What's Wrong with My Eyes...

One Monday morning, under the very hot sun.
There is a young man wanted to meet a doctor,
since he wanted to consult something.
He had a very big problems with his eyes.

Young Man : "Doctor...doctor...doctor...
I have a really serious problem"
Doctor : "What is it?"
Young Man : "i do not know exactly,
why I always feel hurt on one of my eyes
whenever i drink a glass of coffee."
Doctor : "hmmm......"
"I know your problem,
what you need to do is to put the spoon
out of the glass before you drink your coffee."
Young Man : "?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
"Thanks anyway"

KIAT SUKSES BELAJAR BAHASA INGGRIS

Bahasa memiliki peranan penting dalam kehidupan manusia. Bahasa menjadi alat komunikasi baik dalam menyampaikan informasi, ide pembaruan ataupun konsep-konsep perkembangan. Mengarungi era globalisasi dan perdagangan bebas, tidak bisa dipungkiri bahwa segala bentuk informasi dan aktivitas bisnis maupun institusi pendidikan akan dijalankan dengan menggunakan bahasa pengantar internasional seperti bahasa Arab, Perancis, Jerman, Jepang dan terutama bahasa Inggris.

Betapa banyak informasi baik dalam bentuk tertulis seperti buku, jurnal ilmiah, atau novel maupun dalam bentuk audiovisual seperti film atau drama yang diabadikan dalam bahasa Inggris. Di negara kita sendiri tercinta Indonesia, notabene Bahasa persatuan kita bahasa Indonesia, kita banyak pula menggunakan bahasa Inggris dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Dewasa ini betapa banyak term-term Inggris yang dipakai tidak hanya oleh dunia pendidikan tapi juga dunia bisnis. Adapun contoh ungkapan itu misalnya world class university, one step ahead, touch heart, I love you pull.
Mengingat betapa pentingnya bahasa Inggris tersebut maka sebagian besar individu, baik itu dari kalangan pemerintah, mahasiswa, pekerja, maupun professional telah menyadari pentingnya belajar bahasa Inggris. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari dimasukkannya bahasa Inggris kedalam kurikulum TK sampai Perguruan Tinggi sebagai mata pelajaran wajib. Selain itu, jumlah orang yang mengikuti kursus bahasa Inggris semakin banyak dari hari ke hari. Mereka semua berusaha belajar bahasa Inggris dengan harapan bisa menggunakannya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari ataupun dalam dunia kerja. Namun, masalah utama yang kemudian muncul adalah sebagian besar dari mereka yang telah mengikuti kursus sejak sekolah dasar sampai perguruan tinggi masih saja gagal meguasai bahasa Inggris. Sebagian besar dari mereka tidak mampu mengatakan bahwa saya sudah bisa menggunakan bahasa Inggris.
Satu hal yang tidak dapat dipungkiri dari permasalahan tersebut adalah suatu kenyataan bahwa kemampuan bahasa yang dimiliki orang berbeda-beda. Perbedaan potensi kebahasaan yang dimiliki manusia menyebabkan tidak semua orang akan mudah mempelajari bahasa. Namun kita perlu ingat sekecil apapun potensi yang kita miliki tetap memberikan peluang yang besar untuk menguasai bahasa tersebut (bahasa Inggris) asalkan kita punya keinginan untuk belajar sepenuhnya yang disertai dengan penerapan kiat atau cara yang tepat untuk mempelajarinya. Hal inilah yang seringkali mendasari munculnya pertanyaan bagaimana sebenarnya cara belajar bahasa Inggris yang baik supaya bias menjadi pebelajar yang sukses.
Dalam belajar bahasa Inggris diperlukan adanya strategi atau kiat-kiat belajar. Belajar bahasa tidak sama dengan belajar ilmu sains. Chaer (1995:17) menyatakan bahwa Bahasa itu bersifat dinamis maksudnya bahasa itu tidak terlepas dari berbagai kemungkinan perubahan yang sewaktu-waktu dapat terjadi. Artinya, setiap waktu mungkin saja terjadi perubahan baik dari kosakata maupun strukturnya. Oleh karena bahasa merupakan sebuah keterampilaan, maka bahasa tersebut harus dipelajari dan dipraktekkan secara terus menerus dan sesering mungkin. Karena itu, ada pepatah yang mengatakan bahwa practice makes perfect ; the more you practice, the more you learn. Keterampilan bahasa Inggris memerlukan aksi atau praktek. Mungkin saja sebagian besar orang sudah mengetahui tips belajar bahasa Inggris, tetapi jika tidak dilaksanakan atau dipraktekkan, itu berarti kita tidak akan mencapai keberhasilan yang maksimal.
B. KIAT SUKSES BELAJAR BAHASA INGGRIS

