THE USE OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING (PBL) METHOD IN TEACHING ENGLISH WRITING AT SMAN 5 MAKASSAR

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THE USE OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING (PBL) METHOD IN TEACHING ENGLISH WRITING

AT SMAN 5 MAKASSAR

PENGGUNAAN METODE PROBLEM BASED LEARNING (PBL) DALAM PENGAJARAN MENULIS BAHASA

INGGRIS DI SMAN 5 MAKASSAR

NURUL HIDJRAH HAIRUDDIN

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES

HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY

2017

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THE USE OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING (PBL) METHOD IN TEACHING ENGLISH WRITING

AT SMAN 5 MAKASSAR

Thesis

As a Part of Fulfillment of Requirements for Magister Degree

English Language Studies Faculty of Cultural Sciences

Written and Proposed by

NURUL HIDJRAH HAIRUDDIN

To

POST GRADUATE PROGRAM ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES

HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY

2017

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iv PERNYATAAN KEASLIAN TESIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini :

Nama : Nurul Hidjrah Hairuddin Nomor Mahasiswa : P0600212004

Program Studi : Bahasa Inggris

Menyatakan dengan sebenar-benarnya bahwa tesis yang saya tulis ini benar-benar merupakan hasil karya saya sendiri, bukan merupakan pengambilan tulisan atau pemikiran orang lain. Apabila dikemudia hari terbukti ataudidapatkan bukti bahwa sebagian atau keseluruhan tesis ini karya orang lain, saya bersedia menerima sanksi atas perbuatan tersebut.

Makassar, Mei 2017 Yang Menyatakan

Nurul Hidjrah Hairuddin

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v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillah Robbil Alamin, the writer would like to express the most grateful to the Almighty God, Allah Subhana Wata’ala for His blessing and mercies so that she could finally complete the writing of this research entitling

“The Use of Problem Based Learning (PBL) Method in Teaching English Writing at SMAN 5 Makassar” as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Humaniora in the English Language Study Program at Hasanuddin University in Makassar.

The writer fully realizes that in the process of writing this thesis, lots of people have helped, motivated, and given their useful advice. Therefore, She would like to express her sincere gratitude to the research supervisors, Prof.Dr.Hamzah A. Machmoed, M.A and Dra. Ria Rosdiana Jubhari, M.A, Ph.D.

for their valuable time, guidance, correction, and suggestion from the preliminary stage of the manuscript to completing this thesis. Her deepest thanks also go to the examiners, Dr. H. Fathu Rahman, M.Hum, Dra. Nasmilah, M.Hum, Ph.D, and Dr.Hj.Sukmawaty, M.Hum for valuable critics, suggestion and insightful contribution in writing this thesis. Without their assistance and dedicated involvement in every step throughout the process, this paper would have never been accomplished.

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vi In addition, she also would like to thank to Prof. Drs. H. Burhanuddin Arafah, M.Hum, Ph. D. as the Dean of Cultural Science Faculty, Dr. H. Fathu Rahman, M.Hum. as the head of ELS Program, all the honorable lecturers for their useful knowledge and enthusiasm in teaching, and all staffs of academic for their help and satisfying service.

The writer delivers thanks to the headmaster of SMAN 5 Makassar, Dr.

Muhammad Yusran, S.Pd, M.Hum and the English teacher of the school, Nur Yanti S.Pd. for allowing the writer to conduct this research and for useful information for this research. Special thanks are also conveyed to the eleventh year students for their participation in this research.

The writer would most importantly like to extend the heart-felt gratitude to her beloved parent, Drs. Hairuddin Gaffar and Dra. Suriyati, and also to the writer’s husband Ilham, A.Md and their son Ahmad Dzaky Alfarizi. None of this would have been possible without pray, love, support and patience of them.

Last but not the least, he is also grateful to all the ELS 2012 students, especially to Yuriatson, S.Pd., M.Hum., Taufik S.Pd, M.Hum., Luana Sasabone S.S., Nurul Chamsyani, S.S, M.Hum and Zul Astri, S.S, M.Hum. Their support and care helped her overcome setbacks. He greatly values their friendship and deeply appreciates their belief in her.

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ABSTRACT

Nurul Hidjrah Hairuddin. The Use of Problem Based Learning (PBL) Method in Teaching English Writing at SMAN 5 Makassar. (Under supervision of Hamzah Machmoed and Ria Jubhari).

The aims of the research were to: (1) determine whether the use of the Problem Based Learning method improves students’ writing skill, and (2) to find out the students’ perceptions regarding the implementation of the Problem Based Learning in teaching “Writing”.

