STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD GRAMMAR
TEACHING: INDEPENDENT AND INTEGRATED
GRAMMAR TEACHING METHODS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
RATNA WINDHI ARSARI
112013005
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD GRAMMAR
TEACHING: INDEPENDENT AND INTEGRATED
GRAMMAR TEACHING METHODS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
RATNA WINDHI ARSARI
112013005
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text.
Copyright @ 2017:
Ratna Windhi Arsari and Dr. Elisabet Titik Murtisari, M.TransStud.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English Language Education Program, Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE ... i
PERNYATAAN TIDAK PLAGIAT ... ii
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN AKSES ... iii
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ... iv
APPROVAL PAGE ... v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... vi-vii LIST OF TABLES ... viii
LIST OF FIGURES ... ix
ABSTRACT ... 1
INTRODUCTION ... 1-3 LITERATURE REVIEW ... 3-9 A. Defining Grammar ... 4
A.1 Independent Grammar Delivery ... 4-6 A.2 Integrated Grammar Delivery ... 6-8 B. Defining Attitudes ... 8
C. Previous Studies on Students’ Attitudes toward Grammar Teaching ... 9
A. Context of the Study ... 10-11
B. Participants ... 11
C. Instrument of Data Collection ... 11
D. Data Collection Procedure ... 12
E. Data Analysis Procedure ... 12
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Independent grammar delivery perceived effectiveness ... 14
Table 2. Integrated grammar delivery perceived effectiveness ... 16
Table 3. The effectiveness of independent grammar delivery for rules
application ... 18
Table 4. The effectiveness of integrated grammar delivery for rules
application ... 19
Table 5. The effectiveness of independent grammar delivery for developing
language skills ... 20
Table 6. The effectiveness of integrated grammar delivery for developing
language skill ... 21
Table 7. Stimulation level of independent grammar delivery ... 23
Table 8. Stimulation level of integrated grammar delivery ... 24
Table 9. Learning preferences and learning grammar at sentence level in
independent grammar courses ... 26
Table 10. Learning preferences and learning grammar at discourse level in
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Preferences regarding type of short texts used in independent grammar courses ... 27
Figure 2. Preferences regarding type of texts used in integrated grammar
courses ... 30
STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD GRAMMAR TEACHING: grammar) courses. Taking this into account, this study investigates students’ attitudes and preferences regarding the independent and integrated grammar teaching methods. The study was conducted in the English Language Education program of the Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga. 110 questionnaires were distributed to students of batch 2013 and 2015 of the English Language Education program. The data was analyzed and categorized based on three main themes comprising Perceived Effectiveness, Stimulation Level, and Preference. The study found that the independent method was perceived as more effective to help enhance the participants’ understanding of meanings, language accuracy, and language competence. It was also believed to help the participants with the application of grammar rules better. Meanwhile, related to rules understanding and language skills development, the integrated method was seen to be more useful. In regards to stimulation level, both batches found integrated grammar delivery to be more interesting, motivating, and helpful to build their confidence in speaking English. However, the participants considered both the independent and integrated methods to be applicable for their grammar learning since both methods would complete each other’s weaknesses.
Key Words: attitude, preference, independent grammar delivery, integrated grammar delivery
Introduction
or explicitly is useful to help learners attain “maximum understanding”. This is done through exercises in order to plant the knowledge in the learners’ minds so that they can easily refer to that during communicative tasks. Therefore, explicit explanation is somehow important to promote the learners’ grammar learning betterment. Nevertheless, Spada et al. (2014) affirmed that teaching grammar separately does not solely refer to drills, repetition, presentations, and practices of grammar points. They acknowledged that “it is sometimes necessary to draw learners’ attention to form separately from but not to the exclusion of communicatively-based practice” (p. 456). On account of the idea, Spada et al. (2014) admitted the importance of teaching grammar in isolation, but also did not want to limit the practice of communicatively-based activities.
However, giving the rules directly may only be necessary when the students have not gained sufficient knowledge of the target language (Krashen, 1982; cited in Şik, 2015, p. 2142). Taking it into account, the integrated method is seen as a more effective alternative to teaching grammar which can make the learning become more meaningful. Mitchell (2000), as cited in Borg & Burns (2008), believed that grammar teaching should be inserted to or followed by “meaning-oriented activities and tasks, which give immediate opportunities for practice and use”. That way, learners are given the opportunity to figure out the
I feel intrigued to investigate the students’ disposition regarding this issue of whether grammar should be taught as an independent or integrated course. Therefore, the purpose of my study is to find which kind of grammar teaching methods is favored by the students and is helpful for their grammar learning. This study can be used as a communication device between the students and lecturers regarding the students’ grammar learning preferences. It can also be used as a
feedback for the lecturers to improve or modify their methods of grammar teaching.
