Month: October 2013

One of the most important skills anyone can hold in daily life is the ability to negotiate. Some approaches will be consider very important they are: first, hard approach that shows essentially competitive bargaining; second, soft approach that shows extremely integrative bargaining (this is done in order to meet other person interest); finally, principled negotiation that is somewhere between them but tend to be soft than hard.

In general, negotiation is a resolution of conflict. Sometimes we enter negotiations in order to start or continue a relationship and resolve a matter. Even before we accept our first jobs, or begin our careers, we all learn how to negotiate. Negotiation begins with the negotiation of pocket money with our parent. When we gather in the living room watching television, there involves negotiation a television programs with other member of the family. Some people are naturally stronger negotiators, and are capable of getting their needs meet more easily than others.

For someone who doesn’t have the ability to negotiate, they may break off relationships, quit jobs, or intentionally avoid conflict and uncomfortable situations. In the business world, negotiating skills are used for many reasons, such as to negotiate a salary or promotion, to secure marketing program, to increase product sales or to form a new partnership. The following are some examples of different types of negotiations in the business world:

·         Manager and secretary : negotiating a promotion

·         Employer and potential employee: negotiating job benefits

·         Two business men: making decisions about investment

·         Between companies: negotiating a merger

·         Customer and client: making a sale

Negotiation Strategies

Negotiating is often referred to as an “art”. While some people may be naturally more skillful as negotiators, everyone can learn to negotiate. And as some people often say in business, everything is negotiable. There are about two strategies which underlining negotiation. The first, positional bargaining that is negotiation strategies that involve holding on to a fixed idea, or position of what we want and arguing for it and only for it. The common example of positional bargaining is the bargain that takes place between seller and customers= over the price of certain product. The customer has maximum amount she will pay and the seller will only sale the things over the certain minimum amount. Each of them starts with an extreme position for monetary value and rolling through negotiate and make concession and finally a compromise may be reach. This is may be the first strategy for any people to adopt when entering negotiation. Therefore, positional bargaining is often considered as less constructive and efficient strategy because it is not likely result in a “win-win” result but sometimes result in bad feeling among them.

The second, integrative negotiation where they collaborate to find “win-win” solution. This strategy focused on developing mutual beneficial agreements based on the interest of the people involved in negotiation. The interest may involve the needs, desire, concern and fears important to each of them. This strategy is very important because it usually produces more satisfactory result for the participant involved than positional bargaining.

For those who want to be a good negotiator the following techniques and skills that aid people in the negotiating process may include:

·         Aiming high

·         Visualizing the end result

·         Treating one’s opponent with respect and honesty

·         Preparing a head of time

·         Exhibiting confidence

As a final point the writer hopes that these overviews could give you the illustration when we involve in negotiation. And you should have the skills on negotiation in order to succeed in doing business. (F&T)

 

Teaching learning interaction in classroom is indicated by the availability of various components when this interaction is going on. Those components are for example 1) the teaching objectives which are going to be achieved after the interactions ends, 2) the attendance of a teacher and students embodying the teaching learning interaction in the classroom, 3) the instructional materials in the form of students’ handbook, students’ work-sheet, students’ reference books, or supplementary books used to direct the students’ study to achieve the competence wished. 4) the teaching method applied in the classroom used to create a conducive interaction between the teacher and the students and vice versa and that among those students themselves, and 5) the evaluation- that is the short range evaluation held after a sub-topic or one topic ends and the long range evaluation held after one program terminates, which is used to consider and measure the students’ achievement. They all are the least prerequisites used to justify whether the interaction process has been conducted well or not. Accordingly, the fulfillment of them, namely teaching objectives, teacher and students, instructional materials, method, and evaluation (Depdikbud, 1994:3) become an immediate need or necessity for an every institution which is responsible for conducting an educational process.

The appropriate teaching objectives, either general teaching or specific teaching objectives can be investigated through each teacher individual’s lesson plan because both of which are formulated inside. Teachers, for the reason, must be accustomed to and skillful to compose them to produce the best teaching goals- the general and the specific- which are significantly different. The former shows the general skills which will be achieved and the latter describes the specific goals wanted, so the second one must be more practical. Teachers, therefore, must be able to identify the difference between them, and formulate them in the best way.

