Submitted to the Board of Examiners as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan (S.Pd) English Education Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga

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PERCEPTUAL LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCE IN

LEARNING ENGLISH OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLASS

PROGRAM STUDENTS IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016

A GRADUATING PAPER

Submitted to the Board of Examiners as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan (S.Pd)

English Education Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga

By:

Atina Vina Muna

11312031

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

STATE INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES (IAIN)

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MOTTOS

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will

always come a time when you will be grateful you did.

(Sarah Caldwell)



The future is belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

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DEDICATIONS

This graduating paper is sincerely dedicated to:

My beloved superheroes, Mrs. Munawarotul Akhlaqiyah and Mr. H. Tibyan,

thank you for the endless love, support, prayer, and everything you give to me.

My beloved sisters and brother, M. Nudia M. M., Yaqutun Nafis, and Khurin ‘Ain

who always cheer up my days.

My partner of life, Salasun Ahmad Kholiq Yasin, thank you for widens my

perspective of life.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful, the Lord

of the entire universe. Because of Him, the researcher is able to finish this

graduating paper as one of the requirements for Sarjana Pendidikan (S.Pd) of

English Education Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of

State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga

Peace and salutation always be given to our prophet Muhammad SAW

who has guided us from the darkness to the lightness. However, this success

would not be achieved without those support, guidance, advice, help, and

encouragement from individual and institution. It is an appropriate moment for the

researcher to the deepest gratitude for:

1. Dr. Rahmat Haryadi, M.Pd. as the Rector of State Institute for Islamic

Studies (IAIN) of Salatiga.

2. Suwardi, M.Pd. as the Dean of Faculty of Teacher Training and

Education, State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) of Salatiga.

3. Noor Malihah, Ph. D. as the Head of English Education Department of

Teacher Training and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic

Studies (IAIN) of Salatiga.

4. Rr. Dewi Wahyu Mustikasari, M.Pd. as the Secretary of English Education Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty

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ABSTRACT

Muna, Atina Vina. 2016. “PERCEPTUAL LEARNING STYLE

PREFERENCE IN LEARNING ENGLISH OF THE

INTERNATIONAL CLASS PROGRAM STUDENTS IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016”. Graduating Paper. English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, State Institute for Islamic Studies of Salatiga. Advisor: Rr. Dewi Wahyu Mustikasari, M.Pd.

Keywords: perceptual learning style, English learning

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Research Schedule ... 20

Table 3.2 Population of the Research ... 22

Table 3.3 Data Codes ... 25

Table 4.1 Number of Occurrences of Visual Learning Style Preference in the

Questionnaire ... 27

Table 4.2 Number of Occurrences of Tactile Learning Style Preference in the

Table 4.3 Number of Occurrences of Auditory Learning Style Preference in the

Table 4.4 Number of Occurrences of Kinesthetic Learning Style Preference in the

Table 4.5 Number of Occurrences of Group Learning Style Preference in the

Table 4.6 Number of Occurrences of Individual Learning Style Preference in the

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LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1 Preferred Ways of How the Visual Students’ Learn ... 29

Chart 4.2 Preferred Ways of How the Tactile Students’ Learn ... 32

Chart 4.3 Preferred Ways of How the Auditory Students’ Learn ... 35

Chart 4.4 Preferred Ways of How the Kinesthetic Students’ Learn ... 37

Chart 4.5 Preferred Ways of How the Group Style Students’ Learn ... 40

Chart 4.6 Preferred Ways of How the Individual Style Students’ Learn ... 42

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Research

There are so many definitions of learning. According to Schunk (2012:5)

“learning is recalling what exists in the mind. Information acquired with the

senses by observing, listening, tasting, smelling, or touching constitutes raw

materials rather than ideas”. It can be meant that learning is remembering the

information that the students have already obtained. It is not new ideas that

come up in their minds. They got the information from observing, listening,

tasting, smelling, or touching. It cannot be done just in a few hours, days,

months or years. Learning is a long life experience.

Learning is obtaining information from observing, listening, tasting,

smelling, etc. However, it has medium to transfer the information through

learning. The students use their eyes, hands, feet, and their entire body to do

activity dealing with learning. Some of the students prefer listening to absorb

the information. Some of the students easily get the information through

watching. While the other students like to do experiment to understand the

information. On the other words, the students have their own preferred ways of

learning. Felder and Henriques (1995:21) states that “the ways in which an

individual characteristically acquire, retains, and retrieves information are

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Dunn (1979:239) points out that “…when students taught through

methods that complemented their learning characteristics, students at all levels

became increasingly motivated and achieved better academically”. It means

that method and the students’ learning characteristics should be matched in

order to achieve good score. The teachers often unaware of the way they teach.

They use the same way and the same assessment to all of the students. Some of

the students get the higher score than the others through the same way of

teaching. It may occur because of the unmatched between method of teaching

and the students’ learning style. The teachers teach the students without

considering the students’ learning style.

Some researchers have developed several instruments to assess the

students’ learning style. Some instruments help in identifying visual,

kinesthetic, auditory, tactile, group, and individual style as well as many other

classifications of styles in the students. The instruments also explore the

learning styles with the objective of improving the learning and teaching

processes. “It is obvious that people learn in many different ways: people who

learn primarily with their eyes are called visual learners; or with the ears –

auditory learners; whereas some people prefer to learn in groups” (Obralic and

Abrarov, 2012:31).

