Convergence (ISSN: 2528-648X) Vol. 1 No. 2, Januari 2016misterhusni.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/No.-85-97-Artikel-pak-aam...bahasa itu sendiri. Penggunaan kemampuan bahasa saja

Convergence (ISSN: 2528-648X) Vol. 1 No. 2, Januari 2016

85

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHING ENGLISH FOR

COMMUNICATION STUDIES IN GLOBAL ERA

Aam Alamsyah

English Department of Buddhi Dharma University

ABSTRACT

This writing aims at highlighting the paradigm in English

language teaching which is dynamically changing due to globalization.

The writer believes that today’s English teaching should cater more

factors which are inseparable in the language learning such as the ability

to identify the context or situation, the ability to understand the learners’

cultural background, as well as the sufficient mastery of linguistic

elements.

The mere use of linguistic capacity will certainly be insufficient

since language operates in a certain society, thus resulting in the

differences in the language use based on the characteristics of a society.

The ability to know the learners’ cultural background is therefore

considered extremely important since this directly represents the

society within which the learners lead their life. It is high time for those

involved in policy making of English language teaching to identify the

demands of the users of English in the contemporary world so that they

might be able to cater the students’ expectation well.

Keywords: The teaching, English, communication, globalized era.

ABSTRAK

Tulisan ini dimaksudkan untuk menyoroti paradigm dalam

pengajaran bahasa Inggris yang secara dinamis terus berkembang

karena adanya tuntutan globalisasi. Penulis percaya bahwa

pengajaran bahasa Inggris pada dewasa ini harus mengakomodasi

lebih banyak faktor yang tidak terpisahkan dalam pembelajaran

bahasa seperti: kemampuan untuk mengenali konteks ataupun situasi,

kemampuan memahami latar belakang budaya dari pembelajarnya,

disamping juga faktor-faktor yang berkaitan dengan penguasaan

bahasa itu sendiri.

Penggunaan kemampuan bahasa saja tentu saja tidak lah cukup

karena bahasa pada dasarnya beroperasi pada masyarakat tertentu

sehingga menimbulkan perbedaan dalam hal menggunakan bahasa itu

sesuai dengan ciri-ciri dari masyarakatnya. Karena itu, kemampuan

untuk mengetahui latar belakang budaya dari pembelajar/pembicara

adalah sangat penting karena hal ini mencerminkan masyarakat


86

dimana pembelajar/pembicara menjalani kehidupannya. Oleh karena

itu, dipandang sangat penting bila pemangku kebijakan pengajaran

bahasa Inggris agawr mengenali tuntutan dari para pemakai bahasa

tersebut dalam dunia yang modern yang mana, pemenuhan harapan

tersebut merupakan upaya pemenuhan harapan para pembelajarnya.

Kata kunci: Pengajaran, Bahasa Inggris, Komunikasi, Era Globalisasi.

INTRODUCTION

The Use of English in Today’s World

The existence of English has long been considered as a

hegemony which undermines the legacy of other languages in the

world. At the same time, the need to use English has also been

considered as a necessity due to the need of the increasing interactions

among people around the world.

Admittedly, the increasing tendency of interaction among

people around the world has reached an unprecedented level, thus

driving the need of the global language which can accommodate the

world people who might have differences in several respects. With

regard to the above phenomenon, globalization is believed to be one of

the major factors which drive people to communicate among each other.

Giddens (2001) perceives that globalization constitutes the process

which enables the world people to intensify their social relations and

interdependence (p. 51). Further, Kluver (2004) reinforces that

although the term globalization specifically refers to economic process,

globalization can also impact socially and culturally (p. 426).

The existence of English as a global language (Crystal, 1997)

has been widely recognized as the necessary tool enabling people to

interact around the world in globalization era. Another term of English

that is as lingua franca has also strengthened the image of English as

the only communication tool which can possibly bridge those coming

from different linguistic and cultural background (see e.g., Harmer,

2001). The need to adopt English for global communication has also

opened up those serving language learners to specifically tailor their

program so that their students’ expectation can be fulfilled effectively.

This writing aims at highlighting the issue of English as a

communication tool which is widely learned by numerous people

around the world, thus requiring more comprehensive approach in

accommodating the needs of the learners specifically, and other

education stakeholders in general.


