Effective Reading for ESL Students

Human naturally was born to be thought how to read. This is because reading is the basis of all instructions in all aspects of learning. Therefore, it is essential for students to know how to read comprehensively.  Learning how to read is an important and difficult task for the students in their first language development even gets more complex in reading through their second language which is English. In contrast, Chomsky’s theory about children shows that they have the capability to acquire language. In his theory of Universal Grammar supposes that children posses the capacity of gaining the entire vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and most of the phonology of a given language (Chomsky, 1959). Nevertheless, students find reading still challenging and hard to cope with as there are many skills of reading that the students need to achieve. Reading applies the process of conscious and unconscious thinking, because it deals with the activities or skills of understanding the written words. Reading can be seen as an interactive communication between a reader and a text. Students as the readers might have several strategies to reconstruct the meaning of what the author expects them to obtain after reading.  When the students read a book, they will correlate the content of the book with their prior knowledge and experiences in order to catch the meaning. When they process the information from the book, the students’ first language and cultural background determine their comprehension in reading. In addition, how they interpret the text will vary due to the different expectation about language structure and cultural attitudes toward literacy. Literacy is a set of attitudes and beliefs about the ways of using spoken and written language that are acquired in the course of a person’s socialization into a specific cultural context (Mikulecky, 2001). Therefore, reading and literacy are two important things that cannot be separated and significantly influence the effective reading for ESL students.  

Since, they begin to read the book in English as their second language, they require to apply the components of literacy success. They need to take at least three related roles while they are reading for example reader as a code breaker, text analyst, and text user. When the students act as if they are a code breaker, they need to be able to crack and solve the code so that they can get the meaning out of the written script, in this case is the book itself. Besides, as a text analyst the students read a text as a crafted object which is written by the author who has a set of assumptions and ideology. An effective reader need to read critically as they concern to be a text analyst, recognize what the assumptions in the text about, not said, implied, or unquestioned. Furthermore, in the role of a text user the students are demanded to participate in the social activities in which written text plays a major part. The interactions that children have around literacy events construct their understanding about how they are expected to read particular texts. In order to construct the affectivity in reading for ESL students, there are some considerations that need to be carried out. This essay will discuss the ESL students’ problems in reading, implementation of theory and research in reading, skills in reading and instructional approach in reading.

As we know that reading is a complex process of absorbing the meaning through the words in the text, moreover the students read the text in English as their second language that makes it even more complicated. What are some problems that lead the students into trouble while reading? The first problem is Language proficiency. Lee and Schallert (1997) state that the construct of language proficiency is not a simple one as it relates to language competence, and the conscious linguistic knowledge of the rules and forms of the language, and the ability to speak, listen, read, and write the language in contextually appropriate ways. Therefore, language proficiency becomes one of the most challenging matters in reading as it has many components that students need to be expert in. For example, to be able to comprehend the reading task the students necessitate not only the ability of listening but also the others components in language proficiency. A student who is really good in speaking does not guarantee that he/she is able to understand the meaning of the reading task. Consequently, the components in language proficiency are interrelated each other to come up with reading comprehensively for ESL students. The second problem is phonological phonemic Awareness. Instead of trying to comprehend the content in reading, the students also require to be aware of the phonological phonemic principles. When we read, we try to pronounce every word in our mind, or just speak it out loud. Thus, it affects the effective of reading. The English system writing often spelled differently with the way we produce the sounds. For instance, in the morphological relationship between a certain words, the word electric we pronounce it with ‘k’ at the last letter. In other words, the phonological phonemic principles add more complexities in reading. The third problem is Vocabulary. Another difficulty is the limited vocabulary of the students. Students with more vocabulary they already have will be able to comprehend the reading task more than the students who have less vocabulary. Even, sometimes vocabulary can lead the students in misinterpreting the sentences in the text. As it is very significant in reading comprehension, the students ought to gain as many new vocabularies as they can. The more students read, the better their vocabulary becomes.  And the more vocabulary they know, the better they can read. The fourth problem is background knowledge. Other factors as the contributing the ESL students’ higher risk of developing difficulties learning to read is background knowledge. Researchers agree that background knowledge is crucial factor in reading comprehension, since reading deals with relating the readers’ experience to a text. Cultural background of the students is usually very different from one to other students. The students bring to the reading process is culturally based, culturally biased, and often culture-specific, it is important that teachers be particularly sensitive to reading problems that result from differences between students' background knowledge and the implicit cultural knowledge that a text presupposes (Carrell & Eisterhold, 1983).

Cognitive psychologists have shown in their research that students learn new strategies or thinking processes most effectively when they are consciously aware of what they are doing (Brown, Armbruster, and Baker, 1986).  Once students are conscious of the processes, they can control their comprehension and apply appropriate strategies as needed for comprehending a text.  As it is stated in the theory of some experts, the teachers might consider and relate the theory and research to teach the students how to practice reading. Another theory shows us that Interacting and talking about text in particular ways is essential.  Others found that students develop literate skills when teachers encourage them to talk about written language, when teachers model comprehension strategies for them, and when students have opportunities to talk to each other about how they make sense of a text (Hoffman and Heath, 1986). After knowing the theory then the next step is the practice reading itself for the students. What the students need to do to comprehend the texts is important to be acquainted with so that the students can improve their skill in reading. According to Beatrice S. Mikulecky, in order to read well the students need to apply these following steps to practice their reading such as the first is students need to develop a schema of the reading process that includes the idea that reading is more than translating, but reading is thinking, the second is talk about their reading and explain how they make sense of a text, the third is read extensively for pleasure in English and discuss their reading with someone who can model the literate behaviors expected in an English-language context, the fourth is break the habit of reading every word by reading faster, the fifth is Learn to vary their reading rate to suit their purpose in reading, the sixth is Employ top-down processes effectively by learning to make connections between what they already know and what they are reading, the seventh is Learn reading and thinking skills that fluent readers of English employ unconsciously to strengthen both top-down and bottom-up processing abilities, the eighth is Enhance bottom-up processing by acquiring the most useful vocabulary and by learning strategies for guessing meaning in context, the ninth is Master the basic 2,000 words that constitute approximately 80 percent of texts in English, the last is Acquire specific reading comprehension skills they can apply strategically. By implementing those steps above, the students are expected to be able to read more comprehensively and gain more new knowledge from reading.    

