Giving Instruction in the Classroom1(Edit)

7/28/2019 Giving Instruction in the Classroom1(Edit)

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background

Language is more than just a communication tool. It is the primary method by which we

do things together. It is the accumulation of sharing meanings to other people. Language is used

to communicate and convey meaning from one person to another.It is used to talk to each other,

write, email and send message. Language has rules which involve word structure (morphology),

grammar and sentence structure (syntax), word meaning (semantics) and social appropriateness

(pragmatics).

It might seem natural at this point to state exactly what is meant by language , but to do

so is much harder than it first appears. We all have some intuitive notion of what language is; a

simple definition might be that it is a system of symbols and rules that enable us to

communicate. Symbols are things that stand for other things: words, either written or spoken,

are symbols. The rules specify how words are ordered to form sentences (Harley, 2001).

It has been known that the use of language is very important in the process of teaching

and learning. It is the main tools of communication between teacher and students. The teachers

use it to transfer the knowledge to their students. The learning will not be encountered by the

students without language. It is functioned as a means for the teacher to explain the lesson, ask

questions, carry on the class and give instructions to the students.

The dictionary gives a variety of messages about teaching. According to Cambridge

International Dictionary of English, teaching means to give someone knowledge or to instruct or

train someone, whereas the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines that it means


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to show somebody how to do something or change somebodys ideas. It is because views are

somewhat mixed as to what teachers are, and because different functions are ascribed to

teaching, that we need to examine the teachers role not only in education generally, but also in

the classroom itself (Harmer, 1998).

Instruction is beneficial for the second language learner (Long, 1983a). It can "simplify

the learning task, alter the process and sequence of acquisition, speed up the rate of acquisition"

(Larsen-Freeman & Long in Glew, 1998) and improve the level and quality of ultimate

attainment in a second language. Indeed, the empirical evidence that supports instructed second

language acquisition (SLA) provides a rationale for the existence and development of programs

and curriculum to integrate English second language (ESL) students into secondary schools.

Telling students exactly what teacher wants is good teaching. It seems obvious, but if

teacher is unable to communicate what s/he wants from her/his students, then theyre never

going to give it to teacher. Too often when giving directions, teachers begin talking before

theyre ready. They think out loud. They hem and haw. They hesitate. They appear unsure of

themselves. Okay, um, lets see, heres what were gonna do And they wonder why their

students struggle to follow directions. Its best to compose yourself first, decide what it is you

really want your students to do, and then give it to them straight. When I say go I want you to

stand up, push in your chair, and line up for lunch. This is good. This is excellent. The teacher

informs her students that she is going to usethe go signal, which improves listening and keeps

them from moving too soon, and then tells them precisely what she wantssimple, direct, and

effective. But what if you need to give your students directions to be carried out over a long

activity? This can be a challenge for students and a major source of frustration for teachers. The

students start out strong enough, but soon everything falls apart. They forget. They get confused.
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They lose motivation. They become distracted. They start goofing off and misbehaving. It can

make the teachers want to run screaming for the parking lot. To be an effective teacher, to keep

the students on-task and to encourage independence, the teacher must be able to give

unforgettable directions.

However, sometimes the message which is conveyed by the teacher in the classroom does

not meet the goal. It seems that the teacher fails to deliver the lesson to his/her students. There

were so many researches which have been carried out to find the answer for this problem. Some

of the findings concluded that the problems come from the students who failed to understand

their learning. The other researcher found that the ability of the students who were too low in

acquiring the lessons in the classroom. Yet, there were also another researcher assumed that the

problems came from the teachers. They were unable to deliver the lesson to their students well.

It is clear that there have been some dramatic developments in language teaching in

recent years. We have re-conceptualized the nature of language, a re-evaluated the role of the

learner within the learning process, and generated new insights into instructed second language

acquisition. Together, these developments have led to an increasingly sophisticated view of

second language teaching and learning (Nunan, 1989).

Due to this teaching problem, the writer is trying to see this problem from the teachers

talk, particularly in giving instruction in the classroom.

B. Problem Statement

Based on the explanation above, the writer formulates research question as follow:

How is the teacher talk in giving instruction in the classroom?


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C. Objective of the Research

Based on the problem statements stated above, the objective of the research is stated as

follow:

To describe, interpret and explain teacher talk occurring in the classroom.

D. Significance of the Research

The result of this research is intended to give description, interpretation, and explanation

on the teachers talk, particularly in giving instruction in the classroom. The result is hopefully

will be useful for teachers in extending their knowledge in the classroom, especially in giving

instruction.

E. Scope of the Research

The scope of this research is restricted to the teachers talk, especially in giving

instruction in the classroom.


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Previous related research findingsThere have been some researches on teachers talk carried out by different researchers.

Most of the results show almost the same result and some of them are cited below.

Xiou Yan (2006) who conducted a research on teacher talk and EFL in university

classrooms found that students count a significant part of learning on teacher talk and their

preferences towards to the ideal teacher talk greatly run contrary to the current college English

teaching. For most students, teacher talk serves as the most valuable input of language exposure.

Ishihara (1996) who investigated the formal instruction on the speech act of giving and

responding to a compliment found that the instruction probably facilitated learners improvement

not only in terms of performance, but also awareness of giving and responding to compliments.

Liruso and de Debat (2002) who did their research on giving oral instruction to EFL

young learners reported that teachers must plan the delivery of instructions beforehand, thinking

not only of the words to be used but also the gestures and aids to demonstrate meaning. They

also added that the characteristics of effective teacher commands should be brief, must refer to

one task or objective at a time, are stated as directives rather than questions, use specific

language and should not include negative emotion or sarcasm.

Puasa (2010) revealed that on pupil talk show that the pupils generally adjusted their

language option in responding to questions as the language used by the teachers in asking

questions. He added that although the questions were translated into their mother tongue, pupil

still assumed that the questions were actually in English.


