CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

A. Literature Review

1. Curriculum and School-Based Curriculum

a. Curriculum

1) Definitions of Curriculum

Curriculum is a foundation of the teaching and learning process. It

is because curriculum states the functions, the objectives, and the scope of

the course. Curriculum is defined as a set of plans and regulations about

the purpose, the teaching materials and the technique which are used as

orientation of the implementation in the teaching and learning processes to

achieve certain education (Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2006: 5)

Nasution (2006: 4) defines curriculum as the tendency in recent

decades has been to use the term in a broader sense to refer to the whole

life and program of the school. The term is not only about the learning

materials but also include all the experiences of children for which the

school accepts responsibility.

Albertycs in Nasution (2001: 5) defines curriculum as all of the

activities that are provided for students by the school. From this definition,

we can see that Albertycs views the curriculum as not only lessons but also

other activities under school’s responsibility. Ragan in Nasution (2001: 5)

defines curriculum in a broader sense to refer to the whole life and

program of the school.

 Meanwhile, Sayler in Susilo (2007: 81) defines curriculum as a

plan for providing sets of learning opportunities for persons to be

educated. On the other hand, Zais in Susilo (2007: 81) says curriculum as

a race course of subject matters to be mastered. Curriculum is to be

composed of all the experiences children have under the guidance of the

teachers (Caswel and Campbell in Susilo, 2007: 81).

In Indonesian context that is based on Law number 20 year 2003, a

curriculum is a set of plans and rules of a teaching and learning activities

for achieving an educational goal that will be carried out and directed by

the teachers in school.

From those definitions above, we can conclude that curriculum

consists of the teaching and learning plans. The plans include sets of

activities, the way of teaching and learning, the assessment system, the

facilities and materials needed, and the purpose of the teaching and

learning.

2) Curriculum Components

According to Nasution (2001: 4), there are four main components

of curriculum; goal, teaching and learning process, content, and

evaluation. Those four components can be separated because each of them

has interconnection with one another.

Curriculum contains the national education objectives, so the topics

of a course for all parts of this nation are same. Curriculum consist of four

components, they are the objective, the material, the process or the media
 delivery, and the evaluation (Sukmadinata, 2002: 103).

Richards (2001: 31) also states the component of curriculum. It

includes what students learn, how they learn it, how teachers help them to

learn, what kind of supporting materials are used, style and method of

assessment, and what kind of facilities are used.

3) The Functions of Curriculum

According to Sukmadinata (2000: 19), there are seven functions of

curriculum in relation to the schools’ program:

(a) the choice of area for curriculum decisions making,

(b) the selection and involvement of person in curriculum planning,

(c) organization for and techniques used in curriculum planning,

(d) actual writing of curriculum,

(e) implementing the curriculum,

(f) evaluation the curriculum, and

(g) providing for the feedback and modification of the curriculum.

From the functions of the curriculum above, we can conclude that

curriculum is an instrument to achieve education purposes. Moreover,

curriculum also has functions for the teachers and the students. They are as

an instrument to arrange learning experience for the students as an

instrument to assess the students, and as an instrument to organize the

teaching and learning processes.

b. School-Based Curriculum
 School-Based Curriculum is the government’s effort to make the

curriculum better and more familiar to the teachers because they are more

involved in the teaching and learning process (Mulyasa: 2006: 9). This

curriculum is suitable with the Law number 20 year 2003 about National

Education System that gives more attention to the improvement of the

National standard of Education in order to reach the goal of National

Education in Indonesia.

Mulyasa (2006: 8) states that School-Based Curriculum is a curriculum

which is developed suitable with the educational unit, the potential of school

or area, the characteristic of school or area, social culture of the society in

certain area, and the characteristic of the learner. School and committee of the

school develop curriculum and syllabus based on the curriculum basic outline

and standard of competence of the graduate, under the supervision of

education official which is responsible in field of education.

Furthermore, Susilo (2007: 81) defines School-Based Curriculum as a

written document which may contain many ingredients, but basically it is plan

for the education of pupils during their enrollment in given school.

Mulyasa (2006: 22) mentions the objectives of School-based

Curriculum as follows:

1) To improve the quality of education through the school initiatives in

developing the curriculum.

2) To improve the school society’s attention in developing the curriculum

through voting.
 3) To improve the good competitors in the quality of the education.

