INCREASING THE STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AT THE EIGHTH
GRADE OF SMP NEGERI 1 LOTU IN 2016/2017
THESIS
By
YAKIMANO ZALUKHU Reg. Number: 122108120
INSTITUTE OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION OF GUNNGSITOLI FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
INCREASING THE STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AT THE EIGHTH
GRADE OF SMP NEGERI 1 LOTU IN 2016/2017
THESIS
Submitted to
Institute of Teacher Training and Education of Gunungsitoli in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana of Education
By
YAKIMANO ZALUKHU Reg. Number: 122108120
INSTITUTE OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION OF GUNNGSITOLI FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
ABSTRACT
Zalukhu, Yakimano, 2016,Increasing the Students’ Ability in Writing Descriptive Text through Project-Based Learning at the Eighth Grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu in 2016/2017. Thesis Advisors (1) YasminarAmaeritaTelaumbanua, M.Pd and (2) Dra. NursayaniMaru’ao, M.Pd.
Key words : Writing Descriptive Text, Project-Based Learning
Writing is a productive language which requires critical thinking process and it is used as a means of communication to aspire someone’s thoughts. Through writing skill, the students can generate their idea which is aimed to convey the meaning or information in written form.
The purpose of the research is to increase the students’ ability in writing descriptive text through Project-Based Learning at the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu in 2016/2017. To achieve the purpose, the researcher conducted Classroom Action Research (CAR) method; it was conducted in two to cycles. Each cycle consisted of some phases such as planning, action, observation, and reflection. The instruments used by the researcher to collect the data were observation sheet, field notes and evaluation sheet.
In Cycle I, it showed that there was not student (0%) can be classified in “very good” and “Good” level. There were 4 students (12.12%) in “enough” level. There were 24 students (72.72%) in “less” level and there were 5 students (15.15%) classified in “fail” level. The result shows that some of the students were still unable in writing descriptive text. Meanwhile, the students’ ability in writing descriptive in Cycle II was there were 3 students (24.24%) classified in “very good” level. There were 22 students (66.66%) classified in “good” level and there were 8 students (9.09%) in classified in “Enough” level. The average of the students’ value was 74.70.Therefore, based on the average for the students’ value in the two cycles, it can be categorized in good level. Hence, Project-Based Learning can increase the students’ ability in writing descriptive text.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Praise to Lord, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful, for the strength and
blessings so that the researcher could finish the thesis. In this opportunity, he would
like to thank all of those who have supported and guided him in completing the
thesis.
The researcher would like to express his sincerest gratitude to:
1. Mr. Drs. Henoki Waruwu, M.Pd., as the Rector of IKIP Gunungsitoli who always gives
the reseacher some suggestions to be a good student during studying in IKIP
Gunungsitoli.
2. Mr. Adieli Laoli, S.Pd., M.Pd., as the Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Arts
Education and as examiner of methodology, who has given motivation to arrange this
thesis well.
3. Miss Yasminar Amaerita Telaumbanua, M.Pd, as the chair of the English Education
Study Program and as the first advisor, who has given suggestion, idea, improvement in
arranging this thesis well.
4. Mr. Afore Tahir Harefa, S.Pd., M.Hum, as English Education Study Program Secretary
and as examiner of education, who always supports him, give the best services in
contributing the letters during studying until finishing this thesis.
5. Mrs. Dra, Nursayani Maru’ao, M.Pd., as the second advisor, who has given idea,
opinion, and correction in arranging this thesis.
6. Mr. Yaredi Waruwu, M.Si as examiner of study, who has given improvement in writing
7. All of the lecturers of the English Education Study Program in IKIP Gunungsitoli who
had taught the researcher during he studied in IKIP Gunungsitoli.
8. Mr. Yunieli Zalukhu, S.Pd., as the headmaster of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu who has allowed the researcher in doing the research in SMP Negeri 1 Lotu.
9. The researcher’s beloved parents who always support,fulfill his needs, advice and pray
for the researcher to God in finishing this thesis.
10. The researcher’s beloved brothers and sisters who always suggest, pray, support the
researcher in finishing this thesis.
11. His close friends (Rintongan Tafona’o, Arman Laowo, Three Ardinata Dawolo) who
always suggest, pray, support the researcher in finishing this thesis.
Finally, the thesis is still far from being perfect. However, the researcher
hopes that it is useful for the development of the English teaching-learning process,
particularly for the development of the students’ writing ability at Junior High
School.