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From the findings above it is clear that teacher talk plays a dominant role in the

classroom, particularly in giving instruction. As Ellis in Xiou () stated that all dimensions of

classroom process, from giving instruction to questioning or disciplining students, providing the

feedback, involve teacher talk. This phenomenon makes the teacher talk as an important part to

be observed more in order to meet the teaching and learning process goal.

B. Some Pertinent Ideas

It is only through language that we can communicate with each other, share our ideas, tell

people what we have experienced, express our wishes and desires, solve complex problems by

drawing on information we read or hear, and, above all, communicate in the workplace and

across cultures with people from other countries. To achieve these objectives, however, we need

to learn language as communication not just as a list of facts to be memorized or a set of symbols

to be manipulated, (Nunan, 1989). The role of the teacher in classroom is very important to gain

this goal.

1. Teacher TalkTeacher talk is central in the language class not only for classroom organization and for

the process of acquisition (Nunan, 1991 in Scarfella,1992) but also as a means for controlling

student behavior (Allwright & Bailey, 1991). Research has shown that teachers tend to do most

of the talking. In FLL contexts, teacher talk is generally the only source of comprehensible input

and live target language model. Several aspects of teacher talk have been the focus of research:

amount of teacher talk as compared to that of students, code switching, speech modifications,

types of questions used (Nunan, 1991), error treatment, (Ellis, 1994), and the functional


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distribution of teacher talk in relation to pedagogical and functional moves (Chaudron, 1988);

however, to our knowledge, scarce attention has been paid to the delivery of oral instructions

specially in second or foreign language contexts.

Studies of classroom interaction have shown that it has a well-defined structure

(Coulthard, 1977) and that pedagogic discourse differs from natural discourse. Teachers modify

their speech during instruction in a way that resembles caregivertalkbut with some peculiar and

distinct features at the level of phonology, lexis, syntax, and discourse. In general terms teacher

speech is modified in a variety of ways under the influence of the task and the proficiency level

of the learner. Some of the main characteristics of the register are higher pitch, exaggerated

intonation, short sentences, frequent repetitions and recurrent use of questions (Scarcella and

Oxford, 1992). In his review of the research on teacher speech, Caulthard (1988) identifies the

following modifications: lower rate of speech, more frequent pauses, exaggerated pronunciation,

basic vocabulary, low degree of subordination, use of declaratives and statements, and repetition.

In other words, teacher talk used with students is simpler, shorter and it is pronounced more

carefully than typical speech (Osborne, 1999: 11). The underlying hypothesis is that modified

speech is "more comprehensible, and therefore, potentially more valuable for acquisition"

(Nunan, 1991: 191). Gile's Speech Accommodation Theory states that speakers make

adjustments to their speech as a result of their attitude towards the interlocutor.

Teachers' modification of their speech would be a case of convergence -speech is

modified to make it more similar to that of the interlocutor. Many researchers have tried to

demonstrate the benefits of simplified input. Krashen (198S) states that for acquisition to occur

the student should be exposed to large amounts of comprehensible input. For him, optimal input

for language acquisition is a little beyond the leaner's current level of language proficiency (i+1).


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Input may be made comprehensible by the use of verbal and nonverbal clues. Hatch (1983 as

cted in Scarcefla and Oxford, 1992) mentions some of the characteristics of simplified input at

the different linguistic levels: pronunciation (fewer reduced vowels and contractions, slow rate

and longer pauses); vocabulary (less slang and fewer idioms, fewer pronoun forms, use of

gestures and pictures); grammar (shorter utterances, repetitions and restatements, more

collaborative completions; discourse (requests for clarification, more frames, such as ok, salient

conversation components). Enright in Scarcefla (1992) explains that teachers adapt their

language in different ways to address children: nonverbal adaptation through gestures, mimes,

etc; contextual (visual and auditory aids); para-verbal (speaking clearly, slowing pace, using

pauses) and discourse (rephrasing, repetition,).

In our observations, we have detected an oversimplification and overmodification of

teacher speech that results in phonological distortion and unidiomaticity. We consider that

teachers could instead use more contextual aids or discourse strategies such as rephrasing or

repetition.

1.1. The role of teacher talk in foreign language learningThere is no learning without teaching. So as a tool of implementing teaching plans and

achieving teaching goals, teacher talk plays a vital important role in language learning. Quite a

few researches have discussed the relationship between teacher talk and language learning. As

Nunan (1991) points out: Teacher talk is of crucial importance, not only for the organization of

the classroom but also for the processes of acquisition. It is important for the organization and

management of the classroom because it is through language that teachers either succeed or fail

in implementing their teaching plans. In terms of acquisition, teacher talk is important because it

is probably the major source of comprehensible target language input the learner is likely to


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receive. The amount and type of teacher talk is even regarded as a decisive factor ofsuccess or

failure in classroom teaching. (Hakansson in Xiou, 2006)

According to SLA theory, plenty of and high-quality input is the necessary element for

successful language learning. There is no learning without input. If the second language is

learnt as a foreign language in a language class in a non-supportive environment instruction is

likely to be the major or even the only source of target language input (Stern in Xiou, 2006).

Here instruction refers to teacher instruction -- teacher talk. Classroom is the chief source for

language learner in most places and the only source in some places, teacher talk serves as the

major target language input for the language learners. Stern proposed a teaching-learning model

which identified two principle actors, the language teacher and the language learner.

1.2. The features of teacher talkMost of the researches on teacher talk mainly focus on its features and TT has many

kinds of features. According to some scholars (Hu Xuewen, Dai Weidong & Li Ming in Xiou,

2006), teacher talk is regarded as a special simplified code with double features. The first one

refers to the form of teacher talk, such as the speed, pause, repetition, modifications of teacher

talk. The second one, which refers to the features of the language that teachers use to organize

and control classes, includes the following aspects: the quality and quantity of teacher talk; the

questions teachers use; interactional modifications and teachers feedback. In China, some

scholars call the first one theformal features of teacher talk and the second one the functional

features of teachertalk (Hu Xuewen in Xiou, 2006).


