KETERLIBATAN ORANG TUA DAN PARA PENDIDIK DALAM RANGKA MEMANFAATKAN INTERNET

KETERLIBATAN ORANG TUA DAN PARA PENDIDIK DALAM RANGKA MEMANFAATKAN INTERNET
Pada saat ini internet bukan lagi barang yang langka dan mahal, semua kalangan dapat mengaksesnya dengan sangat mudah dan tak perlu menghabiskan banyak dana serta banyak hal positif dan negatif dapat kita temui di internet. Hal positif yang telah sama-sama kita rasakan antara lain sebagai sumber informasi, media komunikasi, ajang promosi berbagai produk, media belanja online, tempat mencari hiburan dan tempat memperoleh penghasilan serta tempat yang dapat menyediakan berbagai inspirasi. Tetapi hal negatif dari internet jangan sampai terasakan oleh kita. Sebab jika hal negatif dari internet lebih dominan, tentulah akan banyak kemaksiatan yang dapat kita jumpai antra lain, pornografi, dan porno aksi. Belum lagi kasus pencurian, dan penipuan di internet. Oleh sebab itu bagaimanakah keterlibatan orang tua, dan para pendidik dalamrangka memanfaatkan internet?
Peran orang tua, dan tenaga pendidik sangatlah penting dalam memanfaatkan internet. Mereka harus mampu memberikan bimbingan dan teladan kepada anak-anaknya tentang bagaimana mengunakan internet secara baik dan sehat. Ketika para siswa berada di rumah, orang tua harus memberikan contoh yang baik kepada anaknya tentang bagaimana memanfaatkan internet dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, dan ketika para pelajar berada di sekolah, guru memberikan contoh bagaimana memanfaatkan internet dalam kegiatan pembelajaran. Bila tidak ada bimbingan dari guru dan orang tua anak-anak tidak akan mampu memanfaatkan internet secara sehat. Bahkan bila lemah dalam pengawasan, anak-anak kita bisa terperosok dalam jurang negatif pemanfatan internet dari orang-orang yang tidak bertanggungjawab.
Internet adalah guru yang tak pernah tidur. Segala hal dalam kehidupan bisa kita temui dalam dunia maya. Hanya saja selama ini internet masih kita gunakan sebatas mencari informasi belaka. Para peserta didik tidak diarahkan untuk menciptakan informasi di internet. hasilNYA, para peserta didik kita menjadi anak-anak yang malas berpikir, karena setiap ada pertanyaan yang tidak diketahuinya, mereka akan dengan mudah menemukannya melalui mesin pencari seperti Google. Jadilah google tempat bertanya anak-anak kita. Orang tua dan peserta didik seharusnya tak hanya menyuruh anak-anaknya mencari informasi di internet. Mereka harus menyuruh anak-anaknya untuk menciptakan informasi di internet. Sebab tak semua informasi di internet itu benar. Ada saja orang jahil yang menyebarkan informasi bohong
Sekarang ini banyak sekali anak-anak sekolah mengandalkan google untuk mencari jawaban soal-soal pekerjaan rumah (PR) mereka. Kelihatannya mereka kurang membaca buku paketnya karena membutuhkan waktu yang lama sedangkan bila lewat google akan lebih cepat dapat hasilnya daripada harus membaca buku. Namun mereka harus pandai-pandai memilah-milah informasi lewat internet karena tak semua informasi di internet itu benar, dan para pelajar harus banyak membaca buku. Sebab buku membawa semua persoalan atau materi dari awal sampai akhir. Tidak seperti di internet yang biasanya membahas materi secara sepotong-sepotong.
Sebagai seorang guru di sekolah, harus mampu mengarahkan peserta didiknya agar mampu menciptakan informasi di internet dan tidak hanya sebagai penikmat informasi. Peran orang tua dan guru dalam memanfaatkan internet sangat penting. Para pendidik dan pelajar yang menemukan peristiwa yang unik dan bermanfaat bagi dunia pendidikan dapat meng-upload datanya ke dunia maya via youtube.com, mereka akan menjadi pelajar yang mampu mengupload file-file yang bermanfaat buat orang banyak dan tak lagi menjadi pelajar yang suka download. Jangan jadikan anak-anak generasi muda kita rusak moralnya karena dampak negatif dari internet. Guru, dan orang tua harus bahu membahu untuk mampu memanfaatkan internet secara sehat. Sebaiknya para orang tua, dan guru belajar menulis informasi di internet, sehingga konten-konten positif menjadi semakin banyak. Sebagai orang tua, dan para pendidik di sekolah tak boleh lepas tangan dan membiarkan para peserta didik menggunakan internet tanpa pengawasan. Bila lingkungan sekitarnya baik, tentuah para peserta didik pun akan menjadi baik. Oleh karenanya marilah kita ciptakan lingkungan yang baik agar internet menjadi sahabat yang sangat baik bagi kita dalam rangka mengembangkan kreativitas kita. Selengkapnya...

INTERNET BAGI DUNIA PENDIDIKAN SEKARANG INI

INTERNET BAGI DUNIA PENDIDIKAN SEKARANG INI

Pada saat ini teknologi informasi di Indonesia berkembang sangat pesat, teknologi informasi menjadi salah satu kebutuhan yang utama bagi para pendidik dan pelajar terutama di daerah perkotaan. Internet menjadi hal wajib bagi mahasiswa, oleh sebab itu di sekitar kampus banyak tersedia warnet untuk memenuhi kebutuhan mahasiswa dalam rangka mencari referensi.

Internet kini bukan hanya milik orang-orang berduit berduit, orang-orang dengan kantong yang pas-pasan juga bisa menikmatinya, saat ini internet bisa diakses di mana-mana, tidak hanya di kota saja, di desa-desa pun dengan mudah kita jumpai warung internet. Bahkan semua provider telpon seluler pun menyediakan layanan internet dengan tarif yang sangat murah dan mudah terjangkau oleh semua kalangan sehingga tak hayal internet tak lagi menjadi barang yang mahal dan mewah lagi, bayangkan hanya dengan dua ribu lima ratus rupiah perhari kita bisa menikmati internet dengan puas kita cukup menyediakan komputer atau laptop plus modem CDMA. Beberapa tahun lalu sekitar tahun 2000, mencari warnet di kota kabupaten pun sangat susah.
Semakin berkembangnya pengetahuan akan teknologi informasi ini juga dimanfaatkan dalam mengembangkan dunia pendidikan. Internet menjadi salah satu kebutuhan agar tidak menjadi pendidik dan pengajar yang gaptek. Sejumlah sekolah mengunakan internet sebagai media E-learning, mengirim tugas pada guru dan dosen, melihat berbagai pengumuman sekolah dan bahkan menggunakan internet untuk mengumumkan nilai rapor maupun nilai ujian. Bukan hanya itu, internet juga sangat berguna ketika mencari referensi maupun mencari pengetahuan yang baru. Internet sangat membantu tugas-tugas guru dalam rangka memperluas pengetahunnya agar bisa mengajar para peserta didiknya dengan maksimal. Segala macam pertanyaan yang mungkin susah untuk dijawab mulai dari ilmu pasti dan sosial hingga rumus hitung-hitungan dapat dengan mudah didapatkan di internet dari berbagai sumber terpercaya dari dalam dan luar negeri.
Pemanfaatan sangat perlu dioptimalkan di setiap sekolah di indonesia kedepannya agar para siswa yang memiliki tingkat rasa keingintahuan yang tinggi dapat mengoptimalkan kemampuannya dengan dibekali internet namun tetap harus ada kontrol dari guru dan orang tua yang mampu membimbing para murid dengan baik agar internet tidak disalah gunakan oleh para murid. Dengan adanya internet para guru juga bisa mengenalkan hal-hal yang baru pada siswa, selain itu intenet juga merupakan salah satu jendela dunia bilamana dimanfaatkan dengan baik akan menyajikan informasi yang begitu luas dan tak terbatas. Tidak hanya dunia pendidikan tetapi juga dunia professional membutuhkan internet baik untuk promosi di dunia maya maupun sekedar untuk mencari informasi berbagai kebutuhan hidup Selengkapnya...

