Furaidah (2013) The teaching of English preparing students for English National Examination: a washback study / Furaidah. Doctoral thesis, Universitas Negeri Malang.
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Furaidah. 2013. The Teaching of English Preparing Students for English National Examination a Washback Study. Dissertation English Language 12288 12288 12288 12288 Teaching Graduate Program State University of Malang. 12288 12288 12288 12288 Advisor (I) Prof. Ali Saukah M.A. Ph.D. (II) Prof. Adnan Latief M.A. 12288 12288 12288 12288 Ph.D. and (III) Prof. Utami Widiati M.A. Ph.D. Key words English national examination high-stakes test washback Indonesian 12288 12288 12288 12288 context 12288 12288 12288 12288 12288 12288 12288 12288 The implementation of high-stakes English National Examination (ENE) has inflicted controversy over the washback of the test toward the teaching and learning of English. Many disagree due to the negative washback considered as the inevitable corollary of a high-stakes test that far outweighs the positive washback. This study aims at finding out how teachers actually teach English to prepare their students for English national examination. The research problem is further elaborated into four questions 1) What is the focus of the teachers teaching to prepare their students for ENE 2) What teaching materials do teachers use to prepare their students for ENE 3) How do teachers manage the allocation of time to prepare their students for ENE 4) What are the classroom activities that the teachers use to prepare their students for ENE This is a qualitative descriptive study in which data were collected in their natural context using non-participatory observations interviews and questionnaires. The subjects taken purposively were the English teachers teaching at the twelfth grade. 12288 12288 12288 12288 The research sites included 5 schools which were classified into 3 schools of low achievers (SLOW) and 2 schools of high achievers (SHIGH). The categorization was based on the schools inputs average scores of junior high school national examination and the rationale that high-stakes tests affect high achieving and low achieving students differently. The number of research sites for each category followed data redundancy that allowed confirmation of findings. 12288 12288 12288 12288 The findings reveal that the teachers in both groups of schools held exam preparation classes to prepare their students for ENE. At the preparation classes the teachers focused on teaching how to answer listening and reading multiple-choice questions and sometimes vocabulary. The materials used were mostly in multiple-choice-question format and were taken from previous examination questions downloaded from internet bought from commercial publisher or (in one SHIGH) self constructed by the teachers. In terms of time allocation there was a significant increase at the SLOW. The classroom activity was mostly drilling in which the students answered the multiple-choice questions and it was teacher-centered with minimal interactions among the students. At the SLOW the teachers used Indonesian frequently and translation to deal with unfamiliar words and they perceived that their students had limited vocabulary and language competence. At the SHIGH English was the medium of instruction and the teachers perceived that their student already had the required language competence. At the two groups of schools the preparation for ENE was conducted in different mode. At the SHIGH the preparation classes coexisted with the regular teaching that was more communicative while at the SLOW it replaced the regular teaching almost totally. Such provision of the exam preparation and the different mode suggest the occurrence of the bi-direction and the different intensity of washback. The positive washback is indicated in the provision of the preparation program that shows that ENE indeed can increase the teachers or schools attention towards the teaching of English. The negative washback which is more intensive at the SLOW is indicated in the teaching to the test phenomenon that result in the narrowing focus of curriculum only on listening and reading aligning the teaching to the tested skills in ENE impromptu vocabulary teaching the teachers reliance on ENE-like materials and the mechanical interactions in the classrooms. The occurrence and intensity of negative washback however is conditional depending on the teachers perception about the level of their students competence safe for passing ENE. If the teachers perceive that their students already acquire the competence the negative washback will be minimal and conversely if the teachers have the opposite perception the negative washback will be more intensive. Furthermore the higher the quality of the school the less intensive the negative washback of ENE toward the teaching of English will be. 12288 12288 12288 12288 Based on the findings it is suggested that the government take some measures to help the students at the schools whose result of ENE is consistently not satisfactory despite the great time investment. Based on teachers complaints about their students limited vocabulary the government should provide a systematic vocabulary development integrated in the government-endorsed textbooks because teachers tend to treat textbooks as surrogate curriculum and textbooks frequently become the only accessible learning resources for students from lower middle class. The sufficient size of vocabulary can help not only the development of listening and reading skills so that students will be able to tackle ENE but also for the development of the other language skills. If such support cannot be yet implemented for some reasons it is suggested that the government let the schools themselves decide the degree of the stakes of ENE so that no students will be harmed. It is also suggested that the government motivate the SHIGH and SLOW to conduct need assessment to investigate what the students really need to attain the required competence or beyond. Based on the result of the need assessment a syllabus can be developed accordingly to avoid cramming fashion in preparing the students for ENE. Further studies are suggested to do focusing on the daily teaching of English at grade 10 and 11 at the schools with the highest time allocation but unsatisfactory result of ENE and other areas of washback such as how high and low achieving students learn what the students teachers and other stakeholders perception about ENE etc. The result of those studies will enrich the information about washback in Indonesian context.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | L Education > L Education (General) |
| Divisions: | Fakultas Sastra (FS) > Departemen Sastra Inggris (ING) > S3 Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris |
| Depositing User: | library UM |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Nov 2013 04:29 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2013 03:00 |
| URI: | http://repository.um.ac.id/id/eprint/64411 |
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