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1.2.1. The formal features of teacher talkGaies, Henzl , Long , Long & Sato in Xiou (2006) observed all kinds of phenomena

about teacher talk, and made some comparison between the language that teachers use in and out

of language classrooms. Their main findings are as follows:

1) Formal adjustsments occur at all language levels. Henzl observed adjustments inpronunciation, in lexis, and in grammar.

2) In general, ungrammatical speech modifications do not occur.

3) Interactional adjustments occur. (Ellis, 1985:145)

Long and Freeman found that teacher talk is simplified in other ways -- syntactically,

phonologically and semantically. In the syntactic domain, utterance length to children is shorter.

In the area of phonology, speech to children is pitched higher, has more exaggerated intonation,

and uses a wider pitch range. Its characterized by clearerarticulation, pauses between utterances

and an overall slower rate of delivery. In the semantic domain, vocabulary is more restricted,

teachers carefully select the words they use according to the students proficiency and level. New

words and difficult words are avoided.

Chaudron in Xiou (2006), having investigated teacher talk for a long time and

summarized some research results on teacher talk, proposed teacher talk in language classrooms

tends to show the following modifications:

1) Rate of speech appears to be slower.

2) Pauses, which may be evidence of the speaker planning more, are possibly more

frequent and longer.

3) Pronunciation tends to be exaggerated and simplified.

4) Vocabulary use is more basic.


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5) Degree of subordination is slower.

6) More declaratives and statements are used than questions.

7) Teachers may self-repeat more frequently.

These findings reflect some properties of teacher talk. Formal adjustment occurs at all

language levels in and out of the class. Teachers choose different words to meet the need of class

teaching. Ungrammatical speech modifications should not occur in teachers language in class,

because teacher talk should be the model for students to imitate. Interactional adjustment occurs.

Activities in class are for learning, so language in these activities is lack of real communicative

information. Parker and Chaudron in Xiou (2006) conclude that the studies seem to indicate that

linguistic simplifications such as simpler syntax and simpler vocabulary do not have as

significant an effect on L2 comprehension as elaborative modifications. Because this research

focuses on the functional features instead of the formal features of teacher talk, so the formal

features of teacher talk will not be discussed any longer in the following parts.

1.2.2. The functional features of teacher talkAccording to second language acquisition theories, both teachers and students should

participate in language classes actively. Teachers have to face two tasks in language classrooms:

1) offer enough high-quality English language input; 2) offer more opportunities for students to

use the target language. So the distribution of teacher talk time, as an important factor that affect

language learning, has been concerned by many scholars.

An important issue is whether the amount of teacher talk influences learners L2

acquisition or foreign language learning. A great number of researchers have testified this.

Researches in language classrooms have established that teachers tend to do most of the


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classroom talk. Teacher talk makes up over 70 percent of the total talk (Cook, Legarreta,

Chaudron, Zhao Xiaohon in Xiou, 2006). It is evident that if teachers devote large amounts of

time to explanations or management instructions, student talk will be indeed severely restricted.

Teacher-initiated talk will dominate the classroom, allowing little opportunity for extended

student talk. In such an environment, students have little opportunity to develop their language

proficiency. In order to avoid the overuse of teacher talk, many scholars tend to maximize

student talk time (STT) and minimize teacher talk time (TTT) (Zhao Xiaohong, Zhou Xing &

Zhou Yun in Xiou, 2006). Harmer points out that the best lessons are ones where STT is

maximized. Getting students to speak -- to use the language they are learning -- is a vital part of a

teachers job (Harmer, 2000: 4).

American scholar Wong-Fillmore put forward her finding that is different from others

after observing primary language classrooms for three years. She found all the success in SLA

occurred in teacher-dominated classes. In contrast, little SLA took place in classes with too much

interaction among students. Fillmore explained these results in terms of the type of input which

was received in the different classrooms. In successful classrooms the teachers serve as the main

source of input, the learners can receive enough and accurate input. However in student-centered

classrooms, the pupils did not receive so much teacher input, and tended to use the L1 when

talking among themselves.

Therefore, Fillmore argued the amount of teacher talk should not be decreased blindly. If

do so, she suggested two conditions to ensure successful SLA in classrooms from the 40 classes

she investigated: one is the students must have high-level language proficiency so that they can

communicate with their teacher and among themselves; the other is there must be enough


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students who want to communicate in class. If the two conditions do not exist in classrooms, the

decrease of teacher talk time wont lead to successful language learning.

1.3. Teachers questionsThere is a difference between knowing and understanding: if teachers tell students

information we can say that students know the information, at least temporarily; but they only

know this information in the precise context in which it was told. If, on the other hand, the

teacher presents information by asking questions students get the chance to see the information

in a wider context, which makes the information transferable to other situations and areas of

learning and therefore much deeper and useful (Alexander, 2005). Take the example of a teacher

introducing the concept of the perfect tense in French [the pass compos]. One way is to explain

the verb paradigm of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person in singular and plural forms; to show a detailed

graphic of the verb paradigm on the screen or board; to explain that an auxiliary verb - avoir and

sometimes etre - is needed along with the past participle of the verb in question in order to make

a meaningful phrase or sentence, and so on. This is complicated territory for most students and

even after the most expert exposition by the teacher, many students will still only have a vague

grasp of the fundamental information. Contrast this with the teacher who from the start involves

students directly by asking them questions. So, the teacher might ask questions such as:

How many words do you see in this phrase? Which is the extra word in each phrase?

