ABSTRACT
Irna Stania. 2015. The Meaning of Learning English to International Class Students of University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY). Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program, English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
It is generally accepted that university students, especially international undergraduate program students, need to improve their mastery of the English language. As they are in international class, the use of English in almost all teaching-learning there is quite significant. They present, discuss and write in English. They have enough exposure in using English, so it is interesting to explore more on their lived experiences in learning English.
A lived experience means people’s everyday experiences of phenomenon. It has phenomenal aspect in the experience that can be reflectively grasped or interpreted. A particular lived experience as a part of a system of related experiences is explicated from it through the process of reflection on its meaning. Therefore, lived experience has a certain essence to retrospect. In relation to this, this study attempted to describe participants’ lived experience in learning English and interpret it.
Thestudy was to assess the participants’ lived experiences,and therefore the phenomenological approach was used. To gain the text, in-depth interviews were employed as the main text gathering instrument. Meanwhile, re-interviews then reconfirming the transcribed and written texts served as supporting text gathering instruments which were necessary for the data triangulation. The research was conducted at University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta in which two international undergraduate program student participants learnt English. The texts were systematically categorized through a coding process and continuously interpreted during the course of the research in order to make interpreted themes of significant statements of participants’ experiences. The research was conducted from November 2014 to February 2015.
The following are the findings of this research. Among the most significant lived experience emerging from the participants’ are the interpreted theme connected tothe body and mind and interpreted theme connected to God. Each of the themes has being happy, being worried, being confused, being unsecured, being uncomfortable, being respectful, being grateful, being challenged, and being accommodated as sub-themes. Both participants shared what actually happened in the past and their feelings during the English classes. These two themes need to be highlighted. In my opinion, this categorization plays important role in the way I interpret the meaning of theparticipants’ texts.
that is the lived experiences of the participants; to the audience is that by lived experiencing learning English without the necessity of actually experiencing it, will be able to furthermore reach empathic understanding.
ABSTRAK
Irna Stania. 2015. The Meaning of Learning English to International Class Students of University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY). Yogyakarta: Program Pasca Sarjana, Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Hal yang berlaku umum pada mahasiswa, terutama mahasiswa kelas Internasional adalah mereka perlu meningkatkan penguasaan bahasa Inggris. Karena mereka berada di kelas internasional, penggunaan bahasa Inggris di hampir semua kegiatan belajar-mengajar cukup signifikan. Mereka menyajikan presentasi, berdiskusi dan menulis dalam bahasa Inggris. Mereka memiliki eksposur yang cukup dalam menggunakan bahasa Inggris, sehingga sangat menarik untuk mengeksplorasi pengalaman hidup mereka dalam belajar bahasa Inggris lebih lanjut.
Pengalaman hidup adalah fenomena pengalaman sehari-hari orang-orang. Pengalaman hidup tersebut memiliki aspek fenomenal dalam kisah yang bisa direnungkan atau ditafsirkan. Pengalaman hidup tertentu sebagai bagian dari sistem pengalaman terkait dijabarkan melalui proses refleksi pada maknanya. Oleh karena itu, pengalaman hidup memiliki esensi tertentu untuk retrospeksi. Sehubungan dengan ini, penelitian ini berusaha untuk menggambarkan pengalaman hidup peserta penelitian dalam belajar bahasa Inggris dan menafsirkannya.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menilai pengalaman hidup peserta penelitian, oleh karena itu proyek ini menggunakan pendekatan fenomenologis. Untuk mendapatkan cerita pengalaman, penelitian ini menggunakan wawancara yang mendalam sebagai instrumen utama pengumpulan teks. Sementara itu, mengulang wawancara guna menegaskan kembali teks yang ditranskrip dan ditulis menjadi instrumen pengumpulan teks pendukung yang diperlukan untuk triangulasi data. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta di mana dua mahasiswa program internasional mengikuti kuliah bahasa Inggris. Kumpulan kisah pengalaman peserta secara sistematis diberi kategori melalui proses pemberian kode dan selanjutnya ditafsirkan selama penelitian berlangsung guna mendapatkan tema yang ditafsirkan dari pernyataan pengalaman peserta yang signifikan. Penelitian ini berlangsung sejak bulan November 2014 sampai dengan Februari 2015.
digarisbawahi. Menurut pendapat saya, kategorisasi ini memainkan peran penting dalam menafsirkan makna kisah pengalaman peserta.
Manfaat penelitian ini bagi peserta adalah agar mereka menjadi lebih reflektif, dan fokus pada tujuan; bagi peneliti bahwa hal ini membantu untuk lebih beraktualisasi diri dalam membantu siswa mencapai khususnya tingkat kebutuhan tertinggi - tingkat aktualisasi diri dan meningkatkan pemahaman tentang topik diskusi tentang pengalaman hidup peserta; bagi pembaca yaitu mengalami belajar bahasa Inggris tanpa harus benar-benar mengalaminya, dan selanjutnya untuk mencapai pemahaman empatik.
THE MEANING OF LEARNING ENGLISH TO
INTERNATIONAL CLASS STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF
MUHAMMADIYAH YOGYAKARTA
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum.)
in English Language Studies
by Irna Stania
Student number: 10 6332 006
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
THE MEANING OF LEARNING ENGLISH TO
INTERNATIONAL CLASS STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF
MUHAMMADIYAH YOGYAKARTA
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum.)
in English Language Studies
by Irna Stania
Student number: 10 6332 006
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A THESIS
THE MEANING OF LEARNING ENGLISH TO
INTERNATIONAL CLASS STUDENTS OF
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH YOGYAKARTA
by
Irna Stania 10 6332 006
Approved by
Dr. J. Bismoko ______________________
A THESIS
MEANING OF LEARNING ENGLISH TO INTERNATIONAL
CLASS STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH
YOGYAKARTA
by Irna Stania 10 6332 006
Defended before the Thesis Committee and Declared Acceptable
THESIS COMMITTEE
Chairperson : Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A _______________
Secretary : Dr. J Bismoko _______________
Members : 1. F.X. Mukarto, M.S., Ph.D. _______________
2. Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A.______________
Yogyakarta, August 20, 2015 The Graduate School Director Sanata Dharma University
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that all the ideas, phrases, and sentences, unless otherwise stated, are the ideas, phrases and sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences including degree cancellation if she took somebody else’s ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper reference.
