CREATING ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO ENGLISH LEARNING
By: Junaidi Mistar
Abstract: The present paper reviews the theories of the significant role of environment in second/foreign language learning. It provides learners with language input, both spoken and written, to process, as well as opportunities to practice. Thus, classroom and natural environment has to be created in such a way that it is conducive to language learning. Recommendations of strategies to do so are then explored.
Key words: environment, opportunities, language learning
A. Introduction
In Indonesia English is taught as a compulsory subject starting from junior high schools. This means that students leaving their senior high school have learned English for six years. Considering such a long period of learning, it may be possible to assume that Indonesian senior high school graduates must be fluent in English communication.
The reality, however, shows the reverse situation. Six years’ learning does not seem to mean very much as most of the students do not acquire adequate proficiency. Therefore, English is still taught at the university. Unfortunately, the result is quite similar to the teaching of English at the high school. Huda (1999) states, “In general we are not happy with the result of the teaching of English in Indonesia. Not only at the sarjana program level, but also at the postgraduate program, in general the students do not have sufficient knowledge of English” (p. 151).
The poor result of English instruction in Indonesia leads me to think that there is something wrong with the instruction implemented so far. In other words, the instructional process that has been implemented so far appears to have been ineffective. Therefore, in order to improve the situation, factors affecting the success of the teaching-learning process need to be studied.
Tarigan and Tarigan (1987) mention that the teaching learning process is a system consisting of the following components: teacher, student, objective, material, method, media, and evaluation. In this interactive system, the teacher and the student are the actors, where the teacher teaches and the student learns. The objective is the guide directing the instruction, the material serves as the instrument to achieve it, the method functions as the way to achieve it, and the media provide supportive tools to make it easier to achieve it more efficiently. Finally, the evaluation is the instrument by which the attainment of the expected objective can be assessed.
More specifically, in second/foreign language (L2/FL) instruction, Baradja (1994) states that at least six factors are worth considering for evaluating whether a foreign/second language instruction is successful or not. They are instructional objective, learner, teacher, material, method and environment. Meanwhile, according to Sadtono (1995), success in any foreign language learning depends on two factors: linguistic and non-linguistic. Included in the first category are aspects concerned with the nature of the target language such as its phonology, morphology, and syntax. Teacher, student, material, method and environment are the non-linguistic factors as they are external to the language itself.
The present paper is to highlight the significant roles of the environment for English learning. The discussion includes its roles in determining language learning success and strategies or techniques of how to make the environment conducive to English learning.
B. The Role of Environment in L2/FL Learning
As illustrated in the introductory section of this paper, environment is one of the factors that influence the success of language learning (Baradja, 1994; Sadtono, 1995). In what ways does it influence L2/FL learning success?
At least three models of L2/FL learning may be used to justify the role of environment in determining L2/FL learning success: Krashen’s Monitor Model, Naiman et al.’s Model, and Spolsky’s Model. In his Monitor Model, Krashen in Krashen and Terrell (1983) differentiates acquisition and learning as two separate processes. While acquisition refers to the subconscious process identical in all important ways to the process children utilise in picking up their first language, learning refers to conscious process that results in knowing about language. In other words, acquisition is the result of natural interaction with the language via meaningful communication, whereas learning is the result of classroom experience, in which the learner is made to focus on form and to learn about the linguistic rules of the target language. Thus, acquisition takes place in the natural setting, while learning takes place in the classroom setting.
Moreover, acquisition results in implicit knowledge of linguistic rules in which the acquirer is not generally aware of the rules he has acquired. Instead, he can feel the correctness, in the sense that when he hears an error, he may not know exactly what rule is violated, but somehow know that an error is committed. Learning, on the other hand, results in the explicit knowledge of the linguistic rules, so that the learner is aware of them and able to talk about them.
Of the two processes, Krashen further maintains that the former, acquisition process, contributes to the development of one’s communicative competence more than the latter, learning process. In his Monitor hypothesis, Krashen states that learning has only one function, that is as a monitor or editor, and that learning comes into play to make changes in the form of the speaker’s utterance, after it has been produced by the acquired system. Acquisition initiates the speaker’s utterances and is responsible for fluency. Thus, the learned system is thought to alter the output of the acquired system before or after the utterance is actually spoken or written, but the utterance is initiated entirely by the acquired system.
The important role of environment is also represented in Naiman et al.’s (1978) model, as depicted in Figure 1. The model consists of six components: context, learner, teaching, environment, learning, and outcome. The interrelationship of the components is that the context whether it is an L2 or FL learning context colours the other five components. Then, the learner (box 1) with his individual differences such as language aptitude, motivation, attitude, language past experience, and so on together with teaching/classroom activities (box 3) and environment (box 4) that provides opportunities for the learner to have communicative contacts and use determine the use of conscious and subconscious learning processes (box 5). It is the learning processes that finally affect learning outcome that may be in the forms of L2 proficiency and affective outcomes.
