Balinese Students’ Perception for EFL Learning: An Investigation Across Variables of Gender, Level of Achievement and Location of School

Luh Putu Artini

Abstract

One of the key differences between Balinese students and students from other parts of Indonesia is the opportunity to learn and use ‘real life’ English outside school. Many students, especially those living in tourist areas, have the opportunity to learn from what they hear or see in their environment. For local young Balinese, an ability to speak English fluently may be considered a pathway to a career in the tourist industry or a host of tourism-related businesses and enterprises. These job and career prospects could be expected to provide particular motivation for Balinese high school students to learn English. This paper attempts to address how young Balinese perceive English as a foreign language and how this language contributes to their future career orientation. Students’ perceptions about English as a foreign language learning is examined and comparison is made across the variables of gender, level of achievement and location of school.

Keywords: English as a Foreign Language, Students’ Perceptions, Gender, Level of

Achievement, Location of School

Introduction

Understanding a learner’s perception of his academic performance for a particular subject has been widely accepted as an important step toward improving the quality of learning. The reason for this is that perception can ‘steer and direct’ the learner’s own learning (Boekaerts, 1998:13). Research suggests that the relationship between one’s self concept (perception) and one’s academic ability is very strong (Byrne, 1984; Zimmerman, 1994). Boekaerts further states that perception has a role in providing a set of expectancies toward learning a particular subject. Expectancies per se refer to “the perceptions about what one is able to do, in the future, with the knowledge or skills that one possesses today” Consequently, there appears to be a close link between perception and future orientation. Shen and Pedulla (2000:1) define the term perception as students’ ways of looking at the subject matter that they are learning. It also covers the beliefs about their academic capabilities in the subject. That is, perceptions refer to psychological awareness of what learning a particular subject is like, what the advantages and disadvantages are of learning it, what kinds of problems might occur in the process of learning, and how much chance there is for success or failure in the subject.

According to William and Burden, (1999:200, as cited by Gascoigne and Robinson, 2001), there are two factors from which a learner assesses his success or failure in learning. The two factors are internal and external; the first refers to personal opinion and the latter refers to other factors, such as grades, and teacher approval. For example, a student who feels satisfied and confident that s/he has been doing well in a subject matter will have a positive attitude. This good feeling is caused by her/his personal opinion that s/he has achieved the intended goal. Similarly, a student who gains a high score or a compliment from her/his teacher might perceive her/himself as being a successful learner. This perception can be expected to contribute to motivation and enthusiasm to learn that lead to success of learning.

Considering the importance of understanding students’ perceptions about English language and EFL learning, this paper attempts to examine how Balinese students perceive English language and EFL learning. The discussion in this paper is focused on student perceptions about English language and their interrelationships to their future orientation . The variables of gender (male and female), level of achievement (high and low achieving) and location of school (rural and urban) were involved to describe differences of those perceptions among different cohorts.

Research Method

The data for perceptions was taken from Balinese senior high schools’ self reflective journals written with reference to a number of guided questions provided by the researcher. 178 students from six different senior high schools submitted their written journal on what they thought about English language and EFL learning, what their strength and weaknesses in learning the language, what their future career orientation and how English language contribute to their career achievement in the future . To assure that they wrote what their intended to write, they were given an opportunity to decide on the language to write the journal. They could choose the most convenient language to write, either English or Bahasa Indonesia. The data was analyzed descriptively.

Literature Review

Research into students’ perceptions about foreign or second language learning has flourished since the eighties. The popularity of research in this field is underlined by cognitivist theory that attitude and behaviors of learning are shaped by “a high order of mental representations concerning the nature of language and language learning” (Benson and Lor, 1999:459). In other words, every individual goes through mental processes of judging what (language) to learn, why (the importance) to learn and how (behaviors or strategies) to learn. Perceptions have been described as ‘personal opinion’ and also ‘beliefs’ about things, persons or events. Perceptions sometimes are used interchangeably with the term beliefs or conceptions, as revealed in the following quotation.

“Conceptions of learning may be similar to perceptions about learning if individuals evaluate the nature of particular conceptions of learning, develop strong feelings regarding such conceptions, and then behave in a way that reflects those understandings” (Brownlee et al., 2002:9).

