i
STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON ENGLISH TEACHING
LEARNING ACTIVITIES AT THE FIRST GRADE OF JUNIOR
HIGH SCHOOL IN
SEKOLAH ALAM NURUL ISLAM
YOGYAKARTA
ASARJANA PENDIDIKANTHESIS
Presented as partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Meilia Restyanty Student Number: 071214119
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
vii ABSTRACT
Restyanty, Meilia (2012). Students’ Perception on English Teaching Learning Activities at the First Grade of Junior High School in Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta.Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Perception is an important factor that influences successful learning since it influences students’ behaviors and motivation to learn. First grade students of junior high school will get positive impact on their behavior and motivation to learn when they have positive perceptions on English teaching learning activities. Moreover, the implementation of English teaching learning activities that in Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta have some differences from the conventional school.
There are three research problems to be solved: (1) How is the implementation of English teaching-learning activities in the first grade students of Sekolah alam Nurul Islam Junior High School Yogyakarta? (2) What are the first grade students of Sekolah alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School’s perception on their English teaching-learning activities? (3) What are some possible suggestions to improve the quality of English teaching-learning activities?
The researcher conducted research by observing class VII, distributing questionnaire, and interviewing the English teacher and some first grade students. The participants of this study were the first grade students ofSekolah Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta Junior High School. The data were collected from the result of observation, questionnaire, and interview. The writer employed descriptive research, which means that the purpose of the research is to gain information about the first grade students’ perception on their English teaching learning activities that is generated from the implementation of the English teaching learning activities in this school.
Based on the results, the researcher concluded that the implementation of English teaching learning activities in the target school was lack of variations. The participants, generally, had positive perceptions on the English teaching learning activities. However, some possible suggestions were needed to overcome some problems that came up in the English teaching learning activities and maintained students’ perceptions. The proposed suggestions should be applied in the target school in order to improve the quality of the English teaching learning activities.
viii ABSTRAK
Restyanty, Meilia (2012). Students’ Perception on English Teaching Learning Activities at the First Grade of Junior High School in Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Persepsi adalah salah satu faktor penting yang dapat mempengaruhi keberhasilan pembelajaran karena persepsi mempengaruhi tangkah laku siswa dan motivasi untuk belajar. Akan berdampak positive terhadap tingkah laku dan motivasi belajar pada siswa kelas satu Sekolah Menengah Pertama ketika mereka memiliki persepsi positif terhadap kegiatan belajar mengajar. Selain itu, penerapan kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris di Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta memiliki beberapa perbedaan dari sekolah pada umumnya.
Ada tiga permasalahan untuk dipecahkan dalam penelitian ini : (1) bagaimanakah pelaksanaan kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris di Sekolah Menengah Pertama Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta? (2) bagaimana persepsi siswa kelas satu Sekolah Menengah Pertama Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta terhadap kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris? (3) apa sajakah saran-saran yang memungkinkan untuk meningkatkan kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris di sekolah ini?
Untuk memecahkan masalah-masalah tesebut, peneliti melakukan observasi, menyebar kuiseoner, and melakukan wawancara dengan guru Bahasa Inggris dan beberapa siswa kelas satu. Responden dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas satu Sekolah Menengah Pertama Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta. Data dalam penelitian dikumpulkan dari hasil observasi, kuesioner dan wawancara. Peneliti menerapkan metode penelitian deskripsi, yang artinya tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mendapatkan informasi tentang persepsi siswa kelas satu Sekolah menengah Pertama terhadap kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris yang mereka jalani di sekolah.
Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, akhirnya peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa variasi kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris di sekolah masih kurang dan perlu ditingkatkan. Meskipun para responden umumnya memiliki positif persepsi terhadap kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris. Namun, beberapa tindak lanjut atau saran-saran diperlukan untuk mengatasi masalah yang timbul Selma kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris berlangsung dan menindaklanjuti persepsi siswa. Tindak lanjut ini perlu dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk meningkatkan kualitas kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris di sekolah ini.
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude for those who have supported and facilitated me in accomplishing my study. First of all, I would like to thank God for His enormous blessing, grace, and love, so I could survive until this time.
I would like to thank my sponsor, Mr. Ag. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. I thank him for his guidance, great patience, support, and advice. They are precious for me.
For all lecturers in English Education Study Program, I thank them for their guidance, time, and patience during my study. Without them, I could not finish my study.
For Dwi Sabda Budi P, M.Si., the head master of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School, I would like to thank him for his help and permission to conduct a research in his school.
I thank Irna Stania, S.S., the English teacher in Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School, for her help during the research. To all participants in my research, I thank them for their willingness to be involved in the research.
I also thank Mbak Danik and Mbak Tari, the English Education Study Program staff, for their help during my study.
x
I thank my brother, sisters and nephew, Danang, Vio, Susmiati and Davine. I thank them for their support and help, their smile that always cheer me up.
I also would like to thank I Made Ray Budayasa, for his best love, great support and patience to understand me whenever I feel so depressed
To my dearest friends–Lucia, Eyik, Vita, Lita, Atha, Lucie, and Deby, I thank them for the greatest time that we share together.
I would also like to thank all people that I could not mention here. I thank them for their encouragement and prayers.
