Implementing the
AUPA method in Teaching Speaking to
Junior High School Students
A.
Background
Speaking
is a fundamental thing in human communication. Every day, almost people speak
rather than write, listen, and read. Without a good ability in speaking, it
must be hard, especially for foreign language learners or students, to get
natural communication with other foreign people. It must be mastered by them to
get a good achievement in their study. When they cannot speak in the foreign
language that they have studied well, students will get difficulties to achieve
the goal of the subject which they have learned. Carter and Nuan (2001 :15)
state that when speakers are speaking, they must be able to decide the things
they want to speak quickly and develop them correctly, while many people need
long time for that. Because of that speaking is something that is not as easy
as pronouncing words. In speaking people must be able to think the relationship
between each sentence that they want to say.
Teaching
speaking for junior high school students is quiet more difficult than teaching
for elementary school and senior high school students. They are in the
transition process of changing the characteristics and habits. It is not easy
to understand what they want and how to communicate with them. Some of them are
still busy with playing all the time, while others are trying to get their self
confidence. Therefore, in learning foreign language, especially for speaking,
they need a good environment to support and to help them study comfortably. If
the students do not feel comfortable, they will become not interested in the
lesson; they will get difficulties to understand it. Besides that, the way the
teachers teach will also influence them. Teachers must be creative and able to
create good atmosphere to make learning process become fun and interesting.
Teachers also have to make students active, creative, and innovative in
activities during the learning process. In addition, teachers must teach
them in attractive ways to get them fun and interested to the lesson.
The
attractive ways to teach speaking in the junior high school must give the
benefit both for teachers and students. There are some useful ways to attract
students and make students fun and comfortable during learning process. This
paper will be explain and discuss about a good method that will very help
teachers to teach speaking in junior high school classes which focus on how to
teach them attractively . Teachers must establish goals of the learning since
the first meeting by asking the students to write a kind of contract. Teachers
must also memorize all of the students’ names to make the comfortable
atmosphere when the communication is happening. It is also to make them feel
closer with their teachers. Teachers should start every class by having free
conversation. Then, teachers can ask students to memorize some sentences which
are usually used in every class. Teachers also should ask the students to
perform in front of the class and teachers must appreciate them by giving the
rewards.
The
examples above have been formulated into a new method that is called AUPA. It
is the acronym form of Approach, Understanding, Performance, and Appreciation.
Teachers must approach the students first, after approach them students will
understand how their personality, their hobby, their behavior, etc. When the
class is comfortable students will be able and will be brave to perform in
front of the class. The last method teachers should appreciate everything they
have done by giving a kind of reward or giving more attention to them. So that,
process of studying in the class will become interesting and will help students
of junior high school succeed in speaking.
Key
words: fundamental, natural communication, transition process, good atmosphere,
attractive ways, contract , speaking marathon, role plays.
B.
Theoritical Bases
1.
Definition
of Teaching
Based
on Oxford dictionary, teaching is work of a teacher. Keterringham in
voices.yahoo.com (2007) states that teaching is a job that can make something
become good and interesting after the lessons applied in the classrooms.
Teachers have a great purpose that can make the students become smart and
educated. They are not teaching the students to memorize a kind of formula,
rule, or how to know the correct answer, but they want to get their students
really understand the concepts that will be very useful for students’ future
and students’ life. In indiastudychannel.com, Gage in ( In Rajani, 2011) states
“Teaching is a form of interpersonal influence aimed at
changing the behavior potential of another person". Teaching means
influence another person to change her or his behavior into the better one.
Teachers not only teach the students how to count, how to write, and how to
read, but the most important thing that teachers have to teach is how the
students able to change their bad behavior become good and better. Teaching includes all the
activities of providing education to others. Just like what Ryans says ( In Rajani,2011)
indiastudychannel.com that teaching is focus on the activities that are also
focus on the instruction for the learning process of others.
2.
Definition
of Speaking
Speaking
is the second of the four language skills.
Quoted from Brown (1994); Burns & Joyce (1997) in
cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/Speak.html (2013) states that speaking is
an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing
information. Speaking is identical with pronouncing words to communicate with
others. The way someone speaking is depend on the situation, the experiences,
the environment, and the purposes. It is usually spontaneous, but sometimes it
could be unpredictable. Carter and Nuan (2001 :15) state that speaking is very
close with the way students pronounce the words and with the way they receiving new
vocabularies with their own ability. In
ismael1948.edublogs.org ,Spratt (2012) says that speaking is a productive skill
of English that sometimes could be formal and informal depend on the situation
and the formality. Formal speaking is used in the business, academic, and when
meet with new people at the first time. While , informal English is used with
the family, friends, and everyone that has been known well.
