EEJ 9 (3) (2019) 368 - 381 English Education Journal http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/eej The Implementation of Scaffolding Technique in Teaching English to The Students of High Schools in Semarang –A Case Of High School English Teachers in Semarang Nesti Noor Hayati 1, Djoko Sutopo2, Abdurrachman Faridi 2 1. SMA N 2 Semarang, Indonesia 2. Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia Article Info ________________ Article History: Recived 03 February 2019 Accepted 22 July 2019 Published 15 September 2019 ________________ Keywords: Implementation, scaffolding technique, senior high schools ____________________ Abstract ___________________________________________________________________ The use of appropriate teaching technique to teach English in senior high schools in the context of EFL determines the quality of the students‟ achievement because the success of their efforts to reach the learning goals cannot be separated from teacher‟s role in assisting the process of learning.The research was conducted to describe the implementation of scaffolding technique in 6 senior high school in Semarang and to analyze the obstacles and factors underlying found in the process of the implementation used in the classroom by applying Dewerianka‟s scaffolding model.The data were taken from classroom interactions of 6 teachers in 6 public senior high schools in Semarang. The research subjects were 6 English teachers and 10th grade students in 6 different public schools. There were four stages of scaffolding technique suggested by Dewerianka, they were building the field, modeling, joint construction, and independent construction. The result shows that the implementation of scaffolding technique contributes to the students‟ ability. It was seen on (a) the students were able to produce the text depending on the purpose, social contexts, and medium in oral or written forms and (b) the teacher gave the contribution during individual work and reduced the contribution during pair work or group work. The strengths of the scaffolding technique in teaching English for 10th grade students are (a) to build the character of the students, and (b) to measure the ability of the students when producing the texts. Meanwhile, the obstacles were: (a) the differences of characters and ability among students, (b) limited time allotment for English class, and (c) school facility. This research will be beneficial as the source of information and reference related to the English teaching in EFL context. © 2019 Universitas Negeri Semarang Correspondence Address: Jl. Sendangguwo No.1, Gemah, Kec. Pedurungan, Kota Semarang, Jawa Tengah 50246 E-mail: ynesti.nh@gmail.com p-ISSN 2087-0108 e-ISSN 2502-4566 Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 369 INTRODUCTION EFL learners in high schools find challenges to master academic content. It is more likely to happen when the learning process occurs in non English-speaking country like Indonesia. This situation is like what Tutyandari (2005) found in her research that most students keep silent because they lack of self confidence, lack of prior knowledge about topics and because of poor teacher-learner relationship. More specifically, language teaching becomes problematic in the context of teaching English as a foreign language in Indonesia. According to Jarvis and Atsilarat in Yulia (2013), the problems have varied, including the students‟ level of proficiency, the class size and the time allocated. Furthermore, based on the writer‟s experience as an English teacher in the high school where the writer has taught English for about 14 years many students find English difficult to learn. The English grammar and vocabulary become their main reasons. It is in line with what Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam (2011) stated in their research that students also find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use and they find difficulty in using the grammatical terms to be applied in the wider context of spoken and written language. Referring to the above situation, EFL teachers have prominent role to support and assist their students in order to be successful in the learning process. The teachers need to design supports that provide necessary assistance to enable learners to accomplish tasks and develop understandings that they would not quite be able to manage on their own. To cope with such problems, teacher can elaborate techniques in teaching English as second or foreign language, one of them is scaffolding technique. Scaffolding, as most people understand, is placed around the outside of new buildings to allow builders‟ access to the emerging structure as it rises from the ground. The builders remove the scaffolding when the building is able to support itself. The metaphor of scaffolding has been widely used in recent years to describe teachers‟ temporary support in providing learners temporary supporting structures that will assist learners to develop new understanding, new concept, and new abilities. The concept of scaffolding has its origins in the work of the psychologist Vygotsky as well as in studies of early language learning. Scaffolding is a kind of techniques to facilitate a learner‟s transition from assisted to independent performance. Bodrova (1998) says that the term “scaffolding” was coined by Bruner (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976) to specify the types of assistance that make it possible for learners to function at higher levels of their zones of proximal development (ZPD). The term, first introduced