Gunungsitoli, November 2016 The researcher
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... iv
LIST OF TABLES ... viii
LIST OF FIGURES ... ix
LIST OF GRAPHICS... x
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background of the Problem ... 1
B. Identification of the Problems ... 4
C. Limitation of the Problem ... 5
D. Formulation of the Problem ... 5
E. Purpose of the Research ... 5
F. Significances of the Research ... 6
G. Assumptions of the Research ... 6
H. Limitation of the Research ... 7
I. Key Terms Definitions of the Research... 7
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 8
A. Theoretical Framework ... 8
1. The Nature of Writing Writing... 8
b. Characteristics of Written Language ... 9
c. Process of Writing... 10
d. Purposes of Writing... 12
e. Teaching Writing... 12
f. Macro and Micro Skills in Writing ... 14
g. Types of Classroom Writing Performance ... 17
h. Teacher’s Roles in Teaching Writing ... 19
i. Descriptive Text in Syllabus of SMP N 1 Lotu ... 20
j. Designing Writing Assessment Rubric ... 22
2. Project-Based Learning ... 26
a. Definitions of Project-Based Learning... 26
b. Characteristics of Project-Based Learning ... 28
c. Principles of Project-Based Learning ... 30
d. Procedures of Project-Based Learning ... 31
e. Advantages and Disadvantages of Project-Based Learning... 35
f. Roles of the Teacher in PBL ... 36
g. Relationship between Project-Based Learning and Writing Skill ... 37
B. Latest Related Research... 38
C. Conceptual Framework ... 39
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD ... 42
A. Object of the Action ... 42
C. Schedule of Implementing the Action ... 44
D. Procedures of the Research... 44
E. Instruments of Collecting the Data ... 61
F. Techniques of Analyzing the Data ... 62
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS... 66
A. Research Findings ... 66
1. Research Setting ... 66
2. The Explanation of the Research Findings for Each Cycle ...…... 67
a. Cycle I ... 67
1) First Meeting ... 67
a) Planning ... 67
b) Action... 68
c) Observation ... 69
d) Reflection... 71
2) Second Meeting... 72
a) Planning ... 72
b) Action... 73
c) Observation ... 74
d) Reflection... 76
(3) Third Meeting ... 77
a) Planning ... 77
b) Action ... 77
d) Reflection ... 80
b. Cycle II... 83
1) First Meeting ... 83
a) Planning ... 83
b) Action... 83
c) Observation ... 85
d) Reflection... 87
2) Second Meeting... 87
a) Planning ... 87
b) Action... 88
c) Observation ... 89
d) Reflection... 91
3. The Students Activities for All Cycles ... 93
4.Researcher’s Activities for All Cycles ... 94
5.Students’ Ability in WritingDescriptive Text by Using Project-Based Learning for All Cycles ... 96
B. Research Findings Discussions ... 97
1. Common Response of the Research Problem ... 97
2. Analysis and Interpretation of the Research Findings ... 99
3. Research Findings versus the Latest Related Research ... 101
4. Research Findings versus Theory... 102
6. Analysis of Research Findings
Limitations... 103
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ... 104
A. Conclusion... 104
B. Suggestions... 105
LIST OF TABLES Table Page
1. Assessment Rubric of Writing Descriptive Text... 25
2. The Students’ Ability inWriting Descriptive Text by Using Project-Based Learning at the Eighth Grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu
in 2016/2017 in the Third Meetingof Cycle I... 81
3. The Students’ Ability inWriting Descriptive Text by Using Project-Based Learning at the Eighth Grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu
in 2016/2017 in the Second Meetingof Cycle II ... 91
4. The Students Activities for All Cycles ... 94
5. Reseacher’s ActivitiesforAll Cycles ... 95
6. TheStudents’ Ability inWriting Descriptive Text by Using
Project-Based Learning for All Cycles ... 96 7. TheStudents’ Ability inWriting Descriptive Text
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1. Procedure of Project-Based Learning ... 32
LIST OF GRAPHICS
Graphic Page
1. Percentage of the Students’ Activities that Had Been Done and Undone
in the First Meeting of Cycle I ... 70
2. Percentage of the Researcher’s Activities that HadBeenDone
and Undonein Cycle I... 70
3. Percentage of the Students’ Activities that HadBeen Done
And Undone during Teaching Learning Process ... 74
4. Percentage of the Researchers’ Activities that Had Been Done
and Undone the Activitiesin the Second Meeting of Cycle I ... 75
5. Percentage of the Students’ Activities that HadBeen Done
and Undonein the Third Meeting of Cycle I ... 79
6. Percentage of the Researcher’s Activities that HadBeen Done
and Undonein the Third Meeting of Cycle I ... 79 7. The Students’ Ability in Writing Descriptive Text through
Project-Based Learning in the Third Meeting of Cycle I ... 82 8. Percentage of the Students’ Activities that Had Been Done and Undone
in the First Meeting of Cycle II ... ... 85
9. Percentage of the Researchers’ Activities that Had Been Done
and Undone the Activities in the Second Meeting of Cycle II ... 86
10. Percentage of the Students’ Activities that HadBeen Done
and Undonein the Second Meeting of Cycle II ... ... 90
11. Percentage of the Researcher’s Activities that HadBeen Done
and Undonein the Second Meeting of Cycle II ... ... 90
12. The Students’ Ability in Writing Descriptive Text through
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix Page
1. Silabus ... 106
2. a. Lesson Plan of Cycle I... 114
b. Lesson Plan of Cycle II ... 128
3. a. Teaching Material of Cycle I... 139
b. Teaching Material of Cycle II ... 142
4. a. Table of Specification of Cycle II ... 143
b. Table of Specification of Cycle II ... 144
5. The Test Instrument Validity ... 145
6. a.The Students’ Test Sheet ofCycle I ... 147
b.The Students’ Test Sheet of Cycle II ... 155
7. a. Observation Sheet of Researcher’s Activities in the 1stMeeting of Cycle I... 161
b. Observation Sheet of Researcher’s Activities in the 2ndMeeting of Cycle I ... 164
c.Observation Sheet of Researcher’s Activities in the 3rdMeeting of Cycle I ... 166
d. Observation Sheet of Researcher’s Activities in the
2ndMeeting of Cycle II... 160
8. a. Observation Sheet of Students’ Activities in the 1stMeeting of Cycle I... 162
b. Observation Sheet of the Students’ Activities in the 2ndMeeting of Cycle I ... 165
c.Observation Sheet of Students’ Activities in the 3rdMeeting of Cycle I ... 167
c. Observation Sheet of Students’ Activities in the 1stMeeting of Cycle II ... 169
d. Observation Sheet of Students’ Activities in the 2ndMeeting of Cycle II... 171
9. a. Field Notes of Cycle I... 173
b. Field Notes of Cycle II ... 174
10. a. The Students’ Attendance List in the 1stMeeting of Cycle I ... 175
b.The Students’ Attendance List in the 2ndMeeting of Cycle I ... 178
c.The Students’ Attendance List in the 2ndMeeting of Cycle I... 181
c. The Students’ Attendance List in the 1stMeeting of Cycle II ... 184
d. The Students’ Attendance List in the 2ndMeeting of Cycle II ... 187
12. The Documents of the Research ... 191
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Writing skill is very significant because nowadays, people use not only verbal
communication to communicate with each other, but also non-verbal communication.
In other words, writing is an essential form of communication and used as a means of
communication to connect people regardless time and places. Through writing, the
students can convey their thoughts and communicate their ideas so that those can be
well-perceived by others. Hence, writing is one of the most prominent skills which
must be mastered by the students.
In addition, writing skill is important because it determines the students’
success in learning English. On the other hand, writing skill is one of the indicators
which can be used to measure the students’ English ability. This idea is further
supported by Kingston et al. (2002:3) stating that the achievement of the students
while learning English is measured by the productive skills, particularly their writing
performance. The students of English as a foreign language are required to be able to
write in English to internalize the English language that they learn.
