STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPROACH IN GRADE 7 OF SMP NEGERI 1 BANYUBIRU

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING
APPROACH IN GRADE 7 OF SMP NEGERI 1 BANYUBIRU

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Bella Vilo Sovia Puspitasari
112013117

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
2017

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING
APPROACH IN GRADE 7 OF SMP NEGERI 1 BANYUBIRU

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Bella Vilo Sovia Puspitasari
112013117

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
2017

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COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in
any course or accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any
university. To the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material
previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is
made in the text.
Copyright@ 2017. Bella Vilo Sovia Puspitasari and Anne I. Timotius, S.Pd.,
M.Ed.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means
without the permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English
Language Education Program, Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Kristen
Satya Wacana, Salatiga.
Bella Vilo Sovia Puspitasari

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover Page ...................................................................................................... i

PERNYATAAN TIDAK PLAGIAT ............................................................. ii
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN AKSES ................................................. iii
Approval Page ............................................................................................... iv
Copyright statement ....................................................................................... v
Table of Contents .......................................................................................... vi
Introduction .................................................................................................... 1
Literature Review ........................................................................................... 4
The Study ..................................................................................................... 11
Findings and Discussion .............................................................................. 13
Conclusion ................................................................................................... 31
References .................................................................................................... 33
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... 35
Appendix A .................................................................................................. 36
Appendix B .................................................................................................. 37

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STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPROACH IN GRADE 7 OF SMP
NEGERI 1 BANYUBIRU

Bella Vilo Sovia Puspitasari
ABSTRACT
Cooperative Learning (CL) is an approach which focuses on student-centered
learning. In this approach, the students will have the opportunity to actively
participate in the class activities. Students appeared to be passive in conventional
learning, but in the activity based on CL approach, they seemed to be more
actively involved in the activity. This qualitative study attempted to answer a
research question, which is “what are the students’ perceptions toward the
implementation of Cooperative Learning approach in their English classroom?” A
semi structured interview was conducted for 12 students of grade 7 of SMP
Negeri 1 Banyubiru. The results of this study found that CL was an interesting
activity and helpful for the students in mastering the materials. This study also
found that CL could help the students be closer with their peers by helping each
other.
Key word: Cooperative Learning

INTRODUCTION
In foreign language teaching, studies have found numerous approaches
and methods which can be used to enhance students’ competence in the language.
To help the students enhancing their competence in learning the language,

teachers should be able to utilize the most suitable approach or method to be used
in the classrooms. The approaches and methods in language teaching can be
teacher-centered and student-centered. Both forms have their own weaknesses and
strengths. In teacher-centered learning (e.g. Grammar Translation Method), the

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time used in the classroom was spent to listen or take notes based on the teachers’
explanation (Chang, 2011). By listening to the teacher’s explanation, the students
might concentrate more in mastering the material. However, with this kind of
learning process, it means that the students will have a little portion to be involved
in the learning process. In contrast, student-centered learning (e.g. Cooperative
Learning) will allow the students to actively participate in the learning process.
Their participation could be done through group work which might help them in
learning process. However, the success of group work depends on the contribution
of each member (Gillies, 2014). It usually becomes the weakness of group work
activity.
One of approaches that needs group work in the learning process is
Cooperative Learning (CL). Abrami, Poulsen and Chambers (2004, as cited in
Ahmad & Mahmood, 2010) stated that CL is “an instructional strategy in which

students work actively and purposefully together in small groups to enhance both
their own and their teammates learning” (p. 152). Therefore, it can be said that CL
might be used to help the students learning a foreign language better since they
might be more active in this student-centered learning.
Previous studies about CL have been conducted by McLeish (2009) and
Pertiwi (2014). Both of their studies were aimed to find the college students’
perceptions toward the use of CL in certain classroom. The result of the studies
found that CL is helpful for the students but some participants stated that CL did
not give much benefit for them.

