Minggu, 22 April 2012

0 komentar Diposting oleh Unknown di 06.26

Landasan Pengembangan Kurikulum


Landasan KurikulumKurikulum merupakan inti dari bidang pendidikan dan memiliki pengaruh terhadap seluruh kegiatan pendidikan. Mengingat pentingnya kurikulum dalam pendidikan dan kehidupan manusia, maka penyusunan kurikulum tidak dapat dilakukan secara sembarangan. Penyusunan kurikulum membutuhkan landasan-landasan yang kuat, yang didasarkan pada hasil-hasil pemikiran dan penelitian yang mendalam. Penyusunan kurikulum yang tidak didasarkan pada landasan yang kuat dapat berakibat fatal terhadap kegagalan pendidikan itu sendiri. Dengan sendirinya, akan berkibat pula terhadap kegagalan proses pengembangan manusia.
Dalam hal ini, Nana Syaodih Sukmadinata (1997) mengemukakan empat landasan utama dalam pengembangan kurikulum, yaitu: (1) filosofis; (2) psikologis; (3) sosial-budaya; dan (4) ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi..Untuk lebih jelasnya, di bawah ini akan diuraikan secara ringkas keempat landasan tersebut.
1.Landasan Filosofis
Filsafat memegang peranan penting dalam pengembangan kuikulum. Sama halnya seperti dalam Filsafat Pendidikan, kita dikenalkan pada berbagai aliran filsafat, seperti : perenialisme, essensialisme, eksistesialisme, progresivisme, dan rekonstruktivisme. Dalam pengembangan kurikulum pun senantiasa berpijak pada aliran – aliran filsafat tertentu, sehingga akan mewarnai terhadap konsep dan implementasi kurikulum yang dikembangkan. Dengan merujuk kepada pemikiran Ella Yulaelawati (2003), di bawah ini diuraikan tentang isi dari-dari masing-masing aliran filsafat, kaitannya dengan pengembangan kurikulum.
a.Perenialisme lebih menekankan pada keabadian, keidealan, kebenaran dan keindahan dari pada warisan budaya dan dampak sosial tertentu. Pengetahuan dianggap lebih penting dan kurang memperhatikan kegiatan sehari-hari. Pendidikan yang menganut faham ini menekankan pada kebenaran absolut , kebenaran universal yang tidak terikat pada tempat dan waktu. Aliran ini lebih berorientasi ke masa lalu.
b.Essensialisme menekankan pentingnya pewarisan budaya dan pemberian pengetahuan dan keterampilan pada peserta didik agar dapat menjadi anggota masyarakat yang berguna. Matematika, sains dan mata pelajaran lainnya dianggap sebagai dasar-dasar substansi kurikulum yang berharga untuk hidup di masyarakat. Sama halnya dengan perenialisme, essesialisme juga lebih berorientasi pada masa lalu.
c.Eksistensialisme menekankan pada individu sebagai sumber pengetahuan tentang hidup dan makna. Untuk memahami kehidupan seseorang mesti memahami dirinya sendiri. Aliran ini mempertanyakan : bagaimana saya hidup di dunia ? Apa pengalaman itu ?
d.Progresivisme menekankan pada pentingnya melayani perbedaan individual, berpusat pada peserta didik, variasi pengalaman belajar dan proses. Progresivisme merupakan landasan bagi pengembangan belajar peserta didik aktif.
e.Rekonstruktivisme merupakan elaborasi lanjut dari aliran progresivisme. Pada rekonstruktivisme, peradaban manusia masa depan sangat ditekankan. Di samping menekankan tentang perbedaan individual seperti pada progresivisme, rekonstruktivisme lebih jauh menekankan tentang pemecahan masalah, berfikir kritis dan sejenisnya. Aliran ini akan mempertanyakan untuk apa berfikir kritis, memecahkan masalah, dan melakukan sesuatu ? Penganut aliran ini menekankan pada hasil belajar dari pada proses.
Aliran Filsafat Perenialisme, Essensialisme, Eksistensialisme merupakan aliran filsafat yang mendasari terhadap pengembangan Model Kurikulum Subjek-Akademis. Sedangkan, filsafat progresivisme memberikan dasar bagi pengembangan Model Kurikulum Pendidikan Pribadi. Sementara, filsafat rekonstruktivisme banyak diterapkan dalampengembangan Model Kurikulum Interaksional.
Masing-masing aliran filsafat pasti memiliki kelemahan dan keunggulan tersendiri. Oleh karena itu, dalam praktek pengembangan kurikulum, penerapan aliran filsafat cenderung dilakukan secara eklektif untuk lebih mengkompromikan dan mengakomodasikan berbagai kepentingan yang terkait dengan pendidikan. Meskipun demikian saat ini, pada beberapa negara dan khususnya di Indonesia, tampaknya mulai terjadi pergeseran landasan dalam pengembangan kurikulum, yaitu dengan lebih menitikberatkan pada filsafat rekonstruktivisme.
2.Landasan Psikologis
