Final assignment of LTT

Language Teaching Technology

Flash Animation as Alternative Media in Teaching Speaking

By:

Yayuk Fitriani

2201410004

LANGUAGES AND ARTS FACULTY

SEMARANG STATE UNIVERSITY

2013

1)      Introduction

Man, as the human life and a social being needs language to communicate and corporate in their society. He needs to express and share his idea, feeling, wish and thought both orally and written. Language assists people to integrate into a cultural and human relationship. Without language it will hard to imagine how he can communicate and create any relationship with another. Speaking is one of the way to communicate between one people and other people.

English is the most important means to link between countries which is widely used not only in politics, economy, social, but also in education aspects. Harmer (1988:1-2) also points out some reasons why people learn English:

a.       People learn English because of the target language community. As they find themselves living either temporally or permanently in the target language community, they will have to speak the target language to survive in that community.

b.      English for specific purposes. The term English for specific purposes or special purposes has been applied for wanting to learn the language.

c.       School curriculum. As English is compulsory subjects and part of the school curriculum, students have to study it both of spoken and written.

d.      Culture. It is one of the interesting reasons why some students are attracted in studying English. They want to know the background of the people who speak it and the place(s) in which it is spoken.

Speaking is the productive oral skill consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning (Balley, 2005: 2). It is “an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information” (Florez in Balley, 2005: 2). Hence, learning speaking is expected to make the students are able to apply it in their communication.

As the foreign language, English is implied in difficult subject by Indonesian students, because they have been speaking their native language which is quite different from English since their child. Therefore, teacher has known what a student needs to do with the new language, which is being able to understand and apply the target language (TL) in social context. To support teaching process teacher needs some aids which is called media to help both students and teacher. Using media such as visual aids are important to help teachers and students learn more effectively. Pictures, photo, games, songs and films are the most popular visual aids being used.

2)      Objectives

The objectives of this essay is giving information about the use of flash animation in teaching speaking.

Because of speaking is very important, we should make the students are interested in learning process. We should make an alternative media to improve student’s interest. One of them is using flash animation that is one of visual aids as alternative media in learning and teaching process. In this case to improve students’ speaking skill.

Flash animation is a kind of a slight change in a sequence of images, when presented within a time frame, gives an illusion of connected movement. Teaching with flash animation has been made to enable the teachers to explore and be acquainted with the technological and audiovisual communication specific resources of animation techniques and use them in the classroom. Besides that, students will be more interest and motivate them to be active and creative to produce new sentences in monologue and dialogue texts.

3)      Review of Related Literature

In this part, I want to present general concept of media and general concept of speaking.

a.       General concept of media

There are some classifications of media according to Geralch and Elly as quoted by Rumampuk (1988: 23), they are:

(1)   Permanent pictures

      Still pictures may be photographs or any objects or events.

(2)   Audio materials

      Audio materials could be used individually and played directly to audiences or over radio or central sound system.

(3)   Motion pictures

      Motion picture is used commonly with computers referring to images designed to move sequentially within a time frame (the fourth dimension). It can refer to the sequence of images drawn by an artist or a computer.

(4)   Television

      By using television, students will know about everything directly both of visual and audio.

(5)   Real materials

      Real materials can help students to identify the object of study.  The examples of real material are people, models, and simulation.

(6)   Programmed and computer-assisted instruction

Programs are sequences of information that are designed to elicit predetermined responses. The most common examples of these are programmed textbooks or instructional programs prepared for computers. The presentation of information is made through any one medium or combination or media.

Another classification, classified by Sadiman (1986: 28-79), instructional media for teaching and learning process especially in Indonesia can be classified into five categories as follows:

(1)   Games and stimulation, example: words, puzzle, role playing.

(2)   Visual media, it can be seen and the function is distributing the message from the sources to the receiver.

(3)   Audio media, it is connecting to one of five senses.

(4)   Audio visual media, it is useful because of their sound and pictures. For examples: televisions and radios.

