(KODE : PENDBING-0013) : SKRIPSI THE PRACTICE OF ELICITING TECHNIQUES IN EFL CLASSROOM INTERACTION
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter introduces the present study. It provides background of the study, research questions, objectives of the study, scope of the study, and significance of the study. It also presents sites and respondents, methodology, establishing trustworthiness, clarification of key terms, and organization of the research paper.
1.1 Background
One of the objectives of teaching English as a foreign language is that students should be able to speak the target language (Hughes, 2002 : 47). It means that students should be able to communicate English fluently and accurately. In classroom interaction teachers adopt the target language to promote the communication between learners and themselves. In this way students practice the language by responding to what their teachers say. In other words, students are expected to actively participate in learning English. However, the result of students' acquisition particularly in speaking skill has not been satisfactory yet (Mulardi, 2000).
Many classroom activities lack of students' interaction and the students have little opportunities to practice English orally in the classroom. Besides, many students feel anxious to speak in the class (Padmadewi, 1999) and are likely to keep silent or tend to be passive when their teacher asks them some questions (Tutyandari, 2005). Those problems contribute to losing students' interest and enthusiasm to speak in the classroom. As a consequence, the classroom loses its active atmosphere.
Based on School Based Curriculum (2003), the standard competence of teaching speaking skill in Senior High School is expressing the meaning in transactional and interpersonal conversation in daily life context. If the students cannot express their intentions or their ideas, the standard competence will not be achieved. Thus, the acquisition of students' speaking is far from being successful. The phenomenons above gives raise a question whether or not teachers apply appropriate ways or techniques in presenting the lesson.
Learning a foreign language is more difficult than learning students' mother tongue. Therefore, a good teacher should choose an appropriate technique to make it easier for them to learn (Mujayanah, 2004 : 2). Additionally, Semiawan & Joni (1993) state that a teacher is recommended use a teaching technique to enable students to use their communication competence optimally. Therefore, to get students' contribution in learning process, a teacher should apply appropriate techniques so that students can actively participate in the class.In addition, to design and apply a technique in classroom interaction, the teachers need to be aware of implementing classroom interaction so that students can easily to follow and understand the lesson given. Brown (2000 : 275) summaries that techniques should fulfill student's needs, encourage students' motivation, provide appropriate feedback and correction, and give students opportunities to initiate oral communication.
In stimulating students' talk and discouraging students' silence in the classroom, the teachers may employ some appropriate techniques. One of which is to employ eliciting techniques. Coulthard (1975 : 28, as cited in Nurokhmah, 2009) mentions that there are six eliciting techniques to raise classroom language, i.e. eliciting inform, eliciting confirm, eliciting agree, eliciting commit, eliciting repeat, and eliciting clarify. Moreover, Slattery & Willis (2001 : 48-49) also state that there are five ways of eliciting language in the classroom, i.e. wh-questions, questions using intonation only, questions using inversion, unfinished sentence questions with rising intonation, and either/or questions.
Based on the explanations above, it can be said that teachers are required to be well prepared in presenting the lesson through supported activities or techniques including eliciting techniques to stimulate students' talk in the classroom. In other words, eliciting techniques can help students activate their communicative competence and use English language to express their feelings and ideas. As a result, classroom interaction will run more effectively and efficiently.
The previous studies showed that eliciting techniques significantly contributed to teaching-learning process, that is it created student-centered learning (Huyen, 2006; Nurokhmah, 2009). Huyen (2006) investigated the techniques used by the teachers to elicit 10th grader students' talk in Hanoi, whereas Nurokhmah (2009) investigated the elicitation techniques used by the teacher to encourage students' talk of the third-year students in Semarang. They found that eliciting techniques could stimulate the mastery of new vocabularies, motivated the students to talk, promoted students' answers, and provoked students' critical thinking.