by Wood, Bruner, and Ross in 1976, is a metaphor to capture the nature of support and guidance in learning. The term was used by them to describe the nature of parental tutoring in the language development of young children. There are several studies related to scaffolding technique used in teaching English for high school studentss. These studies show that the implementation of scaffolding technique to teach English can bring effective and successful result for learners as they finally can perform the language skills very well without any assistance from teachers. Moreover, the studies also show that the scaffolding technique is effective to be implemented in EFL context to develop learners‟ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. First, in a discourse study conducted by Kim (2010) to upper primary English Language Learner (ELL) in the United States, it showed that teachers‟ scaffolding through questions could support the growth of ESL students‟ thinking and language skills. According to the researcher, teacher questions were a powerful tool for guiding students in mastering the linguistic and cognitive development of English Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 370 as a second language (ESL). This study is crucial to be carried out because scaffolding technique has been proven for years as effective English teaching technique. Thus, it is important to know that the implementation carried out by teachers in handling English class may give good result. The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of scaffolding techniques as they occurred in the language classroom. In this case, this study was attempting to reveal the teachers‟ scaffolding technique implementation on tenth graders‟ oral and written performances in SMA Negeri 2 Semarang, SMA Negeri 11 Semarang, and SMA Negeri 15 Semarang. Three research questions guided this study. First, when teaching English in a class, how do teachers implement the scaffolding technique to the students of grade 10 of senior high schools? Second, what difficulties do teachers find in implementing the scaffolding technique? Third, why do teachers find difficult in implementing the scaffolding technique and what solutions do they need to overcome the problems? To answer these questions, the writer applied a qualitative case study design. Accordingly, she used qualitative method in both data collection and analysis. METHODS The writer employed qualitative method to gather and analyze data. Closely related to data collection, the notion of trustworthiness in this study is supported by the length of engagement within the research sites or time triangulation and methodological or data triangulation to produce rigorous and comprehensive analyses. Due to the length of engagement and persistent observation, she observed each language classroom until she got the comprehensive data. The observation was done in the second semester of academic year 2017/2018, and took about six months to collect the data, starting from November 2017 – May 2018. As long as more meetings were needed, more meetings were added to the length of data collection in order to gain comprehensive data. To this extent, the amount of time to gather the data is able to strengthen the trustworthiness of the findings of the study. And due to data triangulation in producing rigorous and comprehensive analyses, there were three sources of data to answer three research questions of this qualitative study. Those were (1) classroom observation, (2) recorded classroom interaction and its transcripts, and (3) questionnaires. After the data were collected, then they were analyzed step by step. The first data collection method was observing. The purpose of observation was to record the use of scaffolding technique that were provided by the teachers. It was also used to record the students‟ responses to the teacher‟s scaffolding. Moreover, it was also utilized to record the way teachers overcome the problems they found during the implementation of scaffolding in the class. As the writer said before that she observed each teacher until I got the comprehensive data. The research was carried out through a structured observation of teacher-students interaction under normal classroom conditions (2 x 45 minutes). The six teachers' EFL classrooms were recorded at each time, according to the schedule. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Findings The aim of the research is to describe how teachers implement the scaffolding technique in their class, the obstacles the teachers found in the class, factor underlying the obstacles, and how the problem solving they take. Implementing scaffolding techniques is challenging for English teachers. As the students engaging in the teachers‟ classes are likely to feel pleased to any multiple assistance which the teachers provide. Additionally, they are also tended to be in high spirit to learn listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English classes. Therefore, teachers must be well- prepared to carry out various classroom Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 371 activities that can invite their students eagerness in learning English. Based on the observation sheet, the teachers conducted some or all the stages of scaffolding techniques suggested by Dewerianka (2001, as cited in Hammond). They are (1) building the field, (2) modelling, (3), joint construction, and (4) independent construction. Of 6 teachers, there are four teachers who implemented all types of scaffolding technique. They are T1, T3, T5, and