ABSTRACT
Yanse, Servinus. (2016). Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Group Discussion and Their Engagement in the Speaking Sessions of CLS I. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Speaking is one of the needed skills by students in the language learning process. The students will be able to speak up their opinions and improve their communicative competence when they can master speaking skills. In the learning process, there are some techniques that lecturers of ELESP usually use. One of them is the group discussion technique. This technique is needed to see how the students can work together and share their opinions with their friends in the group. In fact, the engagement of the students in the group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I is one of the hopes from the lecturer. The lecturer expects that all group members can engage well during the implementation of group discussion. Engaged students mean that they really care about what they have learned.
There were two research problems in this research: (1) What are the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I? (2) What are the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I? The aims of this research were to find out the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I and to find out the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
This research was included as quantitative research. Survey method was used by the researcher to gather the data. In collecting the data, the researcher used three instruments. They were questionnaire, interview, and observation. The researcher used the data from the questionnaire as the main data. Meanwhile, the supporting data was obtained from the interview and observation.
The first finding towards the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement showed that the students tended to have positive perception toward the use of group discussion. Most students believed that group discussion was an interesting technique used by the lecturer in the classroom activity. Group discussion was also an effective technique to increase their engagement in order to develop their English speaking skills. The second finding towards the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion showed that the students tended to have positive perception on their engagement during the implementation of group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I. The students thought that they could participate well in group discussion and felt motivated to engage themselves.
ABSTRAK
Yanse, Servinus. (2016). Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Group Discussion and Their Engagement in the Speaking Sessions of CLS I. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Berbicara merupakan salah satu keterampilan yang dibutuhkan oleh mahasiswa dalam proses pembelajaran. Para mahasiswa akan dapat menyampaikan pendapat dan meningkatkan kemampuan berkomunikasi mereka ketika mereka bisa menguasai keterampilan berbicara. Dalam proses pembelajaran, ada beberapa teknik yang biasanya digunakan oleh para dosen di PBI. Salah satunya adalah group discussion. Teknik ini diperlukan untuk melihat bagaimana para mahasiswa bisa bekerjasama dan menyampaikan pendapatnya kepada teman di dalam kelompok. Faktanya, partisipasi para mahasiswa dalam group discussion di kelas CLS I merupakan salah satu harapan dosen pengampu mata kuliah tersebut. Dosen berharap semua anggota kelompok bisa berpartisipasi dengan baik selama diskusi kelompok berjalan. Para mahasiswa yang berpartisipasi artinya ialah mereka yang benar-benar peduli tentang apa yang telah mereka pelajari.
Ada dua permasalahan di dalam penelitian ini, yaitu: (1) Apa persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap penggunaan group discussion untuk meningkatkan partisipasi mereka di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I? (2) Apa persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap partisipasi mereka dalam group discussion di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I? Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap penggunaan group discussion untuk meningkatkan partisipasi mereka di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I dan untuk mengetahui persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap partisipasi mereka dalam group discussion di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I.
Penelitian ini bersifat kuantitatif. Metode survei digunakan oleh peneliti untuk mengumpulkan data. Dalam mengumpulkan data, peneliti menggunakan tiga instrumen. Instrumen tersebut ialah kuesioner, wawancara, dan obsevasi. Peneliti menggunakan data dari hasil kuesioner sebagai data utama. Sedangkan data pendukung diperoleh dari wawancara dan observasi.
mereka dalam group discussion menunjukkan bahwa para mahasiswa memiliki persepsi positif terhadap keikutsertaan atau partipasi mereka selama implementasi dari group discussion di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I. Para mahasiswa berpikir bahwa mereka dapat berpartisipasi dengan baik dalam group discussion dan merasa termotivasi untuk berpartisipasi.
STUDENTS’ PER
CEPTIONS ON THE USE OF GROUP
DISCUSSION AND THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN THE
SPEAKING SESSIONS OF CLS I
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By Servinus Yanse Student Number: 121214004
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
STUDENTS’ PER
CEPTIONS ON THE USE OF GROUP
DISCUSSION AND THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN THE
SPEAKING SESSIONS OF CLS I
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By Servinus Yanse Student Number: 121214004
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
SOME PEOPLE IN OUR LIFE AS BLESSINGS.
SOME COME IN YOUR LIFE AS LESSONS.
(MOTHER TERESA)
I dedicate this thesis to:
o
My lovely parents who always give their endless love
o
My sisters who always support me in doing my thesis
o
Jean Kern as an inspiration in my life
o
Yayasan SUKMA who gave me full scholarship since I studied
vii
ABSTRACT
Yanse, Servinus. (2016). Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Group Discussion and Their Engagement in the Speaking Sessions of CLS I. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Speaking is one of the needed skills by students in the language learning process. The students will be able to speak up their opinions and improve their communicative competence when they can master speaking skills. In the learning process, there are some techniques that lecturers of ELESP usually use. One of them is the group discussion technique. This technique is needed to see how the students can work together and share their opinions with their friends in the group. In fact, the engagement of the students in the group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I is one of the hopes from the lecturer. The lecturer expects that all group members can engage well during the implementation of group discussion. Engaged students mean that they really care about what they have learned.
There were two research problems in this research: (1) What are the
students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement
in the speaking sessions of CLS I? (2) What are the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I? The aims of
this research were to find out the students’ perceptions on the use of group
discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I and to
find out the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the
speaking sessions of CLS I.
This research was included as quantitative research. Survey method was used by the researcher to gather the data. In collecting the data, the researcher used three instruments. They were questionnaire, interview, and observation. The researcher used the data from the questionnaire as the main data. Meanwhile, the supporting data was obtained from the interview and observation.