If this is the phrase that means 'I played tennis', what is the phrase for 'she played tennis'?

Why do you think each of these words is different, but the word for 'played' remains the same?

Where have you seen this verb before? and so on.


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This is the same as Richard & Lockhart in Xiou, 2006 stated that questioning is one of

the most common techniques used by teachers and serves as the principal way in which teachers

control the classroom interaction. The tendency for teachers to ask many questions has been

observed in many investigations (Chaudron in Xiou, 2006). In some classrooms over half of

class time is taken up by question-and-answer exchanges. Teachers questions have attracted

considerable attention from researchers of language classroom.

So effective questioning has the advantages of focusing on understanding, not just

knowing, builds learning into something that can be transferred to other contexts, encourages

students to engage actively and directly with the learning process, and provides both student and

teacher with feedback on how effectively the information has been understood.

1.3.1. Functions ofteachers questionsThe pervasiveness of teacher questions in the classroom can be explained by the specific

functions they perform. These functions can be grouped into three broad areas: diagnostic,

instructional, and motivational (Donald, K & Paul D. Eggen, 1989). As a diagnostic tool,

classroom questions allow the teacher to glimpse into the minds of students to find out not only

what they know or dont know but also how they think about a topic. Recent research on schema

theory suggests that the structure of students existing knowledge is a powerful determinant of

how new information will be learned, and that often student misconceptions and prior beliefs

interfere with the learning of new material (Mayer, 1987; Donald, K & Paul D. Eggen, 1989).

Through strategic questioning, the teacher can assess the current state of student thinking,

identifying not only what students know but also gaps and misconceptions.


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A second important function that questions perform is instructional. The instructional

function focuses on the role that questions play in helping students learn new material and

integrate it with the old one. Questions provide the practice and feedback essential for the

development. Questions alert students to the information in a lesson. Questions are also valuable

in the learning of integrated bodies of knowledge. Toward this goal, questions can be used to

review previously learned material to establish a knowledge base for the new material to be

learned. In addition, as the new material is being developed, questions can be used to clarify

relationships within the content being discussed.

A third function that classroom questions perform is motivational. Through questions

teachers can engage students actively in the lesson at hand, challenging their thinking and posing

problems for them to consider. From a lesson perspective, a question at the beginning can be

used to capture students attention and provide a focus for the lesson. In addition, frequent and

periodic questions can encourage active participation and provide opportunities in the lesson for

continued student involvement.

Research in this area shows student on-task behaviors are highest during teacher-led

questioning sessions. Finally, at the individual level, questions can be used to draw wandering

students back into the lesson or to provide an opportunity for one student to shine.

1.3.2. The types ofteachers questionsMost of the researches on teachers question focus on the classification of it. There are

many different ways to classify questions. Barnes examined the questions asked by teachers and

classified the questions into four types. The first type is questions concerning factual matters,

that is, the questions beginning with what. The second type is questions of inference beginning


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with howand why. The third type is open questions which do not require any inference. And

the last type is questions for communication, which could affect and control the behavior of

learners. Barns further classified the second type into closed questions and open questions.

Questions are closed because there is only one existing answer, while to open questions there are

more than one answer. Barnes also stressed that some questions seemed open, but the answers

were closed. Jack C. Richards& Charles Lockhart (2000) classify the questions into three

categories in terms of the purpose of questions in classrooms -- procedural, convergent, and

divergent. Procedural questions have to do with classroom procedures and routines and

classroom management. They are used to ensure the smooth flow of the teaching process. Unlike

procedural questions, many of the questions teachers ask, such as convergent and divergent

questions, are designed to engage students in the content of the lesson, to facilitate their

comprehension, and to promote classroom interaction.

Convergent questions encourage similar student responses, or responses which focus on a

central theme. These responses are often short answers, such as yes or no or short

statements. They do not usually require students to engage in high-level thinking in order to

come up with a response but often focus on the recall of previously presented information.

Divergent questions are quite different from convergent questions. These questions encourage

diverse student responses which are not short answers and which require students to engage in

higher-level thinking. They encourage students to provide their own information rather than

recall previously presented information.

With the growth in concern for communication in language classrooms, a further

distinction has been made between display and referential questions by Long and Sato

(1983). Display questions refer to ones that teachers know the answer and which are designed to


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elicit or display particular structures. For example, whats the oppositeof up in English?On the

contrary, referential questions refer to the questions that teachers do not know the answers to,

and can gain various subjective information. For example, Why dont you do your homework?

Because closed questions and convergent questions have the same feature as referential

questions, they are regarded as the same type of questions; so are open questions and divergent

questions.

It has often been observed that teachers tend to ask more display questions than

referential questions (Barnes, cited from yu&yu, 2005; Long&Sato, 1983; Pica & Long, cited

from Ellis, 1994). The explanation for this by Barnes is the role the teachers play. If the teachers

just pass on information rather than encourage students to participate in classroom activities, they

tend to ask referential question. However, Long & Sato conclude that is because the teachers

emphasized much more on the form and accuracy of the language, instead of the meaning of

language and communication. It must be pointed out that all their researches were conducted in

teacher-dominated classrooms. In student-centered language classrooms, proportionately more

referential questions were asked than display questions (Zhou Xing & Zhou Yun, 2002).

2. InstructionsAs regards the functional allocation of teacher talk, J. D. Ramrez et al. (1986 as cited in

Chaudron, 1988) found that two-thirds of teacher explanations in elementary bilingual programs

are procedural ones (i.e. ways of structuring lesson activities). Soliciting moves, in other words

those intended to elicit a) a verbal response b) a cognitive response or c) a physical response are

an essential element of classroom discourse (Bellacket. al., 1966 as cited in Coulthard, 1977).


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In an interesting article, Holmes (1983) analyzes directives in Ll classrooms in New

Zealand and Britain, showing how the successful interpretation of these directives by children

requires matching a complex range of linguistic forms to the social rules of the classroom.

