Effects of Task Conditions on Use of Listening Strategies by Chinese

This paper reports an exploratory study on the effects of two task conditions (Zero-task and Task) on listening strategies used by Chinese EFL learners. The purpose of the study is to find out whether different task conditions affect strategy application, whether learners at different proficiency level use strategies differently on different task conditions, and whether strategy instructions have significant effects on learners’ strategy use. Fifty-two first-year university students participated in this study, with ages ranging from 18 to 20. A listening proficiency test (cronbach α = .832) differentiated them into two groups: Ghigh((N=29) and Glow(N=23). The instrument of the study is a questionnaire with 24 items of specific cognitive listening strategies. The participants were required to answer two questionnaires: one on Zero-task condition, the other on Task condition, with two months intervals in between. During the two months, the participants received some classroom strategy instructions. After the instructions, they replied to the questionnaire again. Data of both questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Results show that (1) from Zero-task to Task condition, the overall mean score of the reported frequency of strategy use increased slightly in Ghigh while decreased slightly in Glow; (2) Ghigh used strategies more frequently on Task condition than on Zero-task condition, while Glow didn’t show significant difference on both task conditions; (3) on the same task conditions, the two groups showed significant differences in their strategy application. Ghigh used strategies more frequently than Glow, especially on Task condition; (4) Ghigh responded more actively and effectively to strategy instructions than Glow.
1. Introduction
Learning strategies can be defined as conscious “steps taken by students to enhance their own learning”(Oxford 1990:1); more particularly, “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations”(Oxford 1990:8).
Since the 1990s, many studies with diverse focuses have been conducted to investigate effects of various factors on strategy use in language learning, such as language proficiency (Bedell & Oxford 1996; Dreyer & Oxford 1996; Green & Oxford 2003), gender（Ehrman & Oxford 1980; Green & Oxford 1995; Gu 2002）, etc. Task-based strategy studies aiming at assessing specific strategies applied on different task conditions during language learning have attracted more and more attentions.（Cohen,1998;Hsiao and Oxford 2002; Oxford et al 2004).
The present paper partially replicates Oxford et al.’s (2004) study about how task difficulty and proficiency affect the reported frequency of reading strategy used by language learners. The results indicated task-based strategy assessment provide a more detailed, more contextualized picture of strategy use (Hsiao & Oxford 2002) However, does this task-based strategy assessment apply to listening strategy used by Chinese EFL learners? Our study aims to investigate the effects of two task conditions (Zero-task and Task) on listening strategies use by Chinese EFL learners at different proficiency levels.
Firstly we generally review relevant theory and research. Then we explain the methodology of the present study, followed by presentation and discussion of the results. The paper concludes with the findings of our study and recommendation for further studies.
2. Review of research
In this chapter we generally review theory and research on the following two topics: listening learning strategies in L2 field, and task-based strategy assessment.
Listening comprehension and listening strategies
Listening comprehension
Researchers have pointed out that listening plays a key role in language learning because of its contribution to the development of the overall language proficiency (Wolvin & Coakley, 1996; Rost 2002). Listening comprehension is an active and complex process in which learners construct meanings from inputting information through a complex interaction between the characteristics of the input, the types of the declarative knowledge that are received, and the use of strategies to enhance understanding (Abd El Al, 2002: 42, Anderson: 1995). Cognitive theory holds that effective processing of information requires both top-down and bottom-up processing. The top-down processing is “a form of language processing that bases inferences on expectations and predictable generalisations cued by the incoming language’ (Rost, 2002: 96), while the bottom-up processing begins with analysing receiving messages from different levels of organisation of the utterance – from sound, to words, then to clauses, and then to sentences and finally get the intended meaning (Anderson and Lynch, 1988; Brown, 1990; Buck, 2001; Abd El Al, 2002). During this procedure, the learners (processors) use “various techniques to select information, organize it, relate it to what they have already known” (Abd El Al, 2002: 39).

Listening strategies
Learning strategies are conscious “steps taken by students to enhance their own learning”(Oxford 1990:1) and are “a sequence of steps taken by a learner, deliberately, in a specific order for a specific purpose that is to learn, recall or comprehend the target language”(Abd El Al, 2002: 50). Hedge (2000) proposed a four-broadly- categorised taxonomy about learning strategies: cognitive, Matacognitive, communicative and socio-affective strategies. In regard of the nature of listening comprehension, we focus on cognitive strategies which involve both top-down and bottom-up processing approaches.
Some descriptive studies use various methods to describe and identify listening strategies used by successful and less successful listeners. For example, O’Malley, Chamot & Küpper (1989) use think-aloud protocols with high school SEL students to examine what strategies are used in different phases and whether there are any differences of using strategies between effective and ineffective listeners. Their major strategy headings are self-monitoring, elaboration and inferencing. Results show significant differences of strategies used between effective and ineffective listeners. Vandergrift (1992) uses semi-structured interviews, stimulated recall and think-aloud protocols to investigate the strategies used by Core French high school students in transactional and interactional tasks. Findings indicate that there is an overall increase in the total amount of used strategies by the increase of proficiency level and the less successful listeners have to understand the texts by focusing on semantic cues, contextual clues etc. Goh (1998) uses retrospective verbal reports to investigate the cognitive and metacognitive strategies and tactics used by Chinese ESL learners in a university in Singapore to compare the way high- and low- ability listeners apply them. The study shows that the high-ability listeners use more strategies and tactics than the low ability ones.
Yu (2004) uses a written questionnaire with thirty-six specific listening strategies to investigate the effects of strategy use on learners’ autonomy of 160 Chinese EFL learners at two proficiency levels. These strategies fell into three major categories metacognitive, cognitive ones, socio-affective strategies. Results showed high-ability students used more metacognitive and cognitive strategies than low-ability students, while there is little difference in socio-affective strategy use. Another finding in Yu (2004)’s study indicated that students perceived high value of strategies and require strategy instructions to improve their listening abilities.
These studies on listening strategies mainly focus on probing, describing and identifying listening strategies used by successful and less successful listeners. Although they confirm the same finding that both good and poor listeners use strategies, the differences between the two groups of listeners have not been significantly revealed. Moreover, the total number of strategies used and the frequency of use of each strategy “are not necessarily indicators of how successful [students] will be on a [specific] language task” (Cohen, 1998:8-9). On a particular L2 task, the appropriateness of the strategies to the task is likely to be more important than the numbers and frequencies of strategies employed (Oxford et al., 2004).

Listening Strategies training
Strategy training aids learners to become more consciously aware of what strategies might be useful in a given learning situation. Some studies have suggested the implications for L2 listening strategy training. For example, Vandergrift (1999) has explained how L2 listeners can use strategies to enhance their learning processes and how teachers can nurture the development of listening strategies. In her empirical study, Teng (2003) instructs her fifty college students in National Taiwan University of Science & Technology with thirty EFL listening strategies for fifteen weeks. Results show that systematic strategy instruction enhances the improvement of strategy use for EFL listener. Ma (2005) investigates the effects of listening strategy training on Chinese EFL learners. After fifteen-week’s instructions, the sixty-two EFL learners at three proficiency levels (high, intermediate and low) show significant difference in strategy use, especially to the intermediate students. .
Strategy training helps learners become more self-directed, autonomous via the improved use of strategies (Wenden, 1991, 1998; Granham, 1997; Cohen, 1998, 1999); become more aware of their learning processes and in turn increase the willingness and ability to manage their learning (Niyokos, 1996; Mendelsohn, 1995, 1998); enhance motivation (Wenden, 1991, 1998); remove anxiety, reduce uncertainty and foster self-confidence (Niyokos, 1996).
Task-based strategy assessment
As Cohen (1998) argued that when learners respond to a strategy questionnaire without actually doing a L2 task, they may become less accurate about their actual behavior. Learners’ different interpretations of their task experience may influence their reporting of the strategy use in terms of the comparability of responses to the same items.
Ikeda and Takeuchi (2000) empirically examined whether reported strategy use is affected by the presence of absence of an actual task and how types and frequencies of strategies varied according to task difficulty. Results show that having students complete a task significantly affected the reporting of reading strategies. The reported frequencies of strategy use in both the high and low proficiency learners declined in three task situations: no task, easy task and difficult task. Oxford et al. (2004) conducted a similar study to investigate effects of including or not including a language task as part of strategy assessment and how students’ reported strategies differ when the language task is easy versus difficult. Except for the similar findings of significant effects of task situations on reported strategy use, they found that low-proficiency students reported to employ more strategies than high-proficiency students in specific task situations, because they tend to use strategies to compensate the knowledge inadequacy. On the other hand, high-proficiency students, reported less strategy use though, more often tended to use “top-down” strategies like predicting, guessing, finding the main ideas, trying to understand without translating into the native language.
Similar task-based strategy assessment can be applied to listening strategy use by L2 learners. In regard of the nature of listening comprehension and listening strategies, different task conditions may influence learners of different listening ability in their listening strategy use.
3. Research questions in the present study
The present study aimed to examine the effects of the present (namely task hereinafter) or absence (namely Zero-task hereinafter) of a listening task on students’ reporting of their listening strategy use. Since strategy use is closely related to L2 proficiency, we took students’ listening comprehension ability into consideration. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of listening strategy instructions on the reported frequency of students’ strategy use under the two different task conditions.
Specifically, the research questions of the present study are:
1. considering the cognitive listening strategy as a whole, are there any main effects or interaction effects on listening strategy frequencies based on the two independent variables, namely task condition (Task or Zero-task) and listening proficiency level (high or low)?
2. considering each of the strategy item on cognitive listening strategy questionnaire, do high- and low-proficiency listeners report different frequencies of strategy use within each of the task conditions？
3. does classroom listening strategy instruction have any effects on students’ strategy use?
4. Methodology
4.1 Research Subjects
Altogether 83 first-year college students participated in the present study, of whom 47 were male students and 36 were female students, with ages ranging from 18 to 20. They majored in laws and computer science in a large university in southern China. They received College English instructions six hours a week as a compulsory course, which include Integrated Skills of English, Learning Strategy and Listening. They were required to take a nationwide English proficiency test (College English Test Band 4, CET-4) after two years’ study.
All the 83 students were supposed to reply the listening strategy questionnaire twice, respectively before and after the eight-week listening strategy training. However, some of the students failed to reply both questionnaires completely. Finally we got 52 questionnaires that were valid to our research.
After the eight-week listening strategy training, we conducted a listening comprehension test, which consisted of 50 multiple choice test items in three parts: short dialogues, long conversations and short passages. The total score was 50 points. A statistical validity analysis showed that the listening proficiency test was reasonably valid with α (Cronbach’s Alpha) value of .832. With the result of this test, we tangibly classified the 52 participants into two groups. Those whose scores were above the average 35 points were in the high-level group ( Ghigh, N=29), while those scored equal or below the average were in low-level group (Glow, N=23). A t-test in SPSS revealed that the two groups were significantly different in their listening comprehension ability (See Table 1).