A number of researches in this area has found that there is a relationship between perceptions about language learning and learners’ language learning strategies. Kuntz (1996), who reviewed a number of research projects using Horwitz’s BALLI questionnaire found that “subsequent research has identified common perceptions that should influence language instruction, curriculum development, textbook writing, and program planning” (p.28). Another relevant finding was that the language studied influenced learners’ perceptions concerning foreign language learning. Banya and Cheng (1997), who investigated the causes and effects of Chinese students’ perceptions about foreign language learning found that students’ perceptions have an impact on their motivation, attitudes, motivational intensity, strategy use, anxiety, and achievement. These studies have revealed the link between perceptions and learning outcomes, in which strong positive perceptions about EFL positively affect motivation, attitudes, and strategy use and consequently improve learning achievement.

Factors shaping students’ perceptions about EFL learning

There are at least three factors that possibly shape students’ perceptions about EFL: learners’ previous learning experience, teaching and learning practices, and cultural background.

1. Previous learning experience and students’ perceptions.

Strevens (1977) mentioned two types of experiences: previous linguistic experiences (either in mother tongue or the target / foreign language) and . These are considered as static qualities of the learners, which the teacher generally can do little to change. Linguistic experience in the target or foreign language appears to exert a strong influence on perceptions about the language. For example, students who have struggled to learn may develop a belief that English is a difficult language to learn. Similarly, students who used to learning and teaching practices where the teacher becomes the dominant figure in the class, tend to develop a perception that learning a foreign language is not different from learning other subjects.

Perceptions about a particular subject and learning that were rooted from linguistic and learning experiences as described above may change along the process of learning. According to Brownlee et al. (2000) such perceptions are “relative, changing, and actively constructed by the individual” (p.1-2). This possibly relate to exposure to learning different subjects with different learning expectations. Within one subject, teacher’s expectations may also change through time. This, for example, could be the results of changes in approaches and strategies for teaching or the implementation of a new curriculum.

There are two main arguments concerning the relationship between perceptions about language learning and learners’ experience. Firstly, according to Horwitz (1999), perceptions shape learners’ experiences. That is, learners create their experiences based on their perceptions and decide on actions to make their learning successful. Secondly, learners’ experience shapes learners’ perceptions. It is hypothesized that learners’ school experience with foreign language shapes their perceptions about the language and language learning (Chamot and Kupper, 1989; Horwitz, 1987, 1988). These two ideas reveal that there is a cyclic relationship between perceptions and experience about language learning; that is, one is influential to the other. Students bring in their experiences about the target language and learning into the classroom. This experience is considered as the major source of individual differences in conceptions, perceptions, motivation, and confidence about learning. However, it is also evident that experience in the target language and learning is created according to the perceptions. For example, when a student believes that learning English means learning to speak English, s/he will create an experience of speaking in the target language either to help improve or to check her/his own level of speaking proficiency.

2. Teaching and learning practices affect perceptions about EFL and Learning

A number of researchers have discussed the role of in-school or / and in-class teaching and learning practices. Teaching and learning practices in Indonesia mostly rely on textbooks (textbook-oriented teaching). The textbooks are a reflection of the teaching syllabus, and the syllabus follows the national curriculum. In this situation, students are used to acting as passive agents who do something only to respond to teachers’ requests. This teaching and learning practice is likely to shape students’ perceptions that learning occurs with the presence of a teacher who gives directions to students of what to do (commonly known as teacher-directed learning).

3. Learners’ Cultural Background

Every student comes from a particular social group with particular sociolinguistic environments (Spolsky, 1988). S/he might also have a particular conception about the target language that comes from her/his social community’s judgment about the language. For example, in a social community, people may value English as a prestigious language to learn, as proficiency in the language is considered to represent high social status. In this community, school children may develop a belief that it is important for them to learn English. Tumposky (1991) asserts that learners from different cultural backgrounds usually hold different belief systems as learners’ perceptions are closely related to the social context of the target language.

4. Gender and Language Learning

There is a large body of literature that discusses gender and language acquisition. Maesor and Sikes (1992), for instance, argue that girls tend to have better innate abilities in acquiring a language. In addition to this, Van der Veen and Mijnen (2001) maintain that males and females are different in the affective factors that have been reported to play a strong role in achievement in language learning. Those affective factors include anxiety, motivation, attitudes, aptitudes, and beliefs. The difference between male and female students’ achievement in language learning can also be explained by the theory that effective foreign language learning is dependent upon a definable range of learning strategies (Fedderholdt, 1997; Oxford, 1990; Hismanoglu, 2001). According to Oxford (1990), girls have been found to apply a larger range of strategies in foreign language learning. However, no studies have been found that specifically examine perceptions about English language and instruction in Balinese school settings.