Children do not have difficulties in recognizing the controlling role of the teacher in the

classroom. They "seem to learn to scan all teacher's utterances for potential directive function"

(Holmes, 1983: 112) identifying those that have the force of commands and that in other contexts

may be interpreted as suggestions or advice. Willes (1975 as cited in Holmes, 1983) explains that

students are moved by a strong desire to please their teacher.

Holmes groups teacher directives into three main categories: imperatives, interrogatives

and declaratives

Speech Function: Directives

1. Imperatives

Form Example

a. Base form of verbb. You + imp.

c. Pres. Part.

d. Verb ellipsis

e. Imp + modifierf. Let+ Ist.pers. pro.

Speak louderYou go on with the work

Looking at me

Hands up

Turn around, please JoLet 's try

2. Interrogatives

a. Modals

b. Non-modals

Will you read this page for me?

People at the back are youlistening?

3. Declaratives

a. Embedded agent

b. Hints

I want you to draw a picture

Sally, you are not saying much


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Fig. 1. Syntactic forms of directives (Adopted from Holmes, 1983)

It is evident that teachers' directives may be realized in a wide array of forms. Holmes

found in her data that imperatives were the most frequent type in all its variants and these were

explicit enough not to cause any misunderstanding except for those that contained elliptical

forms. Indirect forms did not cause much trouble either specially if they referred to required or

proscribed activities. Most of the interpretation problems she found were related to contextual

factors or behavioural expectations of the teacher.

Some of the activities that we use in the classroom are fairly complex in terms of the way

they're organized, and I doubt if there are many teachers who can honestly claim that they've

never got a class totally confused by the way they've given instructions. How can you make sure

that your instructions are as clear and comprehensible as possible? Sue Swift offers some

guidelines...

1. Plan how you're going to give the instructions before you go into the classroom, and make

sure that you can explain them within the limits of the language which the students can

understand. For example, the following instruction would be fine for an intermediate class, but

would lose a group of beginners: "You're going to hear a description of a famous person and

you have to guess who it is." For beginners, "Listen to my description of a famous person.

Who is it?" would be far more comprehensible.

2. Think too about the speed of your speech - slow down slightly if necessary - and insert pauses

to allow students to take in each piece of information before you go on to the next.

3. Make sure that your instructions are fully explicitdont take anything for granted. Because

we are so familiar with the activity types, we often assume that certain things are obvious.

How often have you explained an activity but forgotten to say explicitly "Don't show your
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sue_Swifthttp://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sue_Swift


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information to your partner" - only to find students happily doing just that.

4. Also think about how much you're going to explain at a time. If you have a long, complicated,

or two part activities, don't explain everything at once. Explain the first stage, and check that

students have understood before you go on to the explanation of the next part. In some cases it

is not necessary for the students to have an overview of the whole activity before they start. In

this case, explain the first part, do the first part and then go on to the explanation of the second

part.

5. Don't start the explanation until you have the students' full attention. Make sure they have

stopped whatever they are doing, are turned towards you and are listening.

6. Even in the first lesson, use English wherever possible. "Get into pairs" won't be understood,

but "You two, you two and you two" plus a gesture pushing the students together will be.

7. However, if you speak the students' language, for very complex activities it may be more

efficient to use the L1 for explanations. This can be gradually phased out as the students

become more proficient:

a) at the beginning of the course, give the instructions in the L1, and then repeat themimmediately, as simply as possible, in English.

b) later on reverse the order: give the instructions in English first, and in the L1 second.c) as soon as possible, give the instructions in English only, but check comprehension by

asking the students to repeat them back in their L1.

8. Avoid using the imperative in your instructions. In most situations that the students will find

themselves, it will not be an appropriate form to use. In the classroom it may be, but if they

have constantly heard the teacher saying "Repeat!" there's a good chance they'll use it


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themselves:

Native speaker: And so I was dropped right in it. Student: Repeat!

Instead, use request forms - for example "Can you repeat that?" - which provide a good

model for the students' own use of the language. This is especially important if the

imperative is more socially acceptable in the students' own language (for example Italian) so

that they are liable to transfer the use into English.

9. Always check that students have understood your instructions before starting the activity. The

question "Do you understand?" is as good as useless. Students may be too shy to admit that

they don't understand, or may think they understand when they actually don't. Make sure they

demonstrate their understanding. This can be done by:

a) asking them check questions - for example, for a roleplay : "OK, if you're student A putyour hands up... Right... who are you? And what's your problem? And who is student B?"

b) asking them to repeat back to you the instructions. Don't choose the strongest person inthe group to do this. S/he is the one most likely to have understood and your check needs

to be directed to the students who probably haven't.

c) asking two students to demonstrate the activity in front of the class, or for a writtenexercise by eliciting the answers to the first two examples.

d) not giving instructions at all but asking students to look at the activity and tell you whatthey think they have to do. This can be useful for activity types which are already known

the students.

10. As soon as the students start the activity, go around quickly to each pair or group just to

check they are on task. Don't stop to help or monitor one group until you have checked them

all. If only one group has not understood, then go back and help. If several groups are off


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track, then stop the activity and explain again, using the students who have understood to

demonstrate to the others.

2.1. Effective InstructionsIn our observations of young EFL learner classes, the various difficulties encountered by

teachers when delivering oral classroom instructions were related to both classroom management

and teacher speech. Penny Ur (1991) in her bookA Course in Language Teachingdevotes a unit

in part I to explanations and instructions. She defines instructions as "the directions that are

given to introduce a learning task which entails some measure of independent student activity"

(p.l6). She proposes some guidelines for giving effective explanations and instructions. Although

she does not make a difference between directions for children or older students, her

recommendations may well be applied to teaching children. She advises teachers to think ahead

what words and illustrations to use. She also recommends making sure to have all the students'

attention before giving instructions and giving them before dividing students into groups or

handing out materials. The use of repetition or paraphrase as well as the presentation of the

instructions in different modes is also proposed. She remarks the need to be brief in explanations,

but this should also be considered when giving instructions to children and mainly if these

contain a string of directives. Students according to Sinclair and Coulthard (1975 as cited in

Holmes, 1983) will tend to respond to the final of a list of questions and commands.