School-Based Curriculum is developed by the school based on the

school’s potential, characteristics, culture of the society around the school and

the students’ characteristics. According to Mulyasa (2006: 19), School-Based

Curriculum is the operational curriculum which is set by each school. It is

developed by the teachers, the principal, school committee, and stakeholders.

In the School-Based Curriculum system, the school has the full authority and

responsibility in deciding the curriculum and teaching and learning processes

based on their perspective, mission and the objective of that school.

1) The Objectives of School-Based Curriculum

In the whole the objectives of the implementation of School-Based

Curriculum are to make the school independent and to support the school to

make decisions in developing their own curriculum (Mulyasa, 2006: 22).

According to Susilo (2006:11), the objectives of School-Based

Curriculum are to create competent and smart graduaes. Therefore, as an

instrument to achieve the objectives, curriculum should be able to make

students have a good personality.

2) Characteristics of School-Based Curriculum

Mulyasa (2006: 29) mentions some characteristics of School-Based

Curriculum, they are as follows:

a) Large authority of the school

School-Based Curriculum gives the large autonomy to the school

 with the responsibility to develop the curriculum based on the condition of

that school. The school is given the authority to develop the teaching and

learning process based on the condition and the students’ need. On the

other hand, the school is also given authority to organize finance based on

their need. As the result, the school is able to improve the quality of

educators’ employee through the large autonomy.

b) High participants of the society

The implementation of School-Based Curriculum is supported by

society and parents participation. Parents and the society not only support

the school through financial cost but also through school committee by

designing and developing many programs which can increase the quality

of the teaching and learning process.

c) Democratic and professional leadership

Developing and implementing curriculum are supported by the

leader which has democratic and professional characteristics. The principal

and teachers as the key in implementations curriculum are the people who

should have professional ability and integrity.

d) Team work which is transparent

The success of developing curriculum and teaching and learning

process are supported by a team work which is transparent. In

implementation the curriculum for examination, all the team cooperates to

reach the purposes that have been approved before.

School-Based Curriculum is the completion of Competency Based

 Curriculum with few differences. In the curriculum 2004 there are

description of basic competency, indicators, and teaching materials, while

in School-Based Curriculum there are only description of competency

standard and basic competency. As the result, the students are able to

develop their competence based on their ability, need and interest.

3) Competency Standard and Basic Competency

According to Mulyasa (2007: 109), competency standard and basic

competency are the basic to develop the main content or material, the teaching

and learning activity, and the indicator of competency.

The competency standard and basic competency are used by

the teachers as the consideration to develop the school-based curriculum in

each field of education. As the result, the teachers are able to develop the

materials and the teaching and learning activities based on the students’

ability, need, and interest.

2. Teaching English to Children

English is a local content subject in elementary school. What the

teachers should do is to make students confident to learn English. Making

children feel confident is not easy if the teachers do not know what children

like doing. After knowing the characteristics of children, teachers can provide

techniques to make children interested in English.

Teaching English to children is different from adults, since children

have characteristics that are different from adults. When we teach children, we
have to consider how children learn a foreign language. Cameron (2001: 19)

states those characteristics as follows:

1) Children actively try to construct meaning

Children always try to find and construct a meaning and purpose from what

adults say and ask them to do. They use their knowledge which is limited. As

a teacher we have to consider it, and need to examine children whether they

understand what we mean or not.

2) Children need space to language growth

In language and cognitive development, is of central importance for effective

learning in ZPD. The two types of language-using strategies that may help

children in making space for their growth are routines and scaffolding.

3) Language in use carries to meaning that may not be noticed

Children need skilled help in noticing and attending to aspects of the foreign

language that carry meaning. Since they cannot benefit much from formal

grammar, other ways of doing this have to be found.

4) Development can be seen as interesting from social interaction

Language can grow as the child takes over control of language used initially

with other children and adults.

5) Children’s foreign language learning depends on what they

experience

The activities that happen in the classroom create a kind of environment for

learning and, such as, offer different kinds of opportunities for language

learning. Part of teaching skill is to identify the particular opportunities of a

task or activity, and then to develop them into learning experiences for the

children.