Extensive reading is one of a kind in doing reading. It is highly expected to do for students who want to improve their reading skill. When the students extensively reading means that they do scanning and skimming through the text. Hafiz and Tudor state that the pedagogical value attributed to extensive reading is based on the assumption that exposing learners to large quantities of meaningful and interesting L2 material will, in the long run, produce a beneficial effect on the learners’ command of the L2. The successful of extensive reading can be shown significantly if the students are asked to share what their reading with others, and make a reading report afterward. The students can do the extensive reading independently; furthermore they can read anywhere they want, either at school or home. Day and Bamford (1998) have documented the benefit of extensive reading, which include development of a positive attitude toward reading second language, the increasing of motivation to read more, the improvement of reading fluency, gains in vocabulary and grammar knowledge and development in writing in the second language.

There are some reading skills that the students should establish in order to be able to comprehend the reading task such as automatic decoding when  they are being able to recognize a word at a glance, previewing and predicting as the students can give the text a quick once-over to be able to guess what is to come, scanning when they are able to look through a text very rapidly for specific information, recognizing patterns of relationships is to identifying the relationships between ideas; the overall structure of the text, guessing the meaning of unknown words from the context by using such clues as knowledge of word parts, syntax, and relationship patterns, skimming the text quickly to get the overview of a passage or book, etc. Considering the importance of improving the students’ reading skills, teachers, however, are supposed to be able to use the instruction approach to teach them. The teachers need to explain the purpose of working on this reading skill, and convince the students of its importance in reading effectively. Next, the teachers guide the students to work on an example of using the reading skills with the whole class.  The students need to explain their thinking aloud as they do the exercise. In addition, the teachers also assign the students to work in pairs on an exercise where they practice using the same skill and require them to explain their thinking to each other as they work. Discussing the students’ answers with the whole class is important to do, then ask them to explain how they got their answers, encourage polite disagreement and require explanations of any differences in their answers. Ask individual students to complete an exercise using the skill to check their own ability and confidence in using it. In future lessons, the teachers lead the students to apply the skill, as well as previously mastered skills, to a variety of texts.   

Learning to read in a second language is a complex, and therefore challenging, developmental process that is influenced by a multiplicity of factors and which has many prerequisites.  The students who speak their native language rather than English upon entering kindergarten or first grade require a specific set of instructional steps in order to develop the necessary pre-reading skills, such as phonological and phonemic awareness for the English language, a reasonable oral language proficiency in English, and the necessary background knowledge in order to access meaning from the written text. Many different studies attempted to evaluate a variety of instructional approaches with regard to the language of instruction and the timing of initial reading instruction for second-language learners.

 References

http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/importance-of-reading-comprehension-in-second-language-learning-1325911.html

http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/1420

http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/October2010/

Oakes, J. (1986).  Tracking, inequality, and the rhetoric of school reform: Why schools don't change.  Journal of Education, 168, 61-80.

Isna Rakhmawati

The Independent Listening Study through Web-Based Resources and English TV Programs: From Enjoyment to Betterment

Due to the increasing demand of qualified graduates in the pedagogical settings, English has greatly been taught to accommodate the basis of students’ need. Teachers, on the other hand, are encouraged to successfully set their students up with the basic skills in English. Harmer (1991) mentions that the language skills, not excluding English, are principally classified into two different scopes: receptive and productive skills. Moreover, according to Permendiknas Nomor 23 Tahun 2006 on the Graduate Competence Standard (Standard Kompetensi Kelulusan) for primary and secondary schools, the teaching of English includes the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Listening and reading are considered to be the receptive skills; meanwhile, speaking and writing fall into the category of productive skills.

Underlining those four major areas of communication skills and language development, the one that is the most basic is listening. It is evident that when students first learn a language, they generally have to listen to the words several times before they are able to recognize and pronounce those words. In the classroom, students are supposed to listen carefully and attentively to the teachers in order to understand and retain the information for the later recall. According to Wolvin and Coakley (1979), the amount of time that students are expected to listen in the classroom ranges from 42 to 57.5 percent of their communication time. Taylor (1964), on the other hand, estimates that nearly 90 percent of the class time in high schools and universities is spent in listening to discussions and lectures. Consequently, listening will be able to help students build their vocabularies, develop language proficiency and improve the language usage (Baker, 1971). Furthermore, Cayer, Green, and Baker (1971) find that students’ ability to comprehend written materials through reading as well as to utter ideas through speaking and written communications are directly interrelated with students’ maturity in the listening phase of language development. This means that the more matured skill they have in listening, the better outcomes that they will achieve for their English competence.