Nana Syaodih Sukmadinata (1997) mengemukakan bahwa minimal terdapat dua bidang psikologi yang mendasari pengembangan kurikulum yaitu (1) psikologi perkembangan dan (2) psikologi belajar. Psikologi perkembangan merupakan ilmu yang mempelajari tentang perilaku individu berkenaan dengan perkembangannya. Dalam psikologi perkembangan dikaji tentang hakekat perkembangan, pentahapan perkembangan, aspek-aspek perkembangan, tugas-tugas perkembangan individu, serta hal-hal lainnya yang berhubungan perkembangan individu, yang semuanya dapat dijadikan sebagai bahan pertimbangan dan mendasari pengembangan kurikulum. Psikologi belajar merupakan ilmu yang mempelajari tentang perilaku individu dalam konteks belajar. Psikologi belajar mengkaji tentang hakekat belajar dan teori-teori belajar, serta berbagai aspek perilaku individu lainnya dalam belajar, yang semuanya dapat dijadikan sebagai bahan pertimbangan sekaligus mendasari pengembangan kurikulum.
Masih berkenaan dengan landasan psikologis, Ella Yulaelawati memaparkan teori-teori psikologi yang mendasari Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi. Dengan mengutip pemikiran Spencer, Ella Yulaelawati mengemukakan pengertian kompetensi bahwa kompetensi merupakan “karakteristik mendasar dari seseorang yang merupakan hubungan kausal dengan referensi kriteria yang efektif dan atau penampilan yang terbaik dalam pekerjaan pada suatu situasi“.
Selanjutnya, dikemukakan pula tentang 5 tipe kompetensi, yaitu :
a.motif; sesuatu yang dimiliki seseorang untuk berfikir secara konsisten atau keinginan untuk melakukan suatu aksi.
b.bawaan; yaitu karakteristik fisik yang merespons secara konsisten berbagai situasi atau informasi.
c.konsep diri; yaitu tingkah laku, nilai atau image seseorang;
d.pengetahuan; yaitu informasi khusus yang dimiliki seseorang; dan
e.keterampilan; yaitu kemampuan melakukan tugas secara fisik maupun mental.
Kelima kompetensi tersebut mempunyai implikasi praktis terhadap perencanaan sumber daya manusia atau pendidikan. Keterampilan dan pengetahuan cenderung lebih tampak pada permukaan ciri-ciri seseorang, sedangkan konsep diri, bawaan dan motif lebih tersembunyi dan lebih mendalam serta merupakan pusat kepribadian seseorang. Kompetensi permukaan (pengetahuan dan keterampilan) lebih mudah dikembangkan. Pelatihan merupakan hal tepat untuk menjamin kemampuan ini. Sebaliknya, kompetensi bawaan dan motif jauh lebih sulit untuk dikenali dan dikembangkan.
Dalam konteks Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi, E. Mulyasa (2002) menyoroti tentang aspek perbedaan dan karakteristik peserta didik, Dikemukakannya, bahwa sedikitnya terdapat lima perbedaan dan karakteristik peserta didik yang perlu diperhatikan dalam Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi, yaitu : (1) perbedaan tingkat kecerdasan; (2) perbedaan kreativitas; (3) perbedaan cacat fisik; (4) kebutuhan peserta didik; dan (5) pertumbuhan dan perkembangan kognitif.
3.Landasan Sosial-Budaya
Kurikulum dapat dipandang sebagai suatu rancangan pendidikan. Sebagai suatu rancangan, kurikulum menentukan pelaksanaan dan hasil pendidikan. Kita maklumi bahwa pendidikan merupakan usaha mempersiapkan peserta didik untuk terjun ke lingkungan masyarakat. Pendidikan bukan hanya untuk pendidikan semata, namun memberikan bekal pengetahuan, keterampilan serta nilai-nilai untuk hidup, bekerja dan mencapai perkembangan lebih lanjut di masyarakat.
Peserta didik berasal dari masyarakat, mendapatkan pendidikan baik formal maupun informal dalam lingkungan masyarakat dan diarahkan bagi kehidupan masyarakat pula. Kehidupan masyarakat, dengan segala karakteristik dan kekayaan budayanya menjadi landasan dan sekaligus acuan bagi pendidikan.
Dengan pendidikan, kita tidak mengharapkan muncul manusia – manusia yang menjadi terasing dari lingkungan masyarakatnya, tetapi justru melalui pendidikan diharapkan dapat lebih mengerti dan mampu membangun kehidupan masyakatnya. Oleh karena itu, tujuan, isi, maupun proses pendidikan harus disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan, kondisi, karakteristik, kekayaan dan perkembangan yang ada di masyakarakat.
Setiap lingkungan masyarakat masing-masing memiliki sistem-sosial budaya tersendiri yang mengatur pola kehidupan dan pola hubungan antar anggota masyarakat. Salah satu aspek penting dalam sistem sosial budaya adalah tatanan nilai-nilai yang mengatur cara berkehidupan dan berperilaku para warga masyarakat. Nilai-nilai tersebut dapat bersumber dari agama, budaya, politik atau segi-segi kehidupan lainnya.
Sejalan dengan perkembangan masyarakat maka nilai-nilai yang ada dalam masyarakat juga turut berkembang sehingga menuntut setiap warga masyarakat untuk melakukan perubahan dan penyesuaian terhadap tuntutan perkembangan yang terjadi di sekitar masyarakat.
Israel Scheffer (Nana Syaodih Sukmadinata, 1997) mengemukakan bahwa melalui pendidikan manusia mengenal peradaban masa lalu, turut serta dalam peradaban sekarang dan membuat peradaban masa yang akan datang.
Dengan demikian, kurikulum yang dikembangkan sudah seharusnya mempertimbangkan, merespons dan berlandaskan pada perkembangan sosial – budaya dalam suatu masyarakat, baik dalam konteks lokal, nasional maupun global.

