Using Individual Work to Motivate the Introverted Students in

Speaking English at Tenth Grade Classes in Binjai, Indonesia

Situation and Focus

Undoubtedly, the urge to communicate in English is a major goal for many individuals
throughout the world. English is widely spoken and is regarded as the worldwide language
(McKay, 2022). Speaking is therefore the key ability to master while studying or teaching a
foreign language, and helping students communicate in English both inside and outside of the
classroom is one of the main objectives for English teachers (Schweers, 1999).
Being a teacher who focuses on helping students improve their language abilities is not
a simple or straightforward job; in fact, the different backgrounds of the students in the class
will require us as teachers to be able to share our communication strategies with them (Kayi,
2006). As an English teacher who once taught tenth-grade students in 2020 at a high school
in Binjai, Indonesia, I noticed that the proficiency and motivation to use English in
communication were still rather poor. As far as I know, students who were typically between
the ages of 15 and 16 were no longer a group of young children who had not yet mastered the
fundamentals of English knowledge and language (White and Genesee, 1996), such as
common vocabulary, basic grammar, and how to express something at an easy level.
As a result of this, I conclude that the way students communicated and how frequently
they preferred to communicate with others was impacted by their various personalities. Here,
I divided my students’ characteristics into two categories: extroverted and introverted. As
their parent in the class, I was undoubtedly able to distinguish these two sorts of personalities
since I was familiar with the character of the people in my class, which included diverse
comprehension and linguistic abilities.
As we all know, the four basic abilities in English are listening, reading, writing, and
speaking (Hinkel, 2010). In Indonesia, these four abilities serve as the foundation for
assessing students’ competency in the classroom, as mentioned in the education curriculum,
syllabus, and lesson plans. Unlike listening and reading skills, which are classified as very
passive receptive skills, or writing skills, which are classified as active productive skills
(Sreena and Ilankumaran, 2018: 670) but can be expressed through writing or graphic form,
speaking skills are English skills that still create gaps between the activity of extroverted
and introverted students. So frequently, only extroverted students were more proactive in

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speaking or discussing (Vaezi et.al, 2014) in the context of learning in the class than those
who remained introverted and silent.
I could say this because my students who had introverted personalities were reluctant to
participate in the class when it came to strengthening speaking skills, discussing among
fellow classmates, or conveying arguments related to the material being learned. They were
very busy in reading or listening, which seemed unfortunate since they struggled mightily
when verbal communication was required. As a result, their academic performance fell short
of that of who had extroverted dispositions.
In Dewaele & Furnham (1999: 513), Eysenck and Eysenck offered the following
comprehensive description of the behavior of a highly extroverted and a very introverted
person:
“The typical extravert is sociable, likes parties, has many friends, needs to
have people to talk to, and does not like reading or studying by himself. He craves
excitement, takes chances, often sticks his neck out, acts on the spur of the
moment, and is generally an impulsive individual. He is fond of practical jokes,
always has a ready answer, and generally likes change; he is carefree, easy-going,
optimistic, and likes “to laugh and be merry.” He prefers to keep moving and
doing things, tends to be aggressive and lose his temper quickly; altogether his
feelings are not kept under tight control, and he is not always a reliable person.
The typical introvert is a quiet retiring sort of person, introspective, fond of books
rather than people; he is reserved and distant except to intimate friends. He tends
to plan ahead, “looks before he leaps,” and distrusts the impulse of the moment.
He does not like excitement, takes matters of everyday life with proper
seriousness, and likes a well-ordered mode of life. He keeps his feelings under
close control, seldom behaves in an aggressive manner, and does not lose his
temper easily. He is reliable, somewhat pessimistic, and places great value on
ethical standards.”

In class, I often formed study groups consisting of 4 to 5 students with the aim of
discussing an issue which they would compile into an exposition text related to phenomena
that occurred in Indonesia. For example, at that time there was material for discussion about a
traditional toy called lato-lato or simply named ‘clackers’ and ‘click-clacks’ in the US which
was suddenly popular and played by many young children and teenagers in Indonesian
schools. With a positive side, the toys were able to distract my students from rarely using
smartphones which interfered with learning activities, but those toys could be physically
harmful. I often did discussions like this in the class when learning topics related to speaking

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arose. As I hoped all students could play an active role in their study group but that
expectation was only a failure.
This leads me to the conclusion that my teaching strategies were less successful and
unfair in the classroom. My concern was for students who were unable to absorb the lessons
being taught, and I want to find out why this finding occurred and find solutions so that those
introverted students could participate in my future class.
In addition, the main reason for writing this essay is my belief that an effective teacher
is one who takes the time to get to know and understand their students (their abilities,
learning preferences, personality traits, etc.) in order to support and encourage them as they
develop their skills, especially introverts who are frequently ignored and misunderstood.
Therefore, I need to employ a different method as a treatment for teaching English to the
students, namely by optimizing one-way individual work between them and the teacher.

