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THE TYPES OF TEACHER QUESTIONS AND STUDENTS’
RESPONSES IN ENGLISH LEARNING PROCESS AT SMAN 1 PANTAI CERMIN
Husniatul Arifi, Sri Imelwaty, Ph.D, M. Khairi Ikhsan, M.Pd
English Education Program, STKIP PGRI West Sumatera, Jl. Gunung Pangilun Padang husniatul.arifi@gmail.com
imelwaty05@yahoo.com khairi_ikhsan@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The background of this research is the importance of teacher questions and student’s responses in English learning process at SMAN 1 Pantai Cermin. The purpose of this research are to identify and to know the types of questions that are used by the teachers in English learning process and to describe how do the students’ responses based on the teachers’ questions at SMAN 1 Pantai Cermin. This research is qualitative research with Content Analysis approach. The participants of this research were two English teachers and the students who gave the responses to teacher’s questions.
The writer collected the data through observation used video recordings. From analyzing the data, the writer found that the teachers used two types of questions, they were: knowledge and comprehension questions. Meanwhile, from the students’ responses, the writer found 3 categories of students’
responses, they were:the students’ responses suitable with teacher questions, the students’ responses unsuitable with teacher questions, and no responses to teacher questions. Based on the result of this research, it can be conclude that the teachers only used the questions in low level. Thus, the teacher questions do not make the students to think more in high level, because the teachers’ questions refers to factual questions.
Keywords: Students’ Responses, Types ofTeacher Question
INTRODUCTION
Learning is a process in which there are activities between teachers and students, students and students’ interaction and reciprocal communication that takes place in educational situation to achieve the learning objectives. Both of them must have interaction that support students learning outcomes can be achieved optimally. In addition, the teacher has important role as a main center in learning process. Therefore, there are some activities that can be applied by the teacher to support teaching and learning process.
One of those activities that can be applied by the teacher in teaching learning process is
the teacher uses question. According to Cotton (2003, p. 1), a question is any sentence which has an interrogative form or function. It means that, a question is any sentence in the interrogative form that can arouse learners’
interest to the content elements to be learned and create knowledge of them. It has a function as indication to convey something to the students. Thus, the students can understand about teacher’s instruction. Almost all of the teachers ask questions in the class every day to individual student, to small groups, and to the whole class. For example: when open the class, usually the teacher always asks some questions to guide the students to the material
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questions not only when open the class, but also during learning process is going on. Kerry in Mauigoa (2002, p. 13) states that questions play an important role in the processes of teaching and learning because children’s achievement, and their level engagement, depend on the types of questions teachers formulate and use in a classroom.
The teacher question affects the learning outcomes and ways of students’ thinking. The ways that have a positive effect for learning activities of the students are not an easy way.
Moreover, the question that is given by the teacher in learning process needs responses from the students. Redding (2013, p. 6) describes that student response to instructional practices is demonstrated, in part, by the effect the practices have on student’s motivation to learn. It means that, in the learning process, students’ response to the material and exercise that is given by the teacher will influence on student’s participation and interest to study harder. It isan effective tool to build students’
understanding, to create students’
participation, make the students to be active and they can develop their mindset, concentrate students’ attention on the issues that are being discussed in learning process, so that class atmosphere is running well.It is support by Cazden and Beck in Graesser, et.al (2003, p. 177), teacher’s questions can have a powerful impact on students’ learning and have therefore been the subject of many studies. In other words, in every learning process the teacher questions are important method that has a major effect to achieve learning objectives.
In other side, the researcher found some problems in English learning process. The most common problems includes: the limitation of the teacher in applying question cause negative effects for the students. The teacher questions that are so difficult or so easy cause various effects of all these students.
So many easy questions do not make the most of the students feel challenged to learn more actively. Otherwise the question is so difficult make the students become very hard to follow the teaching and learning process that conducted well by the teacher. In that school,
most of the students have the weakness in learning foreign language, especially in learning English subject. Then, lack of abilities of the students in giving response to teachers’ question in learning process. Only some students in the class were actively in answering teacher’s question and the others students reluctant to made responses. Actually, they understand the question, know the answer, and are able to produce the answer, but the opportunity that is given by the teacher does not use well by the students, because they prefer sit quietly and bashful or do not bravely to convey their ideas. While, the teacher is not trying to arouse students’ passion to give questions. Thus, the researcher do this research to know about the types of questions that are used by the teachersbased on Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational objectives, there are six categories of questions, they are:
knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Then, to describe how the students’ response based on teachers’ questions in English learning process at SMAN 1 Pantai Cermin.
