8 Actually those two kinds of questions are meant to make the students to become the center of the
lesson. The teachers only lead the students to understand the lesson by giving them some questions. Furthermore the students can respond to the teacher by asking some questions related
to the lesson.
3. Games
Games have always been used in a learning activity to give students motivation and enthusiasm. As a result, games become one of active learning techniques that can be used in
teaching grammar. Since grammar is often assumed to be boring and dull, Baleghizadeh and Oladrostam 2011 have promoted to use games in grammar class. They also stated that based
on the previous research, games could be a potentially powerful instrument for practicing grammatical structure. In fact, there are many kinds of games that can be used in teaching
grammar. The teacher can also make one as long as the game is related to the topic or grammar that will be taught.
4. Role-plays
This technique is quite challenging and unusual in teaching English as a foreign language especially in teaching grammar. However, Campbell Campbell 2008 argued that watching or
joining in a role-playing performance would enhance students’ memories and their
understanding of grammar rules. This study is also supported by Eison 2010 in his journal says that classroom role-plays are extremely efficient active learning technique to arouse students
interest and engagement. Further he explained that role plays would provide the opportunities for students to connect the lesson with their personal and professional life, apply their critical
thinking, transfer the knowledge, and develop their empathy for others.
9
5. Brain drain
Brain drain is another technique suggested by Harmin and Toth 2006. In this technique the students are asked to write down what comes on their mind or what they have learned like the
grammar rules or patterns, structures, etc in a limited time. This brain drain activity will help students take a break from the previous learning and clear their minds for the new learning Xu
Jing 2011. So in this technique the students will vacate their brain by writing all things in their mind into a piece of paper.
6. English Songs
This technique is promoted by Saricoban and Metin 2000 . They stated that “Songs are
one of the most enchanting and culturally rich resources that can easily be used in language classroom
”. Songs may both be used for the presentation or the practice phase of the grammar lesson.
It should be noted that active learning instructional strategies can a be completed by students either in-class or out-of-class, b be done by students working either as individuals or in
group, and c be done either with or without the use of technology tools Eison Jim, 2010.
THE STUDY
The Context
This study used qualitatively descriptive research to describe all active learning techniques in teaching grammar used by the teachers in some Senior High Schools in Salatiga. A
qualitative descriptive research is a research which concerned in providing descriptions of phenomena that occur naturally without the intervention of an experiment or an artificially
contrived treatment McKay, 2006, p.6 cited by Nugrahenny T.Z 2012. The setting of the study itself is in SMA Negeri 1, Satya Wacana Christian Senior High School, and SMA Negeri 3,
10 which are located in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. The reason of choosing this setting is that
the teachers of those three schools use active learning technique in teaching grammar regularly.
Participants
The participants for the study were five English teachers from three different schools. They were two teachers from SMA Negeri 1 Salatiga, two teachers from Satya Wacana Christian
Senior High School, and one teacher from SMA Negeri 3 Salatiga. In choosing the participants, stratified random sampling was used. There were six classes observed by the researcher.
Data Collection Instrument
The data were collected through observation. To capture the observational data, the researcher used observational protocol which was event-sampling protocol to emphasize more in
the use of active learning techniques in teaching grammar. One example of event-sampling protocol below is adapted from Yucel
’s 2000 in Research method’s book by Nugrahenny T.Z 2012 to investigate active learning techniques in teaching grammar as written in table 3.1
below. Table 3.1 An event-sampling protocol for active learning techniques in teaching grammar
Observational Protocol
Name of course: …….. Name of Instructor: ………… Class time:
from….. to …. Topic: …….. Class length:
…….minutes Total number of students: …….. No
Types of techniques or strategies
Description of the activities j
11 Beside the observation, the data were also collected through interviews right after the
observation. It was aimed to gain more information from the participants. The interview was about 5-10 minutes. Here, the researcher used unstructured interview because the researcher
wanted the participants to be more open and to give details when explaining about the aims of using those kinds of techniques and strategies in teaching grammar. However, the main point of
the interview was not to compare one purpose to the other purposes, but to simply explain the purposes of using those strategies. Another reason for selecting unstructured interview was that it
would enable the participant to describe or explain the situation or give any detailed information that might be missing from
the researcher’s point of view, so the researcher could get richer data.
Data Collection Procedure
To gather the data, firstly the researcher did an observation within three months. The purpose was to identify which techniques or strategies used by the teacher. In the observation,
the researcher acted as a non-participant observer. The focus of the observation itself was on the teaching techniques and class activities. Right after the observations or a day after the
observations, an interview to the teacher or participant was conducted. Data Analysis Procedure
To analyze the data, the researcher classified the types of strategies or techniques used by teachers based on the list of active learning techniques that has been mentioned before in chapter
two, literature review which are small groups or pairs, questioning purposefully, games, role- plays, brain drain, and English songs. After that the researcher explained the techniques which
occurred in the observation by describing the applications of the techniques based on the event-
12 sampling protocol. The researcher also gathered the data of some examples of sentences that was
used in class by the teachers. The data about the aims were gathered through interviews. Later, the researcher transcribed the recording of interviews and then categorized the aims based on the
type of the techniques. Finally, the researcher concluded the results of the study.
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter is about the analysis and the interpretation of data that has been collected through observation protocol and transcripts of the interviews. This study focused on answering,
what are the applications of some popular active learning techniques that the teachers used in the teaching of grammar to Senior High School students and the aim of using those kinds of
techniques. Based on the result of the study there were six techniques that the teachers used in
teaching grammar to students of SMA Negeri 1 Salatiga, Satya Wacana Christian Senior High School, and SMA Negeri 3 Salatiga which were questioning purposefully, pairs or small groups,
games, role-plays, and English songs.