T6. These four teachers conducted various activities in each type of scaffolding. Besides, they also generated various learning materials in each type of scaffolding. They brought and used some interesting learning materials into the classroom meeting, for example pictures, video recording, listening audio, slides, worksheets and learning logs. Moreover, the learning materials given by the teachers were mostly authentic ones, such as listening audio performing song and video of native speakers presenting a conversation. Therefore, the teaching learning process occurred in lively atmosphere. On the other hand, T2 and T4 did not implement all the types of scaffolding. T2 implemented only two types of scaffolding, they were joint construction and independent construction. T2 did not give her students prior knowledge dealing with the materials she was going to teach. Besides, she provided only student worksheet for all classroom meeting. Moreover, students themselves must actively find learning materials since they can easily find the materials on the internet and worksheet. Consequently, the process of teaching and learning in her class ran monotonously since almost all students contributed passively. Unlike T2, T4 implemented only one type, that was modelling. Based on the observation, the writer found that T4 provided several different materials for modelling stage, such as picture, reading text, video recording, listening audio, and student worksheet. Unfortunately, the teacher missed the other three types: building the field, joint construction, and independent construction. He did not give his student background knowledge related to the material he was going to carry out in the class. Moreover, since he provided only the learning materials, his English class tends to be teacher- centered rather than student-centered. In addition, he did not provide chance for his students to have such a brainstorming time. As the consequence, students mostly kept silent during the class because they did not get enough opportunities to share their opinion. In the present study, the writer observed the implementation of scaffolding in four different levels: building the field, modelling, joint construction, and independent construction. Scaffolding in Building the Field Based on the classroom observation, the teachers elaborated various materials to help students this level. In the first type of scaffolding, the writer found that T1, T3, T5, and T6 provided prior knowledge dealing with the topic. These teachers used pictures, videos, and things in their surroundings to elicit some important vocabularies. Besides, they made interactions with the students to introduce some new words. Dealing with the new words used in the listening material, for example, all these teachers asked their students to not only find the meaning but also the correct spelling and pronunciation in the dictionary. Taken from T1‟s and T3‟s classes, the followings excerpts are the examples of scaffolding implementation in the level of building the field. T1 : Before we start the lesson, do you still remember the material we have talked before last week? Come on please raise your hand. (The teacher walked around the students but no students answered) SSS : Writing? T1 : What material that we talk last week? SSS : Reading? T1 : Pardon? What‟s that about? That‟s about personal? SSS : Letter? T1 : What is the generic structure of personal letter? What‟s the purpose? Come on please raise your hand. The generic structure of personal letter. Come on. Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 372 Close your book, please. Come on please raise your hand. Do you still remember the generic structure of personal letter? Anyone know? Okay, yes you Mr. Adit, come on S1 : Address, date, and then salutation T1 : And then salutation SmS : And then name and then introduction T1 : Introduction or? SSS : Opening T1 : Yes opening, pardon? SSS : Content . . . T1 : Content yes content. It‟s the? SSS : The body. T1 : Yes, body? Yes? S2 : And closure. T1 : Closure? Okay, it can be closure or closing then the next? SmS : And then err ... signature. T1 : Signature? Before signature? What is it? Please, raise your hand DifS : Commentary. T1 :That‟s commentary? Okay, commentary and next is signature SSS : Yes, signature. In the above excerpt, T1 provided scaffolding to assist the students in rewinding their memory dealing with the prior knowledge. Fillmore stated that prior experience becomes a context for interpreting the new experience ... prior experiences serve as the context within which the language being used is to be understood (as cited in Gibbons, 2002, p. 40). Thus, what T1 had carried out in her classroom was the realization of scaffolding technique. Scaffolding in Modelling Level The next will be the description of scaffolding in modelling level implemented by the teachers. In the modelling level, four teachers provided some materials as the modelling for students. Based on the observation, five teachers provided modelling level and one teacher did not. The writer found that T1 and T3 used songs, T5 used monologue audio, while T4 and T6 used a video. All the speakers and singers are English native speakers so that students could get precise modelling in drilling up their skill in the modelling level. Meanwhile, T2 did not provide modelling materials for their students. She directly gave materials to their students without giving any example. As the evidence, the following excerpt is taken from T3 class. She taught a material about Simple Past Tense. Before she