ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING APPLICATION

ON PSYCHOLINGUISTIC VIEW

By

Dra. Susi Harliani Dipl.SLT M.Hum

Polytechnic Elektronika Negeri Surabaya ITS

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING APPLICATION

ON PSYCHOLINGUISTIC VIEW

By: Susi Harliani

1.    INTRODUCTION

In the university of tertiary institution especially non – language majors, English taught is not as the Contain course but as the skill course. Problems appear when globalization in any aspects of life take place where ability of adaptation is more and more needed and demand of professional increases. The implication is that teaching of English in tertiary institution faces higher demand and the university then demands the previous level to able to provide basic ability needed. In fact, it is very hard to meet this demand…

            Looking at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) suggestion related to education, to educational ministers at the international conference in July 1965, it can be concluded that foreign language teaching for the world community was very crucial. UNESCO suggestion is as follows:

Considering that, the knowledge of one or more modern foreign languages is a part of the pupil’s general culture and intellectual training at least in the same way as other subject s in the secondary school curriculum … Considering that the knowledge of modern foreign language accelerates the spread of scientific and technical discoveries, there bay contributing effectively to the economic and cultural development of the countries…” (Amran, 1980:125)

The National Education System Rule (UURI N0. 2, 1989:4) states that, English teaching is an integral part in the national education program. Indonesia needs to adjust with any world developments, especially in the field of science and technology and English should have been mastered by high school or even university graduates as it learned in the long period of time that is from elementary to high school. In reality, most of them cannot comprehend and reproduce English utterance fluently and their communicative competence is still saddened. This condition invites questions such as is English teaching implemented effectively these days or is there anything wrong? This paper attempt to provide an analysis observed on psycholinguistic view.

2.        ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN INDONESIA

2.1    Level of concept: curriculum and Learning Teaching Process (LTP)

Hilgard defines learning as follow: “Learning is the process by which an activity originates or is changed through training procedures (whether in laboratory or in the natural environment) as distinguished from changes by factors not attributable to training” (Nasution, 1982:68). As measurement of success in learning is behavior changing, so in the language teaching, competence which is not available before, like receptive and productive need to be applied.

To achieve those changes, a curriculum needed. Alberty defines curriculum as follows: “All of the activities that are provided for the students by the school”, while Saylor and Alexander explain, “the curriculum is the sum total of school’s efforts to influence learning, whether in the classroom, on the playground, or out of school” (Nasution, 1982:10-11). According to Richards (1992:368), curriculum is “A description of the contents of a course of instruction and the order in which they are t be taught”. The third definition is more relevance to the Rule of National Education System, which defines curriculum as a set of plan, arrangement of teaching material and technique used as a guide to carry out learning teaching activity. So the national curriculum contains components such as institutional objective, structure of program, GBPP (Basic Course Outline) is applied.

In its concept, the Basic Course Outline together with operational and technical guiding, control teacher way of teaching. Teachers have to carry out work procedure available. The table below shows good system which demand teacher to work professionally.

                                        1                    2                     3

2.2  Application

It seems that problem arises due to any factors influence quality of Learning Teaching Process. Its output on cognition aspect, either affection or psychomotor, are depended on learning process quality which reflects level of participation and kind of learning activities comprehended by learner, role of teacher in LTP and facility of learning process. Below, is the table of curriculum system.

SISTEM KURIKULUM

There are internal and external conditions, which influence English Language Teaching (ELT) in Indonesia these days. Internal condition relate to anything inside teaching program including its implementation, while external condition relate to anything outside teaching program.

2.2.1        Internal Condition

In the psycholinguistic view, internal condition of ELT in Indonesia has not met the hope yet because Basic Course Outline has not accommodated psycholinguistic principle, for instance, emphasizing on reading aspect. The result is, beside due to technical constraint, LTP application is also less conducive in achieving learning purpose, which apply psycholinguistic principle.

