METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES IN TEACHING SPEAKING AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES IN

TEACHING SPEAKING AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Ridwan, Muhammad Idris, Rosdiana and Jusman

Post graduate students of Muhammadiyah University of Parepare

Abstract

This research aimed to find out the student ability in speaking at students at Junior High School 2 Panca Rijang and this study is the result of a report from a case study on the effect of metacognitive teaching on speaking ability of low-ranking junior high school students, the metacognitive strategy influences students' speaking achievement, namely by conducting a pre-test in one group and the design of the post-test was conducted to support the findings in the results of learning speaking after training. In design, observation and qualitative questionnaires were conducted to see the process of students in learning speaking procedural knowledge of metacognition in speaking. This research applying metacognitive strategies that are developed as a way of learning. Subject, selected by simple random sampling, are 20 first grade junior high schools, Comparison of pre-test and post-test scores will show metacognitive strategy can help students who are less skilled improve their speaking skills. The results show the view that metacognitive strategy can help students with speaking skills who are less skilled improve their speaking skills, but from the overall results there still appear to be some limitations for those who are skilled with minimal results.

Keyword: metacognitive, speaking skill, junior high school

Introduction

weak speaking ability, or difficulty understanding English because they are not used to speaking. External factors include English teachers who do not have the right method of teaching speaking, facilities and infrastructure to learn speaking with low quality or classmates' interference. Various ways can be done by English teachers to overcome these obstacles one of them by using metacognitive methods. used to help students understand the way they learn; in other words, it means processes designed for students to 'think' about their 'thinking'.

In describing the learning strategy, there are many definitions of learning strategy described by experts. Oxford (1990: 1) describes learning strategies as 2 steps taken by the language students to enhance their learning in the form of direct and indirect strategies. The definition has created a remarkable impact in the realm of SLA. This explanation requires effort made by students that is to develop their way of learning. Oxford divides LLSs into two parts: direct and indirect strategies.

Numerous studies have shown positive effects of metacognitive strategy training on language performance. Those studies are on the focus of language skills. There have, however, been relatively few studies investigating the benefits of providing second language students with metacognitive strategy training to promote speaking skill. The other kind of study about metacognitive strategy training shows its positive impact on metacognitive strategy awareness. They show improvement of strategy use after training conducted. However, there are no details of metacognitive strategy use in the process.

Before moving on to metacognitive learning, it is important to explain the term metacognitive. Flavel (1976) in Cross (2010) mentions that metacognitive means that determines one's cognitive process. In other words, think about ways of thinking. Metacognitive learning has two aspects: intentional or conscious performance of cognitive functions and knowledge and beliefs about cognitive processes.

Another purpose of this research is to socialize metacognitive learning that still sounds familiar to English teachers in schools and courses and adds to the knowledge of methods and techniques of metacognitive learning

Background of the study

This study is concerned with investigating students’  skill who have low ability, it is commonly known that speaking is an important skill in learning a language because Language is a tool for communication. We communicate with others, to express our ideas, and to know others’ ideas as well. Communication takes place, where there is speech. Without speech we cannot communicate with one another, The use of language is an activity which takes place within the confines of our community. We use language in a variety of situations. People at their workplaces, i.e. researchers working either in a medical laboratory or in a language laboratory, are supposed to speak correctly and effectively in order to communicate well with one another.

Further explanation describes metacognition can most usefully be thought of as knowledge, skills, strategies, and information about cognition ( Mahdavi, 2014:532). From function side, cognition acts to resolve problems and bring cognitive activity to a desirable outcome, while the metacognitive function is the monitoring and regulation of an individual’s cognitive effort in solving a problem and executing a task (Mahdavi, 2014:532). During the process.

Literature Review

a.      Metacognitive Strategies

Metacognitive strategies can positively impact students who have learning disabilities by helping them to develop an appropriate plan for learning information, which can be memorized and eventually routine. As students become aware of how they learn, they will use these processes to efficiently acquire new information, and consequently, become more of an independent thinker.

As a consequence of applying metacognitive strategies, students demonstrate an important improvement in their participation in class. Stuever (2006) observes that students increase their motivation for learning and participating actively every day for ten days. The results were positive, determining that it is possible to incorporate metacognition in traditional classrooms providing with an encouraging way of learning

b.     English Language Methodology

Likewise, Bromley (2002) determines that there is not a specific method for teaching students. She recommends the application and combination of various methods because students have different learning styles, that is why it is relevant to take into account diverse methods that enhance the learning process.