All people who I mentioned really mean so much to me. Without their support and prayers I could not reach this achievement.
xi
2. Implementation CBC in Junior High School……….. 13
xii
1. The Implementation of English Teaching-Learning Activities in the
Class……… 36
2. The First Grade Students of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School’s perceptions on Their English Teaching Learning Activities……….. 44
3. Some Possible Suggestions to Improve the Quality of English Teaching-Learning Activities………. 66
B. Discussion…...……….. 70
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions…..………. 72
B. Suggestions………... 74
REFERENCES………. 75
xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A. PERMISSION LETTER.………...……….. 76 APPENDIX B. OBSERVATION SHEET.………... 77 APPENDIX C. QUESTIONNAIRE..……….... 80 APPENDIX D. SUMMARY OF QUESTIONNAIRE RESULT…….….... 82
APPENDIX E. INTERVIEW………..………..… 84
APPENDIX F. DATA TABULATION……….………... 86
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This research investigates the students’ perception of English teaching
learning activities inSekolah Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta. This chapter presents background of the study, problem limitation, problem formulation, research objectives, research benefit and definition of terms.
A. Background of the Study
There are a lot of factors that influence successful English learning. One of the factors is perception. Perception is a process of organizing information from the environment, then interpreting it in order to make the information meaningful (Robbins, 1997). Perception plays an important role in learning process since it influences someone’s behavior or attitudes and motivation to learn (Szilagyi and
Wallace, 1980). Positive perception on the learning activities brings positive behavior for students during the learning activity process and positive attitude to have high motivation in learning activities. In other words, what the students think about the learning activities will affect their attitude during the learning process. Their positive behavior and attitudes can be seen through their interest in the target that is being perceived.
attitude in English learning activities. Students’ interest will cause greater
willingness to learn English. Based on the research by Kitao and Kitao (1995), when students have negative perception on learning English, there is a tendency that the negative perception blocks students to learn English. One of the reasons is when they have negative perception on English learning; they will not be willing to learn English well. Then, during the teaching-learning activities, the teacher often found dissatisfaction with students since they do not participate actively in teaching-learning activities or they do not understand what the teacher explained because they did not enjoy the class. On the other side, students also find dissatisfaction whenever the instructional activities are different from students’
expectation on teaching learning activities. After knowing students’ perception on
the English teaching-learning activities, it would be easier for the teacher to plan their English teaching-learning activities.
eaching-learning activities, first, the implementation of the English teaching-eaching-learning activities has to be observed.
The first grade students of junior high school are at the age of puberty. Puberty is a normal phase of development that occurs when a child's body transitions into an adult body and readies for the possibility of reproduction (O’Donnell, 2013). In this period, their emotions play an important role in all aspects of their activities, including their activities in perceiving something (Leontiev, 1981). Students at this age have a different way in perceiving something. It is because they are influenced by their emotions, which are not stable yet. Therefore, in order to build students’ positive perception on English
railway station, bus station, restaurant, etc., thus the students get more information on the location not just material in the classroom. For the teaching learning method, this school refers to experiential learning and problem solving based learning concept. Through those teaching learning activities, the students are more active because they solve the problem by themselves, either individual or in a group; they also learn based on what they saw or experienced.
In researching English teaching-learning activities there are some elements that are observed. Those are how a teacher in Sekolah Alam teaches his or her students, what a teacher wants his or her students to learn, how students learn, and how students want to learn, what students learn, and what the purpose of learning the language are (Champbell, 2001). In teaching-learning activities teachers can combine those elements in planning English teaching-learning activities in order to meet students’ and teacher’s expectation.
The knowledge of students’ perception on English learning especially on
English teaching-learning activities is an important step to understand the etiology of language learning (Kitao and Kitao, 1995), and that is the reason why this research is conducted; to find out students’ perception on their English teaching -learning activities in Sekolah Alam so teacher can choose the most appropriate teaching-learning strategies to be applied in teaching-learning activities.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is the implementation of English teaching-learning activities in the first grade students of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Junior High School Yogyakarta?
2. What are the first grade students of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School’s perceptions on their English teaching-learning activities?
3. What are some possible suggestions to improve the quality of English teaching-learning activities?
C. Problem Limitation
This study limits the participants only in the area of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School. It is done in order to focus on the study that involves first grade students in the target school. The school is chosen because it is opened to help any researchers to conduct any education research.
The participants involved in this study are students of the first grade of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School. The population of the study is all students of the first grade in this school.
D. Research Objectives
1. To describe the implementation of English teaching-learning activities in the first grade students of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta Junior High School.
2. To identify the perception of the first grade students of Sekolah Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta Junior High School.
3. To identify some possible suggestions to improve the quality of English teaching-learning activities.
E. Research Benefit
This research will primarily benefit for the students of the English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University, English Education Study Program and other researchers.
1. The students and teachers
The research will be beneficial for teachers and students themselves. Both English teacher and students will see their activities during English subject, how the class runs, and how well they manage the English class. It is expected that the identification about English teaching-learning activities implementation will become a kind of feedback both for English teacher and students.
2. English Language Education study program
activities because there is some superiority that differs from conventional school and through PPL practice at Sekolah Alam, the students are expected to be more creative and innovative in their teaching activities in the future.
3. Future Researchers
It is hoped that the research will be benefit for other researchers who would like to conduct the similar research. This research will be very helpful for those who will conduct further discussion about the English teaching learning activity in their teaching activities.
F. Definition of Terms
In order to make common conception with the readers about some terms used in this research, the researcher defines them as follow:
1. Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, interpreting sensory data into usable mental representations of the world (Huffman, Vorney.M & Vorney 1997:79). This means that each person has different perception about something and it is usually affected by their psychological factors such as their needs, interest, and motivation.
In this research, perception refers to the students’ perception on the English teaching-learning in Sekolah Alam, which is seen from the implementation of English teaching learning activity used in Sekolah Alam. What is meant by students’ perception is how the students feel and think about
learning activities are interesting or not interesting, successful or not successful.
2. Sekolah Alam is a school that gives priority on the students’ characters and way of thinking using back to the nature concept (Novo, 2010). Students who study in this school are not just sitting in the classroom.Sekolah Alamapplied different method; students learn to have interaction with nature as much they can.
