chapter iv - Digilib UNS

perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

commit to user

52

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

A. Research Findings

This section presents the research findings on the teachers’ use of DMs in their

teaching and learning process in SMA Negeri 3 Surakarta. The presentation of the

research findings of the use of DMs by the teachers in teaching English in

SMA Negeri 3 Surakarta covers: (1) the language used by the teachers in his/ her

teaching, (2) the DMs used by the teachers in his/ her teaching, and (3) the textual

functions of DMs used by the teachers. The data that are presented in this

chapter are based on the classroom observation in five English classrooms,

interviews with two teachers and five students, lesson plan analysis, and the analysis

of textbooks used during the class.

1. The Language Used by Teachers in English Classrooms

From six observations conducted in five English classrooms, it is found out that

typically teachers use three kinds of language in their teaching: (1) English as the

target language being taught; (2) Indonesian as the official language of the country;

(3) Javanese as the mother tongue of both the teachers and the students.

However which language dominates teacher talk is different from each other.

The data obtained from three classroom observations in two different classrooms

shows that the use of English as the language of instruction dominates the teacher talk

of T1. T1 also uses Indonesian and Javanese in her talk in the classroom.

Approximately 75% of the teacher talk is in English, 20% of it is in Indonesian, and

5% is in Javanese.

The above finding about the ratio of language used in the classes well-reflects the

data obtained from the interview conducted with T1 and S1 and S2. In the interview


commit to user

53

T1 stated that in her teaching she uses three kinds of language with the following

ratio of use.

“Kalo diprosentase tetep Bahasa Inggrisnya yang er lebih. Lebih dari 50% bahkan 60% lebih. Cuma kadang-kadang keluar Bahasa Indonesia sama Bahasa Jawa. Anak-anak tanya pake Bahasa Jawa, yaudah kita layani pake Bahasa Jawa. Tapi tetep di atas 60% Bahasa Inggrisnya. Bahasa Indonesia itu untuk menjelaskan ulang jadi porsinya cuma 30%. Terus sisanya Bahasa Jawa”

(CLW 1; Saturday, 7th June 2014 )

She states that English dominates her use of language in her teaching with the

percentage of 60%. Indonesian is used up to 30% and Javanese is used up to 10%.

Students of the two classrooms being observed support this proportion as in the

interview they stated:

“Bahasa Inggrisnya sih sekitar delapan lima-an, Bahasa Indonesianya sepuluh persen, trus Bahasa Jawa-nya lima.”


“Bahasa Inggrisnya er tujuh lima persen. Indonesianya dua puluh lah. Sama Jawa-nya sisanya itu. Lima persen ya berarti. Tapi Jawa-nya itu ya Jawa yang nggak Jawa Jawa tua yang susah gitu.”


Both students assert that the teachers’ dominant use of English compared to

Indonesian and Javanese prevails in English classes. Student 1 from XI Acceleration

2 even mentioned that 80% of teacher talk is in English, 15% of it is in Indonesian,

and 5% of it is in Javanese. Student 2 from XI Acceleration 1 is in line with her

fellow but she modified the number a bit into English 75%: Indonesian 20%:

Javanese 5%.

T1 further explains that English is used as the main language for giving

explanation, instructions, and other major classroom procedures. Indonesian is used

when T1 needs to re-explain difficult concept and for interpersonal use such as joking

with the students. Javanese is used when the situation requires T1 to break the ice

with the students through some jokes. The teacher admits that she sometimes mixes

the code between two languages in her talk in the classroom. This is encapsulated in

the following interview transcript with T1


commit to user

54

“Kalo saya Bahasa Jawa kok kayaknya cuma saya gunakan untuk joking er gojek-gojek yang dicocok-cocokkan sama Bahasa Inggris nggak ada. Itu terpaksa ya pake Bahasa Jawa. Sepanjang ingatan saya Bahasa Jawa nggak saya pake buat nerangin. Ya cuma buat gojek aja. Kalo Bahasa Inggris sama Bahasa Indonesia kan untuk keperluan pembelajaran misalnya menjelaskan materi. Kadang-kadang saya campur bahasanya juga”


In the data obtained from classroom observations, T1 encompasses dominant use

of English in giving explanation or instruction. It can be seen from the extract below:

T1 was explaining about the pluralisation of some special nouns stated at the reference book. T : Okay, number two has been discussed by As. Number three. Here

sometimes plural nouns never need s-ending. Because they’re already plural. People, police, ya? Number four. Nah here. S-ending sometimes can be singular or plural, not always plural, not always. That’s why my question is “does s-ending in noun always mean pluralization?” The answer is ‘no’. Ya? Good! I mean, it can be singular for example a means of communication or it can be plural for example many means of communication. There is a difference. Sometimes you ask me. “Then Mom, how we can differentiate whether it is singular or plural?” Just see the situation, the context of the sentence ya? As well as series. Series itu mau satu seri mau satu sekuel sama seri panjang tetep series. A series sama two series ya? Bukan a series menjadi two serieses. No, we don’t need to put s-ending ya? Okay, and also species.

(TRKP 1; Thursday, 24 April 2014)

The above extract was taken from class XI Acceleration 1. From the above

extract it can be seen that in explaining the teaching material which in that case

happens to be about pluralization, T1 used English as the major language for

explanation. Occasionally she inserted Indonesian to give further explanation and

more examples. The dominant use of English for explaining and occasional use of

Indonesian for giving examples can also be seen in the extract below:

An seemed to be confused about what problem she was going to write for the game An : problemnya apa Mom?

T : (to An) Anything. Don’t ask me. (to Ss) You have your own problem,

right? Or you don’t have any problem now? (to group A) Okay okay,


commit to user

55

just pretend that you are writing to er... hello hello... you are writing to

a psychologist or an editor of a teen magazine. (to group B) Dan kalian

adalah pengasuh dari majalah remaja. (to group A) And then you

write “Dear editor, you know what? I just broke up my relationship

with my boyfriend.” But, do not tell anybody! They will try to find

what is it. Kira-kira begini lho. Kayaknya akhir akhir ini Mr punya

masalah dengan kesehatannya. Batuknya nggak sembuh sembuh.

Kayaknya. And then siapa jodohnya? Maria with?

Zk : Zk

T : Oke, Zk. Zk then answers ya. “Dear Mr, I know that you have a very

hard problem.”

(TRKP 3; Thursday, 8 May 2014)

The above extract was taken from class XI Acceleration 2. In the extract, T1 was

explaining the rule of the game to the students. She switched the code form English

into Indonesian to give a clearer picture about how the game would be like. She took

an example of how Mr suffered from terrible cough and her pair that is Zk came up

with certain solution for Mr’s problem. Still, English dominates her explanation

about the rule of the game.

In addition, Javanese is also used in T1 talk in the classroom. T1, seconded by

the students’ confirmations, states that she uses Javanese only when she intends to

make jokes in order to make the class atmosphere less-threatening. The use of

Javanese for this purpose can be seen from the following extract.

T1 was explaining about special case of subject matter where s-ending does not mean plural

T : Nah. Because we can say economic as an adjective. Economic matters ya? So, it is an adjective right? Okay, but if you have s-ending it is always singular ya? Economics, Mathematics, Physics. Ha tadi bilangnya Physics keras banget ya? Physics Mom. Nah ini ahlinya di sini aku takut rodo’an.

All : (laughter) T : Anggap wae ra ngerti ya Bt ya? Thok thoke ra ngerti. All : (laughter)



commit to user

56

The teacher was explaining about how subject matters which end with –s

ending actually don’t belong to plural noun. In the middle of the explanation, T1 was

teasing one of the students named Bt who turned out to be the best student in Physics.

As both T1 and the students burst into laughter, the classroom atmosphere was

getting relaxed.

The use of more than one language of instruction is also shown by T2 in his

classroom talk. The data obtained from classroom observation in three different

classes shows that T2 encompasses balance use of Indonesian and English at the

percentage of 50% : 50%. He hardly shows any use of Javanese during the class.

Anyhow, this data does not reflect what the teacher explained in the interview as he

states:

M : Bahasa yang saya gunakan paling banyak Bahasa Indonesia itu sekitar lima puluh persen. Terus Bahasa Inggrisnya tiga puluh. Bahasa Jawa-nya dua puluh.

(CLW 4; Friday, 6th June 2014 )

In the interview transcript quoted above, T2 explains that he uses approximately

50% of Indonesian, 30% of English, and 20% of Javanese in his classroom talk.

Students of the classroom being observed seem not to share common proposition with

their teacher as in the interview they state that:

P : Bahasa Indonesia tujuh puluh er eh enam puluh ding. Bahasa Indonesia enam puluh persen. Bahasa Inggrisnya empat puluh persen. Soalnya kalo Bahasa Inggris thok, pada nggak ngerti anak-anak. Jadi kita yang minta biar neranginnya pakai Bahasa Indonesia aja.


L : Kayaknya banyakan Bahasa Inggris sih kalo di tempatku. Enam lima persen. Enam lima persen Bahasa Inggris terus yang tiga lima Bahasa Indonesia.

