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class. The research also investigates the correlation between their perceptions and their final achievements at the end of semester.
2. Lecturers
The research provides the lecturers with the knowledge of perception and its connection with the students’ achievements in mastering vocabulary. As a
result, the lecturers are likely encouraged to build atmospheres which encourage the students to have positive perceptions which will lead them to have positive
behavioral responses.
3. Other Researchers
The researcher hopes that the research could inspire the future researchers who will conduct similar research and further discussion on the implementation of
vocabulary weekly tests in teaching-learning activities.
4. General readers
For general readers, the researcher hopes that the research may enrich and broaden their knowledge of language teaching techniques, especially on the
implementation of vocabulary weekly tests.
F. Definition of Terms
This section presents several key terms and their definitions dealing with what the researcher intends to discuss throughout the research. The objective is to
make clarification and to avoid any misconception about the research. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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1. Perception In Oxford Advanced Learners Hornby, 1995: 977, perception is defined
as “the way you notice things, especially with the senses.” In Collins Co-build English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
Sinclair, 2001: 1142, perception is “the way you think about it or the impression you have of it.” According to
Altman, et al. 1985: 85, perception is perceived as “the way stimuli are selected and grouped by a person so that they can be meaningfully interpreted.” Another
definition stated by Gibson 1975: 13 argues that perception is the process of extracting information from stimulation emanating from the objects, places, and
events in the world around us. Meanwhile, Huffman 1997: 97 affirms “perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data
into useful mental representations of the world.” In the research, perception deals with the students’ thoughts, feelings, and views about the implementation of
weekly tests in Vocabulary I class. 2. Mastery
In Webster New and Explorer Dictionary and Thesaurus 1999: 319, mastery is perceived as “dominion, superiority, possession or display of great skill
or knowledge.” While in Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus, mastery is “dominion, sway, comprehensive knowledge or use of a subject or instrument”
Oxford, 2005: 922. More to the point, in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Hornby, 1995: 822, mastery is stated as “great knowledge about or
understanding of a particular thing.” In the research, ‘mastery’ is great possession of English vocabularies the students have after having vocabulary weekly tests.
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3. Vocabulary I In the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma
University, there are two Vocabulary classes, namely Vocabulary I and II. In the research, the researcher merely centers on Vocabulary I class. It is defined as one
of the elective subjects which holds vocabulary teaching and learning. Further, it pursues one goal, namely “enabling the students to know the meaning of the
English vocabulary items especially in Indonesian” Dosen-dosen Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 2006: 84.
4. Weekly Test Weekly test is a kind of test which is held every week in one semester.
Vocabulary I class in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University implements weekly tests as a strategy to build the students’
vocabulary mastery. In each test, the students are expected to master certain section of their handbook which has been determined. The researcher attempts to
discuss the students’ perceptions on weekly tests and how those perceptions influence their vocabulary mastery. Therefore, the discussion about weekly test
through the research is about its implementation and effects on the students’ vocabulary mastery.
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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
To give fundamental theory to the research, the researcher discusses theories and claims which contribute to the flow of discussion. There are two
elements discussed in this chapter, theoretical description and theoretical framework. In theoretical description, the researcher discusses theories which are
relevant to the research while in the theoretical framework, the researcher relates the theories to the research.
A. Theoretical Description
The theories are pertinent since they can either help to solve the research problems or enlarge particular knowledge of the topic. Those theories consist of
theories about perception and perception process, teaching and learning vocabulary and test.
1. Perception and Perception Process
Perception turns out to be an indispensable issue to discuss. Actually, the definitions of perception can be derived from some sources. Leontive 1981: 31
perceived perception as “the process in which the existence of the objects and phenomenona is reflected in a person’s consciousness.” That process happens by
the help of someone’s organs, namely eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin. The student might identify things, environments and events around himher
deliberately by the help of sensory organs. In a nutshell, perception can be PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
9
interpreted as the conscious mental process of attaining, selecting, organizing and interpreting the information by the help of sensory organs.
Robbins 2001: 121-122 stated that perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment. He also claimed that in reality the role of perception is significant as the students’ behaviors are founded on their
perceptions of what reality is, not on the reality itself. In the light of Robbins’ statement, it is clear that perception is understood as a process which leads the
students to systematize what occurrences around them before grabbing the meaning.
According to Haire 1956 as cited in Leontive 1981: 31, perception is defined as “a process in which the individual recognizes information, fits the
information and compares the information with the previous one which is stored in the person’s memory.” It means that as soon as an individual receives the
stimuli, she categorizes the stimuli. Subsequently, she will recall her or his memory to create a judgment whether in the past she has already received the
same stimuli or not. In case she has already received the stimuli before, she then will recognize the stimuli. The stimuli might be in the form information, events,
or experience. Truly, Haire’s claim about perception is similar to the definition declared
by Altman, Valenzi, and Hodgetts 1985: 85. According to them, perception is “the way stimuli are selected and grouped by a person in such a way that the
stimuli can be meaningfully interpreted.” That statement means that perception is PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
