TEACHER TALK
IN
THE KINDERGARTEN
By:
DIAH ARINI KUSUMASTUTI
0713042021
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDY PROGRAM
ARTS AND LANGUAGE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PEDAGOGY
UNIVERSITY OF LAMPUNG
2010
I. INTRODUCTION
a. Background
There have been a number of observational studies of the language addressed to small children by mothers, other adults or older children. These studies have shown that this so – called ‘caretaker speech’ has a number of characteristics which distinguish it from typical speech between adult.
Caretaker speech seems particularly well suited to helping the child to learn the rules and meanings of the language.
Krashen (1980) input hypothesis has inspired a large amount of research that attempt to find out the relationship between input and interaction in second/ foreign language learning. Studies that attempt to prove the influence of comprehensible input in first language acquisition have resulted in terms such as baby talk, motherese, caregiver speech, and caretaker speech. Those terms refer to the speech of adult to children in first language learning. In second language learning such research has resulted in some terms such as foreigner talk, foreigner discourse, teacher talk, and peer talk.
Teacher talk means that teachers address classroom language learners differently from the way that they address other kinds of classroom learners according to Ellis (1994). They make an adjustments to both language form and language function in order to facilitate communication. These adjustments are referred to as “teacher talk”. Teacher talk is very important for both classroom teaching organization and students’ language learning in the process of foreign language learning and second language acquisition, because teacher talk is an instrument of implementing teaching plan.
In this observation, the writer observed the activity of teaching learning in Al- Khairiah kindergarten. The focus of this activity is to observe the ‘teacher talk’ (how a teacher communicate to the students)
b. Definition of Teacher Talk
For foreign language learners, classroom is the main place where they are frequently exposed to the target language. The kind of language used by the teacher for instruction in the classroom is known as teacher talk (TT).
In trying to communicate with learners, teachers often simplify their speech, giving it many of the characteristics of foreigner talk and other simplified styles of speech addressed to language learners.
Teacher talk is used in class when teachers are conducting instructions cultivating their intellectual ability and managing classroom activities. Teacher adopts the target language to promote their communication with learners. In this way, learners practice the language by responding to what their teacher says.
Teacher talk is another variation of foreigner talk in an educational setting. Study of teacher talk reveals how Native Speaker teachers communicate with non native speaker students. Henzl was the first to gather empirical data on what she called Foreign Language Classroom Rgister (1973.p.207). Henzl compared features of texts recorded by Czech native speaker for adult native speakers with those recorded by the same native speakers for non-native speaker university learners of Czech. The characteristics of the recordings were well-formed utterances, showing systematic modifications from the native speaker- directed tapes in aspects of phonology, syntax, lexicon, and delivery “in accordance with [speaker’s] judgment of what is easy, simple and clear for the listener to hear, perceive and comprehend” (1973. P.218). A subsequent study involving professional L2 teachers addressing second language students in Czech German, and English classrooms revealed similar modifications and exaggerated gestures (Henzl, 1979). Henzl’s work indicated that foreigner talk in the classroom environment is grammatically well-formed.
Furthermore, Wong- Fillmore (1985) suggests that there are some characteristics of teacher talk that might work as input. The characteristics are:
1. The talk has clear separation of languages (no alteration or mixing)
2. The talk emphasizes on comprehension, it focuses on communication by:
- Use of demonstration, enactment to convey meaning
- New information presented in context of known information
- Heavy message redundancy
3. The language used is entirely grammatical, appropriate to the activity by:
- Using simple structure, avoiding complex structure
- Repeating the use of some sentence patterns or routines
- Using repetitiveness, using paraphrase for variation
4. The talk using tailoring of elicitation questions to allow for different levels of participation from students.
5. The talk has richness of language use, going beyond books, playfulness.
In the era of communicative language teaching, analyses of teacher talk typically focus on the characteristics that make, or fail to make such talk ‘communicative’. In most cases, the criteria for communicativeness are taken from what is felt to constitute communicative behaviour in the world outside the classroom. Thus, communicative classroom are held to be those in which features of genuine communication are evident, and, by exclusion, classes where they are not present are considered to be uncommunicative. In the case of teacher talk, similar criteria might be used to assess such aspects of classroom language use as the kind of questions teachers ask their students, or the way they respond to student contributions. In this article, I argue that this analysis of teacher talk is over-simplistic, and ultimately unhelpful to teachers since its attempt to characterize communicativeness only in terms of features of authentic communication which pertain outside the classroom ignores the reality of the classroom context and the features which make for effective communication within that context.
