STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF PEER FEEDBACK IN WRITING REPORT TEXTS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By Jonetha Luciana Student Number: 091214071
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS AND TRAINING EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By Jonetha Luciana Student Number: 091214071
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS AND TRAINING EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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Pat ient in af f lict ion,
Fait hf ul in prayer.
(
Holy Bible
,
Romans 12. 12)
This t hesis is dedicat ed t o my beloved f at her and mot her,
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I honestly declared that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or parts of other people, except those cited the quotations and the references, as a scientific should.
Yogyakarta, November 7th, 2013 The Writer
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Yang bertanda tangan dibawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Jonetha Luciana
NIM : 091214071
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PEER FEEDBACK IN WRITING REPORT TEXTS
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). 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: 18 Oktober 2013
Yang menyatakan,
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Luciana, Jonetha. 2013. Students’ Perception on the Implementation of Peer Feedback in Writing Report Texts. Yogyakarta: English Language Study Program, Sanata Dharma University. implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
There were three research problems in this research. They are 1) what are the factors influencing the eleventh grade students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts? 2) what are the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts? 3) what are the limitations of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts? The research participants were the eleventh grade students students in SMAN 11 Yogyakarta in the academic year 2012/2013, particularly the social science students. In order to solve the research problems, the researcher conducted a survey. The data were collected through the use of questionnaire and interviews.
The students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts was influenced by stereotyping, self-concept, situation, need, and emotion. There were three benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts namely improving the students’ writing skill, encouraging the students to work cooperatively with their peers, and helping the students in revising their report texts. However, there were three limitations of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts namely the influence of teacher feedback, the participants’ trust in feedback given by their peers, and the participants’ ability in giving feedback. The results of this research showed that the eleventh grade students had positive and negative perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The students had positive perception on the need for having their report texts checked by their peers and the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback. However, the students had negative perception as there were the limitations of the implementation of peer feedback revealed in this research.
Therefore, it is recommended that the students be more motivated during the implementation of peer feedback and be more confident in giving feedback. The researcher recommends that the teachers implement peer feedback in their writing classes as it can improve their students’ writing skill. Lastly, the researcher recommends future researchers conduct further research or enrich the existing research.
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Luciana, Jonetha. 2013. Students’ Perception on the Implementation of Peer Feedback in Writing Report Texts. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Siswa-siswa Pengajaran Bahasa Inggris sebagai Bahasa Asing (EFL) wajib menguasai keterampilan menulis. Menurut Evans and Evans (1986), menghasilkan ekspresi tertulis merupakan tahapan yang paling kompleks dari perkembangan bahasa, lebih kompleks daripada bahasa lisan, dan yang terakhir untuk dikuasai. Di kelas menulis, para siswa mengimplementasikan tahapan menulis, termasuk peer feedback, untuk menghasilkan tulisan yang baik. Dalam penelitian ini, peneliti bermaksud untuk menemukan persepsi siswa terhadap implementasi dari peer feedback dalam menulis karangan report.
Terdapat tiga rumusan masalah di penelitian ini. 1) Apa saja faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi persepsi siswa kelas sebelas (XI) terhadap implementasi dari peer feedback dalam menulis karangan report? 2) Apa saja manfaat dari implementasi peer feedback dalam menulis karangan report? 3) Apa saja limitasi dari implementasi peer feedback dalam menulis karangan report? Responden dari penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas sebelas (XI) IPS di SMAN 11 Yogyakarta tahun ajaran 2012/2013, terutama siswa kelas Ilmu Pengetahuan Sosial. Untuk menjawab rumusan masalah, peneliti menggunakan metode survey. Data penelitian ini diperoleh dari kuesioner dan interview.
Persepsi siswa terhadap implementasi dari peer feedback dalam menulis karangan report dipengaruhi stereotip, konsep diri, situasi, kebutuhan, dan emosi. Terdapat tiga manfaat dari implementasi peer feedback yaitu meningkatkan keterampilan menulis siswa, mendorong siswa untuk bekerja sama dengan teman dan membantu siswa dalam memperbaiki karangan report. Namun, terdapat tiga limitasi dari implementasi peer feedback yaitu pengaruh dari teacher feedback, kepercayaan siswa terhadap feedback yang diberikan oleh teman mereka, dan kemampuan siswa dalam memberikan feedback. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa siswa kelas sebelas (XI) memiliki persepsi yang positif dan negatif terhadap implementasi dari peer feedback dalam menulis karangan report. Siswa memiliki persepsi yang positif terhadap perlunya karangan report mereka diperiksa oleh teman dan manfaat dari implementasi peer feedback. Namun, siswa memiliki persepsi yang negatif dikarenakan adanya limitasi dari peer feedback yang ditemukan di penelitian ini.
Oleh karena itu, disarankan bagi para siswa agar lebih termotivasi selama implementasi dari peer feedback dan lebih percaya diri dalam memberikan feedback. Peneliti menyarankan bagi para guru agar mengimplementasikan peer feedback untuk meningkatkan keterampilan menulis siswa. Peneliti menyarankan kepada peneliti selanjutnya untuk melakukan penelitian lebih lanjut atau untuk memperkaya penelitian yang ada.
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I would express my greatest gratitude to my Lord Jesus Christ, for blessing me with His guidance in my life. I thank Him for giving me strength and patience during this thesis writing process. I am so blessful.