discussed further about it, she gave her students two songs consisting Past Tense verbs. The following is the example. T3 : Okay, have you got the paper? SSS : Yes. . T3 : Okay, there are songs. Have you ever listened to the songs? S : No, no, no because this is not my favourite song. Please, play the song, Ma‟am. T3 : Okay, but please do not find the lyrics by your phone on the internet. SSS : Oh, no (kidding). T3 : There are ten incomplete sentences. It is sentences, not only missing words. Are you ready? SSS : Not yet. T3 : Not yet? Please, come on be ready. Okay, are you ready? I will play the songs and you please listen. SSS : (busily talking each other). T3 : The first song I will play, because it is rather difficult song, so I will play three times, please listen (playing the song). SSS : (listening to the song). T3 : Kecil ya suaranya? SSS : Ma’am, suaranya nggak kedengeran. T3 : (arranging the volume of the speakers). SSS : Yes, enough, Ma‟am. T3 : Okay, please listen. SSS : (continuing to listen the song). T3 : Enough? (after ten minutes) SSS : No, please play the song again. T3 : Do you think it‟s enough? S : No. T3 : Okay, I will play the song again but only one more. SSS : Okay. S : Only one, Ma‟am? Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 373 In the above activity, T3 gave songs to the students as the modelling for the example of Simple Past Tense. By using the songs, students could understand how to apply Simple Past Tense in a sentence. Moreover, they also knew how to pronounce the English words correctly as the singers showed in the songs. In this case, the use of modelling taken from authentic sources can inspire the students to improve their English. Another evidence of modelling is taken from T6 class. The teacher taught Narrative to her students by using authentic video. The following is the excerpt as the evidence. T6 : Next week, you are going to have drama performance. But before that, please watch these videos as your reference. Who is she? SSS : Cinderella. T6 : Yes. It is Cinderella. Very familiar ya. You are very familiar ya. Who is she? SSS : Cinderella. T6 : Right. Cinderella again ya. Who is he? (showing another video). SSS : King Arthur T6 : Yes, right. King Arthur. Who‟s next? SSS : Snow White. T6 : Yes, right. It is Snow White. Next, who is he? SSS : Spongebob T6 : Who? SSS : Spongebob. T6 : So, what is the video about? SSS : Narrative. T6 : What about this one?. SSS : Yes, Seven Dwarfs. T6 : It is for the example of the narrative. If we discuss about the narrative, especially about the generic structure of the performance of the narrative, do you remember the generic structure of narrative? S : Orientation, complication, resolution, and reorientation. T6 : Yes, right. Now, observe the characters in the videos and analyse whether they are antagonist or protagonist. SSS : Okay, Ma‟am. Seen in the above evidence, T6 asked her students to watch some videos as the student would have drama project in the following week. First, she asked the students to analyze the video and answer the question related to generic structure. Then, she also instructed the students observe and analyze the characters. So before the project of drama starter, T6 gave the modelling to the students so that they could get enough reference dealing with the project they were going to complete. Scaffolding in Joint Construction Level The next stage is joint construction. In this stage, the writer found that T1, T2, T3, T5, and T6 different strategies depend on the topic they carried out in the class. Some of them divided the students into some groups, while others asked the students to work in pairs. By working in groups or in pairs, students can have discussion to exchange information and answer questions in the tasks. In this stage, the students also experienced to express their opinion dealing with the tasks. The evidence for this level is taken from the excerpt of T2. She classified her students into a group of four. Then she asked them to have discussion dealing with the material about „too‟ and „enough‟. T2 : Okay, finished? Do you understand? One ... (counting to ask her students to stop working). Ini mana kelompoknya? SSS : Ini dengan kelompok itu, Ma’am (pointing two other students sitting beside them). T2 : Coba pindah saja ke depan. Di depan situ. (asking two students to move and join two other students) SSS : (two students moved and joined other students). T2 : Terus kamu sama siapa? You? (asking one student who sat alone). S : No (telling the teacher that she had no partner). T2 : (looking around the class to find a group that the student could join). Ya sudah, Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 374 berarti ada satu grup yang kelebihan satu orang. Ya udah kamu di sini (asking the student to join her classmates who sat at the front row). SSS : (some students changed their seating arrangement). T2 : Okay, I think it‟s enough for you to understand what is said by the material on page eight. Okay. Mel and Rus, one of you must be ready for the presentation of err ... the group to tell me, to tell us what is the err ... the material for sure. Siapa yang mau menyampaikan? You may err ... you may say your idea in Bahasa or in English. Ayo. Okay, now it‟s time for you to present. The first presentation will be delivered by Dewi and friends. The floor is yours. D : Assalaamu’alaikum warahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. Good morning. Today, we will present about our discussion about „too and enough‟. First, my name is Dewi Rahayuning. F : My name is Faiza (one