CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN LANGUAGE TEACHING
(Jack C. Richards)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Submitted to the Guiding Lecturer
(Prof. Dr. Hj. Djamiah Husain, M.Hum)
By:
Saidna Zulfiqar Bin Tahir

Tittle : Curriculum Development in Language Teaching
AUTHOR : Jack C. Richards
PUBLISHER : Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001
PAGES : xiv + 321 Pages

This book presents an approach to the teaching-learning process which assumes that language learning success depends on developing the curriculum, namely the use of various planning and implementation processes in developing or updating the language program. This process includes the needs of learners, the situation for program analysis and consideration of the impact of contextual factors, learning outcomes planning, management of learning materials or set of teaching materials themselves, the selection and preparation of teaching materials, provision and maintenance for effective teaching, and program evaluation. These elements are a set of interrelated elements among one another, the nature and function is the focus of this book. This book seeks to explore key issues and practices in language curriculum development in order to provide a basis for more effective planning and decision making in the development of language learning planning, implementation, and review. The book reflects the writer own 30 years of experience as a teacher, teacher educator, program director, and materials writer in many different parts of the world.
The book is planned for use in in-service courses and workshops as well as to provide a sourcebook for teachers, program administrators, and other language teaching professionals. The book as a whole examines the key processes in curriculum development, including needs analysis, planning goals and outcomes, course planning, teaching, materials development, and evaluation. The subsequent chapters seek to survey key issues related to curriculum development issues and processes, illustrating different points of view and providing detailed practical examples by way of illustration. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter provide op¬portunities for further reflection and application of some of the issues dis¬cussed.
The book was organized into nine chapters covering language teaching history, methods, needs analysis, situation analysis, goals and outcomes, course design, the teaching and learning process, materials design, and evaluation. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and activities, an appendix, and chapter references. The chapters follow a chronological sequence that matches the development of a typical curriculum, which progresses from an initial needs analysis ultimately to program evaluation. Aspects that receive the most attention are needs analysis, learning outcomes, and syllabus frameworks.

Chapter 1: The Origins of Language Curriculum Development
The author describes the origins of language curriculum development brief and precise about the background and history, both specifically and in general the changes in teaching methods and approach. In connection with the idea of the writer of language curriculum development and syllabus design, he explained that the development of the curriculum “is a more comprehensive process of syllabus design. It includes the processes used to determine the needs of groups of learners, to develop goals or targets of the program to address those needs, determine the appropriate syllabus for use in teaching, course structure, teaching methods, teaching materials, and to carry out the evaluation of learning the language. On the other hand, “syllabus design is one aspect of curriculum development but not identical with syllabus design. Syllabus is the specification of the content of a course of instruction and a list of what will be taught and tested”. The chapter also focuses on vocabulary and grammar selection and gradation can be achieved through different approaches to support the teaching of the language previously used until the 1950′s, and leads to the development of language curriculum development in the next phase.
Chapter 2: From Syllabus Design to Curriculum Development
The author describes another approach to language teaching which is also available today, such as the role of English language books commercially organized around topics, situations, and phrases as well as some technical things that focus on English language or English language used in a specific job. But the last type of book or course book of language is incidental to the main trends in language teaching, which focuses on the teaching of general English, or, as sometimes called, English for Specific Purposes. Referring to the changes and the approach of the syllabi design for curriculum development in relation to search for new methods “in order to meet the changing needs of learners”, evolved from Structural-Situational Approach to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). In addition, the needs and objectives of teaching English in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). ESP is implemented through the approach are also presented.

Chapter 3: Needs Analysis
This Chapter provides examine approaches to needs analysis and consider the purposes of needs analysis, the nature of needs, Who needs analysis is intended for, who the target population is, who collects information, what procedures can be used, and how the information collected can be used. In many cases, learners’ language needs may be relatively easy to determine, particularly if learners need to leam a language for very specific purposes, for example, employment in fields such as tourism, nursing, or the hotel industry. In this case the tasks employees typically carry out in English can be observed and the language needs of those tasks determined. In other cases, learners’ needs may not be so immediate – for example, students learning English as a secondary school subject in an EFL context. Here English may be a compulsory subject that is considered an important part of a child’s general education. However, even though me students may not have any immediate perceptions of needs, curriculum planners will generally have consulted employers, parents, teachers, and others to find out what knowledge of English they expect high school graduates to achieve. Examples of two different needs analyses are given on pages a basic assumption of curriculum development based on an analysis of learners’ needs, specifically in terms of communicative needs. This chapter discusses the important aspects of needs analysis, the purposes, the definition, the courses, and the target population, administrating needs analysis, different procedures for conducting needs analysis, and designs and examples of needs analysis.
Chapter 4: Situation Analysis
The Chapter relates to “situation analysis” that provides several key factors to be essentially considered: social factors, project factors, institutional factors, teacher factors, learner factors, and adoption factors. The goal of the situation analysis is “to identify key factors that might positively or negatively effect the implementation of a curriculum plan”. Brindley (1989) discusses differences between learners’ and teachers’ views of needs and suggests the need for a negotiation process in order to satisfy and clarify each other’s assumptions. The same is true of other stakeholders in the curriculum. Where there are several different audiences for the needs analysis (e.g., teachers, administrators, a funding body), the information obtained will have to be analyzed – and analyzed in a form that suits each group’s interests. this chapter also explain how to make instruments for situational analysis such as questionnaire.
Chapter 5: Planning Goals and Learning Outcomes
It considers another crucial dimension of decision making in curriculum planning: determining the goals and outcomes of a program. Several key assumptions about goals characterize the curriculum ap-proach to educational planning. These can be summarized as follows: (1) People are generally motivated to pursue specific goals. (2) The use of goals in teaching improves the effectiveness of teaching and learning. (3) A program will be effective to the extent that its goals are sound and clearly described. This chapter focuses on the procedures for using the information collected during the needs analysis and situation analysis to develop program/ planning goals and objectives that result in the learning objectives. The author proposes the key assumptions about the goals in curriculum planning namely: “People are generally motivated to pursue specific goals; the use of goals in teaching improves the effectiveness of teaching and learning; and a program will be effective to the extent that its goals are sound and clearly described”.
Chapter 6: Course Planning and Syllabus Design
The Chapter examine the following dimensions of course development; (a) developing a course rationale (b) describing entry and exit levels (c) choosing course content (d) sequencing course content (e) planning the course content (syllabus and instructional blocks) (f) preparing the scope and sequence plan. These processes do not necessarily occur in a linear order. Some may take place simultaneously and many aspects of a course are subject to ongoing revision each time the course is taught. The types of decision making that we will examine in this chapter are also involved in developing instructional materials and many of the examples discussed apply to both course plan¬ning and materials design. This chapter deals with “course planning and syllabus design” including developing a course rationale, describing entry and exit levels, choosing course content, determining the scope and sequence, planning the course structure, and preparing the scope and sequence plan. The syllabus including major elements used in planning a language course and providing the basis for its instructional focus and the content could thereby be based on several options: situational syllabus, topical or content-based syllabus, functional syllabus, task based syllabus, and grammatical or structural syllabus.
Chapter 7: Providing for Effective Teaching
It focus of this chapter is how quality teaching can be achieved and maintained in a lan¬guage program. Whereas the preceding chapters have described some of the essential planning that is involved in developing a language course, the chapter seeks to examine factors that are involved in creating conditions for good teaching to take place. Quality teaching is achieved not only as a consequence on how well teachers teach but through creating contexts and work environments that can facilitate good teaching. The chapter also involves in creating conditions for effective teaching of a course by considering from four main factors: the institution, the teachers, the teaching process, and the learning process. Additionally, each factor is discussed as to its influence as well as implementation to effective teaching and learning in a language program.
Chapter 8: The Role and Design of Instructional Materials
The chapter deals with the role, design, and use of materials in language teaching, with particular focus on print mate¬rials and textbooks. It deals with the role and design of institutional materials as a key component in most language program. Several topics regarding teaching materials that normally play a role in the current curriculum planning are delineated and discussed in relation to authentic versus created materials, textbooks, evaluating textbooks, adapting textbooks, preparing materials for a program, managing a materials writing project, and monitoring the use of materials. They provide authentic cultural information about the target culture. Ma¬terials can be selected to illustrate many aspects of the target culture, in¬cluding culturally based practices and beliefs and both linguistic and non-linguistic behavior. They provide exposure to real language rather than the artificial texts found in created materials that have been specially written to illustrate par¬ticular grammatical rules or discourse types. They relate more closely to learners’ needs and hence provide a link be¬tween the classroom and students’ needs in the real world. They support a more creative approach to teaching. In using authentic materials as a source for teaching activities, teachers can develop their full potential as teachers, developing activities and tasks that better match their teaching styles and the learning styles of their students. However, critics of the use of authentic materials point out: Created materials can also be motivating for learners. Published materi¬als are often designed to look like teenage magazines and other kinds of real-world materials and may be just as interesting and motivating for learners. Authentic materials often contain difficult language and unneeded vo¬cabulary items, which can be an unnecessary distraction for teachers and learners. Since they have not been simplified or written to any lexical or lin¬guistic guidelines, they often contain language that may be beyond the learners’ abilities.
Chapter 9: Approaches to Evaluation
It involves an examination of the context in which the program occurs, of the goals, syllabus, and structure of a course, and how these can be planned and developed, as well as analysis of the teaching and learning that takes place during the course. The focus throughout has been analysis of the dif¬ferent factors that determine the successful design and implementation of language programs and language teaching materials. This overall and in-terlinked system of elements (i.e., needs, goals, teachers, learners, syl¬labuses, materials, and teaching) is known as the second language curricu¬lum. However, once a curriculum is in place, a number of important questions still need to be answered. These include: (a) is die curriculum achieving its goals? (b) What is happening in classrooms and schools where it is being imple¬mented? (c) Are those affected by the curriculum (e.g., teachers, administrators, stu¬dents, parents, employers) satisfied with the curriculum? (d) Have those involved in developing and teaching a language course done a satisfactory job? (e) Does the curriculum compare favorably with others of its kind?. The chapter also provides approaches to evaluation dealing with purposes of evaluation: formative, illuminative, and summative evaluations; issues in program evaluation; and procedures used in conducting evaluation.

