48
b. Research Subject’s Attitude towards English
In order to attain information about the subject’s attitude towards and opinion on English, the researcher interviewed P-Man on one occasion. The
interview began with a question about P-Man’s opinion on English. As a response to the question, P-Man simply stated that he liked it. Since he did not reveal much
during the interview, the researcher then repeated the question in her message to him a couple of weeks ago. This time he clearly confirmed his interest in English
by saying that he really loves it. In his opinion, English is a cool and universal language which is also interesting and nice. He also added that he never gets tired
of improving his English abilities and that he enjoys English with all its beauty. Seeing the learner’s positive attitude towards the language, the researcher
then asked P-Man about his efforts to develop his English skills. He answered that he mainly does that by watching a lot of Western movies such as The King’s
Speech and Pirates of the Caribbean series and TV series such as Glee. Then, he added listening to English songs to the list of things he does to make his English
better. He said that he can practice his listening skill as well as enrich his vocabulary by doing so. He also mentioned conversing in English with his
younger brother at home every so often to develop his speaking skill.
c. Research Subject’s X-Factors
There are several interesting factors possessed by P-Man that were considered by the researcher before selecting him as the sole research participant.
Those factors are referred to as the X-factors, which actually denote his unknown
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49 or hard to define but important special property. P-Man’s X-factors will be
elaborated in the next paragraphs. As mentioned in Chapter III under the Research Participant subheading,
the researcher during her observations noticed that P-Man was one of the very few students who were engaging actively in class activities. He also seemed fairly
comfortable and confident to use English to express his ideas on a number of occasions. The researcher’s observation was supported by the English teacher’s
opinion on P-Man’s performance in her class. She said that P-Man has a stable quality and the determination to continuously improve his English. She added that
the boy always paid attention to his teachers’ explanations and thus got good grades in most school subjects.
Another interesting factor is the sources of his good English. Unlike most of his classmates who took English courses outside school, P-Man never was
interested in joining any of them. According to P-Man’s testimony, he once attended an English course, when he was in elementary school, but it was not
intentional. He got it as a prize from his homeroom teacher for being the best student in class. He said that it was his first and last time joining an English
course, for he never took any other courses afterward. So, the only formal source of English exposure was his school lessons. This fact helped the researcher
measure his English grammar accuracy, for it was purely affected by the exposure of English in his classes.
As discussed in the previous part, P-Man’s attitude towards English was also one of the factors considered by the researcher. His positive opinion on and
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50 interest in the language might contribute to his English proficiency and mastery.
The internal factor also drives him to keep self-improving his English by watching Western movies and TV series, listening to English songs, as well as practicing
English with his brother.
2. The Results of the Interview
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