Literature Review
When the students show a positive response toward the teaching method, there is a chance that they will gain new and more knowledge of English language grammar. It means that attitudes are responsible for the learners’ language “growth or decay, restoration or destruction” (Hohenthal, n.d.). Therefore, the teachers should be more aware of the students’ responses toward the delivery of grammar teaching as they may influence the students’ grammar learning outcomes.
linguistic and experiential contexts of the grammatical features being taught (p. 108). This means that the materials taught should resemble the real-world matters. In order to understand further what grammar and attitude are, this section also reviews literatures to provide clearer pictures about grammar and attitude. It includes some relevant studies regarding students’ attitudes toward grammar teaching as well.
A. Defining Grammar
Pontarolo (2013) stated that the analysis or study of grammar has been deep rooted since the ancient Greek. According to her, the Greeks themselves claimed grammar as “rules that govern the production of texts” (p. 42). Almost the same, Bade (2008), as cited in Pontarolo (2013), defined it as “the structure of a language, a set of rules that shows changes in words and the way they connect together to form new units” (p. 43). Meanwhile, Duso (2007), as mentioned in Pontarolo (2013), asserted that grammar does not solely govern how words should be combined to produce well-structured texts but also to communicate. From those definitions, it can be concluded that grammar refers to rules of combining words to create well-formed texts. Thus, grammar is one significant aspect of language learning that the learners should be exposed to.
A.1 Independent Grammar Delivery
use to address this kind of teaching. Long (1991), as stated in Spada and Lightbown (2008), defined focus on forms as a teaching where teachers teach the language features based on certain guidelines, which have been arranged in such a way to know which features should be taught first before another (p. 185). This means that the materials are already put in a certain order where the easiest material is usually taught at the beginning of the lesson; it is usually written in a form of a syllabus.
Regarding the benefit, independent grammar delivery is somehow beneficial to help students gain understanding in certain grammatical aspects which have higher levels of complexity. Therefore, Ling (2015) proposed that explaining the rules explicitly may help the students gain a more profound understanding of the grammar items which has strong influence to the participants’
entire language learning. This will give the students the opportunity to enhance their grammatical awareness and competence to produce comprehensible utterances and texts. Ellis (2004), as cited in Tamayo (2012), strengthened the idea by arguing that learning grammar by focusing on forms may help the students attain grammatical accuracy (p. 1).
Through this method, the teacher can also help the learners obtain explicit grammar knowledge through “the practice of error correction”, which is useful for
somehow acceptable to say that explicit knowledge may have an important role in supporting the students’ grammatical competence improvement.
However, giving and explaining rules only are not enough and can be less motivating. Interactive activities may still be needed as an attempt to encourage students’ participation in the classroom. That is why Raimes (2002), as cited in Spada and Lightbown (2008), was concerned that the students will be less motivated if the lesson only focuses on forms and gives little attention to interactive and communicative activities (p. 191). Therefore, some scholars may prefer that grammar course should be integrated into interactive and communicative tasks.
A.2 Integrated Grammar Delivery
Integrating grammar teaching into other (non-grammar) courses may also benefit the participants in relation to their language skills development. Cowan (2009), as cited in Spada et al. (2014), stated that each skill is actually connected to one another that neither grammar, vocabulary, nor should reading be taught separately (p. 2). Ling (2015) also shared the same view that this kind of teaching will give the students the chance to understand better “the relationship between the semantics and function and context by incorporating the discourse into the context” (p. 557).
Through this method, the teacher may also promote the growth of the implicit grammar knowledge of the learners. In language learning, the implicit knowledge may contribute in developing the learners’ communicative skills (Widodo, 2006, p.125). Different from the explicit knowledge, this knowledge is acquired rather than learned. In his study, Widodo (2006) explained that “implicit knowledge is gained through sub-conscious learning process” (p. 125-126). Here, sub-conscious learning process happens when the teacher helps the students figure out the structures or rules through communicative tasks. Therefore, the learners are expected to be able to think in an analytical way to be able to gain implicit knowledge.
557). In other words, this method may be more applicable for teaching students with higher level of English competence.
