The students` and lecturers` perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in public speaking I at Sanata Dharma University.

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ABSTRACT

Hasibuan, Margaretha. 2008. The Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University.Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

There are two main reasons why the researcher conducts this research. The first reason is that seating arrangement in the class has a possibility to affect the students and lecturers in teaching and learning process. The students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement can influence students’ and lecturers’ behaviour which then leads the students’ behaviour in the teaching and learning process. The second reason is that the researcher wants to improve and maximize the seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class, so that the students and lecturers are comfortable in following the teaching and learning process which is inspired by Alexandra Ramsden research about the seating arrangements.

This research attempts to answer two research questions. The research questions are (1) What are the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University? (2) What are the students’ and lecturers’ suggestions about the teaching and learning process in Public Speaking I using the traditional seating arrangement?

In order to help the researcher to answer those problems, some theories are employed. First is the definition of various seating arrangements. Second is the definition of perception, perceptual process and factors which influence perception. Third is the nature of Public Speaking I class.

The researcher used descriptive research. The descriptive research was done by distributing the questionnaires to the students and conducting interview with the lecturers and students of Public Speaking I class.

The research findings of this data showed that most of the students argued that traditional seating arrangement was good, but not ideal for Public Speaking I class. The students were accustomed to this arrangement because they had been experiencing this seating since the first semester. The students could understand lecturer’s explanation well although some students who sat in the back row had a small problem when they sat there because if they sat in the back row there would be many distractions there. However, some of the students thought that they were not really comfortable with traditional seating arrangement when they had to do group work activities. They had to move heavy chairs or tables to gather with their friends in the group. It could waste time and cause bad sound. Afterwards they did not sit face to face, so that it would be difficult for them to interact with their friends in one group.

There are some suggestions that can be proposed by the researcher. The suggestions are for English Education Study Program, the students and lecturers of Public Speaking I and for the other researchers who would like to conduct further research on the seating arrangement.

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ABSTRAK

Ada dua alasan mengapa penelitian ini dilakukan. Alasan pertama adalah pengaturan tempat duduk dapat mempengaruhi para mahasiswa dan dosen dalam proses belajar mengajar di kelas. Hal ini terkait dengan persepsi mahasiswa dan dosen pada pengaturan tempat duduk dapat mempengaruhi perilaku mahasiswa dan dosen yang kemudian dapat berpengaruh pada perilaku mereka pada proses belajar mengajar. Alasan kedua adalah peneliti ingin meningkatkan dan membenahi pengaturan tempat duduk di kelas Public Speaking I, sehingga para mahasiswa dan dosen merasa nyaman dan termotivasi dalam mengikuti proses belajar mengajar. Alasan tersebut terinspirasi oleh peneliti Alexandra Ramsden tentang pengaturan tempat duduk.

Penilitian ini mencoba untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan, yaitu (1) Bagaimana persepsi para mahasiswa dan dosen tentang pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional? (2) Apakah masukan dari para mahasiswa dan dosen mengenai proses belajar mengajar di kelasPublic Speaking Imenggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional?

Untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian diatas, peniliti menerapkan penelitian yang bersifat deskripsi dengan menyebarkan kuesioner kepada mahasiswa Public Speaking Iclass dan melakukan wawancara dengan beberapa mahasisiwa dan dosen Public speaking I.

Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh, kebanyakan mahasiswa berpersepsi bahwa pengaturan tempat duduk traditional baik untuk kelas Public Speaking I karena kebanyakan mahasiswa telah terbiasa dengan pengaturan tempat duduk tersebut, mereka telah menggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional dari semester pertama. Mahasiswa dapat mengerti penjelasan dari dosen dengan baik walaupun beberapa mahasiwa yang duduk di belakang menemui gangguan-gangguan yang mengganggu konsetrasi mereka. Dalam kerja kelompok, kebanyakan mahasiswa tidak nyaman menggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk traditional. Mereka harus memindahkan meja dan kursi yang berat untuk berkumpul dengan teman-teman satu kelompok. Ini dapat menghabiskan waktu dan menyebabkan suara yang tidak enak didengar. Selain itu, mereka tidak merasa nyaman karena mereka tidak duduk berhadap-hadapan sehingga menyulitkan mereka untuk dapat berkomunikasi dan berinteraksi dengan teman-teman lain dalam satu kelompok.

Ada beberapa saran yang dapat diberikan peneliti. Saran-saran tersebut ditujukan untuk prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris , para mahasiswa dan dosen pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, serta untuk peneliti yang ingin melaksanakan penelitian lebih lanjut.

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THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree

in English Language Education

Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan 041214068

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2008

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THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree

in English Language Education

Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan 041214068

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2008

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A Thesis On

THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

Prepared and Presented by Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan

Students Number: 041214068

Approved by:

Sponsor

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A Thesis on

THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT

IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I CLASS AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

MARGARETHA SINTA SEPTIANI HASIBUAN Student Number: 041214068

Defended before the Board of Examiners On October 22, 2008

And Declared Acceptable

Board of Examiners

Chairperson : A. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. ______________ Secretary : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. ______________ Member : Drs. Concilianus Laos Mbato, M.A. ______________ Member : G. Punto Aji, M.Hum. ______________ Member : F.X. Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd. ______________

Yogyakarta, October 22, 2008

Faculty of Teachers Training and Education Sanata Dharma University

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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I wrote, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, October 13, 2008 The Writer

Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan 041214068

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"Greatest Love Of All"

I believe the children are our are future Teach them well and let them lead the way Show them all the beauty they possess inside

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone to fulfill my needs

A lonely place to be So I learned to depend on me

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows If I fail, if I succeed

At least I live as I believe No matter what they take from me

They can't take away my dignity Because the greatest love of all

Is happening to me I found the greatest love of all

Inside of me The greatest love of all

Is easy to achieve Learning to love yourself It is the greatest love of all I believe the children are our future Teach them well and let them lead the way Show them all the beauty they possess inside

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

And if by chance, that special place That you've been dreaming of

Leads you to a lonely place Find your strength in love

This thesis is dedicated to:

All of the children

around the world who have brilliant dreams

My beloved parents and sisters

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ACKNOWLEDEGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Lord, Jesus because of His blessing I could finish this thesis. I realize that God is invisible, but I could feel His blessing and guidance everytime I wrote word by word in this thesis.

I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my sponsor,Drs. Concilianus Laos Mbato, M.A. for his feedback, suggestions, correction, support and time. I would also like to express my gratitude toMs. Siskaand Ms. Dianne. First, because of their willingness, I could distribute the questionnaires to their classes and second, they provided time to answer my questions in the interview. I really appreciate their help. I also would like to express my special gratitude to Public Speaking I students of 2006 for being my participants, giving me suggestions and information which I really need.

I dedicate this thesis to my parents, Demister Hasibuan, S.E. and Pawarti, S.H. , my elder sister, Kak Novi, and my younger sister, Dik Yoan. They are so important in my life. Because of their support and encouragement, I could finish my thesis.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my beloved boyfriend, Andrias Haris, for supporting me and giving me encouragement when I am really desperate.

I would like to give my gratitude toDias, Festi, Vonny, Henny , Valent and Novifor their support, data and advice and encouragement to finish my thesis. I also

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thank all my friends in PBI 2004. Although we often compete in the class, we are still friends. All of you are my inspiration to finish my thesis as soon as possible.

