how to teach speaking and listening

Here are some tips to teach speaking and listening to children.

1. Teaching Listening

1. Instruction.

Remember you are their model so always think about how you are going to introduce an activity before you go to class. Writing out instructions as part of your lesson plan will really help you to notice what language you are using with your young learners. You may find that your language is too complex for the beginner pupils.

Imagine yourself as a beginner learning a new language and see if what you say is too difficult to follow. You may need to modify what you say. Instructions, if well thought out and accompanied always with demonstration, can be communicated purely in English.

2. Class management

Don’t panic if you don’t speak the children’s first language. This won’t prevent a bond forming between you and the children. If they know you as the person who only speaks English then they will always want to communicate with you as much as possible in English.

Discipline can be easily understood by young children through your facial expressions and smiley/cross faces drawn on the board.

Feedback can also be understood clearly when you use your face to help express whether or not you are pleased with the work they produce.

3. Using a song

Prepare the learners before they listen to anything.

Show them pictures of characters from the song.

If it’s a song about teddy bears then bring in some teddy bears to show them. If the teddy bears sing sections of the song then use them as puppets and make them actually sing the song.

Use actions as much as possible to accompany songs so that the children can participate. This will help build their confidence, increase their enjoyment and give them extra clues as to the meaning of the words they are listening to.

They should predict, ‘imagine’, what they are going to hear. Again, sticking with the teddy bears, ask them if they think the teddy bear is happy or sad.

When they are listening they should always have something to do. They need a reason for listening. You could allocate part of the song to a small cluster of children so they have to listen out for their part and sing along to that part only.

Use the same song again and again. Listening is a difficult skill so building their confidence is vital at all stages of language learning. If they recognize the words they will be much more motivated. This is valid not only from a language point of view but also from a logical point of view. Listening to a song you know and like is always an enjoyable experience. Familiarity helps children feel secure.

2. Teaching Speaking

1. Songs and Chants.

Using songs and chants in class gives the children a chance to listen and reproduce the language they hear. They are working on the sounds, rhythm and intonation.

Remember when you speak or sing keep it simple but very importantly, natural so that when they copy what you say they can have a chance of sounding natural.

2. Whole class chorus drills.

If you have a large class make sure the language they produce is not just confined to stilted whole class repetitions of sentences produced by you. If the class tries to speak at the same time they automatically slow down and the intonation and rhythm are lost. Whole class repetition does of course have its advantages as it allows weaker students to build confidence with speaking without being in the limelight. Do chorus drills as described above but limit them and always move on to letting individuals speak.

3. Real language.

As with listening, make sure they always have a valid reason for speaking. The more realistic the need for communication, the more effective an activity will be. In other words get them to ask their neighbour ‘Do you prefer chocolate or strawberry ice-cream?’ rather than saying; ‘What’s my favourite food?' This last question is just asking the children to guess rather than think. Avoid getting them to repeat sentences such as; ‘What is my name?’ or ‘Is this a book?’ Not only do you know it’s a book, so the interaction isn’t very interesting, unless the book is hidden in a bag and they are having to work out the contents, but also the response is limited to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Closed questions are ok to lead onto something more with low level learners but be aware of not using them too often.

4. Further suggestions.

Vary the types of speaking and listening activities you do. Keep them interested by introducing new approaches to speaking in class. This could mean talking to different people, talking to different numbers of people, speaking as a whole class, half a class or in small groups.

For different levels in the same class you can ask them to listen for different things. Ask the weaker ones to tell you how many teddy bears there are in the song and the stronger ones to tell you what the teddy bears are doing in the song.

To make one activity suit all levels ask them to practice saying between five and ten sentences. This way the quick finishers have more to do and the weaker pupils still feel they have achieved the task if they have practised only a few sentences.

COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

What is Communicative Language Teaching?

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audio lingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics.

Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns, 1984, p. 5).

Communicative Language Teaching aims broadly to apply the theoretical perspective of the Communicative Approach by making communicative competence the goal of language teaching and by acknowledging the interdependence of language and communication.

What are the goals of teachers who use communicative language teaching?

The goal is to enable students to communicate in the target language. To do this students need knowledge of the linguistic forms, meanings, and functions. They need to know that many different forms can be used to perform a function and also that a single form can often serve a variety of function. They must be able to choose from among these the most appropriate form, given the social context and the roles of the interlocutors. They must be able to manage the process of negotiating meaning with their interlocutors. Communication is a process; knowledge of the forms of language is insufficient.