In learning, children need to interact with their environment. It is

because social interaction will influence cognitive development. Vygotsky in

Paul (2003: 172) states that children need social interaction, it is important for

children. Cognitive development is related to social development. He said that

children have the potential to reach beyond their present level within a certain

zone, called ZPD. So ZPD can be defined as the difference between

independent problem solving and problem solving under adults guidance or in

collaboration with more capable adults peer. When children left themself, they

will not reach the zone. To reach this zone, children need to interact with

adults and children who have more knowledge. Vygotsky also suggest that

through collaboration with other children, children can solve more complex

task. He recommended group work for children. Working on task together will

be helpful. Children will interact to other children in their class even their

ability is at the same level as themselves. For that reason, teacher has to design

activities that lead them to interact.

Group work is a change activity. It is important for children who need

to practice in a number of different ways. It also motivates children to pay

more attention to teacher, because his friends in his group are inpatient it if he

does not understand how to work. Learning from one’s peer is often more

effective.

Vygotsky in Cameron (2001: 6) states that children can be active

learners if they are lead to be active. People play important role in

development of children. They can help children to learn by bringing objects

and their attention.

Kelly in Paul (2003: 175) states that children explore their

environment, constructing their theoretical model of how they think the world

works. Children are expanding it by noticing patterns and replications in their

environment. Children build theories from the patterns and use them to gives

information they encounter.

In teaching children, Brown (2001: 87-89) proposes that there are five

categories that may help give some practical approaches to teaching children.

The first category is intellectual development. Children (up to the age about

11) are still in an intellectual stage.

The second category is attention spans. Children have short attention

spans when they have to deal with material that is boring, useless, or too

difficult for them. Further, he proposes some actions that can be done by

teachers in the classroom. Since the children focus on the immediate here and

now, so teachers have to design activities which are in the context here and

now., to keep children’ interest and attention, the activity should be full of

variation, lively, and enthusiastic.

The third category is sensory input. It concerns to the characteristics of

children that need all five. Since stimulated; so that teachers have to design

activities that involve physical and sensory aids.

The fourth category is affective factor. Children are often innovative in

language form but they still have a great many inhibitions. Children are very

sensitive, especially to peers. Teachers are expected to help children to

overcome such barriers in learning.

The last category is authentic and meaningful language. Children are

focused on what a new language can be used for here and now. Teachers can

use the target language in context, such as, stories, familiar situations, and

characters.

a. The Objective of Teaching English at

Elementary School

According to the local content curriculum for elementary school

(Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan DIY, 2006: 570), the objective of

English for elementary school is to introduce English as the first foreign

language to the students.

Moreover, Brewster (2003: 3) states that the aim of teaching English at

elementary school is that the students are able to read, to pay attention to the

reading, to pronounce, and to write the numbers of vocabulary related to the

objects in their surroundings. Because of those requirements, the elementary

school students get a training to have a good English achievement. They are

also trained to master the competencies concerned with the mastery of

communicative competence.

b. Principles of Teaching English to

Children

Scot and Ytreberg (1994: 5) propose some principles in the teaching

English as a foreign language. The first principle is that ‘words are not

enough.’ It means that when the teachers teach, they do not rely on the spoken

words only. They should include movements and involve the senses.

The second principle is ‘play with the language.’ This statement refers

to the fact that the students should have experience in using the English. The

teachers let the pupils talk to themselves, make up rhymes, sing a song, telling

stories, etc.

The third principle is ‘variety in the classroom.’ The teachers should

create interesting activities for the children in the classroom, such as playing

games, singing a song, telling stories, etc. So the students will not get bored.

The fourth principle is ‘routines’, it is important for the children to

know the rules and to be familiar with the situations. The teachers should

create familiar situations and activities, such as repeat stories, rhymes, etc.

The fifth principle is ‘cooperation not competition.’ It means that the

teachers should create an atmosphere of involvement and togetherness.

Rewards and prizes should be involved. Working in groups is one way to lead

to cooperative learning.

The sixth principle is ‘group the children together whenever possible’;

this does not mean that the children have to be in groups all the time, but most

children like to have other children around them. Therefore, it would be better

for the teachers to provide some students with group activities.

The last principle is ‘assessment’, it is necessary to know the

children’s progress. To know the children’s learning development, the

teachers should asses the children’s ability in the classroom.

c. Characteristics of Children

According to Paint in Hudelson (1994: 256), children in the primary or

elementary school are usually in the concrete operational stage of cognitive

development. It is still hard for them to understand abstract things. Children

will easily understand the material if the teacher gives examples or shows

pictures, real objects, or gestures during the teaching and learning process.