This research employed a quasi-experimental design. The subjects of the research were the eleventh grade students of natural-science class selected randomly. The data were collected by utilizing two kinds of instruments, a test and questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and diclosed the frequency, mean score, normality test, and nonparametric test (Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon test).

The result of this research indicates that the use of the PBL method to teach writing contributed to the students’ writing performance. The results of the Man- Whitney U test demonstrated a difference in termsof the mean score between experimental group treated using PBL method and controlled group without treatment (14.44 > 10.25). In addition, Wilcoxon test showed significant difference of pre-test and posttest between the two groups (14.4 : 9.95). The results confirmed that the application of PBL method contributed to the students’

improvement of writing skill, such as content, organization, vocabulary, grammar and mechanics. Meanwhile, analysis of perceptional questionnaires indicated that the experimental group had positive perception on the use of Problem Based Learning method.

Key words: writing skill, problem based learning

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ABSTRAK

Nurul Hidjrah Hairuddin. Penggunaan metode Problem Based Learning dalam pengajaran menulis bahasa Inggris di SMAN 5 Makassar. (Pembimbing Hamzah A.Machmoed dan Ria Jubhari).

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk: (1) mengetahui sejauh mana penggunaan metode PBL dalam meningkatkan keterampilan menulis siswa, dan (2) mengetahui persepsi siswa terhadap penerapan metode PBL pada pengajaran menulis bahasa Inggris.

Penelitian ini menggunakan desain kuasi-eksperimental. Subyek penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas XI IPA yang dipilih dengan teknik penyampelan acak.

Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan dua jenis instrumen, yaitu tes dan kuesioner. Data dianalisis menggunakan SPSS versi 20 meliputi frekuensi, nilai rata-rata, uji normalitas, dan uji nonparametrik (uji Mann-Whitney U dan uji Wilcoxon).

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa penerapan metode PBL dalam pengajaran menulis berkontribusi pada pencapaian kemampuan menulis siswa.

Berdasarkan hasil uji Man-Whitney U ditemukan bahwa ada perbedaan yang signifikan antara nilai rata-rata kelompok eksperimen yang diajarkan dengan menggunakan pendekatan PBL daripada kelompok kontrol yang tidak diajarkan menggunankan PBL (14,44> 10,25). Selain itu, uji Wilcoxon menunjukkan bahwa ada perbedaan antara pretest (9,95) dan posttest (14,4) dari kelompok eksperimen.

Hal ini berarti bahwa penerapan metode PBL memberikan kontribusi peningkatan kemampuan menulis siswa. Secara spesifik, peningkatan kemampuan menulis siswa meliputi lima komponen content, organization, vocabulary, grammar dan mechanics. Sementara data dari kuesioner menunjukkan bahwa siswa kelompok eksperimen memiliki persepsi positif terhadap penggunaan metode PBL.

Kata kunci: keterampilan menulis, pembelajaran berbasis masalah

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ix TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPROVAL SHEET iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT v

ABSTRACT vii

ABSTRAK viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ix

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURES xii

LIST OF APPENDIXES xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background 1

1.2. Research Questions 4

1.3. Research Objectives 5

1.4. Limitation 5

1.5. Significance of the Study 6

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Review of Previous Study 7

2.2. Theoretical Review 9

2.2.1. The Nature of Writing 9

2.2.2. Teaching Writing as Foreign Language 18

2.2.3. Problem Based Learning Method 28

2.2.4. Task-Based Learning Method 35

2.2.5. Analytical Exposition Text 41

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x CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

3.1. Population and Sample 48

3.2. Research Method and Design 48

3.3. Variables of the Research 49

3.4. Research Instrument 49

3.5. Research Procedures 50

3.6. Technique of Analyzing Data 52

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Findings 56

1. Students’ writing achievement 56

a. Students’ pretest of the experimental and control group 57 b. Students’ posttest of the experimental and control group 58

c. Normality test 61

d. Result of Mann-Whitney U test 62

e. Result of Wilcoxon test 63

2. Students’ perception towards the use of PBL in writing Class 65 4.2. Discussion

1. The Extent of PBL method in Improving

Students’ writing skill 74

2. The Students perception towards the use of PBL method 75 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 76

BIBLIOGRHAPY 79

APPENDICES 82

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xi LIST OF TABLE

Table 1. The Standard of Competence of SMA and MA grade XI 22

Table 2. Scoring Rubric for Aspects of Writing 53

Table 3. Output of Normality Test of Pretest 60

Table 4. Output of Man-Whitney analysis of the pretest 61 Table 5. Output of Man-Whitney analysis of the posttest 62 Table 6. Output of Wilcoxon Test of the pretest – the Posttest of

the experimental group 62

Table 7. Output of Wilcoxon Test of the pretest – the Posttest of

the Control Group 63

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xii LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. The chart of writing process 16