3. The Characteristic of First Grade Students of Junior High School
First grade students of junior high school are categorized into teenager learners, their age are about 12 to 13 years old. In this period, teenagers like to spend their time for hanging around, friends, peers and often disruptive behavior in class. However, they have a great capacity in learning if the teacher can engage them.
The characteristics of teenager learners according to Harmer (2001) are: 1. They seem to be less lively and humorous than adults
2. Identity has to be forged among classmates and friends; peer approval may be considerably more important for the student than the attention of the teacher
3. They would be much happier if such problem did not exist 4. They may be disruptive in class
11 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of two parts; they are theoretical description and theoretical framework. Theoretical description presents some important concepts related to the research. The concepts are (1) perception (2) CBC, and (3) experiential learning, (4) problem solving, (5) Sekolah Alam while theoretical framework discusses major relevant theories which help to answer the research problems.
A. Theoretical Description
In this chapter the researcher discusses the theories related to this study. There are five related theories that will be viewed. The theories are perception, CBC, experiential learning, problem solving based learning, andSekolah Alam. 1. Perception
This part presents theory of perception including factors that influence perception and perception on learning.
a. Factors that Influence Perception
1) Stereotype
The first factor is stereotype. Stereotype is a set of thinking in a particular group that is generalized to all members of the groups (Gibson et al, 1985:64). It means that people have set some knowledge in their mind, although they do not know whether that is true or not. In perception of the English teaching learning activity in Sekolah Alam, stereotype might be occurring. If they consider the teaching learning activities applied inSekolah Alamare good, they will set this in their mind so they will perceive those teaching learning activities positively. Most of stereotypes are wrong perception because it is formed not based on the fact that happened in our environment.
2) Selectivity
The second factor is selectivity. It is impossible for us to catch all of the stimuli that happen around us. Only certain perceptions are taken and then proceed in our mind. The perception in based on something we want to choose. People will perceive the stimuli that they want but most of the stimuli that received are that positive from them. That is why everyone has different perception about things around them.
3) Self-concept
The third factor is self-concept. They way people see themselves in the form of self-concept will affect their perception about something. The students’ self -concept are often performed in their attitudes based on their on the stimuli which may result as the feeling of likes or dislikes about something.
The press of time will exactly force the manager to overlook some details, to rush certain activities and to ignore certain stimuli such as request from other managers or from superior (Gibson et al, 1985:67). People will attend to work quickly when they do not have much time. People become careless in doing something. They make decisions about certain thing without further understanding or perception toward the problem.
5) Need
Perception is significantly influenced by needs and desires (Gibson et al, 1985:67). People will do everything that they want to do.
6) Emotion
Emotion can influence someone in forming perception. Perception formed through experiencing a particular thing can influence the perception which will be formed in the future. The forming of perception can influence someone’s
motivation in doing something. b. Perception on Learning
Marton, Dall’Alba, & Beaty (1993) stated that perception on learning deals with belief and concept. It means that perception on learning always deals with belief and concept about knowledge, which plays as stimuli from environment. 2. Implementation CBC in Junior High School
teaching learning activities are not merely learning vocabulary and grammar. In spite of this, it does not mean that in CBC vocabulary and grammar are neglected. They are still important; however, they are not emphasized. A person will not be able to communicate well if his or her grammar and vocabulary are poor.
The standard competence of English subject in the first grade of Junior High School is students are able to communicate in oral and written form using appropriate terms fluently and accurately in international discourse and/or short monologue especially narrative, descriptive, and simple recount.
Based on Curriculum Based-Competence, there are four skills in English subject. The first skill is listening; the basic competence of listening skill is to understand transactional and interpersonal discourse (self-introduction, teacher’s instructions, and spontaneous responses) in the forms of descriptive, narrative, and recount. The indicators of listening skill are responding transactional discourse correctly, understanding monolog, responding teacher’s instructionsand doing dictation which fulfill minimum requirement.
The second skill in English subject is speaking skill. In speaking skill, expressing meaning in transactional discourse and oral monolog, especially in form of narrative, recount, and simple descriptive discourse is required basic competence. The indicators of speaking skill are practicing conversations orally, describing things, people, or places and doing monolog.
Based-Competence, which is reading skill. The indicators of reading skill are identifying main ideas, supporting details, factual information, and rhetorical steps.
The fourth skill is writing skill, the basic competence of writing skill is expressing expressions in appropriate rhetorical development steps in written from which type is narrative, recount, and descriptive. The indicators are writing simple functional sentences, writing short messages or announcements, producing narratives, descriptives and recount texts.
Listening activities are usually done in groups or individually, speaking usually done in pairs, reading is usually done individually, and writing is usually done individually.
Evaluations in CBC must be done comprehensively and continuously. A comprehensive evaluation is an evaluation which all basic competencies must be mastered by students. Moreover, the evaluation must be done continuously during teaching learning process, not only at the end of teaching learning process. This theory helps the writer to identify English teaching learning activities implementation applied in the target school and some possible solutions that must be applied if the implementation of English teaching learning activities is different from the implementation regulated by the curriculum.
3. Experiential Learning Theory
a multilinear model of adult development, both of which are consistent with what we know about how people learn, grow, and develop (Kolb et al., 2000). There are some reasons why this theory called “experiential”. The first reason, the term
experiential is used to differentiate ELT both from cognitive learning theories, which tend to emphasize cognition over affect, and behavioral learning theories that deny any role for subjective experience in the learning process (Kolb et al., 2000). Another reason the theory is called experiential is its intellectual origins in the experiential work of Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget. Taken together, Dewey’s philosophical pragmatism, Lewin’s social psychology, and Piaget’s cognitive -developmental genetic epistemology form a unique perspective on learning and development (Kolb, 1984). Kolb defines the experiential learning theory into four stage learning cycles: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation.
