Teaching English During Pandemic Covid 19: Home-Visiting students at Mi Unwanul Falah

Abstract


Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in extraordinary changes, including in the field of education. All levels of education are 'forced' to transform in new way of learning which called distance learning through internet. Online learning is defined as "learning experiences in synchronous or asynchronous environments using different devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, etc.) with internet access. In these environments, students can be anywhere (independent) to learn and interact with instructors and other students (Singh & Thurman, 2019).
The learning process that only relies on the internet certainly causes problems from various aspects. The difficulty for teacher is the transition to distance learning methods that requires teacher's creativity in delivering material in limited tools yet still need to achieve good quality learning and good learning outcomes. Learning adaptation and innovation must be carried out by teachers (Puspitasari, et.al. 2020). The process of adapting and adjusting to the psychology of children is a challenge faced by teacher. Designing new innovations in learning methods is very necessary to increase students' interest in learning. To deal with this change, the teacher must take professional actions based on the students' needs and the prevailing environmental conditions (Murniarti, 2021).
It is undeniable, changing the face-to-face learning process to distance learning poses its own obstacles for students. One of the most common obstacles is the poor condition of the internet network, insufficient internet quota and the lack of ability to use gadgets such as laptops or cellphones considering that elementary school students have limitations on the use of gadget technology and still need to be supervised. These constraints and the absence of the face-to-face learning process affect students' interest in learning which will have an effect on students' learning outcomes.
The decrease in students' enthusiasm can be seen in English subjects. In the 2013 curriculum, English as a foreign language is included in local content subjects where in one week there is only one meeting (Permendikbud 81A 2013). The quantity of time is relatively short, encouraging teachers to be able to maximize learning activities that are oriented towards learning objectives. At the elementary school level, English subjects are centered on developing students' abilities both orally and in writing with material that has previously been adapted to daily activities. According to Brown (2001), teachers must take into consideration the characteristics and intellectuality of their young learners in order to be successful in learning the language. Followings are several characteristics of young learners proposed by (Harmer, J 2007): a) Young learners learn from the surrounding environment either directly or indirectly. b) Their understanding is deeper if they see, hear, touch than just material explanations. c) Abstract learning is not suitable for them d) They prefer lessons that talk about themselves as the main topic and respond to them e) They like to find things, make or draw things, imagine, move from place to place, and solve puzzles. f) They get bored easily g) Enthusiastic in learning English h) Their attention to lessons is very short Based on the characteristics above, the teacher must be expected to make learning media that is diverse and fun. (Djamarah & Zain, 2013) said that the benefits of using media in teaching and learning activities, especially for elementary school, are very important, because at this time students still think concretely, they have not been able to fully think abstract. This is inline with the research result of (Naz & Akbar, 2010) state that media or teaching aids can help teachers in transferring knowledge in an impressive way, and designing learning more effectively. However, the provision of distance learning becomes a problem in implementing this.

Method
Home visit activities as an alternative method of distance learning is an effort to improve the quality of learning by presenting the role of teacher to help learning English. home visits is one type of guidance service support activity carried out by educators in order to collect and complete data or information about students, by visiting students' homes to help solving learning problems. In this activity the teacher acts as a guide for students to be able to further develop themselves (Sudrajat, 2011). The study buddy is one of the learning programs that provides a face-to-face learning process for sixth grade students at Mi Unwanul Falah. In this activity, students are facilitated by a variety of learning strategy and non-monotonous English learning activities.
In this research home visit program is the student study service program that carried out on English subject. Hence, this research is called narative research. According to Daiute & Lightfoot (2004) in Carswell (2007) narrative research has many forms and is rooted in different humanitarian and social disciplines. Narrative can mean a theme given to a particular text or discourse, or a text used in a context or form of inquiry in qualitative research (Chase, 2005). Moreover, according to Schreiber and Asner-Self (2011), it is the study of the lives of individuals as told through the stories of their experiences, including discussions about the meaning of experiences for individuals.