(CLW 6 ; Friday, 6th June 2014 )

H : Tujuh puluh eh ndak ding enam puluh empat puluh. Enam puluhnya Indonesia trus empat puluhnya Bahasa Inggris.

(CLW 7 ; Monday, 9th June 2014 )


commit to user

57

The first and the third students have a same view that in his teaching T2 uses

60% of Indonesian and 40% of English. The second student comes up with a different

viewpoint in which she believes that T2 uses 65% of English and 35% of Indonesian

for teaching English in her classroom.

T2 further extends that the languages he chooses are used to perform different

kind of tasks.

T : Jadi kita coba pake Bahasa Inggris tapi ternyata kalo nggak paham ya kita sampaikan dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Kalo Bahasa jawa sendiri kita pakenya ya Cuma buat selingan aja biar apa ya... er... biar nggak ada jarak sama anak. Buat bercanda biar anak nggak terlalu tegang. Biar suasana tegangnya itu hilang.


He claims that both English and Indonesian are used to deliver the teaching

materials and to carry out major classroom procedures. Javanese is used for creating

a relaxed atmosphere of teaching and learning process. Yet, in the transcript of

classroom interaction T2 seemed to use no Javanese at all. During the lesson, making

some jokes to create less-threatening classroom atmosphere was performed by the

teacher in Indonesian not Javanese.

The extract below shows an example of T2’s use of Indonesian and English in

his teaching:

T2 was giving Ss the directions to do the exercises of Subjunctive ‘as if’. T : Okay, when you are writing the fact... Attention please! When you are

writing the fact, please start from as if... after the sentence as if. Okay? Iv : Ooo yes. T : For this sentence, as if he had done the homework. So, the fact just take

after as if he had done the homework, so the fact is he didn’t do the homework. Okay, that’s all. Sudah? Jadi ndak usah semuanya. Nanti kalau semuanya terlalu lama dan itu tidak pada poinnya maksud saya. Gitu ya?

(TRKP 5; Wednesday, 14 May 2014)

T2 was giving some instructions for his students about how to do the exercises

about Subjunctive ‘as if’ assigned to them previously. T2 was using both English and

Indonesian to carry out such substantial explanation of classroom procedure. He


commit to user

58

switched the code into Indonesian to restate instruction which was previously stated

in English.

The use of Indonesian for a purpose of making jokes to create a relaxed

classroom atmosphere can be seen from the following extract:

Students are complaining about the abundance of tasks and tests of another subject. T : Jam berapa? Satu dua? Atau… Ss : (classroom noise) T : Sudah biasa. Kelas IPA seperti itu sudah biasa. Untung saya dulu

tidak IPA ya? Saya dulu IPA. A-nya bukan alam. Tetapi A-nya agama. Ss : (laughter)

(TRKP 4; Monday, 12 May 2014)

Knowing that his students were feeling uncomfortable about their study, T2 tried

to entertain the students by making a joke that in the past he also belonged as student

of IPA program which commonly stands for Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam or natural

science. IPA in T2’s version does not stand for Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam but Ilmu

Pengetahuan Agama (Religion course) instead.

Apart from their difference in the choice of the language of instruction, both

teachers believe that there are at least three factors that affect teacher’s choice of

instructional language in the classroom. These factors are inferred from teachers’

interview transcript 1 and 4:

a. The teachers who are not native speakers of English by nature find it hard to

avoid using their mother tongue and official language, in this case Javanese

and Indonesian even if they try their best to use full English in classes.

b. The characteristics of students are very various. Active classes with active

students require more flexible strategy in managing the class, for example by

making more jokes. Besides, the ability of the students to grasp teachers’

teaching is different each other. Therefore, it is not possible to always use

English as the medium of instruction.

c. The material and skills taught are different from time to time. Materials which

require more detailed information like grammar rule requires teachers to use


commit to user

59

students’ native or second language more often compared to when teachers

are teaching language skills such as speaking and listening.

The summary of the languages used by the two teachers in their classroom talk is

as follows:

Table 4.1. Languages of instruction used by teachers in English classroom

2. The DMs Used by the Teachers in English Classroom

In chapter II the researcher has drawn an inference about the characteristics of

items that can be categorized as DM as there has not been any agreement by experts

about the linguistic items constituting DMs. The characteristics are as follows: (1)

No Class Teacher Material Observation time

allocation

Language(s) used

Precentage

1. XI Acc. 1 T1 Pluralisation (Report text)

2 x 45’ English: Indonesian: Javanese

75: 20: 5

2. XI Acc. 2 T1 Causative 1 x 45’ English: Indonesian: Javanese

80: 15: 5

3. XI Acc. 2 T1 Giving advice

2 x 45’ English: Indonesian: Javanese

80: 15: 5

4. XI IPA 1 T2 Subjunctive in Conditional Sentence

2 x 45’ English: Indonesian

50 : 50

5. XI IPA 2 T2 Subjunctive ‘as if’


60 : 40

6. XI IPS 4 T2 Subjunctive in Conditional Sentence


50 : 50


commit to user

60

Connectivity; (2) Optionality; (3) Non-truth conditionality; (4) Multi-categoriality;

(5) Initiality; and (6) Multifunctionality. Based on those characteristics attributed to

DMs, the researcher classified some items into DMs. As both teachers admitted that

English is not the only language of instruction used in the classroom, the DMs

scrutinised are not only DMs in English but also DMs in Indonesian and Javanese.

In order to focus the scope of the study, the DMs presented in this section are

DMs which play textual function towards the discourse. The textual function is often

related to the structuring and organisation of the discourse. Finally, the DMs used by

the teachers in English classrooms observed by the researcher through six classroom

observations in six different classrooms are as follows:

a. DM ‘okay’

The most frequent DM occurring in teacher talk is ‘okay’. Both T1 and T2

show high frequency of the use of DM ‘okay’ in their talk. One of the examples of

the use of DM ‘okay’ can be seen in the following extract. This extract was taken

from an observation at class XI Acceleration 1.

Extract 6 T1 was asking Ss if they were doing well. Some said that they were not. T : How are things going with you? Fine? Ss : Bad T : Bad? Who says ‘bad’? Ss : Yn T : Why is it bad, Yn? You got something? Yn : Because it’s not good. Ss : (laughter) T : Okay, guys, you still remember I’ve asked you to update your Edmodo? Ss : Nooo1


1T : the teacher Ss : the students All : the teacher and the students S.0 : unidentified student ( ) : showing action/ condition during the speech ... : pause (*) : unintelligible speech “....” : Translation in English


commit to user

61

In the above extract T1 used the DM ‘okay’ to change the topic. At the

beginning T1 and Yn were talking about how Yn was not feeling well. The

reason for that answer was quite funny so students were laughing at the reason.

Feeling that the talk on that matter was enough, T1 then switched the topic into

the assignment given to the students before.

b. DM ‘so’

Another DM that is used by both T1 and T2 in a relatively high frequency is

the DM ‘so’. The example of the use of DM ‘so’ in teacher talk is shown in the

following extract taken at class XI Acceleration 2.

Extract 37 T1 was asking one of Ss about who repaired his flat tyre. T : You did it by yourself? Of course not. Who did it for you? “T : You did it by yourself? Of course not. Who did it for you?”

Pj : Pak tambal ban. “Pj : The mechanic”

Ss : (laughter) T : Right. Pak tambal ban. You don’t care the name. Pokoknya ada. So, you

will not say that I repaired the tyre. If you said I repaired the tyre means that you yourself do that. Actually you do not do that, right?

“T : Right. The mechanic. You don’t care the name. But you got one. So, you will not say that “I repaired the tyre”. If you said I repaired the tyre means that you yourself do that. Actually you do not do that, right?”

(TRKP 2; Monday, 28 April 2014)

In the above extract, T1 was asking Pj about his experience when he got

flat tyre. Since Pj did not repair his flat tyre by himself, T1 explained to the

students that Pj could not say “I repair the tyre”. The fact that Pj could not say “I

repair the tyre” was resulted by the previous talk in which Pj told T1 that Pj was

not the one repairing his flat tyre. So state the result, T1 used DM ‘so’.

c. DM ‘er’ and ‘em’

Among the other fillers, filler ‘er’ and ‘em’ are the ones mostly used by

both teachers in their talk inside the classroom. The following extract taken at

class XI IPA 1 shows an example of the use of filler ‘er’ as DM by the teacher


commit to user

62

Extract 44 T2 was stating the materials Ss would learn that day. T : Conditional sentence. Subjunctive in conditional sentence. Okay, please

open your book. Ya example… sudah ada? “T : Conditional sentence. Subjunctive in Conditional Sentence. Okay, please open your

book. Ya example… have you got one about this?”

Av : Belum ada, Pak. “Av : not yet, Sir.”

T : Okay, okay, attention please! I think this subject matter er… was discussed by Miss Ed last semester, I think. And today just review. Conditional sentence. How many types? Ada berapa tipe conditional sentence?

