ABSTRACT
Widianingsih, Lucia Sekar. 2010. Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Dialogue Journals as Communication Media for the Tenth Grade Students of SMAN 1 Depok. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Communication between teacher and students is important in teaching-learning activities. However, to build communication is not an easy matter. Nowadays, education field recognizes an alternative way to build communication in the classroom which is named dialogue journals. They are journals which cover dialogues and responses between the teacher and the students. Recently, these media have been applied in second language classroom.
Since the researcher was interested in these media, she carried out the research about the students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals in learning English. When the researcher was conducting teaching practice in SMAN 1 Depok, she applied these media in her classes. This research investigated the students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals as communication media in SMAN 1 Depok. There were two research problems to be solved: (1) What are the perceptions of the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok on the use of dialogue journals as communication media? (2) What are the students’ suggestions to improve the implementation of dialogue journals?
The research participants were tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok in the academic year of 2008/2009. The researcher employed a survey research. She conducted the research by observing the students’ behaviors, distributing a questionnaire to two classes: class XB and class XF, and interviewing eight students.
The result of the research showed that the majority of the students perceived the use of dialogue journals positively. The students enjoyed the activities in writing dialogue journals. They admitted that they obtained many advantages by the implementation of dialogue journals such us they could convey their problems or opinions easily, they found solution to overcome their difficulty in learning, they improved their skills in English, and they became close to the teacher. The students suggested that dialogue journals should be implemented in all subjects and the time in writing dialogue journals is longer. They also recommended making the appearance of dialogue journals more interesting.
Based on the findings, the researcher suggested that it is better for English teachers to apply dialogue journals as communication media in their class. Yet, the use of dialogue journals should still be improved. The teacher should vary the guiding questions to attract students to write. Finally, the researcher suggested that further research be conducted on other aspects of dialogue journals. This thesis then can serve as the basis for it.
ABSTRAK
Widianingsih, Lucia Sekar. 2010. Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Dialogue Journals as Communication Media for the Tenth Grade Students of SMAN 1 Depok. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Komunikasi antara guru dan murid dalam aktifitas belajar dan mengajar adalah hal yang penting. Namun, membangun suatu komunikasi bukanlah hal yang mudah. Dunia pendidikan sekarang ini mengenal suatu media alternatif untuk membangun komunikasi antara siswa dan guru yang disebut dialogue journals. Media ini merupakan jurnal yang mencakup percakapan dan jawaban melalui tulisan antara guru dan murid-muridnya. Sekarang ini media dialogue journals telah banyak diterapkan di kelas bahasa kedua.
Tertarik akan media ini, peneliti melakukan penelitian tentang persepsi siswa terhadap penggunaan media dialogue journals. Saat melakukan praktek mengajar di SMAN 1 Depok, peneliti menerapkan media dialogue journals ini. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui persepsi siswa SMAN 1 Depok tentang penggunaan dialogue journal sebagai media komunikasi. Ada dua permasalahan yang harus dipecahkan: (1) Bagaimana persepsi siswa terhadap penggunaan dialogue journals sebagai media komunikasi untuk siswa kelas 1 SMAN 1 Depok? (2) Apa saran-saran siswa untuk mengembangkan penggunaan dialogue journals?
Peserta dari penelitian ini adalah siswa-siswi SMAN 1 Depok kelas 1 tahun akademik 2008/2009. Peneliti menggunakan metode survey yaitu yaitu dengan cara mengamati tingkah laku siswa, menyebar kuesioner di dua kelas; kelas XB dan kelas XF, dan juga mewawancarai beberapa siswa.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mayoritas siswa mempunyai persepsi positif terhadap penggunaan media dialogue journals. Para siswa menikmati aktifitas menulis dialogue journals. Mereka mengakui bahwa banyak keuntungan yang mereka dapat dari menulis dialogue journals seperti mereka dapat menyampaikan pendapat atau saran dengan lebih mudah, mereka mendapatkan solusi atas permasalahan belajar, kemampuan bahasa Inggris mereka meningkat, dan mereka menjadi dekat dengan guru. Para siswa member saran agar dialogue journals seharusnya diterapkan di semua pelajaran dan waktu untuk menulisnya diperpanjang. Mereka juga mengusulkan untuk membut bentuk fisik dari dialogue journals menjadi lebih menarik.
STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF DIALOGUE JOURNALS
AS COMMUNICATION MEDIA FOR THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS
OF SMAN 1 DEPOK
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Lucia Sekar Widianingsih Student Number: 051214017
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
God makes everything happen
at the right time.
Ecclesiates 3:11a
I dedicate this thesis to
My dear God,
my lovely mother, my brothers sisters,
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and references, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, February 23, 2010 The Writer
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Lucia Sekar Widianingsih
Nomor Mahasiswa : 05 121 4017
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF DIALOGUE JOURNALS AS COMMUNICATION MEDIA FOR THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS
OF SMAN 1 DEPOK
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta,
Pada tanggal: 23 Februari 2010 Yang menyatakan
ABSTRACT
Widianingsih, Lucia Sekar. 2010. Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Dialogue Journals as Communication Media for the Tenth Grade Students of SMAN 1 Depok. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Communication between teacher and students is important in teaching-learning activities. However, to build communication is not an easy matter. Nowadays, education field recognizes an alternative way to build communication in the classroom which is named dialogue journals. They are journals which cover dialogues and responses between the teacher and the students. Recently, these media have been applied in second language classroom.
Since the researcher was interested in these media, she carried out the research about the students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals in learning English. When the researcher was conducting teaching practice in SMAN 1 Depok, she applied these media in her classes. This research investigated the students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals as communication media in SMAN 1 Depok. There were two research problems to be solved: (1) What are the perceptions of the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok on the use of dialogue journals as communication media? (2) What are the students’ suggestions to improve the implementation of dialogue journals?
The research participants were tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok in the academic year of 2008/2009. The researcher employed a survey research. She conducted the research by observing the students’ behaviors, distributing a questionnaire to two classes: class XB and class XF, and interviewing eight students.
The result of the research showed that the majority of the students perceived the use of dialogue journals positively. The students enjoyed the activities in writing dialogue journals. They admitted that they obtained many advantages by the implementation of dialogue journals such us they could convey their problems or opinions easily, they found solution to overcome their difficulty in learning, they improved their skills in English, and they became close to the teacher. The students suggested that dialogue journals should be implemented in all subjects and the time in writing dialogue journals is longer. They also recommended making the appearance of dialogue journals more interesting.