(5)   Still projector medium, it is the same as visual media. For examples: slide, filmstrip, overhead projector, film, and loop film.

      In this case, I want give information about audio visual media that are flash animations as instructional media. Because of they are appropriate for the teen learners since they sometimes can be used in large-group situations to test the abilities of learns to reproduce or interpret what they have learned or to apply familiar principles to novel problem stated by Harcleroad (1977: 243).

      Murcia (2001:462) assists another classification of media available to classroom today. It is the use of the traditional classification of “nontechnical” and “technical” media. Flash animation is one of “technical” media. It carries a large degree of “entertainment aspect” in that they can play the all of the learners’ imagination into the classroom.

The Functions of Media

      There are so many functions of media to increase the student’s motivation in the learning and teaching process. Based on Murcia’s statement (2001: 461), media help teacher to motivate students by bringing a slice of real life into the classroom and by presenting language in its more complete communicative context.

      Murcia (2001: 461) also states the rational for using media in the language classroom, they are:

(1)   Media serve as an important motivator in the language teaching process.

(2)   Media create a contextualized situation within which language items are presented and practiced.

(3)   Media materials can lend authenticity to the classroom situation, reinforcing for students the direct relation between the language classroom and the outside world.

(4)   Media provide us with a way of addressing the needs of both visual and auditory learners.

(5)   By bringing media into the classroom, teachers can expose their students to multiple input sources. Thus, while decreasing the risk of the students’ becoming dependent on their teachers’ dialect or idiolect, they can also enrich their language experiences.

(6)   Media can help students call up existing schemata and therefore maximize their use of prior background knowledge in the language learning process.

(7)   Media provide teacher with a means of presenting material in a time-efficient and compact manner, and stimulating students’ senses, thereby helping them to process information more readily.

On the other hand, Derek Rowntrie quoted by Rumampuk, (1988: 12) states the rational function of using media in the language classroom, such as:

(1)   Engage the students’ motivation.

(2)   Recall earlier learning.

(3)   Provide new learning stimuli.

(4)   Activate the student’s responses.

(5)   Give speedy feedback.

(6)   Encourage appropriate practice

Media provides not only a density of information but also richness the cultural input in the classroom. They can help students’ process the information and free the teacher from excessive explanation. It can provide contextualization and make solid point classroom activities of some functions of media, as follows engage the student’s motivation, and recall earlier learning. 

The Advantages of Using Flash Animation as the Media

As stated in the previous discussion, that teacher’s creativities including in using media will affect the students’ result in learning process. Flash animation is one of the alternative media that is appropriate to be used in teaching a second language. Flash animation also becomes the part of prepared talk. Based on Harmer (2001: 274) prepared talks represent a defined and useful speaking genre, and if it is properly organized, it can be extremely interesting for both speaker and listener.

Flash animation is different from animation film that very common as the media in learning and teaching process, it is showing all the plot of story, and sometimes boring. Flash animation provides the innovation, it is simpler than animation film but more complex than still pictures. It is also understandable because the idea or the theme is very simple but it is packed in interesting image. The main advantage of flash animation is that students can see the gesture, expression, mood, and also the back sounds.

This media shows a flash with a general idea or themes, therefore students can get an idea of the story talking about and they can guess the whole of the story and pretend themselves as the main actor, hence they can share to their teacher and friends about the past event that have been happen. According to Harmer (2001: 282) the power of creation: can provoke genuinely creative and communicative uses of the language, with students finding themselves “doing new things in English”.

b.      General concept of speaking

Speaking is viewed as a primary skill since people are starting the ideas in their native language through spoken language. After people are being able to speak in their native language, they begin to develop the reading and writing skill. According to Bailey and Savage as quoted by Murcia (2001: 103) speaking in second or foreign language has often been viewed as the most demanding of the four skills.  The definition of speaking is explained in many ways:

(1)   Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information (Florez as cited by Bailey, 2005: 2).

(2)   Speaking is such fundamental human behaviors that do not stop to analyze it unless there is something noticeable about it (Bailey, 2005:2).

