3.3.1.2 Dependent Variable “Dependent variable is the factor that is observed and measured to determine the
effect of the independent variable, that is, the factor that appears, disappears, or varies as the experimenter introduces, removes, or varies the independent
variable” Tuckman: 1978: 59. Dependent variable is a response variable or output. Based on the definition, the dependent variable of this study was the
students‟ ability in writing descriptive text.
3.3.2 Hypotheses
In conducting the experiment,I proposed the working hypothesis Ha is accepted; that is “There is a significant difference of achievements in writing descriptive
texts of students who are taught by using Flashcard and those who are taught by using BBC Nature video
” it is shown by the significant difference in producing descriptive text between the experimental group and the control one.
Since the hypothesis would be analyzed statistically based on the result of the experiment, I
put forward the null hypothesis Ho as follows; “There is a no significant difference of achievements in writing descriptive texts of students who
are taught by using Flashcard and those who are taught by using BBC Nature video
.” It means that the null hypothesis Ho is rejected.
3.4 Instrument of the Study
An instrument was very useful in collecting data required in the research. According to Kerlinger 1965:48 “instrument is an important device for
collecting the data in a research study”. He also states that “for most research, the instrument used to measure the achievement
in education is a test”.According to
Saleh 2001:31 “the word instrument refers to research tools for data collecting.
It is therefore, a fundamental thing to be well thought - out by a researcher before s
hehe conducts an experiment”. Saleh 2001:31 also suggests “four types of instruments for gathering data: questionnaire, observation, interview, and test. In
addition, Harris 1969: 71 states “there are two basic kinds of test instrument used to measure the four language skills of the students, i.e. the objective test and
essay test.” The success of a study is more or less influenced by the instrument used
because using the right instrument will guarantee the data required. Therefore, an instrument plays an important role to collect data. In this research, the writing test
was chosen as instrument to collect the data. The test used in the research was a writing test for both pre test and post test which were given to both classes.
3.5 The Steps of Research
Some steps done in a chronological order are always required in conducting an experiment. The following steps were taken by me when Iworked on my
experiment : 1
First of all, I chose the eighth grade students of SMP N 3 Sawangan Magelang as the population.
2 Then, I took two groups that consisted of class VIII B as the control group
consisted of 30 students, while class VIII C as the experimental group consisted of 30 students. After that, I conducted the real experiment.
The activities of the experimental group are as the following :
1 Pre-test
Pre-test was given before doing the experiment. I came into the class that was chosen as the experimental group. After giving short introduction, I
gave the students the pre-test. The theme of pre testis “My Beloved
Animal ”.
2 Activities in doing the experiment
The students were taught some materials about descriptive text. During the teaching process, I used BBC Nature video as the medium to engage
students‟ attention and imanigation. 3
Post-test The post-test was given at the end of the experiment. The test given was
not the same as the pre- test. The theme is about “Animal”
The list of activities of the experimental group is as follows : Table 3.1 Activities of the Experimental Group
No Activities
Material
1 Pre-test
Descriptive text test 2
Teaching BBC Nature video, A descriptive text
‟s text, communicative purpose.
3 Learning and
Experiment BBC Nature video, A descriptive text
‟s text, generic structure, and language features of
descriptive text.
The activities of the control group are as the following : 1
Pre-test The administration procedure of pre-test for the control group was the
same as the administration procedure for the experimental group. 2
Teaching and learning activities in the control group In the process of teaching and learning in the control group, the students
were given the same materials that were about descriptive text. However, the students were not given BBC Nature video as a medium, but they were
taught descriptive text by using Flash Card. 3
Post-test Like the students in the experimental group, the students in the control
group, the test were also given was not the same as the pre-test. The list of activities of the control group is as the following :
4 Teaching Learning
and Experiment BBC Nature video and A descriptive text
5 Experiment
BBC Nature video and a descriptive text 6
Experiment A descriptive text
7 Post-test
Descriptive text test
Table 3.2 Activities of the Control Group
No Activities
Material
1 Pre-test
Descriptive text test 2
Teaching-learning Flash Card and a descriptive text ‟s text,
communicative purpose. 3
Teaching-learning Flash Card and a descriptive text, generic structure, and language features of descriptive text.
4 Teaching-learning Flash Card and a descriptive text
5 Teaching-learning Flash Card and a descriptive text
6 Teaching-learning Flash Card and a descriptive text
7 Post-Test
Descriptive text test 4
Then, I scored the result of the test. 5
I determined the means of the result of the two groups. 6
I compared the two means by using the t-test formula. 7
I consulted the t-value with the critical t-value at the 5 percent alpha level of significance.
8 Finally, I draw a conclusion.
The figure of procedures of the experiment can be described in the figure below:
Figure 3.2 Procedure of Experiment
3.6 Methods of Collecting Data