B. Defining Attitudes
According to Allport (1935), as cited in Schwarzz & Bohner (2001), the word attitude refers to "a mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive and dynamic influence upon the individual's response to all objects and situations with which it is related". Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word into several definitions. One of them implies “attitude” as “an organismic state of readiness to respond in a
characteristic way to a stimulus (as an object, concept, or situation)”. The
definitions above show that attitudes somehow concern with a person’s responses
regarding an idea, belief or entity.
According to Lambert (1967), as cited in Hohenthal (n.d.), attitudes consist of three components, which are cognitive, affective, and conative components. Gardner (1985), as mentioned in Hohenthal (n.d), further explained the differences between each of those components. He stated that “the cognitive component refers to an individual’s belief structure, the affective to emotional reactions, and the conative component comprehends the tendency to behave in a certain way [...]”. Therefore, a student’s response may differ one from another depending on their opinions and preferences. That is why it is important to take in mind the students’ grammar learning preferences since learning requires both
C. Previous Studies on Students’ Attitudes toward Grammar Teaching
Studies that investigate EFL/ESL students’ attitudes toward grammar teaching have been long conducted and resulted in various findings. For example, a study conducted by Pazaver and Wang in 2009 came to the conclusion that it would be better for teachers to limit the practice of grammar instruction. For data collection purpose, they interviewed 16 immigrant students who were taking an ESL course at a Canadian university. Two of the participants stated that learning the rules only was not sufficient because students had to be given the chance to apply these rules to promote fluency. Another participant claimed that too much focus on grammar instruction might not have been useful for his intended field of work.
Meanwhile, a study conducted by Shahzadi and Janjua (2016), with 100 participants who studied ESL at University of Education Multan Campus, showed a positive response toward the independent method. The participants believed that independent grammar courses could help them become competent and confident English users. Shahzadi and Janjua (2016) also stated that the participants’ views on this matter were still influenced by the society’s belief that if a person could speak proper English, he or she was often considered well-educated. Here, society’s view toward English also became another consideration for the
The Study
A. Context of the Study
The study is part of an umbrella research entitled “Students’ and Teachers’ Attitudes towards Grammar Teaching Delivery: Independent or Integrated?” led by Dr. E.T. Murtisari (Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana). This study was conducted at Faculty of Language and Arts of Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga, Central Java. There are two English programs offered by the faculty, which are English Language Education and English Literature. Focusing on the English Language Education program, independent grammar courses used to be highlighted. This was proven by a number of courses available such as Basic Grammar, Intermediate Grammar, Advanced Grammar, and Integrated Course (IC), the latter being actually the integration of grammar and other language skills (e.g. reading and writing).
Due to the changing of curriculum in 2014, some courses had fewer credits than they used to be. For example, Basic Grammar and Intermediate Grammar were once worth for 4 credits. Now, they are only worth for 2 credits. Some courses were even removed such as Advanced Grammar and IC. From this, it is seen that less attention is given to grammar. Many lecturers consider that grammar will eventually develop as the students develop their English skills (e.g. writing, reading, and listening). Therefore, grammar courses started to be integrated into other courses that put more emphasis on the content and context.
1. What are the attitudes of students of the English Language Education program toward the delivery of grammar teaching in the faculty?
What are the students’ opinions on independent grammar course? What are the students’ opinions on integrated grammar course? 2. Which methods are preferred by the students – independent or integrated? B. Participants
There were 110 participants involved in the study. They were students whose major was in English Language Education. The participants came from two different groups of students. They were students of batch 2013 who used the old curriculum and those of batch 2015 who used the new one. Through cluster sampling method, 55 people had been chosen from each batch to fill in the prepared questionnaires.
C. Instruments of Data Collection
Questionnaires, each consisting of 36 closed-ended questions and 3 open-ended questions, were distributed to the participants. The items were developed by the team and partially adapted from Azad’s study in 2013 regarding teachers’ attitude toward grammar teaching in relation with EFL, which involved 30 EFL teachers from Bangladesh University. Although Azad’s study did not focus on the students’ attitude, some of the questionnaire items were adaptable to be included
D. Data Collection Procedure
The data was collected through cluster sampling method. I entered 5 different classes to distribute the questionnaires that had been developed and arranged to answer the research questions. Structured questionnaires were used to make sure that the participants could provide relevant answers to the proposed research questions.
