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EXPLORING REINFORCEMENT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN ESL TEACHING PJAEE, 20 (1) (2023)
IN PAKISTANI COLLEGES
1249
EXPLORING REINFORCEMENT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN ESL TEACHING IN PAKISTANI
COLLEGES
Rimsha Parveen1, Furrakh Abbas2, Rai Hassan Iqbal3, Rahat Batool4, Mahnoor Amjad5
1,3,4,5MPhil Scholar, Government College University Faisalabad
2Department of English, Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad
Email Of The Corresponding Author: 1rimshaparveenok007@gmail.com
Rimsha Parveen, Furrakh Abbas, Rai Hassan Iqbal, Rahat Batool, Mahnoor Amjad.
Exploring Reinforcement Strategies Employed By English Language Teachers In Esl
Teaching In Pakistani Colleges -- Journal Of Archaeology Of Egypt/Egyptology 20(1),
1249-1265. ISSN 1567-214x
Keywords: Reinforcement, Strategies, Implementations, Verbal, Nonverbal
ABSTRACT:
The current research aims to explore the reinforcement strategies and their implementation by
English language teachers in Pakistani colleges. Reinforcement is defined as a behavioral
principle that describes the direct relationship between behavior or action and the result of that
action. The data of this research was collected by using research instruments such as interviews
and observatios. The site of the research was Okara City of Punjab Province in Pakistan and
the data was collected from participants in four private colleges of Okara City. The interview
questions were open-ended while an observation checklist was also used to observe the
reinforcement aspects practiced in the English language classes. The results of the study show
that teachers used both verbal and nonverbal (V&NV) reinforcement strategies including
(positive, negative, gestural, contact& proximity) in English language classes. For positive
reinforcement, teachers used appreciative words such as ” good, well done, excellent, stunning,
nice, that’s right, smiling, nodding head, thumb up & sitting close with the students”. For
negative reinforcement, teachers used positive or negative punishment such as pointing out the
student, calling name, giving warning, putting forefinger in front of lips, some mild physical
punishment raise your hands & drill activities”. The findings of the study reveal that positive
reinforcement was considered more useful than negative reinforcement in helping the students
become motivated and interested during the English language learning process.
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1. INTRODUCTION
English is one of the compulsory subjects from the beginning of the primary
level of education in Pakistan (Abbas & Bidin, 2022). However, English is more
difficult than other subjects for students because of the failure of English
language teachers to conduct classroom activities in effective ways. Teachers
need to have effective learning strategies and classroom management as both of
these are generally based on a positive classroom environment or good
interaction between teacher and student. The quality of English language
learning (ELL) encourages the development of students to develop themselves
for challenging world situations in the future. A lot of teaching techniques are
implemented by the teacher to achieve the set goals of learning. One of them is
reinforcing students as reinforcement is provided to enhance students’ learning
interests. According to Sandrock (2011), reinforcement is an indicator of
increasing the probability of occurring a behavior. The teachers` use of
reinforcement in teaching English is integral and cannot be separated from the
learning process (Ruthien, 1999). Reinforcement is valued by the instructors to
ensure that the pupils pay close attention to the subject (as cited in Wahyudi, D.,
Mukhaiyar & Refnaldi, 2013). Reinforcement aims at making the students give
their full attention to any subject they are learning. Reward as an effective
reinforcement strategy can be used by the teacher to teach effectively because
it will increase the students’ interest in learning and the motivation to achieve
satisfactory results. In this way, reinforcement is another way of motivation, it’s
a good strategy to build good behavior in students and motivate them to learn.
According to Kinyanjui et.. al. (2018), it is defined as any consequence that
strengthens behavior. The current research will explore the positive and
negative reinforcement that is employed by English teachers at the college level
on students’ behavior towards learning.
This research will help English language teachers in deciding how to implement
positive or negative reinforcement in the classroom to maintain the students`
positive behavior towards learning. Furthermore, this study is helpful for future
students to be familiar with how to learn and build high motivation on class
achievements including the goal of lessons. This research will also be beneficial
for the researchers to find out positive reinforcement strategies as well as
negative reinforcement strategies that are employed by English teachers at the
college level. This study will also help us identify various kinds of
reinforcement: such as verbal, gestural, contact, positive, and negative
reinforcement used in the teaching and learning process of the English language.
