1

THE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE ADVANTAGES OF GROUP

DISCUSSION TEHNIQUE IN TEACHING SPEAKING AT THE
ELEVENTH GRADE IN SMAN 1 VII KOTO SUNGAI SARIK

PROPOSAL
Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement to Obtain
Strata One (S1) Degree on English Education Section

By:
Aulia fikrina
NIM: 2315.017
Approved for Proposal
Seminar
Advisor
Juni, 15 th 2021

Dr. Arifmiboy, S. Ag., M.Pd

NIP.19790505 200710 1 002

ENGLISH EDUCATION SECTION

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING
STATE ISLAMIC INSTITUTE BUKITTINGGI
2020/2021
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Problem

Teaching speaking as the foreign language is difficult. The teacher

need to find good strategies so the students could have a good speaking

skill. There are many strategies that are currently use by the foreign

language teacher to improve students’ speaking. For example, learning

speaking through song, movies, group discussion and more. However,

there are still many problem in the speaking skill. It was proved that

Indonesia is at the number 15 out of 24 countries in Asia related to the

English proficiency.1 This means that Indonesia was categorized “low” in

English including speaking.

In Indonesia, especially high school, the students are also taught

about daily speaking expression, such as giving and asking attention,

opinion, gratitude, suggestion, and etc. Speaking is one of the hard skill

that the students should have. According Julfanur et al, The 2013

curriculum is the new curriculum that was started to be applied to school

year 2013/2014. 2013 is a curriculum that developed to improve and

balance soft skills and hard skills in the form of attitudes, skills, and

knowledge.2

1
EF, English Proficiency Index of Indonesia, Citated from
https://www.ef.com/ca/epi/regions/asia/indonesia/ (15/02/2020)
2
Julfahnur , Mustika Ratu M. , St. Diana , Idham Khalik, Implementasi Kurikulum 2013
dalam Pembelajaran SMA, (Makasar: Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, 2019), p.4
 2

There are many students have problems in speaking. The students

sometime make a lot of mistakes in conveying the message which they

want to say to other people, and the others are difficult to understand and

to comprehend what they have conveyed. This issue will make the

students not confident to speak anything. They will feel shy to speak and

they are afraid if the others or their friends are laughing at them when they

are speaking.3 Thus, the teachers are required to use an effective way to

overcome those problems

It is necessary for the English teachers to encourage students to

speak English fluently and confidently and use more effective way for

teaching speaking, in order to improve the students’ speaking ability.

There are many techniques that are interesting and effective for teaching

speaking4One of the methods that is used by the English teacher in

Indonesia is group discussion. Group discussions are a significant part of

group learning and they have been defined as a group of individuals that

come together for verbal communication to make decisions or simply

share knowledge. In an educational context, the teacher often introduces

concepts or questions to discuss, or the group analyses a problem or

carries out an assigned task. Hence, group discussions are viewed within

the context that the learning takes place when completing a well-defined

3
Veni Roza & Adek Wulan Sari, Guttmann scale Method for Analyze Emotional
Intelligence and Speaking Achievement Between Students’, (Bukittinggi: IAIN Bukittinggi,2020),
p.2
4
Widya Syafitri, Improving Students’ Speaking Ability Through Simulation, (Bukittinggi:
IAIN Bukittinggi, 2017), p.24
 3

task.5 This means that group discussion is a learning group where the

students communicate verbally which the problem or the topic of the

group is assigned by the teacher.

Even though the strategies, techniques or methods that are given

are good, but the students’ perception is needed in order for those the

strategies, techniques or methods to be able to run effectively. According

Kleinke, a perception is important for both teacher and students since it

influences the teaching and learning progress. The students’ will be able to

learn the material if they understand their perception. Moreover, it also

informs the teacher/educator what should they improve based on the

students’ perception.6This means that students will be able to improve their

speaking skill if they have good perception toward the technique which in

this case in group discussion.

Montague said that student’s perception is the student feeling

about something.7It means that students can have perception about

anything. For example, students have their own perception about how the

teachers’ explain material, the strategies that are used, or the students

could also have their own perception about the teacher itself. According to

Hong stated “students have their own opinion toward something that they

5
Morgan, R. L., Whorton, J. E., & Gunsalus, C. A comparison of short term and long term
retention: Lecture combined with discussion versus cooperative learning. (Journal of Instructional
Psychology2000) , 27, 53–58.
6
C.L Kleinke, Self-Perception The Psychology of personal Awareness. (San Francisco: WH
Freeman, 1978), p.23
7
Marjorie Montague, “Student Perception, Mathematical Problem Solving, and Learning
Disabilities”. Pennsylvania State Univ. Vol. 8 No. 1, 1997
 4

get from teaching learning process and how they reach it. 8 It is important

for students to have a good perception about the techniques that is used by

the teacher because it affects the students’ behavior. Imagine a students

who has a bad perception toward a teacher, it would make him demotivate

in learning with the related teacher.

Based on the preliminary interview with the students that was

conducted at11th grade of SMAN 1 VII Koto Sungai Sarik on 30 January

2021 related with their opinion toward the group discussion, there were

found some problems. First, some students said that they think the group

discussion was good for them to improve their speaking skill. However,

there were still some students who do not like group discussion since it

makes the classroom become noisy and lost their focus in learning. This

statement was supported by interview with some of the students. They said

“ dak suko do kak, yang mangecek pas diskusi kelompok tu anak yang

santiang bahasa inggris se nyo, kami yang pendiam jo dak lancar ko dak

dapek ngencek do” This mean that they do not like group discussion,

because the discussion tends to focus on the students who can ask and

answer in English correctly. Meanwhile, the students who are shy and

cannot speak English fluently do not get enough attention in the class.

Second, the researcher found that some students do not really

cooperate in the group discussion. Some students said that there is still

8
Hong, K.-S., Ridzuan, A.A., & Kuek, M.-K.. Students’ attitude toward the use of the
internet for learning: A study at a University in Malaysia. Educational Technology & Society.
2003), p. 26
 5

member that only “numpang nama” which means he did not do anything

during the group discussion, but still took the credit from it. In addition,

the teacher added that the students who do not corporate during the group

discussion will be excluded from the group report.