Soureshjani and Naseri (2012:71) state that “language learning styles are

amid factors that play significant role in determining how well learners learn a

language”. This is meant that learning style is important factor for determining

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students influences their language capability. For instance, the students with

tactile preference may have good capability in writing a language. Learning

style build the students’ learning behavior.

International Class Program of Teacher Training and Education Faculty

of State Institute for Islamic (IAIN) Salatiga is a program of the university that

expected to create students with language capability better than the other

students from regular classes. There are some different students with some

different majors in the class. They are divided into three majors: Islamic

Education Department, Arabic Education Department, and English Education

Department. The lecturers of this class use English and Arabic Language as the

medium of instruction.

English as the medium of instruction become the crucial problem for the

students who can not understand it. It is difficult for the students to understand

the materials if they do not understand the language. It is important for the

students to master English language and to have effective teaching learning

process while learning English language. The teachers should have enough

knowledge about their students’ style preference in order to provide the needed

instruction.

Therefore, the purpose of the research is to determine the perceptual

learning styles preference in learning English. The subject of this research is

the students of International Class Program of Teacher Training and Education

Faculty of State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga. This research is a

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questionnaire in order to determine the Perceptual Learning Style (PLS) in

Learning English among students using Perceptual Learning Style Preference

Questionnaire (PLSPQ) research instrument. Those are represented in the

PERCEPTUAL LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCE IN LEARNING

ENGLISH OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLASS PROGRAMS’ STUDENTS

IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016.

B. Problems of the Research

Based on the background of the research above, the problems of this

research can be formulated as follows:

1. What are the perceptual learning style preferences in learning English

among the students of International Class Program of Teacher Training

and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga?

2. What is the dominant perceptual learning style preference in learning

English among the students of International Class Program of Teacher

Training and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN)

Salatiga?

C. Objectives of the Research

In relation to the research questions, already stated that the purpose of

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1. To describe the perceptual learning style preference in learning English

used by the students of International Class Program of Teacher Training

and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga.

2. To describe the most dominant perceptual learning style preference in

learning English used by the students of International Class Program of

Teacher Training and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies

(IAIN) Salatiga.

D. Limitation of the Research

The target of this research is investigating the perceptual learning style

preference in learning English among the students of International Class

Program of IAIN Salatiga. It is known that there are so many types of learning

style. This research focuses on analyzing the perceptual learning style of the

students which is divided into six styles: visual learning style, tactile learning

style, kinesthetic learning style, auditory learning style, group learning style

and individual learning style. Furthermore, the researcher only uses Perceptual

Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) by Reid (1987) to gather the

data.

E. Clarification of the Key Terms 1. English learning and teaching

According to Brown (2000:5) standard definition of language is “a

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that enable members of a given community to communicate intelligibly

with one another”. In simpler word, language is medium of

communication through vocal, written or gesture. The function of

language is to communicate.

To know language, people do learning activities. Brown (2000:7)

states that search in contemporary dictionaries defined “learning is

acquiring or getting of knowledge of a subject or a skill by study,

experience, or instruction”. It can be meant that learning is an effort to

gain knowledge by study or experience that people get alone and it may be

instruction that someone else ask to do. Learning is experience of getting

knowledge.

Teaching and learning cannot be defined separately. Teaching is

helping someone to learn, while learning is to make self-understanding.

Brown (2000:7) states that teaching may be defined as “showing or

helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions,

guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to

know or understand”.

“Learning a second language is a long and complex undertaking”

(Brown, 2000:1). English is a second language and a foreign language for

some non-native speakers. In Indonesia, English becomes a foreign

language. Learning a second language or a foreign language is not short

process. Adjusting words in foreign language to native language take long

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be effective teaching and learning process in order to completely master

the language.

2. Perceptual Learning Style

Renou (2009:2) claims that “sensory or perceptual learning style has

to do with the physical environment in which we learn, and involves using

our senses in order to perceive data”. It can be meant that perceptual

learning style is the students’ way of obtaining information by connecting

their senses and the environment. In the teaching learning process, the

teachers give the students some materials by using some method. The

method is used to create appropriate environment in the classroom. With

the appropriate environment, the students can get the information

effectively through their senses.

“Perceptual learning style refers to Auditory, Visual, Tactile,

Kinesthetic, Group, and Individual learners. These kinds of learners refer

to those who learn a language more effectively by hearing, seeing,

hands-on, learning with others and learning alone respectively” (Khamkien,

2012:63). On the other hand, perceptual learning style is student’s

preference of four basic perceptual modalities (visual, auditory,

kinesthetic, and tactile) and two social interaction factors (individual or

group). This is how the students absorb information through perceptual or

sensory channels (eyes, ears, and hands). As every student is different,

they have their own preferred way of learning with which they feel most

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8 F. Significances of the Research

The result of the research is formulated to give significances to English

teaching and learning, the significances are:

1. Theoretically, the result of this research is expected to enrich the

cognizance of one aspect of individual differences in English as Foreign

Language (EFL) Classroom

2. Practically,

a. For the researcher

The result of this research can be beneficial for the researcher as step

stone to deepen comprehend such individual differences dealing with

perceptual learning style in English as Foreign Language (EFL)

teaching

b. For the students

The result of this research can help the students especially the students

of International Class Program to know their learning styles. Thus, the

students can manage their learning activity optimally

c. For the English teacher

The result of this research can be beneficial for the English teacher to

manage both the class and the teaching grounded on the students need

G. Organization of the Graduating Paper

This research is divided into five chapters and each chapter explains

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Chapter I is introduction that consists of the background of the research,

which mentions the researcher’ reasons why the researcher chooses the topic as

a research topic. Then, the problems of the research, it explains the problems of

the research that are observed by the researcher. Next is limitation of the

research, which mentions the specific problems that the researcher explains.