What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?

The teacher facilitates communication in the classroom. In this role, one of his major responsibilities is to establish situations likely to promote communication. During the activities he acts as an adviser, answering students' questions and monitoring their performance.

Students are, above all, communicators. They are actively engaged in negotiating meaning – in trying to make themselves understood and in understanding others – even when their knowledge of the target language is incomplete.

What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

The most obvious characteristic of CLT is that almost everything that is done is done with a communicate intent. Students use the language a great deal through communicative activities such as games, role plays, and problem-solving tasks.

Another characteristic of CLT is the use of authentic material. It is considered desirable to give students an opportunity to develop strategies for understanding language as it is actually used.

What is the nature interaction between student-teacher and student-student?

Teacher is the facilitator of the activities, but he does not always himself interact with the students. Sometimes he is a co-communicator, but more often he establishes situations that prompt communication between and among the students.

Students interact a great deal with one another. They do this in various configurations; pairs, triads, small groups, and whole groups.

How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

One of the basic assumptions of CLT is that by learning to communicate students will be more motivated to study a foreign language since they will feel they are learning to do something useful with the language. Also, teachers give students an opportunity to express their individuality by having them share their ideas and opinions on a regular basis.

How is language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Language is for communication. Linguistic competence, the knowledge of forms and their meanings, is just one part of communicative competence. Another aspect of communicative competence is knowledge of the function language is used for.

Culture is the everyday lifestyle of people who use the language. There are certain aspects of it that are especially important to communication – the use of nonverbal behavior, for example, which might receive greater attention in CLT.

What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?

Language functions might be emphasized over forms. Typically, although not always, a functional syllabus is used. A variety of forms are introduced for each function. Only the simpler forms would be presented at first, but as students get more proficient in the target language, the functions are reintroduced and more complex forms are learned.

Students work on all four skills from the beginning. Just as oral communication is seen to take place through negotiating between speaker and listener, so too is meaning thought to be derived from the written word through an interaction between the reader and the writer.

What is the role of the students' native language?

Judicious use of the students' native language is permitted in CLT. However, whenever possible, the target language should be used not only during communicative activities, but also for explaining the activities to the students or in assigning homework.

How is evaluation accomplished?

A teacher evaluates not only the students’ accuracy, but also their fluency.

How does the teacher respond to students errors?

Errors of forms are tolerated during fluency based activities and are seen as a natural outcome of the development of communication

Total Physical Response

What is Total Physical Response?

Total Physical Response (TPR) is one of new methods developed by James Asher, a professor of psychology at San José State University, California, USA, to aid learning foreign language. TPR is a language learning method which is based on the coordination of speech and action. It is linked to the trace theory of memory, which holds that the more often or intensively a memory connection is traced, the stronger memory will be. In TPR classroom, students respond to commands that require physical movement.

Asher defines that the method of TPR relies on the assumption that when learning a second language or a foreign language, that language is internalized through a process that is similar to first language development and that the process allows for long period of listening and developing comprehension prior to production (www.wikipedia.com).

TPR is based on the premise that the human brain has a biological program from acquiring any natural language in the world including the sign language of the deaf. The process is visible when we observe how infants internalize their first language (www.tprsource.com/asher.htm). Asher looks to the way that children combine both verbal and physical aspects. A child responds physically to the speech for the parent. The responses of the child are in turn positively reinforced by the speech of the parent. For many months the child absorbs the language without being able to speak. With TPR the teacher tries to mimic this process in class (www.tprworld.com/organizing).

TPR is also named the comprehension approach since of the importance given to listening comprehension. In TPR, students listen and respond to the spoken target language commands of their teacher. If they can perform the teacher’s instructions it means that they know the meaning of the words.

What are the goals of TPR?

TPR was developed in order to reduce the stress people feel when studying foreign language and thereby encourage students to persist in their study beyond a beginning level of proficiency. Teacher who use TPR believe in the importance of having their students enjoy their experience in learning to communicate in a foreign language (Larsen and Freeman; 2000:113).

What is the role of teacher and students?