4.Landasan Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi
Pada awalnya, ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi yang dimiliki manusia masih relatif sederhana, namun sejak abad pertengahan mengalami perkembangan yang pesat. Berbagai penemuan teori-teori baru terus berlangsung hingga saat ini dan dipastikan kedepannya akan terus semakin berkembang
Akal manusia telah mampu menjangkau hal-hal yang sebelumnya merupakan sesuatu yang tidak mungkin. Pada jaman dahulu kala, mungkin orang akan menganggap mustahil kalau manusia bisa menginjakkan kaki di Bulan, tetapi berkat kemajuan dalam bidang Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi pada pertengahan abad ke-20, pesawat Apollo berhasil mendarat di Bulan dan Neil Amstrong merupakan orang pertama yang berhasil menginjakkan kaki di Bulan.
Kemajuan cepat dunia dalam bidang informasi dan teknologi dalam dua dasa warsa terakhir telah berpengaruh pada peradaban manusia melebihi jangkauan pemikiran manusia sebelumnya. Pengaruh ini terlihat pada pergeseran tatanan sosial, ekonomi dan politik yang memerlukan keseimbangan baru antara nilai-nilai, pemikiran dan cara-cara kehidupan yang berlaku pada konteks global dan lokal.
Selain itu, dalam abad pengetahuan sekarang ini, diperlukan masyarakat yang berpengetahuan melalui belajar sepanjang hayat dengan standar mutu yang tinggi. Sifat pengetahuan dan keterampilan yang harus dikuasai masyarakat sangat beragam dan canggih, sehingga diperlukan kurikulum yang disertai dengan kemampuan meta-kognisi dan kompetensi untuk berfikir dan belajar bagaimana belajar (learning to learn) dalam mengakses, memilih dan menilai pengetahuan, serta mengatasi siatuasi yang ambigu dan antisipatif terhadap ketidakpastian..
Perkembangan dalam bidang Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi, terutama dalam bidang transportasi dan komunikasi telah mampu merubah tatanan kehidupan manusia. Oleh karena itu, kurikulum seyogyanya dapat mengakomodir dan mengantisipasi laju perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, sehingga peserta didik dapat mengimbangi dan sekaligus mengembangkan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi untuk kemaslahatan dan kelangsungan hidup manusia.

 

Selasa, 17 April 2012

0 komentar Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.35

SOUND DEVICES USED IN POETRY
 A List of Definitions

        Sound devices are resources used by poets to convey and reinforce the meaning or experience of poetry through the skillful use of sound.  After all, poets are trying to use a concentrated blend of sound and imagery to create an emotional response.  The words and their order should evoke images, and the words themselves have sounds, which can reinforce or otherwise clarify those images.  All in all, the poet is trying to get you, the reader, to sense a particular thing, and the use of sound devices are some of the poet’s tools.