Larsen-Freeman (2000) maintains that methods serve as a foil for reflection that can aid teachers and students in bringing to conscious awareness the thinking that underlies their actions. According to Larsen-Freeman, the application of various methods has in common the views that first, language can best be learnt when it is taught through communication, and second, that language acquisition can be upgraded by working not only on language, but also on the process of learning

c.      English Speaking

Harmer (2001) states that: “the ability to speak fluently presupposes not only knowledge of language features, but also the ability to process information and language “on the spot” (p. 269). He also claims that during the process of teaching speaking or producing this English ability would be essential to apply them in three important sections: new language, practice and communicative activity.

The ability of speaking is important for career success. Speaking skills can enhance one’s personal life, thereby bringing about the well-rounded growth they should all seek. Nunan (1994) expresses that speaking is an essential and executable tool for communicating with others

Learning Procedure

Researchers carry out the procedure carried out by Cross (2010) in his research. The pedagogical cycle includes a bottom-up strategy, sharing, discussion, and evaluation of strategies.

In the first stage, students read conversation in the text book. Students identify words they don't understand then discuss them together. This is to prepare students and facilitate them in using strategies such as inference or elaboration.

Then, students discuss the text and share their opinions on the topic. Then the students listened to recorded conversation for 1-2 minutes, Students then answer the pre-test questions given as many as ten questions. In answering questions they can discuss to help them gather information that they passed. Then they collect their pre-test which is directly processed by researchers. Then the researcher teaches the pedagogical cycle and strategies for listening, Then the researcher gives a second text to prepare for listening and practicing the conversation. And the last students evaluate their performance and the strategies they use for other activities. Students work on post-test.

Vocabulary Mastery Test

Vocabulary mastery test is  testing someone’s knowledge in understanding and comprehending words meaning and can be used in arranging the sentence to communicate. The scope of vocabulary is not only in diction but also it must be suited with the situation and the person who become partner in the communication.

In this case with low ability students, the test is arranged to be easier and using daily vocabulary that they usually use in their activities

The procedure of these two tests involves the activity speaking by the learner. Learners are also asked to underline vocabulary that is not understood to be discussed together. Students then listen to the news twice and take notes in each segment. Previously the learner had also been divided into several groups of three or four people to facilitate the discussion of strategies and to make a summary. Deliberately not done in pairs to avoid the freezing of discussion

Result

Here is a comparison table between the results of the pre-test and post-test.

NO	Names	Pre-test	Post-test
1	A. Diana parha	80	100
2	ADE ARDIANZA	80	90
3	AGUNG FEBRIAN	80	90
4	AHMAD TEGAR	80	100
5	AKMAL REZKI	80	100
6	ALDI WINALDI	70	90
7	ALVYANA SAUNDARY	70	100
8	AMAL	70	90
9	ANANDA PUTRI	70	90
10	ASNI	70	90
11	FRYZA FYNGKY	60	90
12	HALIMA ANWAR	60	90
13	HILMY AUDRIANI	60	90
14	MEGA APRISNAARIF	60	90
15	MUH ANDRI	60	90
16	MUH QHUZAIRI	60	100
17	MUSFIRA M	60	90
18	PUTRI ADITAMA	50	90
19	PUTRI SRI ANGRAENY	50	90
20	RESKY HEDYLA L	50	90

Based on the prates data, it was concluded that there were three students who got the lowest grades, namely Putri Aditama, Putri Sri Angraini and Resky Hedyla L. Earlier predictions were also made by the teacher based on his teaching experience that students named Putri Aditama were weak in learning Speaking. Thus the focus of the study can be determined, namely on the three students with the lowest grades. Furthermore, from the pre-test results it is also known that . Diana parha gets the highest score. So that later it can be seen whether the metacognitive strategy influences high-ability student.

DISCUSSION

This study aims to determine the effect of the pedagogical cycle on improving speaking to low-ability students. All students involved in the pedagogical cycle are also taught several metacognitive strategies to encourage their understanding in speaking. The research findings show that two students with low speaking ability increased in this study. They felt the metacognitive strategy helped him to better understand the material being tough this is supported by statements from interviews conducted by researchers after the learning process.