Based on the facts and the problems above, the researcher is

interested to conduct a research with the title “THE STUDENTS’

PERCEPTION ON THE ADVANTAGES OF GROUP DISCUSSION

TEHNIQUE IN TEACHING SPEAKING AT THE ELEVENTH

GRADE IN SMAN 1 VII KOTO SUNGAI SARIK”

B. Problem of The Research

Based on the background of the problem above, problem of the

research are such as follow:

1. Knowing the students’ perception is important. However, students’

perception toward the group discussion is unknown.

2. Some students do not really cooperate in the group discussion.

C. Limitation of the Problem

 6

The researcher limits the problem of this research into the

students’ perception toward the advantages of group discussion. This is

done to avoid the broad scope of the research.

D. Formulation of the Problem

The problem of this research are formulated into the following

question: “What is the students’ perception toward the advantages of

group discussion technique?”

E. Purpose of the Research

According to the formulation of the problem, the purpose of the

research is to find out the students perception toward the advantages of

group discussion technique.

F. Significant of the Research

This research is expected to have some kind of benefit toward :

1. Teacher

It is expected that the teacher could have information related to

students’ perception and group discussion.

2. Next researcher
 7

It is expected to be the reference for the next researchers who

are going to conduct research related to students’ perception toward

the group discussion.

3. Researcher

It is expected as the fulfilment to obtain strata 1 in English

Education Department in IAIN Bukittinggi.

G. Definition of Key Terms

In order to avoid misunderstanding in reading this study, the

definition of key terms are such as follow:

1. Perception

Student’s perception is the student feeling about something.

2. Group discussion

Group discussions are a significant part of group learning and

they have been defined as a group of individuals that come together for

verbal communication to make decisions or simply share knowledge. In

an educational context, the teacher often introduces concepts or

questions to discuss, or the group analyses a problem or carries out an

assigned task. Hence, group discussions are viewed within the context

that the learning takes place when completing a well-defined task.

 8

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Theory

1. The Nature of Speaking

a. The Definition of Speaking

Speaking is the capability of someone to communicate orally

with the others both individually and in group. The one who is skilled in

speaking can be identified from his capability in using the oral language

fluently, clearly and attractively so that the listeners become convinced

to what the speakers saying. In speaking, the speakers are supposed to

have not only the knowledge of language features, but also processing

information. As stated by Harmer, “the ability to speak fluently

presupposes not only knowledge of language features, but also the

ability to process information and language on the spot. 9 As we know,

the ability in speaking English is knowledge to process information and

spot of the language occur.

Moreover, speaking only could be done if there are two or more

people involved. Both speaker and listener can not be separated; they

are involved actively in an interaction. The speaker creates the language

by using pitch, stress, and intonation that can be understood by the

9
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice and English Language Teaching. 3rd edition. (United
Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited, 2001),p. 269
 9

listeners, while the listeners are trying to listen carefully in order to be

able to understand what the speaker expresses.

In addition, spoken language is difficult for language learners

because effective oral communication requires the ability to use the

language appropriately in social interactions. Diversity in interaction

involves not only verbal communication but also linguistic elements of

speech such as pitch, stress, and intonation. In addition, non linguistic

elements such as gestures and body language, facial expression may

accompany speech or convey message directly without any

accompanying speech.10 It shows that, in communication students use

facial expression, gesture, and body language to convey message

directly.

The aims of teaching speaking English are to make students able

to express themselves in English, and master basic interactive skills

such as expressing greetings, feelings, thanks, and apologies. Another

aim is to express needs, such as request for information and service. In

other words, students have to learn how to speak and to get an

opportunity to speak in the language classroom. The last, the students

will improve their speaking ability indirectly.

In conclusion, Speaking is the capability of someone to

communicate orally with the others both individually and in group. The

speaking can do by the speaker with thery are ability and creates. As we

10
Jack C. Richards and Willy A. Renandya, Methodology in Language Teaching,…, p.
204
 10

know As we know, the ability in speaking English is knowledge to

process information and spot of the language occur there is balance

with the Harmer stated , “the ability to speak fluently presupposes not

only knowledge of language features, but also the ability to process

information and language on the spot.11

b. Principles for Teaching Speaking

In teaching speaking, the language teacher also needs to know

some principles in teaching speaking to the students. According to

Nunan, there are five principles for teaching speaking, such as:

1) Be aware of the differences between second language and foreign

language learning context.

In teaching speaking, the teacher needs to consider whether

the target language is foreign or second language for the students.

If the target language is as a foreign language for the students, it

means that the language is not communicated by the society where

the students live. The students do not have enough opportunities to

use the target language outside the classroom; they can only

practice the target language in the classroom. Whereas, if the target

language is as a second language for the students, the students can

have good opportunities to communicate the target language

outside the classroom, because it is communicated by the society

where the students live.

11
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice and English Language Teaching. 3rd edition. (United
Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited, 2001),p. 269
 11

2) Give students practice with both fluency and accuracy

In this occasion, the teacher should provide the students to

practice many times and realize that making mistakes is a natural

part of learning a new language. Moreover, the teacher also must

give the students opportunity to develop both fluency and accuracy

in speaking.

3) Provide opportunities for students to talk by using group work or

pair work, and limiting teacher talk

By applying pair work or group work, it will increase the

students’ opportunities to speak in the target language during

learning process. The teacher will not speak a lot in the classroom,

because the students will replace teacher’s position in speaking that

is usually filled by the teacher.

4) Plan speaking tasks that involve negotiation for meaning

Teacher can check students’ understanding about what he

or she said by looking at students’ interaction. The teacher may ask

the students to repeat or explain about what they have already had

during conversation to know whether they understand about the

conversation or not.