I would also like to express my gratitude to all of my friends who helped me in finishing my thesis that I could not mention them one by one.

Margaretha Sinta

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE……….. i

APPROVAL PAGES……….. ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY……….. iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……….... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… viii

LIST OF TABLES……….. xi

LIST OF FIGURE……….. xii

ABSTRACT………. xiii

ABSTRAK………. xiv

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ……….. 1

B. Problem Identification ……….. 6

C. Problem Limitation ……….. 6

D. Problem Formulation ……… 7

E. Objectives of the Study ………. 8

F. Benefits of the Study ………. 8

G. Definition of the Terms ………. 9

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW A. Theoretical Description ………. 12

1. Seating Arrangements ……….. 12

2. Public Speaking in English Language Education Context ………….. 22

3. Perception and Perception Process ……….. 28

B. Theoretical Framework ………. 35

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Method ……….. 38

B. Research Participants ……… 40 viii

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C. Setting ……… 41

D. Research Instrument ………. 41

E. Data Gathering Procedures ……… 42

F. Data Analysis Procedures ……….. 43

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS RESULTS A. The Students’ Perceptions on Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I Class ……… 44

1. The Description of the Students’ Perceptions while a Lecturer was Giving a lecture Based on the Questionnaires Distributed ………… 44

a. Close-ended questions ……… 44

b. Open-ended questions ……… 46

c. The students’ Perceptions based on the Interview ………. 50

2. The Description of the Students’ Perceptions When They Had to Work in the Group and Group Performance (Debate) Based on the Questionnaire Distributed ……… 52

a. Close-ended questions ……… 52

b. Open-ended questions ……… 54

c. Description of the Students’ perceptions based on the interview .. 57

3. Discussion ……….. 59

B. The Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I Class Based on the interview ………. 63

1. Discussion ……… 66

C. Students’ Suggestions for Teaching and Learning Process Using the Traditional Seating Arrangement ………... 68

a. Students’ Suggestions Gathered from the Open-ended Questionnaire ……….. 69

b. Description of Students’ Suggestions Based on the Interview …... 72

D. Lecturers’ Suggestions for Teaching and Learning Process Using the Traditional Seating Arrangement Based on the Interview …………. 73

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CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions ……… 75

B. Suggestions ……… 78

1. For English Education Study Program ………. 78

2. For the Lecturers who teach Public speaking I at Sanata Dharma University ……… 79

3. For the students who join Public Speaking I Class ……….. 79

4. For future researchers ……….. 80

REFERENCES………. 81

APPENDICES... 83

APPENDIX 1:The Questionnaire sheet ……….. 84

APPENDIX 2:The Interview Lists for the Public Speaking I Lecturers …. 87 APPENDIX 3:The Questionnaire Result of the use Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I Class ……… 88

APPENDIX 4:The Questionnaire Results of the Use of Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I class ………… 90

APPENDIX 5:The Interview Results with the Lecturers ……….... 100

APPENDIX 6:The Interview Results with the Students ………. 103

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1. Questionnaire Result of the Students’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement when the Lecturer was Giving a Lecture (close-ended questions) ……….. 45 Table 4.2. Questionnaire Result of the Students’ Perceptions When the Students Had

to Work in Group Using the Traditional Seating Arrangement (close-ended questions) ……….. 53

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Traditional Seating Arrangement ……… 13

Figure 2.2. Modified Traditional Seating Arrangement ……… 14

Figure 2.3. Cluster Seating Arrangement ……….. 17

Figure 2. 4. Table Seating Arrangement ……… 18

Figure 2.5. Circle Seating Arrangement ……… 19

Figure 2.6. Pairs Seating Arrangement ……….. 21

Figure 2.7 Horsehoe Seating Arrangement ……… 22

Figure 2.8. Factors that Influence Perception ……… 31

Figure 2.9. Perceptual Process ……….. 33

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ABSTRACT

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ABSTRAK

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides background information related to the subject matter to be explored and analyzed, presents the motivation why the researcher intended to do the research on the subject matter, and the general aims of doing the research. A. Background of the Study

Seating arrangement may play an important role in teaching and learning activities. The arrangement of seating which is comfortable can support and motivate the students to learn harder and seriously in the class. The most beneficial seating arrangement can be determined by the type of learning activities that lecturer plans to focus on the teaching and learning process in the classroom. Seating arrangement is one way to control the classroom;it can promote some activities and communication. The seating arrangement of the classroom is an important aspect to be considered as a lecturer. Different seating arrangements allow for different types of learning activities and classroom management that the lecturer wants.

The seating arrangement is a main part in a lecturer’s plan for classroom management. The considerations in arranging the physical environment of the room are settled so that teaching and learning can work efficiently. The lecturer needs to be able to walk around the room without the students have to move their desks. Lecturers need to consider that the students who sit in the front row of the classroom

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tend to interact more frequently with the lecturer and the number of behavioral problems tends to increase when the students sit farther from the teacher. The best arrangement depends on the situation of the class and the activities itself.

According to Nicole Cusick (1999: 2), there are six types of seating arrangement; such as desk rows or traditional seating arrangement, circle or semicircle, clusters or modular, table rows, horseshoe, and pairs. The example of desk row or traditional seating arrangement is in Sanata Dharma University. English Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma University consists of nine base rooms; there are I/K.03, I/K.10, I/K.11, I/K.12, I/K.13, I/K.15, II/K.31, II/K.32, II/K.33. All of them still use traditional seating arrangement with traditional wooden tables and chairs except the room in I/K.11 which is more modern because the form or style of the chairs and tables are not traditional, the table and chair are in one part. The position of seating arrangement and the form of chairs and tables in this university still keeps the old tradition with the traditional tables and chairs consisting of many rows, so there will be the students who sit in the front, middle and back row. The lecturer stands in the front of the room and all of the students’ desks face the lecturer. “Since all of the students are facing forward and the lecturer is in the front of the classroom, he or she is the primary source of knowledge” (Nicole Cusick, 1999:2). The seating arrangement in traditional seating can encourage the students to focus on the lecturer while he or she is giving a lecture and media used in the class, such as

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blackboard, overhead projector, screen and other instructional aids in teaching process.

Adams and Biddle (1970: 50) discovered the existence of an “action zone” in the classroom especially in the traditional seating arrangement. This action zone included the students who sit in the middle and front row seats. These students receive more opportunity to talk or interact with their lecturer than others; this is because lecturers tend to stand in front, where their attention is focused on the students in immediate view. In any case, students who sit in this section of the classroom receive more teachers’ attention.

According to Ramsden (1999: 2) which is not really different with Adam and Biddle’s opinion, in traditional seating, the students who sit in the center or front of the classroom tend to interact more frequently with the teacher and the number of behavioral problems tends to increase as the students sit farther from the teacher. It can happen because the space between the students who sit in the front and the teacher is very close, so the teacher can observe the students easier than the students who sit in the back.

Alexandra Ramsden ( 1999: 2) conducted research on seating arrangement. Her findings were with the traditional seating arrangement; it is easy for the teacher to give lectures, whole group instruction, and tests because there is less opportunity for the students to do behavioral distractions. The objective of these activities is to have the students focus and concentrate on the lecture, with minimal distractions.