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In the context of this study, which is in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru where I
did the Teaching Practicum Program for 3 months, it was usually found that the
English teachers mostly applied the teacher-centered form in the teaching and
learning process. Based on my observation during the 3-month program, in the
teacher-centered learning, while the teachers explained the materials, the students
appeared to be passive since they had to listen to the teachers and take notes.
When the students were done with the explanation, they were asked to do some
exercises. Most exercises given by the teachers were individual exercises but

sometimes teachers asked them to discuss the exercises in a group. With this kind
of teaching and learning process, the students were likely to have a little portion to
be actively involved in the entire learning process.
One of the ways to make the students actively involved in the classroom is
by producing activities based on CL. It is agreed by Laguador (2014) by saying
that CL is “a teaching and learning strategy in the classroom to encourage
learners’ active participation” (p. 46). Beside using teacher-centered learning as
the main form of the teaching and learning process, teachers in this school also
often applied the student-centered form in some classroom activities based on CL.
The teachers often asked the students to work in pairs or a group to solve a
problem or perform something based on their discussion. With this kind of
teaching and learning process, the students tend to

actively involve in the

activities given by the teachers. Hence, I am interested in finding the students’
perceptions toward the implementation of CL in their language learning process,
especially English as the foreign language. Specifically, this study aims to answer

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“What are the students’ perceptions toward the implementation of Cooperative
Learning approach in their English classroom?”
Hopefully, this paper might be beneficial for English teachers to review
their teaching strategies in delivering the materials and also producing varied
activities for the students. The results of this study might also be beneficial to
know the kind of CL activities that will help the students in learning English
comfortably. Also, it might be beneficial for English teachers to gain more
creative teaching method/approach to be used in their future teaching.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of Perception
Bodenhausen and Hugenberg (2009) claimed that perception can be
defined as a bridge between ‘outer and inner worlds’ of a person (p. 2). The
process of perception begins when someone (outer world) gives stimuli such as
sound, sight, or other things which are related to our senses. Then we as the
receiver of the stimuli will perceive it as the inner experience of the world.
In CL, students receive the stimuli from teachers and also from their peers.
Teacher gives them instructions which can be heard, pictures or gestures which
can be seen. Peers give them suggestions to be heard, or sometimes physical touch

which can be felt. Those stimuli will lead them to intepret the teaching and
learning process.
Perception in this study is related to the students’ opinions and feelings
after having the stimuli mentioned above. By having those stimuli, the students

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will be able to perceive that the learning process is interesting/uninteresting,
understandable or not.
Definition of Cooperative Learning
Various concepts of CL have been discussed by researchers. It is a fact
that CL is usually done in group (Trianto, 2009). However, Johnson, Johnson, and
Smith (1991, as cited in Tsay & Brady, 2010) claimed that CL is more than
‘working in groups’ (p. 80) since it has 5 elements which are included in the
process: (1) positive interdependence, (2) individual accountability, (3) face-toface promotive interaction, (4) collaborative skills, and (5) group processing. In
addition, Metzler (2011, as cited in Laguador, 2014) claimed that cooperative
learning is a “methodology in which students learn with, from and for their peers”
(p. 47). In other words, in CL activities, students do not only sit in a group and do
nothing, but they will likely to learn with their peers to solve a problem. While
they are learning with their peers, they actually learn from each other. It is

possible for a member to share what he/she knows, and it might be new
information for others. This argument is supported by Laguador (2014) by saying
that the students might be involved in problem solving, producing questions,
discussing their thought, and expressing their opinions.
In addition, according to Shimazoe and Aldrich (2010), CL “shift the
focus of teaching from lecturing to groups of mostly passive students to
instruction through orchestrating students’ interactions with each other” (p. 52).
From their argument, it can be concluded that interaction is one of important
aspects in CL. Additionally, the importance of interaction in CL is also supported

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by Tsay and Brady (2010) by saying that “interaction with peers offers students
the chance to learn from one another’s scholarship, skills, and experiences” (p.
79).
Elements of Cooperative Learning
In applying CL in the classroom, teachers have to pay attention to the
following crucial elements (Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991, as cited in Tsay
& Brady, 2010):
1. Positive interdependence

Positive interdependence is a belief that the students in the group need
each other to complete and be successful in the assigned work (Jones &
Jones, 2008). In this element, the students perceive that he/she could not
do the work successfully without the other members of the group. In other
words, they will fail or be successful together.
2. Individual accountability
It is true that CL is usually done in group. However, individual
accountability is also precious in CL. Every member of the group are
responsible to master the material of their work (Johnson & Johnson,
1998, as cited in Laguador, 2014).
3. Face-to-face Promotive Interaction
Interaction tends to be one of significant aspects in CL. In this element,
students are having their interactive process when they give feedback to

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the other members of the group, support their group, and teach one another
(Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991, as cited in Tsay & Brady, 2010)
4. Collaborative Skills
In this element, students will likely to have the opportunity to build their
trust to the peers in the group, develop their leadership, communication,
and problem solving skills (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991, as cited in
Tsay & Brady, 2010)
5. Group Processing
It is possible for the students to evaluate their group work by having peerevaluation within the group. One member will give constructive comments
to the other members, hence it could help them to improve the quality of
their group work (Jones & Jones, 2008)
Cooperative Learning Classroom Techniques
There are several techniques which can be used in CL classroom, the
procedures of each technique are described as follow:
1.