5) Design classroom activities that involve guidance and practice in

both transactional and interactional speaking

In interactional speaking, the students’ purpose in speaking

is to have the social relationship with others. Meanwhile in

 12

transactional speaking, it involves the communication to get

something done. Here, the students need to be able to speak the

target language in both transactional and interactional settings.12

Thus, by looking at the principles in teaching speaking above,

the students will know what they should do in speaking class in order

to improve their speaking skill. Besides, the teacher will also know the

effective way in teaching speaking for the students.

In conclusion, as a teacher have to know the principles of teaching

speaking. According to Nunan about the principles of teaching

speaking there are five principles that have write in the explanation

before. It can give a new knowledge and can practiced in teaching

speaking.

c. The Speaking Test

Test is a method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge,

or performance in a given domain. It helped the teachers or the

educators in finalizing the result. In this study, the ability of the

students’ ability was measured by giving the speaking test. Speaking

test can be a source of beneficial backwash. 13 It means that, if

speaking tested, it can encourage the teaching of speaking in the

classroom. There are several types of speaking test according to

Thornburry14

12
David Nunan. Practical English Language Teaching. (New York: McGraw- Hill, 2003).
p. 54
13
K. Kitaom S., &K. Kenji, Testing speaking. (Document Resume ERIC.1996)
14
Thornbury,S.How to teach speaking.(London: Longman.2005)
 13

1) Interview

In this test, the students are called out one by one for

their interviews. Interview is relatively easy to set up, but

difficult to eliminate the effects of the interviewers questioning

style.

2) Live Monologue

The students prepare and present the short talk with the

topics that has been selected. This kind of test is easy to handle

and the other students can take a job as the audiences. If they

want to ask, they can ask to the presenter. This will help the

students to speak spontaneously and interactively.

3) Recorded Monologue

Recorded monologue is more stressful than live

monologue. This test is more practicable because the students

can record themselves about every things they like. The

assignment of the recorded test can be done after the recording.

4) Role Play

In this kind of test, the students do the simple role play in

the classroom. It is enjoyable, but hard to control. The teacher

can use the same format in rating the students’ speaking ability.
 14

5) Collaborative task and discussion

This kind of test is same with role play, the students can

act freely without instruction. In this test, the learners’

interactive skills can be observed in circumstances that close

approximate real-life language use.

From the five kinds of the speaking test, the researcher

selected the live monologue test. Because it is easy to rate the

students performances. The students talk alone in front of the

class. So, the teacher can listen the students’ speaking

performances clearly.

Besides, Kitao and Kenji suggested that testing speaking

can use visual material, such as; pictures, maps, diagram, and the

other types of visual materials that can be used to test the

students’ speaking ability.15 The material should be selectively

selected by the teacher, because it will help the teacher/tester to

control the vocabulary and grammatical. In this test, the students

are given the series of picture which tell the story and are

required to put together in coherent narrative. Rating the test is

challenging. However, Thornburrysuggested two main ways;

holistic scoring and analytic scoring. Holistic scoring is giving

the single score on the basis on all of impression. This way has

advantage of being quicker and probably adequate for informal

15
Opcit
 15

testing of progress. Analytic scoring is giving the separate scores

from different aspects of the task.16 This way takes longer, but

compels the tester to take a variety of factors into account and if

these factors are well chosen, is probably both fairer and more

reliable

d. The Criteria of Speaking Skill Assessment

The student’s speaking performance can be tested based on

some aspects, they are grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency

and pronunciation. The test consist of task which require the

productions of oral interaction.

There are many factors which are needed in evaluating

students’ speaking performance. According to Higgs and Clifford in

Richards and Renandya, there are five factors to evaluate students’

speaking performance such as presented in the table below.17

Table 2.1: Scoring and Measuring Guidance for Speaking Test

NO. FACTOR DESCRIPTOR SCORE
1 Accent/ Pronunciation is frequently unintelligible. 1
Pronunciation Frequent gross errors and a very heavy accent 2
make understanding difficult, require frequent
repetition.
‘foreign accent’ requires concentrated listening 3
16
Opcit
17
Jack C. Richards, and Willy A. Renandya. Methodology in Language Teaching: An
Anthology of Current Practice. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002). P. 222
 16

and mispronunciations lead to occasional

misunderstanding and apparent errors in grammar
or vocabulary.
Marked ‘foreign accent’ and occasional 4
mispronunciation that do not interfere with
understanding.
No conpicious mispronunciation, but would not be 5
taken for a native speaker.
Native pronunciation with no trace of ‘foreign 6
accent’.
2 Grammar Grammar almost entirely inappropiate or 1
inaccurate, except in stock phrases.
Constant errors showing control of very few 2
conversational microskills or major patterns, and
frequently preventing communication.
Frequent errors showing inappropiate use of some 3
conversational microskills or some major patterns
uncontrolled, and causing occasional irritation and
misunderstanding.
Occasional errors showing imperfect control of 4
some conversation microskills or some patterns,
but no weakness that causes misunderstanding.
Few errors, with no patterns of failure. 5
No more than two errors during conversation. 6
3 Vocabulary Vocabulary limited to minimum courtesy 1
requirements.
Vocabulary limited to basic personal areas and 2
very familiar topics (autobiographic information,
personal experiences, etc.)

