1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This research investigates the perceptions of English Language Education Study Program ELESP students on the use of group discussion and their
engagement in group discussion in the speaking sessions of CLS I course at the ELESP of Sanata Dharma University of Yogyakarta. In this chapter, the
researcher discusses the research background, the research problems, the problem limitation, the research objectives, the research benefits, and the definition of
terms.
A. Research Background
Speaking is one of the needed skills by students in the language learning process. The students will be able to speak up their opinions and improve their
communicative competence when they can master speaking skills. Burns 1998 stated that
“speaking is a combinatorial language skill” p. 67. It requires the ability to fulfill various communicative demands through efficient use of the
spoken language. Second language competence, therefore, requires knowledge of the target language as a system for making meaning and an awareness of the
contextual demands of speaking. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2 In the learning process, there are some techniques that lecturers of ELESP
usually use. One of them is the group discussion technique. This technique is applied almost in all subjects given at the ELESP. Group discussion is needed to
see how the students can work together and share their opinions with their friends in the group. Group discussion might be one of the ways of the lecturers to help
the students in their learning process. WBI Evaluation Group 2007 mentions that “group discussion will help the group members build each other’s comments
and reactions”. It is a useful technique to be used in teaching because the students
can help hisher friends understand the material through the group discussion.
In fact, the engagement of the students in the group discussion in the speaking session in CLS I is one of the hopes from the lecturer. The lecturer
expects that all students can participate well during group discussion. Barkley 2009 stated in the National Survey on Student Engagement NSSE and the
Community College Survey on Student Engagement CCSSE define engagement as
“the frequency with which students participate in activities that represent effective educational practices, and conceive of it as pattern of involvement in a
variety of activities and interactions both in and out of the classroom and throughout a student’s college career” p. 4.
In addition, according to Barkley 2009, college teachers tend to describe students engagement in one of two ways. The first is with statements like
“Engaged students really care about what they have learned; they want to learn” or “When students are engaged, they exceed expectations and go beyond what is
required” or “The words that describe student engagement to me are passion and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3 excitement” p. 5. This means that the teachers want students share their
enthusiasm for their academic discipline and find their courses so compelling that they willingly, in fact enthusiastically, devote their hearts and minds to the
learning process.
According to Barkley 2009, the second way is that they describe student engagement
with statements like “Engaged students are trying to make meaning of what they are
learning” or “Engaged students are involved in the academic task at hand and are using high-order thinking skills such as analysing information or
solving problems” p. 5. This means that they are going to make their learning
meaningful. If there is a problem in their learning, they will solve it using high- order thinking skills.
Moreover, students’ perceptions are also one of the factors that can influence students’ motivation to learn in class, especially in group discussion in
the speaking sessions of CLS I. There are two kinds of perceptions which are going to be observed by the researcher. They are students’ perceptions on the use
of group discussion as a technique used in the classroom activity and students’
perceptions on their engagement itself during group discussion is done. In fact, the two
students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement are related to each other. S
tudents’ perceptions on the use group discussion can identify the engagement of the students. If the students perceive
the use of group discussion as a technique used in the classroom activity positively, they will have positive behaviour responses and be engaged enough in
4 the classroom activity automatically. On the other hand, if the students perceive
the use of group discussion as a technique used in the classroom activity negatively, they will also have
negative behaviour responses and less engaged during the classroom activity in the group discussion.
Based on the explanation above, the researcher conducts a research about students’ perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement in the
speaking sessions of CLS I. The aim of this research is to discover the students’
perceptions on the use of group discussion and their engagement in the speaking sessions of CLS I at the ELESP of Sanata Dharma University of Yogyakarta.
B. Research Problems
