SINTA HOERUN NISA Classroom Interaction Analysis 124 CLASSROOM INTERACTION ANALYSIS IN INDONESIAN EFL SPEAKING CLASS Sinta Hoerun Nisa Department of Research and Development, the Association of Indonesian Scholars of English Education (AISEE), Indonesia E-mail: sintahoerunnisa@gmail.com APA Citation: Nisa, S. H. (2014). Classroom Interaction Analysis In Indonesian EFL Speaking Class. English Review: Journal of English Education, 2(2), 124-132 Received: 11-03-2014 Accepted: 27-04-2013 Published: 01-06-2014 Abstract: This study entitles “Classroom Interaction Analysis in the EFL Speaking Class” aimed at analyzing the categories of teacher talk, student talk and classroom interaction types used during EFL speaking class. The research employed a qualitative design and applied a case study. Subjects of the research were an English teacher and 25 students at the second semester of English Education Department of the University of Kuningan. The data were gained through naturalistic observation and document analysis. The data were analyzed by using FLINT (Foreign Language Interaction) system as developed by Moskowitz (1971) and types of classroom interaction of Malamah-Thomas’ (1987) frameworks. The findings revealed that both teacher and students applied all categories of talk as mentioned in FLINT system and classroom interaction types. It is recommended for the teacher to apply more categories of ‘praises and encourages’ to build students’ confidence in speaking, ‘asks questions’ to promote their communicative skill and to encourage students to use English during speaking activities, particularly in group work activities. Keywords: Classroom interaction, FLINT analysis, EFL speaking class. including in language classroom. In order to get experience in English communication, they need to interact regularly using the target language since interaction is the heart of communication (Brown, 2001: 165). Interaction occurs as long as people are communicating each other and giving action and receiving the reaction in one another anywhere and anytime, including in the classroom setting. Dagarin (2004: 128) argues that classroom interaction is “two way process between the participants in the language process, the teacher influences the learners and vice versa.” Furthermore, interaction in the classroom is categorized as the pedagogic interaction which means the interaction in the teaching and learning process (Sarosdy et al, 2006). Unfortunately, the interaction in the language classroom seems difficult INTRODUCTION The need for English speaking mastery has been increased due to the status of English as a global language recognized in every country (Crystal, 2003: 3) and used for international communication. English has a function as the main gate to get a better job since it is used as the working language in international organizations and multinational companies (Nazara, 2010: 1). The need for getting a better job and globally participation become the main reasons for non-native speakers to learn and master English, either as a second language (ESL) or a foreign language (EFL), particularly focused on speaking skill. However, speaking is a complicated skill and needs a long time to develop. In developing speaking skill, people need to practice it as often as possible and get a sufficient experience everywhere, 125 ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554 Vol. 2, Issue 2, June 2014 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE to use the target language all the time, especially in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom. It is happened since the EFL students have common native languages (Brown, 2001: 180). If the teacher of EFL ignores it, the goal of teaching process then could not be achieved. Therefore, by impressing the students about the importance of practice in English for eventual success and telling them that it can help them to build their intuition to language, the use of native language when interacting will be able to be reduced (Brown, 2001: 180). Interaction plays significant roles in the language classroom. Firstly, it can increase students’ knowledge of language. Rivers (1987: 4-5) notes that, “Through interaction, students can increase their language store as they listen to or read authentic linguistic material, or even the output of their fellow students, in discussions, skits, joint problem-solving tasks, or dialogue journals…”. Secondly, it is able to strengthen the social relationship. Interaction, for students, will strengthen the relationship, either among them or with their teachers since it gives them the chance to learn from each other and to get feedback on their performance (Naimat, 2011: 672). Thirdly, it is beneficial to develop students’ communicative skill. According to Thapa and Lin (2013), “interaction in the classroom becomes the central factors which is able to enhance the students’ linguistic resources as well as equipping them with appropriate skills for communication.” Naimat (2011: 672) adds, “The communication skill, then, will be acquired through speaking activities, such as debates, discussions and about desired topics among students.” Lastly, it has a role to build students’ confidence in speaking. Thapa and Lin (2013) explain that “In language classroom, interaction is an essential social activities for students through which they not only construct knowledge, but also build confidence and identity as competent language users”. Therefore, by accustoming students to interact with teacher and among their fellows will build their knowledge as well as their confidence. For the interaction in the language classroom has advantages to the students’ speaking performance, therefore the study about classroom interaction is considerably important and worth to be analyzed. In analyzing the interaction during speaking class, Foreign Language Interaction (FLINT) system developed by Moskowitz (1971, as cited in Brown, 2001: 170) was used. This analysis system has several benefits; it is helpful in developing interactive language teaching since it gives the researcher a taxonomy for observing teachers, set a framework for evaluating and improving the teaching, and helps to set a learning climate for interactive teaching (Brown, 2001: 168-169). Aspects