Choice of words sometimes inaccurate, limitations 3

of vocabulary prevent discussion of some common
familiar topics.
Vocabulary adequate to discuss special interest 4
and any nontechnical subject with some
circumlocutions. Vocabulary broad, precise, and
adequate to cope with complex practical problems
and varied topics of general
interest (current events, as well as work, family, 5
time, food, transportation).
Vocabulary apparently as accurate and extensive 6
as that of educated native speakers.
4 Fluency Speech is so halting and fragmentary that conversation 1
is virtually impossible.
 17

Speech is very slow and uneven, except for short or 2

routine sentences; frequently punctuated by silence or
long pauses.
Speech is frequently hesitant and jerky; sentences may 3
be left uncompleted.
Speech is occasionally hesitant, with some unevenness 4
caused by rephrasing and grouping of words.
Speech is effortless and smooth, but perceptibly 5
nonnative in speed and evenness.
Speech on all general topics as effortless and smooth as 6
native speakers.
5 Comprehension Understanding is too little to respond to conversation 1
initiations or topic nominations.
Understanding is only slow, very simple speech on 2
topics of general interest; requires constant repetition
and rephrasing.
Understanding is careful, somewhat simplified speech 3
directed to him or her, with considerable repetition and
rephrasing.
Understanding is quite well normal educated speech 4
directed to him or her, with considerable repetition and
rephrasing.
Understanding is everything in normal educated 5
conversation, except for very colloquial or low
frequency items or exceptionally rapid or slurred
speech.
Understanding is everything in informal and colloquial 6
speech to be expected of an educated native speaker.
MAXIMAL SCORE 30

Students’ Speaking Test Score : Achieving Score x 100

Maximum Score

Based on the table above, these are assessed directly by the

teacher, by reference to the degree of skill criteria for the particular level

at which the candidate has entered. There are sets of criteria

performances in making the degree of skill that help the teacher in

testing speaking skill.

2. Perception
 18

a. Definition of Perception

Perception is a word that is closely related to human

psychology, it has been defined in various ways. “the perception is

defined in accordance with the opinions and views of someone”. 18

While Nelson and Fast said that perception is the process of

interpreting the information about other people".19 The point is that

human’s opinion of others depending on the amount of information

available and the extent to which they can interpret the information

that has been obtained by right. In other words, some people may have

the same information that others have in certain situations, however, a

person or group has different conclusions because of individual

differences in the capacity to interpret the information.

According to Rao and Narayan describes the main

characteristics of the above definition. However, they emphasize that

perceptions are among the "important cognitive factor of human

behavior" or psychological mechanism that allows people to

understand their environment. In their own language "perception is the

process by which people select, organize, and interpret sensory stimuli

become meaningful information about their work environment."20.

18
G. O. Unumeri, Perception and Conflict. (Nigeria: National Open University of Nigeria,
2009), p.18
19
Nelson J I & Frost B J, Orientation-selective inhibition from beyond the classic visual
receptive field, (Brain Research,1978), p.83-84
20
V. S. P Rao And P. S Narayana, Organisation Theory and Behaviour, (Delhi: Konark
Publishing Company, 1998), p. 329-330
 19

This means that perception is one of the important factor to understand

the environment

Adediwura and Tayo elaborate the theories of perception by

collecting some experts' explanation. First, they define “perception as

the way individual judge or evaluate others in everyday life”. In

cognitive dimension, they see that “perception is the process by which

people attach meaning to experiences”.21 In other word, perception

appears after people attend to certain stimuli in their sensory

memories.

However, “perception is critical because it influences the

information in working memory. Background knowledge in the form

of schemas affects perception and subsequent learning”. Even,

research finding approves this claim that background knowledge

resulting from experience strongly influence perception. Meanwhile,

experts strengthen the definition of perception as the process by which

we try to understand other people. Attempt to get information about

temporary causes of others behaviours.22

From the experts above, the researcher concludes that

perception is views or opinion from someone to judge or evaluate the

environment such as others individuals, objects, or places which is one

of the important factors that affect the behaviour of someone.

21
A. A. Adediwura and B. Tayo,. Perception of Teachers' knowledge, Attitude and
Teaching Skills as Predictor of Academic Performance in Nigerian Secondary School.
(Educational Research and Review, 2007), p. 165-167
22
ibid
 20

b. Process of Perception

For further, Adediwura and Tayo show the process of having

perception. They explain that “every impression that comes in from

outside, be a sentence, something we hear, an object or vision, no

sooner enters our consciousness than it is drafted off in some certain

directions or others, making a connection with other materials already

23
there and finally producing a reaction. From this, it is clear that

perception is the reaction elicited when an impression is perceived

from without after making a connection with other materials in the

consciousness (memory)”. From this point of view, it could be

concluded that perception cannot be done in a vacuum; it depends on

some background information that will think out a reaction. Perception

may be energized by both the present and past experience, the

individual attitude at a particular moment, the physical state of the

sense organ, the human interest, the level of interest, and the

interpretation of the perception.

From a few statements from experts above, it can be concluded

that the perception is an excitatory stimulus preceded sensor of the

senses and delivered to the human brain consciously or unconsciously.

Perception is subjective, depending on one's perspective on a

particular object. So that the relative perception is influenced by

23
A. A. Adediwura and B. Tayo,. Perception of Teachers' knowledge, Attitude and
Teaching Skills as Predictor of Academic Performance in Nigerian Secondary School.
(Educational Research and Review, 2007), p.166
 21

factors originating from within themselves issued with their own

thoughts from someone

c. Factors that Influence Perception

Perception happens with a reason. It grows because of

something that trigger someone to have a perception. That is why

perception can influence someone’s mind.

Krech and Critchfield mention the perception influenced by

functional and structural factors.24

1) Functional factors or personal factors are factors relating to the

individual's understanding of the impact of the stimuli generated,

or can be referred to the benefits of stimuli generated.

2) Structural factors or situational factors are external factors that

affect an individual's understanding of the existing stimuli. From

the explanation above, the researcher concludes that those two

experts have the same theories.

According to Altman, there are four main factors that

influence perception. Altman et al. Derived them as follow: 25

1) The first factor which influences perception is stimuli selection.

people perceive things differently because a stimulus that are

received by person is different with others. People have different

24
David Krech & R. S Crutchfield, Theory and Problems of Social Psychology.( New Delhi
: Tata Mc. Graw-Hill Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. 1948)
25
Altman in Purnomo. Student’s Perceptions on Simulation as Part of Experiential
Learning in Approaches, Methods, and Techniques (AMT) Course. LLT, ISSN 1410-7201, Vol.
20, No. 1, April 2017. p.32 Retrived 25 Juli 2019
 22

interests about something.

2) The second factor is stimuli organization. People’s perceptions

are influenced by the stimuli arrangement, that makes stimuli

must be organized. This helps people categorize sensory inputs.