“T : Okay, okay, attention please! I think this subject matter er… was discussed by Miss Ed last semester, I think. And today just review. Conditional sentence. How many types? How many types of conditional sentence do you know?”

(TRKP 4; Monday, 12 May 2014) Filler ‘er’ was used by T2 to hold the floor. By using DM ‘er’, T2 attempted

to avoid dead-air silence and to show his intention that he still wanted to continue his

speaking turn about how he believed that Conditional sentences the students would

learn that day have been discussed by the other English teacher before.

d. DM ‘well’

Another DM that occurred in both teachers’ speech is DM ‘well’. The use of this

DM can be shown in the following extract taken at class XI Acceleration 2.

Extract 50 T1 was introducing the topic for the upcoming class T : Okay, at least we have an idea that the topic for our next meeting will be about

this ya. Narrative in the form of fable. Not er not fairytale, not about –what else- ghost stories. Tapi tentang fable.

“T : Okay, at least we have an idea that the topic for our next meeting will be about this ya. Narrative in the form of fable. Not er not fairytale, not about –what else- ghost stories. But about fable.”

Rb : Apa ada Mom yang English? “Rb : Do we have one in English?”

T : (to Rb) Banyak. (to Ss) Well, I’m sorry that we spent too much time for this game but that’s okay. For next week at twelve akan ada sesuatu di Edmodo. Jam 12 ya. Tapi untuk sementara ini, have your very nice weekend.

“T : (to Rb) A lot. (to Ss) Well, I’m sorry that we spent too much time for this game but that’s okay. For next week at twelve there will be something up on Edmodo. Twelve o’clock ya. But for now, have your very nice weekend.”



commit to user

63

In the above extract, T1 and her students were talking about fable as their topic

for their next class. In the middle of the explanation, T1 showed partial switch of the

topic in which she apologised to the students that she spent so much time on the game

that they did not have much time to talk about fable. To mark that partial switch, T2

inserted DM ‘well’.

e. DM ‘now’

Since a lesson consists of several stages to undergo, it is then common to find

that both teachers exhibit the use of DM ‘now’ to mark the boundary of each phase.

Below is an extract where the use of DM ‘now’ can be observed. This extract was

taken at class XI IPA 2.

Extract 56 T2 and Ss were discussing the example of Subjunctive ‘as if’. T : “He didn’t do the homework”. You have to write the same as the exercise. So,

you have to write the full answer, this one. And you have to write the fact. Is it clear?

Ss : Yeah T : Yeah. Now, please prepare er your paper.

(TRKP 5; Wednesday, 14 May 2014) In the above extract, T2 was explaining the instructions of doing the exercise on

Subjunctive ‘as if’ before the test. After the students seemed to understand the

instructions, T2 decided to move to next phase which was the exercise itself. To mark

this transition to the next phase, T2 used the DM ‘now’.

f. DM ‘and’

DM ‘and’ is one of DMs that is often used by both teachers. An instance in

which teachers use DM ‘and’ in their talk can be seen in the extract below. This

extract was taken at class XI Acceleration 2.

Extract 59 Ss were still doing their Math assignment at the beginning of English class. T : Yoo five minutes. Eh two minutes. Two minutes. (slight pause) Okay, Math is over. Now English time. “T : Yoo five minutes. Eh two minutes. Two minutes. (slight pause) Okay, Math is over. Now English time.”

Pj : Belum selesai, Mom. “Pj : we haven’t finished, Mom.”


commit to user

64

T : No, I already asked Bu Ed. “Bu, mesti isih dho nggarap tho Bu?” “Oh udah. Udah saya hentikan og.” See? I asked Bu Ed. And she said that it’s over.

“T : No, I already asked Bu Ed. “Bu, they are still doing the Math exercise, right?” “Oh they aren’t. I stopped them already.” See? I asked Bu Ed. And she said that it’s over.”

(TRKP 2; Sunday, 28 April 2014)

In the above extract, it can be seen that students are still doing the assignment

of Math which happens to be the class before the English class. T1 then asked

students to stop it and to get ready for English. She told students how she had a talk

with the Math teacher who said that students were done with Math exercise. DM

‘and’ was used to signal an addition or continuation of speech and to signal that T1

had an intention to continue her speaking turn.

g. DM ‘but’

Conjunction ‘but’ constitutes one of DMs used by teachers in their talk in the

classroom. The use of DM ‘but’ can be observed in the following extract that was

taken class XI Acceleration 2.

Extract 67 T1 and Ss were commenting on the accent of the speaker on the video T : Er, pay attention to her accent. Sooo… “T : Er pay attention to her accent. Sooo…”

Rb : Londonese “Rb : Londonese”

T : Ya, so Londonese. Mau menirukan ini susah? Don’t worry, you’re Indonesian. You have your own accent. But try to be as like as the native speaker. Okay. (video playing)

“T : Ya, so Londonese. Is it difficult to imitate? Don’t worry, you’re Indonesian. You have your own accent. But try to be as like as the native speaker. Okay. (video playing) “


In the above extract both T1 and students were admiring the accent of the native

speaker in the video with a British accent. As T1 admitted that such accent is difficult

to imitate, she encourage students to be confident about their Indonesian accent.

However, she stressed that students should try their best to sound like a native

speaker. To bridge those sentences which indicate contrast, T1 chose to use DM

‘but’.


commit to user

65

h. DM ‘because’

Another DM used by teachers in teacher talk is ‘because’. In an example taken

from classroom observation at class XI IPS 4, DM ‘because’ is used by the teacher.

Extract 72 T2 dictated Ss questions for the exercise T : “If we meet at nine, we have plenty of time.” “T : “If we meet at nine, we have plenty of time.””

Ss : Ditulis aja Pak. “Ss : Could you please just write them down, Sir?”

T : No no. Let’s try. Because next semester we are going to have listening section. So, please try to listen and to write.

“T : No no. Let’s try. Because next semester we are going to have listening section. So, please try to listen and to write.”

(TRKP 6; Monday, 19 May 2014) In the above extract, T2 was trying to dictate the questions for students’

exercise. However, students asked T2 to write them down instead of dictate them. T2

insisted to do a dictation because there would be a listening section next semester. So,

students need to get used to such listen-and-write activity. In stating that reason, T2

used DM ‘because’.

i. DM ‘and then’

DM ‘and then’ is one of DMs mostly used by both teachers in their talk in the

classroom. Below is an example of how DM ‘and then’ is used in class XI IPA 1.

Extract 76 T2 and Ss were discussing about the fact of particular conditional sentence Ss : “I didn’t have money” T : “I didn’t have money”, so? Ss : “I didn’t go abroad”. T : Okay. Okay, I give you the time to write the example. And then after that I will

give you exercise. I give you two minutes. (TRKP 4; Monday, 12 May 2014)

After finished discussing an example of conditional sentence, T2 gave

students time to take notes about his explanation. T2 then continued his speaking turn

by stating what students would do afterwards. In stating this sequence, T2 inserted

DM ‘and then’ at the beginning of his sentence.


commit to user

66

j. DM ‘next’

Adverb ‘next’ also constitutes one of DMs used by both teachers in their

classroom language. The use of this DM can be observed in the following extract

taken from an observation at class XI IPA 2.

Extract 80 Ss and T2 were discussing about the rules of Subjunctive T : What are the rules for using Subjunctive with wish or would rather? What is

the first? The first rule? Ss : Don’t use present. T : Never use Present Tense. Good! The second? Use Past Tense for er... Present

Subjunctive. Next, use Past Perfect for Past Subjunctive. The last one? (TRKP 5; Wednesday, 14 May 2014)

T2 was explaining several rules governing the use of Subjunctives with ‘wich’

and ‘would rather’. As there are several rules, T2 used DM ‘next’ to bridge the

explanation of certain rule with the upcoming rules.

k. DM ‘if’

Conjunction ‘if’ is one of DMs used by the teachers in teacher talk. The use of

DM ‘if’ can be seen in the following excerpt taken from a classroom observation at

class XI Acceleration 2.

Extract 84 T1 was explaining the rule of modal verb T : What form? First? Second? –ing? –ed? Verb apa? “T : What form? First? Second? –ing? –ed? What verb?”

Gz : Base. “Gz : Base.”

T : Verb one ya? Base form. If the subject is ‘she’, you have to use V+s/es or not? “T : Verb one ya? Base form. If the subject is ‘she’, you have to use V+s/es or not?”

(TRKP 3; Thusrday, 8 May 2014)

T1 was explaining type of verb can be used as the complement of modal verb. T1

further continued by posing a tricky question for the students. The use of DM ‘if’ in

the last sentence implies that the previous clause is the condition for the later clause.


commit to user

67

l. DM ‘by the way’

Besides the other previously-mentioned DMs, DM ‘by the way’ also appeared in

teacher talk of the teachers. It can be seen from the excerpt taken at class XI

Acceleration 2 below.

Extract 87 T1 finished explaining about Causative Forms to Ss T: Okay, now it’s time for you to er... take notes of what I’m going to write down

here okay? Nanti saya tulis di papan tulis. Causative sentence. Oh ya, by the way, after this we are having the tambahan agak siang, right? And it happens to be me, right? And, what if, what if we just go on until one o’clock?