The first finding towards the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement showed that the students tended to have positive perception toward the use of group discussion. Most students believed that group discussion was an interesting technique used by the lecturer in the classroom activity. Group discussion was also an effective technique to increase their engagement in order to develop their English speaking skills. The second
finding towards the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion showed that the students tended to have positive perception on their engagement during the implementation of group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I. The students thought that they could participate well in group discussion and felt motivated to engage themselves.
viii
ABSTRAK
Yanse, Servinus. (2016). Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Group Discussion and Their Engagement in the Speaking Sessions of CLS I. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Berbicara merupakan salah satu keterampilan yang dibutuhkan oleh mahasiswa dalam proses pembelajaran. Para mahasiswa akan dapat menyampaikan pendapat dan meningkatkan kemampuan berkomunikasi mereka ketika mereka bisa menguasai keterampilan berbicara. Dalam proses pembelajaran, ada beberapa teknik yang biasanya digunakan oleh para dosen di PBI. Salah satunya adalah group discussion. Teknik ini diperlukan untuk melihat bagaimana para mahasiswa bisa bekerjasama dan menyampaikan pendapatnya kepada teman di dalam kelompok. Faktanya, partisipasi para mahasiswa dalam group discussion di kelas CLS I merupakan salah satu harapan dosen pengampu mata kuliah tersebut. Dosen berharap semua anggota kelompok bisa berpartisipasi dengan baik selama diskusi kelompok berjalan. Para mahasiswa yang berpartisipasi artinya ialah mereka yang benar-benar peduli tentang apa yang telah mereka pelajari.
Ada dua permasalahan di dalam penelitian ini, yaitu: (1) Apa persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap penggunaan group discussion untuk meningkatkan partisipasi mereka di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I? (2) Apa persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap partisipasi mereka dalam group discussion di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I? Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap penggunaan group discussion untuk meningkatkan partisipasi mereka di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I dan untuk mengetahui persepsi para mahasiswa terhadap partisipasi mereka dalam group discussion di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I.
Penelitian ini bersifat kuantitatif. Metode survei digunakan oleh peneliti untuk mengumpulkan data. Dalam mengumpulkan data, peneliti menggunakan tiga instrumen. Instrumen tersebut ialah kuesioner, wawancara, dan obsevasi. Peneliti menggunakan data dari hasil kuesioner sebagai data utama. Sedangkan data pendukung diperoleh dari wawancara dan observasi.
ix
mereka dalam group discussion menunjukkan bahwa para mahasiswa memiliki persepsi positif terhadap keikutsertaan atau partipasi mereka selama implementasi dari group discussion di speaking sessions di kelas CLS I. Para mahasiswa berpikir bahwa mereka dapat berpartisipasi dengan baik dalam group discussion dan merasa termotivasi untuk berpartisipasi.
x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to God Almighty,
Jesus Christ for His endless love. I would not be able to finish this final thesis
without His guidance. I thank Him for giving me a wonderful life with great
parents and friends in my life. I also would like to express my great gratitude to
my only one advisor, Drs. Y.B Gunawan, M.A. I thank him for helping me find
and fix the topic for my thesis, spent his time to give me suggestions, beneficial
feedback, corrections, and encouragement from the beginning until the end of my
thesis.
Besides, I also would like to express my sincere thankfulness to Yohana
Veniranda, M.Hum., Ph.D. who gave me permission to conduct my research in her Critical Listening and Speaking I class. I do appreciate her helping hands. I
also would like to express a huge gratitude to all of the students of English
Language Education Study Program of class B in CLS I Academic Year
2014/2015 who became the participants of my research for filling the
questionnaires and being my interviewees.
I dedicate this final thesis especially to my beloved parents Stepanus and
Erni Peranti. I would like to express my greatest gratitude to them for their prayer, endless love, inspirations, and motivations in finishing my thesis. I also
thank my sister who gave me support in finishing my thesis. She always gives me
xi
who has been helping my parents in supporting my study. I also thank Yayasan
SUKMA which had paid for my school fee since I studied at Sanata Dharma
University. I also would like to express my gratitude to Graaf Huyn College and
Yayasan Tirta Utomo for the help since I studied at Sanata Dharma University of
Yogyakarta.
My gratefulness also goes to my beloved friends and families, Jimmy Amres, Mas Grandil, Windu, Ari Solo, Ari Flores, Juple, Surya, Cek Gu, Dutc, Yosi Gunung Kidul, Om Slamet, Bu Yayuk, Chandra, Ricko, Erik, Joe, Marsel, and all The A Team who wanted to hear my sharing. I also thank everyone whom I cannot mention one by one who helped me finish my thesis.