Ur (op cit.) suggests making an actual demonstration of the activity either with the full class or

with one student and also checking understanding but not just by asking students if they

understand but by requesting them to do something that will show their understanding.

In summary, to avoid misunderstandings context is crucial (Holmes, 1983). It is necessary to

provide rich contextual clues, including gestures, objects and pictures. At the same time, teachers


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should try to avoid code-switching to the first language. This has an effect on students' talk for

different reasons but mainly because as mentioned above teacher talk is sometimes the only live

target language available to them. Nunan (1991) cites a study of target language use carried out

by Zilm which revealed that an increase on the teacher's part in the use of the target language

was followed by a parallel increase in the use of the foreign language by the students.

3. Speech ActSpeech acts are speakers utterances which convey meanings and make listeners do

specific things (Austin, 1962). The primary concept of speech acts is that various functions can

be implemented by means of language. Speech acts are determined by the contexts where

multiple factors affect the speakers utterances.

According to Austin (1962), when saying performative utterances, a speaker is

simultaneously doing something. For example, when someone says, I am hungry, he may

express his hunger or is likely to a request to for something to eat. Austin indicated that people

perform three different kinds of acts when speaking:

1. Locution acts: the utterances we use, which are literal meanings.2. Illocutions acts: the intention that a speaker has or the effect that the utterances has on

hearers. They are often used to perform certain function and must be perform on purpose.

3. Perlocution acts: the results of the effects produce by means of a speaker illocutionaryacts.

A speaker can use different locution acts to achieve the same illocutionary force or use

one locution for many different purposes. For instance, when you ask someone can you pass the

salt? the literal meaning concerns the hearer ability to pass the salt to the speaker. If illocutions


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causes the listener to do something, they are perlocutions; in this case, the hearers passing the

salt to the speaker. In brief, the locution causes illocutionary force which the speaker wants the

utterance to have on listeners. One can perform his/her intention indirectly by using illocutions

and then cause perlocutionary acts. The illocutionary acts in Austins (1962) original framework

are what subsequent researchers called speech acts, illocutionary force, or pragmatic force

(Thomas, 1995). Today most attention has focused on illocutionary acts, the speakers actual

intention of the utterance.

Speech acts are categorized by language functions or by their intents (Austin, 1962;

Hymes, 1962). Austin classified speech acts into five types (hereinafter written in brackets), and

then Searle (1969) refined his typological system:

1. Directives (verdictives): an intention to get the listener to do something, such as request,command, advice and invitation.

2. Declaratives (Exercitives): the exercising of power and rights or a completion of a changeby the correspondence between the utterance and the illocutionary force, as in appointing,

ordering, and warning.

3. Commisives: that the speaker undertakes or commits to do something by announcing anintention, like promising.

4. Expressives (behabitives): a psychological expression that shows the sincerity conditionof certain affair, such as apology, gratitude, and congratulation.

5. Assertives (Expositives): a reference to the truth of the expressed utterance, as inargument and statement.

Austin (1962) pointed out that speech acts must meet felicity conditions to carry out the

intended function. Gordon and Lakoff (1971) later proposed a way of making indirect speech


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acts by stating or questioning felicity conditions. Felicity conditions (Austin, 1962; Searle,

1969) are the actual conditions that must be met so as to give rise to a given speech act as

intended. For example, the speaker has to be able comply with the request, and the hearer

must make the thing requested in order for a request to be felicitous (Brown and Levinson,

1987).

C. Conceptual Framework

Fig. 2. Conceptual Framework

Teaching and Learning Process

Teacher Talk

DeclarativesInterogativesImperatives

Classroom Talk


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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Design

The design of this research is qualitative. Qualitative research is the collection, analysis,

and interpretation of comprehensive narrative and visual data in order to gain insights into a

particular phenomenon of interest (Gay, et al., 2006). The aim of the qualitative research is

encouraging a deep understanding of a specific phenomenon, such as environment, a process or a

belief. By using the design the researcher collected, analyzed and interpreted the data to see the

teacher talk in the classroom, particularly in giving instruction..?

The researcher used a grounded theory in analyzing the data; the teacher talk. Grounded

theory (Glaser and Strauss in Dawson, 2002) is an inductive method, and follows the procedures

from comparing incidents applicable from each category, integrating categories and their

properties, improving and writing the theory.

B. Operational Definitions

The followings are the key-terms used in this research:

1. Instruction is a message describing how something is to be done. Instruction is likely tobe the major or even the only source of target language input (Stern in Xiou, 2006).

2. Teacher talk is central in the language class not only for classroom organization and forthe process of acquisition (Nunan, 1991) but also as a means for controlling student

behavior (Allwright & Bailey, 1991).


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C.Participant

The participant in this research is a teacher at training from UNM who is doing her

teaching practice in one of classes in SMA Negeri 11 Makassar.

D. Research Instrument

In conducting the research, the researcher gathered the data through observation and

interview. Observation is used to get the data in the classroom directly. Gay, Mills, and Airasian

stated that the emphasis during the observation was on understanding the natural environment as

lived by participant, without altering or manipulating it. And interview is a purposeful interaction

in which one person is trying to obtain important data or information from another (Gay, et al.,

2006). The interview is used to get the additional information from the participant related to

language used in the classroom.

