29 Further, Hopkins 1976 states that “descriptive research is generally used to
classify procedures used to generate knowledge by studying conditions as they currently exist”. Similarly, Ary et. al. 1985 support this idea by stating that
descriptive research is concerned with conditions or relationships that exists; practices that prevail; beliefs, point of view, or attitudes that are developing;
processes that are going on; effects that are being felt; or trends that are developing.
Since research study also concerns with a particular process that is going on, hence, the researcher analyzed the biology teacher while the teacher was conducting
teaching and learning process by using classroom language functions in English. This research also aimed to discover the use of English in classroom language functions
which were applied by the tenth grade Biology teacher of SMUN 1 Sleman Yogyakarta in delivering materials in English as part of their preparation to teach in
SBI school. The next problem to solve was to discover the difficulties faced by the Biology teacher of SMUN 1 Sleman in using the classroom language functions to
deliver materials in English.
B. Research Participant
The participant of the research was the Biology teacher of SMUN 1 Sleman Yogyakarta who taught grade tenth students by using bilingual as the medium to
deliver the learning materials. In addition, the researcher also interviewed the head of curriculum development staff of SMUN 1 Sleman Yogyakarta to gather the
information about the development of RSBI in that.
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C. Research Instruments
In this study, three instruments were used to collect the data. They were described in the following parts.
1. Observation Checklist In this study, observation checklist was the main research instrument. Hopkins
1976 says that one of the ways to obtain data is by organizing a direct observation and observation checklist can be an instrument to gain data. The researcher employed
direct observation to discover what classroom language functions applied by the Biology teacher of grade tenth together with the difficulties possessed by the teacher.
Ary et al 1985 said that a researcher should do some preliminary steps before conducting a direct observation, such as selecting the aspect of behavior to be
observed and defining the chosen category clearly. Here, the researcher provides the observation checklist which is used to observe the research participant.
Table 3.1 Observation Checklist` The Occurrence of Classroom Language Functions in Biology Class, 10
th
Grade
No. Classroom
Language Functions
Observation First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth
1. Greeting
2. Eliciting
3. Conveying
the meaning of new
language 4. Instructing
5. Narrating
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No.
Classroom Language
Functions
Observation First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth
6. Prompting
7. Explaining
8. Inquiring
students 9.
Checking learning
10. Correcting
11. Giving
feedback 12.
Closing
2. Interview Guidelines The next instrument used in this study was an interview guideline. Since this
research was focusing on one participant, the researcher employed in-depth interview in obtaining the data. Boyce and Neale 2006 state that “in-depth interview is a
qualitative research technique that involves individual interviews with a small number of respondent to explore their perspective on a particular idea, program or
situation”. In addition, Ary et al 2002 state that there are two basic types of questions which were used in an interview according to the nature of the response
desired from the respondents. They were open-ended and closed questions. In order to be able to answer the first and second research questions, the researcher used open-
ended questions because it permitted a free response from the respondents to answer rather than restricting the response to a choice from among stated alternatives Best,
1970. The researcher used Indonesian to interview the Biology teacher, such as “Kalau pada saat memasuki kelas apakah ibu sudah menggunakan greeting dalam
Continued
32 bahasa Inggris?”, “Apakah ibu menggunakan bahasa Inggris untuk memberikan
perintah kepada siswa?”, “Apakah ibu pernah menggunakan bahasa Inggris pada saat menceritakan suatu peristiwa atau kejadian?” The participant was free to
respond from their own view and the answers should be based on what they felt and experienced related to the problems which were being concerned. He also added that
the important point of an open ended question was that the writer as the interviewer should gain the rapport or establish a friendly relationship with the subject or
interviewees.
3. Fieldnotes The last instrument used in this research was fieldnotes. According to Biklen
and Bogdan 1992, “fieldnotes is the written account of what the researcher hears, sees, experiences, and thinks in the course of collecting and reflecting on the data in
a qualitative study”. The researcher employed fieldnotes to compare and complete the data obtained from the interview and observations. In this study, the researcher
wrote fieldnotes while observing the class and when the Biology teacher was conveying learning materials. There is an advantage of using fieldnotes as a research
instrument as what Biklen and Bogdan 1992 state that “fieldnotes help the researcher to keep track of the development of the project to visualize how the
research plan has been affected by the data collected”.
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D. Data Gathering Technique