Although the importance of mastering writing skill is clear, in fact, the
students’ writing skill can be said far from being satisfactory. Richards and Renandya
learners to master”. Because of that, there are many problems and matters arise
during the teaching and learning process of writing in the EFL classroom. The
students faced some difficulties, so they need ways how to make them increase their
writing ability. Ferris (2002:328) says, “Students will not succeed outside of the
sheltered world of the ESL class unless they can learn to reduce their errors”. Hence,
the students must improve their mistake in learning English.
In the syllabus ofKTSP 2006 at the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu states
that writing is one of skills that must be taught to the students. The competence
standard expects the students to express the meaning of short essay text in descriptive
and recount form. Meanwhile, basic competence expects the students to express the
meaning and rhetorical way in short essay text by using kind of language accurately
in descriptive form and even able to write descriptive text correctly. Then, the
Minimum Competence Criterion (MCC) that had been decided is 65. In other words,
the students of the eighth grade can be said successful in learning writing if the
students can get value at least 65. The evidence, when the researcher did the
observation to the students at the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu, the students’
writing ability was still low. Based on the students’ value, most of them got lower
than 65 points.
Based on the researcher’s observation at the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 1
Lotu, the researcher found many problems in the teaching and learning process of
writing. To write a short text, the students were not able to fulfill the requirements
students did not pass on MCC. In addition, the English teacher in the school stated
that the students’ writing ability was low and it was required to be improved and
increased. This writing difficulty was caused by several factors, such as: the students
were lack of vocabulary and writing ungrammatically, the students did not understand
the generic structure and the language features used of descriptive text, the teacher
also taught the students in traditional way and used direct Indonesian to English
translation method in teaching, the teaching-learning process was not fun and joyful,
the teacher seldom gave feedback to the students, the teacher depended onLKSand it
was not creative because of less for utilizing media.
Due to the problems above, it is clear that there is an urgent need of an
instructional method which can overcome the problems of writing. Hence, the
researcher looked for an appropriate way which can solve it. The researcher noticed
that the use of Project-Based Learning in the English instructional process had
become more popular and taken into account recently. There were several studies
which suggest the use of Project-Based Learning to enhance the English teaching and
learning process. “Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a model for classroom activity
that shifts away from the usual classroom practices of short, isolated, teacher-centered
lessons” (Harun 2006:3).
In addition, Sumarni (2013:478) says,
It potentially enhances the students’ motivation towards the teaching and
learning process and it also worked well for the classroom with mixed-ability which
enables the students to share ideas and thoughts to one another. Instead of sitting in
the whole lesson to learn writing, learning writing by accomplishing a project will be
more motivating for them. Related to these matters, the researcher figured out that
there might be a possibility to increase the writing skill of students by employing
Project-Based Learning. It facilitated them to construct language meanings and
constructions through the series of activities leading to the accomplishment of the
project. In addition, group works in accomplishing the project make the students
share ideas or correct one another.
Based on some considerations above, the researcher was interested to conduct
an action research to solve the problem, entitled “Increasing the Students’ Ability in Writing Descriptive Text through Project-Based Learning at the Eighth Grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu in 2016/2017”.
B. Identification of the Problem
There were some problems that the researcher found which occur during the
teaching-learning process. Those problems could be identified as the following.
1. The students were not able to identify kinds of descriptive text.
2. The students did not understand the generic structures of descriptive text.
3. The students did not understand the language features of descriptive text.
5. The students were not able to identify the descriptions of descriptive text.
6. The strategy that the English teacher applied for teaching writing is not
challenging the students.
C. Limitation of the Problem
From what had been explained previously in the background of the problem
and the identification of the problems, the researcher decided to limit the problems by
conducting the research focusing on a more specific one that is increasing the
students’ abilty in writing descriptive text about describing person at the eighth grade
of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu through Project-Based Learning in 2016/2017.
D. Formulation of the Problem
The problem of the research then is formulated as follows, “How does
Project-Based Learning increase the students’ ability in writing descriptive text about
describing person at the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu in 2016/2017?
E. Purpose of the Research
The purpose of the research was to increase the students’ ability in writing
descriptive text about describing person through Project-Based Learning at the eighth
F. Significance of the Research
The research findings are signified to:
1. The researcher himself, as a tool and way to enrich his knowledge and experience
in teaching writing through the implementation of Project-Based Learning.
2. The students of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu, as a motivation for them by learning
creatively in fun way to develop their ability in writing descriptive text even other
texts form.
3. The English teacher, as additional knowledge and contribution in teaching writing
through Project-Based Learning in increasing students writing skill.
4. The next researchers, as a reference and comparison for the next researchers for
their own research.
5. The reader, as additional knowledge for the use of Project-Based Learning in
teaching writing.
G. The Assumption of the Research
In doing the research, the researcher had some assumptions, such as below.
1. Writing is an activity to express idea and share information in written form.
Through writing, the students can practice how to inform and share something.
2. Project-Based Learning (PBL) as a learning model with scientific approach will
accustom the students to do the inquiry process which is believed to be able to
improve the quality of education. Project-Based Learning is an interesting way for
H. The Limitation of the Research
In conducting the research, the researcher proposed the limitation of the
research as follows.
1. Subject of the research was the students of the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu,
especially Class A in 2016/2017.
2. In the research, the researcher conducted Classroom Action Research (CAR).
3. The researcher focused himself on the students’ writing ability by using
Project-Based Learning.
4. The researcher taught descriptive text about person.
I. The Key Terms Definition of the Research
To avoid misunderstanding about the definitions that were used in the research,
the researcher gives some explanation that concerns with the definition.
1. Writing is the ability to express idea and share information, even to make a
description about someone. It is a way to inform and conveys something in written
form. Learning writing asks the students to practice their writing ability and how
they can express the ideas to write such as a descriptive text.
2. Project-Based Learning is a powerful tool in teaching the students through making
product and working in groups. It is a way for teaching the students used by the
researcher to make the teaching-learning process more interesting and it makes the
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Theoretical Framework 1. The Nature of Writing a. Definition of Writing
Writing is one of the four English macro skills. It is supported by Spratt et al.