On this occasion, I would express my appreciation to my thesis advisor, Dr. Retno Muljani, M.Pd., for her guidance, patience, suggestions, and encouragement from the beginning until the accomplishment of this thesis. This thesis would not have been finished without her guidance and help. I would also thank to all PBI lecturers, especially Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum as my academic advisor, and PBI staff for their great contribution during my study in PBI. I would also thank Sr. Margareth FCJ for being the proofreader of my thesis.
I would thank the English teacher of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, Drs. G. Joko Santoso, and the Principal of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, Dra. Baniyah, for the permission and support to conduct research in SMAN 11 Yogyakarta. Special thank also go to the research participants, the eleventh grade of social science students, for their willingness to be involved in this research.
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for his encouragement, support and love. I thank him for always understanding me during the process of finishing my thesis. I also thank his family, especially his grandmother and parents, Om Achoy, Tante Indriyanti, Ridy, Nathalia Desiyanti, Jean, andAdik Lenik, for their care and support.
Special thanks go to my friends, Wisnu, Cemara, Risa, Tiara, Rena, Dimas, Sandy, Pungki, Titus, Sony, Alis, Agnes, Monik, Evi, Rieska, and all my friends in PBI 2009 class B. I thank them for the wonderful memories, laugh and unforgettable moments that we have created together.
Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to those who helped me in finishing my thesis whose names cannot be mentioned one by one.
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TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGE ... ii
DEDICATION PAGE ... iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... vi
ABSTRACT ... vii
ABSTRAK ... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xi
LIST OF TABLES ... xiv
LIST OF FIGURE ... xv
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xvi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Research Background ... 1
B. Research Problems ... 5
C. Problem Limitation ... 6
D. Research Objectives ... 6
E. Research Benefits ... 7
xii
A. Theoretical Description ... 11
1. Writing Skill ... 11
2. Report Text ... 17
3. Perception ... 19
4. Peer Feedback ... 22
B. Theoretical Framework ... 26
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY... 28
A. Research Method ... 28
B. Research Setting ... 29
C. Research Participants ... 30
D. Research Instruments ... 31
E. Data Gathering Techniques ... 36
F. Data Analysis ... 37
G. Research Procedure ... 39
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ... 41
A. Students’ Perception on the Factors Influencing Their Perception on the Implementation of Peer Feedback in Writing Report Texts ... 41
a. The Factors Influencing Students’ Perception Based on Questionnaire... 42
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B. Students’ Perception on the Benefits of the Implementation of
Peer Feedback in Writing Report Texts ... 52
a. The Benefits of Peer Feedback Based on Questionnaire ... 53
b. The Benefits of Peer Feedback Based on Interview ... 59
c. Discussion ... 59
C. Students’ Perception on the Limitations of the Implementation of Peer Feedback in Writing Report Texts ... 63
a. The Limitations of Peer Feedback Based on Questionnaire 63 b. The Limitations of Peer Feedback Based on Interview ... 65
c. Discussion ... 66
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 69
A. Conclusions... 69
B. Recommendations ... 73
REFERENCES ... 76
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Figure 2.1 : The Perceptual Process ... 19 Figure 4.1 : The Importance of Having Report Texts Checked
by Peers ... 42 Figure 4.2 : Participants’ Willingness to Check and Give Comments to Their Peers’ Report Texts ... 43 Figure 4.3 : Participants’ Willingness When Their Peers Criticize
Their Report Texts... 44 Figure 4.4 : Participants’ Belief on Their Peers’ Comments in
Their Report Texts... 45 Figure 4.5 : How Participants Revise Their Report Texs ... 46 Figure 4.6 : Participants’ Preference in Receiving Feedback... 47 Figure 4.7 : How Peer Feedback Improves Participants’ Writing
Skill ... 53 Figure 4.8 : How Peer Feedback Improves Grammar in Writing ... 54 Figure 4.9 : How Peer Feedback Helps Participants in Revising Report Texts... 55 Figure 4.10 : How Peer Feedback Helps Participants to Understand
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Appendix A : Letter of Permission ... 79
Appendix B : The Questionnaire ... 81
Appendix C : The Questionnaire Blueprint ... 83
Appendix D : The Questionnaire Results ... 85
Appendix E : The Interview Blueprint ... 104
1
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the researcher will introduce the background of this research. There are six parts that will be discussed in this chapter, namely, the research background, problem formulation, problem limitation, research objectives, research benefits, and definition of terms used in this research.
1.1 Research Background
Eleventh grade students who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) learn four English skills in their schools. The four skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing, and they are equally important. However, productive language skills, namely, speaking and writing, might be considered more difficult to master by the students.
In this research, the researcher focuses on writing skill. According to Nunan (2004), writing is finding and then expressing idea by organizing them into statements and paragraphs in order. Further, the EFL students express their ideas on a topic in the writing process. Much of the writing the students will do in school asks them to demonstrate what they have learnt (Gere, 1988). It means that writing helps the EFL students to express their ideas on a topic and learn the topic written at the same time.
than oral language, and the last to be mastered. The difficulties are varied. Richards (1990) states that the difficulty in writing is not merely the linguistics organization but also the process of moving from concepts, thoughts, and ideas. Therefore, it is quite challenging for the researcher to conduct research related to the teaching writing skill for senior high school students in Indonesia where English is taught as a foreign language.