Dalam belajar bahasa Inggris diperlukan dua hal penting yaitu passion (daya tarik) dan metode belajar yang efektif. Mengapa dibutuhkan passion (daya tarik) dalam belajar bahasa Inggris? Karena dengan daya tarik inilah seseorang akan termotivasi untuk belajar bahasa Inggris. Ketika seseorang sudah memiliki daya tarik tersebut maka yang diperlukan selanjutya adalah metode belajar efektif yang akan mengarahkan seorang pebelajar untuk mengetahui bagaimana melaksanakannya dengan cepat. Huda (1999:6) mengatakan motivasi memiliki peranan penting dalam menentukan berhasil tidaknya seseorang dalam mempelajari bahasa target.
Ada beberapa hal yang dapat membangkitkan ketertarikan atau motivasi dalam mempelajari bahasa inggris antara lain: ........
Jika seseorang mencintai atau sudah punya daya tarik belajar bahasa Inggris maka: bisa belajar secara teratur; menghabiskan waktu lebih banyak untuk belajar bahasa Inggris; belajar bahasa Inggris akan menjadi lebih mudah. Hal ini bisa terjadi karena otak seseorang akan mudah mengingat informasi mengenai hal-hal yang disukai. Sebagaimana yang dikatakan Larsen-Freeman (1991:319) apabila pebelajar memperoleh kesempatan untuk menggunakan bahasa target yang banyak, maka dia kan memiliki kemahiran bahasa itu dengan baik.
Tidak bisa dipungkiri bahwa banyak orang yang mengatakan keluhan-keluhan tentang bahasa Inggris antara lain bahasa Inggris susah, buat apa belajar toh itu bukan bahasa kita, bahasa Inggris bahasa munafik. Keluhan seperti ini tidak hanya sering didengar di dunia pendidikan formal, tetapi juga di dunia pendidikan nonformal. Hanya sedikit dari mereka yang menyukai bahasa Inggris.
Hal lain yang sering dihadapi dalam belajar bahasa Inggris adalah walaupun seseorang sudah menyukainya, kadang-kadang mereka tidak ingin mempelajarinya. Inilah cara psikologi manusia dalam bekerja, kadang-kadang kita begitu malas, bosan, dan lelah sehingga kita tidak ingin apapun sekalipun kita menyukai hal-hal tersebut.
Berikut ini adalah beberapa tips umum yang dapat kita lakukan ketika belajar belajar bahasa Inggris:
1. Rancanglah target target yang realistis
Satu hal penting yang harus diingat bahwa sukses belajar bahasa tidak akan terjadi dalam waktu semalam, belajar bahasa tidaklah semudah membalikkan telapak tangan, meskipun kita adalah seorang yang memiliki IQ yang tinggi dengan motivasi sangat tinggi dan mengikuti pembelajaran di sekolah paling elitpun. Oleh karena itu, kita sebagai pebelajar hendaknya merancang target-target yang realistis. Sebagai contoh, kalau kita pemula dalam belajar bahasa sebaiknya kita mulai dengan penguasaan vocabulary, lalu dilanjutkan dengan pembiasaan mendengar. Kalau kita sudah memiliki dasar-dasar bahasa, maka kita sudah bisa mulai dengan pengembangan pronounciation dan kemampuan menulis. Kesimpulannya, pebelajar hendaknya merancang taget apa yang ingin dicapi agar mudah mengukur sejauh mana keberhasilan yang dicapai.
2. Mengatur jadual belajar
Belajar bahasa membutuhkan waktu dan latihan. Oleh karena itu, mengatur jadual belajar bahasa Inggris sangat penting. Dan yang harus ditekankan dalam mengatur jadual belajar adalah dengan mengutamakan kualitas daripada kuantitas. Lebih baik belajar 10 menit dalam sehari tetapi dilakukan dengan rutin daripada belajar berjam-jam tetapi dilakukan hanya dalam satu waktu. Pelajaran yang sering diulangi secara teratur akan tersimpan di memori dengan baik.
3. Mempelajari bagaimana cara belajar

Mengetahui cara belajar terbaik kita adalah salah satu cara untuk membantu kita belajar efektif. Seseorang seharusnya mengetahui apa sebenarnya learning style mereka apakah termasuk dalam kategori visual, auditori atau kinestetik. Dengan mengetahui learning style, belajar akan lebih mudah dan menyenangkan.
4. Menemukan guru yang baik

Menemukan guru yang tepat dan mengerti bahasa Inggris dan mampu mentransfer ilmunya dengan baik juga merupakan cara belajar bahasa Inggris yang efektif. Guru akan membantu seseorang dalam mengatur tujuan dan waktu belajar seseorang.
5. Berlatih, berlatih, dan berlatih
Poin ini adalah hal yang paling utama dalam belajar bahasa Inggris. Meskipun seseorang sudah mengetahui banyak kosakata bahasa Inggris ataupun menguasai tata bahasa Inggris, tetapi tanpa latihan, semuanya menjadi sia-sia. Belajar mudah bahasa Inggris intinya adalah latihan. Bercakap dengan teman adalah salah satu cara yang sangat baik.
6. Jangan takut salah