Furthermore, it includes the objectives of the research that consists of the aims

of the research, significances of the research that describe the advantages of the

research, and then the clarification of the key term. The last is the organization

of the graduating paper.

Chapter II is the theoretical framework. It presents the review of related

literature of the research such as theoretical foundation which includes

theoretical reviews of perceptual learning, learning styles, perceptual learning

style, and perceptual learning style preference.

Chapter III is the research methodology. It tells about why and how this

study uses qualitative research as the type of the research. It elaborates the

methodology of the research including research setting, research design,

population and sample, technique of data collection, and technique of data

analysis.

Chapter IV is the findings and discussion of the research. It consists of an

analysis of Perceptual Learning Style Preference of The students of

International Class Program of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of

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Chapter V is closure. It is the last chapter of the research. It ends of the

research, and the researcher states the conclusions and suggestions. For the

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CHAPTER II

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Previous Researches

Within this chapter, the researcher presents the previous researches that

were related with this research. Related research showed that the students differ

in learning language. They have their own preferred style of learning language

especially English. Helty (2009) had done a research about students’ learning

style in English Department and their achievement in vocabulary. The aims of

the research were to describe the students learning style in English department

and their achievement in vocabulary at the first semester of IAIN Sultan Thaha

Saifuddin Jambi. The research was categorized as descriptive evaluative. The

techniques used to collect the data were observation, documentation, and

questionnaire. The finding of the research was the first year students of English

Department of Tarbiyah Faculty of State Institute for Islamic Studies of

Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi can be grouped into four learning style types

based on they preferred ways of going about learning. These four learning style

types were concrete learners, analytical learners, communicative learners, and

authority-oriented learners. Each type of learners might be potential to propose

enriching vocabulary.

Similar to Helty (2009), Obralic and Akbarov (2012) reported a research

about learning style. However their research was different from the previous

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preference. Their paper aimed to determine the learning styles of students at

University of Sarajevo. Another objective was the influence of the students’

gender and ethnicity in the learning style. Data were gathered using Perceptual

Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) research instrument. The

method that they used was a quantitative and qualitative research method. They

concluded that there had been significant differences between learning styles

favored by Bosnian and Turkish. The data showed that the most outstanding

learning style in which the students worked without any difficulty was the

visual learning style. There was no significant difference between male and

female students regarding their study preferences.

The next research was also about perceptual learning style preference.

Khamkhien (2012) aimed his research to identify Thai learners’ English

learning style preferences and to determine the impact of three variables:

gender, field of study and learning experiences on preferred learning styles.

The researcher used quantitative method and the data collected from the

questionnaire. The Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire

(PLSPQ) was administered to get the information. The results of the research

indicated that Thai EFL learners preferred auditory learning most, followed by

kinesthetic, group, tactile, visual and individual learning. Among three

variables, field of study was the most significant factor affecting the choice of

learning styles. However, he also found that no statistically significant

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The previous researches reported that Turkish students and Bosnian

students preferred the visual learning style while Thai students preferred the

auditory learning style the most. Soureshjani and Naseri (2012) has done

research for Iranian English students to see does the ability level of EFL

language learners significantly affect their learning styles and to investigate the

learning styles which are preferred and common among beginning,

intermediate, and advanced-level learners. The instruments that used to get the

data are TOEFL test and a learning style questionnaire. The results of the

research revealed that first, the proficiency level of learners have a significant

impact on learners' learning style preferences. The research also revealed that

sensory styles are the most preferred learning styles for beginning learners

especially the kinesthetic learning style. It followed by personality styles for

intermediate learners, and finally, degree-related styles for advanced-level

learners.

The last previous research was conducted in Taiwan. Fang-Mei Tai

(2013) has done research about preferred learning style and motivation of adult

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student. The objectives of his research

were to explore what learning styles of adults EFL students (School of

Continuing Education) prefer in order to better understand what impact and

shape the language learning process and to help determine to design curriculum

and instruction for classroom practice for higher achievement and increased

motivation for learning. This was quantitative research study, the instrument

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Questionnaire (PLSPQ). The findings of this research were the adult students

who learn EFL expressed preferences for kinesthetic, tactile, and other styles

and especially showed significantly relationship on motivation in English

learning. The most preferred learning style was computer assisted learning

styles followed by the auditory learning style.

From those previous researches, the researcher believes that this research

is different from those researches, dealing with the objective, theme, and

subjects. Moreover, this research only focuses on the student perceptual

learning style preference and which is the most dominant perceptual learning

style preference. The subject of this research is the students of international

class program of State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga. Thus, it is

clear that this research is different from Helty (2009), Obralic and Akbarov

(2012), Khamkhien (2012), Soureshjani and Naseri (2012) and Fang-Mei Tai

(2013) work.

B. Perceptual Learning

Gibson (1969) as cited in Adolph and Kretch (2015:130) “perception is a

process of information pick-up that happens over time”. Human brain is

actively works almost all of the time in order to get the information from the

environment. The information is gained through human physical senses. While

perceptual learning can be defined as “an increase in the ability to extract

information from the environment, as a result of experience and practice with

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2015:130). First, the brain gets the information without understanding the

information. By the time, the information processes inside the brain. Then, the

information constructs new understanding. As the children when they learn to

walk. Their mothers try to teach them how to walk. It cannot be done just once

or twice. The children continue to practice walking until they can walk.