Overall, this book is very useful which has provided many advantages for language teachers and teachers in other studies, practitioners and program administrators related to the process of planning, teaching and implementation to develop a curriculum, syllabus, and teaching materials or observe the curriculum. The questions and discussion at the end of each chapter is an explanation solely to stimulate further discussion and can be included as part of cooperative learning in pairs, in groups, or in whole language classes for teachers in training. Also, at the end of each chapter comes with a seemingly Appendix provides tools and excellent functional as a guide or for applications in language curriculum development. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages of different modes are provided for under several topics (such as Procedures to carry out a needs analysis in Chapter Three) definitely helps for the proper selection of the key elements for language-teaching curriculum.
Most of the book is easy to understand and only rarely becomes overly simplistic, as in the description on p. 161 of a task-based syllabus: “Tasks are activities that drive the second language acquisition process.” While axiomatic definitions such as this are present, they are infrequent and do little to detract from Richards’ efforts “to acquaint language teachers and teachers-in-training with fundamental issues”. Curriculum Development in Language Teaching presents lists, forms, and brief descriptions that provide an understandable, albeit limited, background to the issues involved in course design, as well as offering some related resources.

Kinerja guru adalah kemampuan dan usaha guru untuk melaksanakan tugas pembelajaran sebaik-baiknya dalam perencanaan program pengajaran, pelaksanaan kegiatan pembelajaran dan evaluasi hasil pembelajaran. Kinerja guru yang dicapai harus berdasarkan standar kemampuan profesional selama melaksanakan kewajiban sebagai guru di sekolah.

Berkaitan dengan kinerja guru dalam melaksanakan kegiatan belajar mengajar, Anonim (2009:3) mengemukakan bahwa terdapat tugas keprofesionalan guru menurut Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 14 Tahun 2005 pasal 20 (a) Tentang Guru dan Dosen yaitu merencanakan pembelajaran, melaksanakan proses pembelajaran yang bermutu, serta menilai dan mengevaluasi hasil pembelajaran.

Kinerja guru yang baik tentunya tergambar pada penampilan mereka baik dari penampilan kemampuan akademik maupun kemampuan profesi menjadi guru artinya mampu mengelola pengajaran di dalam kelas dan mendidik siswa di luar kelas dengan sebaik-baiknya.

Dengan pemahaman mengenai konsep kinerja sebagaimana dikemukakan di atas, maka akan nampak jelas apa yang dimaksud dengan kinerja guru. Kinerja guru pada dasarnya merupakan kegiatan guru dalam melaksanakan tugas dan kewajibannya sebagai seorang pengajar dan pendidik di sekolah yang dapat menggambarkan mengenai prestasi kerjanya dalam melaksanakan semua itu, dan hal ini  jelas bahwa pekerjaan sebagai guru tidak bisa dilakukan oleh sembarang orang, tanpa memiliki keahlian dan kwalifikasi tertentu sebagai guru. Kinerja Guru dalam melaksanakan peran dan tugasnya di sekolah khususnya dalam proses pembelajaran dalam konteks sekarang ini memerlukan pengembangan dan perubahan kearah yang lebih inovatif. Kinerja inovatif guru menjadi hal yang penting bagi berhasilnya implementasi inovasi pendidikan dalam rangka meningkatkan kualitas pendidikan / pembelajaran.

2. Teori-Teori Kinerja Guru

Guru menerima pekerjaan sebagai  pendidik, jika  mempersiapkan diri dengan kemampuan untuk melaksanakan tugas tersebut sesuai dengan yang dituntut oleh organisasi (sekolah). Dalam menjalankan perannya sebagai pendidik, kualitas kinerja guru merupakan suatu kontribusi penting yang akan menentukan bagi keberhasilan proses pendidikan di Sekolah. Oleh karena itu, perhatian terhadap kinerja guru untuk terus meningkat dan ditingkatkan menjadi hal yang amat mendesak, apalagi apabila memperhatikan tuntutan masyarakat yang terus meningkat berkaitan dengan kualitas pendidikan, dan hal ini tentu saja akan berimplikasi pada makin perlunya peningkatan kualitas kinerja guru.

Dalam bahasa Inggris istilah kinerja adalah performance. Performance merupakan kata benda. Salah satu entry-nya adalah “thing done” (sesuatu hasil yang telah dikerjakan). Jadi arti Performance atau kinerja adalah hasil kerja yang dapat dicapai oleh seseorang atau kelompok orang dalam suatu organisasi, sesuai dengan wewenang dan tanggung jawab masing-masing dalam rangka upaya mencapai tujuan organisasi bersangkutan secara legal, tidak melanggar hukum dan sesuai dengan moral maupun etika.

Menurut Mangkunegara (2001:67), “kinerja adalah hasil kerja secara kualitas dan kuantitas yang dicapai oleh seseorang dalam melaksanakan tugasnya sesuai dengan tanggung jawab yang diberikan kepadanya”. Tinggi rendahnya kinerja seseorang berkaitan erat dengan sistem pemberian penghargaan yang diterapkan organisasi tempat mereka bekerja. Pemberian penghargaan yang tidak tepat dapat berpengaruh terhadap peningkatan kinerja seseorang.

Menurut Sulistiyani (2003:223), yaitu “kinerja seseorang merupakan kombinasi dari kemampuan, usaha dan kesempatan yang dapat dinilai dari hasil kerjanya”. Sedangkan menurut Rivai (2004:309), kinerja adalah: “merupakan perilaku yang nyata yang ditampilkan setiap orang sebagai prestasi kerja yang dihasilkan guru sesuai dengan perannya di sekolah”.

Menurut Malayu (2005:34) mengemukakan bahwa; “kinerja (prestasi kerja) adalah suatu hasil kerja yang dicapai seseorang dalam melaksanakan tugas-tugas yang dibebankan kepadanya yang didasarkan atas kecakapan, pengalaman dan kesungguhan serta waktu”.

Berdasarkan pengertian-pengertian mengenai kinerja di atas, penulis berkesimpulan bahwa kinerja adalah tentang apa yang dikerjakan dan bagaimana cara mengerjakannya. Dengan kata lain, kinerja adalah perumusan tujuan, terdapatnya kerja sama, sifatnya  berkelanjutan, terjadi komunikasi dua arah dan terdapat umpan balik.

3. Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi kinerja  Guru

Pentingnya pengembangan sistem pendidikan yang berkualitas perlu lebih ditekankan, karena berbagai indikator menunjukkan bahwa pendidikan yang ada belum mampu menghasilkan sumber daya sesuai dengan perkembangan masyarakat yang ada serta kebutuhan pembangunan, dalam hal ini peningkatan kualitas pendidikan dapat diptimalisasikan melalui kinerja guru.

Kinerja guru akan menjadi optimal, bilamana diintegrasikan dengan komponen sekolah baik kepala sekolah, fasilitas kerja, guru, staf administrasi, maupun anak didik. Pidarta (Susanto, 2000:2) mengemukakan bahwa, ada beberapa faktor yang dapat mempengaruhi kinerja guru dalam melaksanakan tugasnya yaitu: “(1) kepemimpinan kepala sekolah,               (2) fasilitas kerja, (3) harapan-harapan, dan, (4) kepercayaan personalia sekolah.

Menurut Burhanuddin (2001:272), paling tidak ada lima faktor yang dapat mempengaruhi kinerja guru selaku individu, yakni:

1. Kemampuan. Penguasaan terhadap kompetensi kerja mutlak diperlukan guna mencapai sasaran kerja. Kemampuan guru dalam hal ini mampu menguasai empat kompetensi dasar sebagaimana dipersyaratkan Undang-Undang.
2. Motivasi, yaitu pemberian suatu insentif yang bisa menarik keinginan seseorang untuk melaksanakan sesuatu. Motivasi tidak terlepas dari kebutuhan dan dorongan yang ada dalam diri seseorang yang menjadi penggerak, energi dan pengaruh segenap tindak manusia.
3. Dukungan yang diterima, merupakan menifestasi kebutuhan sosial terhadap tugas dan tanggung jawab yang telah dilaksanakan.
4. Keberadaan pekerjaan yang mereka lakukan. Pada dasarnya pekerjaan yang guru lakukan harus dapat diakui sehingga memberikan dampak positif dan menjadi motivasi bagi guru. Sebaik apapun tugas yang dilaksanakan, jika tidak memperoleh pengakuan maka tidak dapat memberikan manfaat baik bagi individu pelaksana tugas maupun orang lain, terutama dalam satuan organisasi kerja.
5. Hubungan mereka dengan organisasi. Hubungan antara guru dengan organisasi harus berjalan secara kondusif. Hubungan yang kondusif dapat diciptakan apabila masing –masing anggota organisasi mengetahui batas-batas tugas, tanggung jawab dan wewenangnya dalam menjalankan tugas.

Berdasarkaan pengertian di atas, penulis menarik kesimpulan bahwa kinerja merupakan kualitas dan kuantitas dari suatu hasil kerja (output) individu maupun kelompok dalam suatu aktivitas tertentu yang diakibatkan oleh kemampuan alami atau kemampuan yang diperoleh dari proses belajar serta keinginan untuk berprestasi.