As one of the fundamental skills in language acquisition, the term ‘listening’ has obtained a number of definitions from various scholars. Rankin (1926) briefly states that listening is the ability to understand a spoken language. Additionally, Johnson (1951) expands the definition to be the ability to understand and respond effectively to oral communications. Not only that, Purdy (1997) defines listening as ‘the active and dynamic process of attending, perceiving, interpreting, remembering, and responding to the expressed (verbal and nonverbal), needs, concerns and information offered by other human beings’. From those three definitions, it can generally be construed that listening is basically a type of activity which requires the ability of absorbing the meaning of spoken forms. However, many of the students still encounter problems dealing with the listening skill. They find themselves unable to fully grasp of what is catered by the native speakers while they are having a listening class. No wonder if most of them then stigmatize that listening is not easy to be carried out.

Apart from the problems faced by the students, listening somehow has to be well-acquired no matter how hard it is. In the classroom, for instance, students have to achieve certain kinds of listening objectives which have been systematically programmed by the teacher. Nonetheless, the classroom teaching is remarkably viewed as inadequate spaces for the students to widen their listening ability with an extra time of understanding. Therefore, they need to intensify themselves to have an independent listening study outside of the school hours. Contextually, the Independent Listening Study (ILS) here is sketched on the listening activities which are established by the students out of the regular classes without being forced by the teacher and relying on their friends. In addition, the independent listening study can be actualized through several kinds of activities, two of which are in the form of web-based resources and English TV programs. These two activities will be useful for the students to rehearse their English competence, particularly in listening. Palpably, this essay will underscore the paramount similarities between them in terms of the flexibility and variety, and polarize the substantial differences in the context of the availability and accessibility. Also, it emerges on how the enjoyment and betterment grow interchangeably with the practice of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs.

Establishing the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs is basically similar from the angle of flexibility. Web-based resources here are meant as kinds of self-study activities in which students use the materials mostly from the internet. Of course, it allows them to independently have a virtual exploration on the websites which offer a number of comprehensible listening exercises for them. In addition, there are no boundaries for them to pick up any sites they like to have for the sake of their own independent listening study. Since the independent listening study is not strictly interchanged with the teacher’s rules, students can indeed design the schedule on their own. It means that they have the power of establishing this activity anytime they intend to. For instance, they can arrange the time only on the weekends or every other days. At least, they allocate a plenty of minutes to integrate their independent listening study through web-based resources. Not unlike web-based resources, the implementation of independent listening study through English TV programs enables the students’ learning of listening not to be restricted by time. Because TVs have lately become a ubiquitous home appliance, a majority of the students must have one in their homes. Certainly, they have a freedom to decide the time of which they need to watch the programs on their television. In line with this context, let me give you the scene of what is actually occurring out there. Gustiana Ria, a student of English Department in a well-known private university in Pasuruan, never misses to watch the National Geographic Channels on Fridays. She thinks that the program really helps her diversify her knowledge and train her ability in listening. She can learn many things from the program such as vocabularies, accents, pronunciations et cetera. Also, Dyah Nur Laili who belongs to one of the English students in the State University of Malang was used to watching Oprah Winfrey Show every Sunday morning in order to spend her leisure times while sharpening her listening skill from the talk show. She confesses that English programs on TV, including Oprah Winfrey Show help her to empower her understanding of what is partly being discussed in the show. She further states that she learns how to pronounce new English words correctly from watching that show instead of having to look them up in the dictionary.  Generally speaking, the integration of the Independent Listening Study (ILS) through web-based resources and English TV programs requires no restrictions for the students to manage the time and determine the content of what they are going to have for their independent listening study.

Besides, the practice of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs notably looks the same from the point of variety. Like no other training forms, web-based resources promise to deliver learning outcomes to a maximum number of participants with a maximum range of learning styles, preferences, and needs. In line with this feature, web-based resources promote learning interests as the webs allow students to search for the relevant information instead of being restricted in a pre-designed course model (Wijekumar, 2005). Further, Smidt and Hegelheimer (2004), in a study of examining how web-based video assists listening comprehension, conclude that the online academic learning supported by multimedia increase the listening comprehension. Take for instance the webpage on www.talkenglish.com, the variety of the materials is greatly presented. It includes short-talks, news, long conversations, podcasts and so on. Of course, students just need to click the category of the recording that they really want to listen to. Likewise, the independent listening study through English TV programs allows the students to watch various sorts of programs which are broadcasted by particular TV stations. Several of the students must have been familiar with MTV (Music Television) and VoA (Voice of America) which become two of the commonest English programs on TV. Not only that, other programs are also provided as a matter of preferences in establishing the independent listening study. For example, students who want to stay informed with the national and international current issues might watch Indonesia This Morning on Metro TV. Clearly, from this program they can practice aural comprehension to figure out meanings from what is being reported. Moreover, students will also find several box-office movies which might become their companions in performing the independent listening study through English programs. Therefore, it can generally be justified that the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs is essentially similar owing to the variety aspect.