Table 1 Descriptive data of participants’ proficiency difference
Group Number Mean SD SE t-test(sig.)
Ghigh N=29 39.48 2.29 .43

.016

Glow N=23 30.26 3.86 .81


4.2 Instrumentation
4.2.1 Listening comprehension assessment. As explained earlier, the listening comprehension test consisted 50 test items in three different parts: 15 short conversations (one-round dialogues between a man and a woman followed by comprehension questions), three long conversations (four to six-round dialogues between a man and a woman) followed by 5 comprehension questions for each one, and four short passages (about 150 words for each passage) followed by 5 questions for each one. All test items were multiple choices with one point for one item. The participants were required to finish the test in about thirty minutes. As stated previously, the listening comprehension proficiency test was reasonably reliable (α =.832)

4.2.1 Listening strategy questionnaire. We specified the cognitive listening strategy questionnaire (LSQ) developed by Yu (2004) into 24 strategies under the three major categories of before, while and after listening. The questionnaire consisted of 24 statements of listening strategies (See appendix A), and the students’ responses were recorded using Likert Scale of 0 (almost never) to 5 (almost always) to measure each strategy. The reliability of the questionnaire employed by the present study was .869 using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of internal consistency.
4.3 Data collection procedures
It was made clear to the students that this study would not affect their course grades. They responded to the questionnaires anonymously, but the listening comprehension test would be part of their course grades in order to ensure the validity of the group pattern. Data collection was conducted in the following steps:
Firstly, the students were asked to complete the listening strategy questionnaire (LSQ) without doing any listening task, called the “Zero-task condition” in the present study.
Then eight weeks later, during which listening strategy instructions were implemented once a week into their English course, the students were asked to take the listening comprehension test which involved conversations and passages. The amount of time allotted to the test was thirty minutes. The papers were collected for grouping.
Right after the thirty-minute listening test, the students were required to respond to LSQ again. We consider this as Task condition to differentiate the first stage “Zero-task condition” in the present study.
All the data were collected for analysis to investigate the research questions.
4.2 Data analysis procedures
To answer Research Question 1 in the present study, i.e. whether there are any main effects or interaction effects on listening strategy frequencies under the two task conditions (task or Zero-task) and listening proficiency level (high or low), we used repeated measures analysis of ANOVA to identify the significance. The results of ANOVA would tell us:
-- whether the reported mean frequency of strategy use was significantly different on the two task conditions (i.e. the main effect for task condition)
--- whether the reported mean frequency of strategy use was significantly different across the two proficiency levels(i.e. the main effect for proficiency levels)
-- and whether Ghigh and Glow reported different mean frequencies of strategy use across the two task conditions,
To answer Research Question 2 and 3, i.e. whether high- or low-level listeners report different frequencies of strategy use within each of the task condition in the present study, we employed multiple measures of Paired T-test and Independent T-test. We set the significance level at p<.05 for both T-tests, which would help us uncover the patterns of difference in listening strategy use and be useful for further study. The results of Paired T-test would tell us whether there would be significant difference in specific strategy use by the same level group on the two task conditions. Independent T-test would help us find out whether there would be any significant differences between the two proficiency groups in specific strategy use on either of the two task conditions. Results followed by discussions were presented in the next part of the paper.
5. Results and discussion
5.1 Answer to Research Question 1: Considering the cognitive listening strategy as a whole, are there any main effects or interaction effects on listening strategy frequencies based on the two independent variables, namely task condition (Task or Zero-task) and listening proficiency level (high or low)?
5.1.1 An overall pattern of reported listening strategy use by two proficiency groups across Zero-task and Task conditions
We compared the mean score of LSQ reported by the two proficiency groups on the two different task conditions. Table 2 presents the means and standard deviations of the two groups across Zero-task and Task conditions.

Table 2 Means and standard deviations of proficiency groups across Zero-task and Task conditions
Proficiency Zero-task Task
Ghigh Mean 2.97 3.09
N 29 29
SD 1.4 1.49
Glow Mean 2.82 2.76
N 23 23
SD 1.5 1.4

The mean LSQ scores in the two proficiency groups did not show the same directions on the two tasks. In Ghigh, the reported frequency of strategy use on the Zero-task condition (X = 2.97, SD=1.4) was lower than on the Task condition (X = 3.09, SD=1.49). Thus, high-level students’ overall strategy use tended to increase slightly from Zero-task condition to Task condition.
In contrast, learners in Glow did not show an increase but a slight decrease from Zero-task to Task condition. The reported frequency of strategy use on the Zero-task condition (X = 2.82, SD=1.5) was slightly higher than on the Task condition (X = 2.76, SD=1.4).
This overall pattern did not agree with the pattern of reading strategy use revealed by Ikeda and Takeuchi (2000) and Oxford et al. (2004), whose results showed slight increase from no task to difficult task for low proficiency group while slight decrease for the high-proficiency group. The difference may partly lie in the different nature of listening and reading and their different interaction between task presence and learners’ strategy use.
On the other hand, the mean LSQ scores in Ghigh, both on Zero-task and Task conditions, were higher than that in Glow. This result further supports the previous findings (e.g. Vandergrift,1992; Goh, 1998; Yu, 2004, etc.) that the high-ability listeners use more strategies and tactics than the low ability ones.
Studies (e.g. Vandergrift, 1999; Teng, 2003; Ma, 2005, etc.) showed that systematic strategy training enhances the improvement of strategy use for EFL learners. In the present study, the LSQ in task condition was conducted after an eight-week strategy instruction. From the mean LSQ scores in table 2, we found that Ghigh showed a positive effect of strategy instructions while Glow showed a negative one. In other words, strategy training is more effective for high level students, but less effective for low level students.
To find out the statistical significance of these differences, we used repeated ANOVA with SPSS 13.0

5.1.2 Main effects and interaction effects of task conditions and proficiency levels
Table 3 presents the results of the repeated ANOVA on mean frequency of strategy use on Zero-task and Task conditions. The results showed that there were no significant main effects for tasks and listening levels. In other words, the overall reported mean frequency of strategy use did not differ significantly on Zero-task conditions for the two proficiency group. Neither of the two groups differed significantly on the reported mean frequency of strategy use across the two different task conditions. However, the results revealed a significant finding: on the Task condition, the reported overall mean scores of LSQ were significantly different between the students of the two groups (F(1, 50)=7.485, p<.05). This finding supported the previous discussion that high level students used more listening strategy and were more sensitive to strategy training.

Table 3 Interaction effects of task conditions and proficiency levels
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Z-task
Ghigh *Glow Between Groups .371 1 .371 1.703 .198
Within Groups 10.891 50 .218
Total 11.262 51
Task
Ghigh *Glow Between Groups 1.318 1 1.318 7.485 .009
Within Groups 8.801 50 .176
Total 10.118 51
Ghigh
Z-task* task Between Groups .136 1 .136 .828 .367
Within Groups 9.221 56 .165
Total 9.357 57
Glow
Z-task* task Between Groups .033 1 .033 .138 .712
Within Groups 10.472 44 .238
Total 10.505 45


5.2 Answer to Research Question 2: Considering each of the strategy item on cognitive listening strategy questionnaire, do high- and low-proficiency listeners report different frequencies of strategy use within each of the task conditions？
5.2.1 Main effects of the two task conditions on strategy-by-strategy use by either of the two proficiency levels.
To find out the different effects of task conditions on listening proficiency in terms of each specific listening strategy use, we used paired T-test. Table 4 presents the results.

Table 4 Significance of strategy use on two task conditions by Ghigh or Glow
Proficiency Strategy Zero-task
Mean Task
Mean Sig.
p<.05 Difference
Z-t>T T>Z-t
Ghigh No.3 2.62 2.03 .041 ×
No.4 3.31 4.03 .006 ×
No.7 2.62 3.24 .036 ×
No.9 1.62 1.03 .035 ×
No.10 1.69 2.31 .039 ×
No.18 2.76 3.55 .015 ×
No.24 1.52 2.45 .001 ×

Glow —— —— —— —— —— ——

Within the same proficiency level, the students in Glow did not report to use more strategies either on Zero-task or on Task condition, but the students in Ghigh employed two more strategies on Zero-task condition while they employed five more strategies on Task condition. The two strategies the students in Ghigh reported use more on Zero-task conditions were No.3 (I try to understand the meaning of every word) and No. 9 (I try to give a word-for-word translation from English to Chinese). This indicates that high levels students had better awareness of listening strategies and would try such strategies as detail associations and translation to help them better understand listening materials. This can be proved on the Task condition where high level students employed five more specific strategies including No.4 (I try to think ahead and anticipate what comes next), No.7 (I try to connect what I hear with information I have gained form experience in the world), No.10 (I group information into different meaningful groups), No.18 (I try to take notes about important information) and No.24 ( I make a summary of the information I heard).
The results showed that high level students were good at listening strategy use. They were more sensitive to listening strategy training. After the eight-week training, they had better understanding and awareness of listening strategies. For specific Task condition, they tended to employ more such cognitive strategies as inferring, associating, grouping, note-taking and summarizing skills to help them gain more information from listening tasks. They tended to use strategies to anticipate before listening and effectively process information by the means of note-taking and grouping, and after the listening they would summarize the information to have a good understanding. On the contrary, low level students didn’t show any significant effects on strategy use on Task condition. This may suggest that low level students were not familiar about specific listening strategies, especially on Task condition, where their reported frequency declined slightly.

5.2.2 Main effects of either of the two task conditions on strategy-by-strategy use by the two proficiency levels.
To compare the difference of strategy use by the two groups in a given task condition, i.e. either on Zero-task or Task condition, we used repeated independent T-test to find out the significance.
Table 5 Significance of strategy use by the two groups on given task conditions
Task condition Strategy Ghigh
Mean Glow
Mean Sig.
p<.05 Difference
Ghigh> Glow Glow > Ghigh
Zero-task No.9 1.62 1.83 .038 ×
No.17 3.93 3.60 .049 ×
Task No.4 4.03 3.39 .029 ×
No.5 3.86 3.00 .022 ×
No.6 3.52 2.73 .036 ×
No.7 3.24 2.30 .025 ×
No.18 3.55 2.30 .010 ×
No.21 3.34 2.26 .007 ×
From table 5, we found that on Zero-task condition, students in Ghigh employed strategy No.17 (If I do not understand some information such as a word or a phrase, I try to guess its meaning basing on relevant information about the topic.) more frequently than students in Glow, while students in Glow used strategy No. 9 (I try to give a word-for-word translation from English to Chinese) more often than students in Ghigh. This indicated that high level students generally would employ their world knowledge to process the incoming information, i.e. the top-down processing, while low level students would employ bottom-up processing method by translating into their mother language in order to help them get the intended meaning of incoming information.
When the two groups were given a specific task, their reported strategy use frequencies varied significantly in six specific strategies. The students in Ghigh reported to employ all of these strategies more frequently than the students in Glow. The six strategies included referencing (No.6 I try to relate what I hear to information I have already studied), making personal association (No.5 I try to make personal association with what I hear and No.7 I try to connect what I hear with information I have gained from experience in the world ), resourcing (No.6 I try to relate what I hear to information I have already studied), and note-taking skills (No.18 I try to take notes about important information and No.21 I try to understand the meaning of the key words). This result supported our findings that high level students use more listening strategies than low level students. In order to achieve a good understanding of listening tasks, high level students tended to use referencing technique more often to anticipate what they would listen. They would also make personal associations and use resourcing skills much more often than low levels students to help them process information more effectively. Moreover, high level students would usually take notes about important information more often than low level students. In a word, when processing information in listening tasks, high level students would employ more cognitive listening strategies and more effectively combine these strategies to achieve good comprehension than low level students do.
5.3 Answer to Research Question 3: Does classroom listening strategy instruction have any effects on students’ strategy use?
Researchers hold that strategy training enhances learners’ motivation (Wenden, 1991, 1998), remove anxiety, reduce uncertainty and foster self-confidence (Niyokos, 1996), thus help improve their language proficiency. Some empirical studies (e.g. Vandergrift, 1999; Teng, 2003; Ma, 2005, etc) revealed that implementing strategy training into classroom instruction could enhance students learning process and improvement of strategy use.
In the present study, before the LSQ on Task condition, the students in both groups received about sixteen hours’ (two hours a week for eight weeks) classroom listening strategy training, including such strategies as how to anticipate, how to infer, how to associate listening information with world knowledge, how to make good use of various resources while listening and how to take notes, etc. One of the present researchers gave them the training. After the training procedures, the students took the listening comprehension test. As soon as they finished the thirty-minute test, the students were asked to do the same LSQ as the one they replied on Zero-task condition.
From the results presented in Table 4, we found out that students in Ghigh did demonstrate significant more strategy use (five specific strategies) on Task condition than they did on Zero-task condition. However, students in Glow did not show any significant difference in the strategy use on the two task conditions. On the other hand, results from Table 5 showed that on the Task condition (after the strategy instructions), students in Ghigh employed more listening strategies (six strategies with significant difference) than students in Glow.
Thus, we drew a tentative conclusion that listening strategy training had significant effects on high level students but had no effects on low level students in their strategy use.
6. Conclusion
The present study investigated the effects of two task conditions (Zero-task and Task) on cognitive listening strategies used by different levels of Chinese EFL learners. Results revealed the following findings:
Firstly, taking cognitive listening strategy as a whole, there were no significant interactive effects between the two variables of tasks and listening proficiency. Even though there was a slight increase for high-level learners and slight decline for low level learners in reported strategy use frequencies from Zero-task to Task condition, the differences were not statistically significant. However, the two groups demonstrated a significant difference in overall strategy use frequency when they had a task. High level learners reported to use strategies much more often then their low level peers.
Secondly, for the specific strategy-by-strategy use, high level learners proved to be better strategy users. On one hand, high level students tend to employ some top-down strategies as inferring, resoucing, making personal association to help them process information. They used these strategies more often when they did a Task than when they had no task. On the other hand, low level learners did not show any significant difference on the two task conditions for their specific strategy use.
Thirdly, strategy training was more effective to high level learners than to low level ones. It enhanced high level students’ improvement of strategy awareness and strategy utilization. However, strategy training was less likely to work well with low level students.