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Teacher-student relationship plays a vital role in learning the English language
in the classroom and for this reason, teachers are very much concerned about
the techniques and strategies that play an important role in creating a productive
environment in the classroom. Interactive classrooms encourage the students to
share their feelings, thoughts, and ideas in the target language and reduce the
fear of language learning to get a command of it. This can be best achieved by
the teachers when they use reinforcement as an effective teaching strategy.
Reinforcement theory is applied in different studies such as the training of
animals, growing up the child, and motivating employees. Reinforcement
theory asserts that stimuli can contribute to shaping behaviors.
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Different education specialists and psychologists describe reinforcement as a
behavioral principle that describes the direct relationship between behavior or
action and the result of that action. Slavin (2018) describes that the meaning of
reinforcement is any consequence that builds the behavior of human beings.
Reinforcement is a way to encourage the students towards good performance or
to discourage them from learning by using different types of techniques during
classroom activities or outside the school. The main purpose of reinforcement
is to activate the interest of a student, to make them aware of their knowledge
and also to inspire them not to make mistakes in the future. Therefore, it is the
teacher who uses different kinds of reinforcement during ELL classroom
performance to achieve the ultimate target of their classroom activities such as
to ensure the practice of skills that seem to be achieved by their students after
the primary school phase or the specific class.
Burrhus Fredric Skinner (20 March 1904-1990) developed the reinforcement
theory (1953) which is based on behaviorism. The Reinforcement theory is one
of the oldest theories of motivation which describe behavior and how we act.
This theory can be called ‘’behaviorism” or “operant conditioning‟ which is
taught in today’s world of psychology. This theory contends that an individual’s
behavior is a function of its consequences. Skinner saw no place for dwelling
on a person’s intentions or goals”(Gordan, M., & Krishanan, 2014), he was
rather concerned with human behavior and the environment in which he was
living. The reinforcement theory of motivation highlights the state of mind of a
person; his emotions and feelings. The reinforcement theory of motivation is a
powerful way to control the process of action and behavior in each person.
Kleinginna (1981) has collected different definitions and perspectives regarding
motivation from different texts about this concept. Multiple perspectives exist
so let's try to explore them and try to understand the concept of motivation and
reinforcement along with its different types. The activating property of
motivation, or activation, is most easily seen in the production of behavior.
Though motivation is considered to be behaviorally activating, the behavior
activated may not always be overt. Fortunately, for many motivational states,
changes in motivation do lead to changes in overt behavior. Perseverance is
another aspect of motivation. Hungry animals persist in their attempts to get
food. Similarly, humans often persist in behaving in particular ways even when
the chances of success are vanishing small. Observation of this continued
persistence has led many psychologists to regard it as an index of motivation.
Direction is an important aspect of motivation as well. How do we decide to
direct our behavior in one way rather than another? The specific way in which
the directionality is achieved is debated by theorists; many psychologists have
argued that motivation is involved. Directionality, then, is often considered an
index of motivational state (Petri H. L., 1981). The term ‘motive’ is also applied
in different contexts in simple and clear language to refer to motivation. In
different meanings motives, are “a particular class of reasons, which are
distinguished in two logical properties initiation and persistence” (Peters 1969).
Teachers use different reinforcement strategies to facilitate the students which
improves their English language learning abilities. There are mainly two basic
types of reinforcement verbal and non-verbal (V&NV). If reinforcement is in
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the form of words, it is called verbal reinforcement but if there are no words,
then it is nonverbal which is when gestures or contact is used for reinforcement
purposes. In subcategories, positive reinforcement (PR) and negative
reinforcement (NR) are also brought under discussion in this section of the
literature review. Furthermore, two other types of reinforcements namely
gestural reinforcement as well as proximity and contact reinforcement are also
introduced here. Different research scholars explained how positive
reinforcement can happen in the context of class at a workplace, negative
reinforcement also can happen in contrast. Both positive and negative
reinforcement strategies can increase an accepted and positive behavior. English
teachers used all reinforcement strategies including verbal reinforcement, non-
verbal, and positive, and negative (symbolic rewards, tangible rewards, activity
rewards, positive punishment and negative punishment). Giving reinforcement
motivates students, but it also changes the students’ behavior. It is believed that
rewards could change someone’s behavior and encourage cooperation without
the destructive negative consequences that come with punishment. Teachers can
help students who have bad habits in the classroom to be better or even the
teachers can change their bad behavior by positively reinforcing them and
giving them more attention during the learning process.
