LEARNING ENGLISH IS IMPORTANT

   1.      LISTENING

The problem of students in mastering listening and the solution:

a)      Problem making prediction what the speaker talk about.

b)      Problem recognizing the main points in listening comprehension.

c)      Problem guessing unknown words or phrases.

It is always faced by most of the students. Therefore, students can overcome this problem by using strategy to use the clues which are the words or phrase coming after the unknown words. Nevertheless, students have to make sure that they do not spend much time on guessing the unfamiliar word or they will miss the speakers next point.

d)     Problem unfamiliar topics in listening material. Based on the research students always faces this problem. Thus, the solution for this problem is to ask the students to practice as much as they can on these various materials.

e)      Problem in kind of accents. This problem is always experienced by the students if they do not have knowledge about the kinds of accents. Most of the students just know two kinds of accents namely British and Ameican accents but they cannot differentiate them. To solve this problem, make the students aware of differents native speaker accents.

f)       Problem length and speed of the listening

The students can overcome it by using skill. One of skill is note taking and it seems to be the most useful way when students have to face a long task in listening. This will help students to remember the main points or the precise information. The question here is that how students can write down what they hear as quickly as they could so that they will not miss the other ideas. It is supposed that students should write down the main point.

g)      Problem in linking word

Commonly the students are difficult to get the  main idea or main points of the maerial because they are lack of linking words. Thus, they do not understand what the content of the material is about.

Solution to problem in listening:

1.      Make the students aware of different native speaker accents

2.      Ask the students to practice as much as they can on these various materials.

3.      Doing vocabulary pre-teaching before each listening as a short term solution and working on the skill of guessing vocabulary from context can help

4.      Students need to determine what they are hearing. In listening, before the students can make interpretation of what they are hearing, the students will need to determine what they are hearing

5.      Students need to understand what they are hearing.

6.      Students need to guess what is coming next.

7.      Students need to remember what they already know about the subject at hand.

8.      Students need to decide what the speaker means.

   2.      SPEAKING

The problem of students in mastering speaking and the solution:

a)      Lack of vocabulary

b)      Seldom memorizing vocabulary

c)      Words having more than one meaning

d)     Being confused about how to use appropriate words

e)      Lack of grammar knowledge

f)       Seldom reading grammar books

g)      Poor pronunciation

h)      Being afraid of making errors

i)        Being nervous to speak

j)        Not being confident to speak

k)      Not being used to talking in class

Solution to problem in speaking:

1.      The first one is a way for the teacher to do. It is considered necessary for the teacher to force the students only to speak English during the class. The teacher may fine the students every time they speak their native language. The teacher himself must be able to convince his students to be brave to speak English, does not matter if they have very bad grammar. Just say whatever the students want to say. And the teacher must convince his students that making errors is a normal thing in learning. This way will raise students’ confidence to try to speak English. It will be better if the teacher does not give correction every time his students make errors, but he should give feedback and give explanation for every error after the students finish their speech.

2.      The second solution is for the students themselves. They can have an English conversation club that consists of their own classmates. They can share and talk about anything in English during that time. In this club, they can learn together. Students can correct each other without feeling embarrassed. 

   3.      READING

The problem of students in mastering reading and the solution: 

   a)      Issues with de-coding

Also known as sounding out words, decoding is when students are able to put sounds to letters in order to sound out written language. It’s common for beginner readers to struggle when they meet new or unfamiliar terms but typically decoding becomes easier with phonics instruction and repeated practice with reading out loud. 

   b)       Poor comprehension

There’s a lot going on in reading, from letter and word recognition to understanding meaning at the phrase, sentence and paragraph level. When a beginner reader encounters vocabulary they do not know or do not recognise due to inaccurate decoding, they are likely to skip ahead. The more blanks in a line of text, the harder it is to make meaning and the more cognitively challenging and frustrating the reading task becomes. That’s why poor comprehension can result when a student struggles with decoding, has a limited vocabulary or attempts to read a text that is at too high of a level

   c)      Speed

The more students read, the more they encounter unfamiliar terms. Quite often the context in which these new words are found gives children all of the clues they need to guess at meaning. As students expand their vocabulary, they recognize more words by sight and reading speeds up. If speed is still an issue, there may be an underlying problem, such as slow processing. Strategy instruction may help but it’s important that these students be allowed extra time to complete tasks that require extensive reading.

Solution to problem in reading:

  1.      Activate ideas

Help students activate their prior knowledge of a topic and take guesses about what they are about to read by analysing pictures and titles or skimming a text to assess the main idea. You can also create mind-maps as a pre-reading activity or put a few questions on the board and have the students start by discussing them in order to prepare for the reading.

  2.      Build vocabulary

The more words a student knows, the easier it will be to recognise them in reading. Teaching vocabulary is also helpful for spelling skills. Teachers can provide a glossary alongside a text or pre-teach key terms before the reading begins. As learning words in context provides additional depth in meaning, teachers might also consider providing instruction on contextual guessing.

  3.      Teach the Dolch List

Repeated exposure to high frequency terms that are common across children’s books and school worksheets can help children save their cognitive energy for decoding harder and less frequent vocabulary. Directly teaching these words and using a bespoke module from a computer program like Touch-type Read and Spell to reinforce them, can help kids read more quickly and efficiently.

  4.      Read aloud

If you are in your own room, you can actually say each word aloud. If you must remain silent, mumble the words to yourself, or at least mouth the words, and say them in your head. It is important that you actually hear the sounds, even if you only hear them in your imagination. This multisensory approach to reading allows you to see, hear, and feel (with your mouth) what you are reading. Reading aloud should help you stay focused, understand better, and remember what you are reading.

  5.      Take Notes

If you are thinking about what is important enough to write down, you will pay more attention to the reading. This will keep your mind from wandering, help you process the main point of the passage, and improve the likelihood you will remember things. In addition, the notes you take are a record of the passage that you can refer back to if you do forget elements.

  4.      WRITING

The problem of students in mastering writing and the solution:

a)      The limited ideas

b)      The students’ difficulty to choose appropriate ideas

c)      No one to check the students’ writing

d)     The students’ low motivation to write

e)      Inability to share ideas with the others 

f)       The students’ difficulty to understand the materials

Solution to problem in writing:

1.      Explain all disciplinary terms and provide examples

2.      Consider using drafts to encourage revision

3.      Point students to online resource and style manuals

4.      Scaffold the assignment

5.      Make assignment instructions explicit and clear, including the subtopics, degree of specificity, and intended audience