According to Kellman and Garrigan (2009:53) “perceptual learning is

experience induced changes in the way perceivers extract information”. It can

be meant that from the experience, the perceivers may get different

understanding of any information. It can caused different way of extracting

information.

“Perceptual learning is among types of learning that seem to operate

from the beginning of life, and it plays an important role in natural kind

learning, language acquisition, and transactions with many kinds of objects

and events” (Kellman and Massey, 2013:147). Our brain progressively

arrange information in any field. With appropriate practice, people can adjust

and over time they become selective and fluent. For example when children

taught by several words that divided into several kinds: noun, adverb, verb,

and modal, at first they can not differentiate between them but by the time

they can differentiate it. The ability to extract the information is called

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16 C. Learning Styles

Felder and Henriques (1995:21) state that "students learn in many ways,

by seeing and hearing; reflecting and acting; reasoning logically and

intuitively; memorizing and visualizing". Some of the students tend to see

object in order to learn. Some of the other students tend to listen to an audio in

order to extract information. There are no two students consider as the same.

Every student has different individual characteristics.

Humans’ brain is unique. It works in different way, so that everyone

learns differently. The students have their own characteristics on the way they

learn. This distinct is called learning style. Reid (1995:8) as cited in Fang-Mei

Tai (2013:162) states that learning styles were defined as “individual’s natural,

habitual and preferred way(s) of absorbing, processing, and retaining new

information and skills”. The students naturally tend to particular way of

learning. How the students extract and gain new information is different. Their

skills are also different. Some of the students can easily understand new

information. On the other hand, some of the students have difficulty in

understanding new information.

Generally, the theory of learning styles state that people have different

approaches to learn. Learning styles are the general approaches to learn

particular items. Some of the students will learn more effectively than others

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17 D. Perceptual Learning Styles

Reid (1995) as cited in Renou (2009:2) claims that “three majors

categories of learning styles are widely recognized and relevant to the field of

foreign language learning: sensory or perceptual learning styles, cognitive

learning styles and affective/temperament learning styles”. Researcher only

focuses on sensory or perceptual learning styles. Perceptual learning styles are

sensory based. The students’ senses naturally take the information from the

resources that stimulate them. For example when the teachers give them a

picture about grammar in English, the students’ eyes naturally catch the

material through seeing. The more interaction between sensory channels and

resources, the better chance for the students learn from the resources.

James and Galbraith (1986:20) define some perceptual modalities as

follows:

1. Visual

A person who is visually oriented learns best through observation.

People who like to see visual stimuli such as pictures, slide, graphs, tables,

demonstrations, etc. Probably are visual learners.

2. Aural or Auditory

A person who is aurally oriented generally learns best through

listening. People who usually do not talk much and who feel that they

learn best when the information is presented verbally may be aural

learners. Individuals who like lectures because they remember what is said

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18 3. Haptic

Individuals who learn best through the sense of touch are generally

haptic learners. A haptic person is someone who has to feel objects or to

touch as many things as possible. Haptic person assimilate information

through a “hands on” approach to learning. This is similar to “tactile”.

However, tactile refers only to touch through the fingers while haptic

implies touch through the entire hand.

4. Kinesthetic

A person who is kinesthetically oriented learns best while moving.

People who generally have to move around or have to move some part of

their body while processing information probably are kinesthetic learner.

Someone who is in constant motion while reading or listening may be a

kinesthetic learner.

Reid (1995) as cited in Zokaee et al. (2012:139) states two social

interactions: group learning style and individual learning style “a group learner

is the one who learns more effectively through working with others. An

individual learner is someone who learns more effectively through working

alone”. The group learner prefers group interaction and classwork with the

other students. They complete work successfully when they work with other. In

the opposite, the individual learner prefers learn new material alone. They

remember new information that they learn by themselves.

Those are the basic learning style of a student. The way the students learn

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socially (group and individual). Based on those learning styles, the teachers can

deliver some materials through many ways to stimulate the students’ senses.

The compability between the students’ learning style and the teachers’ teaching

style, hopefully make the teaching learning process become effective.

E. Perceptual Learning Style Preference

Perceptual learning style preference refers to the perceptual channels by

which students prefer to learn. Based on above explanation, perceptual learning

style can be classified as: visual (reading and studying charts), tactile

(hands-on, doing lab experiments), auditory (listening to lectures and tapes),

kinesthetic (experiential, total physical involvement), and interactive (group or

individual learning). They were measured using the Perceptual Learning Style

Preference Questionnaire. Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire

by Reid (1987) used by many researcher in their research as the instrument for

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Setting 1. Research Location

The research was taken place in the International Class Program of

Teacher Training and Education of State Institute for Islamic Studies

Salatiga, located in Campus III IAIN Salatiga.

2. Research Schedule

The sequences of data collection and the data analysis are as follows:

Table 3.1 Research Schedule

No Activity Date

1. Preparing the research proposals April 4th

2. Observation June 6th– June 27th

3. Data Collection June 28th

4. Data Analysis July 22th

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21 B. Research Design

This research was conducted to get description about the students’

perceptual learning style preference in International Class Program of Teacher

Training and Education of State Institute for Islamic Studies Salatiga in

academic year from 2012 to 2015.