of the Dewi‟s group members). A : My name is Anida (one of the Dewi‟s group members). A : My name is Asih Handayani (one of the Dewi‟s group members). D : Okay, let‟s start. The meaning of „too‟. Too means something is more that what we want or need (reading material on the text book). The pattern of „too‟. First pattern. Too + adjective + to infinitive to show something that you really want or need. From the above evidence, T2 classified the students into some groups. Then she gave the material to discuss. After the students had finished the discussion, they performed the presentation in front of the class. Besides T2, the other four teachers also conducted joint construction well. Contrast with the other teachers, the writer found that T4 asked the students to complete the task individually without carrying out the joint construction level. As previously they did not get enough knowledge and modelling, they did not experience the joint construction level as well. Students did not understand what the teacher actually instructed to do. Consequently, most of the students could not complete the task well. Scaffolding in Independent Construction Teaching in the last level of scaffolding, that is independent construction, is challenging for teacher and student. In one hand, all teachers‟ assistance must be „removed‟ and students must be able to perform independently without any helps from teacher. On the other hand, teacher must be able to convince and encourage their students that they can do the task well without any more supports from their teacher. In the recent study, the writer found that five teachers (T1, T2, T3, T5, and T6) implemented the independent construction level, both inside and outside class. Only T4 did not give opportunities to his students to perform individually. He asked the students to listen the answer of the question without giving them chance to express their opinion. As the evidence for the scaffolding in independent level, the following excerpts are taken from T3, T5, and T6. T3 : Okay, now you can write your answers here (pointing the whiteboard). Anyone, you can write your answers here one by one. Number one? (offering her students a chance to answer) . S1 : Me, Ma‟am. S2 : Me too, Ma‟am. T3 : Okay, please queue. One by one, please. SSS : (around 15 students came up in front of the class to write their answers) T3 : (coming to some students and asking questions dealing with their answers). Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 375 S : Bu, kalau nggak bisa njawab kayak gitu gimana? Salah nggak papa? T3 : Ya, nggak papa. Coba saya lihat. It‟s okay. Let me see (going to another student and asking some questions). S : Yes, Ma‟am. T3 : Can you get all the answers? SmS : Yes, Ma‟am. T3 : Are you sure with the answers? SmS : Yes. T3 : What do you think about this song? SmS : Err ... happy song? T3 : Yes, right. (leaving the student and going to another one). Let me see your answers. S : This, Ma‟am. T3 : Can you complete all? SmS : Just some, Ma‟am. T3 : It‟s okay. SSS : (seeing their classmates‟ answers on the whiteboard) T3 : Okay, now look at your friends answers on the whiteboard. Who wants to make it complete? SSS : (some students raised up their hands). T3 : Okay, please write your answers. SSS : (some students came up and wrote their answers on the whiteboard). The above evidence demonstrates that students are relatively active. They show their contribution independently and confidently. T3 did not provide support anymore since her students are able to complete the task by themselves. Although some students spoke in Bahasa Indonesia in teacher – student interaction, other students generally had responded T3 in English fluently. It shows that T3 had successfully implemented all the scaffolding levels in the class. As the results, her students can perform English well independently. Obstacles in Building the Field Level In implementing scaffolding in building the field level, all the teacher participants stated that they found obstacles in designing or determining the materials. Besides, time allotment for each session is also considered as obstacle in carrying out scaffolding in this level. Each session of English class is 2 x 45 minutes. In addition, the numbers of students per class which are too much and the school facilities which sometimes do not work properly contribute to the difficulties that the participants face in their teaching process. Obstacles in Modelling In modelling level, four participant teachers (T2, T3, T4, and T6) stated that the obstacle is dealing with finding or designing authentic sources. All the participants agree that the sources for modelling level must be authentic. However, these kinds of materials are not always available in their surroundings. If so, teacher must adopt and adapt the materials first before they are used in the class. Unlike the four teachers, T1 and T5 stated that the authentic sources are easy to find. According to them, teacher can get the materials easily on internet. Besides, teacher will have chance to adopt and adapt the materials which are in line with the learning goals. Obstacles in Joint Constructions In this level, all the participants stated that the obstacle is dealing with how to motivate students to engage in pairs or group works. According to the participants, they already divide students into some pairs or groups in order to make students have more time to practice in groups without feeling under pressured. In fact, most of students consider joint construction level is like the time „to relax‟. Therefore, they