The central function of the categorization process is to reduce

initially complex information into simpler categories. This

categorization occurs not only with objects but also with people.

People take familiar cues and translate them into meaningful

wholes.

3) The third factor is situation. Another factor influencing perception

is the situation. A person's familiarity with, or expectations about,

a situation, as well as his or her past experience, affect what that

person perceives. Perceiving a situation accurately is also related

to how well a person adjusts his or her behavior to situations

4) The last factor is self-concept. The way people see themselves

affects their perception of the world around them. They might see

themselves as well-liked, honest, patient, or intelligent, or as all of

the foregoing. This self-concept is important because their mental

picture of themselves determines of what they perceive and do. If

they do not see themselves as a competitive person, they will not

be as likely to attend to those stimuli in the environment that

relate to opportunities to be competitive.

 23

Furthermore, according to Robbins, there are three factors that

affect perception.26 The first is the perceiver. When looking at

something and trying to give an interpretation, an individual will be

influenced by his or her characteristics such as beliefs, attitudes,

motives, interests, experiences, cognitive structures, expectations, and

cultural upbringing.

The second factor is the object or target being perceived. It can

be persons, objects, or events. This affects one's perception. The target

of perception is not something that is viewed in theory but in relation

to others involved. This causes one tend to group similar people,

objects, or events and separate them from other groups that are not

similar. The greater the similarity, the greater the probability we will

tend to perceive them as a group, and vice versa. This domain may

cover such as those as novelty, motion, sounds, size, background,

proximity, and similarity.

The third is the context of the situation in which the perception

is made. Elements in the surrounding environment influence our

perception. Perception must be considered contextually, which means

the situation in which the perception appears should obtain attention.

The situation is a factor contributes to the process of establishing a

person's perception. Situation covers time, work setting, and social

setting

26
S.P. Robbins. Organizational behavior (Cape Town: Pearson Education South
Africa,2003), P.103
 24

d. Types of Perceptions

In identifying the students perception, there were kinds of

perception divided into two, there are; positive and negative

perceptions. Self-perception has to act by all personal acts, think, and

do about themselves, their capabilities and their bodies. It is also

prejudiced by the reaction of others to them. This perception, in turn

influences the demean ours each individual obtain and choices each

human being makes all the way through life.27

1) Positive perception is a valuable present that prepares the self-

confidence and power to catch on the world, to endure crises, and

to focus outside oneself. It increases the construction of

relationship and giving to others.

2) Negative perception is disposed to focus on their own desires,

trying to acquire and proved their self-worth

Accordoing to Robin in Ali Wirawan “Positive perception is

an individual's view of an object or information with a positive view

or in accordance with what is expected from the object perceived or

from the existing rules. Meanwhile, negative perceptions are

individual perceptions of certain objects or information with negative

views, contrary to what is expected from the perceived object or from

existing rules. The cause of someone's negative perception can arise

due to individual dissatisfaction with the object that is the source of

27
Catherine E. Burns, Ardys M. Dunn, Margaret A. Brady, Nancy Barber Starr,Catherine
Blosser, Pediatric Primary Care Fift Edition (United States of America: Library of Congress
Cataloging, 2009),p.304
 25

his perception, the individual's ignorance and the lack of individual

experience of the object perceived and vice versa, the cause of one's

positive perception arises because of individual satisfaction with the

object that is the source of his perception, the individual knowledge,

as well as individual experiences of perceived objects.28

It means that someone perception about something is different.

It can be negative and it can positive. For example, the students’

perception about a teacher is negative and it makes them demotivate to

learn, while the other students might have a positive perception toward

that teacher and make them have higher motivation in learning.

e. Students’ Perception

Humans are created differently, each individual has different

perceptions. The existence of differences between individuals with

each other by liking one object and some who do not like the object, it

really depends on how the individual responds to the object with its

perception. Montague said that student’s perception is the student

feeling about something.29. it means that students can have perception

about anything. For example, students have their own perception

about how the teachers’ explain material, the consumer perception

about things the buy, or the researcher has his perception about the

28
Ali WIrawan, Persepsi Masyarakat Terhadap Kebijakan Kementerian Agama Dalam
Pelaksanaan Peraturan Akad Nikah Di Kota Bandar Lampung. ( Lampung :Universitas lampung,
2015), p. 20.
29
Marjorie Montague, “Student Perception, Mathematical Problem Solving, and Learning
Disabilities”. Pennsylvania State Univ. Vol. 8 No. 1, 1997
 26

phenomenon in the field.

According to Hong stated “students have their own opinion

toward something that they get from teaching learning process and

how they reach it.30 It is important for students to have a good

perception about their teacher because it affect the students behavior.

Imagine a students who has a bad perception toward a teacher, it

would make him demotivate in learning with the related teacher.

From the experts above, perception is feeling or opinion about

something. It affects someone feels about something. Perception can

be toward anything, it can be toward something, someone, or place.

f. The Importance of Students’ Perception

In knowing the perception of students is very important

because this also means for teachers to evaluate after knowing the

results of student perceptions. As stated by Chen, the student’s

perception is really important for evaluating the teaching

effectiveness.31 After knowing the perception of students, teachers can

change what is not liked by students and can improve what has been

liked by students, whether it is about how to teach or how to deliver

material to students.

Therefore, student's perception is very important, especially

for teachers. According to Petegem’s study, the student perception is

30
Hong, K.-S., Ridzuan, A.A., & Kuek, M.-K. 2003. Students’ attitude toward the use of
the internet for learning: A study at a University in Malaysia. Educational Technology & Society.
31
Yining Chen and Leon B Hoshower, ”Stydent Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness: An
Assessment of Student Perception and Motivation”. Carfax Publishing. Vol. 28 No. 1,2003.
 27

the important account to measure the learning outcomes, 32 Freiberg

and Stein stated that the students’ perception is the solution of

components and indicators in explaining the classroom conditions.

In conclusion, student's perception is very important not only

for estimation but also for teaching development purpose. The teacher

have to know about students’ perception to evaluating the teaching

effectiveness in classroom.