Yogyakarta, July 29, 2015
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma
Nama : Irna Stania
Nomor Mahasiswa : 106332006
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
THE MEANING OF LEARNING ENGLISH TO
INTERNATIONAL CLASS STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH YOGYAKARTA
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu minta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 29 Juli 2015
Yang menyatakan,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This thesis is in many ways a product of my journey in the Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta. First and foremost, I would convey my very first eternal gratitude to Allah, the Entirely Merciful, and the Especially Merciful. Praise is due to Allah Lord of the worlds. During that precious time, it had been contentment that I learnt so many things from my greatest teachers who had so generously shared their knowledge and their excellent current perspectives in English language teaching with me.
My sincere thanks genuine addressed to Dr. J. Bismoko, my thesis supervisor, for the guidance given to me before and during the conduct of my research project and especially the writing of my thesis as well. I believed that without his patience and support, this thesis would never have been accomplished.
In particular, I wish to thank Drs. F.X. Mukarto, M.S., Ph.D., the Head of Graduate Program in English Studies, Sanata Dharma University, from whom I learnt some personal qualities that made a best teacher.
I would like to acknowledge the support and professional help as well as personal friendship of Dr. B. B. Dwijatmoko, M.A. that I learned and enjoyed during of years of my study. I also thanked him for his assisting in refinement of the thesis.
A word of many thanks also goes to my research participants: Vitho and Mascu who had willingly told me the stories of their experiences. I believed they had really experienced and shared them to me. So, what I listened from them had really become rich and valuable sources of narratives I wrote in this thesis.
My dear friends in the same batch in English Language Studies also provided me with the color another ‘learning community atmosphere’ during myacademic years in this school. They all had been very lovely friends to me, especially ibu Mei, ibu Heny, Mega, Teddy. I thanked them for time and suggestions they shared with me. The appreciation also goes to dear EDSA UGM alumni group that I could not mention their names one by one, that had given me with restless supports during the completion of this project.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ……… i
APPROVAL PAGE ……… ii
THESIS DEFENSE APPROVAL ……… iii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ……… iv
STATEMENT OF LICENSE AGREEMENT……….. v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS……… vii
LIST OF TABLES ……… ix
LIST OF FIGURES ……… x
ABSTRACT………...... xi
ABSTRAK ……… xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. JUSTIFICATION OF CURRENT STUDY ………... 1
B. RESEARCHER’S VOICE ………... 4
C. PARTICIPANTS’ VOICE ………... 6
D. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION ……… 7
E. PROBLEM LIMITATION ……… 8
F. PROBLEM FORMULATION ……… 9
G. RESEARCH GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ………… 9
H. RESEARCH BENEFITS ……… 10
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW A. THEORETICAL REVIEW ……… 12
1. InternationalUndergraduate Program UMY …….. 13
2. Lived Experience ……….………... 14
3. Language Learning ……… 18
a. Goals of Language Learning ……… 21
b. Theories of Learning ……… 23
4. Meaning ……… 25
a. Empirical Meaning ……… 27
b. Transcendental Meaning ……… 28
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. RESEARCH METHOD ……… 33
B. TEXTS ……… 37
C. PARTICIPANTS ……… 38
D. TEXT GATHERING INSTRUMENT ……… 40
E. TEXT GATHERING AND TEXT PROCESSING .……... 41
F. TRUSTWORTHINESS ……… 45
CHAPTER IV DESCRIPTION AND INTERPRETATION A. RELATIONSHIP OF RESEARCH PLAN AND ITS EXECUTION ……….. 46
B. TEXT DESCRIPTION ……….. 48
C. INTERPRETATION ……….………. 49
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION A. CONCLUSION ………. 68
B. PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATION ………. 72
C. RECOMMENDATION ………....………. 73
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……… 74
APPENDICES ……… 76
Appendix 1: Text ……… 77
Appendix 2: Structural Analysis Mascu a ... 86
Appendix 3: Structural AnalysisMascu b………. 87
Appendix 4: Structural Analysis Mascu c……… 88
Appendix 5: Structural Analysis Mascu d ... 90
Appendix 6: Structural Analysis Mascu e .…….. 91
Appendix 7: Structural Analysis Vitho a .…….. 93
Appendix 8: Structural Analysis Vitho b .…….. 93
Appendix 9: Structural Analysis Vitho c ……... 95
Appendix 10: Structural Analysis Vitho d ……... 97
Appendix 11: Structural Analysis Vitho e ……... 98
Appendix 12: Structural Analysis Vitho f .……. 99
Appendix 13: Structural Analysis Vitho g .……. 100
Appendix 14: Structural Analysis Vitho h ……. 101
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 2.1 Prefigured Themes ………. 32
Table 3.1 Research Participants and Setting….. 42 Table 3.2 Sample Blueprint of the Instrument... 43 Table 3.3 Research Procedure and Text Analysis 47 Table 4.1 Taxonomy of Student Emotions ... 55 Table 4.2 Selected Example of Significant
Statements of Participants Experiences
and Classroom Interaction……… 57
Table 4.3 Selected Example of Significant Statements of Participants Experiences
and Classroom Interaction……… 67
Table 4.4 Selected Example of Significant Statements of Participants Experiences
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 2.1 Spolsky’s General Model of Second
ABSTRACT
Irna Stania. 2015. The Meaning of Learning English to International Class Students of University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY). Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program, English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
It is generally accepted that university students, especially international undergraduate program students, need to improve their mastery of the English language. As they are in international class, the use of English in almost all teaching-learning there is quite significant. They present, discuss and write in English. They have enough exposure in using English, so it is interesting to explore more on their lived experiences in learning English.
A lived experience means people’s everyday experiences of phenomenon. It has phenomenal aspect in the experience that can be reflectively grasped or interpreted. A particular lived experience as a part of a system of related experiences is explicated from it through the process of reflection on its meaning. Therefore, lived experience has a certain essence to retrospect. In relation to this, this study attempted to describe participants’ lived experience in learning English and interpret it.