These definitions, by the way, come by way of the Glossary of Poetic Terms, which can be found on the Internet at http://shoga.wwa.com/~rgs/glossary.html

  1. ACCENT
The rhythmically significant stress in the articulation of words, giving some syllables more relative prominence than others. In words of two or more syllables, one syllable is almost invariably stressed more strongly than the other syllables. Words of one syllable may be either stressed or unstressed, depending on the context in which they are used, but connective one-syllable words like, and, but, or, to, etc., are generally unstressed. The words in a line of poetry are usually arranged so the accents occur at regular intervals, with the meter defined by the placement of the accents within the foot. Accent should not be construed as emphasis.
Sidelight: Two degrees of accent are natural to many multisyllabic English words, designated as primary and secondary.
Sidelight: When a syllable is accented, it tends to be raised in pitch and lengthened. Any or a combination of stress/pitch/length can be a metrical accent.
Sidelight: When the full accent falls on a vowel, as in PO-tion, that vowel is called a long vowel; when it falls on an articulation or consonant, as in POR-tion, the preceding vowel is a short vowel.

2. ALLITERATION
Also called head rhyme or initial rhyme, the repetition of the initial sounds (usually consonants) of stressed syllables in neighboring words or at short intervals within a line or passage, usually at word beginnings, as in "wild and woolly" or the line from the poem, Darkness Lost:
From somewhere far beyond, the flag of fate's caprice unfurled,
Sidelight: The sounds of alliteration produce a gratifying effect to the ear and can also serve as a subtle connection or emphasis of key words in the line, but should not "call attention" to themselves by strained usage.
3. ASSONANCE
The relatively close juxtaposition of the same or similar vowel sounds, but with different end consonants in a line or passage, thus a vowel rhyme, as in the words, date and fade.
4. CONSONANCE
A pleasing combination of sounds; sounds in agreement with tone. Also, the repetition of the same end consonants of words such as boat and night within or at the end of a line, or the words, cool and soul, as used by Emily Dickinson in the third stanza of He Fumbles at your Spirit.
CACOPHONY (cack-AH-fun-ee)
Discordant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables, sometimes inadvertent, but often deliberately used in poetry for effect, as in the opening line of Fences:
Crawling, sprawling, breaching spokes of stone,
Sidelight: Sound devices are important to poetic effects; to create sounds appropriate to the content, the poet may sometimes prefer to achieve a cacophonous effect instead of the more commonly sought-for euphony. The use of words with the consonants b, k and p, for example, produce harsher sounds than the soft f and v or the liquid l, m and n.
DISSONANCE
A mingling or union of harsh, inharmonious sounds that are grating to the ear.
EUPHONY (YOO-fuh-nee)
Harmony or beauty of sound that provides a pleasing effect to the ear, usually sought-for in poetry for effect. It is achieved not only by the selection of individual word-sounds, but also by their relationship in the repetition, proximity, and flow of sound patterns.
Sidelight: Vowel sounds are generally more pleasing to the ear than the consonants, so a line with a higher ratio of vowel sounds will produce a more agreeable effect; also, the long vowels in words like moon and fate are more melodious than the short vowels in cat and bed.
INTERNAL RHYME
Also called middle rhyme, a rhyme occurring within the line, as in the poem, The Matador:
His childhood fraught with lessons taught by want and misery
METER
A measure of rhythmic quantity, the organized succession of groups of syllables at basically regular intervals in a line of poetry, according to definite metrical patterns. In classic Greek and Latin versification, meter depended on the way long and short syllables were arranged to succeed one another, but in English the distinction is between accented and unaccented syllables. The unit of meter is the foot. Metrical lines are named for the constituent foot and for the number of feet in the line: monometer (1), dimeter (2), trimeter (3), tetrameter (4), pentameter (5), hexameter (6), heptameter (7) and octameter (8); thus, a line containing five iambic feet, for example, would be called iambic pentameter. Rarely does a metrical line exceed six feet.
Sidelight: In the composition of verse, poets sometimes make deviations from the systematic metrical patterns. This is often desirable because (1) variations will avoid the mechanical "te-dum, te-dum" monotony of a too-regular rhythm and (2) changes in the metrical pattern are an effective way to emphasize or reinforce meaning in the content. These variations are introduced by substituting different feet at places within a line. (Poets can also employ a caesura, use run-on lines and vary the degrees of accent by skillful word selection to modify the rhythmic pattern, a process called modulation. Accents heightened by semantic emphasis also provide diversity.) A proficient writer of poetry, therefore, is not a slave to the dictates of metrics, but neither should the poet stray so far from the meter as to lose the musical value or emotional potential of rhythmical repetition. Of course, in modern free verse, meter has become either irregular or non-existent.
MODULATION
In poetry, the harmonious use of language relative to the variations of stress and pitch.
Sidelight: Modulation is a process by which the stress values of accents can be increased or decreased within a fixed metrical pattern.
NEAR RHYME
Also called slant rhyme, off rhyme, imperfect rhyme or half rhyme, a rhyme in which the sounds are similar, but not exact, as in home and come or close and lose.
Sidelight: Due to changes in pronunciation, some near rhymes in modern English were perfect rhymes when they were originally written in old English.
ONOMATOPOEIA (ahn-uh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh)
Strictly speaking, the formation or use of words which imitate sounds, like whispering, clang and sizzle, but the term is generally expanded to refer to any word whose sound is suggestive of its meaning.
Sidelight: Because sound is an important part of poetry, the use of onomatopoeia is another subtle weapon in the poet's arsenal for the transfer of sense impressions through imagery.
Sidelight: Though impossible to prove, some philologists (linguistic scientists) believe that all language originated through the onomatopoeic formation of words.
PHONETIC SYMBOLISM
Sound suggestiveness; the association of particular word-sounds with common areas of meaning so that other words of similar sounds come to be associated with those meanings. It is also called sound symbolism.
Sidelight: An example of word sounds in English with a common area of meaning is a group beginning with gl, all having reference to light, which include:gleam, glare, glitter, glimmer, glint, glisten, glossy and glow.
RESONANCE
The quality of richness or variety of sounds in poetic texture, as in Milton's
. . . and the thunder . . . ceases now
To bellow through the vast and boundless Deep.
RHYME
In the specific sense, a type of echoing which utilizes a correspondence of sound in the final accented vowels and all that follows of two or more words, but the preceding consonant sounds must differ, as in the words, bear and care. In a poetic sense, however, rhyme refers to a close similarity of sound as well as an exact correspondence; it includes the agreement of vowel sounds in assonance and the repetition of consonant sounds in consonance and alliteration. Differences as well as identity in sound echoes between words contribute to the euphonic effect, stimulate intellectual appreciation, provide a powerful mnemonic device, and serve to unify a poem. Terms like near rhyme, half rhyme, and perfect rhyme function to distinguish between the types of rhyme without prejudicial intent and should not be interpreted as expressions of value. Usually, but not always, rhymes occur at the ends of lines.
Sidelight: Originally rime, the spelling was changed due to the influence of its popular, but erroneous, association with the Latin word, rhythmus. Many purists continue to use rime as the proper spelling of the word.
Sidelight: Early examples of English poetry used alliterative verse instead of rhyme. The use of rhyme in the end words of verse originally arose to compensate for the sometimes unsatisfactory quality of rhythm within the lines; variations in the patterns of rhyme schemes then became functional in defining diverse stanza forms, such as, ottava rima, rhyme royal, terza rima, the Spenserian stanza and others. Rhyme schemes are also significant factors in the definitions of whole poems, such as ballade, limerick, rondeau, sonnet, triolet and villanelle.