Jigsaw
Jigsaw is a technique that emphasizes CL by giving the students a
chance to actively help each other in comprehending a material
(Marhamah & Mulyadi, 2013). In jigsaw technique, the materials are
divided into several parts as the number of team members, then the
students will gather with other students from other teams to study the

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parts, and finally they will return to their team to teach their parts to
their team members (Slavin, 1980).
2.

Round Table
In round table technique, every member of a group in turn writes an
answer as a paper and a pencil turned around within the group (Kagan,
1990). This technique might allow the students to completely involve
in the group discussion.

3.

Think-Pair-Share
In think-pair-share technique, students are given a problem. Firstly
they have to solve the problem individually, then they discuss their
thought with their pair, after they discuss it with their pair, they share
their thought with all students in the class (Kagan, 1990)

Benefits of Cooperative Learning in Foreign Language Learning
CL seemed to offer benefits for the students. The first benefit was based
on the study by Gokhale (1995, as cited in Tsay & Brady, 2010, p. 79), it was
found that CL provided opportunities for ‘discussion and clarification of ideas’. It
might be seen as a fact that through the group, the students will likely discuss and
clarify unclear problems to be solved. As Gokhale (1995, as cited in Tsay &
Brady, 2010) believed, “the entire group’s grade depended on each student’s
understanding of the subject” (p. 79) therefore unconsciously, the students will
feel that they are also responsible for the success of their group.

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Second, it is also found that CL could help the students in learning the
materials deeper through different perspectives from the other members of the
group (McKinney & Graham-Buxton, 1993, as cited in Shimazoe & Aldrich,
2010). From the statement above, it is possible for the students to enrich their
understanding of the materials since their peers will likely to have different point
of view of the materials.
Third, Sharan (2014) stated that the elements of CL could “actively engage
learners in variety of communicative activities, such as listening to one another
and paraphrasing others’ comments to check for accurate understanding” (p. 806).
He added that utilizing CL in the classroom could help the students to “take turns
producing language and comprehending language” (p. 806).
Challenges of Cooperative Learning
In spite of the benefits, CL also faces the challenges as well. Based on
Laguador’s (2014) finding, the first challenge of CL is that conducting CL needs a
well-planned preparation since the teachers should consider several aspects such
as the “objectives, materials, instruction or procedure of the activity and the class
management during the execution of group work” (p. 47). It is the teachers’ job to
create the meaning of group work and make sure that the group work would really
help the students in the learning process. The second challenge of CL is stated by
Mayer (2009, as cited in Laguador, 2014) that students might be actively involved
in the group discussion, but it does not imply that CL increased their ‘cognitive
activity’ (p. 47). In other words, it is still challenging to prove that the students’

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comprehension and mastery of the materials is increased by utilizing CL in the
learning process.
Previous Studies
A previous study about the implementation of CL in English classroom
has been conducted by McLeish (2009) from University of Technology, Jamaica.
The purpose of her study was to determine the students’ attitudes towards CL at a
community learning group. The study found that CL could help the students to
improve their participation in the classroom and their academic performance. It
also facilitated ‘good working relationships’ and enhanced ‘socialization and
creativity’ (McLeish, 2009, p. 69).
Another study of CL was also conducted by Pertiwi (2014) from
Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga. Her study was to find the students’
perceptions toward the implementation of CL through group work in English for
Social Purpose (ESP) course. The finding showed that most students believed that
CL was useful for them, but some of them perceive that CL did not give much
benefit for them.
Compared to the two studies above, this study is basically similar.
However, the two previous studies were to find the perceptions of higher grade
students which is university students. In contrast, this study is aimed to find the
perceptions of lower grade students which is junior high school students.