II. CONVERSATION
A. CONVERSATION I (Duration around five minutes)
Teacher : Halo anak- anak. Sapa yang mau bermain?
Student 1 : Saya mau Bu. Saya Bu.
Student 2 : Saya mau, saya mau.
Student s : Saya juga mau. Saya Bu. Saya…
Teacher : Ayo lihat, warna apa embernya?
Student 3 : Hijau
Student 4 : Biru
Student 5 : Merah, merah
Teacher : Ayo lihat semua sini, warna apa embernya?
Student : Hijau
(One of the students walked)
Teacher : Warna apa embernya? Siapa yang nyuruh jalan? Kan gak boleh jalan. Ayo sini dulu.
Students : Biru, biru
Teacher : Kalo yang ini apa warna embernya?
(Teacher showed red basket)
Students : Merah, merah
Teacher : Merah apa bahasa Inggrisnya?
Students : Red, red
Teacher : Kalo yang ini apa warnanya?
(Showing blue basket)
Students : Blue, blue
Students : Blueberry
Teacher : Ada berapa embernya? Ada berapa embernya di depan?
Students : Empat, empat
Teacher : Ada berapa?
Students : Empat
Teacher : Pinter lho, ayo tepuk tangan.
(Students clapped their hands)
Teacher : Di dalam ember itu ada apa ya?
Students : Bola, bola
Teacher : Siapa yang mau ikut main bola?
Students : Saya, saya
Teacher : Siapa yang mau ikut?
Students : Saya, saya
Teacher : Yang dorong- dorongan gak boleh ikut. Yang dorong- dorongan berarti main sendiri. Ayo dengarkan peraturannya.
Students : Hore, hore
Teacher : Bolanya besar apa kecil, anak- anak?
Students : Besar, besar
Students : Kecil, kecil
Teacher : Bolanya warna apa?
(Bringing a basket with colorful ball)
Students : Warna- warni
Teacher : Ayo warnanya apa bolanya?
(Showing blue ball)
Students : Kuning. Kuning
Students : Merah, merah
Students : Hijau, hijau
Students : Blue, blue
Teacher : Dengarkan caranya. Coba ibu guru minta tolong ya.
Student : Ibu, ibu
Teacher : Bu guru minta tolong ya. Ini siapa namanya?
(Pointed one of students)
Teacher : Tiara ya namanya? Ibu guru minta tolong ya? Tiara ambil bola warna biru aja. Trus bolanya masukin di keranjang biru.
Students : Iya, iya
Teacher : Terus, yang ini siapa namanya? Tiara juga?
Students : Bukan, Vira
Teacher : Bu guru minta tolong ama Vira ambil bola yang warnanya merah. Terus dimasukkan ke keranjang warna?
Students : Merah…
Teacher : Iya bener, dimasukkan ke keranjang merah.
Teacher : Caranya gini, kalian ambil satu bola, terus jalan kea rah keranjang terus masukkan bola ke keranjang. Terus nanti balik lagi. Ambil lagi bolanya, masukkan lagi di keranjangnya.
Students : Iya, iya
Teacher : Ayo, yang lainnya duduk, nanti gentian.
(The two students were ready to start game)
Teacher : Kita hitung sama- sama ya. Hitung pake bahasa Inggris.
Students : One, two, three…
(The two students started take the ball and put it into basket)
Teacher : Ayo cepetan
Students : Vira, Vira
(The first game was over)
Teacher : Siapa lagi yang mau maju?
Student 1 : Saya, saya
Student 2 : Saya, saya
Teacher : Siapa ya yang mau maju?
Students : Saya, saya
Teacher : Coba sebutkan nama- nama hari.
Students : Senin, Selasa, Rabu, Kamis, Jum’ta, Sabtu, Minggu
Teacher : Ayo sekarang Andi, Ade, dan Rendy maju. Andi, masukkan bola merah ke keranjang warna merah. Ade, masukkan bola biru ke kerangjang biru. Dan Rendy, masukkan bola kuning ke keranjang kuning.
Students : Siap…
Teacher : Ayo kita hitung
Students : One, two, three…
B. CONVERSATION 2 (Duration around 3 minutes)
Teacher : Ina… Ina, sini nak.