(3)   Speaking is a skill which is derives attention very bit as much as literary skill in both first and second language (Bygate, 1987: vii).

(4)   Speaking is the ability presupposes not only of language features, but also the ability to process information and language ‘on the spot’. (Harmer, 2001: 269).

(5)   Speaking is the utterance of intelligible speech that delivers to the public directly and speaking is expressive or telling something (eloquent) to public (Farlex, 2009)

(6)   Speaking is the ability to talk to someone about something to speak, use our voice to produce words in a particular language; to express our ideas or opinions, feelings, thoughts, and beliefs of a person or group of people (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2009).

      Based on the terms of speaking above I conclude that speaking is one of the skills that used to deliver our ideas, opinions, thoughts also showing the author’s feelings to the public in a particular language.

4)      Analysis

Based on the discussion above when we want to teach students’ speaking skill using flash animation there were some actions which had to be done in order to get a better result of students’ speaking skill. The actions which would be done were:

Focusing on the fluency and pronunciation aspects

We used some animation based on the learning material that we want to teach. It can be adjusted based on the standard competence and basic competence. Then they should act as the animation that given, the students not only could make a good idea but also produce a good utterances;

Making a group discussion

Dividing students into some group is one of the strategy to make them interaction with one and each other. It can help them in creating a better condition in the learning activities so that the students could cooperate with other students and felt comfortable in developing their idea based on the flash animations given.

Giving feedback

At the end of the activities teacher shoul give the students feedback about material that they are learn. When the studuents present something based on the animation, the teacher should give more feedback to the students so they would be more enthusiastic and motivated in doing learning and teaching process.

5)      Summary and recommendation

When we want to teach students’ speaking skill using flash animation there were some actions which had to be done in order to get a better result of students’ speaking skill. The actions which would be done were:

(1)   Focusing on the fluency and pronunciation aspects so that the students not only could make a good idea but also produce a good utterances;

(2)   Making a group discussion and creating a better condition in the learning activities so that the students could cooperate with other students and felt comfortable in developing their idea based on the flash animations given.

(3)   Give more feedback to the students so they would be more enthusiastic and motivated in doing learning and teaching process.

Moreover, we should ajust the material that we want to give for the students based on the silabus and lesson plan. It can help the teacher and also the students to make an enjoy teaching and learning. This is very practical to use in the teaching learning. As easy as using power point presentation in microsoft office, but the flash animation is very more interaction and interactive.

6)      Bibliography

Balley, Kathleen M. 2005. Practical English Language Teaching: Speaking. Singapore: McGraw_Hill ELT.

Harmer, Jeremy. 1998. How to Teach English. Essex: Longman.com

Harmer, Jeremy. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Essex: Longman.com

http://www.animwork.dk/TWA/Guide/Guide.html . Accessed on July, 4^th 2013

http://www.babaflash.com. Accessed on July, 3^th 2013.

http://www.irancartoon.com/100/swf/index58.html. Accessed on July, 4^th 2013

http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/open/licencing/fileformat. Accessed on July, 4^th 2013

http://www.physiciedbuffalostate/danower.actionreseach.html. Accessed on July, 3^th 2013

http:// www.wikipedia.com/animation. Accessed on July, 4^th 2013

SLA : Chapter 4

Yayuk Fitriani - 2201410004

Social aspects of interlanguage

1. What are approches to incorporating a social angle on the study study of L2 acquisition?

a. The first views interlanguage as consisting of different ‘styles’ which learners call upon under different condition of language.

b. The second concerns how social factor determine the input that learner use to construct their interlanguage.

c. The third considerers how the social identities that learners negotiate in their interactions with native speaker.

2.      What is ‘Convergence’?

Convergence’ is the process by which speakers make their speech similar to their interlocutors’ speech. L2 acquisition can viewed as ‘long-term convergence’ towards native-speaker norms.

3.      What is ‘Divergence’?

Divergence is the process by which speakers make their speech different from their interlocutors’ speech. Frequent divergence can be considered to impede L2 acqiosition.

