OF SMPN 1 STUDENTS OF DAGANGAN MADIUN AND THEIR IMPLICATION TO ENGLISH TEACHING Learning Styles of SMPN 1 Students of Dagangan Madiun and Their Implication to English Teaching.

LEARNING STYLES
OF SMPN
N 1 STUDENTS OF DAGANGAN MA
ADIUN
AND THEIR
R IMPLICATION TO ENGLISH TEA
EACHING

A Thesis
Subm
ubmitted to Fulfill One of the Requirements
for the Com
ompletion of Graduate Degree in Languagee S
Studies

By:
ZAINAL ARIFIN
NIM. S 200 120 056

MAGISTER OF LANGUAGE STUDY
M

MUHAM
MMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF SURAKAR
ARTA
2014

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MOTTO

ْ ُ ِ َ ْ َ‫ُ ُ ْ ِ ُ ْ َوأ‬

َ ِ‫ُ َ ِر ُ ْ َوأَ ْ َ ا ِ ُ ْ َو َ ِ ْ َ ْ ُ ُ إ‬

‫إِ ﱠن ﱠ‬
َ ِ‫ﷲَ َ َ ْ ُ ُ إ‬

"Sesungguhnya Allah tidak melihat kepada bentuk, rupa dan harta benda kalian,
tetapi Allah memperhatikan hati dan amal-amal kalian".
[HR. Muslim]

َ %ٍ ْ& َ ِ ‫ً َو َ ْ أَ ْن َ* ْ)َ أَ َ( َك‬,-ْ .َ ‫ُوف‬
#
0ْ َ ْ ‫ْ ِ) َ ﱠن ِ َ ا‬1َ* َ
ِ
ٍ ْ‫ط‬
"Janganlah engkau menganggap remeh perbuatan baik sedikit pun,
meskipun engkau berjumpa saudaramu dengan wajah berseri-seri"
[HR. Muslim]

“Trouble is your best friend.

It makes you stronger and more understanding about life.
Never give up, fix mistakes, and keep stepping.”

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DEDICATION

In the name of Allah
Most gracious, most Merciful
My special thanks for:
Allah SWT, Who makes my life meaningful, Who gives me everything I need,
and always shows me to the right way of the destiny life.

I PRESENT THIS LITTLE WORK FOR:
-

My lovely wife, Tity, thanks for your love and your support to me,

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My late father and mother, I hope Allah will always love and take care
of you there, and I will always pray for you every time and everywhere,

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My lovely daughter, Honesty, you are the light on my life, you are my
spirit to step and face the future,

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And all my family and my friends, thanks for your support.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First and foremost, by getting down on knees, the writer wants to say
Alhamdulillahirabbil ‘alamin, as my grateful thanks to the owner of soul Allah
SWT Who has blessed, given wonderful love, and shown the truth in the path of
life to the writer. Hence, I can entirely accomplish this thesis. I believed that there

was nothing I can do without Him. My special gratitude and appreciation are also
addressed to the following people:
1. The Director of Graduate Program of Muhammadiyah University, Prof. Dr.
H. Khudzaifah Dimyati, SH, M.Hum for giving the writer permission to
write this thesis,
2. Prof. Dr. Markhamah, M.Hum, The head of Graduate Program of the
English Departement,
3. Agus Wijayanto, Ph.D, as my first consultant who always gives me a lot of
attention and spare time to guide, suggest, permit, support, advice, and
correct my thesis,
4. Dra. Siti Zuhriah Ariatmi, M.Hum, as my second consultant who has given
support, motivation, guide, advice, and wisdom from the beginning to the
end of my thesis,
5. The lecturers in Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta who cannot be
mentioned one by one. I say thanks for their guidance, advice, and
knowledge given to me,
6. Teguh Iriyanto, M.Pd, as the headmaster of SMP Negeri 1 Dagangan
Madiun, thanks for the permission to conduct my research there. As well

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as Maria Deny K, S.Pd for all the time and her guidance there, and also her
students and the school administration staffs,
7. The teachers and staffs of SMP Negeri 1 Gemarang Madiun, who have
given me support, help, and spirit,
8. The special thanks for my beloved wife and daughter, who have given help,
support, advice, and the wonderful moment. May Allah SWT bless us, and
9. All my friends in campus, thanks for togetherness and let’s keep our
friendship.
Finally, I want to thank to the readers especially those who are eager
to give constructive criticism that can make this thesis better. The writer hopes
that this simple thesis would be beneficial to everyone.

