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HELPING THE STUDENTS TO HAVE A HIGH MOTIVATION

IN LEARNING

Ratnasari Nugraheni

Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta

Abstract:

Having a high motivation to help the students in learning will be good for the students themselves because it will lead the students to have a good achievement in their studies. Giving the homework for the students can be good but it can also give the bad effect for the students. Teachers have to conscious about this problem. They have to make help their students to have a high motivation in learning and throw away the low motivation in learning from the students themselves. Therefore, this paper will examine that too much homework will make the students stressful so that it will influence their motivation in learning to be lower than before.

A. INTRODUCTION

According to Oxford dictionary, learning is the activity of obtaining the knowledg. Another definition which comes from Jeff Cobb is the lifelong process of transforming information and experience into knowledge, skills, behaviours, and attitudes. However, to obtain the knowledge is not easy. Teacher has to do many things to make students obtain the knowledge from what teacher has given in a right way. The different ability to elicit the knowledge, the limitation of time, and the number of students in the classroom are the factors which make the teacher difficult to convey the material fairly for all students. Those factors encourage teacher to give homework in order to make the students comprehend the material well both in school and home. Homework is also believed that it can motivate students and build the students’ independent learning. According to Cooper's much-cited review of homework studies, there have been 20 studies since 1962 that compared the achievement of students who receive homework with students given no homework. Of these, 14 showed a benefit from doing homework, and six didn't.

On the contrary, homework can also make the students stressful when the teacher gives too much homework. It makes the burden for students because it will make the students to do the homework excessively until the students finish them. Therefore, too much homework will influence the way of students’ learning and motivation. Students will have a low motivation in learning because too much homework will make them stressful. Then, they will be lazy to study because they feel bored for learning. This digest will discuss that too much homework will not make the students improve their motivation in learning but it will make them feel stressful.

B. STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING AND THE AMOUNT OF THE HOMEWORK

Achieving success in the classroom is the goal of all students. The important factor which encourages the students to achieve success is their motivation in learning. According to Reeve, students’ motivation is influenced by both internal and external factors that can start, sustain, intensify, or discourage behaviour. Ainley clarifies that the internal factors include the individual characteristics or dispositions that students bring to their learning, such as their interests, responsibility for learning, effort, values and perceived ability, and then the external factors are the variables in learning conditions and environment that trigger, support, or change student motivation.

The high motivation in learning will lead the students to achieve success as it is said by Ames that high motivation in students is linked to reduced dropout rates and increased levels of students’ success. Conversely, the low motivation in learning will make them failed. Nowadays, the amount of the high students’ motivation in learning decreases every year. There are many factors which influence it. According to Ainley, certain types of schooling practices may promote or hinder motivation, such as features of the classrooms, peer groups, tasks, and instructional practices.

According to Skinner and Belmont as it is cited by Cori Brewster and Jennifer Fager, a research has shown that teachers can influence students’ motivation; that certain practices do work to increase time spent on task; and that there are ways to make assigned work more engaging and more students become effective for students at all levels. Usually, the tasks which are given to students are in form of homework. Homework can promote independence and responsibility and homework can also help parents connect with what their children are learning in the school. However, homework can be worse when the teachers give too much homework for their students. The main purpose of the homework is to make the students comprehend more about the subjects and to motivate the students to learn more and more. However, when the teachers give too much homework, it will make the students bored because they do not have time to refresh their mind by doing other activities such as doing their hobbies like sport or sing. Therefore, the students will have the low motivation in learning because they do not have some factors which can support them to do it.

Too much homework is dangerous for the students. For that reason, teachers have to make the homework more effective for the students by making a good time allocation correlates with the amount of homework for the students.

Table 1.1 Time allocation for the homework per day.

Grade	Time Allocation
1 – 3	20 minutes
4 – 6	20 – 40 minutes
7 – 9	1 – 2 hours

Table 1.2 The correlation between time spend and homework.

Grade	The relation
Primary school	Near zero
Middle and junior high school	Positive but weak
Senior high school	Moderate

Based on research, NEA and the national PTA, in America, recommendations are in line with those suggested by Harris Cooper: 10 to 20 minutes per night in the first grade, and an additional 10 minutes per grade level thereafter (giving 2 hours for 12th grade). Then, In Britain, the government has laid down guidelines, recommending that children as young as five should do up to an hour a week of homework on reading, spelling, and numbers, rising to 1.5 hours per week for 8 – 9 years old, and 30 minutes a day for 10 and 11 years old.