WHAT IS SYLLABUS?

Syllabus is a detailed and operational statement of teaching and learning elements which translates the philosophy of the curriculum into a series of planned steps leading towards more narrowly defined objectives at each level. The single most important instrument of structure in a course is the SYLLABUS, which outlines the goals and objectives of a course, prerequisites, the grading/evaluation scheme, materials to be used (textbooks, software), topics to be covered, a schedule, and a bibliography. Each of these components defines the nature of the learning experience. Goals and objectives identify the expected outcomes and scope of the course as determined by the instructor or course designer, restricting the domain of knowledge for the learner. Prerequisites limit the student population to those with certain kinds of learning experiences, usually other courses. The grading or evaluation scheme tells students what kind of learning activities are to be valued (e.g., assignments, tests, papers, projects), that is, the currency of learning in this particular course. Topics to be covered specify the content that the instructor feels is important. The schedule provides a timetable for learning, usually with milestones in the form of due dates or tests.
Why Syllabus must be developed?
• To address students’ needs
• To actualize the institutional goals and objectives
• To develop content standard (standard competencies and basic competencies into teachable materials used in teaching and learning process in related schools

Who Develop Syllabus?
• A group of teachers in one school
• National Council of Teachers of English (MGMP)
• Curriculum developer and other related resource persons
• Supervisor
THE PRINCIPLE OF DEVELOPMENT OF SYLLABUS
There are a series of principals that help in creation of such an important document like syllabus:
- principle of selection and cultural structures: this principle is active in institutions of higher education and lack in the school curriculum. As the result of this principle subjects have been grouped, completed and corrected.
- Principle of functionality: allows combination of different subjects and curricular domains in dependence on psychology and age;
- principle of coherence: determine the homogeny character of academic year. This principle determines how deep curricular domains have infiltrated in educational process;
- principle of possibilities and chances equality: this principle assures equal rights to all students who participate in educational process. This principal determines the obligatory character of the general education;
- principle of flexibility: allows passage from obligatory education to other kinds of educations. This can happen in case of curricular decentralization;
- principle of connection to social area: it helps to plan educational process in a way that will result in needed knowledge accumulation. In this sense there were created following types of schools:
1. theoretical high schools;
2. technological high schools;
3. vocational high schools;
4. professional school.
• High school represents an educational institution which has the following objectives:
- preparing for university studying;
- preparing for post high school education;
- fulfillment of labor market
• High schools are institutions that provide high quality knowledge that allow continuing education in any kind of institutions of higher education. All achievements of a student are recorded in an official document called bachelor that is a clear evidence of the student's successes.
THE COMPONENTS OF SYLLABUS ARE
Introductory information
• Complete Course Title
• Semester
• * Class meeting time and location(s)
• Instructor name
• Instructor contact information- office, phone, email
Major sections
• Course Description
o Course description from district course bank
o Course overview
o Course prerequisite(s)
o Course competencies and / or objectives
o Required course text and supplies
o Optional text or items
o Class delivery methods
• Course Policies
o Attendance
o Class behavior –
 Departing early or arriving late,
 Food and drinks in the classroom.
 Cell phones, pagers, notebook computers
 Use of computers during non-computer times and / or for non class related items.
o Withdrawal policy / Reinstatement policy:
o Incomplete policy
o Software usage
o Academic dishonesty - cheating and/or plagiarism
o Students with special needs
o Recording (audio or video) lectures
• Student Responsibilities
• Evaluation
o What types of items will be required – papers, tests, speeches, projects etc.
o Policies for late work and makeup examinations
o How will final course grade be determined
o Final grade options
• Other information
o Semester schedule
o Outside resources
o GCC Catalog
o Financial Aid considerations
o Syllabus Acknowledgement
What to do after you have distributed the syllabus –
• Syllabus quiz
• Personal introductions
• Study / class buddies
STEP OF DEVELOPING SYLLABUS
HOW TO DEVELOP SYLLABUS?
• Ideally, syllabus is developed based on needs analysis conducted by a group of teachers in collaboration with needs analysts/experts and a team of curriculum development
• Approaches used in developing syllabus can be analytic or synthetic approach
Technically, the steps of syllabus design cover the following:
• Planning
• Dissemination
• Implementation
• Evaluation
• Revision
The steps in developing syllabus:
A. Planning and Specification stage:
1. Identify existing content standard, resourceful materials, and textbooks
2. Use the information collected through needs analysis related to students’ background knowledge and expectation
3. Identify competencies given in the content standard (competence standard and basic competencies/SK KD)
4. Identify contents in basic competencies (instructional contents and competencies)
5. Analyze core contents, using ‘learning task analysis’, to identify both grammatical elements/textual meanings and Ideational meanings (main ideas, supporting ideas etc.) by considering: three learning domains as suggested in the goals of teaching English (cognitive/intellectual skills, psycho-motor, and affective domains); supporting competencies, e.g. linguistic, socio-cultural, and discourse competencies explicitly or implicitly covered in instructional content mandated in KD/basic competencies students’ prior knowledge and skills ( use information collected through need analysis) the existing learning resources including teacher’s competencies
6. Decide evaluation tools by considering the formulated indicators
7. Determine time allocation by considering, indicators, material coverage, students ‘prior knowledge/level, etc.
8. Determine learning resources used
B. Dissemination and Implementation stage:
1. Develop testing (e.g. Pre-test, Formative test, and Achievement test)
2. Develop teaching materials
3. Train teachers or socialize the syllabus and its components
4. Conduct on-going evaluation of the program implementation
C. Evaluation and Revision Stage
Evaluation is conducted by a team of curriculum development or related experts The result of evaluation is used to reconstruct the syllabus Selengkapnya...