3.
Definition
of Junior High School Students
Junior high school students are students who
study in the second level of formal school that is called junior high school.
They are closely related with a word “teenagers”. Based on simple.wikipedia.org
(2013) “teenagers , or teen, is a young person whose age falls within the range from
thirteen through nineteen (13–19). They are called teenagers because
their age number ends in "teen"”. During this age rapid mental and physical development occurs, because of
this junior high school students are not
easy to taught. The transition that occur from thirteen through nineteen is
called adolescence. In en.wikipedia.org (2013), it is a transitional stage
of physical and psychological human development generally occurring during in the period from puberty to legal adulthood (age of majority). Junior high school who are certainly have experienced this
transitional stage need more attention and different ways during the studying
process.
C.
Discussion
As one of
difficult skill of English, speaking needs more attention when it is taught to
the students. Folse (2006 : 11) says that there are five factors which are very
important in a speaking class. They are the learner, the curriculum, the topic,
the two languages and the task or activity. Teachers have to know about that.
They should teach with interesting methods which are appropriate with the
students. Teaching is not an easy job, but it is a necessary one, and can be
very rewarding when the students make a good progress. For make it happened
teachers need method. One of method that
is stated by Folse (2006 :10) is Audiolingualism method. It is a teaching speaking method that focused on
language practices. It is true that teachers should focus on practices but they
also have to know which practices method are appropriate, especially for junior
high school students.
1.
Approach
Method
The first method
from AUPA method that can be applied by teachers when they are teaching
speaking for junior high school students is approach method. It is important
for teachers to approach their students to make the class atmosphere become
comfortable and fun. However, that is
not easy to approach Junior high school students because they are in unstable
condition. They tend to be happy ,but suddenly can also be sad and sensitive.
There are some
ways that teachers can do to approach junior high school students when teaching
speaking. It starts from the first meeting. Martin in eflpress.com (2008) says
that some ways that can be used by teachers to impress the students in the
first meeting are by establishing the lesson goal, arranging the classroom and starting
the lesson with interesting story that can motivate the students. First, teachers must establish goals of the
learning since the first meeting by asking the students write a kind of
contract. Teachers give a sheet of paper contained promises that all of the
students must obey during learning process. For example, the promise can be
like this :
My Promises
1.
I promise to try to speak as much as
possible.
2.
I promise not to be afraid of making
mistakes.
3.
I promise to use English to
communicate.
4.
I promise to ask questions when I do
not understand.
5.
I promise to try to have fun.
(etc)
After that, teachers can ask the
students to sign that paper, it will make them feel responsible with their
promises. Teachers also can arrange the classroom by setting the students’
seats. Teachers are free to make a unique seats setting such as, in a square,
in a circle, in two lines, etc. , because junior high school students usually
like something different and impress an informal situation. Teachers can also
impress the students by telling an interesting story. Tadarnico (2012: 33) says
that teachers should their own stories to interested the students attention
rather than remember and memorize another stories. It
will be very impressive for them at the first meeting.
2.
Understanding
Method
Then, when the students have loved
the situations or atmosphere in the class, teachers should do the second method
of AUPA method. It is called understanding method. Tadarnico (2012: 34) says
that in understanding students, teachers should simplify the materials
appropriate with students ability and focus on a few power ides that students
will remember. Folse (2006: 25) also says that teachers must understand and
present the cautious thought about language when giving the task as right as language
need when the students do their task. While Herrel and Jordan(2012: 28) states
that teachers have to prepare the materials with examples and gestures. Actually, how to understand the students in
teaching speaking is not only about the materials but also how to give them
attractively. Besides that, the way teachers understand the students can also
start from by memorizing students’ name. It can make them feel closer with the
teachers whenever they are called with their original name rather than only
with the word “you”.
Understanding
here also means how teachers can make the students easy to understand and to
get the point of the speaking class lesson. There are some ways to do this.
Teachers can start every meeting with free conversation. It means teachers can
discuss everything such as controversial issues which related with the
students, sports, games, movies, etc. Then, teachers can ask students to
memorize some sentences which usually use in every meeting such as, how to do
greeting, how to ask the spelling of words, how to ask the translation of
words, etc. It will very helpful for them and it will make them feel understood
by the teachers because they have been helped to adapt with their lesson early.
3.
