Problems in Contexts Language Teaching

Abstract

Teaching language is related with many aspects. One of the aspects is contexts. There are three kinds of contexts that are age level, proficiency level, and sociopolitical and institutional. The three contexts are really influenced the success of language teaching. In teaching English, the contexts are very important because English teaching is for worldwide students. Unfortunately, in the contexts itself, there are several problem that influenced language teaching in general. It is very important to observe the problems in each context. So, the paper will discuss problems in contexts language teaching.

Key Word: contexts, language teaching, problems

     

Introduction

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. All of symbolic phenomena which occur in the universe are described by language. By language people get knowledge about the universe. Bussmann (2006: 627) defines that language is a vehicle for the expression or exchanging of thoughts, concepts, knowledge, and information as well as the fixing and transmission of experience and knowledge.

Because language is very important in human live, it develops significantly in every society. From just a system of sound, language turns to be more complex meaningful sign system. Language that has been used by a society will always change into more suitable form. Furthermore, users of the language will also become in great quantities. The condition is called as language expansion.

Language expansion happens because the development of the society itself. If a society has strong influence for other societies, the language of the society will also expand to the weaker society. It can be seen in the development of English. The development of English is related with the power of British towards other countries. British won the world war two with a country that also used English that is USA. By the condition, the English users are also becomes wider.

The development of language in its society and the expansion of the language to other societies have different way. Accepting a mother language, second language, or foreign language is different. The language acquisition needs a tunnel or a bridge. Education is the most effective way in introducing a language to an individual. Process of teaching language is a fundamental aspect in language acquisition. The problem is that there are too many aspects that should be considered in teaching language. Even if the paper focuses on teaching English as Foreign Language (EFL), the problems are still too complex.

One of the aspects in EFL is context of teaching. The contexts in answer of questions are: who the learners are, where they are learning, and why they are learning? It consists of three variables that are age levels, proficiency levels, and sociopolitical and institutional variable. From the variables, problems in teaching EFL can be found.

Problems in Language Teaching across Age Level

Teaching language must pay attention to characteristic of the students. Different characteristic needs different method and technique in teaching. One of the characteristics that really related with language teaching is age because it will be closely related with acquisition skill of the student.  Harmer (2007:14) says that learners are often described as children, young learners, adolescents, young adults or adults.

The term children are generally used for learners between the ages of about 2 to about 14. Students are generally described as young learners between the ages of 5 to 9 and very young learner are usually between 2 and 5. At what ages it is safe to call students adolescents is often uncertain, since the onset of adolescence is bound up with physical and emotional changes rather than chronological changes rather than chronological age. However, this term tends to refer to students form the ages of about 12 to 12, whereas young adult are generally thought to be between 16 and 20.

In children age, there are some characteristic that have potency to be problems in language teaching.  Children respond well to individual attention from teacher and are usually pleased to receive teacher approval. Furthermore, their willingness to stay rooted in and activity is often fairly short. A crucial characteristic of young children is their ability to become competent speakers of a new language with remarkable facility, provide they get enough.

Brown, (2000:87) gives clearer map of children characteristic that could be problem in language teaching. Children are still in an intellectual stage. Because of that, children are centered on the here and now, on functional purposes of language. They have little appreciation for our adult notions of “concreteness” and they certainty cannot grasp the metalanguage used to describe and explain linguistics concepts.

Actually children are often innovative in language forms but still have a great many inhibitions. They are extremely sensitive, especially to peers. Moreover, their egoism is still being shaped, and therefore the slights of communication can be negatively interpreted. Children are also focused on what this new language can actually be used for here and now. They are less to willing to put up with language that doesn’t hold immediate that is neither authentic nor meaningful.

Adults have a wider range of life experiences to draw on, both as individual and as learners than younger students do. Adult comes with a lot of previous learning experiences which may hamper their progress, (Harmer, 2007:15). Brown, (2000:90) also says that adults usually have acquired a self-confidence not found in children. Unfortunately, adults have weakness that often brings a modicum of general self-confidence (global self-esteem) into classroom.

By the explanation above it can be concluded that teaching language is really related with the age of students that affect the characteristic of the students its self. In every age there is some uniqueness which can support the teaching processes on other hand the uniqueness can be hard obstacle in the teaching. It can be anticipated by make an observation about the age of students and find the formula in teaching each age.      

Because students at different ages have different characteristics, the way we teach them will differ too. With younger learner we may offer a greater variety of games, songs and puzzles than we would do with older students. We may want to ensure that there are more frequent changes of activity. With a group of adolescents we will try to keep in mind the importance of students place white his or her peer group and take special care when correcting or assigning roles within an activity, ect. Our choice of topics will reflect their emerging interests.

Problems in Language Teaching Across Proficiency Level

Hardly a teaching day goes by in this profession without someone referring to students’ proficiency levels with the terms “beginning” “intermediate”, or “advanced.” And as long as earth earth spins in its axis. Teachers will differ among themselves on just what those terms mean.

So, a certain sense sense of relativity must always be taken into account when these terms are used. What is beginning for some may not for the others. Certainly the language-teaching profession does not lay unique claim to such subjectivity. Consider, for example, how “intermediate” might be variously interpreted according to the institution.     

Three basic distinctions to categories the language knowledge of their students: beginner, intermediate, and advanced, (Harmmer, 2007). Beginner are those who don’t know English and advanced students are those whose level of English is competent, allowing them to read unsimplified factual and fictional texts and communicate in speaking and writing an ability to comprehend fairly straightforward listening and reading. However, as we shall see, these are rough and ready labels whose exact meaning can vary from institution to institution. Proficiency level creates problems in deciding language teaching strategy.   