LANGUAGE ATTITUDE

The Meaning of Language Attitude
People’s perceptions, actions, and reactions towards languages or towards the people using them can be defined as language attitudes. The notion of language attitude has become vital in understanding the concept of speech community, which is a group of speakers who share a set of social attitude toward language. In general there are positive or negative language attitudes. When we hold a perception that people who can speak English well are smart or intellectual, we have a positive attitude to English as well as to the speakers.
Some language-attitudes studies are strictly limited to attitudes toward the language itself. However, most often the concept of language attitudes includes attitudes towards speakers of a particular language; if the definition is even further broadened, it can allow all kinds of behavior concerning language to be treated (e.g. attitudes toward language maintenance and planning efforts) (Fasold 1984: 148).
Attitudes are crucial in language growth or decay, restoration or destruction: the status and importance of a language in society and within an individual derives largely from adopted or learnt attitudes. An attitude is individual, but it has origins in collective behavior. Attitude is something an individual has which defines or promotes certain behaviors. Although an attitude is a hypothetical psychological construct, it touches the reality of language life. Baker stresses the importance of attitudes in the discussion of bilingualism. Attitudes are learned predispositions, not inherited, and are likely to be relatively stable; they have a tendency to persist. However, attitudes are affected by experience; thus, attitude change is an important notion in bilingualism. Attitudes vary from favorability to unfavorability. Attitudes are complex constructs; e.g. there may be both positive and negative feelings attached to, e.g. a language situation (Baker 1988:112- 115).
When studying language attitudes, the concept of motives is important. Two basic motives are called instrumental and integrative motives. If L2 acquisition is considered as instrumental, the knowledge in a language is considered as a "passport to prestige and success". The speaker/learner considers the speaking/learning of English as functional (Ellis 1991: 117). On the other hand, if a learner wishes to identify with the target community; to learn the language and the culture of the speakers of that language in order to perhaps be able to become a member of the group, the motivation is called integrative. In generally, research has proved the integrative motivation to have been more beneficial for the learning of another language (Loveday 1982: 17-18). On the other hand, Gardner & Lambert, for instance, have found out that where the L2 functions as a second language (i.e. it is used widely in the society), instrumental motivation seems to be more effective. Moreover, motivation derived from a sense of academic or communicative success is more likely to motivate one to speak a foreign/second language (Ellis 1991: 118).
Measuring Language Attitude
A language attitude can be positive or negative. In reality, some people may also hold a neutral attitude. To measure someone’s attitude towards a language or its speakers, there are two methods to be applied, namely direct and indirect methods.
a. Direct method
A direct method is a method used in measuring language attitudes by asking questions in an interview or by giving a questionnaire to fill in by some respondents. In this method an interviewer asks questions to which the responses will directly state the interviewer’s language attitude.
b. Indirect method
An indirect method is a method to measure someone’s language attitude. This method is applied in the way that the participants are not aware that their attitudes are being measured.
Factor Influencing Language Attitude
Several factors may influence a language attitude. In most studies are:
a. The Prestige and power of the language
b. Historical background of nations
c. The Social and traditional factors
d. The language internal system
Attitudes in Language Learning
Learners’ attitudes towards the language being learned have been researched many times by language teachers and psychologists. Most of the researchers agreed that favorable (positive) attitude towards the target language will affect more positive result in the learning. In contrast, negative view to the language being learned will be more likely to cause negative result in the study. Based on the researches done in the context of language learning two types of language attitude are distinguished, namely integrative and instrumental language attitude.
a. Integrative language attitude
An integrative language attitude is an attitude which is characterized with some desires and behaviors of the learners to integrate themselves with the language being learned. Learners with this attitude not only learn a language to have a proficiency in it, but also wish to know, imitate, or adapt themselves to the culture related to the native speakers of the language.
b. instrumental language attitude
An instrumental attitude is identified when the learners study a language in order to fulfill only material needs, but has not the need of being part of the culture related to the language. Students who are less motivated in practicing the languages outside the classroom are often less in interested in understanding the culture of the native speakers of the language. They never have an interested in reading books, magazines, or watching a movie in which the language is used.
Attitudes Towards Language Uses
People may express their judgments towards use of a particular language in positive attitude or a negative one, a positive language attitude is followed with positive actions, whereas a negative language attitude is followed with negative ones. One of the most traditional language attitudes is the reaction directed towards the use of taboo word and swearwords.
Almost in every language there are people who believe that certain words are supposed to be used only in particular situations (taboo words). In English for example, word such as Christ or God are considered highly, therefore only uttered in certain contexts. Nowadays words such as fuck, shit, damn, and hell are used very often in swearing and regarded to be less strong than around twenty years ago. However, others may show different attitudes; the used of such words in public places is still considered as shocking.
Attitude towards language users
Attitudes towards a language are often confounded with attitudes towards the users. The experiment using the ‘matched-guise’ described before revealed that speakers’ personalities had been judged based on their utterances. Thus, from the study, the English speakers were said to be better, dependable, more ambitious, and more intelligent while the French speakers were pointed to be more humorous.
A negative attitude towards the user of English phrase you know in TV talk shows has been reported in New Zealand. According to the report, by repeating the phrase, the users were said to be of lower class. Attitude towards language users may be also related to political or social sentiment. Some Indonesian people used to show negative attitude towards those who imitated (the second president) Soeharto’s idiolect.
Code crossing
Code-crossing is a term applied by scholars in studying people’s attitudes towards language uses. The term is used to describe the attitude towards uses of a language or a variety of it by a speaker who is supposed to not use it. Thus, a code-crosser is someone who is not regarded as a member of a group of a speech community but trying to speak in the code used among the members. When a student learning to speak English is using English swearwords (God damn it, piss off, shit) during conversations with (or just a presence of) native speakers of English, he (she) can be perceived to be claiming memberships of the English speaking group.
In a studied conversation between a white man and an Afro-American woman, the woman was spotted to speak in a way that white women usually do. The afro-American was then judged to be crossing (to claim the membership of the white women group) when the white man was found by the women to use a word normally used among the AAVE speakers, he was too accused for showing the same attitude.
People may cross languages consciously to prioritize similarities in class and education. But in some situation this may be challenged when there is a strong manner to reinforce differences. Thus in a conversation a code-crossing is like an exchanges that involves on one hand, the feeling of the listener whether the speaker is regarded to be a member of his (her) social group and on the other hand whether the speaker instead to claim as the member of the listener’s group.
The CAT
The communication accommodation theory (CAT) is a theory that describes a positive or negative language attitude found between communications in their communication. The theory is used to explain especially the attitude shown by an individual speaker toward the listeners in conversation. There are two important sociolinguistics concepts in the theory, namely convergence and divergence.
a. Convergence
Convergence refers to the positive attitude shown by a speaker towards the listener by adjusting the features of his (her) language (the pronunciation, accent, vocabulary, structure) so that he (she) is understood and accepted. A mother’s adjusting her voice during talking with a baby (or child), which is often named as baby talk or motherese, is a form of convergence. In such talking, a mother usually thinks that she needs to use shorter and simpler expressions, higher pitch, slower speed, and does repetition so that what she says is understood straightforwardly.
When the attunement involves increasing similarities between the speaker and their addressee, Giles called this convergence. This may happen at the level of very marked linguistic differences, such as the choice of language, or it may occur more subtly at the level of features such as pitch and speech rate. Speakers are generally reasonably aware of what motivates them to alternate between languages depending on the context and their addressee. However, they may be quite unaware of changes that take place in their prosody, and their realisation of phonological or morph syntactic variables. Convergence with the addressee in choice of language is something that is learnt quite early, and there are obvious functional reasons for this. There’s not much point talking to your Mandarin-speaking grandfather in English if he isn’t going to understand a word you say, and vice versa with your Canadian cousins. However, children also seem to learn that alternating their dialect or accent may make for more effective communication, depending on their addressee. A little boy growing up in Scotland, with non-Scottish parents, was heard to do just this as early as 19 months. Sam was dropped off by a parent at kindergarten one morning and decided to go and look at the books. He walked across the room saying ‘Book, book, book’. The vowel he used in ‘book’ when his parent first put him down was relatively centralized [bυək] – similar to what he would hear at home – but by the time he had crossed the floor of the nursery to the reading corner, he was using a backed and rounded vowel more like the one used by his Scottish caregivers, [buk]. Sam’s kindergarten teachers would certainly understand [bυək], just as his parents would understand [buk], so in this case his convergence on the Scottish norms in his daycare and his parents’ norms at home is unlikely to be motivated by comprehension problems. Accommodation theory would suggest that his behavior shows he associates other social and interactional benefits with speaking more like the different groups of people he moves in and out of. Studies have also shown that people are quite quick to attune their speech rate to their addressee’s. Generally, if we are talking to someone who talks more slowly than we do, we converge by slowing down our own rate of speech. Our interlocutor may also converge by speeding up slightly. This kind of mutual accommodation – some give and take by both parties – is an integral part of the theory.