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THE STUDY
Context of the Study
This study was conducted using qualitative method which aims to
investigate the students’ perceptions toward the implementation of CL in their
English classroom. The setting of this study was in SMP 1 Banyubiru which was
located at Melati Street no. 19, Banyubiru. There were 6 classes for every batch so
there are 18 classes in total. There were 2 different curriculums applied in this
school. Grade 7 used K 13 curriculum, and grade 8 and 9 used KTSP curriculum.
Every class had different number of students, but each class had 29-32 students.
The English subject was taught for 4 hours each week. Each course hour lasted for
40 minutes so students would learn English for 160 minutes every week. This
school had 4 English teachers and one of them was the headmaster of the school.
This school was chosen because CL was applied in some classroom activities.
Most students of this school perceive that English tend to be difficult subject.
They tend to be reluctant to talk in English. Even though they thought that English
is difficult, they still participate in a good way throughout the learning process.
Participants of the Study
There were 191 grade 7 students in this school. The participants of this
study were 12 students. 2 representatives from each class were selected to
participate in this study. Convenience sampling was used in this study. Those
number of students were representative enough to show the perceptions of
learning with CL.

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Instrument of Data Collection
The data of this study were collected using a semi-structured interview.
Semi-structured interview was used since it allows us to ask follow-up questions
to gain deeper information from the participants. According to Zacharias (2013),
semi-structured interview allows us to “compare responses across participants”. It
also allows for ‘individual diversity and flexibility’. She added that semistructured interview would provide ‘richer data’ (p. 53). The interview questions
in this study asked about the students’ opinions about learning with CL approach
(see Appendix A for the interview questions).
Procedure of Data Collection
The procedure of collecting the data was started by asking for permission
from the school. Before collecting the data, piloting was conducted for 3 grade 7
students to see whether the interview questions were clear for the participants.
The next step was choosing the participants. Next, every participant was
individually interviewed using an audio recorder for 10 to 15 minutes. The
interview session took place in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru to get easier access to
the participants. The language used in the interview was in Indonesian since it
would be more comfortable for the participants to respond to the questions.
Procedure of Data Analysis
The data of this study were transcribed using a clean transcription. Clean
transcription was used because the content of the interviews was the focus of this
study (Zacharias, 2013). Then from the interview transcripts, the data were coded
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into several themes. After the themes were found, it was analyzed by connecting it
to the theories explained by the researchers.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This study is aimed to investigate the grade 7 students’ perceptions toward
the activities based on CL done in their English classroom. This part presents the
analysis of the interview data from the students. There are 5 themes found from
the students’ responses to the interview questions, those are: students’ perception
on different opinions in CL, students’ perception on interaction in CL, students’
perception on the roles of peer evaluation in CL activity, students’ perception on
the roles of CL activity in the material mastery, students’ feelings about learning
using CL. The data in this study are presented in bar graphs, following with an
excerpt from the participant, then the analysis by the writer.
A.

Students’ Perception on Different Opinions in CL
The data showed that 11 out of 12 students agreed that having different

opinions was important and one student did not think that different opinion was
important when they worked in CL activity. The students thought that having
different opinions was important because it could help them finding the correct
answer, getting new information, and make them be closer one another. The
students’ perception of the importance of different opinion can be shown in the
Graph 1.

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Graph 1. Students’ perception on different opinion in CL

Students' Perception on Different
Opinion in CL
not important

1

corect answer & new
information

get closer with peers

2

get closer with peers

corect answer & new
information

not important

9
0

2

4

6

8

10

More detailed descriptions of Graph 1 are described as follow:
1.

Correct Answer and New Information
From Graph 1, it can be seen that 9 students thought that having

different opinions with their peers was important in order to find out the
correct answer and get new information about the material discussed. An
example of the students’ response can be seen from Participant E:
Because it can help me collecting information from my peers, then my
group and I will know that this one is wrong, and that answer is right
(Participant E, My translation).
From the response of Participant E, it can be seen having different
opinion in CL activity is important in order to know the correct answer and
get new information. It is true that when the students discuss a topic, they
might have different perspectives about the topic. By having different

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opinion, they can complete each other, therefore students who have
incorrect understanding would know the right answer from their peers who
have correct understanding of the topic.
2.

Closer Relationship with Peers
Related to the second reason, two students perceived that having

different opinions could make them be closer each other. In general, the
students responded that when they had different opinion in group
discussion, they could talk to each other more and know one another deeper.
One of the students’ responses comes from Participant I:
I will be closer with my friends and it will be more interesting if we
have different opinions because if there isn’t, it will not be interesting
because the members will be silent and not talk to each other
(Participant I, My translation).
It seems that having different opinions can make the students be more
active in the group discussion. It can lead to a good communication within
the group, and it might be true that a good communication in a CL activity
can make the students be closer one another.
3.