Positive reinforcement as a concept was introduced by the famous behaviorist
psychologist named B.F. Skinner (1953). He believed that if a person was
rewarded for acting positively, he would come to see that behavior as the most
natural and advantageous way to act. It refers to introducing a new stimulus to
the subject‘s environment to reward the desired behavior. Therefore, positive
reinforcement brings a pleasant or desirable response and increases the
possibility that the response will be repeated (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2005).
Positive reinforcement can either be a reward for good behavior or simply a
positive communication in the form of praise or encouragement.
Concerning the educational scenario, if a student works well, does so much hard
work, and has some enthusiasm for his studies, the teachers will give a reward
to encourage and motivate him. Similarly, if the student brings good marks, he/
she will be awarded by the teacher. So, this positive reinforcement means that
if someone gives a positive response to something or does some positive action
he/ she should be rewarded positively. If a teacher praises the students for
entering the class on time this will have a positive effect on all the students who
are sitting in the class and witnessing this behavior. There are different sub-
examples of positive reinforcement that are used by the teachers; for example,
a sweet smile, pat on the back standing, praise with words or sentences, etc.
Negative reinforcement is also a concept that has been found in Skinner‘s
Operant Conditioning theory. According to Skinner (1953), negative
reinforcement serves to discourage a disturbing behavior and encourage a
certain positive behavior by taking away a negative stimulus. For instance, if a
person learns that leaving for work earlier prevents him from getting stuck in
traffic, he will do so and repeat this pattern with positive results. Therefore,
negative reinforcement is giving an aversive stimulus when the response is not
made or omitting the aversive stimulus when the response is made (Collins
English Dictionary).
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Gestural reinforcement (GR) is another type of reinforcement that has a positive
impact on the student's learning process. This strategy makes sure that the
students learn positively. According to Misra (2012), gestural reinforcement
motivates the students to learn actively or happily. This strategy allows the
students to take part in other classroom activities like being diligent as a leader
and coordination between peer studies.
Sometimes, the teachers give the students reinforcement individually by coming
close to them or putting their hands on the shoulders of students to praise or
support them in learning. In this way, the relationship between the teacher and
intelligent students becomes friendly. This is called proximity and contact
reinforcement and according to different researchers, this reinforcement also
helps the students to ask a question directly to the teacher. It creates a strong
relationship between the teacher and students. This reinforcement strategy is
also considered to have a positive impact to a great extent on students learning
especially in English language classes.
Here is a summary of some important research studies in which the variable of
reinforcement was explored by the researchers. Kurniasih (2022) explored that
reinforcement might be in the form of verbal or nonverbal behaviour. Word
reinforcement and sentence reinforcement were verbal reinforcement and
gestures, proximity, activity, and tokens/symbols were non-verbal
reinforcement. The study revealed that teachers used reinforcement as a strategy
in their teaching to improve the good behavior of their students and to reduce
their negative behavior. Words used as verbal reinforcement while teaching
English were good, very good, right and correct. Sentences used as verbal
reinforcement during teaching English were ‘You are smart’, ‘You are very
smart student’, and `You are a talented student’. Furthermore, non-verbal
reinforcement included gestures, proximity, activity and token/symbol used by
teachers. The study by Kurniasih (2022) on the students of Junior High School
17 Kota Jambi concludes that reinforcement plays a positive role in students
achieving success in increasing the levels of learning the English language.
In another study conducted by Fitriati, S. et al. (2020) the types of instructional
reinforcement strategies used by English teachers during the teaching and
learning process in Kikuyu District, Kenya, and the factors that influenced the
implementation of reinforcement strategies were investigated. The study
reported that praise was the most popular reinforcement strategy used in the
classroom followed by tangible items, activities, and tokens in that order.
Similarly, Stasia (2013) conducted a study about microteaching students’
perception of the use of reinforcement skills in a microteaching class. The
results revealed that microteaching students had a positive perception of the use
of reinforcement skills in microteaching. Oktarine (2012) examined the effect
of giving reinforcement on students’ motivation in structured classes. The
research showed that the students became more enthusiastic and confident about
class activities and had better preparation to do their best. Similarly, other
studies investigated the influence of reinforcement strategies on the students`
success in the classroom. A study by L. Rumfola (2017) focused on how positive
reinforcement positively helps students achieve the goals of the lesson. Students
who are acknowledged for their efforts are more willing to put in effort for
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future assignments.