Ais, Andien, dan Nabil ayo ke sini juga.
(The three students came in front)
Teacher : Coba dengarkan. Sekarang gentian Andien, Ina, Aisyah, dan Nabil yang bermain mengumpulkan bola.
Andien, ambil bola yang warna biru dimasukkan ke keranjang merah
Ina, ambil bola yang warna merah dimasukkan ke keranjang hijau
Aisyah, ambil bola yang warna hijau dimasukkan ke keranjang kuning
Nabil, ambil bola yang warna kuning dimasukkan ke keranjang biru
Teacher : Ayo, siapa lagi yang ingin main bola?
Students : Saya, saya
Teacher : Kalau ingin main bola, ayo duduk dulu yang rapi nanti gantian Mari kita hitung sama- sama yuk…
(Teacher and students accounted together: one, two, and three)
Teacher : Ayo mulai
Students : Ina, Ina, Ina
Students : Ais, Ais, Ais
Students : Nabil, Nabil, Nabil
Students : Andien, Andien, Andien
(The students have finished the game)
Teacher : Ayo Ina, udah selesai ngambil bolanya. Ayo kita hitung sama- sama.
Teacher : Ayo dihitung bola- bolanya. Nabil udah belum bolanya. Kalau udah, ayo coba dihitung sama- sama.
(Students accounted the ball)
Students : One, two, three…
Teacher : Ais, dapat berapa bolanya?
Aisyah :Lima, Bu
Teacher : Lima apa Bahasa Inggrisnya?
Students : five
Teacher : coba ditulis di depan, angka 5 itu seperti apa ya?
(She came to the white board and write that number)
Teacher : Iya pintar
Ayo, yang lainnya juga ditulis di depan.
(The game was over, continued to the next game)
Teacher : Ayo, siapa lagi yang mau maju?
Students : Saya, saya, saya..
Teacher : Iya, gentian. Yang ribut gak boleh ikut. Ayo duduk yang rapi.
Students : Saya, saya, saya…
Teacher : Edgar, Ade, dan Dimas, sini maju ke depan.
(The three students started play the game same as the first game)
Teacher : Anak- anak, apakah bola yang sama sudah dimasukin semua?
Students : Sudah…
Teacher : Edgar dapat berapa bolanya?
Edgar : Tiga
Teacher : Kalau Dimas dapat berapa?
Dimas : Dua, Bu.
Teacher : Dua bahasa Inggrisnya apa ya?
Students : Two…
Teacher : Bolanya Edgar ditambah bola Dimas jumlahnya berapa ya?
Ade, berapa jumlah bolanya?
Ade : Lima
Teacher : Bagus. Anak Soleh…
Students : Allahuakbar
Teacher : Sekarang saatnya cuci tangan dan ambil bekal.
Cuci tangannya gak boleh dorong- dorongan ya, tapi???
Students : Satu, Satu
Students : Gantian.
Teacher : Ayo mulai baris dan maju satu- satu.
III. TEACHER TALK ANALYSIS
Based on Wong- Fillmore, it is suggested that there are some characteristics of teacher talk that might work as input.
The characteristics are:
1. The talk has clear separation of Language
When teacher talks to the students, in this case especially kindergarten students, she will talk to them clearly in each word. The aim of talk in clear separation is to make the students understand well what the teacher say and make them easy in following what the teacher want from their words.
For example from the first conversation, the teacher said:
“Teacher : Tiara ya namanya? Ibu guru minta tolong ya? Tiara ambil bola warna biru aja. Trus bolanya masukin di keranjang biru.”
The teacher said that sentence clearly with separation in order to make the students understand what the teacher means. When the students understand what their teacher means, they can do the instruction well.
From the second conversation, it can be seen that there is also similarity the way the when the teacher talk to the students. The teacher talked clearly in separation, so that the students can catch the information from the teacher.
Take for example:
“Teacher : Coba dengarkan. Sekarang gentian Andien, Ina, Aisyah, dan Nabil yang bermain mengumpulkan bola.
Andien, ambil bola yang warna biru dimasukkan ke keranjang merah
Ina, ambil bola yang warna merah dimasukkan ke keranjang hijau
Aisyah, ambil bola yang warna hijau dimasukkan ke keranjang kuning
Nabil, ambil bola yang warna kuning dimasukkan ke keranjang biru”
This statement is long enough for kindergarten students. But, they are able to understand and do the instruction well. It is because the teacher said it clearly and slowly in separation.