Different Opinions is not Important
However, a different response comes from one student who thought that

having different opinions was not important in CL activity. Participant K
said that different opinion might be right or wrong. His response can be
shown in the following excerpt:

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It is not important because it will be better if all members have the same
idea and there is no different opinion. However, if my friend’s opinion
is better, then I will get new knowledge, but if the opinion is wrong,
then it will not make the work better (Participant K, my translation).
Looking at Participant K’s response, it seems that he concerns with an
individual gain from CL activity. He said that when his friend has a better
opinion, it will help him to get new knowledge. It implicitly means that he
only picks the better opinion from his group to be accepted. Even though the
activity is done in group, it is also important to master the topic individually,
thus he picks better opinion which could help him mastering the topic.
The perception on different opinions based on the students answer might be
useful for getting the correct answer and new information and making the students
be closer with their peers. Those responses are basically similar to Davidson’
(1991, as cited in Trianto, 2008) argument about the positive implication of CL.
He stated that in a small group, it might be possible for the students to “ask
questions, discuss the opinion in the group, learn from their group’s opinions, give
constructive comments, and summarize their findings” (Davidson, 1991, as cited
in Trianto, 2008, p. 62). Therefore it seems that the participants perceived that
having different opinions in CL is important since it might enrich the students’
learning.

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B.

Students’ Perception on Interaction in CL
The data showed that all 12 students agreed that interaction was important

in CL activity. The students’ perception on interaction in this part is divided into
two parts, the first one is about the form of interaction that the students have, the
next is about the purpose of interaction in the activity.
1.

The Form of Interaction
Based on the students’ experience, they interacted with their peers in

CL activity in the forms of discussion, clarification of materials, and also
arrangement of the strategy in doing the task. Their responses can be seen
from Graph 2.
Graph 2. The forms of interaction

The Forms of Interaction
Strategy in doing task

3
Discussion &
clarification
Strategy in doing task

Discussion &
clarification

10

0

5

10

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Below are the more detailed descriptions of Graph 2:
a. Discussion and Clarification
From Graph 2, 10 out of 12 students responded that the interactions
in CL activity were in the form of discussion and clarification. Based on
the students’ responses, they interacted with their peers to discuss the

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right answer and clarify the unclear materials. One of responses comes
from Participant J:
I talk in my group to discuss the materials, and sometimes to
explain the materials to my friends who have not understood about
it, but sometimes we also talk out of the topic (Participant J, My
translation).
Participant J said that the discussion in her group is for deciding the
correct answer which means that without having interaction in her
group, they would not find the correct answer. He also mentioned that
he interacts to explain the unclear materials to his friends.
Sharan (2014) agreed that CL can increase the students’
participation and interaction. He stated on his article that in CL activity,
the group members may help each other in mastering the materials
(Sharan, 2014). Therefore, from the participants’ perception, it seems
that interaction is a crucial aspect in CL since it allows the students to
explain, discuss, and ask about the materials in order to help one
another.
b. Strategy in Doing Task
Three students stated that the interactions in the CL activity were
done to arrange the strategy in doing the task. As the example of the
students’ response, Participant K said:
At that time, my job is to write. Before writing the answer, all
members have to think of the answer until we find the best answer,

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then the answer is first written in pencil, when we are sure, then we
write it with a pen on the answer sheet (Participant K, My
translation).
From Participant K’s response, it can be seen that arranging
strategy in CL activity is also significant for the success of the work.
Without arranging the strategy, it might be possible that the students’
work could not be maximum. Therefore it might be important to keep
the interaction good because it might lead to the quality of the work.
2.

The Purpose of Interaction
The data showed that the students perceived that interaction was useful

for finishing the task, getting better grade, helping each other, and making
the materials be easier to understand. Their responses of the purpose of
interaction in CL activity can be seen in Graph 3.
Graph 3. The purpose of interaction

The Purpose of Interaction
Understanding
materials easier

1

Finishing the task

Helping each other

4

Getting better grade

Getting better grade

2

Helping each other

Finishing the task

9
0

5

19

10

Understanding
materials easier

a.