Performance
Method
Third
is performance method. After approach and understand the students well,
teachers come to the most important part for students’ speaking skill. When
they have loved the lesson they will also love to do activities during the
class and they will be brave to show their ability in front of the class
whenever they are asked to perform. Even though they have enjoyed the class,
teachers still have to concern with attractive activities which are appropriate
with them to keep them interesting with the materials. Just like what has Lesco
(2010) said that teachers can use speech, improvisation, skits, and group
discussion to improve junior high school students’ ability. Teachers also can
give other activities that are interesting such as speaking marathon and role
play. Junior high school students will like those activities because they like
to get a challenge and also they still like to play.
Speaking
marathon is a method of teaching speaking like a game in pairs. The pairs that
can keep conversation go on with a little pause they will be the winner of this
game. During this activity
teachers must act as a "policeman" and go from group to group.
However, it is better if the teachers do not tell the group when they are out
or lose, so that everyone continues speaking for as long as possible.
Speech can also helpful for students’ speaking ability. Teachers can ask
student to speech in front of class everything they want in a very short time
(2-3 minutes). The best time to do this
activity is at the end of every meeting. The students are free to choose the
topic , they can tell about their hobbies, their family , their current
activity, or they can give a speech about the conclusion of the materials.
Teachers should not give the limitation for choosing the topic. In addition,
group discussion will also help the students learn in their own ways without
thinking about grammatical error,
because the most important thing in speaking
is their ability to pronounce word by word. After that teachers can
correction the grammar step by step. Role play will also help junior high
school students to develop their speaking ability. As good as others
interesting activities, role play will
influence their self confidence
so much and it will help them to get
more experience and practices in speaking course more.
4.
Appreciation
Method
After
all of students become interested and active in the speaking class, the last
method from AUPA method that teachers have to do is appreciation. Martin (2008)
says that teachers should appreciate students when they can speak English more
and more in every meeting. Teachers can allow them leave the class earlier or
teachers can congratulate in front of all the all of the students that can make
them proud. Lesco (2010) also says that when a teacher ask her or his students
to do speech, skit and presentation she or he has to give comments which are
focus on the positive things immediately and ask the students become better
time to time. Besides that, teachers can
appreciate the students who are brave to perform and the students who can speak
almost English in the class by giving rewards. By appreciating the students
leave the class earlier when they get a good progress will make them proud and
become more interested with the lesson. However, actually the rewards for junior high school students
in term of real things will be more meaningful than only appreciate them by
words. Teachers can give them funny things or interesting things that is
related with their activities such as, a unique diary, mini note book, funny
pen and pencil, etc.. No matter how much the price but the most important thing
is the real thing that they can get by their own performance or their own
achievement.
After implementing the AUPA method,
teachers can get the satisfaction of teaching, because teaching junior high
school students especially for speaking skill is not easy. Junior high school
students would like to be approach by the teachers, they also would love when
they are understood by their teachers. Interesting activities will make the
students become active during the lesson and by appreciating their progress
will make them become more and more active.
D. Conclusion
The
AUPA method is a method that focuses on the way teachers teach the students
attractively. AUPA is abbreviation form from Approach, Understanding,
Performance, and Appreciation. This method not only gives the benefit for the
students but will also very helpful for the teachers. For approach method
teachers can do this by establishing the lesson goal, arranging the classroom
and starting the lesson with interesting story. Then, for understanding method
teachers can understand the students by memorizing students’ name, starting every
meeting with free conversation,
and asking the students to memorize
some sentences which usually use in every class. Third, for performance method
teacher can ask the students perform everything in the class which purpose is
to develop their speaking ability. Teacher can ask them to do speaking
marathon, speech, role
play, and group discussion.
In
conclusion, The AUPA method will be very useful and helpful in learning
process, especially for teaching speaking in junior high school. Teachers not
only focus on the materials but also concern with the transitional stage of physical and psychological students’ development.
It is one of the most important things that should be known by every teacher
who teach junior high school students
REFERENCES
Carter
, Ronald & Nuan , David . 2001 . The
Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
Folse. Keith S. . 2006
. The Art of Teaching Speaking. USA :
University of Michigan.
Herrel , Adrienne L. .
2012. Modeled Talk Demonstrating as You
Talk. USA : Pearson.
Ismael
. 2012. What Is Speaking? . http://ismael1948.edublogs.org/2012/04/20/what-is-speaking/
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Katteringham
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OVAE
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Education). 2013. What Speaking Is. http://www.cal.org/caela/esl-resources/digests/speak.html
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Tadarnico,
Susan . 2012. Want to Be a Writer
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. 2013 . Definition of Teenagers. http://Simple.Wikipedia.Org/Wiki/Teenager:
Wikipedia.com. (Accessed on April 26 th 2013 )
Wikipedia
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