In the teaching learning process using TPR method, teacher plays an active and direct role. According to Larsen and Freeman (2000: 113) teacher is the director of all students’ behaviors. Asher (1977) as quoted by Richard and Rodgers, (1986: 93) states “The instructor is the director of a stage play in which the students are the actors”. It means that teacher is the one who decides what to teach, who models and presents the new material, and who selects supporting materials for classroom use. Teacher is encouraged to be well prepared and well organized so that the lesson flows smoothly and predictable.

Learners in TPR have the primary roles of listeners and performers. They listen attentively and respond both individually and collectively. They have little influence over the content of learning since the content is determined by the teacher who must follow the imperative form for lesson (Richard and Rodgers 1986:93). According to Larsen and Freeman (2000: 113), the students are imitators of the teacher’s nonverbal model. There will be a role reversal with individual students

directing the teacher and the other students.In TPR, learners monitor and evaluate their own progress. They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak that is when a sufficient basis in the language has been internalized.

What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

The first phase of a lesson is one of modeling. The instructor issues commands to a few students, then performs the actions with them. In the second phase, these same students demonstrate that they can understand the commands by performing them alone. The teacher next recombines elements of the commands to have students develop flexibility in understanding unfamiliar utterance. These commands, which students perform, are often homorous.

After learning to respond to some oral commands, the students learn to read and write them. When students are ready to speak, they become the ones who issue the commands.

How the interaction occur?

The teacher interacts with the whole group of students and with individual students. Initially the interaction is characterized by the teacher speaking and the students responding nonverbally. Students perform the action together. Students can learn by watching each other.

How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

One of the main reasons TPR was to reduce the stress people feel when studying foreign language. One of the primary ways this is accomplished is to allow learners to speak when they are ready. Forcing them to speak before then will only create anxiety.

Another way to relieve anxiety is to make language learning as enjoyable as possible. The use of zany commands and homorous skits are two ways of showing that language learning can be fun.

How is language and culture viewed?

Just as with the acquisition of the native language, the oral modality is primary. Culture is the lifestyle of people who speak the language natively.

What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?

Vocabulary and grammatical structures are emphasized over other language areas. These are embedded within imperatives. The imperatives are single words and multi-word chunks.

Understanding the spoken word should precede its production. The spoken language is emphasized over written language.

What is the role of the students' native language?

TPR is usually introduced in the students' native language. After the introduction, rarely would the native language be used. Meaning is made clear through body movements.

How is evaluation accomplished?

Teachers will know immediately whether or not students understand by observing their students' action. Formal evaluations can be conducted simply by commanding individual students to perform a series of actions. As students become more advanced, their performance of skits they have created can become the basis for evaluation.

How does the teacher respond to students errors?

Teachers should be tolerant of the students errors and only correct major errors. Even these should be corrected unobtrusively.

COMMUNITY LANGUAGE LEARNING

COMMUNITY LANGUAGE LEARNING

 

û       The community language learning takes its principles from the more general Counseling-Learning approach developed by Charles A. Curran.

û       This method advises teacher to consider their students as 'whole persons'. Whole-person learning means that teacher consider not only their students' intellect, but also have some understanding of the relationship among students feeling, physical reactions, instinctive protective reactions, and desire to learn.

û       The purpose of this method is enable the students to learn how to use the target language communicatively and to learn about their own learning, to take increaseing responsibility for it and to learn how to learn from one another.

û       The teacher's initial role is primarily that of a counselor. The teacher ' counsels' the students. He/she does not offer advice, but rather shows them that he/she is really listening to them and understands what they are saying. By understanding how students feel, the teacher can help students gain insight into their own learning process as well as transform their native feeling, which might otherwise block their learning.

û       According to Curran, there are six elements necessary for nondefensive learning. First of these is security. Next is aggression. The third element is attention. The fourth is reflection. Retention is the fifth element. And the last element is discrimination.

û       As Rardin and Tranel (1988) ahve observed, the Community Language Learning Method is neither student-centered nor teacher-centered, but rather teacher-student-centered, with both being decision-makers in the class.

û       Building a relationship with and among students is very important. In a trusting relationship, any debilitating anxienty that students feel can be reduced, thereby helping students to stay open the learning process. Students can learn from their interaction with each other as well as their interaction with the teacher. A spirit of cooperation, not competition, can prevail.

û       Language is for communication. Curran writes that 'learning is persons', meaning that both teacher and students work at building trust in one another and the learning process.