to be analyzed during interaction are teacher talk and student talk. Teacher talk is defined as any words or sentences said by the teacher during the interaction in teaching- learning process, including when the teacher gives explanation, feedback, ask question and so on (Mujahidah, 2012). It indicates that any kind of talk spoken by the teacher is called teacher talk. The teacher talk plays an important role in teaching process since it can increase students’ language store as they listen to the real authentic material (Rivers, 1987: 4-5). Another importance of teacher talk in the language classroom is that the role of the teacher as the provider of comprehensible input. Harmer (2001: 66) notes, “Teachers are ideally placed to provide comprehensible input since the students can react appropriately although the students do not understand every word they said, but they understand the meaning of SINTA HOERUN NISA Classroom Interaction Analysis 126 what is being said.” The teacher talk has seven categories, namely (1) deals with feelings, (2) praises or encourages, (3) uses ideas of students, (4) asks question, (5) gives information and corrects without rejection, (6) gives direction, and (7) criticizes students’ response and behavior (Moskowitz, 1971 as cited in Brown, 2001: 170). Students talk can be used by the students to express their own ideas, initiate new topics, and develop their own opinions. Categories of students talk including students response (specific), students innitiated, silence and confusion (Moskowitz, 1971 as cited in Brown, 2001: 170). In the foreign language classroom, the interaction occurs variously. Malamah-Thomas (1987) as cited in Mingzhi (2005: 59) divide types of classroom interaction into seven types, namely (1) teacher speaking to the whole class which is established when a teacher talks to the whole class at the same time (Dagarin, 2004: 129), (2) teacher speaking to an individual with the rest of students as the hearers that can be used for an informal conversation at the beginning of the lesson or for leading students into a less guided activity (Dagarin, 2004: 129), (3) teacher speaking to a group of students which refers to the teacher participating students’ group work (Mingzhi, 2005: 59), (4) student speaking to the teacher that refers to the students’ initiation (Mingzhi, 2005: 59), (5) student speaking to the student related to the pair- work activities that involves collaboration and self-initiated with only two students (Brown, 2001: 178), (6) student speaking to group members which is related to the group work (Mingzhi, 2005: 60), and (7) student speaking to the whole class which is commonly applied when the speaking activities are students-fronted, for instance in presentation and workshop (Mingzhi, 2005: 59). METHOD This study applied a qualitative research design. Qualitative design was chosen in order to explore and understand the social phenomenon (Creswell, 2009: 22). The strategy applied was a case study since it explored in depth activity in one or more individuals (Creswell, 2009: 30). The research was undertaken at the second semester of English Education Department of the University of Kuningan. The participants involved in this research were 25 students at the second semester of English Department who had been taking the ‘Speaking 2’ subject and an English teacher who taught the ‘Speaking 2’ subject. Creswell (2009: 166) notes that “data collection procedures in qualitative research include collecting information through un-structured or semi-structured observation and interviews, documents and visual materials, as well as establishing the protocol for recording information”. In this research, the data was collected through naturalistic observation and document analysis. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (2009: 442), “Naturalistic observation means observing individuals in their natural settings, simply observes and records what happens as things naturally occur.” In this research, the classroom interaction was observed through video recording. Observation has a number of advantages covering (1) researcher can record information as it occurs, (2) researcher has a first-hand experience with participants, (3) usual aspect can be noticed during observation, and (4) it is useful in exploring topics that may be uncomfortable for participants to discuss (Creswell, 2009: 167). The other method for collecting data was document analysis. Document analysis is defined as “a technique which enables a researcher to study human behavior in indirect way through an analysis of 127 ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554 Vol. 2, Issue 2, June 2014 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE their communication” (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2009: 472). Document analysis has advantages, namely it is useful as a means of analyzing observational data and a researcher can delve into records and documents (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2009: 483). In this research, the document analyzed was video’s transcription of teaching-learning process in the speaking class at the second semester of English Education Department in University of Kuningan. The videos were documented in 13th March up to 17th April, 2014. To display the language used in the classroom, the videos were then transcribed. The videos comprised four sessions of English speaking class at the second semester English Department with various topics of speaking activities including class discussion, presentation, seminar as a part of simulation, and ice breaking as an example of communication games. Furthermore, to investigate the classroom interaction appeared between teacher and students, this research employed FLINT (Foreign Language Interaction) analysis framework adopted from Moskowitz (1971) as cited in Brown, 2010: 170). While, to investigate types of classroom interaction in the speaking class, the researcher used Malamah-Thomas’s (1987) framework as cited in (Mingzhi, 2005: 59) about types of classroom interaction. In analyzing the data, the data from video recording were firstly transcribed to show the interaction and language used by teacher and students during English speaking class. Secondly, the transcripts were coded by using several categories of teacher talk and student talk as well as types of classroom interaction. Thirdly, the data were then calculated and analyzed the amount of each category of teacher talk, student talk, and classroom interaction type. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Based on four times observation that have been conducted at the second semester of English Education Department in the University of Kuningan, it was found that all categories both in teacher talk and student talk as mentioned in FLINT system (Moskowitz, 1971 as cited in Brown, 2001: 170) had been applied by the subjects. The category of “gives information” was mostly used by the teacher and “student specific response” category was most dominant spoken by students. In addition, all types of classroom interaction based on Malamah-Thomas’s (1987, cited in Mingzhi, 2005: 59) framework has been applied with “student speaking to the whole class” was mostly applied in the EFL speaking class. Teacher Talk Teacher Talk 10.3 3.4 5.7 23.7 34.1 17.1 5.7 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Deals with feeling Praises or encourages Uses ideas of students Asks questions Gives information Gives directions Criticizes student behavior or response TEACHER TALK SINTA HOERUN NISA Classroom Interaction Analysis 128 Deals with feeling Transcription from first meeting: T : “Assalamualaikum Wr Wb.” Ss : “Waalaikumussalam Wr Wb” T : “Good morning.” Ss : “Good morning.” T : “How are you today?” Ss : “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” T : “I’m fine too, thank you. Interaction in language classroom, particularly in using “Deals with students’ feelings” category, is essential to strengthen relationship between a teacher and students and also to break the ice because the students feel nervous, especially at the first time they meet their teacher. In addition, the teacher seemed to be aware that she needs to make the students familiar with English expression. Praising or encouraging S : “Jadi ini kaya cerita gitu.” T : “Oh, okay. Attention please about the story okay?” Ss : “Okay.” T : “He has a talent for drawing picture. Good picture.” Ss : “Map” This category is important as well since it determines relationship between teacher and students. In addition, praising and encouraging will help them to be more confident when speaking. However, the teacher hardly used this category in teaching speaking. Using ideas of students Transcription from forth meeting: T : “Okay. Five students to perform in front of the class. First one? S : (a student raises his hand) “Ada yang bawa spidol?” T : “Anyone who brings the marker? Agus, maybe you can give a clue before you give the games to your friends.” The teacher used student’s idea by translating his questions from the native language to the target language. It is assumed that the teacher tried to provide students the input when being spoken by their fellows using native language. Asking Questions Transcription of first meeting: T: “I will check your attendance list, who call the name say present. Who is present three times that you say three present. But if you absent one time, that you present double present. Be honest, please. Understand all of you?” Ss : “Yes.” In asking questions, the teacher frequently asked the students about their understanding related to the materials and directions given by asking “Do you understand”, “Understand all of you?”, and “Is it clear?”. Asking students using those expressions are less appropriate since they only need simple responses and polar answers, just by saying yes or no. However, if the teacher wanted to check students’ understanding, it is more appropriate to give knowledge questions, for instance “What did you get from my explanation?”. This question strategy will create the interactive learning as suggested by Brown (2001: 169). Giving information Transcription from the third meeting: T: “Pictorial game is how to create or show the picture to students to make understand. This is relevant with enriching the vocabulary. Ini salah satu contohnya. Nah, setiap anak setiap siswa, next, harus menemukan satu permainan to be instructor in front of your friends. Is it clear from me?” Ss : “Yeah” The transcription reveals that in giving information, the teacher used Bahasa Indonesia in order to 129 ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554 Vol. 2, Issue 2, June 2014 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE make students more understand about materials delivered and to avoid misunderstanding. Transcription of forth meeting: S : “I got just seven papers.” T : “Papers. It’s plural.” S : “Yes. Just seven papers.” It shows that the teacher attempted to correct student’s mistake of grammar without using words or intonation leading to the criticism. Giving direction Transcription from the first meeting: T : “ Speak up, please. Count your number, please. One, two, three, four. Back to one, one, two, three, four. Begin from here.” Ss : [Students counting] This transcription tells about the teacher gave direction to the students when applying group work speaking activity. This category of “gives direction” is commonly applied when the teacher acts as a director which directs the students in doing group work activity. Criticizing student’s behavior Transcription from forth observation: T : “I know before that you didn’t pay attention to his explanation. Please, pay attention.” Ss : “Yes.” This transcription reveals that the teacher tried to ask a student to be quiet by saying “Please, pay attention.” It was related to the students’ behavior in the classroom. Student Talk 51 28 2 19 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Student response Student initiation Silence Confusion STUDENT TALK Students’ response T : “Okay, before doing our activity, I will give you some materials. Please, Iip, clean the whiteboard!” S : [The student got up and did what the teacher was asked] This transcription shows that in responding to the teacher’s talk, the student used gesture or non-verbal response. It indicates that the student understood the teacher’s language. However, this response is categorized as the simple and limited. Another type SINTA HOERUN NISA Classroom Interaction Analysis 130 of student response