Research and Information Collecting

61 shared her thought that the best learner-computer interaction for reading class was one computer for one or two students. Her statement, said “One computer is for one student. I learn that each student has t heir own interest”, Appendix 1314 really emphasized on the special needs of the students in using media. Each student might have different interest in using computer as learning media so it would be better to provide them with greater chance to explore the material through the help of computer on their own. To provide various reading material, the teacher took some texts and exercises from the books that were not used by the students. She used to combine the material and transform it in the form of exercises. The texts that were given by the teacher were descriptive including describing things, place, and people and procedure. In selecting the reading text, she preferred not to select the text with high level of difficulty. She explained when the text was quite long, she provided the students with list of vocabularies to help them understanding the text. Problem in understanding the text given would always occur but she shared some tips to overcome the problem. She provided time for the students to ask anything they didn’t know, encouraged them to find the meaning in the dictionary, and formed group work for the students. She also shared that most of the students were experiencing difficulty in understanding vocabulary and grammar. Feedbacks give contribution to the improvement of the students. Through feedback, the students will find out that they are being motivated by their teacher to walk to progress. As stated by Race 2002, feedback is one of the ways to encourage the students. All feedbacks given by the teacher should give beneficial impacts to students in terms of helping the students reach improvements in the 62 learning process. The encouragement in the form of feedback and positive com ment could improve the students’ performance and learning persistence. For the English teacher of seventh grade of SMP Maria Immaculata Yogyakarta, she gave her students feedback towards their learning results. She also gave feedback to her students even if they were experiencing stress in doing the task given. When students were experiencing stress while they are working on the task, it would lead them to the laziness of continuing it. The best way to encounter this problem was by giving them feedback and extra time to finish it. By giving the students extra time to work on their task or giving homework, it could be one of the effective ways to improve the students’ autonomous learning. The transcription of the interview was presented in Appendix 13. 2 Learn ers’ Characteristics Knowing the learners’ characteristics is important for teachers especially when it is about to provide learning material that they need. It is essential to have general knowledge of Junior High School students’ characteristics so that the designed material would really fit their needs and their condition. The seventh grade students were in the age of eleven or twelve years old which was considered in puberty phase Hurlock, 1980: 185. In that range of age, students underwent changes which cover the change over their body, attitude and behavior. According to Hurlock 1980, there are characteristics of students in puberty phase that can be observed as the effect of changes they experienced in puberty phase. They tended to get easily get bored with anything including the games they used to love, school exercises, social activity and many more Hurlock, 1980: 192. As a 63 result, their academic achievement could gradually fall. Hurlock 1980 also adds they found it hard to build teamwork with friends and argued each other. Thus, their emotional tense are sometimes high which causes they could easily get mad, worry, and feel anxiety. Designing learning material for the students means providing them with the material that could cover all their needs which consider their characteristics to lead them for improvement. It has been explained that boredom is one of the characteristics that could affect their learning achievement. As a result, the designed material should really provide something fun for the students so they are far from boredom but find enthusiasm in doing the learning material. Hurlock 1980 also adds that they are really sensitive of critics and comments addressed to them so it is the role of teacher to be able to give positive and supportive feedback and comment that could help them walk back with confidence. 3 Support Services Support services covered any resources that support the teaching learning progress. Before designing and conducting a teaching learning activity, checking the support services belong to the school will contribute to the preparation phase. In the study, checking support services meant finding data about school resources that could be used in supporting the teaching learning process. It provided the writer with the information of what the school had related to the human resource, supporting services and also the learning environment. The information about support services was gathered through the interview with one of the English 64 Teachers of SMP Maria Immaculata Yogyakarta. There was no parallel class in this school so each level was consisted of one class only. There were three English teachers; all of them were earned Bachelor Degree and graduated from English Education Study Program either from State or Public University. Mostly, they taught thirty hours per week excluding taught for extra hours in the morning or after school. For supporting the English mastery for the students, the school provided language laboratory which was usually used for listening class. The school applying what was called with moving class so the students should move to from one class to another in order to attend the class. This was aimed to make them move so they would be fresh when they came to the next class to learn. Each class was completed with projector so the teacher could share their computer screen to the whole class. Internet connection was also provided in the school but it could be accessed from computer laboratory. The computer laboratory had twenty computers with Linux Operating System and twenty computers with Windows Operating System. However, there were three computers with Linux Operating System experiencing error and only two computers with Windows Operating System that were compatible to the program used by the writer. All the information gathered were very beneficial for the writer in implementing the material that would be designed. 