do not get involved seriously in the process. They waste much time only for chitchatting. Only a few students experience this level enthusiastically; they practice speaking English actively, have brainstorming, exchange information, etc. Obstacles in Independent Level In this level, the writer found that all the teachers face almost the same kind of obstacle. In all classes that the writer observed, the writer found that the teachers found it difficult to handle students who have low participation in Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 376 the class. They are in general relatively passive. They do not have eagerness to practice English both in oral and written skills. Although the numbers of passive students are relatively lower than the active ones, the teachers stated that handling such passive students is so challenging. Teacher must be always ready to support them in order to avoid them from being frustrated. Factors Underlying Obstacles in Building the Field Based on the teachers‟ questionnaires, two teachers (T2 and T4) stated that they found difficulties in implementing scaffolding during building the field because of numbers of student and time allotment. These two factors inhibit the teaching learning process run smoothly. As the solutions, the teachers usually provide materials which are not too much Unlike T2 and T4, there are three teachers (T1, T3, and T6) who stated as designing authentic materials for listening is not easy to do, they always use the same materials every year. Meanwhile, T5 said that students can cause the obstacles in scaffolding listening when they have less endurance during the process. As the solutions, she makes placement test in every early semester to map the students‟ ability. So she designs materials which are in line with the ability and students will not feel frustrated to undergo this level. Factors Underlying Obstacles in Modelling Based on the teachers‟ questionnaire, all the teachers stated that the main factor underlying obstacle in modelling is lack of teacher knowledge. They realize that teacher must improve their teaching skill through teacher training and alike. However, the numbers of classes they must handle per semester make them difficult to join the training. To solve this problem, T1, T2, T3, T5 and T6 decided to join online trainings. T4 did not give clear answer dealing with the solution. Factors Underlying Obstacles in Joint Construction According to the teachers‟ questionnaire, students‟ low awareness and motivation in understanding English are the main factor underlying the obstacle in this level. All the teachers also agree that the numbers of student in a class make them hard to check how deep their students have understood the materials. Four teachers (T1. T2, T3, and T6) use group discussion to solve the problem. T4 did not give exact answer, while T5 agrees that students must be given project to complete and each student must submit their own written report. Factors Underlying Obstacles in Independent Construction According to the teachers‟ questionnaire, the factor underlying obstacles in this level is dealing time allotment given in each session. They stated that the time provided to teach the materials and to give corrective feedback is very limited. Besides, students‟ eagerness to practice English independently is very low since their vocabularies and grammar are poor. The solution from T1, T2, T3, T4, and T6 is almost the same, that is by giving students opportunity to perform in front of the class. Meanwhile, T5 stated that the solution is that by giving the chance to practice English not only inside but also outside class. Discussion Scaffolding technique is an integral part of teaching. It always occurs in most classrooms, including English class. It has been the subject of a large number of empirical studies. However, it is not possible to form clear conclusions that can serve as the basis information for teachers on how implementing scaffolding technique. The question that follows then why. The answer lies in the complexity of scaffolding technique as a potential tool for acquisition. Furthermore, the various students‟ ability in learning makes them could not meet the learning standards. At this point, teachers have to reflect on the teaching practices in order to find out solutions in helping the students Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 377 achieve the learning goals. This is in line with Hammond‟s statement (2001) that scaffolding is specific help that enables learner to achieve a task which not be possible without support. There is a finite goal. In addition, scaffolding is a way of supporting a learner to achieve that goal. In the recent study, it can be concluded from evidence proposed in the previous subsection that the students cannot perform confidently and independently when the teacher did not give adequate scaffolding. The Implementation of Scaffolding Technique to Teach English This study showed that the teachers implemented scaffolding techniques in almost similar ways. The data collected show that the scaffolding types are conducted by some or all the teachers participating in this research. Meanwhile, the results of classroom observation by using videotaping and transcription show that four teachers used various activities to scaffold their students learning process. It is also shown that the four teachers are capable in scaffold teacher – students interactions. Scaffolding in Building the Field In the recent study, the writer found that the teachers elaborated various