Menurut Mangkunegara (2001:87), faktor yang mempengaruhi kinerja antara lain:

1) Faktor kemampuan; secara psikologis kemampuan (ability) pegawai terdiri dari kemampuan potensi (IQ) dan kemampuan realita (pendidikan). Oleh karena itu pegawai perlu dtempatkan pada pekerjaan yang sesuai dengan keahlihannya; 2) Faktor motivasi; motivasi terbentuk dari sikap (attiude) seorang pegawai dalam menghadapi situasi (situasion) kerja. Motivasi merupakan kondisi yang menggerakkan diri pegawai terarah untuk mencapai tujuan kerja. Sikap mental merupakan kondisi mental yang mendorong seseorang untuk berusaha mencapai potensi kerja secara maksimal.

David C. Mc Cleland (dalam Mangkunegara, 2001:68), berpendapat bahwa, “Ada hubungan yang positif antara motif berprestasi dengan pencapaian kerja”. Motif berprestasi adalah suatu dorongan dalam diri seseorang untuk melakukan suatu kegiatan atau tugas dengan sebaik-baiknya agar mampu mencapai prestasi kerja (kinerja) dengan predikat terpuji.

Sedangkan Gibson (dalam Abdullah, 2008:43) mengemukakan tiga faktor yang berpengaruh terhadap kinerja, yaitu: (a) Faktor individu, terdiri dari; kemampuan, ketrampilan, latar belakang keluarga, pengalaman kerja, tingkat sosial dan demografi seseorang; (b) Faktor psikologis, seperti; persepsi, peran, sikap, kepribadian, motivasi dan kepuasan kerja; dan,             (c) Faktor organisasi, yaitu; struktur organisasi, desain pekerjaan, kepemimpinan, sistem penghargaan (reward system).

Menurut Ilyas (2006:234), unsur-unsur yang perlu diadakan penilaian dalam proses penilaian kinerja guru adalah sebagai berikut:

1. Kesetiaan. Kesetiaan adalah tekad dan kesanggupan untuk menaati, melaksanakan dan mengamalkan sesuatu yang ditaati dengan penuh kesabaran dan tanggung jawab.
2. Prestasi kerja. Prestasi kerja adalah kinerja yang dicapai oleh seorang tenaga kerja dalam melaksanakan tugas dan pekerjaan yang diberikan kepadanya.
3. Tanggung Jawab. Tanggung jawab adalah kesanggupan seorang tenaga kerja dalam menyelesaikan tugas dan pekerjaan yang diserahkan kepadanya dengan sebaik-baiknya dan tepat waktu serta berani membuat risiko atas keputusan yang diambilnya.
4. Ketaatan. Ketaatan adalah kesanggupan seseorang untuk menaati segala ketetapan, peraturan yang berlaku dan menaati perintah yang diberikan atasan yang berwenang.
5. Kejujuran. Kejujuran adalah ketulusan hati seorang tenaga kerja dalam melaksanakan tugas dan pekerjaan serta kemampuan untuk tidak menyalahgunakan wewenang yang telah diberikan kepadanya.
6. Kerja sama. Kerja sama adalah kemampuan tenaga kerja untuk bekerja bersama-sama dengan orang lain dalam menyelesaikan suatu tugas dan pekerjaan yang telah ditetapkan sehingga mencapai daya guna dan hasil guna yang sebesar-besarnya.
7. Prakarsa. Prakarsa adalah kemampuan seseorang tenaga kerja untuk mengambil keputusan langkah-langkah atau melaksanakan suatu tindakan yang diperlukan dalam melaksanakan tugas pokok tanpa menunggu perintah dan bimbingan dari atasan, dan
8. Kepemimpinan. Kepemimpinan adalah kemampuan seseorang untuk meyakinkan orang lain sehingga dapat dikerahkan secara maksimal untuk melaksanakan tugas pokok.

Kepemimpinan yang dimaksud adalah kemampuan kepala sekolah dalam membina dan membimbing guru untuk melaksanakan KBM terutama kegiatan merencanakan, melaksanakan proses pembelajaran, serta menilai dan mengevaluasi hasil pembelajaran mengarah pada tercapainya kompetensi dasar yang harus dikuasai siswa terkait dengan pengetahuan, keterampilan dan sikap serta nilai yang direfleksikan dalam kebiasaan berfikir dan bertindak setelah mengikuti kegiatan pembelajaran.

4. Indikator Kinerja Guru

Setiap tindakan penilaian terhadap suatu kinerja, dibutuhkan indikator-indikator tertentu sebagai sasaran pelaksanaanya. Keberhasilan penilaian tersebut akan sangat ditentukan oleh indikator-indikator yang ditetapkan sebelumnya. Untuk itu, sebagai tolak ukur terhadap kinerja guru sebagaimana dimaksudkan dalam penelitian ini adalah motivasi, kepuasan kerja dan hubungan komunikasi dengan organisasi.

1. Motivasi. Perasaan atau kehendak dan keinginan yang amat mempengaruhi kemauan individu, sehingga individu tersebut didorong untuk berperilaku dan bertindak kearah terealisasinya tujuan yang telah diformulasikan. Dengan kata lain, motivasi adalah cara mengarahkan daya dan potensi guru agar mau bekerja sama secara produktif berhasil mencapai dan mewujudkan tujuan yang telah ditentukan.
2. Disiplin kerja. Kedisiplinan kerja merupakan masalah yang perlu diperhatikan, sebab dengan adanya kedisiplinan, dapat mempengaruhi efektivitas dan efisiensi pencapaian tujuan organisasi. Disiplin kerja, pada dasarnya dapat diartikan sebagai bentuk ketaatan dari perilaku seseorang dalam mematuhi ketentuan-ketentuan ataupun peraturan-peraturan tertentu yang berkaitan dengan pekerjaan, dan diberlakukan dalam suatu organisasi.
3. Kepuasan kerja. Kepuasan kerja adalah perasaan individu terhadap pekerjaannya. Perasaan ini berupa suatu hasil penilaian mengenai seberapa jauh pekerjaannya secara keseluruhan mampu memuaskan kebutuhannya. Dalam hal ini dibutuhkan suatu evaluasi, yang kemudian dikenal dengan penilaian kinerja.
4. Hubungan dengan organisasi. Dalam penilaian kinerja melibatkan komunikasi dua arah yaitu antara pengirim pesan dengan penerima pesan sehingga komunikasi dapat berjalan dengan baik. Penilaian kinerja dilakukan untuk memberi tahu karyawan apa yang diharapkan pengawas untuk membangun pemahaman yang lebih baik satu sama lain. Penilaian kinerja menitikberatkan pada penilaian sebagai suatu proses pengukuran sejauh mana kerja dari orang atau sekelompok orang dapat bermanfaat untuk mencapai tujuan yang ada.

Hal  terpenting dalam penilaian kinerja guru adalah penguasaan guru terhadap aspek-aspek pembelajaran, antara lain: a) menguasai karakteristik peserta didik dari aspek fisik, moral, sosial, kultural, emosional, dan intelektual, b) menguasai teori belajar dan prinsip-prinsip pengajaran, c) melaksanakan penilaian terhadap kegiatan pembelajaran yang dilaksanakan, dan d) melakukan tindakan reflektif terhadap pembelajaran yang telah dilaksanakan.

Dalam menjalankan tugas dan fungsinya sebagai tenaga pendidik dan kependidikakan sesuai dengan latar belakang ilmunya, guru dituntut dapat memahami siswa dalam proses belajar mengajar yang dilaksanakan, melengkapi perangkat pembelajaran, melakukan evaluasi terhadap pembelajaran, dan membimbing serta mengarahkan siswa dalam pengembangan potensi diri dalam belajar untuk mencapai hasil belajar yang baik.

Dengan demikian, penilaian kinerja guru terhadap pengaruh budaya organisasi yang ada di SMA Negeri 2 Belopa Kabupaten Luwu dalam penelitian ini diarahkan pada keempat indikator kinerja yang dikemukakan di atas.

According to Slavin in Rosdiana(2008: 12) states that cooperative learning is as method that shares idea in which students work together to learn and are responsible for their teammates learning as well as their own.

In addition, Johnson and David in Rosdiana (2008: 13) stated that cooperative learning is the relationship among students in a group that requires (1) positive interdependence, (2) individual accountability, (3) interpersonal skills, (4) face to face interaction and (5) processing group work. Furthermore, these components are elaborated as in the following:

1. Positive interdependence. This point indicates the role of each student in a group as a team work. Jacobs sated that positive interdependence is the feeling among a group of students in helping any member of the groups.
2. Individual accountability. Each student in a group has their own accountability to participate and give contribution to their group. Each student should show the best to speak because it can affect the success of their group.
3. Interpersonal skills. Johnson et al (1991: 103) stated that interpersonal skill could be achieved if the students could (1) get to know and thrust each other, (2) communicative accurately and unambiguously, (3) accept and support each other and (4) resolve conflict constructively. Therefore, each student should be able to practice the collaborative skills to success in a group.
4. Face to face interaction. The characteristic of promote interaction is when students interact each other, the member of the team provide effective and efficient helps and assistance in which they should promote each other through giving feedback and motivation, idea and some useful information that can influence to group’s goal. This is very useful in raising student’s motivation and self confidence to work in a team. As a result students will have high motivation to practice and produce utterance in target language.
5. Group processing. Johnson et al (1991: 104) defines group processing as reflecting on a group session whether each member is helpful for the group and think of what the group should be in the next process. It is aimed to get improvement on using cooperative learning t achieve group’s goal.