This research categorized as descriptive research. Williams (2007:66)

claims that “the descriptive research approach is a basic research method that

examines the situation, as it exists in its current state”. It can be meant that the

result of descriptive research is description of the data at the moment.

Therefore, this research called descriptive because it is describe what the

perceptual learning styles of International Class Program of Teacher Training

and Education of State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga from

academic year 2012 to academic year 2015 is.

According to Glass and Hopkins (1984) as cited in Knupfer and

McLellan (1996:1197) “descriptive research involves gathering data that

describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data

collection”. The data collection from the research is raw. To make the data

understandable, the researcher presents the data in the manageable form. After

collecting the data, the researchers use visualization such as graph or table to

distribute the data and describe it.

Knupfer and McLellan (1996:1197) state that “descriptive research can

be either quantitative or qualitative”. In this research, the researcher used

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research method is the social phenomenon being investigated from the

participant’s viewpoint”. This is meant that the data for this research is taken

from the participant. Then, the researcher interprets the data to answer the

research problems. One way to gather the data is survey. The survey research

method is used for sampling data from respondents that are representative of a

population and uses a closed ended instrument or open-ended items.

“Qualitative research is especially effective in obtaining culturally

specific information about the values, opinions, behaviors, and social contexts

of particular populations” (Mack et al, 2005:1). It can be meant that qualitative

research is used to get information from specific population. The data is

gathered to find the social context of specific people.

C. Population and Sample

The population of this research was all of the students of international

class program of teacher training and education faculty of state institute for

Islamic studies (IAIN) Salatiga. They were distributed into four classes. Each

class consists of three majors: Islamic Education Department, English

Education Department, and Arabic Education Department. The data of this

research was taken from 70 students that distributed into four academic years

as follows:

Table 3.2

Population of the Research

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The researcher use this technique because total population of the International

Class Program was below 100.

D. Technique of Data Collection

Technique of collecting data in this research was questionnaire.

According to Siniscalco and Auriat (2005:3), questionnaire is:

“Questionnaire is a survey instrument used to collect data from individuals about themselves, or about a social unit as a household or a school. A questionnaire is said to be standardized when each respondent is to be exposed to the same questions and the same system of coding responses”.

This is meant that questionnaire is a method of collecting data by using

some questions. The questions for each respondent are the same in order to see

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research was to get the data information about the student’s perceptual learning

style in learning English of all students of International Class Program of IAIN

Salatiga.

The data from questionnaire was used to answer research questions. The

questionnaire is adopted from Perceptual Learning Style Preference

Questionnaire (PLSPQ) by Joy Reid (1987). The questionnaire consists of 30

items based on four learning styles and two social styles. Those were randomly

arranged. The statement of the questionnaire set out in the following way:

statement 6, 10, 12, 24, 29 deals with visual learning styles, statement 11, 14,

16, 22, 25 deals with tactile learning style, statement 1, 7, 9, 17, 20 deals with

auditory learning style, statement 2,8,15,19, 26 deals with kinesthetic learning

style, statement 3, 4, 5, 21, 23 deals with group learning style, and statement

13, 18, 27, 28, 30 deals with individual learning style. There were five

alternative categories: strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly

disagree. The perceptual learning style preference questionnaire (PLSPQ) is

one of the popular instruments used by researchers to examine English as a

foreign language that related to present research.

E. Techniques of Data Analysis

In this research, to analyze the data, the researcher used descriptive

method. In the descriptive method, Suryana (2010:16) states that “descriptive

method begins from collecting the data, analyze the data, and interpret the

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questionnaires that had filled by the respondents. Then, the researcher

classified and analyze the data in order to get the answer of this research

questions. Aitken et al. (2003:95) claim that “typically, data are collected as

qualitative or quantitative responses, which are coded into a specified set of

classifications according to given rules. The data we are coding could be in

several forms: paper questionnaire; scanned form…” In order to make it easier

to count the data from the questionnaire, the researcher made a code to each

answers of the questionnaire. Therefore, the researcher can get the needed data.

The codes are as in the following table:

Table 3.3 Data codes

NO Alternative Answer Abbreviation Codes

1 Strongly Agree SA 5

2 Agree A 4

3 Undecided U 3

4 Disagree D 2

5 Strongly Disagree SD 1

The data from the questionnaire presented in the table form. Therefore,

the reader can easily understand the contents of this research. In the last step,

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The procedure of data analysis can be seen as follows:

1. Preparation

a. Preparing the questionnaire.

b. Ask for permission to conduct the research.

c. Arrange the time with the students.

2. Operation

a. Distributing the questionnaires to be filled by the students.

3. Analysis

a. Analysis of the data of the questionnaire result.

b. Coding

c. Interpreting the result of analysis.

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CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

A. Perceptual Learning Style Preference of the Students of International Class Program of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga

Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) indicates 6

perceptual learning styles. They are visual learning style, tactile learning style,

kinesthetic learning style, auditory learning style, group learning style and

individual learning style. Furthermore, the following tables show the data of

number occurrences and percentages of types of perceptual learning style

preference.

In the following table the researcher shows the number of the

occurrences of the visual learning style preference in the questionnaire. There

are five statements that indicate the visual perceptual learning style. Each of

the statements has 5 alternative answers. It is presented in the table below.