Finishing the Task
As shown in Graph 3, 9 students responded that having interaction

could help their group in finishing the task. One of the examples of the
responses comes from Participant B:
Interaction is important because it can help us to finish the task
soon. If we do not talk to each other, we will not be able to finish
the task (Participant B, My translation).
The above response is basically similar to Trianto’s (2009)
argument. He stated in his book that CL can give opportunity for the
high group and low group students who work together to finish
academic tasks. It means that it is important to have a good interaction
during the discussion in order to finish the task assigned by the teacher.
When the students can finish the task by maintaining good interaction
within their group, it means that they have already achieved one goal in
their learning.
b.

Getting Better Grade
Another response came from 2 students who said that interaction in

their group work could affect their grade. Participant C stated his
argument clearly by saying:
It is very important because when we do not discuss and talk to
each other, we will receive fewer grades. So, we will get the better
grade by joining the discussion (Participant C, My translation).

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From participant C’s response, it can be said that in order to get
better grade, every member of the group have to join the interaction
done in the group.
One of the significant elements in CL is individual accountability.
Here, interaction can be related to individual accountability. When a
group member does not interact or join the group discussion, it means
that he/she does not contribute in the group. The above response is
basically similar to Millis’ (2014) argument. He argued that in CL,
teachers have to pay attention to every member’s contribution in the
group and assign them accordingly (Millis, 2014). Even though the
activity is done in group, it is still important that every member
contribute in the interaction of the group. They can share their opinion
or ask questions as a part of their interaction in the group.
c.

Helping Each Other
The next response came from 4 students who agreed that

interaction in CL activity was important to help each other. By
interacting, the students could help one another and it led to closer
relationship among them. Participant H stated her argument about it:
It is important in order to help each other. If we are silent and do
not talk each other, we will not know whether our friends need help
or not. We can also know from different opinion (Participant H,
My translation).

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Participant H stated that her group helps one another during the
group work. They help each other in order to be successful in learning
the materials. In order to be successful together, all the group members
have to help each other whether in mastering the materials or difficulty
when doing the task.
d.

Understanding Materials Easier
The last purpose of interaction stated by one student that it could

make her to understand the materials easier. As the example of the
response, Participant D said:
The materials can be easier to be learned because it can be
discussed in the group, so my friends will help me if I do not
understand the materials (Participant D, My translation).
Again, the interaction within the group can lead to various benefits.
The above excerpt shows that while having interaction, some students
may be helped by the other students. The students can be helped by the
explanation of the unclear parts or from the different perspectives in the
group.
According to the students’ responses, it can be concluded that interaction in
the CL activity might be in the forms of discussion, clarification, and arrangement
of the strategy in doing the task. It was also found that the students felt various
benefits from interaction such as finishing the task more quickly, getting better
grade, helping each other, and understanding materials easier.

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From the data, the students interacted with their peers to help one another. It
is important to remember that the idea of helping each other can be included as
one of elements in CL, which is positive interdependence. It allows the students to
feel that one member will not be successful if the other members of the group are
not successful also (Trianto, 2009). From the data, it can be seen that the students
have applied positive interdependence while they are working in CL activity.

C.

Students’ Perception on The Roles of Peer Evaluation in CL Activity
From the data, all 12 students agreed that actually peer evaluation was

important. They did peer evaluation by giving constructive comments or
suggesting something to their peers. The students agreed that peer evaluation in
the CL activity could improve themselves and the quality of the work. Their
opinions can be shown in Graph 4.
Graph 4. The roles of peer evaluation

The Roles of Peer Evaluation
improvement the
quality of work

10

improvement for a
better competence in
English

improvement for a
better competence in
English
improvement the
quality of work

8

0

5

10

23

15

More detailed descriptions of Graph 4 are described as follow:
1.

Improvement for a Better Competence in English
As shown in Graph 4, 8 students thought that by having evaluation,

they could improve themselves to be better in English lesson. The students
felt that when they were being evaluated by their friends, they could know
their weaknesses in certain material, thus they could learn from it and
improve themselves. One example of the responses given by the students is
from Participant J:
Yes, it is important because my friends tell me my mistakes, so I can
realize about it, and next time I can work better (Participant J, My
translation).
From the excerpt, it can be seen that peer evaluation could help the
students to look at their weakness from their friends’ comments, then to
make sure that they would not do the same mistakes again in the next work.
The peer evaluation that they have done was not in the formal written form,
but they directly said to their friends during the group work. As example of
the response, Participant H said:
When the writer in the group writes the word incorrectly, my friend
says, ‘before you write, you have to think first. Do not be careless’. But
my friend says it in a soft and polite way, so the writer will not be
offended (Participant H, My translation).
2.

