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This research, as shown in its title, aims to discover the meaning of the 2015 English National Examination to senior high school graduates. Similar to most
previous research reports, or, more precisely, seven other research reports, this research report focuses on learner‟s perspective. Similar to one previous research,
this research discovers how the participants experienced a subject matter within the scope of Evaluation: national examination. Clearer mapping of the research
compared to the previous research reports can be seen in Table 2.1 below.
Subject Matter
Concept Goal
Design Process
Implementation Evaluation
Revision
Participant Teaching
teacher
Kiswara, 2009:
SMP English
teachers‟ meaning to
the process of selecting
textbooks.
Astuti, 2010:
The meaning of teaching
English large
classes to
a novice teacher.
Kirk, 2004:
The meaning of experience
of “becoming and
being a woman teacher”
and women
experience on teaching boys
and girls.
Learning learner
Sastrikirana, 2015:
The meaning of vocabulary
learning using IPALL
to students.
Lin, Groom, Lin, 2013:
The meaning of blog-assisted
learning in the ESL
writing classroom
to Taiwanese
students
Fiharsono, 2011:
The meaning of
the English
National Examination
to student
My research:
The meaning of the 2015
English National
Examination to
senior
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Turgut Irgin, n.d.:
The meaning of the
children lived
experience in
Turkey on
learning English
through computer
games.
Stania, 2015:
The meaning of learning
English to
International Class students
of University of Muhammadiya
h Yogyakarta.
Trisnowati, 2011:
The meanings of
learning English
to Theology
students.
Paredes, 2010:
Colombian adult
English language
learner selection
and using
of language
learning strategies.
high school graduates.
Table 2.1 The Focus of the Recent Research Compared with the Previous Research Reports
f. Phenomenological Research and Research on Perception
When I was in the beginning of my study in English Language Study, I found it hard to differentiate phenomenology from research on perception. When I was
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working on this research, some people who asked what my research was about would in the end asked “Is that the same with perception?” when I answered “I
am using phenomenology in my research.” The following elaboration will describe the differences between phenomenology and research on perception to
fix the misunderstanding. As explained previously, phenomenology can be paraphrased into a study of
the meaning of a phenomenon Kafle, 2011. Different from phenomenology, perception is one of the “fundamental component in understanding why people
behave the way th ey do” Altman et al., 1995, 85. “[It] is the way stimuli are
selected and grouped by a person so that they can be meaningfully interpreted”
Altman et al., 85. Since phenomenology is an approach, in a research, it is used to analyze what is being researched the phenomenon. Meanwhile, in research on
perception, perception is what is being researched. The methods which we can use to study perception can be varied. A research conducted by Laksono 2011, for
example, used survey to gather and analyze the students‟ perception on play performance class.
Perception was one of aspects which is also important in phenomenology. However, in phenomenology perception is not the aspect being researched. In
phenomenology, perception and other phenomenological aspects, are used to understand the phenomenon or what is being researched.
Different from research on perception, in phenomenological research the researcher must elaborate pre-assumption. Pre-assumption is the process of
bracketing the researcher‟s understandings, beliefs, biases, theories, suppositions, assumptions, andor existing bodies of scientific knowledge by explicating them
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van Manen, 1990. The pre-assumption should then be set aside when a researcher conduct research so that it will not affect the interpretation process van
Manen. In research on perception, there is no pre-assumption. Instead, knowledge the researcher has is usually used to help the researcher gather and
analyze the data. Weinstein 1983, for example, identify her research on perception as the part of social cognition theory.
Another characteristic which distinguishes phenomenology and research on perception is the relation of each study with empiricism. Phenomenology is “not a
science of empiri cal facts” van Manen, 1990, 21. It is empirical in terms of its
relation to human experience. However, it is not “
inductively
empi rically derived”
van Manen, 21. Meanwhile, research on perception relies on empirical research data Altman et al., 1995. As the branch of behavioral science which is a smaller
part of modern theory, perception resea rcher believes that “propositions about
human behavior must be formulated on the basis of formal scientific investigation and not according to personal philosophy of how and why people act
as they do” Altman et al., 22.
Other than that, phenomenology and research on perception also differs in each of its way in dealing with generalization. Phenomenologist does not believe in
scientific generalization van Manen, 1990, 21. It “does not allow for empirical
generalizations, the production of law-like statements, or the establishment of functional relationships” van Manen, 22 because generalization prevents “us
from developing understandings that remain focused on the uniqueness of human experience” van Manen, 22. Perception researcher, on the other hand, has the
need to create “an overall framework that can be examined by those interested in PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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learning about management and organizational behavior and used as a point of departure for those wishing to do research in the
area” Altman et al., 1995, 22. The p
erception study “accepts the premise that the only meaningful way to study organizations is through a
systems approach” Altman et al., 22.
B. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK PRE-ASSUMPTION
Phenomenology is a scientific study of the natureessencemeaning of phenomena. The final destination of phenomenology is the meaning of certain
phenomena which is lived by individuals. This phenomenological research conducted specifically digs the natureessencemeaning of the 2015 English
National Examination. Lived experience is impressive experience which we cannot explain yet and
needs to be responded with immediate, pre-reflective consciousness. The lived experience which is dug in this research is lived experience on the 2015 English
National Examination. In order to find the meaning, a phenomenologist should seek themes. Theme is
the structure of lived experience. It thus builds meaning in systematic way. In the process of digging lived experience, figuring out themes, and in the end, meaning,
a phenomenologist should have reflection. Reflection is the process of analyzing lived experience by using its own evidence. When reflecting, there is
intentionality. It means, when reflecting, a phenomenologist looks and looks again at the lived experience. Shehe looks by using judgment, perception, memory, and
past meanings. Thus meaning will never be static. It keeps changing whenever we look again at the lived experience.
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In this research, thus, the meaning of the 2015 English National Examination is structured as themes. As the researcher I reflected the lived experiences of the
participants by looking and relooking at them with my judgment, perception, memory, and my own meanings.
Not only reflection and intentionality, another process which is important in the process of seeking meaning is empathy. Empathy is intuitive understanding to
other human. It is the way we understand the individuals who live certain phenomena. When empathizing, we implement intersubjectivity, the process of
looking and interchanging at each other self. When reflecting, I always tried to put myself in the participants‟ position. It
was not difficult since I my self has already had similar lived experience with the participants of this research. When reflecting, I looked at the partic
ipants‟ presentation of selves. I then communicated my reflection to the participants and
they responded to my reflection regarding their lived experiences. When seeking meaning, a phenomenologist must perform reduction. Reduction
is the process of abstracting from the real world and thus bracketing the real world and concluding the generalinvariance from the individualvariance. The process
of abstracting from the real world was especially done when I reflected while the process of concluding the general from the individual was especially done when I
abstracted themes and meaning in the writing process. When writing a phenomenology research report, a phenomenologist can do it
narratively or through interpretation. When a phenomenologist writes narratively, shehe implements narrative phenomenology. Shehe does not abstract meaning
and only describe individuals‟ lived experience. When a phenomenologist writes PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