Figure 2. Histogram of Students’ Score in Pretest of

Experimental Group 57

Figure 3. Histogram of Students’ Score in Pretest of Control Group 57 Figure 4. Histogram of Students’ Score in Posttest of

Experimental Group 58

Figure 5. Histogram of Students’ Score in Posttest of

Control Group 58

Figure 6. The Difference of Students’ Mean Posttest Score between

Experimental and Control Group 59

Figure 7 Diagram Frequency of Statement 1 65

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xiii LIST OF APPENDIXES

APPENDIX A Writing test Utilized in the Pretest and the Posttest 82

APPENDIX B Students’ Questionnaire 84

APPENDIX C Analytical Exposition Text Sample 87

APPENDIX D Problem Log for Writing an Analytical Exposition Text 89

APPENDIX E The Rubric of Writing Assessment 94

APPENDIX F Students’ Score by Raters 96

APPENDIX G Students’ writing score 116

APPENDIX H Statistical Data of SPSS Version 22 120

APPENDIX I Research Documentation of Implementation

of the PBL 134

APPENDIX I Sample students’ writing 137

APPENDIX I Letters 13

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1 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This study attempts to investigate the effectiveness of using Problem Based Learning (PBL) method in teaching English writing of second grade students at SMA Negeri 5 Makassar. This chapter is introduction contains the backround, research questions, research objectives, limitations and significance of the study.

1.1. Background

Nowadays, English does not only serve as a second language in multi- lingual country such as Singapore, Malaysia, Phillipines, etc, but also widely studied as a foreign language in most of countries in the world, such as China, Japan, Indonesia, etc. The emergence of today’s role of English as an international language then affect the development of English language education in many countries, include Indonesia.

In Indonesia, English is one of the the foreign language which obliged to be taught since junior high school up to university level. There are four skills that should be learnt by the students, they are speaking, reading, writing, and listening.

The four skills are divided into verbal communication and written communication. Both of them are important but they are different. In written communication, the writer should consider contents, vocabularies, rhetoric, grammatical structures and mechanics such as punctuation and capitalization. But in verbal communication, the grammatical structure is not necessary as long as the speaker and listener understand each other.

Harmer (2004) stated that writing is one of the most important skills in language learning. Being able to write is vital skill for speakers of a foreign language as much as for every one using their own first language. Writing in English also becomes one of the most difficult skills to be learnt by students. The difficulty of writing lies not only in organizing ideas but also in translating the ideas into readable text (Richards and Renandya, 2002: 303).

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2 In the context of English language teaching as a foreign language, the teaching methodologies and pedagogies might become one of the important aspects that affect the English language teaching quality, especially in teaching English writing. Therefore, the teaching methodologies and pedagogies need to be changed and developed gradually and continuously. The current method which focus on teaching real language use with methods such as communicative method, the task-based method, and project-based method are more acceptable since they provide students with an environment in which they are exposed to meaningful language in a real context.

Due to the current language teaching pedagogies and recent educational changes, the current curriculum in Indonesia promote the exponsure of students to real language use. SMAN 05 Makassar is one of a case point. A task-based learning method (TBL) become one of teaching method that has been adopted and adapted by some teachers in their English language teaching. It could be the answer for the need for a meaning-focused method that reflects real-life language use. Language in real-world can be situated not only in a location but also in the classroom. Moreover, the students are being prepared to take responbility for their own learning.

A task-based learning method rests on three basic premises (Willis, 2006).

They are as follows: First, language learning is a complex process. Teaching a discrete language item does not lead to immediate mastery of that item. Second, a language form is best learned if learners are ready for its meaning. This is due to the fact that language acquisition is an implicit process which occurs when learners are grappling with the effort of communication (Ellis,2003 in Sojisirikul, 2009). In task-based learning, in other words, tasks are designed in ways that the meaning is the primary focus, and also attention is given to the form. Finally, the opportunity to use the target language for a real purpose is essential.

Although the principle of task-based learning focuses simultaneously on the meaning and the form of language, Ellis,2003 in Sojisirikul, 2009 states that since TBL syllabuses “do not generally seek to dictate what linguistic forms a learner will learn at a time, the need to ensure a precise match between the teaching

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3 syllabus and the learner’s syllabus no longer arises.” Regarding Ellis’s argument, it seems that, in TBL, the language form might not have to be demonstrated through a set of tasks that the students perform in their classroom. It could be said that while the students are involved in the process of performing a task, they may not pay much attention to the language form, or they might only make use of bits of language (rather than complete structures).