Even though web-based resources and English TV programs are basically akin in particular angles, they still have a point of difference in terms of the availability. Since the listening comprehension largely involves three levels of competence: the elementary, intermediate, and advanced level, most of the webs are designed to fulfill the students’ need on what level they actually belong to. If they are categorized in the elementary level, they will learn to identify sound patterns, meanings of words, phrases or expressions and to recognize grammatical elements or communicative acts. In www.esl-lab.com, for instance, students may discover lots of easy-listening recordings with various kinds of interesting topics such as teenagers’ life, holidays, journeys et cetera. Different from those who belong to the elementary level, students in the intermediate level will practice aural comprehension to select the elements of short conversations which give the gist message. One of the websites which corresponds with this level is www.elllo.org. Students will find a list of short conversations talked by two or three people with different topics. Also, the news interviews are available for the listening materials used in the independent listening study. On the other hand, advanced students will deal with aural materials which are used to deduce meanings or outlines from a lengthy spoken discourse (Rivers, 1968). Let us take an example from the link address www.britishcouncil.org. If they go to this site, they will easily find so many kinds of long talks, including podcasts that can be used to improve their listening skills. In addition, web-based resources accommodate all of those levels by including the written exercises along with the answer key. Also, the transcript of the recording is not excluded in the web so that students are able to check which parts seem to be hardly understood. Moreover, they can actually replay the recording when they still do not catch the implied information from it. On the contrary, the practice of the independent listening study through English TV programs does not have those kinds of features. Students will hardly find an appropriate program which subsidizes their level of competence. Even, not all of the TV stations broadcast English programs. Global TV and Metro TV are two of the TV stations which consistently broadcast English programs. Hence, students are supposed to determine the program which can deeply train their ability in understanding spoken languages. For instance, if they have a sense on the genre of musical drama, they can indeed watch GLEE which is officially broadcasted on Global TV, a member of MNC Group. They can examine how the way the stars speak to others by using their own accents. In contrast to web-based resources, students are not supplied with the listening exercises to comprehend their understanding. In other words, neither the written exercise nor the answer key is given on English TV programs. Students who establish their independent listening study through this kind of activity somehow need to pay attention to the subtitle shown below the TV screen. Besides, they cannot repeat the part of the program in case they have not fully absorbed the points of what it is about. Yet, most English programs on TV are well-visualized so that it will make the students unable to stay away from the place where they sit to watch. Of course, they really intend to make some notes about the program, such as new vocabularies, cultures, science et cetera. Simply speaking, the integration of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs is distinguishable from the point of availability.

Another point of distinction which can be observed from the practice of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs has something to do with the accessibility. Because the webs are now modernizing several areas of study by increasing opportunities for learning and alternative formats for information (Dwyer, and Doerr, 1995), web-based resources are actually created in a purpose of facilitating the students and help them to have accessible connections within the virtual world. Of course, this particular way of establishing the independent listening study will make students unbound by the place of learning. For instance, if students feel inconvenient to stay inside the net shop, they can only download the materials and take them home. They can even use their laptop to have a listening practice independently such as in the boarding house, lawn, English Self Center et cetera. Additionally, web-based resources are oriented on self-paced learning. This means that advanced students are permitted to skip over the materials they have known and focus only on the topics they are willing to choose, whereas novices can slow their own progress through the content of the web so that they can contribute their improvement in listening without absolutely being occupied by the smarter students. Even, web-based resources drive them to have a direct access to a specific help by e-mail. Consequently, they can simply ask for solutions if they have questions dealing with the activity on the web. Conversely, English TV programs are sometimes tentative. The schedule of the program changes from time to time. Compared to web-based resources, English TV programs are given in a limited portion. Some of the programs, in fact, are not broadcasted everyday. For example, The Biography, an English program broadcasted on Metro TV, is only televised on Sundays. This indicates that the access of doing the independent listening study through English TV programs cannot be integrated in a wider scope. Accordingly, the practice of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs looks somewhat dissimilar from the angle of accessibility.

Instead of having similarities and differences in particular fields, the practice of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs certainly gives significant effects on students’ listening competence. The noticeable effect of establishing the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs reflects on the enjoyment. Most of the students may become so miserable that they find themselves difficult to deal with listening. They commonly think that they are not good at listening so that it does not seem quite pleasurable for them to learn. Nevertheless, by arranging the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs, the absorption of enjoyment will be incidentally pumped up. For instance, Bila Nastiti, a second-year student of English Department in the State University of Malang, confidently admits that the independent listening study through web-based resources is able to make her enjoy having listening practices whereby she is given more spaces and freedoms to improve her listening ability. Her friend, Lukman Hidayat, however contributes his independent listening study through English TV programs. Every time he sticks in front of the television watching his favorite program, Box-Office Movie Platinum on RCTI, he receives his own enjoyment of completing his individual study. Principally, enjoyment is needed somewhat to drag students learn something, including listening, more intensively. Somehow, if students have obtained their own enjoyment, they will be more frequent to maintain their independent learning. In other words, there will be an expansion of the independent listening study which constitutes to the activity for enjoyment.   

In addition to presenting the effect of the independent listening study in the context of enjoyment, it then ultimately results in the point of betterment towards students’ listening skills. The powerful webs and fabulous English TV programs offer a range of new opportunities for students to widen their language proficiency. Zhou and Yang (2004), in their study of the effects of visual aid on EFL listening comprehension, support the use of multimedia such as the Interconnected Networking (Internet) and television in enhancing listening comprehension. They also highlight that viewing-assisted functions are particularly functional to students with low-level English competence. Of course, when the practice of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs is integrally accomplished, it will be suitable for self-access which fully incorporates significant factors, including students’ differences and modified interactions in second language acquisition. Such approaches allow the students to construct their improvement and adjustment for a better listening competence. Moreover, the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs can be a means of attaining better learning outcomes in the long run because students access huge amounts of the pertinent information from those kinds of technological miscellanies.