E. Technique of Collecting Data

In interview, the researcher took the data by interviewing the participant to get the

information needed. To get the desired data, semi-structured interview was used. This type of

interview is used when the researcher wants to know specific information which can be

compared and contrasted with information gained from the observation.

F. Technique of Data Analysis

The gathered data were analyzed through the following procedures:

1. Open Coding


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The data gathered from the interview and the recording are conceptualized and

categorized line by line. In this step the researcher labeled to any description in the data

which relate to the focused points.

2. Axial CodingBy axial coding, the researcher related one conceptual label to another. This kind of detail

is called as the subcategory.

3. Selective CodingIn this part, the researcher processed the indentifying phenomenon related to the research

questions. By doing this, the incomplete categories or subcategories recovered.

4. Drawing Theoretical DescriptionAfter finishing exploring the relationship among categories and/or subcategories, the

researcher developed a theoretical description, which in turn answered the research

questions.


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CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

A. Findings

This part deals with the presentation of findings and discussions. In relation to this part,

the researcher found three main parts of the teacher talk in the classroom, especially in giving

instruction; imperatives, interrogatives and declaratives.

1. Imperatives

The first part the researcher talked about is imperatives, since the teacher used it in her

instructions. The following extract shows the using of imperatives.

Extract 1 (the use of imperatives)1 T: How are you today?

2 S: Fine, and you ...?

3 T: Fine4 Ok, you have a homework punishment, right?

5 S: Yes6 T: When I call your name, submit your homework, ok?

7 S: Yes

8 T: Before we continue our study, I want to talk about your homework last week.

9 You want to do it on Monday, right? But its cancelled until tomorrow, right?10 S: Yes

11 T: Last week I have told you about the grammar in spoof?

12 What is the grammar in spoof? Grammar yang digunakan dalam spoof?What is the grammar in spoof? The grammar which is used in spoof?

13 Grammar?

14 S: Simple past15 Past continuous16 T: Any else? Ok., right

17 Thats why Im here, I want to explain you about the grammar in spoof text.

18 You can see in the slide.

19 Were still in spoof text, right? Right?20 S: Yes

21 T: I cant hear your voice, right?


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22 S: Yes

In the extract (1) above, the teacher was explaining a lesson in the class. It is about one

rule of grammar. When giving the instruction, the teacher used imperatives for example when

she saidWhen I call your name, submit your homework in turn 6. Another example is when

she said You can see in the slide in turn 18.

In the interview, the teacher gave her reason why she used imperatives in giving

instructions in the classroom, as stated in the following:

I used imperatives in this part because I just want to make clear what I want the students to do.For example, when I said, When I call your name, submit your homework. I just want the

students know that I want them to submit their homework while I call their names. This

instruction is said to all the students in the classroom.(Source: Ayu)

2. Interogatives

In this section, the researcher pointed out the use of declaratives in the teachers

instruction. It can be seen in the following extract:

Extract 2 (the use of interrogatives)

23 T: Ok, generally in a spoof text, there are three tenses used.24 The first is simple present, simple past tense and past continuous tense.

25 Ok, you can take a note

26 Secara umum ada tiga ini, yagenerally there are three, right?

27 Generally there are three tenses but mostly used is simple past

tense like narrative, yaGenerally there are three tenses but mostly used is simple past tense like narrative,

right?

28 Lebih banyak menggunakan simple past tense tapi ada juga

yang menggunakan simple present and past continuous tense.Simple past tense is mostly used, but you can also find the form of simple present

and past continuous tense.

29 So I will explain all of these tenses for you.

30 Ok, we move to the next slide err

31 The first is simple present tense.

32 Ok, I wanna ask you what is simple present tense?

33 Anyone can tell what is a simple present tense according to your lesson in theprevious?


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34 Ok, ada yang bisa jelaskan what is simple present tense? Ok,

raise your hand

Ok, is there any of you can explain what is simple present tense? Ok, raise yourhand

35 Ok, Nur risky Pratiwi

36 S: Tenses yang menjelaskan keadaan sekarangThe tense which explains the present condition37 T: Tenses yang menjelaskan keadaan sekarang

The tense which explains the present condition

38 Ada yang lain?Is there anything else?

39 The purpose of simple present tense?

40 Any else?

41 Ok, Tenroaji

42 S: Simple present adalah suatu tenses untuk menjelaskan suatu

peristiwa yang telah terjadi sekarang

Simple present is a tense which is used to explain a condition which is happenednow.

43 T: Ok, the same with Nur Resky Pratiwi, ya?

Ok, the same with Nur Resky Pratiwi, right?

In explaining the lesson in this part (extract 2), the teacher was using interrogatives. For

example when she said Ok, I wanna ask you: what is simple present tense? in turn 32. Another

example is in turn 33, when she said Anyone can tell, what is a simple present tense according

to your previous lesson?

The other explanation from the teacher can be seen in the following:

I used interrogatives form in this part because I wanted to know the students previous

knowledge about the lesson in which I was going to give to them. I think, by asking them about

this, can help me to decide which one I have to teach them first related to the topic they are goingto learn.

(Sourse: Ayu)

3. DeclarativesDeclaratives is another form the teacher used in giving instruction in the classroom, as

can be seen in the following extract:


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Extract 3 (the use of declaratives)

133 T: Ok, number two, simple past tense also show one activity happened in the past134 Ya, Alda

135 S: Simple past menyatakan kejadian yang terjadi dimasa lampau

Simple past expresses a condition which is happened in the past.136 T: Ya, yang lain mengerti?

Ok, the rest of you, do you understand?

137 S: MengertiUnderstand

138 T:Melda, can you repeat what Alda (have) said?

139 S:

140 T: Artinya nomor 2, masih ada yang belum mengerti, ya?The meaning of number 2, is there any of you havent understand, yet?