In writing lessons at senior high school, the students have to master how to write various kinds of genre (Muchlis, 2007). One of the genres is report text. Feez and Joyce (1998) state that a report text is a genre of writing which classifies and describes in general terms the way things are. They also state that the function of this text is to report the topics discussed based on the results of observations and analysis to readers. It means that report texts encourage the students to be more critical and to have broader knowledge as they have to conduct an observation on the topics discussed. Moreover, writing report texts is one of the required skills in Indonesian School-Based Curriculum namely Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP). This curriculum had been implemented since 2007. Therefore, the eleventh grade students need to understand and to master how to write report texts.
make drafts of their writings. The students try to get response to their writings from their teacher or peers in the responding stage. Then, in revising stage, the students revise their first draft based on the response that they get from their teacher or peers. After revising their writings, the students edit them by checking the grammar, punctuation and spelling before submitting them to their teacher. The evaluation stage is usually done by the teacher. The teacher evaluates the students’ writings by giving scores and comments. The last stage is post-writing that consists of publishing the students’ writings.
Based on the researcher’s observations during Teaching Practice in SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, the stages of writing proposed by Seow (as cited in Richards & Renandya, 2002) had been implemented by the eleventh grade students in writing report texts. First, they decided the topic to be discussed in their writings. Second, they found the data needed in order to complete their writings. Third, they wrote the first drafts of their writings. Then, they did peer checking before revising the first drafts of their writings. Last, they edited and checked their writings before submitting them.
readers, both their teacher and peers.
Traditionally, feedback is given by the teacher but Lewis (2002) finds the lack of feedback given by the teacher. He states that a teacher spends more time giving feedback that affects the process of writing. Meanwhile, peer feedback can help the students during the writing process. Gibson et al. (1985) state that as children reach their teens years, they begin to be more strongly influenced by their peers. Their peers play an important role during the learning process, particularly in writing process. Tiedt (1989) states that students can learn more about writing by implementing peer feedback as they see the kinds of ideas that other students have and how they develop them. The researcher believes that implementing peer feedback as a stage of writing in teaching writing skill is useful. Therefore, the researcher focuses on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts in this research.
their peers were expected to help them to improve their writings, particularly in writing report texts. However, do the students have the same perception about it? Do the students perceive that the implementation of peer feedback can help them to improve their writings although they did practise and provide peer feedback in their writing class?
In general, this research is going to discover the eleventh grade students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. Moreover, specifically this research intends to discover the factors influencing the students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback. Then, this research also intends to discover the benefits and the limitations of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
1.2 Research Problems
The problem of this research is mainly related to how the eleventh grade students perceive on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. Further, the problem is specifically formulated as follows:
1. What are the factors influencing the students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts?
2. What are the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts?
This research is limited to the students’ English writing skill, not covering other skills such as listening, reading and speaking. The genre of the text produced by the students in this research is also limited to report text. This research is limited to one of the writing stages implemented in writing class namely peer feedback. The subject of this research is also limited to the eleventh grade of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, particularly the social science students. In the close-ended questions, the questionnaire is limited to the use of four points Likert Scale. There were seventy participants who participated to fill in the questionnaire. However, the interviewees were limited to six students, two students from each class who got high and low scores based on their questionnaire results.
1.4 Research Objectives
The objective of this research is mainly to discover the perception of the eleventh grade students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta on the implementation of peer-feedback in writing report texts. Further, the objective of this research is specifically divided into:
1. To discover the factors influencing the students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
writing report texts.
1.5 Research Benefits
This research hopefully will be beneficial for: a. English teachers of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta
The researcher hopes this research can help the English teachers of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta in implementing peer feedback in writing report texts to improve their students’ writing skill. By implementing peer feedback as one of the writing stages in teaching writing skill, the teachers can analyze each student’s understanding in writing report texts.
b. The eleventh grade students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta
The researcher hopes this research can help the ELESP students in preparing themselves as teacher candidates. As English teacher candidates, they have to prepare themselves before entering the real teaching world. They also have to understand what kind of teaching strategy that is appropriate to be implemented in teaching so that their students will understand the materials learnt clearly. They have to understand that peer feedback can help the students to improve their writing skill. Therefore, later when they have to teach writing skill, they will implement this stage of writing to improve the students’ writing skill.
d. For further researchers
The researcher hopes the findings of this research will help future researchers to obtain the information on the implemetation of peer feedback in teaching writing skill and help them in conducting their related research.
1.6 Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding and misconception in this research, the researcher will define the following terms:
1.6.1 Writing Skill
pay attention to the complexity of the target language dealing with its grammatical rules and sentence structure (Silva, 1993, as cited in Weigle, 2002). The eleventh grade students also deal with grammatical rules and sentence structure as their problems in writing report texts. Therefore, in this research, writing skill is defined as a physical and mental act of expressing ideas in writing report texts.
1.6.2 Report Text
Feez and Joyce (1998) define report text as a genre of writing which classifies and describes in general terms the way things are. The information presented in report texts is the result of observation and analysis. In writing report texts, the eleventh grade students usually discuss the actual topics or fact in general about animals such as Tigers and Mammals.
1.6.3 Perception
with the eleventh grade students’ thought, opinion and feeling on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
1.6.4 Peer Feedback
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this chapter, the researcher discusses the related theories and literature that
underline this research. There are two parts discussed in this chapter namely
theoretical description and theoretical framework. In the theoretical description, the
researcher discusses writing skill, report texts, theory of perception, and peer
feedback. In the theoretical framework, the researcher discusses the main theories that
will be implemented to solve the research problems.
2.1 Theoretical Description
In this part, the researcher discusses four theories namely writing skill, report
texts, perception, and peer feedback.
2.1.1 Writing Skill
Writing skill is one of the required skills to be mastered by the EFL students.
The skills are divided into two parts namely productive and receptive skills. Written
and spoken languages refer to productive skills (Harmer, 1991). Speaking and writing
are categorized as the productive skills as the students have to make products in
feelings and needs (Hughey et al., 1983). It means that, when writing texts, the
students express their feeling and needs by using written language.