E. Data Analysis Procedure
The collected data was analyzed through quantitative analysis of the questionnaires. For the analysis of the closed-ended questions, I categorized the participants’ answers into 4 categories – strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree. Then, their responses from each of the categories were calculated to find the most stand-out category. Meanwhile, for the open-ended question, I used coding to analyze the participants’ answers and highlighted ideas that occurred frequently in the participants’ explanations.
Findings and Discussion
This section discusses and presents the results of data analysis of the questionnaires. The gathered data were put into categories asked in the research questions, which are attitudes and preferences. Then, it was categorized into three main themes – Perceived Effectiveness, Stimulation Level, and Preference.
participants’ responses in terms of: 1) understanding of meanings; 2) the use of
explicit and implicit explanation; 3) grammar accuracy; 4) grammar competence; 5) rules understanding and application in communicative settings; 6) language skills. Meanwhile, Stimulation Level section discussed the effectiveness of both methods for motivating the participants to learn grammar in depth. This was determined according to the participants’ responses on their interests and motivation levels to learn grammar using either one of the methods. This section also reviewed the participants’ responses on whether the independent or integrated method could help develop the participants’ confidence in speaking. Preferences, then, showed the participants’ choices concerning learning preferences and types of text they would like to use in independent and integrated grammar courses.
A. Students’ Attitudes toward Independent and Integrated Grammar Delivery
A.1 Perceived Effectiveness
Table 1 summarizes the participants’ responses in terms of how effective
Table 1
referring to the rules directly is easier.
Then, with 98% participants of each batch endorsing S2, most of the participants agreed that grammar would be easily learned when teachers explained the rules explicitly. With reference to explicit explanation of the rules, teaching the rules explicitly can help the students gain explicit “knowledge [which may] facilitate[s] the intake and development of implicit language which is useful to monitor the language output” (Widodo, 2006 p.125).
After that, it was followed by the idea that independent grammar delivery could help improve the participants’ English competence (S5) and accuracy (S3). However, a less response was given to the idea that explicit explanation of the rules help increase their grammatical competence (S4). Even so, the response given to S4 was still high. It may imply that learning the rules explicitly would eventually improve the participants’ grammatical competence.
Table 2
2 Learning grammar will be easier if the teacher gives the students the opportunity to figure out the rules by themselves.
2013 4% 56% 60% 38% 2% 40%
2015 14.5% 54.5% 69% 31% - 31%
3 Learning grammar through an
integrated grammar course figure out the rules by myself.
Hereafter, the participants agreed that the integrated method can supports their English competence development significantly (S5), and that implicit explanation could help develop their grammatical competence (S4). The least response was given to the idea that learning grammar would be easier if the students were given the chance to figure out the rules by themselves (S2).
While it is true that the results indicated in Table 2 were somehow high, the results shown in Table 1 were much higher. This indicates that the participants tended to perceive independent grammar delivery to be more effective to facilitate the students’ understanding of meanings, language accuracy, and language competence. Through the independent method, a simple and clear explanation of the rules or forms can be given or drawn out from examples (Widodo, 2006, p. 127). Therefore, the possibility of the students gaining more understanding and developing English competence will likely happen. Correspondingly, Ellis (2004), as cited in Tamayo (2012), claimed that learning grammar by focusing on form can help the students attain grammatical accuracy (p. 1).
A.1.1 Rules Application
Table 3
The Effectiveness of Independent Grammar Delivery for Rules Application
No Statements Batch SA A Tot SD D Tot strongest tendency to choose the independent method to help them apply the rules in communication (S7). There were 91% of 2013 students and 94% of 2015 students who agreed with S7. It is in line with Tamayo’s (2012) research finding which found that explicit explanation of grammar points in independent grammar courses helps the students apply and identify the rules in communicative contexts. Next, a less response was given to the idea that independent grammar delivery could help the participants understand the rules used in communicative settings. It is seen through the total percentage of the participants who agreed with S6 which were 84% (2013) and 94% (2015).
grammar delivery to be useful for understanding how the rules are used in communication settings. A more detailed data is presented in Table 4.
Table 4
The Effectiveness of Integrated Grammar Delivery for Rules Application
With 94.5% of 2013 students and 93% of 2015 students agreed with Q6, and 87% of 2013 students and 96% of 2015 students agreed with S7, it indicated that the integrated method is believed to be more effective to help the participants understand the rules in communicative settings. Ling (2015) has supported this notion by stating that implicit explanation of grammar support a better understanding of “the relationship between the semantics and function and context by incorporating the discourse into the context” (p. 557).
