The Use of Problem-Based Learning with Think, Pair, Share Strategy to Teach Speaking in Senior High School

The Use of Problem-based Learning Model with 

Think, Pair and Share Strategy to Teach Speaking in Senior High School

Budiati Rahayu

Introduction

At the beginning of the semester, I applied an English only classroom policy in all my 12 grade classes. A large number of students have been actively participating and have no problems in adapting in the new setting. However, I noticed some students were struggling with interacting with their friends and teacher and tend to be passive. As a language teacher, this has become my concern to help them to be more confident in speaking.

Therefore, I designed an innovative teaching plan to motivate those students to  speak more and express their opinion in a less daunting situation. Another objective is to create a lively discussion where students can approach an issue with critical thinking and collaboratively find solutions to overcome the problems that occur.

 

Discussion

While preparing for the plan, there were some challenges that appeared. The first thing was designing speaking activities that would encourage students to speak up without having to be asked. When it comes to speaking, many students tend to be insecure with their English ability as they are afraid of making mistakes and being judged by their peers, especially when they are not given the time to prepare first.  Another challenge was to choose a topic that was relatable to the students, so that they would engage in the discussion. When the topic was of their interest, it would be easier for the students to form opinions as they have got the experience.

To be able to face the challenges, there were steps that I took which were based on the Understanding by Design model. After identifying the problems and also the objectives I desired to achieve,  I did some library research and also made inquiries about some strategies to motivate students to have more courage in speaking in the classroom and develop their critical thinking. Finally a strategy that I thought was the best to be applied in my class was the Problem- based learning model using the Think, Pair and Share strategy as it could help overcome students' insecurity of speaking English in the classroom and at the same time promote the use of critical thinking. From here, I started to design an innovative teaching plan that would help me to achieve the objectives.

In the implementation of this strategy, there were three main activities that students would do. The first one was the Think activity which was done after the topic was introduced and the problem was raised. Here the students were given enough time to formulate two opposing points of view about the topic given and were allowed to use media such as Chat GPT, google search to help them elaborate their opinion. After they were able to compose their thoughts, they would do the Pair activity where they shared their viewpoints to the person who sat next to them. Here the students were allowed to read their notes and compare their opinions with their partner and choose one side of the issue. Following the Pair activity was the Share activity in which the students were put in two big groups according to the side they took regarding the topic discussed. The leader of the group then started the discussion and together they made a summary of their points of view. Each group, then, was asked to present their summary and based on the thoughts of the opponent and proponent group, they collaboratively compose some resolutions that could be done to solve the problems.

To be able to apply the strategy, attractive teaching media which was up to date was needed. Here I used some current newspaper headlines that highlighted the issue and also a short video that was an excerpt of a TV news discussion about the topic.

Conclusion

Overall, the teaching plan was carried out well and all the teaching learning steps were done as planned. Based on my observation and the results of the students' assessment, I think the strategy that I used was effective as both of the learning objectives were reached. During the Think, Pair and Share activity, students were engaged and had no problems in formulating their viewpoints and sharing them both with a partner and in a big group setting. Here, I could see that their motivation to speak English was as expected. This can also be seen in the students' motivation assessment. At the end of the lesson, students were also able to come up with resolutions of the problems collaboratively. They even managed to compose some insightful ideas. This shows that they were able to think critically and see an issue from different points of view objectively.

I think there are two aspects that play an important role in the success of the strategy. The first one is the topic of the discussion, "Should students be allowed to use AI to do their assignments?" which is closely related to students' experiences in their daily life. This makes it easy for the students to compose their ideas both from the opponent and proponent side. The second aspect is the time given to the students before the speaking activities. By enabling students to prepare what they are going to say, they will feel less anxious and less afraid of making mistakes. The Pair activity is also another aspect that helps them feel more confident and less afraid of being judged.

In conclusion, although there are still some improvements that need to be done, the particular strategy used was able to solve the problem that was identified in my English classroom.

Bibliography 

Leyaley, R. (2023) Students' Passiveness in Speaking English: The Culprit behind the Silence in the Classroom. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 11, 98-111.

IMPROVING STUDENTS' MOTIVATION IN SPEAKING ENGLISH THROUGH ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGY

Active Learning in Teaching English for Young  Learners