(2005:26) confirming, “Writing is one of the four language skills: reading, writing,
listening and speaking”. Writing involves communicating with others or conveying
messages through symbols or signs including handwriting, spelling or letters, word
formations, layouts and punctuation. It requires the students to communicate
productively and represents the students’ ability in communicating through English.
“Written language is used to communicate with others who are removed in time and
space” (Nunan, 1999:275). Therefore, writing skill is very important to be taught at
school.
Furthermore, Harmer (2004:4) states, “Writing is used for a wide variety of
purposes it is produced in many different forms”. Written language can be re-read
again in accordance with what the readers need. According to Nunan (1999:275),
“People also need permanent records which could be referred to over and over
again”. Written language tends to be more exact and precise rather than spoken
language. Therefore, it will not cause any confusion, misunderstanding, or
Other than that, writing can be defined as a learning process which involves
critical thinking to convey one’s ideas and thoughts. It is also an action or a process
of discovering and organizing ideas into a paper as well as reshaping and revising. It
is something which can be learnt through. Oates (2000:2) says,
Writing is a unique mode of learning because it is integrative, requiring the active participation of both the right and left hemispheres of the brain and to
use phrase, ‘the deliberate restructuring of the web of meaning’.
Hence, it can be concluded that writing is a productive language which
requires critical thinking process and it is used as a means of communication to aspire
someone’s thoughts. Students of EFL can learn about writing in order to be able to be
a good writer as well as convey and express their ideas as it is a learning process.
b. Characteristics of Written Language
According to Brown (2001:341), there are at least seven characteristics of
writing based on the perspective of a writer.
1) Permanence
Once writing is written down and delivered in its final form to its intended audience, the writer abdicates a certain power: the power to emend, to clarify and to withdraw.
2) Production time
The good news is that, given appropriate stretches of time, a writer can
indeed become a “good” writer by developing efficient processes for
achieving the final product. 3) Distance
One of the thorniest problems writers face is anticipating their audience. That anticipation ranges from general audience characteristics to how specific words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs will be interpreted.
4) Orthography
5) Complexity
Writers must learn how to remove redundancy, how to combine sentences, how to make references to other elements in a text, how to create syntactic and lexical variety and much more.
6) Vocabulary
Written language places a heavier demand on vocabulary use than does speaking. Good writers will learn to take advantages of the richness of English vocabulary.
7) Formality
A student is filling out a questionnaire of writing a full-blown essay, the convention of each form must be followed. Complex conventions occur in academic writing where students have to learn how to describe, explain, compare, contrast, illustrate, defend, criticize, and argue.
Therefore, it can be concluded that there are seven characteristics of the
students’ writing: permanence, production time, distance, orthography, complexity,
vocabulary and formality. Because of that, the researcher taught writing to the
students by considering seven characteristics of writing.
c. Process of Writing
Nunan (1999:273) says that writing process as a complex, cognitive process
which requires sustained intellectual effort within a period of time. In addition, Seow
(2002:315) argues that writing process provides the students with sequences of
planned learning experiences to help them understand the nature of writing. In order
to make a good writing quality, there are several steps which need to concern about.
These stages of writing are related one to another, forming a cycle of writing in which
The following is the chart of writing process as what is proposed by Seow
(2002:315-320).
Further explanation of the writing process chart proposed by Seow is
described below.
1) Planning (pre-writing)
Pre-writing is any activity in the classroom that encourages students to write. It stimulates thoughts for getting started. In fact, it moves students away from having to face a blank page toward generating tentative ideas and gathering information for writing. The following activities provide the learning experiences for students at this stage: group brainstorming, clustering, rapid free writing and wh-questions. 2) Drafting
At the drafting stage, the writers are focused on the fluency of writing and are not preoccupied with grammatical accuracy or the neatness of the draft. One
dimension of good writing is the writer’s ability to visualise an audience. Although
writing in the classroom is almost always for the teacher, the students may also be encouraged to write for different audiences, among whom are peers, other classmates, pen-friends and family members. A conscious sense of audience can dictate a certain style to be used. Students should also have in mind a central idea that they want to communicate to the audience in order to give direction to their writing.
3) Revising
When students revise, they review their texts on the basis of the feedback given in the responding stage. They reexamine what was written to see how effectively
At this stage, students are engaged in tidying up their texts as they prepare the final
draft for evaluation b’ the teacher. They edit their own or their peer’s work for
grammar, spelling, punctuation, diction, sentence structure and accuracy of supportive textual material such as quotations, examples and the like. Formal editing is deferred till this phase in order that its application not disrupts the free flow of ideas during the drafting and revising stages.
Based on the explanation above, in can be concluded that writing process
consists of four stages; planning, drafting, revising and editing.
d. Purposes of Writing
According to Kirszner and Mandell (2013:3) there are some purposes of writing
as follows.
1) Writing to reflect
Writers explore ideas and feelings to make sense of their experience; in autobiographic memories, personal blog posts, and online course sites, they communicate their emotions reactions to others.
2) Writing to inform
Writers report the information, communicating factual details to the readers, in references books, instruction manuals text books, and web sites sponsored by nonprofit, writers provide information and explain or process, trying to help to see the relationships and understand the idea.
3) Writing to persuade
Writers try to convince readers to accept their positions on various issues. 4) Writing to evaluate
Because of that, it can be said briefly that the reasons of why the students
write is to reflect, inform, persuade and evaluate the readers. Based on the purpose of
writing, the students expressed their ideas to inform something especially about
description of someone, so their writing also will be evaluated by the researcher.
e. Teaching Writing
To teach writing, English teachers did not simply come into the class, explained
the material and then involved the students into writing practices. In teaching writing,
“Teacher needs to focus on both accuracy and on building up and communicating a
message” (Sprattet al., 2005:27). According to Brown (2007: 8),
Teaching can be defined as showing or helping someone to learn how to do something, giving someone instructions, guiding someone in study or something, providing someone with knowledge, and causing someone to know or understand.
Therefore, in teaching writing there are three stages that have to be followed.