87

In this writing, the writer will try to elaborate the concept related

to the use of English in today’s world, starting from the nature of

language, principles in language teaching, and other relevant aspects in

the globalized world, such as the concept of globalization which will be

incorporated into this writing.

In sum, this writing is expected to open up our awareness toward

the use of English, either as a means for communication or as the

teaching process which requires our new insight due to the intricate

relationship of English with other dynamic factors.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The Learning Process of English Teaching

The learning process of language teaching has been long

contemplated by various scholars, thus resulting in various methods in

language teaching. Some of them which are worth-discussing are to be

discussed: grammar translation method, direct method, and

communicative language teaching (Brown, 2001, pp. 18-36).

Despite the fact that there are numerous language teaching

methods, for the sake of simplicity and comprehensibility, the writer

will just elaborate certain teaching methods, due to the fact that these

methods are still widely practiced by so many educators/teacher around

the globe and categorized as the most popular ones.

The use of grammar translation method, despite being

considered as “baseless theory” (see e.g., Brown, 2001, p. 18), is still

widely applied in today’s teaching practices. The use of grammar

translation method was previously driven by need of people who

learned English for the academic purpose, thus requiring the learner to

understand more textual materials rather than oral practices. Therefore,

in the use of grammar translation method, the learners will only speak

or communicate simply and merely communicate their ideas based on

the commonly adopted grammar. However, besides being considered

as less realistic language teaching due to the emphasis on the structure,

while neglecting possible sociocultural aspect which is given in other

teaching method (e.g., the use of different expressions when asking for

a favor, “could you help me, please? “could you do me a favor..?”, I

wonder if you could help me ….?”, etc. might not be found due to the

emphasis to simplify the grammatical aspect to the students).

In sum, the use of different expressions are not discussed, since

the teacher will just use the pattern which is commonly understood by

the people, such as “ can you help me …, please?” and so forth.


88

However, the use of grammar translation method is also considered the

simplest teaching method which helps the learners (i.e., the lower level

English learners) to speak actively by simply adopting the simple

structure, thus enabling them to communicate understandably.

The use of direct method is quite different, in that it urges the

learners to directly communicate without having to think much of the

grammar or other difficult expression. The inventor of this method is

Gouin (see e.g., Brown, 2001, pp. 19-21) seems to be attracted by the

little kid who directly learns to speak without ever thinking about the

mistakes he produces, thus making him more comfortable in producing

sentences.

While being applauded as more naturalistic approach (as it is

often termed) this method is not without defect. The use of instant

English in the class will also prevent the learner to speak since the

learners might have some differences from others, take for example, the

difference of personality. In fact, Lightbown and Spada (2001) believe

that personality is one of the factors which can possibly affect the

learners. In this case, the learners who are categorized as introverted

will usually lag behind those having extroverted personality. Therefore,

they encourage teacher to anticipate this tendency by considering

several aspects related to the learners’ difference when conducting the

teaching or learning process.

Likewise, while encouraging the students to speak in native

language (Harmer, 2007), he also allows that in some instances, the use

of mother tongue or native language can be used as long as it is deemed

necessary to support the learning process, for instance when motivating

the students, or clarifying difficult concept in English. It has been

proven that, in some English class, there are difficult terms that need

extra time and energy for the teacher to explain to students. However,

it might need simple and a little time and effort when being explained

in the students’ native language, thus the use of native language might

also be useful in some cases (see e.g., Cook, 2010).

Lastly, the invention of communicative language teaching is

considered as the hallmark of human’s effort in searching the most

suitable method for fulfilling humans’ need to communicate. Despite

being termed similarly as the human’s need for communication, there

are still some problems in that those applying this concept should take

into account. For instance, the use of communicative language teaching

is basically aimed at providing the language learners with some


89

functions, structure, theme, task, and so forth which can be used when

they are interacting with the new language (Brown, 2001, pp. 34-35).

Specifically, the use of English in certain conditions, for

example, in the market will certainly need different functions (e.g.,

different expression, different words, and grammatical element), thus

providing the learners with certain expression is mandatory in

communicative language teaching, for instance when the learners are

buying something, the function provided will be specifically tailored

for buying, bargaining, and so forth. Thus the common expression

learned by the learners will be “How much is ……………?” or “can I

bargain?” and many more.