T: Okay, now it’s time for you to er... take notes of what I’m going to write down here okay? I am going to write down on the white board. Causative sentence. Oh ya, by the way, after this we are having the afternoon extra class, right? And it happens to be me, right? And, what if, what if we just go on until one o’clock?


T1 was about to move to the next classroom procedure where the students were

given time to take notes about T1’s explanation. In the middle of it, T1 changed the

topic into the extra class after the lesson ended. To bring the discussion into such

topic, T1 used the DM ‘by the way’.

m. DM ‘oke’

One of DMs in Indonesian used by teachers in their classroom talk is ‘oke’.

‘Oke’ is the literal translation of the word ‘okay’ in English. Below is an excerpt

where the use of DM ‘oke’ can be observed

Extract 90 T2 gave Ss time to take notes T : Please, write. And after that we’ll have test. (to Ic) Oke, bentar. Er nilai

ulangan kamu? “T : Please, write. And after that we’ll have test. (to Ic) Okay, a minute please. Er your test

result?”

Ic : Ini gimana? “Ic : How about this?”

(TRKP 4; Monday, 12 May 2014) In the above excerpt, T2 let his students take notes of the explanation he

delivered previously. After a while, he did a partial topic change into Ic’s test result.

This change is marked by DM ‘oke’.


commit to user

68

n. DM ‘I mean’

Different from the other DM mentioned previously, ‘I mean’ is one of two-

worded DMs used by teachers in their classroom talk. An excerpt taken at class XI

Acceleration 2 below encompasses the use of DM ‘I mean’

Extract 91 T1 was explaining some special nouns with s-ending T : …. Here sometimes plural nouns never need s-ending. Because they’re

already plural. People, police, ya? Number four. Nah here. S-ending sometimes can be singular or plural, not always plural, not always. That’s why my question is “does s-ending in noun always mean pluralization?” The answer is ‘no’. Ya? Good! I mean, it can be singular for example a means of communication or it can be plural for example many means of communication. There is a difference.


The above excerpt shows that a clarification about her previous statement

that nouns with s-ending are not always plural is marked with DM ‘I mean’.

o. DM ‘jadi’

Another DM in Indonesian used by both teachers in their teaching is ‘jadi’

which happens to be the literal translation of DM ‘so’. An excerpt taken at class XI

IPA 1 below shows the use of DM ‘jadi’ in teacher talk.

Extract 96 While taking notes about what is written on the whiteboard by T2, students were telling T2 how many assignments they currently have T : Senin banyak ulangan? “T : You have a lot of tests on Monday?”

Ss : Enggak. Besok, besok banyak Pak. “Ss : No, Sir. But tomorrow we will have some.” T : Ooo ya memang mau tes. Jadi ya banyak ulangan. Rileks saja. Santai saja.

Anggap saja tiap hari ada nonton film. Okay, if you have time ya. “T : We are approaching semester exam. So, no wonder if you have a slot of tests. Just

relax! Take it easy! Just imagine that you can watch movie every day. Okay, if you have time ya.”



commit to user

69

In the above excerpt, T2 drew a conclusion about why students were

complaining about how many tests they would take the next day. T2 believed that it

was because the day for semester final examination is getting closer, therefore a lot of

tests were given to students. In showing that cause-effect relation, T2 used DM ‘jadi’.

p. DM ‘sik sik’

As mentioned previously, the researcher is not only studying the use of DM in

English but also in Indonesian and Javanese. One DMs in Javanese found by the

researcher in the teacher talk of the teachers is ‘sik sik’ which means ‘wait a second’.

The use of DM ‘sik sik’ can be seen in an excerpt below.

Extract 100 T1 was reminding Ss about the deadline of the assignment. T : Woo hayo. Deadline-nya adalah Rabu jam 12.00. p.m. p.m. Tanggal telung

puluh. Hello… itu punya siapa? Saya belum collect lho ini. Mau saya kumpulkan lho semua ini. Sik sik, mesti punya Tj ilang lagi?

“T : Come on! The deadline will be on Wednesday at 12 p.m. p.m. the thirtieth. Hello… to whom does it belong? I haven’t collected them yet. I will collect them all someday. Wait a second, Tj’s must be lost again, right?”

Ss : (classroom noise) (TRKP 1; Thursday, 24 April 2014)

In the above extract, after finished explaining the submission of students’

assignment, T1 used DM ‘sik sik’ before she personally address Tj who is used to

lose his work.

q. DM ‘nah’ DM ‘nah’ is one of DMs in Indonesian used by both teachers in the teacher

talk. Below is an excerpt taken from XI Acceleration 1 that shows the use of ‘nah’.

Extract 103 T1 and Ss were talking about recent social media they own. T : No no. Not the Instagram. Nanti ndak ketemu Bu An ya? “T : No no. Not the Instagram. I’m afraid I’ll meet Bu An ya?” Bl : Bu An siapa, Mom? “Bl : Who is Bu An, Mom?”

T : Bu An Yd ya? (laughter) No no no. No hard feeling ya? Ini lho. ‘thou’, ‘thy’pernah denger ini? Ada. Di Grammar Yuniversity itu ada. Nah103, that’s what I’ve asked you to. To find five new things that you never imagined. Oh oh ternyata ini artinya ini tho?


commit to user

70

“T : Bu An Yd ya? (laughter) No no no. No hard feeling ya? This one. ‘thou’, ‘thy’ you ever heard about this? We have such thing in Grammar Yuniversity. Nah, that’s what I’ve asked you to. To find five new things that you never imagined. Oh oh it turns out to be the meaning of this?”


After a bit joke about certain social media, T1 decided to drive back the lesson

to the instruction of the assignment given to students. This shift is marked by the

existence of DM ‘nah’.

r. DM ‘bentar-bentar’

DM ‘bentar-bentar’ in Indonesian is the same as DM ‘sik-sik’ in Javanese

which can be translated into ‘wait a second’. The use of DM ‘bentar-bentar’ can be

seen in the following extract.

Extract 109 T1 was recalling students’ memory about narrative text T : Masih ingat naratif? “Mom, SMP Mom, sampe bosen saya”. So, what is the

idea of narrative? “T : Do you still remember narrative? “Mom, Junior High School Mom, it is getting me

bored”. So, what is the idea of narrative?”

Ss : (classroom noise) T : Okay okay. Sik sebentar... er the one on page seventy two. Halaman tujuh

dua. So, the topic of narrative here is the topic of fable. You still remember a fable is a story about?

T : Okay okay. Just a second... er the one on page seventy two. Page seventy two So, the topic of narrative here is the topic of fable. You still remember a fable is a story about?

(TRKP 3; Thursday, 8 May 2014) Having tried to recall students’ memory about narrative text, T1 further moved

to the next procedure. But it happened that students were chattering making

classroom noises. Thus T1 used DM ‘benta-bentar’ to show that it is the T1’s turn to

speak.

s. DM ‘tapi’

DM ‘tapi’ in Indonesian can be translated into ‘but’ in English. The use of DM

‘tapi’ in teacher talk can be seen in the following excerpt:


commit to user

71

Extract 114 T1 was reviewing the difference between ‘advise’ and ‘advice’ T : What’s the difference between advise as a verb and advice as a noun. Ayo

apa? T : What’s the difference between advise as a verb and advice as a noun? Come on!

Kn : The spelling. Kn : The spelling

T : Ya. The spelling for the verb is with s. Tapi kalo advice sebagai noun with c ya? (to Gz) Silahkan advise as a verb. Masih Gz.

T : Ya. The spelling for the verb is with s. But if it is advice as a noun, then its spelling is with ‘c’. (to Gz) Go on advise as a verb. Still Gz.

(TRKP 3; Thursday, 8 May 2014) Extract 114 shows that in comparing the difference between ‘advice’ and

‘advise’ T1 inserted the use of DM ‘tapi’.

To sum up, there are at least 19 kinds of DM used by teachers in English

classrooms. Those DMs are not only DMs in English but also in Indonesian and

Javanese. Those DMs can be classified as follows:

Table 4.2. The classification of DMs used by teachers in English classroom English DMs

a) Okay b) So c) Er and em d) Well e) Now f) And g) But h) Because i) And then j) Next k) If l) By the way m) I mean

Indonesian DMs n) Oke o) Jadi p) Nah q) Bentar bentar r) Tapi

Javanese DMs s) Sik-sik The variety of DMs use in every classroom is different one another. Besides the

teachers’ personal factors, the difference of dominant language of instruction used,


commit to user

72

the difference of students’ characteristics and the difference of materials affect

teacher’s selection of DMs used in teacher talk. A further discussion regarding this

matter will be presented on the discussion section.

.