Salah satu kelemahan pelajar bahasa Inggris adalah mereka malu untuk mengaplikasikan bahasa Inggris mereka karena takut salah. Pikiran seperti itu sebaikya dihilangkan. Silahkan bicara dan menulis dan jangan takut salah. Yakinlah bahwa kita dalam proses belajar. No body’s perfect, isn’t.
7. Salurkan hobi anda untuk mendukung kemampuan bahasa
Seorang pebelajar sebaiknya mengaplikasikan apa yang akan dipelajarinya melalui hobi atau kegemarannya. Sebagai contoh, bagi seseorang yang gemar bersenandung atau menyanyi, maka dia sebaiknya sering-sering menyanyikan lagu berbahasa Inggris. Apabila seseorang mempunyai hobi nonton, maka sebaiknya memperbanyak nonton film-film berbahasa Inggris. Jangan mersa minder kalau tidak mampu memahami semua yang didengar. Yang terpenting adalah the more you listen, the more you understand.
Dengan demikian secara tidak langsung seseorang hal tersebut akan memberikan pembelajaran baik berupa kebiasaan mendengarkan ataupun kebiasaan mengucapkan kata-kata bahasa Inggris. Kecintaan kepada hobbinya akan berdampak pada kecintaan atau ketertarikan untuk belajar bahasa Inggris.
8. Gunakan kamus yang tepat
Setiap orang yang belajar bahasa Inggris memerlukan sebuah kamus. Kamus tidak hanya digunakan untuk mengetahui arti kata, tetapi dapat membantu untuk menentukan apakah sebuah kata termasuk dalam kategori verb, noun, atau adjective. Untuk seorang pemula lebih baik menggunakan kamus bilingual, sedangkan pelajar yang sudah melewati tingkat pemula bisa memakai kamus monolingual seperti kamus oxford, Cambridge atau longman.
9. Perbanyaklah kosakata
Menurut hemat saya, kosakata adalah salah satu hal yang paling penting dalam menguasai bahasa Inggris. Kita tidak akan dapat berkomunikasi dan menulis dengan baik dalam jika vocabulary kita lemah. Tanpa vocabulary yang mencukupi kita akan menghadapi masalah untuk menyampaikan ide dan pendapat kita dengan lancar. Atau lebih buruk kita akan menggunakan pilihan kata yang salah atau tidak sesuai dan menimbulkan salah faham di mata pendengar/pembaca.
10. Menyukai tata bahasa Inggris (grammar)

Hal yang tidak disukai oleh pelajar bahasa Inggris adalah mempelajari grammar. Oleh karena itu, untuk belajar bahasa Inggris, seseorang harus menyukai grammar. Belajar grammar akan membantu seseorang untuk lebih profesional dan tahu akan bahasa Inggris. Menurut hemat saya, sebaiknya pebelajar janganlah langsung belajar grammar ataupun structure bahasa Inggris. Tapi, yang terpenting bagi pemula adalah bagaimana bisa memahami apa yang disampaikan orang lain dan bagaimana merespon dengan lisan.

C. PENUTUP
Pada dasarnya, belajar bahasa Inggris sebenarnya tidak susah. Hal utama yang harus dimiliki adalah motivasi yang tinggi untuk belajar dan penerapan kiat belajar bahasa Inggris yang efektif. Pembahasan mengenai kiat-kiat belajar bahasa Inggris yang pada umumnya masih bersifat general ini diharapkan bisa membantu untuk belajar bahasa Inggris lebih mudah dan menyenangkan. Belajar bahasa tidak sama dengan belajar ilmu sains seperti matematika. Belajar bahasa Inggris membutuhkan usaha dalam bentuk aplikasi langsung dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Ingatlah, suatu usaha yang sungguh-sungguh akan mendatangkan manfaat yang besar bagi masa depan seseorang.
Selain itu, yang harus diingat bahwa bahasa adalah keterampilan yang perlu digunakan secara terus menerus. Bahasa jika tidak digunakan akan hilang. Practice makes perfect. Mempelajari bahasa mengantar kita kepada dunia, membuat kita bisa mengerti perbedaan-perbedaan budaya dan pandangan-pandangan hidup.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Larsen-Freeman, D. and Long M. (1991). An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research. London: Longman.
Huda, Nuril. (1999). Menuju Pengajaran Bahasa Berbasis Strategi Belajar: Implikasi Kajian Strategi Belajar Bahasa Kedua. Malang: Isntitut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan.
Brown, Douglas. (1987). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: Prentice Hall inc.
Skehan, Peter. (1989). Individual Differences in Second Language Learning. Great Britain: Division Publishing of Hodder and Stoughton.

STUDENT ASSESSMENT METHOD IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

The discourse of assessment has been an important issue in education. Assessment is one of the basic foundations for effective teaching and learning process since it is a way of monitoring and evaluating student achievement and performance during and after the learning process. Nitko & Brookhart (2007, p. 4) defined assessment as “a process for obtaining information that is used for making a decisions about students; curricula, programs, and schools”. Similarly, Smith and Lovat (2003, p. 175) defined assessment as “placing an interpretation on measurement information concerning a student’s or students’ performance”. Thus, it can be synthesized that assessment is fundamental to make decisions and policies related to the improvement of student performance and achievement. The results of assessment can be used as a basis for future improvement and development of teaching and learning process.

Considering the importance of assessment in measuring students’ learning, this paper will discussed several assessment methods in language learning, including advantages and disadvantages, the possible adaptation of each assessment method in language learning. Finally, this paper will sum up a brief synthesis based on the whole aspects.