Improvement for the Quality of the Work

24

Another role of evaluation that has been said by 10 students was related
to the quality of the work. The students said that by having evaluation
during or after the activity could improve the quality of the next work.
Example of responses is said by Participant F:
It is important because it can build my friend to be a better person, and
also the work can be better than the previous one (Participant F, My
translation).
Participant F mentioned both roles of peer evaluation. She thought that
peer evaluation could be one way to reflect on the weakness and the strength
of her group’s work. When the students had known what was missed in the
work, they could improve their next work. By reflecting on what they had
done, they might learn from it then they would be able to perform a better
work.
Based on the students’ experience, they thought that peer evaluation in CL
is significant because it can help them to improve their competence in English
lesson and the quality of their work. Peer evaluation is one of the important
elements in CL which is called group processing. Foundation Coalition (2008, as
cited in Jones & Jones, 2008) gave a clear idea about group processing in CL. It
said “our team has to reflect on its performance and think together about how we
might improve” (Foundation Coalition, 2008, as cited in Jones & Jones, 2008, p.
65). Therefore, the students’ responses in this study are basically the same with
the theory of group processing in CL.

25

D.

Students’ Perception on the Roles of CL Activity in the Material
Mastery
Based on the data, 10 out of 12 students agreed that CL activity was helpful

for them to master the material. The other 2 students thought that CL activity was
a little bit helpful for them. The students’ responses can be seen from Graph 5.
Graph 5. The roles of CL in material mastery from students’ perspective

The Roles of CL in Material Mastery from
Students' Perspective

a little bit helpful

2
helpful
a little bit helpful

helpful

10

0

5

10

15

Below are the detailed descriptions of Graph 5:
1.

CL is Helpful for Material Mastery
As shown in Graph 5, 10 students thought that CL activity could help

them in mastering the materials. In general, the students responded that in
CL activity, they were allowed to help one another within the group, thus it
helped them to comprehend the materials easier. The example of students’
responses comes from Participant G:

26

It is helpful. When we do not understand, we can ask our friends in the
group, so that they can explain the material to us (Participant G, My
translation).
Participant G’s answer can be seen similar to the goal of CL which is
stated by Slavin (1995, as cited in Trianto, 2008). He stated that the goal of
CL is the success in the group, which can be reached that all group members
are able to master the materials (Slavin, 1995, as cited in Trianto, 2008).
Therefore, it can be concluded that the students have attempted to reach
CL’s goal by helping one another mastering the materials.
2.

CL is a little bit Helpful in Material Mastery
Another response of the roles of CL activity comes from 2 students who

thought that it was a little bit helpful for them. Based on their responses, the
two students have different reason why they think that way. The first reason
is from Participant J:
It depends on who the group members are. If they just joke, it will not
help because they must be noisy, and we will be automatically
disturbed. If the group members can work together well, it will help
because we can help each other (Participant J, My translation).
The second reason comes from Participant K, who said that it was
because the explanation. Participant K said:
It is a little bit helpful because I prefer the material to be explained by
the teacher (Participant K, My translation).

27

From both responses, it might mean that they are not satisfied with their
friends’ help in the group work. They need more help in their group, thus it
might be helpful for them to master the materials.
According to the responses given by the students, most students (10 out of
12) perceive that CL is helpful in material mastery. The students responded that
they can help one another in the activity, hence it might be easier for them to
master the materials. Their responses can be a proof of Mayer’s finding (2009, as
cited in Laguador, 2014) which said that it is still a challenge for CL to increase
the students’ comprehension. Based on the students’ responses in this study, it is
not a challenge for CL to help the students in mastering the material since 10 out
of 12 students perceived that it is helpful for them. The idea of material mastery is
supported by an argument from Webb (1985, as cited in Tsay & Brady, 2010). He
found that in CL, that students show ‘signs of higher understanding’ when they
attempt to explain the materials to their peers and being explained by their peers
(Webb, 1985, as cited in Tsay & Brady, 2010, p. 79). Therefore, it can be
concluded that material mastery was not a challenge for CL in this study.
E.

Students’ Feelings about Learning Using CL
According to the data in this study, most students liked learning using CL.