A.1.2 Impact on Language Skills
through the percentages of those who agreed which were high. Table 5 summarizes the findings in detail.
Table 5
The Effectiveness of Independent Grammar Delivery for Developing Language Skills S11 (writing skill) and S10 (reading skill). With 94% of 2013 students and 98% of 2015 students agreed with S11, it revealed that the independent method was perceived to be much more effective for improving the participants’ writing skill. Next, there were 76% of 2013 students and 80% of 2015 students agreed with S10 which indicated that the independent method was believed to help increase the participants’ reading skill. This was immediately followed by the finding that 71%
weakest response was given to S8 (listening skill), which were 47.5% (2013) and 67% (2015)
Concerning the use of the integrated method to improve language skills, a much more positive response was gathered from the participants. In other words, this may indicate that integrated grammar delivery can cater the students’
language skills development better. Table 6 is used to provide detailed information regarding the participants’ responses.
Table 6
were 96% of 2013 students and 91% of 2015 students agreed with S11 and 87% of 2013 students and 85% of 2015 students agreed with S10. After that, it was followed by S9 (speaking skill) with 84% of 2013 students and 85.5% of 2015 students responding agree. Finally, the least response was given to S8 (listening skill) with 74% of 2013 students and 71% of 2015 students agreeing on it.
Comparing the results presented in Table 5 and 6, the findings confirmed that the independent method was still highly favored in terms of writing skills development. However, the overall results indicated that the integrated method was regarded as more effective for improving the participants’ language skills. Based on Cowan’s (2009) statement, as cited in Spada et al. (2014), each skill is actually connected to one another that neither grammar, vocabulary, nor should reading be taught separately (p. 2).
A.2 Stimulation Level
Table 7
Stimulation Level of Independent Grammar Delivery
are related to the participants’ interest. The poorest response was shown in regards
to reviewing what they have learned in independent grammar courses (S15). In the light of the integrated method, the participants held a strong positive response toward the stimulation level of the method. Compared to the independent method, the integrated method was seen to be more stimulating to promote the students’ interest, motivation, and confidence. Table 8 sums up the participants’ response regarding the matter.
Table 8
Stimulation Level of Integrated Grammar Delivery
As presented in Table 8, with 85% of 2013 students and 93% of 2015 students agreed with S16, the participants gave the strongest response to the idea that integrated grammar delivery could help stimulate their confidence in speaking. These were a bit higher than the response on S16 in Table 7, which were 80% (2013) and 89% (2015). In support of the idea, Widodo (2006) asserted that one of the ways to help students build self-confidence in using the language communicatively is by getting the students to put it into practice and the teacher “implicitly directs” the students toward the complete form (p. 132).
The second strongest response was given in regards to the participants’
grammar learning motivation. With 80% of 2013 students and 87% of 2015 students agreed with S14, the integrated method was perceived to be motivating. If the lesson put too much emphasis on forms Raimes (2002), as cited in Spada and Lightbown (2008), concerned that the students will likely be demotivated if the lesson only focuses on learning grammar points or rules without any interactive and communicative activities (p. 191). The same strong response was also shown in S13 (interest), and was followed by S12 (boredom). The least response was given to the idea of reviewing what the participants have learned from integrated grammar courses (S15).
A.3 Learning Preference
For the most part, the results demonstrated that the participants tended to hold a positive view toward the ideas. The data percentage is presented as below.
Table 9
Learning Preferences and Learning Grammar at Sentence Level in Independent Grammar Courses preferred to learn grammar explicitly. In addition, with 71% of 2013 students and 76% of 2015 students agreed with S18, they also showed a fairly positive response in regards to learning grammar at sentence level.
Conversation Texts (4-5 lines). Table 9 presents the participants’ choice of short texts.
Figure 1. 2013 and 2015 students’ preferences regarding type of short texts used in independent grammar courses
From Figure 1, it can be seen that the highest percentage was given to Short Conversation Texts (4-5 lines), which were 33% (2013) and 35% (2015). The participants further explained their answers that by using short conversation texts they could focus on both learning the grammar points and identifying the contexts of occurrence of those grammar points. This may be due to the nature of the text itself. This idea is in accordance to Mickan’s (n.d.) statement that the students are accustomed to “language used in texts, whether as spoken dialogues
or reading blogs” (p. 18).
given to Sentences with 18% of 2013 students and 29% of 2015 students selecting it. After that, the participants gave a much less response to Very Short Conversation Texts (no more than 3 lines), which are 9% (2013) and 13% (2015). The least response was given to Phrase with only 5% of 2013 students and 4% of 2015 students choosing it.