At school, English area is rare, library does not quite support LTP, and native speaker is not always available. Then, test system implemented does not give enough space to receptive and productive aspect. As a result, teachers are not encouraged to bring out receptive and productive competence test, and neither are teachers motivated to implement LTP activities, which build students both competence, for that test structure is the teachers’ reference. As teaching method have not been employed properly yet, those aspects have less attention in English teaching, besides, teachers do not realize enough the important of psycholinguistic principle in language teaching.

The casual factor make both aspects have less attention in English teaching is, the teaching method used. it can be due to the psycholinguistic principle in language teaching is not applied yet and provision of English area is less considered. Oral teaching method stressing on utterance comprehending is changed by dominating or giving precedence to writing learning method. Therefore, writing which has productive competence aspect precedes speaking activity that has receptive one. In this case, psycholinguistic is disregarded. The effect is that communicative competence construction is not done optimally. Based on the above matter, receptive, productive and communicative skill of English are quite hard to achieve even though someone has good competence of grammar and written test.

It is not quite rare that students cannot express their ideas well in written English. Research shows that students’ ability of writing of English was not good enough. Difficulties found usually dealing with grammar and vocabularies where both are aspects in the receptive and productive competence. (Susi, 1998).

Based on the above matter, the use of learning method used as teachers reference, and creating of conductive situation for teachers’ creativity in increasing teaching affectivity such as publishing English audition mass media at school, and enlarging English area, should be reconsidered. The fact shows that this kind of learning situation is available in any informal educational institutions where their quantities are limited.

There are constrains in Learning Teaching Process, technical and substantial. The technical one is, there is no learning and teaching facilities, while the substantial is teacher professionalism, institution management and curriculum system that is a top-down model. Four important things neglected in learning process are “learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, learning to live together” (Soedijarto, 1998:126). The implementation and technical instruction available and management of human resource which tend to emasculate teachers, become a serious constrains. As the result, teachers just the technical implementer, their aspiration is suckled. Due to a lot of administrative works beside deductive and class management to do, their idealism left behind. Teachers hardly have enough time to equip themselves with the latest knowledge. In addition, there is external factor pressure dealing with social and economical needs and problems obstruct the learning teaching process application.

In the LTP implementation, teachers rely on speech or teacher-centered method; treat students as bottle ready to fill. Henry (1984;1) explains that aim of language teaching is that students capable to listen, speak, read and write. In the fact, it seems that listening and speaking capability has less attention, even though in fact those are the language essence.

With reference to evaluation, students often have given multiple-choice objective tests. As a form of psycholinguistic principle application, this form of test is not conducive for receptive and productive construction. Bachman (1991:678) reveals that.

“Communicative tests can be characterized by their integration of task and content within given domain of discourse. Finally, communicative tests attempt to measure a much broader range of language abilities, including knowledge of cohesion, functions, and sociolinguistic appropriateness”.

According to Carrol, the language testing system related to language program and communicative needs.            

He says that a good language testing is “knowledge oriented” and “skill oriented” (Richards, 1983:14-15) Based on Henry formula, standard test in Indonesia has covered reading, listening, writing and speaking aspects, but reading and writing aspects are the most explicit ones. Evaluation procedure implemented, usually intend to this standard test. So as the result, schools compete to pass more students in the final exam. People think that the higher degree of passing, the more credible the school becomes. The result is that the final test pattern of lesson unit is constructed the same as the final exam pattern.

2.2.2. External Condition

          So far, educational world in Indonesia is not independent or free of co-optation yet. This condition brings great effect toward creation of educational internal condition. Indonesia is the largest country with great number of inhabitant, but it allocates the least fund to its educational budget. This table below shows it position compared with other countries.