with limited and simple response is found as follow. T : “What is topic of today?” Ss : “Ade Sara.” T : “Ade Sara that was killed by her boyfriend?” Ss : “Ex-boyfriend.” T : “Ex-boyfriend. For our topic today is about Ade Sara. Using /eitc/ or?” Ss : “No.” Students’ initiation This category means the students respond to the teacher with students’ own ideas, opinions, reactions and feelings. For example S1 : “If we show the picture and ..” T : “Yeah. Pictorial games ini according to Harmer, yah, Harmer. Pictorial games is how to understand students vocabulary……” The “student initiated” category emerged when students had their own ideas about speaking task. This category seemed to be applied in third and fourth meetings, when they have already been trained by the teacher with a number of speaking activities that promotes the interaction. Silence Silence means pauses in interaction during which there is no verbal interaction. This also include silence in which a piece of audio and visual equipment. For example T : “Class discussion. What happens in a class discussion? [the teacher wrote the material on the whiteboard for three minutes and no verbal interaction] Finish?” Ss : “Not yet.” The “silence” category happened when the teacher wrote the material. During that time, there was no verbal interaction. It was happened in the first meeting of ‘Speaking 2’ subject and still the teacher that was dominating the interaction. Confusion Confusion means that more than one person at time talking, so the interaction cannot be recorded. For example T : “Make topic about Ade Sara.” Ss : [Group discussion was started for more than 20 minutes] The transcription above shows that students at the same time talking and discussing the topic given by the teacher, so the interaction could not be recorded. However, the interaction during group discussion refers to the interaction among group members. During group discussion, the students tended to use their native languages, either in Indonesia or Sundanese language. Types of Classroom Interaction Teacher speaking to the whole class This type of interaction occurred when firstly, the teacher greeted students in the beginning of the lesson and gave the material. Secondly, it was also applied when the teacher gave a several feedback for students’ performances in the end of lesson. The last, when the teacher gave information about next speaking activities. Teacher speaking to an individual This type of interaction was applied when the teacher checked students’ attendance, directed and asked a student in speaking activities such as ice breaking as a part of communication games. Furthermore, it was applied when the teacher corrected students’ mistakes in pronouncing and related to grammatical mistakes as well. Teacher speaking to group of students This type was used when speaking activity conducted seminar as the example of simulation. In this type of 131 ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554 Vol. 2, Issue 2, June 2014 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE interaction, the teacher told about the score of each group and corrected their mistakes. Student speaking to teacher This type refers to the student’s initiation to ask or interact with the teacher. It occurred in the last meeting when the students performed their speaking in front of their classmates. Students interacted with the teacher when they tried to present and to ask some vocabularies which they did not know in the target language. In addition, it was applied when they asked the teacher about speaking activities in the following meeting. Student speaking to student This type of interaction is called pair work and it occurred when the classroom conducted simulation and communication games activities. Student speaking to group members The speaking activities which applied this type were class discussion in the first meeting and communication games in the fourth meeting. Unfortunately, they tended to spend their times to interact with their fellows using native languages, Sundanese and Bahasa Indonesia. Student speaking to the whole class This type was applied when students performed in front of the class as the presenters in class discussion, speakers in simulation, and performer in communication games. This interaction gave the same opportunity for each student to speak during speaking class. CONCLUSION This present study aims to discover categories of talk spoken by teacher and students according to FLINT system (Moskowitz, 1971 as cited in Brown, 2001: 170) and types of classroom interaction adapted from Malamah- Thomas (1987, cited in Mingzhi, 2005: 59). The findings revealed that during interaction in the EFL speaking class, the teacher tended to act as facilitator which facilitated students to speak with several student-fronted speaking activities, such as class discussion, presentation, simulation and communication games, a director that directed them in conducting speaking activities, and a resource providing information needed by students. In addition, the students had more opportunity to speak and interact in EFL speaking class by doing speaking activities focused on group-work activities and presentation. However, the usage of native language during interaction was frequently used. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended for the teacher to motivate students to speak and interact using the target language (English) during EFL speaking activities, to praise them for what they have done for building up their confidence, and to encourage them to interact by applying question strategies which are able to develop their communicative competence. This study has several difficulties in conducting the research, including in data coding processes, collecting the theories, and describing findings and discussion. Therefore, it is suggested for the further study to prepare the research well. Classroom interaction has several scopes that are worth to be researched, so it is beneficial to conduct the similar study with different frameworks such as teachers questioning strategies to give more significant contributions in the teaching and learning process. REFERENCES Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. 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