Figure 1. Kolb’s stage learning cycles
Immediate or concrete experiences are the basis for observations and reflections. These reflections are assimilated and distilled into abstract concepts from which new implications for action can be drawn. These implications can be actively tested and serve as guides in creating new experiences. In additionally, in grasping experiences some of students perceive new information through experiencing the concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world, relying on our senses and immersing ourselves in concrete reality, for example doing the experiments or outdoor activities. Others tend to perceive, grasp, or take hold of new information through symbolic representation or abstract conceptualization, such as thinking about, analyzing, or systemically planning, rather than using sensation as a guide. Similarly, in transforming or processing experience some of people tend to carefully watch other who are involved in the experience and reflect on what happens or reflective observation, while others choose to jump right in and start doing things or active experimentation. (p. 3-4) In learning cycle, Kolb developed the Learning Style Inventory (LSI). The aim of LSI is to assess individual learning style. As shows on the diagram above, there are four statistically prevalent learning styles, they are Diverging, Assimilating, Converging, and Accommodating. The following is the summary of four basic learning styles based on research and clinic observation of pattern of LSI scores (Kolb et al., 2000) :
a. Diverging
The diverging style’s dominant learning abilities are Concrete Experience
(CE) and Reflective Observation (RO). People with this learning style are best at viewing concrete situations from many different points of view. People with a diverging learning style have broad cultural interest and like to gather information. In formal learning situations, people with the diverging style prefer to work in group; listening with an open mind and receiving personalize feedback.
The Assimilating style’s dominant learning abilities are Abstract Conceptualization (AC) and Reflective Observation (RO). People with this learning style are best at understanding a wide range of information and putting into concise, logical form. Individuals with an assimilating style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer reading, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through.
c. Converging
The converging style’s dominant learning abilities are Abstract
Conceptualization (AC) and Active Experimentation (AE). People with this learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They have ability to solve problems and make decisions based on finding solutions to questions or problems. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer to experiment with new ideas, simulations, laboratory assignments, and practical applications.
d. Accommodating
The Accommodating style’s dominant learning abilities are Concrete Experience (CE) and Active Experimentation (AE). People with this learning
style have the ability to learn from primarily “hand-on” experience. They enjoy
carrying out plans and involving themselves in new challenging experiences.
Their tendency may be to act on “gut” feelings rather than on logical analysis.
prefer to work with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do field work, and to test out different approaches to completing a project.
4. Problem Solving Based Learning
One of the teaching methods in Sekolah Alam is problem solving based learning. In recent teaching and learning activities, problem solving is very important and has a role as basic skill of the learners or students. Problem solving
is a basic skill needed by today’s learners (Kirkley, 2003). Through this method
students will improve their thinking skills in solving the problem in teaching learning activities. This involves basic skills, but also requires learners to use their knowledge in variety of domains, perform critical analysis, and solve problems (Kirkley, 2003). Because of that reason, many of teachers are interested to implement problem solving based learning in their teaching activities and teach the students to be more active and have critical thinking skills in solving the problem that was founding teaching learning activities then will lead them be a successful problem solvers. As Hardin (2002) stated many of educators, especially those involved in professional curricula, are interested in problem solving and in
how to support students’ development into successful problem solvers. To solve
In 2002, Hardin stated that based on how problem and goal are represented; problems are categorized as ill defined or well defined. Iil defined is problems with complex representations and/or more than one solution. Then well defined are problems with discrete representations and finite goals.
Hardin (2002) noted conceptually, there are two kinds problem solving knowledge: declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge is knowing that something is the case. It is knowledge of facts, theories, events, and objects. Procedural knowledge is knowing how to do something. It includes motor skills, cognitive skills, and cognitive strategies. (p.227)
There are two types of problem solver in problem solving based learning. They are an expert problem solver and a novice problem solver. There are three different of both problem solvers (Kirkley, 2003):
1. Expert problem solvers have deeper understanding and representations of a domain (context). Expert problem solvers are able to draw on an extensive reservoir of past experiences solving analogous problems in the same domain, can switch between various methods and strategies (Jonnassen, 1997). Novice do not know as much as expert about context. Novices make more errors than experts, and their errors are mostly related to misconceptions rather than carelessness or random guessing. 2. Expert problem solvers synthesize their rich declarative knowledge to
rely or naïve, less complete, poorly structured and even incorrect mental models. These mental modeling errors are often the source of novice problem solving mistakes.
3. Expert problem solvers have positive attitude and confidence that problems can be solved through persistent analysis (Jonnassen, 1997). Novices often lack these properties.
After all explanation and understanding of problem solving above, Kirkley (2003) suggests a number of important principles for teaching problem solving:
1. For any “real-world” job or work skill, identify both the declarative and
procedural knowledge components. Give each appropriate instructional emphasis.
2. First introduce a problem solving context, then either alternate between teaching declarative and procedural knowledge, or integrate the two. 3. When teaching declarative knowledge, emphasize mental models
appropriate to theproblem solving to come, by explaining knowledge structures and asking learners topredict what will happen or explain why something happened.
4. Emphasize moderately- and ill-structured problem solving when far transfer is a goalof instruction.
6. Use direct (deductive) teaching strategies for declarative knowledge and wellstructured problem solving.
7. Use inductive teaching strategies to encourage synthesis of mental models and formoderately and ill-structured problem solving.
8. Within a problem exercise, help the learners understand (or define) the goal, then helpthem to break it down into intermediate goals.
9. Use the errors learners make in problem solving as evidence of misconceptions, notjust carelessness or random guessing. If possible, determine the probablemisconception and correct it.
10. Ask questions and make suggestions about strategy to encourage learners to reflecton the problem solving strategies they use. Do this either before or after the learnertakes action. (This is sometimes called cognitive coaching).