Thestudy was to assess the participants’ lived experiences,and therefore the phenomenological approach was used. To gain the text, in-depth interviews were employed as the main text gathering instrument. Meanwhile, re-interviews then reconfirming the transcribed and written texts served as supporting text gathering instruments which were necessary for the data triangulation. The research was conducted at University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta in which two international undergraduate program student participants learnt English. The texts were systematically categorized through a coding process and continuously interpreted during the course of the research in order to make interpreted themes of significant statements of participants’ experiences. The research was conducted from November 2014 to February 2015.
The following are the findings of this research. Among the most significant lived experience emerging from the participants’ are the interpreted theme connected tothe body and mind and interpreted theme connected to God. Each of the themes has being happy, being worried, being confused, being unsecured, being uncomfortable, being respectful, being grateful, being challenged, and being accommodated as sub-themes. Both participants shared what actually happened in the past and their feelings during the English classes. These two themes need to be highlighted. In my opinion, this categorization plays important role in the way I interpret the meaning of theparticipants’ texts.
that is the lived experiences of the participants; to the audience is that by lived experiencing learning English without the necessity of actually experiencing it, will be able to furthermore reach empathic understanding.
ABSTRAK
Irna Stania. 2015. The Meaning of Learning English to International Class Students of University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY). Yogyakarta: Program Pasca Sarjana, Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Hal yang berlaku umum pada mahasiswa, terutama mahasiswa kelas Internasional adalah mereka perlu meningkatkan penguasaan bahasa Inggris. Karena mereka berada di kelas internasional, penggunaan bahasa Inggris di hampir semua kegiatan belajar-mengajar cukup signifikan. Mereka menyajikan presentasi, berdiskusi dan menulis dalam bahasa Inggris. Mereka memiliki eksposur yang cukup dalam menggunakan bahasa Inggris, sehingga sangat menarik untuk mengeksplorasi pengalaman hidup mereka dalam belajar bahasa Inggris lebih lanjut.
Pengalaman hidup adalah fenomena pengalaman sehari-hari orang-orang. Pengalaman hidup tersebut memiliki aspek fenomenal dalam kisah yang bisa direnungkan atau ditafsirkan. Pengalaman hidup tertentu sebagai bagian dari sistem pengalaman terkait dijabarkan melalui proses refleksi pada maknanya. Oleh karena itu, pengalaman hidup memiliki esensi tertentu untuk retrospeksi. Sehubungan dengan ini, penelitian ini berusaha untuk menggambarkan pengalaman hidup peserta penelitian dalam belajar bahasa Inggris dan menafsirkannya.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menilai pengalaman hidup peserta penelitian, oleh karena itu proyek ini menggunakan pendekatan fenomenologis. Untuk mendapatkan cerita pengalaman, penelitian ini menggunakan wawancara yang mendalam sebagai instrumen utama pengumpulan teks. Sementara itu, mengulang wawancara guna menegaskan kembali teks yang ditranskrip dan ditulis menjadi instrumen pengumpulan teks pendukung yang diperlukan untuk triangulasi data. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta di mana dua mahasiswa program internasional mengikuti kuliah bahasa Inggris. Kumpulan kisah pengalaman peserta secara sistematis diberi kategori melalui proses pemberian kode dan selanjutnya ditafsirkan selama penelitian berlangsung guna mendapatkan tema yang ditafsirkan dari pernyataan pengalaman peserta yang signifikan. Penelitian ini berlangsung sejak bulan November 2014 sampai dengan Februari 2015.
digarisbawahi. Menurut pendapat saya, kategorisasi ini memainkan peran penting dalam menafsirkan makna kisah pengalaman peserta.
Manfaat penelitian ini bagi peserta adalah agar mereka menjadi lebih reflektif, dan fokus pada tujuan; bagi peneliti bahwa hal ini membantu untuk lebih beraktualisasi diri dalam membantu siswa mencapai khususnya tingkat kebutuhan tertinggi - tingkat aktualisasi diri dan meningkatkan pemahaman tentang topik diskusi tentang pengalaman hidup peserta; bagi pembaca yaitu mengalami belajar bahasa Inggris tanpa harus benar-benar mengalaminya, dan selanjutnya untuk mencapai pemahaman empatik.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This introductory chapter is to ensure the validity of the research project, i.e. its meaningfulness and relevance, as well as its feasibility. The chapter presents a justification for the current study so as to clarify the context within which the research was conducted before progressing to subsequent chapters. The problem identification is introduced and the problem limitation is presented which are of importance to this study, presenting the area of discussion for this study. My statement of the research question for conducting the study and the significance of the study are outlined. This chapter also introduces a description of phenomenology as a qualitative approach adopted for the study. The research benefit is set forth and closes the thesis.
A. JUSTIFICATION OF CURRENT STUDY
University students, especially international undergraduate program students,
need to improve their mastery of the English language. One of the researcher’s
motivations is to gain an insight into how students orient to lived experiences in learning English. This thesis provides research describing the lived experiences of some International Class students at UMY taking English class at the Language Training Center as their required subject. This project considers “what and what
of learning English and what learning English means to them, with a view to reaching the better stages of needs, i.e. realization of self-potential (self-actualization) and competence in helping others.
There are studies focusing on teacher and learner as part of important elements in teaching-learning process (Reszke, 2011; Tumijo, 2008; Leaph, 2011). As an English teacher, my aim in undertaking this study is to ensure that this research project is feasible and valid. The project is not only relevant to education in reaching emphatic understanding, but also scientifically relevant and meaningful. As illustrated in Tumijo’s (2008) study of teachers’ lived experience of using a text-based curriculum in English teaching, it is found out from the lived-experience of the teachers that they have different perspectives on text-based curriculum. Moreover, it affects the approach they use in the classroom. If the teachers hold varying opinions on teaching English, it is reasonable to suppose that there must be the same case with the students’ opinions on learning English.
This finding inspires me to pay attention to participants’ experiences in learning English to better reach emphatic understanding.
Another result of a study conducted by Suzanne Margaret Reszke in 2011, interesting as well, The Lived Experiences of Adult Learners of English as a Second (or Other) Language, suggests that sense of vocation motivates the participants to learn English as well as helps them to continue to have their English learning and to continue in using English to meet the requirement of their vocation through working with international organizations. She focuses on participants’ points of view in learning English, especially those who live in an
shows that the participants a part from experience the process of learning English reflect to what they have experienced to improve their performance in the workplace. A pertinent question is what about students learning English in non-English speaking countries?