Nevertheless, the current study had its limitations, and further studies need to be conducted to prove the findings.
First, the sample was not large enough to generalize the pattern of learners’ reported strategy use. It would be plausible to use a larger population sample to investigate a more generalized pattern in listening strategy use.
Second, the subjects were grouped by the result of one listening test. It would be more convincing to group subjects with a valid and reliable proficiency test.
Third, the task conditions in the present study were not very clearly defined. We took the listening test including conversations and passages as Task condition. It would be advisable to clearly define tasks, for example, conversation or lectures. What’s more, strategy use frequencies may differ dramatically according to the difficulty of tasks.
Fourth, the listening training duration was not long enough to form a pattern for learners at different proficiency levels. Results may be different if systematic listening strategy training could last for longer time, say several months or a year.
Finally, the current study focused only on cognitive listening strategies. What would be the pattern if more categories of listening strategies were involved?
All these limitations need to be taken into consideration for any further studies about interactive effects of task and proficiency.

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Yu Zhuoya. 2004. An Investigation into Chinese University Students’ Use of Listening Strategies in Their Self-studies on Listening Comprehension: MA thesis, University of Warwick

Out-of-class Language Learning Strategies: The Case of University EFL Learners

Some scholars in the field of TEFL/TESOL maintain that one of the major tasks expected of a language teacher would be to identify their students' learning strategies, so that language instruction can be adapted accordingly (see, e.g., Chamot, 1987). Moreover, students identified as so-called "good language learners" in the literature do take advantage of learning strategies, not only in the classroom but also in the out-of-class acquisition environment. Namely, they use the language even when they are not required to do so and seek opportunities to practice the language, for instance, through attending foreign language movies, listening to TV or radio, using the foreign language with their classmates and friends outside class, etc. Such student-initiated activities which are employed voluntarily by learners outside the language classroom are referred to by Pickard (1996) as out-of-class learning strategies. Out-of-class language learning strategies, as the opportunities accessible to EFL language learners in the environment, constitute a sub-class of language learning strategies in general. Various types of out-of-class language learning strategies applied by university students, majoring in English as a foreign language, and their relative frequency of use have been investigated in this study. Sixty-eight undergraduates and twenty-four MA EFL students (of both males and females) at Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, were surveyed through filling out a questionnaire on the types of learning strategies they applied outside the classroom during their leisure time at home, in the dormitory, in the park, or any other place, in order to improve their proficiency in English. The data obtained were analyzed statistically. After running the chi-square test (α<.05), the obtained frequencies on the use of three out-of-class activities (i.e., reading English magazines, periodicals, and novels) by the participants indicated significant differences between the two groups of undergraduates and graduates, as well as between males and females within the same group. That is, the number of undergraduates reading English magazines turned out to be much fewer than graduates. A similar trend was noticed as for reading English periodicals and novels. As reading and comprehending authentic materials in English requires a virtual mastery of the language, the reason might be attributable to the undergraduates' poor proficiency in English and, in particular, their insufficient vocabulary knowledge, among other things. One more reason might be lack of adequate familiarity with available sources at the library by undergraduates, since they were not allowed to freely enter the section of the library where periodicals and magazines were kept to choose their favorite reading sources. Finally, the overall picture of out-of-class strategies used by the participant EFL learners, regardless of gender and level of education, indicated that receptive skills (i.e., listening and reading) were more frequently practiced by the participants than the productive ones (i.e., speaking and writing). That is, 82.5% of the students taking part in the study reported applying the strategy of listening to foreign English radios, and 71.3% of them reported that they preferred to get engaged in reading English materials such as short stories during their leisure time outside the classroom.
1. Introduction
Learning involves the collaboration of at least two people: a teacher and a learner. Putting aside the role of the teacher for the time being, what do we consider the role of learners to be in second-/foreign-language learning? Why do some EFL/ESL students seem to learn rather easily, whereas others apparently find learning English full of difficulties? Chamot (1987) attributes the issue to the lack of capacity on the part of unsuccessful learners to undertake appropriate learning strategies. For the same reason, Saville-Trioke (as cited in Chamot, 1987) maintains that for more linguistically poor students to discover some special tricks and shortcuts to make second-language learning easier, they need to develop academic competence, or the ability to use the second language as a learning tool. To develop such an ability would require applying learning strategies.
On the other hand, as to the responsibility of teachers to help students benefit from applying learning strategies, Hosenfled (cited in Chamot, 1987) suggests that a teacher's first act should be to identify the students' learning strategies so that instruction can be adapted accordingly.
The area of language learning strategies has rather extensively been investigated by scholars in the field and useful typologies of strategy use have been developed (e.g. Rubin, 1975, 1981; Naiman et al., 1987, cited in Pickard, 1996; O'Malley & Chamot, 1995; Ehrman & Oxford, 1990; Oxford & Ehrman, 1995). Moreover, the importance of out-of-class learning strategies in particular has also been emphasized by some scholars who have conducted research on learning strategies in general. In this respect, Chamot (1987) holds that students identified as “good language learners” do use learning strategies not only in the classrooms but also in the out-of-class acquisition environment.
How do "good language" learners achieve their success? Rubin (1975) strongly believes, "if we knew more about what the 'successful learners' did, we might be able to teach these strategies to poor learners to enhance their success record" (p. 42). She further points out that good language learners use the language even when they are not required to do so and seek opportunities to hear the language, for instance, through attending foreign language movies, listening to TV or radio, using the foreign language with other students outside class. Such student-initiated activities which are employed voluntarily by learners outside the language classroom are referred to by Pickard (1996) as out-of-class learning strategies.
Although some scholars have expressed interest in the area of out-of-class learning strategies, Pickard, who has recently accomplished an investigation on this subject, seems to be justified when he complains of the "paucity of data on the precise nature of the language activities undertaken by learners outside the classroom" (1996, p. 150). Therefore, the subject demands further research, and that is what the present study has intended to undertake.
Defining learning strategies as "optimal means for exploiting available information to improve competence in a second language," Bialystok (1978, P. 71) enumerates four categories of learning strategies: inferencing, monitoring, formal practicing, and functional practicing. Highlighting the role of out-of-class strategies, in line with her model of second-language learning, Bialystok (1981) corresponds these strategies with her latter category of learning strategies, occurring when the learner seeks opportunities to enhance his/her linguistic competency in order to use language for communication. She provides examples like going to movies, reading books, and talking to native speakers.
Wenden (1985) incorporates out-of-class activities such as conversing with a native speaker, watching TV, and listening to the radio under the rubric of "global practice strategies."
Having undertaken a research in China, Huang and Naerssen (1987) discovered that students who were more successful in oral communication reported employing functional practice strategies (after Bialystok, 1987) more frequently that the less successful ones. Examples of functional practicing strategies mentioned in their study include activities such as speaking with other students and native speakers, listening and reading for comprehension, attending lectures, watching films and TV programs, and thinking or talking to oneself in English.
Similarly, a study by Hafiz and Tudor (1989) of a group lf L2 learners indicated that the experimental group, which had spent three months reading for pleasure one hour per day, had made significant progress in enhancing competence in L2.
The data obtained by LoCastro (1994) show that her respondents strongly came to the belief that if one really wanted to learn a language, one had to do extra work outside the regular educational system. Among the reported strategies by her subjects are included activities like listening to radio and TV programs, watching videos of movies, and reading or recitation of materials. Like previous researchers, Green and Oxford (1995) found greater use of learning strategies among more successful learners. More interestingly, their research, relating strategy use to gender as well as to L2 proficiency level, came up with the finding that women use higher levels of strategy than men. In a similar vein, Oxford and Ehrman (1995) found that females tend to use language learning strategies more often that males.
Pickard (1996) conducted a research involving 20 German-speaking first-year undergraduates and found that the participants applied a wide range of out-of-class strategies such as reading English newspapers, novels, magazines, poetry, and letters; listening to the radio or tapes; watching TV programs; attending theater, lectures, and movies. One of the major trends that she found in her study of out-of-class strategies was that the participants "made most use of the activities which they had chosen for their own needs. Activities imposed by teachers [italics added] seemed to be given less consideration" (p. 157).
The present study has attempted to identify the types of out-of-class strategies employed by a sample of EFL students at graduate and undergraduate levels. It has further intended to specify the most frequently-used as well as the most accessible strategies the participants use. Moreover, a comparison has been made among the participants against the variables gender and level of education in terms of out-of-class strategies they employ to enhance proficiency in English.

2. Method
2.1 Participants
Ninety-two university students at Shiraz University took part in this study. Sixty-eight of them, comprised 30 males and 38 females, were majoring in English as a foreign language to obtain a BA. Thirty-six of this group were seniors and 32 juniors. The remaining 24, comprised 15 males and 9 females, were also studying English to obtain a master's degree. The age of the participants, however, has not been considered as a variable in the study.
2.2 Materials
Both graduates and undergraduates were given the same questionnaire on out-of-class learning strategies that they applied to enhance their proficiency in English. Ten major strategies were included. A couple of items contained more that one choice. Except for the last two open-ended items, the remaining items were supposed to be marked by the participants (cf. Appendix). The item before the last asked if any other strategies, other than those included in the questionnaire, were employed by the students. The last one asked about the most accessible strategies available for the participants.
Looking at the content of the questionnaire skillwise, one may notice that the majority of the items are of receptive skills (i.e. listening and reading); speaking and writing constitute just a minimum of the items.
2.3 Procedure
The questionnaire was administered in 5 different classes at different times. Each class was given the questionnaire during part of a session of the class. Two of the classes were undergraduates and the remaining three were graduates. The required instructions as how to complete the questionnaire were provided by the researcher and the students were allotted time enough to fill it in. As the questionnaire was justifiably brief and to the point, no participant failed to fill it out – even the open-ended items received proper responses on the part of the students.