1) Pre-teaching activity
In pre-writing, the researcher conducted brainstorming and invited the students to
refresh their mind by discussing everything related to the topic. After that, the
researcher told about the learning objective of the lesson and asked the students’
knowledge that they had related to the topic. All the activities of this stage are for
activating and stimulating the students understanding. Then, the researcher asked
2) Whilst-activity
After activating the students, the researcher explained the materials, learning
objective and significances to the students. In whilst activity, the researcher
explained about descriptive text through Project-Based Learning. This activity
consists of five stages. First is observing, the researcher showed a picture as a
model of descriptive text which the text given would be equipped with the generic
structure and guided the students to discuss about what the text tells about. Second
is questioning, the students asked the researcher all about descriptive text with the
guidance and direction of the researcher. Third is associating, the researcher
showed a model through project made and tells the students what would be done
next. Fourth is experimenting, the students were asked to make a project that is
completed by a description of it. It is time for the students to do writing text
creatively. The last is networking, the students tried to show and present their
project to the other students in front of the class, then others can give comments
and the researcher gave feedback about it.
3) Post teaching
The researcher took conclusion and gave feedback about process and output of
Based on the stages of teaching, the researcher conducted three stages in
teaching writing to the students in the classroom. They were pre-teaching, whilst
teaching and post teaching.
f. Macro and Micro Skills in Writing
Students’ writing competence is represented through some skills,namely micro
skills and macro skills of writing. According to Brown (2004:221), there are several
micro and macro skills to consider in writing. Those skills can be used as a
measurement to students’ writing competence. The followings are the micro and
macro skills of writing.
Micro skills of writing:
1) Produce graphemes and orthographic patterns of English. 2) Produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose.
3) Produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns.
4) Use acceptable grammatical systems (e.g. tense, agreement, and pluralisation), patterns and rules.
5) Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms. 6) Use cohesive devices in written discourse.
Macro skills of writing:
7) Use the rhetorical forms and conventions of written discourse.
8) Appropriately accomplish the communicative functions of written texts according to form and purpose.
9) Convey links and connections between events, and communicate such relations as main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information, generalization, and exemplification.
10) Distinguish between literal and implied meanings when writing.
11) Correctly convey culturally specific references in the context of the written text.
12) Develop and use a battery of writing strategies, such as accurately
The micro skills of writing focus more on the writing mechanics and the word
level, such as cohesive devices, tenses, etc. On the contrary, the macro skills of
writing deal with a wider area of writing, for example the form and the
communicative purpose of a written text, the main idea and the supporting idea of a
text, the literal and implied meaning writing, etc. Therefore, the writing process and
activity must require the mastery of micro and macro skills of writing as it aims at
helping the students to construct the idea effectively and making it easier for them to
write various kinds of texts.
Furthermore, there are six aspects of writing skill which must be taken into
account. They are content, organization, discourse, syntax, vocabulary, and
mechanics. Firstly, the content aspect of writing pays attention to the thesis statement,
related ideas, and ideas development through personal experience, illustration, facts,
and opinions. Secondly, the term organization concerns on the effectiveness of
introduction, logical sequence of ideas, conclusion, and appropriate length of writing.
Thirdly, discourse takes care of the topic sentences, paragraph unity, transitions,
cohesion, fluency, and variation. Fourthly, vocabulary aspect deals with the word
choice, or diction, throughout the writing. Lastly, syntax is related to the sentence
Based on the explanation, many experts propose their ideas regarding with the
aspects of writing. It can be concluded that there are several points to pay attention
while writing, such as the micro and macro skills of writing and the aspects of writing
which involve content, organization, discourse, syntax, vocabulary, mechanics, and
accuracy. Hence, the researcher will teach writing to the students by considering
micro and macro skills for measuring the students’ writing competence.
g. Types of Classroom Writing Performance
Brown (2001:343) states that there are five types of writing performance.
1) Imitative, or writing down
At this stage of writing, the students only need to write down English letters,
words, and sentences to learn the conventions of the orthographic code. At some
points, the teacher may do some dictations to students as well.
2) Intensive, or controlled
Intensive writing commonly appears in controlled-written grammar exercises and
does not offer much creativity on the writer’s side. Intensive writing usually
presents the students with a paragraph in which they need to correct a given
structure. Other than that, intensive writing often appears in the form of dictocomp
in which the students need to rewrite the paragraph. Controlled writing may loosen
3) Self-writing
Self-writing is writing with only the self in mind as the audience. There are several
forms of writing which fall into this writing category, such as note-taking and
journal writing.
4) Display writing
Display writing is highly related to academic world. It is a requirement in which
the students need to master in the school context as at school they need to be able
to take short answer exercises, essay examinations, as well as the research
methods. Those short of things can be categorized into display writing.
5) Real-writing
Real-writing aims at transferring and communicating information and messages to
the audience who needs the messages.
The types of classroom writing performance above will be applied by the
researcher, but only four types. They are intensive, self-writing, display writing and
real-writing because the students’ writing is not imitative based on the researcher’s
h. Teacher’s Roles in Teaching Writing
A teacher who teaches writing has the same roles as he teaches the other skills,
such as a controller, a prompter, a participant and a resource. Harmer (2007:25) says,
“Part of a good teacher’s art is the ability to adopt a number of different roles in the
class, depending on what the students are doing”. It emphasizes that there are six
important roles of a teacher in a writing classroom such as controller, agency,
prompters, assessors, resource and tutor. Another role of a teacher also can be
conducted. Firstly, he is a motivator who stimulates the students to generate ideas to
write, encourages them to write and makes them aware of the benefits of writing that
they are doing. Secondly, he is a source provider who provides them with information
and language that they need and gives advice or suggestions when they are working
with their writing. The Third role is as a feedback provider who responds positively,
encourages them to be aware of writing mistakes and offers corrections towards their
writing.
Moreover, Brown (2001:167) states that there are five roles of teacher; as
controller, as director, as manager, as facilitator, and as resource. Those five teacher’s
roles are more conducive to creating an interactive classroom than others. Therefore,
a teacher who teaches writing has to always stimulate the students to generate ideas,
guide them to accomplish their writing and give feedback toward their writing.
In conclusion, the researcher’s role during the teaching and learning process is
as motivator for the students who control, lead and facilitate them. The researcher
i. DescriptiveText in Syllabus of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu
In the odd semester of SMP Negeri 1 Lotu in 2016/2017, the text types which
the eighth grade students have to learn are descriptive and recount text. Because of
that, the researcher teaches about descriptive text to the students. Description is
writing about characteristic features of a particular thing. According to Oshima and
Hogue (1997:50), descriptive writing appeals to the senses, so it tells how something
looks, feels, smells, tastes, and/or sounds. In addition, a good description is like a
“word picture”; the reader can imagine the object, place, or person in his or her mind.