4 Questionnaire Results The questionnaire was distributed to the students to gain information on the condition of the teaching learning process especially for the reading class 65 including the use of media in the classroom and also their learning difficulties faced in reading class. Thus, the questionnaire was also aimed to dig out what the students expected to have in their reading class. The questionnaire was in the form of closed questions questionnaire by taking consideration that it was time saving in the term of completing the questionnaire, easy to code, and do not discriminate the hesitation of the respondents Wilson and McLean, 1994:21, as cited in Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2011: 382. Within the limited of time for completing the questionnaire, the closed questions questionnaire was the best type to accommodate the writer in gaining the data and information needed from the students. The results of the questionnaire for preliminary data gathering then calculated and elaborated in following paragraphs. The discussion was divided into four parts. Each part provided the detail explanation of the questionnaire results and closed it with table. The first part discussed was about the current condition of the reading class. The students were asked some questions to dig out information on the teaching learning done in the current reading class. In learning reading, students were exposed to use their background knowledge in order to understand the text given. Brown 2007 adds that a text does not bring its own meaning. When students read, they bring what is called with schemata that could be in the form of information, knowledge, emotion and experience to help them building meaning of the text. In the questionnaire, the students were asked whether they are exposed to use background knowledge in understanding the text being read or not. Fifteen students answered that sometimes they were exposed to use background knowledge, ten students answered they were exposed to use background 66 knowledge often while one student said they were never exposed to use background knowledge. The mean for this question was 2.35. Moreover, when they were asked whether the teacher always explained the learning objectives or not, 18 students answered yes, while the rest eight students said sometimes. For this question, the mean was 2.69. From the teacher’s perspective, we finally know that the problem that the students most experience was about vocabulary Appendix 1318. There are ways to overcome vocabulary problem and one of those is by giving vocabulary list to the students. In the questionnaire, the students were asked whether the teacher gave them a kind of list of vocabulary or not. Sixteen students said that the teacher sometimes gave the list of vocabulary and ten students answered that the teacher always gave list of vocabulary to them. The mean for this question was 2.38. Vocabulary exercise would be the best exposure that the teacher could give in order to increase the students’ vocabulary mastery. According the questionnaire results, fifteen students said that the vocabulary exercise was sometimes given by the teacher while eleven students said that the teacher always give the exercises to the students. About the kinds of exercises that were usually given by the teacher, the answers vary which include short answer, multiple choices, complete sentence answer, and translating meaning. The details were presented in Table 4.1. 67 Table 4.1. Preliminary Questionnaire Results on Current Reading Class Condition No Statement NO Mean 1 The teacher relates students’ personal experience with the text being read in reading class. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 10 15 1 2.35 2 The teacher explains the goals of the lesson in the beginning of the lesson. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 18 8 2.69 3 The teacher gives the list of vocabulary of the reading text. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 10 16 2.38 4 The teacher gives vocabulary exercises. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 11 15 2.42 5 The teacher gives exercises related to the text being read. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 23 3 2.88 6 Mention the exercises given by the teacher example: multiple choice, short answer, matching, etc 26 The second part was discussing the results of the questionnaire concerning to the use of computer to support the teaching learning activity in the reading class. It is known that one of the teaching media that will be very helpful for the teaching learning process is computer which is widely known as Computer- Assisted Language Learning. As stated by Beatty 2003, CALL referred to any teaching learning activity which used computer as the teaching aid and it contributed to the users’ language improvement. In the questionnaire, the students 68 were also asked about the use of computer as a teaching media in reading class. Fifteen students said that their teacher ever used the computer as a teaching media in the reading class while the rest eleven students said that the teacher sometimes used it in the reading class. In using teaching media, problems are something that we know might happen but it is controllable. When the students were asked whether any problems occurred during the teaching learning process using computer as teaching media, four students said yes, five students answered sometimes, while 15 students said there were no problem occurred. They were also asked whether the teacher ever used MS Word or Power Point in reading class and 18 students said yes, six students answered sometimes, while two students said the teacher never used it. The mean for this question was 2.62. The use of learning application could really help the students much in understanding the lesson. In the questionnaire being distributed, the students were also asked whether the teacher used learning application in reading class to help them understanding English more. Nine students said yes, one student said sometimes, while 16 students answered no. For this question, the mean was 1.73. Learning using teaching media might bring new atmosphere and enthusiasm for the students. Twenty two students said that it was fun when the class was using computer as learning media. Two students said they were not bored when they have computer as learning media in the class. Furthermore, two students answered that having computer as learning media could pump up their enthusiasm in learning English. The mean for this question was 2.77. The details of the result were presented in Table 4.2. 