11. Give practice of similar problem solving strategies across multiple contexts toencourage generalization.
12. Ask questions which encourage the learner to encourage the learner to grasp thegeneralizable part of the skill, across many similar problems in different contexts.
13. Use contexts, problems and teaching styles which will build interest, motivation,confidence, persistence and knowledge about self, and reduce anxiety.
15. When teaching well-structured problem solving, allow learners to retrieve it (e.g., froma reference card). If the procedure is frequently used, encourage memorization of theprocedure and practice until it is automatic. 16. When teaching moderately-structured problem solving, encourage the
learners to usetheir declarative (context) knowledge to invent a strategy
which suits the context andthe problem. Allow many “right” strategies to
reach the solution, and compare themfor efficiency and effectiveness. 17. When teaching ill-structured problem solving, encourage the learners to
use theirdeclarative (context) knowledge to define the goal (properties of
an acceptablesolution), then invent a solution. Allow many “right”
strategies and solutions, andcompare them for efficiency and effectiveness. 5. Sekolah Alam
Sekolah Alam is a school that gives priority on the students’ characters and
way of thinking using back to the nature concept (Novo2010). The failure of the education system in Indonesia is one of the reasons the existence ofSekolah Alam in Indonesia. They believe that Sekolah Alam is an alternative in educational system that has a better quality than conventional school. As Novo, the conceiver ofSekolah Alam(2010) explained that the existence ofSekolah Alamis a reaction of the educational failure in Indonesia.
The focus of Sekolah Alam is on character building and students’ way of
thinking with the concept of back to the nature. In Sekolah Alam, students not
situation then students will enjoy the activities and found no boredom during the class. As Hardian (2010) states that “we always try to create an interesting
ambience teaching learning activities and make the students happy and enjoy then feel that learning is a must and happiness, not about something that boring and
forced”.
Sekolah Alamleads the students to be more active and creative, not just listen to the teacher’s explanation and get the point of the material. Then different opinion between teacher and students are not taboo in Sekolah Alam. They will discuss the problems then solve them together. “Knowledge is not from teachers
only, but it comes from the exploration and being active of students. It will build
students courage in discussion or solving the problems” (Novi, 2010). Besides
that, students are taught to find the answer by themselves, either from the book or other source that support their study in the school.
The vision of Sekolah Alam is a school that will inspire the students to be skilled learners, independents, being character, and leadership. It means that in this school, students are not only good in theories of material, but also they have a better character, more active and can find the solution for the problems they face. As explained in the mission of this school below:
1. Create Islamic character generations 2. Create back-to-nature teaching
B. Theoretical Framework
Perception is a factor that influence successful learning since it influences
someone’s motivation to learn and behavior or attitudes. The first grade Junior
High School students’ perception on English teaching learning activities are important since they influence students’ motivation to learn English and positive behavior in English learning activities. The first grade Junior High School students have different way in perceiving something because it is influenced by their emotion and interest which are not stable yet.
Researching first grade Junior High School students’ perception is
important. The result of the research could be used to improve the quality of the English teaching-learning activities applied in schools. Besides, the result also could be used to measure the effectiveness of the teaching learning activities used in school and the effect for the students, additionally they will face the national examination that for years it is such kind of threat for students.
There are three research questions in this study. The first research questions deals with the implementation of teaching learning activities in the classroom. The implementation of the teaching learning activities needs to be
observed in order to find out the cause of the students’ perception. In order to find
of teaching-learning activities that need to be noticed during the observations. The result of the observation, then analyzed, interpreted and written in paragraph.
The second research question concerns with the students’ perception on
the English teaching learning activity used in Sekolah Alam. Students’ perception
on English teaching learning activities needs to be observed in order to find the answer of this problem. In order to find out the answer, some theories are employed to help the researcher to conduct some observation. The first is theory of perception. It is employed in order to help the researcher to find out what perception is and how each of people gets their perception about things around
him. In researching students’ perception there are some points need to be noticed. First is definition of perception. It is used to help the researcher know what exactly perception is. Second are factors that influence perception. These theories help the writer to find out factors that cause a student to have a certain perception about particular things around him. Besides that, there are some important theories employed in this research, they are Competence Based Curriculum, Experiential Learning, and Problem Solving. These theories help researcher to determine points of teaching-learning activities that need to be noticed during the observations. The result of the questionnaire then is coded, analyzed, interpreted and written in the paragraph.
The third research question concerns with the participants’ thought about a
27
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the methods of the study. It is also discusses the certain analysis used to prove the research from the data gathering. This chapter is divided into five parts of discussion. They are the Research Method, Research Setting, Research Participants, Research Instruments, Data Gathering and Data Analysis.
A. Research Methods
In order to answer the research problems, the researcher employedsurvey method in this study. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1994: 11) survey is a research in which the researchers summarize the characteristics of individual or groups, such as abilities, preferences, and behavior or characteristics of physical
environment. Since this study investigated the students’ perception on the teaching English activities, survey method was an appropriate method to be
conducted. This study gathered the data by asking the students’ of Sekolah Alam
Nurul IslamYogyakarta. The data was about the students’ perception on the
In order to answer the first question stated in the first chapter, the researcher employednaturalistic observation and interviews with the English teacher and a group of students. In a naturalistic observation, the researcher observes the class activities to identify how the lesson had been implemented without altering situation in any way. So, during the teaching-learning activities, the teacher’s and students’ behavior will occur naturally. The interviews were employed in order to
find out some information about the implementations of the variation of teaching learning activities that was not seen by the researcher during the observation. In interviewing, the researcher interviewed both the English teacher and the students. The purpose was to find out the real situation of English teaching learning activities variation.