In the beginners level, problems in teaching seems to be common problem. Beginners find that language learning is more stressful than they expected and resultantly give up. However, if things are going well, teaching beginners can be incredible stimulating.  

Intermediate students have already achieved a lot, but they are less likely to be able to recognize almost daily progress. On the contrary, it may sometimes seem to them that they don’t improve much or that fast anymore. We often call this the plateau affect, and the teacher has make sternums attempts to show students what they still need to learn without being discouraging. One of the ways of doing this is to make the tasks we give up them more challenging, and to get them to analyses language more thoroughly. It needs help to set clear goals for themselves so that they have something to measure their achievement by.

Advance students. At the level already know a lot of language there is still danger of plateau affect (even if the plateau itself is higher up!). So, teacher have to create a classroom culture where students understand what still has to be done, and we need to provide good, clear evidence of progress. The teacher can do this though a concretion not much on grammatical accuracy, but in style and perception of, for example, appropriate (using the right language in the right situation), connotation and inference, In these area, we can enable students to use language with more subtly. It is also at this level, especially, that we have to encourage students to take and more responsibility for their own language.

Teaching beginners is considered by many to be the most challenging level of language instructon, (Hummer, 2001:110). Since students at this level have little or no prior knowledge of the target language, the teacher (and accompanying techniques and materials) becomes a central determiner in whether students accomplish their goals. This can also be the most tangibly rewarding level for a teacher because the growth of students’ proficiency is apparent in matter of a few weeks.

One of the principal goals in teaching intermediate learner is to get students to continue to automatism, to continue to allow the bits and pieces of language that might clutter the mind to be relegated to automaticity, (Brown, 2001:102). Students have progressed beyond novice stages to an ability to sustain basic communicative tasks, to establish some minimal fluency, to deal with a few unreashed situation, to self-correct on occasion, to use a view compensatory, strategies and generally to get along’ in the language, beyond mere survival. The picture changes somewhat rule and the students capacities change consider the same factors.

As students move up the development ladder, getting closer and closer to their goals, developing fluency along with a greater degree of accuracy, able to handle virtually any situation in which target language use is demanded, they become ‘advanced students’. At the very top of this ladder is what.

The more clear explanation is by observing  Students’ cognitive learning process, the rule of the teacher, teacher talk, authenticity of language, fluency and accuracy, students creativity, techniques, listening and speaking goals, reading and writing goals, reading and writing goals, grammar.   

Teaching Problem in Sociopolitical and Institutional Contexts

Age and proficiency are two major contextual variables that will affect every aspect of your lesson or curriculum. They may, in fact, the most important variables. But two other domains also emerge for the language teacher – sociopolitical and institutional contexts, without consideration of which classroom lessons may miss their mark. These domains intertwine in such a way that it is sometimes impossible to distingue them and examine one without considering the other. They, subsisted under institutional considerations, are the general purpose for which learners are taking a course in English.  

Harmmer, (2007: 12) syas there are three main kinds of English teaching. It has been suggested that students of EFL (English as Foreign Language) tend to be learning so that they can use English when traveling or to communicate with other people, from whatever country, who also speak English. ESL (English as a Second Language) students, on the other hand, are usually living in the largest-language community. The latter may need to learn the particular language variety of that community (Scotch English, shouter English, from England, Australian English, and Texan English). ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) to describe both situations. Nevertheless, the context in which the language is learnt (what community they wish to be a part of) is still considerable relevance to kind of English they will want and need to study, and the skills they will need to acquire.

In a typical second language context ranging from high-visibility, ready access to the target language outside the language classroom to no access beyond the classroom door. In a typical second language context, students have a tremendous advantage. They have an instant “laboratory” available twenty-four hours a day. Because of that, it is easier to teach English as second language.

Communicative language teaching in what might broadly categorized as an EFL context is clearly a greater challenge for students and teachers. Often, intrinsic motivation is a big issue, since students may have difficulty in seeing the relevance of learning English, (Brown, 2001:118). Their immediate use of language may seen far from removed from their own circumstances, and classroom hours may be the only part of the day when they are exposed to English. Therefore, the language that teacher present, model, elicit, and treat takes on great importance.

Over one a half of one billion of English speakers of the world learned English as a second or foreign language. Most English language teachers across the globe are nonnative speakers, which means that the norm is nor monolinguals, but bilingualism. The multiplication of varieties of English poses some practical concerns for the teacher. In this fact, the teacher is also a problem that has to be solved. Because the native teacher is rare, its is rather difficult to guaranty that students in EFL can get standard English teaching.

Conclusion

Language teaching is an complex job. It relates with many aspects including contexts in teaching. In age levels context, the problems are about the psychological condition of the students. That is very important because actually language itself cannot be separated from human’s mental development. Every age level has its unique characteristic that can be said as problem in language teaching. So, teacher should really concern for the problems in age level context.  

In term of proficiency levels, language teaching also finds many obstacles. The problems are about the measurement of the level itself. Every level has its own problem that very influential in language teaching. From beginner until advance has its own characteristic. To solve and to understand problems in proficiency levels will help a teacher in making perfect language teaching.     

Sociopolitical and institutional contexts are also important especially in ESL and EFL because it related with political point a view of policy maker in a nation to take the language position. Different placement will need different language teaching concepts. Designing language teaching in a country should make deep analysis about the term.

In conclusion, all the contexts are related one another. So the problems occur in the three contexts should be observe together and comprehensively. By doing that language teaching will have more chance to be success.

References

Brown, Douglas. (2001). Teaching by Principle. Pearson Education,   Inc.

Bussmann, Hadumod. 1998. Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. New York.

Harmer, Jeremy. (2007). How to Teach English. Edinburg. Longman.