          As fund allocated on educational budget is not big enough, the condition of Indonesia education generally is not good yet. Therefore, it has not given significant contribution yet to any teaching aspects including English. Soedijarto (1998:119) concludes that, educational institution has not implemented its function and mission completely yet appropriate with the rule and the three virtues of university. He also says that function or aim of education idealism have not been implemented and achieved systematically and security. (1998:24)

          Concerning on external condition, application of education in Indonesia is very complex. It can be illustrated as follow: experts of education get difficulty to be themselves, teachers get tired to make end meet, so they have more bargaining position and possibility to chose. Freire (1984:4-5) states that someone is not complete when he lost his capability to chose, when his choice is someone’s and when decision is not his own. If so, he just capable to adapt himself and called dehumanization. The designation for instructor is not educator or teacher but worker of teaching.

          Worker is a technical implementer, while  teacher or educator is someone who has vision and mission to humanize human being (Freire, 1984:19). Gordon (1990: 249-51) characterize school which causes problems to the teachers as follow: 1) School consider teacher is not its partner, but a subordinate, so when there is conflict, it will be solved by power and authority. 2) Critic is not approved, as the school is always right. 3) School has uniformity culture and no heterogeneity. 4) School has no responsibility and always blames one to another. Those affect every operational activity in the teaching area including English teaching.

3.    STUDY ON PSYCHOLINGUISTIC VIEW

     Psycholinguistic is the study about language and mind. (Aitchison, 1993: 1) It looks at language as psycholinguistic phenomena. Psycholinguistic studies two important aspects: how someone receives and produces utterance (German, 1994: xiii). Because with the language people think, this definition put language and mind, as the centre of study. He says psycholinguistic looks at language as not just a sign but psychological phenomena. In addition, it approaches language with concrete operations in the psychological system, started from how to produce and comprehend language sign, to the cognitive abstraction system including memory of message construction and interpretation. Study of psychological process about language competence and its implementation, is psycholinguistic. (Caron, 1992:1). Mangantar (1987:1) summarizes Miller, Slobin and Slama-Cazakus’ ideas, that psycholinguistic is a science which tries to analyze psychological process occurred when someone pronouns sentence and comprehend what heard in the communication, and how those competences are obtained.

          It can be concluded that psycholinguistic is a science, which studies language in relation with psychological process, occurred when people speak including comprehending aspect and produce language sign.

          Psycholinguistic study found that in the process of utterance comprehending, someone is involved with assumptions arose based on expectation available in his mind. (Aitchison, 1993:204-15). Related with those above, there is an innateness hypothesis. Henry (1985:256-7) It explains that there is a linguistic organization aspect, that is the basis of human brain which may receives or obtains a competence in its complexity without or with other peoples help.

          Psycholinguistic has any important principles in the language teaching such as, applied method which give pressure or receptive and productive competence construction, pay attention to principle of second language acquisition, recommend evaluation by using integrative test. Oral teaching method and board copying should be considered their affectivity while English area creation including native speaker existence will motivate construction of comprehending skill and utterance production simultaneously. Therefore, with those, students will often be in the natural situation. Evaluation of listening and speaking will motivate them to learn language integratively and comprehensively. Technical things like speed of utterance and using visual aid will be taken into account if teachers comprehend psycholinguistic principle.

          Language has five functions:” expression, information, exploration, persuasion, entertainment” (Michel, 19678:51). Mastering a language means capable in using it with those above functions. Informative function which represents receptive and productive competence is the most natural and essential one. (Wardhaugh, 1972:2). Language competence of someone measured by his receptive and productive competence, as the basis of his competence in communication. This competence should be the main target in language teaching, because principally language is the form of social mechanism as stated by spolky, “because language is primarily a social mechanism, languages are learned in social contexts” (1989:131).

          High school or even university graduate have low receptive and productive competence even though their grammar competence is quite good. They get difficulties in facing spoken text and the reason is due to the unknown and speeds of utterance, whiles the written text, is because of limited or unknown vocabularies. It is a good idea for language learners to start with comprehending utterance and then meaning because language is a tool of meaning expression.