3. Results
The collected questionnaires were categorized first into two major groups: graduates and undergraduates. Each group was further divided into males and females, so that there were eventually four categories: male undergraduates, female undergraduates, male graduates, and female graduates. Then the number of responses given to each item by each category was counted and recorded (cf. tables 1 and 2).
The next step was to look for significant differences, if any. Having the obtained frequencies and computing the unequal expected frequencies, the chi-square (x2) statistic was applied for each item (i.e., for each out-of-class strategy) on the questionnaire across the four categories, having the obtained frequencies and computing the unequal expected frequencies, bearing in mind that the expected frequencies would be unequal, however, except for three items (i.e., 1b, 1c, and 1d, cf. Appendix), across the entire strategy items, with α<.05, and df=3, no significant differences were found among the four categories of participants in terms of out-of-class strategy use. For clarification reasons, part of the computations undertaken for the three significant items to get the obtained values of x2 follows.
1b. Reading English magazines
Male undergrads Female undergrads Male grads Female grads Total
Observed Frequency (O) 25 5 4 10 6
Expected Frequencies (E) 8.25 10.25 4 2.5 25
The obtained value of x2 = 18.8
The critical value of x2 .05(3) = 8.72

1c. Reading English periodicals
Male undergrads Female undergrads Male grads Female grads Total
Observed Frequency (O) 25 1 2 8 4 15
Expected Frequencies (E) 5 6.15 2.4 1.5 15
The obtained value of x2 = 23.6
The critical value of x2 .05(3) = 8.72

1d. Reading English novels
Male undergrads Female undergrads Male grads Female grads Total
Observed Frequency (O) 25 6 13 9 7 35
Expected Frequencies (E) 11.5 14.35 3.6 3.5 35
The obtained value of x2 = 8.09
The critical value of x2 .05(3) = 8.72
Furthermore, the percentage of the students in each category who had completed a specific item was computed (cf. Tables 3 and 4). The percentage of those having answered an item out of the total number of students at each level of education (i.e., BAs and MAs) was further computed in a separate column on each table.
Finally, in order to come up with an overall picture of out-of-class learning strategies applied by EFL learners, regardless of sex or level of education, the mean of the percentage obtained for each level of education totally on each particular item was computed (cf. Table 5).
Table 1
Out-of-class learning strategies used by EFL undergraduates
Out-of-class Strategy Number of males using the strategy (N=30) Number of females using the strategy (N=38) Total
1. Reading English
a. newspapers 22 27 9
b. magazines 5 4 9
c. periodicals 1 2 3
d. novels 6 13 19
e. short stories 23 23 46
f. poems 5 3 8
2. Listening to radio 26 24 50
3. Watching English TV Programs
a. IRIB 13 21 34
b. Foreign Satellites 10 10 20
4. Finding native speakers to practice conversation 19 18 37
5. Writing to a pen friend 4 4 8
6. Attending movies 19 25 44
7. Visiting Eng.-Speaking countries 2 8 10
8. Subscribing to Eng. Periodicals 6 6 12
9. Other strategies
- listening to tapes 5 3 8
- speaking with classmates 2 0 2
10. The most accessible strategies
- listening to radio/tapes 12 9 21
- watching Eng. TV programs 7 13 20
- reading (novels, magazines, etc) 12 10 22
Table 2
Out-of-class learning strategies used by EFL graduate students
Out-of-class Strategy Number of males using the strategy (N=15) Number of females using the strategy (N=9) Total
1. Reading English
a. newspapers 10 4 4
b. magazines 10 6 16
c. periodicals 8 4 12
d. novels 9 7 16
e. short stories 10 8 18
f. poems 6 2 8
2. Listening to radio 15 7 22
3. Watching English TV Programs
a. IRIB 5 5 10
b. Foreign Satellites 6 6 12
4. Finding native speakers to practice conversation 7 4 11
5. Writing to a pen friend 1 4 5
6. Attending movies 7 7 14
7. Visiting Eng.-Speaking countries 1 2 3
8. Subscribing to Eng. Periodicals 1 1 2
9. Other strategies
- listening to tapes 3 1 4
- speaking with classmates
10. The most accessible strategies
- listening to radio/tapes 8 3 11
- watching Eng. TV programs 9 6 15
- reading (novels, magazines, etc) 11 6 17
- soliloquy (talking to oneself) 1 0 1



Table 3
Percentage of undergraduates using each out-of-class strategy
Out-of-class Strategy % of males using the strategy (N=30) % of females using the strategy (N=38)
1. Reading English
a. newspapers 73 71
b. magazines 16.5 10.5
c. periodicals 3.3 5.2
d. novels 20 34.5
e. short stories 76.6 60.5
f. poems 16.6 7.8
2. Listening to radio 86.6 63
3. Watching English TV Programs
a. IRIB 43.3 55.2
b. Foreign Satellites 33.3 26.3
4. Finding native speakers to practice conversation 63.7 47.3
5. Writing to a pen friend 13.3 10.5
6. Attending movies 63.3 65.7
7. Visiting Eng.-Speaking countries 6.6 26.3
8. Subscribing to Eng. Periodicals 20 15.7
9. Other strategies
- listening to tapes 16.6 7.8
- speaking with classmates 6.6 0
10. The most accessible strategies
- listening to radio/tapes 40 24
- watching Eng. TV programs 23.3 34.2
- reading (novels, magazines, etc) 40 26.3




Table 4
Percentage of graduates using each out-of-class strategy
Out-of-class Strategy % of males using the strategy (N=15) % of females using the strategy (N=9)
1. Reading English
a. newspapers 66.6 44.4
b. magazines 66.6 66.6
c. periodicals 53.3 44.4
d. novels 60 77.7
e. short stories 66.6 84.4
f. poems 40 22.2
2. Listening to radio 100 77.7
3. Watching English TV Programs
a. IRIB 33.3 55.5
b. Foreign Satellites 40 66.6
4. Finding native speakers to practice conversation 46.6 44.4
5. Writing to a pen friend 6.6 44.4
6. Attending movies 46.6 77.7
7. Visiting Eng.-Speaking countries 6.6 22.2
8. Subscribing to Eng. Periodicals 6.6 11.1
9. Other strategies
- listening to tapes 20 11.1
- speaking with classmates
10. The most accessible strategies
- listening to radio/tapes 53.3 33.3
- watching Eng. TV programs 60 66.6
- reading (novels, magazines, etc) 73.3 66.6
- soliloquy (talking to oneself) 4.1 0



Table 5
Mean percentage of both grads and undergrads using each out-of-class strategy
Out-of-class Strategy % of students using the strategy (N=92)
1. Reading English
a. newspapers 65
b. magazines 39.5
c. periodicals 27.2
d. novels 47
e. short stories 71.3
f. poems 22.4
2. Listening to radio 82.5
3. Watching English TV Programs
a. IRIB 45.8
b. Foreign Satellites 39.7
4. Finding native speakers to practice conversation 52.2
5. Writing to a pen friend 16.2
6. Attending movies 61.5
7. Visiting Eng.-Speaking countries 15.5
8. Subscribing to Eng. Periodicals 13
9. Other strategies
- listening to tapes 14.2
10. The most accessible strategies
- listening to radio/tapes 38.5
- watching Eng. TV programs 46
- reading (novels, magazines, etc) 51.5

4. Discussion
A passing glance at the data on Tables 1 to 5 would spot the following outstanding features.
As it was mentioned under results, the obtained frequencies on items 1b, 1c, and 1d (reading English magazines, periodicals, and novels, respectively) across the four categories of subjects indicate significant differences after running the chi-square test (α<.05). This means that the number of undergraduates reading English magazines is fewer than what is expected in comparison to graduates, who relatively seem to read more magazines—even more than what is expected. A similar orientation is noticed as for reading English periodicals as well as novels. The reason might be attributable to the undergraduates' poorer vocabulary knowledge, since reading such authentic materials, among other things, demands a fairly rich vocabulary knowledge on the part of the reader. Another reason may be the lack of sufficient familiarity with available sources at the library, partly due to difficulty of access for undergraduates to the periodicals and magazines section of the library. (Undergraduates are not allowed to freely enter the section of the library where periodicals and magazines are kept.)
The overall picture of out-of-class strategies used by EFL learners, regardless of gender and level of education, as portrayed in Table 5, indicates that most use is made of receptive skills, i.e., listening and reading, by the participants, so that all in all 82.5% of the students taking part in this study report applying the strategy of listening to foreign English radios. The activity of listening (to either radio or tapes) has, furthermore, been reported as one of the most accessible out-of-class strategies by some of the participants.
Similarly, reading short stories, preferred to be used by 71.3% of the entire participants, stands the next chance to be undertaken by a majority of the students. The activity of reading materials outside the official educational system has further been reported, along with listening, to be one of the most accessible out-of-class learning strategies by more than 50% of the participants.
The pervasiveness of receptive skills as out-of-class strategies might suggest the fact that availability of speaking opportunities for the students in the learning environment is limited.
Finally, although Huang and Naerssen (1987) report "talking to oneself" (soliloquy) as one of the out-of-class strategies employed by their students, it seems that few students from among the participants in this study made use of this cheapest and most accessible strategy! (Only one participant reported that he applied soliloquy as an out-of-class learning strategy.)

References
Bialystok, E. (1978). A theoretical model of second language learning, Language Learning, 28 (1), 69-83.
Bialystok, E. (1981). The role of conscious strategies in second language proficiency. Modern Language Journal, 65 (2), 24-35. Chamot, A. U. (1987). The learning strategies of ESL students. In A.
Ehrman, M. E. & Oxford, R. (1990). Adult language learning styles and strategies in an intensive training setting. The Modern Language Journal, 74 (3), 311-327.
Green, J. M. & Oxford, R. (1995). A closer look at learning strategies, L2 proficiency, and gender. TESOL Quarterly, 29 (2), 261-297.
Hafiz, M. & Tudor, I. (1989). Extensive reading and the development of language
skills. ELT Journal, 43 (1), 4-13.
Huang, X. & Naerssen, M. V. (1987). Learning strategies for oral communication. Applied Linguistics, 8 (3), 287-307
LoCastro, V. (1994). Learning strategies and learning environments. TESOL Quarterly, 28 (2), 409-414
O'Malley, J. M. & Chamot, A. U. (1995). Learning strategies in second language acquisition (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Oxford, R. & Ehrman, M. E. (1995). Adults' language learning strategies in an intensive foreign language program in the United States. System, 23 (2), 359-386.
Pickard, N. (1996). Out-of-class language learning strategies. ELT Journal, 50 (2), 150-159.
Rubin, J. (1975). What the "good language learner" can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9 (1), 41-51.
Rubin, J. (1981). Study of cognitive processes in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 2, 117-131.
Rubin, J. (1987). Learner strategies: Theoretical assumptions, research history and typology. In A. Wenden & J. Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 71.83). Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall.
Wenden, A L.(1985). Learner strategies. TESOL Newsletter, XIX (5), 1-7.