Another model by Spolsky (1989), as represented in Figure 2, also illustrates the significant role of environment where an L2 learning activity takes place. In this model, social context or the environment provides learning opportunities both formal opportunities in the classroom setting and informal opportunities in the natural setting. Also, the social context leads to attitude development of the learner, be it favourable or unfavourable, which appears in his learning motivation. When the attitudes are positive, the motivation tends to be high, but when the attitudes are negative, the motivation tends to be low. Then, the motivation together with individual factors such as age, personality, capabilities, previous knowledge influence how the learner makes use of learning opportunities both in the formal and informal contexts. Finally, this determines the learning outcomes.
The three L2 learning models above show how important learning environment is. In short, it provides learning opportunities for the learner by providing input that the learner can acquire or learn. The natural environment provides input that may come in written or spoken form. In the case of spoken input, it may occur in the context of interaction, i.e., the learner’s attempts to converse with a native speaker, a teacher, or another learner, or in the context of non-reciprocal discourse, such as listening to radio broadcasts or watching TV programs. The classroom environment, moreover, provides input in the form of teacher talk and student talk as a result of teacher-student and student-student interactions. Then, how the learner makes use of the input in turn determines the learning success.
C. How to Make Environment Conducive to English Learning
As impliedly stated in the previous discussion, the discussion of the environment may cover two environmental contexts: classroom environment and natural environment (outside classroom environment). Consequently, the discussion of how to make environment conducive to English learning may fall under these two subheadings.
1. How to Make Classroom Environment Conducive to English Learning
The criterion to measure how conducive the classroom environment is to English learning is the extent to which it provides opportunities for the students to learn and acquire English communicative competence. In this case, the physical components and interactional components of the classroom need considering. In terms of the physical components, class size, seating arrangement, and whiteboard position are three factors that are important to note.
In most Indonesian schools the class size ranges from 30 to 50 students, even larger. We can imagine how little time is on average that each student can participate in the classroom activities as each teaching session runs in only a hundred minutes. The situation is worsened by the fact that it is the teacher who usually dominates the classroom talks. A mathematical computation can help to measure how bad the situation is. For example, with an assumption that the teacher dominates 60% of the session and the students get 40%, we will be surprised that on average each student has only one minute to speak up in the classroom in each lesson. More clearly, Brown (2007) lists some problems of large classes:
– Proficiency and ability vary widely across students.
– Individual teacher-student attention is minimised.
– Student opportunities to speak are lessened.
– Teacher’s feedback on students’ written work is limited.
So, what is the ideal class size? Brown (2007) states, “Ideally, language classes should have no more than a dozen people or so. They should be large enough to provide diversity and student interaction and small enough to give students plenty opportunity to participate and to get individual attention”. Unfortunately, due to the limited budget, it is usually impossible to have classes with only 12 to 15 students in each class. As such, I would rather say that up to 25 students are still tolerable in an English class, when the course emphasises on receptive skills of reading and listening. A smaller size of up to only 15 students should be pursued for classes that emphasise on productive skills of speaking and writing.
Seating arrangement is another form of physical environment that affects the conduciveness of classroom to English learning. In most traditional seating arrangements, we find that movable desks or chairs are all lined up in columns facing the front wall of the room. This arrangement is of course the most feasible one when the class size is so large that it is difficult to have some other arrangements. This way of arranging student seats is now challenged, as it is considered not democratic. The rationale is that students in a class should be considered as members of a team so that they should to be able to talk to one another. As such, the seating arrangement should be made in such a way that they can see one another and that they do not feel as if they walked into a military formation. Patterns of semi-circles or U-shapes may be chosen. These patterns, however, require a small size class.
The amount of disruptions also needs to be considered in the management of physical component of classroom environment. In most traditional Indonesian classrooms, the chalkboard or the whiteboard is located next to the entrance so that the teacher can control optimally the students’ attendance. A student who comes late is not allowed to join the class unless he tells his reasons for being late and then asks for permission to join the class. Any student who is going to leave the class temporarily as he has to go to the toilet, for example, has to see the teacher for permission. This classroom management, while improving teacher’s control over student’s discipline, increases the amount of disruptions. Students’ attention is disrupted any time a late student comes in and when there is a student asking for permission to go to the toilet.
Therefore, another classroom management is worth trying. Instead of locating the whiteboard next to the entrance, it can be located in the back wall so that the entrance is behind the students’ seats. A late student does not need to disturb the classroom activities in order to tell his reasons for being late. Alternatively, he can tell the teacher at the end of the lesson. As such, the amount of disruption can be minimised and the instructional period can be maximally used for instructional activities.