RHYTHM
An essential of all poetry, the regular or progressive pattern of recurrent accents in the flow of a poem as determined by the arses and theses of the metrical feet, i.e., the rise and fall of stress. The measure of rhythmic quantity is the meter.
Sidelight: A rhythmic pattern in which the stress falls on the final syllable of each foot, as in the iamb or anapest, is called a rising or ascending rhythm; a rhythmic pattern with the stress occurring on the first syllable of each foot, as in the dactyl or trochee, is a falling or descending rhythm.
Sidelight: From an easy lilt to the rough cadence of a primitive chant, rhythm is the organization of sound patterns the poet has created for pleasurable reading.

 

Rabu, 04 April 2012

literature

0 komentar Diposting oleh Unknown di 07.32


Literature

  Definition: What is literature? Why do we read it? Why is literature important? 
Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. 
Why do we read literature?
           Literature represents a language or a people: culture and tradition. But, literature is more important than just a historical or cultural artifact. Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. We learn about books and literature; we enjoy the comedies and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays; and we may even grow and evolve through our literary journey with books.
Ultimately, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it. We may interpret the author's message. In academic circles, this decoding of the text is often carried out through the use of literary theory, using a mythological, sociological, psychological, historical, or other approach.
Whatever critical paradigm we use to discuss and analyze literature, there is still an artistic quality to the works. Literature is important to us because it speaks to us, it is universal, and it affects us. Even when it is ugly, literature is beautiful.