B. STUDENT ASSESSMENT METHODS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
1. Multiple choice test
Multiple-choice test is one of the most widely used in achievement test of all types of assessment method. Multiple choice items consist of a stem and a set of options or choices. It is primarily used to assess student learning outcomes at factual and comprehension levels (Airasian, 2005). Thus, multiple-choice can be used to ask questions which asses student ability at knowledge and understanding level.
The use of multiple-choices offers several advantages for both teachers and students. A clear advantage is the scoring system is standardized and uniform in the sense of the availability of designated correct answer. Thus, assessors can reduce their potentiality of being subjectivity and bias in scoring (Athanasou & Lamprianou, 2002; Swartz, 2006; William B. Walstad & Becker, 1994). Furthermore, with little response time required of the students to answer questions, multiple-choice test provide broader content coverage and better content validity than most alternative methods allow (Bacon, 2003; McDonald, 2007; Tanner, 2003).
Despite of its strengths, multiple-choice tests are also characterized with several limitations. Kuechler and Simkin (2003) and Airasian (2005) multiple-choice does not give any opportunity for students to construct, organize and present their own response to questions. It has probability of making guess for answering questions. Rogers & Ndalichako (2000) argued that multiple-choice test cannot differ between correct answers derived from student knowing the answer those derived from student guessing the answer. In addition, multiple-choice test tend to measure only a very narrow sample of content at a point of time and it usually require only superficial recognition of knowledge to answer correctly (Valencia, 1999).
Multiple-choice test is one of the most widely used test forms for language learning. It has been used as formal test such as new student entrance test, placement test and even international test such as Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) and International English Language Testing System (IELTS). There are several reasons for using this test. Firstly, multiple-choice test is commonly used if the cognitive domain which is going to be tested is at knowledge and comprehension level. Secondly, considering its advantages as easy to score and provide broader content coverage and better content validity, multiple-choice test is used for large-scale assessment which involve large number of people.
Example of Multiple Choice Test
1. When did Indonesia proclaim its independence?
a. August 15th 1954 c. August 15th 1945
b. August 17th 1954 d. August 17th 1945
2. Which of the following countries are not in Asian continent?
a. Singapore c. India
b. Malawi d. Iran
3. The process by which plants use light to make glucose is called?
a. respiration c. energizing
b. photosynthesis d. growing

2. Short-answer test and completion test
The short-answer test and completion test are categorized as supply-type test items. They are essentially the same except their method of presenting the problem (Linn, Miller, & Gronlund, 2005). Completion item is an assessment method in which students are assessed to recall knowledge by simply asking questions and require students to answer it by completing incomplete statements while short-answer test uses a direct question. Thus, the students are required to provide a word or a phrase to complete the statement and to answer direct question. These methods can be used to assess student ability at knowledge and comprehension level.
McMillan (1997) identified several main advantages of using these two methods. He argued that both items are easy to construct, broad coverage of facts because of short response time, higher reliability of scoring and quicker to mark compared to essay tests. Nitko & Brookhart (2007) identified another benefit in which students have lower opportunity to guess the answers correctly compared to true-false and multiple-choice tests. In addition, it requires students to produce an answer instead of simply selecting from a list of potential answers (McDonald, 2007). However, McMillan (1997) argued these methods also have two main limitations. Firstly, it takes more time to mark completion items compared with selected response items such as multiple-choice test. Secondly, if it is not constructed well, there is a possibility of having more than one answer which leads to difficulty to score the results.
Short-answer test and completion test are the assessment methods that can be used to test language learning. For example, to test student ability in vocabularies and verb forms. In some cases, this type of assessment is also used in other subjects to assess lower level thinking skills such as recall and comprehension of information. Considering one of its advantages of giving lower level of opportunity for students to guess the correct answers, both methods can be used as an alternative assessment for multiple-choice tests to assess students at lower order of thinking skills. Furthermore, short-answer test and completion test can be combined with other assessment methods which assess higher level of thinking skills such as tests to provide students with sounder tests. In this case, a test assesses both low level and higher level of thinking skills. By doing it, it is expected that it will raise the standards of the student achievement.
Example of Completion test
1. The name of the president who proclaimed Indonesian was ……………
2. The distance between Makassar and Bali is ……. miles.
3. Indonesia proclaimed its independence in the year ……..
Example of Short-answer test
1. Name the country in which Borobudur Temple is located.
2. In what year did the president Soekarno proclaim Indonesian independence?
3. Name three characteristics of mammals?

3. Essay writing test
Essay test is employed when more complex knowledge is going to be tested (Wragg, 1997). In this case, an essay question requires students to demonstrate a higher order thinking skill to respond to problems presented in questions. Essay test can be divided into two categories: restricted response and extended response (McDonald, 2007). The first category implies that students’ answers are limited. It poses a problem and requires students to present direct and specific response to the problem. The latter category implies that students’ answers are not limited. In this case, they have more freedom and opportunity to present and organize their own ideas as response to the problems. Thus, essay writing can be used to ask questions which assess student ability at more complex level than objective tests such as true-false and multiple-choice do.
According to Swartz (2006) and (Conderman, 2001), Essay test provides more opportunity to assess more higher levels of attribute achievement. Essay test is typically easy to construct and it can be used to evaluate student ability to organize, express and depend their ideas, including their critical thinking ability (McDonald, 2007). Another advantage is that the assessment format allows students to have more freedom in answering questions. This freedom allow students to formulate their response that may display higher order of thinking skills (William B Walstad, 2006).
Some of the disadvantages of applying essay test are it requires more time to administer and to mark (Valencia, 1996), it only covers limited content domain in one test time (Bridgeman & Morgan, 1996), it is less reliable compared to objective tests, it provides wide opportunity for bluffing for students who have limited idea of the materials (Hanna & Dettmer, 2004).
Essay test is one of the most widely used test forms for language learning. The use of this method is usually combined with multiple-choice test. The main reason for using this type of test is its usefulness to test student learning outcomes in more complex level such as organizing, analyzing and synthesizing ideas to response to questions. This idea is in line with one of the targets of curriculum and education philosophy in which students are expected to analyze and synthesize problems to create their genuine ideas. However, there is still one main weakness of using this method in which its scoring system is subjective. As stated by many researcher and academics that one of the limitations of essay test is the subjectivity of scoring system (McDonald, 2007). Nitko & Brookhart (2007) suggested some alternative strategies to minimize this limitation such as having two lecturers to assess student essay, creating scoring rubrics and correcting one question at a time.
Example of Essay writing test
1. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the use information and communication technology in assessment?
2. Compare the beneficial use of journal and project as assessment methods?
3. Explain why you agree or disagree with the use of ICT in assessment?