          Wenden (1987:31) states that in the process of comprehending new things, students use any sciences had, to comprehend them. The basic science will always develop because each new experience creates new vocabulary and meaning. In the communicative activity, they will develop their vocabulary automatically. With the English area, student will use available vocabulary as lexical-tool-kit to create utterances from the simple to complex one. By lexical-tool-kit, background people will get a lot of information and using it to produce new utterances (Aitchison, 1994:230) because they cannot communicate naturally without comprehending meaning of words used. (Hurford & Heasley, 1986:6-7).

          “Krashen Monitor Theory” – is a theory of second language acquisition- explain that in the second language acquisition process, learner aimed to the contain and its influenced rather then the form of utterance, after that the principle and structure used in the process. (Klein 1986:28) In Indonesia, second language learners should apply behavioristic theory, which gives priority to listening, imitating and speaking activity. The fact shows that learners produce utterance slowly because they need to arrange first their sentences in mind, adjusted with language principles they have learned. Krashen research explains that mind will control knowledge of language learner as a jockey who controls his horse.

          In relation with utterance comprehending, psycholinguistic study presents four conclusions:  1. Listeners use innate expectation to receive and refuse interpretation of utterance; 2. Based on that expectation, assumption can be formulated to determine strategy in receiving utterance heard; 3. Accoustic signs can be used as a guide to reconstruct utterance; 4 auditoris signs can not be separated from visual one in receiving utterance, as both of them affect utterance perception.

          There is close relationship between language and mind (hypothesis of Sapir – worf). In daily life, it is quite often that some one wants do say something but does not know what to say; there are so many things in this mind, which expressed. This condition describes that is close relationship between form of language as the product and mind as a producer. Vigotsky stayes as important thing as follows:

   “Word, deprived of meaning, is not a word; it is an empty sound; therefore the meaning is a necessary, constituent criterion of the word itself. Thus the meaning of word represents at the same time a verbal and an intellectual phenomenon, but this does not meant that formally it belongs to different spheres of psychologicall life” (Sporta, 1996:511).

In the language learning process, verbal and intellectual activity should be brought into reality together. Those can be possibly to be carried out in the communicative activity. This kind of concept is not only performed active learning pattern but also relevant to language neutrality which developed from the form of utterance. Most human verbal activities are listening and speaking not reading and writing. (Henry, 1984:58). Clark gives example on know people can be misunderstood in listening utterance. For example, “I’m all covered in chalk dust” as “I’m all covered in chocolate”. (1974:4)

          Psycholinguistic principle explains that receiving and producing utterance are the early step of language learning. It known that the goal of language learning is language  acquisition. Nevertheless, it should be admitted that most high school and student graduate have no adequate communicative competence in English and their reading competence is not gladden too. It is due to the curriculum prevails and the complexity of educational problem. The field shows that in the evaluation, dictation test rarely is carried out and so is speaking and listening. Integrative test model, which reaches all aspects (Weir, 1990:4), has not been carried out yet. Written objective test followed by choices of answers has been implemented, is learner to cognitive theory application rather than other and oral test form like dialog, as an interactive activity has not been applied yet.

                        Integration of natural verbal and intellectual activity in the language learning process need to be considered. As psychological substantial, mind affects language as the product of concrete form. This Should be brought into English teaching context. English teaching should implement psycholinguistic principle in its any aspects, so the goal of language learning in performing communicative competence can be achieved.

            Language learning direct to language acquisition. Many language learners believe that learning foreign language is not different form learning theories, so it seems that knowing its theoretic aspect is enough. It is good idea to apply psycholinguistic principle in English teaching, so communicative oral method can be implemented as early as possible suitable with language essential. Starting foreign language teaching process by asking student to memorize the alphabet and vocabulary, writing or reading without communicative activity, is certainly neglected psycholinguistic principle. Application of humanistic theory that suggests interpersonal approaches in communicative activity, need to be taken into account. In the fact, it can be seen that university students which often be involved in English area and get interpersonal approach in communication activity, has a better communicative competence.