xii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGES ... i
APPROVAL PAGES ... ii
DEDICATION PAGE ... iii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN ILMIAH ... v
ABSRTACT ... vi
ABSTRAK ... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... x
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xii
LIST OF TABLES ... xiv
LIST OF FIGURES ... xv
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xvi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Research Background... 1
B. Research Problem... 4
C. Problem Limitation ... 4
D. Research Objectives ... 5
E. Research Benefits ... 5
F. Definition of Terms ... 6
1. Perception ... 6
2. Engagement ... 6
3. Group Discussion ... 7
xiii
Page CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Theoretical Description ... 9
1. Perception ... 9
2. Group Discussion ... 12
3. Engagement ... 15
B. Theoretical Framework ... 22
CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Research Method ... 27
B. Research Setting ... 28
C. Research Participants ... 29
D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Technique ... 29
1. Questionnaire ... 30
2. Interview ... 31
E. Data Analysis Technique ... 31
F. Research Procedure ... 34
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Data Presentation ... 36
1. Frequency Distribution ... 37
2. Percentage Distribution ... 37
B. Data Interpretation ... 37
1. Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Group Discussion in the Speaking Session in CLS I... 38
2. Students’ Perception on Their Engagement in Group Discussion in the Speaking Session in CLS I ... 44
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions ... 59
B. Recommendations ... 60
REFERENCES ... 62
xiv
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page 3.1 Data Percentages of Respondents ... 32 3.2 Positive and Negative Criteria ... 33 4.1 Percentage Distribution of Students’ Perceptions on the Use of
Group Discussion ... 39 4.2 Percentage Distribution of Students’ Perceptions on Their Effort
in Group Discussion ... 45 4.3 Percentage Distribution of Students’ Perceptions on the Purpose
of Their Engagement ... 49 4.4 Percentage Distribution of Students’ Perceptions on Their
xv
LIST OF FIGURE
xvi
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page
APPENDIX A The Pilot Questionnaire Blueprint ... 66
APPENDIX B The Pilot Questionnaire ... 69
APPENDIX C The Questionnaire Blueprint ... 72
APPENDIX D The Questionnaire ... 75
APPENDIX E The Questionnaire Changes List ... 78
APPENDIX F The Interview Protocol... 81
APPENDIX G The Data of the Respondents ... 87
APPENDIX H The Computation Result of the Questionnaire ... 89
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This research investigates the perceptions of English Language Education
Study Program (ELESP) students on the use of group discussion and their
engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I course at the
ELESP of Sanata Dharma University of Yogyakarta. In this chapter, the
researcher discusses the research background, the research problems, the problem
limitation, the research objectives, the research benefits, and the definition of
terms.
A. Research Background
Speaking is one of the needed skills by students in the language learning
process. The students will be able to speak up their opinions and improve their
communicative competence when they can master speaking skills. Burns (1998)
stated that “speaking is a combinatorial language skill” (p. 67). It requires the ability to fulfill various communicative demands through efficient use of the
spoken language. Second language competence, therefore, requires knowledge of
the target language as a system for making meaning and an awareness of the
In the learning process, there are some techniques that lecturers of ELESP
usually use. One of them is the group discussion technique. This technique is
applied almost in all subjects given at the ELESP. Group discussion is needed to
see how the students can work together and share their opinions with their friends
in the group. Group discussion might be one of the ways of the lecturers to help
the students in their learning process. WBI Evaluation Group (2007) mentions
that “group discussion will help the group members build each other’s comments
and reactions”. It is a useful technique to be used in teaching because the students can help his/her friends understand the material through the group discussion.
In fact, the engagement of the students in the group discussion in the
speaking session in CLS I is one of the hopes from the lecturer. The lecturer
expects that all students can participate well during group discussion. Barkley
(2009) stated in the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) and the
Community College Survey on Student Engagement (CCSSE) define engagement
as “the frequency with which students participate in activities that represent effective educational practices, and conceive of it as pattern of involvement in a
variety of activities and interactions both in and out of the classroom and
throughout a student’s college career” (p. 4).
In addition, according to Barkley (2009), college teachers tend to describe
students engagement in one of two ways. The first is with statements like
“Engaged students really care about what they have learned; they want to learn”
or “When students are engaged, they exceed expectations and go beyond what is
excitement” (p. 5). This means that the teachers want students share their enthusiasm for their academic discipline and find their courses so compelling that
they willingly, in fact enthusiastically, devote their hearts and minds to the
learning process.
According to Barkley (2009), the second way is that they describe student
engagement with statements like “Engaged students are trying to make meaning of what they are learning” or “Engaged students are involved in the academic task at hand and are using high-order thinking skills such as analysing information or
solving problems” (p. 5). This means that they are going to make their learning meaningful. If there is a problem in their learning, they will solve it using
high-order thinking skills.
Moreover, students’ perceptions are also one of the factors that can
influence students’ motivation to learn in class, especially in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I. There are two kinds of perceptions which are
going to be observed by the researcher. They are students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion as a technique used in the classroom activity and students’ perceptions on their engagement itself during group discussion is done.
In fact, the two students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement are related to each other. Students’ perceptions on the use group discussion can identify the engagement of the students. If the students perceive
the use of group discussion as a technique used in the classroom activity
the classroom activity automatically. On the other hand, if the students perceive
the use of group discussion as a technique used in the classroom activity
negatively, they will also have negative behaviour responses and less engaged
during the classroom activity in the group discussion.
Based on the explanation above, the researcher conducts a research about
students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I. The aim of this research is to discover the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement in the speaking
sessions of CLS I at the ELESP of Sanata Dharma University of Yogyakarta.
B. Research Problems
Based on the research background above, the researcher formulates the
research questions as follows:
1. What are the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I?
2. What are the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I?
C. Problem Limitation
sessions of CLS I for the third semester of ELESP students of Sanata Dharma
University. This research focuses on students’ personal perceptions on the use of group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I and the students’ perceptions on their engagement during the implementation of group discussion in the
speaking sessions of CLS I at the third semester of ELESP. The participants of
this research are 26 students from the third semester at ELESP of Sanata Dharma
University who have experienced to use group discussion in the speaking sessions
of CLS I.
D. Research Objectives
Based on the problem formulations above, the researcher formulates two
research objectives, they are:
1. To find out the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
2. To find out to the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
E. Research Benefits
The researcher expects that this research will be beneficial to ELESP
1. ELESP Lecturers
This research expects that the lecturers can see whether group discussion
is effective or ineffective enough to be used as one of techniques in increasing
students’ engagement on their learning process in the speaking sessions of CLS I. 2. ELESP Students
This research is mostly focused on the students of CLS I course. It is
expected that after this research, they can reflect themselves whether they have
engaged enough in group discussion or not. Being engaged means that they can
share their opinions in group discussion and be an active learning. Moreover, the
researcher also hopes that they will be able to conduct a better way of learning in
the future.