Table 4.1

Number of Occurrences of Visual Learning Style Preference in the Questionnaire

NO Perceptual Learning Styles SA A U D SD Total

Answer

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textbooks than by listening to

lectures. 11 30 20 9 0 70

6

I learn better by reading what

the teacher writes on the

chalkboard. 19 26 18 7 0 70

Table 4.1 shows the number of the occurrences of the visual learning

style preference in the questionnaire. According to Perceptual Learning Style

Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ), the visual students are more comfortable to

read visual stimulation while learning. Majority of the students retrieve

relevant knowledge from long term memory by read the instructions. As can be

seen on the table, the statement number 10 which is “When I read the

instruction, I remember them better”. There are 42 out of 70 students agree of

the statement. The students also can construct the meaning from written

instruction. It is proven by 35 out of 70 students agree with the statement

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listening, the students prefer reading. They specifically like to read textbook. It

shows from total number occurrences of the statements number 24 (32 out of

70 total answers) and the statement number 29 (30 out of 70 total answers).

Those statements are “I learn better by reading than by listening to someone”

and “I learn more by reading textbooks than by listening to lectures”. The least

occurrences are in the statement number 6 which has 24 out of 70 total

answers. The statement is “I learn better by reading what the teacher writes on

the chalkboard.” The students do not like to much written materials in the

chalkboard.

Based on the analysis above, it can be meant that in the visual learning

style, the students like to read. The majority of the students prefer teachers to

prepare written instruction than any other visual stimulation. The second stage

is the usage of textbooks and the last stage is written text on the chalkboard.

The preferred way of how the visual students learn can be seen in the chart as

follows:

Chart 4.1

Preferred Ways of How the Visual Students’ Learn

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Next, the following table shows the number of the occurrences of the

tactile learning style preference in the questionnaire. There are five statements

that indicate the tactile perceptual learning style. Each of the statements has 5

alternative answers. It is presented in the table below.

Table 4.2

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The table above presents the number of the occurrences of the tactile

learning style preference in the questionnaire. Overall, it can be seen that the

tactile students like to use their hands to make and to build something in class.

When the students build something, they can memorize what they have learned

well. As is observed from the table, the statement number 22 which is “When I

build something, I remember what I have learned better” earns 42 agrees out of

70 total answers. There are 35 students out of 70 students agree with the

statement number 25 which is “I enjoy making something for a class project”.

It is evident that the students get pleasure when they can make something for a

class project. The students retain more knowledge when they can make model

of something. It proven by the statement number 11 which is “I learn more

when I can make a model of something” that gets 31 agrees out of 70 total

answer. There is similarity between the statement number 14 and the statement

number 16. They have same number occurrences of agree answer (29 out of 70

total answers). It is meant that the students absorb more and better knowledge

when they make something for a class project and when they make drawings as

they study.

It is clearly seen that in the tactile learning style, the students interested

in building and making something in class. In general, majority of the students

like to make something for a class project. Although they like to make model

of something, they prefer to build something than to make a model of

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preference. In order to make the reader easy to understand the preferred ways

of the tactile students’ learn, the researcher provided it in a chart as follows:

Chart 4.2

Preferred Ways of How the Tactile Students’ Learn

After the previous tables the researcher shows the number of the

occurrences of the auditory learning style preference in the questionnaire.

There are five statements that indicate the auditory perceptual learning style.

Each of the statements has 5 alternative answers. It is presented on the table

below. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

The Preferred Ways of Learning

To Make Something

To Build Something

To Make a Model of Something

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33 Table 4.3

Number of Occurrences of Auditory Learning Style Preference in the Questionnaire

NO Perceptual Learning Styles SA A U D SD Total Answer Auditory

1

When the teacher tells me the

instructions I understand better. 18 46 6 0 0 70

17

I learn better in class when the

teacher gives a lecture. 8 39 19 4 0 70

I learn better in class when I

listen to someone. 15 32 17 5 1 70

9

I remember things I have heard in class better than things I have

read. 17 26 19 8 0 70

The table above illustrates the number of the occurrences of the auditory

learning style preference in the questionnaire. As is observed from the given

table, the auditory students absorb the information by hearing someone. The

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them. It is proven by the statement number 1 which is “When the teacher tells

me the instructions I understand better” that gets 46 out of 70 agree answer

from the students. The students retain new knowledge by listening to the

lecture. It is seen from the table that the statement number 17 that is “I learn

better in class when the teacher gives a lecture” obtains 39 agrees out of 70

total answers. The statement number 7 which is “When someone tells me how

to do something in class, I learn it better” and the statement number 20 that is

“I learn better in class when I listen to someone” tell that when the students

listen to someone in class, especially when someone tells them how to do

something, they can learn better. The statement number 7 earns 37 agrees out

of 70 total answers, while the statement number 20 earns 32 agrees out of 70

total answers. A few of the students recalls relevant knowledge better when

heard someone than when they read a book. As can be seen on the table, the

statement number 9 “I remember things I have heard in class better than things

I have read” gets just 26 agrees out of 70 total answers.

It can be concluded that in the auditory learning style, the students prefer

the teacher to tell them the instruction and give a lecture. Moreover, the

students learn better when listening to someone and when someone tells them

how to do something. Some of the students prefer hearing than reading in order

to remember something. The chart below depict the students preferred way of

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35 Chart 4.3

Preferred Ways of How the Auditory Students’ Learn

In the following table, the researcher shows the number of the

occurrences of the kinesthetic learning style preference in the questionnaire.

There are five statements that indicate the kinesthetic perceptual learning style.

Each of the statements has 5 alternative answers. It is presented in the table

below.

