Definition of Terms INTRODUCTION

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b. Factors Influencing Perception

Altman, Valenzi, and Hodgetts 1985, p. 90 reveal that there are a number of factors influence a person’s perception. Four of the most important are: 1 Selection of stimuli Selection is the process of focusing only on a small number of the stimuli. This is one reason why people perceive things differently, each person selects specific cues and filters or screens, out of others. For example, a student may be so intently doing a writing test that he or she is obvious to the noises caused by environment around. The distractions are screened out of his or her awareness and do not interfere with the students’ focusing. People have thresholds, which are different in the levels. A student can write or read and still be able to follow the plot of a television program, while the other student cannot. 2 Organization of stimuli After information has undergone the screening process, it must be arranged to become meaningful. The mind tries to bring order out of the disorganized onslaught of sensory data by selecting particular items and putting the together in a meaningful way that is based on experiences. 3 The situation A situation, as well as, his or her past experiences, affects what one person perceives. Perceiving a situation accurately is also related to how well a person organizes his or her behavior to situations. 4 Self-concept 10 Self-concept is the way we feel about and perceive ourselves. Students might see themselves as clever, honest, patient, or intelligent, or as all of the foregoing. This self concept is important because students’ mental pictures of themselves determine most of what we perceive and do.

c. Factors Creating Perceptual Difficulty

Altman 1985, p. 91-93 note that there are some factors which create students’ perceptual difficulties. They are as follows: 1 Hallo Effect The Hallo Effect refers to the use of a known particular characteristic as the basis for an overall evaluation. For example, a student who attends a writing class and finds some interesting activity may decide that writing class is interesting. 2 Projection Projection is the attribution of our own undesirable characteristics to others. It means that projection happens when we attribute our own feelings to others. Our perceptions may be distorted by emotions we are experiencing or by personality traits we may possess. 3 Stereotyping Stereotyping is the process of categorizing people or things based on a limited amount of information. The bases for such stereotyping may be obtained from mass media or schoolbooks or from past experience. Stereotyping helps the decision maker simplify the situation and since most people lack either the ability or desire to deal with complex facts and alternatives, it is common to find individuals using it. 11 4 Perceptual Defense Perceptual Defense refers to the screening out or distorting of information that is personally disturbing or that we do not care to acknowledge. People have a tendency to choose or attend to information that supports their perspective, and at the same time as, to ignore or fail to perceive information that is opposite to their opinions. Luthans 1992, p. 147 says “motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates behavior”. Motivation can also affect students’ perception. Motivation and perception affect each other Luthans, 1992, p. 67. It means that a good perception will direct to high motivation, and high motivation will also direct to a good perception.

2. The Learning Stages in the Literacy Cycle

According to Feez and Helen 2002, p. 27 the teaching and learning cycle activities in the text-type approach consists of a number of stages which the teacher and students go through so that students achieve independent control of a particular text-type progressively, the stages are building the context which is the students are introduced to the social context of an authentic model of the text-type; modelling and deconstructing the text, joint construction of the text, independent construction of the text, and linking to the related texts. Feez and Helen 2002, p. 28 reveal that it is possible to enter each stage of the cycle at any time during a lesson. For example, the students may previously be familiar with the context, thus the first stage can be left out. Then, the teacher can begin with activities from the modelling text stage. 12 Furthermore, it is also possible to return to activities from earlier stages of the cycle at any point. For instance, the students may face difficulties in the independent construction stage, thus the joint construction stage may be reentered. Feez and Helen 2002, p. 28 st at e t hat in t he st age of building t he cont ext , t he st udent s are int roduced t o t he social cont ext of an aut hent i c model of t he t ext -t ype, t he st udent s discover f eat ures of t he general cult ural cont ext where t he t ext -t ype is used and t he social purposes t he t ext -t ype achieves, and t he last , t he st udent s have t o explore t he immediat e sit uat ional cont ext by examining t he regist er of a model t ext on t he basis of t he course obj ect ives. In the modelling and deconstructing the text stage, students explore the structural pattern and language features of the model Feez Helen, 2002, p. 29. The explanation of text modelling will be presented in the next sub-topic. Feez and Helen 2002, p. 30 note that in joint construction of the text stage, the students begin to contribute to the structure of whole examples of the text-type, as the teacher gradually decreases the contribution to the text construction, while the students move closer to being able to manage the text-type independently. Joint construction activities consist of teacher questioning and discussing. In the independent construction of the text stage, students work independently with the text. Independent construction activities include writing tasks which demand that students draft and present whole texts Feez Helen, 2002, p. 31. According to Feez and Helen 2002, p. 31 in linking to related texts stage students study how this teaching-learning cycle can be connected to other texts in the