ENGLISH or Bahasa INDONESIA in TEYL ?

Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) is not a new thing in Indonesia. English is a local content subject which is taught at most of elementary schools. Now this subject is given not only in biig cities but also in remote places. As English is a foreign language subject, the teachers have their own considerations to choose the language of instruction in the class. Many of the english teachers are confidence and prefer to use Indonesian when they teach. However, other teachers are more confidence to use more English during the teaching learning process in the class. In this article the writer will share her ideas with the readers as the English teachers or candidate teachers. It will cover the strategy of using target language (English) and the advantages of using target language.

STRATEGY OF USING ENGLISH

There are many English teachers who are reluctant to use english as a means of communication during the teaching-learning process inthe class. They think that their students are not familiar with the English, words, phrasses, sentences, and expresson. They will not understand the instruction if the teacher speaks English. as matter of fact, there are some reasons why English should be used as the language of instruction in the class and how to use it.

It is not reasonable if the English teacheers use other languages in English class. They do not need to be afraid that the students will not understand as the students bring with them an already well-established set of instinct, skills, and characteristics which will help them learn another language (English).

Firstly, the students are already good at interpreting meaning without necessarily understanding meaning of the individual words. They will understand meanning of expressions from the context. Intonation, gesture, facial expression, actions, and circumstances will help them understand meaning. For example, the teacher asks the students to raise their hands. While she/he says, "Raise your hands." She/he raises her/his own hand to give the example of the action. If the students can do or answer a question, then she/he says "Very good" by showing her/his thumb. By giving the gesture, the students will understand the instruction. The teacher does not need to translate into Indonesian for simple insttructions. In short, kinesicks will help students interpreting meaning. Second, the students alrerady have great skill in using limited language creatively. They bring creative language skills when they come to a condition in which the urge to communicate makes them interact with the others. They will switch using mother tongue when they can not express their idea in the target language. Sometimes they will use gestures to convey ideas if they do not know the ennglish words. As a teacher, she/he should appreciate the students efforts when they use mixed languages.

Knowing the fact that the students have ability to grasp meaning, the english teacher should use the language in the class as much as possible. As engllish is new for the students, of course, the teacher should adapt the language in such a way so that they understand it easily. Here are some notes for the teacher how to use English as a language of instruction and communication in the class.

The first is the teacher should use language at the student's level. Shhe/he should be able to select English words and expressions that the students will be able to follow. The language must be understandable for them. She/he should use simple sentences, not compound or complex sentences. The vocabularies which are used in the sentennces should be the familiar ones.

Then, the English teacher should avoid using complicated expressions. She/he can start introducing some English expressions in real situations. She/he can use daily instructions in English to make them familiar with the new language, for examples : "open your book", "clean the blacboard", "Raise your hand", etc.

Sometimes the teacher is not aware that the students are not familiar with the target lannguage they learn. However, she/he speaks in full speed unconsciously. The duration of her/his speaking is too fast for the students so that they do not understand what she/he says. Giving pause in certain parts and repeating the expressions twice or three times will also help them catch the message from the teacher. Therefore, she/he should reduce the speed of her/his speaking.

Furthermorre, it is helpful if the teacher control the volume of her/his voice so that every student in the class can hear the voice. Besides, she/he should make sure whether her/his pronounciation is clear. She/he should give good and clear pronounciation to give good model to the students.

Another way to help the students understand when the teacher speaks English during the teaching process is using gestures, actions, facial expressions, and making noises. She/he may nod her/his head to say "yes" or shake it to say "no". If the students make noises in the class, she/he can clap the hands or click the fingers. This will make them pay attention to the teachher. Another example, the students are very happy and proud if they can answeer the teacher's question correctly. As a good teacher, she/he can give them a reward by saying "very good" and showing a gesture using the hands.

In summary, an English teacher has no reasons not to use English as a language of instruction in the class. first reason is the students already have some strategies to undeerstand meaning. Second, the teacher ca help the students undersstand meaning not only by using some adaptation in the words, phrases, sentences, and exprressions, but also by controlling the volume, duration, and pronounciation as well as gestures.