Table 4.4

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I understand things better in class

when I participate in

role-I enjoy learning in class by doing

experiments. 24 33 11 2 0 70

The data from the table above shows the number of the occurrences of the

kinesthetic learning style preference in the questionnaire. Based on the table, the

kinesthetic students like lots of movement. They like to do something in class.

More than half of the students prefer to do something in class. It is proven by the

number of the occurrences of the statement number 8 and 2. The statements are

“When I do things in class, I learn better” with 38 agrees out of 70 total answers

and “I prefer to learn by doing something in class” with 37 out of 70 total

answers. The students comprehend the materials better when they participate in

role playing. It can be seen from the table that statement number 19 which is “I

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out of 70 total answer. The statement number 26 which is “I learn best in class

when I can participate in related activities” obtains similar number. The statement

earns 35 agrees out of 70 total answer. It can be meant that the students also can

learn better when they participate in related activities. Moreover, it is also

pleasure for the students to do experiment in class. It is proven by the statement

number 15 which is “I enjoy learning in class by doing experiments” gets 33

agrees out of 70 total answers.

According to the analysis above, the kinesthetic students prefer to learn by

doing things in class. They also like to participate in related activities of learning.

The teachers can also provide role playing activities in order to make the children

understand better. Furthermore, the children also enjoy to do experiment. The

preferred way of how the kinesthetic students’ learn can be seen in the chart

below.

Chart 4.4

Preferred Ways of How the Kinesthetic Students’ Learn

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In the next table the researcher shows the number of the occurrences of

the group learning style preference in the questionnaire. There are five

statements that indicate the group perceptual learning style. Each of the

statements has 5 alternative answers. It is presented in the table below.

Table 4.5

Number of Occurrences of Group Learning Style Preference in the Questionnaire

I enjoy working on an assignment

with two or three classmates.

9 31 23 7 0 70

The given table presents the number of the occurrences of the group

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questionnaire, the group style students prefer learning in group or work with

others. The students process the information better and get more work done by

working with others. As can be seen on the table that the statement number 5

which is “In class, I learn best when I work with others” and the statement number

3 which is “I get more work done when I work with others” get the highest

number of the occurrences. There are 41 agrees out of 70 total answers for number

5 and there are 39 agrees out of the 70 total answers for number 3. The students

receive more information by studying with a group and more than half of the

students prefer study with others. It is proven by the number of the occurrences of

the statement number 4 and the statement number 23. There are 36 agrees out of

70 total answers. In addition, it is pleasure for the students to work on assignment

with two or three classmates. It can be seen from the table that the last statement

which is “I enjoy working on an assignment with two or three classmates” earns

31 agrees out of 70 total answers.

By looking at the analysis above, it can be seen that the group style

students like to work with others while learning. They also like to study with a

group. When doing an assignment, they prefer to do with two or three classmates.

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40 Chart 4.5

Preferred Ways of How the Group Style Students’ Learn

In the following table the researcher shows the number of the

occurrences of the individual learning style preference in the questionnaire.

There are five statements that indicate the individual perceptual learning style.

Each of the statements has 5 alternative answers. It is presented in the table

below.

Table 4.6

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I prefer working on projects by

myself. 14 22 27 5 2 70

13

When I study alone, I remember

things better. 24 24 18 4 0 70

The provided table above shows the number of the occurrences of the

individual learning style preference in the questionnaire. According to the

questionnaire, the students that have individual learning style prefer to work and

study alone. The data on this table are different from the previous data that have

been presented. Majority of the students choose “undecided” than the other

alternative answers. Sometimes the students prefer to work alone. In some cases

they prefer to work and study alone. There is only little different number between

the statements number 27, 18, and 30. The statement number 27 “In class, I work

better when I work alone” gets 31 “undecided” out of 70 total answers. There is a

similar number between the statement number 18 which is “When I work alone, I

learn better” and 30 which is “When I study alone, I remember things better”. The

statements earn 30 “undecided” out of 70 total answers. On some occasion, the

students also like to work on project by themselves. It is seen from the table that

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27 “undecided” out of the total answers. In contrast, the statement number 13

which is “When I study alone, I remember things better” gets the same number of

the occurrences for the answer “strongly agree” and “agree”. It is 24 out of 70

total answers. It can be meant that some of the students memorize the information

better when they learn alone.

In conclusion, it can be seen from the table that the individual style

students prefer to learn and work alone. Sometimes the students learn better when

they work and study alone. On some occasion, the students like to work a project

alone. Some of the students remember the information better when they learn

alone. The chart below depicts the preferred way of how the individual students

learn.

Chart 4.5

Preferred Ways of How the Individual Style Students’ Learn

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B. Dominant Perceptual Learning Style Preference of the Students of International Class Program of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga

After classified the students’ perceptual learning style preference, the

researcher tried to find out the dominant style of the students. There are six

categories of perceptual learning style: visual, tactile, auditory, kinesthetic, group,

and individual learning style. The result of the analysis of the students’ dominant

style is presented in the following table:

Table 4.7

Dominant Perceptual Learning Style Preference

No Perceptual Learning Style

Percentage of Dominant Occurrence

1 Group 52,3%

2 Auditory 51,4%

3 Kinesthetic 50,9%

4 Tactile 47,4%

5 Visual 47,1%

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Table 4.7 shows the dominant perceptual learning style preference in

learning English among the students. Majority of the students learn more

effectively through working with others. The general tendency of the distribution

showed that 70 students prefer group learning style. As can be seen on the table,

the group learning style ranked first (52,3%). It is evident that the students prefer

to work with others or study in a group. The teachers can divide the students into

groups, so that they can work with others. The students also can absorb the

information better. The second stage is auditory learning style (51,4%). The

students like to listen to the teachers. When the teachers give lectures, they

remember what is said. The teachers can use audio tapes or other stimuli for

auditory students. The kinesthetic learning style is in the third stage (50,9%).