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This arrangement is not appropriate for the group discussion and the teaching process tends to be one way. It is good that the students can face forward the teacher directly, but we do not know whether this type of seating arrangement can encourage and motivate the students in teaching and learning process considering that there are students who sit in the front, middle and back which can make the teacher difficult to control all of the students.

The lecturer has to remember that decisions on classroom arrangement should take into account the attractiveness and effectiveness of the course to the students. If the students want to interact but the arrangement inhibits interaction, or if students do not want to interact but the seating is arranged so that interaction demands are high, there will be many opportunities for the students themselves to develop negative affect which can influence the teaching and learning activities in the class.

From the explanation above, it can be said that the seating arrangement can influence the activities in the classroom. This study is going to do the research on Public Speaking I class. Public Speaking I focuses more on spoken language and cooperative learning. In Public Speaking I class, most of the time in the class is used to do group activities like role-play, information gap and debate. So, the seating arrangement in this class must be comfortable for the student to do group work including to move their chairs and tables easily. There is not a special room for speaking, reading and writing. The special room is designed in listening class. Based on the researcher’s experiences, the seating arrangement which is traditional including the form of table and chair is perhaps acceptable for writing or reading

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class but not in Public Speaking I class because in Public Speaking I class the activities tend to be done in groups work. The seating arrangement should be the arrangement which is comfortable for the students to interact with their friends including the chairs which are easy to be moved. Most of the classrooms at Sanata Dharma University are big classes which consist of many chairs and tables in traditional arrangement. This kind of class can be a big problem for the subjects which need group work task.

According to Gary D. Borich (1996: 78) “in speaking class, group work should entail 60-80 percent of the time to a cooperative activity; the remainder is being devoted to whole class discussion.” In Public Speaking I class, the lecturer has to provide opportunities for students to speak by using group work or pair work. In this class the lecturers should limit their talk, so it will give the opportunity for the students to increase the amount of time speaking in target language during lessons. So, the seating arrangement in speaking class must be comfortable and easy for the students to interact with the other students in pair work or group work. Traditional seating arrangement is not appropriate for the Public Speaking I class because this arrangement only gives restricted interaction among the students.

This research is intended to explore the perceptions and suggestions of fourth semester students in Public speaking I class and lectures of Public Speaking I on the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University. This study would like to address two questions. Firstly, the researcher intends to find what the students’ and lectures’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class

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at Sanata Dharma University are. Secondly, the researcher intends to know what the students’ and lecturers’ suggestions for the teaching and learning activities using the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata University especially in Public Speaking I class are.

B. Problem Identification

Seating arrangements are very important when we think about classroom management. The way a class should be arranged clearly depends on the type of students, the activities in the class and the philosophies of the lectures itself. Sanata Dharma is one of the universities which still uses desk row or traditional seating arrangement, so there will be students who sit in the front, middle and back. Some arguments state that the seating arrangement is important to support students’ learning, lecturers’ teaching process and activities in the class. This research, then, is attempted to observe two major variables exposed here namely: fourth semester students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of Public Speaking I on the traditional/conventional seating arrangement especially in Public speaking I class. Public Speaking I is chosen because most of the activities in this subject are group work activities and the possible suggestions to improve and maximize the use of the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class.

C. Problem Limitation

This study only focuses on the effort to investigate the students’ and lecturers’ of Public Speaking I perceptions and suggestions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University. This research is

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also limited to the fourth semester students of English Education Study Program in the academic year of 2006 and some lecturers of Public Speaking I class who teach in the fourth semester. The fourth semester students of Sanata Dharma University are chosen because they still have Public Speaking I class in this semester and they are more experienced with the conventional or traditional seating arrangement than the students in the lower semester. Most of the students in the fourth semester have experienced studying in English Study Program base rooms (I/K.03, I/K.10, I/K.11, I/K.12, I/K13, I/K.15, II/K.31, II/K.32, II/K.33). The researcher chooses Public Speaking I class because in Public Speaking class most of the activities are group work where the students need comfortable class to gather in group. So, it is better to know whether the traditional seating arrangement could influence and support the activities in Public Speaking.

D. Problem Formulation

The problems of the research were formulated in order to show exactly what questions to be answered. Based on the background, problem identification, and problem limitation, the research problems were formulated as follows:

1. What are the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University?

2. What are the students’ and lecturers’ suggestions about the teaching and learning activities using the traditional seating arrangement in the Public Speaking I class?

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E. Objectives of the Study

In relation to the research problems previously stated, the research objectives of this study are:

1. To find the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I at Sanata Dharma University.

2. To find the students’ and lectures’ suggestions about teaching and learning activities using the traditional seating arrangement in the Public Speaking I class.

F. Benefits of the Study

The benefits of this study are set as follows: 1. The English Education Study Program

It is hoped that based on the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions and suggestions on the traditional seating arrangement, English Education Study Program Department can improve and maximize the use of seating arrangement which can make the students and lecturers comfortable in the class and support teaching and learning activities in the class and if possible the university can provide a special room for Public Speaking I class.

2. Lecturers who teach Public Speaking I class, especially at Sanata Dharma University

It is expected that English lecturers may use the result of this research as the inputs to encourage the students to study well and seriously in the class with the appropriate seating arrangement. Therefore, the researcher hopes that the research

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will give suggestions for the lecturers to arrange their own classroom and future students based on the needs which can support teaching and learning process.

3. Students who join Public Speaking I class

It is expected that the students are more encouraged when they follow teaching and learning process because the seating arrangement may play an important role in creating atmosphere which can make the students feel comfortable in the class. 4. Future Researchers

It is hoped that observers, experts and people who are interested in classroom management especially seating arrangement may be inspired by the outcome of this research to conduct further studies in a wider scope.

G. Definition of Terms

In this study, the researcher uses the terms perception, traditional seating arrangement and Public Speaking I because those terms become the main points of this research that is the students’ and lectures’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University.

1. Perception

According to Altman, et al (1985: 85) perception defined as “the way how people select and group the stimuli so that they can interpret the stimuli meaningfully.” In other words, perception is how the people give meaning to their environment by interpreting the stimuli. “The effect of knowledge and experience are in themselves liable to produce selective perception and the funneling of attention to objects and events about which special knowledge and experience have been

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acquired” ( Vernon, 1971: 217). In this study, the word ‘perception’ is related to the seating arrangement in the teaching and learning activities. Then the researcher would like to focus the study on the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University.

2. Traditional seating arrangement

In this study, traditional seating arrangement is the seating arrangement in all classes at Sanata Dharma University. Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 2) points out that “desk rows are a traditional classroom seating arrangement of several rows of desks facing the teacher.” The student’s desks do not touch each other but are arranged in rows and columns. In this study, the researcher would like to emphasize that what she focuses on this study is the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University.

There are advantages and disadvantages using the traditional seating arrangement. According to Don Clark (2001: 1) and Ramsden (1999: 2), the traditional seating arrangement is best used for short lectures. The teacher is often difficult to interact with all of the students especially with the students who sit in the back rows. This arrangement is not appropriate for the group discussion and the teaching process tends to be one way because the teacher only gives the lecture and seldom interacts with the students.

3. Public Speaking I

In this study, Public Speaking I is one of the compulsory courses offered in English Education Study Program which trains the students to be able to

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communicate in the target language. Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998: 13). Speaking is one of skills of the second language learning and teaching. For many years, English teacher just teach speaking as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. However, in this era of globalization requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules which are appropriate in each communicative circumstance.