However, since the doctrine of communicative language

teaching is still dominated by the previously taught paradigm entailing

sociolinguistic aspects. Thus, the cultural factor applied in this method

is chiefly based on the native cultural values instead of the commonly

accepted world values. In fact, Alptekin (2002) has strongly questioned

the legacy of the native English cultural values, due to the fact that the

most communication practices conducted around the world will be

more among non-native English speakers, instead of between British or

American people.

English as a Language

Since English is a language, it is important for us to know that

the use of English will be relatively similar to other language that is for

communication. The use of English for communication is the one that

has been long considered by so many scholars. However, due to the

different perspectives, the use of English as communication tool is also

seen differently by different scholars. This argument is proven by

previously adopted tenets in language teaching methods, such as

grammar-translation method, direct method, and communicative

language teaching.

Based on the above argument, the writer considers that it is

important to elaborate the definition postulated by some scholars

regarding the concept of the nature of language. Firstly, the writer tries

to forward some of the definitions on language which are commonly

adopted in language scholarship.

Finnochiaro defines that language is a system of arbitrary, vocal

symbols which permit all people in a given culture, or other people who

have learned the system of that culture, to communicate or to interact

(1964, p. 8). Further, Bonvillain (2014, p. 1) defines language as an


90

integral part of human behavior used mainly for interaction between

people in order to convey their thought, feelings, intention and desires

to others.

In support of the above scholar, Brown (2000, p. 5) classifies

the properties of language as follows: (1) Language is systematic and

generative. (2) Language is arbitrary. (3) Those symbols are primarily

vocal, but may also be visual. (4) The symbols have conventionalized

meanings to which they refer. (5) Language is used for communication.

(6) Language operates in a speech community or culture. (7) Language

is essentially human, although possibly not limited to humans. (8)

Language is acquired by all people in much the same way, language

and language-learning both have universal characteristics.

Based on the above concepts, it can be loosely interpreted that

language might be considered as a means for people in certain cultural

environment to communicate their thinking, feeling, and intention to

other people. Further, language also constitutes vocal symbols which

are arbitrary, as well as having certain conventionalized meaning based

on the culture of the people.

METHODE

A Brief Highlight on The Theory of Communication

In order to gain a more comprehensive insight on the use of

language in communication practice, the writer also incorporates the

theory of communication which is commonly adopted by numerous

scholars. The figure below indicates how general concept of

communication process occurs:

Figure 1.

General model of Communication (Cruise, 2004, pp. 5-6)

{Message}(Encoding)

Sender -------------->

From the above figure, Cruise, (2004, pp.5-6, as citing Lyons)

shows several components supporting the process of communication,

such as 1) Message which belongs to the main part communicated

between the speaker and the hearer and normally converted into a form

that can be transmitted, namely a signal, or in ordinary conversation this

Transmitted

signal

Received

signal

Channel

Noise

(Decoding) {Message}

Receiver


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process called as linguistic encoding or can be loosely termed as the

attempt to translate the message into linguistic form. 2) Transmitted

signal which constitutes the acoustic signal to be sent to the hearer.

Later on, this transmitted signal travels in various forms such

as: speech, auditory, writing or sign language, the visual channel, and

so forth. As the signal travels from sender to receiver it alters in various

ways through distortion, interference or anything constitutes irrelevant

stimuli that prevent communication and cause loss or fading. These

changes are referred collectively as noise. 3) Noise is considered as

disturbance which might hamper the process of transferring transmitted

signal into the relatively similar condition when being received, or

namely received signal. 4) Received signal is the signal which is

received by the receiver after conducting some effort, namely decoding

for the purpose of receiving the message.

From the above theory it can be interpreted that communication

process is not simply the act of sending message to the hearer, but it

also involves the process of transmitting the message, being received

through the noise. Naturally, there are some noises which might affect

communication process some of them are articulation (insufficient oral

capacity in pronouncing the message), incomplete lexical usage

(inaccurate language structure), and cultural background of the hearer

which tends to perceive things differently.

Besides emphasizing language use and usage (the first refers to

fluency of the learners in producing sentences, and secondly refers to

the accuracy of the structure) (see Brown, 2001), Brown (2000) also

emphasizes the importance of culture which he considers as the way of

people’s life, thus resulting in different way of behaving, thinking, and

feeling.