USING RESEARCH FINDINGS TO DESIGN

An in-service training programme which is one of of the many ways to improve or to increase the teacher quality can be well designed on the basis of research findings. By utilising the findings the programme developer will be able to define objectives and fulfil the needs of the teachers. The findings will be identified, selected, and analysed to obtain the real view of the weaknesses and critical events. After formulating the objectives of the training programme, some decisions concerning with the instructional activities, materials for demonstrations and drills are designed. Some common linguistic mistakes and expressions made by the primary school teachers teaching EYL are, among others, inappropriate pronunciation of some vowels- /a, ei, I, and e/, some selected consonants / z, ᶿ, ᶞ,ḉ/, structural items concerning plurality, pronouns, tenses and the use of “be”, and classroom language. Teaching techniques such as telling and reading stories, playing games, chants with action, and singing action songs are also trained.

Key words: research findings, in-service training, EYL teachers


Rationale
Historically speaking, as a matter of fact, the genesis of the inclusion of English as one of the school subjects in Indonesia was as early as 1945, the time when World War II and the Revolution against the Dutch ended. Since then, the Indonesian government has made a decision to adopt English as the first foreign language taught in high schools (Kasbolah, 1988:50). Further, since the issue of the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 096/1967, English has been incorporated into the secondary- school curriculum as a compulsory subject to be taken by secondary-school students. Thus, prior to the launch of the 1994 Curriculum, English was only introduced at the secondary schools. However, due to the globalisation impact on the English teaching strategies in ASEAN countries, Indonesia, as one of the member-states, has attempted to introduce English as early as the elementary-school age (Gunarwan in Ho and Ward, 2000:312-325). This policy has been legalised by the launch of the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 060/U/1993 dated 25th February 1993 and the Decree of the Provincial Department of Education and Culture, East Java, no. 1702/104/M/94 SK dated 30th March 1994 (the Basic Course Outlines for English at the Primary Education) postulating that Eng¬lish can be taught to elementa¬ry-school-aged learners.
However, due to the lack of unfavourable conditions in Indonesia, for instance, the unavailability of sufficiently good English teachers (Retmono, 1994:82-91) , the English instruction is determined as a local content subject at the elementary-school level provided that (1) the society in which the school is located requires it, and (2) the school meets certain qualifications, such as: the provi¬sion of English teachers with a sufficient breadth of knowledge of 'Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Young Learners' and facilities accommodating teaching-learning activities in English. The resolution into the implementation of the subject, thus, relies on the school principal and school’s conditions.
Some previous studies in relation to the implementation of English instruction for young learners have been conducted and yield the subsequent results. First, Huda (1994:82-91) and Astika (1996:118-129) discovered that although the government’s plan to introduce English at the elementary schools has received opposing responses, many elementary schools and private English courses have included English in their programmes beginning from the fourth year or even earlier. Second, another empirical evidence by Wahjanti (1978) discovered that prior to the legitimate launch of the minister’s decree on the English instruction for young learners in 1994, twenty-two (22) elementary schools in Pemerintah Kota (Pemkot) Malang had introduced English as an extra-curricular subject. Rachmajanti et al. (ibid) found out that out of 352 SDs in Pemkot Malang, 51% of which (181 elementary schools) have taught English as a local-content subject – 80% government schools and 20% private ones. Third, a three-year research conducted by Suyanto and Rachmajanti (2001—2003) has shown that most EYL teachers teaching in the primary schools are not qualified to teach English to young learners because of their education background. They are assigned to teach English by their principals because their schools have English programmes as a local content subject. In addition, it was identified a list of common mistakes on pronunciation & intonation, grammatical items and diction. Teacher participants often admitted that they did not feel confident to include games, stories and songs in their teaching, but they have high motivation and are willing to learn how to carry them out in the classroom. Fourth, a trace study carried out by Rachmajanti (2005) showed that the most effective grade to start teaching English in the primary school is in the 4th grade, not earlier since the young learners are still focusing on learning basic knowledge like Indonesian and Mathematics.
Thus, the classroom teachers of this level are the ones who really require the English for Young Learners (EYL) training. The main purpose of this paper is to inform the in-service training developers that they might benefit relevant research findings to develop some innovations for EYL teachers in-service training programmes.

Developing training programmes

Developing training programmes is one of the most persuasive yet most understood activities to be found in the human resource development. As the development of human
resource is concerned with learning, particularly in education setting, the task of developing is crucial. After having conducted some studies on EYL, we realised that we can make use of those findings to design a training programme to assist teachers in improving and increasing their teaching skills.
Designing a training programme takes time, energy, and patience.Thus, we have to be realistic considering the situation and teacher condition as well. The focus of our programme is to equip the teachers with some practical skills so that they are able to practise them in their EYL class. The main idea of our training programme is an open model which is flexible and may be changed to meet the teachers’ need. This open model is more beneficial particularly with those under the local condition.

This in-service training is designed for one-to-two day programme or eight-to-sixteen hour activity. Why that short? There are some reasons as follows. First, teachers need not leave their students for long time. Second, the main focus of the programme will be on practical training and it facilitates teachers to reduce their drawbacks as appropriate solution to the identified problems and findings. The following is the procedure of developing an in-service training programme employing the research findings.
 Identifying teachers’ need from the research findings
 Defining training objectives
 Designing training programme
 Selecting strategies and materials
 Developing a form of assessment/feedback
 Conducting the training
It should be noted that most of the activities are in the forms of doing something, for instance, drills (listen, identify, repeat), simulation, demonstration, and presentation. To make it clear, have a look at the subsequent flow diagram.






























On the basis of the research findings, it was discovered that the primary school teachers teaching EYL have some common linguistic mistakes in pronunciation of some vowels- /au, ei, I, and e/, and some selected consonants / z, ᶿ, ᶞ,ḉ, ᶨ/; structural items concerning plurality, pronouns, tenses and the use of “be”, and some expressions dealing with classroom language.

Pronunciation (Phonological Aspects)
We are witnessing a number of phonological mistakes which are communication-based. These mistakes are made by the teachers who join a number of workshops and trainings related to the studies on the EYL instruction. There are several studies conducted to obtain the facts about the implementation of EYL programme which has been officially carried out since 1999 in Indonesia.
Some try-out activities in the forms of workshops and teacher trainings are the right places to notice the teachers’ weaknesses in pronouncing the English utterances. As what we found in the past (Suyanto and Chotijah, 2000) that most primary teachers teaching English (80%) do not hold English education diploma, it could be accepted that they make a lot of mispronounced words. In this case we only focus on particular speech sounds which tend to make changes in meaning of the context or utterances, shown by the minimal pairs as follows.

Vowels /u/ : /u:/ ---> foot : food
/I/ : /ei/ ---> kick : cake
/I/ : /i:/ ---> ship : sheep
/ei/ :/ᵆ/ ---> snake: snack

Initial consonants / ᶿ/ : /t/ : /s/ ---> thank : tank : sank
/ ᶿ/ : /t/ ---> three : tree

Final consonants /ḉ/ : /ᵌ/ ---> church : George
touch : judge
much

In brief, contrasting sounds which are very similar and frequently cause confusion is a popular way of getting the participants to concentrate on specific aspects of pronunciation. Having been trained the minimal pairs, they are encountered by practising the focused sounds separately, for example:
“It’s very cheap”
“The ship is grey”
“Thank you”
“It’s a tank”


Structural Pattern
In addition to mispronunciation of particular English sounds, the teachers also come across some troublesome structural patterns as observed during the training, as follows.

The –s ending ---> to show plurality : many book
to show 3rd person singular: he read


Overgeneralisation --->the use of “am”for “I”: Do you like … ? Yes, I am (not I do)
What do you like? I am like ( not I like)





Classroom Language
Classroom situations are quite concrete and most classroom phrases have a very clear situational link. The majority of classroom phrases are given in the imperative form although later teachers are recommended to make the use of the wide range of variations (Hughes, 1990:13-20).
It was evident that teachers tend to employ wordy instructions when teaching young learners which may confuse the children. Instead of using “imperatives”, complete statements are expressed. For instance, “Please listen and repeat” is replaced by the sentence “Children, you listen the word and you repeat after me”. Or the teacher will express “Students, I’m going to read the text on page …, you open your book” instead of saying “Open your book on page …”.
During the training activities, teachers are also trained (and drilled) to use simple English the so-called “teacher talk”. Classroom phrases or teacher talk can be covered in the training and ensure the teachers that they may use them at the beginning, the middle and the end of their EYL class (Suyanto, 2007:31-32). Here are some examples:
“Now, listen!”
“ Let’s begin!”
“Work in pairs”
“Try again”
“Close your book”


Implementation of such a Short Training
Many people believe that it takes long time to conduct a training- even the longer the better. However, a one-day training is recommended here on the basis of a number of reasons such as findings, finance, time and distance.

Findings. This training is a problem-finding-based programme. Out of the research findings particular weaknesses could be identified and selected based on the frequency of occurrence. It was discovered that the teacher variable is the source of weakness, of which this is selected for the training.

Finance. This is an independent training, not managed by the government or the Ministry of National Education and Culture. The trainees will spend their own money for the registration, training kit and lunch. Many times this training is financially supported by the local National Education Office and the English Education Department of a particular School of Education and publishers.

Time and Distance. Teachers are willing to attend a short training programme since they only leave school just for a day (about 8 hours). Yet, they will be able to apply what they have obtained in such a training. Attending meaningful training requires a significant amount of time and reasonable cost. The distance to the training venue is within the participants’ reach.



Hence, in order to carry out the programmes, there are some alternative ways to adapt, among others:
• Primary school teachers' association (KKG for instance) may cooperate with
the regional office of national education (Kandiknas).
• The teachers' association and the Kandiknas may invite sponsors available
in a particular region to support the in-service training programme.
• A particular outstanding primary school might request a foundation on education development by writing a proposal for such an activity and finance
the activity.
• Conducting community services provides good opportunities for primary school teachers to apply new strategies.

Here are two models of one-day training programme adopting the following activities and schedule.

Model 1 One-day Training on EYL Practical Teaching Techniques

Background
Children like stories, songs and games. Unfortunately not all teachers are able to do them appropriately. Many teachers make mistakes in linguistic components like pronunciation, intonation, and using structural items and lack in vocabulary. They also have problems in using classroom language.

Objectives
1. To equip teachers with practical skills to tell stories using media.
2. To help teachers to use classroom language correctly.
3. To train teachers how to select and assist them in teaching children employing games and songs.

Schedule (Time and Activities)

07:00 – 07:30 Registration
07:30 – 08:00 Opening and Information
08:00 – 09:00 Telling and Reading Stories
09:00 - 09:30 Classroom language
09:30 – 11:00 Playing games
11:00 – 12:00 Singing action songs
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch Break and Prayer
13:00 – 14:30 Group Discussion and Demonstration
14:30 – 15:30 Presentation and Reflection
15:30 – 16:00 Feedback and Closing






Model 2 One-day Training on Authentic Assessment

Background
Many teachers realized that they do not familiarise much with the breadth of knowledge of authentic assessment and never assess students’ oral English performances.

Objectives
1. To equip teachers with practical knowledge of authentic assessment.
2. To train teachers how to develop instruments to assess the students’ performances.