materials to help students get involved in the learning process. Based on the class observation through videotaping, it was found that the teachers used song, pictures, video, and audio as the tools to scaffold their students‟ in this level. What the teachers did here is in line with what Hammond (2001) noted. She mentioned that experiences at the beginning of a unit can support students to develop new understandings. The teachers are able to make connections to existing knowledge by reminding students of a shared experience. In the previous part, it is explained that the use of song as a listening material can work well to give prior knowledge to students. When students have enough information dealing with the topic under discussion, they will involve smoothly to the materials given in the next session. However, in the findings it is found that some teachers did not offer prior knowledge in Building the Field. When the experience does not exist, students are failed to construct knowledge in their minds. Akhbar and Sukarno (2016) found in their research that during Building the Field stage teachers must provide explanation that contain verifications and clarification for giving students better understanding. Students would be confused when there is no any input for them. In addition, Barnes in Hammond (2001) explained that some students seem unable to learn because the information they engage with is not internalised. Therefore it is inaccessible when it must be applied in new context. To conclude, scaffolding in Building the Field is very important to carry out. Scaffolding in Modelling In this study, it is proven that modelling can encourage student to practice English actively both inside and outside class. By giving modelling, students can get enough reference to practice English and perform it in the next level, both in group and independently. It is also proven that authentic modelling cause students practice more enthusiastically, for example they imitate the way a native speaker speak in English fluently with the correct pronunciation. Hammond (2001) mentioned that in the Modelling stage, teacher and students share as initiators. They share responsibility. When this stage is carried out by teacher, students can take this opportunity to construct more supportive help that they need in the next stage. In the recent study, unfortunately, the writer found teacher who did not provide enough source in the modelling stage. This is in contrast to what Hammond suggested. As the consequence, students are failed to perform in the next level, that is joint construction. In conclusion, teachers must provide sufficient modelling for students. When this stage is left out, students are not able to prepare themselves to gain responsibility that will be used in the next stage. Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 378 Scaffolding in Joint Construction In the recent study, joint construction level can increase student motivation to learn English. Teacher can use this level as peer- assistance session. In fact, students like to listen their classmates explanation when they do not understand to some materials. Most of students feel shy to ask the question to their teachers. In the study, the writer found that students from the class with teachers who provided joint construction stage are more dominant in the interaction rather than the one which was not supported with the stage. This situation is in line with what Nguyen (2013) found in his research. He reported that peer scaffolding in the joint construction stage was effective for the learners because it assisted them to overcome different difficulties while doing the task. Therefore, this level can give benefits to both sides. Al-Yami in Safa and Rozati (2016) proved in his research that interactive activities contributed to students‟ higher achievement. Findings in his research revealed that students who did not get enough chance to engage in joint construction stage were significantly lower in achievement. Thus, it is proven that teacher must as well implement the scaffolding through joint construction stage. Scaffolding Independent Construction As English is a foreign language in Indonesia, students speak English only in their English class. Consequently, they do not have enough time and place to practice it. From this study, it can be seen that students who always get all levels of scaffolding from the teacher can finally perform and practice English independently and confidently. Although this process is never easy and takes much time in the implementation, the result is always satisfactory. Teacher can provide enough support for students and students finally reach the learning goal. However, in the present study, the writer found one teacher who did not provide adequate chance for students to perform independently. As the consequence, students are not able to explore more what abilities they have acquired in learning English. The findings of the present study were in line with those of Wood and Middleton and Yellen and Masters (in Zarandi and Rahbar, 2016) who approved that successful teachers use scaffolding strategies as an instructional tool to help individual students learn language skill. The results of this study also approved what Poorahmadi and Mehrani and Modarresi (in Zarandi and Rahbar, 2016) found as scaffolding can improve general proficiency of EFL language learners. To sum up, the findings of this study also confirm three principles of scaffolding in Gibbon (2002). The first is scaffolding links with and build on what learners bring to