Leaph in 2011 examined perceptions of thirty nine Cambodian University students about the effectiveness of oral feedback (OF) and written feedback (WF) on their writings. After two months of treatment, the results showed that both the OF and WF groups of students improved their holistic writing. Other indications recognized were that the OF group of students felt more oriented toward the oral feedback than the WF group toward written feedback. Additionally, the OF group made improvement in both micro aspects (i.e. grammar, vocabulary, mechanic, and spelling) and macro aspects (i.e. content and organization) of writing. On the other hand, WF group only improved in macro aspects of writing. The study does not share the meaning of the treatments to the students and shows only the
proficiency of the students’ learning.
the whole student experience. To this end, this study attempts to describe the essence of learning English to the participants.
B. RESEARCHER’S VOICE
As the world of lived experience is both the object and the source of phenomenological research, to make this study of the lived experience of learning English, I need to orient myself in a strong way to the question of the meaning of learning English. Manen posits that the ego-logical starting point for
phenomenological research is a natural consequence of finding the access to life’s
living dimensions. My own life experience is immediately accessible to conduct a personal description of a lived experience. Here is the researcher personal lived experience description particularly related to learning English.
Like every afternoon, that day I had waited my father coming home from the office for quite sometimes. I needed him to translate my favorite cartoon on TV as I did not understand any English word. There was no cartoon with Indonesian subtitle. My dad was the only hope for me to follow the story. He used to stay in US, that’s why he spoke English well. I was ready in front of the TV when I heard his car entering the garage. He showed up and talked to my mum. I ran to him and told him, “The cartoon was about to start, dad”. He went to his room and changes his clothes to t-shirt and short pants. A few minutes later, he took a seat next to me, “Where are we anyway,” he said and we watched the film together. He translated the dialogues as soon as I asked him, so I could easily understand the film. Unexpectedly, I heard dad’s snoring – “Oh, no….not again!” I said to myself. He fell asleep and no more explanation from him. I was so disappointed as the film was not over yet and I really wanted to know the ending. However, nothing I could do than watched the film with guessing the conversation. Since then I promised to myself that never depending on someone else – that I had to learn English myself.
researcher alone without further translation of the text. It was very unpleasant
experience but it made up the researcher’s mind to learn English in the future.
With this self-evidence that is experientially undeniable I now have the grasp of being a learner experiencing learning English. And yet the nature of meaning of this learning needs to be explicated by phenomenological human science. As now the researcher reflects on her own lived experience description and tries to detect the theme of the description. I become aware of the special meaning of learning English for the learner. The experience of being a teacher manifests me in learning English on learner’s mind and wondering what one may expect to
become of them.
C. PARTICIPANTS’ VOICE
Two international undergraduate students participate in this study. Both of them are male and range in age from 21 and 22 years old. One of them is from Moluccas and has graduated from senior high school; the other one is from Bangka Island and has graduated from vocational senior high school. They both take Governmental Studies at UMY.
Mascu was born in Banda Aceh, Sumatera and graduated from Vocational High School in Bangka. He is the oldest child in the family and has two sisters and one brother. His father is an entrepreneur and his mother is a housewife. He has been introduced to songs in English by his mom at the beginning of his age.
D. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
The students’ lived experiences have different meanings to each of them. Through the unstructured interview, I describe my concrete daily situation to elicit the essence of their experiences. The concept of Lived Experience Descriptions (LED) used by Van Manen in Eilifsen (2011) is adopted from “lived experience” developed by theoreticians such as Dithley, Husserl ad Merleau-Ponty. He shared Dithley lived experience as a reflexive or self-given awareness that inheres in the temporality of consciousness of life as we live it. He agreed with Husserl lived experience as expressions of the full-fledged acts of consciousness in which meanings are given to intentional experience. He went on to quote the familiar line from Marleau-Ponty: the world is not what I think, but what I live through.
In addition, various thinkers in Manen (1990) noted that temporal structure in lived experience can never be understood in its immediate manifestation but only reflectively as past presence. In order to grasp in its full richness and depth, there is a need to relate the particular to the universal, part to whole, episode to totality.
E. PROBLEM LIMITATION
As mentioned in the previous part, the study is concerned with some aspects of experience from the inside. It also focuses on particular incidents of the object of experience and also how the body feels, etc. Those aspects of experience are described in relation to how the participants feel, understand, see and reflect to what they mean by learning English. Furthermore, the point of this research is to “borrow” the participants’ experiences and reflections on their experiences in
order to gain the deeper significance of an aspect of human experience. In short, those experiences are then certainly decided to become the core of the study.
The study describes students’ lived experiences in learning English using
phenomenological approach including the personal shared lived experiences. The limited number of participants allows deep and focused story of students in learning English. The students come from same department and batch at UMY.
F. PROBLEM FORMULATION
behavior as an integrated and inseparable relationship of a phenomenon with the person experiencing the phenomenon.
In describing and interpreting a meaning of learning English to the students (covering the elements of lived experience), the research question is formulated as follows:
- What does learning English mean to the international class students of UMY?
G. RESEARCH GOAL
In the context of this research, meaning of learning English to the International Undergraduate Program of UMY students achieves the goal which is to describe the lived experience they have had and then interpret it. By describing the past experiences of the participants, the study follows the procedural objective that is revealing personal meaning of learning English to each participant.
After transforming the participants’ lived experiences into sets of anecdotes
(texts), I interpreted the data to get the meaning of learning English from what they already have lived through them. The immediate objective of this study are narrative and interpretations. In addition, it is to obtain reflective understanding based on the persons who experience them. Ultimately, it is assumed that this research will promote human dignity as empathic understanding promotes equity which is the baseline of autonomy empowerment.
H. RESEARCH BENEFITS
participants as well as the researcher. To the participants, this study provides an opportunity for them to open up and search their memories of the past on what they actually have done when confronted with learning a foreign language. Moreover, it is expected that they are able to be more reflective on what they have experienced and relate them to the objective of learning English with a view to becoming more goal-focused. The reflection is looking back at what has been actually done, thought, felt et cetera and relating it with some goals in life: empirical, but more importantly transcendent or true and meaningful life. Indirectly, they contribute something valuable to fellow students, who may have undergone similar problems which at first they seem to tell us about our inner state but in knowing oneself one can also come to know about the external world and other people (Dithley in Moustakas, 1994).