Based on the findings, the researcher suggested that it is better for English teachers to apply dialogue journals as communication media in their class. Yet, the use of dialogue journals should still be improved. The teacher should vary the guiding questions to attract students to write. Finally, the researcher suggested that further research be conducted on other aspects of dialogue journals. This thesis then can serve as the basis for it.
ABSTRAK
Widianingsih, Lucia Sekar. 2010. Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Dialogue Journals as Communication Media for the Tenth Grade Students of SMAN 1 Depok. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Komunikasi antara guru dan murid dalam aktifitas belajar dan mengajar adalah hal yang penting. Namun, membangun suatu komunikasi bukanlah hal yang mudah. Dunia pendidikan sekarang ini mengenal suatu media alternatif untuk membangun komunikasi antara siswa dan guru yang disebut dialogue journals. Media ini merupakan jurnal yang mencakup percakapan dan jawaban melalui tulisan antara guru dan murid-muridnya. Sekarang ini media dialogue journals telah banyak diterapkan di kelas bahasa kedua.
Tertarik akan media ini, peneliti melakukan penelitian tentang persepsi siswa terhadap penggunaan media dialogue journals. Saat melakukan praktek mengajar di SMAN 1 Depok, peneliti menerapkan media dialogue journals ini. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui persepsi siswa SMAN 1 Depok tentang penggunaan dialogue journal sebagai media komunikasi. Ada dua permasalahan yang harus dipecahkan: (1) Bagaimana persepsi siswa terhadap penggunaan dialogue journals sebagai media komunikasi untuk siswa kelas 1 SMAN 1 Depok? (2) Apa saran-saran siswa untuk mengembangkan penggunaan dialogue journals?
Peserta dari penelitian ini adalah siswa-siswi SMAN 1 Depok kelas 1 tahun akademik 2008/2009. Peneliti menggunakan metode survey yaitu yaitu dengan cara mengamati tingkah laku siswa, menyebar kuesioner di dua kelas; kelas XB dan kelas XF, dan juga mewawancarai beberapa siswa.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mayoritas siswa mempunyai persepsi positif terhadap penggunaan media dialogue journals. Para siswa menikmati aktifitas menulis dialogue journals. Mereka mengakui bahwa banyak keuntungan yang mereka dapat dari menulis dialogue journals seperti mereka dapat menyampaikan pendapat atau saran dengan lebih mudah, mereka mendapatkan solusi atas permasalahan belajar, kemampuan bahasa Inggris mereka meningkat, dan mereka menjadi dekat dengan guru. Para siswa member saran agar dialogue journals seharusnya diterapkan di semua pelajaran dan waktu untuk menulisnya diperpanjang. Mereka juga mengusulkan untuk membut bentuk fisik dari dialogue journals menjadi lebih menarik.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ for everything He had given to me. He accompanied me during the process of finishing my thesis. He gave me strength and spirit to keep on trying whenever I felt weak. Without Him, I could not finish my thesis.
I would like to thank my sponsor, Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd., for her guidance, patience, time, support, and advice from the beginning to the end of this thesis. Her suggestions, comments, and corrections for my thesis really helped me to finish it.
I would like to thank Riswiyanto Mp., S.Pd., the headmaster of SMAN 1 Depok, Yogyakarta for the permission to conduct the research in the school. I would also like to thank Dra. Wahyu Srinuryati for helping me in obtaining the data of the research. I would also thank all of the students of class XB and class XF of SMAN 1 Depok of 2008/2009, for all of their remarkable willingness in being my respondents and giving me valuable information for the sake of this thesis.
I would like to express my gratitude to my parents especially my mother Ibu Fr. Sri Yuniarti, my brothers, my sisters for their love, prayer, support and encouragement so that I could finish my thesis.
Further, I would like to thank all my great friends: Linda, Helen, and Dee for having good relationship from the beginning of the study. I would also like to thank all friends in PBI 2005 especially in class A: Intan, Putri, Devi, Phia, Ririth, Siska, Ayik, Bondan, Andre, Fidel, Pepy, Sedik, Bety, Ganis,
Lia,Wahyu, Listyan, Lita, Ezra, Tere, and Ike for all tremendous moments, teamwork, and friendship we shared during the study.
I would like to thank my boarding house friends: Agnes, Maria, Monik, Hari, and Mb Sisil for being my place to share and for the friendship, support, inspiration, smiles and laughter to warm my heart. I will not forget all memorable events we spent in our boarding house.
Finally, I would like to thank anyone who has helped in finishing this thesis but whose names could not be mentioned here. I believe that God always blesses them all.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE………. APPROVAL PAGES………. DEDICATION PAGE ……….. STATEMENT OF WORK'S ORIGINALITY ………. LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS...
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION………..
A. Research Background ………...
B. Problem Formulation ………
C. Problem Limitation ………...
D. Research Objectives ……….
E. Research Benefits ……….
F. Definition of Terms ………..
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……….... A. Theoretical Description ………
1. Perceptions………. 2. Dialogue Journals in Educational Context………... 3. The Importance of Communication in Learning Process……….
B. Theoretical Framework ………
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY………..
A. Research Method ………..
B. Research Participants ………
C. Research Instruments ………
D. Data Gathering Technique ……… E. Data Analysis Technique ………..
F. Research Procedure ………..
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION …………... A. Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Dialogue Journals as Communication
Media……….
1. Data Presentation Based on the Observation of Students’ Behaviors during the Implementation of Dialogue Journals ………... 2. Data Presentation Based on the Questionnaire……….……... a. The Result of Closed-ended Questions ………. b. The Result of Open-ended Questions ……… 3. Data Presentation Based on the Interview……….. B. Students’ Suggestions on the Implementation of Dialogue Journals...…….
1. Students’ Suggestions on the Implementation of Dialogue Journals Based on the Questionnaire……….………. 2. Students’ Suggestions on the Implementation of Dialogue Journals
Based on the Interview….……….……….
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ………..