The main reason students with this less skilled speaking ability show a significant increase is that they have not improved their knowledge and ability to reconstruct information when listening, before metacognitive learning is carried out. However, systematically and continuously they orchestrate certain cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies.

From the results above, the dominance of development that is not so significant is shown by students with sufficiently skilled listening skills. Three students did not show progress by showing the same results in the pre-test and post-test. This might be because they have mastered a strong understanding and control of several strategies. So their participation in the pedagogical cycle is less significant.

From the results of interviews with students who were already proficient and showed only insignificant results, it was found that he used a strategy of maintaining interest in listening. Andi Diana Parha states that by maintaining interest provides a fairly clear in constructing information when she is practicing speaking while namely Putri Aditama, Putri Sri Angraini and Resky Hedyla L they tend to use directed attention strategies, selective attention and visualization in speaking practice

CONCLUSION

This small-scale study, specifically conducted in English class as a foreign language that only focuses on simple comversation to less skilled learners, the results show empirical data to support the principle of metacognitive learning using cycles pedagogical can be useful to guide and facilitate students who are less skilled in their speaking skill. The implication of this research is to offer teachers the concept of metacognitive learning in other contexts and practical pedagogical approaches that can be applied to the development of abilities in learning speaking. However, metacognitive learning does not equitably benefit all learners in the class. The teacher must consider how to combine this learning with other learning speaking strategies.

REFERENCE

Bahrani, T., & Soltani, R. (2012). How to teach speaking skill. Journal of Education and Practice, 3(2), 25-29.

Boulware-Gooden, R., Carreker, S., Thornhill, A., & Joshi, R. M. (2007). Instruction of Metacognitive Strategies Enhances Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Achievement of Third-Grade Students. The Reading Teacher, 61(1), 70-77.

Ivers, J. J. (2007). Metacognition and foreign language cultural instruction. Journal of Transformative Education, 5(2), 152-162.

Karpicke, J. D., Butler, A. C., & Roediger III, H. L. (2009). Metacognitive Strategies in Student Learning: do students practise retrieval when they study on their own?. Memory, 17(4), 471-479.

Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.). (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge university press.

Syawal, S. P., & Amaluddin, M. (2015). The Effectiveness of Oral Literature-Based Instruction of Students' Speaking Ability. Researchgate.

ICT AND EDUCATION (group One )

Group 1

Rahman

Muhammad idris

Ridwan

Ismaini

ICT AND EDUCATION

Introduction to ICT

ICTs stand for information and communication technologies and are defined, for the purposes, as a “diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage information.” These technologies include computers, the Internet, broad casting technologies (radio and television), and telephony.

The Effectiveness of ICTs in Education

ICTs are a potentially powerful tool for extending educational opportunities, both formal and non-formal, to previously underserved constituencies—scattered and rural populations, groups traditionally excluded from education due to cultural or social reasons such as ethnic minorities, girls and women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, as well as all others who for reasons of cost or because of time constraints are unable to enroll on campus.

a.      Anytime, anywhere.  One defining feature of ICTs is their ability to transcend time and space. ICTs make possible asynchronous learning, or learning characterized by a time lag between the delivery of instruction and its reception by learners. Online course materials, for example, may be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ICT-based educational delivery (e.g., educational programming broadcast over radio or television) also dispenses with the need for all learners and the instructor to be in one physical location. Additionally, certain types of ICTs, such as teleconferencing technologies, enable instruction to be received simultaneously by multiple, geographically dispersed learners (i.e., synchronous learning).

b.     Access to remote learning resources.  Teachers and learners no longer have to rely solely on printed books and other materials in physical media housed in libraries (and available in limited quantities) for their educational needs. With the Internet and the World Wide Web, a wealth of learning materials in almost every subject and in a variety of media can now be accessed from anywhere at anytime of the day and by an unlimited number of people. This is particularly significant for many schools in developing countries, and even some in developed countries, that have limited and outdated library resources. ICTs also facilitate access to resource persons, mentors, experts, researchers, professionals, business leaders, and peers—all over the world.

c.      ICTs help prepare individuals for the workplace.

One of the most commonly cited reasons for using ICTs in the classroom has been to better prepare the current generation of students for a workplace where ICTs, particularly computers, the Internet and related technologies, are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Technological literacy, or the ability to use ICTs effectively and efficiently, is thus seen as representing a competitive edge in an increasingly globalizing job market.