3. Future Researchers
The results of this research hopefully can be used as references for other
studies which are related to this topic. The future researchers can also conduct
further research related to this topic. Since this research focused on perception, the
future researcher can conduct a research about the use of group discussion in
developing motivation, the effectiveness of group discussion, and the
improvements of speaking skills after engaging themselves in group discussion.
F. Definition of Terms
In this research, there will be four terms which are used. Those are
To avoid any misunderstanding while discussing this research, the researcher will
explain briefly these four terms.
1. Perception
According to Robbins (2001) in his book Organizational Behaviour,
perception can be defined as a process by which individuals organize and interpret
their sensory opinions in order to give meaning to their environment (p. 221). In
this research, perception is the students’ feeling on their engagement or effort during the group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
2. Engagement
Engagement here is students’ participation during their classroom activity
through group discussion technique. Barkley (2009) states that student
engagement is the product of motivation and active learning (p. 6). It tells that if
there is an element missing, the product will not occur. In this study, engagement
is the students’ motivation to participate during the classroom activities through
group discussion. Therefore, the students have some efforts to be engaged in the
classroom activity.
3. Group Discussion
According to Flynn and Faso (1972), group discussion is a natural human
activity, an interesting, exciting, and creative experience which define a small
group as not more than twenty-five people who recognize themselves and one
purposes they believe better fulfilled in this way (p. 4-5). In this research, group
discussion is an interesting and exciting technique provided for students to
participate in the classroom activity in order to give them chance to engage
themselves in classroom activity, especially in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
The students can show their creativity and effort to be engaged through group
discussion in their learning process in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
4. Critical Listening and Speaking I
Critical Listening and Speaking I is one of compulsory courses in English
Language Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma University of Yogyakarta.
This course is given for the third semester students. One of the major skills that
will be learned in this course is speaking skills. Speaking skills is needed to learn
by the students because it is useful for them to improve their ability to
communicate to each other. In this research, Critical Listening and Speaking I is
one of compulsory courses for the third semester that is used as a setting to obtain
9
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this chapter, all of the theories used in organizing this research will be
explained by the researcher. It is divided into two sections, namely theoretical
description and theoretical framework. The researcher will be discussing some
important theories related to the research in theoretical description. The theories
are perception, group discussion, and engagement. The researcher will be
summarizing and relating the theories to the study in theoretical framework.
A. Theoretical Description
In this section, the theories which are related to this research will be
discussed by the researcher. There are three major theories used in this research.
They are perception, group discussion, and engagement.
1. Perception
Everyone has their own way in seeing, viewing, and perceiving something
in his or her life. The ways of seeing, viewing, and perceiving things are called as
perception. In fact, everyone might have different perception on something. The
a. Definition of Perception
According to Altman et al. (1985) perception is the way stimuli are
selected and grouped by a person so that they can be meaningfully interpreted (p.
85). It shows a person’s view of reality in his/her environment. In this study, perception is the way how the students perceive about the use of group discussion
and their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
b. Factors Influencing Perception
Someone’s perception can be influenced by several factors. Altman el al. (1985) state that four of the most important factors are (a) selection of stimuli, (b)
organization of stimuli, (c) the situation, and (d) the person’s self-concept (p. 86). 1) Selection of Stimuli
There are many stimuli that will come up to our surrounding. We must
focus on only a small number of all the stimuli. This process is called as selection.
In this process, people try to select certain stimuli and filter out the others. As a
result, people will perceive things differently because each person might select
specific signals.
2) Organization of Stimuli
The second factor that can influence perception is organization. The
stimuli that have been selected must be arranged. The stimuli are arranged into a
screening process. Therefore, it will be meaningful information. In fact, the
3) The Situation
Another factor influencing perception is the situation. A person’s
familiarities, expectations, and experiences in his or her past might affect what
that person perceives about a certain thing. Moreover, perceiving situation is also
related to the way how well a person adapts his or her behaviour to the situation.
For example, a person who is just graduated from college might find difficulty to
understand the norms and values in his or her new workplace because he or she
has no experience yet in which he or she works.
4) The Person’s Self-Concept
The last factor influencing perception is the self-concept. The way people
see and perceive themselves are usually called perception. These ways can affect
their perception on things in the world around them. The self-concept is important
because the person mental picture might affect much of what they see and
perceive in their life.
In this research, those factors influencing perception are important to be
used as the basis information of implementation toward the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement in the speaking sessions of
CLS I.
2. Group Discussion
Group discussion is one of techniques used by the ELESP lecturers at
Sanata Dharma University in their teaching. This technique is used as a course of
especially in a group discussion. The use of group discussion is aimed to help the
students to engage themselves in their learning process. The students try to show
their effort during the impelmentation of group discussion. The following part will
be discussing deeper about some aspects related to group discussion strategy.
a. Definition of Group Discussion
According to Slavin (1990), group discussion is when a group of people
are together to do a work, and they are doing interactions with the member of the
group and who are psychologically sensible of one another, and who are taking
part themselves to be a group on a learning process. It is in line with Amy (2007)
who says that group discussion is group where some number of students can work
together to make decision, give and/share their opinions on given topic, create
something, and solve problem. This shows that the students can help each group
member to participate well in the learning process to achieve their goals.
b. Types of Group Discussion
There are two types of group discussion. They are “large-group discussion and small-group discussion” (Borich, 1996, p. 325). It is taken from Viviana’s thesis (2013).