For this study intends to describe and interpret students’ lived experiences in learning English, it is expected that the study provides significant contributions for the educational field research, especially teaching English as second language. Secondly, it is also assumed that it will generate other ideas for research in this field and thus will enrich the development of teaching English practices in general.
enhanced my pre-understanding of the topic under the discussion that is the lived experiences of the participants.
To the audience, particularly fellow teachers, firstly, by knowing this shared
lived experience, they will be more informed about students’ circumstances,
which can help them to be sensitized to students’ real situations in terms of their
learning strategies and study habits, including how they cope with the difficulties in grasping linguistic concepts and in performing language skills.
It is expected that this knowledge of students’ backgrounds will enable
teachers to develop an intelligent awareness or empathic understanding of students’ common problems in the learning process specifically chances to become more reflective and autonomous in the future. This will certainly affect teachers’ methodology and approach in class management.
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter introduces theoretical review consisting of some relevant theories concerning to the study. It is to clarify relevant concepts and their relations in (1) literature review, and in relation with the trustworthiness of the study, I considered to set aside the pre-understanding (bracketing) in (2) framework of pre-understanding.
A. THEORETICAL REVIEW
This part covers priory logical truth of the meaning of students’ lived experiences in learning English. The theory of lived experience is in the first order because this is the general concern of this study. The lived experience refers to what learning English language experienced by the students as the phenomena revealed by the study. That is why in this discussion the theory of lived experience comes before the theory of language learning. The last part of this section is a framework of pre-understanding. It is to answer the research question logically.
1. International Undergraduate Program of UMY (IUP UMY)
International Undergraduate Program UMY consists of 4-years undergraduate program in Economics, Law and Governmental Studies. Generally, it offers the international programs which are conducted in English. The IUP in Governmental studies curriculum includes research organized by Jusuf Kallas School of Government and supported by an International Institution-Asia Pacific Society for Public Affairs (APSPA). All of the courses delivered in English and thought by International lecturers. The program also supports International student exchange and has International collaborations.
2. Lived Experience
The purpose of this chapter is to make it easier for the audience to grasp the relevant concepts and their relations. I will begin with a brief background of relevant theories. This includes a short presentation of lived experience, followed by a section on language learning. This is followed by the presentation of meaning which is primarily central of this study.
Given my interest in researching lived experience, phenomenology focuses on
have lived through. In her research, Yasmina describes Junior High School
students’ lived experiences in learning monologues. The result shows that
students’ understanding of monologues of descriptive and procedure texts are
formed through repeated reading, the use of dictionaries, their prior knowledge, various sources and collaborative process with their teachers and peers.
Lived experience is seen as a true reflection that is thoughtful, reflective grasping of what it is that renders this or that particular experience – its special significance (Manen, 1990). As the focus is on describing what experienced by the participants, the aim of phenomenology is to limit personal experiences with a phenomenon description of the universal essence (Creswell, 2007, p. 58). The nature of lived experience is suggested by Dilthey in 1985 (Manen, 1990) as the involvement of our immediate, pre-reflective consciousness of life: a reflexive or self-given awareness which is, as awareness, unaware of itself. Moreover, Dithley outlines that lived experiences are related to each other like motifs in the andante of symphony, as something that belongs to a particular lived experience (unit of meaning), which becomes part of a system of contextually related experiences, explicated from it through a process of reflection on its meaning. Thus, a lived experience has a certain essence, a “quality” that we recognize in retrospect.
Merleau-Ponty (in Manen, 1990) has a more ontological term to the concept of lived experience as immediate awareness which he calls “sensibility”. The sensible is that: this possibility to be evident in silence, to be understood implicitly.
text. The objective of phenomenology is to transform lived experience into a textual expression of its essence (Manen, 1990). Based on the elaboration above, lived experience has something to do with a certain experience that may be reflexive, able to be interpreted and have meaning. In other words, another goal of phenomenology is to leave the individual phenomenon behind and to reach that so-called ‘essence’ (Alvesson, 2000). For example students’ lived experience in learning English at Vocational School in Yogyakarta illuminates that deep understanding of personal background of each student gives positive support of the achievement of learning goals and students feel being humanized when they are called by their names properly.
Eastmond mentions that phenomenological assumption used in narrative analysis in qualitative research takes meaning ascribed to the phenomena through being experienced and furthermore, that we can only be aware of something about other people’s experiences from the expressions they give them. Thus, stories can be seen as interpretations of the past instead of simply reflecting life as lived. For instance, Caecilia interprets that some students of a vocational School experiencing English language learning through Self-Access Center in Yogyakarta apply strategies in their learning as the efforts to be autonomous students and SAC is more than a place of learning language, the facilities are provided with certain intention to grow learning awareness among students up.
in Moustakas, 1994). Thus, the meaning of learning English to students here is meant to what they have experienced in learning English (empirical) and how they relate them to reflect in order to become more empowered in the future.
Put briefly, lived experience is conscious experience that a person has had in the past. Since the intentionality refers to consciousness – the individuals are always conscious to something (Kafle, 2011) – lived experience in this study is what students consciously have experienced in their English learning process and reflection they have made in order to be more autonomous and to understand others more. As stated by Bleicher (1980) that we recognize ourselves as individuals only through intercourse with others and so become aware of characteristics which are specific to ourselves.
3. Language Learning
Assuming that second language acquisition is contrasted with second language learning, Ellis (2008) defineslearning (in second language learning) as conscious study of a second language. From the meaning of the word, to learn means to gain knowledge of or skill by study, experience, or being taught (Oxford American dictionary & Thesaurus).
Brook cited the definition of ‘learning’ as a change in performance that occurs
delay. Language, as referring to Brown, is a system of arbitrary conventionalized vocal, written, or gestural symbols that enable members of a given community to communicate intelligibly with one another. In an effort to bring the learner, language and learning into some sort of proximity, it will be useful to consider theories of learning.