Brown (2007) presents the characteristics of written language based on
permanence, processing time, distance, orthography, complexity, vocabulary, and
formality. Permanence characteristic means that written text can be used or read again
and again. The characteristic of processing time indicates that readers can adjust their
own rates. Distance characteristic means that written text can be sent across physical
and temporal distance. Meanwhile, orthography means that written language just
needs graphemes and punctuation. The characteristic of complexity means that
written language has long sentences and clauses. Further, the vocabulary
characteristic indicates that written language utilizes a greater variety of lexical items
than spoken language. Last, the formality characteristic shows that written language
demands the researcher to write well-structured and correct sentences.
The characteristics of written language proposed by Brown (2007) show that
writing skill is not an easy skill to be mastered. It needs a long time to master it
especially for the eleventh grade students. Writing texts require many things to be
concerned. The students have to pay attention on the sentence structures and
grammatical pattern of their writings, the ideas presenting, punctuation, and
graphemes. However, unlike speaking skill, once the students make an error in their
writings, they cannot directly restate and correct it. Therefore, the students have to
Writing texts usually occurs in a process. Bello (1997) divides the writing
process as pre-writing activities, drafting, revising, and editing. In pre-writing
activities, the students generate their ideas on a particular topic. The activities are in
form of brainstorming the ideas, making a list or timeline, or simply reflecting their
own experiences. In drafting process, they compose their first draft. They concentrate
on writing down their ideas without worrying about the spelling or grammar. In
revising process, they try to revise their drafts after getting the comments or feedback
from their peers or teacher. Finally, they edit their writings to check and correct any
errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling (Langan, 2011).
In addition, Tiedt (1989) also proposes a model of writing process. There are
three stages in the model of writing process proposed by Tiedt. They are data
collecting, data processing and data publishing. Data collecting stage discusses
methods used in collecting data in research. There are eight methods of collecting
data proposed by Tiedt namely experiencing, exploring, observing, questioning,
brainstorming, experimenting, listing, and recording. The next stage is data
processing. This stage discusses methods used in processing data in research.
Categorizing, comparing, evaluating, imagining, connecting, and synthesizing are the
methods used in processing data. The last stage is data publishing. This stage
discusses methods used in publishing data in research. Discussing, composing,
forming, communicating, reviewing, integrating, and transforming are the methods
complicated. There are many activities to do in each stage. Yet, it is useful to know
each stage in detail in order to produce good writings.
Further, Harmer (2002) simply suggests considering writing as a wheel process.
Planning, drafting and editing are parts of the wheel process. They start their writing
process by planning what topic they are going to write. Then, they continue to make
drafts of their writings. After making the drafts, they ask their peers or teacher to
check their writings and edit it based on the feedback given. Therefore, the students
are able to make a complete final version of their own writings.
The theories of writing process proposed by Bello (1997), Tiedt (1989) and
Harmer (2002) can be applied in teaching senior high school students, especially the
eleventh grade students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta. All theories have the similarities in
explaining the process of writing. The similarities are the students have to explore the
topic and collect the data needed before starting to write their drafts, they have to do
peer feedback or teacher feedback after making their drafts, then they have to edit
their drafts based on the feedback given before publishing their writings. But in the
steps of selecting a topic, it would be better if the teacher gives the topic first to the
students. Therefore, the students will not have to need a lot of time to think about the
topic. They can start writing after having the topic and the teacher should help them
during the process of writing.
The process of writing can help students to produce good writings. But the role
of teacher is also important in helping the students to produce good writings. In
or she has to teach the EFL students. The EFL students, particularly the eleventh
grade students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, do not use English as their first language.
They may find some difficulties in writing English texts and will ask their teacher
how to solve the difficulties they find. Therefore, the role of teacher in teaching
writing skill, especially in EFL classes, is important. Then, the researcher will
continue the discussion with the topic of teaching writing skill in EFL classes.
Teaching writing skill in EFL classes is not an easy task to do for the teachers.
Writing is a method of expressing ideas about any subject content; it appears in
classrooms everywhere and, therefore must be the concern of every teacher (Tiedt,
1989). Expressing ideas in written form, using a foreign language, is difficult for the
students to do. They have to think about what they have to write and also to write
using the correct grammar. Hyland (2003) states teachers have to think about the
appropriate approach and method in teaching language. Therefore, the teachers have
to discover the best method in teaching writing skill so that the students can express
their ideas clearly in writing by using English.
Tiedt (1989) also states that an effective writing program is student-centered.
The focus of teaching writing skill lies on the students as they will have to express
their thought about the subject content individually. The students have to participate
actively in selecting the topic, making their writings, editing their writings, and also
in finishing their writings. But for the eleventh grade students, the teacher should help
Therefore, the process of writing will run smoothly and the students can write report
texts correctly.
Raimes (1983) presents three advantages of learning writing in EFL classes.
First, writing reinforces grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary that have
been taught in class. Second, when the students write, they also have a chance to be
adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned, and to take
risks. Third, when the students write, they become very involved in the new
language. As in EFL classes, it will be more challenging to the students to learn
writing skill as they will write texts in a foreign language.
Furthermore, the students are also required to learn and master writing skill
based on Indonesian School-Based Curriculum namely Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan
Pendidikan (KTSP). KTSP applies in every level of school in Indonesia. Every school
may construct their own syllabus but the construction of the curriculum will be
guided by the government (Muchlis, 2007). In KTSP, there are various genres of text
and functional text designed as the materials for the students. Level of the difficulties
in writing texts is different from one grade to others. Elementary students learn how
to spell and write some words in English. Junior high school students learn how to
write short texts, for example procedure and descriptive text. Then, senior high school
students learn how to write longer texts, for example narrative and report texts.