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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

The main concern of this study is the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the conventional or traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University. In order to conduct this study, the researcher is going to discuss some literature reviews which provide the background related to this research. Hence, the researcher is going to first review the nature of various kinds seating arrangement. Second is the nature of Public Speaking I. Then, the researcher will review the theories of perception. After reviewing the background theories, the researcher will then elaborate the theories to describe the steps that the researcher will conduct in order to gather the data needed.

A. Theoretical Description

Here, the researcher will review the nature of seating arrangements in educational context, the perception theories and the nature of speaking in order to specify the area that the researcher is going to discuss.

1. Seating Arrangements

a. Traditional Seating arrangement

There are many kinds of seating arrangements which are used in classroom. One of seating arrangements which is used mostly in classroom in Indonesia is conventional or traditional seating arrangement. Although this seating arrangement

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is old fashioned and still keeps old tradition, it still dominates the seating arrangement in the world. A recent survey of classrooms on a university campus found over 90 percent of the classrooms to have this arrangement (Cusick, 1999: 2).

According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 2), “conventional seating arrangement is a traditional classroom seating arrangement which consists of several rows of desks facing the teacher.” So, the seating arrangements will consist of rows and columns. In this type of seating the teacher only can move through the rows. “Because the students only face to one direction toward their teacher, the teacher becomes the primary source of the knowledge” (Cusick, 1999: 2).

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0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Figure 2Modified traditional seating (Don Clark, 2001:1)

Some studies also said that seating location or position can influence students’ behavior and students’ achievement in the class. According to Adams and Biddle (1970: 50) most classrooms contain what they call “an “action zone”, an area of the classroom where the teacher spends most of his time on large proportion of his interaction with the students.” In most classrooms, this action zone includes the students who sit in the first row, middle row and the center of aisle. The students who are in action zone are much more active in the classroom than the others who sit in the back. In many cases, the students who sit in the front usually dominate discussion and get a large proportion of the teacher‘s attention. Students who sit at the back of the room seldom interact with their teacher because they are out from teacher’s control, so they are much less active in the class discussion.

There are advantages and disadvantages using traditional or conventional seating arrangement. According to Don Clark (2001:1), “the traditional seating

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arrangement is best used for short lectures, communication tends to be one way and trainer cannot see the learners in the back.” Cusick (1999:2) and Don Clark (2001:1) state that “whole group instruction, lectures, and independent seatwork are ideal when the desks are in rows.” Because the desks are in rows and the students are separated, the opportunity for the distractions can be minimized. The main teaching goal using traditional seating arrangement is lecturing and whole group instruction. The objective of these activities is to have the students focus and concentrate on the lesson or lecture, with a minimal amount of distraction. This arrangement is not appropriate for the group discussion because the students are difficult to gather with their own group remembering that they have to move their desks and chairs.

The learning environment should be designed according to learning objectives and desired outcomes. In fact, the lecturer has to make the students feel comfortable in following teaching and learning process. The lecturer also has to think what kinds of seating arrangement which is appropriate with the class activities. For example is in the Public Speaking I class, the lecturer has to make the seating arrangement comfortable for the discussion and group work. However, this traditional seating arrangement is probably the best for preventing cheating when there is a test in the class.

English Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma consists of nine base rooms. There are I/K.03, I/K.10, I/K.11, I/K.12, I/K.13, I/K.15, II/K.31, II/K.32, II/K.33. All of them use traditional seating arrangement. The arrangement in I/K 13 is

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the arrangement stated by Don Clark (Figure 1). The arrangements of the other rooms are modified traditional seating arrangement (Figure 2).

b. Clusters

According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999:2), “clusters seating arrangement consists of four or five desks pushed together so every desk is facing another one. The fifth desk, if needed, will be put on the end of the group of four.” The classroom will have clusters scattered around, so each cluster will be far enough apart from each other, the students’ chairs will not hit each other. In this class, the teacher is free to walk around the room without touching students’ desks or chairs and can work with each group. The students need to be able to work together. There will be different levels of students at each group so that they can help each other. Clusters are very usual in the situations where there are many group works. The desks which are gathered into one make it easy for all students in the cluster to see each other and to discuss the tasks given. In this situation, “the philosophy of the teacher is more collaborative learning “(Ramsden,1999:2). This arrangement gives the students the major authority on activities in the class. The teacher has duties to guide and help the students if they find some difficulties. This arrangement also allows for students to do individual work at their own desk.

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Figure 3Cluster Seating Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 2)

There are also disadvantages of using cluster seating arrangement. Clusters are not very good during test or quizzes because students can easily cheat each other. The Clusters can also be a disadvantage to the teacher when giving a direct instruction lesson because students may not focus on the teacher. Students may have their back to the teacher and not be focused to the front of the room.

“This arrangement is usually found in elementary schools and universities because there is more cooperative learning” (Ramsden, 1999: 2). The other disadvantage is the students will use most of their time by talking with their friends because they sit close each other. The students will waste their time and the teacher will spend most of their time making the students to be quiet.

c.Table Rows

According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 3), “table rows consist of long tables that are placed in rows that are perpendicular to the front and back of the room.” The students sit next and across from each other. This seating arrangement is usually

O O

O O O O

O 0 O O

O O O O O O

O O O O

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found in science labs and writing class. It is a good arrangement for group work and large group projects. “The philosophy of the table rows seating arrangement is probably collaborative learning” (Ramsden 1999: 3). The teachers lets the students to work together with their friends. During writing class, it is easy for students to face their friends and share their work. In science labs it is good to have a large table where everyone can get the item and participate in the class.

Figure 4Table Rows Seating Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 3)

The disadvantage of this seating arrangement is there are students who are at the end of the tables in the back of the room that will not be able to see while the teacher is giving a lecture. Also, it is difficult for the teacher to see all of the students and observe their behavior. It gives many opportunities for the students to chat with their friends and it is very bad in a test situation. None of the students are facing the front of the room when sitting at the table row arrangement. It is difficult to have class discussions because the students will not hear each other without moving and

0 0 0 0

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looking around to see who is talking. Table rows are good for situations where there is seldom any direct instruction and students work together to solve the problems .

d. Semi-circle

According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 4), “Semi-circle seating arrangement is when all the desks touch each other facing the front of the room in a semi-circle shape.” The teacher can easily see each student. “The philosophies of the teacher using this arrangement can be direct instruction and collaborative learning (Ramsden 1999:4). Because all of the students can see each other they can have discussions together. The students can give ideas and opinions in the group discussion and the seating arrangement could support the activity. Also, because the students can see to the board easily, direct instruction from the teacher could be very common. The teacher could control all of the students well. The teacher could easily walk around the room and monitor everybody’s work and behaviour. The students will also be able to work together doing the activities.

Figure 5Semi-circle Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 4)

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The semi-circle seating arrangement could be bad because the teacher will be difficult meeting with each of the student. This is because the seats are very close to each other. Also, the semi-circle cover almost the entire classroom so there is not much space for activities outside the desk area. Semi- circle desk arrangement can be used in all grade classrooms and for all educational philosophies (Ramsden, 1999:4). This is because the teacher can have classroom discussions and all of the students can see and hear each other well. The teacher gives the authority to the students. In this arrangement the teacher can control the class by giving the students step by step instructions. All of the students face the front of the room and have their own space to work. The students can work easily together without much movement because they are sitting next to each other which can make them work together.

e. Pairs

According to Don Clark (2000:1), “pairs seating arrangement is when two student’s desks are together and placed away from other pairs.” This arrangement makes the teacher is able to walk around the classroom and monitor all of the students. The teacher needs to decide which students can be paired together based on their ability, it is hoped that the students in the pair seating arrangement could help each other. “The teacher philosophy is probably a mix between adult run and collaborative learning” (Ramsden 1999:5). Pairs seating arrangement allow the students to work together and independently.