Benefits of ICT in Education

Here are some of the benefits which ICT brings to education according to recent research findings.

General benefits

a.      Greater efficiency throughout the school.

b.     Communication channels are increased through email, discussion groups and chat rooms

c.      Regular use of ICT across different curriculum subjects can have a beneficial motivational influence on students’ learning.

Benefits for teachers

a.      ICT facilitates sharing of resources, expertise and advice

b.     Greater flexibility in when and where tasks are carried out

c.      Gains in ICT literacy skills, confidence and enthusiasm.

d.     Easier planning and preparation of lessons and designing materials

e.      Access to up-to-date pupil and school data, any time and anywhere.

f.      Enhancement of professional image projected to colleagues.

g.     Students are generally more ‘on task’ and express more positive feelings when they use computers than when they are given other tasks to do.

h.     Computer use during lessons motivated students to continue using learning outside school hours.

Benefits for students

a.      Higher quality lessons through greater collaboration between teachers in planning and preparing resources .

b.     More focused teaching, tailored to students’ strengths and weaknesses, through better analysis of attainment data

c.      Improved pastoral care and behaviour management through better tracking of students

d.     Gains in understanding and analytical skills, including improvements in reading

e.      Comprehension.

f.      Development of writing skills (including spelling, grammar, punctuation, editing and re-drafting), also fluency, originality and elaboration.

g.     Encouragement of independent and active learning, and self-responsibility for learning.

h.     Flexibility of ‘anytime, anywhere’ access (Jacobsen and Kremer, 2000)

i.       Development of higher level learning styles.

j.       Students who used educational technology in school felt more successful in school, were more motivated to learn and have increased self-confidence and self-esteem

k.     Students found learning in a technology-enhanced setting more stimulating and student-centred than in a traditional classroom

l.       Broadband technology supports the reliable and uninterrupted downloading of web-hosted educational multimedia resources

m.    Opportunities to address their work to an external audience

n.     Opportunities to collaborate on assignments with people outside or inside school

Benefits for parents

a.      Easier communication with teachers

b.     Higher quality student reports – more legible, more detailed, better presented

c.      Greater access to more accurate attendance and attainment information

d.     Increased involvement in education for parents and, in some cases, improved self-esteem

e.      Increased knowledge of children’s learning and capabilities, owing to increase in learning activity being situated in the home

f.      Parents are more likely to be engaged in the school community

g.     You will see that ICT can have a positive impact across a very wide range of aspects of school life.

The use of ICTs help improve the quality of education

ICTs can enhance the quality of education in several ways: by increasing learner motivation and engagement by facilitating the acquisition of basic skills, and by enhancing teacher training. ICTs are also transformational tools which, when used appropriately, can promote the shift to a learner-centered environment.

Motivating to learn. ICTs such as videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine text, sound, and colorful, moving images can be used to provide challenging and authentic content that will engage the student in the learning process. Interactive radio likewise makes use of sound effects, songs, dramatizations, comic skits, and other performance conventions to compel the students to listen and become involved in the lessons being delivered. More so than any other type of ICT, networked computers with Internet connectivity can increase learner motivation as it combines the media richness and interactivity of other ICTs with the opportunity to connect with real people and to participate in real world events.

Facilitating the acquisition of basic skills. The transmission of basic skills and concepts that are the foundation of higher order thinking skills and creativity can be facilitated by ICTs through drill and practice. Educational television programs such as Sesame Street use repetition and reinforcement to teach the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes and other basic concepts. Most of the early uses of computers were for computer-based learning (also called computer-assisted instruction) that focused on mastery of skills and content through repetition and reinforcement.

Enhancing teacher training. ICTs have also been used to improve access to and the quality of teacher training. For example, At Indira Gandhi National Open University, satellite-based one-way video- and two-way audio-conferencing was held in 1996, supplemented by print-materials and recorded video, to train 910 primaryschool teachers and facilitators from 20 district training institutes in Karnataka State. The teachers interacted with remote lecturers by telephone and fax

Examples of ICT-based activities

What kind of classroom activities are suited to the use of ICT? The following is a brief guide to some of the most common uses of ICT in teaching and learning.