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Table 4.1 Students’ Perceptions on Positive Implication of Dialogue Journals Table 4.2 Students’ Perceptions on the Implication of Dialogue Journals
Related to English Skills
Page 42
LIST OF FIGURES
Table
Figure 1 The Perceptual Process ……… Figure 2 Students’ Responses to “I Liked the Implementation of Dialogue
Journals in the Learning Process” ……….. Figure 3 Students’ Responses to “I Wrote My Academic Problem or My
Difficulty in Learning Through Dialogue Journals”………... Figure 4 Students’ Responses to “Dialogue Journals Created Good
Communication Between Students and Teacher” ……….. Figure 5 Students’ Responses to “Dialogue Journals Helped Me to Convey
My Problem or My Difficulty in Learning” ………... Figure 6 Students’ Responses to “Dialogue Journals Became Communication
Media to Convey Suggestion to the Teacher” ………... Figure 7 Students’ Responses to “Teacher’s Reply in Dialogue Journals
Motivated Me in Learning” ……… Page
10
34
35
37
38
39
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix Page
APPENDIX A Permission Letters
1. Permission Letter from English Language Education 59
Study Program 2. Permission Letter from BAPPEDA 60
APPENDIX B Surat Keterangan Penelitian 62
APPENDIX C Sample of Dialogue Journals 64
APPENDIX D The Questionnaire Blueprint 69
APPENDIX E Research Instruments 1. Observation Checklist 72
2. The Questionnaire 73
3. The Interview guide 77
APPENDIX F Sample of Completed Research Instruments 1. Sample of Completed Observation Checklists 79
2. Sample of Completed Questionnaire 81
APPENDIX G Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Responses to the Closed-ended Questions 90
APPENDIX H Students’ Answers to Open-ended Questions 96
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This study investigates the students’ perceptions on the implementation of dialogue journals to the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok. The chapter presents six sections, namely background of the study, problem formulation, problem limitation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms.
A. Research Background
During the development in education field, the conception of the role of teacher is changing. Traditional teaching views that a teacher is the only source of information in learning whereas students become passive receiver (Gerlach and Ely, 1980: 5). However, nowadays a teacher is not only a giver of information but also a facilitator of learning. A teacher is not the only one who gives contribution in the learning process, yet the students also have role in it. Therefore, in teaching-learning process, communication between teacher and learners is absolutely required.
difficulties or their problems. Moreover, affectivism theory views that a learner is not only a thinking being but also an emotional being. Thus, there is a need for a teacher to learn about other affective factors of students such as their interest, their experiences, and their problems in following the learning. Therefore, a good communication between teacher and students is totally needed in the classroom.
To build a good communication in the classroom is not an easy matter. Many teachers often do not open a good communication with their learners that makes learners shy and afraid to share their problems. Moreover, every learner has individual differences to other learners that influence their personality. Consequently, it creates only one way communication; from a teacher to his students. The lack of communication, therefore, becomes a big problem in the process of teaching-learning activities.
motivate students and answer students’ questions. Dialogue journals use writing as a means of communication between each student and the teacher (Staton, 1987). Thus, it also habituates the students in writing.
The following is one of the examples of dialogue journal:
Question : Do you like English? Why?
A student : Yes, because English is interesting and English is international language.
Question : How is teaching learning activity today?
A Student : Teaching learning activities today is very interesting for me Teacher’s response: It’s good Faris (name of the student). I’m glad to know that you like English. I’m also happy that you enjoy my activities. Then, if you have questions or difficulties in learning English, don’t be shy to ask me. Ok. ☺
Keep your spirit Faris..!
This example of dialogue journals reflects student’s sharing in giving his response to teaching-learning activity that becomes feedback for the teacher. Moreover, through these media, a teacher is able to give his students some motivations and spirit in learning personally which really encourage them in learning.
Due to this reason, the writer, who was conducting teaching practice, started implementing dialogue journals in her classrooms.
This study is then aimed to find out students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals of the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok and to present suggestions which can contribute to the improvement of the implementation of dialogue journals.
B. Problem Formulation
The research problems can be formulated as follows:
1. What are the perceptions of the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok on the use of dialogue journals in their class?
2. What are the students’ suggestions to improve the implementation of dialogue journals?
C. Problem Limitation
The use of dialogue journals of the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok may lead the students to have various perceptions on it. This research is focused on two things, namely, the students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals as communication media for the tenth grade students, and finding out and presenting some suggestions for the improvement of the implementation of dialogue journals in learning English subject.
2008/2009 academic year of SMAN 1 Depok because the researcher has implemented dialogue journals in their classes. The researcher has chosen two classes to be researched.
D. Research Objectives
The objectives of this research are as follows:
1. To know and find out the tenth grade students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals of SMAN 1 Depok.
2. To obtain the students’ suggestions for the improvement of the implementation of dialogue journals.
E. Research Benefits
The findings of the research hopefully will be beneficial for English teachers of SMAN 1 Depok and English teachers in general, and other researchers who are interested in conducting research about dialogue journals.
1. English Teachers
contribution to improve their teaching-learning activities especially in building a good communication to students.
2. Other researchers
This research hopefully will be beneficial for other researchers who would like to conduct similar research and interested in the implementation of dialogue journals. They can use this research as their reference.
F. Definition of Terms
Below are the terms which need to be defined in order to avoid misunderstanding. They are:
1. Perceptions
According to Kreitner and Kinicky (1992: 126), perception is a mental and cognitive process that makes people interpret and understand their surroundings. Perception is also defined as the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data that is considered as important process in helping people define their world (Cook, Hunsaker, and Coffey, 1997: 150). In this study, perceptions refer to how the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok perceive the implementation of dialogue journals in their learning English in the classroom.
2. Dialogue Journals
in the learning. Hence, the teacher also allows students to write any kinds of topic they want to share.
3. Communication media
According to Encyclopedia of Educational Research (1969: 1191), media refers to various audio and/or visual communications technologies which are commonly used by educators. Thus, the term “communication”, according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2001: 361), is the process in
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter is intended to review some theories related to the issue of the study and to formulate the theoretical framework. Therefore, the researcher divides this chapter into two major sub-headings namely theoretical description and theoretical framework. The theoretical description provides the theoretical issues related to perceptions, dialogue journals, and the importance of communication whereas the theoretical framework explains the thread of the theories to formulate the orientation of the study.
A.Theoretical Description
There are three main areas discussed in the study namely, perceptions, dialogue journals in educational context, and the importance of communication. The discussions of those three issues are based on previous literature and researches.