Proceeding to the discussion on the participants’ learning preferences and learning grammar using longer texts (at discourse level) in integrated grammar course, the findings conveyed that the participants tended to hold a much less positive response compared to the ones in Table 9. The results are summarized in Table 10.
Table 10.
students and 73% of 2015 students). Meanwhile, a less strong response was given to S18. There were only 69% of 2013 students and 63% of 2015 students who agreed with S18.
The fact that higher percentages were shown in Table 9 can be interpreted that both batches preferred to learn grammar explicitly. Widodo (2006) stated that it can make the learning become efficient and more organized in terms of rules presentation (p.128). The findings also revealed that more participants preferred to learn grammar at sentence level.
Furthermore, I had gathered the information related to type of long texts the participants would prefer to use when they learned grammar at discourse level. The texts were divided into 6 types including Very Short Conversation Texts (no more than 3 lines), Short Conversation Texts (4-5 lines), Medium Length Conversation Texts (6-8 lines), Short Paragraphs (no more than 5 lines), Medium Length Paragraphs (6-8 lines), and Long Paragraphs (more than 8 lines).
Figure 2. Preferences regarding type of texts used in integrated grammar courses
It is seen in Figure 2 that the most favored type of text was Short Conversation Texts (4-5 lines) with 22% of 2013 students and 24% of 2015 students selecting it. The participants clarified that through short conversation texts, real contexts were presented which could help them apply the rules in real-world dialog settings. In support to that, Nunan (1998) in his article called Teaching Grammar in Context states that when learners are exposed to authentic materials, they are also exposed to a range of different linguistic and experiential contexts of the grammatical features being taught (p. 108). They also stated that 4-5 lines conversation texts were just right (convenient) – neither too short nor too long.
(22% of 2013 students and 16% of 2015 students). The participants choosing Medium Length Paragraphs (6-8 lines) was getting fewer with 13% of 2013 students and 15% of 2015 students selecting it. A much fewer response was given to Long Paragraph (more than 8 lines). There were only 15% of 2013 students and 11% of 2015 students choosing it. At last, the participants gave a very poor response toward the use of Very Short Conversation Texts (no more than 3 lines) with only 7% of 2013 students participants and 9% of students selecting.
B. Students’ Preferred Grammar Teaching Methods
This section was written according to the result of the open-ended questions analysis. The findings gathered conveyed that the participants were actually more in favor of the use of both methods. However, if they had to choose one, the results indicated that the participants would tend to prefer the use of the independent method. Figure 3 is used to sum up the results in details.
According to Figure 3, most of the participants strongly preferred the use of both methods: independent and integrated methods. The participants believed that using both of the methods would be better since they could cover each other’s weaknesses. They further stated that using both methods could also cater most of the students’ grammar learning in the classroom considering learners’ different
learning styles. Ling (2015) seemed to have the same view toward the idea. She states that independent and integrated grammar delivery do not contradict to each other, but they actually complete each other in terms of various materials, settings, and the students’ current level of language competence. Therefore, using both
methods may be the best alternative that the teacher can use to teach grammar. This is shown through the number of participants choosing both of the methods, which was 47% (2013) and 40% (2015).
method will make the learning become efficient and more organized in terms of rules presentation (p.128). A high response from 2015 students toward the method may also be related to the fact that they actually did not spend much time to learn independent grammar course in the classroom due to the changing of the curriculum that led to the removal of some grammar courses and reduction of grammar courses credits. Therefore, it somehow triggered them to develop a higher desire to be more exposed to grammar (rules).
Finally, a very poor response was given to “None of the methods” with only one person or 2% of the participants answering it. The participants explained that both methods would only be effective when learners had already reached a certain level of grammar competence. Therefore, he proposed a phrase-clause-sentence-paragraph method to help learners learn grammar step-by-step, from phrase level to paragraph or discourse level.
Conclusion
Concerning both methods’ stimulation level, integrated grammar delivery was found to be more interesting and motivating. The study also found that 2013 students had less desire to review what they had learned in both independent and integrated courses than 2015 students. Related to the participants’ confidence to speak English, integrated grammar delivery was perceived to be more stimulating for building the participants’ confidence.