5. Portfolio
Portfolio can be defined as a collection of students’ works demonstrating progress and accomplishment (Brady & Kennedy, 2005; Gülbahar & Tinmaz, 2006; Hanna & Dettmer, 2004). Nitko and Brookhart (2007) argued portfolio is used as formative evaluation tool. Thus, it can be synthesized that portfolio is a collection of students’ works which serve as tool to judge the students’ performance. Portfolio as formative tool can be used when the teachers want to assess the students’ performance in more holistic way. In this case it does not simply assess students’ factual knowledge as in multiple-choice or true-false tests but also self reflection, problem solving and critical thinking. Robins (2006) and Klenowski (2000) claimed portfolio promotes more complete portrait and valid inferences of student achievement.
There are several advantages of using portfolio assessment. Hayes (1997) claimed that the benefits related to the use of portfolio assessment are finding the need of students, reflection for teachers and students, enhancing instructional methods and evidence of learning. Portfolio provides opportunity for students, teachers, parents and other to get more holistic view o changes in student performance over time (Cizek, 1997). Portfolio provides opportunity for students to collect their series of ‘real world’ performance from certain period of time (Cole, Struyk, Kinder, Sheehan, & Kish, 1997; Wiggins, 1998). Thus, it can be inferred that portfolio help the students to build metacognitive perspective to learning through reflection and independent learning.
On the other hand, portfolio has also some disadvantages. According to McMillan (1997) scoring system in terms of reliability is the major drawbacks which is similar to other performance-based assessment. He also added that sampling of student products may lead to weak generalization. In addition, portfolio is very time consuming and labor-intensive for teachers (Lambdin & Walker, 1994) Thus, the main drawbacks of portfolio assessment are low reliability of scoring system, big probability of weak generalization and very time consuming.
Portfolio is useful technique because it encourages reflective thinking and self discovery through reflective writing. This kind of assessment method is especially useful to assess students’ progress in their writing skill. Paesani (2006) several reasons for using portfolio are it is consistent with process-oriented tasks. Portfolio also provides a sense of accomplishment for the students since they may see the collection of their work gathered from time to time. Finally, portfolio educates students to be more independent learner. In addition, portfolio can also be a useful means communication among students, parents and teachers (Lambdin & Walker, 1994; Lamme & Hysmith, 1991).
Example of Portfolio
Students are asked to create portfolio of their progress for their writing course
Each activity in student guide identifies a design skill and a life skill that students will be practicing. Students are performing realistic tasks which involve meaningful application of knowledge and skill in writing. There is usually a product – sentences, paragraphs, stories, etc. – that is completed by doing the activity. Students are asked to place these in their portfolio. This becomes the evidence that the work was completed and how well it was done. These samples are examples of student ability to apply relevant knowledge and skills. Their portfolios tell the story of their growth and learning.


6. Projects
A project can be defined as “a substantial piece of work on a designated topic, involving the student in researching and organizing information for presentation. The project may be completed individually or groups, and the presentation predominantly involves written work supplemented by pictures, tables, diagrams or graphs” (Brady & Kennedy, 2005, p. 65). Project is a type of product assessment (Brady & Kennedy, 2005) or performance assessment (McDonald, 2007) which may have a strong process dimension.
Brady and Kennedy (2005) argued the main benefits of the use of project as an assessment method are that it shows student ability to collect and organize data in an integrated ways and it assess students’ learning outcomes through research. However, this type of assessment method also involves several limitations as other product assessment such as portfolio, exhibition and journal. Brady and Kennedy (2005) identified the limitation of project assessment as vague assessment criteria and subjectivity of marking the outcomes, and the tendency for students to focus more on surface report such as good picture and diagram rather than on substantive outcomes of the projects.
Project may be used as assessment method in language learning such as giving them project to analyze certain language phenomenon. This test offers many benefits especially in relation to research skills. Students can be trained to collect and analyze data in integrated and systematic ways through this process. These sorts of skills are needed in their real life. This implies that the use of project can raise the standard of student achievement through life skills in research.
 Example of Projects
A. Conduct a research project on factors influencing student achievement at UNM Makassar.
B. Conduct a research project on the relationships between assessment methods with the effectiveness of teaching and learning process.
C. Conduct a research project on the use of information and communication technology to raise the standards of the student achievement at UNM Makassar.
G. Journal
A journal is a type of self assessment in which students reflect on their learning. Journal does not only function as a means for students to express their thinking but also as a means for teachers to know what their students think. Journal entries are usually made several times within a week and it is a useful way of communication between teachers and students (Brady & Kennedy, 2005).
According to Brady and Kennedy (2005) the implementation of journal as an assessment method offers several benefits. Students are given more opportunity to express their perception of the process and the product of learning, and to reflect on their own work. It also offers potentiality of collaborative assessment. Similarly, Liebars (1999) argue the use of journal writing in classroom can provide a wonderful opportunity for students to try the ideas that they learn in class and to reflect on themselves.
Brady and Kennedy (2005), however, also identified a major weakness of this assessment method as the subjectivity of scoring especially given the highly impressionistic nature of some writings. In addition, claimed the use of journal as an assessment technique can be very time consuming especially in assessing student writing entries (Woodward, 1998).
Considering the discussion above, it is clear that journal is useful technique to assess student achievement especially in relation to student self reflection. It is also useful for teachers to know student perception about their teaching.
 Example of Journals
The following is an example of journal writing
Name : …………….
Student ID : ……………
Please fill out this self-evaluation. Think back through reflective journal for today/ this week/this semester/ in the Subject Assessment in Education and comment on the following items in terms of your own learning.
• Make three statements about noteworthy events you have experienced today/this week/this semester that relate to teaching and learning.
• What do you perceive as your strengths as you study about the materials?
• What concerns do you still have?
• What steps do you want to take next as development and improvement for your future learning?