Brewster (2003: 27) states that young learners are different from older

learners. It is because children have a lot of physical energy and often need to

be physically active, have a wide range of emotional needs, they are

emotionally excitable, they are developing conceptually and they are at an

early stage of their schooling, they are still developing literacy in their first

language, they learn more slowly and forget things quickly, they tend to be

self-oriented and preoccupied with their own world, they get bored easily, they

are excellent mimics, they can concentrate for a surprisingly long time if they

are interested, and they can be easily distracted but also very ethuasiastic.

Scott and Yterberg (1994: 3-4) identify some general characteristics of

children in relation to their capability and aptitudes. First, their basic concepts

are formed, it means that when the children learn English the teachers need to

give objects and pictures in order that they will understand the materials

easily. They can know something from the objects that they have seen.

Second, they tell the differences between fact and fiction. It means that

when children come to school they find the fact and the fiction. They can tell
the differences between fact and fiction. For example, something is fact if they

can see and touch the object. Something is fiction if they cannot see and touch

the object.

Third, they ask questions all the time. It means that they learn

something because they do not know about it. As we know, children have

great curiosity that makes them asking all the time about something that they

have not known.

Fourth, they rely on the spoken words. When children learn something

they will imitate what the teachers say, in the class activity they learn

something new from their teachers. They will do all the instructions given by

the teachers. They learn from the real world.

Fifth, they are able to make some decisions about their own learning.

Children will learn something if there is a desire from themselves. They will

make decisions when they learn without any compellation from people around

them.

Sixth, they have insufficient view about what they like and do not like

to do. Children will always doing something that they like everyday.

Seventh, they have developed a sense of fairness about what happens

in the classroom. What children usually do in the classroom is something that

comes from their minds. In general, the children in the classroom like moving

everywhere, making noise and something that will make them feel happy.

Last, they are able to work with others and learn from others. Children

like learning in groups. They will easily work in groups because they can ask
each other.

Pinter (2006: 2) mentions the differences of the characteristics between

young learners and old learners, the differences are as follows:

Young Learners Old Learners

• Children are at pre-school or • These children are established
in the first couple of years of at school and comfortable with
schooling. school routines.
• Generally they have a • They show a growing interest
holistic approach to in analytical approaches,
language, which means that which means that they begin to
they understand meaningful take an interest in language as
messages but cannot analyze an abstract system.
language yet. • They show a growing level of
• They have lower levels of awareness about themselves as
awareness about themselves language learners and their
as language learners as well learning.
as about process of learning. • They have well developed
• They have limited reading skills as readers and writers.
and writing skills even in • They have a growing
their first language. awareness of others and their
• Generally, they are more viewpoints.
concerned about themselves • They have a growing
than others. awareness about the world
• They have limited around us.
knowledge about the world. • They begin to show interest in
• They enjoy fantasy, real life issues.
imagination, and movement.
Figure 1. Characteristics of Young and Old Learners

3. Components of the Teaching and Learning Process

In the teaching and learning process involves many components. they

are as follows:

a. Teacher

Some of the instructional systems depend on the teacher as the source

of knowledge; others see the teacher as the catalyst, consultant, diagnostician,

guide, and model for learning. Samana (1994: 29) states that the teacher is the

leader of the teaching and learning process, whose prime goal to keep the

students in learning process.

Usman (1999: 7-10) defines the teachers as the demonstrators,

learning managers, evaluators, and facilitators. As demonstrators, the teachers

should master the content of the materials to be taught to their students, and

always improve their skill related to their specific knowledge. As learning

managers, the teachers should be able to manage the classroom because the

classroom is the learning environment and the aspect of the school to be

organized. As facilitators, the teachers should have enough knowledge about

educational media because sometimes they have to use and create the media to

support the teaching and learning process. It is because educational media are

the instruments of communication to make the teaching and learning process

more effective. So, they will help the students to understand the materials

easily. As evaluators, the teachers should be able to evaluate the process and

the result of the teaching and learning process. It is because evaluation will

inform them about the students’ progress and the students’ learning

development.

In the teaching and learning process the teachers have the

responsibilities to their students. Slameto (1995: 33) mentions the teachers’

responsibilities to their students, they are; the teachers have to answer the

students’ questions directly, the teachers have to give the opportunity to the
students to express their opinion, and the teachers have to give the assessment

to their students.

b. Student

Students are one of the human components that inhibit a central

position in the teaching and learning process (Sardiman, 2003: 108). Students

themselves are individuals with different characteristics as Lingren (1997: 7)

states that all students are unique, different from one another intellectually,

emotionally, socially, and physically.