To evaluate that the objectives have been written down well, an institution through its head master is able to correct them by matching between the theme or the topic of instructional materials suggested by the current curriculum offered and the objectives stated in the plan. If the head master finds mistakes in the formulation, he commits to correct. He may also invite the teacher concerned to correct together and ask him/her to rewrite it, and this is his right to do so. Consequently, the head master must also be all round and skillful not only in regulating the institutional activities in general but also in improving the teaching preparation; this is the most practical than the former. Besides, he has to do with the regular correction of the lesson plan made by his staff.

Interactional dimension is also shown by the attendance of two performers- a teacher and his/her students. The teacher, despite, is the most responsible person because he/she commits to organize the class, therefore teacher absenteeism cannot be substituted by his/her students. In the most schools, classroom interaction is hardly going on if the teacher is absent.

To know whether a teacher and students have created mutual and multi dimensional interactions, a head master may undertake classroom supervision. He must do so to understand the best accomplishment of teaching learning interaction. As the lesson plan correction, the supervision must be conducted in regular and continual phases without having to wait for instruction given by his superior. In turn, he should initiate himself for this job has attached in his position as the top leader. This supervision is subjected to develop the quality of teaching learning interaction. To avoid misunderstanding, he needs to notify to all his teachers; however, he should conduct it continually. This is intended in order that the teachers are ready and prepare their teaching activities all the time. He may supervise the classrooms weekly but the classroom destination must be considered haphazardly. On Monday this week, he may come to class A first rather than class B, C, D, E, or F; on the same day in following week, he starts from class E, then B, D, A, F and ends by class C, and so forth.

In the current teaching learning method, the availability of instructional materials is so important to intensify the teaching learning interaction itself. These benefit teachers and students because the teachers need not write down materials on white or blackboard and ask their students to copy them. Writing and copying down the instructional materials from the boards is inefficient and time as well as energy consume.

In addition, although teachers have memorized and been skillful in organizing the topics which will be taught, instructional materials are still necessary to provide. This is at least addressed to students. Never mind whether the teachers are going to make use them as the main hand – out, reference, work sheet, or the supplementary materials, yet they need to make a good preparation taken from the materials at home. Without preparation they could not teach with self- confidence and elaborate the materials chronologically. This aims to cope with the wordiness. This is so important since each individual has this tendency. If the instructional materials are in hand, they can recheck whether their explanations are far apart from the lesson plan or not. Improvisation, therefore, does not mean the release of the self-control. They, of course, need to decorate the activity without looking over the students’ provision, namely they have right to   receive proportional elaborations from professional teachers. The materials as a matter of fact are crucial to provide whatever their functions.

To present instructional materials well, teachers need the most select the most appropriate method to be applied. The methodological selection process commences when they propose lesson plan. Since there are sorts of methods they must be conscientious to identify before considering the use of a certain method. The main consideration of course is based on what kind of domains they want to teach and what kind of skills they emphasize and would like to achieve.

Exactly the method used has always attached when teaching learning process is being prepared, so the choice of the appropriate method is crucial step. It stars from the very beginning when teachers construct their lesson plan. They must have to consider what sort of methods they want to make use. It cannot be designed coincidently and directly when he class is going on, so they should choose accurately. In the consideration, they should realize that there is no best and worst method. It has its superiority as well as its inferiority. One method may be perfect for a certain material but it is counterproductive for the others. To adjust their appropriateness, teachers may consider- as previously explained- what kind of subjects, domains they want to achieve, namely cognitive, affective, or psycho-motor domains, the level of difficulties, and the students’ innate ability. To implant the affective domain they could not choose lecture or speech rather than demonstration or simulation, take fur example. Lecture, then, will be tedious for students and is not sufficient. Through this consideration, they could find the best method used or applied.

To examine, the effectiveness of teaching learning interaction and the achievement of the other instruments, teachers should evaluate the result. The questions are what the teacher and the students have interacted well comparably? What the teachers has presented instructional materials efficiently? What he has chosen the method used accurately and what the teaching objectives have been seemingly achieved? All those questions can be answered in the evaluation process.