1. Perceptions
a. Definition of Perceptions
The understanding of the perceptions can be derived from some experts. According to Kreitner and Kinicky (1992: 126), “perception is a mental cognitive process that makes people interpret and understand their surrounding.” Borger and Seaborne (1966: 105) add that perception is “an awareness of the environment, through which a person processes incoming sensory data in a certain way to arrive at useful impression of his surrounding.” Huffman and Vernoy (1997: 79) argue that “perception refers to the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data into useful mental representation of the world. Meanwhile, Cook, Hunsaker, and Coffey (1997: 150) state that “perception is an important process that covers the selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory data which help people to define their world and influence their behavior”.
According to Vygotsky (1978: 33), “perception is a dynamic system of behavior which is always changing”. Warga (1983: 207) adds that perceptions begin with a stimulus which creates sensation. Hence, Warga explains that perceptions are influenced by people’ past experience.
b. Perceptual Process on Learning
Figure 1 shows how the perception process occurs.
Figure 1. The Perceptual Process (Altman, Hodgett, and Valenzi, 1985: 86)
From the perception process shown in Figure 1, it is seen that perception comes from the stimuli. According to Warga (1983: 207), stimuli are forms of physical energy that strike the sensory receptors. The stimuli then are selected in the brain and the brain interprets as a sensation. Combinations of sensations are translated into meaning. The results of the meaningful information of the translation are then called perception. Furthermore, the perception, organization, and interpretation of stimuli create behavioral responses. It means that if someone has positive perception toward something, he will respond it with positive behavior. Therefore, for students, if they have positive perception toward the English subject, they will create positive behavior on it.
In teaching-learning activities, students have their perceptions about the subjects they learn. Their perceptions are formed by the stimuli that come from the environment, in this case the classroom. Thus, the perceptions they have will influence their behavior toward the learning. Biggs (1992) as cited by Astutiningsih (2006: 11) states that perception on learning deal with belief about knowledge which influences students’ approaches to learning. Biggs also argues that there is a system that relates the concepts with the environment which is
called interactive system. The system is called interactive because the concept as the stimuli interacts with the environment. This system has three components; those are presage, process, and product or learning outcome.
Presage is a factor that includes students’ belief about knowledge and learning conception. Presage also covers learning context, such as teachers and school attributes, and also students’ understanding about knowledge. The examples of presage according to Biggs (1989) as cited by Astutiningsih (2006: 12) are educational practices, students’ preparations, approaches to learning, and changes to assessment product.
The second component is process. Process is a factor that includes students’ perceptions on learning environment and specific learning strategies that they experience in learning tasks (Biggs as cited by Astutiningsih, 2006: 12). This factor is related to the atmosphere of learning that teacher creates in the classroom. An example of process is the process how students learn the target materials during English teaching-learning activities.
The third component is product. Product or learning outcome is influenced by the learning strategies applied in the classroom. It means that students can have good learning outcome if the learning strategies applied are suitable for them. It then makes them have positive perception on the learning. Therefore, it can be said that students’ perceptions on English learning is tightly influenced by the implementation of English teaching-learning activities.
implementation that build students’ perceptions. Those are (1) how the teacher teaches the students, (2) what the teacher wants students to learn, (3) how the students learn in class, (4) what the students learn, and (5) what the purposes of learning the language are.
According to Vygotsky (1978: 33), perception of someone is always changing. It means that he can make changes in his behaviors overtime through its process. For example, at first a student does not like English subject because he considers it as a difficult subject. However, after he finds some interesting activities that he likes, he then changes his perception about English subject. This perception is influenced by those five elements.
2. Dialogue Journals in Educational Context
This part presents the review of literature about definition of dialogue journals and the implementation of dialogue journals in educational context. Definition of dialogue journals explains about what dialogue journals are. The implementation of dialogue journals in educational context describe the background on the use of dialogue journals in education field.
a. Definition of Dialogue Journals
Dialogue journal is an open-ended journal which allows students write anything covering reflection, comments, and even questions and the teacher writes back regularly, responding to students’ comment and questions (Peyton, 1993 and Brown, 2004: 270). Szeto (2009) as cited in http://classroom-activities.suite101.com/article.cfm/dialogue_journals_help_improve_writing adds that dialogue journals are interactive writing which provides students the opportunity to improve their writing skills and give students freedom to choose their own topics. Szeto also explains that dialogue journals provide a place for the teacher to respond privately to questions and comments from the students. In this place, teacher can include motivation words to give students reinforcement. Staton (1987) as cited in http://www.ericdigest.org/pre-926/journals.htm states that “a dialogue journal is a bound composition book in which each student carries on a private written conversation with the teacher for an extended period of time.” Though dialogue journals is one of the alternative assessments that is tightly related to evaluation, Staton argues that dialogue journals are functional and interactive that are mostly about self-generated topics about the continuing life of the classroom.
b. The Implementation of Dialogue Journals in Educational Context
become better acquainted with their students, in terms of both their learning progress and their affective states, and thus become better equipped to meet students’ individual needs”. Furthermore, Staton (1987) as cited in http://www.ericdigest.org/pre-926/journals.htm adds that dialogue journals are developed over years to meet several needs which are to know students better, to obtain feedback on lessons, to improve classroom discipline, and to involve each student in meaningful reading and writing.
In the dialogue journal, students are also required to monitor and evaluate their understanding. In other words, it involves students’ self-assessment. Many researchers state that self-assessment encourages students’ motivation and promotes their autonomy and independent learning skills even self-assessment is the best formative assessment and the most rewarded among other assessments (Brown, 2004: 276). This idea is supported by Bartelo, Birkitt, and Davis (1990: 3), who state that dialogue journals make students have “response ability” to the teaching situation and responsibility about their progress of learning. Staton (1987) also agrees that dialogue journals help students to learn how to manage their own actions. It can be said that dialogue journals reflect reflective learning.
According to Peyton (1993), the use of dialogue journal in the classroom becomes a bridge of communication between a teacher and students especially students who learn English as a second language.
purposeful ways and provides a natural, comfortable bridge to other kinds of writing. (Peyton, 1993 as cited in http://www.cal.org/resources/Digest/peyton01.html)
It explains that dialogue journals become media between teacher and students in building communication in the classroom. The implementation of dialogue journals is not included in the core of teaching-learning activities, yet they support the learning process. Staton (1987) clarifies that dialogue journals create a one-to one relationship between students and teacher in both academic and personal sides. Through the journals, teachers may discuss about the students’ culture and language, problem adjusting to the new culture, school procedures, and personal interests (Peyton, 1993). It means that dialogue journals allow students to write any kinds of topic to share to their teacher. Peyton also adds that the focus of dialogue journal is on meaning of the writing rather than the form. Therefore, a teacher will not correct his students’ writing but try to obtain the message of the writing.