A writer “seen” clearly in the mind of the reader.
The generic structure of a descriptive text is as follows: (1) identification: an
introduction to the subject of the description; (2) description of features: describe the
characteristic features of the subject.
While the language features of a descriptive text are follows: (1) use of
particular nouns; (2) use of detailed noun groups to provide information about the
subject; (3) use of a variety of types of adjectives; (4) use of relating verbs to provide
information about the subject; (5) use of thinking and feeling verbs to express the
writer’s personal view about the subject or to give an insight into the subject’s
thoughts and feelings; (6) use of action verbs to describe the subject’s behavior; (7)
use of adverbials to provide more information about this behavior; (8) use of similes,
Related to the material, some materials about descriptive text that the researcher
taught to the students would be explained when the researcher conducted the research
These descriptive examples would be taught by the researcher to the students
through Project-Based Learning by conducting three stages for teaching writing;
pre-teaching, whilst teaching and post teaching.
j. Designing Writing Assessment Rubric
An assessment in language teaching means a way used to collect information
regarding the students’ performance or achievement. According to Bachman (1990)
in Hyland(2003:221),
Rubric refers to features ‘that specify how test takers are expected to proceed in taking the test’, but more generally concerns information about how any
assignment should be done.
At responsive and extensive levels of writing, three major approaches to
scoring writing performance are commonly used by test designers: holistic, primary
trait and analytic (Brown 2004:242). Brown (2004:243) claims that the last approach
is the most comprehensive approach to assess writing. It divides the assessment into
some aspects in which each aspect has got its own rates or points. Brown and Bailey
(1984) in Brown (2004:244) propose an analytic assessment rubric for writing. They
break the writing aspects down into five aspects, i.e. text organization, logical Tobey Maguire (Spider Man)
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development of ideas, grammar, mechanics and writing style. Each aspect has several
criteria ranging from unacceptable until “excellent” and gives 30 points as a
maximum point.
Rubric:
So the students’ writing maximum score is 100 points. However, Brown
(2004:246) himself acknowledges that, those criteria are supposed to assess term
papers, project reports, long essays and so on which are composed by those who have
had advanced language proficiency.
On the other hand, a multiple-trait assessment is more relevant to assess a
particular writing context. Multiple-trait systems seem to offer the most effective
means of accomplishing this, while simultaneously developing raters’ appreciation of
the features of good writing (Hyland, 2003:239). The aspects and the criteria of each
aspect are specific since they can be situated in a specific writing context. The
advantages lay principally in the validity and value of assessment is increased if it is
situated in teaching and based on a clearer understanding of writing.
Content 30
Organization 20
Vocabulary 20
Grammar 25
Mechanics 5
In addition, the ways for evaluating writing according to Alaska (2007:24)
as follows.
a) Score 4: An effective, well-developed paragraph that fulfills the assigned purpose. (1)Specific details support ideas.
(2)Organizational plan is logical with effective sequencing. (3)Word choices are effective and precise
(4)Transitions and sentence structure are purposeful and varied. (5)Few errors are present in grammar usage spelling and punctuation. (6)Errors do not interfere with meaning.
b) Score 3: A complete paragraph that addresses the assigned purpose. (1)Details support ideas.
(2)Organizational plan has predictable sequencing. (3)Word choices are purposeful, but pedestrian.
(4)Transitional and sentence structures are simple, but accurate.
(5)Some errors maybe present in grammar, usage spelling and punctuation. (6)Few errors may interfere with meaning.
c) Score 2: An oversimplified paragraph that addresses the assigned purpose. (1)Some details support ideas.
(2)Organizational plan has lapses and may be a list. (3)Word choices are pedestrian.
(4)Transitions and sentence structure are repetitive.
(5)Many errors may be present in grammar, usage spelling and punctuation. (6)Few errors may interfere with meaning.
d) Score 1: A deficient paragraph that attempts to address the assigned purpose. (1)Few or no details support ideas, idea may be random, confusing, repetitions,
or consists of a bare list.
(2)Organizational plan and sequencing are weak and may be brief. (3)Word choices are confusing or immature.
(4)Sentence structures are repetitive and fragmented few or no transitions. (5)Predominant errors may be present in grammar, usage spelling and
punctuation.
Furthermore, Brown (2007) also provides the assessment rubric of writing as it
is seem in Table 1, below.
Aspect Score Performance Description Weighting
Content (C) 30% -Topic - Details
4 a) The topic is complete and clear and the details are relating to the topic.
3x 3 b) The topic is complete and clear but the details
are almost relating to the topic.
2 c) The topic is complete and clear but the details are not relating to the topic.
1 d) The topic is not clear and the details are not relating to the topic.
Organization
a) Identification is complete and descriptions are arranged with proper connectives.
2x 3
b) Identification is almost complete and descriptions are arranged with almost proper connectives.
2 c) Identification is not complete and descriptions are arranged with few misuse of connectives. d) Identification is not complete and descriptions
are arranged with misuse of connectives
Grammar
4 a) Very few grammatical or agreement inaccuracies.
2x 3 b) Few grammatical or agreement inaccuracies but
not affect on meaning.
2 c) Numerous grammatical or agreement inaccuracies.
1 d) Frequent grammatical or agreement inaccuracies.
Vocabulary (V) 15%
4 a) Affective choice of words and word form. b) Few misuse of vocabularies, word forms, but
not change the meaning.
1.5x 3
c) Limited range confusing words and word form. 2 d) Very poor knowledge of words, word form, and
not understandable
4 a) It uses correct spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
1.5x 3
b) It has occasional errors of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
2 c) It has frequentl errors of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
1 d) It has dominated by errors of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Table 1. Assessment Rubric of Writing Descriptive Text.
Adapted from Brown (2007)
In conclusion, to assess the students’ writing ability in writing descriptive text,
the researcher used the assessment rubric as suggested by Brown (2007) that has
criteria ranging and more appropriate.