Teachers should find the better way to make their students have a high motivation in learning. Homework is good to make the students motivate, but it has to be balance between the time spend and the amount of homework itself. Then, teachers have to find other ways to encourage the students in learning through the homework. According to Connie Frith, the factors which influence the students’ motivation to learn are curiosity, self-efficacy, attitude, need, competence, and external motivators. When the students have those components, it will be easy for teachers to teach. However, there are not all of the students have those components. Therefore, the teachers have to make the homework or the other assignments for learning look attractive as the way to make the students have a high motivation in learning.

Teachers also have to work together with the others, especially, school, an institution where they work. Schools can positively influence students’ motivation through: varied and integrated instructional strategies and resources, an open and caring school environment, a wide range of student supports, and then sharing information and responsibilities for student learning among the staff. These techniques all promote student motivation for educational success (Einspruch, Grover, Hahn, Guy, & Deck, 2001; Shore, 1998; Yair, 2000). Therefore, to help the students to improve their motivation needs all of effort from students, teachers, school, and environment surrounding.

C. CONCLUSION

Although homework has a purpose to make the students more understandable about the lesson, it will also give the bad effects for the students when the teachers give it in excessive amount. Too much homework will influence the students’ motivation. It will make a low motivation for the students because students will feel bored and stressful. Therefore, the teachers should find the better way to help the students to have a high motivation in learning. Teachers should know about a good time allocation to do the homework so that they can make a good portion for the homework. Teachers also have to make an attractive homework for their students so that students will not feel bored and stressful again.

D. REFERENCES

Brewster, Cori and Jennifer Fager. 2000. Increasing student engagement and motivation: from time-on-task to homework. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

Frith, Connie. (n.d.). Motivation to learn. Saskatchewan University.

Oxford University. 1995. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Fifth Edition. Oxford University press.

Yeow, Elizabeth. 2002. Homework: To do or not to do?.

Homework: is it worth it?. Retrieved October, 7, 2011, from

Cobb, Jeff. 2009. A Definition of Learning. Retrieved October, 7, 2011, from.

Students’ motivation. Retrieved October, 7, 2011, from.

Homework: Amount, Effects, Help for Students and Parents. Retrieved October, 7, 2011, from.

Homework - Purpose, Public Attitudes toward Homework, The Positive and Negative Effects of Homework, Extensiveness of Homework. Retrieved October, 7, 2011, from.

Students school parents assignments relationship study percent olds. Retrieved October, 7, 2011, from.

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L1 AND L2 USAGE FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH

IN THE CLASSROOM

Ratnasari Nugraheni

Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta

Abstract:

English has become the most important language all over the world. It is used as a lingua franca in the international level. Since English becomes very important, using English both orally and none orally is a must for the students. The process of teaching and learning English in the classroom influences the students a lot, especially in giving the instructions; by using L1 or L2. Although conducting the English class by using L1 and L2 is different, they also have the similarities. Therefore, this paper will examine the similarities and differences of L1 and L2 usage in the teaching and learning English in the classroom.

A. INTRODUCTION

The use of language in the classroom is one of the elements which builds teaching and learning communication among the teacher and students. In other words, the ability to comprehend and implement the subject depends on how the communication goes on smoothly in the classroom. Recently, the debating between L1 and L2 usage for teaching and learning English in the classroom has become the current issue among the society in educational level.

Using L1 for teaching and learning L2 in the classroom is believed that the students can pay more attention to the subject which the teachers teach. The mother tongue is also particularly effective with younger learners and adult learners at beginner level to check instructions, to ensure that concepts have been correctly understood and for general classroom management (Bowen). Since the science and technology change very fast, L2 usage in the teaching and learning English has become very important in many schools; both public and private. The extent of the schools is from the elementary school up to senior high school. The L2 usage is believed that it gives more success for the students’ carrier in the future. Moreover, the globalization and free trade will influence it very much. Therefore, the students should have proficiency in L2.

Conducting English class by using L1 and L2 instructions has some similarities and differences. The teachers have to consider what language which they have to use in teaching and learning English in the classroom appropriately. They also have to use the appropriate strategies to avoid the misconception and misunderstanding in the teaching and learning process. This digest provides the information about L1 and L2 usage in giving the instructions within a regular class that leads to the misleading the subject.

B. THE COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Teaching and learning English by using L1 and L2 have the same objectives which have to be reached. English is taught as the foreign language with the objectives to make the students to be able to read textbooks and other informative materials, and it is considered as a compulsory subject in the tertiary education (Achmad, 1997) and secondary education (Dardjowidjojo, 1997). The objectives themselves are the goal which the teachers have to be reached successfully in the classroom.