To sum up, the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs, like most student-based forms of self-learning, is designed primarily to support students at any levels of competence—elementary, intermediate, and advanced—and to provide their needs in amplifying their reciprocal skills. In particular, these kinds of activities involve parts of similarities in terms of the flexibility and variety, and fall into dissimilar elements in the context of the availability and accessibility. The results of the independent listening study through web-based resources and English TV programs confirm that there are indeed two inseparable effects in which the activities are utilized both within the view of enjoyment and betterment in the listening comprehension. For this reason, it is necessary that each student optimize their weaknesses in listening by always allocating their times to undergo the independent listening study either from web-based resources or English TV programs.

Sources:

Harmer, J. 1983. The Practice of English Language Teaching. London: Longman.

Kroder, S. L., Suess, J., and Sachs, D. (n.d./1998).  Lessons in Launching Web-Based Graduate 

Courses [WWW document], URL http://www.THEJOURNAL.COM/98/may/598feat4.html.

Richards, Jack C., and David Nunan. 1990. Second Language Teacher Education. Cambridge: 

Cambridge University Press.

Muh. Khoirul Anwar

Multiple Intelligences Theory to Learning Process

Everyone learns differently. Some people are good in reading while others are good in math. This essay will briefly explore the potential by applying Howard Gardner’s theory which is Multiple Intelligences. Through the analysis of two separate surveys, the first of which is based on Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences and the second being a learning style survey, it will be determined that one of the most essential, key elements to becoming an effective learner are the awareness of one's own learning processes. In addition, these will be revealed how the integration of these results will enable the teacher to be more aware of their own learning processes and implement strategies that will assist the teacher to become a more proficient and effective learner.

Intelligence was initially perceived by the early studies of behaviorists’ as being a single entity which was inherited, and additionally, that the human mind began as a blank slate (Smith, 2002). Howard Gardner challenged that the traditional intelligence rejects claims that intelligence is resulted from any single factor and could simply be measured by a number. Further, Gardner maintained that intelligence comprised of multiple, separate intelligences, each of which are quite different from the other. These different intelligences are specialized for building knowledge and solving problems in the different cognitive areas of which they relate to. The seven multiple intelligences that were introduced by Gardner can be indentified and defined as Linguistic Intelligence, Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence and Intrapersonal Intelligence. Howard Gardner argued that every individual is born with all these seven intelligences which develop through different cultural experiences and influences and through life's learning processes. Although the areas of intelligence are quite distinct and separate from each other, the intelligences are seldom operated separately. It can also be shown that every individual has strengths and weaknesses. However, intelligences can be taught are continually changing throughout life.

Multiple Intelligences is a term coined by Professor Howard Gardner based on his research in the 1980's, to explain how human beings learn. In Gardner's view, we don't possess a fixed mental capacity, known as intelligence, but rather make use of different kinds of intelligent thinking to solve problems or create products that have value in different contexts and cultural settings. According to Gardner, intelligences can be weakened if they are ignored; leading to learning that is less effective than it might be. The different types of intelligence suggested by multiple intelligence theory, Gardner originally proposed seven different types of intelligence and he has also added two more further intelligences which are naturalist intelligence and existential intelligence. Naturalist Intelligence is involves having an affinity with the natural world that enables people to recognize and develop a detailed understanding of animals, plants, and other natural phenomena. Existential Intelligence is the ability and sensitivity to explore deep questions about human existence, and the meaning of life: it's worth pointing out that the ‘jury is still out’ about this type of intelligence and is at the moment on a less secure footing than the other intelligences, especially the original seven. Gardner's theory proposes that all human beings possess all nine intelligences but the amounts of each intelligence or capacity may vary from one individual to another. It's important to point out that as with all theories, some experts are critical of both learning styles and multiple intelligences. Nevertheless, both learning styles and multiple intelligences have a lot of support in the field of education. In my view, both are aspects of a wider framework for learning, and, as educators, we owe it to our students to understand as many aspects of this framework as possible so we can offer our learners the very best learning experiences we can.

According to Gardner, each person possesses all seven intelligences to varying degrees. This does not mean that we may be highly developed in all seven areas. It is particularly important to remember this in relation to second language learners. The students, like most people, may be highly developed in one or two intelligences, moderately developed in one or two, and underdeveloped in the rest. Each intelligence functions in ways unique to each person; no one is the same as anyone else. Gardner suggests that everyone has the capacity to develop all seven intelligences to a reasonably high level. This is encouraging for language educators. Success in helping our second language learners develop their intelligences is a combination of the right environmental influences and quality instruction. Both of these are factors we can help control. Intelligences work together in complex ways. Because no intelligence exists by itself, language learning activities may be successful because they actively encourage the use of several intelligences. Most language teachers and learners feel that learning takes place when these activities are used. Perhaps one reason they are so popular is that several intelligences are needed to carry out each activity.

