experiment class but the writer teach the tutors then they teach or tutor their friends. She wants to see
the effectiveness of this technique towards students’ understanding in using simple past. The writer believes that peer tutoring can be an alternative
technique besides the other famous teaching techniques. Peer tutoring is involving students from similar group who are not professional teacher to help other to learn
and they learn themselves by teaching other. Peer tutoring is useful when a teacher do not have enough time in the
classroom to explain the whole materials of grammar. Teacher can ask some students who are smarter than the other students to explain the materials to their friends who
do not understand. The writer believes that peer tutoring will give benefits for both the tutors and
the tutees. Many pedagogical researches showed that students learn much better through social interactions. Peer tutoring includes in group learning in which it
requires students to interact with other members. So that peer tutoring program will create students’ caring and help them in social dynamics.
The other reason is that peer tutoring is a way for increasing teacher-delivered instruction because for some students, hearing a classmate says virtually the same
thing that the teacher has said just seems to make the information clear and for the student tutors themselves often gain a better understanding of the subject matter as
they explain it to other students. And the responsibility of being a peer tutor can be empowering.
B. Identification of The Problems
The writer identified the problems as follow: 1.
The difference of the structures and forms between the students’ native languages and English make students feel difficult to learn English grammar.
2. Limited learning time in the classroom makes some students do not have enough
time to learn English grammar. Meanwhile, the English grammar is very complex.
3. Teachers tend to use conventionaltraditional method. Many teachers do not use
method or technique in right place and right time also makes students difficult to learn grammar yet there are so many teaching methods and techniques can be
applied in the classroom. 4.
Students lack of caring of social dynamics in their classroom.
C. Limitation of The Study
As mentioned on the background of the study above, peer tutoring is one of technique that can be applied by teacher in the classroom. However, as a point of
discussion, the writer intends to know the effectiveness of peer tutoring towards students understanding in using simple past tense.
D. Formulation of The Study
Based on the problem of the study, this study was formulated as follow: Is peer tutoring effective to
wards students’ understanding in using simple past tense?
E. Objective of The Study
This study was conducted to find out the empirical evidence whether or not Peer Tutoring is effective towards
students’ understanding in using simple past tense.
F. Significance of The Study
The writer hopes the study will give advantages for herself, students and also teachers.
1. For writer, this study gain more knowledge and understanding of simple past
tense. 2.
For the students, they are expected to improve their understanding in using simple past tense. It is also hoped that students who are as the tutors will get
many experiences when they are tutoring their friends. 3.
For teachers, it is hoped that this study will give a significant contribution in teaching grammar and give useful information about an alternative way in
teaching.
7
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Simple Past Tense
1. The Understanding of Past Tense
The simple past expresses action carried out prior to the time of speaking: last night we ate dinner in the Italian restaurant
. The simple past tense frequently occurs with expression that indicate a specific point in time when action was carried out,
such us yesterday, a week ago, last Monday, at flour o’clock, in the morning, on
Tuesday, and so on.
1
Biber and friends in Grammar of Spoken and Written English stated that past tense most commonly refers to past time via some past points of references,
especially in fictional narrative description, where the use of the past tense to describe imaginary past happening is well-established invention.
2
Finally, it can be concluded that the simple past refers to an activity that occurs in the past without indicating connection with the present. It is commonly
accompanied or followed by time expression that indicate past time such us yesterday, a week ago, last Monday, at flour o‟clock, in the morning, on Tuesday, and
so on.
2. The Form of Simple Past Tense
The simple past or past simple, sometimes called the preterite, is the basic form of the past tense. It is used principally to describe events in the past, although it
also has some other uses. Regular English verbs form the simple past in -ed; however there are a few hundred irregular verbs with different forms.
1
Ron Cowan. The Teacher’s Grammar of English New York: Cambridge University Press,
2008 p. 359.
2
Douglas Biber and friends. Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Edinburg: Longman, 1999, p. 456.
