Table 2.2 Comparative Degree for
d and g Endings Positive Degree
Comparative Degree
red big
redder bigger
b. Adjectives of two syllables that end in –y also form comparatives
and superlatives with –er and –est.
42
Table 2.3 Comparative and Superlative Degree for
y Endings Comparative Degree
Superlative Degree
happier heavier
happiest heaviest
c. Many adjectives of two or more syllables form their comparatives and superlatives with more and most.
43
Table 2.4 Comparative and Superlative Degree for Long Adjectives
Comparative Degree Superlative Degree
more tiring more courageous
more dangerous more generous
more interesting more industrious
more learned most tiring
most courageous most dangerous
most generous most interesting
most industrious most learned
41
Marcel Danesi, loc.cit.
42
Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui, loc.cit.
43
Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui, loc.cit.
d. A few two-syllabled adjectives have two ways of forming comparatives and superlatives. These words are polite, handsome,
wicked, quiet, pleasant, common, stupid, cruel, tired and words ending in
–ow e.g. narrow, -le e.g. gentle, and –er e.g. clever.
44
Table 2.5 Comparative and Superlative Degree for Certain Adjectives
Comparative Degree Superlative Degree
quieter more quiet narrower more narrow
gentler more gentle cleverer more clever
quitest most quiet narrowest most narrow
gentlest most gentle cleverest most clever
3. Irregular Comparison Chuan Aik and Kai Hui also states that there are some adjectives form
their comparatives and superlatives irregularly and not from the positive form.
45
Table 2.6 Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degree for Irregular
Adjectives Positive Degree
Comparative Degree Superlative Degree
good little
bad much
many better
less worse
more more
best least
worst most
most From the table explanation above, it is clear that there are regular and
irregular comparative adjective forms. Some adjectives have their own form in comparative and superlative degress as in the irregular forms which are different
from the regular forms.
44
Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui, Ibid., p. 28
45
Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui, op.cit., p. 28
Moreover, after elaborating the usages and the forms of comparative adjectives above, in this part the researcher will explain materials of comparative adjectives
taught in some schools in Indonesia. As one of grammar material, the three forms of comparative adjectives -positive, comparative, and superlative- are taught in
second grade of junior high school in Indonesia.
46-47
Additionally, in comparative and superlative forms, are rules of adjectives with one syllables, two or more
syllables, and irregular form of adjectives. Those rules of comparative adjectives are taught in order to make Indonesian learners are able to differentiate two or
more equal or unequal objects correctly. Hence, the Indonesian learners can express their ideas of comparing objects in communication appropriately.
B. Previous Related Studies
Some previous related studies which relate to the teaching comparative adjective by the use of pictures will be explained by the researcher in this sub
chapter. The first previous related study which will be discussed was conducted by
Sunday A. Adeyomo.
48
His study was aimed to investigate the effects of teacher’s
perception and students’ perception of physics classroom learning environment and how it affected their achievement in physics.
The similarity of Adeyomo’s study with this research is that both of them investigate the perception of learners.
The difference is that in Adeyomo’s study, he investigated the effect of teachers and learners’ perception of learning environment. Further, this research
investigates the effect of learners’ perception of using pictures in learning
comparative adjectives. The respondents of his research were 250 senior secondary school students. They were selected randomly and were given a
questionnaire to achieve the objectives of the study. The data collected were
46
Joko Priyana, et. al., Scaffolding: English for Junior High School Students, Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008, p. 114
47
Nur Zaida, Bright an English Course for SMPMTs Grade VII, Jakarta: Erlangga, 2014, p.135-137
48
Sunday A. Adeyomo, op.cit., pp. 74- 81
analyzed using mean, standard deviation simple percentage analysis of variance ANOVA.
Further, major outcomes of his study were that there exist a significant difference in students’ perception of physics classroom learning environment and
their academic achievement; there exists a significant difference in teachers’
perception of physics classroom learning environment and learners ’ academic
achievement; the learners ’ perception and teachers’ perception of physics
classroom learning environment have an effect on learners ’ academic
achievement. From the results of the study above, it was concluded that learners ’
perception and teacher’s perception of physics classroom learning environment played an important roles in learners
’ academic achievement. The second related study was conducted by Melor MD. Yunus, Hadi Salehi,
and Dexter Sigan Anak John.
49
Their research was aimed to investigate the teachers’ perceptions on the use of visual aids e.g. animation videos, pictures,
films, and projectors as a motivational tool in enhancing stud ents’ interest in
reading literary text. The similarity of their study with this research is that both of them investigate the perception and the visual aids. Moreover, both of them also
use mix- method in conducting the research. In contrast, the difference is the instruments used in the research. Yunus et.al. used both quesionnaire and
interview for collecting two kinds of data, quantitative and qualitative, while the research uses both test and interview in collecting the data. The subject of this
research was 52 English teachers from seven national secondary schools in Kapit, Sarawak, Malaysia. Five of those respondents were also randomly selected for the
interview. This research used a mix- method approach in which the researchers simultaneously collected both quantitative and qualitative data using questionnaire
and face-to-face interview. The respondents were selected by using convenience sampling.
Moreover, the analysis of the result showed that the majority 96,2 of the teachers agreed that the use of visual aids was relevant and enjoyable. It was
49
Melor MD. Yunus, et. al., “Using Visual Aids as a Motivational Tool in Enhancing
Students’ Interest in Reading Literary Texts”, Recent Advances in Educational Technologies, 2013, pp. 114-117
happened probably because the use of visual aids made it easier for the students to understand the abstract ideas in the text. The majority 92.3 of the teachers
were in agreement with the statement „I find it easier to teach literary texts using visual aids’. Since the literary texts were often abstract, it made it easier for the
teachers to explain the texts through visual aids such as pictures and animation videos.
Overall, it could be interpreted that the majority of the teachers had positive perceptions of the use of visual aids in teaching literary texts. In other words, this
was a clear indicator that the use of visual aids in literature teaching was relevant as it met the needs of the second language learners in reading and learning literary
texts. Besides, it was enjoyable to teach using visual aids which lead to the improvement in students’ performance in literature.
The last related study was conducted by Seyed Jalal Abdul Manafi Rokni and Neda Karimi.
50
Their study was aimed to investigate the effects of visual materials such as pictures, real objects, and flash cards on EFL learners’ vocabulary
learning. Rokni and Karimi’s study were same with the research in investigating
the effect of visual material in learning English. Further, the difference is that the research investigate other effect of using visual material. The research also
investigates the effect of visual materials, specifically pictures, toward learners’ perception. The respondents of
Rokni and Karimi’s research were 46 female students between 16-20 years old. They were selected randomly into two groups,
controlled and experimental group, which consisted of 23 learners in each group. Their research used experimental design where they gave a treatment to the
experimental class. They gave the treatment during the eight sessions. There were 56 vocabulary items which were instructed visually in experimental class. On the
other hand, in the controlled group, those vocabulary items were instructed traditionally. Before the treatment, both of groups got the pre- test, and at the end
of the treatment, both of groups got the post- test. Then, they calculate the difference of post-test between those two groups. In the pre- test, both of groups
had the same mean. Thus, both groups were homogeneous. The experimental
50
Seyed Jalal Abdul Manafi Rokni and Neda Karimi, op.cit., pp. 236- 243