Evaluation, then, is designed to know the goals of the final process. The terms of evaluation and process may elicit misunderstanding without further explanation because it can be viewed from different points of view. When teachers would like to examine the achievement of teaching learning process of sub topic, they should overview from the teaching learning evaluation process. The evaluation used is the test items enclosed in the lesson plan. Then if they like to evaluate the short range or the immediate result of one topic, the evaluation used is a formative test. It is usually conducted after a topic of instructional materials finishes. Finally, when program consisting of several topics, the teachers should conduct a final test which is undertaken quarterly or semiannual.

To know the level of the achievement, teachers should compare between the students who succeed and those who fail. If the students being successful is above than 75% (the general measurement level), the teaching learning process can be called successful; so they are only to remedy the rest of the failed students. Conversely if the achievement is just below 75%, they need to give remedial teaching for all. 

written by : Mr. Ruwandi, MA

uploaded by: Marisa Fran Lina, S.PdI and Ratna Sari, S. PdI

(F&T)

 

by Mr. Ruwandi, MA

Self-esteem or self-confidence contributes the success of language learning. This may cause both positive and negative effects to learners as well as the learning processes. learners who have self-confidence will linearly succeed in language learning processes. Conversely, those who have less self-confidence will have lower spirit or motivation to the successful study of language. For the reason, the higher the self-confidence the students have, the higher the spirit to study will be, and the lower the self-confidence the students possess the lower the spirit to study will be.

The terms self-confidence must not be negatively interpreted or applied. This is not equal with narcissism by which the narcissis may underestimate the others. The self-confident persons, in fact, must respect and regard others as the co-partners not as rivals. Otherwise, this is not self-confident anymore but arrogant. The arrogant beings are usually never to respect and regard others as the partners but as the inferiors.

For the reason, the relation among the performers is not equal.

According to Cart Rogers cited by Brown (1980), self-esteem is the self-concept or self-structure that is thought as the organized configuration of perceptions of the self that are acceptable to awareness. It consists of such elements as the perceptions of one’s characteristics and abilities; the principles and concepts of the self in relation to others and the environment; the worth qualities which are perceived as having a positive or negative valence.

Coopersmith quoted by Brown (2001) says that self-esteem refers to the evaluation that individual makes and customarily maintains with regard to himself; it expresses an attitude of approval or disapproval, and indicates the extent to which an individual believes himself to be capable, significant, successful and worthy. In short, self-esteem is a personal judgment of worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes that the individual holds towards himself. It is a subjective experience that the individual conveys to others by verbal reports and other overt expressive behaviors.

Self-confidence is necessary in language study. As the explanation at the second paragraph, the self-confident students will use their time intensively. However, they will not intervene others’ times to make use language.They keep respecting and regarding others and absolutely give chances to the others to self-actualize their capabilities in the language study.

Language learners must have self-esteem because they have their own potentials to study. However, they may intensify the use of them in the language practice or study. They must believe because they have innate abilities that may support their self-esteem. In addition, they may develop and improve their self-esteem to be proportionally standardized.

In 1976, Brodkey and Shore; and in 1972, Gardner and Lambert (Brown, 1980) included measures of self-esteem in their studies of success in language learning. Although there was no statistical evidence that emerged from their studies, they concluded that self-esteem proved to be very important variable in second language acquisition, particularly in view of cross-cultural factors of second language learning. Based on the reviews, this is clear that self-esteem plays an important role in the language learning. To make use, students must be aware of the existence.

Students may increase their self-esteem through several ways. Since there are two sources of self-esteem namely internal and external self-confident sources, they may develop through one of them. Internal self-esteem is that they bring or possess since they are given birth. This is inborn capacity of acquiring language. External self confidence is that which is taken through several interactions with others. Thus, the more often they interact with others, the more improved their self-esteem will be.

So far, most of students do not care of the function of self-esteem in their language study. They are careless with it because of two reasons. The first is because they do not know that they must have internal self-esteem. In addition, they do not know that it must be raised or actualized. Secondly, they do not know that they must have internal self-esteem. In addition, they do not know that it must be raised or actualized. Secondly, they do not know how to increase and improve their internal self-confidence so it can be academically used. Based on the fact, English teachers need to communicate and convince their students that they have internal property of self-esteem. Besides, they should convince that the self-esteem could be developed and improved through external language interaction with others.