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Figure 6Pair Seating Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 5)

The students face the teacher. In this situation, the teacher can easily monitor during the students do the test. They can do activities and learn cooperatively. The disadvantage of pair seating arrangements is that there are students who will be in the back and the corners of the room.

This arrangement does not allow for much class discussion because the students do not face each other and it is difficult to hear and see who is talking. It is necessary for the teacher to make sure all of the students can have a partner and work together. It is important that the teacher chooses the pairs so there is not anyone who does not get a pair. “Pair seating arrangement is found more in fourth, fifth or sixth grades where students take more responsibility for their actions and behaviors (Ramsden, 1999:5).

f. Horsehoe seating arrangement

According to S. Holtrop (1997:1), “horseshoe is a variation on the bicameral (two sides) arrangement.” The advantage of this seating arrangement is this seating

x O O O O

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arrangement can encourage participation by allowing eye contact between the teacher and all of the students. Here, the teacher can observe students one by one freely; the teacher is able to move closer to each student because there is much space in the middle of the seating; this seating arrangement is very good when the students are involved in large group discussion.

Figure 7Horse hoe Seating Arrangement (Holtrop, 1997: 1)

2. Public Speaking in English Language Education Context

Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998: 13). Speaking is one of skills of second language learning and teaching. For many years, English teacher just teach speaking as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. However, this globalization era requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, students

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can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriately in each communicative circumstance.

Public Speaking tends to apply cooperative learning. In cooperative learning, students usually work in pairs or group; they share information and help each other. In groups, the students can do role-play and debate. In cooperative classroom the students and the lecturer work together to pursue goals and objectives. In Cooperative learning, the students are more motivated and confident in giving their opinions or idea. In cooperative learning models, “a group learning activity is dependent on the socially structured exchange of information between learners”. (Oxford 1997, as stated in Brown, 2001: 47).

Speaking is really different with writing or reading. Speaking happens in real time, usually the person you are talking to is waiting for you to speak right then. If we communicate there must be coherence among the speakers. Speaking is not only can be done face to face, speaking can be done without facing the person we are talking to, conversation in telephone is also called speaking. Second, when you speak, you cannot edit and revise what you have said, as you can if you are writing

According to Gary D. Borich (1996:78) “in speaking class, group work should entail 60-80 percent of the time to a cooperative activity, the remainder is being devoted to whole class discussion and debriefing.” In speaking class, the teacher’s roles are to see that each group remains on track, to guide each group and to provide emotional support and encouragement. So, speaking class is on students’ authority. In

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this class, the students should be given the opportunities to speak up; they can communicate their own ideas and feelings in the group.

According to Hayriye Kayi (2006: 1), the activities that can be done in speaking class which give the opportunities for student to communicate in target language are:

a. Discussion

Discussion can be held for various reasons. The students may give a conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find solutions in their groups discussion. Before the discussion, it is important that the purpose of the discussion activity is determined by the teacher. In this way, the discussion goals are relevant to this purpose, so that students do not spend their time chatting with each other. For example, students can become involved in agree or disagree discussions. In this type of discussions, the teacher can form groups of students, 4 or 5 in each group, and provide controversial sentences like “people learn best when they read vs. people learn best when they practice”. Then each group works on their topic for a given time period, and presents their opinions in front of the class. At the end, the class decides on the group who gives the best idea. This activity encourages critical thinking and quick decision making, and students learn how to express their own opinion in polite ways while disagreeing with the others. For efficient group discussions, it is always better not to form large groups, because quiet students may not contribute in large groups. The group members can be either determined by the teacher or the students may determine it by themselves, but groups should be rearranged in every discussion

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activity so that students can work with various people and learn to be open to different ideas. The last, in class or group discussions, whatever the purpose is, the students should always be encouraged to ask questions, paraphrase ideas, express support, check for clarification.

b. Role Play

The other way to make the students speak is by doing role play. The students play in various social roles and context. The teacher gives the instruction to the student who they are and what they think or feel. Then, the teacher can tell the student that "You are a man named David, you go to the doctor and tell him what happened last night, and…" (Harmer, 1984: 23).

c. Simulations.

Simulations are very similar to role plays. The thing that makes simulations different with role-plays is that they are more elaborate. In simulations, students can bring items to the class to create a real environment. For instance, if a student is acting as a singer, she brings a microphone to sing. Role plays and simulations have many advantages. First, because they are entertaining, they motivate the students. Second, as Harmer (1984: 23) suggests, they increase the self-confidence of hesitant students, because in role play and simulation activities, they will have a different role and do not have to speak for themselves, which means they do not have to take the same responsibility.

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d. Information Gap

In this activity, students have to work in pairs. One student will have the information that other partner does not have and the partners will share their information. Information gap activities have many purposes such as solving a problem or collecting information. Also, each partner plays an important role because the task cannot be completed if the partners do not provide the information the other friends need. These activities are effective because everybody has the opportunity to talk extensively in the target language.

e. Story telling

Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates. Story telling encourages creative thinking. It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning, development, and ending, including the characters and setting. Students also can tell jokes in the story telling.

Since 80 % activities in the speaking class is group work, the seating arrangement should support the activities in the class. But, traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University except in K I/11 is not appropriate for the group work .The students are difficult to interact with their friends in group work because the students have to move the their chairs or gather in cluster, the teacher is also difficult to interact with the students.

Public Speaking I course in fourth semester aims to increase students’ fluency and confidence in speaking English. So, the important thing in this class is the

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students could share their own ideas and opinions, it does not matter if there is a mistake in grammar, and the students just need to be confident with their own ideas. In the class, they should do many practices in speaking if they want to succeed in Public Speaking I class. By the end of the course it is hoped that the students will be able to describe, explain, analyze debate and express ideas and opinions on a range of topic in formal and informal settings. As well as being able to express their ideas and opinions, students will be able respond appropriately to the ideas and opinions of others. The objectives of Public Speaking are the students will be able to express themselves fluently in both everyday and formal situations. They should be able to state their preference and opinions, to argue and differ, to analyze and question and to have the confidence to communicate in wide social range.

According to the Syllabus of Public Speaking I (KPE 207), there are many topics which are learnt in Public Speaking I. First topic is Public Speaking; in this meeting the students are encouraged to discuss tips of delivering a message. The second topic is discussion. In the discussion the students have to lead a group discussion based on the topics given and their own topic in turns. Next topic is interview. Interview is divided into two topics, first is reporting an interview. In the first subtopic, the students have to interview their peers on a given topic and report it to the class. The second subtopic, the students have to do role play based on a given role of applicant and employer. The fourth topic is about meeting. Topic about meeting is also divided into two subtopics. Those subtopics are making meeting effective and interrupting and clarifying, the objective is the students are encouraged

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to lead and participate in a meeting to decide on a certain matter in turns. The next topic is about debate. In the debate, the students have to conduct a debate on a topic of their choice. And then the last topic is about survey and report. This topic also is divided into two subtopics. The first is preparing and conducting a survey, the objective is the students prepare and conduct a survey on a topic of their choice. The second subtopic is reporting a survey; the objective is students report the result of their survey in front of the class.