Stevens (1997: 46) defines the student as follows:

1) the student is the planner of his own learning program and thus ultimately
assumes responsibility for what he or she does in the class room;
2) the student is the monitor and evaluator of his/her own progress;
3) the student is a member of a group and learns by interacting with others;
4) the student is a tutor of other learners;
5) the student learns from the teacher, from other students, and from other
teaching
sources.

c. Material

Richard and Renandya (2002: 85) say that materials, therefore, need to

be authentic-like, that is. Authentic in the sense that the language is not

artificially constrained, and is at the same time amenable to exploitation for

language teaching process.

Nunan (2000:213) state that the role of instructional materials whitin a

functional or communicative methodology might be specified in the following

terms:

1) Materilas will focus on the communicative abilities of

interpretation, expression, and negotiation.

 2) Materials will focus on understandable, relevant, and

interesting exchanges of information, rather on the

presentation of grammatical form.

3) Materials will involve different kinds of texts and different

kinds of media which the learners can use to develop their

competence through a variety of different activities and

tasks.

Richards and Renandya (2002: 84) state that materials must contextual.

Then, Richards (2002: 86) adds that the activities and materials proposed must

be flexible, designing to develop skills and strategies which can be transferred

to other texts in other contexts.

Crawford in Richard and Renandya (2002: 89) also says that materials,

therefore, need to be build in self-assessment task which require learners to

reflect on their progress.

d. Teaching and Learning Method

In the Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics, methodology is

defined as the study of the practice and procedures used in teaching, and the

principles and beliefs that underline them (Nunan, 1991: 2).

A method refers to a language-teaching philosophy that contains a

standardized set of procedures or principles for teaching a language that are

based upon a given set of theoretical premises about the nature of language

and language learning (Richards, 1985: 32). Roestiyah (1994: 65) states that a

method in the teaching and learning activities is a systematic planning and

strategy to present information.

Stern (1998: 474) explains Anthony’s terminology about the

distinction among approach, method and technique. According to Anthony’s

terminology, an approach constitutes the axiomatic or theoretical bases of

language teaching. A method is a procedural and the selection of materials to

be taught, the graduation of those materials, their presentation, and

pedagogical implementation to induce learning. Within one approach, there

can be more than one method, while a technique is implementation. An

approach is simply defined as a theoretical assumption; a method is the

teaching strategy, while a technique is specific classroom activities.

e. Media

Instructional media refers to audiovisual materials, books, and

duplicated materials that serve instructional functions in education. (Burden &

Byrd, 1999: 137). Sugeng (1997: 46) states that media are important factors to

facilitate the teaching and learning process. In the teaching and learning

process the teacher has to choose the media selectively, it is because the media

that is used must be appropriate with the material that is taught.

1) Contributions of media to the teaching and learning

process

Kemp and Smellie in Burden and Byrd (1999: 13) mention some

benefits of media as follows:

(a) The content of topic can be more carefully selected and organized.
(b) The delivery of instruction can be more standardized.
(c) The instruction can be more interesting.
(d) Learning becomes more interactive when applying accepted learning
theory.
(e) The length of time required for instruction can be reduced.
(f) The quality of learning can be improved.
(g) The instruction can be provided when and where desired or necessary.
(h) The positive attitude of individuals towards what they are learning and
to the learning process itself can be enhanced.
(i) The role of instructor or teacher can be enhanced.

2) Types of media and resources

Burden and Byrd (1999: 144-159) also have a similar idea. They

state that a wide variety of media and resources are available for

instructional purposes including audio visual materials, books and

duplicates materials, and other resources. Audio visual media consist of

non-projected visual (chalk boards, display boards, flip charts, etc.),

projected visual (overhead projector and transparencies, filmstrips, slides,

and opaque projector), audio media (phonograph record, audiotapes and

compact disc), multimedia (interactive video, multi-image system, etc),

film and video, electronic distribution system (radio, television, etc.),

computer, and simulation and games.

Books and duplicated materials consist of textbooks, resource

materials, and workbooks. Other resources are free and inexpensive

materials (brochures, pamphlets, statistical reports, etc.), and media

created by the teachers.