Answering the question about the participants’ preference on grammar teaching delivery, it was found that explicit explanation of grammar rules was more preferred. The participants were also in favor of learning grammar at sentence level. Regarding the type of texts used in independent and integrated grammar courses, the participants preferred the use of Short Conversation Texts (4-5 lines). Last but not least, the data gathered from the open-ended questions indicated that the use of both methods was more preferred to support the participants’ grammar learning.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly, I am deeply grateful to Jesus Christ who has been blessing me with strength and perseverance to endure such a long process of writing and studying. Indeed, the faithful God He is. My most sincere gratitude goes to Ibu Titik and Ibu Gita for being my thesis supervisor and examiner. I am very thankful for the ideas, suggestions, and comments, which were so valuable for the betterment of my thesis. Moreover, I would like to thank them for every second of their time that they had poured into reading and commenting this finally-fine-piece-of-work.
Likewise, I am forever grateful for:
1. Both of my parents, Minarso and Sri Lestari, 2. My one and only sister, Rut Arsari Christy, 3. My granny Soepijati
4. Mbah Anik and Sahlan
who had been very supportive – mentally and financially – during the process of finishing the thesis and my study at the university. I love you with heaven’s love.
I am also grateful for my Mbak-mbak Rohani aka Laura Salvadora and Elisa Noventia Prastiwi for all the pep talks and coffee times. I cannot imagine a life at university without you. I shall thank Dea ‘Meme’ Devina also, who has provided a considerable amount of mental support and kept me entertained.
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APPENDIX
KUESIONER
Nama saya Ratna Windhi Arsari. Sekarang saya sedang dalam proses penyelesaian thesis mengenai sikap mahasiswa terhadap pengajaran grammar di Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni, UKSW. Maka dari itu, saya memohon kesediaan teman-teman untuk membantu saya dengan memberi penilaian jawaban pada beberapa pernyataan yang sudah disediakan di dalam kolom. Jawablah dengan sejujur-jujurnya berdasarkan opini dan pengalaman teman-teman selama belajar
grammar di PBI, UKSW. Jawaban teman-teman tidak akan berpengaruh pada nilai mata kuliah.
Keterangan:
SS : Sangat setuju TS : Tidak setuju
S : Setuju STS : Sangat tidak setuju
A. Jawab dengan memberi tanda centang () pada salah satu kolom.
Mata kuliah independent grammar: mata kuliah grammar yang berfokus pada pengajaran bentuk-bentuk gramatika secara eksplisit dan diajarkan terpisah dari ketrampilan bahasa (skill) yang lain. Contoh: Basic Grammar, Intermediate Grammar, dan Advanced Grammar.
No. Pernyataan
Jawaban
SS S TS STS
1
diajarkan.
2
Belajar grammar menjadi lebih mudah ketika guru menunjukan aturan (rules) dari suatu struktur bahasa secara langsung.
3
Mata kuliah independent grammar sangat membantu saya dalam meningkatkan ketepatan/akurasi
berbahasa saya.
4
Belajar grammar dengan merujuk kepada aturan (rules) yang diberikan sangat membantu
meningkatkan kemampuan grammar saya.
5
Mata kuliah independent grammar sangat membantu meningkatkan kompetensi Bahasa Inggris saya.
6
Mata kuliah independent grammar sangat membantu saya untuk memahami suatu struktur grammar dalam konteks komunikasi.
7
Mata kuliah independent grammar sangat membantu saya dalam mengaplikasikan struktur ke dalam pemakaian bahasa Inggris saya di luar kelas
grammar.
8
Mata kuliah independent grammar sangat membantu meningkatkan kemampuan mendengar saya.
9
10
Mata kuliah independent grammar sangat membantu meningkatkan kemampuan membaca saya.
11
Mata kuliah independent grammar sangat membantu meningkatkan kemampuan menulis saya.
12
Belajar grammar melalui mata kuliah independent grammar adalah kegiatan yang membosankan bagi saya.
13
Belajar grammar melalui mata kuliah independent grammar adalah kegiatan yang menarik bagi saya.
14
Mata kuliah independent grammar memotivasi saya untuk belajar grammar lebih mendalam.
15
Saya meluangkan lebih banyak waktu belajar grammar di luar kelas untuk mengulang pelajaran grammar yang diajarkan mata kuliah independent grammar.
16
Mata kuliah independent grammar membantu saya menjadi pengguna Bahasa Inggris yang percaya diri.