Based on the consideration above, the present study tries to investigate the eliciting techniques used by the teachers to stimulate students' talk in classroom interaction. It also focuses on students' responses and teachers' feedback towards students' responses.
1.2 The Research Questions
The study is conducted to answer the problems formulated in the following questions :
1. What eliciting techniques do teachers apply to stimulate students' talk in classroom interaction?
2. How do students respond to teachers' eliciting techniques in classroom interaction?
3. How do teachers give feedback to students' responses in classroom interaction?
1.3 The Objectives of the Study
Based on the research questions formulated above, the study aims to :
1. investigate the eliciting techniques teachers apply to motivate students to talk in classroom interaction.
2. investigate the ways students respond to teachers' eliciting techniques in classroom interaction.
3. investigate the ways teachers give feedback to students' responses in classroom interaction.
1.4 The Scope of the Study
Based on Indonesian educational system, English is taught in four skills, one of which is speaking skill. The study focuses on students' talk particularly in classroom interaction. In other words, the study covers teachers' eliciting techniques based on Coulthard (1975 : 28) and Slattery & Willis (2001 : 48-49) theories. The theories are employed by the teachers in stimulating students' talk in four classes at one of the senior high schools in X. The analysis centers on teachers' abilities in applying the eliciting techniques in classroom setting from beginning through the end of learning process.
1.5 The Significance of the Study
The study hopefully can describe how teachers applied the eliciting techniques particularly in simulating students' talk in the classroom. The findings of the study are expected to contributing theoretically and practically to the improvement of teaching and learning process. In addition, the findings can give teachers some valuable inputs and references to develop their teaching performances in the classroom. Moreover, the result of the study can provide valuable information and serve as document for English teachers especially for the teachers at the school being investigated.
The study is also important for the students. It is expected that the students can more actively participate, not anxious to speak English, brave in answering teachers' questions, and they are able to communicate English well. Furthermore, the study can give contribution for the other researchers as their references in conducting further research. They may get other techniques to encourage students to talk or they can also develop another study to solve the problems as contribution for improving our education.
1.6 Clarification of Key Terms
To avoid unnecessary misunderstanding and ambiguity, some terms used in the study are clarified as follows :
1.6.1 Teachers' techniques
Techniques are ways in presenting the language to the students (Brown, 1995 : 14). Hence, teachers' techniques are a set of ways or techniques used by the teachers in doing something in achieving certain objectives.
1.6.2 Eliciting Techniques
According to Cambridge Learner's Dictionary (Walter, 2004), eliciting is aimed to get information or a reaction from someone. Thus, eliciting techniques is a way used by the teacher to get students' responses in classroom.
1.6.3 Classroom Interaction
Brown (2001) states that "interaction is the collaborative exchange of thoughts, feelings, or ideas between two or more people, resulting in a reciprocal effect on each other." Therefore, classroom interaction is a place in which the teachers and students are interacting each other to get certain information such as asking and answering questions, making comments, and discussing.
1.7 Organization of the Research Paper
The research study is organized into five chapters. Each chapter is subdivided into subtopics that elaborated the given issue. The chapter is arranged as follows :
Chapter I is introduction. It includes the background of the study, the research questions, the scope of the study, the objectives of the study, the significant of the study, site and participants, methodology, clarification of key terms, and organization of the research paper.
Chapter II is theoretical foundations of the topic. It provides theoretical foundation of the study which is relevant to be used in conducting the research. The theoretical views include the nature of techniques and some techniques used by the teachers in stimulating students' talk.
Chapter III focuses on research methodology. It includes research design, site and participants, research procedure, instruments, ethical consideration, establishing trustworthiness, data analysis, and notes from the pilot study (pilot test).
Chapter IV elaborates findings and their discussions. It provides answers of the research problems. It also supplies the result of the research which consists of findings (data presentation).
Chapter V is conclusions and recommendations. It summarizes the findings and their discussions. In addition, recommendations for further researchers are offered.
