Every individual has different styles in foreign language study, both in the speed and in the strategies used. Some students are very “smart” in the study and in very limited times they have been skillful in making use the language in daily communication. Others, in fact, use very long times and spend a lot of energies and money to improve their ability and quality in the language use. The differences are common. The problem is when the differences are very sharp are determine the significant speed in acquisition. In addition, some of them fail to meet the common speed because they are not smart enough in considering the strategies used; and not because not smart in cognition. Essentially, they have relatively smart brain. However, they have not used their basic efforts that are potentially possessed by every individual – the uniqueness in the study. The identification of it, in fact, influences their success in their study.
The influence of learners in foreign language learning is undeniable. They, directly or indirectly contribute the success or their failure of the foreign language study. Accordingly, this is unfair to say that the success of the study is absolutely determined by teachers. The general statement that is used to justify is when the teachers are well qualified the students will be complementary successful; or conversely when they are less qualified the students must be failure. The saying is unwise if that addressed to curriculum, method, school facilities, and so forth. All of which are not the only determinants to the successful study of the foreign language. The other crucial determinant that is forgotten to be considered and influential to support the foreign language learning is the learners themselves.
The existence of individual in a foreign language study is often overlooked. This seems he/she does not have commitment to create his/her self-success. Everything is usually surrendered to teachers’ hand. When their students succeed, they will be admired and when their students fail, they will be criticized first. In fact, teachers will be the caretaker of at least two probabilities concerning their students’ study- good or bad, poor or excellent, and successful or fail. To be fair in justifying the success of the foreign language, it is not mistaken if teachers invite students to build their success to empower their specific characteristics- their uniqueness.
This is not mistaken to say that individual possesses limitedness in foreign language study. However, teachers should realize that their students also have sufficient powers and potentials that are useful in the study. Look carefully that an every individual powers as well as potentials are not possessed by others and vice versa. Some students are very good in memorizing facts as well as in logic. The question is why teachers should equalize the styles or learning to all students. Why they do not intensify uniqueness possessed by students to achieve the successful study of the language. Why, for example, they do not invite students to sit together to memorize and recall later, and the like. For the reason, teachers should make some helps to assist their students to be successful.
Many efforts should be done by teachers to facilitate the students to study. First, they should identify the styles of learning the students tend to whether they belong to good memorizers, good logic, or good memorizers as well as logic. They should trust them to make use the potentials intensively because only though the ways they are able intensify their potentials. In the case, teachers should not force a certain style that does not characterize the students’ learning styles to be used by all their students because it can be proven inefficient. When they keep forcing such a kind of style, this will be time and energy consuming.
To proceed, teachers should give different treatments to their students. They should invite them to memorize a lot and recall sometime if they are good memorizers through, for example, retelling stories. Then, they will invite students to discuss any problems they like very much to those who much use their logic to solve problems. Moreover, they will ask the other students to memorize a lot and discuss any problems they like very much to those who are well qualified in memorizing and in logic. The write believes that if the teachers are able to do so, the class will be very competitive and interesting.
The last efforts that should be considered by teachers are group assignment. Invite the students having the same characteristics or uniqueness in a group. By the same characteristics, they feel to have the same abilities or potentials to study. Of course, this may reduce the psychological gaps among the students at least in terms of learning styles. This is conceptually, simple but practically problematic if teachers are not able to cope with the wanted and unwanted by the students. Although, this is a simple concept but it is unwanted, the students must not have to make. Thus, it is important to consider.
By considering the students uniqueness the problems of language learning can be reduced into the minimum. The success and the failure of the study, in fact, are not only the teachers’ business. The students must be invited to create them in their study.
written by Ruwandi, S. Pd.I, M.A