Based on the previous explanations, the researcher concludes that writing skill
is an important skill to be learnt by the EFL students although it is difficult to be
required to learn and master writing skill based on the curriculum, Kurikulum Tingkat
Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP). Moreover, the advantages of learning writing in EFL
classes proposed by Raimes (1983) also show that the EFL students really need to
learn writing skill. Writing skill reinforces and challenges the students to learn how to
write texts in English, a foreign language for them. Although Tiedt (1989) argues that
the effective writing program is student-centered, where the students become the
focus of teaching, the researcher believes that teachers still have important roles in
teaching writing skill. Teachers can help the students during the process of writing,
especially in choosing the topic, and also help the students to deal with the
complexity of the target language such as grammatical rules and sentence structure in
writing texts.
2.1.2 Report Texts
Report text is a genre of writing which classifies and describes in general terms
the way things are (Feez & Joyce, 1998). It creates a clear picture or impression of a
place, person or object. In writing report texts, the students have to do an observation
first or use his or her sense to report a phenomenon. Learning to access information
which is stored in books and other written forms is an important skill which needs to
be encouraged in the development of any young writers (Martin, 1985). Therefore,
report text is an important text to be learnt by the EFL students since it helps them to
According to Christie (1990), the communicative purpose of report text is to
describe how information about our world is organized in various disciplines. In
writing report texts, the students do not focus on the sequence of events but on the
description of phenomenon about living and non-living things, for example, animals,
plants, and computers.
The description of things in report and description texts is different from each
other. Report text describes things in general. Meanwhile, description text describes
things in specific. The difference of these two genres of text can be shown in the title
of the text. The example of the title of report text is “Bicycle” then the example of the
title of descriptive text is “Hanna’s Bicycle”. From the example of the title of report
text, “Bicycle”, the students will focus their writings on describing the bicycle in
general. But from the example of the title of descriptive text, “Hanna’s Bicycle”, the
students will focus their writings on describing Hanna’s bicycle that might have some
differences to other bicycles in general. Therefore, report text describes things in
general, not in a specific way, in order to give information to the readers.
In order to write report text, the students have to understand the generic
structure of report texts. Generic structure of report text consists of general
classification and descriptions. Derewianka (1990) states the general classification of
report text functions to locate what is being talked about in the universe of things and
the descriptions function to talk about various aspects of the subject. The general
classification tells the topic that is going to be reported in the text. It describes the
The details of the topic are reported in the description part. It describes the topic more
in detail in order to support the general classification.
2.1.3 Perception
According to Robbins (2001), perception is a process by which individuals
organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their
environment. It means that perception comes from the way human thinks about the
specific context. It is about how we interpret that specific context. According to
Altman, Valenzi, and Hodgets (1985), perception is generated by stimuli
surroundings which can be in form of sensory or cognitive information. They also
state that perception can be defined as a person’s view of reality.
The two theories of perception stated by Robbins (2001) and Altman, Valenzi,
and Hodgets (1985) are also in line with the theory stated by Huffman (1997). He
defines perception as the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting sensory
data into useful mental representation of the world. It is clearly stated that there is a
process in order to get the perception, or usually called the perceptual process.
Figure 2.1 The Perceptual Process (Altman, Valenzi, & Hodgets, 1985, p.86)
Stimuli
Sensors’ selection of
stimuli
Perception, organization,
and interpretation
of stimuli
From the previous figure, we can see that stimuli come at the beginning of the
perceptual process. It means that the stimuli are needed in order to get the behavioural
responses as the result of perceptual process. Then, the stimuli go into the sensory
reception and continue to brain. After that, brain interprets the stimuli as the
perception and interpretation. Then, the result of perception and interception is called
the behavioural response. Since everybody has different perception on the specific
context, it is also common to have different behavioural response.
Perception involves receiving stimuli, organizing them, and translating or
interpreting the organized stimuli to influence behavior and form attitudes such as
thought, opinion and feeling (Gibson et al., 1985). In Webster’s New Explorer
Encyclopedic Dictionary (2006), thought is the act or process of thinking, opinion is a
belief or judgement about something and feeling is an emotional state or reaction. In
Macquarie Online Dictionary, thought is an act or process of thinking, opinion is the
expression of personal view, estimation or judgement and feeling is a sensation of
something felt. The students’ thought, opinion and feeling are related to the factors
influencing the students’ perception, the benefits and also the limitations of the
implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. Furthermore, the researcher
discusses the factors influencing someone’s perception in this research.
Perception might come up from several factors. According to Gibson et al.
(1985), there are five factors influencing someone’s perception. The factors are
1. Stereotyping
Gibson et al. (1985) state that stereotype is someone’s view of particular
members in a group but generalizes all members in that group. It means
that stereotyping is related to our point of view of something without
knowing all parts of that thing. In other words, stereotyping also means to
judge only based on our point of view or belief without considering
others’ point of view.
2. Self-concept
Gibson et al. (1985) define self-concept as the way how an individual sees
and feels about themselves. Seeing and feeling about ourselves influence
how we interpret the stimuli that comes into our mind. One factor that can
influence the way we interpret the stimuli is our past experiences. Past
experiences affect how we see something, our perception, in the present
time.
3. Situation
Situation affects our feelings and habits in our daily life (Gibson et al.,
1985). Since situation affects humans’ feelings and habits, it also affects
how human thinks about specific context. Furthermore, it means that
situation affects someone’s perception on specific context.