3. Perception and Perception Process

After reviewing the nature of conventional or traditional seating arrangement in education fields, the researcher will review the process of perception, the factors which influence the perception, the application of this theory and the nature of the perception itself in order to make people more understand.

Robbins (1993:132) stated that perception can be defined “as a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.” So, what someone perceives can be really different from objective reality. For example, it is possible that all employees in a company may have the opinion that the company is a great place to work, favorable working conditions, interesting job assignments, good pay, an understanding and responsible management, but as most of us know, it is very unusual to find such agreement.

Osland (2001:214) points out that perception are “the process by which individuals select, organize, and evaluate stimuli from the external environment to provide meaningful experience for themselves.” According to Altman, et al (1985:85)

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defined as “the way how people select and group the stimuli so that they can interpret the stimuli meaningfully.” In other words, perception is how the people give meaning to their environment

It can be concluded from Robbin, Osland and Altman, et al that perception is the process in which people think and give meaning about something based on their experience and sense of impressions by selecting and grouping the stimuli. How people perceive the world is a product of memory, imagination, hearsay, and fantasy as what we actually perceive through our senses.

According to Robbins (1993:133), there are three factors which influence someone’s perception:

a. The perceiver

When individuals looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she sees, that interpretation is influenced by personal characteristic of the individual perceiver. The more relevant personal characteristic affecting perception are attitudes, motives, interests, past experience and expectations. People can see same thing, but they interpret it differently, it is caused because they hold divergent attitudes each other. Unsatisfied needs or motives stimulate individuals and may cause a strong influence on their perceptions. Interest can also influence someone’s perception. Someone’s perception is different with other people. What one person notices in a situation can differ from what others perceive. Someone past experience influences the perceivers because someone perceives the things that they can relate. One’s past experience will

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act to nullify an object’s interest. Finally, expectations can distort one’s perceptions in that he/she will see what he/she expect to see.

b. The target

Characteristic in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived. Motion, sound, size, and other attributes of a target shape the way someone sees it. What someone sees is depends on how he/she separates a figure from its general background. Persons, objects, or events that are similar to each other also tend to be grouped together. The greater the similarity, the greater the probability people tend to perceive them as a common group.

c. The Situation

The situation affects someone’s perception. The time at which an object or event is seen can influence attention, as can location, light, heat, or any number of situational factors.

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Figure 8 Factors that Influence Perception (Stephen P. Robbins, 1993:133)

Osland (1993:214) states the perceptual patterns are neither innate nor absolute. They are selective, learned, culturally determined, consistent and innacurrate.

a. Perception is selective. At any one time there are too many stimuli in the environment for us to observe. Therefore, we screen out most of what we see, hear, taste, and feel. We screen out the overload and allow only selected information through our perceptual screen to our conscious mind.

Perception

Factors in the target

 Novelty

 Motion

 Sounds

 Size

 Background

 Proximity Factors in the situation

 Time

 Work setting

 Social setting

Factors in the perceiver

 Attitudes

 Motives

 Interest

 Experience

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b. Perceptual patterns are learned. We are not born seeing the world in one particular way. Our experience teaches us to perceive the world in certain ways.

c. Perception is culturally determined. We learn to see the world in a certain way based on our cultural background.

d. Perception tends to remain consistent. Once we see something in a particular way, we continue to see it that way.

e. Perception is inaccurate. We see things that do not exist and do not see things that do exist. Our background, values, interests, and culture act as filters and lead us to distort, block, and even create what we choose to see and hear. We perceive what we expect to perceive. We perceive things according to what we have been trained to see, according to our cultural map.

Krech (1948:81) points out two major determinants of perception; they are structural factors of perceptions and functional factors involved in perception. According to Krech (1948:81), structural factors are “those factors deriving solely from the nature of the physical stimuli and the neural effects they evoke in the nervous system of the individual.” It means the perception is determined by the physiological events which occur in the nervous system of the individual in direct reaction to the simulation by the physical object. Meanwhile, functional factors of perceptual organization are those which derive primarily from the needs, moods, past experience, and memory of the individual itself. The physical distribution and

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qualities of the stimuli also help determine which stimuli, of the welter of stimuli impinging on our sense organs, will be selected out our perceptions (Krech, 1948:92). The structural factors involved in the creation and presentation of propaganda and educational materials are sometimes quite important in determining what perceptions will experience.

Figure 9Altman, et al (1985:85) shows perceptual process.

The perception of human’s mind is begun from stimuli. Stimuli are forms of physical energy, such as light, heat, sound and movement that strikes sensory receptors. The sensory receptors are the sensory organs of body such as ears, eyes, nose, skin which has duty to convey message to the brain. The selected stimulus is going to form information. The brain will organize and interpret. The interpretation of the information is called sensation, the translation of external energy. After interpreting the information, the brain translates the information into meanings. The result of the meaningful translation of the information is called perception and then the behavioral perception exists.

There are four important factors which could affect someone to have perception on something (Altman et.al, 1985:86), they are:

Stimuli Sensor’s selection of

stimuli

Perception organization and interpretation of

stimuli

Behavioral perception

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a. Selection of stimuli

Everyone selects certain stimuli, each stimuli is different from each other. Altman et. Al also says that people have different threshold level in selecting stimuli. For example is people can listen to the radio or watch television when they are studying, whereas others cannot or a girl who is listening to the radio will keep listening to the radio although there are many distractions, such as baby is crying and someone is watching TV.

b. Organization of stimuli

The selected stimuli should be organized in order to be meaningful. Altman Et al. (1985:87) stated that “the perceptual organization of information could help us categorize sensory inputs.” The categorization makes the complexity of the information becomes simpler so that the person can interpret the stimuli as meaningful information.

c. The situation

Each person has different expectation about a situation happens around him or her. The expectation about a situation affects the perception. Altman Et al. (1985:89) stated that “The expectation toward a situation may affect what she or he perceived. Student’s expectation of the situation when the students have to study using traditional seating arrangement may influence their perception toward the seating arrangement. The students’ past experience on the use of the traditional seating arrangement will also influence perception toward the seating arrangement. If the

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students had a bad experience on the use of traditional seating arrangement before, the students will have negative perception toward the traditional seating arrangement. d. Self-concept

Altman (1985: 90) defines self-concept as “the way someone perceive him or herself affects his or her perception on environment surrounding, whether to like or dislike.” The way we feel or see ourselves will affect of our perception of surroundings.

Those factors mentioned above describe the factors which can influence someone in determining perception his or her perception on something. Those factors also describe the factors that can influence students’ perception on traditional seating arrangement

B. Theoretical Framework

Seating arrangement is one of the simplest principles of classroom management on the physical environment for teaching and learning. Seating arrangement may influence teaching and learning activities in the class. The arrangement of seating which is comfortable can support and motivate the students to study seriously in the class. Appropriate seating arrangement should depend on the philosophies of the activities in the class whether it is cooperative learning or tend to be individual learning. In Sanata Dharma University, we still see the conventional or traditional seating arrangement. Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 2) stated that “desk row is a traditional classroom seating arrangement of several rows and columns of desks facing the lecturer.” In this type of the seating arrangement, the students only face to

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lecturer’s direction, so the lecturer becomes the primary attention and source of knowledge in the class.