Another consideration under cooperative learning is well known as group work. Group work in language classroom provides non threatening situations for developing communicate skill and fulfilling the linguistic need for interaction (Long and Porter in Rosdiana, 2008; 14). In addition, Barbara in Rosdiana (2008; 14) states that students working in small group or group work tend t learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional format.

There are several reasons proposed by Long and Porter for the use of group work in second language learning. First is opportunity to practice the target language increases. Second, the quality of learner speech improves. Third, learner receives more individual instruction. Fourth, group work creates a more positive climate for language learning. Fifth, learner’s motivation increases. Sixth, learners have more equal participation than in teacher led situation. The last, students can learn how to work together with others.

From those descriptions, the researcher comes up with the conclusion that cooperative learning and group work is the effective way of sharing idea in a group to raise student’s involvement in achieving speaking improvement.

Basically, the students’ attitude is channeled upon what is meant. Therefore, the language learning should pay more attention to the following components:

1. The communicator is the teacher. The teacher should contribute fairness, a sense of humor, and consistent behavior to all situations and to all students. He should become a good communicator in regard to the best speaking performance. This aims at requiring motivational, social, and good teaching methodology;
2. The message refers to the information that the teacher transmits to the class. The material should be brought attractively and communicatively so that the students can be interested to use it to improve their speaking performance;
3. The audience is the students with numerous characteristic, such as: age, gender and self-esteem. Finding out to what the students is successfully interrelated with each other and helping one another will keep them to be positive to interact with other peers;
4. The audience-the communicator feedback loop which refers to the response of the students to interact with the teacher. In this situation, the teacher should communicate effectively and efficiently to the students.

Above all, it can be concluded that the students’ attitude influences the students’ best way of learning. The students shape their mental process when they see, hear, feel, and do the action in the classroom. Initially, the researcher hopes that the students will have a positive attitude toward using team interview technique.

1. Test specification

A test specification provides the official statement about what the test tests and how it tests it (Alderson, et.al, 1995:9). The specifications are blue print to be followed by test and item writers, and they are also essential in the establishment of the test’s construct validity. The development of test specifications is, therefore, a central and crucial part of the test construction and evaluation process.

Test specification varies according to their uses. The specification must, however, provide appropriate information that a test should cover. Test specifications should include all or some of the following: The test’s purpose, Description of the test taker, Test level, Construct, Description of suitable language course or textbook, Number of section/papers, Time of each section/paper, Target language situation, Text types, Text length, Language skill to be tested, Test task, Test method, Rubrics, Criteria for marking, Description of typical performance of each level, Description of candidates at each level can do in the real world, Sample papers and samples of students’ performance of task

2. Test construction and moderation

Test construction, which is commonly known as item writing, is the next step in test development after test specification have been formulated. The item writing must be based on the test specification, although it is possible to look at past papers. Item writing is the preparation of assessment tasks, which can reveal the knowledge, and skill of students when their responses to these tasks are inspected. Tasks which confuse, which do not engage the students, or which offend, always obscure important evidence by either failing to gather appropriate information or by distracting the student from the intended task.

Terms of test editing or moderation, each item and the test as a whole are considered for the degree or match with the test specifications, likely level of difficulty, possible unforeseen problems, ambiguities in the wording of item and of instructions, problems of layout, match between stems and choices, and overall balance of the subtest or paper.

3. Try-out

We do not only need to know how difficult the test items are, but we also need to know whether they work. This may mean that an item which is intended to test a particular structure actually does so, or it may mean that the item succeeds in distinguishing between students at different levels so that the weaker ones. It is possible to predict whether items will work without trying them out.

The number of students on whom a test should be trialed depends on the importance and types of test, and the availability of suitable students. The only guiding rule is the more the better, since the more students there are, the less effect change will have on the result.

4. Test analysis

The test items that have been tried out must be analyzed to see whether they work. This analysis will show us the extent to which each item works. For objective test items, traditionally there were two measures of calculation – the facility value and the discrimination index. For the subjectively marked tests although item analysis is in appropriate, such as summaries, essays, and oral interviews, these tests still need to be tried out to see whether the items elicit the intended sample of language; whether the marking system, which should have been drafted during the item writing stage, is usable; and whether the examiner are able to mark consistently.

5. Validation

The most important question of all in language testing is validity. Test validity can be interpreted as usefulness for the purpose. Since purposes vary, it is important to specify which purpose applies when making a comment about validity. Content validity refers to the extent to which the test reflects the content represented in curriculum statements (and the skills implied by that content). A test with high content validity would provide a close match with the intentions of the curriculum, as judged by curriculum experts and teachers.

Validation process involves the terms internal and external validity, with the distinction being that internal validity relates to studies of the perceived content of test and its perceived effect, and external validity relates to studies comparing students’ test scores with measures of their ability gleaned from outside the test.

6. Public and user trial

The test that have been constructed, tried out, and analyzed should also be evaluated by public, especially the future users of the tests. The tests are presented to the future users and they analyze the tests, give comments or suggestions to the improvement of the tests, and approve the tests.

Hennings infers that reliability is a measure of accuracy, consistency, dependability, or fairness of scores resulting from administration of a particular examination.  He further introduces some threats to reliability in testing, including fluctuation in the learners, fluctuation in scoring, fluctuation in test administration, test characteristic affecting reliability,  and treat to reliability arising from the characteristic of the responses of the examinees.

There are some common methods for the computation of reliability which involve statistic calculation, correlation and variances of score, which needs extra work from teachers or test constructors in providing the score and calculating them. These methods are test-retest method, parallel forms methods, inter-rater reliability, Split-Half reliability, and Kuder-Richardson 20 and Kuder-Richardson 21. For many criterion-referenced tests decision consistency is often an appropriate choice. If a learning measure is reliable, it is consistent over time. If learning has taken place, a reliable measure will yield the same student score on a second administration. The evaluator will want to do whatever possible to ensure testing measures are reliable, so that the scores for one test administration can be compared to those of subsequent administrations. Test reliability (consistency) is an essential requirement for test validity. 

1.     Test-Retest Reliability

A method of establishing a correlation coefficient is determined by comparing the scores of the same measuring device administered to the same people on two different occasions. Comparing test results over time allows the test developer to see how stable the test is over time. This is calculated by means of product-moment correlation of two sets of scores for the same persons. The same test is administered to the same people following an interval of no more then two weeks. To estimate test-retest reliability, you must administer a test form to a single group of examinees on two separate occasions. Typically, the two separate administrations are only a few days or a few weeks apart; the time should be short enough so that the examinees’ skills in the area being assessed have not changed through additional learning. The relationship between the examinees’ scores from the two different administrations is estimated, through statistical correlation, to determine how similar the scores are. This type of reliability demonstrates the extent to which a test is able to produce stable, consistent scores across time.

2.     Parallel Forms Reliability

This method requires that an equivalent form of a test be administered to the same individuals. It is done by administering two versions of the same test to ensure that both tests are equivalent.

Two test are administered to the same sample of person and the result are correlated using product moment correlation. However the test must satisfy rigid requirements of equivalence.  Many exam programs develop multiple, parallel forms of an exam to help provide test security. These parallel forms are all constructed to match the test blueprint, and the parallel test forms are constructed to be similar in average item difficulty. Parallel forms reliability is estimated by administering both forms of the exam to the same group of examinees. While the time between the two test administrations should be short, it does need to be long enough so that examinees’ scores are not affected by fatigue. The examinees’ scores on the two test forms are correlated in order to determine how similarly the two test forms function. This reliability estimate is a measure of how consistent examinees’ scores can be expected to be across test forms.

Decision Consistency

In the descriptions of test-retest and parallel forms reliability given above, the consistency or dependability of the test scores was emphasized. For many criterion referenced tests (CRTs) a more useful way to think about reliability may be in terms of examinees’ classifications. For example, a typical CRT will result in an examinee being classified as either a master or non-master; the examinee will either pass or fail the test. It is the reliability of this classification decision that is estimated in decision consistency reliability. If an examinee is classified as a master on both test administrations, or as a non-master on both occasions, the test is producing consistent decisions. This approach can be used either with parallel forms or with a single form administered twice in test-retest fashion.

Internal Consistency

The internal consistency measure of reliability is frequently used for norm referenced tests (NRTs). This method has the advantage of being able to be conducted using a single form given at a single administration. The internal consistency method estimates how well the set of items on a test correlate with one another; that is, how similar the items on a test form are to one another. Many test analysis software programs produce this reliability estimate automatically. However, two common differences between NRTs and CRTs make this method of reliability estimation less useful for CRTs. First, because CRTs are typically designed to have a much narrower range of item difficulty, and examinee scores, the value of the reliability estimate will tend to be lower. Additionally, CRTs are often designed to measure a broader range of content; this results in a set of items that are not necessarily closely related to each other. This aspect of CRT test design will also produce a lower reliability estimate than would be seen on a typical NRT.

3.     Inter-Rater Reliability

This is used when scores on the test are independent estimates by two or more judges or rater. Reliability is estimated as the correlation of the ratings of one judge with those of another, especially in measuring speaking or writing ability.  All of the methods for estimating reliability discussed thus far are intended to be used for objective tests. When a test includes performance tasks, or other items that need to be scored by human raters, then the reliability of those raters must be estimated. This reliability method asks the question, “If multiple raters scored a single examinee’s performance, would the examinee receive the same score. Inter-rater reliability provides a measure of the dependability or consistency of scores that might be expected across raters.

4.    Split-Half Reliability

 A test given and divided into halves and are scored separately, then the score of one half of test are compared to the score of the remaining half to test the reliability (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2001). Split-Half Reliability is a useful measure when impractical or undesirable to assess reliability with two tests or to have two test administrations (because of limited time or money) (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2001).