 

Selasa, 03 April 2012

1 komentar Diposting oleh Unknown di 00.29

http://books.google.co.id/books?id=MWbrvUiYzSkC&pg=PA19&dq=the+development+of+english+introducing+english+linguistics+charles+f+mayer&hl=id&sa=X&ei=OKR6T7TKLMrMrQemoej6AQ&sqi=2#v=onepa

buat teman - teman silahkn klik link ini buat referensi tugas linguistics..

 

Minggu, 01 April 2012

english Phonology

0 komentar Diposting oleh Unknown di 08.00





English Phonology


Modern English Consonants
  • consonants involve stoppage of flow of air in vocal tract
  • voiced: involving vibration of the vocal cords
  • voiceless: no vibration of the vocal cords
  • place of articulation:
    • labial : involving the lips
    • dental: involving the teeth
    • alveolar: involving the area behind the teeth
    • palatal: involving the hard palate
    • velar: involving the velum or soft palate
  • manner of articulation
    • stops (plosives): involve the stoppage and sudden release of air
    • fricatives (spirants): involve the constricted flow of air producing a kind of hissing sound
    • affricates: a combination of stop + fricative
    • nasals: flow of air channeled through the nose, always voiced
    • lateral: flow of air channeled through the sides of the tongue, also voiced
    • retroflex: similar to the lateral but involving a backward curving of the tip of the tongue, also voiced
    • semivowels (glides): similar to vowels in that the stoppage of the flow of air is very minimal
Chart of consonant phonemes in English
Examples: [p]: pat, [b]: bat, [t]: time, [d]: dime, [k]: came, [g]: game, []: chump, []: jump, [f]: fat, [v]: vat, []: thigh [ð]: thy, [s]: sap, [z]: zap, []: glacier/mesher, []: glazier/measure, [h]: ham, [m]: man, [n]: nun, []: sing, [l]: lamp, [r]: ramp, [w]: world, [y]: yore/you; the glottal stop and the flap are not phonemic but are frequently used allophones of [t] in words such as "satin," "rotten," mountain," "cater," "waiter," "later"
Modern English Vowels
  • vowels are sounds involving the unrestricted flow of air through the mouth
  • vowels sounds are always voiced
  • vowels differ depending on the degree of openness of the mouth and height of the tongue (the lower the tongue the more open the mouth) (high, mid, low)
  • also important is the position in the mouth of the of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, back)
  • diphthongs (ai, au, oi) (e.g. buy, bough, boy)
  • unstressed vowels tend to be pronounced as the mid-central vowel
Prosody (stress patterns)
  • stress is the relative loudness with which different parts of a word are pronounced
  • in English the tendency is to stress the initial syllable of a word
  • the stress of a syllable can be classified as primary, secondary, or reduced/unstressed
  • in English final syllables tend to be unstressed
  • examples:
    • in the word "brother" the first syllable has primary stress and the second syllable is unstressed: "bróth-er"
    • in the word "bookcase" the first syllable receives primary stress and the second secondary stress: "bóok-càse"
    • in the word "constellation" the first syllable receives secondary stress, the second syllable has reduced stress, the third syllable has primary stress, and the fourth syllable has also reduced stress: "còn-stel-lá-tion"

 

Sabtu, 31 Maret 2012

beyond language

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Teaching Culture: Beyond Language

