CHAPTER I INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
G. Definition of the Key Terms
3. Students’ Participation
7. Assign an active learning activity 8. Structure a discussion
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We studied students’ motivation to learn through the lens of achievement goal theory. Achievement goal theory describes different purposes that the students adopt for engaging in academic tasks. Research has shown that these purposes are related to different patterns of student thinking, emotion, and actions and also to achievement (Ames, 1992: Midgley, 2002).
Researches focused predominantly on two different types of goals: mastery goals and performance goals. Mastery goals are focused on increasing competence, whereas performance goals are focused on demonstrating competence. Each of these goals can be held by individual students and also be perceived as being emphasized in the classroom (Kaplan, Middleton, Urdand, &
Midgley, 2002, and Urdan 1997).
Participation is a positive relation between a person’s experience of him/herself existing and acting together with others. It allows the realization of oneself as well as the realization of community. The ability to participate points to the fact that a person can enter into an inter-persona relationship with other people. As Wojtyla in Edward (2007: 80) says :
“… (participation) basically serves to express the properly by virtue of which we as person exist and act together with others, while not ceasing be ourselves act. And… The ability to exist and act together with in action , in his own to in such a way that in this existing and acting we remain ourselves and actualize our selves which means our own.”
In language learning, the word “participation” can be regarded as the involvement or the engagement of a person who learns a language in the activities
and processes necessary to be done in learning the language. According to Kawai (2008: 228) a salient characteristic of good language learners is their active participation in and contribution to their own learning. Rogers, Ludington &
Graham, (1998: 234- 235) adds that unless the learners are active they will not learn. This indicates that learners’ participation in language learning activities and processes is a crucial factor. Without that, they may not be considered learners.
Therefore, the students would not get anything if they are not actively doing or practicing the lesson they have learnt.
To the extent that the students can participate in the process of exploring the nature and context of the problems that concern them, they have an opportunity to develop immediately and deeply and relevant understandings of their situation and to be involved actively in the process of dealing with those problems. The task in these circumstances is to provide a climate that gives people the sense that they are in control of their own lives and support them as they take systematic action to improve their circumstance (Stringer 2007: 32).
Participation is not a matter of what the students learn in the class and learning group does in the process of learning, but also about getting others to take advantages of the learning opportunity and offer. This will lead us to experiment with new format of class and groups. With new approaches to the subject matter that will be more appropriate to different groups of learners with restricting our context or method to try overcoming the barriers that still exist in all societies. He adds that the students need to be active in their own learning for a number of reasons. First for motivation: they need to achieve something regularly
in order to build up and maintain a sense of success. Secondly for learning itself, the introduction, acceptance and internalizing of the learning changes over time.
The learners need to experience all the activities and judgment involved in the learning process by them.
Based on the definition above, it can be concluded that learning will be effective if the students participate in the group to be active. They must be fully involved in the learning process and setting up the program of activities, studying, practicing, encouraging and enabling the students’ participation to join in it. They do the work and achieve the goal of learning.
The other scientist, Davis In Subroto (1997: 279) says participation as a mental and emotional involved person in a group situation encourages contributions to the group goal and ensures responsibility in them. Furthermore, according to Poerbawakarja in Subroto (1997: 281) participation is a democratic system where the people get involved in planning, conducting and having responsibilities based on the level of their maturity and obligations. The participation will be better in physical, mental and organization.
From both definitions above, it can be concluded that participation is mental, emotion, and physical involvement in giving an initiative toward the activities that are done by organization and supporting the achievement of a goal and having responsibility.
Related to reading, Sargant (1997:6) defines that reading participation is a powerful activity that conquers knowledge, insight and perfective on readers.
Reading is what happens when people look at the text and assign meaning to the
written symbols in that text. Reading is both a process and product of human learning. It is more than just receiving meaning in a literal sense. It involves an individual’s entire life experience and thinking power to understand the symbols, letters, words, sentences and meaning.
Another definition of reading participation is a process, not a state, and it involves the meaningful reconstruction of an author’s message by the use of prior knowledge, especially the knowledge of language, the good readers are able to read fluently, they have developed the reading ability over time and have had a lot of practice.