How do I use Split-Half ? First: divide test into halves. The most commonly used way to do this would be to assign odd numbered items to one half of the test and even numbered items to the other, this is called, Odd-Even reliability. Second: Find the correlation of scores between the two halves by using the Pearson r formula. Third : Adjust or reevaluate correlation using Spearman-Brown formula which increases the estimate reliability even more. The longer the test the more reliable it is so it is necessary to apply the Spearman-Brown formula to a test that has been shortened, as we do in split-half reliability (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2001).

5.    Kuder-Richardson 20 and Kuder-Richardson 21

Kuder-Richardson 20  permits us to arrive at the same final estimate of reliability without having to compute reliability estimates for every possible split combination. Kuder-Richardson 21 is less accurate as it is slightly underestimates the actual reliability. Both tend to provide distorted stimates when only a few items occur in the test.

Reliability and Test Design

Sources of error due to the way in which the test is designed, which produce unreliable measures, include:

• Differences in the interpretation of the results of the instrument

• The length of the instrument

These errors can be reduced by designing tests that can be scored objectively and ensuring that the instrument is long enough, because short tests are usually not very reliable (Hopkins 1998). Once a test is designed, the evaluator can use one of the methods to determine its reliability.  Selecting the method to test for reliability may depend on the type and administration of the measure. For example, if the measure is one that requires an instructor assessment, the test designer or evaluator conducts a test for inter-rater reliability to make sure that the measure is not sensitive to the subjectivity of the rater. Ideally, if two different raters measure the same individual, they would arrive at identical, or acceptably close, results. If the measure is a written test, the split-half or inter-item methods for testing for reliability may be the most appropriate. The designer or evaluator can use the test-retest method successfully in corporate settings where subject matter experts are brought in at one point to take the test and again in two weeks to take the same test.

Conclusion

Reliability is one of the most important elements of test quality. It has to do with the consistency, or reproducibility, of an examinee’s performance on the test. Reliability has to do with accuracy of measurement. Reliability is a necessary characteristic of any good test. If the test is administered to the same learners on the different occasion (with no language practice taking place between these occasion), then to the extent that it produces similar result, it is considered reliable. In short, in order to be reliable, a test must be consistent in its measurements.

Hennings infers that reliability is a measure of accuracy, consistency, dependability, or fairness of scores resulting from administration of a particular examination.  He further introduces some threats to reliability in testing, including fluctuation in the learners, fluctuation in scoring, fluctuation in test administration, test characteristic affecting reliability,  and treat to reliability arising from the characteristic of the responses of the examinees.

There are some common methods for the computation of reliability which involve statistic calculation, correlation and variances of score, which needs extra work from teachers or test constructors in providing the score and calculating them. These methods are test-retest method, parallel forms methods, interrater reliability, Split-Half reliability, and Kuder-Richardson 20 and Kuder-Richardson 21. If a learning measure is reliable, it is consistent over time. If learning has taken place, a reliable measure will yield the same student score on a second administration. The evaluator will want to do whatever possible to ensure testing measures are reliable, so that the scores for one test administration can be compared to those of subsequent administrations.

References

Bachman, L. F. 1990. Fundamental Consideration in Language Testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brown, J.D. 1997. “Computers in Language Testing: Present Research and some Future Direction.” In Language Learning and Technology.” http://www.computer in language Testing.htm.

Jabu, B. 2008. English Language Testing. Published by: The UNM Publisher.

Widdowson, H. G. 1985. Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

1. Permendiknas Number 22 Year 2006 About Content Standards for Elementary and Secondary Education Unit.

2. Permendiknas Number 13 Year 2007 on the Standard Head of School / Madrasah.

3. Permendiknas Number 16 Year 2007 on the Academic Qualification Standards and Teacher Competency.

4. Strategic Plan (Planning) Ministry of National Education in 2005-2009 Internet usage in learning can be a useful supplement (Stepp-Greany, 2002; Graus, 1999; Choi and Nesi, 1999, Noni, 2004), both for teachers and students.

The advantages of the Internet for teachers, Rekdale argued that the Internet is the potential to support the professional development of teachers because the Internet offers opportunities to obtain, namely (a) improve the knowledge, (b) sharing of resources among their peers, (c) in collaboration with teachers from outside country; (d) the opportunity to publish / announce idea held online; (e) arrange regular communication, and (f) participate in forums with colleagues both locally and internationally. For students, the Internet offers the opportunity to learn on their own quickly for (a) increase knowledge, (b) interactive learning, and (c) develop research skills. Some critical facilities described in this section the following benefits in supporting learning.

a. Benefits of E-Mail E-mail has many benefits, including; Containers of tasks by the teacher, assignment submission by students, distribution of learning resources from teachers and / or students, Consultancy assignment and the final course for students, learning file administration.

b. Benefits of Mailing List Among others; assigning students to follow a particular mailing list to share information, information used as a discussion, solving problems by sharing info

c. Benefit of Newsgroup Among them: A series of newsgroups that are made based on interests and topics of discussion are usually part of usenet, Forum discussion: everyone is free to comment on an existing problem and the comment will be read also by newsgroup users, asynchronous Facilitating interaction between the student – teacher and among fellow student

d. Benefits of internet Chat Namely: Containers direct communication with text, voice, and video, Facilitating distance learning, especially for the needs of the teleconference and discussion, synchronous Facilitating interaction between the student – teacher and among students, for a particular chat room, provided the topic to be selected based on their interests, because cross-countries, language skills will flourish

e. Benefits of Web Browsing

f. Among them: Web / www: the primary vehicle used to obtain the needed information, relevant learning resources (raw materials, ready to use, and interactive), references, scientific journals, games; introduction and promotion of the institution / school; Type: Web Search Engine, Web Portal, Web Company, and the Personal Web. Learning resources in the form of scientific articles, books, research reports, teaching materials ready to use, and interactive media pretty much available. In addition, various programs can be found on the Internet that can be used to develop teaching materials more interesting. In fact, authentic materials more numerous more who actually have learning value substantially if its utilization is well designed. It’s just that it takes adequate teacher competence in using ICT tools as appropriate, to plan the integration of learning with ICT, evaluate and provide relevant materials, carry out the study with the use of ICT, and make an evaluation tool.

A COURSE IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Practice and Theory

By: Penny Ur

Cambridge University Press, 1996

The book contains of important new course provides a comprehensive basic introduction to teaching languages, for use in pre-service or early experience settings. It can be used by groups of teachers working with a trainer, or as a self-study resource. It consists of modules on key topics, arranged into sections covering: The Teaching Process, Teaching the Language, Course Content, Lessons, and Learner Differences. Modules can be used in sequence, or selectively. Each module presents practical and theoretical aspects of the topic, with tasks. Suggestions for classroom observation and practice, action research projects and further reading are included. Notes for the trainer with stimulating insights from the author’s personal experience complete the course.

The main part of this book is divided into 22 modules, each devoted to an aspect of language teaching (foe example ‘grammar’, or ‘the syllabuses). At the end of most modules is a set of notes, giving further information or comments on the tasks. Also attached to each module is a section entitled Further Reading, which is a selected and annotated bibliography of books and articles relevant to the topic.

The modules are grouped into seven parts, each focusing on a central aspect on theme of foreign language teaching. Each part has a short introduction defining its theme and clarifying the underlying concepts. Each module is composed of several separate units: these again are free standing, and may be used independently of one another.

Part 1 consists of 3 modules. Module 1 contains effective presentation not only to the kind of limited and controlled modeling of a target item that we do when we introduce a new word pr grammatical structure, but also to the initial encounter with comprehensible input in the form of spoken and written text, as well as various kind of explanations, instructions and discussion of new language items or tasks. It consists also example of presentation procedure, and explanation and instruction. Module 2 discuss about practice activities, the function of practice, characteristic of good practice activities and technique, and progressing in practice. Module 3 consists of tests, what are test for?, basic concept of test, types of test, designing a test, and test administration.

Part 2 consists of 4 modules. Module 4 explain about teaching pronunciation, what does teaching pronunciation involve, listening to accents, improving learners’ pronunciation, further topic for discussion, pronunciation and spelling. Module 5 contain of teaching vocabulary, what is vocabulary and what needs to be taught, presenting new vocabularies, remembering vocabularies, idea for vocabulary work in the classroom, and testing vocabulary. Module 6 consists of teaching grammar, what is grammar, the place of grammar teaching, grammatical terms, presenting and explain grammar, grammar practice activities, and grammatical mistakes. Module 7 consists of topics, situations, notions, functions, what are notion and functions, teaching chunks of language; from text to task, teaching chunks of language; from task to text, and combining different kinds of language segments.

Part 3 consist of 4 modules. Module 8 explain about teaching listening, what does real-life listening involve, real-life listening in the classroom, learner problems, types of activities, and adapting activities. Module 9 discuss about teaching speaking, successful oral fluency practice that we have organized as teacher (learners talk a lot, participation is even, motivation is high, language is of and acceptable level), because there were problems faced by learners in speaking activities (inhabitation, nothing to say, low or uneven participation, mother tongue use. To overcome each of the problems, the writer suggested some ideas; (use group work, base the activity on easy language, make a careful choice of topic and task to stimulate interest, give some instruction or training in discussion skills, keep students speaking the target language. This unit also looks at some key components that make for successful oral fluency activities on the function of topic and task also discussion activities suitable for various levels (classroom-or peer-teaching) and some kinds of other spoken interaction. It was suggested in one of the extract quoted that the learners can experience in the classroom is the use of what is called ‘role play’. Role play is used to refer to all sorts of activities where learners imagine themselves in a situation outside the classroom.  The last unit is about oral testing to test oral proficiency of learners we may simply interview them and assess their responses; or use other techniques like role play, group discussion between learners, monologue, and picture description and so on. Module 10 is about teaching reading, how we read, beginning reading, types of reading activities, improving reading skills, and advance reading. Module 11 consists of teaching writing, written versus spoken text. This unit studies some of these differences and their implication for teaching, then the writer explain about teaching procedures, task that stimulate writing, the process of composition, and giving feedback in writing.