Supporting students both behaviorally and academically begins with meeting their needs. By developing lessons that draw on a variety of different intelligences, teachers can hope to better meet the needs of many more students than through one method alone. Think of this: If the teacher were asked to do a task that was interesting and that the teacher had confidence to complete successfully, how might the teacher approach it? What kind of attitude of the teacher expect to the task? The teacher would probably feel pretty good about getting started and the teacher most likely would be able to work until completion without incident. Now, think of being asked to do a task that the teacher had little hope of completing, given their skills and talents. Would the teacher approach it with the same enthusiasm? Would the teacher be able to stick with the task without distraction? Most people would answer these questions, “probably not.” Think about how many students are faced with the second scenario on a daily basis. It must be very frustrating and is likely the cause of many of the behavior problems we see in schools. Of course, it is unrealistic to think that every teacher can individualize every lesson for every student. In a typical class, there will be several students who demonstrate strengths in each of the areas of intelligence, so allowing students to work in cooperative learning groups, either mixing different intelligence types or clustering them, depending on the assignments, may be a successful strategy for teachers. Another option might be to offer two to five choices of activities students can do to demonstrate their mastery of the content. This would allow teachers less time for preparation and grading assignments, but would still allow students to tackle their work using their natural skills. Finally, teachers can develop lessons that incorporate several different strategies, allowing students to gain some comfort with the work at different stages of the class activity. Most people have strengths in several different areas of intelligence, so they will be able to feel successful using a variety of strategies. While thinking about differentiating lessons in these ways may feel like additional work for teachers, the alternative may cause more work over time. By allowing students to successfully show what they know, teachers can avoid classroom disruption and minimize re-teaching, creating a more productive classroom environment for all.

Multiple intelligences bring several benefits in learning process. The first benefit is by using multiple intelligences students and teachers come to accept a broader view of intellectual ability. Many students are labeled as underachievers because they can't easily access the verbal/linguistic know-how needed to do well in traditional academic tests. Research studies show, however, that these students often demonstrate a deep understanding of relevant concepts when they are engaged by classroom activities that include artistic, dramatic, musical or athletic elements. The second benefit is by using multiple intelligences teachers can give students opportunities for authentic learning that addresses the students' actual needs. In this sense the classroom can replicate the 'real world'. In our modern world the graphic designer is just as valid as the accountant, who in turn is as valid as the computer programmer. In this context students will more easily become engaged in learning. The third benefit is by using multiple intelligences we can use a wider range of assessment contexts. It's no longer necessary just to assess student learning by pen and paper tests and multiple choice questions. Using learning styles and multiple intelligences encourages students to show what they know, so they give presentations in class, and to parents and other audiences, they produce portfolios of work that they can explain to a panel of judges, they make artifacts and so on. The last benefits is by using multiple intelligences we can bring students of different strengths and preferences together, giving them all the chance to share their expertise, and to develop their 'weaker' intelligences by learning alongside fellow students who are 'stronger' in these areas. Learning in this way can do wonders for students' self-esteem, as they see themselves valued by their peers.

Based on the explanation above, we can conclude that multiple intelligences theory can be apply in learning process. Actually, multiple intelligences have many positive effects to learning process. Multiple intelligences have benefit to learning process and can support students’ ability. In my conclusion, people in the world have many different ways of learning. It depends if they are a slow learner or a fast learner. I think it is based on how you were taught in the previous years because if you were taught slowly then you might adapt that technique of learning slow. If you learn fast then you might adapt that technique of learning fast. It also depends if you are a visual learner or if you need words to learn.

Umi Nadhirotun N

Our Need to Take Rest Gives a Chance to Have a Better Study

A human is only a human who has limitations and many problems in life. Therefore, it is a normal thing that cannot be avoided. The reason is that the human is only a creature that has the existence in this sphere because of God’s power. Sometimes, the human is never satisfied with everything that he/she has. We try to get something out of mind by forcing ourselves. Frankly speaking, the most important thing that has to be decoded that is human’s ability has limitations that cannot be forced to learn or remember everything in once directly because it needs time and space to have a rest inside the process. Consequently, our need to take a rest will make us think how to manage our study time in order that it has an important key which brings how to study better and get our target in studying. There are several opinions that will make us realize how important the rest time is. Many of them strengthen the fact that the rest time is needed in the learning process.

In one case, a pressure can be caused by studying without taking a rest. If we study hard without taking a rest, it will press our mind. Then, the pressure influences our emotional level. As the result, we will be more sensitive to having negative expression such as anger, fear, or sadness. Studying without taking a rest is like giving pressure into our brain without stopping. For instance, let us see the Cikampek high way in Jakarta. If there is no traffic light for controlling the high way, that way will be crowded and have traffic jam. In the same side, it will have similarity with the human’s brain that is forced to think without taking a break. That statement is strengthened by Matthew Walker, director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. He said that sleep is important for our life like how important the magnetic north is for a compass. From Matthew’s opinion, we comprehend how essential taking a rest is in our life, especially in the case of the learning process. The reason is that taking a rest will give time for brain processing the previous data which is entered from the studying process. Moreover, we try to learn English at that time. Learning language needs more memory to remember the vocabularies, how to pronounce well, how to use the correct grammar and so on. Importantly, we have to know that having less rest can press our brain.

On the other side, getting enough rest or sleep will give time to relax our mind. It means that the relaxation happens in our brain. By having rest, our brain will be fresh to get new materials. Actually, the children’s life really gets the impact of this phenomenon. An article whose title is Tips for Helping Young Children (Gina Kemp, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., Deborah Cutter, Psy.D., Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., and Melinda Smith, M.A. : 2009) talks about how essential taking a rest is. It tells that the sleep or rest time is important to have good learning so we will study well with the condition that having enough rest. The reason is that an exhausted child who has full activities during the day will get more difficulties to focus on studying and learning something new. We can check an example in the sixth grade of Miftahul Ulum Islamic Private Elementary School of Batu. After having a whole day studying in the formal class, the students have to get some extra time of studying for several subject matters which will be materials of the national examination. It will be more effective for studying if students have enough time to take a rest before having the following lesson.

Getting more pressure in the learning process has to be balanced by getting the rest time, but it will be complicated to manage the time without any schedule. In this phase, making a study planning makes our study better. The following steps will help to solve the problem of time management in study process.