1) Large-Group Discussion
Large-Group discussion consists of all students in class which are
discussing a topic. The students are guided by the teacher in the discussion.
Sometimes this type of group discussion is difficult to be handled because there
class. In this type, the teachers lead the process of the group discussion. So, the
teachers can do such as teaching, demonstrating, explaining the topic, asking, and
answering questions if the students have any.
2) Small-Group Discussion
Small-Group discussion is helpful for the students to increase their
participation or engagement in the group discussion. The member of the group is
usually around five to ten people. The students will have big chance to speak up
their opinions when they are in small numbers in group discussion. The students
have much time to participate in the group discussion. Therefore, it can increase
their communication skill within each group member.
c. Stages of Group Discussion
There are four stages of group discussion namely “forming, storming,
norming, and performing” (Borich, 1996, p. 463-464). This statement is taken
from Viviana’s thesis (2013).
1) Forming
This stage focuses on acceptance and responsibilities of the students. At
this stage, the students are still trying to find out their social structure and find out
what they are expected to do in the groups. At this stage of group formation, the
students are curious about one another and begin to see how and with whom they
on their consideration. After that, they unite in the group and start to do their tasks
given.
2) Storming
The aim of storming is to help the learners feel secured and perceived
themselves as the members of group. This stage concerns shared influences. Thus,
there will be an agreement that students treat their teacher as the leader of the
class. In fact, the students should follow the rules that the teacher makes during
the group discussion activity.
3) Norming
This stage focuses on how the students’ work should be done. This means that norms direct how the students should feel, think, act or behave in the groups.
Therefore, they must follow the rules that are implemented in the groups.
4) Performing
This stage will help the students build their confidence to perform in the
groups. It includes the freedom, the control, and the self-regulation. Those three
things are very important for the students in order to have a good performance.
Moreover, at this stage, the teacher should give any feedback and evaluate the
3. Engagement
The way the students increase their achievement, positive behaviours, and
being active in a classroom is called engagement. The students will do great effort
in order to increase their achievement. Moreover, the students are supposed to be
able to motivate themselves to participate in the classroom activity, especially in
group discussion to increase their engagement. The following part will discuss
deeper about some important aspects related to student engagement.
a. Definition of Engagement
Student engagement is primarily and historically about increasing
achievement, positive behaviours, and a sense of belonging in all students. Over
time, student engagement strategy were further developed and more broadly
implemented as a means of generally managing classroom behaviours. According
to Gilbert (2007), student engagement has been built around the hopeful goal of
enhancing all students’ abilities to learn how to learn or to become lifelong
learners in a knowledge-based society (p. 1). Student engagement has become
both a strategic process for learning and an accountability outcome unto itself.
Moreover, Kuh (2009) also defines student engagement as the time and effort
students devote to activities that are empirically linked to desired outcomes of
college and what institutions do to induce students participate in these activities
Barkley (2010) states that student engagement is the product of motivation
and active learning (p. 6). It tells that if there is an element missing, the product
[image:36.595.84.514.198.651.2]will not occur. They are related to each other as illustrated in figure 2.1.
FIGURE 2.1.
Venn Diagram Model of Student Engagement
b. Factors Influencing Engagement
There are five factors that can influence student engagement. Those are
relationship with teachers, relationship with peers and classmates, self-efficacy,
academic self-regulated learning, and motivation and interest in learning. These
are the deeper explanation of five factors that can influence student engagement.
1) Relationships with Teachers
There are two bases for student-teacher relationships called as
interpersonal liking and trust. Students feel that they belong in school when
teachers express involvement and warmth by treating students with care and
Dowson, 2009, p. 327-365). When teachers are dependable sources of emotional
and instrumental support in difficult times, students feel connected to their
teachers and safe at school.
Students also need structured interactions, in which teachers set high
standards, clear expectations, and reasonable limits for students’ behaviours performances, and consistently follow through on their demands. Stipek (2002)
states that optimal structure includes teachers’ confidence in students’ underlying abilities as well as helping students figure out how to reach high levels of
understanding and performance. The most important things are breaking tasks into
manageable components that students are ready to master, and the provision of
informational feedback so that when students do not meet expectations, teachers
explain to them how to improve.
2) Relationship with Peers and Classmates
Warmth is a key feature of high-quality peer relationships (Furman &
Buhrmester, 1985, p. 1016-1034) and highly functional classroom climates
(Cabello & Terrell, 1994). When students have opportunities to talk and listen to
each other, provide emotional support, share learning experiences, and develop
respects, they are more likely to feel that they are understood and cared by their
peers. The students also feel that they belong to each other. Warm interactions
3) Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is defined as the “perceived ability to learn and carry out a task or set of behaviours at an identified, optimal level of performance” (Tyler & Boelter, 2008, p. 29) and “the individual’s conviction of being able to master specific activities, situations, or aspects of his or her own psychological and social
functioning” (Bacchini & Magliulo, 2003, p. 339). This means that the conviction of each student in the group to master the activity in group discussion is the main
factor that can influence their engagement and achievement.
Self-efficacy is related to the prior achievement of students. Those who
have high academic self-efficacy participate more actively in learning. They are
more diligent, and complete tasks more successfully than those who have lower
self-efficacy (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996, p. 1206-1222).
4) Academic Self-regulated Learning
Cleary and Zimmerman (2004) state that academic self-regulation relates
to the degree to which students are motivated to learn, think about their own
learning, and proactively make use of self–regulatory processes (strategies and tools) to improve their learning. This means that self-regulation is related to the
students’ motivations to be engaged on the learning process to improve their learning.