3. Group Discussion

a. Definition of Group Discussion

More basic definition of Group could be something that

composed three or more people working together to do a clearly

specified job (Discussing in English) or to reach a common goal.33

In classroom-use, discussion is defined as two way, it is spoken

(English) communication between the teacher and the students, and

more importantly, among the students themselves.34 This means that

group discussion is communication between students and students.

Hoover in Argawati defined Discussion is a process of talking

things over among two or more persons, preferably face to face. 35 In

other word, group discussion is a communication that happen between

32
Van Petegem et al, “Student Perception as Moderator for Student Wellbeing”.
33
Ernest G. Bormann, Effective Small Group Communication, (Minnesota: Burgess Intl
Group, 1996), p. 44
34
William E. Cashin, Effective Classroom Discussions, Idea Paper #49, Retrieved From
http://ideaedu.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/IDEA_Paper_49.pdf, (Accessed May 28, 2021).
35
Ningtyas Orilina Argawati, Improving Students’ Speaking Skill Using Group Discussion,
ELTIN Journal, 2014, p.76.
 28

2 or more, which in this case are students with students, and it is

supposed to be face to face.

b. Types of Group Discussion

According to some experts, there are at least 8 types of group

discussion. They are such as follow:

1) Buzz groups

 Class size: any

 Time frame: 3-10 minutes

 Setting: no limitations

 Purpose: generate ideas/answers, re-stimulate student interest,

gauge student understanding

These groups involve students engaging in short, informal

discussions, often in response to a particular sentence starter or

question. At a transitional moment in the class, have students

turn to 1-3 neighbors to discuss any difficulties in

understanding, answer a prepared question, define or give

examples of key concepts, or speculate on what will happen next

in the class. The best discussions are those in which students

make judgments regarding the relative merits, relevance, or

usefulness of an aspect of the lecture. Sample questions include,

“What’s the most contentious statement you’ve heard so far in

the lecture today?” or “What’s the most unsupported assertion

 29

you’ve heard in the lecture today?” Reconvene as a class and

have a general discussion in which students share ideas or

questions that arose within their subgroups.36

This method is very flexible: it is easy to implement in any

size of class and in most classrooms, even the most formally

arranged lecture hall. Consider how to regain the attention of a

large group: turning the lights off and on is one simple yet

effective method.

2) Think-pair-share

 Class size: any

 Time frame: 5-10 minutes

 Setting: no limitations

 Purpose: generate ideas, increase students’ confidence in their

answers, encourage broad participation in plenary session

This strategy has three steps. First, students think

individually about a particular question or scenario. Then they

pair up to discuss and compare their ideas. Finally, they are

given the chance to share their ideas in a large class discussion.

36
Brookfield, S.D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and
Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
 30

Think-pair-sharing forces all students to attempt an initial

response to the question, which they can then clarify and expand

as they collaborate. It also gives them a chance to validate their

ideas in a small group before mentioning them to the large

group, which may help shy students feel more confident

participating.

3) Circle of Voices

 Class size: any

 Time frame: 10-20 minutes

 Setting: moveable chairs preferable

 Purpose: generate ideas, develop listening skills, have all

students participate, equalize learning environment

This method involves students taking turns to speak.

Students form circles of four or five. Give students a topic, and

allow them a few minutes to organize their thoughts about it.

Then the discussion begins, with each student having up to three

minutes (or choose a different length) of uninterrupted time to

speak. During this time, no one else is allowed to say anything.

After everyone has spoken once, open the floor within the

subgroup for general discussion. Specify that students should

 31

only build on what someone else has said, not on their own

ideas; also, at this point, they should not introduce new ideas.37

Some shy students might feel uncomfortable having to

speak. Lessen their fear by making the topic specific and

relevant or by giving each person a relevant quote to speak

about. A variation to this method, which encourages students to

listen more carefully to each other, involves requiring each

person to begin by paraphrasing the comments of the previous

student or by showing how his or her remarks relate to those of

the previous student. For this variation, students will need less

preparation time before the “circle” begins, but they may need

more time between speakers.

4) Rotating trios

 Class size: 15-30

 Time frame: 10 or more minutes

 Setting: a fair bit of space, moveable seating helpful (they could

stand) Purpose: introduce students to many of their peers,

generate ideas

This strategy involves students discussing issues with many

of their fellow classmates in turn. Beforehand, prepare

37
Brookfield, S.D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and
Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers
 32

discussion questions. In class, students form trios, with the

groups arranged in a large circle or square formation. Give the

students a question and suggest that each person take a turn

answering. After a suitable time period, ask the trios to assign a

0, 1, or 2 to each of its members. Then direct the #1s to rotate

one trio clockwise, the #2s to rotate two trios clockwise, and the

#0s to remain in the same place; the result will be completely

new trios. Now introduce a new, slightly more difficult question.

Rotate trios and introduce new questions as many times as you

would like.38

This type of group can be arranged with pairs or foursomes

and works well with most subject matter, including

computational questions. It would be difficult to implement in a

large class, however.

5) Snowball groups/pyramids

 Class size: 12-50

 Time frame:  15-20 minutes, depending on how many times the

groups “snowball”

 Setting: moveable seating required

38
Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.
 33

 Purpose: generate well-vetted ideas, narrow a topic, develop

decision-making skills

This method involves progressive doubling: students first

work alone, then in pairs, then in fours, and so on. In most cases,

after working in fours, students come together for a plenary

session in which their conclusions or solutions are pooled.

Provide a sequence of increasingly complex tasks so that

students do not become bored with repeated discussion at

multiple stages. For example, have students record a few

questions that relate to the class topic. In pairs, students try to

answer one another’s questions. Pairs join together to make

fours and identify, depending on the topic, either unanswered

questions or areas of controversy or relevant principles based on

their previous discussions. Back in the large class group, one

representative from each group reports the group’s

conclusions.39

This method takes time to unfold, so should be used only

when the concepts under discussion warrant the time. Also,

depending on the amount of time allotted, students may feel that

certain nuances of their discussions are lost.

