CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. Findings
1. Kinds of Students’ Cognitive Strategy in Learning Speaking
As stated earlier, the subjects of this study were third-semester students majoring in English at the Makassar State Islamic University. To find out the kinds of cognitive strategies in learning to speak, the researcher made classroom observations and selected four students to be interviewed.
Based on observations and interviews, researchers collected data that referred to the answers to the formulation of this research problem, namely about cognitive learning strategies in speaking related to Oxford, namely practicing, receiving and sending messages, analyzing and reasoning, making language structures. input and output.
This research question is based on the desire of the researcher to find out the phenomenon of how English students at Alauddin State Islamic University in Makassar successfully use the speaking learning strategy at EFL. Researchers make direct observations during classroom learning.
Researchers observe and pay attention to the learning activities of students and researchers who are interviewed to find out their speaking learning strategies
After conducting observations and interviews, the researcher categorizes the types of cognitive strategies used by students and then describes them.
The cognitive strategy was one of the learning strategies applied by the third-semester students of English Education at State Islamic University to achieve their objective in learning that was improving their speaking
19
skills. It was shown with their answers during when the interview process, the cognitive strategy is the way to solve the problem when learn something include speaking. (Student D, interviewed on 20th October 2020).
Based on the results of research and observation, the strategy is worked out with all the actions taken by students. By involving teachers, friends, etc., the strategy describes the learning actions used by students in understanding the material.
While affirmed beginning that there existed four kinds of cognitive strategy including practicing, receiving and sending the message, analyzing and reasoning, and creating a structure for input and output. These strategies were not just applied in the classroom but further when they returned to the home and whenever they obliged it to see and to understand the material.
After the researcher analyzed all the aspects that she got during the research in the previous part, it was seen that there were several kinds of cognitive strategy performance by students. Those strategies were explained as follows :
a. Practicing
The first strategy in cognitive is practicing. There are several ways to train students' speaking abilities, namely repeating (students repeating sentences/expressions), practicing formally with the sound system and writing (students focusing more on pronunciation), recognizing (students speaking by applying a grammatical structure), recombining (students use these combinations to focus differently on meaning), and practice naturally (students are already accustomed to speech). In practice, students try to have good pronunciation by repeating the material they have learned or heard. While a foreign language learner, putting previous knowledge into practice is very important.
Based on the results of interviews and observations, researchers found that not all strategies in practice were used by students. They just apply some of them like repeating. The four students tried to
20
imitate a native speaker's speech when listening to or watching a movie, I can learn from the movie (Student B 16th October 2020).
Imitation occurs when students recite the speaker's words in the film, I watch some video on youtube or Instagram and I always imitate what a native speaker said and always practice because practice makes perfect (Student D, interviewed on 20th October 2020). Therefore, imitating a speaker is the same as repeating the speaker's speech. Repeating can help students understand language quickly.
Further, there also students practiced their speaking by formally practicing with sound, I practice speaking skill and also I record my self and see how I speak. (Student A, interviewed on 15th October 2020). Besides, sometimes students only practicing with sound, I Listening and sometimes I discuss with my friend until understanding the material and then practice with my friend (Student C, interviewed on 16th October 2020).
Of the 4 students who have been interviewed, the data show that practicing can help them understand the language because all of them use practicing.
b. Receiving and Sending Massage
The second strategy in learning speaking used by students was receiving and sending messages. This strategy is divided into two parts where getting ideas quickly means that after speaking, students respond instantly and give opinions about what to ask, and using resources to receive and send messages means students must think for a moment before answering questions.
From the research results, it can be seen that some students have a good conclusion of a topic or speaker's speech, and they are also students who need time to analyze and understand what other people are saying. Students with good understanding can get ideas quickly so they also respond quickly. Furthermore, students in the medium have to think for a moment to understand what they hear. The data shows
21
that all students interviewed have the same condition, that is, they take a moment to recognize what they hear and they will respond.
Based on interviews and observation, all of the respondents showed that cognitive strategy particularly receiving and sending messages also had a benefaction in helping them to learn speaking.
c. Analyzing and reasoning
The third strategy in cognitive terms is analyzing and reasoning.
This strategy is divided into five parts of their reasoning deductively, namely, students explain or state reasons from the general to the specific. Analyzing expressions means students are trying to make other people understand what they are describing, analyzing contrasting means students use two or more languages, they provide additional explanations to make sure what they are saying is understood in different languages, and translating means students pay more attention to translating everything, and transferring means that students directly apply knowledge of words, concepts or structures from one language to another to understand or produce expressions in a new language.
Besides, other strategies that can help students in learning speaking was analyzing and reasoning. Based on interviews and observations, the researcher found that students tried to analyze the speaker's expression while speaking.