The first step is arranging the schedule. In arranging the schedule, we have to choose what activities are inside our plan. We should divide which one as the priority and make them in list. For instance, we take English as the priority of the subject matter. In our schedule, we have several subject matters, but we focus on English. In this case, we give more time for learning English in our activities list. In the schedule, we have three hours to study. We can take an hour and a half for studying English, thirty minutes for taking a rest, and the rest one hour for doing homework. The priority can be applied in the other subject matters such as Mathematics, Economics, Arabic, Physics, and so on. In this case, the schedule that we want to make is flexible based on what we need.

As the following step, deciding the time duration which is needed to study and take a rest will cover the whole part of the plan, so it is considered to be essential to think in making the study planning. The choosing time duration of study will consider the duration of each time that we have to study and take a rest. As the instance, our study time is three hours per day outside the study time in the school. Try to think whether it is too hard for you or not. If you think that it is too difficult to be done, you can change with the duration that you are able to do it. It may be for about two hours per day or it can be up to you based on your ability. The reason is if we force ourselves to study longer and harder than our ability, it also can give pressure in our mind. Be careful to decide the duration of your studying! This step is important because it will influence how long the duration you can use to study.

After making sure about the time duration of the whole of time in our study planning, we try to produce the decision when we will have our rest time among the study time. The separation time that can be used is an hour for studying, a half hour for taking a rest, the following hour for continuing the study, and then the last thirty minutes for refreshing our mind. This plan may be changed based on our need. Like what is explained above, when we give English as one of the example, it has been explained that the rest time can be taken in the middle of two activities inside the daily list. Therefore, the rest time will give a space for our mind to be calm down before continuing to study the other subject matters. 

Finishing the plan of study, we should try to apply the schedule that we have made into our daily life. It may be hard at the first time we try, but it will be easier for the following application. Moreover, the pressure, relaxation and study planning will be followed by some implication which is brought automatically. The various effects can be seen in the following passage.

 Applying the schedule above will bring a balance in our life because we have our study time and enough time to take a rest. The reason is that we can enjoy our rest time between two activities, so it can refresh our mind. As the result, having rest will make us health. It is not only for our mind but also our body. If we have healthy mind, we will have healthy body. This effect will come first when we apply the plan in our daily life because the effect can be felt directly. Besides that, this effect can be seen clearly by the other people. For example, we have studied in the whole night on the previous day. Then, we have to go to school early in the morning. Consequently, we will look exhausted and our face will be pale. On the other example, if we get less sleep on the previous night, we will be sleepy in the class and cannot catch the lesson from our teacher.

The other effect that we can get from making the schedule for improving our study is the raising of some aspects in the learning process. In the term of study, this plan brings exciting and enjoying situation because we get the rest time before learning the other lessons or doing homework from the other teacher. Then, a joyful situation gives students an indirect impact. It is a motivation for studying, so we will be able to study regularly. The motivation is very helpful to encourage us to get a better improvement of learning something. As the instance, we have a good plan for studying every day, it will make us easy to prepare subject matters on for the following day. We say that the final effect is related to the result of our study. The result of the study depends on how good we manage our study time.

In the studying process, the rest time is absolutely needed to improve our skill because it will bring several effects into our life. It can be good or bad, so we need a schedule to help us manage our time easily. In conclusion, the rest time is needed for both of our physic and improvement of study. As the good human, we have to learn how to manage our time well in order to increase the quality of our studying.

Risky Ayu Dewi

Involving Students’ Abilities in Teaching English

Our society accustomed to an old-fashioned thought which is believed that teaching was only the process of transferring knowledge. This teaching method was implemented by explaining lessons, giving examination, and marking students’ competence based on the result of the examination. As the result, students were constructed to get the score instead of getting the knowledge itself. Unlike in the past, now teachers are no longer using those thoughts because they have realized their functions as facilitators. Furthermore, there is an approach that can give solution in educating our students, which is Humanistic. This approach deals with the ways how students gain knowledge, experience and find the meaning personally (Hitipeuw, 2009).

We all know that a teacher is not only has duty to teach students, but also to facilitate them. This is what Humanistic approach plays its role. Considering that a student is different from one to another, Honey and Mumford as two of several Humanistic experts discovered that there were four types of students (Budiningsih, 2005) in studying. Moreover, they also found that students will be more interested in lessons if teachers involve students’ abilities in the learning process especially English. In my opinion, the most suitable teaching method for applying Humanistic is in group discussions because it can assemble all different students. However, some people believe that Humanistic approach has been considered as a difficult approach to carry out. In this essay, will deal with the types of students including their characteristics and how this involvement can influence their interest in studying English.

The first part of learning styles which we are going to deal with is activists. In this case, those who are activists can be distinguished based on the ways work in group discussions. Activist students tend to involve themselves in any activities and participate actively to have experiences. As an example, if a teacher assigns students to discuss a material, the teacher can see their enthusiasm obviously. It can happen considering they like and are capable of doing activities in groups. To be known, Peter Honey and Alan Mumford consider them as gregarious students who like involving themselves with others. Moreover, their philosophy is “I'll try anything once", so we can figure out how they are. While they have strength in group activity, they are weak in considering consequences of their activities. In this case, they act first and consider the consequences afterwards (Accessed on December 13, 2010; www.mftrou.com). In the learning process, teachers can place those students as heads and representatives of groups because they can believe in people easily and those are open-minded students. As stated in www.mftrou.com, Honey and Mumford suggest them as the agents in learning process. Talking about the teaching method which can dig their abilities up, teachers also can use problem-solving and brainstorming connected to current issues (Budiningsih, 2005).