Recently, an alternative and innovative teaching method, which is known as a problem-based learning method (PBL) has been introduced. PBL was first launched in the medical curriculum at McMaster University, Canada, in September 1969. It is a curriculum revolution which uses problems as stimuli for learning. Problem Based Learning (PBL) has been developed as an alternative and it appears to bridge the gap between theory and practice. In PBL, the problem is focused on as the core of learning. The students are organized to work in groups, discuss different cases and suggest possible solutions. This initiates autonomous learning which helps move learners from the unconscious performance of a task to fully self-organized and lifelong learning (Gardner and Miller, 1996).

In teaching English writing at second grade of SMAN 5 Makassar, one of the basic competence that should be taught is writing an analytical exposition text.

Regarding an analytical exposition text writing, it has been found that the students have not been aware of the writing patterns or organization they have studied in the class. Even with the outline, they produce an introduction in which neither the scope of the essay nor the thesis statement is specified. In the students’ writing there are long explanations of the ideas, but a point-by-point discussion of the main ideas is rarely given. Often, the writing is not well-generated. Moreover, the students cannot conclude their writing appropriately when they should briefly restate the content with suitable expressions. Furthermore, since the students have to search for a large amount of information before writing an analytical exposition text, in cases where the texts are written in Indonesian, the students will translate the texts. There are as a result a great deal of mistakes and errors in their writing.

Obviously, every student makes mistakes in terms of both grammar and

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4 organization of writing. This, therefore, leads to miscommunication since the meanings of the authors cannot be accurately conveyed.

Problem Based Learning (PBL) has been a challenging method for the new century. The history of its development shows that this method has been mainly adopted and adapted in medical and other fields of study. Although there are a few clear research studies showing that PBL is appropriate and could be implemented in teaching English as a second language, it is worth conducting further research to establish the suitability of this particular pedagogy. In the present study, PBL has been considered as an alternative and innovative teaching method for language teaching, and it has been implemented in order to solve problems in students’ writing an analytical exposition text as mentioned above. It was hoped that the students could learn or acquire more language forms through a method which focuses on the learning process. If the students are ready and completely involved in their own learning, such as analyzing their own problems in writing, setting their own learning objectives to solve those particular problems, discussing their strengths and weaknesses in their writing with their friends, finding the best solutions to their own problems, being able to correct their own mistakes, and so on, the new knowledge acquired in this way will ideally be retained for a long period of time.

1.2.Research Questions

To address the objectives of the the research, the following research questions are formulated:

1. To what extent does the Problem Based learning (PBL) method effective to improve the second year students’ of SMA Negeri 5 Makassar achievement in English writing?

2. What are the students’ perceptions towards implementation of PBL method in learning english writing?

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5 1.3. Research Objectives

Based on the background above, there are two objectives of this study:

1. To find out whether or not the use of Problem Based Learning method effective to improve students achievement in English writing.

2. To explore students’ perceptions towards language learning through Problem Based Learning.

1.4.Limitations

Although this study is designed to integrate a Problem Based Learning method for the improvement of students’ writing in SMA Negeri 05 Makassar, there are two limitations:

1. This study is designed to integrate a Problem Based Learning for improving the writing of the students who study English as a foreign language. In this study, the Problem Based Learning only implemented in a single writing unit in the syllabus. This method could not be completely implemented for all unit since the english teacher in senior high school should teach the four skill (speaking, writing, reading, listening) for each meeting.

2. This study only conducted for four meetings. In the first meeting, the researcher conducted pre-test. The post-test conducted in the fourth meeting, while the implementation of PBL method only in the second and third meetings. Since the PBL method need more time to be implemented, the less of the meetings in this study might affect the result of students’

writing.

3. As has already mentioned, a teacher centred learning has been implemented in language teaching for many years, especially in teaching english writing. This affect the results of PBL implementation since one of important aspect of PBL is that the students should be autonomous learners. In other words, it can be said that the learning environment at english teaching at the class where the PBL implemented might be quite negative and will present some difficulties for both students and teachers.

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6 1.5.Significance of the study

This study is expected to give contributions to:

1. The English teachers of SMAN 5 Makassar

The findings of this research can hopefully be used as a reference to improve the quality of the English teaching and learning process.

2. The students of SMAN 5 Makassar

It is expected that this study is able to help the students drawing interests towards English and improving their writing skill.

3. The English education students of Hasanuddin University

The findings of the study can hopefully be used as a key guideliness for further research and studies in the implementation of problem based learning method in English Language Teaching, or in its development for curriculum design.