Surakarta, April 22nd 2014

Zainal Arifin

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ABSTRACT

ZAINAL ARIFIN, S 200 120 056, 2014: “Learning Styles of SMPN 1 Students
of Dagangan Madiun and Their Implication to English Teaching”. A Thesis of
Post Graduate Program, Magister of Language Study, Muhammadiyah University
of Surakarta.

One of the most difficult set of skills a person could ever struggle to learn is
a language. There is no easy way to master a language, particularly a language
which is not our first language. In the process of learning a language particularly a
second language, there are many variables that determine the success of a
language learner which include language learning styles. In a class made up of
various learning styles, it is always necessary for the teachers, particularly the
language teachers to identify, respect and work on the diversity of the learners’
differences. The study investigated the diverse learning styles employed by ESL
students in SMPN 1 Dagangan, Madiun Regency, East Java. The students were
classified into three levels of competence; high, middle, and low level
competence. They were also classified based on gender; males and females. A set
of questionnaire was distributed to fifteen students. To get deeper interpretation
on their learning styles, the students were also interviewed. The students’ learning
style preferences were identified based on their levels of competence and gender

in order to investigate their differences. The data was analyzed using the case
study method and the findings revealed that the students’ learning styles can be
categorized as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, individual and group learners.
The results of the study indicated that there were some differences in using
learning styles by the students of high, middle and low levels of competence. A
little difference was also found in male and female students. Thus, it is important
for teachers to be aware of their students learning styles.

Keywords: Learning styles, levels of competence; high – middle – low, gender.

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TABLE OF CONTENS
TITLE ..............................................................................................................

i

APPROVAL .....................................................................................................

ii

NOTE OF ADVISOR 1st ……………………………………………............. iii
NOTE OF ADVISOR 2nd …………………………………………………... iv
ACCEPTANCE ...............................................................................................

v

PRONOUNCEMENT ………………………………………………….......... vi
MOTTO ........................................................................................................... vii
DEDICATION ................................................................................................. viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................. xii
LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................. xiv
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................... xv
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................... xvi
CHAPTER I

: INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study ................................................. 1

B. Limitation of the Study ...................................................

6

C. Research Problem ............................................................ 7
D. Objective of the Study ..................................................... 8
E. Benefit of the Study .........................................................

8

CHAPTER II : UNDERLYING THEORY
A. Previous Study ................................................................ 10
B. Theoretical Approach ...................................................... 14
1. Notion of Learning Style ............................................. 14
2. Development of Learning Style ................................... 17
3. Learning Style Preferences .......................................... 24
4. Learning Style Models ................................................ 27
a. Reid’s Perceptual Learning Styles ………………... 28
b. Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory ………………… 31
c. Felder & Silverman’s Learning Style Model ……... 33

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d. Witkin, Oltman, Raskin, and Karp ………….......... 34
e. Willing’s Learning Style Model ……………........... 35
5. Learning Styles and Gender ……………………........ 38
CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHOD
A. Type of the Study ............................................................ 46
B. Setting of the Research .................................................... 50
C. Subject of the Research ................................................... 50
D. Data and Data Source ...................................................... 51
E. Technique of Data Collection ………………………….. 51
1. Documentation ……………………………………… 51
2. Questionnaire ……………………………………….. 52
3. Interview …………………………………………….. 53
F. Technique of Data Analyses ............................................. 54
G. Checking the Reliability and Validity of the Data …….. 57
CHAPTER IV : RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION
A. Research Finding …………………………………...