Schedule (Time and Activities)

07:00 – 07:30 Registration
07:30 – 08:00 Opening and Information
08:00 – 09:30 What is “Authentic Assessment”
09:30 – 11:00 Various Kinds of Authentic Assessment
11:00 – 12:00 Oral and Written Language of Young Learners
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch Break and Prayer
13:00 – 14:30 Developing Assessment Items in Groups
14:30 – 15:30 Group Presentation and Reflection
15:30 – 16:00 Feedback and Closing


Concluding Remarks
In brief, we would like to reemphasise how important research findings are for the development of an education, training programme and EYL teacher training. Four things have been pointed up in this paper as follows.
1. Research findings are not only the solutions of education problems but they could also be the basis of designing a training programme. Short in- service courses may offer useful learning and social as well academic contact with other teachers. These programmes can very often be more beneficial and relevant to their own needs, because they are locally organized in provincial area, town, or even in-house training. Exciting meetings/conferences and short trainings may enable teachers to update and innovate themselves on the latest published materials, learn new techniques and meet other professionals to share teaching experiences.
2. One-day training could be meaningful and helpful for the primary school teachers if they are actively involved in the activities. Learning by doing implementing simulations, demonstrations, and presentations will be the most appropriate activities.
3. So far 25 (twenty-five) trainings involving 3112 teachers have been conducted
in some provinces in Indonesia-East Java, North and West Sumatra, East Kalimantan, Gorontalo and some other parts of this country. The training activities have been attended by hundreds of primary school teachers who mostly do not have any English education background. They have provided positive feedback and suggest that such activities help them cope with their problems.
4. In order to stimulate the teachers’ creativity, trainers have selected the most frequently occurred findings. This training is a weakness-based and problem-based- programme.

It can be seen from the above discussion that succesful training programmes based on research findings depend on many factors incorporating the teachers’ motivation as well as the trainers’.

Teaching Vocabulary Using 3D Films for Toddlers:

As many teachers can attest, many students especially toddlers are more interested in language learning when films are involved, especially 3D cartoon films such as Finding Nemo and Cars. These three films have some linguistic features that can be used as materials for teaching vocabulary for young learners especially toddlers.
Many learning skills can be acquired from these films, but for toddler, vocabulary may be the easiest and practical skill. By using these films, they will learn new vocabulary as well as the visual images to help their understanding, such as under water creatures, kinds of fish, underwater activities, things used when swimming in Finding Nemo. While in Cars, they can learn about the word adjectives such as the characteristics of cars in the movie whether they are good or bad, kind and helpful etc. They will also learn how to apply those new words in simple sentences. So that, they will know the meaning of the new words and know how to apply those new words in simple sentences.
They can learn the new vocabulary in these films by using mind mapping and stem statements techniques. Mind mapping is the technique to remember new words by categorizing them into their groups. It will make them easy to remember those new words. While the stem statements technique is the technique use to help them to memorize the new word by using them in sentences. The use of these activities is to minimize the stress burden that the students have when they are introduced to the new vocabulary. By using these techniques, they will not only memorize and learn the new vocabulary but they also feel it like having fun in learning.
Some supported materials are also needed in this mind mapping learning process such as large papers or cartoon where the teacher can write down the new vocabulary and the children are asked to group those new words. But before that, the students must be introduced the new words while they are watching the films. While for stem statements, the teacher will write some sentences on the large papers and the students are asked to write some words to complete the sentences.
The advantages of using these techniques, besides strengthen their understanding of those new vocabulary, the students can also learn the visual image of the things they learn so that they will remember the words, the meaning and how to use those words in their daily life. Although, these kind of learning techniques give a lot of advantages, but still teachers need to be aware of some features of the films which can be the disadvantages of learning.

Key Words : Vocabulary, 3D films, mindmapping, stem statements


Introduction
Have you ever thought why a language learner (even an advanced one) can hear a difficult English word or phrase literally thousands of times and still cannot use that word in the way that a native speaker does? After several exercises on that words, perhaps he or she can start using the word. Children also experience this. They have heard some new English words, and they are quite familiar with those but they cannot apply them in sentences. This is a classical problem in acquiring new vocabulary, not only for children but also for adult. Before a child can produce sentences in English, she or he must have some vocabulary and they have practiced a lot with those. They may get those vocabularies from school, textbook, magazine, television and also films. Films can be used as the effective media of teaching vocabulary for children, especially toddler because films are interesting, colorful and attractive. They hear new English words from films and they repeat it several times and eventually, they will get familiar with these words. If possible, teacher or parents can accompany them and give them explanation or may be give stress on the words they would like to teach by saying the words aloud and ask them to repeat the words, so that they can listen to the word louder and clearly. After that the teacher can classify the words or vocabulary they learned by using mind mapping. Mind mapping is a diagram which is used to represent words, ideas, thoughts, numbers in a simpler form which connects all the ideas together and hence will be easier for the viewers to quickly grasp the ideas. This technique is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas. The last step is teaching them how to use those new vocabularies in sentences. It is very important because it will mean nothing if they know the words (and the meaning) but they cannot apply or use it in sentences. Stem statement can be used as the media for children (also adult) to practice applying new words in sentences. Stem statement is an illustration of how a sentence is constructed. Here, the subject is the stem and it has several branches where the new words are put, such as adjective, noun, verb and adverb (see illustration 1 and 2). The use of mind mapping and stem statement will help children’s understanding of new words and how to apply them in simple sentences.
Why Vocabulary?
Before a language learner can produce a sentence in English, they must have equipped themselves with sufficient vocabularies. Therefore, learning vocabulary is very important for language learners, especially in early ages where it is said that they have the ability to memorize many words easier than adult. However, the way the teacher present the new vocabulary also play important role in the learning process. The old ways of learning vocabulary such as memorizing some new words and its meaning is considered not effective enough because children only know the meaning of those words without being able to apply them in sentences.
According to Frost (2008), there are several things that students may need to know about learning a vocabulary. They are: (1) What it means,it is vital to get across the meaning of the item clearly and to ensure that your students have understood correctly with checking questions, (2) The form, students need to know if it is a verb/a noun/an adjective etc to be able to use it effectively, (3) How it is pronounced, this can be particularly problematic for learners of English because there is often no clear relation between how a word is written and how it is pronounced, (4) How it is spelt, this is always difficult in English for the reason mentioned above. Remember to clarify the pronunciation before showing the written form, (5) If it follows any unpredictable grammatical patterns, for example, man-men / information (uncountable) and if the word is followed by a particular preposition (e.g. depend on ), (6) The connotations that the item may have, bachelor is a neutral/positive word whereas spinster conjures a more negative image, (7) How the word is related to others, for example, synonyms, antonyms, lexical sets, etc. Perhaps, for teaching children item number 1- 5 will be enough.

Why 3D Films?
There are many things we can do to make the learning process more memorable for our learners, especially for children. Such as using pictures, films, interesting contexts and stories can help memory and giving the children the opportunity to practise the new vocabulary in personalised and meaningful tasks are also essential tools. The idea of using films because they are colourful, attractive, enjoyable, and the characters in the films produces sounds which can be imitated by the children. 3D films, in this case we use Cars and Finding Nemo, are even better because the colour they have are brighter, more lively, more attractive with the actual people voices filled by famous actors and actresses. Classic cartoon films such as Mickey Mouse, Tom and Jerry or maybe Cinderella have less bright colour, less attractive and exposes more on movement or motion instead of the conversations or dialogue between the characters in the films. The other reason is these cartoon films also give simple moral messages to children, for example in Finding Nemo, it teaches the children to obey what parent said and in Cars, it teaches children not be arrogant, selfish and teaches them to be helpful and kind.

Why Using Mind-Mapping?
There are many techniques used in teaching vocabulary. Why using mind mapping? What is mind mapping? How to use it? What are the advantages of using it compared to other techniques? Mind mapping is a diagram which is used to represent words, ideas, thoughts, numbers in a simpler form which connects all the ideas together and hence will be easier for the viewers to quickly grasp the ideas. This technique is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas. Children (also adult) are easier to memorize new words when they are classified based on specific characteristics such as colours, pictures, genre, field, variety, etc. Mind mapping has an organised display of information which will help the children understand the new words they learned. Not only that, it also help them to understand the whole story of the films they watched, because the idea of films converted into a map or draft.
According to Steele (2008) there are several steps need to be considered in making mind mapping, such as: (1) Choosing a topic, in young-adult class, students are given a topic to write on by the teacher and the continue it, but in children class, teacher will make the map or draft by choosing the topics (about Nemo and Cars) and involving the children in making it although the teacher herself who write the sentences, (2) Note making once the topic has been introduced, the teacher encourages the children to close their eyes and think about it for a minute or two, in silence. They then have to say aloud what they think. If they do not know a word in English, they can write it in L1, the the teacher will help translate the word in English, (3) Feedback, the next stage, in which the teacher makes a collective mind map on the board, is optional, but is useful for children who are new to the idea of mind maps, or for weak classes. It is also in this feedback stage that any remaining language problems can be ironed out.
Making a mind map should be a spontaneous pre-writing activity. Students start with a topic at the centre and then generate a web of ideas from that, developing and relating these ideas as their mind makes associations. Mind maps work well as their visual design enables students to see the relationship between ideas, and encourages them to group certain ideas together as they proceed. Mind maps work especially well when created in groups, since the discussion this engenders aids the production of ideas, and makes the task livelier and more enjoyable.
These are the examples of mind mapping of Finding Nemo and Cars.










Why Using Stem Statement?
After being able classifying, understand the words and their meaning, the children are expected to be able to apply those new words in sentences. They will be introduced to stem statement which will help them to make simple sentences. Why using stem statement? What is the advantage? Stem statement is an illustration of how a sentence is constructed. Here, the subject is the stem and it has several branches where the new words are put, such as adjective, noun, verb and adverb. The use of mind mapping and stem statement will help children’s understanding of new words and how to apply them in simple sentences. The advantages of using stem statement is that the children can illustrate how the sentence is constructed, for example a sentence begins with a subject and it can be followed by adjective or verb. For example they have learn some part of speeches in Finding Nemo, such as happy, nervous, afraid (adjectives), play, swim, touch (verb), bubbles, pebbles, coral (noun), and freely, happily, slowly (adverb), and in Cars, rear view mirror, bumper, wheel engine (noun), arrogant, selfish, helpful, kind (adjective), run, fix, start, stop (verb), and also safely, friendly, helpfully, kindly (adverb) but they do not know how to use them in sentences. Firstly, they should be taught which the subject is and how to form the sentence if it is followed by adjectives, noun, verb and adverb.
These are the example of stem statements of Finding Nemo and Cars


Conclusion
Mind mapping and stem statement are two of effective ways in teaching vocabulary for children (toddlers). Mind mapping is used to classify the words and its part of speech while stem statement is used to help children construct the new vocabulary in sentences. Teacher’s role is very important in this kind of learning process considering the students are children. They are not as active and fast as young-adult learners, but with the use of 3D films, they are expected to be active and able to follow the story and remember the words in the films.

DISCOURSE ON POLYGAMY IN INDONESIA

Introduction

A heated public debate has been going on among Muslims in Indonesia about polygamy recently and allegations by feminists that the interpretation of the Koran is dominated by a male point of view are worth contemplating, particularly when it concerns women’s interest like polygamy.
This study tries to find out (1) how meanings are realized in the discourse on polygamy in Indonesia recently; (2) how ideologies are imbedded in the discourse; (3) what the implications of this study towards language and literacy education are.