            A child starts learning a language by listening, imitating and finally communicating. Therefore, the development of speech meaning is gradually occurred. In this case Vigotski states:

       “Similarly the development of the meaning of speech in children cannot be explained from the point of view of association theory. This theory explains only the purely external and quantitative changes of associative bonds which unite word and meaning, and which may be enriched and strengthened, but no more” (Saporta, 1966;512).

            Therefore, mastering foreign language to achieve acquisition level, learners need to do oral activity like listening and imitating/pronouncing then do communicative activity actively. Reading and writing activity and grammar mastery can be done later. So far, Vigotsky adding that “thought is not expressed in words, but comes into existence through them” (Saporta, 1966:514). Children catch the meaning started from the complex to the little part one, and then meaning of word. So Semantic aspect is built from the broad to detail one.

            In fact, speaking is to communicate meaning (Clark, 1977:407). People speak to express meaning in his mind and they listen to catch meaning express by others. Students need to master the structure and function simultaneously. While they learn more structure, they master more instruments used with its different functions. Speaking skill, as others, need to be learned repeatedly.”…language, like other skills, is learned as a result of experience” Clark states (1977:298). Then he also says “Mapping and communication go hand in hand: both are fundamental to the process of acquisition” (1977:296).

            Based on that theory, the same procedure can be applied for foreign language learning. As it is often done, students recognize meaning of words (lexical meaning) first before using it in the sentence. In written language course it seems that adequate result is almost impossible to be achieved. If the teaching method applied psycholinguistic principles, the proportional goal can be expected.

4. CONCLUSION

            Summing up the above analysis, it can be concluded that looking at it from psycholinguistic view, application of English language teaching is in the imbalance condition. Receptive and productive competences, which inspire language-teaching application, do not get any attention, as it should be. The heart of English teaching method in Indonesia is still on reading and writing more over learning process implemented that is from program arrangement to evaluation direct to establishment of linguistic not communicative competence. This deviate from psycholinguistic principle in language teaching which treats language and its teaching suitable with its essence.

            As there is no ideal formula yet between behavioristic and cognitive theory, both of them should be considered proportionally, in the applied humanistic theory. In Indonesia, method which accommodate both of them should be implemented because what have been done which inclined toward cognitive, theory has shown less gladden result. Moreover, evaluation on the method applied need to considered.

            Research done shows that English learners or students do not have adequate receptive and productive competence yet even though they have learned English in the long period. This condition cannot be separated from either internal or external constrain which needs a serious attention. Disproportional teaching duties, economic social factor and a top-down model management system, is contributive to the implementation of English teaching in Indonesia far from expectation.

            Psycholinguistic, as a science studies encoding and decoding process in using a language, really needs to be comprehended or mastered by English teachers. Therefore, the urgency of principles related to language learning acquisition gets properly attention in English teaching methodology.

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Curriculum Vitae

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name                          : Susi Harliani

Home address          : Griya Mapan Sentosa Blok BD-7

  Tropodo, Waru, Sidoarjo 61256

Phone                         : 031 866 4624

Office address           : Politeknik Elektronika Negeri Surabaya ITS.

                                      Kampus ITS Keputih Sukolilo Surabaya 60111

              Phone: 031 594 7280        Fax: 031 594 6114

Date of Birth              : June 15, 1960

Place of Birth             : Madiun

Citizenship                 : Indonesia

Marital Status            : Married, two children

Languages                 : English, Indonesian, Javanese

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

S1 Degree, Faculty of Letters (graduate 1987), Diponegoro university Semarang Diploma, Second Language Teaching (1995), Waikato University Hamilton New Zealand Master Hum. Degree (2001), Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Solo.

EXPERIEN

1987-1990               : Lecturer at IKIP PGRI Madiun

1988-Present            : Lecturer at Unipa (Universitas PGRI Adi Buana) Surabaya

1991-Present            : Lecturer at Polytechnic Elektronika Negeri Surabaya ITS