by
Deborah Peck

The goal of this unit is to demonstrate to foreign language teachers how they can incorporate the teaching of culture into their foreign language classrooms. In this curriculum unit, I will define the different types of culture; demonstrate its relevance to second language learning; and give suggestions as to when and how both formal and deep cultures can be incorporated into the already existing curriculum of a beginning language course. Although this unit is intended for use in my introductory French and Spanish classes, parts of the unit are interdisciplinary.
Of what value is culture to second language learning? For the foreign language teacher, the reasons are many. Culture shapes our view of the world. And language is the most representative element in any culture. Any item of behavior, tradition or pattern can only be understood in light of its meaning to the people who practice it. A knowledge of the codes of behavior of another people is important if today�s foreign language student is to communicate fully in the target language. Without the study of culture, foreign language instruction is inaccurate and incomplete. For foreign language students, language study seems senseless if they know nothing about the people who speak it or the country in which it is spoken. Language learning should be more than the manipulation of syntax and lexicon.
Humanistically, the study of different cultures aids us in getting to know different people which is a necessary prelude to understanding and respecting other peoples and their ways of life. It helps to open our students� eyes to the similarities and differences in the life of various cultural groups. Today, most of our students live in a monolingual and monocultural environment. Consequently, they become culture-bound individuals who tend to make premature and inappropriate value judgments. This can cause them to consider the foreign peoples whose language they are trying to learn as very peculiar and even ill-mannered. In 1980, the President�s Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies stated, �Foreign language instruction at any level should be a humanistic pursuit intended to sensitize students to other cultures, to the relativity of values, to appreciation of similarities among peoples and respect for the differences among them.� (Wilkes, p. 107)
When should the study of culture begin? Should culture be postponed until students can study it in the target language? Won�t special emphasis upon culture be wasteful of precious class time? Shouldn�t cultural materials be postponed until students have greater maturity and greater language competence? Ideally, the study of culture should begin on the very first day of class and should continue every day there after. Because of the large decrease in enrollment in second and third year language courses, the concept of culture can be communicated to only a small number of students unless this is done in the earliest phases of their instruction.
What type of culture should be taught in the foreign language classroom? Nelson Brooks has identified five meanings of culture: growth; refinement; fine arts; patterns of living; and a total way of life. He believes that patterns of living should receive the major emphasis in the classroom. It is patterns of living that are the least understood, yet the most important in the early phases of language instruction. He labels this meaning of culture as culture 4 and defines it as follows:
�Culture 4 (patterns of living) refers to the individual�s role in the unending kaleidoscope of life situations of every kind and the rules and models for attitude and conduct in them. By reference to these models, every human being, from infancy onward, justifies the world to himself as best he can, associates with those around him, and relates to the social order to which he is attached.� (Brooks, p. 210).
From the point of view of language instruction, culture 4 can be divided into formal culture and deep culture. Formal culture, sometimes referred to as �culture with a capital C�, includes the humanistic manifestations and contributions of a foreign culture: art; music; literature; architecture; technology; politics. However, with this way of looking at culture, we often lose sight of the individual.
The most profitable way of looking at culture is to see what it does. Deep culture, or �culture with a small c,� focuses on the behavioral patterns or lifestyles of the people: When and what they eat; how they make a living; the attitudes they express towards friends and members of their families; which expressions they use to show approval or disapproval. In this sense, culture is a body of ready-made solutions to the problems encountered by the group. It is a cushion between man and his environment. If we provide our students only with a list of facts of history or geography and a list of lexical items, we have not provided them with an intimate view of what life is really like in the target culture.

How to incorporate culture into the Foreign Language classroom

Traditional methods of teaching culture in the foreign language classroom have been focused on formal culture and passive learning. Students do need both a geographical and historical perspective in order to understand contemporary behavior patterns but this can be done with �hands on� activities. Beginning foreign language students want to feel, touch, smell, and see the foreign peoples and not just hear their language.

Cultural Islands

From the first day of class teachers should have prepared a cultural island in their classrooms. Posters, pictures, maps, signs, and realia of many kinds are essential in helping students develop a mental image (all are available from Gessler Publishing Company). Assigning students foreign names from the first day can heighten student interest. Short presentations on a topic of interest with appropriate pictures or slides add to this mental image. Start students off by making them aware of the influence of various foreign cultures in this country. Introduce students to the borrowed words in our English language or the place-names of our country. This helps students to realize they already know many words in the target language (i.e. poncho, fiesta, rodeo). Some of the foods they eat are another example of the influence of foreign cultures (i.e. taco, burrito, chili).
A good introductory activity is to send students on cultural scavenger hunts to supermarkets and department stores and have them make lists of imported goods. You might also want to take students on a tour of a local Hispanic community. Subsequent activities might include: sending students out to interview shop owners; inviting bilingual students to your class to tutor students or to talk about a certain topic and maybe help narrate a slide show; inviting guest speckers (contact local Spanish Cultural Association).

Celebrating Festivals


Kinesics and Body Language

Culture is a network of verbal and non-verbal communication. If our goal as foreign language teachers is to teach communication, we must not neglect the most obvious form of non-verbal communication which is gesture. Gesture, although learned, is largely an unconscious cultural phenomenon. Gesture conveys the �feel� of the language to the student and when accompanied by verbal communication, injects greater authenticity into the classroom and makes language study more interesting. Gerald Green in his book Gesture Inventory for Teaching Spanish suggests that teachers use foreign culture gestures when presenting dialogues, cuing students� responses, and assisting students to recall dialogue lines (Examples of dialogues and appropriate gestures are given in the book). At the beginning of the year, teachers can also show foreign films to students just to have them focus on body movements.