This is also in line with Rush and Balamoutsou (2006) who state that
engaged students share the values and approaches to learning of their lecturers,
spend time and energy on educationally meaningful tasks, learn with others inside
learn to value perspectives other than their own (p. 4). When students are part of a
learning community, they are positive about their identity as a member of a group,
focused on learning, ask questions in class, feel comfortable contributing to class
discussions, spend time at campus, have made a few friends, and are motivated in
classroom activity.
5) Motivation and Interest in Learning
Motivation is a term frequently used synonymously for engagement.
Motivation is a construct that describes what makes learners invest their time and
effort. It is described in terms of “conditions and processes that account for the encouragement, direction, greatness, and preservation of effort” (Katzell & Thompson, 1990, p. 144). To explore motivation is to understand the goal behind
the engagement of students and therefore what teachers can do to enhance this
engagement.
Fostering motivation among students is crucially important for short term
learning and also for preparing students to be lifelong learners. According to Bong
(2004), the way that students feel about themselves and learning tasks differs
markedly across situations, so that students who are highly motivated in one
domain may or may not be enthusiastic in other domains (p. 296). Furthermore,
personal interest is more durable and stable than situational interest in that it
emerges as a way of being over time as individuals experience success and
pleasure in learning (Harlen, 2006; Tsai et al., 2008). This shows that personal
interest in each individual is more crucial important factor to pleasure learners in
c. Dimension of Engagement
According to Harper and Quaye (2009), engagement is more than
involvement or participation – it requires feelings and sense making as well as activity (p. 5). The feelings of the students are essential to know whether they are
satisfied with their engagement or not. Acting without feeling engaged is just
involvement or even compliance; feeling engaged without acting is dissociation.
According to Fredricks, Blumenfeld and Paris (2004), drawing on Bloom (1956),
usefully identify three dimensions to student engagement, as discussed below:
1) Behavioural Engagement
Students who are behaviourally engaged would typically fulfil in
behavioural norms, such as attendance and involvement, and would demonstrate
the absence of disruptive or negative behaviour.
2) Emotional Engagement
Students who engage emotionally would experience affective reactions
such as interest, enjoyment, or a sense of belonging. Petrick et al. (2007) state that
emotional engagement is liable to focus on the psychological aspects of student to
student relationships, student and teacher relationships, student feelings and
attitudes, and student perceptions of the social environment including affiliation,
cohesion, fairness, mutual respect, and support from the teacher (p. 83). This
means that emotional engagement is closely related to the psychology of the
students, including the students’ feelings, attitudes, and perception on their social
3) Cognitive Engagement
Cognitively engaged students would be invested in their learning, would
seek to go beyond the requirements, and would relish challenge.
d. The Purpose of Engagement
Being engaged in group discussion might help the students improve their
speaking English skills. Coates (2005) states that this is fundamental: The concept
of student engagement is based on the constructivist assumption that learning is
influenced by how an individual participates in educationally purposeful activities
in group discussion (p. 26).
1) Engagement to Improve Learning
The majority of literature on student engagement is concerned directly or
indirectly with improving student learning. For Coates (2005), this is
fundamental: The concept of student engagement is based on the constructivist
assumption that learning is influenced by how an individual participates in
educationally purposeful activities in a classroom (p. 26). In essence, therefore,
student engagement is concerned with the extent to which students engage in a
range of educational activities through group discussion method used by the
lecturer.
While for Graham et al. (2007) state that the centrality of improving
student learning through engagement is not a new-fangled idea introduced with
the concept of student engagement, but one with a long history (p. 233-234). The
idea that students must be actively engaged in the learning process in order for it
academic achievement is positively influenced by the amount of active
participation in the learning process. According to Kuh (2009), engagement
increases the odds that any student educational and social background not with
standing that will attain his or her educational and personal objectives, acquire the
skills and competencies demanded by the challenges of the twenty-first century,
and enjoy the intellectual and monetary advantages associated with the
completion of the baccalaureate degree (p. 698).
B. Theoretical Framework
This section connects all major relevant theories which have been already
reviewed by the researcher above. The use of those theories is aimed to help the
researcher in conducting the research to solve the research problems which are
stated in chapter 1. In this research, the researcher attempts to answer two research
questions. The first research question is about students’ perceptions on the use of
group discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
The second research question is about students’ perceptions on their engagement
in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
The researcher employs the theory of perception, group discussion, and
engagement to answer the first and the second research questions. The researcher
needs to know the definition of perception, group discussion, and engagement in
order to acknowledge what perception, group discussion, and engagement are.
way students perceive on something; the use of group discussion, will influence
their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
Besides, the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement can be positive and negative. Likewise, it can also influence the
students’ behavioural responses. The behavioural responses can be positive or
negative. It depends on the students’ perceptions. If the students perceive the use
of group discussion and their engagement positively, they will have positive
perception and the students’ behavioural responses will be positive too. The positive behavioural responses of the students will motivate them to get engaged
and show their satisfaction and feeling in the speaking sessions of CLS I. On the
other hand, if the students perceive the use of group discussion and their
engagement negatively, they will also have negative behavioural responses, less
motivated to be engaged in group discussion and felt unsatisfied with their
engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I.
Altman el al. (1985) state that four of the most important factors that can
influence perception are (a) selection of stimuli, (b) organization of stimuli, (c) the
situation, and (d) the person’s self-concept (p. 86). Related to this research, the students should be aware about these four factors which can influence their
perception on the use of group discussion and their engagement in the speaking
sessions of CLS I. One of the most crucial factors is self-concept. Self-concept is
important because the person mental picture might affect much of what they see
students perceive the use of group discussion as a technique used by the lecturer
and also their engagement during the implementation of group discussion.