Johnson (1992) refers second language learning to the development of bilingualism or multilingualism and the learning of varieties of a language. She uses the term second language learning as the umbrella encompasses learning in second language and foreign language settings as well as in situations in which a language is used in wider communication.
Mitchell (2004) takes Spolsky’s model of second language learning to represent a general theory of second language learning. Figure 2.1 shows Spolsky’s general model of second language learning. The model summarizes theoretical views on the overall relationship between contextual factors (social context – where the second language learning takes place), leading to individual learner differences (attitudes), learning opportunities and learning outcomes. The rectangular boxes show the factors (or variables) that she believes are most significant for learning that can lead to differences in success or failure. The directions of influence are shown by arrows connecting the various boxes. The contents of the various boxes are defined at great length, as consisting of clusters of interacting ‘Conditions’, which make language learning success more or less likely. These ‘conditions’ summarize the results of a great variety of empirical
To apprehend language learning supports us to know what is happening within as stated by Mitchell (2004) there are two reasons of understanding language learning that may help to understand the process of activities that help or perhaps block them for learning:
1. Instead of that it is interesting in language learning, understanding language learning can also contribute to more general understanding about improving about the nature of language, of human learning and of intercultural communication, and thus about the human mind itself, as well as how all these are interrelated and affect each other.
provides
leads to
which appear in the learner as
which joins with other personal characteristics such as
all of which explain the use the learner makes of the available
the interplay between learner and situation determining
Figure 2.1 Spolsky’s general model of second language learning (Source, Mitchell, 2004, p. 8)
This model (Figure 2.1) shows a general theory of second language learning that summarizes theoretical view on the overall relationship between contextual
Previous Knowledge Capabilities
Personality
Social context
Attitudes
(of various kinds)
Motivation
Age
Learning opportunities(formal or informal)
factors, individual leaner differences, learning opportunities and learning outcomes. It is thus an ideal model in the openness of phenomena it is trying to explain. The rectangular boxes show the factors considered as the significant for learning, that is, where variation can lead to differences in success or failure. The arrows connecting the various boxes show directions of influence. These conditions represent the results of a great variety of empirical language learning research, as Spolsky interprets it (Mitchell, 2004).
Furthermore, Ellis (2008) defines motivation in language learning in terms of
the learner’s overall goal or orientation. Though the standard modern psychological definition of motivation is not clear, motivation – as seen at previous figure–is also considered as a social psychological factor indicating the differential success in learning a second language (Gass, 1994).
Mitchell (2004) sees that there are differences between individual learners. One of them is affective factors which motivation is a part of it. She quoted Gardner and MacIntyre’s definition of motivation as a complex construct, defined by three main components: ‘desire to achieve a goal, effort extended in this direction, and satisfaction of the task’.
a. Goals of language learning
As language is a quite complicated activity, which involves both neural and muscular tissue, and it has psychological, interpersonal, and cultural aspects that are indispensable to its acquisition and use, Brooks offered two choices of goal. First, we seek to establish the learner, within the limits of his experience, a coordinate system of two languages in which not only the overt patterns of behavior that characterize the new language, but also the mental processes that accompany it, shall have equal status as the mother tongue, yet be entirely separate from it. On the other hand, we may be content to establish in the learner a compound system, in which some features of the new language are learned, yet for the most part, the whole complex structure of language behavior.
What is expected from language learning is stated by Spolsky (1992) learner’s
success in achieving the linguistic outcomes (linguistic and communicative competence of a variable nature) and non-linguistic outcomes (including changes of attitude) that have been determined personally or socially.
Generally, language learning is a process of developing the ability to communicate in a second language. As well, the daily learning language as the participants have experienced through is the main source of this study and described and interpreted as close as possible to what they mean in a more realistic and practical sense.
expectation are factors provoking the general FL classroom anxiety the most. The phenomenon of anxiety has widely acknowledged as one of the most psychological phenomena that is experienced in many social or learning context (Batiha, 2014). In connection with this theory, the instructor-learner interaction experienced by the participants is considered as significant factor of learning to meet the objective of language learning.
Another study conducted by Dagarin is about having an implication of effective classroom interaction concerning with a pleasant atmosphere in the classroom with friendly relationships among the participants of learning process. The engaging thing is the theory she adopts as the support of the research. It is mentioned that how the situation actually develops depends on the attitudes and
intentions of the people involved, and on their interpretations of each other’s
attitudes and intentions. Pointless to say, only when there is co-operation between both sides can communication effectively take place and learning occur (Dagarin, 2004). Related to my research, there are pleasant and unpleasant situation during the learning process experienced by the participants. They are not only play a valuable role in completing the objective of language learning, but they also have meaning beyond the empirical goal.
Both motivation – driving force which involve expending effort, expressing desire, and feeling enjoyment – and classroom interaction are needed to grasp meaning of language learning.
What the scholars see in learning English is limited to the empirical objectives. They are to improve how the learner understands the target language, how the learner read texts, how the learner becomes better English user, et cetera. This study tries to find out the meaning of language learning, here as the phenomenon, and how the learner becomes more reflective after having gone through the language learning process.
b. Theories of learning
To learn is defined as “to gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery through experience or study” in The American Heritage Dictionary of English
Language (1996). Hergenhahn (2009) modifies the definition of learning as a relatively permanent change in behavioral potentiality that results from experience and cannot be attributed to temporary body states such as those induced by illness, fatigue, or drugs. An experience as an aspect in learning is considered as a significant point to be discussed further in this study. However, the psychologist, Olson (2009), revises Gregory A. Kimble’s definition of learning as a relatively
John Dewey as quoted by Bradley in 2005, states that an ounce of experience is better than a ton of theory simply because it is in experience that any theory has vital and verifiable significance. In this study I focus on learning second language, out of the debate between those who believe that education is a matter of making meaning for the learner on the one hand, those who believe that the function of education is to facilitate the process whereby learners make their own meaning, on the other (Nunan, 1999). There are three most famous schools of thought in second language acquisition. First, behaviorism considered effective language behavior to be the production of correct responses to stimuli. If a particular response is reinforced, it then becomes habitual, or conditioned. Second, cognitive psychology sought to discover underlying motivations and deeper structures of human behavior. Third, constructivism argued that all human beings construct their own version of reality, and therefore multiple contrasting ways of knowing and describing are equally legitimate.