Brown (1980) says self-esteem is the most persistent factor of any human behavior. The successful cognitive and affective activities can only be accomplished with some degree of self-esteem, self-confidence, knowledge of yourself and belief in your own capabilities for those activities. Quoting Malinowski he says that all human beings have a need for phatic communion – defining oneself and finding acceptance in articulating the self in relation to valued others. Moreover, in fact, personality development universally involves the growth of a person’s concept of the self, the acceptance of the self, and the reflection of that self as can seen in the interaction between the self and the others.

Speaking is one of the productive skills in language study. Learners’ skill in speaking is directly measured whether they are productive or not. Accordingly, they are called skillful if they always produce utterances through their vital organ of speech namely mouth. Conversely, if they just keep silent all the time whether in training, practice or in a speech community they are called unskillful. Thus, opening mouth and sharing ideas are the keys of speaking,. For the reason, speaking is also called oral skill because speakers use the spoken forms of language not the written words. The former is significantly different from the latter.

Teaching speaking is different from teaching the other language skills. There are several factors that should be paid by speaking teachers. One of them is, for instance, this is absolutely individuals’ affair. The evaluation of it should be addressed to the students selves and not others. Besides that, it is also direct so the students’ quality is also directly visible. By the time, they will be directly seen as skillful or unskillful speakers after sharing ideas in front of the assessors or audiences.

The teaching of speaking will be more and more difficult when students and teachers join big classes with the very limited time allotment. Teachers, particularly, should divide the time allotment to all individuals if they like them to get the same or equal time durations. And they should be sure that the individuals have the same opportunity to take part in the process. Time division, however, is not the end of the problem because even though the students have gotten the average opportunity to do so but the time to do is still insufficient. How to share the sufficient time allotment if the class consists of 30m until 50 students./ when the time allotment covers 90 minutes, and there are 30 pupils in the class, alias a student will have three minutes to speak. The problems of time division in teaching speaking will be more complicated if he class begins very late because both teachers and students also come late. Also, this becomes more difficult when the students are unready to come in and join the class. They may come with empty mind unready to speak. When the limited time allotment is added by such conditions, teachers should think of it skillfully.

Still, teachers have extra jobs when students are unmotivated to speak. They should energize them to open mouth and say anything. And this is not an easy job to do. Sometimes they should share rewards: fair, good, excellent, and so forth; even though their students only produce a few words. This is the only way to persuade the students to do so and to progress the class. However, this is not the end of the efforts when some students still keep silent.

West (1966: 1) categorizes big classes as one of the unfavorable circumstances. He says by “unfavorable circumstances” means that a class comprises of over thirty, forty, fifty pupils or more, seated on benches not sitting at individual or dual desks. They are gathered in an unsuitably shaped room, ill-graded, with a teacher who perhaps does not speak English very well or very fluently, working in a hot climate. Such a kind of the class is of course very stressful, moreover if that class is set forth the teaching of speaking. How to move the students when there are 30 or perhaps 50 students in the speaking class while the class must be changed because students need to share ideas in multi-directions. This is also very impossible to move benches and even though they are moved, the form of the class is used stable. In addition, it will time and energy consuming when the class is used together with the other classmates and other subjects. Therefore, it is fair to say that such the class belongs to unfavorable circumstance.

Big classes, particularly, are still dominant in most Indonesian institutions. Occasionally, there are more than twenty students in Indonesian elementary classrooms and thirty until forty pupils or more in junior or senior high school institutions. Such kind of class setting is considered because of several facts. The most common reasons that often appear are for example: the lack of human resources so the number of teachers is insufficient; the shortage of financial supports, and this is also for efficiency. Accordingly, to achieve the satisfactory results is challenging in such conditions. Whatever the reasons, however, teachers should make effective anticipations to the betterment process and result of speaking.

Since big classes still characterize the class form or setting in Indonesian school institutions, teachers should think skillfully to conduct t6he teaching of speaking effectively. There are several stages that should be considered before conducting the teaching of speaking. Teachers should, for instance, identify the students’ existing skills. Secondly, they should professionally organize the big classes in order to be effective. Then, they should select the appropriate methods to be used, and design the teaching learning processes. And the last they should invite students to involve considering their success through individual or group assignment.

wriiten by Ruwandi, MA