A limited updated literature has been found concerning gender and schooling in Balinese cultural context. Robinson (2001) who conducted research in this area in Indonesia doubted that educational access for girls in remote areas had improved much. Similar issues might still exist in the Balinese context at present, especially due to the impact of prolonged economic crises after the Bali bombing in 2002. Tourism sectors may have gradually improved the local income however, it may not affect the economy of Balinese people in general. Low economic status may affect parents’ decision to send the boys to school rather than the girls.

5. Level of Achievement

Despite the growing body of literature on the role of individual differences in learning achievement, classroom observations conducted as part of the current study found that learners were treated alike during the process of teaching and learning at schools. In other words, students were assumed to be homogeneous in terms of their learning capability and potentiality, and consequently were exposed to the use of the same textbooks and the same materials for learning. Students were assigned to work at the same pace of learning using the same quantity of materials focusing on the same content. They usually work through the same syllabus on the same schedule (Guild, 2001). This is in line with Skehan (1989) who states that in most classroom research, learners are assumed to be similar and processes of learning are considered universal.

Teachers commonly observe that while some of their students excel in learning, others underachieve or do not achieve as well as they could expect (Onwuegbuzie, et al., 2000). Teachers may blame unsuccessful students for ‘not working hard enough’, or being ‘not intellectually good’. In fact, as mentioned above, there are many other factors that play important roles in determining learning outcomes. An abundance of research has been carried out to investigate characteristics of good (high achieving) and poor (low achieving) language learners based on their language learning strategy preferences. The earliest research was carried out by Naiman, et al. (1978), who attempted to draw a clear-cut distinction between the strategies applied by successful and unsuccessful learners. Later researches consistently found that high achieving students employed a wider range of strategies for learning compared to their low achieving counterpart (see for e.g. Artini, 2006). This might have something to do with how each cohort perceive the target language as a result of learning experiences inside and outside the classroom.

6. Rural and Urban Schools

Nationwide, there were over 8,000 senior high schools across Indonesia; 36% of them are government schools and the 64% are private schools. Many of these schools were located in rural areas (Depdiknas, 2000). Schools in urban areas are generally better than those in rural areas (Supriyoko, 2004). In Bali, urban school students usually achieve better in almost all the school subjects involved in the national examinations in comparison to their rural student counterparts (Depdiknas, 2010). This has been attributed to the limited learning resources available in rural schools (the Bali Children Project Report 2001; Hartono and Ehrmann, 2003). The Bali Children project, for example, wrote: “Schools in Bali, particularly in rural areas, are unbelievably rudimentary and lack even the most basic necessities for learning” (p.3). For this reason, location of school (rural vs. urban) is an important variable to examine when assessing learners’ beliefs about EFL teaching and learning and also in preferences of strategies for learning the language either outside or inside schools.

The three variables may potentially affect English learning outcomes in high schools in Indonesia in general of in Bali in particular. It is then crucially important to address those variables to examine what is actually in the mind of English language learners when they are exposed to the learning of English as a Foreign Language.

Findings and Discussion

The self-reflective journals indicated that quite a number of students believed that they had a good chance of success in learning English. In fact, many students wrote that by having proficiency in English they would have a better future. These perceptions can be considered as positive and could expectedly bring about optimism on the part of the learners to be a good speaker of English. However, they contradicted themselves when the guided question asked them about whether they had problems in learning English. This is revealed in the following citation:

I have many problems with learning English. (1) It’s hard to make up sentences

with correct grammar; (2) It’s hard to choose the right words; (3) It’s hard to

answer the teacher’s question spontaneously (I understand the question but I am unable to answer. (B001/OA: HAFr)

My major problems are in tenses and pronunciation. I have tried to go to an

English course but it did not help improve my English. I still have a limited

number of words. I really want to be able to speak English well. (B030/OA: HAMr)

These comments from self reflective journals were representative of many male and female students from the six schools. They strongly believed that sentences should be carefully planned, words should be carefully selected, and grammar should be correctly applied. “I understand the question but I am unable to answer” might indicate that their awareness of the need to be ‘correct’ in speaking makes them reluctant to speak.

In fact, the problem of reluctance in speaking was confirmed in the self-reflective journals by quite a number of both urban and rural students, especially the high achievers. For example:

I attended an English course before. But no matter what I do, my English

is still unsatisfactory. I still cannot speak English fluently and correctly. I always need to consult my dictionary for words to use either in speaking or writing. I am always unsure whether what I say is correct or not. (K009/OA: HAFu)

Comments from this student reveal that students tried to be more ‘careful’ in their productive skills of speaking and writing. They exercised high levels of surveillance over speaking English because they wanted to conform to the rules of good English when communicating in the foreign language.