The traditional or conventional seating arrangement has its advantages and disadvantages. Don Clark (2001:1) stated the characteristic of the traditional or conventional seating arrangement which is best used for short lectures, communication tends to be one way and lecturer cannot see the students in the back. As stated above, the most beneficial seating arrangement can be determined by the type of learning activities that teacher plans to focus on the teaching and learning process in the classroom. The traditional or conventional seating is appropriate to be applied for the short lectures because in this activity, the communication tends to be one way and considering the lecturer as the primary source of information where the lecture is giving a lecture and the students are only listening, but the problem is the lecturer cannot see the students who sit in the back. It also becomes a problem, when the students have to do the group discussion because they have to gather in the group whereas the seating arrangement is not really appropriate in group discussion. In the groups, the students have to sit face to face and it sometimes makes the students move their desks and chair to do discussion with their friends in one group.

In this paper, the researcher is going to focus on Public Speaking I class. According to According to Gary D. Borich (1996: 78) in speaking class, “group work should entail 60-80 percent of the time to a cooperative activity; the remainder is being devoted to whole class discussion.” It means that most of the time in Public Speaking I class used for cooperative activity in the group.

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Noticing the problem at Sanata Dharma University and being inspired by Alexandra Ramsden and Adams and Biddle on the traditional seating arrangement, the researcher is interested not only in finding out the students’ and lecturers perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement but also in digging out suggestion for teaching and learning process using traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class. Nevertheless, how about the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class? Do they perceive the conventional or traditional seating arrangement in positive or negative way? Therefore, in order to dig out the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions and their suggestion about the conventional or traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class, the researcher conducts a research. In order to conduct the research, the researcher distributes a questionnaire and conducts the interview and will be discussed further in Chapter III.

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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents detailed discussion about the methodology used in this research. This discussion is presented into five major parts, namely research methodology, the setting of the research, the research participants, the research instruments, data gathering procedure, and data analysis procedure.

A. Method

The reason for choosing one methodology over another was related to the nature of the subject studied and the theories underlying the research objectives. In this study, the methodology used was descriptive research to obtain data. According to Best (1970, as stated in Cohen, et.al., 2000: 169) describes:

Descriptive research is concerned with conditions or relationships that exists; practices that prevail; belief, points of view, or attitudes that are held; processes that are going on; effects that are being felt; or trends that are developing. At times, descriptive research is concerned with how what is or what exists is related to some preceding event that has influenced or affected a present condition or event. Best 1970, as stated in Cohen, et.al., 2000.

In this study, the researcher is going to dig out the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University and their suggestions about the seating arrangement so the teaching and learning activities work efficiently in Public Speaking I class. Therefore, in order to describe the phenomenon, the researcher conducted two methods of obtaining the data; those methods were:

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1. Distributing Questionnaire

Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh (1999: 418) stated that a questionnaire “was an instrument of the study to gather information through the respondents’ written responses to a list of question.” The questionnaires consist of two parts question (close and open-ended questions). The questionnaires were used not only to find out students’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class but also offer the space for the students to give any suggestions to make teaching and learning activities work efficiently in Public Speaking I class using the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University. The close-ended questions in the questionnaire were used to find out the students’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement while the open-ended questions in the questionnaire were used to find suggestions to improve teaching and learning activities and make those activities works efficiently in Public Speaking I class using the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University.

2. Conducting Interview

The researcher asked some open-ended questions which were designed to dig out Public Speaking lecturers’ perceptions on the conventional or traditional seating arrangement and their suggestions to improve teaching and learning activities in Public Speaking I class using the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University. The interview was also conducted to some the fourth semester students. Fraenkel and Wallen (1993: 385) stated that “interview is the most important data collection technique a qualitative researcher possesses.” The open-ended questions

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form was used. The open-ended question form was used as there would be any predetermined answers which limit the lecturers’ and students’ responses.

B. Research Participants

The participants of this research were taken from the fourth semester of Sanata Dharma University students in Public speaking I class and some lecturers of Public Speaking I. The participants were taken from some classes of English Education Study Program in the university. They were class b, c and f. The researcher chose those classes because those classes used same room (IK/03).

The fourth semester students at Sanata Dharma University were chosen because they still had Public Speaking I class in this semester and they were more experienced with conventional or traditional seating arrangement than the students in the lower semester. Most of the students in the fourth semester had experienced studying in English Education Study Program base rooms (I/K.03, I/K.10, I/K.11, I/K.12, I/K13, I/K.15, II/K.31, II/K.32, II/K.33). The researcher also conducted interview to the lecturers because it was better to know Public Speaking lecturers’ opinion whether they were comfortable teaching Public Speaking I where the class used traditional seating arrangement. The researcher chose Public Speaking lecturers because that subject had different activities and perhaps seating arrangement could influence the activities. In Public Speaking I class most of the activities were group work (cooperative learning). Therefore, it was necessary to know the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the conventional or traditional seating in Public Speaking I class and their suggestions to improve the seating arrangement which can make

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teaching and learning activities work efficiently in Public Speaking class using the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University.

C. Setting

This study was conducted in even semester academic year of 2007/2008. It took place at IK/03 for three classes: b, c and f at Sanata Dharma University.

D. Research Instrument

To do this research, the researcher used a questionnaire and interview as instruments for gathering the data from the fourth semester students and lecturers of Public Speaking I of English Education Study Program.

The researcher made fourteen close-ended questions with three open-ended questions for Public Speaking I students would be asked in the questionnaire to get the data for the analysis. The close-ended questions were supposed to find out the students’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement. The open-ended questions were supposed to not only find the students’ perceptions but also gather any suggestions to support teaching and learning activities in Public Speaking I class. The interview was conducted to verify the results of the main instrument. It was meant to ensure and recheck the students’ answer in the questionnaire. The researcher chose the three interviewees who answered with the clear answers in the open-ended questionnaire that represented the students who agreed and disagreed with traditional seating arrangement. The researcher made four questions in the form of open-ended interview with the Public Speaking I lecturers. The objectives of these questions were to find out the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the conventional or traditional

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seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University and their suggestion to improve this seating arrangement. The questions are enclosed in Appendix 1.

E. Data Gathering Procedures

The data were first gathered from the questionnaires. The questionnaires were distributed on two different days (as three of the classes had different schedule): Wednesday (30 April 2008) and Thursday (8 May 2006). The writer, who acted as the researcher as well, came to each class to meet the participants. It was aimed to make sure that all of the participants understood the meaning of each item so that the purpose of the questionnaire can be achieved. It was also meant to ensure that the questionnaire was returned by the participants.

After distributing the questionnaire, the researcher explained the instruction and the procedure to fill out the questionnaire in Indonesian. Then, the researcher gave time for the participants to fill out the questionnaires. After filling the questions, the researcher collected the questionnaires. Then, the researcher conducted the interview on Tuesday, June 20, 2008. There were three interviewees. Those interviewees were interviewed in order to verify their answer in the questionnaire and to dig out more information. The researcher chose the three interviewees who answered with the clear answers in the open-ended questionnaire that represented the students who agree and disagree with traditional seating arrangement.