3. The Textual Functions of the DMs Used by the Teachers in English

Classroom

It has been mentioned in chapter I and II of this thesis that in order to focus

the analysis about the functions performed by DMs found in the teacher talk of the

two teachers in English classrooms, the researcher chooses to focus this study on the

textual functions of DMs. Textual functions of DMs are how DMs serve as devices

that aid the speaker to structure and organize the discourse to create discourse

coherence. This coherence can be classified into two kinds, i.e. global coherence and

local coherence. Establishing global coherence has something to do with employing

DMs use to mark important change or phase of the whole discourse. On the other

hand, enforcing local coherence of the discourse can be done by making use of DMs

to point out the interdependence of smaller discourse units or the so-called ‘adjacent

unit of discourse’ (Fung, 2011, p. 233). It is important to notice that one textual

function can be performed by various DMs and that a DM can perform more than one

functions in different context. Based on the transcription of the classroom interaction

observed by the researcher and the transcripts of interview with both teachers and

students, the researcher comes to a formulation of the textual functions performed by

DMs in classroom setting as follows:

a. To Mark the Opening of the Discourse

One of the most tangible functions of DMs is that DMs help both teachers to

open the classroom discourse. Not only for opening the class, DMs also mark the re-

opening of discourse. After a temporal pause or break it is common that teachers re-

open the discourse with certain DMs. In this case, DMs also help teachers to claim

the attention of the students. DMs performing this function are ‘okay’ and ‘so’ in

English and ‘oke’ in Indonesian.


commit to user

73

Below is the example in which teachers use DM ‘okay’ to open the discourse.

This excerpt is taken from classroom observation at class XI Acceleration 1 at the

opening phase of the lesson.

Extract 1 T1 was entering the classroom. Before she began the lesson she noticed that some students already arranged their chairs into some groups of three T : (To Bl) Loh loh Bl you already arrange into three? Later I’m going to ask

you to sit in pairs ya? Later. (To Ss) Okay, good morning everybody! Ss : Good morning, Mom.


In the above extract, it can be seen that before beginning the lesson T1 reminded

Bl who already arranged her seat with her friends into three. This conversation was

not actually audible throughout the classroom because it was not a whole classroom

talk but a personal talk with Bl who happened to sit right in front of the teacher’s

table. After having this small talk finished, T1 marked that she was going to open the

class by DM ‘okay’ in the sentence “Okay, good morning everybody!”. Therefore, in

this excerpt DM ‘okay’ acts as discourse-initiation marker.

b. To Signal Topic Switch

Classroom discourse, like any other discourse, made up by several topics. In

order to avoid abrupt jump of topic or in this case classroom procedure, teachers often

insert the so-called transition word to help them create a smooth discourse. DMs can

be used to show a closure of certain topic and an opening of a new topic. In another

words, DMs can give signals of topic boundaries so the progression of the lesson can

be monitored clearly. DMs used by the teachers to perform such function is DM

‘okay’, ‘now’, ‘well’, ‘by the way’, ‘so’ in English and ‘nah’ and ‘oke’ in Indonesian.

Below is an extract in which teachers use DM ‘well’ to mark a topic change. This

excerpt is taken from classroom observation at class XI Acceleration 2 at the final

phase of the lesson.


commit to user

74

Extract 49 T1 was eliciting the phrases for giving suggestions delivered in the video played. T : Okay, so this activity is about –apa tadi- giving suggestion or advice. Kita

summing up lagi. When you give suggestion, you can use? The four in the video? The four in the video first. Yang dari video dulu. ‘Should’, and then ‘how about’ followed by?

“T : Okay, so this activity is about –what’s that- giving suggestion or advice. Let’s sum up again. When you give suggestion, you can use? The four in the video? The four in the video first. The ones from the video first. ‘Should’, and then ‘how about’ followed by?”

Ss : V-ing. “Ss : V-ing.”

T : Oke, terus? “Why don’t you” followed by bare infinitive. “If I were you” followed by second conditional. Atau bisa juga pake had better. Biasanya usulan untuk orang lain pakainya had better. “You’d better” followed by bare infinitive, okay? Well, this material is in the text of narrative. Kita dulu sudah pernah bahas naratif. Because we want to talk avout narrative but we don’t have much time left but it’s okay. We are going to make er opening idea about narrative.

“T : Okay, then? “Why don’t you” followed by bare infinitive. “If I were you” followed by second conditional. Or you can use ‘had better’. a piece of advice usually use ‘had better’. “You’d better” followed by bare infinitive, okay? Well, this material is in the text of narrative. We have talked about that. Because we want to talk about narrative but we don’t have much time left but it’s okay. We are going to make er opening idea about narrative.”


The above extract shows that T1 and the students were summing up the

expressions for giving suggestions they have learned that day. Finished giving

students summary about the lesson that day, T1 did a topic switch into a topic about

narrative text “‘You’d better’ followed by bare infinitive, okay? Well, this material is

in the text of narrative. Kita dulu sudah pernah bahas naratif.” T1 inserted DM ‘well’

to warn that something different was about to come therefore this switch did not

sound abrupt. These kind of DMs implicitly mark that certain topic is finished and a

new topic is about to come. This is an example case where DMs can be utilized to

signal topic switch or classroom procedure progression.

c. To Mark the Closing of the Discourse

As previously it has been explained that DMs can function as the marker of

discourse initiation, some DMs can function to signal the closure of a discourse.


commit to user

75

Teachers do not close the class unmarked. They often employ certain DMs use to

show students that they are about to say some leave-taking phrases. In relation to

classroom procedure, the closing phase of the classroom activities is usually marked

by some DMs. DM that is employed for this purpose by the teachers is DM ‘okay’.

The following excerpt shows the use of DM ‘okay’ to close the discourse. It is

taken from the classroom observation at class XI IPA 2.

Extract 31 T2 collected Ss’ work at the end of the lesson. T : Okay, have you finished? Let me collect it. (Collecting the paperwork from

the Ss) Ss : (classroom noise) T : Okay, I think that’s all. See you and good bye.


The extract shows a series of activities at the final stage of the lesson. T2 was

collecting the work of the students before finally he officially closed the lesson with

this expression “Okay, I think that’s all. See you and good bye.” Before stating the

class for that day was enough, T2 indicated the closure with DM ‘okay’. This ‘okay’

marked another important transition in the classroom procedure that is the closing of

the class.

d. To Keep the Speaking Turn

The interaction in classroom setting is not always one-way communication in

which teachers act as the sole speaker producing monologic text. Interaction in the

classroom can be dialogic in a way that both teachers and students have speaking

turn. Therefore, turn-management behavior, both turn-keeping and turn-giving,

especially shown by the teachers is interesting to examine. A smooth turn-

management can be enforced by some strategies. Observations in five English

classrooms raised a worth-to-note phenomenon that teachers employ special strategy

in keeping their speaking turn by making use of fillers ‘er’ and ‘em’. Those fillers,

besides functioning as fillers to avoid dead-air silence, can also mark that the teachers

wish to continue their speech. Besides fillers ‘er’ and ‘em’, teachers also make use of

DM ‘bentar bentar’ in Indonesian and ‘sik sik’ in Javanese.


commit to user

76

The following extract is taken from an observation at class XI Acceleration 1 at

the middle of teacher’s explanation.

Extract 40 T1 was asking Ss the difference between report and descriptive. T : Report is general and? Ss : descriptive is specific. T : Descriptive is more specific. Okay, if you want to describe one… er one

particular cat that you have a name, then you are talking about report or descriptive? One cat.


In above excerpt, T1 was asking students what differs a report text from a

descriptive text. The teacher further posed a follow-up question in response to

students answer by saying “Okay, if you want to describe one… er one particular cat

that you have a name, then you are talking about report or descriptive? One cat.” In

that statement it can be observed that T1 used DM ‘er’ which at the same time acted

as filler to prevent a dead-air silence and as a turn-keeper implying that T1 intended

to continue her speech so it was expected that students do not take the speaking turn

yet.

e. To Relinquish the Speaking Turn

Marking the turn-giving behavior is another functions performed by DMs in

relation to turn-management. It is interesting to see how teachers give the speaking

turn to the students in classroom setting as teachers are the one who hold the control

over this particular thing. Observations conducted by the researcher show that turn-

giving behavior is sometimes unmarked meaning that the teachers directly allocate

the speaking turn to student(s). However some turn-giving behavior is marked in a

way that T used certain DM before nominating the speaking turn to student(s). Some

DMs used by the teachers as the turn-giver markers are ‘okay’ and ‘so’.

Below is an example where teachers use DM ‘okay’ to relinquish the floor. This

excerpt is taken from classroom observation at class XI Acceleration 2


commit to user

77

Extract 25 T and Ss were discussing one of sentences with causative form. T : Okay, look at this sentence. “Df has just had his hair cut.” So that is why he

looks different today. He looks neat and tidy. He looks more... Gz : handsome T : See? Okay when you look at this sentence. Don’t you think that it’s quite

different pattern? (laughter) (to St) Okay, St. Read the sentence for your friends.