Results and Discussion
The study buddy program or what can be called a home visit is a student study service program,held for 6th grade students at Mi Unwanul Falah. This program lasts for two months starting from August to September. Implementation complies with Health protocols such as the use of masks and hand sanitizers. The followings are learning strategies that were applied to English subjects during learning process:

Using Games as Learning Media
The use of games as learning media was applied to the learning process. Games were used to assist young learners during their language learning. They make classes entertaining and sustain effort and interest. They create an atmosphere of meaningful communication where young learners communicate before, during, and after the game (Wright, et al 2005). The use of the games motivated children to actively participate in learning. It is in line with the statement of Bransford, et al. (2000) The emotions aroused when playing games add variety to the sometimes dry, serious process of language instruction. Moreover, Vernon (2009) stated that games that involve learners to take part in a healthy competition could help them in learning more without forcing their participation. Therofore, choosing the right game can support healthy competition among students. The games were hand made by the researcher to support the learning process in English subjects. Here are the examples:  . The use of spinning wheel game. The use of these media led students to cultivate a sense of curiosity. Tampilan yang sebelumnya belum mereka lihat menciptakan direct interaction between the students and environment. It also intergrated students experience of concrete tools or learning media. Furthermore, young learners tend to get impatient and bored very quickly if they attend lessons for a long period, so involving concrete media help them to decrease the thick situation of awkwardness and shyness especially if the game is played in small groups.

Using Board Media
Boards refer to chalkboard/ blackboard, whiteboard and interactive whiteboard (IWB) which used for several purposes. Harmer (2007) describes that teachers can use boards as (1) notepad, (2) explanation aid, (3) picture frame, (4) public workbook, (5) gameboard, and (6) noticeboard. The use of a white board is needed to gather students' attention in one focus when the researchers were providing explanations regarding the subject matter. Activities carried out started from guessing pictures to increase students' vocabulary of objects, spelling letters, stringing words and playing conventional quizzes.

Using Digital Media
Another media that used was online-based website which required supervision and guidance. The authors perceived that sixth-grade students should be introduced to interactive learning media and one of the alternatives is kahoot. One type of media according to Asyhar (2012: 45) is Multimedia. Multimedia is a type of media that uses several types of integrated media and equipment. Kahoot! is an internet-based digital game or online and can be used in doing quizzes or games related to the material learned by the students, including new vocabularies. The internet-based digital is aimed to create learning process more interesting and fun with a lot of features provided. The use of kahoot is certainly interesting for some students. Supported by an attractive interface, they look enthusiastic waiting their turn to use and answer the question that been given by the teacher in form of multiple choice and pictures.
Gambar Figure 6. The use of online media kahoot! during learing process.

The use of songs
Learning English for young learners required an appealing method in order to deliver the material well. Singing an English song together increases students' concentration on the absorption of new material and vocabulary and builds a fun learning atmosphere. Parlakian (2010) mentionend that the use of song will enable the students to develop themselves, their feelings and it can also aid the students to make sense and solve the problem and also discover the world around them. Therefore, through this learning method, students can master English vocabulary in a way that is not boring.
Followings are steps that implemented during learning process: Before listening:  First students were asked about what vocabulary they already know about the topic. At this moment, the researchers chose the song that talked about weather. The researchers asked students what kinds of weather they already know and told them to look outside and see what the weather was like. Teaching the song  Students were given time to listen to the entire song from beginning to end, several times.  After that, the students told about what words they remembered in the song.
During this, the researchers played and paused the song to teach the lyric little by little. Then, asking them to repeat the lyric after previously demonstrated.  Last, teaching them to dance based on the lyrics as well as asked them to make dance moves by themselves. Figure 7. Before applying the song as a medium in the learning process

Conclusion and Suggestions
Based on the elaborated findings and discussion, it is acknowledged that learning English during home visit program are able to boost the students' interest in learning English with with the use of various media. It helps students to understand material which previously only shared through online media or in written context. In other words, this also requires the skills of English teachers to develop strategies and learning methods that are interesting and based on the needs of their students. Through this program, English learning activities can be more fun and enjoyed by students who are facing distance learning.