2. Project-Based Learning
a. Definition of Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning is a learning method which is not new in the field of
English as a second language and is thought to be relevant with the teaching and
learning of English in the 21stcentury. According to Robin and Patton (2012:13), Project-Based Learning refers to students designing, planning, and carrying out an extended project that produces a publicly-exhibited output such as a product, publication, or presentation.
It can be said that PBL is learning with the use of projects as systematic
teaching method which involves students in learning knowledge and skills through
assignment, authentic question, and well-designed product and Project-Based
Learning focuses on learning through student-centered, interdisciplinary, and
integrated activities in real world situations. Furthermore, (Yew & Schmidt, 2009;
Zajkov & Mitrevski, 2012) in Sumarni (2013:478) state,
Project-Based Learning (PBL) is one of the constructivism approaches in which the cooperation among the students in finding and building their knowledge through active learning.
In Project-Based Learning, students are responsible fully for their own learning.
They work collaboratively to solve problems. “Project-Based Learning is holistic in
interdisciplinary and encourages cooperative learning” (Harun, 2006:1). He also
asserts that, Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a model for classroom activity that
shifts away from the usual classroom practices of short, isolated, teacher-centered
lessons. PBL allows students to work on their own, in a small group, or as a
whole-class. Throughout the process, the students share their ideas, resources, and expertise.
Hence, in PBL students will explore, make judgments, interpret, and synthesize
information in meaningful ways. It is more representative of how adults are asked to
learn and demonstrate knowledge.
PBL provides the students with both a collaborative and an individual process
to attain their meaningful use of the target language. PBL is a teaching method which
involves the students both individually and collaboratively in a series of phases to
develop an end product through which the students have opportunities to construct
their knowledge and practice their skills. It reinforces them to construct knowledge
without reliance on rote memorization, involves challenging activities to exert
learners’ sense of creativity, cooperation and motivation, and provides high frequency
of interaction with others.
In the research, PBL is defined as a teaching method.“Project-Based Learning
is powerful teaching method” (Boss et al., 2015:2). The reason is because PBL
contains a set of systemic procedure and its characteristics are relevant to CLT
approach. The procedure is carried out through some techniques and activities which
specifically developed to teach writing, the researcher will employ the stages of the
writing process.
b. Characteristics of Project-Based Learning
Sumarni (2013:480) states that there are some characteristics of Project-Based
Learning.
1) Project-Based Learning is an authentic learning, it enables the students to
experience relevant and real-world task. Each student has a different learning
style, and then the PBL provides an opportunity for students to explore the content
(material) using a variety of ways that are meaningful to them and conducted
experiments collaboratively. Project-Based Learning makes the students learn
meaningfully as they link their prior knowledge to their current study based on the
real situation.
2) Project-Based Learning is student-centered; it focuses on the students to be active
students. It gives the students wide opportunities to discover the solution to the
given project using their skills and knowledge. In project-based learning, the
students are responsible for their own learning. Moreover, through project-based
learning, students are urged to plan, complete, and present the task.
3) Project-Based Learning is cooperative, through Project-Based Learning, the
students can work together as a group. Project-Based Learning allows the students
to work collaboratively and cooperatively to solve problems and investigate what
Projects lend themselves to students’ working and learning collaboratively.
Cooperative learning activities such as group investigations, team and
Project-Based Learning enable the integration of interpersonal, social and cognitive
aspects of learning.
4) Project-Based Learning leads to the integration of skills; Project-Based Learning
assimilates the students’ skills and knowledge. Through Project-Based Learning,
the students need to process information from various sources. The tasks given
Project-Based Learning also mirrors real-life tasks. Project-Based Learning entails
the students to merge their knowledge and skills to be able to complete the given
task. The integration of skills is an essential component of Project-Based Learning
and should be identified in the project outcomes. The students need to learn,
practice, apply, and extend these skills as part of the project design.
5) Project-Based Learning culminates in an end product; the result of the product can
be shared and shown with others. The products can be in the form of presentation,
poster, bulletin board, wall magazine, report, or performance. The value of the
product lays both in the final product and in the process of making the product as
the project work has a process and product orientation. Other than that, through the
final product that the students produce, the students will get the real sense of
achievement as they have something which can be shown as the indication of the
Therefore, to implement Project-Based Learning when teaching the students in
the classroom, the researcher considered some characteristics of Project-Based
Learning.
c. Principles of Project-Based Learning
According to Sumarni (2013:480), there are some principles of Project-Based
Learning.
1) The students work together in groups and collaborate on project activities.
The increases in the students’ collaborative abilities, characterized with the
existence of cooperation among the students in groups or in pairs.
2) A real world problem that affects the life of the students is presented for investigation. The learning is designed to help the students develop their thinking skill, problem solving skill, and intellectual skill. The students are given a chance to think and create.
3) The students discuss findings and consult the teacher for guidance, input, and feedback.
4) Artifacts production and exhibition, in which the students are required to make a particular product in form of real work or modeling which is then demonstrated to other friends.
5) The maturity level of the students’ skills determines the degree of guidance
provided by the teacher.
6) Final products resulting from PBL can be shared with the community-at-large, thus fostering ownership and responsible citizenship in addressing real world problems.
Based on the principles of PBL above, it can be said that activity that will be
done by the students based on the researchers’ instruction is working collaboratively,
d. Procedure of the Project-Based Learning
As other methods have, PBL has a procedure to carry out the project in the
teaching-learning process. It functions as a project framework to help the teacher to
guide the students developing the project. Generally, PBL has some steps such as
Planning, Creating, and Processing. Nonetheless, the procedure of the project
development proposed by Harun (2006:22) and also by The George Lucas
Educational Foundation (2005) has the similarity. It seems to be the most
comprehensive procedure and therefore the implementation of PBL in the research
employed this procedure. It is explained as follows.
1) Start with the Essential Question
The question that will launch a Project-based Learning lesson must be one that will engage students. It is greater than the task at hand. It is open-ended; take a real-world topic and begin an in-depth, question is based on situations or topics that are investigation authentic, make students feel that they are making an impact by answering the question or solving the problem, make the question relevant for students.