The following type of students which is discovered by Honey and Mumford are reflectors students. These students have strengths in considering many perspectives. In contrasts to the activist students, they are very careful and capable of concluding any determination. We can see obviously in group discussion in which they consider any details which might occur concerning about the material. For example, when a teacher assigns his/her students to discuss about abortion, these observer students will think hardly to find details from many angles related to it and they will consider any decisions which are made by the activists students as their leaders. Additionally, these observer students have to be taught to believe in their friends through the group discussions because they are difficult to be influenced. Therefore, the two experts propose to include them as reviewers (www.mftrou.com). In my opinion, the teachers can assign them to analyze their own groups, so they can sharpen their abilities well and overcome their problems. Probably, teaching methods which are suitable for the reflectors are paired discussion and observing activities related to western cultures. 

Subsequently, let us jump to the third classification of students which is theorist. Theorist students as its name are those who like criticizing, analyzing, and thinking rationally. Unlike activist and observers students, whatever in their mind is always brought back to concepts and laws (Budiningsih, 2005). Theorists also have a philosophy which is, “If it is logical then it is good.” They keen on analyzing topics step-by-step still in logical way and their philosophies always based on rationality and logic (www2.le.ac.uk). Thus, we can hardly classify students into theorist students only from the way they behave because even though they like criticizing, they seem like skeptical and do not care about their surroundings. In this case, when a teacher assigns them to work in group activities, they cannot stand working with activists because theorists are out of tune with them (www.peterhoney.com). As an example, when an English teacher assigns them to discuss about simple present tense, those theorist students will be keen on finding concepts of the material, connect it to their logic thoughts, etc. Here, the quarrel occurs between activists and theorist when they come to conclusion. It can be seen when activists who are confidents to present their group discussion, while theorists have not done yet with their analyses. However, English teachers can explore and overcome those theorist students’ problems   in learning by applying several teaching methods such as reading short stories and finding background of information (www2.le.ac.uk).

The last characteristic of student according to Peter Honey and Alan Mumford is pragmatist students. Holistically, the pragmatist students are practical students. As its name, practical here means that those students do not like dealing with theories and concepts and prefer to try out new ideas before coming to the conclusion. Let us suppose that an English teacher engages his/her students to discuss about how to face transgender people. They will be eager to find the solution of that problem. In this case, the pragmatist students will thoroughly ask about the implementation of the solution starts from what are those solutions, how to implement them, until who are those who must be responsible for the existence of those transgender people. Additionally, similar to activist and theorist students, pragmatist students also have philosophies which are, “"There is always a better way" and "If it works it is good" (www2.le.ac.uk). Furthermore, if we talk about pragmatists’ weaknesses we can find facts where they do not interested in lessons, especially activities which are distant from reality and there is no obvious reward of the learning activities (www.peterhoney.com). English teachers can use teaching methods such like case studies, project learning, and problem solving to explore these pragmatist students. Even though pragmatists appear to be so practical, but actually they are good students. It can be perceived from their thoughts which all things will be useful if they can be practiced and used to the betterment of humankind (Budiningsih, 2005).

After knowing those classifications of students above according to Honey and Mumford’s theory, let us have a look at the influence of involving students’ abilities in learning process. Firstly, let us deals with the effect to the students which is occurred by teachers. In this case, the teachers’ actions in involving students’ abilities make students feel that they are appreciated by their teachers (Hitipeuw, 2009). As stated in the first paragraph that a student is different one to another, by dividing students into four types then merging them into groups, can  make them find the real themselves. Secondly, we are going to find out the impact if students feel that they are appreciated by teachers. In this case, students will engage themselves to the lesson without having any pressure from anything. As a result, students will enjoy studying the lesson. Thirdly, let us have a look at the effect if students enjoy the lesson. Moreover, they have expectation when they come to class. They expect that their teachers will teach them well. It is indeed that the teachers who have abilities in involving students’ abilities will create comfortable atmosphere to the students. In short, the students will easily accept and comprehend the lesson. Lastly, let us try to analyze the impact if the students comprehend the lesson. We can get the idea that students can play their own roles and develop themselves. They can participate in the lessons by using their own specialties. Moreover, students are also faced by a lot of friends with different characteristics so they can share each other. As a result, they can sharpen their strengths and overcome their weaknesses.

In conclusion, we can interpret that actually a thought which says the Humanistic approach is difficult to carry out has been tackled down by those explanations above. We can infer that Honey and Mumford as two Humanistic experts discovered that there are four types of learning styles which are Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist and the teaching methods which are suitable in learning English. Furthermore, now we know that by involving students’ abilities, it can influence them to be interested in studying English. In addition, let me try to put forward to teachers around the world, “Try to find out who your students are if you want to engage them to your lesson.” Teachers can do it by doing research to dig their students’ ability up. Additionally, the research is suggested to be done for senior high school grade, perceive that students’ characteristics on that grade are in progress to be constantly formed and easy to be observed. Furthermore, there are several websites which are proposed to be implemented as the research, three of which are; www.chaminade.org/inspire/learnstl/htm, www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/ilsweb.htm, and www.msxtc.commnet.edu/clc/learnstl.htm. In short, what Humanistic approach has offered to us that a student is different from one to another has to be known as a stepping stone to treat students as humans who want to be appreciated by other people. 

Nurrahma Sutisna