3. The Importance of Communication in Learning Process
becomes people’s need in social and cultural experiences. There is no person who is unaffected by communication.
In teaching-learning process, communication between a teacher and students is very important. Furthermore, Howell (1979: 148) argues that learning is, at heart, the expression of communication. It means that in learning, communication holds an important role. However, according to Good and Brophy (1984: 24), based on their research, teachers monopolize communication in the classroom. Their findings suggested that teachers dominate classroom discussion, even though they sometimes do not want and may not be aware that they behave that way. According to Howell (1979: 148), there are two types of communication in the classroom environment. The first type is verbal-auditory mode of communication. This type places the teacher as the focus of giving the information to the students. The second type is a duality of participation. This type combines the efforts of learning between the teacher and students in learning. Therefore, based on Good and Brophy’s research findings (1984: 24), many teachers still conduct verbal-auditory mode in the classroom.
Therefore, as the control of the classroom, the teacher should build up two-way communication with the students and facilitate them to send their ideas and to share to the teacher.
B.Theoretical Framework
Perceptions are significant factor in learning. Perceptions are built by the stimuli from the environment. The perception which is created will give influence to someone’s behaviors. Similarly, in classroom, students’ perceptions about something will also influence their behaviors on their learning process. If the students have positive perception, it can lead students to have positive behaviors. On the other hand, if the students have negative perception, it can lead them to have negative behaviors.
The implementation of dialogue journals is the stimulant to create perceptions. Dialogue journals are journals which cover written conversation in which students can write any kinds of topics and the teacher responds to them. Dialogue journals in educational context become media to build communication between teacher and students. It is important regarding that communication between teacher and students is a core of teaching-learning process. A good communication should be a two-way communication where teacher can send the message to the students and gives facility to the students to send their opinions or their problems.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the method and information on how this study was conducted. The discussion is presented into six major parts, namely research method, research participants, research instruments, data gathering technique, data analysis technique, and the research procedure.
A. Research Method
This research was descriptive research. According to Borg (1963: 202), the major purpose of descriptive research in education is to tell “what is.” Although the major function of descriptive studies in education is directed to “what is”, many surveys go further than a description. Best (1970: 116) also explains that descriptive research deals with prevailing opinion, knowledge, practices, or conditions. It is designed to estimate the degree of achievement of a large number of individuals involve educational and environmental influences.
B. Research Participants
The participants of this research were the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok of the 2008/2009 academic year who had experienced dialogue journals in their classes. The participants for the questionnaire were all students who came from two different classes, class XB and class XF. The total students of those two classes was seventy two students. However, when the research was conducted on 25th and 26th June 2009, the number of the students was not the same as it was planned because there were five students who were absent. Therefore, the total respondents for the questionnaire were sixty seven students. For the interview, the researcher took eight students as the interviewees; four students from class XB and four students from class XF. In choosing the eight interviewees, the researcher considered their responses in their questionnaire in order to know further because this interview was aimed to support the questionnaire result.
C. Research Instruments
The researcher used three instruments in obtaining the data, namely observation checklists, a questionnaire, and an interview guide.
1. Observation checklists
dialogue journals, the researcher conducted the observation. This observation was participant observation, for the researcher actively participates in the class which was observed. In the observation sheet, the researcher already wrote eleven characteristics of students’ behaviors which were divided in two aspects. The first aspect was focused on students’ behavior before writing dialogue journals. The second aspect was focused on students’ behavior during writing dialogue journals. Thus, the results of the observations were written in the form of paragraphs. 2. Questionnaire
The second instrument that the researcher used was a questionnaire. According to Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh (2002: 418), a questionnaire is an instrument of the study to gather information through the respondents’ written responses to a list of questions. In this study, the researcher used combination between closed-ended and open-ended questionnaires.
Hence, on the open questionnaire, there were eight questions which were provided. The first question was asking about respondents’ opinion about the implementation of dialogue journals. The second question was inquiring about positive effects that students feel from dialogue journals, whereas the third question was asking the negative effects. The fourth question was digging out about the improving of English skills that students experience through dialogue journals. The fifth question was asking about the physical appearance of dialogue journals whereas the sixth question was asking about the process then the seventh question was about the content of dialogue journals. Thus, the last question was asking about other aspects which are going to be included in dialogue journals. 3. Interview
D. Data Gathering Technique
The researcher collected data by using three research instruments. The first was observation checklist. The researcher used the observation checklist during the implementation of dialogue journals in two classes of the tenth grade of SMAN 1 Depok. The observations were taken in three weeks, where two observation checklists each week since there were two classes observed.
The next research instrument was a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed for two classes in one meeting. Respondents of the questionnaire were students of the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Depok of the 2008/2009 academic year of class XB and class XF. The resulted data of questionnaire would be presented in the form of paragraphs.
In gaining deeper data of students’ perceptions, the researcher conducted an interview. The interviewees were eight students who were taken from two different classes. In this case, four students were taken from each class as the interviewees. The interview was aimed to find out further information about students’ opinion on the use of dialogue journals and to find out the evaluations and suggestions for the implementation of dialogue journals. The interview was conducted individually and in an informal situation in order to create a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere for the students.
E. Data Analysis Technique
dialogue journals in two different classes. All data about students’ behaviors that appeared in observation checklists would be summarized and written in paragraphs to describe the process of the implementation of dialogue journals.
The second step was analyzing the results of the questionnaire. The data collected from questionnaire were recapitulated in the form of table. There were four choices of responses to the statement on the questionnaire as follows; 1 was strongly disagree, 2 for disagree, 3 for agree, and 4 for strongly disagree. Then, the researcher counted the percentage of each response. The researcher made the interpretation of the results in the form of written paragraphs. The next step was classifying the results of the open-ended questionnaire. Then, the researcher also transcribed the results of the interview and classified it. The last step was interpreting the results of the interview. In interpreting the interview transcript, the researcher was careful and used mindful interpretation since the results of the interview cannot be concluded by the number of statements.