4.      What is ‘Investment’?

Investment is Learners’ commitment to learning an L2, which is viewed as related to the social identities they construct for themselves as learners.

5.      What are the three socio-cultural models of L2 acquisition?

1.      Interlanguage as a stylistic continuum
-stylistic continuum (Elaine Tarone)...Why learner language is variable, from a careful style to a vernacular style
-accomodation theory (Howard Gile)...How a learner’s social group influences the course of L2 acquisition.

2.      The acculturation model (John Schumann)
-Pidginization takes place when learners are unable or unwilling to adapt to a new culture because of the social distance and psychological distance from L2 group.

3.      Social identity and investment (Bonny Peirce)
-Learners have complex social identities. Investment is required in order to establish an identity.

SLA :Chapter 6

Psycholinguistic aspects of interlanguage from Piphyt Areaa

Summary Chapter 6

Second Language Acquisition

Yayuk Fitriani – 2201410004

Rega Giyang Girana Z – 2201410088

Annisa Mustikanthi – 2201410094

CHAPTER 6

Psycholinguistic aspect of interlanguage

L1 transfer

The learner’s L1 is one of the sources of error in learner language. This influence is reffered to as negative transfer. However, in some cases, the learner’s L1 can facilitate L2 acquisition. For example, French learners of English are much less likely to make errors of this kind”

The man whom I spoke to him is a millionaire.

than Arabic learners because French does not permit resumptive pronouns (like ’him’) in relative clauses whereas Arabic does. The type of effect is known as positive transfer.

L1 transfer refers to the influence that the learner’s L1 exerts over the acquisition of an L2.

•      The learner’s L1 is one of the sources of error in learner language (negative transfer)

•      The learner’s L1 can facilitate L2 acquisition (positive transfer)

Errors were largely the result of interference (another term for negative transfer) in the heyday of behaviourism.

Behaviourist theories led to two developments:

•      Some theorist, espousing strong mentalist accounts of L2 acquisition, sought to play down the role of the L1.

•      Reconceptualize transfer within a cognitive framework.

Transfer errors do not always occur when they are predicted to occur. Differences between the target and native language do not always result in learning difficulty.

According to Eric Kellerman, learners treat some linguistic features as potentially transferable and non-transferable. Kellerman found that advanced Dutch learners of English had clear perceptions about which meanings of ‘breken’ (‘break’) were basic in their L1. He also found that they were prepared to translate a sentence like:

                        Hij brak zijin been. (He broke his leg.)

Directly into English, using ‘broke’ for ‘brak’ but were not prepared to give a direct translation of a sentence like:

                        Het ondergrondse verset werd gebroken. (the underground resistance was broken.)

Other researchers have found that the transfer of some L1grammatical features is tied to the learners of English.

When language transfer takes place there is usually no loss of L1 knowledge. This obvious fact has led to the suggestion that a better term for referring to the effects of the L1 might be ‘cross-linguistic influence.’

The role of consciousness in L2 acquisition

Adults seem to have work hard and to study the language consciously in order to succeed when they acquire L2. in contrast, children seem to do so without conscious effort when they acquire their L1.

            Two opposing position can be identified. Stephen Krashen has argued the need to distinguish ‘acquired’ L2 knowledge (i.e. implicite knowledge of language) and ‘learned’ L2 knowledge (i.e. explicit knowledge about language). Krashen’s claim that the two knowledge system are entirely independent of one another and that ‘learned’ knowledge can never be converted into ‘aquired’ knowledge. This contradicts skill building theories of L2 acquisition according to which learners can achieve grammatical accuracy by authomatizing ‘learned’ knowledge through practice.

            Richard Schmidt has poinyed out that the term ‘consciousness’ is often used very loosely in SLA and argues that there is a need to standardize  the concept that underlie its use. For example, he distinguihes between consciousness as ‘intentionality’ and consciousness as ‘attantion’. ‘Intentionality’ that refers to whether a learner makes an conscious and deliberate decition to learn some L2 knowledge. He failed to recognize that ‘incidental’ acquisition might in fact still involving some degree of conscious ‘attention’ to input. In the other words, learning incidentally is not the same as learning without conscious attention.