Another important qualitative case study by Sri Wuli Fitriati et al. (2020)
explored the use of reinforcement strategies by two English language teachers
during classroom instructions. Two English teachers were observed in five
different lessons and furthermore, the data was also collected by using interview
as research instrument. Interviews with the teachers were conducted to know
about their perception of using reinforcement strategies in the classroom. The
results showed that the two English language teachers in the current study made
use of three types of instruction reinforcement strategies in the class. The used
reinforcement included praise or verbal reinforcement, token rewards, and
tangible rewards. Positive reinforcement was considered more effective than
negative reinforcement or punishment. The conclusion also implies that giving
reinforcement to all students results in reducing a negative effect. The study
concludes that reinforcement in the teaching of English as a foreign language
will increase the motivational levels of the students in the Indonesian context.
Harmer (2001) also pointed out that extrinsic motivation is caused by a number
of outside factors which can be best presented through reinforcement strategies.
Fitriati et al. (2020) argued in their study that reinforcement is important to
learning and may be in the form of praise, symbolic rewards, token rewards,
tangible rewards, or activity rewards. It was called instructional reinforcement
by Fitriati et al. (2020). Instructional reinforcement can be defined as a strategy
used for desirable academic performance or efforts at the classroom level (K.
Cotton 1888). This study by Jonaria et al. (2020) investigated the reinforcement
strategies used by pre-service English teachers in a microteaching class during
a case study. Observation, interviews, and video recording were used to gather
the data from Twenty-two students. The findings revealed that four types of
reinforcement were used by pre-service English teachers in microteaching,
namely positive reinforcement (81.93%), negative reinforcement (17%),
punishment (3.36%), and extinction (2.94%). Moreover, the pre-service English
teachers delivered reinforcement strategy by using warmth and enthusiasm
expressions of praise, avoiding punishment, and using non-variety usage of
positive reinforcement. Another important study conducted by Kurniasih, et al.
(2022) focused on investigating the kinds of reinforcement employed by
English teachers at Junior High School class VIII. This qualitative method of
research selected two teachers from the school and conducted interviews and
observations of these two English teachers. The results showed that the teachers
used verbal and non-verbal reinforcement during teaching English in the
classroom.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this study, the researchers described the reinforcement given by the teacher
in teaching and learning of English language. Learning English cannot be
separated from reinforcement as it motivates the students in the learning
process. This study uses qualitative research design which focuses on
components of reinforcement used in English language learning. The qualitative
method was selected with the focus of helping the researchers gain insightful
data. Qualitative research is best suited to address a research problem in which
you need to explore the variables indepthly (Creswell, 2012). The site of the
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research is Okara City of Punjab Province in Pakistan and the data was collected
from participants enrolled in four private colleges in Okara City. The four
private colleges (Kips, superior, Aspire & Punjab) of Okara were the research
sites.
To obtain the data for the present study, the researchers used interviews and
observations as research instruments. In the interview, the researchers collected
data by asking verbal questions about what components of reinforcement were
implemented by English teachers, how they implemented these reinforcement
aspects in the classroom during language learning class and what were the
impacts of reinforcement on students. A total of 8 interviews were conducted
from English language teachers teaching in the selected colleges and two
English teachers were selected from each college for expressing their opinion
through interview. The selection criteria for the selecting of sample for
interview was that the teacher must have at least 5 years of teaching English.
The interview questions were arranged and validated by the experts in the field
before conducting the interviews for data collection. In the current research, the
researchers used semi-structured interviews, and data was collected by using an
audio recorder. Because English is not the first language of participants, they
were allowed to answer in Urdu or English. The data for the present research
was also obtained using an observation checklist designed on binary responses
in the form of a “Yes” or “No” checklist. A table that contained several kinds
of reinforcement strategies with the technique used by the teacher during
language learning class. The researcher put a checklist in the column “Yes” if
that behavior appears and a checklist in the column “No” if that does not appear.
The researchers observed the classes and the reinforcement strategies employed
by English language teachers. A total of five classes were observed and
observations were recorded by note taking during the conduct of classes.
In order to analyze the data collected in the present study, the analytical model
given in the table 1 was applied. This table shows two basic categories of verbal
& non-verbal reinforcement and the five sub categories.