After making some remarks on the example of causative forms she used, T1

asked one of the students to read the sentence written on the whiteboard by saying

“Okay, St. Read the sentence for your friends!” This statement implied that T1 has

finished with what she said so she gave the turn to St. She did not suddenly nominate

St to take the speaking turn. Rather she used DM ‘okay’ as a signal that she was

going to give the speaking turn to her students. This is an example of a marked turn-

giving behavior with DM ‘okay’.

f. To Indicate Result or Conclusion

Another significant function of DMs in assisting discourse coherence is for

indicating result or conclusion. The result or conclusion is not necessarily the effect

caused by the adjacent clause or sentence directly preceding them. The effect can be

the result of a larger discourse unit preceding that conclusion or result. In showing

that something is up as the result of another thing, teachers use the DM ‘so’ in

English and ‘jadi’ and ‘nah’ in Indonesian.

Below is an example of teachers’ use of DM ‘jadi’ to indicate a result. This

excerpt is taken from classroom observation at class XI IPS 4.

Extract 98 Before T2 started the test, Rt was asking about the instructions for doing the test, especially the types of conditional sentences that would be tested. Rt : Kita nanti pakainya tipe dua dan tipe tiga? “Rt : Are we only going to use type 2 and 3?”

T : Iya ulangi? “T : I beg your pardon?”

Rt : Pakenya tipe dua dan tipe tiga? “Rt : Are we using type 2 and 3?”


commit to user

78

T : memang ulangan hari ini subjunctive. Karena yang tipe satu it is not subjunctive. Gitu ya? Jadi, nanti soal saya cuma tipe dua atau tipe tiga. Otomatis pake fakta semua.

“T : It turns out that today’s test is about Subjunctive. Because type 1 is not subjunctive. Okay? So, my questions will be about type 2 and 3 only. Automatically, you have to add the facts.”


In the above extract, T2 responded Rt’s question about whether that day’s test

would only be about type 2 and 3 of Conditional sentence by saying yes towards the

question. The teacher further states the reason why the test would only be about type

2 and 3 that is because type 1 of conditional sentence does not belong to Subjunctive.

T2 then stated the result of that response “Jadi, nanti soal saya cuma tipe dua atau

tipe tiga. Otomatis pake fakta semua.” The fact that only conditional sentence type 2

and 3 used for the test was the result of the previous proposition about conditional

sentence type 1. To point out this sort of relevance relation, T2 used DM ‘jadi’.

g. To Signal Contrastive Relation

Besides the above result marker, DMs are also used by the teachers to show

another interdependence between contrastive ideas. This relation is commonly shown

by the use of DM ‘but’ in English and ‘tapi’ in Indonesian.

The following extract taken from classroom observation at class XI Acceleration

2 shows the use of DM ‘but’ in teacher talk.

Extract 65 T1 was explaining the context of passive and active causative T: Okay, it’s better to use the passive one because the doer is not very important.

But, if you want to stress the doer, it is the barber, that barber not this barber not that lady barber but that gentleman barber, so you are going to need the active causative.


T1 was explaining when students need to use the passive causative and when

they need to use the active ones. T1 explained that passive causative could be used

when the doer is not important to mention. On the contrary, when the doer is

important to mention then the active causative is preferred. In showing this


commit to user

79

contrastive relation, T1 used the DM ‘but’ in the sentence “But, if you want to stress

the doer, ... , so you are going to need the active causative.”

h. To Mark Sequential Relations

Another textual function of DMs used by the teachers are for showing the

sequence of the discourse units and classroom procedures. This function becomes

particularly important in cases where teachers deal with an order of the explanation,

numbers, and so forth. The DMs chosen by both teachers to perform such functions

are ‘and then’ and ‘next’.

The use of the above-mentioned DMs can be observed in the following extract

taken from classroom observation at class XI Acceleration 1.

Extract 77 T1 was explaining about the pluralisation of special nouns T : The beauty and the beast. How many beauty? One. Beast-nya juga satu. Tapi

in other cases, the beauty itu bisa orang-orang yang cantik itu bisa ya? Okay ya? Good! Next, number eight, singular nouns take singular verb, plural noun take plural verb.

“T : The beauty and the beast. How many beauty? One. The beast is also only one. But in other cases, the beauty can mean beautiful people, right? Okay ya? Good! Next, number eight, singular nouns take singular verb, plural nouns take plural verb.”


In the above excerpt, T1 was explaining about how adding article ‘the’ can also

mean changing the noun into plural. It turned out that such explanation was stated in

number seven of the explanation written in the reference book. Having finished with

the explanation, she further moved to the next rule that is the concord of singular

noun with singular verb and plural noun with plural verb. To proceed to the next

explanation, T1 used DM ‘next’ to show the sequential relation between number

seven and number eight as shown in this sentence “Next, number eight, singular

nouns take singular verb, plural nouns take plural verb.”

i. To Signal the Continuation and Addition

The use of DMs in performing such function is found repeatedly during the

classroom observations of both teachers. DMs are used to show the speaker wishes to


commit to user

80

continue his/ her speech by giving more additional information about what he/ stated

previously. This addition can be signalled by the use of DM ‘and’ in teacher talk.

An extract below shows the use of DM ‘and’ in showing the speaker’s

continuation of speech by adding some additional information. This extract is taken

from classroom observation at class XI IPA 2

Extract 63 T2 was introducing the topic of the lesson at the beginning of the class T : Ya, today we are going to discuss about Subjunctive. And this is the last part

of Subjunctive. Subjunctive with ‘as if’ or ‘as though’. Before doing the exercise, I want to ask how many Subjunctives you got from me?

(TRKP 5; Wednesday, 14 May 2014) T2 was introducing that the lesson would be about Subjunctive. He immediately

added an additional information that the previously mentioned Subjunctive happened

to be the last part of Subjunctive. To relate this additional information with the

information given before, T2 used DM ‘and’ in the sentence “And this is the last part

of Subjunctive.”

j. To Mark Repairs of the Speech

It is common that sometimes a speaker wishes to modify what has been said.

This modification can be in the form of clarification, elaboration, repetition, and so

on. The same thing happens to teachers who sometimes need to repair the uttered.

DMs that served this function in the teacher talk of the teacher is DM ‘I mean’.

The use of DM ‘I mean’ can be seen in the following excerpt taken from

classroom observation at class XI Acceleration 2.

Extract 93 T1 was asking one of Ss about how he got his hair cut T : Yesterday. Just yesterday. On Sunday. Okay, last week I said Gz but now I

said Df. Where did you go, Df? Pj : Hartono Mall. Hartono Mall. Ss : (laughter) T : No no. I mean, to have the hair cut. Are you a regular customer of any barber?


In the above extract, it can be seen that T1 actually wished to know where Df

got his hair cut. But, she posed an incomplete question resulting to Pj’s response that


commit to user

81

Df went to Hartono Mall on Sunday. T1 then modified her speech by saying that what

she wanted to know was where Df his hair cut. DM ‘I mean’ is used to repair T1’s

previous question in “No no. I mean, to have the hair cut. Are you a regular customer

of any barber?”

k. To Show Condition Relation

Another conjunction used by both teacher to indicate that what follows is only

valid for the condition mentioned on the previous statement is DM ‘if’. The use of

DM ‘if’ to show such relation can be observed in the following extract taken from a

classroom observation at class XI Acceleration 2

Extract 83 T1 was asking one of Ss who repaired his flat tire. Pj : Pak tambal ban. “Pj : Mr. Mechanic.”

Ss : (laughter) T : Right. Pak tambal ban. You don’t care the name. Pokoknya ada. So, you

will not say that I repaired the tire. If you said I repaired the tire means that you yourself do that. Actually you do not do that, right?

“T : Right. Mr. Mechanic. You don’t care the name. But you got one. So, you will not say that I repaired the tire. If you said I repaired the tire means that you yourself do that. Actually you do not do that, right?”

(TRKP 2; Monday, 28 April 2014) The above extract shows that T1 responded Pj’s response by stressing that Pj

was not the one repairing his own flat tyre. She further gave further explanation on in

what condition sentence “I repaired the tire” might work which was when Pj repaired

his flat tyre by himself. This conditional relation is suggested by the use of DM ‘if’ in

“So, you will not say that I repaired the tire. If you said I repaired the tire means that

you yourself do that.”

l. To Show Causal Relation

Causal relation is one of interdependence relation can be found in most text. To

suggest this particular relation, DM ‘because can be used’. The teachers used this DM

to show that there is a causal relation between clauses bridged with DM ‘because’.

Below is the example of the use of DM ‘because’ in an extract taken from a

classroom observation at class XI Acceleration 2.


commit to user

82

Extract 69 T1 was stressing the context which needs causative form T : ... ‘Will get’ means Cn will ask somebody, Cn will ask the great designer to

design her dress. Because she cannot do that. Because it is not her profession. (TRKP 2; Monday, 28 April 2014)

The above extract shows that the modification of the tenses of causative

sentence into future tense was possible for Cn would ask a great designer to design

her dress. T1 then elaborate why Cn would ask someone to do her dress. The reasons

or causes are stated by inserting DM ‘because’ which shows causal relation by nature

in the following sentence “Cn will ask the great designer to design her dress. Because

she cannot do that. Because it is not her profession.”