C. CONCLUSION
In a higher education institution, students are required to process a large amount of complex knowledge and information and to perform responsibly upon that information. Assessment method should be provided to reflect the level of achievement at which students are expected to practice. Assessment in the form of questions should be congruent with faculty expectations of student learning.
Good assessment is indicated by the use of balanced assessment methods. What an assessor need to assess has to be clear before deciding the best way to assess it. In this case, simple learning outcomes involve simple assessment methods to be used and complex learning outcomes involves complex assessment methods to be used. For example: objective test such as multiple-choice, true false and matching test can be used to measure student knowledge and simple skills. Performance-based assessment can be used to measure student ability in more complex skills such as speech, critical thinking and portfolio. Therefore, it should be kept in mind that integrating several assessment methods is useful since it will cover higher learning levels and competencies.

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UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

A wide range of knowledge on the issue of training and development in human resource management has been exploring and analyzing analytically in indicating the contemporary issue on the implications of training and development in an organization. Some results of researches in relation to those issues are also explored comprehensively. Based on these findings, it is concluded that training and development are becoming more important and necessary because of rapid changes in technology and the growth of an organization from time to time. This notion is reasonable since training and development are one of the key factors to increase the employees’ performance and productivity.

Introduction
The discourse of training and development in human resource management has been widely discussed since both training and development and human resource management cannot be separated. The dynamics of rapid change, heightened global competition and advancing technology mean that organizational success will be increasingly dependent on learning. The rapidly changes in technology and an organization increase the potential obsolescence of employees from time to time.
This essay will discuss the issue of training and development to improve human resource management in an organization. The writer is interested in this issue in relation to the philosophy of exercising training and development in the organization. The first part will shed light on the concept induction and orientation as the initial part of training, development, education and learning organization. Then it will explore the reasons for conducting training and a systematic approach to training. Finally, this essay will analyze the impacts of training and development and the responsibility for conducting training in an organization.

Induction and Orientation
According to Nankervis et al (1993 p. 238), “induction is the formal process of familiarising new employees, their job, and their work unit.” There are several reasons for conducting induction: decreasing turnover, rising productivity, improving employee morale, decreasing recruiting and training costs, facilitating learning, and reducing the anxiety of new employee.
Orientation is defined as “familiarization with and adaptation to a situation or an environment” (Cascio, 1995 p.239). In almost similar way, Helen (2003) suggested that orientation involves familiarizing new employees with company rules, policies and procedures. It means orientation is the way to ease new employees’ transition into the organizational environment by sharing information in an effort to make the new employees comfortable in their new positions with the organization.
Based on the notions above, the writer concluded induction and orientation are the ways of giving new employees information about the organization and their jobs. This implies that there are some purposes of induction and orientation: to introduce new employee to the job and the workplace to explain company history, to make the employee feel welcome, to ensure that the employee knows what to do and who to ask when unsure, to demonstrate each task in the job, to create positive employee attitudes toward the company and the job. Therefore, effective orientation should involve the serious involvement of employees and the support from peers, senior coworkers and managers. As Helen (2003) posited some characteristics of effective orientation programs as: giving the encouragement for employees to ask questions, giving programs containing information on both technical and social aspects of the job, orientation is the responsibility of manager of the new employees’, avoiding abasement and embassment, creating formal and informal interaction among new employees, peers and managers, giving information about relocation help, and providing information about the company’s services, products and customers.