            Irrespective of whether learners learn implicitly or explicitly, it is widely accepted that they can acquire different kind of knowledge. Explicit knowledge may help learners to move from intake to acquisition by helping to notice the gap between what they have observed in the input and the current state of their interlanguage as manifested in their own output.

            Another way of identifying the processes responsible for interlanguage development is to deduce the operations that learners perform from a close inspection of their output. We shall examine two of them here; operating prinsiples and processing constrains.

            Operating principles is the study of the L1 acquisition of many different language has led to the identification of a number of general strategies which children use to extract and segment linguistic information from the language they hear.

            Processing constrains sought to account for both why learners acquire the grammar of a language in a definite order and also why some learners only develop very simple interlanguage grammar.

To account for progress along the developmental axis a number of processing constraints have been proposed. These govern when it is possible for a learner to move from one stage to another. Later they develop the ‘initialization/finalization strategy’ which enables them to move elements at the end of a structure to the beginning and vice versa but prevents them moving elements within a structure.

Later, learners achieve access to the ‘subordinate clause strategy’, which premits movement of elements within main clauses but blocks them in subordinate clauses.

Communication strategies

In order to overcome this problem learners resort to various kinds of communication strategies. If learners do not know a word in the target language they may ‘borrow’a word from their L1 or use another target-language word that is approximate in meaning, or try to paraphrase the meaning of the word, or even constructan entirely new word.

Communication strategies are seen as part of the planning phase. They are called upon when learners experience some kind of problem with an initial plan which prevents them from executing it. They can either abandon the initial plan and develop an entirely different one by means of a reducation strategy or try to maintain their original communicative goal by adopting some kind of achievement strategy.

We might expect, therefore, that the choice of communication strategies will reflect the learners’ stage of development. For example, learners might be expected strategies as their knowledge of the L2 develops. It would also be interesting to discover whether the use of communication strategies has any effect on L2 acquisition.

Two types of computational model

One type involves the idea of ‘serial processing’. That is, information is processed in a series of sequential step and results in the representation of what has been learned as some kind of ‘rule’ or ‘strategy’.

The alternative type of apparatus involves the idea of parallel distributed processing. This credits the learner with the ability to perform a number of mental tasks at the same thing. Models based on paralled distributed processing reject the whole notion of ‘rule’.

SLA : Chapter 3

Yayuk Fitriani - 2201410004

 5 questions and answers

 1.

Q : According to behaviourist learning theory, language learning is like any other kind of learning in that it involves habit formation. How habit are formed? 

A : Habit are formed when learners respond to stimuli in the environment and subsequently have their responses reinforced so that they are remember. 

2.

Q : Mention the concept of interlanguage that involves thr following premises about L2?

A : a. The learner constructs a system of abstract linguistic rules which underlies comprehention and production of L2. 

b. The learner’s grammar is permeable. 

c. The learner’s grammar is traditional.

d. Some reseachers have claimed that the system learners constract contain variable rules. 

e. Learners employ various learning strategies to develop their interlanguages.

f. The learner’s grammar is likely to fossilize. 

3.

Q : What is the result in an interlanguage continuum? 

A : Learners change their grammar from one time to another by adding rules, deleting rules, and restucturing the whole system. That is, learners construct a series of mental grammars or interlanguages as they gradually increase the complexity. 

4.

Q : Give explanation about the human mind function like computer? 

A : The basic computational metaphore that has grown out of interlanguage and that inform much of SLA. The learner is exposed to input, which is processed in two stages. 

 5.

Q : Give the example of the different kind of error learners produce reflect different learning strategies! 

A : Ommission errors suggest that learner are in some way simplifyingthe learning task by ignoring grammatical features that they are not yet ready to process.

SLA: CHAPTER 2

SLA chapter 1