û       The teacher might prepare specific materials or work with published textbooks. Particular grammar points, pronounciation patterns, and vocabulary are worked with, based on the language the students have generated. The most important skills are understanding and speaking the language at the beginning, with reinforcement through reading and writing.

û       The students' native language is used to make the meaning clear and to build a bridge from the known to the unknown or from the familiat to the unfamiliar. Students feel more secure when they understand everything.

û       The students take a test at the end of a course. A teacher-made classroom test would likely be more of an integrative test than a discrete-point one. Students would be asked to write a paragraph or be given an oral interview. Teacher also would encourage their students to self-evaluate.

û       The taecher repeat correctly what the student has said incorrectly, without calling further attention to the error. The techniques are consistent with sustaining a respectful, nondefensive relationship between teacher and students.

suggestopedia

SUGGESTOPEDIA

• Suggestopedia, the application of the study of suggestion to pedagogy, has been developed to help students eliminate the feeling that they cannot be successful or the negative association they may have toward studying and, thus, to help them overcome the barriers to learning.

• This method developed out of believe that human brain could process great quantities of material given the right conditions of learning like relaxation.

• Teachers hope to accelerate the process by which students learn to use a foreign language for everyday communication. In order to do this, more of the students' mental powers must be tapped.

• The teacher is the authority in the classroom. In order for the method to be successful, the students must to trust and respect the teacher. Once the students trust the teacher, they acn feel more secure. If they feel secure, they can be more spontaneous and less in inhibited.

• A desuggestopedic course is conducted in a classroom which is bright and cheerful. The texts students work from are handouts containing lenghty dialogs in the target language. Next to the dialog is a translation in the students' native language. There are also some notes on vocabulary and grammar which correspond to bold-faced items in the dialog.

• One of the fundamental principles of the method is that if the sudents are relaxed and confident, they will not need to try hard to learn the language. It will come just naturally and easily. Indirect positive suggestions are made to enhance students' self-confidence and to convince them that success is obtainable.

• Music was the central to this method. Soft music led to increase in alpha brain wave and a decrease in blood pressure and pulse rate resulting in high intake of large quantities of material.

• The communication takes place on 'two planes': on one the linguistic message is encoded; and on the other are factors which influence the linguistic message. On the conscious plane, the learner attends to the language; on the subconscious plane, the music suggest that learning is easy and pleasant. When there is a unity between conscious and subconscious, learning is enhance.

• Teacher should present and explain the grammar and vocabulary, but not dwell on them. The bolds print are allows the students' focus to shift from the whole text to the details before they return to the whole text again. The dynamic interplay between the whole and the parts is important.

• Vocabulary is emphasized. Grammar is dealt with explicitly but minimally. In fact, it is believed that students will learn best if their conscious attentionn is focused not on the language forms, but on using the language. The 'paraconscious' mind will then absorb the linguistic rules. Speaking communicatively is also emphasized. Students read in the target language and write native compositions.

• Native-language translation is used to make the meaning of the dialog clear. The teacher also uses the native langauge in class when necessary. The teacher uses the native language less and less.

• Evaluation usually is conducted on students' normal in-class performance and not through formal tests, which would threaten the relaxed atmosphere considered essential for accelerated learning.

• Errors are correctly gently, with the teacher using a soft voice and not in a direct.