Questioning Purposefully
Questioning purposefully is a good teaching technique that is used to increase student
s’ engagement and development in critical and creative thinking Eison, 2010. This technique was often used by the teachers to get students
’ attention and also to check students understanding. Based on the observation, all of the teachers or the participants
used this technique in teaching grammar. According to Eison 2010 questioning purposefully consists of two kinds of questions which are instructor-posed questions and
13 students-posed questions. Instructor posed-questions are the questions which are given
from the teacher to the students while students-posed questions can be from the students to the other students or to the teacher.
There were twenty questions given by the teacher to the students instructor-posed questions during the observation. However, there are only two questions taken from the
observation protocol as the examples: o
What is the similarity between present participle and gerund? 1
st
observation o
What are the patterns of simple past and past perfect? 2
nd
observation All the questions given by the teachers were almost similar because they all about
tenses and pattern. However, some of the teachers used this technique to attract students’
attention by giving it in the beginning of the lesson as pre-teaching activities yet the others gave it in the middle of class activity as whilst-teaching activities or the core of the
lesson. There were two examples of student-posed questions that are taken from the
observation protocol: o
Ma’am is this word a gerund or present participle? 1
st
observation o
Ma’am in future tense we have to use the word will, right? Then why my friend uses may? 6
th
observation These two examples of student-posed questions can help the teacher to identify
areas of confusion or test understanding of the students in order to help them in understanding the lesson better. In addition, to get various respond from the students to
questions posed in the classroom, it is important that the responses increase in cognitive levels to show the course improvement. Therefore the questions which are given by the
teachers should consist of various levels of questions, also.
14 Moreover, dividing questions into several levels has three purposes according to
Eison 2010 “first to maximize the participation of all students since it is important to adapt the level of complexity
and difficulty of one’s questions to the students’ skill level. The second purpose is to enhance
students’ comprehension because it is usually helpful to ask questions in a logical and sequential order. And the last is to maintain students
’ interest because
it is generally helpful to ask questions at various levels.” According to Anderson and Krathwohl 2001, there are three levels of
questioning technique which are particularly important. At the lowest level, remembering questions help to ascertain whether the students have facts information. Examples
include:
So what are the differences between present participle and gerund? Do you know? 1
st
observation
What are the patterns of simple past and past perfect? 2
nd
observation
Do you know the pattern of simple past? 3
rd
observation
Who still remember the rule of simple present?4
th
observation
What do you know about simple past and present perfect? 5
th
observation
What tense is used in the first sentence of this text? 6
th
observation Median level application questions require students to use information to apply the
formula to a new problem, relate the theoretical form into the real situations, and to analyze patterns of several concepts and develop generalizations from them. Examples
include:
Which one is the predicate in this sentence? 1
st
observation
What had you done before you went to school? 2
nd
observation
Can you give an example of it? 3
rd
observation
Could you change this sentence into indirect sentence? 4
th
observation Evaluation
questions require students to exercise judgment – one of the higher levels of
cognition. Students must choose the best alternatives or solutions and be able to justify
15 those choices or in other words, to demonstrate the same thought processes that a
professional in the field uses to make decisions. Examples include:
Could you find gerund and present participle in the lyric of the song entitled “What hurts the most” by Rascal Flatts? 1
st
observation
Are you sure this sentence is using future tense? 6
th
observation From the interview, it was known that the teacher used questioning technique for
several purposes. The first purpose is to recall the students’ knowledge.”Questioning is
only to help the students to remember the previous lesson, because actually gerund is not a new thing for them”. Another purpose mentioned by a teacher is to stimulate the
students to think and actively participate in the learning process. “For the learning
technique, I want the students to be more active. So I only stimulate them to think, thus they
can expose what they have done”. The other teacher also said that the purpose of questioning technique is to check students’ knowledge and test their understanding.
“Questioning is used to check whether the students applied the tenses properly or not. In
addition, this technique is also used to know their cognitive level or to test their understanding”.
Moreover, through this technique the teacher can assess and also sharpen students’ knowledge, skill, or attitudes. It is supported by Bilgh 2000 who said that the
use of questioning and follow-up questions will encourage students to try to answer the more difficult and complex questions. As the result they will get more benefits in
learning grammar. Additionally, they could have many chances to practice thinking critically and creatively, and also their motivation to study and keep up with coursework
will improve.
Pair or small group
This technique was promoted by Harmin and Toth 2006 that a very small group especially pairs can involve students in the class so that nobody will be kept out in the
group activity. They recommended the teacher to use small group or pairs in class
16 activities to help the teachers in producing learning. By working in a small group,
students can work together with their partners, solve the problems together and can help each other in understanding the issue or the lesson.
Based on the observations the researcher divided this technique into two small categories according to the quantity of the members. Small group technique involved
three until five persons and pair involved of two people. From six observations the researcher found that the teachers often used both small group and pair in teaching
grammar. Pair was used in the second observation, third observation, and fourth observation, while small group was used in first observation, fifth observation, and sixth
observation. The researcher also analyzed this technique based on the analysis used by
University of North California at Chapel Hill in the article of “Classroom activities for active learning” which divided this technique into three categories which are pair-share,
buzz groups, and three-step interview. According to this article there are many small group techniques that can be used in almost any course with a very little effort or risk.
The primary focus is getting students to really think about the material so they are able to convey what they are thinking about.
Surprisingly, the result of the observation was corresponding with the three categories of group work that has been explained before. In this section the researcher
explained how the teacher used each category of this technique in teaching grammar and the class activities based on the data in the observation protocol.
1. Pair-share