Besides, according to Slavin (1990), group discussion is when a group of
people are together to do a work, and they are doing interactions with the member
of the group and who are psychologically sensible of one another, and who are
taking part themselves to be a group on a learning process. It is in line with Amy
(2007) who says that group discussion is where some number of students can
work together to make decision, give and/share their opinions on given topic,
create something, and solve problem. This means that group discussion is a
technique which can help the group members to build their communication skills
and help the students to engage themselves on the learning activity.
Moreover, there are two types of group discussion. They are “large-group discussion and small-group discussion” (Borich, 1996, p. 325). In this study, these types of group discussion might also identify how student perceives the use of
group discussion itself. This will help the students perceive which types of group
discussion they usually use in the speaking sessions of CLS I. Furthermore, the
stages of group discussion can also influence the students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion. There are four stages of group discussion namely “forming, storming, norming, and performing” (Borich, 1996, p. 463-464). The researcher needs to know which stages related to this research. Therefore, the researcher can
In addition, the way the students increase their achievement, positive
behaviours, and being active in a classroom is called engagement. Barkley (2010)
states that student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning (p.
6). It tells that if there is an element missing, the product will not occur. There are
five factors that can influence student engagement. Those are relationship with
teachers, relationship with peers and classmates, efficacy, academic
self-regulated learning, and motivation and interest in learning. The most crucial
factors influence engagement is academic self-regulated learning, and motivation
and interest in learning.
Harper & Quaye (2009) state that engagement is more than involvement or
participation – it requires feelings and sense making as well as activity (p. 5). The feelings of the students are essential to know whether they are satisfied with their
engagement or not. Moreover, Kuh (2009) also defines student engagement as the
time and effort students devote to activities that are empirically linked to desired
outcomes of college and what institutions do to induce students participate in
these activities (p. 683).
According to Fredricks et al. (2004) there are three dimensions of
engagement. They are behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement (p.
62-63). Students who are behaviourally engaged would typically fulfil with
behavioural norms, such as attendance and involvement, and would demonstrate
the absence of disruptive or negative behaviour. Meanwhile for the students who
engage emotionally would experience affective reactions such as interest,
engagement is liable to focus on the psychological aspects of student to student
relationships, student and teacher relationships, student feelings and attitudes, and
student perceptions of the social environment including affiliation, cohesion,
fairness, mutual respect, and support from the teacher (p. 83). Besides, for the
students who cognitively engaged students would be invested in their learning,
[image:46.595.24.563.248.725.2]would seek to go beyond the requirements, and would relish challenge.
Figure 2.2 Theoretical Framework Diagram:
PERCEPTION
GROUP DISCUSSION ENGAGEMENT
Types of Group Discussion
Stages of Group Discussion Factors that Influence Engagement Dimension of Engagement 1. Small 2. Large 1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming 4. Performing
1. Relationship with teacher 2. Relationship with peers and
classmates 3. Self-efficacy
4. Academic self-regulated learning
5. Motivation and Interest in learning 1. Behavioural engagement 2. Emotional engagement 3. Cognitive engagement Factors that Influence
Perception: 1. Selection of stimuli 2. Organization of stimuli 3. The situation
27
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, in order to answer the research questions as mentioned in
chapter I, the researcher would like to discuss the method used in this research.
This chapter contains some parts. They are research method, research setting,
research participants, research instruments and data gathering technique, data
analysis technique, and research procedure.
A. Research Method
Since this research is aimed to find out the students’ perceptions on the use
of group discussion and their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I at
ELESP of Sanata Dharma University, researcher used quantitative research.
According to Creswel (2014) taken from Ganita’s thesis in 2011, quantitative
research is a process of collecting data, analysing, interpreting, and writing the
result of the study. The information was emphasized in the form of numbers. The
data were collected in a form of quantitative data.
The researcher gathered the data by using survey method. According to
Fraenkel & Wallen (1998), survey method is a study which enables the researcher
beliefs, and/ or knowledge (p. 389). Since the researcher intended to know the
perceptions of English Language Education Study Program students in the
speaking sessions of Critical Listening and Speaking I in the 2014/2015 academic
year, the survey method was conducted. Fraenkel & Wallen (2008) state “The major purpose of survey method is to describe the characteristics of a population” (p. 390). In this research, the researcher used survey method to collect the
information through asking questions which was presented in the questionnaires
and interviews.
Jasobs & Ary (2010) state that survey method (also called descriptive
research) uses instruments such as questionnaires and interviews to gather information from groups of individuals (p. 28). This means that surveys will help
the researcher to summarize and measure the characteristics, attitudes, opinions,
and feelings of English Language Education Study Program, especially in the
speaking sessions of CLS I. In this research, survey method was used to measure
and summarize the issues which had been mentioned earlier at Critical Listening
and Speaking I students Academic Year 2014/2015.
B. Research Setting
The research was conducted in Critical Listening and Speaking I class at
Sanata Dharma University in the Academic Year of 2014/2015. The research was
conducted from November 26, 2015 utill December 12, 2015 in which the
C. Research Participants
The participants of this research were the students of English Language
Education Study Program of class B in CLS I course. The students who were
taking CLS I course who were in class B Academic Year 2014/2015 chosen to be
the participants of this research. The researcher took 26 students of class B in CLS
I course as the participants.
D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Technique
In order to obtain the data of this research, the researcher used two major
instruments, namely questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire was given to
the students of Critical Listening and Speaking I of class B as the representative
class of the research. The questionnaire was given at the end of the meeting. It
was distributed in order to explore students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I. The researcher
made the blueprint of the questionnare to make the statements in the questionnaire
being structured. The blueprint of the questionnaire can be seen in the Appendix
C.