compare

COMPARISSON BETWEEN THE AUDIO-LINGUAL METHOD AND THE SILENT WAY

The Audio-Lingual method	The Silent Way
The material is presented in the form of dialogue.	The material is presented in a set of colored wooden rods.
The goal is to enable the students to communicate.	The goal is to enable the students to use the language for self-expression, to express their thought, perceptions, and feeling.
The teacher is like an orchestra leader and the students are imitator of the teacher's model or the tapes she/he supllies of the model speakers.	The teacher is a technician or engineer and the students are to actively engage in exploring the language.
New vocabulary and structural patterns are presented through dialogs. The dialogs are learned through imitation and repetition. Drills are conducted based upon the patterns present in the dialog.	Students begin their study of the language through its basic building blocks, its sounds. The teacher sets up situations that focus student attention on the structures of the language. The teacher asks the students to describe their reactions to the lesson or what they have learned.
There is student-to-student interaction in chain drills or when students take different roles in dialogs, but this interaction is teacher-directed. Most of the interaction is between teacher and students and is initiated by the teacher.	For much of the student-teacher interaction, the teacher is silent. He is still very active, however – setting up situations to 'force awarness', listening attentively to students' speech, and silently working with thwm on their production through the use of nonverbal gestures and the tools he has available. When the teacher speaks, it is to give clues, not to model the language.
The view of language has been influenced by descriptive linguists. Every language is seen as having its own unique system which is consist of phonological, morphological and syntactic. Culture consist of the everyday behavior and lifestyle of the target language speakers.	Each language has its own unique reality, or spirit, since it is the expression of a particular group of people. Their culture as, reflected in their own unique world view, is inseparable from their language.
The students are mastering the sound system and grammatical patterns. A grammatical pattern is not the same as a sentence. The natural order of skills presentation is adhered to: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The oral skills receive most of the attention.	The teacher works with the students, and the students work on the language. Vocabulary is somewhat restricted at first. The teacher starts with what the students know and builds from one structure to the next. All four skills are worked on from the beginning of the course, although there is asequence in that students learn to read and write what they have already produced orally.
The habits of the students' native language are thought to interfere with the students' attemps to master the target language. Therefore, the target language is used in the class room, not the students' native language.	Maening is made clear by focusing the students' perception, not by translation. The students' native language can, however, be used to give instructions when necessary, to help a student improve his/her pronounciation. Knowledge students already possess of their native language can be exploited by the teacher of the target language.
Teacher did not actually observe the students with a formal test. Students might be asked to distinguish between words in a minimal pair, for example, or to supply an appropriate verb form in a sentence.	Although the teacher may never give a formal test, he assesses student learning all the time. The teacher does not praise or criticize student behavior since this would interfere with students' developing their own inner criteria.
Student errors are to be avoided if at all possible through the teacher's awarness of where the students will have difficulty and restriction of what they are taught to say. The teacher have to face the student difficulties.	Student errors are seen as a natural, indispensable part of the learning process. The teacher use student errors as a basic for deciding where further work in necessary. The teacher works with the students in getting them to self-correct.

CINTA NINDA

“ Nia!“

“Kania!”

Samar-samar aku mendengar seseorang memanggilku dari kejauhan. Aku mencari kesana kemari orang yang memanggilku itu, lalu dari jauh terlihat sosok yang sudah lama tidak kujumpai. Terakhir kali aku bertemu dengannya kira-kira 2 tahun yang lalu dan keadaannya sangat menyedihkan. Tapi sosok yang kulihat sekarang sangat jauh berbeda dengan 2 tahun yang lalu, sekarang dia terlihat sangat cantik dan bahagia.

“Hi Kania! Apa kabar?”

“Udah lama ya kita gak ketemu. Ihh.. kangen deh.”

“Kamu kangen gak sama aku?” tanyanya dengan penuh semangat.

Namun aku masih diam terpaku beberapa saat.

“ Nia!! kok diem aja sih? “ kata Ninda sambil menepuk lenganku sehingga membuyarkan lamunanku.

“ Oh, Ninda? Ya ampun!!”

“ Sorry... sorry... !!! “ kataku cepat karena merasa tidak enak pada Ninda.

“ Kabarku baik. Kamu gimana?”

“ Iya, aku juga kangen kok. Kamu kemana aja?”

Mendengar pertaanyaan terakhirku wajah Ninda sedikit berubah.

“ Aduh!!” sesalku dalam hati.

“ Kenapa nanya itu?”

Sambil tersenyum Ninda mulai bercerita.

“ Selama 2 tahun ini aku tinggal di Surabaya. “ jawab Ninda

“ Surabaya? “ tanyaku heran

“ Iya, Surabaya! “ lanjut Ninda dengan santai

“ Kok bisa? “

“ Ya bisa lah!! Adi minta aku buat ngelupain semuanya dan memulai hidupku yang baru di tempat yang baru pula. Jadi dia minta aku buat tinggal di Surabaya.” lanjutnya.

“ Adi? “

“ Iya, Adi!! bukannya kamu yang ngerencanain buat nemuin aku sama dia waktu itu? “

“ Jadi, semenjak itu kalian . . .?”

“ He'em. . .! “ jawabnya

“ Terus Adi tau kalo kamu udah. . . Eh, maaf Nda, maafin aku ya! Aku gak bermaksud buat ngingetin kamu sama masalah itu lagi.” kataku menyesal.