Finding out

Students can use ICT to find out information and to gain new knowledge in several ways. They may find information on the Internet or by using an ICT-based encyclopedia such as Microsoft Encarta. They may find information by extracting it from a document prepared by the teacher and made available to them via ICT, such as document created using Microsoft Word or a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow. They may find out information by communicating with people elsewhere using email, such as students in a different school or even in a different country.

Processing knowledge

Students can use ICT as part of a creative process where they have to consider more carefully the information which they have about a given subject. They may need to carry out calculations (eg. by using Microsoft Excel), or to check grammar and spelling in a piece of writing (perhaps using Microsoft Word), or they may need to re-sequence a series of events (for example by re-ordering a series of Microsoft PowerPoint slides).

Sharing knowledge

Students can use ICT to present their work in a highly professional format. They can create documents and slideshows to demonstrate what they have learned, and then share this with other students, with their teacher, and even via email with people all around the world.

Computers and the Internet use for teaching and learning

There are three general approaches to the instructional use of computers and the Internet, namely:

a.   Learning about computers and the Internet, in which technological literacy is the end goal;

b.   Learning with computers and the Internet, in which the technology facilitates learning across the curriculum; and

c.    Learning through computers and the Internet, integrating technological skills development with curriculum applications.

Learn about computers and the Internet

Learning about computers and the Internet focuses on developing technological literacy. It typically includes:

a.   Fundamentals: basic terms, concepts and operations

b.   Use of the keyboard and mouse

c.    Use of productivity tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, data base and graphics programs

d.   Use of research and collaboration tools such as search engines and email

e.   Basic skills in using programming and authoring applications such as Logo or HyperStudio

f.     Developing an awareness of the social impact of technological change.

Learning with computers and the Internet

Learning with the technology means focusing on how the technology can be the means to learning ends across the curriculum. It includes:

a.   Presentation, demonstration, and the manipulation of data using productivity tools

b.   Use of curriculum-specific applications types such as educational games, drill and practice, simulations, tutorials, virtual laboratories, visualizations and graphical representations of abstract concepts, musical composition, and expert systems

c.    Use of information and resources on CD-ROM or online such as encyclopedia, interactive mapsand atlases, electronic journals and other references.

Technological literacy is required for learning with technologies to be possible, implying a two-step process in which students learn about the technologies before they can actually use them to learn.

Learning through computers and the Internet mean

Learning through computers and the Internet combines learning about them with learning with them. It involves learning the technological skills “just-in-time” or when the learner needs to learn them as he or she engages in a curriculum-related activity.

Computers and the Internet used in distance education

Many higher educational institutions offering distance education courses have started to leverage the Internet to improve their programme’s reach and quality.

Disadvantages of ICT

                One of the major barriers for the cause of ICT not reaching its full potential in the foundation stage is teacher’s attitude. According to Hara (2004), within the early years education attitudes towards ICT can vary considerably. Some see it as a potential tool to aid learning whereas others seem to disagree with the use of technology in early year settings. Blatchford and Whitebread (2003:16), suggests that the use of ICT in the foundation stage is “unhealthy and hinders learning”. Other early years educators who are opposed to offering ICT experiences within the educational settings take a less extreme view than this and suggest that ICT is fine, but there are other more vital experiences that young children will benefit from, (Blatchford and Whitebread, 2003). In theory some people may have the opinion that the teachers who had not experienced ICT throughout their learning tend to have a negative attitude towards it, as they may lack the training in that area of the curriculum.

              Another important drawback to using ICT in schools is the fact that computers are expensive. According to the IT learning exchange (2001), in most schools ICT will be the single largest curriculum budget cost. This may be seen as a good thing but on the other hand there will be little money left over for other significant costs.

References:

Anonim. 2018. ICT in Education. Retrived from: https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education. Accessed on June 30, 2018

Anonim. 2018. What are ICTs and what types of ICTs are commonly used in education. Retrived from: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ICT_in_Education/Definition_of_Terms. Accessed on June 30, 2018

Anonim. 2018. ICT and Education. Retrived from: http://ict-adv-disadv.blogspot.com/. Accessed on June 30, 2018

Reetika Bosefeature, 2018, Effectiveness of ICT In Education. https://www.franchiseindia.com/education/Effectiveness-of-ICT-in-Education.10155, Accessed on June 30, 2018