69 Table 4.2. Preliminary Questionnaire Results on the Use of Computer in the Reading Class No Statement NO Mean 1 The teacher uses computer as a media to teach in reading class. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 15 11 2.58 2 The problems experienced when using computer as a media in teaching learning process. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 4 5 17 1.50 3 The teacher uses MS Word or Power Point in reading class. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 18 6 2 2.62 4 The teacher uses learning application such as “Tell Me More in reading class. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 9 1 16 1.73 5 What is your opinion about learning in reading class with the assistance of computer? A. Fun B. The class will not be boring C. Pumping up the enthusiasm 22 2 2 2.77 In the third part, the students’ general comments on the reading class were discussed. One of the topics was about reading comprehension. Reading comprehension is one of the ways to improve the students’ understanding of the text being read. As stated by Brown 2007, reading comprehension is the essential thing in developing the correct and efficient comprehension strategies. In the questionnaire, when the students were asked whether the teacher gave them reading comprehension or not in the reading class, twenty three students said that the teacher always gave reading comprehension and only three students said that 70 the teacher sometime gave reading comprehension. As what have been stated before by the teacher about the difficulty level of the text, the students were also asked whether the language of the text given was understandable or not. Twenty one students answered that the language of the text was understandable while the rest five students said that the language of the text was sometimes hard to understand. Another question to ask was that were they able to find the main idea of the text easily. Thirteen students said that it was easy for them to find the main idea while the other thirteen students answered that sometime they found that easy to find the main idea. When the students were asked about the difficulty level of the overall text, twenty students said that they could understand the overall text while the rest six students said that sometimes they could understand the overall text. The next question was whether the text used pictures as illustration or not. Fourteen students said yes, while the rest twelve students answered no. Feedback is one of the important aspects in learning. It functions as the results of some learning-oriented actions Race, 2002. In order to gain information about the feedback given in the class, some questions about feedback were included in the questionnaire. The questions covered some feedback qualities and attributes proposed by Race 2002. Those were 1 feedback should be given as soon as possible, 2 feedback should be given individually, and 3 feedback should empower the students. In the questionnaire, the students were also asked whether the teacher gave scores or comments toward their assignment in reading class or not. Fourteen students answered yes while the rest twelve students said no. Twenty three students said that the teacher gave them enough time to ask anything when they find difficulties in reading class, while three 71 students said that sometimes the teacher gave them enough time to ask when they have difficulty. Moreover, the mean for this question was 2.88. Assignment and homework are better used to help the students understanding the material being learnt in the classroom. By working on the assignment and homework, the students have more chance to internalize the learning material in their own way. In the questionnaire, the students were asked whether the assignment and homework given by the teacher were considered as easy, medium, or difficult. Thirteen students considered it as easy, while the rest thirteen students considered it as medium level of difficulty. The mean for this question was 2.50. Moreover, the students were encouraged to be able to learn without depending on the teacher. Twenty two students answered that they were encouraged to be autonomous learner while four students said that sometimes they were encouraged to be able to learn autonomously. For this question, the mean was 2.85. The details were presented in Table 4.3. Table 4.3. Preliminary Questionnaire Results on the General Comments of the Reading Class No Statement NO Mean 1 Text is understandable. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 21 5 2.81 2 Main idea of the text is easy to find. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 13 13 2.50 3 Text in reading class is understandable. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 20 6 2.77 4 There is picture as illustration in the text. 2.54 72 A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 14 12 5 The teacher gives mark and comment toward the exercises given in the reading class. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 14 12 2.54 6 The teacher gives enough time to ask in the reading class. A. Always B. Sometimes C. Never 23 3 2.88 7 The tasks given are easy. A. Yes B. Sometimes C. Never 13 13 2.50 8 The students are encouraged to learn autonomously in the reading class. A. Yes B. Sometimes C. Never 22 4 2.85 In the last part, the students were asked about their opinion on reading class and their expectation on the future reading class. The students’ overall opinion about reading class that they have now was classified into three parts. Twenty two students said that it was fun, one student considered it as thrilling, while three students said that it was boring. The mean for this question was 2.73. There were so many activities that could be done in reading class. The students were then asked what kind of activities that they most like in reading class. Twenty three students answered that they love group discussion, five students said that they love summarizing and retelling, while the rest two students loved to answer the questions. They were also asked about what kind of reading text they love most. Twenty three students loved comics; two students loved reading text with illustration, while one student loved reading text only. 73 Students might have their expectation of what will their reading class with the assistance of computer look like. Most