17
Saya lebih suka ketika guru menunjukan aturan grammar (rules) terlebih dahulu.
18
Saya lebih suka melatih kemampuan grammar saya melalui teks pendek.
□ frasa (di bawah kalimat)
□ kalimat
□ percakapan sangat pendek (tidak lebih dari 3 baris)
□ percakapan pendek (4-5 baris)
□ paragraf pendek (tidak lebih dari 5 baris)
Alasan :
___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ________________________
B. Jawab dengan memberi tanda centang () pada salah satu kolom.
Pengajaran grammar bisa dilakukan secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain, misalnya melalui mata kuliah Integrated Course atau melalui
skill courses seperti dalam mata kuliah menulis (seperti Narrative Writing), membaca, berbicara, dan menyimak.
No. Pernyataan
Tanggapan
SS S TS STS
1
diajarkan.
2
Belajar grammar menjadi lebih mudah ketika guru memberikan saya kesempatan untuk menemukan sendiri aturan penyusunan (rules) suatu bentuk gramatika.
3
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain sangat membantu saya dalam meningkatkan ketepatan/akurasi berbahasa saya.
4
Kemampuan grammar saya meningkat ketika guru memberikan saya kesempatan untuk menemukan sendiri aturan penyusunan (rules) suatu bentuk bahasa.
5
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain sangat membantu meningkatkan kompetensi Bahasa Inggris saya.
6
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain sangat membantu saya untuk memahami bagaimana suatu struktur digunakan dalam konteks komunikasi.
7
grammar.
8
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain sangat membantu meningkatkan kemampuan mendengar saya.
9
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain sangat membantu saya meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara saya.
10
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain sangat membantu saya meningkatkan kemampuan membaca saya.
11
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain sangat membantu meningkatkan kemampuan menulis saya.
12
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan
ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain adalah kegiatan yang membosankan bagi saya.
13
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan
ketrampilan bahasa (skill) lain adalah kegiatan yang menarik bagi saya.
14
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa lain memotivasi saya untuk belajar grammar lebih mendalam.
grammar di luar kelas untuk mengulang pelajaran
grammar yang diajarkan secara terintegrasi dengan mata kuliah lain.
16
Belajar grammar secara terintegrasi dengan ketrampilan bahasa lain membantu saya menjadi pengguna Bahasa Inggris yang percaya diri.
17
Saya lebih suka ketika guru memberikan
kesempatan bagi saya untuk menemukan sendiri aturan penggunaan (rules) suatu kalimat melalui kegiatan komunikatif.
18
Saya lebih suka melatih kemampuan grammar saya pada tingkat wacana (di atas kalimat misal
percakapan atau paragraf).
Jika Anda menjawab sangat setuju atau setuju untuk pertanyaan di atas (no. 18), teks apa yang Anda sukai? (Anda bisa memilih lebih dari satu jawaban):
□ percakapan sangat pendek (tidak lebih dari 3 baris)
□ percakapan pendek (4 – 5 baris)
□ percakapan dengan panjang menengah (6-8 baris)
□ paragraf pendek (tidak lebih dari 5 baris)
□ paragraf dengan panjang menengah (6 - 8 baris)
□ paragraf panjang (lebih dari 8 baris)
___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
1. Metode pengajaran grammar mana yang kamu lebih suka?
(Pilih salah satu)
□ Metode pengajaran independent
□ Metode pengajaran terintegrasi (integrated)
□ Kedua metode pengajaran (Independent & Integrated Method)
□ Metode pengajaran lain: ______________________________
*sebutkan
1. Jelaskan mengapa metode yang Anda pilih lebih efektif dibanding yang lain!
BIODATA:
a. Jenis kelamin : □ Laki-laki □ Perempuan b. Angkatan : __________
c. IPK terakhir : __________ Khusus untuk Angkatan 2013
- Rata-rata nilai IC: _____
- Rata-rata nilai mata kuliah grammar: _____ Khusus Angkatan 2015
- Rata-rata nilai mata kuliah grammar (Basic dan Intermediate Grammar): _____
Apakah Anda bersedia untuk diwawancarai jika saya membutuhkan informasi terkait dengan jawaban Anda?
□YA □TIDAK
Jika Anda bersedia,
Nama : ________________________________
NIM : ________________________________
Nomor yang bias dihubungi : ________________________________ Alamat email : ________________________________