F. Research Procedure
Sleman. Then, the researcher had a meeting with a teacher who would help the researcher to arrange the appropriate schedule to gain the research data.
The next step was the researcher distributed the questionnaire to all participants from the two classes, class XB and class XF. Then, the researcher conducted the interview to eight students who also filled in the questionnaire in order to cross-check the data from the questionnaire. Four students were taken from each class. In choosing the interviewees, the researcher considered their responses in the questionnaire in order to know further since this interview was aimed to support the questionnaire result.
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents the findings of the research. This research was conducted to find out the students’ perceptions on the use of dialogue journals as communication media in learning English and students’ suggestions to improve the implementation of the dialogue journals. The findings were divided into two parts. They were part A, which explained the students’ perceptions and part B, which explained the students’ suggestions.
A. Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Dialogue Journals as Communication
Media
The data were obtained through three instruments. They were observation checklists, a questionnaire, and an interview. Each instrument would be analyzed separately. These three instruments were aimed to find out the students’ perceptions of SMAN 1 Depok on the use of dialogue journals.
1. Data Presentation Based on the Observation of Students’ Behaviors
during the Implementation of Dialogue Journals
on Part 2, the researcher observed students’ behaviours during writing dialogue journals.
The first observation was done on March 21st, 2009 in class XB. The total number of present students was thirty-four. This was the first implementation of dialogue journals in this class. Before distributing the dialogue journals, the teacher, who also conducted as the researcher, explained first about dialogue journals. Then, the teacher wrote some questions to be answered by the students on their dialogue journals. The questions were related to their feeling during the teaching-learning process and about students’ difficulty on the English subject. The teacher also allowed the students to write any kinds of topics that they wanted to share.
Since this was the first implementation of dialogue journals, all students’ behaviours before writing dialogue journals were not observed yet. Nevertheless, the researcher observed that the students were not reluctant to write the journal. In Part 2, the researcher observed that they were active in discussing the topic or the questions to their friends. The researcher also observed that when the students were confused about vocabulary, they were active in asking either their friends or the teacher even there were some students who looked up their dictionary to help them in writing the journal. However, the researcher also observed there were some students who were lazy in writing the journal.
then observe the students’ behaviours before writing journal. The researcher found that the students wanted to know further about the teacher’s comments in their journal by asking questions. They were also not reluctant when they were asked to write. During writing dialogue journals, the researcher observed that the students were still enthusiastic in writing. They were also busy discussing the topic with their friend. When they found difficult words, they asked their friend or and looked up the words in their dictionary. In this second observation, the researcher did not find students who were lazy in writing journal.
The fourth observation of class XB was conducted on April 25th, 2009. The total number of present students was thirty-six; there was no student absent. The same as the previous week, before students wrote the journal, they read first the teacher’s comments. The researcher observed that this fourth observation was similar to the third. Students seemed enthusiastic when the journal was returned. They were eager to know what the teacher’s comment is in their journal. Then, they were also enthusiastic when the teacher asked them to write. During the writing, the researcher observed that the class was active though it was a little bit noisy. Some students were discussing about the questions and some students were busy to ask the teacher about the vocabulary. The researcher in this week also did not find students who were lazy to write the dialogue journals.
were active in discussing the topic to their friends. They were also active in asking either their friends or the teacher about the difficult vocabulary they wanted to write. Yet, the researcher also found some boys who were lazy to write the journal.
The second observation in class XF was conducted on April 14th, 2009. The total number of present students was thirty-four. This was the second implementation of dialogue journals in class XF. Similar to the previous week, as teacher, the researcher gave some questions to answer. Besides, she allowed students to write anything after they answered the questions. In the first part, there were two behaviours that were observed. The students looked enthusiastic when the journal was returned. Then, the students were not reluctant to write the next journal.
Observing the second part, the researcher found that the students were still enthusiastic in writing the journal. The class was a little bit noisy since some students were discussing the questions and asking about the meaning of words. There were also some students who consulted their dictionary to find the English words. Some students also asked the teacher but the teacher often asked them to open the dictionary first. In this week, the researcher did not find students who were lazy to write the journal.
further about teacher’s comments on their journal. The students were also not reluctant when they were asked to write journal for the third time.
In the second part, the researcher found similar behaviours to previous week. The students looked enthusiastic in writing the journal. They were still active in discussing the topic and asking their friends about the difficult vocabulary. Some students were busy with their dictionary to find the words and there was no one who was lazy writing the journal.
Based on the observation in two classes above, there was information that could be analyzed and concluded. The information from the observation focused on the students’ behaviors since from the students’ behaviors, the researcher could see what the students’ perceptions was. Below was the analysis.
The students’ behaviours before writing were considered positive. They looked enthusiastic when dialogue journals were returned. The students also wanted to know further about the teacher’s comments written in their journal by asking to the teacher about the meaning of the teacher’s writing. They also did not moan when they were asked to write the next journal instead they looked enjoyable writing it.
From the analysis above, the researcher obtained some conclusions. First, the tenth year students of SMAN 1 Depok received the implementation of dialogue journals in their English class well. Second, they enjoyed writing dialogue journals as communication media to their teacher. Third, the students liked the implementation of dialogue journals since they showed positive behaviors on the use of dialogue journals in their class.
Based on the theory from Cook, Hunsaker, and Coffey (1997: 150), perception help people to define the world and influence their behaviour. It can be said that if students have positive perception, it will lead them to have positive behaviour. Therefore, based on the observation, the tenth year students of SMAN 1 Depok had positive perception because they have positive behaviors toward the implementation of dialogue journals in their class.
2. Data Presentation Based on the Questionnaire
The researcher distributed the questionnaire in class XB on June 25th, 2009. There were thirty-six sheets of questionnaire that were distributed. There was no student who was absent. In class XF, the researcher distributed thirty-one sheets of questionnaire. The total students of class XF actually were thirty-six. However, there were five students who were absent. Thus, the total of respondents from two classes was sixty-seven students.
a. The Result of Closed-ended Questions
responses to each statement of closed-ended questionnaire were presented in the form of data frequency and data percentage that could be seen in Appendix G. There were seventeen statements with four numbers of values that the students should choose. They are 1 for strongly disagree (SD), 2 for disagree (D), 3 for agree (A), and 4 for strongly agree (SA).