“ It's OK.” kata Ninda

“ Lagian aku udah gak apa-apa kok. Aku udah bisa ikhlas dengan semuanya. And sekarang aku bahagia sama Adi.” jelasnya dengan wajah berseri-seri.

Memang aku merasakan ada banyak perubahan yang sangat besar pada Ninda. Dia lebih terlihat sabar, tenang, dewasa, tutur katanya juga santun dan yang paling berarti kini dia terlihat sangat bahagia. Melihatnya seperti ini, rasanya kejadian beberapa tahun yang lalu seakan-akan tidak pernah terjadi. Aku masih ingat dengan jelas bagaimana Ninda menderita karena cintanya.

***

Beberapa tahun silam Ninda menghadapi sebuah persoalan yang sangat berat. Dia disakiti, dicampakan, dan dikhianati oleh orang yang sangat dia cintai.

Meskipun begitu, dia tetap setia pada Kevin dan berusaha agar Kevin tetap bersamanya. Berbagai cara dia lakukan untuk membuat Kevin sadar bahwa Ninda itu adalah cinta sejatinya, tapi karena tindakannya itu banyak orang yang menganggap Ninda wanita murahan dan tak tahu malu.

Pernah suatu waktu Ninda bersujud dikaki Kevin agar Kevin tidak memutuskan hubungan mereka. Sebenarnya dalam hati aku sangat marah dan kesal pada kevin, tapi apa lah dayaku. Aku tidak bisa menghentikan Ninda karena aku yakin Ninda punya alasan yang kuat kenapa dia melakukan itu.

Setelah kejadian itu banyak yang membicarakan Ninda. Saat aku sedang di kantin, aku sempat mendengar beberapa orang menjelek-jelekkan Ninda. Sebagai sahabatnya, mendengar semua itu aku merasa sakit.

Beberapa hari kemudian, dengan ragu aku menanyakan alasan itu pada Ninda.

“ Nda, beberapa hari yang lalu gue liat lu sujud dikaki Kevin. Lu kenapa sih sampe mau ngelakuin kayak gitu. Cowok di dinia ini kan bukan hanya Kevin? “ Tanyaku

Beberapa saat Ninda hanya terdiam. Hal itu membuatku didera ribuan pertanyaan.

“ Nia! “

Akhirnya Ninda mulai bicara. Namun suaranya terdengar sedikit ragu, takut dan malu.

“ Iya? “

“ Sebenarnya ada hal yang selama ini gue sembunyiin. “

“ Apa itu? “

“ Hm. . .”

“ Lu ga usah malu Nda. Gue bakal berusaha buat jadi pendengar yang baik. Gue janji gak akan cerita ke siapa-siapa kok. Lu percaya sama gue kan? “ seruku meyakinkan Ninda agar mau menceritakan rahasianya itu padaku.

“ Ni, gue. . . gue. . . gue udah gak virgin lagi. “ Katanya sambil menutup matanya dengan tangan dan mulai menangis.

“ APA?? “ Aku terkejut sekali mendengar ucapan Ninda itu.

“ Nda. Itu gak mungkin. Lu bohong kan? Bilang sama gue kalo lu bohong kan Nda? “ desakku pada Ninda.

“ Enggak, semua itu bener. Gue udah gak virgin lagi.”

“ Siapa yang tega ngelakuin itu Nda? “ tanyaku

Ninda diam lagi.

“ Siapa Nda? Ngomong dong jangan diem aja? Jangan bikin gue jadi bingung? “ desakku lebih keras lagi

“ Siapa? “ aku semakin mendesak Ninda sambil mengguncang bahunya.

“ KEVIN. . .!! “ jawab Ninda seraya memelukku

“ Yang ngelakuin itu Kevin. Makanya gue gak mau dia pergi gitu aja ninggalin gue. “ lanjut Ninda sambil terus menangis

“ Ya Allah Nda. Kenapa lu gak pernah cerita? Sekarang gue ngerti kenapa lu sampe mau bersujud dikaki Kevin. “

“ Gue bakal bantu lu buat bikin Kevin balik lagi sama lu. Gue janji. “ kataku

“ Makasih ya Nia! Lu emang sahabat gue yang paling baik. “

“ Iya, sama-sama. Pokoknya lu harus yakin kalo kita pasti bisa bikin Kevin balik lagi sama lu. “

***

Setelah itu aku dan Ninda berusaha untuk membuat Kevin kembali pada Ninda. Sampai suatu ketika kami bertemu dengan seorang pria bernama Adi.