Borger (1982, p. 74) states that learning is presented as adaptive behavioral change to current circumstances, with the implication that a careful analysis of the
learner’s environment should account for the changes involved. There is a process
and adaptation in learning. So that there would be a need to take a look at it in a way to know what happens in the learner. Furthermore, he emphasizes that making sense of the whole and of parts would be very much a mutually supportive process.
uses the term to refer to the process of developing conscious or metalingual knowledge through formal study.
3. Meaning
Aspers declares that the central concept of in the social sciences is understanding. Understanding is intimately connected to meaning. He additionally states that meanings come in structures and accomplish meaning in relation to other meanings. Reszke (2011) confirms that the nature of understanding is the central concern in hermeneutic and entering to understanding compels one to consider the other person. Hermeneutic is the process of deciphering which goes from manifest content and meaning to latent or hidden meaning (Palmer, 1969).
kinds of meaning that are outlined in the following parts of this writing such as empirical meaning and transcendence meaning.
As Husserl’s cited by Lindseth that in describing the essence of experiences
cannot be heard without narration. To come to the meaning of a phenomenon we have to tell stories, which express our experiences of such positioning. These stories reveal the meaning of experiences in our lives. We have to produce texts to be able to thoroughly examine the meaning structure of a phenomenon as a part of our life world – and thereby reveal the essential meaning of that phenomenon. Thus, the essential meaning must be studied and revealed in the interpretation of text.
In one of her articles, Eilifsen (2011) states that in phenomenological writing, the phenomenon the research tries to reveal is in the center. The purpose of phenomenological research is to bring the phenomenon to light. Anecdotes can help throw the light upon other experiences. She moreover clarifies that in everyday life we tell stories and we do not dwell on what these stories are actually telling us; their meanings may slip by us. They are actually much more; they tell more than words can express. In relation to this study, the experience of learning English is thus so much more than words to describe exactly what learning English means to them.
a. Empirical Meaning
asks the question of what is the nature or meaning of something. The first meaning that I try to find out from this study is an empirical one that means deriving knowledge from experience alone, based on observation, investigation and experimentation as opposed to theoretical knowledge (Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus). Then the empirical meaning refers to a meaning grasped from one’s experience as he/she lived through it. Particularly, what learning English means to the participants based on what they have done, felt, and thought through it. They may be getting better grades, better English, better work, et cetera that those are what is called hominization. In his lecture, Bismoko states that empirical meaning is also anything related with the improvement of empirical (material) life quality. Therefore, the phenomenological knowledge here means empirical based on experience but it also goes beyond an interest in “mean” particularly (Manen, 1990).
b. Transcendental Meaning
including cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, self-actualization and transcendence needs. At this point, I try to dig up the self-actualization where the participants realize their personal potential, self-fulfillment, personal growth and peak experiences (Maslow, 1968) and see how the participants come up to transcendent needs where after they reach the self-actualization level, they help others to become more self-actualized. In short, I ensure to understand the participants’ transcendent meaning (humanization) captured from their own lived experience in learning English. The meaning of learning English gained by me from the participants’ experiences must be different and unique to one another and it goes
deeper than the experience itself.
In another article, Manen (1989) posits that anecdotal narrative allows the person to reflect in a concrete way on experience and thus appropriate experience. He also mentions that to anecdote is to reflect or to think. In a reflective grasping, anecdotes recreate experience but in a transcended (focused, condensed, intensified, oriented and narrative) form. Thus, the act of anecdoting as concrete reflecting prepares the space for hermeneutic phenomenological reflection and understanding.
Hermeneutic phenomenology as stated by Kafle focuses on subjective experience of individuals and group in an attempt to uncover the world as experienced by the subject through their life world stories. In her article, Van der Mescht takes a term under Uberwelt dimension, spiritual beliefs to refer to a person’s connection to the abstract and absolute aspect of living. She believes that
B. FRAMEWORK OF PRE-UNDERSTANDING
Learning English develops the ability to communicate in second language and nonlinguistic outcomes including changes of attitude. Related to my research, there are pleasant and unpleasant situation during the learning process experienced by the participants. Although the teachers have provided with good lesson plans, materials and approaches, the students have their own unique lived
experiences in learning English. The students’ lived experiences in learning
English will probably vary in terms of feeling, actions, understanding towards the learning process covering motivation, classroom interaction and anxiety.
To know the students’ lived experiences in learning English, I need to
know their own anecdotes in learning English. This is in line with the current postmodern view regarding that the truth does not belong to the dominance instead people seek and perceive the phenomenon from various different angles including individual’s point of view. Therefore, I need stories from individual
student through in-depth interview as well as the written documents. The participating students need to express their lived experiences in learning English and I tried to describe and interpret their stories on the issue.
English is the compulsory subject for undergraduate students at UMY. The aim of learning English there is to achieve a certain level of academic purposes. The international program students are required to master the English language as the major language used in the daily learning process. They are expected to be competent not only in writing and reading but actively in international communication. The study does not stop at that point–more than just reaching up good proficiency – it is supposed to find out how the reflection of learning English (having both empirical and transcendent meanings) for them is more meaningful so they become more competent in helping others or more humanizing.
Lived experience is what has actually happened in the past and what it means to people. It is the interpretation or responses of people toward the world or the phenomena. Students experience their difficult as well as enjoyable situations English language learning from time to time. They can talk about them, but they are not usually able to explain what they mean to them. Therefore, we cannot ask students what learning English mean to them. This study emphasized the students’ lived experiences in learning English which mean what students felt about, acted, thought within the learning English lessons.
From this theoretical framework, a thematic interaction is constructed in order to guide me to describe the research context and limit the text gathering. I also use this to limit the scope. Using the thematic interaction it is also hoped to limit the scope of participants’ narratives.
prefigured themes in this study. This functions as the main reference for me in accomplishing this project.