Response

Stephen Krashen (1989) came to the conclusion that the basic difference between
acquisition and learning is the foundation of his theory of second language acquisition in his
book Language Acquisition and Language Education. The process of learning a second
language is subconscious and, in all material respects, similar to the process of acquiring a
first language. While acquisition is taking place, the acquirer is not always aware of it and she
or he is not usually aware of its result. A conscious awareness of the language is what is
meant by “learning” it. Ordinary language refers to learning, not acquisition, whether we
discuss grammar or rules.
This theory emphasizes that learning and acquisition are unmistakably different
processes. When it comes to speaking a second or foreign language, acquisition appears to be
significantly more important than learning. It is largely what we have acquired, not what we
have learned, that allows us to utilize a foreign language. Acquiring a foreign language is not
something that can be performed quickly. To reach the greatest level of acquisition, a few
fundamental components are required. The factors impacting foreign language learning may
be categorized as the individual’s age, motivation, socio-economic status, cultural
background, and degree of cognitive development.
Since a person’s level of motivation determines whether they are successful in learning
a foreign language, motivation plays a significant part in this process. With the right
motivation, learning the language will be successful. Additionally, if motivation is not

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possessed, he or she may fail. If a person does not have the desire to immerse themselves in
the language, learning a foreign language can be quite challenging. It is obvious that the
significance of motivation cannot be overstated.
It is well acknowledged that motivation is essential for learning achievement.
Motivation, according to Harmer (2007: 98), is some kind of drive which propels someone to
do things in order to achieve something. In other words, motivation is the factor that makes it
possible for someone to achieve their intended goals; without motivation, very little would be
accomplished because there is no effort without motivation.
The two basic motivational categories in second language acquisition theories are
intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Activities that are intrinsically driven,
according to Edward Deci (1975: 23) are those for which there is no evident benefit except
from the activity itself. Contrarily, actions driven by extrinsic motivation are taken in hope of
receiving rewards from sources outside of oneself. As I previously stated, I will use the
individual work technique, which is more private between the teacher and students, to learn
English in the future; this technique simply employs the motivation emerging within the
introvert students to learn by themselves.
Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is the urge to complete a task that makes people feel
personally satisfied and in control while performing the action. Ur (1991: 280) added that
intrinsic motivation as the generalized desire to invest effort in the learning for its own sake.
When people have self-determined motives, they are more engaged in activities and work
harder to accomplish difficult goals. Activities that are intrinsically driven are not means to a
goal. The incentive to engage in an activity is for the experience of the action itself, not for
the achievement of future benefits; they are the goals themselves. For instance, my
intrinsically motivated students could claim that they are enrolling in a grammatical course
because they are curious in how the rules of the English language work.
Teachers can provide environment that is intrinsically motivating for their introverted
learners and should make effort when giving the lecture to gain the students attention.
According to Harmer (1998: 03), “good teachers care more about their students’ learning than
they do about their own teaching.” Effective teachers should have profound knowledge and
understanding of their subjects. Although, knowing and understanding their introverted
students is just as important.
Moreover, teachers get to know their introverted students, what their interests are and
what kind of contribution they can have to the classroom. Also, teachers who often “show
them a personal interest in them, and take care to behave in a fair way toward all learners

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alike” (Davies & Pearse, 2000: 15) would definitely have a great influence on their students’
learning process because establishing good teacher-student relationship can be a major factor
to students’ engagement. In addition to that, establishing proper and clear goals “can give
direction and the will to work” (Davies and Pearse, 2000: 14). Teachers should clarify the
objectives of tasks to those students; these objectives should be relevant to their desired aims
and achievable.
Also, providing introverted students with different topics can be very motivating in the
English language classroom, topics which attract students’ attention and interest for the
reason that “learners are more likely to have an interest in tasks that have to be compelled to
do with them” (Ur, 1991: 281). For Ur, creating a fun and amusing environment for students
helps in motivating and can make them eager to learn, “students enjoy being entertained and
amused” (Harmer, 1998: 02). If the teacher is serious all the time, it will be hard fix them to
care and to connect with them.
According to Crow (2009), introverted students that are intrinsically motivated are
likely to do better while studying. This is due to their enthusiasm in the educational process
and desire to succeed just for the purpose of learning rather than for prizes or recognitions.
They will also find their education to be relevant since they are ready to study a subject
thoroughly in order to master it. This holds true for the learning of foreign languages as well.
People will increase their degree of acquisition the more they participate in any activity that
prompts them to use the target language.
Oral and written proficiency are two areas in which language acquisition may be
measured. As is common knowledge, reading and writing are considered to be written
communication skills whereas speaking and listening are considered to be oral
communication skills. The use of spoken language is highly common. In other words, it
surrounds us and is present everywhere. As a result, its growth is crucial to the process of
learning a second language. It is thought that a person would create greater output the more
input they get. When a person can carry on a communicative and fruitful conversation, it can
be said that they have learned a foreign language.
Though the teacher does not have to act as a clown, he or she should be a bit strict or
the class would get all out of their hands and nobody will learn. Moreover, according to Ur
(1991) the teacher should engage students in different classroom activities, such as, private
discussions, role-plays, information gap, etc.

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Evaluation

Learning strategies are “particular acts made by the student to make learning simpler,
faster, more pleasurable, more self-directed, more successful, and more transferrable to other
settings,” according to Oxford (1990: 8). Strategies are described as certain techniques of
tackling a problem or task, modes of operation for accomplishing a particular purpose, or
planned designs for managing and manipulating certain information by Brown (2001: 210).
In other terms, a learner’s methods for ensuring his comfort and effectiveness when gaining
new knowledge or information are referred to as learning strategies.
What can be concluded from the ideas regarding language learning techniques
presented above is that language learning strategies are critical in assisting learners to acquire
a language. According to O’Malley and Chamot (1990: 140), more effective students
employed a broader range of methods and applied them in ways that helped students
accomplish the language tasks successfully.
From this it can be emphasized that learning English using individual work techniques
will have an effective impact on students with introverted personalities. In line with the
intrinsic motivation theory described above, these introverted students will feel more
confident when they are given an empty room to study and work more freely. Therefore, I
hope that this essay can provide an overview for me as a language teacher to use learning
methods like this in Indonesia so that my teaching targets can be maximally successful.

Word count: 2351

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 References

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