24
to be autonomous by not always lecturing without paying attention to students‟ response. By thinking to find the answers, to solve the problems, and to share
opinions, the students are in process of being independent. They do not depend on teacher‟s explanation and teacher‟s way of thinking because they have the
opportunity to give response and not only accept and absorb all teachers says.
5. Active Learning
a. Definition of Active Learning
According to Mel Silberman, active learning is a learning method which enables the students to participate actively in English class. When learning is
active, students do most of the work. They study their ideas, solve problems, and apply what they learn 1996. By doing so, the students will be able to actively do
something during the learning process. Therefore, the students do not only listen to the teacher without giving any response. Bonwell and Eison defined active
learning as a learning method which gets the students engaged in learning activities during the class. They
stated that “strategies promoted active learning is defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking
about what they are doing,” 1991. While Silberman 1996 defined active learning as the learning method which is fast
– paced, fun, supportive, and personally engaging.
Active learning also covers independent learning and collaborative learning. Moreover, John Holt 1967 stated that learning is enhanced if the
students are asked to state the information in their own words, give examples of it,
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
25
recognize it in various guises and circumstances, see the connection between it and other facts or ideas, make use of it in various ways, foresee some of its
consequences, and state its opposite or converse. Therefore, it will be better if the students can do something with the information since they are able to get their
feedback about how well they understand.
b. Implementation of Active Learning in English Class
The use of active learning in English class is vital because of its powerful impact upon students‟ learning Bonwell Eison, 1991. Experts believe that the
use of active learning in class can enable the students to be more active in joining the lesson. Active learning can be implemented in English learning process. The
most important thing in the implementation of active learning is that the teacher should include learning techniques which requires students to participate.
According to Mel Silberman 1996, active learning covers some learning activities. The learning activities covered by active learning are as follows.
Full–class learning: Teacher–led instruction that stimulates the entire class. Class discussion: dialogue and debate of key issues.
Question prompting: Students request for clarification, teacher requests for students‟ response.
Collaborative learning: Assignments done cooperatively in small groups of students.
Peer teaching: Instruction led by the students. Independent learning: Learning activities performed individually.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
26
Affective learning: Activities that help students to examine their feelings, values, and attitudes.
Skill development: Learning and practicing skills. Since active learning covers fun activities, it is able to i
ncrease students‟ interest in learning English. When the students are interested in learning English,
they will get involved more actively. Game is one of the learning techniques covered by active learning. Games can be used in order to elicit participation and
build a comfortable class atmosphere. Games are also helpful to make dramatic points that students seldom forget Silberman, 1996: 17. By conducting games,
the students do not only play and have fun but they also obtain something inside the games fr
om which they can learn. “Active learning cannot occur without students‟ participation,” Pike, 1989. Active learning is designed for the students
to actively participate in English class. Therefore, implementing active learning can be the solution of the
problem of students‟ low participation in English class. There are students who want learning to be fun Riddell, 2003: 4. Active learning
is fun. However, it is not just fun because many active learning techniques present students with unusual challenges that require much hard work Silberman, 1996:
7. By doing so, the students will have the opportunities to do something rather than listen to the teacher during the whole class.
Based on the theory of active learning proposed by Bonwell and Eison 1991,
there are some ways to get students‟ participation in class. They are open discussion, subgroup discussion, learning partners, games, and quizzes.
Discussion in class is one of the most common strategies promoting active
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
27
learning with good reason. If the objectives of a course are to promote long-term retention of information, to motivate students toward further learning, to allow
students to apply information in new settings, or to develop students thinking skills, then discussion is preferable to lecture McKeachie et al. 1986. It is true
that discussion is one of the effective ways of enabling the students to participate in English class. During the implementation of active learning, the students are
required to speak English. It is partly the result of implementing active learning in English class. “But more than that, it is giving students the opportunity to use the
language they are learning in authentic contexts,” Riddell, 2003: 8. This is the opportunity for them and the real practice for the students to speak. Therefore, by
implementing active learning, the students are able to develop their English speaking skills.
During the implementation of active learning, personalities and relationships are important Silberman, 1996: 15. The students are also required
to work with their friends whether in class or in small groups. “Even when the learners know the necessary English and what to do in an activity, they will not
participate if they lack of confidence,” Davies Pearse, 2000: 13. When a class is having a discussion, it is possible that there are some students who do not
participate actively for they feel shy and they lack of confidence. Teamwork can help the students to work with others. Davies and Pearse added that by working
with others, they will be able to build self confidence because the situation in groups or in pairs gives a less threatening environment 2003: 13. Thus active
learning can help the students to build their self confidence.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
28
However, during the implementation of active learning, both teacher and students may find difficulties and barriers. As people know, “Each method has its
strength and weaknesses, but they are not equally suited for all situation,” Larsen Freeman, 2000: 182. Active learning has strengths and weaknesses. According
to Bonwell and Eison, the obstacles associated with the implementation of active learning including limited class time, a possible increase in preparation time, the
potential difficulty of using active learning in large classes, and a lack of needed materials, equipment, or resources 1991. Those are the obstacles that teacher and
students may find due to the implementation of active learning. Since active learning method includes some activities which require
students‟ activeness, the time should be allocated well because it is possible for the class to run out of time while the materials are not delivered thoroughly.
Sometimes the objectives of the topic were not obtained. Still related with time allocation, the time spent to prepare the materials in active learning may be much
longer than the preparation time for the traditional teaching method. Teacher needs to prepare the activities to make the students participate. The
implementation of active learning in a bigger class may cause noise and crowd. The teacher may face a problem related to class management. Therefore, active
learning will be more effective to implement in a class consists of small number of students and it will be less effective to be implemented in a class consists of the
bigger number of students McKeachie et al. 1986. However, Bonwell and Eison 1991 stated that
“Each obstacle or barrier and type of risk, however, can be successfully overcome through careful,
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
29
thoughtful planning. ” In implementing active learning in English class, the teacher
should consider every single thing well and carefully. This was carried out in order to minimize or even avoid the unorganized English learning process in class.
Silberman 1996 added that during the implementation of active learning, the teacher is not allowed to experiment wildly. The teacher should not apply more
than one new learning activity in a week. The teacher should not also burden or overload the students with too many activities. The teacher can apply a few to
enliven the class. Furthermore, Bonwel
l and Eison added “An excellent first step is to select strategies promoting active learning that one can feel comfortable with
,” 1991. Such low-risk strategies are typically of short duration, structured and planned,
focused on subject matter that is neither too abstract nor too controversial, and familiar to both the teacher and the students.
B. Theoretical Framework