4. Need
Someone’s need for something influences their perception. If someone
her goal, which is to get that thing. Therefore, need is categorized as one
of the factors influencing perception.
5. Emotion
Someone’s emotion also affects the way he or she thinks about certain
context. If someone is happy, he or she will have positive perception on
something that is being asked to her or him. Therefore, emotion is
considered as the factor influencing perception.
Based on those definitions, the researcher concludes that perception is the way
a person views or interprets reality that happens in his or her surroundings. In this
research, the researcher finds that the factors influencing someone’s perception
proposed by Gibson et al. (1985) influence the students’ perception on the
implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The way the students
stereotype feedback given to them, how they feel about themselves, the situation
during the implementation of peer feedback, the students’ need for having their report
texts checked by their peers, and the students’ emotion affect their perception on the
implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
2.1.4 Peer Feedback
According to Brown (2007), peer feedback is one of the cooperative learning
strategies through which students learn from each other by giving comments or
namely the students work cooperatively in groups, read, criticize, and then proofread
their own writing. From the previous definitions, it can be concluded that the students
will have to work with each other cooperatively by giving comments on their peers’
writings.
The presence of peer feedback is essential in learning writing in a foreign
language (Hyland, 2003). In writing classes, especially in EFL classes, the students
have to read and give comments to their peers’ writings. The readers have important
roles in giving response and encouragement to the researcher (Hyland & Hyland,
2006). It means that peer feedback has an important role in writing classes. Feedback
provides the researchers with a sense of readers and leads them to the awareness of
the needs of the readers (Hyland, 2003).
There are some processes of implementing peer feedback in writing classes.
Lewis (2002) suggests ten ways that the teacher can try to implement peer feedback
in writing class namely exchange papers, role play, pair work in moving circle, pass
paper round, feedback questions, multiple feedback, read/listen/respond, compare
writing, summarize and photocopy advice, and sentence on board. Practically, the
most common process of implementing peer feedback in writing class is to assign the
students to work in group. Hyland (2003) states:
In their groups, the students work together to give feedback to their peer’
writings. The ways the students give feedback to their peers’ writings are different
from each other. Some students may correct the errors by rewriting, or even
reformulating, the correct ones (Hammer, 2007). Other students may simply put
symbols near or under the errors, for example by underlining the errors. By giving
feedback to their peers’ writings and receiving feedback from their peers, the students
will get some advantages during the teaching and learning process.
There are some advantages of implementing peer feedback in writing classes.
Hyland (2003) mentions that there are eight advantages of implementing peer
feedback in writing classes. First, the students in class will participate actively during
the teaching and learning process. Second, peer feedback makes use of authentic
communicative context that can help the students a lot in learning the materials. Next,
the environmental while doing peer feedback is non-judgmental that make the
students enjoy and relax during the teaching and learning process. Then, the audience
in doing peer feedback is alternative and authentic, the students’ peers in their own
classes. Peer feedback also improves the students’ understanding of readers’ needs. It
also helps to reduce the students’ apprehension of writing as the one who checks their
writing is their peers. Next, peer feedback develops students’ critical reading skill as
each student will have to read and give comments to their peers’ writings. Last, peer
feedback helps the teacher to reduce his or her workloads.
Zhang (1995, as cited in Hyland, 2003) states that peer feedback not only
critically revise their own writings. According to Lewis (2002), students can save
their time revising their writings based on the feedback given by their peers, as a
teacher usually spends more time giving feedback. It means that by implementing
peer feedback in writing classes, the students can improve their critical thinking in
both reading and writing skills.
Furthermore, peer feedback creates an authentic social context for interaction
and learning (Hyland, 2003). Mcgroarty (1989, in Kessler, 1992) states that peer
feedback in writing class can give opportunities to act as sources for each other,
hence assuming a more active role in their learning. It means that the students can
learn from each other and also work together cooperatively. It also means that at the
same time, they will improve their social and communicative skills.
However, there are still some weaknesses of implementing peer feedback in
writing classes. Hyland and Hyland (2006) argue that even though students
themselves are positive about written feedback and appear to value comments and
corrections on all aspects of their texts, its contribution to students’ writing is still
unclear. The students will still expect to get feedback from their teacher rather than
their peers as teacher feedback is more accurate. Furthermore, they also state that the
EFL students greatly value teacher written feedback and consistently rate it more
highly than alternative forms, such as peer feedback.
Based on the previous explanations, the researcher concludes that peer feedback
is a cooperative learning strategy in which the students give comments or feedback to
of written feedback. Although the EFL students greatly value teacher written
feedback and consistently rate it more highly than peer feedback (Hyland & Hyland,
2006), peer feedback is still important and beneficial to be implemented in writing
classes, especially as it can improve both students’ critical reading and writing.
2.2 Theoretical Framework
In general, the aim of this research is to discover the eleventh grade students’
perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The aim of
this research can be made more specific into three. First, the researcher intends to
discover the factors influencing the eleventh grade students’ perception on the
implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. Second, the researcher
intends to discover the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing
report texts. Third, the researcher also intends to discover the limitations of the
implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. In this research, the
researcher implements the theories of writing skill, perception and peer feedback. In
order to explain the contribution of each theory in conducting the research, the
researcher describes the theoretical framework as follows.
This research is concerned with the eleventh grade students’ perception on the
implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The researcher includes
theories of writing skill and perception in this research. Theory of writing skill
implemented in this research is the theory of advantages of learning writing in EFL
eleventh grade students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in
writing report texts, the theory of perception proposed by Gibson et al. (1985) is also
implemented in this research.