According to Subroto (1997) there are some indicators of participation described that the students who have good participation in Reading Comprehension of Narrative Text:
1. Involvement in a group to contribute to the group goal.
2. Enhancing achievement in reading.
3. Having initiative toward the activities.
4. Having responsibility.
5. Completing possibility with themselves and others to get the better result.
6. Active in learning.
7. Not being easily satisfied with the learning result.
8. Active doing group tasks.
The other scientist, Stringer (2007:32) says that participation in reading comprehension of narrative text is most effective when it:
1. Enables a significant level of active involvement.
2. Enables people to perform significant tasks.
3. Provides support for people as they learn to act for themselves.
4. Encourages plans and activities that people are able to accomplish themselves.
5. Deals personally with people rather than with their representative or agent.
From both scientists’ ideas above, the researcher concluded that there are 5 items as indicators used in this research. They are:
1. Involvement in a group to contribute to the group goal
2. Enhancing achievement in reading comprehension of narrative text 3. Having responsibility
4. Active in learning 5. Active doing group task
Based on the indicators above the researcher determines some activities of each indicator as below:
Table 4. The Criteria of Participation Involvement in Reading Comprehension
No Indicators of Student’s
Participation Activities Involvement 1 Involvement in a group to
contribute to group goal involvement
Take a part doing the group task such as; who is the speaker, note taker, who consults the dictionary, etc.)
Having initiative (regulating job dividing, asking the others in the group to work, helping the others in the group to answer)
2 Enhancing achievement in reading
Read the text silently or loudly and tell the content of the text.
3 Having responsibility Accomplish the task and perform the result.
4 Active in learning Ask and answer questions to the teacher.
5 Active doing group task Giving ideas in answering the group task.
Taking some efforts in answering the group task.
To Judge the level of involvement of each indicator a 3- point scale issued as following:
Table 5.The level of involvement in each indicator
Wallace. J ( 1998: 191) For evaluation purposes, attitude scales (much used in the market research for example Tull and Hawkins, 1976) such as paired comparisons, the Likert scale, balanced non-comparative rating scales and adjective checklist can quickly asses view-but not the reason behind them. Of the attitude scales the easiest to construct is an adjective checklist. The likert scale consists of statements the respondents agree or disagree with. It reveals useful information and is easy to administer but the statements need careful thought, particularly when the language is not the L1(St Jhon, 1988). Rating scales are easier to use and useful for broad distinct job.
It could be elicited:
1. Feeling towards the subject (e.g by 1-5 rating scale)
No The level of Involvement Code Point
1 Apparently very involved VI 2
2 Apparently involved I 1
3 Apparently un-involved UI 0
2. Feeling towards the materials (similarly)
For students who do not do 5 criteria or only 1 or 2 criteria of activities of class participation, it means that she/he is in uninvolved level. For students who do 3 -4 criteria, it means that he/she is involved criteria. And for the students who do all the 5 criteria, it means that she/he is very involved level of participation.
Participation takes different forms. Wojtyla in Edward D. (2007: 81) differentiates them by authentic attitude and in-authentic attitude. The authentic attitude of participation is solidarity and opposition. Solidarity means a constant readiness to accept and to realize one’s share in the community because of one’s membership within that particular community. Solidarity expresses the unity of the part (members) in their pursuit of the common good opportunity. People who are linked together in the attitude of solidarity realize the fact that they are member of the group and that they have to work together to achieve the good of the group. Opposition is not the opposite of solidarity. But it is another mode of it.
Opposition means to opposite something for the shake of common good.
Opposition is when, is the name of genuine concern, one opposes what is, or what one judges to be contrary to the common good. Admittedly, there are many goods that are presented as apparently common. The attitude of opposition is borne out of the recognition that there is a need to defy from the apparent common good for shake of the real common good.
The in-authentic attitudes of participation are conformism and not involvement. Conformism denotes a tendency to comply with the accepted
respects positive and constructive or even creative. While conformism may contribute to the achievement, the main problem in conformism is the fact that the person does not really appreciate the value of their work. They are just “going with the flow.” People may be conforming to an idea that does not really agree with the common good. There are various reasons why people conform but all of them point to the fact that there is no unity but only uniformity. Thus, the conformist is one who submits himself to pressures of others and at the same time withdraws from the community. The other attitude of in authentic participation is non-involvement or avoidance. It characterized by disregard for those appearances of the concern for the common good which also characterizes conformism. It is nothing but a withdrawal but it lacks the active concern of participation.
Moreover, it characterizes man’s absence from the community and abstains from participating on the community.
Based on the research reviewed, we expect that students would be most willing to participate in classrooms where teacher expressed enthusiasm about learning, communicated a belief all students can learn, and provided academic and emotional support for students’ understanding.