In order to answer the second question, the researcher distributed questionnaire to the First Grade Students of Sekolah Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta. The questionnaire is employed in order to find out the students’
perception on English teaching learning activities through their English teaching learning activities implementation.
In order to find the answer of the third question that concerns with the
students’ thought about good teaching learning activities in their school, the researcher conducted an interview with some students in that school who choose randomly by the researcher. Besides that, the researcher also conducted an
interview with the English teacher of the school. The aim is to know the teacher’s
B. Research Setting
The researcher conducted the survey on May 18th, 2012 until June 3rd, 2012. The
researcher distributed the questionnaires and did interview in the first grade of Sekolah
Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta. The class consisted of 20 students.
C. Research Participants
The participants were a class of students of SekolahAlam in Yogyakarta and that is Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam. They were the students of first grade of junior high school. The researcher chose the first grade as the research participants because their emotions play an important role in all aspects of their activities, including their activities in perceiving something. Therefore, those participants are able to provide meaningful data needed in this study. At this point the researcher implemented the purposive sampling. According to Fraenkel (1994: 88) purposive sampling is a sample selection in which the researchers use judgment that they believed will provide the data needed. Thus, the researcher believed that the
students’ of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islamare able to provide data of students’
D. Research Instruments
In this research, the researcher explored the students’ perception on the
English teaching learning activity in Sekolah Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta. The researcher applied three types of instruments to gather the data from the participants. They are observation, interview and questionnaires. The questionnaire and individual interview are the most common instrument for data collection in survey research (Ary et al. 2002: 406).
a. Observation
This observation is made to get a comprehensive picture of a situation. The researcher used checklist to record the data collected during the observation. Ary, et al (2002:234) stated that a checklist as a simplest device which presents a list of behavior that are to be observed. The researcher constructed 17 statements; 10 statements for teacher and 7 statements for the students, in this observation by
considering the theory of students’ perception on teaching learning English
activities. The researcher observed the teacher’s and students’ activities during the
teaching learning process in the class by making a check sign (√) in the observation sheets. Through this instrument, the researcher was able to record many things related to all of the aspects to be observed. Then, the result of the observation was used to compile the statements in the questionnaire.
Table 3.1. Sample of the Observation Sheet
Observation Sheet Date:
Statements yes no Notes
b. Questionnaire
In order to investigate the students’ perception on the English teaching
learning activity in SekolahAlam, the researcher administrated the questionnaires to the research participants. According to Ary et al. (1979:175), there are two types of questionnaire. They are structured, or closed type and unstructured or open type. The questionnaire in this research was combination between open and closed type. The open type items were used to get information from the students because they are asked to answer some questions freely in their own ideas. Then, for the closed type items were used to enable the participants to put check (√) in the provided space according to their opinions.
The questionnaire used in this study consisted of 20 closed types, and 3 open types. The questionnaire employed in this research is Likert Scale. According to Ary et al. (1979:235) Likert Scale is a scale that is constructed by assembling a number of statements about an object, a half of which express a clearly favorable attitude and half of which are clearly unfavorable attitude. A set of related responses, one for each point, is provided. The responses were valued from strongly disagree, disagree, agree, and strongly agree. The rank is one to four.
Table 3.3. Questionnaire Blueprint
Question Indicator
No. 1-4 Students’ perception on the importance of learning English and their reasons to learn in the school No. 5-7 Students’ perception on their preparation activities No.8-17 students' perception during the class
c. Interview
The third instrument used in this study was interview. This instrument is used to obtain data to answer the first problem in the problem formulation that is how teacher is implementingthe English teaching learning activity in Sekolah Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta. The strategy used in conducting interview is interview guide approach, in which topic and issue to discuss were specifically outlined. The interviewer decided the sequence and wording of the questions. By using this strategy, the comprehensiveness of the data is improved and the data can be specifically collected.
The interview will be conducted before and after the participants filled the questionnaire. The participants of the interview are the teacher of English and the students of the first grade ofSekolah Alam Nurul IslamYogyakarta.
E. Data Gathering
The first data is gathered from the observation in the classroom during the English teaching-learning activities. The aim of this observation is to find out the implementation of the teaching learning activities in the class.
The second data is gathered from the interview of the teacher and the students. This interview is intended to answer the third problem that is how the teacher implemented the English teaching learning activity in their teaching activities.
English teaching learning activity in Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta. The questionnaires are distributed to the students of Sekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta. The participants are asked to fill out the questionnaire in class. It will take about 15 to 20 minutes.
F. Data Analysis
After the data have been gathered, the researcher analyzed the data to answer the research problems. The data from the first interviews are transcribed in written form and analyzed to answer the first problem. The data from the questionnaires are put in table which consisted of the column for the questions and the columns for the number of students who choose the particular options (strongly disagree and disagree, agree and strongly agree). The researcher counted the number of students who chosen the option strongly disagree, disagree, agree, and strongly agree.
After compiling the data from the participants, the researcher analyzed the data to discover what option considered as the priority that is often chosen by the participants. After classifying the answer, the researcher counted the average of the result for each statement. The average would determine the major response for each statement. The presentation of numbers was aimed at making the description data clearer.
Besides, the scores of the questionnaire also were calculated using descriptive statistics to the source variance. The source of variance consisted of four things, they are, number of cases, mean, mode, and median. Modus was the score that occurs most frequently in the set of scores. Median was the middle point occurs in the set of scores. Mean or average point was the indicator of central tendency of the set of score. The formula for getting the mean was:
X = ∑ X N
X = Mean
X = Raw score
∑ = the sum of score
N = Number of cases (number of participants)
The frequency and central tendency could be recorded in the table:
Table 3.3.Sample of Frequency and Central Tendency’s Table
Participants’ opinions Central Tendency
N Mean Median Mode
Notes:
N = Number of cases (the number of participants) Mean = Indicators of central tendency of the set of sources Median = Middle point that occurs in the set of scores
The average scores of the participants reflected the kinds of students’
36 CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter is divided into two parts; they are Research Finding and Discussion. The research finding consist of data taken from questionnaire which aimed to obtain information about the students’ perception on the English teaching learning activities, some possible suggestions to increase the quality of English teaching learning activities, and the implementation of English teaching learning activities in the class.