The second component of the classroom environment is the interaction that covers both teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction. The principle of the interaction is that it should provide plenty of opportunity for the students to practise English. Using English as a medium of instruction, requiring the students to do all assignments in English and delivering questions as well as asking them to answer in English are just a few examples of ways to create English speaking opportunities in the classroom environment.
A problem may arise, however, when the teacher uses English in the class, since some of the students do not understand his speech. Research has shown that some modifications of the teacher’s speech in language classroom facilitate the comprehensibility of the speech. Chaudron (1988) summarises the modifications as follows:
– Rates of speech appear to be slower.
– Pauses, which may be evidence of the speaker planning more, are more frequent and longer.
– Pronunciation tends to be exaggerated.
– Vocabulary use is more basic.
– Degree of subordination is lower.
– More declaratives and statements are used than questions.
– Teacher may self-repeat more frequently.
Classroom student-student interaction should also be encouraged to provide more opportunities for the students to practise using English. Although there is no specific rule of how much time the teacher should spend talking in the class, getting students to speak is a vital part of an English teacher’s job. Students are the people who need to practise, not the teacher. Therefore, a good teacher is the one who maximises the student talking time and minimises his talking time. One of the ways is by setting up group work tasks, in which students need to work with their peers to complete the tasks. However, the language that the students use when discussing with their peers should be monitored carefully, as they will probably tend to use Indonesian. Expectedly, they use English in most of the discussion, so that their communicative competence in English will be improved significantly.
2. How to Make Natural Environment Conducive to English Learning
The context of English teaching in Indonesia is a foreign language, that is English is taught as a compulsory subject as prescribed by the curriculum and it is not used as a means of daily communication outside the classroom. As a result, the availability of natural environment where English is used is very limited. If there is any, it is in the form of non-reciprocal discourse such as radio broadcasts or TV programs. As such, students’ exposure to English use in the natural environment is very limited. Therefore, to increase the exposure, the natural environment of English use should be created to enhance social interaction in English. Scovel (2001) says that social interaction both fuels and lubricates all language acquisition.
Establishing Self-Access Centre (SAC), English Speaking Area, and English Conversation Club are just examples of the attempts to create the natural environment of English use. Self-Access Centre (SAC) has been a term commonly used to refer to a place where the students can learn English independently, as the place is provided with a number of learning facilities, such as books, record players, televisions, VCD-s, etc. A student who is interested in listening to English music, for instance, can turn the record player on and enjoy it. Another student who is interested in watching news broadcasts from overseas TV channels can turn on the TV. Still another student who is interested in watching English films may turn on the VCD player. In short, students are exposed to the natural use of English at their own choice of types of exposure and all of the available choices are entertaining and relaxing.
Setting up an English speaking area is another way to create a natural environment that is conducive to English learning. In this case, a certain area in the campus is chosen to be a place where English must be spoken. Any student or teacher entering the area must speak English. If there is any one who breaks the rule, he may be fined a certain amount of money. Therefore, there should be some students – usually selected from the senior students –, who are in charge of enforcing the rule.
Establishing English Conversation Clubs (ECC) is also another way to create a natural environment for English learning. In this case, up to five students may form an English conversation group and they set up regular schedules to meet. When they have the meetings, they must use English. In this regard, I suggest that the members of the group should be of equally competent students to guarantee that each member is dare enough to speak without being afraid of being overcorrected. If there is one member who is much more highly competent than the others, he tends to dominate the conversation. As such, the good student improves better, while the less good students become more frustrated.
The operation of the English Speaking Area and English Conversation Club will be good if the students are willing to participate in them. Their participation may be encouraged when their anxiety in using English is low and their self-confidence in using English is high. Strategies of how to lower down anxiety and to develop self-confidence need to be pursued.
D. Conclusion
The main focus of the paper is to explore what teachers can do to make the environment conducive to English learning. In this case, the paper starts by highlighting the role of environment in English learning from the perspectives of L2/FL learning models. Then, techniques of making the environment conducive are explored by referring to two types of environment: classroom environment and natural environment.
In the context of classroom environment, the physical as well as interactional components are considered. The physical components include such things as class size, seating arrangement, and position of the whiteboard. The interactional component covers both teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction.
Since the context of English teaching in Indonesia is a foreign language, not much natural environment is available, in the sense that the natural environment that provides opportunities for natural use of English as a means of communication is very limited. Therefore, such English speaking environment should be created, instead. Self-Access Centre, English Speaking Area, and English Conversation Clubs are examples of the created natural environment conducive to English learning.
However, it should be noted that no matter how well we, teachers, create the conducive environment, the effectiveness is still dependent on the students. It is the students who determine success or failure in the language learning process. Rubin and Thomson (1982, p.1) jointly state,
You, the language learner, are the most important factor in the language learning process. Success or failure will, in the end, be determined by what you yourself contribute. Many learners tend to blame teachers, circumstances, and teaching materials for their lack of success, when the most important reasons for their success or failure can ultimately be found in themselves.
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