Principles of Language Teaching/Learning

Brown D, H. (2001, pp. 3-10) also categorizes some

aspects/factors to heed in teaching/learning foreign language, they are:

1. Automaticity. This principle considers that learning process will

require the students to produce more than just to think about the

grammatical aspect of the language learned. Brown believes that

lingering to the grammar will tend to hamper the students’ effort in

producing the language. (2) Meaningful learning. This principle

means that the learner will generally have more chance to retain

information given by the teacher when the information given is

more meaningful rather than just in rote-learning exposure. In short,


92

this concept encourages the teacher to provide more meaningful

information/learning process so that the students can retain longer

rather than just providing students with a mere rote learning process

during the class.

2. Anticipation of reward. This concept considers that the learner will

usually be driven to learn or act due to the perceived reward that the

learners might have, thus providing some information regarding the

usefulness of the learners’ activity in learning English should be

clearly explained to students in order to make them aware of the

reward of their sacrifice.

3. Intrinsic motivation is a concept which considers that internally

supported motivation is deemed as more significant than just an

externally oriented effort given by the teacher. However, most

learners will usually need external drive since not all students are

fully aware of their effort in learning a foreign language.

4. Strategic investment refers to the students’ differences in their

effort, energy, and time that they have sacrificed, thus explaining

the significance of every effort spent in the learning process is

important in that they might value every effort that they have

sacrificed during the learning process. Above all, the investment

that every student has sacrificed will be different and largely

depends on their learning commitment, thus resulting in different

accomplishment too.

5. Language ego refers to the people’s way in seeing themselves when

learning a new language (typically termed as a second language

identity). Brown believes that the learner might sometimes feel

fragile, and inhibited due to their new experience in learning a new

language.

6. Self-confidence refers to believing oneself as capable learner which

is certainly vital in supporting the learning process because a learner

with significant amount of confidence will probably have more

positive picture on their learning capacity as well as the learning

process conducted by him.

7. Risk-taking refers to the ability of being able to do the task of

learning language which is relatively similar to the process of

“gambling”. Therefore Brown strongly suggests that those who

might be willing or dare to take a risk, or called as risk takers can

possibly take more significant progress compared with those who

are introverted or inhibited in their practicing their language.


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8. Language- culture connection is a principle which considers that

language learning should always be connected to the actual use of

the language, thus exposing the students to the native-like culture

as a necessary aspect to be done by the teacher. However, Brown

(2001) also warns that the teacher should always be careful in

selecting certain materials which might be considered rude or

abusive in another culture.

9. The native language effect refers to naturally born language which

can be both facilitating and interfering on the production and

comprehension of the new language. However, most scholars

believe that the interfering effects are likely to be the most salient.

The teacher, therefore, is expected to be aware of this phenomenon

and might not force the students to speak in a native-like manner

since this will be very difficult in their beginning process, due to

their linguistic differences with the newly learned language.

10. Inter-language refers to the deeply rooted native language which the

learner usually has, thus resulting in “inter-language”, or a language

“between the two”, Brown prefers saying it as “quasi-systematic

developmental process” which means that a learner can make some

mistakes because of his position “in- between the two languages”

when using a foreign language.

11. Communicative competence is a principle which emphasizes the

primary cause of leaning a language that is for communicative

purposes. Therefore, both the teacher and the students should be

made aware of their learning process so that they can produce good

communicative ability.

DISCUSSION

English for International Communication or Intercultural

Communication?

The concept of English as international communication has

been widely recognized, while the newly discussed paradigm presented

here is the use of English as intercultural communicative means. In

support for the later term, scholars such as Alptekin (2002), Byram and

Morgan (as cited in Hinkel, 2012) suggest that the existence of culture

embedded to the learners of the second language is an inseparable, and

thus considered important factor to be accommodated by those adopting

communicative language teaching. In such assertive manner, Byram

and Morgan (as cited in Hinkel, 2012) argue that “it is axiomatic in our


94

view that cultural learning has to take place as an integral part of

language learning, and vice versa” (p. 7).

They further postulate that second language learners enter the

second language classroom with their own native cultures, which are

already part of themselves. Thus, it is impossible that L2 learners will

simply get rid of their own cultures for the sake of L2 and L2 cultures

((Byram & Morgan as cited in Hinkel, 2012, p. 7). Slavin (2009), alike,

believes that by the time children enter into their school, they have

already absorbed many aspects of certain cultural aspects such as the

language used to communicate, belief, attitude, ways of behaving, and

food preferences (p. 92).