For the first research problem, the researcher implements the theory of
perception proposed by Gibson et al. (1985). The theory of perception proposed by
Gibson et al. (1985) is implemented in order to discover the factors influencing the
students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
For the second research problem, the theory of peer feedback proposed by
Hyland (2003) is implemented in this research to discover the benefits of the
implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The researcher also
implements the theories proposed by Mcgroarty (1989) and Zhang (1995) in order to
support the theory proposed by Hyland (2003) in finding the answer.
For the third research problem, the researcher implements the theory of peer
feedback proposed by Hyland and Hyland (2006). The theory of peer feedback
proposed by Hyland and Hyland (2006) is implemented in order to discover the
limitations of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The
researcher also implements the theory of peer feedback proposed by Horowitz (1986)
28
METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the methodology applied in conducting the research. In this chapter, the researcher presents the research method, research setting, research participants, research instruments, data gathering techniques, data analysis, and research procedure.
3.1 Research Method
As this research intends to discover the eleventh grade students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback, the researcher conducted a survey. Ary et al. (2002) state that survey is a kind of research method for gathering data ranging from physical counts and frequencies to attitudes and opinions by asking questions of a group of individuals called respondents. In addition, they also state that there are two ways in which the data are gathered in a survey namely by distributing questionnaire and conducting interviews. In this research, the researcher conducted a survey in order to discover individuals’ perception or attitudes on certain phenomenon, namely the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
deeper answers and understanding of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
As this research generates numerical and verbal data to represent the students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts, this research adopted a mixed-methods research which consisted of quantitave and qualitative approaches. According to Gaal et al. (2007), quantitative research relies on numerical data and statistical analysis while qualitative research generates verbal data to represent the social environment. The researcher implemented a descriptive statistical analysis by calculating the data and presenting the results in percentages. In this research, the data gathered from questionnaire were presented in form of numbers (percentage). Meanwhile, the data gathered from interviews were presented in form of verbal statements.
3.2 Research Setting
The participants of this research were the eleventh grade students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, particularly the social science students, who learnt writing report texts in the academic year 2012/2013. The eleventh grade students were chosen because of some considerations. First, the students had learnt writing report texts, which was the genre of writing produced by the students in this research. Second, the students had experienced the implementation of peer feedback in their writing classes, which was the main focus on this research. Last, the researcher could not choose the twelfth grade students as the participants because they had to focus their study on the National Exam. Therefore, the researcher chose the eleventh grade of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, particularly the social science students, to be the research participants in this research.
As the students were able to provide meaningful data in this research, the researcher employed purposive sampling. According to Fraenkel (1994), purposive sampling is a sample selection in which the researchers use judgement that they believe will provide the data needed. In this research, the researcher believed that the students were able to provide the data on students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. They had experience writing report texts and provided peer feedback in writing their report texts.
science students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta.
3.4 Research Instruments
The instruments employed in this research were questionnaire and interviews. These instruments were employed in this research in order to discover the answers to research problems. Both the questionnaire and interviews were researcher-made and not yet tried out. This might be a limitation of this research. The researcher employed questionnaire first in gathering the data, and then it was followed by interviewing the participants.
1. Questionnaire
The first instrument employed in this research was questionnaire that was distributed to the research participants, the eleventh grade of social science students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta. According to Ary et al. (2002), questionnaire is an instrument in which participants give written answers or responses. The researcher had two different types of question in the questionnaire, the close-ended and the open-close-ended questions. The questionnaire was designed in Indonesian language in order to avoid misinterpretation between the researcher and the participants.
questions was designed in order to gain data on the factors influencing the students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts and also the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. Moreover, Bello (1970) also states that open-ended form may have advantages in the greater depth of response since the participants have chance to reveal their thought. For the open-ended questions, the form of questions was designed in order to discover the limitations of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
In close-ended section, there were two parts of the questions namely the factors’ influencing the students’ perception and the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The factors influencing the students’ perception covered the questions from number one to six. This part was employed in this research in order to discover the answer to the first research problem. The benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts covered the questions from number seven to twelve. This part was employed to discover the answer to the second research problem.
their reasons and thoughts in answering the questions. The questionnaire blueprint would be presented as follows.
Table 3.1 Blueprint of Questionnaire
Type of Question
No. Experts Theories Perception (Thought/
The Factors Influencing the Students’ Perception 1. Gibson
grammar saya dalam
Opinion Menurut Anda, apakah perbedaan dari peer
the factors influencing the students’ perception based on the theory proposed by Gibson et al. (1985), the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback based on the theory proposed by Hyland (2003) and the limitations of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts based on the theory proposed by Hyland and Hyland (2006). The questions were designed to gain more data that might not be acquired from the questionnaire. It was expected to get more complete and valid data by combining the results of the questionnaire and interviews. Therefore, the interview sessions supported the questionnaire results by gaining more detail, complete and valid data that were not obtained from the previous session.
The interviews were conducted on May 8, 2013 from 13.45 to 15.30 at SMAN 11 Yogyakarta, outside the classroom meeting. During the interview session, the researcher used Indonesian language in order to enable the participants to understand and answer the questions. The major points of the interviews were summarized in table below while the interview blueprint was enclosed in Appendix E.
Table 3.2 Points of Interview
No. Points
1.
2. 3.
Students’ thought, opinion and feeling on the factors influencing their perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
Students’ opinion on the benefits of peer feedback in writing report texts.