39
Habeshaw, S., Habeshaw, T., & Gibbs, G. (1984). 53 Interesting Things to Do in Your
Seminars & Tutorials. Bristol: Technical and Educational Services Ltd
 34

6) Jigsaw

 Class size: 10-50

 Time frame: 20 or more minutes

 Setting: moveable seating required, a lot of space preferable

 Purpose: learn concepts in-depth, develop teamwork, have

students teaching students

 This strategy involves students becoming “experts” on one

aspect of a topic, then sharing their expertise with others. Divide

a topic into a few constitutive parts (“puzzle pieces”). Form

subgroups of 3-5 and assign each subgroup a different “piece”

of the topic (or, if the class is large, assign two or more

subgroups to each subtopic). Each group’s task is to develop

expertise on its particular subtopic by brainstorming, developing

ideas, and if time permits, researching. Once students have

become experts on a particular subtopic, shuffle the groups so

that the members of each new group have a different area of

expertise. Students then take turns sharing their expertise with

the other group members, thereby creating a completed “puzzle”

of knowledge about the main topic. A convenient way to assign

different areas of expertise is to distribute handouts of different

colors. For the first stage of the group work, groups are

composed of students with the same color of handout; for the

 35

second stage, each member of the newly formed groups must

have a different color of handout.40

The jigsaw helps to avoid tiresome plenary sessions,

because most of the information is shared in small groups. This

method can be expanded by having students develop expertise

about their subtopics first through independent research outside

of class. Then, when they meet with those who have the same

subtopic, they can clarify and expand on their expertise before

moving to a new group. One potential drawback is that students

hear only one group’s expertise on a particular topic and don’t

benefit as much from the insight of the whole class; to address

this issue, you could collect a written record of each group’s

work and create a master document—a truly complete puzzle—

on the topic.

7) Fishbowl

 Class size: 10-50

 Time frame: 15 or more minutes

 Setting: moveable seating and a lot of space preferable; if

necessary, have inner group stand/sit at front of lecture hall and

the outer group sit in regular lecture hall seats

40
Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon
 36

 Purpose: observe group interaction, provide real illustrations

for concepts, provide opportunity for analysis

This method involves one group observing another group.

The first group forms a circle and either discusses an issue or

topic, does a role play, or performs a brief drama. The second

group forms a circle around the inner group. Depending on the

inner group’s task and the context of your course, the outer

group can look for themes, patterns, soundness of argument,

etc., in the inner group’s discussion, analyze the inner group’s

functioning as a group, or simply watch and comment on the

role play. Debrief with both groups at the end in a plenary to

capture their experiences. 41

Be aware that the outer group members can become bored

if their task is not challenging enough. You could have groups

switch places and roles to help with this. Also note that the inner

group could feel inhibited by the observers; mitigate this

concern by asking for volunteers to participate in the inner circle

or by specifying that each student will have a chance to be both

inner and outer group members. Although this method is easiest

to implement in small classes, you could also expand it so that

multiple “fishbowls” are occurring at once.

41
Jaques, D. (2000). Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work, 3rd
ed. London: Kogan Page
 37

8) Learning teams

 Class size: any

 Time frame: any

 Setting: no limitations

 Purpose: foster relationships among students, increase

confidence in participating

For this type of group, students are divided into groups at

the beginning of the term. When you want to incorporate small

group discussion or teamwork into your class, you direct the

students to get into these term-long learning groups. Groups of

four work well, because each foursome can be subdivided into

pairs, depending on the activity.

Students get to know a small number of their classmates

well over the course of the term, and may come to see their team

mates as study partners even outside the classroom. Using

learning teams eliminates the time it takes to organize students

into groups each time you wish to use group work. However,

because students will be working with each other over an

extended time period, be very careful about how you assign

them to groups. Have students submit data cards about

themselves at the beginning of term, possibly even completing a

short personality inventory. You might want to ask them also to

 38

suggest the names of two or three classmates with whom they

would and would not like to work.

c. Advantages of Group Discussion

There are at least 6 advantages of learning using group

discussion. They are such as follow:42

a) Understanding

Helping students to consolidate and enhance their

understanding of a subject or discipline by clarifying concepts,

theories and procedures reflecting on interconnections testing

their understanding through examples, cases, illustrations

b) Critical Thinking

Helping students to develop their capacity for thinking

critically and analytically by reviewing evidence in the light of

theories, learning how to ‘set’ and solve problems or approach

questions and issues, then enhancing their capacity for logical

reasoning and formal argument.

c) Personal Growth

Helping students to develop and mature as individuals by

clarifying attitudes, articulating and reappraising values,

developing in self-confidence and selfesteem, and evolving a

sense of responsibility and commitment

d) Communication Skills
42
Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon, 82
 39

Helping students to learn how to communicate effectively with

others by refining listening, questioning and explaining skills,

presenting and defending a position clearly and cogently,

giving and getting feedback

e) Group and Teamwork Skills

Helping students to learn how to collaborate and work as an

effective group or team by setting, allocating and monitoring

tasks, supporting and encouraging other members of the group

or team, and initiating, directing and leading tasks

f) Self-Direction in Learning

Helping students to take progressively greater responsibility

for their learning by clarifying their own goals as learners and

managing their study time and effort and setting priorities,

accepting responsibility for evaluating their own work and

their progress as learners

In addition, Burke said there are five advantages of group

discussion such as follow:43

a) Groups have more information than a single individual.

Groups have a greater well of resources to tap and more

information available because of the variety of backgrounds

and experiences

43
Alison Burke, Group Work: How to Use Groups Effectively, (Ahsland: Southern Oregon
University, 2011), p. 88
 40

b) Groups stimulate creativity. In regard to problem solving, the

old adage can be applied that “two heads are better than one.”

c) People remember group discussions better. Group learning

fosters learning and comprehension. Students working in small

groups have a tendency to learn more of what is taught and

retain it longer than when the same material is presented in

other instructional formats

d) Decisions that students help make yield greater satisfaction.