Part 4 consists of 4 modules. Module 12 is about the syllabus, what is syllabus, different types of language syllabus, and using of syllabus. Module 13 explains about how necessary a coursebook, coursebook assessment, using a coursebook, supplementary materials, and teacher made worksheet and work cards. Module 14 discusses about different kind of content, underlying messages, literature 1; should it be included in the course, literature 2; teaching ideas, literature 3; teaching a specific text.

Part 5 consists of 4 modules. Module 15 is about lesson plan, what does a lesson involve, lesson preparation, varying lesson components, evaluating lesson effectiveness, and practical lesson management. Module 16 discusses classroom interaction, questioning, group work, individualization, and the selection of appropriate activation techniques. Module 17 is about giving feedback, different approaches to the nature and function of feedback, assessment, correcting mistakes in oral work, written feedback, and clarifying personal attitudes. Module 18 consists of classroom discipline, what is discipline, what does disciplined classroom look like, what teacher action is conductive to a disciplined classroom, dealing with discipline problems, and disciplines problems; episode.

Part 6 about learner differences, it consists of 3 modules. Module 19 explains about learner motivation and interest, motivation; some background thinking, the teacher’s responsibility, extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation and interest, and fluctuation in learner interest. Module 20 discusses about younger and older learners, what difference does age make to language learning, teaching children, teaching adolescents; students’ preferences, teaching adults; a different relationship. Module 21 contains of large heterogeneous classes, defining terms, problems and advantages, teaching strategies (1); compulsory + optional, teaching strategies (2); open-ending, and designing your own activities.

Part 7 is and beyond consists of 1 module. Module 22 explains about teacher development; practice, reflection, sharing, teacher appraisal, advancing further intake and output.

The collection of topics on which the modules are based is necessarily selective; it is based on those that furnish the basis for the writer own (pre-service) teacher-training programme, and which seems to him the most important and useful. The last module of the book includes recommendations for further study, with suggested reading.

WRITING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTS (New Edition)

By: J. B. Heaton

Longman Group UK Limited, 1988

This book discusses about Language tests, among them are writing. Throughout Writing English Language Tests, the functions of testing as a tool for reinforcement and motivation are highlighted and testing is considered as the provider of efficient teaching process. As a study in the ‘Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers’ series, this book comprises eleven chapters; six of which deal with how to test different skills in language learning and provide examples which will be useful in testing those particular skills. The other five chapters deal with factors that should be taken into account in designing an effective testing procedure, such as scoring tests, types of tests, and interpreting test results.

Before discussing how to test different language skills, in chapter 1, Introduction to language testing, Heaton offers a rationale for testing. He discusses the relationship between testing and teaching to highlight the role of testing as a tool for ascertaining the efficiency of the teaching process. In providing different kinds of tests for different language skills, he summarizes the characteristics of the four language skills and offers some test forms for assessing each of these skills. He seeks to answer the questions, ‘Why test?’ and ‘what should be tested and to what extent?’

In Chapter 2, Approaches to language testing, the author classifies language testing according to four main approaches, listed in chronological order as (1) the essay-translation approach; (2) the structuralize approach; (3) the integrative approach; and (4) the communicative approach. After summarizing the functions of these four approaches, he emphasizes the importance of “maintaining ideas and goals by trying to devise a test which is as valid and reliable as possible –and which has a useful backwash effect on the teaching and learning leading to the test”. In brief, the role of teacher as the provider is highlighted as the objective of assessment.

The chapter 3, which concerns the scoring of tests, focuses on the difference between subjective and objective testing. These two types of testing, which are defined by Hughes (2003) as the distinction between methods of scoring regarding the subjectivity or objectivity of the judgment, are explained in detail with reference to multiple-choice techniques. Heaton illustrates instances of each type of testing by comparing their advantages and disadvantages. However, he focuses only on the multiple-choice test as an example of an objective test and does not refer to other types of objective testing such as matching questions or true-false questions. The components of multiple-item tests – stem, options, and distracters – are explained in detail with reference to their functions. Different examples are presented in describing the different types of each item, for example; the stem as a complete or an incomplete statement, or as a question. He also explains some techniques which might not be found meaningful by the students when applied to a multiple-choice test, such as writing the correct option in blanks, writing the correct letter of the correct option in the blank or in box, and underlying the correct option.

The following three chapters (4, 5, and 6), different types of test techniques are explained in detail by giving specific examples of each. Tests of grammar and usage, testing vocabulary, listening comprehension tests are discussed in separate chapters. For each unit, a brief rationale is presented initially to explain why to test each different skill. After that, the different types of tests which may be helpful in assessing that skill are provided. In doing so, the author exemplifies each type of testing and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each, which will guide teachers in deciding which technique to apply. However, most of the items that are presented in these chapters are based on multiple-choice items in which students are solely expected to recognize the correct answer among distracters. Learning a language does not necessarily mean recognizing correct forms but in producing them in different situations appropriately. Therefore, it would be better to exemplify recall items which measures the students’ ability to apply functional understanding to produce language, such as comprehension questions, rewriting, summarizing, etc.

In Chapter 7 where I will be focus on it is explained in detail by giving specific example of each. He discussed about some difficulties in testing the speaking skills. However, at all stage beyond, the elementary levels of mimicry and repetition it is an extremely difficult skill to test, as it is far to complex skill to permit any reliable analysis to be made for the purpose of objective testing. This chapter gave the idea of the range of possible types of oral test. An extremely good test is the oral interview. In many present day, oral test include a test of reading aloud in which the student is given a short time to glance an extract before being require to read it aloud. Beside this test, there is another test namely conversational exchange. This chapter also provide many examples of test and how to rate the students speaking skill in accuracy, fluency, and comprehensibility.

In Chapters 8 & 9, testing reading comprehension and writing skills are discussed in separate chapters. For each unit, a brief rationale is presented initially to explain why to test each different skill. After that, the different types of tests which may be helpful in assessing that skill are provided.

Chapter 10, Criteria and Types of Tests, discusses the principles that determine efficient tests. Here, the starting point of an efficient test is regarded as validity, which is “the extent to which the information you collect actually reflects the characteristics or attribute you want to know about” (Genesee and Upshur 1996). After defining different types of validity such as face, content, construct, and empirical validity, Heaton clarifies the features of validity and reliability by referring to the distinction between an achievement test and a proficiency test. In distinguishing these two tests, the author asserts that “an achievement test might well exclude factors such as personality while a proficiency test or public examination might consider such factors as important in evaluating oral ability in the target language”. Therefore, he claims that the validity of a test should be determined in accordance with the objective of the test. Additionally, in explaining the relationship between reliability and validity, Heaton provides a thorough explanation with reference to the difference between objective and subjective tests. After clarifying the distinction between these two tests, he claims that the high reliability of a test can influence the validity of it in a negative way since “real-life tasks contained productive tests such as the oral interview, role-play, letter writing, etc. may have been given high construct and face validity at the expense of reliability”. Therefore, as the author suggests, it is much more difficult to increase the validity of a test known to be reliable. In so doing, “it is essential to devise a valid test first of all and then to establish ways of increasing its reliability”. After discussing the features of reliability and validity, Heaton explains the importance of discrimination and administration of a test. He focuses on the practicality of a test on behalf of the participants by referring to the importance of setting a suitable length of time and providing clear test instructions. In this chapter, he also mentions the backwash effect and characteristics of different types of tests such as achievement tests, proficiency tests, aptitude tests, and diagnostic tests.

In Chapter 11, Heaton deals with How to interpret test scores, which is considered the final step in the testing process. Although this final step may affect the whole testing process considerably, the author does not mention the significant role of interpretation. Genesee and Upshur (1996), for instance, discuss the factors affecting test score interpretation by highlighting the relationship between interpretation and test construction. In this chapter, Heaton presents an overview of frequency distribution, measures of central tendency, and dispersion and item analysis. He gives specific examples of each to clarify the functions of differing modes of interpretation. He also highlights the importance of ‘moderating’ a test since “it is simply impossible for any single individual to construct good test items without help from another person”.

Finally, to arrive at a correct interpretation of language testing, all language teachers should take time to read this book. It attempts to facilitate teachers of English in providing an effective testing process. It also presents detailed guidance on writing, administering, and scoring test questions. In doing so, this book provides various lucid test samples for the different skills of language learning that will guide teachers in planning their testing. Therefore, teachers of English should consider this book as a handbook which presents them with various types of test for assessing different skills. Teachers can easily find types of testing relevant to their teaching procedure, and in doing so, provide a much more effective teaching process for their learners in which the learners are expected not only to fill-in-the blanks accurately, but also to think critically by analyzing problems and using different skills to solve those problems.

TEACHING LISTENING AND SPEAKING

(From Theory to Practice)

Jack C. Richards

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2008

Courses in listening and speaking skills have a prominent place in language programs around the world today. Ever-growing needs for fluency in English around the world because of the role of English as the world’s international language have given priority to finding more effective ways to teach English. Our understanding of the nature of listening and speaking has undergone considerable changes in recent years, and in this booklet, Richard wants to explore some of those changes and their implications for classroom teaching and materials design.