RESEARCH METHOD
In this research, the researcher used qualitative research specifically used content analysis. Ary, et.al (2010, p. 457) describe that qualitative content analysis is a research method applied to written or visual materials for the purpose of identifying specified characteristics of the material. In this study, the material is the written material that have been transcribed from the spoken form and described the types of questions that were used by the teachers and the students’ responses based on teacher question in English learning process.
In addition, this research was realized at SMAN 1 Pantai Cermin. The samples of this research, there were two English teachers and the students of SMAN 1 Pantai Cermin were be samples. In selecting the samples, the researcher used total sampling as a technique.
It means that, the researcher observed all of the teachers and the students that gave the responses.
In this research, the researcher used observation as instrument in collecting the
3 |P a g e data. In doing the observation, the researcher
used observation tools such as: field notes and video recordings to collect the data accurately.
After collecting the data, the researcher described them based on technique of data analyze proposed by Ary, et.al (2010, p. 481).
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Referring to the data describes above, for the research question 1 the reseacher found that types of knowledge and comprehension questions that are used by the teacher in English learning process at SMAN 1 Pantai Cermin. Type of knowledge question were applied by the teachers frequently during English learning process, the teacher used knowledge questions when started the lesson, middle, and the end the lesson to recall information, and remind the students about the material that have been learned previously.
Meanwhile, type of comprehension question were applied by the teachers, after the teachers explained the material and to check students’
understanding about the material that have been explained. Moreover, for the research question 2, the researcher found that 3 categories of responses from the students, they are: suitable with teacher questions, unsuitable with teacher questions, and no responses to teacher question. When, the researcher observed teacher A, the researcher can describe there were three categories responses from the students, they are: suitable with the teacher questions, unsuitable with teacher questions, and no responses to teacher questions. Then, when the researcher observed teacher B, the researcher can describe there were two categories of students’ responses, they are: suitable with teacher questions and no responses to teacher questions.It could be seen from field notes and video recordings.
In conclusion, from the data above the researcher interprets that the teachers always give questions to the students in low level questions, because teachers’ questions about the fact and students’ understanding about the material are frequently. It means that, the teacher questions do not make the students to think more. Thus, every used teacher questions has influence students
motivated to do interaction and actively in English learning process.
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION The main purpose of this research was to identify and to describe what types of the teacher’s questions used in English learning process and to know how the students’
response with teachers’ question in English learning process. The researcher concludes that, the teachers did not applied all of the types of questions in English learning process, the teachers only use two types: knowledge and comprehension questions. Moreover, for the students’ responses, the reseacher can describe based on real situation and verbartim, there are different responses from the students, they are: suitable with teacher questions, unsuitable with teacher questions, and no responses to teacher questions. This study has been beneficial to know how to identify the types of questions, the teacher can use variation of questions effectively, Then, the teacher can create a learning atmosphere to be running well. Secondly, the students need to develop their knowledge in giving responses to teacher questions, to improve students’
participation in learning process, intriguing and students’ curiosity in a problem that happen, to develop student’s thinking.Thus, it is important to additional their knowledge to communicate with their students and others people, and create communication in interaction.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The writer would like to express sincere gratitude to the advisors Sri Imelwaty, Ph.D and M. Khairi Ikhsan, M.Pd for their valuable time, support, guidance, motivation, suggestion, immence knowledge during the process of writing this journal. The writer realizes that this research might be imperfect, the writer will happily accept constructive criticism from the readers that make the research better. This research is expected to be able to provide useful information to the readers.
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Ary, Donald, et.al. (2010). Introduction to Research in Education: Eighth Edition.
New York: Cengage Learning
Cooper, James M. (2011). Classroom Teaching Skills. New York: Cengage Learning
Cotton, Kathleen. (2003). Classroom Questioning: School Improvement Research Series. Portland, OR:
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Graesser, Arthur. et.al. (2003). Handbook of Discourses Process. New Jersey:
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Mauigoa, Lila. (2006). Enhancing Teachers’
QuestioningSkills to Improve Children’s Learning and Thinking in Pacific Island Early Childhood Centers.
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Work, Volume 3, Issue 1, 12-23, 2006 Redding, Sam. (2013). Through the Student’s
Eyes: A Perspective on Personalized Learning and Practice Guide for Teachers. Philadelphia: Temple University