Culture Capsules

Brigham Young University also publishes culture capsules entitled �Culturgrams� for over eighty different countries. Each �culturgram� is divided into sections on family lifestyle, attitudes, customs and courtesies, and history. After studying these, students can compare and contrast the foreign customs and traditions with their own.

Cultural Consciousness-Raising

Most foreign language teachers would agree that positively sensitizing students to cultural phenomena is urgent and crucial. Studies indicate that attitudinal factors are clear predictors of success in second language learning. However, effecting attitudinal changes requires planned programs which integrate cultural and linguistic units as a means to cross-cultural understanding. The following method for effecting attitudinal changes is adapted from Helen Wilkes� article �A Simple Device for Cultural Consciousness Raising in the Teenaged Student of French.� The organization of the notebook can be a useful tool in any discipline, but it can be of special importance in the foreign language classroom as a cultural consciousness raising tool. Helen Wilkes suggests that from the very first day of school the foreign language teacher should have students begin organizing their notebook. The notebook should be divided into four sections: El Vocabulario; Los Ejercicios; La Gram�tica; Un Poco de Todo. Each section of the notebook will have an illustrated title page.

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Section I�El Vocabulario

Students� first homework assignment should be to look up names of Hispanic products in the supermarket, names of wines or liqueurs, Hispanic recording artists, Hispanic restaurants. They can cut the names out from magazines or newspapers and paste them or write them on the title page of �El Vocabulario� section. The next day in class, the teacher should help students to pronounce these names. The benefits of this approach are immeasurable. Students immediately focus on phonology and oral production without having to worry about memorizing lexical items at the same time. Secondly, students see the immediate usefulness of their foreign language class. Students love to leave class the first days with a list of words they have already mastered. Naturally, this helps to increase student motivation and gives important positive feedback.

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Section II�Los Ejercicios
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Section III�La Gram�tica
With this information on Spanish-speaking countries in the world, students can begin to learn a variety of grammatical constructs. Constructs might include: El tren va a Madrid or Quiero ir a Madrid. This technique is most successful because students are not tryint to memorize lexical items that have no meaning to them. Spanish translations of jingles and proverbs are also fun and can teach grammatical structure at the same time.

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Section IV�Un poco de todo
All of the sections of the notebook are intended as a point of departure for teaching culture and can be adapted to any foreign language. Students are immediately involved in the people, countries, and products of the language they are studying. They immediately begin learning meaningful vocabulary and grammatical structure without the frustration of memorization. Students are actively involved in illustrating their title pages and contributing information to the class via the media. Motivation should be high because students will naturally become more interested in those things they know something about.
Throughout the year, the teacher should continue to add to the notebook sections with material incorporated from textbook units. Using real pictures of people and places instead of flash cards is a good idea. Teachers can find plenty of pictures from magazines. Showing students a picture of the Cathedral of Mexico to teach that ��sta es una iglesia� creates a mental image while learning a new lexical item at the same time. Grammar is the key to communication but it can be presented in a much more meaningful and interesting way than some of our textbooks suggest.
Students need to feel positive about what they are doing and studying. Even less gifted students can contribute by bringing in clippings and drawings. They take pride in their notebooks when they�ve worked so hard to illustrate them. Recent studies demonstrate that if students have positive attitudes, they will do well. Foreign language teachers should aim at developing interest and awareness. If all a teacher has accomplished is a smattering of lexical items, nothing at all has been accomplished. Successful teachers prefer to see their students leave class at the end of the year saying: Quiero ir a Mexico or Me gusta la comida.
In conclusion, the teaching of culture should become an integral part of foreign language instruction. Culture should be our message to students and language our medium. It should begin on the very first day of class and should continue every day after that. This does not imply that linguistic constructs will be ignored. Many elements of culture are imbedded within the language itself (i.e. t� vs. usted). Basing dialogues on situations that are authentic (using body language) is as important as linguistic structure and semantics. Using pictures as much as possible, preferably ones from target language magazines is advocated. While pictures cannot teach the sounds or structures of a language, they can often show what language stands for. Lastly teachers should concentrate on active learning and should give students more hands-on experiences so that they can feel, touch, smell, and see! These kinds of activities will keep students motivated and will result in positive attitudes, greater awareness, and academic success.

 

Jumat, 30 Maret 2012

Mudik.....

0 komentar Diposting oleh Unknown di 22.25

       hari ini sabtu 31 maret 2012..waktu nya mudik ke kampung halaman tercinta,biasa naik ci mio hitam,dan katanya c neng cantik pun lagi ke cikatomas tuuh,,sayang nya ga bisa ketemu,,hoooooooo

 

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