Table 1: Analytical model of reinforcement strategies
Sr.No
Basic
categories
Types of
Reinforcement
Code
Sub- indicators
1
Verbal
Reinforcement
Positive
reinforcement
PR
With appreciated
words & sentences
Negative
reinforcement
NR
With harsh
sentences and
punishment
2
Non-Verbal
Reinforcement
Gestural
reinforcement
GR
With Gestures
&body language
Contact
reinforcement
CR
With a sweet smile
eye contact
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Proximity
reinforcement
PR
Engage with
students,
Token, symbols, and
game activities
Verbal reinforcement
It is one of the basic categories of reinforcement that is almost used by all
teachers at one grade to graduation level. Based on a theoretical framework,
verbal reinforcement is used in two distinct types; one is positive and the other
one is negative. In positive, it is used as sub-indicators such as appreciated with
words and sentences. Meanwhile, in negative it is used as harsh words and use
of demotivated sentences in the classroom. Verbal reinforcement (VR) is the
simplest way to reinforce the students that has the strength to build negative or
positive behavior or attitude toward language learning in the classroom.
Nonverbal reinforcement
Nonverbal reinforcement (NVR) is expressed through practical activities such
as gesture, expression, contact, & proximity by using body language i.e. hand
movement, walking in the classroom, facial expression, sweet smile, keep eye
contact with students. In proximity; engaged with students during the game
activities, using symbols and demonstrations to keep the students focused on
learning. So, nonverbal reinforcement is also capable of building the positive
behavior of the students in the learning process as well as and it's also helpful
for the teachers to keep the management & discipline in the language learning
classroom. In Students, motivation &level of interest increased towards
learning.
4. RESEARCH FINDINGS
The data was collected by using interview and observation checklist as research
instruments from four private college of Okara city in Pakistan. The findings of
the study show the various kinds of reinforcement used by English teachers in
English language learning classrooms. According to Skinner's Theory, there are
various kinds of reinforcement such as (verbal and nonverbal) reinforcement
that was given by the English teachers during the learning process. The
following results were drawn from the collected data:
4.1 Interview based Analysis
Table.2 Based on the interview, this table shows the findings of the types of
reinforcement used by English teachers at private colleges in Okara. In response
to the interview questions, the participants expressed their opinion which is
summarized in Table 2 given below:
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Table 2: Summary of Interview data
Name
Age
/gender
Experience
Reinforcement
Possible Impact
Teacher
A
22
F
5 years
Used positive reinforcement
through appreciated words
Students become
motivated and learn
more.
Teacher
B
31
M
6 years
Used positive reinforcement
through words, prizes&
different activities in the
classroom.
They become happy and
focused on their
learning.
Teacher
C
30
M
6 years
Used Positive reinforcement
through inspirational stories
as well as physical activities.
Also, mild punishment when
students did not take interest
in studying.
They show their skills
through activities, and
increased creativity.
When giving
punishment to students
by giving assignments
twice or thrice, some
students take it seriously
and work regularly, but
some take it with bad
effects on their minds.
Teacher
D
31
M
10 years
Also used positive
reinforcement
Through motivational
sentences& creative writing.
It enhances the
motivation in the
students through
sentences and students
become more creative to
do any task.
Teacher
E
33
M
7 years
Used gestural reinforcement
through aids, and hand
gestures.
It is very helpful for
metric students because
they learn more through
interesting methods.
Teacher
F
27
M
5 years
Used gestural & positive
reinforcement by giving
good remarks.
It makes the students
more energetic in
learning and students
give positive responses.
Teacher
G
38
M
10 years
Used contact & proximity
reinforcement by standing
near students, facial
expression and eye contact.
Contact reinforcement
creates the frank
behavior between the
teacher & students.
Teacher
H
26
F
5 years
Used positive reinforcement
through words and sentences
also used mild punishment
like raise your hands, stand
outside the classroom.
A positive attitude
makes students
passionate, on the other
hand, negative
punishment increases
the depression &
anxiety in students.
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Teacher
I
27
M
6 years
Used gestural reinforcement
through symbols, applause
and different objects.
Symbolic & object
rewards increase the
learning behavior of the
students
Based on interview data from teachers of private colleges of Okara, it was found
that all teachers of the colleges of Okara used these five types of reinforcement
benchmarked in table 1 during the teaching and learning process. These
included positive, negative, gestural, contact and proximity categories of
reinforcement which are given below in the pie chart.
Pie Chart 1
Based on the data presented in the above pie chart, it is seen that the use of
teachers’ reinforcement with positive words and sentences was 30%, gestural
reinforcement was 15%, contact and proximity reinforcement was 18% while
the use of negative reinforcement was found 10%.