b. Divergence
In CAT divergence is a concept reflecting a language attitude that takes an opposite direction from the convergence. It refers to a separation shown by a speaker from the listener(s)’s language.
A separation from a group of people who speak the same language is more likely to be found when the separator holds an ‘outsiders’ attitudes towards the group. The separator is demonstrated through the language and often takes place for some different social, political, or cultural backgrounds. Thus, in the class of learning Standard English for example, when an Afro-American boy keeps using AAVE for his strong loyalty to his ethnics, in addition to some belief that his variety of a language reflects his ethnic and cultural identity, the boy is diverging. Unlike convergence that seems to be more reasonable, divergence seems to be a rarer language attitude.
Attunement doesn’t always entail convergence. Depending on the circumstances, speakers may decide that their interests are best served by maintaining, or even accentuating, dist inactions between themselves and their interlocutors. This strategy is called divergence. Just as convergence in choice of language can facilitate comprehension, divergence in language choice can serve as a shield. For instance, in a report that tourists were being ripped off on visits to Prague, the journalist mentioned waiting staff that ‘suddenly lose their ability to speak previously excellent English when questioned by foreigners about what they paid for’ (Krosnar 2005). Divergence at the level of accent can be equally functional. An American who has lived outside of the United States for many years says that she plays up her American accent, diverging from the locals, when she wants sympathy, or sometimes when she wants better service. So, for instance, if a police officer challenges her for stopping in a ‘No Parking’ zone, she replies in a broad accent suggesting she is perhaps a tourist and hopes it will make the police officer decide giving her a ticket isn’t worth it. Similarly, she trades off the stereotype of Americans being vociferous complainers if service isn’t good by accentuating her accent when she feels that the service she is getting isn’t efficient or prompt. And there are less Machiavellian functions to divergence. People may diverge linguistically from their interlocutors in order to accentuate differences if the comparison will foster positive feelings about their in group. Jokes are often made about how touchy Canadians and New Zealanders are if they are mistaken for Americans or Australians (respectively). A strong reaction accentuating their pride in being a Canadian or a New Zealander can be strengthened by the use of marked or unique features of their accent. In the previous chapter we considered some examples of divergence, and these showed that the reasons why individuals might diverge are often related to their perceptions of and attitudes towards a group, as well as to individual members of that group. Our discussion of divergence illustrates the point made by social identity theory, namely that personal and group identities fall on a scale and are inherently blurred. Selengkapnya...

TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE

DESCRIPTION
Total Physical Response (TPR) is a method of teaching language using physical movement to react to verbal input in order to reduce student inhibitions and lower their affective filter. It allows students to react to language without thinking too much, facilitates long term retention, and reduces student anxiety and stress. In order to implement TPR effectively, it is necessary to plan regular sessions that progress in a logical order, and to keep several principles in mind. This method was developed by Dr. James J. Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology at San José State University, to aid learning second languages. The method relies on the assumption that when learning a second or additional language, language is internalized through a process of codebreaking similar to first language development and that the process allows for a long period of listening and developing comprehension prior to production. Students respond to commands that require physical movement. TPR is primarily intended for ESL/EAL teachers, although the method is used in teaching other languages as well. The method became popular in the 1970s and attracted the attention or allegiance of some teachers, but it has not received generalized support from mainstream educators.
In the classroom the teacher and students take on roles similar to that of the parent and child respectively. Students must respond physically to the words of the teacher. The activity may be a simple game such as Simon Says or may involve more complex grammar and more detailed scenarios.
TPR can be used to practice and teach various things. It is well suited to teaching classroom language and other vocabulary connected with actions. It can be used to teach imperatives and various tenses and aspects. It is also useful for story-telling.
Because of its participatory approach, TPR may also be a useful alternative teaching strategy for students with dyslexia or related learning disabilities, who typically experience difficulty learning foreign languages with traditional classroom instruction.[7]
HOW TO TEACH USING TPR:
TPR’s LIMITATION: The TPR method described here is for use with adults who are complete ESL beginners only. If the student is able to spontaneously volunteer any English, he is going to find this script very limiting and is probably better in a class where he can continue to work on his oral production skills.
1. TPR and the syllabus. TPR is recommended as just one component in the syllabus for beginning adult students. Other syllabus components may include, for instance, numeracy, date and time recognition, writing, listening discrimination,picture stories etc. Every TPR lesson needs to include three steps: 1) teaching/learning; 2) practice or rehearsal and 3) testing or evaluation.
2. Class size: TPR works best with about 8 students. More than 10 students, and there will be too much unfocused time as each student waits for his turn during the individual demonstrations. Fewer than six and it becomes difficult to limit the number of new vocabulary items to a “learnable” number making the lesson topheavy
with vocabulary. If you do have more than 10 students, maybe you can use a volunteer. If so, be sure to provide training and a lesson plan record sheet to monitor progress.
3. How many new vocabulary items in one lesson? Nine new vocabulary items in one
lesson is an average achievable goal. Some students can learn more, some less. The fourth step in the teaching/ review/ testing /evaluation procedures will soon tell you how many new vocabulary items your students can really master in one lesson. You may find that you can increase the number of vocabulary items for an ambitious class by moving into a different topic area. You may need fewer vocabulary items for a slower class.
4. Ask for/expect no oral participation: If you do have a student with some very limited oral production skills in your class, he is probably going to want to recite along with you. You will need to persuade him to do it with his mouth only and not voice his sounds so that other class members listen only to native speaker modeling. Don’t encourage verbal responses from the students – only actions. After about 10 hours of instruction, some students may spontaneously start parroting the teacher. These students are telling you they are ready to move into a regular communication skills class. It is not considered appropriate to have students learn to speak the TPR script because imperatives are of limited use in most general communication environments.
5. Using consistent imperatives: The teacher uses the imperative form of the verb throughout (Point to … Walk to …Touch the etc.). Some teachers find this bare language uncouth and feel they must preface it with “please” or offer elaborate instructions or explanations, such as, “You see?” or “No, watch me again” or “Please do x not y”. We recommend the alternative of an international signal of friendliness to offset feelings of uncouthness, such as a smile. So, practice purging your language of commentary, names, injunctions and any language Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults 4 August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price other than that in the script. That’s easier than having to remember to say “Please” in front of every single imperative.
6. lesson steps/1, 2 and 3:
• Step 1: Teaching/learning: The teacher needs to act out the action that demonstrates her imperatives clearly and consistently, that is, when the teacher says, “Point to the door” she needs to accompany her words by pointing to the door herself. She needs to point to the same door each time. The correct response from the student or students is the act of immediately pointing to the door. (This is the “Physical” response of “Total Physical Response”).
• Step 2: Practice or rehearse. The teacher needs to use the words and the actions of the imperative consistently to establish understanding and student confidence in their mastery of this word-action communication system. As student competence becomes clear, however, the teacher needs to transition to using words WITHOUT actions. Be ready to put the action back in (thus returning to Stage 1 instruction) if any student shows uncertainty or confusion.
• Step 3: Evaluate. Evaluation is the end-stage of the teaching/learning and practice-to-competence sequence. Here, the student functions in English without any support from the teacher’s gestures or the predictability of repetitive, known sequencing. The teacher will be able to see if the students can unhesitatingly demonstrate what has been taught and practiced.
7. Getting ready: Teachers need to prepare for a TPR lesson by doing the following:
A. Set learning goals for teacher and students. What will your students know at the end of the lesson that they do not know at the beginning? To ensure student progress, write out (use the blank Lesson Plan form at the back of this handbook) or write down in a notebook your exact lesson language [so that you have a record of the vocabulary items your students have covered and/or need to review]. Are you going to use “point to” or “touch the” or “pick up” or …? Are you going to work on parts of the body, room items, tools or …? Will you use realia or pictures? If using pictures, how are you going to display the pictures so that ALL students can see the same pictures? All of these details need to be thought through and realia gathered, the script written and the support material (thumb tacks, scotch tape etc.) included.
B. Memorize your script. Pacing is all-important in TPR and to maintain that pacing, you will not have time to look at your notes. You need to have the entire nine to twelve word script in memory so you can speak at your normal speaking speed and sustain your students’ attention and concentration. So, memorize your script.
C. Use your normal intonation, rhythm and stress pattern. Using your normal speech pattern will help to establish the
D. prosody or “music” of our language in the students’ heads. It is this unique “music” that creates much of our communication. Consider how important intonation is when we change meaning with a change in our intonation pattern while saying: “The POLICE are here?” The police are HERE?” “The police are here.” Stress and intonation are key factors in our communication. Help the students learn this by using your normal
speaking speed and tone of voice. You can slow your delivery the first time through so that the students can clearly hear individual syllables, but after that you need to return to your normal speaking speed. The emphasis on normal speaking speed is critical in ensuring that students develop native speaker reflex response to your oral directions. What happens when you slow your speech down? When you slow down your delivery, you lose your natural intonation pattern, strain your voice, promote word-by-word translation and defeat the whole purpose of TPR, that is, near native speaker understanding. So, speak normally.
8. Practice your first lesson in front of a mirror! Remember that, during the lesson, you will not be able to explain what you want your students to do. After all, the reason they’re in a TPR class is because they have zero English. So, practice pantomiming the following. Make your actions explain what you want the students to do: “Watch. Listen. Do not speak.” Deliver your first three imperatives three times pointing as you do it each time. Maintain a consistent tone and speed.
A. You say (For example):
“Point to the table. Point to the chair. Point to the floor.”
“Point to the table. Point to the chair. Point to the floor.”
“Point to the table. Point to the chair. Point to the floor.”
B. You pantomime: Next, pantomime that you want the students to copy you by pointing as you speak. You may have to run around the first time to show students how to point, but after that they are usually very happy to find that they just have to listen, copy your actions and not to speak.
9 Lesson procedures for each new language unit (One verb or verb phrase constitutes a complete new unit of information, whereas nouns may be introduced in groups of up to three at a time).
A. Model: Say the three imperatives while modeling the action three times
B. Say the three imperatives and have the group practice the actions as many times as are necessary for success reinforcing the actions by pointing when any student displays uncertainty.
C. Randomize the imperatives. Still working with the whole group, instead of saying:
• “Touch your head.” “Touch your nose.” “Touch your chin.” say:
• “Touch your nose.” “Touch your nose.” (yes, this is a deliberate repeat.) “Touch your head.” “Touch your nose.” “Touch your chin.” When you break the pattern of predictability, you are asking the students to differentiate among the sounds they are hearing in order to respond. This is a test and the student responses give the teacher information about any student uncertainties. As the group focuses on this new challenge, some will be quick to respond and some will start looking around for help and support. This is a valuable “teachable” moment. Still working with the whole group, review and re-teach where uncertainty is apparent. Pay particular attention to any student who is clearly depending on other students for his responses. Everyone needs to be sure before to individualized demonstrations.
D. Individual response at random/evaluation: Now’s the time to check for individual competence (and confidence). Start with your strongest student and work your way round the class (but DO NOT say student names). Give each student 4 or 5 imperatives in random order as in C above. Leave each student on a “success”. Do not allow an individual student to fail at any stage. Help immediately if necessary when you see a student hesitate by guiding him through the required action. Start the next student with the last “success” the class heard. Student hesitation tells you that you have not fully established the sound-object connection in the student’s memory. Repeat and model the imperative several times to embed the one item that the student hesitated over. Encourage the student to act out the demonstration too, and as soon as he seems competent, go to an item in that sequence that he knows and then back to the “problem” imperative. The goal is to leave the student on a success so that he can see he is making progress. You need to do this correction speedily enough that you do not lose the attention of the other students. Some teachers with beginning level students feel that they are being kind to their students when they break the grouping and teach one item at a time. Our observation of students and our own personal learning experience suggest it is easier to memorize three groups of three related items especially when supported by actions and realia (or visuals) than 9 individual items.
In addition, teaching groups of items helps students to memorize by categories, an important aid to recall. At the same time, the predictability of grouping reduces the anxiety that accompanies learning.
10. Predictability as a teaching tool. Teach each new action or response in the same sequence each lesson. A predictable pattern of instruction is itself a form of communication and helps to allay student anxiety so that they learn more easily.
11. Consistent modeling each day is important. That is, if you used “Stand up” on one day, you should not use, “Get up” on the next day. If the teacher mixes the oral cues, the student becomes uncertain of the wanted responses.
12. One-step additions to the syllabus: Introduce new language one unit at a time. One verb or verb phrase constitutes a complete new unit of information, whereas nouns may be introduced in groups of up to three at a time. Introduce new verbs with familiar nouns, and new nouns with familiar verbs. Avoid introducing a new verb and a unit of new nouns at the same time. This can send the students into overload and confusion.
13. Maintain all steps in the teaching sequence: Whatever adjustments you make, the
success of the method is tied to maintaining every step of the teaching sequence
outlined here. If your students are really “hungry” for new material, they may be
telling you that they are ready to move into an oral production script.
14. Vocabulary choice: The vocabulary was chosen for its usefulness to most newly arrived work-bound immigrants, and for the easy availability of the objects. A few items that seemed useful but not essential are included in parentheses in some units and may be used for groups that are particularly hungry for material. Teachers can add vocabulary items particular to areas of the country. However, list them in the glossary and be sure to support their meaning with realia or pictures.
15. Evaluate! Evaluate! Evaluate! Many new teachers assume that reviewing (or recycling) material covered earlier insults adult students. However, reviewing at a challenging pace can avoid “insult” to most students. For other students, review is like a memory “booster” and can make learning more certain. Thus, review – and the evaluation opportunity it provides - will show the teacher whether the teaching has created ‘lasting learning’ or was superficial and left learning gaps for the teacher to fill. Review and evaluation can thus work handin- hand to ensure student progress telling the teacher when the students are ready to move on to language production.
THE STRENGTH OF TPR
According to its proponents, it has a number of advantages: Students will enjoy getting up out of their chairs and moving around. Simple TPR activities do not require a great deal of preparation on the part of the teacher. TPR is aptitude-free, working well with a mixed ability class, and with students having various disabilities. It is good for kinesthetic learners who need to be active in the class. Class size need not be a problem, and it works effectively for children and adults.
THE WEAKNESS OF TPR
However, it is recognized that TPR is most useful for beginners, though it can be used at higher levels where preparation becomes an issue for the teacher. It does not give students the opportunity to express their own thoughts in a creative way. Further, it is easy to overuse TPR-- "Any novelty, if carried on too long, will trigger adaptation." It can be a challenge for shy students. Additionally, the nature of TPR places an unnaturally heavy emphasis on the use of the imperative mood, that is to say commands such as "sit down" and "stand up". These features are of limited utility to the learner, and can lead to a learner appearing rude when attempting to use his new language. Of course, as a TPR class progresses, group activities and descriptions can be used which continue the basic concepts of TPR into full communication situations. Selengkapnya...

