Tarigan, Bahagia (2001) Teaching English grammar communicatively in an Indonesian University. Research Master thesis, Victoria University of Technology.

Abstract

This thesis seeks to make a contribution to the research which is trying to understand likely causes of problems experienced in teaching and learning English in Indonesia and investigate how these can be addressed. Nababan (1976: 3) suggests that the unsatisfactory achievement of ELT [English language teaching] in higher education mainly results from unclear objectives in the syllabuses of ELT, a view also supported by Barus (1991: 5). In particular, Nababan argues that unclear objectives lead to difficulty in assessing achievement in the teaching and learning processes. Class size is also problematic in Indonesia. It is not uncommon that a class comprises 40-50 students. Whilst the teacher may wish to encourage the students to be actively involved in the class, practically this can be difficult to achieve. Pammu (1994:133) argues that large classes bring about several negative factors such as the students' discomfort, interactional constraints, difficulty understanding the teacher, and lack of feedback from the teacher. To solve these problems Barus (1991: 5) and Nababan (1976: 7) point out that there is a need for constructing a suitable syllabus in order to achieve desired goals in ELT. Nababan further suggests that ELT teachers should have access to resources for updating their knowledge and reorientating their methods. For example, a fairly recent study has shown that "communicating about grammar" tasks facilitate a great deal of interaction and suggests that they may promote fast acquisition (Priyana 1994: 99).

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