Combination approaches for senior high school in Indonesia 1

Appropriate approaches for Senior High School in Indonesia

Writing can be considered as the hardest part of all language skill that should be

mastered by the EFL/ESL students. It caused by two simple reasons that can represent

all obstacles appeared in writing teaching. First, EFL/ESL students are not accustomed

with English way of writing, including how they gathering ideas, how they organizing

ideas, etc. the second is the students have so many things to pay attention to. Like, using

correct grammar, using appropriate words and phrases, etc. because of those reasons,

there must be special technique that used to solve those problems. In this research

paper, we point out all of the best in both genre-based approach and process writing

approach based on the context of Teaching Writing for Senior high school in Indonesia.

Writing teaching for EFL students in Indonesia has become harder since they are

move up to higher grade. For senior high school students, they usually have to face

more complicated writing, like writing reports of a discussion, writing essays, or writing

many kind of paragraphs. In writing those assignments, EFL students should have

explained about what they are going to write. Therefore, they need models for they

writing. In this case, the writing teaching using strategies of genre-based approach. In

the other hand, the world of education in Indonesia recently applied Educational System

that based on students’ competence and students’ cognitive competence are essential in

it. Students are taught to be critical thinkers to the problem of certain discourse that

given to them. This is also important to the students themselves as the opportunities to

explore who are they and what they have.

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What is genre-based approach?

Genre is a type of text. Barrs argues that since people write many kinds of

writing for more specific purpose, genre is very good to implement (1994, cited in

Widiati, 1997:17). In genre-based approach writing, students are taught to write certain

type of text using a model as their guide in their writing processes. The teacher plays

important role to build the student’s knowledge about what they are writing or how it is

constructed so the aim of the writing will be reached. It is useful for EFL/ESL students

that generally have no idea about English writing pattern that maybe different with what

they have in their culture, moreover they also have to work on their grammar.

Therefore, with providing the models, the students will be able to write different types

of text for different occasions.

Genre based-approach writing stages

Callaghan, Knapp, and Noble point out the stages that should be followed in ‘the

cycle of teaching and learning activities’ that first invented by Martin and Rothery

(1993:180, cited in Iswari, 2005: 37-38). They are :

1. Modeling stage, is the stage where teacher introducing the type of text then

show and explain about how it is constructed and its function in the social life.

2. The Joint negotiation stage, in this stage, teacher involves students to work

together in groups and help them to find the topic for their specific kind of text,

which the teacher wants them to master. Everyone in the class tells his opinion

and then the related information will be collected.

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3. Independent construction stage, after the students specify their topic, they can

start to write with following this process of writing : ‘preparation through

drafting, conferencing, editing, and evaluating’ then come to ‘the creative

manipulation of the genre’ ( Callaghan,et al, 1993, cited in Iswari, 2005 : 38)

What is process-writing approach?

The cognitivism had received much attention on 1970’s that influence to the

language learning, including ESL/EFL classroom (Nunan, 2003 : 91). ‘Critical thinking

and problem solving’ capabilities are the essence of cognitivism (Nunan, 2003 : 91).

Thus, make process writing approach became popular. In this process writing, teacher

and students concerned to the process of the writing itself. The supporters of this theory

argued that it is better if we look at the chance opened for students to express their own

arguments and to be more concerned with the content and the message of their writing

(Nunan, 2003 : 91). Teacher gives freedom to their students to write down what is in

their mind and see it more as a process than a product. The process writing is the result

of CLT, which stressed on learner-centered instruction, students-student negotiation,

and strategies-based instruction, lays the exploration of students creativity and critical

thinking as its core (Brown, 2001: 340).

Process-approach writing stages

These are the sequences of activities that students follow in the process writing

approach (Nunan, 2003 : 97-98) :

 Combination approaches for senior high school in Indonesia 4

1. Brainstorming or collecting ideas, provides students time to generate the ideas

and list them immediately. In this phase, some interesting and original ideas may

thrown out from students’ mind.

2. Word mapping, is the time when students write the central idea at the first place

and then continue to write other words or phrases that related and show why

they are related.

3. Quick writing, in this stage, students are given time to write quickly about what

had appeared in their mind when they did brainstorming and word mapping.

Students should not be worried about grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

4. Writing

 Drafting, students should be concerned more in developing ideas than in the

correctness of their grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

 Feedback, are comments, which may come from both teacher and mainly

focused on the developing ideas.