Approaches to the teaching of speaking in ELT have been more strongly influenced by fads and fashions than the teaching of listening. “Speaking” in traditional methodologies usually meant repeating after the teacher, memorizing a dialog, or responding to drills, all of which reflect the sentence-based view of proficiency prevailing in the audio-lingual and other drill-based or repetition based methodologies of the 1970s. The emergence of communicative language teaching in the 1980s led to changed views of syllabuses and methodology, which are continuing to shape approaches to teaching speaking skills today.

This booklet explores approaches to the teaching of listening and speaking in light of the kinds of issues discussed in the preceding paragraphs. Richard goal is to examine what applied linguistics research and theory says about the nature of listening and speaking skills, and then to explore what the implications are for classroom teaching. We will begin with examining the teaching of listening.

Part 1 is the teaching of listening that will be considered from two different perspectives; listening as comprehension and listening as acquisition. Listening as comprehension is the traditional way of thinking about the nature of listening. Indeed, in most methodology manuals listening and listening comprehension are synonymous. This view of listening is based on the assumption that the main function of listening in second language learning is to facilitate understanding of spoken discourse. Spoken discourse has very different characteristics from written discourse, and these differences can add a number of dimensions to our understanding of how we process speech. For example, spoken discourse is usually instantaneous. The listener must process it “online” and there is often no chance to listen to it again.

Two different kinds of processes are involved in understanding spoken discourse. These are often referred to as bottom-up and top-down processing. Bottom-up processing refers to using the incoming input as the basis for understanding the message. Comprehension begins with the received data that is analyzed as successive levels of organization – sounds, words, clauses, sentences, texts – until meaning is derived. Comprehension is viewed as a process of decoding. Learners need a large vocabulary and a good working knowledge of sentence structure to process texts bottom-up. Many traditional classroom listening activities focus primarily on bottom-up processing, with exercises such as dictation, cloze listening, and the use of multiple choice questions after a text, and similar activities that require close and detailed recognition, and processing of the input. They assume that everything the listener needs to understand is contained in the input.

Top-down processing, on the other hand, refers to the use of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a message. Whereas bottom-up processing goes from language to meaning, top-down processing goes from meaning to language. The background knowledge required for top-down processing may be previous knowledge about the topic of discourse, situational or contextual knowledge, or knowledge in the form of “schemata” or “scripts” –plans about the overall structure of events and the relationships between them.

Successful listening can also be looked at in terms of the strategies the listener uses when listening. Does the learner focus mainly on the content of a text, or does he or she also consider how to listen? A focus on how to listen raises the issues of listening strategies. Strategies can be thought of as the ways in which a learner approaches and manages a task, and listeners can be taught effective ways of approaching and managing their listening.

Part 2 is the teaching of speaking skills in English is a priority for many second-language or foreign-language learners. Oral skills have hardly been neglected in EFL/ESL courses (witness the huge number of conversation and other speaking course books in the market), though how best to approach the teaching of oral skills has long been the focus of methodological debate. Advances in discourse analysis, conversational analysis, and corpus analysis in recent years have revealed a great deal about the nature of spoken discourse and how it differs from written discourse (McCarthy and Carter, 1997). These differences reflect the different purposes for which spoken and written language are used. A marked feature of conversational discourse is the use of fixed expressions, or “routines,” that often have specific functions in conversation and give conversational discourse the quality of naturalness.

An important dimension of conversation is using a style of speaking that is appropriate to the particular circumstances. Different styles of speaking reflect the roles, age, sex, and status of participants in interactions and also reflect the expression of politeness. Different speech styles reflect perceptions of the social roles of the participants in a speech event.

Numerous attempts have been made to classify the functions of speaking in human interaction. Brown and Yule (1983) made a useful distinction between the interactional functions of speaking, in which it serves to establish and maintain social relations, and the transactional functions, which focus on the exchange of information. In workshops with teachers and in designing my own materials, I use an expanded three-part version of Brown and Yule’s framework (after Jones, 1996, and Burns, 1998): talk as interaction; talk as transaction; talk as performance. Each of these speech activities is quite distinct in terms of form and function and requires different teaching approaches.

Talk as interaction refers to what we normally mean by “conversation” and describes interaction that serves a primarily social function. When people meet, they exchange greetings, engage in small talk, recount recent experiences, and so, on because they wish to be friendly and to establish a comfortable zone of interaction with others. Talk as transaction refers to situations where the focus is on what is said or done. The message and making oneself understood clearly and accurately is the central focus, rather than the participants and how they interact socially with each other. The third type of talk that can usefully be distinguished has been called talk as performance. This refers to public talk, that is, talk that transmits information before an audience, such as classroom presentations, public announcements, and speeches.

Three core issues need to be addressed in planning speaking activities for an English class. The first is to determine what kinds of speaking skills the class will focus on. Is it all three of the genres described in the preceding section, or will some receive greater attention than others? Informal needs analysis is the starting point here. Procedures for determining needs include observation of learners carrying out different kinds of communicative tasks, questionnaires, interviews, and diagnostic testing (e.g., Tsang and Wong 2002).

The third issue involved in planning speaking activities is determining the expected level of performance on a speaking task and the criteria that will be used to assess student performance. For any activity we use in class, whether it is one that seeks to develop proficiency in using talk as interaction, transaction, or performance, we need to consider what successful completion of the activity involves. Is accuracy of pronunciation and grammar important? Is each participant expected to speak for about the same amount of time? Is it acceptable if a speaker uses many long pauses and repetitions? If a speaker’s contribution to a discussion is off topic, does it matter?

SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING & LEARNING

By: David Nunan

University of Hongkong

Heinle & Heinle Publishers 1999

The main purpose of this book is practicing teachers and teachers in preparation who want a practical introduction to the current state of second language teaching and learning but also who want to know the theoretical and empirical background to this state. This book consists of three Parts and ten chapters.

The tree chapters in part 1 are intended as a ‘concept map’ for the rest of the book. Here Nunan presents his own perspective on second language teaching and learning. The content is therefore selective and idiosyncratic, reflecting as it does a professional journey that has taken him down a number of different educational highways and byways as well as into the occasional blind alley.

Chapter 1 traces some of the trends and issues emerging from the general educational field that have had an important influence on the current state of SLTL. The chapter serves to remind us that the philosophy and principles of second language education are rooted firmly in the field of general education.

Chapter 2 turns to some of the research that has influenced the current state of SLTL. Again, this is a selective review. To do fill justice to the wealth of research in the diverse field that feed into pedagogy would take several volumes, and great deal of research is covered in other chapters of the book.

Chapter 3 is intended to highlight the main issues and themes that emerged from the two main chapters. He do this by drawing a contrast between what, for want of better terms, he has called “traditional” and “ contemporary” approaches to SLTL.

The three chapters in part 2 discussed essential elements in any successful language learning experience are language, learners, and the learning process. Note that he has omitted teachers from his list. While teachers obviously play a crucial role in thousands of language learning context around the world, they are not essential to the learning process.

In Chapter 4, he looks at language in context, focusing in particular on those aspects of language that can provide teachers with insights for developing materials and pedagogical procedures.

Chapter 5 considers the learners. It elaborates on the concept of learner-centeredness presented in chapter 1, and looks at practical implication of a view of learning that places learners themselves in the centre of the process.

Chapter 6 takes a detailed look at learning process. As process and learners are inseparable, the division between chapter 5 and 6 is to a certain extent, arbitrary, and as we read the chapters we will find key issues revised from slightly different perspective. The main concern of the chapter is to pick up on and elaborate some of the issues emerging from the research literature on learning style and strategies.

Four chapters in part 3 focus on the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Nunan has chosen to deal with the four skills separately. This is more for organizational convenience that out of belief that they should be taught separately. In general, he favors an integrated approach to the teaching of skills, although he recognizes that in many contexts and situations, particularly when dealing with adults, learners need dictate a primary focus on one particular skill rather than the other three.

Chapter 7 deals with listening, the Cinderella skill, as he called it. The first part of the chapter reviews conceptual and empirical issues before setting key considerations in the development, sequencing, and grading of listening tasks.

Chapter 8 looks at speaking, and begins with a consideration of what it is that differentiates spoken from written language. It also looks at way of encouraging and motivating the reluctant speaker. Course design and materials/task development issues are then explored. This chapter discusses about the nature of speaking include characteristics of communicative competence which means that a competent communicator knows how to make choices specific to the situation. Communicative competence includes (1) knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language (2) knowledge of rules of speaking. For instance, knowing how to begin and end conversation (3) knowing how to use and respond to different types of speech acts such as requests, apologies, thanks, and invitation.

The chapter also explains about transactional and interactional language, purposes of speaking, genre theory and speaking, the reluctant speaker, prior learning experiences, motivation, dealing with reluctant speaker. The chapter concludes with a sample speaking lesson that is designed to illustrate some of the main points that are made in the chapter.

Chapter 9 on reading also begins with a consideration of some of the key theoretical and empirical underpinnings of a reading program. In particular, the debate between product and process-oriented approaches to reading are dealt with. The focus then turns to task types in reading program, and looks in particular at tasks that help learners master and apply a range of strategies to reading process.

Chapter 10 on writing advocates a functional, discourse-based approach to writing pedagogy. A rationale for such an approach is presented that builds on and extends the functional view of language set out in chapter 4. Practical ways of using the principles in the design of teaching materials are presented.

Into Europe

THE SPEAKING HANDBOOK

By: Ildikó Csépes & Györgyi Együd

The British Council and the Hungarian Ministry of Education, 2000

The book is the second in the Into Europe series. The series in general is aimed at both teachers and students who plan to take an examination in English, be it a school-leaving examination, some other type of national or regional examination, or an international examination. Hopefully that examination will be a recognized examination which is based on international standards of quality, and which relates to common European levels – those of the Council of Europe.