Table 2.1 Prefigured Themes
Construct 1 Theme Construct 2 Theme
Lived
experienced fun
Learning
English
Classroom interaction happy
stressful Motivation
uncomfortable
speechless Anxiety
stage fright
As initial ideas to do this research, I proposed pre-understanding based on the theoretical review. In this study, the prefigured themes I assumed that the
students’ lived experience in learning English varies in terms of classroom
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter aims to ensure that the texts are valid texts, processes and interpretation of validity. This section discusses the methodology and the procedures that will be employed in the research. It is essential to the study as it explains in details the appropriate steps of how to answer the research question systematically. The elaboration deals with (1) research method, (2) texts, (3) participants, (4) text gathering instrument (5) text gathering, (6) research steps and text processing, and (7) trustworthiness.
A. RESEARCH METHOD
The review of literature for this study includes lived experience, language learning and meaning. The following explanation is the procedure of getting meaning of students lived experience conducted by the researcher in relationship to literature review.
Delineating units of meaning is a critical phase where the experience researched is extracted. Here, I needed to make judgment calls while consciously bracketing my own presuppositions in order to avoid inappropriate judgments. The list of units of relevant meaning extracted from interview is carefully scrutinized and the clearly redundant units eliminated (Moustakas, 1994). To do this, I consider the literal content, the number of times a meaning was mentioned and how it was stated.
Clusters of themes are typically formed by grouping units of meaning together (Creswell, 1998) and I identify the significant topics, also called units of significance (Sadala and Ardono in Groenewald 2004). Moreover, it is important for me to go back to the recorded interview and forth to the list of non-redundant units to derive (Holloway and Hycner in Groenewald, 2004).
Summarizing, validating and modifying each interview–at this point I sum up all the themes elicited from the texts giving the holistic context (Ellenberger as cited in Groenewald, 2004) or concludes the explication by writing the composite summary which must reflect the context which the themes emerged. I also return to the participant to determine if the essence of the interview has been correctly captured and any modification is done as result of this validity check. The problem with the interview is sometimes the participants mix the incident being told with the one happening in another case, so that I have to reconfirm to the participants several times.
are important counterpoints to bring out regarding the phenomenon researched (Groenewald, 2004). The text collection and the process of text description reflect the literature on text gathering and text processing.
This study is a phenomenological research that aims to transform lived experience into a textual expression of its essence – in such a way that the effect of the text is at once a reflexive re-living and a reflective appropriation of something meaningful: a notion by which a reader is powerfully animated in his or her own lived experience (Manen, 1990). The participants in this study had directly experienced the phenomenon of learning English. In this study I captured
and described the phenomenon, what students’ experiencesin learning English as the main data through anything got from in-depth interview, field notes, document check, and re-interview meant to them. By doing so, I collected anecdotes, pieces of everyday life story of the participants, then described and revealed of what the phenomena themselves already point to (Manen, 1990) in order to come to the essence of the universal truth. The triangulation could be made by using multiple sources of data, so that the reliability and validity of the result could be achieved.
Moustakas (1994, p. 103) mentions that phenomenology commits itself to descriptions of experiences, not explanations or analysis and indicates the methods and procedures for conducting human science research including first, preparing to collect data (text gathering). There are formulating the question –
defining terms of question; conducting literature review and determining original nature of study, developing criteria for selecting participants – establishing contract, obtaining informed consent, insuring confidentiality, agreeing to place and time commitments and obtaining permission to record publish; developing instructions and guiding questions or topics needed for phenomenological research interview. Shortly, methods of preparation are reviewing the professional and research methods, formulating the research question, illustrating the topic and research question and selecting the participants. Secondly, collecting data (text gathering) that covers the Epoche process as a way creating an atmosphere and rapport for conducting the interview, bracketing the question, conducting the qualitative research interview to obtain descriptions of the experience.
B. TEXTS
The nature of data, the lifeworld - the world of lived experience is both the source and the object of phenomenological research (Manen, 1990). To make the study of the lived experience of learning English, I needed to orient to the question of the meaning of learning English. The pieces of anecdotes were gathered and captured from both the in-depth interview involving unstructured and generally open-ended questions and re-interview. Moreover, the source of data was two international class students as participants of the research, recorded or audio-taped in-depth interviews and re-interviews, and document checks. Those interviews, re-interviews and document checks play a central role and enable the researcher to triangulate the valid data. In relation to the nature of data, Miles (1994, p.9) explicates that such data are not usually immediate accessible for
analysis, but require some “processing”. Raw field notes need to be corrected edited, typed up and tape recordings need to be transcribed and corrected.
According to Manen (1990), qualitative data– with their emphasis on people’s ‘lived experience,” are fundamentally well suited for locating the meanings people
place on the events, processes, and structures of their lives; their ‘perceptions,
assumptions, prejudgments, presuppositions” and for connecting these meanings to the social world around them. Therefore, this data –particularly the texts show ordinary events that naturally occur in a participant’s daily life or are being
C. PARTICIPANTS
1. The Setting and Participant
The setting for this study consisted of locations that were quite, calm, relaxed and offered privacy, in campus, café, boarding house and were selected by participants as convenient for them. The participant in this qualitative research was generally smaller than in quantitative research. In this study the sample size was two. The convenience sampling involved the selection of the most accessible subjects. It was the least costly me, in terms of time, effort and money, since the participants were the students in my class. The purpose of convenience sampling was to seek as much detail and variation within the unique context or the “essence” of the lived experience of participants about that phenomenon (Creswell, 2007).
The study was conducted at UMY in which the two students were taking English subject. As one of supporting units at UMY, PPB provided foreign languages, including English, courses for students coming from all faculties. The international class had intensive one to improve the students’ competency in mastering English language. The aspects of accessibility that I worked for PPB UMY and the willingness of the participants illuminating their experiences were the central considerations of choosing them as the participants and place for this study.
the different setting and participants were arranged in such a way, I was able to obtain complete and various text and had an easy way to collect the text.
The two participants were students in my class. In order to trace the participants I told the students that I was conducting a research and asked for their participation voluntarily. There were ten of them available at the beginning, but by the course of the interview I got problem with matching their time to meet for interview. Lastly, only two of them were willing to be involved in the study. With the purpose of going deeper in meaning or lived experience in learning English, I limited the number of participants and setting of the data. Table 3.1 shows the participants and setting chosen in the research.
Table 3.1Research Participants and Setting
Participant Department Status Age Batch
Mascu IGOV student 22 2011
Vitho IGOV student 22 2011
D. TEXT GATHERING INSTRUMENT