To teach English in the classroom, teachers have to know about the curriculum or syllabus, too. Curriculum or syllabus is the specification of the content and the ordering of what is to be taught (Finney, 2002). Both using L1 and L2 in conducting the English class have the same curriculum and syllabus. Auerbach (1993) suggests the following possible occasions for using the mother tongue: negotiation of the syllabus and the lesson; record keeping; classroom management; scene setting; language analysis; presentation of rules governing grammar, phonology, morphology, and spelling; discussion of cross-cultural issues; instructions or prompts; explanation of errors; and assessment of comprehension. The materials or contents which are taught in English class are also same. The students both using L1 and L2 in learning English learn about grammar, vocabulary, texts, and etc. The specific information about those materials is also same although the use of language in teaching and learning process is different.

Although conducting the English class using L1 and L2 has some similarities, they also have some differences. Using L1 in the classroom is believed that it can make students understand more about the subject itself. Auerbech as cited by C. William Schweers, Jr. says that Starting with the L1 provides a sense of security and validates the learners’ lived experiences, allowing them to express themselves. The learner is then willing to experiment and take risks with English. However, a proponent of the monolingual approach, Krashen has argued that people learning foreign languages follow basically the same route as they acquire their mother tongue, hence the use of the mother tongue in the learning process should be minimized (1981). In this case, Aurbech and Krashen have the strong reason although they support and suggest the different method in conducting the English class.

Giving the instructions using L1 and L2 for teaching and learning English also has some different benefits. Rivera finds that allowing students to use L1 makes them feel less intimidated (Auerbach 1993). A research done by Lameta-Tufuga reveals that students can fully understand the content of the written task through L1 (as quoted in Nation 2003). Checking students’ comprehension and correcting errors can be conducted in L1 is believed to be very helpful to avoid misunderstanding (Harbord 1992). English as a second language means that it is programs of bilingual education; instruction is based on a special curriculum typically involving little or no use of the native language and usually is taught only during certain periods of the school day (Corich, 1996). That is why the use of L2 in the English class will make the students can speak English fluently and correctly in the target language. The more students are exposed to English, the more quickly they will learn; as they hear and use English, they will internalize it and begin to think in English (Auerbach, 1993, p.14 ). Therefore, the use of L2 in teaching and learning English will make students faster in mastering English. The students are believed that they can have a good grammar in writing and speaking; both orally and none orally.

C. CONCLUSION

It can be said that conducting the classroom by L1 and L2 for teaching and learning English has some similarities and differences. In summary, the similarities are that L1 and L2 usage have the same objective, which is to make the students to be able to read textbooks and other informative materials, and it is considered as a compulsory subject in the tertiary education (Achmad, 1997) and secondary education (Dardjowidjojo, 1997), and have the same curriculum or syllabus and also the content for teaching and learning English. The differences are the process in conducting the class itself and also the benefits which they receive.

The teachers should be careful to choose which language for conducting the English class. The wrong choice of using language in the classroom will deliver the students to missunderstanding the subjects. It can be said that it can make the misleading teaching and learning in the classroom. Therefore, the teachers should know what the students characters and ability before teaching. It does not matter what the language which they use. The important thing which the teachers should know is the students comprehend the subjects.

D. REFERENCES

Achmad, N. (1997). Addressing language and communication: Issues in university development. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Language in Development: Acess, Empowerment, Opportunity, Langkawi, Malaysia.

Anynomous. (n.d). The Mother-Tongue (L1) Usage In Teachıng Englısh Perspectıves Of Students And Teachers. Retrieved September, 27, 2011, from http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/the-mothertongue-l1-usage-in-teachng-englsh-perspectves-of-students-and-teachers-1042917.html#ixzz1Z8fD0bAu
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives.

Auerbach, E. 1993. Reexaming English only in the ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly 27, 1.

Bowen, Tim. (n.d). Teaching approaches: using L1 in class. Retrieved September, 27,2011,from http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/teaching-approaches/teaching-approaches-using-l1-in-class/146496.

Dardjowidjojo, S. (1997). English policy in their classroom impact in some ASEAN-Asian countries:Language classroom of tomorrow issues and trends. Anthology series.

Finney, Denise. 2002. The ELT Curriculum: A flexible Model for a Changing World . In Richard, Jock C. and Renandya, Willy A. (Fd). Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p 70.