However, unlike the first book in the series (Reading and Use of English) this book is especially aimed at teachers who are preparing their students for English examinations, or who may themselves have to design and conduct oral examinations in English. Assessing a learner’s ability to speak a foreign language is a complicated and difficult task. Not only must the teacher know what tasks to set students when testing their speaking ability – what the features of good tasks are, what mistakes to avoid when designing oral tasks – but the teacher must also know how to assess the students’ performance as fairly as possible. It is often said that testing speaking is a subjective matter and in a sense this is true and inevitable. But it does not have to be unreliable or unprofessional, and teachers can learn how to improve their ability to design tasks as well as their ability to judge performances more reliably. This book will help all teachers who feel the need to do this.

The book is in three main parts. In Part 1, it discusses general issues related to the assessment of speaking ability in line with modern European standards. In Chapter 1, it focuses on the main features of modern English speaking examinations: skills to be assessed, task types, levels of achievements according to common European standards and quality control issues such as standardization, benchmarking and training of examiners. In Chapter 2, it reviews the main variables that may influence test takers’ oral performance in order to raise test developers’ awareness of their positive or negative impact. Chapter 2 also discusses the individual and the paired mode of oral performance assessment.

Since test developers have full control over the design of examination tasks, in Part 2, they discuss features of good and bad speaking tasks by providing examples of different task types developed within the Hungarian Examinations Reform Teacher Support Project. They present guidelines for item writers who wish to design interview questions in Chapter 3, picture-based individual long turn tasks in Chapter 4, discussion activities for the individual and paired mode in Chapter 5, and role plays for the individual and the paired mode in Chapter 6.

Part 3 deals with how interlocutors and assessors can be trained in order to standardize speaking examinations. Chapters 7 and 8 describe the interlocutor and assessor training model developed by the Hungarian Examinations Reform Teacher Support Project. In Chapter 7, sample training activities such as simulation/role play tasks are presented in order to highlight how future interlocutors can gain the necessary confidence in their role. The demands of the interlocutor’s job are further highlighted through DVD performances that display both standard and non-standard interlocutor behavior. Similarly to the training of interlocutors, in Chapter 8 sample activities and guidelines are presented through which future assessors can be provided with hands-on experience in assessing speaking performances both in language classes and in examination situations.

Uniquely, this book illustrates different options in the assessment of speaking as it is accompanied by an invaluable resource of oral performance samples on DVD, which features Hungarian learners of English at a wide range of proficiency levels. Finally, they provide recommendations for good practice by discussing how the principles described for assessing speaking can be applied in classroom assessment contexts and how ongoing quality assurance can be provided in order to adhere to modern European standards. The wash back effect of modern European speaking exams is also considered, as teachers need to understand that high quality exams should have a positive impact on the quality of English language teaching. The hope is that learners will practice tasks that require them to use English in life-like situations as part of their exam preparation. And if they learn to cope with such tasks, they will be guaranteed to succeed in using English with real people outside the language classroom, as well as in the speaking examination itself.

MUDAH DAN GAMPANG MENGGUNAKAN YAHOO! MESSENGER

Warjana & Abdul Razaq

Penerbit Indah Surabaya, 2009

This book comes as a reference in using and optimizing Yahoo Messenger (YM) by using very simple language and detailed description of the steps that will facilitate learners to learn and understand each section are discussed. So expect to completely understand the direct learning.

This book consists of nine chapters.

Chapter 1 contains of Yahoo Messenger as one of the programs that are widely used to communicate (chat) with other Internet users around the world. YM is an instant messenger program provided by Yahoo that can be downloaded free of charge, and how to install the program on the computer.

Chapter 2 contains about how to get a Yahoo ID from the web and the important things that should be known at the time of registration, for example; availability Yahoo ID or an error in entering a password. Then explain how to run the program Yahoo Messenger, invite others to chat, create personal status and how to sign out of YM.

Chapter 3 explains how to join in the global rooms i.e. by knowing what rooms are provided by YM and how to join into the room with a specific ID.

Chapter 4 contains the ways how to manage contacts and group ID that is by adding a new contact or deleting a list of contact names, hide or display the contact ID, and manage the group, such as create a new group, add a new contact ID, contact ID on the move specific group, add or delete group name.

Chapter 5 contains a list of ways how to optimize your contacts, send messages to friends or to the many friends who enrolled in the group, how to use emoticons and surprise friends with a buzz.

Chapter 6 describes the YM settings either by changing the look of YM skin, text display settings, display or hide a picture ID, sound settings, add a picture for status, activate the avatar image, and setting hides the contact ID to another person either at the time of entry YM or from other people’s eyesight.

Chapter 7 describes how to share documents and photos. Send a document or data on the contact ID and receive data files the posts, share photos with others, receive photographs and open with a slide show all photos, store and delete photos on/from the computer.

Chapter 8 contains a way to optimize voice chat and webcam which is preceded by activating the voice for a chat, activate webcam on YM, solicit or invite someone to see the cam and talk with the group.

Chapter 9 contains the language or terminology chat and emoticons that by knowing the language or abbreviations that are often used by the user are also familiar with the standards emoticons they use.

Besides exposure to the material of this book by using easily understood language, also comes with pictures as clues in studying all the material discussed in this book, so this book is easier for students in applying it, besides that, the YM is a very easy program, where users can adjust the settings and the other using simple language that he understood the Indonesian. YM program is a program that is very easy to use, even without studying; everyone would be able to use it.

Sejujurnya, mendapatkan beasiswa itu terdapat enak dan tidaknya tergantung pada siapa atau donator mana yang memberikan beasiswa. Namun kebanggaan mendapat beasiswa dengan iming-iming yang terlalu berlebihan ternyata perlu dimanage agar kekecewaan tidak akan mengotori kebanggan itu, karena pasti persoalan lain akan muncul ketika beasiswa itu telah diterima. Misalnya; beasiswa yang kita peroleh tidak sesuai jumlah yang seharusnya kita terima, ada pemotongan pajak, cairnnya beasiswa yang acap kali dirapel per triwulan ataupun per 6 bulanan atau bahkan pertahun, dan sebagainya.

Fenomena ini akan menjadi pemicu utama bagi orang-orang untuk semakin maruk mengejar beasiswa/bantuan tambahan dari pihak lain meski telah mempunyai beasiswa. Wajar jika ada orang yang mempunyai tiga beasiswa atau lebih dan untuk menghindari persyaratan dan pernyataan yang telah ditandatangani untuk tidak berbeasiswa rangkap/ganda dari pihak manapun ternyata memperindah bahasanya dengan kata ‘Bantuan”, artinya ia hanya memperoleh beasiswa dari satu donator sementara dari donator lainnya hanyalah sekedar bantuan. Jika demikian, maka orang bukan hanya rakus mengejar beasiswa, bahkan behasisa-pun akan dikejar dengan menghalalkan segala cara.

Jika ingin mendapatkan Behasisa, tidak perlu repot untuk mencarinya, karena ternyata telah banyak dijual dan dipasarkan di CABO (cakar bongkar) tinggal bagaimana kita memilih dan memilah dengan baik kemudian dibilas menggunakan air hangat agar tidak mudah tertular kuman. Demikian pula halnya dengan beasiswa, sangatlah mudah untuk mendapatkannya namun disebabkan oleh kemalasan kita sendiri dalam pengurusan yang sedikit berbelit-belit dan juga karena persepsi kita yang menganggap bahwa beasiswa itu sakral dan hanya diperuntukkan bagi orang-orang yang cerdas dan berprestasi saja, padahal telah banyak donator beasiswa bertebaran baik di real life ataupun di dunia maya dan dengan mudahnya info dan pendaftarannya kita peroleh dan register melalui internet, tinggal bagaimana kita memilih dan memilah agar terhindar dari kuman yang akan merusak mental kita sebagai seorang pelajar.

Kesiapan mental untuk belajar/kuliah perlu dimatangkan. Wajar jika Prof. Dr. B.J. Habibi pernah berpesan; Jangan pernah berfikir mencari beasiswa untuk kuliah atau kuliah untuk/demi beasiswa karena akan berakibat fatal terhadap mental dan moral individu itu sendiri. Hayalan tingkat tinggi yang begitu indah akan buyar ketika mendapatkan kenyataan yang berbeda. Karena tidak menyadari bahwa yang namanya “Beasiswa” itu adalah semata-mata tunjangan yang diberikan kepada pelajar atau mahasiswa sebagai bantuan biaya belajar. Kiranya yang harus digaris bawahi adalah kata “Bantuan” yang akan menjadikan kita sebagai orang-orang yang selalu dan pandai mensyukuri nikmat.

Dengan demikian, maka nafas dari ‘Uthlubul’ilam minal Mahdi ilal lahdi” atau ‘Long life learning’ akan terwujud dengan sendirinya sebagai pembentukan karakter manusia yang mapan dalam menghadapi segala perubahan.

By: Saidna Zulfiqar Bin Tahir

Was inspired by: Surya Darma Syam, Lc, M.A, Phd

]]> http://luluvikar.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/di-balik-beasiswa-behasisa/feed/ 0 luluvikar http://luluvikar.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/matematika-sebagai-problem-solving/ http://luluvikar.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/matematika-sebagai-problem-solving/#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:17:01 +0000 luluvikar http://luluvikar.wordpress.com/?p=1823 ]]> Terdapat dua alat yang berperan penting dalam menangani kompleksitas ini, yaitu Matematika dan Komputer. yang pertama menyediakan kekuatan bahasa dan kerangka kerja untuk konseptualisasi hubungan, dan yang kedua menyediakan kekuatan teknik untuk mengeksplorasi hubungan yang dikodekan secara matematis.

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