CAUSES OF LANGUAGE CHANGE , NATURAL TENDENCIES AND THERAPEUTIC CHANGES

CAUSES OF LANGUAGE CHANGE
Here is no more reason for language to change than for jacket to have three buttons one year and two the next, asserted one well-known linguistics, arguing that all change is due to accidental, social factors. This viewpoint cannot be correct, for two reasons, first similar changes recur the world over. There are certain tendencies inherent in languages, which possibly get triggered by social factors, but which are there waiting in the wings as it were, for something to set them off as with an avalanche: a lone skier who disturbed the snow was perhaps the immediate trigger, but there were deeper underlying causes which already existed, before that skier arrived.
Furthermore, language patterning never breaks down. This is the second reason why changes cannot be simply accidental. The patterns within language enable the mind to handle large amounts of linguistic information without strain. If change was random, the organization would collapse.
NATURAL TENDENCIES
There are numerous natural tendencies, and some of them are stronger than others. They can be triggered by social factors, or may be held at bay for centuries, perhaps held in check by other opposing tendencies.
A widespread tendency is for the ends of words to disappear in cases where this has largely occurred already, as in the Polynesian languages, Italian, and French, many English speakers claim the language ‘sounds beautiful’, ‘has flowing sounds’. But when it begins to happen to our own language, and people leave [t] off the end of words such as as hot, what, and replace it with a ‘glottal stop’- a closure at the back of the vocal tract with no actual sound emitted-then many people get upset, and talk about ‘sloppiness’, and ‘disgraceful swallowing of sounds’.
Not all tendencies are major, noticeable ones. Others can be minor, affecting only one sound in a particular position: the sound [e] tends to become [i] before [ƞ], so England is now pronounced as if it were spelled ‘Ingland’. A [b] tends to be inserted between [m] and [l], so the word bramble is from an earlier bremel. And so on.
THERAPEUTIC CHANGES
Therapeutic changes restore patterns which have been damaged by previous changes. A number of examples of this are provided by the use of analogy, the ability to reason from parallel cases, which is a fundamental feature of human language.
In language change, analogy tends to restore similar forms to items which have become separated by sound changes. For example, changes in the vowel system resulted in the separation of the adjective old from it comparative from elder. Selengkapnya...

SYLLABUS

Introduction
The purpose of this article is to briefly introduce and study the influential types of syllabuses utilized in the domain of ELT. Accordingly, the essentials and issues central to each syllabus are dealt with and examined.
To begin with, it seems of great importance to define the term syllabus in order to have a better understanding of what it actually means and to which aspects and dimensions of ELT it is related. Of course, it should be noted that there are many challenges to proper defining and elaborating on the concept syllabus. For example, in recent years, the focus of syllabuses has shifted away from structure to situations, functions and notions to topics and tasks. That is why, as Nunan (1988:52) highlights, with the development of the latter obviously "the traditional distinction between syllabus design and methodology has become blurred". Accordingly, though it is a little difficult on initial appearance to describe syllabus, it seems possible to make an attempt to define syllabus at least in an understandable way. In Wilkins' (1981) words, syllabuses are "specifications of the content of language teaching which have been submitted to some degree of structuring or ordering with the aim of making teaching and learning a more effective process." A syllabus can also be seen as "a plan of what is to be achieved through our teaching and our students' learning" (Breen, 1984a) while its function is "to specify what is to be taught and in what order" (Prabhu, 1984). Hutchinson and Waters (1987:80) define syllabus as at its simplest level “as a statement of what is to be learnt”. They further add that it reflects of language and linguistic performance. Yalden (1987: 87) also refers to syllabus as a "summary of the content to which learners will be exposed". Candlin (1984) suggests a different perspective implying that syllabuses are "social constructions, produced interdependently in classrooms by teachers and learners…They are concerned with the specification and planning of what is to be learned, frequently set down in some written form as prescriptions for action by teachers and learners." Finally, in simple words, a language teaching syllabus involves the combination of subject matter (what to teach) and linguistic matter (how to teach). It actually performs as a guide for both teacher and learner by providing some goals to be accomplished. Syllabus, in fact, deals with linguistic theory and theories of language learning and how they are utilized in the classroom.