In conclusion, there are 12 textual functions performed by the DMs used by

teachers in English classrooms that can be formulated as follows:

Table 4.3. The textual functions of DMs used by the teachers

No. Textual Function DMs 1. to mark the opening of the discourse okay, so, oke 2. to signal topic switch okay, oke, well, by the way, now,

nah 3. to mark the closing of the discourse Okay 4. to keep the speaking turn er, em, bentar-bentar, sik-sik 5. to relinquish the speaking turn okay, so 6. to indicate result or conclusion so, jadi, nah 7. to signal contrastive relation but, tapi 8. to mark sequential relations next, and then 9. to signal the continuation &addition And 10. to indicate repairs of the speech I mean 11. to show condition relation If 12. to show causal relation Because

The discussion about which functions that are performed in relatively high

frequency and which ones that are performed in a relatively low frequency will be

examined at the discussion section.


commit to user

83

C. Discussions

The findings of the research on the use of DMs by two teachers in six English

classrooms explained in the previous section lead into several discussions. Some

points to be discussed in the upcoming section include the occurrence DMs employed

by the teachers in each classroom and the affecting factors, the variation of DMs use

by the two teachers and the affecting factors, and the comparison of teachers’

perception about DMs’ functions and students’ perception about DM’s function in

English classroom. In the end of the section, a comparison between the result of the

research and the previous reports of the researches in the same field will be presented.

The first point to discuss is the occurrence of DMs in each classroom. DMs

are used in a various way by both teachers to suit the context in which the DMs are

used. Therefore, it is common to find that the frequency of DMs occurrence in each

classroom is different. In general, the comparison of DM use among classrooms can

be observed through this table.

Table 4.4. The occurrence of DMs use in every classroom

Class Teacher Material Observation time

allocation

Language(s) used

Top five DMs used (in an

order) XI Acc. 1 T1 Pluralisation

(Report text) 2 x 45’ English:

Indonesian: Javanese

Okay (72), er (32), so (27), but (20), and then (19)

XI Acc. 2 T1 Causative 1 x 45’ English: Indonesian: Javanese

Okay (41), so (29), er (21), and then (18), because (14)

XI Acc. 2 T1 Giving advice 2 x 45’ English: Indonesian: Javanese

Okay (68), so (32), and then (28), er (26), and (20)


commit to user

84

It is quite interesting to see that the top-five DMs used by both teachers are

ranging at more or less the same choices of DMs. DM ‘okay’ is the most frequent

DMs used by both teacher due to its high multi-functionality. As DM ‘okay’ can aid

the teacher in opening and closing the discourse, signal topic switch and progression

of classroom procedure, and assist the turn-management behavior, its frequent use in

teacher talk in all classrooms seems to be a reasonable phenomenon. In all classrooms

this DM outnumbered any other DMs with a significant difference in frequency.

Besides ‘okay’, DM ‘so’ is also used by both teachers in a relatively high frequency.

As this DM can perform various functions such as a result or conclusion marker,

opening frame marker, and turn-allocation marker, the use of this DM in teacher talk

is preferable by both teachers. Those two DMs turned out to be very significant in

academic discourse.

The next three DMs used in every classroom are different each other. In XI

Acceleration 1 where T1 delivered materials about ‘Pluralisation’ in a lecture

teaching method, filler ‘er’ appeared to be DMs used by T1 repeatedly. The nature of

students of XI Acceleration 1 who are very talkative and active requires T1 to employ

a strategy to manage the turn-management wisely. Absence of turn-keeper marker

XI IPA 1 T2 Subjunctive in Conditional Sentence


Okay (35), oke (16), er (14), and (10), next (8)

XI IPA 2 T2 Subjunctive ‘as if’


Okay (43), er (21), so (15), and (9), but (7).

XI IPS 4 T2 Subjunctive in Conditional Sentence


Okay (39), and (21), so (13), oke (13), next (10)


commit to user

85

would possibly distract the delivery of the materials as students tend to actively

interfere the teacher’s explanation. The frequent use of DM ‘and then’ and ‘but’

could be related to how those markers facilitated teacher’s explanation about

pluralisation which dominated the whole classroom talk in general.

In XI Acceleration 2, sequencing marker ‘and then’ hold a significant role in

the structuring of the teacher’s explanation which happened to be the centre of the

classroom activity. It is therefore reasonable to that T1 also used addition marker

‘and’ for the purpose of elaboration of explanation. Besides, the teacher’s explanation

which dominated the classroom activity makes the teacher used filler ‘er’ in a high

frequency for the purpose of avoiding dead-air silence during explanation and the

turn-keeper which enables the teacher to hold the floor.

In XI Acceleration 2 where T1 taught speaking skill of giving advice through

games, the relatively high use of DM ‘and then’ is due to the functions of DM to

mark sequential relations. The game consisted of sequences where a pair of students

presented their work followed by another pairs. Thus T1 used frequent ‘next’ to deal

with orders of presentation. The use of games where students got more turns to speak

results in a dynamic turn-management behavior. This turn-allocation situation

requires a strategy T1 should use in her talk. Incorporating DMs ‘er’ functioning as

turn-keeper could be one of those strategies.

A relatively high use of Indonesian in class XI IPA 1 led into how T2 used

Indonesian DM ‘oke’ in his talk. This use could not be observed in teacher’s

explanation about the materials as in explaining the materials T2 used more English

than Indonesian. Rather, this DM appeared more often in T2’s dialogic talk with his

students.

In class XI IPA 2 in which the main activity was students’ doing an exercise

after a brief explanation about the material Subjunctive ‘as if’ and ‘would rather’ T2

used DMs to point out the relevance relation between utterances. It was done through

some occurrence of DMs ‘and’ and ‘but’ in his speech.


commit to user

86

In class XI IPS 4 in which the use of ‘oke’ in marking transition in the

explanation and classroom procedures seemed to be something reasonable for a class

in which the main activities were teacher’s explanation about the materials followed

by some exercise and test. The frequent use of ‘next’ was due to T2’s attempt to point

out the sequential relation between numbers of questions he dictated for the exercise

and the test.

As DMs are context-dependant items serving more than one function

simultaneously, it is not surprising that DMs most frequently used by both teachers in

their classroom talk are DM with high multi-functionality such as ‘okay’, ‘so’, ‘er’

and ‘and then’. Although teachers use languages other than English in their classroom

talk, the DMs used by the teachers are mostly in English. It is because English is

mostly used for teacher’s explanation and another major classroom procedures thus

its dominant use affects teacher’s choice in using English DMs.

As there has not been an agreed mapping to map the relation between the DM

items and their corresponding textual function, examining the context in which the

DMs occur is beneficial to determine the functions played by the DM. The summary

of textual functions performed by the use of DMs by the teachers in every classroom

can be summarized as follows:


commit to user

87

Table 4.5. The textual functions DMs use in every classroom (the highest frequency to the lowest)

Class XI Acc.1 XI Acc. 2 XI Acc.2 XI IPA 1 XI IPA 2 XI IPS 4

Function

1. To mark Transition and topic switch

To mark Transition and topic switch





2. Filler and turn-keeping marker

Result marker

Turn giving marker

Continuation marker

Result marker

Sequence marker

3. Continuation marker

Continuation marker

Sequence marker

Filler and turn-keeping marker

Turn-keeping marker

Result marker

4. Result marker Sequence marker


Sequence marker

Contrast marker

Continuation marker

5. Turn-giving marker


Result marker

Result marker

Continuation marker


6. Sequence marker

Contrast marker

Opening frame marker

Contrast marker

Cause marker


7. Contrast marker

Cause marker Continuation marker



Cause marker

8. Condition marker


Contrast marker

Condition marker

Condition marker

Condition marker

9. Cause marker Turn-giving marker

Condition marker

Cause marker

Closing frame marker


10. Opening frame marker

Repair marker

Cause marker


Sequence marker

11. Repair marker Condition marker


12. Closing frame marker


The above table shows that the functions performed by DMs used by teachers

in each classroom are various. Anyhow, there is a common finding that the major

function performed by most DMs in teacher talk is to mark topic switch, including

transition of classroom procedures. Teachers uniformly use DM to aid them avoid


commit to user

88

abrupt topic switch and classroom procedure progression. This function in academic

discourse is particularly common because classroom discourse usually has already

been planned by the teachers. Referring to the lesson plans they have planned

previously, teachers usually prepare the substantive content of what they are about to

say in the classroom. So, they come up to the classroom bringing the outline of what

they want to say in the classroom arranged in their head. This outline usually consists

of several subtopics delivered in different phases of the lesson stated in their lesson

plan. It is then reasonable that they use DMs to facilitate them mark the transitions of

those topics, subtopics, and the progression of the lesson phases, including the

opening and closing of classroom discourse.