The majority of students were more likely to believe that speaking correctly was required in the school setting they also considered that making mistakes was not a principal problem when outside school. The following excerpts from the self reflective journals illustrate this point,

Every time I met someone who was good or much better in English than me (for example my teacher or other English instructors), I got very nervous. And when I was nervous, I would not be able to say a word. . However, when I met a foreigner (a native speaker of English) I could speak with him/her fluently. This experience made me realize that before speaking with an English teacher or instructor I was self-conscious that I had to be grammatically correct (K010/OA: HAFu)

Can I ask you a question? How can I improve my speaking skills? My major problem in English is in speaking. I always feel nervous, reluctant, or shy when I have to speak in English. I don’t have confidence. I feel that my English is not good or not correct. Which one is more important in English, practical or theoretical English? (K020/OA: HAMu)

These comments represent perceptions about the virtues of accuracy and fluency in speaking English. On the one hand, they wanted to be able to speak fluently, without too much concern about grammatical rules. On the other hand, their efforts to speak English freely were challenged by their teachers who emphasized correctness. These students seemed to realize that there were times when they had to speak with accurate grammar, and other times when they could speak with less accurate grammar. Indeed, this led to some confusion about which one was a priority. They seemed unsure about which was better -to speak correctly or to speak fluently as implied in the quote above.

Differences in perceptions about EFL learning seemed to occur between students from rural and urban schools. The urban school students were likely to be more positive about their perceptions in learning English, as revealed in the following citation:

I’m proud of myself because I like this subject [English] very much, even though my achievement so far is not satisfactory. I am still weak in tenses and grammar. But I enjoy speaking practice, especially with native speakers of English. (K025/OA: HAFu)

The first time I encountered English was when I was in year three at elementary school. I have learned this language since then ... I should say that I haven’t found any problem since the very first lesson... Everything is OK if you like it. (K021/OA: HAFu)

Students from urban schools gave the impression they were more at ease with English language learning. They showed more positive attitudes towards the learning of the foreign language and were more positive about their chances of success. In contrast, their rural counterparts seemed pessimistic about their chances of becoming successful English learners, as illustrated in the following quotes:

I have been through unpleasant days in learning English because I feel that I am very stupid. I am not at all satisfied with what I have achieved in English... (K034/UA: LAFu).

I feel so far behind my friends because my English is poor. I feel shy in front of the other students in my class. I am very dissatisfied with what I have achieved... (K047/UA: LAFu)

Rural school students seemed to lack confidence about their chances of success in English. They blamed themselves for being ‘stupid’ or ‘poor’ learners. This unpleasant experience in class, may affect both their motivation and perceptions about learning the foreign language, even though they are aware of the future career and life rewards which come from English competency. This is an intriguing finding that merits further research.

There was no significant difference found among students from rural and urban schools in Bali in term of the effect of having good English on their future.

I think I have to study English harder to improve my competence. Having good proficiency in English I hope to successfully compete in the labor force in this era of globalization. English is particularly important in Bali because it’s a tourist destination. I hope I can work in a tourism industry job in the future. (T002/OA: HAFr)

I am fully aware that I need English for my future. It’s very important to be able to speak English. I will get a good job and have interesting experiences with English. (K005/OA: HAFu)

The following excerpts reveal how Balinese viewed the advantages of having English proficiency.

“Bali is famous for tourism, so we must have a good command of English for a

better future. If we cannot speak English, we will be left behind. English is an

important language for obtaining a good career in the tourism industry’.

(T017/OA: HAMr)

“My motivation for learning English comes from my environment. I have some

successful relatives who work in hotels and on cruises. Their success was

brought about because of their high competence in English. I really want to be like them (G012/OA: HAMu)

The citations show that students’ enthusiasm to learn English was driven by their ambitions to succeed in their future careers. Responses to the question “ What do you want to be in the future?” revealed Balinese students generally believed that the tourism sector provides the promising jobs. Many of the students were keen to get a job in tourism-related businesses or enterprises. They mentioned the occupations of tour guide, hotel staff, and cruise crew-member. They perceived these jobs as prestigious and well paid. Some mentioned family or acquaintances who were ready working in these occupations. They were aware that speaking English well made applicants competitive for employment in the lucrative tourism sector.

There was a significant difference between rural and urban school in terms of perceptions EFL learning. Rural school students held a stronger belief than their urban school counterparts that English should be used correctly that is accuracy in pronunciation, grammar, and word choices. This might be due to the fact that rural school students were more likely to rely on school lessons for learning English, as demonstrated in the following excerpts from the self-reflective journals.