Syllabuses in ELT
Syllabi are not totally distinct from each other. All actual language teaching syllabuses are integrated product of two or more of the types of syllabi presented here. In other words, although different language teaching syllabuses are introduced here as though each can be employed on its own, in practice, these syllabuses rarely occur independently of each other. For a particular course, one type of syllabus usually dominates, while other types of content might be integrated with it. For instance, there is minimal distinction between the skill-based and task-based syllabuses. In fact, the way in which the instructional content is employed in the real teaching procedure is the determining element in choosing a syllabus. The characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of individual syllabuses are investigated in a nutshell as follows.
1. A procedural syllabus
The procedural syllabus was proposed by Prabhu (1980). Prabhu’s 'Bangalore Project' was based on the premise that structure can be best learned when attention is concentrated on meaning. The focus shifts from the linguistic aspect to the pedagogical one focusing on learning or the learner. The tasks and activities are designed and planned in advance but not the linguistic content. In this syllabus tasks are graded conceptually and grouped by similarity. Within such a framework the selection, ordering and grading of content is not so much considerable for the syllabus designer. Arranging the course around tasks such as information- and opinion-gap activities helps the learner perceive the language subconsciously while consciously focusing on solving the meaning behind the tasks.
2. A cultural syllabus
Stern (1992) introduces ‘cultural syllabus’ to be incorporated into second/foreign language education. There are many challenges regarding defining the concept of culture. Seelye (1984:26) refused to define culture, calling it ‘a broad concept that embraces all aspects of the life of man’, and Brown (1994) calls it the “glue” that binds a group of people together. In order to have a better understanding of the term culture, Stern (1992:208) suggests that writers ‘have tried to reduce the vast and amorphous nature of the culture concept to manageable proportions by preparing lists of items or by indicating a few broad categories’. Stern keeps on by discounting such lists as presented by Brooks and Chastain as providing only ‘cultural titbits’. Nostrand’s (1978) emergent model is praised by Stern as an attempt to overcome this, as is Seelye’s observation that all of mankind have the same needs, and that different groups will satisfy these needs in different ways, as this gives a viewpoint for studying culture. However, Stern also implies that although both Nostrand’s and Seelye’s work give a viewpoint, they are difficult to be put in practice. Hammerly (1982) suggests a mix of anthropological culture and classical culture. He highlights three areas, i.e. information culture, behavioural culture and achievement culture. Stern believes this to be valuable, but claims that it does not solve the problem of the range of cultural topics.
Believing in the fact that there is a consensus on the objectives of teaching culture, Stern (1992) indicates that aims should be:
• A research-minded outlook
• The learner’s own country
• Knowledge about the target culture
• Affective goals; interest, intellectual curiosity, and empathy.
• Awareness of its characteristics and of differences between the target culture
• Emphasis on the understanding socio-cultural implications of language and language use



3. A situational syllabus
With this type of syllabus, the essential component of organization is a non-linguistic category, i.e. the situation. The underlying premise is that language is related to the situational contexts in which it occurs. The designer of a situational syllabus tries to predict those situations in which the learner will find him/herself, and applies these situations, for instance; seeing the dentist, going to the cinema and meeting a new student, as a basis for selecting and presenting language content. The content of language teaching is a collection of real or imaginary situations in which language occurs or is used. A situation usually includes several participants who are involved in some activity in a particular setting. The language used in the situation comprises a number of functions combined into a plausible part of available discourse. The main principle of a situational language teaching syllabus is to teach the language that occurs in the situations.
In this syllabus, situational needs are important rather than grammatical units. The major organizing feature is a list of situations which reflects the way language and behavior are used everyday outside the classroom. Thus, by connecting structural theory to situations the learner is able to induce the meaning from a relevant context. One advantage of the situational approach is that motivation will be heightened since it is "learner- rather than subject-centered" (Wilkins.1976: 16).
4. A skill-based syllabus
Skills are abilities that people must be able to do to be competent enough in a language, rather independently of the situation or context in which the language use can occur. In this syllabus, the content of the language teaching involves a collection of particular skills that may play a role in using language. Although situational syllabuses combine functions together into specific settings of language use, skill-based syllabi merge linguistic competencies (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse) together into generalized types of behavior, such as listening to spoken language for the main idea, writing well-formed paragraphs, delivering effective lectures, and so forth. The chief rationale behind skill-based instruction is to learn the specific language skill. Another less important objective might be to develop more general competence in the language, learning only incidentally any information that may be available while utilizing the language skills.
5. A structural or formal syllabus
This is recognized as the traditional syllabus which is often organized along grammatical lines giving primacy to language form. The focus is on the outcomes or the product. It is, in fact, a grammatical syllabus in which the selection and grading of the content is on the basis of the complexity and simplicity of grammatical items. In other words, it specifies structural patterns as the basic units of learning and organizes these according to such criteria as structural complexity, difficulty, regularity, utility and frequency. The learner is expected to master each structural step and add it to his/her grammar collection. It makes ample use of highly controlled, tightly structured and sequenced pattern practice drills.