Moreover, in order to obtain more detailed information related to the
questionnaire, the researcher also conducted interview to the students. The
interview was given to the students who answered mostly ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ on the questionnaire. The interviewees were asked deeper information
positive statements based on the questionnaire. The following part will describe
each of instruments that are used in this research.
1. Questionnaire
In this study, the researcher used questionnaire in order to find out the
answer of both questions of the formulation problems. It was about what the
students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I and what the students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I. The researcher
distributed the questionnaire to the third semester at English Language Education
Study Program students in the academic year 2014/2015. The questionnaire can
be seen in the Appendix D.
Fraenkel & Wallen (2008) state that there are two types of question in
questionnaire; they are close-ended and open-ended questions (p. 396). In this
research, the researcher only used close-ended questions to gather the data. In this
type, the participants were given the questions in the form of multiple-choice.
Then, the respondents should answer the questions based on the choices given.
Moreover, there were twenty questions in the form of close-ended
question. The students had to answer the questions based on the choices given,
which were (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) agree, (4) strongly agree. From
those close-ended questions, the students might answer the questions by putting a
tick (√) in the choices given.
Altman, Valenzi, and Hodgetts (1985) state that one of major advantages
collected and fed into a computer for statistical analysis (p. 52). This kind of
questionnaire might help the researcher to collect the data easily into the computer
to be analysed in statistical form. However, close-ended questionnaire also has
disadvantages. One of the major disadvantages is that respondents are restricted in
their replies (Altman, Valenzi, & Hodgetts, 1985, p. 52). This means that the
respondents are not able to explain their answers.
2. Interview
In conducting the research, interview was also used by the researcher. The
interview is one of the most commonly used methods in collecting data.
Furthermore, there are three general purposes of an interview (Altman, Valenzi, &
Hodgetts, 1985, p. 55). First, they can be used as exploratory formulates to help
understand the variables in question. Second, interviews can be used as major
research instruments. The last purpose of the interviews is that they are used to
supplement other methods of data collection. In this study, the researcher used the
interviews to supplement other methods of data collection. The researcher made
the interview guideline. Blueprint of the interview guideline can be seen in the
Appendix F.
E. Data Analysis Technique
In this part, there were two main parts of the data analysis. They were
questionnaire and interview analysis. In this study, the questionnaire analysis used
discussion to increase their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I and the
students’ perceptions on their engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I. There were 20 statements that the students had to answer. All
of the questions were closed-ended questions and those questions were using
Likert scale type.
Then, the researcher examined the results of the questionnaire. For the
close-ended questions, the researcher counted the number of ticks from every
degree of agreement. After that, the researcher counted the raw of the data into
percentages and interpreted them. It was calculated from the numbers of the
answers of each statement and multiplied by 100%. The formula of the
questionnaire analysis was presented in the following part.
Note:
n : numbers of students who choose a certain option
∑ n ∑ n : total numbers of students
[image:52.595.88.520.208.712.2]The results of the questionnaire were put on the table like the following table. Table 3.1 Data Percentages of Respondents
No Statements Strongly disagree (%)
Disagree (%)
Agree (%) Strongly agree (%)
1 2 3 4
n × 100% ---
After finishing the data calculation of the questionnaire, the researcher
drew conclusions of each statement and combined it at each category of the
questionnaire. In describing the result of the research, the researcher found mean
of each category to see whether the category had positive or negative responses as
a whole. The researcher used the scale to decide whether the category had positive
[image:53.595.86.515.251.626.2]or negative responses. The criteria were presented in the following table:
Table 3.2 Positive and Negative Criteria
Score Class
1 - 2.4 Negative
2.5 – 4 Positive
The interview analysis was obtained by having all of the results of the
interview. The interview results were about the further information of the data
questionnaire on why respondents chose mostly “disagree” or “strongly disagree” of the agreement given on the questionnaire. There were five respondents who
would be interviewed by the researcher. Then, the interview results were analyzed
by summarizing each number of the interview questions and drew conclusions
F. Research Procedure
In conducting this research, the researcher did some steps of procedure.
Here were the steps:
1. Planning
According to Ary et al. (2010) survey research begins with a question that
the researcher believes can be answered most appropriately by means of the
survey method (p. 378). In this step, the researcher consulted the research
questions to the advisor. The researcher found two research questions that will
be answered in this research.
2. Defining the population
Defining the population is essential for identifying the appropriate subjects
to select and for knowing to whom the results can be generalized (Ary et al,
2010, p. 379). In this step, the researcher determined the research participants.
This research was done at ELESP in class B students in the speaking session of
CLS I. There were 26 students who became the participant.
3. Sampling
Ary et al. (2010) stated that it is very important to select a sample that will
provide results similar to those that would have been obtained if the entire
population had been surveyed (p. 379). The researcher also conducted interviews
to the participants who answered ‘disagree’ in the questionnaire. The data was
4. Constructing the instrument
According to Ary et al. (2010) the two basic types of data-gathering
instruments are interviews and questionnaires (p. 379). In this research, the
researcher used two basic instruments. They were questionnaire and interview.
The data obtained from the questionnaire used as the main data. Meanwhile, the
data obtained from interview used as supporting data. The questionnaire
blueprint can be seen in the Appendix C. Besides, the interview protocol can be
seen in the Appendix F.
5. Conducting the Survey
Ary et al. (2010) stated that this step included training the users of the
instrument, interviewing subjects or distributing questionnaires to them, and
verifying the accuracy of the data gathered (p. 379). In this step, the researcher
distributed the questionnaires to 26 of English Language Education Study
Program students in class B in the speaking session of CLS I Academic Year
2014/2015 and interviewed five students who chose “disagree” in the positive statements in the questionnai