come with their excitement since they hope for having non boredom class as what had been stated by Hurlock 1980 that the students need fun learning environment that could drive them away from boredom. The next question asked about what kind of reading activity they want to have in their reading class assisted with computer. Eleven students would love to have comics completed with reading comprehension, nine students would like to have text with illustration while the rest six students would love to have interactive text and group discussion. For this question, the mean was 2.12. They were also asked about their opinion if they have a reading class assisted with computer. Sixteen students thought it would be totally fun, eight students thought that it would be interesting, while the rest one student thought it will be just the same and nothing special. The mean for this question was 2.31. The complete description of the preliminary questionnaire results for the fourth part is presented in Table 4.4. Moreover, the descriptive statistics of the needs analysis questionnaire results were presented in Appendix 20. Table 4.4. Preliminary Questionnaire Results on Students’ Expectation of Their Reading Class No Statement NO Mean 1 What do you think about reading class? A. It is fun and interesting B. It is thrilling C. It is boring 22 1 3 2.73 2 Which one do you like in reading class? A. Answering questions B. Summarizing and retelling the story C. Group discussion 5 2 19 1.46 3 What kind of reading text do you like most? 1.15 74 A. Text only B. Text completed with illustration C. Comic 1 23 3 4 What kind of reading activity do you like in the reading class assisted with computer? A. Reading the text completed with illustration B. Reading comic and answering questions C. Reading interactive text and group discussion 9 11 6 2.12 5 What do you think if a computer is used as learning media in reading class? A. It will be fun B. It is nothing special C. It will be interesting 16 2 8 2.31 Note: NO : Number of Occurrence

b. Planning

The second step being conducted in the research was planning. It was adapted from the second step of Borg and Gall’s Research and Development Method. In the planning phase, the writer formulated four steps to plan the design process of the material. Those steps were including 1 stating the goals, topic and general purposes, 2 stating the objectives of the lesson, 3 listing and organizing subject content, and 4 selecting learning activities. Detailed explanation for each step was as follows. 1 Stating the Goals, Topic and General Purposes To begin with, it is important to see what the course would achieve in the end. Kemp 1977, states that the broad goals of the school system or institution should be recognized first in designing instructional design. After the goals are being set, the next things that will follow are stating the topics and general 75 purposes. Kemp 1977 adds that goals may be derived from society, students or subject areas. In stating the goals, topic and general purposes of the material, Competency Standard and Basic Competences of Seven Graders Semester 2 Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2006 were used as the main guidance. The Competency Standard and Basic Competences for seventh grade students for the second semester were elaborated in Table 4.5. Table 4.5. Competency Standard and Basic Competences of reading for the Seventh Grade Students Semester 2 Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2006 Competency Standard Basic Competences Reading 11. Understanding the meaning of a short written functional text in the form of daily life context. At the end of the course, students are able to: 11.2 Respond to meaning and rhetoric steps accurately, fluently, and acceptably of short texts in the forms of daily-life context of descriptive or procedural texts. Based on the goals formulated in Table 4.5 above, the writer listed three topics to be presented in the material design. The topics selected were also suggested by the English teacher which covered all the material that the students should learn in the second semester. The details of selected topics would be presented in the following table. Table 4.6. The Learning Topics No Learning Topics Required Competencies 1 Respond to meaning and rhetoric steps accurately, fluently, and acceptably of short texts in the forms of daily-life context of descriptive texts: describing things. Reading 2 Respond to meaning and rhetoric steps accurately, fluently, and acceptably of short texts in the forms of daily-life context of descriptive texts: describing people. Reading 3 Respond to meaning and rhetoric steps accurately, fluently, and acceptably of short texts in the forms of daily-life context of procedural texts. Reading 76 2 Stating the Objectives of the Lesson Objectives of the lesson were the points that would be achieved at the end of the lesson. By stating the measurable objectives, the teachers have stated what they want to teach and how to check whether they have to achieve it or not Kemp, 1977: 24. The learning objectives were in the form of indicators which could be used to measure the competencies being taught to the students. Moreover, learning indicators could be used also as the control of the learning outcome so that the better result could always be achieved. The indicators of the material being designed were presented in the following table. Table 4.7. The Learning Indicators Basic Competences Learning Indicators At the end of the course, students are able to: 11.2 Respond to meaning and rhetoric steps accurately, fluently, and acceptably of short texts in the forms of daily-life context of descriptive or procedural texts. At the end of the course, students are able to: Identify the rhetoric steps in descriptive and procedural text. Identify communicative function of descriptive and procedural text. Mention the characteristics of descriptive and procedural text. 3 Listing and Organizing Subject Contents The next step done by the writer was listing and organizing subject contents in which the writer listed and organized the subject contents of the material being designed. According to Kemp 1977, listing and organizing subject contents refer to the selection and organizing of the specific knowledge which include facts and information, skills which covers step by step procedures, conditions, and requirements, and attitudinal factors of any topic. In the design, the subject contents were selected based on the competencies and objectives stated earlier.