In order to gather the data needed in this research, the researcher distributed the questionnaire and interviewed the participants. The researcher distributed the questionnaire to the participants and followed by interviewing some participants.
Distributing the questionnaire was the first step conducted in order to gather the data. The researcher distributed the questionnaire in order to gain the data needed to answer the research problems. The researcher distributed the questionnaire to the eleventh grade of social science students of SMAN 11 Yogyakarta. In distributing the questionnaire, the researcher informed the participants the purpose of doing the research and asked them to read the instruction before answering the questionnaire. Therefore, the participants knew the purpose of doing this research and also were responsible for their answers.
No. Instrument Data Collected Period of Time Research Problem
(RP) 1. Questionnaire Factors influencing
students’ perception
2. Interviews Factors influencing students’ perception
The researcher implemented the theories of perception and peer feedback as suggested by Gibson et al. (1985), Hyland (2003), and Hyland and Hyland (2006) as the underlying principles to construct the research instruments. In order to analyze the data gathered from the data collection activities, the researcher conducted the following steps. First, the researcher prepared the research instruments by referring to the theoretical framework and used them to collect the data. The researcher distributed the questionnaire in order to discover the answers to the research problem (RP) 1,2 and 3.
perception (RP 1) and the benefits of peer feedback (RP 2). The data were then calculated by implementing Likert Scale resulting in percentages. According to Ary et al. (2002), the Likert Scale results represent the individual’s attitude on the topic.
In Likert Scale, the participants had to give range to the provided statements in the questionnaire. The range of the participants’ responses, showing their degree of agreement, was from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The degree of agreement and scores were classified as follows: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) agree, and (4) strongly agree. The participants who had positive perception tended to choose Strongly Agree (SA) and Agree (A) while the students who had negative perception tended to choose Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). The formula of percentage calculation was explained as follows:
In which:
∑x = number of students who had the same range on the statement.
∑ = number of all students participated in this research.
The third step was analyzing the data gathered from the open-ended questions in the questionnaire. The data gathered were aimed to discover the answer to the research problem related to the limitations of peer feedback (RP 3).
∑
classification technique. The researcher read the results of the open-ended questions answered by the participants and then classified the answers. The participants’ answers were classified into the same or similar answers. After classifying the answers, the researcher ranked the answers resulting in percentages in order to find the most rated answer given by the participants.
The fourth step was conducting interviews. The researcher chose two participants from each class who got the low and high scores in the questionnaire results to be interviewed. The fifth step was analyzing the interview results. The researcher transcribed the interviews and then summarized the interview results. The interview results were presented in form of verbal statements. From the interview results, the researcher aimed to gain more data that might not be acquired from the questionnaire in order to discover the answers to the research problems. Then, the researcher analyzed and interpreted the data gathered from the questionnaire and the interviews.
3.7 Research Procedure
41
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents and discusses the data acquired from the results of questionnaire and interviews from the participants. There would be three subheadings in this chapter. The first part discusses the factors influencing students’ perception on the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The second part discusses the benefits of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts. The third part discusses the limitations of the implementation of peer feedback in writing report texts.
A. Students’ Perception on the Factors Influencing Their Perception on
the Implementation of Peer Feedback in Writing Report Texts
Figure 1 showed the participants’ perception on the importance of having their report texts checked by their peers. On this statement, the researcher considered that the participants’ perception was derived from their opinions (see Table 3.1).
It is shown that 27.14% (19 participants) strongly agreed that having their report texts checked by their peers was important. Meanwhile, 54.28% of the participants (38 participants) agreed with the statement. However, there are 14.28% of the participants (10 participants) who disagreed and 4.28% of the participants (3 participants) who strongly disagreed with the statement. There were 81.42% of the participants who argued that having their report texts checked by their peers was important.
27,14%
Figure 4.2 showed the participants’ willingness to check and give comments to their peers’ report texts. The researcher considered that the participants’ perception was derived from their feelings on this statement (see Table 3.1). It is shown that 1.43% of the participants (1 participant) strongly agreed that they were willing to check and give comments to their peers’ report texts. Moreover, 55.71% of the participants (39 participants) agreed with this statement. However, there were 41.42% of the participants (29 participants) who disagreed and 1.43% of the participants (1 participant) who strongly disagreed with this statement. To sum up the findings, there were 57.14% of the participants who argued that they were willing to check and give comments to their peers’ report texts.
1,43%
55,71%
41,42%
1,43% 0%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Figure 4.3 showed that the participants did not mind if their peers criticized their report texts. The researcher considered that the participants’ perception was derived from their feelings on this statement. From the figure, it is shown that there were 18.57% of the participants (13 participants) who strongly agreed with this statement. There were 60% of the participants (42 participants) who agreed with this statement. However, there were 18.57% of the participants (13 participants) who disagreed and 2.85% of the participants (2 participants) who strongly disagreed that they did not mind if their peers criticized their report texts. From the data, there were 78.57% of the participants who argued that they did not mind if their peers criticized their report texts.
18,57%
60%
18,57%
2,85% 0%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Figure 4.4 showed that the participants believed that their peers’ comments on their report texts were correct. On this statement, the researcher considered that the participants’ perception was derived from their opinions. It is shown 8.57% of the participants (6 participants) strongly agreed with this statement. There were 68.57% of the participants (48 participants) who agreed with this statement. However, there were 22.85% of the participants (16 participants) who disagreed and none of the participants who strongly disagreed that their peers’ comments on their report texts were correct. From the data, there were 77.14% of the participants who argued that their peers’ comments on their report texts were correct.
8,57%
68,57%
22,85%
0% 0%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
