The students could not work in group work well.
B. The Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I Class Based on the Interview.
To dig out lecturer’s perception on traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class, the researcher conducted interview with two of Public Speaking
lecturers in fourth semester, and they were Ms. Siska and Ms. Dianne. Both of the lecturers had a positive perception on traditional seating arrangement. Although the
seating arrangement was not really appropriate for Public Speaking I class, they tried to overcome the problems which often appeared when the students did group work
activity and group performance. Traditional seating arrangement was good seating arrangement but it was not ideal for Public Speaking I class.
The lecturers had the same opinion that they faced small problems when they had to give explanation to the students whether the students who sat in the back paid
attention to them or not, interacted with all of the students easily and the problem when the students had to do group activities. One lecturer said that there were too
many tables in the class, where in the Public Speaking I class the students seldom did writing task. Most of the time in the Public Speaking I in fourth semester were used
for group work activities because in the group students shared their opinion by speaking directly. The situation in this class with too many tables in row and column
made the lecturers difficult to interact with the students. The lecturers said: “Actually, there are too many tables in this class; in the class the students
seldom do the writing task. The tables in class K03 make the students lazy especially the students in the back row; some of them sometimes sleep when I
give them explanation about the materials.” 63
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“This seating arrangement makes me difficult to move around because the arrangement consists of rows and columns and it makes me difficult to interact
with the students and control the class, especially with the students who sit more inside. I can interact well with the students who sit in the front row and near the
aisle.”
The lecturers did not mind if the arrangement was traditional for Public Speaking I class. But, this seating arrangement was not ideal for Public Speaking I
class. The lecturers thought that the seating should be arranged for group discussion. It was better if the seating arrangement flexible. It meant that that the tables and
chairs could be moved easily every week based on the activities, such as: debate, presentation or rolepaly, but the lecturers said that they still could overcome the
problem by asking help from some boys to move the chairs and tables in front of the class for group performance. The lectures said:
“The seating arrangement should be flexible, so the tables and chairs can be moved easily based on the activities. It is better if the chairs can be folded, so it
will give wide space in the class, but it’s just a small problem sometimes I ask some boys to move the tables and chairs.”
“It’s okay with this traditional seating, but it’s not really ideal for Public speaking class. Most of the activities in the class are group work. The students
have to move chairs and tables and it is rather difficult.” The lecturers were accustomed to this traditional seating arrangement, so they
tried to maximize the best use of traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class. Because this arrangement consists of rows which were in the front, middle and
back, one of the lecturers had a rule that the students had to fill the front and middle row first. So, there was no empty seat in front and middle row. The lecturer said that
it was done to monitor all of the students when she gave a lecture because the space between the lecturer and students was not too far. The other lecturer said that she did
not need to warn the students to sit in the front or middle row. The lecturer could be flexible. If the students sat started from middle to back row, the lecturer would stand
in front of the tables in the middle row. The lecturers said: “I have a rule in my class; I command the students to sit in the first, second
and third rows if those seats are still empty. I give this rule because the students often sit from the third row although the front and middle rows are still empty. This rule is
done when I give the explanation or instruction in the class.”
“All of the lecturers have their own techniques to control the class. In the class, most of my students tend to sit from middle row and the front rows are empty. I
never tell the students to move to the front row, I just need to be flexible. If they sit from the middle row, I will stand at the aisle in the middle row. Actually, my real
problem when I have to teach using this seating arrangement is to interact with the students. I can interact well only with the students who sit in the front and near the
aisle.”
When the students had to do group work activity, the lecturer usually just asked the students to choose their friends in the group who sat closely with each
other. The lecturer also arranged the group by asking the students to count until six, so each student had their own number. And then the lecturer just instructed them to
gather in the group based on the number. The lecturer determined where the group should gather based on the number , it could be in the front, middle and back row.