school: their language, culture, understandings, and experience. The second, related to in the second language acquisition and the language demands of the mainstream curriculum, scaffolding provides the kind of support to enable them to learn successfully through collaboration with teacher and with other students. The third is willingness to “hand over” to students the responsibility to use what they have learned independently, in new contexts and for their own purposes. Obstacles in Implementing Scaffolding Technique The obstacles described in this study are in general found by all the participants. It means that the stakeholders must take an action to solve the problems. Dealing with the numbers of students, for example, government must limit the ideal numbers of students in every class. Besides, government must also complete the school facilities with equipments needed in learning process. On the other hand, teacher must also actively improve themselves to be better facilitators. Factors Underlying the Obstacles in Implementing Scaffolding Technique Teachers stated that the obstacles are caused by many factors. In this recent study, most teachers have proposed good problem solving for each obstacle. It means that scaffolding technique can be implemented in the Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 379 classroom in any different situations. Despite the problems and their factors, many researches on scaffolding implementation resulted in positive way. CONCLUSION The present study was aimed to seek answers for three formulated problems coming up from providing scaffolding technique in classroom setting. Firstly, the writer described the implementation of scaffolding to engage the students in social practices of learning language. It is found that most participants implemented scaffolding technique in their class completely. The students that undergo complete scaffolding from their teachers can finally perform more independently and confidently rather than the ones who did not experience the complete scaffolding. Secondly, she described the teachers‟ obstacles in implementing scaffolding during the classroom interaction in learning language. Teachers found many obstacles during the implementation. The obstacles are found in all levels of scaffolding. The kind of obstacles in each level is different from one teacher and another. Thirdly, she also described the factors underlying teachers‟ obstacles and the problem solving. Factors underlying the obstacles are internal and external ones. From the internal factors, most participants stated that being lack of knowledge and teaching skill is the most dominant one. Meanwhile, students, time allotment, school facilities, and government policies are considered as the external factors. Seeking answers for the first research question, she indicated that the implementation of teachers‟ scaffolding technique in the present study attempted to match the students‟ needs; which can be seen from the evidence of teacher – student interaction. During the teaching learning process with their students, teachers showed activeness and eagerness to respond students‟ utterances, give inputs, feedbacks, discuss the materials with their students, and read the students‟ works. They interacted and collaborated in finding the solution on the students‟ problems during the classroom interaction. Teachers also had various priorities in giving the feedback. This could mean that the teachers prioritized and considered which areas their students were capable most. The scaffolding implementation was able to trigger students‟ activeness in the class and students‟ language learning. The writer revealed three points of interpretation in describing the way teachers provided their scaffolding: first, teachers believed in the importance scaffolding technique through sequence of types that is building the field as prior knowledge to the students‟ improvements. Next, teachers applied modelling in the classroom meeting. They used various authentic sources. Then teachers conducted the step of joint construction in the classrooms. The last, teachers used independent construction to encourage students to perform independently. Second, teachers realized the obstacles occurred in the implementation of scaffolding technique in the classroom setting. Third, the writer could reveal the factors underlying teachers‟ obstacles in implementing scaffolding technique. However, results also showed that not all teachers implemented the types of scaffolding completely and accurately. Consequently, students who were not supported by appropriate scaffolding could not complete the tasks well. Overall, the research showed that the teachers implemented scaffolding technique appropriately and wisely though the teachers faced obstacles as complex phenomena, which were not easy to define or tackle. Implying the findings of the study to research goals, the present study could give deeper insight on the study of teachers‟ implementation of scaffolding technique in the language classrooms. In broader context, regarding the implementation of Curriculum 2013 that promoted student active learning, the present study could be an example that encouraged the students in independent learning where the teachers should present as the guided participant to facilitate the students‟ engagement in learning through a set of activities and finding Nesti Noor Hayati, Djoko Sutopo, Abdurrachman Faridi/ EEJ 9 (3) 2019 368 - 381 380 out solutions for the students‟ learning challenges. 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