4.2. Observation-based analysis
Based on observation, the following tables were drawn which show the findings
of the types of reinforcement used by English teachers at the private schools of
Renala Khurd (Okara). The researchers observed that during language teaching
classes, the teachers used different reinforcement aspects to motivate the
students as given below;
Table 3: Reinforcement with words
Indicator
Observed
aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
with words
-Good
✓
-very Good
✓
-Well done
✓
-correct
✓
-excellent
✓
30%
18%
15%
10%
Reinforcement Strategies
positive Gestural contact/pro Negative
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The results reveal that there are various aspects of reinforcement with words
that teachers used in classes during teaching. In the private schools of Renala
Khurd, most teachers used words; like good, very good, and excellent to
reinforce the students during lectures.
Table 4: Reinforcement with sentences
Indicator
Observed aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
with
sentences
You are an
intelligent student
✓
You present the
well
✓
You are a
hardworking
student
✓
You are a well-
disciplined student
✓
You are a talented
student
✓
Researchers found during class observations that teachers used positive
sentences such as “you are a talented student”, “your presentation is well”, and
“you are a hard-working student” to motivate the students to learn more. In this
way, teachers motivated the students to take interest in learning of English
language. It can be concluded that teachers expressed positive behavior in the
form of praise sentences.
Table 5: Reinforcement with Gestures & body language
Indicator
Observed aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
with gestures &
body language
Show his/her
thumb
✓
Shakehand
✓
Clapping his/her
hands
✓
Other hand
demonstration
✓
Walking
movement during
the lecture
✓
The findings of the study indicate that there were six aspects of reinforcement
that the English teachers applied during class activities. Gestural and body
movement was used by the teachers such as hand demonstration, applause and
walking movement during delivered lectures. The observations confirmed that
gestural reinforcement and body language were considered important in
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enhancing the English language learning of the students. It was found to be very
useful especially for the weak students in the classroom.
Table 6: Reinforcement with touch & facial expression
Indicator
Observed
aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
with touch &
facial
expression
Raising student’s
hand
✓
Shakehand
✓
Tape the
shoulder
✓
Giving sweet
smile
✓
Nodding head
✓
The collected data show that during class observations, the teachers of English
language kept a positive attitude by facial expressions such as giving a sweet
smile on their face. In some cases where students acted badly, the teachers used
nodding their head to keep them away from bad acts or rude behaviours. In this
way, the teacher tried to build positive behavior and moral ethics in the students.
It can be concluded that teachers expressed positive behavior toward language
learning as well as formed spiritual behavior & personality development of the
students.
Table 7: Reinforcement by approaching students
Indicator
Observed aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
by
approaching
Stand next to the
students when they
perform class
activity
✓
Sitting next to the
students during
presentation
evaluation
✓
Based on data observation, the results signify that approaching reinforcement
by teachers was used sometimes and these reinforcements included acts such as
standing next to the students when the students were performing in the front of
the class and sitting next to the students during class presentations to evaluate
his/her grades. It can be noticed that the implementation of approaching
reinforcement by teachers increased confidence and self-esteem in the students.
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Table 8: Reinforcement with fun activities
Indicator
Observed aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
with fun
activities
Games & skits
✓
Music
✓
Act out stories
✓
Painting &drawing
✓
Warm-up/fitness
break
✓
The results also show that there were physical activities such as games, skits,
tablo, music, and characterization stories used as effective reinforcement
strategy. Moreover, painting & drawing were also useful activities that
enhanced creativity and refresh the students` minds during the learning process.
Table 8: Reinforcement in the form of symbols & objects
Indicator
Observed aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
in the form of
symbols or
objects
Give reward
(chocolate, candy)
✓
Comment on
notebook
✓
Cash reward
✓
Victory
✓
Clapping
✓
The above table shows that the researchers explored the reinforcement given by
English teachers in the form of objects, symbols and tokens. Object
reinforcement given by the teachers was in form of tangible or intangible
rewards (i.e. chocolate, candy, or cash reward). In Symbolic rewards used by
teachers, good comments on notebooks, victory symbols and clapping was
enlisted.