Generally, the students have to move around while processing information. The

teachers can prepare some movement activities that related to the materials. The

fourth stage is the tactile learning style (47,4%). The kinesthetic students like to

make something in class. They like to use their hand to assimilate information.

The teachers can provide experiment project for the students. The individual

learning style gets the lowest percentage (38,8 %). In opposite to the group

learning style, the individual style students remember the information better when

they study alone.

Based on the table above, the students like to learn with others the most. It

does not mean that they dislike the other perceptual learning styles. They also like

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some occasion the students also like individual learning. The percentages of each

perceptual learning style are almost similar. They just have a little different.

The chart below depicts the percentage of each learning style preferred by

the students.

Chart 4.7

Students’ Perceptual Learning Style Preference

C. Discussion

Davidson (1990) as cited in Fang-Mei Tai (2013:162) states that “The

students preferred to use the style as it was familiar and made it easier to learn”.

Understanding the students’ preferred way of learning makes the teaching

learning process become more effective. The students easy to understand what the 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Group Learning Style Auditory Learning Style Kinesthetic Learning Style Tactile Learning Style Visual Learning Style Individual Learning Style

Percentage (%)

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teachers taught because the teachers provide appropriate instruction. The

instruction is matched with the students’ style.

The findings above demonstrate that all of the perceptual learning styles

categories, the International Class Program students are agree with almost all of

the learning style preference. Khamkien (2012:70) indicates that “a better

understanding of learning styles can be beneficial to both teachers and students,

when in an English classroom”. The teachers of the International Class Program

students may have the students learn English from visual stimulation, auditory

stimulation, tactile stimulation, and kinesthetic stimulation. Regarding the

findings above, the visual students mostly prefer to read instruction from the

teachers. The students can remember and understand better when they read

instruction. Otherwise, the tactile students prefer to make something while

learning a material. It is enjoyable for them and they can learn more. For the

auditory students, the teachers do not have to prepare anything. The students

prefer to listen to the teacher to understand the instruction. The kinesthetic

students learn better when they do things in a class. The teachers may prepare

some activities dealing with the materials. Majority of the International Class

Program students prefer group learning than individual learning. They learn best

when study with others. In some occasion they like to study alone.

Ranked percentages of the research indicate that the International Class

Program students’ most preferred style is group learning style while individual

learning style is ranked as the least preferred style. Slaats et al. (1999) as cited in

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the opportunities to modify their teaching materials and classroom practices

according to the learning preferences to achieve optimum results”. It means that

the matches between teaching materials and the students’ preference can make

optimum the results of the study. As mentioned, most of the students would like

group learning. It is possible that the students can benefit from learning or

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CHAPTER V

CLOSURE

A. Conclusions

Based on the findings and discussions from the previous chapter, the

researcher draws conclusions as follow:

1. The students’ perceptual learning style preference in learning English

In the questionnaires which filled by the students, there are 6

perceptual learning style. They are the visual learning style, the tactile

learning style, the kinesthetic learning style, the auditory learning style,

the group learning style and the individual learning style. It is spread out

in the 30 statements. There are 5 alternative answers: strongly disagree,

agree, undecided, disagree, and strongly disagree. Majority of the

students are agree with all of the statements. Only the individual learning

style statements that the most frequent occurrences’ answer is undecided.

For the group learning style statements, the students mostly choose the

statement number 5 which is “in class, I learn best when I work with

others”. The students prefer to study with a group because they can

understand better. For the auditory learning style statements, the students

mostly choose the statement number 17. The statement is “I learn better

in class when the teacher gives a lecture”. The students prefer to listen to

the teachers’ lecture in order to obtain the information. “When I do things

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style statements. The students prefer to do things in class to learn better.

For the tactile learning style, the most frequent agree answer is the

statement number 22 which is “when I build something, I remember what

I have learned better”. The students prefer to build something to

remember what they have learned better. For visual learning style,

mostly, the students choose statement number 10 which is “when I read

instruction, I remember them better”. The students prefer to read the

instruction that given by the teachers in order to remember better. The

students mostly undecided with the individual learning style statements.

Majority of the students choose the statement number 27 which is “in

class, I work better when I work alone”. The students sometimes prefer

to work alone in class to work better. It means that the students can

manage their sense adapted to the teaching style of the teacher, because

the students mostly agree with all of the statements except the individual

statements.

2. The students’ dominant perceptual learning style preference

In the questionnaire, there are 30 statements which indicate 6

perceptual learning styles. The most dominant perceptual learning style is

group learning style with 183 agrees or 52,3% of the total occurrences.

The second rank is auditory learning style with 180 agrees or 51,4% of

the total occurrences. It is followed by kinesthetic learning style with 178

agrees or 50,9% of the total occurrences. Then, tactile learning style with

Submitted to the Board of Examiners as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan (S.Pd) English Education Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga

PERCEPTUAL LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCE IN

LEARNING ENGLISH OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLASS

PROGRAM STUDENTS IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016

A GRADUATING PAPER

By:

Atina Vina Muna

11312031

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

STATE INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES (IAIN)

MOTTOS

DEDICATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF CHARTS

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER II

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Percentage (%)

CHAPTER V

CLOSURE