Awalnya,aku merasa Adi mempunyai maksud yang tidak baik pada Ninda karena dia terus-menerus mendekati Ninda meskipun Ninda tidak meladeninya. Sampai suatu saat.

“ Ninda. Gue suka sama lu. Lu mau gak jadi cewek gue? “ tanya Adi

Aku kaget, dan juga heran kenapa Adi sampai nekat nembak Ninda padahal seharusnya Adi tau kalo Ninda masih mengharapkan Kevin. Tapi, di sisi lain aku sedikit senang. Aku juga tidak tahu kenapa.

Mendengar Adi nembak dia secara tiba-tiba, Ninda langsung naik darah.

“ Eh Di, lu tuh gak nyadar apa kalo selama ini gue nyuekin lu? Gue itu udah punya pacar tau. Namanya Kevin, dan gue bakal tetep setia sama dia. Lu ngerti kan? “ jawab Ninda

Mendengar jawaban dari Ninda adi malah bersikap santai.

“ Gue tau kok masalah lu sama cowok lu. Gue juga tau kalo Kevin udah khianatin lu. And selama ini kalian lagi berusaha buat bikin Kevin balik lagi sama lu kan? Gue gak tau kenapa lu masih ngarepin cowok yang udah nyakitin and ninggalin lu. Padahal masih banyak cowok-cowok lain di luar sana. Kalo lu tetep kayak gini lu . . . “

“ Lu gak bakal ngerti kenapa gue ngelakuin semua ini dan lu gak perlu ngerti karena gue gak mau lu ngerti. “ sambar Ninda

“ Ayo Nia! Kita pergi dari sini. “ Ninda dengan cepat menarikku pergi.

Sejak kejadian itu kami tidak pernah bertemu Adi lagi. Kami pun fokus pada usaha kami untuk membuat Kevin kembali pada Ninda. Akan tetapi, semua usaha kami selama kurang lebih 2 bulan sia-sia saja. Kevin tetap tidak mau kembali pada Ninda, dan Ninda yang malang itu harus ikhlas menerimanya.

Saat mengetahui semua itu, aku melihat Ninda seperti tidak punya semangat hidup lagi. Sesuatu yang sangat berharga dalam hidupnya kini sudah tiada. Aku ingin melakukan sesuatu tapi aku sendiri tidak tahu apa. Sampai suatu ketika aku bertemu lagi dengan Adi. Ternyata selama ini dia menghilang karena dia mendapatkan tugas ke luar kota.

Dari pembicaraan kami, aku tahu kalau Adi masih menyukai Ninda. Akhirnya aku ceritakan keadaan Ninda sekarang dan aku meminta Adi untuk bersedia menghiburnya.

Aku diam-diam mengatur pertemuan Adi dan Ninda. Awalnya Ninda sempat marah padaku, tapi lama-kelamaan dia sadar bahwa yang aku lakukan ini untuk kebaikannya juga. Aku ingat, beberapa hari setelah pertemuan yang kuatur waktu itu aku tidak dapat menghubungi mereka. Aku juga sudah coba kesana kemari mencari informasi tapi sia-sia.

***

“ Nda? Abis kamu ketemu sama Adi kamu pergi kemana sih? Aku sampe bingung tau nyariin kamu. Adi juga gak ada kabar. Gimana ceritanya sih? “ tanyaku

“ Oh, waktu itu ya.”

Ninda diam sejenak. Lalu dia lanjutkan.

“ Waktu itu aku cerita semuanya sama Adi, awalnya Adi marah dan gak mau ketemu aku, aku juga ngurung diri di rumah selama dua hari. Lalu,waktu aku mau nemuin kamu buat bilang kalo aku mau pindah ke rumah sodara tiba-tiba Adi udah ada di depan rumah dan dia minta aku buat ikut dia ke Surabaya. Dia juga minta aku buat lupain semuanya dan mulai hidup baru sama dia, sampe-sampe HPku dia buang dan aku belum sempet buat hubungin kamu Ni. “ jelasnya

“ Aku minta maaf ya kalo waktu itu aku bikin kamu bingung. Kamu gak marah kan? “ lanjut Ninda

“ Oh, gitu ceritanya. Kalo akhirnya jadi kayak gini aku gak marah sama sekali. Aku justru malah seneng. “