A. Research Findings
The data obtained from observation, 20 questionnaires distributed to the first grade of junior high school students inSekolah Alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta year 2011/2012, and interviews. The information below are the finding and discussion.
teaching learning activities during the observations as a general overview of teaching-learning activities applied in this school.
The first observation was on May 18th, 2012. The topics were like and dislike. For the materials, the teacher provided handout and assignment sheets for the students. Firstly, after the students were ready to follow the teaching learning activities, the teacher explained important point of like and dislike from the handout. Then the teacher asked some students to practice the dialogue. Next, the students were asked to do the assignment made the dialogue with topic like and dislike. In this section the English teacher employed problem solving method.
The second observation was on May 22nd, 2012. The topic was thanking. The material was taken from the handout made by the teacher. Firstly, the teacher asked the students to submit the assignment for the last meeting. Then teacher explained the important point of the material from the handout. After that, the students, with teacher practiced the dialogue with the topic thanking. Next, teacher asked the students to do exercises on the handout to make dialogue then practice it in front of the class. In this section of teaching, the English teacher employed experiential learning method and problem solving method.
The third observation was May 25th, 2012. The activity was weekly test. The materials of the test were topics that were taught in a week before. The students did the test well, but there were some students were found cheating.
For the first grade, there were twenty students in the class. In this school there was only one class for each grade. Most of them were at the age around twelve or thirteen. Their emotions really affected their mood during teaching learning activities in the class. Therefore, the researcher found that most of the students did not always come to class with preparation. Their initiative to prepare next English lesson materials were still very low. At puberty age, students do and pay attention to things that in their opinion the things were interesting. This situation also happened to students of first grade students of Sekolah alam Nurul IslamJunior High School.
From the observation, the researcher also found that during the teaching learning activities, some of the students sometimes ignore the teacher and were busy with their activity or cheating with their friends. Moreover, they enjoyed the noisy class situation since they stated that they could not think well if the class was quiet. The English teacher never warned them not to be noisy during the teaching learning activities. The teacher’s purpose of letting students to be noisy and did whatever they wanted or like was that teacher did not want to force the students to sit quietly and listen to the teacher’s explanation but they did not
understand the material because they were getting bored.
There were some reasons that might be the causes of the students were noisy. First was school’s principle that letting the students doing what they want
but follow the class seriously that means school will not force the students to just sit quietly and listen to the teacher’s explanation because it will make students get
based on the researcher’s observation some of the students did not understand the
materials. Even they use it as a chance to do what they want and did not pay attention to the teacher’s explanation. Second, the teacher’s voice was too low; as the result, the students could not hear teacher’s voice clearly. Consequently, they
did not know what theyhad to do, since they could not hear teacher’s instruction. These situations made the teacher have to repeat the instruction or came to the students one by one then explain what they had to do.
Based on some observations, it was found that school separates boys and girls students. It is different from the conventional schools where boys and girls students sit in same row or side by side. These policies based on the Islamic rule where boys and girls are not allowed to touch each other if they are not having any family relationship such as father, brother, uncle and grandfather or called as muhrim. Mahram and Muhrimhas the same meaning. On one side, mahram is a person who is prohibited to harm, stain or damage the honor of someone. On the other side, he is a person who is obliged to maintain the honor and protect the existence of humanity that includes body, mind and soul(Husein, 2011) . This condition made English teachers gave more attention to boys and often ignores the girls on the other side. This situation made the girls busy with themselves and did not do what teacher asked to do.
teaching was when teacher took the students to a public place and learn something from that place or sometimes the teacher gave the students an assignment based on the place that they visited then students had to find the answer. Through this method, the students will get more information and variation in learning something.
On the other hand based on the data from the interview with some students, it was found that they were bored with the teaching learning activities in this school. Most of the activities were doing in the classroom; the English teacher did not have a game in teaching learning activities. They also said that they want interesting activities in teaching learning activities such as played games, learn outside the class, and school invite native speaker so they can practice their English. Moreover, since they study at this school, their English teacher never took them to public places such as restaurant or museum.
For the material, the teacher referred to some books or she took from the website. In teaching learning activities, the teacher always distributed the handout for the students, both the materials and assignments. The teacher referred not only with one book or source. Based on this altering, in English teaching learning activities the students were more active and confident. It was because the teacher focuses on speaking and writing skills.
understand the material and this situation made the class very noisy. They would asked the teacher for the answer and sometimes the teacher gave them the answer but in Indonesian. And in the end of the class, the English teacher did not summarize the materials of the day because she was out of the time. Actually reviewing or summarizing materials was the important part of the teaching because the students would not miss the materials.
The teacher’s habit as explained above, indirectly, made the students being
spoiled because they often ask the answer to the teacher and they did not find the answer by themselves. This condition influences the students’ mark on the test.
Students should be able to perform better on the test, but they could not because their habit of studying. Even based on the result of the test, most of the students got the mark under 6. This situation implied that the students did not learn English intensively.
The result of the observations showed that some students had a habit to go out from the classroom during the teaching learning activities. This habit decreased the quality of English class lesson hour. Actually it was good for the students, they can refresh their mind. However, some of the students use this situation as an opportunity to come out the class and did something they want. These habits made the students were not discipline and not appreciate the teacher.
time in explaining materials twenty minutes, then the students do the assignments for about thirty minutes until the time is over for English class. Yet, most of them could not finish their assignment. It was because in the beginning of the English class, the teacher had to work hard asking the students to come to the class and be ready for the lesson. Some of them were very naughty especially the boys and it made the situation in the class was not good. The second reason was teacher’s
personal issues. The English teacher, sometimes, had to attend some meeting outside the class or abroad for some reasons. This meant that the English teacher did not maximize in teaching learning activities.