Key words: allegation, polygamy, lust, unequal, divorce, elimination, infidels, distrust, grand narratives, betrayal, interpretation, intellect, genitals, hormones, solution, aspiration, perfect justice, ardent desire, construed, cultural transformation, epitome, dignity, compassion, protection, benefactors, mating, instinct, sexual drive, fertile periods, restrain, adultery, polyandry.

The Framework of Thoughts
Communication has been unsatisfactorily defined in spite of the fact that it is one of those human activities that everyone recognizes. There are two main schools in the study of communication. First, communication is seen as the transmission of messages – how senders and receivers encode and decode, with how transmitters use the channels and media of communication. Second, communication is seen as the production and exchange of meanings. It is concerned with how messages, or texts, interact with people in order to produce meanings. In other words, the role of text in our culture is the central idea.
We realize just how small our global society has become during this age of communication. We are aware of the ever-increasing knowledge base that exists today to be passed on to our students. The value of knowledge increases as it is shared. How can we begin to understand another way of thinking? How can we be sensitized to different cultural frames? One answer to put forward is by reading, writing and discussing texts. In Paulo Freire’s (1987) words, our challenge is to teach our students to read not only the word but also the world.
Literacy comes to suggest a capacity to talk and, hence, to think about complicated issues and abstract problems. The most important question is how are meanings made in talking in particular and in everyday linguistic interactions in general? To analyze and explain this question we need principles and techniques of a certain approach of language. The systemic Functional Approach is increasingly being recognized as providing a very useful descriptive and interpretive framework for viewing language as a strategic, meaning-making resource. Michael Halliday (1985), the linguist most responsible for the development of systemic linguistics, prefaces his 1985 systemic description of English grammar with an open-ended list of twenty-one possible application of systemic theory.
Common to all systemic linguists is an interest in how people use language with each other in accomplishing everyday social life. This interest leads systemic linguists to advance four main theoretical claims: that language is functional; that the function is to make meanings; that these meanings are influenced by social and cultural context around which they are exchanged; and that the language use is semiotic process, a process of making meanings by choosing.
Systemic linguistics does not only ask functional questions about how people are using language, but it also interprets the linguistic system itself from a functional-semantic approach. Language users do not interact in order to exchange sounds with each other, or even to exchange words or sentences. People interact in order to make meanings; to make sense of the world and of each other. The overall purpose of language then can be described as a semantic one, and each we participate in is a record of the meanings that have been made in a particular context.
Meaning production is a dynamic act. When the text and the audience are members of a tightly knit culture or subculture, the interaction is smooth and effortless, the connotations and myth upon which the text draws fit closely, if not exactly, with those of the audience members. Reader and the text together produce the preferred meaning, and this collaboration the reader is constituted as someone with a particular set of relationships to the dominant value system and to the rest of society. This is ideology at work.
But in other cases, the meanings are produced with a much greater sense of strain. The preferred reading texts may come easily to some, but for others it may be the cause of stress or disagreement. They made decode it by oppositional or negotiated codes, not by the dominant ‘easy’ one. In other words, their myths by which they understand the existing phenomena are different from those that the dominant one assumes.
Ideology theories stress that all communication and all meanings have socio-political dimension, and that they cannot be understood outside their social context. This ideological work always favors the status quo, for the class with power dominates the production and distribution not only of goods but also of ideas and meanings. The economic system is organized in their interest, and the ideological system derives from it and works to promote, naturalize, and disguise it. Whatever their differences, all ideological theories agree that ideology works to maintain class domination; their differences lie in the ways in which this domination is exercised, the degree of its effectiveness, and the extent of the resistance it meets.

The Method of Investigation
The data of this study is gained from The Jakarta Post published in the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007. The data is in the form articles concerning polygamy following the announcement made by the famous Indonesian Muslim cleric, Aa Gym, that he had taken a second wife.
This study is a descriptive-qualitative and explanatory in nature. Qualitative, because it is connected with how well the phenomena are, rather than with how much of it there are. It is verbal explanation rather than numerical one. Descriptive, because it describes what a phenomena is like. It shows the social, cultural and language phenomena in verbal description. And explanatory, because it gives the reasons of the phenomena described.
In an attempt to find the answer to the first query, five key sets of resources for making meaning introduced by J.R. Martin and David Rose (2003) are employed. They are appraisal, ideation, conjunction, identification and periodicity. Appraisal is concerned with evaluation: the kinds of attitudes that are negotiated in a text, the strength of the feelings involved and the ways in which values are sourced and readers aligned. Appraisals are interpersonal kinds of meanings, which realize variations in the tenor of social interactions enacted in a text.
Ideation focuses on the content of a discourse; what kinds of activities are undertaken, and how participants undertaking these activities are described and classified. These are ideational kinds of meanings that realize the field of a text.
Conjunction looks at inter-connections between activities: reformulating them, adding to them, sequencing them and explaining them. These are also ideational types of meanings, but of the subtype ‘logical’. Logical meanings are used to form temporal, causal and other kinds of connectivity.
Identification is concerned with tracking participants: with introducing people, places and things into a discourse and keeping track of them once there. These are textual resources, concerned with how discourse makes sense to the reader by keeping track of identities.
Periodicity considers the rhythm of discourse; the layers of prediction that flag for readers what’s to come, and the layers of consolidation that formulate the meanings made. These are also textual kinds of meanings, concerned with organizing discourse as pulses of information.

The Debate
Sirikit Syah (The Jakarta Post, 12/08/06:6) remarked that polygamy breaks no rules and that is permitted by Islam. He said: “We have seen how Aa Gym smoothly handled the issue of polygamy. He and his first wife did not need to state in public that they still loved each other: their gestures already said it. In Islam, when the wife is ikhlas (accepts wholeheartedly), the husband loves her more, and treats her better. He quoted Aa Gym’s first wife as saying: “If you are ikhlas, Allah will help you and there will be a hikmah (blessing in disguise) behind all this seemingly painful experience”.
Daniel Hummel (The Jakarta Post, 12/08/06:7) pointed out that polygamy does serve a purpose. He said: “Polygamy plugs into a system of inheritance, the non-usury-economy, trade, child support, charity, etc., that seeks to stabilize the social economy. Polygamy is not for everyone, but its existence allows a man to take care of more than one woman, especially since Islam specifies that each wife must have a separate residence. He is of the opinion that polygamy is important. He said:
“There are some women who are widowed with no family support, who need a man who can support them. Charity only goes so far in this world. A good economy benefits many, but leaves many more out. Child support is helpful if proper laws exist to enforce it, and inheritance works if there is something to receive. Polygamy is important. It’s a solution to a problem, not an outlet for lust, and therefore not unequal.”

Zi Tjahjono (The Jakarta Post, 12/10/06: 1) believed that men and women were not created equal. She said: “I am not saying everyone should agree to polygamy and cheer it on, or follow the suits of those who practice it as a hobby and flaunt their polygamic achievement. If my husband wishes to marry another woman, I will let him do so, but only after his responsibility for the future of my child has been assured and he has granted me a proper divorce.”
On the contrary, Dewi Chandraningrum (The Jakarta Post, 12/12/06:6) pointed out that the Prophet Muhammad himself and the Koran strongly object to the practice of polygamy. She said: “Muhammad was faithful to the principle of monogamy with his wife Siti Khadijah. Only after her death and the political turbulence in Madinah did he decide to resort to polygamy for the sake of peace and the elimination of the old practice of having hundreds of wives in the Arab world.”
She remarked that a number of reasons have been used by those practicing polygamy that are irrelevant to the precious teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. She said:
“Why is the media’s coverage of Aa Gym’s second marriage as extensive as that of the scandal involving the House lawmaker and the singer? The media play a significant role in educating the public, including about the responsibility of public figure to set a good example. Why do most women’s activists protest against the practice of polygamy in this country? It is not because they are infidels or distrust the grand narratives of sharia interpretation. It is merely because a number of reasons are being used by those practicing polygamy that are irrelevant to the precious teachings of the prophet Muhammad.”

In line with Dewi, Julia Suryakusuma (The Jakarta Post, 12/15/06:6) pointed out that religion has for so long been irreligious, corrupted, manipulated for base political power motives and these incidents are just the latest in a long continuum. She said: “We’ve been in a crisis of leadership for such a long time, it hardly matters anymore when the latest betrayal of trust is revealed, does it? She then asked everybody to use his intellect, as she remarked:
“So the only thing to do is to press the religious “start” button and get back to basics. “The first thing created by God was the intellect” (Hadith), not the genitals or hormones, boys and girls! So let’s start using it! And yes, that means you too, Aa, my brother!”

Meanwhile, Muhammad Yazid (The Jakarta Post, 12/16/06:6) remarked that the an-Nisa (4:3) should be construed as a cultural transformation from polygamy to monogamy, instead of a free pass for men. He said:
“Polygamy looks to be a solution, not an aspiration because prior to the advent of Islam, it was quite common for someone in Saudi Arabia to have dozens to hundreds of wives. Then Islam came and the acceptable number of wives was reduced to four. This limitation must have been a shock to the Arabs, mentally and culturally, especially to those wishing to covert to Islam but already married too many wives.”

Muhammad Yazid pointed out that Islamic teaching is bent toward monogamy, not the other way around. He said:
“Therefore, the Koran touched on polygamy because in those days polygamy was a social reality and Islam was introducing radical changes to this reality. Essentially, Islamic teaching is bent toward monogamy, not the other way around, particularly given the demand that whoever practices polygamy must do perfect justice to all his wives.”

This perfect justice, according to Muhammad Yazid is impossible to have, as an-Nisa (4:3) says:
“You will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much to one of them (by giving her more of your time and provision) so as to leave the other hanging (i.e. neither divorced or married)…”

Referring to Aa Gym’s statement that polygamy was a sacred institution within Islam, to do right thing by widows and orphans, Marianne Katoppo (The Jakarta Post, 12/17/06: 1) said:
“From my years of study, I remember a verse in the Surah an-Nisa says, “If you want to do right by widows and orphans, then you should take one wife, or two, or three, or four, but it is better for you to take one.” Who am I to understand this in such a narrow simplistic way, and to think that this means Aa Gym should stick to his first wife? I used to like to watch the Aa Gym family on TV. They seemed to be the epitome of the happy family, and he was the perfect husband.”

Then, Malgalina Avianty and Cornelis de Wolf (The Jakarta Post, 12/18/06: 6) pointed out that it is true, a long time ago polygamy may have given women in Arab society a certain measure of protection. They said:
“We are Muslims ourselves and we keep telling our children that Allah wants us to enjoy life, as long as we worship him, are in control of ourselves and live with dignity and compassion. True, a long time ago polygamy may have given women in Arab society a certain measure of protection, but why cannot we, within a great religion of Islam, find other, more dignified mechanism to protect women, that do not require them to sleep with their “benefactors”? “

Finally, Mangku Sitepoe (The Jakarta Post, 02/03/07: 7) said that in animal life, mating is an instinct that unleashes the sexual drive in both males and females within the same period. He pointed out:
“In animal life, mating is an instinct that unleashes the sexual drive in both males and females within the same period. The enjoyment of satisfaction in animal sexuality is a shared experience rather than egoism. The sexuality is identical with reproduction, which is polygamous as well as polyandrous in nature. No monogamy is found among animals because they lack proper intelligence.”

