TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS THROUGH ‘PREFABRICATED ROUTINES’

Sri Endang Kusmaryati Siti Rochmiyati Indiyah Prana Amertawengrum

Abstract


Abstract
The competence of elementary schools graduates should be appropriate in order to
prepare them to learn English at the higher level. Teaching English at elementary schools
is intended to develop language skills used to accompany the activities in their life. The
policy of Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, No.0487/14/1992, Chapter VIII and Undangundang
Sistem Pendidikan Nasional, No.060/U/1993 states that learning English can be
incorporated into the curriculum of local content at elementary schools.
Elementary school students are young learners who have their own characteristics.
Young learners take great pleasure in having fun and like to play. As a component of the
classroom interaction, English teachers of elementary schools have an important role in the
teaching and learning process of English. Teachers should help students acquire
information, ideas, skills, values, ways of thinking, and means of expressing themselves;
they also have to teach them how to learn. Besides, language learning should be able to
make the students be able to use verbal language which can be employed to interact and
communicate with others. Habituation of speaking English must be developed. Learning
and habituation for students are very important to facilitate interaction. Habituation is also
expected to eliminate the feelings of shame and fear on students.
Classroom is a place of teaching and learning process in which a teacher and
students interact to each other. Routines and Patterns as a concept of communicative
strategy can be applied in the interaction in the classroom. Krashen (2002:9) explains that
Routines and Patterns may be helpful in establishing and maintaining social relations and
and also managing conversations. He also describes the terms of Prefabricated Routines as
simply memorized whole utterance or phrases in which a performer may use these without
any knowledge at all of their internal structure. The use of the concept of Routines and
Patterns by using English in the classroom (classroom English) as prefabricated routinesis
essential to support the students' communicative competence. In this case, hopefully,
English teachers use classroom English as much as possible in the interaction with their
students in the process of teaching and learning in the classroom to support their students’
abilities in communication. When the English teachers use much classroom English in the
interaction with the students, the habit in using English will be formed, the students also
learn more English expressions without realizing that they also learn about vocabulary,
grammar, and also pronunciation.

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