141 Bisa Alda, coba standup.

Alda, stand up142 Jelaskan yang tadi pada teman-temannya

Explain it again to your friends.

143 Yang lain dengarkan ya?

The rest of you, please listen to it144 S: Simple past itu digunakan untuk menyatakan kejadian yang terjadi

dimasa lampau.

Simple past is used to express the condition which is happened in the past.

145 T: Ok, good errr

In extract three above, the teacher continued her explanation by using declaratives. For

example when she said: Melda, can you repeat what Alda (have) said? in turn 138. Another

example is seen in turn 141 when she said: Alda, stand up.

From the interview the teacher gave her explanation about the use of declaratives in her

instruction, as told in the following:

I used declaratives in this section because I wanted to be sure that all the students understand

about what they had learned or what their friends had said. Besides, by pointing one of the

students means that I give a chance or a turn to the students to express her idea, at least abouttheir understanding about the lesson.

(Source: Ayu)


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B. DiscussionAs its focus, the discussion of the research findings mainly deals with three main parts in

the teachers talk, especially in giving instruction in the classroom. They are imperatives,

interrogatives and declaratives.

1. ImperativesFrom the findings above, the researcher found that the teacher used imperatives in giving

instruction in the classroom. From the interview, the researcher found that the teacher used this

in order to make her instruction clear for the students and also in order that the students can

perform what the teacher asked them to do.

As we know that an imperative sentence is more commonly known as a command. The

"you" subject is understood. This means that the command is given to someone, and he

understands who the speaker is talking to without the speaker saying "you." These sentences start

with an action verb. They usually end with a period. But if it is a command given in an exciting

situation, then an exclamation mark can be used. For example, commands may be given during a

fire drill or a sporting event that would end in exclamation marks instead of periods. And in

speech act theory (Searle, 1969), it is one of the directives. Directives (verdictives) is an

intention to get the listener to do something, such as request, command, advice and invitation.

2. InterrogativesIn the second findings the researcher found that the teacher used interrogatives as well in

giving her instructions in the classroom. She explained that she used the interrogative form in

order to find out the students previous knowledge about the lesson which she was about to give


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to them. She added that by asking the students previous knowledge, can help her in deciding

which material she ought to give them first.

Interrogative sentences are also known as questions. When you use an interrogative

sentence, you are expecting an answer to your question. These sentences end in question marks

and usually start with a question word or an inverted subject-verb structure such as "do you go. .

." In speech act theory, Searle (1969) categorized this form in the same place with imperatives

(directives). The same as in Haliday (2002), in the imperatives, the interlocutor demands the

information (or goods & services, to a listener/reader; the former is a recipient of information,

and the latter is a provider of information/service, as in the case of the interrogatives.

3. DeclarativesThe third findings the researcher found is the use of declaratives in the teachers

instruction. She said that she used this form in order to ensure that all the students understand the

lesson well. Pointing out the students would give a chance for them to express their idea and

their understanding about the lesson, she added.

One of the types of sentences we use the most in the English language is the declarative

sentence. Declarative sentences, also known as statements, present a fact, an opinion, or a piece

of information. They end in a period. Searle (1969) stated that declaratives (exercitives) is the

exercising of power and rights or a completion of a change by the correspondence between the

utterance and the illocutionary force, as in appointing, ordering, and warning. In the above

extract, we can see that the teacher use this declaratives form in appointing the students to do the

activities.


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The three findings that the researcher found above, namely imperatives, interrogatives

and declaratives, are part of the speech act classification. Speech acts are categorized by

language functions or by their intents (Austin, 1962; Hymes, 1962). Austin classified speech acts

into five types (hereinafter written in brackets), and then Searle (1969) refined his typological

system:

1. Directives (verdictives): an intention to get the listener to do something, such as request,command, advice and invitation.

2. Declaratives (Exercitives): the exercising of power and rights or a completion of a changeby the correspondence between the utterance and the illocutionary force, as in appointing,

ordering, and warning.

3. Commisives: that the speaker undertakes or commits to do something by announcing anintention, like promising.

4. Expressives (behabitives): a psychological expression that shows the sincerity conditionof certain affair, such as apology, gratitude, and congratulation.

5. Assertives (Expositives): a reference to the truth of the expressed utterance, as inargument and statement.

The three findings above can be seen the classification number one and number three.

Imperatives and interrogative are part of directives. Imperatives are anything that demand

response from the students. Interrogativeformsare imperative (asking what did you do today?

demands that the child tell us the answer) and requestsare as well (come eat your breakfast

also demands a particular, known response). Imperative statements dont require a lot ofthinking

about (Rainbow, 2012). Whereas declaratives is seen in number two. Declarative communication

is intended to be used to share experiences or make comments about the world around us. For


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example, wow, thats a funny dog and I think your feet will be cold are declarative

statements. Declarative communication requires the students to think aboutwhat you have said

and formulate a unique response. (Think of the range of potential responses to either of the above

statements as opposed to the single answer required to a direct question).


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

Based on the findings and discussions above, the researcher would like to draw the

following conclusions:

1. The teacher used three forms of instruction in the classroom, namely: imperatives,interrogatives, and declaratives.

2. Imperative was used if the teacher wanted to make the explanation clearer andunderstandable.

3. Interrogative was used when the teacher required to find the students previousknowledge related to the lessons.

4. Declarative was used whenever the teacher wanted to be certain in the studentsunderstanding of what they have learned.

5. The three forms of the instruction used by the teacher mostly in the classroom are part ofthe speech act classification.

B. Suggestion

Referring to the research findings in describing the teacher talk in giving instruction in

the classroom, the researcher would like to state some suggestions:

1. To teachers, they should know the forms of instruction they are going to use in order tomake them presented the lesson well and bring in a good understanding for the students.


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2. To other researchers, who are concerned in exploring more about the teacher talk, maysee the research from the students talk.


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