And at May 2 and 4, the researcher would do the interview with two lecturers of Public Speaking lecturers. The researcher used a tool to collect the data; it was a recorder. The recorder was used in order to gather the data accurately.

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55. The seating arrangement is old-fashioned, but we can enjoy it as long as we can. My suggestion is we can change traditional seating arrangement in the public speaking I class as you like.

56. I think, this seating arrangement is quite good.

57. I think, the teaching and learning activities in traditional seating arrangement is good enough.

58. Sorry, I don’t have any suggestions. 59. No suggestions.

60. No, the seating arrangement is good enough.

61. I think, the lecturer must be flexible. I mean the lecturers should always move if he/she explains the material because only the students who sit near the aisle can understand well the materials.

62. We will be more comfortable if we use it in a small room so that the space between lecturers and students not too far.

63. For Public Speaking I class it will be better if the tables similar with the table in room IK/11.

(2)

Appendix 5

The Interview Results with the Lecturers

Number item

Questions Ms. Siska Ms. Dianne

1. What are your

perceptions of

conventional or traditional seating at

Sanata Dharma

University?

So far, traditional seating arrangement is quite good.

But, there are

disadvantages using this seating arrangement. In traditional seating arrangement, there will be students who sit in the front, middle and back. Sometimes, the students who sit in the back do not pay attention to my lesson seriously. There are many distractions in the back rows, such as students sleep or chat.

It’s okay with this traditional seating arrangement. Most of the classes in this university using traditional seating arrangement, but in my opinion, it’s not really ideal for Public speaking class. Most of the activities in the class are group work. The students have to move chairs and tables and it is rather difficult.

2 Do you think the

conventional/traditional seating arrangement is suitable for speaking class

This arrangement is not really suitable for public Speaking, but we are accustomed to this arrangement, so we can overcome the problems. The seating arrangement should be flexible, remembering most of the activities are group work. Actually, it’s better if the tables and chairs can be moved easily based on the activities. It is better if the chairs can be folded, so it will give wide space in the class, but it’s just a small

Not really, because

This seating

arrangement makes me difficult to move around because the arrangement consists of rows and columns and it makes me difficult to interact with the students and control the class, especially with the students who sit more inside. I can interact well with the students who sit in the front row and near the aisle.

(3)

problem sometimes I ask some boys to lift the tables and chairs.

3 How to make the best use of the traditional seating arrangement in your speaking class?

I have a rule in my class; I command the students to sit in the first, second and third rows if those seats are still empty. I give this rule because the students often sit from the third row although the front and middle rows are still empty. This rule is done when I give the explanation or instruction in the class. This is one of the techniques of classroom management, so I can control all of the

students easily.

Hopefully that the distractions can be reduced

All of the lecturers

have their own

techniques to control the class. In the class, most of my students tend to sit from middle row and the front rows are empty. I never tell the students to move to the front row, I just need to be flexible. If they sit from the middle row, I will stand at the aisle in the middle row. Actually, my real problem when I have to teach using

this seating

arrangement is to interact with the students. I can interact well only with the students who sit in the front and near the aisle.

4 What are your

suggestions for teaching and learning activities in traditional seating arrangement in the speaking class?

It is better if there is a special class for Public

Speaking. The

arrangement is five small circles which scattered around the class. In my opinion, it is good for group discussion and the class is not too big. If this

special class is

impossible, the chairs and tables could be folded, so

Like I said before, the traditional seating arrangement does not really matter in my class. We still can do the activities well. In the group work, the students just have to move closer each other with their friends in the group. But, this seating arrangement is

(4)

it is easier to be moved.” not ideal for Public Speaking class. It would be better if the arrangement is circle seating arrangement. It makes me easier to interact with my students and the students are more comfortable doing group work.”

(5)

Appendix 6 The Interview Results with the Students

Number item

Questions Positive Negative

1 Does the position of seating (front, middle and back row) in traditional seating arrangement influence you paying attention to the lecturers’ explanation? Explain your answer?

Why yes?

- If I sit in the front, I tend to pay attention to my lecturer seriously. - There are so many

distractions in the back row, for example: sleep or chat with our friends.

- It’s difficult to interact with the lecturer if we sit in the back row. - I am encouraged if I sit in the front row.

Why not?

-It depends on the students. If the students can

concentrate well, the position of seating doesn’t really matter. - It depends on the

lecturer. If the lecturer has a clear voice, wherever we sit we still can pay attention to the lecturer

seriously.

- The seating position does not influence me if the lecturer often moves around the class.

- If we have high motivation to study, the seating position is not a big problem.

2 Could you work in

group well in traditional seating arrangement in public speaking I class? Why?

Why yes?

- We just need to turn our chairs to face the students behind us. - We sit close each

other.

- We are accustomed to this seating

arrangement.

- The important thing we can share the problem together.

Why not?

- It is difficult to work in the group using

traditional seating arrangement because we do not sit face to face.

- It will waste time, if we have to move heavy chairs and tables.

(6)

- It does not really matter if I have to move the heavy chair or tables.

space for us, so sometimes we are difficult to do physical movement.

3. What are your

suggestions about teaching and learning activities in traditional seating

arrangement in the public speaking I class?

Why yes?

- In my opinion, it does not really matter with traditional seating arrangement because I am accustomed to this seating arrangement.

Why not?

- I hope that in the future it is better if the

seating arrangement is circle seating

arrangement. - I think circle seating

arrangement is good because the lecturer stands in the middle and he/she becomes the center of the students’ attention and no one sits in the back row.

- In my opinion, U/ horsehoe seating arrangement is better. This arrangement is good for whole group discussion and the students who sit in the front row do not need to turn their body to see someone’s

presentation who sit in the back row. This seating arrangement can support teaching and learning process in Public Speaking I class.

The students` and lecturers` perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in public speaking I at Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis is dedicated to:

All of the children

around the world who have brilliant dreams

My beloved parents and sisters

2. Public Speaking in English Language Education Context

The Interview Results with the Lecturers

Appendix 6

The Interview Results with the Students

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Dukungan

Links

The students` and lecturers` perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in public speaking I at Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis is dedicated to:

All of the children

around the world who have brilliant dreams

My beloved parents and sisters

2. Public Speaking in English Language Education Context

The Interview Results with the Lecturers

Appendix 6

The Interview Results with the Students

Parts

Dokumen yang terkait

Lecturer`s lived experience in public speaking feedback in The ELESP of Sanata Dharma University.

The mastery of prepositions of place at, in and on among the seventh semester students at English Letters Department of Sanata Dharma University.

Students` perceptions on the use of role play technique in speaking class in the english education study program of Sanata Dharma university.

The students` perceptions on the use of video camera in microteaching classess of english language education study program at Sanata Dharma University.

Students` perceptions on the use of audio recording as a model in speaking V calss at the english language education study program of Sanata Dharma University.

The relationship between the perceptions of the fifth semester students of English Education Study Programme of Sanata Dharma University on individual and group speaking tests and their performance in speaking tests.

Students` perceptions on the use of audio recording as a model in speaking V calss at the english language education study program of Sanata Dharma University - USD Repository

The students` perceptions on the use of video camera in microteaching classess of english language education study program at Sanata Dharma University - USD Repository

The students` and lecturers` perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in public speaking I at Sanata Dharma University - USD Repository

Students` perceptions on the use of role play technique in speaking class in the english education study program of Sanata Dharma university - USD Repository

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