Training, Development, Education and Learning Organization
Training, development, and education
According to Dessler et al (2004 p. 300), “training is the process of providing employees with the appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes to help them to perform their current job.” Similarly, Nankervis et al (1993) defined training as any procedure proposed by an organization to create learning among employees. Based on those two ideas, the writer posits that the core idea of training is to change people’s way of behaving on the job in some fashion. This implies training is not just learning, it is also behavior change. After the training is conducted, new employees should do something differently than they did before relating to their daily job.
On the other hand, “development is more general and goes beyond educating employees for a specific position whether present or future” (Nankervis et al, 1993 p.242 ). Kramar (1994) defined development as the use of a variety of programs to prepare employees for more senior position. Thus, development has more long term purpose. It is the process of imparting knowledge, skills and abilities for future career advancement opportunities. This means employee development is very critical for the success of organization to achieve its goals. As Cooper and Kurland (2002) argued employee development activities are critical for organizations to effectively adapt and compete in turbulent environments.
Another aspect of learning is education. According to Kramar (1994) education can improve knowledge, skills, moral values and understanding of new employees. Education relates to the acquisition of skills that are critical for learning and development as person. It has broad application beyond the activities of a job and makes the new employees capable of coping with change and turbulent in organization.
Based on the discussion above, it can be concluded that training focuses more on improving employees’ performance on current job while development focuses more on preparing for future jobs or changes in the organization but both training and development have the same the purposes. As Heneman and Schwab (1978) claimed that the purpose of both training and development is to provide learning experiences.
Learning organization
Senge (1990) defined a learning organization as “organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn together”. Rowly (2006 p. 237) posited that “a learning organization is one that has strong sense of direction, a focus on individual performance and encourages development of staff”.
Based on these notions, it can be synthesized that learning organization is an organization in which everyone is encouraged to identify and solve problems, to enable the organization to continuously experiment, improve, and increase its capability. This means that learning organizations are supposed to allow not only for continuous improvement but major change as well and transformation from the learning developed.
Senge (1990) identified five components of disciplines that are the foundation for building a learning organization. These five disciplines are shared vision, personal mastery, mental models, team learning and system thinking. Shared vision means sharing an image of the future people want to realize together, personal mastery relates to a process of personal commitment to vision, excellence, and lifelong learning, mental models ingrains assumption that affect personal and organizational views and behaviors, team learning implies the process of learning collectively, and system thinking is conceptual framework concerning all parts as interrelated and affecting each other.

Importance of Training and Development
Garrat (1999) stated that since the world becomes more complex and uncertain, it is important that the capability of both individuals and organizations to learn regularly and rigorously from their work is supported. Thus, they may adapt rapidly and continuously to their changing environment. In addition, Giesecke and McNeil (2004), the concept of learning can provide leaders, managers, and staff with the tools they need to develop organizations that can succeed in turbulent times.
Hoffman (cited from Schuler, 1992) claimed the major purpose of training and development is to remove performance deficiencies which are the outcomes of inability of employees to perform at desired level and to encourage them to be more productive. Training is important for the organization with stagnant or declining rates of productivity training is also crucial for the organization that are rapidly incorporating new technologies and consequently raising the possibility of employee obsolescence.
Concerning the idea above, the writer analyzes training and developments are important for several main reasons: (1) performance problems and skill deficiencies, (2) change in program, product or service and technology, (3) needs of organization or personnel, (4) cost effectiveness, and (5) employee promotion and advancement. This implies that when good training is absent there is likely to be an atmosphere of tension, crisis, and conflict in an organization since nobody knows what to do.

Systematic Approach to Training Process
There are some phases of conducting training in an organization: assessment phase, training and development phase and evaluation phase (Goldstein 1986, Schuler 1992). Assessment phase works best with three types of analyses: organization analysis relates to question where training is needed in an organization, task analysis answers question of what an employee must be taught in order to perform effectively and person analysis is a process for determining individuals’ needs and readiness for training. Person analysis is critical when training is considered in response to a performance problem. In conducting evaluation, some aspects should be evaluated are employee reaction, amount of learning, behavior changes and outcomes.
Based on the idea above, the writer formulates systematic training process as the following:
1. Identifying training needs
Training needs are identified at three level analyses: organization, job and employee. Needs assessment or needs analysis is the process of determining the organization’s training needs and seeks to answer the question of whether the organization’s needs, objectives, and problems can be met or addressed by training (Arthur et al, 2003). Thus, need analysis is a process of determining whether a true need for improving performance exists, and if it does, identifying its nature and extent.
In the writer’s point, there are some outcomes expected from this stage such as providing evidence of inadequate performance, collecting data, obtaining management commitment, providing baseline data for evaluation and determining value of training. As Sleezer (1993) argued conducting a systematic needs assessment is a crucial initial step to training and development and can substantially influence the overall effectiveness of training programs.
2. Setting training objectives
After conducting need analysis in terms of organization, task and person analysis, desired and results of training can be established. In this case, clear and concise objectives must be formulated, objectives should relate specifically to each of the skills or areas of knowledge identified, and objectives should be stated as concrete as possible. As Porter (1999) argued one of key factors to designing training with positive impact is aligning training to organizational goals and objectives, and tailoring the training to meet those needs.
3. Choosing training methods
After the needs of training and development and its specific objectives is identified and determined, the next stage is selecting the instructional methods to deliver the training. According to Helen (2003), a number of different methods can be used to help new employees acquire new knowledge, expertise and behaviors. Cascio (1995) classified training methods into three ways: (1) information presentation techniques include activities such as lecturers, conferences, reading lists, sensitivity training, programmed instruction, (2) simulation methods include activities such as case method and role playing, and (3) on-the-job training methods include activities such as on-the-job training, job rotation, internships, apprenticeship training, on-the-job coaching.
Concerning some methods of presenting training, the writer argues none of the methods are the best among others. The decision of choosing which method is used depends much on the content and situation of training. As Cascio (1995) claimed what is to be taught must be analyzed carefully to decide which training methods are used. This in turn shows the importance of assessment phase.
4. Implementing training
According to Clark (1992), training can be conducted in a variety of forms. It can be done in the form of on-the-job training, learning from experience, attendance of courses, or educational programs. Cooper and Kurland (2002) also explained that the implementation of training and development can be formal or informal. Informal developmental activities occur during employees’ day-to-day experiences on the job and can actually be more critical to employee development than formal developmental activities such as workshops and training. According to them, three types of developmental activities include interpersonal networking with colleagues in the organization, informal learning that enhances work-related skills and information distribution.
5. Evaluating Training
This stage is critical since it is the way of knowing whether the training was successful. There are some different approaches to training evaluation that have been suggested. Odiorne (cited from Clark, 1992) suggested a four level approach. They are opinion survey in which the impression and the opinion of the participants are collected on the basis of usefulness, practicality and enjoyment, objective measures of post-training performance which include the aspects such as outcomes, staff appraisal which measures the implication of the training on the trainees, and overall appraisal of aggregate growth which measure the effect of training on all participants and on their organizations.
In slightly different way, Nankervis et al (2003) suggested four approaches to evaluation: end-of-session evaluation form, evaluation is to test whether anything was actually learnt, trainers can look for feedback at the end of session whether employees’ on-the-job behaviors are varied, and determine the outcomes of the behavior change. Based on these ideas, the writer analyzes that to achieve the aims of evaluation, it should involve measurement of several items acquired from learning such as reactions, knowledge, behavior, attitudes, performance, and productivity.