With the increasing number of non-native English speakers in

the world nowadays, the need to incorporate the world culture is getting

more arguable since the possible communication practices conducted

will be more among non-native speakers rather than the native ones

(e.g., American, British, or Australian) (Alptekin, 2002). The above

argument has further aroused the interest of those defending the cultural

background of the learners to encourage more teaching material which

accommodate local cultures, instead of foreign culture which might be

strange to the students. In addition, the rejection of many English

learners around the world toward the teaching material which is

considered abusive, and against the students’ norms or cultural values

has also reminded those providing English language teaching around

the world (see e.g., Hu, 2002; Jabeen & Shah, 2011).

Last but not least, Atkinson, (as cited in Palmer 2013) asserts

that culture (student’s cultural background) is an important component

of ESL/EFL teaching and warns those working in the field of teaching

in order to be cautious with their actions (p. 625). Instructors who

ignore the cultural component of their ESL/EFL teaching could

possibly face “frustration, misapprehensions, intercultural conflict, and

ultimately school failure” (Le Roux as cited in Palmer, 2013, p. 4).

The Role of Teacher in Today’s English Teaching

There have been many scholars who theorize the existence of

the teacher in language learning. All of them believe that the existence

of teacher in a learning process is important. Specifically, Harmer

(2001), for instance, suggests that there are some roles of the teacher

that should be performed when conducting the learning process such as

the role of teacher as a manager, the role of teacher as a facilitator, and

a model in producing standardized pronunciation. Ur (1991) asserts that


95

the role of teacher might include a motivator, and confidant or the one

who can establish good rapport with the students.

Brown (2001) specifically categorizes the teacher’s skills into

four large divisions:1) Technical knowledge which constitutes the

sufficiency to master the material to be taught to the students (i.e.

English, math, biology etc.), 2) Pedagogical knowledge which is

considered as the ability to deliver the material. This knowledge is

related to the way teacher to deliver the lesson effectively, and

identifying some important aspects which support the process of

learning such as the knowledge on the students’ motivation, ability to

recognize the differences among the students, and so forth, 3)

Interpersonal quality refers to the ability to establish good rapport with

the students, and 4) Personal quality is related to the teacher’

commitment to maintain ethic, commitment pertaining to the profession

that he has.

In sum, the role of teacher is basically numerous, and some of

them are as the one who is able to organize the learning process, the one

who can motivate the students, the one who is able to make good

relationship with the students, the one who is able to maintain his/her

dignity with the profession, and many more.

CONCLUSION

Based on the above theories, and arguments above, the writer

can conclude some of the followings:

1. The need to communicate in English clearly indicates the need

to interact in a global era where people tend to be more

connected and interdependent toward each other. This demand

is basically commercial, instead of social. Therefore, the

researcher believes that the need to learn English should be

geared toward the ability to communicate and other aspects

which might hamper their communication practices (e.g., noises

encountered by the speakers). The good learning or teaching

process should also consider many aspects such as automatic

practice, meaningful teaching process, the process which

encourages students to learn and be aware of their learning

process, and understanding toward the students’ differences.

2. The need to identify the speaker’s cultural background is

important due to the fact that there will be more English

speakers who come from the expanding circle (non-native

English speakers), instead of the inner circle (e.g., British,


96

American, Australian, etc.). With the growing number of the

non-native speakers, there should be more effort to

accommodate more globally accepted values in the English

language learning process, with which the learners can possibly

use this information when having actual communication with

the different speakers of different cultural background.

3. The role of English teacher in the contemporary English

teaching should not merely as the one who delivers the learning

material, but also the one who has certain qualities, including

technical skill, pedagogical skill, interpersonal, and personal

quality. In practical sense, a good teacher must be the one who

is able to manage the class, motivate the students, facilitate the

learning process, and lastly making good relationship with the

students. Above all, the teacher should also be the one who cares

with the students’ differences, especially with regard to the

students’ cultural background, since this will definitely indicate

their identity, and the way of their life.

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https://dspace.aus.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11073/5989/29.232-2013.06%20-%20Bridget%20Palmer.pdf?sequence=1

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Convergence (ISSN: 2528-648X) Vol. 1 No. 2, Januari 2016misterhusni.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/No.-85-97-Artikel-pak-aam...bahasa itu sendiri. Penggunaan kemampuan bahasa saja