26 J URNAL PENDIDIKAN HUMANIORA, pp. 26 –29 Volume 7, Number 1, March 20 19 26 Article received 10/5/2018; Approved 9/2/2019 Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora Volume 7, Number 1, March 2019, pp. 26–29 Available online at http://journal.um.ac.id/index.php/jph ISSN: 2338-8110 (print)/2442-3890 (electronic) Teaching English as A Foreign Language: Making Use of Spontaneous Language Meiga Rahmanita 1)* , Nur Mukminatien 2) 1) Global English Training 2) English Education-Universitas Negeri Malang Jl. Karimata No. 12A Kab. Jember, Indonesia. E-mail: meigarahmanita06@gmail.com * Abstract: Although the importancee of teaching and learning English has been widely recognized, many still do not know the best way to optimize the students’ ability in EFL learning. This article at- tempts to explore effective ways of teaching English by reviewing an article by Illèss and Akcan. In- volving 25 pre-service English teachers in Turkey and nine in Hungary, the researchers recorded their classrooms’ condition and conducted semi-controlled interviews with the teachers to investigate the use of real-life language in their classrooms. It was revealed that the use of real life language in EFL classrooms was beneficial to optimize students ability in EFL learning. In addition, facilitating the use of spontaneus language, providing au-thentic materials and real-life context, and creating learner- centered process of learning in the classrooms also affirmed the optimization. Key Words: english teaching pedagogy, spontaneous language, authentic teaching, traditional way of teaching Abstrak: Meskipun pentingnya pengajaran dan pembelajaran bahasa Inggris telah dikenal secara luas, dan banyak yang belum memahami cara terbaik untuk mengoptimalkan kemampuan siswa dalam belajar Bahasa Inggris. Artikel ini menguraikan cara-cara efektif dalam mengajar bahasa Inggris dengan mene- laah artikel oleh Illèss dan Akcan. Melibatkan 25 calon guru Bahasa Inggris di Turki dan sembilan di Hongaria, peneliti merekam situasi kelas dan melakukan wawancara semi-terstruktur terhadap mereka. Telaah ini menemukan bahwa penggunaan bahasa yang digunakan secara alami di kelas pembelajaran bahasa Inggris bermanfaat untuk mengoptimalkan kemampuan siswa dalam belajar bahasa Inggris. Selain itu, memfasilitasi penggunaan bahasa secara spontan, menyiapkan materi otentik dan terkait konteks kehidupan nyata, serta menciptakan proses pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa juga membantu optimalisasi itu. Kata kunci: pedagogi pengajaran bahasa inggris, bahasa spontan, pengajaran otentik, cara pengaja- ran tradisional INTRODUCTION I n countries where English is taught as a foreign language—with Indonesia being one of them, teaching English is challenging, as there is no for- mal and informal exposure of English for most of the learners. Some EFL classrooms even include the ex- cessive use of first language, instead of the target language, just like what Al-Jamal and Al-Jamal (2014) found in their study. Most of the participants in their study stated that their first language, Arabic, was ex- cessively used in speaking classes, making them get less opportunity to practice speaking in English. This is a proof that many teachers still get lost in find- ing the best way of how to teach English and so, they end up with teaching it just as if other teachers teach other subjects. To illustrate, Mattarima and Hamdan (2011) mention that many teachers employ teacher- centered style of teaching when teaching English, with little opportunities for students to practice English. Hence, regarding that language is not only knowledge, but also a means of communication, English teachers should know well how to teach it, so that their stu- dents will be able to grasp and make use of the max- imum benefit of learning English in non-English speaking countries.