Young Learners' Classroom Activities in The Teaching of Speaking at Primary Plus School in Tangerang

trisni handayani, mp.pd; hamzah puadi ilyas, ph.d; dr. santi chairani djonhar, ma;

This research aims 1) to identify the kinds of classroom activities in the teaching of
speaking that the teacher conducted involving primary school students, 2) to find out the impact of the classroom management that the teacher used in conducting these activities and 3) to analyzed the problems relates with speaking so it can be clearly for speaking to young learners. This study was conducted at one primary plus school in Tangerang. The participants of this study were one teacher and the students of primary 5. This study employed a case study design. Three instrumentations were used to gain the data. The data were analyzed qualitatively in accordance with the three research questions. The validation of the data was conducted through triangulations. The finding reveals that there were four kinds of classroom activities the teacher conducted in the teaching of speaking, including 1) games, 2) discussions, 3) role play, and 4) storytelling. In conducting the classroom activities, the teacher has provided meaningful and purposeful activities which have followed the three dimensions of learning a target language. The activities to some extent were relevant to young learners’ learning characteristics and their constructed knowledge. Moreover, the research showed that the teacher has organized the classroom activities through 1) teaching a class as a whole, 2) organizing group work, 3) organizing pair work, and 4) organizing oral performance. The impacts of these classrooms management showed on students’ behavior toward their speaking skills. In teaching class as a whole, the students are able to develop their oral skills in speaking and listening. In group work, the students are able to cooperate and working together with their friends. In pair work, they become more confident because they only talk to their friends individually. And in oral performance, they are able to perform in the classroom. In addition, this study revealed the students’ problems in learning speaking are laziness, self confidence and school syllabus that is not suitable for the condition in the classroom.