2) Design a Plan for the Project
When designing the project, it is essential to select content standards to be addressed. Involve students in the planning process. Students feel ownership of the project when they have an active role in deciding activities. Base on the curriculum, select activities that support the question. Know what materials and resources to be made accessible to students. Be prepared to delve deeper into new topics and issues as students become more involved in pursuit of answers.
3) Create a Schedule
Design a timeline for project components. Realize that changes to the schedule will happen. Be flexible, but help students realize that a time will come when they need to finalize their thoughts, findings, and evaluations. Allow students to go in new directions. Guide them when they appear to be going in a direction that has no connection to the project. Help students to stay on course but don’t accidentally set limitations.
4) Monitor the Students and the Project Progress
choose their primary roles but assume responsibility and interactivity for other group roles. Remind students that every part of the process belongs to them and needs their total involvement. Provide resources, guidance and assess the process through creating team rubrics and project rubrics. Team rubrics state the expectations of each team member while project rubrics refer to evaluation requirements of the projects. As such, these requirements must be made clear to students to ensure success in their projects.
5) Assess the Outcome
Assessment provides diagnostic feedback and helps educators set standards. It allows one to evaluate progress and to relate that progress to others. It gives students feedback on how well they understand the information and what they need to improve on. Assessment also helps teachers design instruction to teach more effectively. Whenever possible, allow
self-assessment among students. If student’s and teacher’s self-assessment
contradicts, a student-teacher conference to justify learning outcomes should be held.
6) Evaluate the Experience
In the busy schedule of a school day, there is often little time for reflection. Yet, reflection is a very important part of the learning process. Set a time for reflection of daily activities. Allow individual reflection, such as journaling, as well as group reflection and discussion. Share feelings and experiences, and discuss what worked well and what needs change. Share ideas that will lead to new questions, thus new projects.
To make it clear, the researcher makes a figure of the procedure for
Design a Plan for the Project Start with the Essential Question 1
In addition, according to Stix and Hrbek (2006:166), there are nine steps of
implementing Project-Based Learning such as below.
1) Sets the stage for students with real-life samples of the projects they will be doing.
2) Students take on the role of project designers, possibly establishing a forum for display or competition.
3) Students discuss and accumulate the background information needed for their designs.
4) The teacher and students negotiate the criteria for evaluating the projects. 5) Students accumulate the materials necessary for the project.
6) Students create their projects.
7) Students prepare to present their projects. 8) Students present their projects.
9) Students reflect on the process and evaluate the projects based on the criteria established.
Based on the procedures of the implementation of Project-Based Learning, to
conduct the research in the field the researcher had arranged the procedure into a
modified procedure of implementing Project-Based Learning in the teaching-learning
process.
1. The researcher introduced the topic of teaching material to the students is
“Descriptive Text”.
2. The researcher explained the definition of descriptive text.
3. The researcher explained how to write the example of descriptive text through
Project-Based Learning.
4. The researcher asked the students to identify the identification and description of
descriptive text.
5. The researcher gave an essential question “what is the characteristic of
6. The researcher designed a plan for the project by asking the students to form a
group and gave the instruction about the project that will be created.
7. The researcher gave time for the students to discuss and accumulate the
background information of the project.
8. The researcher and the students created a schedule by discussing the allotted time
to do and submit the project.
9. The researcher asks the students created their project by sticking such pictures
and writing description of an idol in a book sheet.
10. The researcher monitored and observes the students project.
11. The researcher asked each group to presents their project.
12. The researcher assessed the outcome after the students’ final products are
presented by using formative strategies to keep project on authentic product.
13. The researcher gavethe information about the value of the students’ project.
14. The researcher asked the students individually to write a descriptive text based
e. The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Implementation of PBL
Project-Based Learning has several advantages, particularly when it is
conducted in the context of learning English as a foreign language. Sumarni
(2013:480) provides some advantages and disadvantages of implementing
Project-Based Learning in the English teaching and learning process.
The advantages of project-based learning:
1) PBL increases students’ learning motivation. 2) PBL increases students’ academic achievement. 3) PBL increases cooperation/collaboration ability. 4) PBL increases the ability to communicate.
5) PBL increases students’ skill in managing learning resources (improve
library research skill). 6) PBL creates fun learning.
7) PBL increases students’ attitudes toward learning. 8) PBL increases students’ creativity.
9) PBL lowers students’ anxiety level in the learning process. 10) PBL increases problem solving ability.
11) PBL increases resource management skills.
The advantages of Project-Based Learning also stated by Boss et al (2015:2), as
follows.
1) It motivates students.
2) It prepares students for college, careers, and citizenship.
3) It helps students meet standards and do well on tests that ask students to demonstrate in-depth knowledge and thinking skills.
4) It allows teachers to teach in a more satisfying way.
5) It provides schools and districts with new ways to communicate and to connect with parents, communities, and the wider world.
The disadvantages of Project-Based Learning:
1) PBL requires a lot of time that must be provided to solve complex problems. 2) Many parents of students who feel aggrieved, because it adds to the cost of
entering the new system.
4) Applying Project-Based Learning in the classroom may be intimidating for some experienced teachers and will be even worse for beginners.
5) The amount of equipment to be provided, so that the demand for electricity increases.
6) Students who are not experienced with working in groups may have difficulty in negotiation and compromise.
7) When the topic given to each group is different, it is feared that students cannot understand the topic entirely
8) For a self-assessment survey, the data may have been influenced by a slight inconsistency.
9) Lack of student interest in the subject, including methods of teaching.
f. Roles of the Teacher in PBL
At any class, a teacher must play his common roles in the English classroom
such as a controller, a prompter, a participant, a resource and so forth. According to
Levy (1997) in Fragoulis (2009:114), “Effective project-based learning requires the
teacher to assume a different role”. It is also supported by Papandreou (1994) in
Fragoulis (2009:114), “The teacher’s role is not dominant, but he/she acts as a guide,
advisor, coordinator and facilitator”. It can be said that in implementing
Project-Based Learning, the focal point of the learning process moves from the teacher to the
students, from working alone to working in groups. However, in a PBL classroom the
researcher must play other roles.
1) In the pre-project development, the researcher must be a negotiator for deciding
the topics, the sequence of activities during the project development, the group
formation, the length of the project development and its rules.
2) During the project development, he must be ready to be a main resource of ideas,