 Revising, teacher give time for students to discuss about the re-organizing

process, developing ideas, and so on without worried by the grammar,

spelling, and punctuation correctness because students usually have false

thought to see revising stage as ‘correcting mistakes’ stage (Sommer, 1980,

cited in Nunan, 2003 : 98)

5. Proofreading and Editing, after finishing their final draft, students can look

over their mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. They can check each

other draft (peer editing) to proofread and edit them together.

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The best of genre based approach and process writing approach based on the

context of teaching writing for senior high school in Indonesia

Before we acknowledge the best of each approach, it will be better if we analyze

about the condition of teaching writing in Indonesia. It shows that teaching writing for

senior high school in Indonesia has two main problems in its practice. They are :

1. Students’ lack of knowledge about how an English writing is constructed based

on different purposes.

2. Considering writing as a complex matter, it would be nice if we look at it in

different point of view that reflecting weaknesses in the writing approaches we

applied in teaching writing.

Most of students in Senior high school are afraid to make mistakes when they do

their writing tasks. Their focus mostly laid on the grammar, spelling, and punctuation

correctness.

Teaching writing in Indonesia have been marginalized for long time ago, even since

English had began to be taught to the students from elementary school to the university

students. The writing tasks that given to the students sometimes only formed as certain

kinds of simple writing with light topic and content, not much more than an un-

sophisticated writing. When they move to the higher grade or when they enter the

university world, suddenly they will faced to many kinds of academic writing forms,

like reports, research paper, article, abstract, thesis, etc. Genre-based approach also

effective for the students who want to find jobs after they finished high school because

teacher can give them opportunities to learn how to make a letter of application.
 Combination approaches for senior high school in Indonesia 6

Therefore, it is very advantageous if we open students’ opportunities to learn to write

certain type of writing by considering that Indonesian students’ knowledge about these

all is still too narrow.

Although genre-based approach felt to be useful in teaching writing, the opponents

of this approach argues that genre-based approach limiting students’ creativity and

freedom to express their own thinking. Recently, cognitive approach begins to applied

in Indonesian educational system. As we know about the cognitivism, they are fully

concerned about students’ critical thinking and problem solving abilities. Thus, derives

process-writing approach for being applied in teaching writing in Indonesia. Especially

for the senior high school students who are expected to be well explored to their own

personalities and of course for other discourses surrounding them. Since senior high

school age is the age when the students’ curiosity of something becomes bigger, it is a

wise decision to let them think and write what appears in their minds as a maturing

process in students’ growth.

Combining two of the greatest approach in teaching writing for senior high school

in Indonesia

Derived from these general problems and possibilities of each approach for

being applied in teaching writing for senior high school in Indonesia, it is very much

better if we combining two of the powerful approaches into one potential approach that

can succeed the students’ writing ability.

So the writing process that produced by combing those two approaches can be draw

as the following stages :

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1. Introduction, is when teacher introducing certain kind of genre/text that need to

be mastered by the students and explain about its construction and its function in

daily life.

2. Planning, is the time when students choose the topic that fit with the kind of

text their teacher had given. Students then do brainstorming, word mapping, and

quick writing in order to gather ideas as much as they can.

3. Drafting, is when students have to change the un organized form quick writing

into their first draft, which is more constructed like the genre they have to

master. Drafting process can be done repeatedly. But at least by using some

pattern of specific genre their tasks will be much easier because they have

guidance.

4. Editing and revising

a. Revising that concerned to the content and organization

b. Editing and proofreading concerned to the grammar, spelling, and

punctuation correctness.

5. Final version, as the students has passed those stages in writing process, they

now ready to make a copy of their writing to publish them and hand in them to

their teacher.
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Conclusion

The writing processes produced by combining both genre-based approach and

process writing approach are expected to be useful for applying it in the teaching of

writing for Senior high school students in Indonesia. By combining both of them, we

can cover the weaknesses of each approaches based on the context of teaching writing

for senior high school students in Indonesia. The genre-based approach provides

students with knowledge to differ many kinds of text that useful for their future life

while process writing facilitate students in improving and exploring their way of

thinking and personality. Both has opened students chance to join the real world with

competence skill and talent.

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References:

Brown, Douglas, H. 2001. Teaching By Principles. An Interactive Approach to

Language Pedagogy. (2nd Ed.) New York: Addison Wesley Longman.

Harmer, J. 2004. How to teach writing . Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited.

Iswari, W. P. 2005. The Genre Approach to Teaching Writing and Its Possible

Application to Indonesian EFL Class. Literacy (1) 1: 35-42

Nunan, D. 2003. Practice English Language Teaching. (1st Ed.). New York: McGraw

Hill Education

Widiati, U. 1997. Genre Approach and the Teaching of Writing. ELE (3) 1: 17-21