In closed-ended questionnaire, the statements were divided into two parts. The first part, Part A, was perceptions on the process of implementation of dialogue journals. Part A covered eight statements. The data which were obtained showed that the students’ perceptions on the process of dialogue journals were positive. All the data of frequency and percentage of Part A could be seen in Appendix G.
The first statement of Part A showed that all of the respondents understood what dialogue journals were. Out of sixty-seven respondents, more than half of the respondents (82,09%) did agree that they understand what dialogue journals were, while the rest of the participant (17,91%) strongly agreed. All the respondents understood about dialogue journals because before the implementation, the teacher explained first about the use of dialogue journals.
dialogue journals. It showed that most respondents gave positive responses toward the implementation of dialogue journals.
Figure 2 Students’ Responses to “I Liked the Implementation of Dialogue Journals in the Learning Process”
Warga (1983: 207) as stated in chapter two, states that perception is built from a stimulus. The stimuli that come from the environment create sensation. Then, that sensation is translated into meaning. That meaning then becomes perception. In the implementation of dialogue journals, writing dialogue journals becomes the stimuli. The students created their meaning toward dialogue journals. Their meaning then leads to the perceptions. If someone has positive perception, he can express that he feels happy or he likes a thing. In contrast, if he has negative perception, he will feel unhappy or he dislikes a thing.
agreed and two students or 17,91% who strongly agreed. This data showed that most of students did not face any difficulty in writing dialogue journals. There were only few students who faced difficulty in writing dialogue journals.
Figure 3 Students’ Responses to “I Wrote My Academic Problem or My Difficulty in Learning Through Dialogue Journals”
Furthermore, in writing dialogue journals, most students wrote about their academic problems or their difficulties on learning as shown in Figure 3. Out of sixty-seven students, fifty-one students or 76,12% who agreed and twelve students or 17,91% who strongly agreed that they wrote academic problems through dialogue journals. There were only four students or 5,97% who disagreed that they wrote academic problem in dialogue journals.
respondents, twenty eight students or 41,79% disagreed that they wrote their personal problem or non academic problem in the dialogue journals.
Most respondents also wrote their reflection on learning in the dialogue journals. It was proved by the result that out of sixty-seven respondents, fifty respondents or 74,63% agreed and nine students or 13,43% strongly agreed that they wrote their reflection on learning in the dialogue journals. The rest of the respondents, eight students or 11,94% disagreed that they wrote their reflection in learning in the dialogue journals.
Most respondents wrote suggestions or comments to the teacher about the learning process in the dialogue journals. Out of sixty-seven respondents, forty-seven respondents or 70,15% agreed and fourteen students or 20,89% strongly agreed that they wrote suggestions or comments about the learning process to the teacher in the dialogue journals. The other respondents, six respondents or 8,96%, disagreed that they wrote suggestions or comments about the learning process to the teacher in the dialogue journals.
Most respondents felt that they always obtained the reply of their writing in the dialogue journals. Out of sixty-seven respondents, thirty-five respondents or 52,24% agreed and thirty-one respondents or 46,27% strongly agreed that they always obtained the reply of their writing. Then, there was only one student or 1,49% who disagreed that he always obtained the reply of their writing.
implication of dialogue journals were positive. The students’ responses of Part B were completely shown in Appendix G.
There were some evidences that showed students’ perceptions on the implication of the implementation of dialogue journals in the learning process were positive. The students’ responses to the ninth statement were positive because all students agreed that dialogue journals created good communication between students and teacher. It was shown in Figure 4 that out of sixty-students, thirty-four students or 50,75% agreed and thirty-three students or 49,25% strongly agreed to the statement “Dialogue journals created good communication between students and teacher.”
50,75% 49,25%
Agree
Strongly Agree
Figure 4 Students’ Responses to “Dialogue Journals Created Good Communication between Students and Teacher”
68,66% 28,36%
2,98%
Agree
Strongly Agree
Disagree
Figure 5 Students’ Responses to “Dialogue Journals Helped Me to Convey My Problem or My Difficulty in Learning”
The students’ responses to the eleventh statement were positive. Most students agreed that dialogue journals helped them to convey their problem or difficulty on learning. Figure 5 showed that out of sixty-seven students, forty-six students or 68,66% agreed and nineteen students or 28,36% strongly agreed that dialogue journals become media to convey their academic problem or difficulty in learning. The rest, two students or 2,98% stated that they disagreed to the statement.
The students’ responses to the twelfth statement were positive. Most of students agreed to the statement “Dialogue journals is appropriate media to help my difficulty on learning.” There were fourty-eight students or 71,64% who agreed and seventeen students or 25,37% who strongly agreed to the statement, while the rest, two students or 2,98% disagreed to the statement.
and seventeen students or 25,37% strongly agreed to the statement. Then, there was only one student or 1,49% who disagreed to the statement.
73,13% 25,37% 1,49%
Agree Strongly Agree Disagree
Figure 6 Students’ Responses to “Dialogue Journals Became Communication Media to Convey Suggestion to the Teacher”
Next, the students’ responses to the fourteenth statement were positive. Most students agreed to the statement “Dialogue journals practice me to write in English.” It was proved by the result that showed forty-three students or 64,18% agreed and twenty-three students or 34,33% strongly agreed to the statement. The rest, there was only one student or 1,49% who disagreed to the statement.
67,16% 29,85%
2,98%
Agree
S trongly Agree D is agree
Figure 7 Students’ Responses to “Teacher’s Reply in Dialogue Journals Motivated Me in Learning”
More, the students’ responses to sixth statement were positive. Figure 7 showed that most of students agreed teacher’s reply in dialogue journals motivated them on learning. Out of sixty-seven students, forty-five students or 67,16% agreed and twenty students or 29,85% strongly agreed that teacher’s reply in dialogue journals motivated them in learning. There were only two students or 2,98% who disagreed that teacher’s reply in dialogue journals motivated them in learning.
b. The Result of Open-ended Questions
There were eight questions in the open-ended questions part. The first four questions were related to the students’ perceptions on the implementation of dialogue journals and the next four questions were asking about their suggestions. The open-ended questions were made to dig out further information from the students to support the data in the closed-ended questions. This part provided the opportunity for the students to write based on their experience.