2. The talk emphasizes on comprehension, it focuses on communication by:
- Use of demonstration, enactment to convey meaning
Besides informing the message/ saying the sentence orally, a teacher need also demonstration what they want by demonstrating it.
From the conversation, we can illustrate when the teacher asked the students to put the ball in the basket. The teacher not only gave the instruction, the also try to practice it so that the students clearly understand what she means.
e.g.:
Teacher : Ayo sekarang Andi, Ade, dan Rendy maju. Andi, masukkan bola merah ke keranjang warna merah. Ade, masukkan bola biru ke kerangjang biru. Dan Rendy, masukkan bola kuning ke keranjang kuning.
When the teacher said “Andi, masukkan bola merah ke keranjang warna merah” she take the red ball, then she put it in the red basket.
It is very helpful for the students in understanding the information from the teacher.
3. The language used in entirely grammatical, appropriate to the activity by:
- Use simple structure, avoiding complex structure
Teacher should use a simple structure when she talks to the students. A complex structure should be avoided. Using complex structure will make the students confuse. They will be difficult to understand the information when the teacher use complex structure sentence.
In the two conversations, teacher always use simple sentence.
For example:
“Teacher : Ais, dapat berapa bolanya?
Aisyah :Lima, Bu
Teacher : coba ditulis di depan, angka 5 itu seperti apa ya?”
- Repeating the use of some sentence patterns or routines
Repetition is also needed in talking with the kindergarten students. They do not always catch everything that we said to them. Teacher usually needs to repeat the sentence in order to make the students understand the information.
From the conversation, we can take the example of repetition when the teacher talked to the kindergarten students
“Teacher : Di dalam ember itu ada apa ya?
Students : Bola, bola
Teacher : Siapa yang mau ikut main bola?
Students : Saya, saya
Teacher : Siapa yang mau ikut?
Students : Saya, saya”
Besides the characteristics of the teacher talk, there are also some of input modifications. They are:
a) Modifications in speech rate, intonation, and speech sound articulation.
In the two conversations, the teacher usually reduces a number of words and increases length of pauses. She tries to speak slowly in more careful articulation, reduction of vowel and consonant clusters, fewer contractions of verbs phrase constituents often accompany the slower rate of speech.
Example:
Teacher : Halo anak- anak. Sapa yang mau bermain?
Student 1 : Saya mau Bu. Saya Bu.
Teacher : Ayo lihat, warna apa embernya?
Student 3 : Hijau
Students : Biru, biru
Teacher : Warna apa embernya?
b) Modifications of Morphology and syntax
From the complexity of syntax, the following characteristics of modifications were identified:
· There is a shorter average length of T-units in input directed to students than is found in teacher interactions, but there is no significant difference in the number of S-nodes per T-unit.
Example:
Teacher : Kalo yang ini apa warna embernya?
(Teacher showed red basket)
Students : Merah, merah
Teacher : Merah apa bahasa Inggrisnya?
Students : Red, red
Teacher : Kalo yang ini apa warnanya?
(Showing blue basket)
Students : Blue, blue
· There is a wide variety of sentence types, imperatives, and questions, but the sentences are not more or less complex.
Example:
Teacher : Ayo dihitung bola- bolanya. Nabil udah belum bolanya. Kalau udah, ayo coba dihitung sama- sama.
(Students accounted the ball)
Students : One, two, three…
c) Modifications of discourse
Discourse level features of interactional modifications have been less studied than sentence phenomena because procedures and measures for classifying and quantifying them have not been widely agreed. More experience teacher should be use more questions with students and more declaratives with students.
Example:
Teacher : Kalo yang ini apa warna embernya?
(Teacher showed red basket)
Students : Merah, merah
Teacher : Merah apa bahasa Inggrisnya?
Students : Red, red
Teacher : Kalo yang ini apa warnanya?
(Showing blue basket)
Students : Blue, blue
Teacher : Ais, dapat berapa bolanya?
Aisyah :Lima, Bu
Teacher : Lima apa Bahasa Inggrisnya?
Students : five
Teacher : coba ditulis di depan, angka 5 itu seperti apa ya?
(She came to the white board and write that number)
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