Trends in Training
Polson (cited from Nankervis et al, 2003) has proposed a number of trends in terms of social workplace and their effort to predict their impact on the training. He posited trends in training as the following:
• The gearing of generic learning to offer fundamental competencies
• Addressing specific needs of the organization through operational learning
• The emphasis on ‘action learning’
• A range of different training delivery
• The greater use of CD-ROM which allows the employees play and learn simultaneously
• The use of drop-in centers in which videos, audio tapes, workbooks are all available for a range of different application
• Downsizing of large training departments.

Those aspects above show some main aspects of training trends. Firstly, the trends in training focus more on encouraging employees to be independent learner through the greater use of CD-ROM. This gives more opportunity for the learners to be independent in their learning. Secondly, forms of training delivery are various. It allows people in an organization to choose which method is suitable with the condition and atmosphere of their organization. Thirdly, the trends also show the various kinds of learning such as generic learning, operational learning and action learning. In the writer’s point, others trend in training are the use of computerized systems to manage and deliver training programs which requires computer skills, rapid development and deployment, and performance measurement in evaluation.

The impact of Training and Development
According to Hoffman (cited from Schuler, 1992) there are several main aims of training and development for example: to increase employees’ performance and productivity, to make the current employee more flexible and adaptable which in turn increase the adaptability of the organization, to increase the potential of the organization for survival and profitability, to increase the level of commitment of employees to the organization and their perception that it is a good place to work, to decrease turnover and absenteeism.
Considering the idea above, the writer posits several impact of conducting training and development. They are increasing quality and quantity of work performance, decreasing job mistakes and decreasing work related injuries, increasing knowledge and skills attitudes, decreasing costs of management, decreasing absenteeism, turnover and tension rates, and increasing job satisfaction. In short, through training and development, supervisor may get more time to manage, less absenteeism, less turnover, reduced tension, lower costs, more customers, better service. For employees, and training and development may give them confidence to do their jobs, reduce tension, boost morale and job satisfaction, reduce work related injuries, and give them a chance to advance.

Whose Responsibility of conducting Training and Development is
Since it has been proved from the discussion above that training and development is very important in an organization, it is necessary that training and development are conducted effectively and systematically. This implies that certain people should be responsible for it. Helen (2003) argued the responsibility of conducting training in the form of orientation is the new employee’s manager. In more comprehensive way, Schuler (1992) suggested there are certain people who are responsible for conducting training and development. Top manager have traditionally been able to exercise the most initiative in his or her own training. Line manager is responsible for developing and utilizing his human resources to get the result for which he is held directly accountable. Staff specialist or the personnel department should also assist line manager on this by conducting interviews for collecting performance data, analyzing performance requirements, recommending designing training and development programs, and conducting training and development programs where appropriate.
In addition, Schuler also considered the importance of active participation of new employees in their own training. However, this does not imply that all individual should be fully responsible for their training. Individual responsibility should be limited by the extent to which an employee able to take a lead in the training and development effort. Based on these ideas, the writer analyzes the responsibility of conducting training and development in an organization is on manager as the main initiator and coordinator, certain specialist staffs or personnel department as the assistants of manager, and employees themselves as the participants of training and development programs. Those people should totally and actively participate to accomplish successful training and development programs.

Conclusion
Training and development activities conducted in a wide range of forms are one of the key factors for the organization to succeed. These activities are becoming more important and necessary because of rapid changes in technology and the growth of an organization. As Cooper and Kurland (2002) argued employee development activities are critical for organizations to effectively adapt and compete in turbulent environments.
Considering the application of training and development, training focuses more on improving employees’ performance on current job while development focuses more on preparing for future jobs or changes in the organization. However, both training and development have the same purposes of improving the quality of human resources in the organization. Training and development will be one way of creating learning organization in which everyone is encouraged to identify and solve problems, to enable the organization to continuously experiment, improve, and increase its capability.
The importance of learning through training and development cannot be neglected because it prepares members of the organization to cope with problems and changes. Therefore, training and development should be conducted in a systematic ways. Three main approaches to develop training and development are assessment phase, development of training design which involves setting objectives and selecting method and evaluation phase. The main aims of training and development are to increase employees’ quality for performance and productivity and to make them more adaptable. To achieve these objectives, certain people should take in charge of it including manager as initiator and coordinator, personnel department or specialist staffs as manager’s assistants, and new employees themselves as participants.

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