Table 9: Negative reinforcement
Indicator
Observed aspects
1
2
3
4
5
No
use
Giving
reinforcement
with
punishment
Stand outside the
classroom
✓
Making assignment
twice
✓
Give additional
work
✓
Out of the
classroom for
making noise
✓
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Break time off
✓
The results also indicate that in the English classroom, teachers sometimes
employed mild punishment for the naughty students who performed bad acts
and violated the discipline and regulations of the classroom. The examples of
such inforcement included making the students stand outside the classroom,
asking them to put their fingers in front of the mouth or making them stay inside
class during break time or teachers gave additional work and make them write
assignments twice.
Table 10: Summary of all reinforcements
No
Indicators with observed
aspects
Use in
numbers
No use
Frequency
1
Reinforcement with words
5, 3,2, 1, 2
×
13
2
Reinforcement with sentences
2,3,2,1,2
×
10
3
Reinforcement with gesture &
body language
1,1, 2,3,3
×
10
4
Reinforcement with touch &
facial expression
1,1,2,3,2
×
9
5
Reinforcement by
approaching
1,2
×
3
6
Reinforcement with fun
activities
1,2,3,2
×
8
7
Reinforcement in the form of
symbols & objects
3,1,2,1,1
×
8
8
Negative punishment
1,1, no,3,1
No use
6
Total
8
36
1
57
Based on observations, it was found that English teachers of the colleges of
Okara used all the types of reinforcement aspects and components while
teaching English. The above table shows that there are eight kinds of
reinforcement observed during teaching classes. The data shows that a total of
36 aspects were recorded during the observations that the teachers used in the
English language teaching classroom. The number and percentage of each kind
of reinforcement is provided in the table above.
5. CONCLUSION
The research concludes that positive reinforcement is mostly used by the
teachers in the classroom as shown in the findings of the study. English
language teachers give positive responses to students by using appreciated
words like Good, Nice, excellent, well done and great work. Most teachers
appreciate the students for maintaining the rules of class discipline that motivate
the students to learn English with interest. Some of the teachers also used
negative reinforcement in the classroom like punishing the students, using harsh
sentences, and giving mild punishment (i.e. standing up while holding the ear,
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raising your hands & drilling activity). It was found that negative reinforcement
was used by the teachers in the classroom to maintain classroom discipline
during activities or to avoid the occurrence of disturbing behavior of students
(i.e. use of cheap language in the classroom, incorrect answers to the questions,
gossiping with friends, etc.) which may have a negative impact on students`
learning behavior especially in English language classes. The findings of the
study indicate that the teachers used gestural reinforcement such as smiling or
nodding their heads to point out or make students realize their mistakes. The
findings also suggest that another reinforcement employed by English language
teachers was contact and proximity reinforcement. It is the fourth strategy that
was used in the classroom to improve the learning behavior of students in the
English language. In proximity reinforcement, the most commonly used
component was standing beside the students or sitting close to the students to
guide them. The findings also show that contact reinforcement was used by
English teachers in the classroom to encourage students towards language
learning such as having contact with brilliant students, greetings to achieve
success, etc.
This study shows the reinforcement strategies used in English language learning
employed by English teachers at private colleges of Okara. The findings of the
study coincide with the model of reinforcement by Moore (2007) who described
different types of reinforcement such as, verbal or nonverbal (positive, negative,
gestural, proximity & contact) used by English teachers in classroom activities
to build up the behavior of students in English language learning. From the
findings of the observation checklist, it is concluded that most of the students
agreed that positive reinforcement was the best way used by English teachers to
encourage and motivate the students about learning. By the implementation of
positive reinforcement, students feel appreciated and comfortable during
classroom learning. It is also concluded that positive reinforcement was a useful
strategy to increase the self-confidence of students in second language learning.
For the negative reinforcement, the teachers used negative or positive
punishment (harsh sentences, giving warning or mild punishment, pointing out
the student's name, putting the forefinger in front of lips, and giving physical
punishment) that eliminates students' unpleasant behavior or attitudes, causing
them to increase their good or bad behavior in the future. Therefore, the negative
impact of negative reinforcement is higher than the positive impact that affects
the student’s behavior negatively. Most of the teachers used positive
reinforcement that inspired the students for effective learning. It is because
positive reinforcement was considered more appropriate than negative
reinforcement. It was observed that when the teacher offered the students a
positive response (PR) to their class work, they got motivated to perform
another task correctly. On the other hand, when a teacher offered a negative
response (NR), they grew anxious. Therefore, it is implicated that positive
reinforcement is more important to improve the student behavior towards
English language learning.
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