Through the observation, the researcher found that the class management of the class is not good. It could be seen from the attitude of some students during the teaching learning activities. During the lesson, there was a student who brought a ball to the class and sometimes he played it even when the teacher explained the material or gave assignment. He did not pay attention to the lesson and was busy by himself. And on the other observation, the researcher found a student did not pay attention to the teacher’s explanation and he was busy by
and did not understand the material. It could be seen from the weekly test result; most of the students’ marks were under 6.
Based on the observations, when the class will be started, the teacher had to hard work asking the students; especially the boys, to come back to the classroom. This situation showed that classroom management was not good. The classroom management also causes time management problem. There were several minutes wasted in order to control the class. Moreover, there were about ten minutes wasted in order to ask the students to come back to the classroom who were going out between lesson hours or after lesson break. This problem could be solved by making an agreement with the students concerning with this problem. For example, they were allowed to come late to the class but not more than five minutes. Coming late to the class more than five minutes means telling a story or explain the previous materials in front of the class. When students in the class had been complete, the teacher should find a way to attract students’ attention and make them follow the class seriously although the school have a rule that is do not pressure the students and make the students enjoy their teaching learning class. It was because of some reasons. First, repeating directions or instructions would waste more time than waiting for students to pay attention to the teacher’s
lesson while the students were busy by themselves and not paying attention to the teacher indicated that teacher was not in control.
First grade students of Junior High School needed simple activities that attracted and could help them learn English, such as games. However, because of the limitation of the time and abundant materials that had to be finished, it was difficult to provide games in English teaching learning activities. In order to avoid students’ boredom since games were difficult to be conducted, the teacher had
some tricks. The students, sometimes, were invited to learn English outside the class or even invited them to the public place. On the other occasion, the English teacher invited a native speaker. These tricks could attract the students’ attention when the games could not be conducted. In teaching learning activities, the teacher could vary the activities which involved both students and teacher in it to attract the students’ attention and make them enjoy the lesson.
In order to make students accustomed to English utterances, the English teacher usually applied bilingual language method while teaching. The English teacher usually tried to speak English while communicating with the students. The English teacher rarely translated into Bahasa Indonesia, the English teacher asked the students to find out or solve the problem by themselves.
2. The First Grade Students of Sekolah alam Nurul Islam Yogyakarta
Junior High School’s Perceptions on Their English Teaching-Learning
Activities
the researcher distributed questionnaire. The following table is the detailed
Below are the results of the questionnaire analysis that was discussed per item.
Part A. Students’ Perceptions on the Importance of Learning English and
Their Reasons to Learn in the School
This part consists of four items. The aim of this part is to find out the importance of English for the participants and their reasons in learning English. Below is the table that shown the percentage of the questionnaire’s result: part A
Table 4.2. Questionnaire Result of Part A
No Statement Percentage (%)
STS TS S SS
1. Saya belajar Bahasa Inggris karena Bahasa Inggris itu
penting. 75 25
2. Saya belajar Bahasa Inggris karena Bahasa Inggris
termasuk pelajaran yang diujikan di ujian akhir. 65 35 3. Saya belajar Bahasa Inggris supaya lebih mudah
mendapat pekerjaan. 20 65 15 4. Saya belajar Bahasa Inggris karena Bahasa Inggris
merupakan bahasa internasional sehingga kelak mudah berkomunikasi dengan orang asing.
30 70
that the participants were disagree with the statement. S means that the participants agree with the statement. While ST state that the participants were strongly agree with the statement. Next is the discussion of the questionnaire of part A. which is discussed per item.
Item 1.Saya belajar Bahasa Inggris karena Bahasa Inggris itu penting.(I learnt
English because learning English is important)
Retmono and Quinn (1994) state that English is important to be learnt for some purposes, such as English is used for the purposes of conducting communication with other nations, to prepare students to continue their study at tertiary level, and to transfer knowledge originating in foreigners countries.
The participants had a positive perception on learning English. All participants stated that learning English in important. It was proved by the data gathered from the questionnaire distributed, as shown in table 4.2. Out of twenty participants, more than half of participants or fifteen participants (75%) agreed that learning English is important; while the rest of participants or five participants (25%) strongly agreed that learning English is important.
Item 2.Saya belajar Bahasa Inggris karena Bahasa Inggris termasuk pelajaran
yang diujikan di ujian akhir.(I learnt English because it would be tested on the final exam.)
an essential role in national and social life. It means that students learn English because of some reasons from the outside that made them have to learn it and not come from inside to learn English. Some of the reasons are because English included in the curriculum and it would be tested in the exam.
Through the questionnaire gathered the result that the students had a reason why they learned English. According to this reason the participants had a negative perception that they learnt English because it would be tested. From the questionnaire proved that most participants had the same opinion to Retmono (1994). The result showed that out of twenty respondents, more than a half of participants or thirteen participants (65%) agreed that they learnt English because it would be tested; while the rest of the participants or seven participants (35%) strongly agreed with the statement.
The result of this item implied that they were extrinsically motivated to learn English. It seemed that there was something from the environment that forced them to learn English. The result of learning English would be better if the participants were intrinsically motivated in learning it. Therefore, the English teacher should take some actions in order to increase students’ intrinsic motivation.
Item 3.Saya belajar Bahasa Inggris supaya lebih mudah mendapat pekerjaan.
(I learnt English in order to get a job easier)