Based on the data obtained from the first question, students’ answers varied. It can be seen in Appendix H. However, all respondents wrote positively about the implementation of dialogue journals. Many students stated that dialogue journals were very good media to build good communication between teacher and students. Further, dialogue journals facilitated the students to share their opinions about the learning to the teacher. Other students argued that dialogue journals were helpful in solving their problems both in academic and non-academic problems. Then, students experienced that through dialogue journals, they acquainted well the teacher. Moreover, other students also stated that dialogue journals gave them motivation to learn English better.
Table 4.1
Students’ Perceptions on Positive Implication of Dialogue Journals
Question Answers
Dialogue journals create good communication and closer relationship between students and the teacher
Dialogue journals help students to solve their problems academically and non academically and give motivation to learn better
What are positive things that you feel by the implementation of dialogue journals in your class?
Dialogue journals make students better in writing and reading in English
Table 4.1 shows that students felt positive implication of the implementation dialogue journals. They experienced that through dialogue journals they could find the solution from the teacher’s comments about their problem in learning. They also felt that dialogue journals made them close to the teacher and it made them communicate with their teacher easily. Furthermore, they felt dialogue journals gave them motivation. In teaching learning process, communication plays important role. Howell (1979: 148) even states that learning is, at heart, the expression of communication. Therefore, through dialogue journals, the teacher facilitated students in building communication with the teacher. As a result, students responded to the implementation of dialogue journals positively.
Based on the data obtained from the fourth question, it can be inferred that all students experienced that through dialogue journals, they felt improved in learning English. It showed by the presented data of table 4.2.
Table 4.2
Students’ Perceptions on the Implication of Dialogue Journals Related to English Skills
Question Answers
Vocabulary Writing Reading
The use of grammar The use of words Are there English skills that you feel
improved because of dialogue journals?
Ability in translating
Most students wrote that by the implementation of dialogue journals, they could enrich their vocabulary in English. Then, they also stated that dialogue journals helped them in practicing writing that related to the ability in arranging sentences, the use of grammar, and the use of words (diction). Other students argued that their reading also improved because of dialogue journals. These data showed that the implementation of dialogue journals did not merely give positive implication on communication, yet they could also help students to improve their English skills.
3. Data Presentation Based on the Interview
create a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere for the students. The researcher asked eight guiding questions that cover three aspects. There were process, implication, and suggestion. This part would report the process and the implication.
The first question asked about students’ perceptions on the implementation of dialogue journals in learning English. All interviewees stated that they agreed and supported the implementation of dialogue journals in learning English subject. They stated that through dialogue journals they could deliver their opinion to the teacher and it also helped them in practice writing in English. One of them shared:
In my opinion, I do agree to the implementation of dialogue journals. We are able to write our feeling in English and we can also learn English through the dialogue journals.
(R5, Interview Result)
The second question asked about the difficulty the students’ find in writing dialogue journals. Seven students stated that they faced difficulty in the vocabulary and in arranging the words into sentences since they were written in English. While one student claimed she did not find any difficulties in writing dialogue journals. Though many students found difficulty in vocabulary, they could overcome it by consulting the dictionary or by asking their friends.
argued that through dialogue journals, they would not be shy in delivering their feeling or their opinion to the teacher. One of them shared:
Yes, because if the student is shy in the class, he will be quiet, but in dialogue journals, he can write anything... Share his feeling and his difficulty in learning.
(R5, Interview Result)
The fourth question asked about positive implication from dialogue journals that students obtained. The students claimed that they obtained positive implications from dialogue journals in both academic side and personal side. Academically, the students felt that through dialogue journals, they could improve their skill in English especially in vocabulary and writing. One of them shared:
... We are able to arrange good sentences and we can enrich our vocabulary. Then, the relation with the teacher is closer. In the class, we are only silent if we do not understand about the material but in dialogue journals, we are forced to write so it makes us close to the teacher.
(R2, Interview Result)
Furthermore, students personally also felt that dialogue journals gave them motivation in improving their learning. One of them shared:
...It becomes motivation for us and... we could know... improve our learning if we do not study.
(R1, Interview Result)
reply gave them solution. However, the teacher’s reply could not give all the solution to overcome their problems in learning. They thought that it was not optimal yet.
The sixth question asked the students further whether the teacher’s reply in dialogue journals gave them motivation on learning. All the interviewees agreed that the teacher’s reply in dialogue journals gave them motivation in learning. One of them shared:
The teacher’s writing besides giving suggestion to the students also giving motivation words to the students. So, the students are motivated by the teacher’s writing in dialogue journals.
(R1, Interview Result)
The seventh question asked about implication of dialogue journals on the improvement of English skills. All interviewees stated that they experienced some improvements in their English especially in writing and vocabulary. Moreover, there were two interviewees who stated that dialogue journals also helped them in reading and speaking. One of them shared:
...Writing, reading, speaking. All skills alhamdulilah were improved though it was not so significant but I felt it improved because of dialogue journals…
(R5, Interview Result)
B. Students’ Suggestions on the Implementation of Dialogue Journals
students to give any comments and suggestions toward the implementation of dialogue journals.
1. Students’ Suggestions on the Implementation of Dialogue Journals based
on the Questionnaire
In open-ended questions, there were four questions that asked about students’ suggestions about the implementation of dialogue journals. The first question was asking about the physical feature of dialogue journals. Based on the data which were obtained, most of students thought that the physical feature of dialogue journals was interesting with their colourful paper. Nevertheless, some students gave suggestions that dialogue journals should be bound tightly so they would not easily detach. Further, there were thirteen students who argued that the cover of dialogue journals was not interesting yet. They suggested that there should be more colourful picture of the cover of dialogue journals to make them more interesting. Moreover, there were some students that suggested that it would be better if the students made their own dialogue journals and they thought it would show their creativity
should be added since they experienced that they wanted to write a lot but the time was limited. Furthermore, some students suggested that dialogue journals should be implemented every day or in every subject because they felt that they found difficulty not only in English but also in other subjects. These students’ suggestions showed that they enjoyed writing dialogue journals for they obtain positive implication from it. Therefore, they suggested adding the time in writing dialogue journals even they suggested that dialogue journals should be implemented in every subject.
The third question was asking about the content of dialogue journals. Most students stated that the content of dialogue journals had covered all aspects since students were also allowed to write any kinds of topic that they wanted to share either academic problem or non-academic problem. There were only two students who stated that the contents of dialogue journals were not maximal yet. They thought that the teacher should add the guiding questions in the dialogue journals