Moreover, students also try to translate what they hear, I usually try to make an illustration of the material (Student D, interviewed on 20th October 2020).
d. Creating Structure for Input and Output
This was the last strategy in cognitive strategies. Here are three ways to create the necessary structure for both comprehension and production in a new language, note-taking, summarizing, and highlighting. Taking notes allows students to write down certain main ideas or points. Then in summarizing, students only make summaries
22
or abstracts from longer passages or what they learn. The latter in highlighting students were only required to underline, star or use code to focus on important information from a passage. The following is how students structure the material or what they learn.
When the study was conducted, the researcher found that students did not apply these three strategies. There are only two methods students use, namely making summaries and taking notes. Students make a summary to make it easier for them to understand what they heard or learned, this is related to their answers during the interview, I usually try to illustration about the material in more simple words (Student D, interview, 20 October 2020).
Further, there also students who took a note of the subject so that they would remember quickly what they learned, I usually write a note for helping method remembering. (Student B, interviewed on 16th October 2020). If the students remembered what they learned, it would be easier to learn speaking.
2. The Effect of Cognitive Strategy Toward Students’ Speaking Performance
After analyzing the kinds of cognitive strategies used by the students to learn to speak, the researcher also wants to know the impact of those strategies on students speaking performance. For that, the researcher needed to see the students speak up. To show the students’
speaking performance, it could be seen based on interview and observation results. The researcher found from the data that used cognitive strategy influenced the students’ speaking performance.
Before giving the discussion about the impact of the cognitive strategy toward students’ speaking, firstly the researcher showed the result of the observation that was described as follows.
23
No Time/Duration Lecture’s Activity Students’ Activity 1 5 Minutes Greeting and asking the
students about the lesson.
Answering the lecture’s greeting and trying to prepare them self.
2 20 Minutes Checking students’
attendance list.
Students listened to the lecturer.
3 5 Minutes Asking the students who want to practice about conversation.
The students raise their hand if want to speak first.
4 45 Minutes Giving the material Student write down the material and some of them just screenshot their phone screen, because they are study at google meet.
6 15 minutes Giving task Student write down the task.
Table 4.1. Classroom Observation (Lecture and Students’ Activity)
The researcher took a note during the observation in the class and without open the voice and camera in google meet so that researcher not disturbing the lecturer and the students. The researcher focused on collecting data on students through nonparticipant observation. The researcher described the phenomenon above, according to the table of observation.
The lecturer started by greeting and asking about students' felt of previous lessons, and the students gave feedback by answering the lecture greeting in the classroom. Next, the lecturer asked the students about their preparation for practicing conversation.
24
The researcher saw the students’ activity in the classroom during the observation, there was a common reaction from the students when the lecture asked about practicing. The lecturer asked the students who want to practice first and there are some student raise their hand, but there are some students don’t do it, so if still there is time but no more participant, the lecture call the students’ name and asking they are to practicing the conversation.
Figure 4.2. Students listen the material from the lecturer
25
After practicing conversation the lecture giving the material and the student listens to it when the lecture explains the material, all of the students do not open the voice of google meet so that they are not disturbing their lecture. After explaining the material, the lecture gives a task to the students and wait for some minute who want to practice first.
The observation descriptions above are also related to the impact of cognitive strategies on student performance. As stated earlier, there are several kinds of cognitive strategies that students use in learning to speak. Researchers analyzed the impact of students' speech learning strategies in speaking. Based on the results of interviews and observations, the researcher found that practice, receiving and sending messages, analysis and reasoning, and structuring input and output had a positive or positive effect on students' speaking performance.
First, practice helps them become experts in asking words or commands. They asked the sentences fluently, then they enjoyed the class without feeling anxious. Moreover, they are already familiar with the words or sentences they say.
Second, the researcher found that the message receiving and sending strategies also contributed to the students' speaking skills. Even this strategy is not successful in student performance but it works when students try to understand what they are hearing.
Third, analysis and reasoning strategies are also carried out by students in learning to speak. This strategy helps students more easily understand the material being studied. It is related to the second strategy.
Students need to analyze material such as translating it into simple words.
Finally, the researcher found that the input and output structuring strategy also succeeded in helping students' learning process. Making a summary helps students to learn to speak English more easily.
Based on the explanation before, interview and observation results showed the students’ classification or criteria in speaking. First, the
26
researcher divided the accuracy as “very good”. It gave from the pronunciation is still moderately influenced by the mother tongue but not series of phonetical errors. A few grammatical and lexical were errors but only one or two main errors causing confusion.
Second, the researcher classified the fluency as “good”. It showed that although she has to make an effort and search for words, there are not too many unnatural pauses. Somewhat even transfer.
The last, the researcher classified the comprehensibility as “good”.
It showed that the speakers’ intention and general meaning are fairly clear. A few checks are given by the listener for the sake of clarification.
From the explanation over, the researcher concluded that the application of cognitive strategy in learning speaking had a positive impact on students’ speaking performance.