Mangku Sitepoe appealed human males to be able to restrain their sexual drive. He said:

Animal’s sexuality is guided by instinct, and there are natural signals that ensure mating only takes place between adult animals and during fertile periods. Human males, therefore, should also be able to restrain their sexual drive.”

Men’s inability to restrain their sexual drive, as Mangku Sitepoe remarked, has become the starting point for their polygamy. He said:
“Men’s inability to restrain their sexual drive, followed by the fact that adultery gives them added value in sexual enjoyment, has become the starting point for their polygamy. Polygamy and polyandry are found among animals, and polyandrous women are never found, so the question arises: are intelligent men engaged in polygamy through adultery willing to be equated with male animals?”

The Discussion
In an attempt to find the answer of the first query, five key sets of resources for making meanings introduced by J.R. Martin and David Rose (2003) are employed. They are appraisal, ideation, conjunction, identification and periodicity.
In an attempt to find the answer to the second query, analysis of the social practice and of the discourse practice is conducted. The analysis of the social practice is intended to find out the socio-cultural context, as well as the ideological context, in which the text was written. Since the text writers live in Indonesia, it is the social practice of Indonesian people that is analyzed. Analyzing the social practice of the text writers means examining the culture of the society in which they live.
Unlike Western culture where human life is paramount, for Indonesians human life is subservient to the greater ideology, religion, family, business, economy, political structure, or nation. Where there is a clash of interests, the individual must defer to “the greater good”. Life/the world is to be received (fate); it is to be adapted to; life/the world requires submission. Outcome is determined by any number of factors: fate, relationships, class, and supernatural. Roles, responsibilities, and opportunities are affected (and, at times, determined) by gender. Accepting status quo is the typical culture of Indonesians. Problems require resignation – not solutions. Truth is adaptable. Truth is dependent on the social context or relationship. Relationships are paramount – to be preserved at all cost.
Class structure is still very much evident in Indonesia (read: Javanese) society – a phenomenon which extends to the nation as a whole. In Java (as in all of Indonesia), although everyone has status people do not have equal status. The type or level of status depends mainly on birth, family connections, economic position, and occupation. For many, these are things they are born into. In short, social class and status are hereditary. This perception of inherent inequality among people is supported by a strong belief in God and fate. Thus, because of divine will and/or fate, individuals accept their lot in life.
It is indicated that, politically, the Indonesian society is dominated by men, which is considered as one that can accommodate the interest of most of Indonesian people. Since the group of people in power is usually highly influential in determining what is good and proper and what is not, then the life conditions of the Indonesian people must be the reflection of the ideology of these particular men.
Analysis of the discourse practice shows that the texts, which are published in the Jakarta Post, were delivered to individual people mainly by subscription. The readers are mostly highly educated people: high ranking officials, professors, businessmen, students of post graduate programs, etc. The writers seem to be trying to persuade the readers to adopt the same feelings as they do about and the same reaction towards polygamy. Logically, the writers also want the readers to take actions as a follow up of these feelings and reactions. It is only people having high position in offices, or those with high educational background that have the power and a chance of doing something about polygamy, but not common people. It is also an indication to promote the objectives of the writers, and it involves the process of controlling the information flow, managing public opinions and manipulating behavior patterns.
Such indications reflected upon ideologies are embedded in features of discourse on polygamy which are taken for granted as matters of common sense. Indonesian perception and interpretation about polygamy has been built entirely upon assumptions and expectations which control both actions of members of society and their interpretations of the action of others. Such assumptions and expectations are implicit, backgrounded, taken for granted, not things that people are consciously aware of, rarely explicitly formulated or examined or questioned. This study reveals at least eighteen “common-sense” assumptions about polygamy. The most effective form of ideological common sense has been “common” in the sense of being shared by most if not virtually all of the members of Indonesian Muslims.
In some cases the relationship to asymmetrical power relations may be a direct one, like the commonsensical assumptions referred to in Sirikit Syah’s article, that ‘polygamy breaks no rule; it’s permitted by Islam’ which disguises the fact that those in favor of polygamy do not interpret the an-Nisa (4:3) in a balanced way, as they emphasize the sentence, namely “marry (other) woman of your choice, two or three, or four” while the next sentence, “but if you fear you shall not be able to deal justly (with) them, then only one” is simply ignored.
Daniel Hummel’s statement that ‘polygamy stabilizes the social economy’ is ‘common sense sustaining unequal relations of power’ in the sense that it helps deflect attention away from the fact that males who practice polygamy marry much younger and more beautiful women than their first wives. This is the revival of harem (a space where highly ranked nobles in the Middle East collected hundreds of wives) and zenana (in Hinduism) in the Indonesian context. If those men use polygamy to address economic stability, why don’t they take women who live in miserable economic condition?
Zi Tjahjono probably speaks for a majority of women in Indonesia when she says that if her husband wants to marry another woman, she would let him, provided he takes responsibility for the future of her children and provided he gives her a proper divorce. It is understood that a proper divorce allows women to move on with their lives and pursue a brighter future with somebody who is more deserving of their love, without having to fear for the immediate future of themselves and their children. What is not understood, however, is why Zi Tjahjono does not seem to want for Teh Nini what she wants for herself. Does she really think that Teh Nini is more fortunate than Hillary Clinton because, unlike Bill Clinton who cheated on her repeatedly and lied about publicly, the “courageous” Aa Gym announced that he is going to marry another woman?

The Conclusion
The analysis using those five sets of resources above enables the voices of different positions in different groups to emerge clearly, explicitly in subtle ways, from the patterns of meaning in which they are encoded. The findings of this study show that language use is functional and its function is to make meanings. These meanings are influenced by the social and cultural context in which they are exchanged. The process of using language is the process of making meanings by choosing. Meanings are not located in texts itself. Meanings are produced in the interaction between text and audience. Meaning production is a dynamic act in which both elements contribute equally. When the text and the audience are members of tightly knit culture, the interaction is smooth and effortless. In other cases, the meanings are produced with a much greater sense of strain as the discourse on polygamy in The Jakarta Post in the end of 2006 has attested.
The discourse on polygamy in The Jakarta Post in the end of 2006 is a good example of hegemony at work. But the hegemony has to work hard because so much of the points of view that react the dominant ideology contradicts it. Ideology here is a term used to describe the social production of meanings. The ideological work to win the consent of women to patriarchal interpretation of polygamy is not just an ideological practice but an ideological struggle, and that signs of resistances it has to overcome can never be wiped out. The consent of the subordinate to the dominant system is never fully won; always elements of resistance remain.
The arguments of those who are in favor of polygamy clarify how ideology works to produce meanings through signs. The central point is, in the words of those who are in favor to polygamy, “It is written in the Koran that men are allowed to marry more than one wife”. This point is ideological: the statement is meaningful only in so far as its maker and audience are members of the same patriarchal interpretation on polygamy. This point is a dominant ideology among Muslims in Indonesia. In so far as Muslim women accept this interpretation, they are actively promoting an ideology that against their interests: they are participating in hegemony. Hegemony involves the constant winning and rewinning the consent of the majority to the system that subordinates them. By organizing herself as the addressee ‘hailed’ by this point, the reader is practicing patriarchal ideology; and accepting the common-sense of the representations of herself and her future, she is helping to win the consent of herself and others like her to a system that only men can benefit from in the long run.
The dominant ideology constantly meets resistance that it has overcome in order to win people’s consent to the social order that it is promoting. These resistances may be overcome, but they are never eliminated. So any hegemony victory, any consent that it wins, is necessarily unstable; it can never be taken for granted. In spite of the fact that Islam envisions women enjoying an equal position to men in family, in reality, the position of Indonesian women are generally weak so that many wives opt to allow their husband to take another wife rather than being divorced. This includes the case demonstrated by Teh Nini, the first wife of Aa Gym. However, the women’s rejection of Aa Gym’s sermons quite recently shows that Indonesian women are not going to easily submit to the patriarchal interpretation of the holy sayings. At the social level, Indonesian women are highly empowered.
One of the key hegemonic strategies is the construction of ‘common-sense’ assumption. If the ideas of the ruling class can be accepted as common (i.e. not class-based) sense, then their ideological object is achieved and their ideological work is disguised. This study reveals at least eighteen ‘common-sense’ assumptions. These ‘common-sense’ assumptions are implicit in the conventions according to which people interact linguistically, and of which people are generally not consciously aware.
These common sense assumptions include (1) Polygamy breaks no rules. It’s permitted by Islam; (2) Polygamy is important. It’s solution to a problem; (3) Polygamy stabilizes the social economy; (4) It is OK for a husband to marry another woman as far as his responsibility for the future of his children has been assured; (5) Women tend to be monogamous – or “mono”, while men are “stereo”, that is polygamous; (6) Statistics show that there are more women than men in this country, and even in the world; (7) Polygamy is better than infidelity; (8) Polygamy protects the interests of women; (9) A wife who allows his husband to take a second wife can hope for a place in heaven; (10) Polygamy prevents adultery; (11) Polygamy implies that it is OK for a man not to be faithful as long as he gets certificate, pays for the upkeep of all “his” women and children, and as long as he can satisfy all “his” women’s sexual needs; (12) A woman’s primary duty is to serve men and take care of the kids and the home; (13)Men and women were not created equal; (14) Muhammad not only approved of the practice but also engaged in it (polygamy); (15) Not even men are created equally. Some men for physical or clinical reasons, need more than one women to satisfy their needs; (16) The sad truth is that the public seems more tolerant of chronic womanizers than those who legally take up more than one wife; (17) It is written in the Koran that men are allowed to marry more than one wife; (18) Sharia, as designed 1,500 years ago on the Arab continent, holds the promise of divine perfection.

The Implications
This study, first, implies the use of literacy-based approach in language education. This approach represents a style of teaching educators ought to consider if they wish to prepare learners for full participation in societies that increasingly demand multilingual, multicultural, and multitextual competence. A literacy-based approach, by focusing not only on language but also on the effects and communicative consequences that particular texts can have for different audiences, can clear a path to new levels of understanding of language, culture, and communication.
Second, it is an invitation to help increase consciousness of our society of how language contributes to the domination of some people by others, because consciousness is the first step towards emancipation. Resistance and change are not only possible but continuously happening. But the effectiveness of resistance and the realization of change depend on people developing critical consciousness of domination and its modalities, rather than just experiencing them. Women’s rejection of Aa Gym sermon recently clearly shows that Indonesian women are not going to easily submit to the patriarchal interpretation of the holy sayings. Today, people in general would like to see monogamous families as an idea suiting the aspirations and principles of Islam. God wants us to enjoy life, as long as we worship Him, are in control of ourselves and live with dignity and compassion. It must be noted that a family must be built on the basis of harmony and physical and mental happiness. We need to find other, more dignified mechanism to protect women that do not require them to sleep with their “benefactors”.
Third, audiences are an important influence on media content. It content should be accessible to people who have a lay interest in how media work, how language works, and particularly how the two interact. I hope it will also be of interest to journalists and others in the news media to learn something about the nature of the linguistic work they do. The language of news media is prominent and pervasive in society, and it is worth understanding how language works, how it affects our perceptions of others and ourselves, how it is produced, how it is shaped by values. Journalist and others in news media are, therefore, expected to select opinions and news reporting which educate the readers apart from marketable materials.
Finally, for further researchers it is expected to conduct studies on sensitive issues such as generation, gender, class, incapacity, ethnicity and so on by considering those three aspects mentioned above.