It has been widely acknowledged that classroom possesses special turn-

management behavior which is in many ways different from turn allocation in natural

communication setting. The function of DMs to assist teachers in turn-management

behavior is highly dependent on the characteristics the students and the classroom

activities. In all classrooms it can be seen that both T1 and T2 employ the use of DMs

to perform the function of keeping turn because teachers usually favor uninterrupted

speaking turn in their explanation. In classroom where the students tend to be active

and talkative and in classrooms in which the activities are student-centered, teacher’s

ability to manage the speaking turn is important to ensure the success of the teaching

and learning activity. In giving the speaking turn to the students, it turned out that T1

marked her turn giving with some DMs while T2 whose class did not show any

noticeable turn-giving behavior did not use any DM to release the speaking turn or

his turn-giving behavior was unmarked by DMs.

The local textual functions of DM in showing the cohesive relations can be

observed in most classes as this function is admitted essential in helping the teacher

in creating a coherence piece of discourse. It is mainly because teachers believe that

they are the role model of the use of TL exemplified by the students. A well-

mannered use of English which starts from simple thing like incorporating the use of


commit to user

89

DMs in the speech becomes a thing teachers need to encompass in front of their

students.

The second point to discuss is about the difference of the use of DMs by

teachers seen from the teachers’ factors. In analyzing the difference of DMs use in

each classroom the factors of the speakers themselves cannot be excluded.

From the transcribed classroom interactions, it is a fact that T1 who happens

to be a female teacher exhibited higher use of DMs than T2 who is a male teacher.

Her choice of DMs variation is also more various than that of the male teacher. T2

seemed to use a restricted set of DMs in his speech compared to how T1 used a

variety of DMs to perform certain function in various contexts. Yet it is somehow

inconclusive to state that the difference in gender is the only factor affecting the

choice of DMs by the teachers. As Schleef (2004) suggests, gender difference in the

use of DMs heavily depend on context, the role of the speaker in the discourse, etc.

since human beings are members of multifaceted social categories, not just male or

female (Liao, 2008, p.9).

Both teachers argue that in using DMs they are aware of the context and how

they choose certain DMs to perform certain function in order to fit the context. Using

DMs is an ‘effortless’ thing as both of them believe that the use of DMs is something

internalised through series of exposure of DMs use by other speakers (interview

transcript 1 and 4). Thus, the repertoire of DMs use is highly affected by how much

exposure the teachers have received. In terms of repertoire of DMs use, T1 seems to

get the upper hand. Having an experience of taking short course for two months in the

United States which enabled her to have a direct contact with English native speakers

who usually exhibit relatively high use of DMs in their speech, T1 had a better access

to linguistic resources particularly on the use of DM. That is why T1 encompassed a

richer variety of DMs compared to T2 who seemed to show relatively limited

variation of DMs in teacher talk. This difference of repertoire can lead into the

stylistic difference of DMs use performed by T1 and T2.


commit to user

90

So far, the difference of variations of DMs use seen from teachers’ factors can

be traced from the gender difference and the repertoire resulted from exposure to

DMs use. They, combined with factors of social context explained before, contribute

to different use of DMs by different teachers. Further in-depth research regarding the

speakers’ factors will be beneficial to examine the variation of DMs use by different

speakers.

The third point to discuss in this section is the comparison between teachers’

perceptions of the textual functions of DMs and the students’ perceptions of the

functions performed by DMs in teacher talk.

From the transcription of the interviews with both T1 and T2, here are the

textual functions of DMs used in English classroom:

1. To open the discourse, including claiming ad focusing students’ attention

(teachers’ interview; transcript 1 and 4).

2. To signal topic switch, including to signal the progress of the classroom

procedure (teachers’ interview; transcript 1 and 4).

3. To give the turn to the students (teachers’ interview; transcript 1).

4. To close the discourse (teachers’ interview; transcript 1 and 4)

5. To indicate a result or conclusion (teachers’ interview; transcript 1 and 4)

6. To keep the turn (teachers’ interview; transcript 1)

7. To indicate the continuation of the speech (teachers’ interview; transcript 1 and

4)

8. To signal contrastive viewpoints (teachers’ interview; transcript 1)

9. To suggest a causal relation (teachers’ interview; transcript 1).

10. To mark sequential relation (teachers’ interview; transcript 1 and 4)

11. To indicate that what follows is a condition on the previous statement

(teachers’ interview; transcript 1 and 4)

12. To revise or repair the previous statement (teachers’ interview; transcript 1)


commit to user

91

From interviews conducted with five students from five different classes,

students believe that the textual functions performed by DMs in teacher talk are as

follows:

1. To mark the opening of the discourse including focusing students attention at the

beginning of the class (students’ interview; transcript 2, 3, 6, 7)

2. To end the class (students’ interview; transcript 7).

3. To switch the topic, including to move to the next phase of the lesson (students’

interview; transcript 2, 3, 5, 6, 7).

4. To act as fillers for keeping the speaking turn (students’ interview; transcript 3).

5. To indicate continuation and addition of the speech (students’ interview;

transcript 2).

6. To mark sequential relations between utterances (students’ interview; transcript 2

and 5).

7. To conclude a result or conclusion (students’ interview; transcript 2 and 6).

8. To show contrastive relations (students’ interview; transcript 2 and 3).

The synchronous perceptions about the textual functions of DMs use in English

classroom can be observed in the following table:

Table 4.6. The comparison between teachers’ perception and the students’

about the textual functions of DMs

Teachers’ perceptions Students’ perceptions To open the discourse, including claiming ad focusing students’ attention

To mark the opening of the discourse including focusing students attention at the beginning of the class

To signal topic switch, including to signal the progress of the classroom procedure

To switch the topic, including to move to the next phase of the lesson

To close the discourse To end the class To indicate a result or conclusion To conclude a result or conclusion To keep the turn To act as fillers for keeping the

speaking turn To give the turn to the students To indicate the continuation of the speech

To show continuation and addition of the speech


commit to user

92

To signal contrastive viewpoints To show contrastive relations To mark sequential relation To mark sequential relations

between utterances and orders To suggest a causal relation To indicate that what follows is a condition on the previous statement.

To revise or repair the previous statement

The table above suggests that in general both teachers and students are aware of

the textual functions DMs can serve in a discourse. This awareness is beneficial in a

way that students can see how the teachers structure their discourse into a smooth and

organised one. Being aware of the functions of the DMs, students admitted that they

made use of those DMs as a signal which can facilitate their comprehending what the

teachers said in the teacher talk. However, it can be seen that students are not aware

of several textual functions intended to be performed by teacher’s use of DMs. It can

be due to the low frequency of the use of those particular DMs so students do not

notice that signal for repairing previous statements, for example, can be marked by

the use of DM ‘I mean’. This is why students need to be made aware about the

functions fulfilled by DMs to enforce a better comprehension. This awareness of

function eventually can also lead students to employ the use of DMs in their oral

production. Further research on this matter is required to gain more in-depth

understanding.

After all, there is a consensus between teachers and students indicated in their

interview that the existence of DMs in teacher talk is important and beneficial. DMs

help teacher talk sound more smooth and spontaneous so the classroom language will

create a less-threatening atmosphere for the learning. The absence of DMs in teacher

talk, on the contrary, will result in an abrupt less spontaneous talk like a memorised

speech.

The number of researches focused on the use of DMs by teachers in classroom

setting is still far from sufficient. Loretta Fung (2011) who happened to study


commit to user

93

teacher’s perceptions about the use of DMs in classroom setting in Hong Kong came

up with a conclusion that DMs are considered essential in teacher talk in the way that

they serve the following textual functions: (1) To link up ideas in a talk and mark

relationships between idea units which may indicate continuation, sequence, contrast,

and conclusion; (2) They mark opening of conversations; (3) They mark closings of

conversations; (4) They mark boundaries of topics. Compared to table 4.6 of this

chapter about the perceptions of teachers upon the use of DMs in classroom setting, it

has many similarities and a slight difference. Fung’s conclusion did not touch the

functions of DMs in assisting a smooth turn management in the classroom. Besides,

the role of DMs as repair markers is also not acknowledged.

Anyhow, in relation to the previous researches on this matter, a working paper

by Castro (2009) who conducted a research on the use of DMs by both teachers and

students in English classroom in Columbia is reviewed. In her conclusion, she stated

that the textual functions of DMs used in the pedagogic setting adapted from Brinton

(1996) are as follows: (1) To initiate a discourse, including claiming the attention of

the hearer; (2) To close discourse; (3) To aid the speaker in acquiring or relinquishing

the floor; (4) To serve as a filler or delaying tactic used to sustain discourse or hold

the floor; (5) To indicate a new topic or a partial shift in topic; (6)To denote either

new or old information; (7) To mark sequential independence; (8) To repair own or

other’s discourse (p. 73). In this research all textual functions mentioned by Castro

are well-fulfilled by the teachers’ use of DMs. In this research, function (5)

mentioned by Castro that DMs aid the change of topic is further elaborated into how

DMs can also signal transition between phases of the lesson. Function (6) stated by

Castro is specified into how DMs not only help to denote old-new information but

also to signal the relation of the old information and the new information (causal,

contrastive, condition, addition).

Documents

chapter iv - Digilib UNS