Toh itu tak akan sedikit pun menyayat nurani Anda

Kami memang orang bodoh yang dibodohi oleh kebodohan Anda

…

Chapter Report 3: A Methodical History of Language Teaching

In language teaching and learning, we recognize three important terms; approach, method, and technique. Those terms are important to be known by teachers because they will be applied in planning and conducting teaching and learning activity. Basically, approach refers to the theoretical frameworks and beliefs underlying the nature of language, the nature of language learning, and the pedagogical implications. Meanwhile, method is a systematic presentation of language based on the selected approach. It usually deals with how to reach the objectives or goals of language learning itself. In addition to that, we also recognize the technique in language learning. Technique refers to the specific activities applied in the classroom which are related to the approach and method used with the purpose to realize the lesson objectives. The activities include exercise or tasks used in the language classroom (Brown, 2001: 14-16).

There are many well-known methodologies in language learning; the grammar translation method, Gouin and the series method, the direct method, the audiolingual method, cognitive code learning, designer method, etc (Brown, 2001). Some of them would be seen as a traditional one, or some would be a modern one. In fact, the methodologies in language teaching and learning developed as the world changed. The new methodologies appear based on a research or the needs of the language itself. Based on that reason, probably, there is no best methodology to be applied in the classroom since both traditional and modern methodologies could be used depending on the students’ needs and teachers’ preference. Besides, they also have their own advantages and disadvantages. In this case, this is the teachers’ job to decide the most possible methodology to be applied in their classroom by considering students’ needs and the nature of language and language learning.

The grammar translation method is a very classical language learning methodology in the world. According to Brown (2001: 18) this method emphasize on the studying of grammar (language structures), vocabulary memorization, translation a text, and writing exercise. Teachers who applied this methodology tend to teach the grammar explicitly without explaining any context in which such grammar should be used. In addition to that, the classroom is often not communicative since teachers would give a long explanation on grammar. It is ironic because teachers did not teach the nature of language – the communicative competence. Although this method, old school method, is not effective to build up students’ communicative competence, still there are many teachers who applied it in the classroom. For instance, when I was in Junior High School, my English teacher often explained the vocabulary and grammatical structure during the classroom activity. He gave a very limited chance to students to speak up. As a result, even though I mastered the grammatical structures, I still have a difficulty in delivering my ideas orally. It happened when I took the English practical test at the end of third grade in Junior High School. In line with this, Brown (2001: 19) said that the grammar translation method does virtually nothing to enhance a student communicative ability in the language.

In the view point of the series method and the direct method, the second or foreign language learning should be set as natural as the first language (Brown, 2001: 19-21). It is important since naturally human learn a language in sequence: from the easiest to the most difficult one. Based on the statement above, teachers tend to avoid the explicit explanation of grammar since it is too complex to be understood. For instance, teachers should provide the activity which stimulates students to communicate. Besides, they should also create the classroom situation which allows students to get many exposures in TL.

Meanwhile, the community language learning developed by Charles Curran (1972), emphasize on the affective domain of the learners. This method focused on the social dynamic between teacher and student in the classroom activity since he believed that language was essentially used for social communication tool (Brown, 2001: 25). Teacher who apply this method will position himself to be a counselor. Through this role, teacher facilitated students with a close understanding so that students would be more comfortable during the lesson. I experienced this kind of activity when I was in the High School. Mostly, teacher grouped students into small groups consisting of 4-5 people. We were asked to discuss certain topics dealing with the materials delivered. When we were facing the difficulty to reach a conclusion, she actually facilitated us by giving some explanation and the analogy of similar case, of course, with a friendly gesture and expression.

The most debatable method in language teaching and learning is the communicative language teaching. This method is a little bit similar with the community language learning on the focus point of language use. According to Brown (2001: 34) this method views the language as a system for the expression of meaning; primary function – interaction and communication. Teachers can provide a rich activity through this method. Generally, they will provide the activity which drills students’ ability in communication; discussion, problem-solving, etc. Besides, teachers also provide as many authentic materials as possible. These authentic materials will relate what students have learned in classroom to the reality of using language in real-life situations. The explanation of grammar or structure of the text will also be accommodated by this method, but, of course implicitly after students have understood the contexts to use it. It could be applied even for the young learners. As I observed on the teaching demonstration presented by Ibu Ika, she (teacher) could simplify the explanation on grammar through an easy way: relating it to the context and students’ prior knowledge. Besides, she also provided many activities to stimulate students to speak up. In fact, by a well classroom management, she also gave the equal opportunity to almost students to speak up. It was important since she, as a teacher, could stimulate students to learn more in order to achieve the objectives – the communicative competence. Besides, in communicative language teaching, teachers also have to consider to what their students’ needs and wants (Brown, 2001: 34). For instance, if teachers are teaching mechanical engineering students, they should provide the materials which is suitable for them; how to read a manual, how to handle customer, etc. Such materials will probably be used for their future working situation so that teachers, in this case, also support students’ to achieve not only the objectives of the course, but also their future career.