The students liked CL because it allows them helping each other and helps them
mastering materials. The students also thought that CL was an interesting activity.
However, one student thought that he prefered the conventional learning. The
students’ responses can be seen in Graph 6.

28

Graph 6. Students’ feelings of CL activity

Students' Feelings of CL Activity
helping each other

8

helpful in material
mastery

interesting activity

6

prefer conventional
learning

prefer conventional
learning
helpful in material
mastery

1

interesting activity

helping each other

6
0

5

10

Graph 6 shows the students’ feelings about CL activity. However, the two
results, which are CL allows students helping each other and CL is helpful in
material mastery have been presented in previous parts. Therefore the descriptions
below only describe the last two results.
1.

Cooperative Learning is an Interesting Activity
From Graph 6, it can be seen that 6 students thought that CL was an

interesting activity compared to the conventional one. Example of the
response can be seen from Participant G:
I like it and I prefer that activity because it is more fun to find the
answer with my friends. In usual learning, I have to think by myself, so
it is less interesting. In the activity like that, it can be a game, so it will
be more interesting, and not be boring (Participant G, My translation).
From Participant G’s statement, it can be concluded that the students
want to learn English in an interesting way since it can affect their

29

motivation in learning. They will not be motivated to learn if they are bored
in the classroom.
2.

I Prefer Conventional Learning
Different response comes from one student who said that he prefered

learning with conventional learning and having individual work rather than
with CL activity. Participant K gave his argument by saying:
It depends on the group members. If there is a friend who cannot
cooperate well, I do not like the activity, I prefer individual work. But if
all group members can cooperate well, I like it because all members
work and there is no one who only gets the grade without working
together. But I prefer the usual learning because I can practice myself
and do not have to be helped by other people (Participant K, My
translation).
From participant K’s response, it seems that he concerns about the
distribution of the work when he was in CL activity, because he did not
want his group members got their grade without joining the discussion.
According to the students’ responses on their feeling about learning with
CL, most students like it because of different reasons. The students liked CL
activity because it was an interesting activity and can be in the form of game, thus
they will not be bored. The results about students’ feelings of learning using CL in
this study are actually similar to Sharan and Hertsz-Lazarowitz’s (1981, as cited
in Sharan, 2010) findings about Israel students’ perceptions of CL. The results of
their study found that the students perceive that CL can improve the students’

30

‘social relations’, is more engaging, and can help them appreciate ‘mutual help’
done in the group (Sharan & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 1981, as cited in Sharan, 2010, p.
302).
CONCLUSION
This study attempted to answer the research question which was ‘what are
the students’ perceptions toward the implementation of CL approach in their
English classroom?’. To answer the research question, a semi structured interview
was conducted for 12 students from grade 7 students of SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru.
Based on the data in this study, in general, most of the students perceived
that CL activities were helpful and interesting for them. It might also allow them
helping each other within their group. The students thought that CL was helpful in
mastering materials since they were allowed to work and discuss together with the
group. Thus they could help one another, by asking questions or explaining the
unclear materials during the group work activity. The CL activity was also
interesting since they were allowed to learn by doing something, thus it was not
boring for them. The students thought that CL activity allowed them helping each
other because they could share and discuss the task, then it made them be closer
one another. They also felt that the elements of CL such as face-to-face promotive
interaction and group processing were important when they worked in the CL
activity.
However, some students responded that CL could be said as a helpful
activity if all the group members joined the discussion. This problem often led to

31

dissatisfaction to the activity. One student said that it was unfair when one of the
group members did not join in the group discussion but receiving the same grade
as others. Therefore, teacher has to pay attention to the progress of every group
members to make sure that all members work well during the activity.
Besides the positive results of this study, it still has some limitations. The
first one is about the depth result of this study. The result of this study might not
be too deep since the participants of the study are grade 7 students who can only
answer the interview questions with simple answers. The second limitation is that
the result of this study might not be generalized for all grade 7 students in
Indonesia. Since the context of the study is in a suburb school, hence different
results may appear from different school.
This study still needs an improvement for further research about CL. Since
this study focuses on grade 7 of Junior High School, further research may also
examine about the students’ perception about CL in grade 8 and 9. Finally, this
study might be beneficial for English teacher to produce more creative and varied
activities for the students.
After all, this study offers a pedagogical implication for English teaching.
CL can be one of interesting approaches to be applied in English classroom.
Teacher needs to prepare the CL activity carefully since the students have to get a
better understanding in the material while working with their group.

32

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