connection to access it. The students do not have enough time to practice their writing in the classroom because one of English class meeting is only available for a
teacher to teach and deliver the main material. The students need a medium to do those activities and certainly they also want to be guided by their teacher.
The last, Facebook group can be used to improve students’ language use and vocabulary because it can be designed into several activities i.e. vocabulary and
grammar exercises. The activities encourage the students to improve their vocabulary and language use.
To conclude, in this research study, I used Facebook group, handouts, group quiz, and rewards to be some effective actions to improve writing learning process.
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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
A. Research Type
Because this research tries to solve the problems found in the teaching and learning process of writing based on the preliminary observations and interviews, so
this research categorized as action research. Lodico et al. 2010:313 mentions that action research is a type of research that aims to enact immediate changes in an
educational setting. Here are some characteristics of action research as stated by Burns 1999 in
McKay 2006:30 1. Action research is contextual, small-scale and localized-it identifies and
investigates problems within a specific situation. 2. It is evaluative and reflective as it aims to bring about change and
improvement in practice. 3. It is participatory as it provides for collaborative investigation by teams of
colleagues, practitioners and researchers. 4. Changes in practice are based on the collection of information or data which
provides the impetus for change.
B. Subject of the Research
The subjects of the research were the students of VIII E class of SMP N 1 Pleret. This class was chosen as the subjects of the study based on the discussion
between the English teacher and me. It was conducted collaboratively by all research team members. This study involved me, the English teacher, and the students of VIII
E class of SMP N 1 Pleret.
C. Research Setting
This action research was carried out during August and September 2014 and conducted in VIII E class of SMP N 1 Pleret, Jalan Imogiri Timur km 9.2 in the
academic year of 20142015. The teaching and learning activities in SMP N 1 Pleret are generally grouped
into intra-curricular and extra-curricular. Intra curricular activities are the realization of school curriculum program that starts from 07.00 a.m. to 12.45 p.m. Extra-
curricular activities are teaching learning activities outside the curriculum to increase students’ skill, such as Paskibra and Pramuka.
In the classroom there are white board and an attendance board. Behind the class room, the organization chart of the class and the schedules for cleaning the
class hang on the wall. In the middle up of the class, there is a fan, 16 tables and 32 chairs.
D. Time of the Research
The research was conducted in the first semester of the academic year of 2014 2015. Then, the action was conducted from August to September 2014. I
carried out the actions based on the school schedule, especially the English schedule of VIII E class of SMP N 1 Pleret. I carried out the actions based on the school
schedule.
E. Data Collection Techniques and Instruments of the Research
The data were qualitative in nature. To collect the data, doing observation during the teaching and learning process, giving questionnaires, interviewing the
students, giving some writing tests and holding discussion with the students, and the
English teacher were used. After the data were collected, they were transformed in the form of field notes, questionnaire, and interview transcripts. A digital camera,
observation guide, interviews guide, questionnaire and pre-test were the instruments for collecting data.
The observation guide was used to describe what happened in the classroom. It was used in the reconnaissance and action steps. In the reconnaissance step, the
observation guide was used to find out the problems faced by the teacher in the writing class. In the action step, the observation guide was used to see the
implementation of the actions and the successes of the research. Questionnaire was used to get data related to the English teacher’s and
students’ feelings about the condition of teaching and learning process before and after the implementation of the actions. In the reconnaissance step, the questionnaire
was used to find out the problems faced by students. The questionnaire was used to find the students’ perception toward the English lesson, the difficulties in learning
English, the techniques, the materials, the teaching media and the activities. Interview guide was
used to complete the data that hadn’t covered yet by using questionnaire. This instrument was used especially to interview the teacher
focuses on the teacher’s perception toward students’ writing ability, the students’ involvement during the lesson, the techniques, the materials, the teaching media and
the activities. It was also reinforced the result of questionnaire by interviewing some samples of students along teaching and learning process of writing in the class.
Pre-test was used to collect the students’ writing ability and problems by
seeing their result before the implementation of Facebook group.