I am not yet satisfied with my ability in English language because I don’t know many words. I only learn English at school, but I think school is not enough. We don’t have enough time for learning English at school, but I don’t do anything outside school to improve my English. The most difficult thing in English is to compose sentences because we must think about the tenses.(T039/UA: LAMr)

Maybe I don’t have a talent for English. After six years of learning it, I am still not good at either writing or speaking in the language. For me, school is not enough. I can’t rely on school if I want to be able to speak English. I know I must do something outside the school because an ability to speak English is important. However, I live far away from anywhere (T003/OA: HAFr)

Many of my friends join an English course outside school, but I don’t. My house is very far and my parents cannot afford it. This is my problem in learning English better. What I have done so far is only reviewing the lesson I had at school and doing the tasks in the textbook (T017/OA: HAMr)

The majority of students (rural and urban) believed that English lessons at school were not adequate for them to gain proficiency in English. They also believed that they had to make extra effort to improve their English outside school. However, many of the rural school students could not do much due to a number of constraints, such as: limited access to learning resources, lack of supports from environment (e.g. not many proficient English speakers around), and minimal mobility due to limited public transport access. As a result, for most rural school students, school lessons as well as school textbooks became their major sources for learning English. Learning at home was limited to working on homework assigned by English teachers or reviewing school lessons, which were mainly about grammar and vocabulary.

Given that students were mostly keen to improve their English, some rural schools set up an English course for them to learn extra English after school hours. This ‘in school’ English course usually attracted many students. However, many students stated that the ‘in school’ English course was boring. Even though the learning materials were not the same as those in the regular English classes, the teaching and learning system was similar to school lessons. Most of the activities focused on grammatical rules, vocabulary, and pronunciation. There were two possible reactions to this situation on the part of students. On the positive side they might become more aware that they needed to do something to improve their speaking skills. On the negative side this might strengthen their belief about the importance of always being accurate in speaking English.

In relation to future career orientation, there seemed to be some kind of patterns that characterized each cohort. From gender point of view, female students were more likely to prefer careers that historically have been attributed to females like teachers, nurses and police women. The data show this pattern regardless of level of achievement and location of school. The following excerpts illustrate this.

I want to be a teacher and teaching in a junior high school or a senior high school… I want to be a teacher because I think that’s a noble job and I like to sharing with people about experiences, hobbies or anything…To be an English teacher, I must study hard in English and my English competence will contribute to my career…(T001/OA: HA/Fu).

However, there were more female students from urban areas, than those from rural areas, who pursue career as professionals like doctors, psychologists, computer engineers, pharmacists, accountants or bankers. This may have something to do with parents’ or relative occupations which are related to economic status of the family. For example:

I want to be a doctor. My goal grows since I was in kindergarten. I am motivated to become a doctor because I saw my uncle who had success with his work as a doctor. (D011/OA: HAFu).

I want to be a doctor because many of my family are doctors…As the first and only female in my family, I really want my parents to be proud… (D019/OA: HAFu)

The data show balanced proportion of male and female students in urban areas who want to become professionals in the future. All of these students mentioned the need to speak English as illustrated below.

English influence my ideal: as a doctor I cannot pick and choose patients. I have to treat people from Indonesia or overseas. This is why a doctor should be able to speak the international language. (D019/OA: HAFu)

Many of male high and low achieving students from rural and urban school expressed the career orientation as a businessman

I want to be a businessman in the future and English is important because it can make me able to speak with people from other countries (T021/UA: LAMr)

Despite pessimism of many students about their capability to speak English (after a long process of learning the language at school), they all share the idea of the importance of English in the future. They all consider the foreign language as an asset for success in the future career. This indicates that Balinese young generation across the variables of gender, level of achievement, and location of school have instrumental motivation to learn English. This can be expected to help student improve their self-directed learning strategies, that are, strategies that are motivated by self awareness of the need to learn the language at own rate and route to achieve their intended goals.

Conclusion

The finding that Balinese students were generally positive about their chances of success in learning English appeared to be related to their strong desire to be able to speak English. For many of them, especially those from the urban schools, English is not hard to learn and that they are eager to learn to speak English well. The only significant difference was found between the rural and urban school students. The urban school students seemed to be more positive about their capability in learning English. This is probably due to their personal learning experiences. The urban school students tended to have had more experiences with English and had future career orientation that required proficiency in the foreign language. The future impact of English proficiency was viewed similarly by the students across all variables under study. Proficiency in English was also considered important to advance careers in all mentioned job areas, such as medicine, teaching, business, and the police force. Professionalism and opportunities for further education were other major imagined future impacts that emerged from the self reflective journals.

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