6. A multi-dimensional syllabus
Since there is no serious rationale behind the selection of only one of the inventory item types necessary to be chosen as a unit of organization. It is possible to design a syllabus involving lessons of varying orientation; for example, some including important functions, others dealing with situations and topics, and yet others with notions and structures. The underlying principle is that there should be flexibility to change the central point of the teaching material as the course unfolds. This will lead to a syllabus design which is flexible, less rigid and more responsive to the various student language needs.
7. A task-based syllabus
A task-based syllabus supports using tasks and activities to encourage learners to utilize the language communicatively so as to achieve a purpose. It indicates that speaking a language is a skill best perfected through interaction and practice. The most important point is that tasks must be relevant to the real world language needs of the learner. It should be a meaningful task so as to enhance learning. The content of the teaching is a series of multifaceted and focused tasks that the students want or need to perform with the aid of the language they are learning. Tasks combine language and other skills in specific contexts of language use.
Since language learning is considered subordinate to task performance and language teaching also occurs just as the need arises during the performance of a particular task, the tasks are best defined as activities with a purpose other than language learning so as to develop second language ability.
8. A process syllabus
The actual syllabus is designed as the teaching and learning proceeds. This type of syllabus was supported by Breen (1984a:1984b) whereby a framework can be provided within which either a pre-designed content syllabus can be publicly analyzed and evaluated by the classroom group, or a developing content syllabus can be designed in an on-going way. It supports a frame for decisions and alternative procedures, activities and tasks for the classroom group. It explicitly attends to teaching and learning and particularly the possible interrelationships between subject matter, learning and the potential contributions of a classroom.
9. A learner-led syllabuses
Breen and Candlin (1984) were the first ones proposed the belief of basing an approach on how learners learn. The emphasis is upon the learner, who it is hoped will be engaged in the implementation of the syllabus design as far as that is practically possible. The learners’ awareness of the course they are studying helps them increase their interest and motivation, attached with the positive effect of developing the skills required to learn.
A predetermined and prearranged syllabus provides support and guidance for the instructor and should not be so simply dismissed. The opponents of this view indicate that a learner-led syllabus seems far-reaching, radical and utopian in that it will be complicated to follow as the direction of the syllabus will be mostly the responsibility of the students. Moreover, without the support of a course book, a lack of aims may come about.
10. A proportional syllabus
This type of syllabus is basically practical and its focus is upon flexibility and spiral technique of language sequencing leading to the recycling of language. The proportional syllabus mainly tries to develop an overall competence. It seems appropriate and applicable for learners who lack exposure to the target language beyond the classroom.
Specifically speaking, this syllabus comprises a variety of elements with theme playing a linking part through the units. This theme is chosen by the learners. At first, the form is of essential value, but later the emphasis will turn towards interactional elements. The shift from form to interaction can occur at any time and is not restricted to a particular level of learner ability. The dominant view in designing a proportional syllabus centers around the premise that a syllabus has to indicate explicitly what will be taught, rather than what will be learned. In closing, the rationale behind designing such a syllabus is to develop a type of syllabus that is dynamic with ample opportunity for feedback and flexibility.
11. A content-based syllabus
This syllabus is intended to design a type of instruction in which the crucial goal is to teach specific information and content using the language that the learners are also learning. Although the subject matter is of primary and vital importance, language learning occurs concurrently with the content learning. The learners are at the same time language students and learners of whatever content and information is being taught. As compared with the task-based approach of language teaching that is connected with communicative and cognitive processes, content-based language teaching deals with information. This syllabus can be exemplified by assuming a chemistry class in which chemistry is taught in the language the learners need or want to learn, possibly with linguistic adjustment to make the chemistry more understandable.
12. A notional/functional syllabus
The chief emphasis of this syllabus is upon the communicative purpose and conceptual meaning of language i.e. notions and functions. In other words, the content of the language teaching is a number of the functions that are performed on using the language, or of the notions that language is utilized to express. Functions can be exemplified by instances such as inviting, requesting, agreeing, apologizing; and notions embrace age, color, size, comparison, time, etc. Besides, grammatical items and situational elements are considered at subsidiary level of importance. As ppposed to the hypothesis of structural and situational syllabuses which lies in the fact that it is most often in search of ‘how’ or ‘when’ and ‘where’ of language (Brumfit and Johnson, 1979:84), the functional/notional syllabus seeks for ‘what is a learner communicates through language’.
An important point regarding notional-functional syllabus is that the needs of the students have to be explored and analyzed by different types of interaction and communication a learner may be involved in. Accordingly, needs analysis is central to the design of notional-functional syllabuses. Needs analysis should be taken into account so as to establish the necessary objectives. Apart from needs analysis that has an implicit focus on the learner, this type of syllabus proposes a new list consisting of notions and functions that become the main focus in a syllabus. White (1988:77) argues that "language functions do not usually occur in isolation" and there are also difficulties of selecting and grading function and form.
13. A lexical syllabus
As one of the advocates of the lexical syllabus, Willis (1990, 129-130) asserts that “taking lexis as a starting point enabled us to identify the commonest meanings and patterns in English, and to offer students a picture which is typical of the way English is used”. He continued to claim that they were able to follow through the work of Wilkins and his colleagues in their attempt to establish a notional syllabus. They also were able to suggest to students a way of referencing the language they had experienced. Thus learners were able to use their corpus in the same way as grammarians and lexicographers use a corpus in order to make valid and relevant generalizations about the language under study.
Specifically speaking, Willis’ lexical syllabus is firmly based on real language. It draws on the COBUILD research which provides an analysis of a corpus of natural language of twenty million words. The COBUILD corpus provides the content of the lexical syllabus, the commonest words and phrases in English and their meanings. It also provides some insights into that content which modifies and shapes the way syllabus designers treat the language in the course books. Thus, the picture of the language one pictures in designing such a syllabus is quite distinct from what one might present intuitively. In fact, intuition on its own cannot identify the most frequent words and phrases of the language, or even recognize their importance. Previously the course writer’s reliance on intuition has resulted in misrepresentations in the handling with the language. The proposed lexical syllabus is actually based on a body of research into natural language rather than other pedagogic grammars. The result is to put forward a more complete pedagogic description of the language and a better balanced description as well.
One of the most significant features of designing such a syllabus is the shift of responsibility for learning onto the learner. Instead of offering discrete patterns to the learner, we enabled the learner to experience a corpus of language which is in many ways typical of the language as a whole, and to learn from examining and analyzing this corpus. By exposing learners to carefully selected language, and by arming them with analyzing that language for themselves, the syllabus helps the learners successfully achieve their goals. Specifically speaking, it is the issue of a dynamic element in the process that is the learner's creativity. In fact, by exploiting the creativity, the learning is vastly made more efficient.
Conclusion
There are many essential points when considering a syllabus to be designed and implemented. The various syllabi touched upon in this investigation all present valuable insights into creating a language program and course. Although the thirteen types of syllabus were examined and defined here as if in isolated contexts, it is uncommon for one type of syllabus to be utilized fully in actual teaching settings. Syllabuses are frequently combined in more or less integrated ways with one type as the organizing starting point around which the others are arranged and connected. To put it another way, in arguing about syllabus choice and design, it should be kept in mind that the question is not which type to choose but which types and how to connect them with each other. Finally, and perhaps preferably, a hybrid syllabus needs to be constructed and designed due to pragmatic reasons. As Hutchinson and Waters (1987:51) state “it is wise to take an eclectic approach, taking what is useful from each theory and trusting also in the evidence of your own experience as a teacher”.
In closing, it is of great importance to note that no single type of syllabus is appropriate for all teaching settings. This is due to the fact that the needs and conditions of each setting are so characteristic and idiosyncratic that particular proposals for integration are not easily possible. The possibility and practicality aspects of a particular syllabus to be developed and implemented are of great significance while processing the issue. To put in more tangible terms, in making practical decisions about syllabus design, one must take into account all the potential factors that may affect the teach ability of a specific syllabus. By beginning with an assessment and investigation over each syllabus type, keeping track of the choice and integration of the different types according to local needs, one may find a principled and practical solution to the problem of suitability and efficiency in syllabus design and implementation. The investigation on how subtly and carefully a syllabus can be designed and implemented opens a new horizon for future research. Selengkapnya...