60

1. Learning Styles of the Three Level Competence
Students ……………………………………………. 60
2. Learning Styles of High Level Competence
Students ……………………………………………. 67
3. Learning Styles of Middle Level Competence
Students ……………………………………………. 72
4. Learning Styles of Low Level Competence
Students ……………………………………………. 75
5. The Students’ Learning Styles Based on Gender ….. 80
B. Discussion …………………………………................... 82
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion ………………………………...................... 86
B. Suggestion ……………………………………………... 88
REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………… 92
APPENDICES …………………………………………………………......... 98

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1

: The English grades of students in 2012 and 2013 and their
ranks ………………………………………………………. 98

Appendix 2

: The Items of the Achievement Test ………………………. 100

Appendix 3

: The Students’ Ranks After the Achievement Test was
Given …………………………………………………........ 104

Appendix 4

: The Three-level Competence Students: High, Middle and
Low ……………………………………………….............. 106

Appendix 5

: The Frequency Distribution of the Students’ Learning
Styles Based on the Results of Questionnaire …………….. 107

Appendix 6

: The

Students’ Perceptual Learning Style Preferences

in

General Based on the Results of Questionnaire ………........ 108
Appendix 7

: The Rank of Using Learning Styles by the Three-level
Competence

Students

Based

on

The

Results

of

Questionnaire …………………………………………....... 109
Appendix 8

: The Frequency Distribution of the Students’ Learning
Styles Based on the Results of Interview …………………. 110

Appendix 9

: The

Students’ Perceptual Learning Style Preferences

in

General Based on the Results of Interview ………………... 111
Appendix 10 : The Rank of Using Learning Styles by the Three-level
Competence Students Based on the Results of Interview…. 112
Appendix 11 : The Frequency Distribution of the Students’ Learning
Styles Based on Gender and the Results of Questionnaire... 113
Appendix 12 : The Frequency Distribution of the Students’ Learning
Styles Based on gender and the Results of Interview …….. 114
Appendix 13 : The Questionnaire of Learning Style …………………....... 115
Appendix 14 : The Transcript of Interview ……………………………….. 117
Appendix 15 : The Transcript of the Results of Interview ………………... 119
Appendix 16 : The Photographs of the Research …………………………. 135

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1

: Definitions of Reid’s Perceptual Learning Style Preference…... 29

Table 2

: Kolb & Fry’s Learning Styles (Adapted from Tennant,
2006:89) ………………………………………………….......... 32

Table 3

: The Characteristics and Description of Willing’s Learning Style
Groups ………………………………………………………… 36

Table 4

: Overview of Some Learning Styles (Reid, 1998) ……………... 37

Figure 1

: The distribution of learning styles of the three groups based on
the results of the questionnaire ………………………………… 61

Figure 2

: The distribution of learning styles of the three groups based on
the results of interview ………………………………………… 64

Figure 3

: The distribution of learning styles used by the high level
competence students based on the results of the questionnaire
and interview …………………………………………………... 67

Figure 4

: The distribution of learning styles used by the middle level
competence students based on the result of the questionnaire
and interview …………………………………………………... 72

Figure 5

: The distribution of learning styles used by the low level
competence students based on the result of the questionnaire
and interview …………………………………………………... 76

Figure 6

: The distribution of learning styles based on gender and
questionnaire …………………………………………………... 80

Figure 7

: The distribution of learning styles based on gender and
interview ………………………………………………….......... 81

xv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1

: The distribution of learning styles of the three groups based on
the results of the questionnaire ………………………………… 61

Figure 2

: The distribution of learning styles of the three groups based on
the results of interview ………………………………………… 64

Figure 3

: The distribution of learning styles used by the high level
competence students based on the results of the questionnaire
and interview …………………………………………………... 67

Figure 4

: The distribution of learning styles used by the middle level
competence students based on the result of the questionnaire
and interview …………………………………………………... 72

Figure 5

: The distribution of learning styles used by the low level
competence students based on the result of the questionnaire
and interview …………………………………………………... 76

Figure 6

: The distribution of learning styles based on gender and
questionnaire …………………………………………………... 80

Figure 7

: The distribution of learning styles based on gender and
interview ………………………………………………….......... 81

xvi