Research suggests that students who are engaged in group

problem solving are more committed to the solution and are

better satisfied with their participation in the group than those

who were not involved

e) Students gain a better understanding of themselves. Group

work allows people to gain a more accurate picture of how

others see them. The feedback that they receive may help them

better evaluate their interpersonal behaviour

The group experience can, in fact, be extremely important in

achieving freedom from dependency if students learn to play a variety

of roles in the group and begin to develop a sense of responsibility for

its success or failure. In the process of learning these roles they will

need to develop more acute self-understanding, to become aware of

their own inhibitions, defence and assumptions, and be able to

 41

recognize the difficulties that other students have and begin to help

them to overcome them.

d. Review of Related Studies

The first study was conducted by Nur Fajriah with the title “USING

GROUP DISCUSSION TASKS TO IMPROVE THE ENGLISH

SPEAKING LEARNING PROCESS OF YEAR XI STUDENTS OF MA

AlIANAH PLAYEN GUNUNG KIDUL IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF

2012/2013. The study is action research aimed at improving the English

speaking learning process in class XI at MA Al-Ianah through group

discussion tasks. The actions were implemented in two cycles involving the

researcher, the headmaster, the English teacher and also the students of class

XI. The data were obtained from the observations, interviews with students,

discussion with the English teacher, and questionnaire. Those were in the

form of field notes, interview transcript, and questionnaire. The result of this

study shows an improvement in the speaking learning process after the action.

The actions applied effectively improved the English speaking learning

process. Those activities were using classroom English in the speaking

learning process and using group discussion tasks to improve the speaking

learning process and to encourage students’ motivation. The improvement

could be seen from the indicator that in the speaking learning process students

were more active in answering and asking questions, students were more

motivated in joining the lesson and also students were enthusiastic in

speaking English during the class. It is concluded that group discussion tasks
 42

are effective to improve the English speaking learning process at MA Al-

Ianah Playen Gunung Kidul.

The Second study was conducted by Wiyudo Serena with the title

“THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GROUP DISCUSSION TOWARDS

STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKIL” The Aim of this research is to obtain the

empirical evidence of using group discussion technique on students’ speaking

skill. In this research, the researcher uses quasi-experimental design. The

researcher uses two classes. In experiment class and control class group the

researcher applies pre-test and post-test design as the research design. The

population is students of the second grade of MTs Al-Falah. The sample is B

class as the experimental group and A class as the control group. Every group

has 33 students. The result of the study reveals that using group discussion is

effective to be used in teaching and learning speaking English. This can be

seen from the calculation of t-observation is 2.65 with 5% significant level

with 64 df is 2.00. It means that the result of t-observation is higher than t-

table. So, Tobservation is greater than Ttable. This means that Ha which

states that there is significant effect in using group discussion to teach

speaking to the second graders at MTs Al-Falah is accepted. Whereas, Ho

which states that there is no significant effect of using group discussion to

teach speaking to second graders at MTs Al-Falah is rejected. In other words,

group discussion can be used as an alternative to teach speaking to the

students at MTs Al-Falah

 43

The third study was conducted by Atikah Rusydina with the title

“THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MIND MAPPING AND GROUP

DISCUSSION TO INCREASE THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING

ABILITY (A QUASI EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF THE

EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 1 BAWEN IN

ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2015/ 2016). The aims of this study are: (1) The

students’ achievement in speaking ability of the eighth grade students of SMP

N 1 Bawen, (2) The effectiveness of Mind Mapping and Group Discussion to

increase students’ speaking ability of the eighth grade students of SMP N 1

Bawen. This research applies quasi experimental research. The objects of this

research are two classes in the eighth grade of SMP N 1 Bawen that are

chosen using purposive sampling from 9 classes. The first class is 8B as the

experimental group and 8F as the Comparison group. The data was collected

from the pre-test and post-test score. The data was analyzed using t-test

formula by comparing the mean of the difference score of pre-test and post-

test from both of experimental and Comparison classes. The level of

significance is set equal or less than 5%. The result of this research shows that

t-value or t-test 1,8641 is higher than t-table 1,66827 with the degree of

freedom (df) of 66 (N1+N2-2). Therefore, it can be concluded that there is

any effectiveness of mind mapping and group discussion in increasing

students’ speaking ability.Total of the difference score of comparison group

showed 1173, it is higher than the total of the difference score of

experimental group that was 998. It can be concluded that group discussion
 44

was more effective to increase the students’ speaking ability of the eight

students of SMP N 1 Bawen in the academic year 2015/ 2016.

e. Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework that will be used in this research is as follow:

Students’ Understanding
Perception Group Discussion
Perception
Critical Thinking

Personal Growth
Communication
Skills

Group and
Teamwork Skills

Self-Direction in
Learning
 45

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

A. Design of the Research

This research is a quantitative research. Quantitative research is either

descriptive (subjects usually measured once) or experimental (subjects

measured before and after a treatment). A descriptive study establishes only

associations between variables. Descriptive Quantitative research is the

collection and analysis of numerical data in order to describe, predict or

control phenomena of interest.44 Quantitative research emphasizes objective

measurements and statistical, mathematical or numerical analysis of data, the

44
L.R Gay, Educational Research : competencies for analysis and aplication (tenth
edition), (New Jersey: Pearson Education, inc. 2012), p. 7
 46

data of this research was collected through questionnaire, surveys and polls.

There are at least 4 research designs in quantitative research which are

descriptive research design, correlation research design, quasi-experimental

research design, and experimental design.

The design of this research was descriptive research. Descriptive

research is a quantitative type of a research which includes making

descriptions in education phenomena.45 This research was aimed to find the

studetns’ perception toward the application of group discussion technique in

teaching speaking So, descriptive quantitative research was the most related

research type with the aim of this research.

B. Population And Sample

Population and sample is one of the important elements in this

research. Population and samples are the main source of this research data.

Quantitative research attempts to find something from a large group of people

which is called population, by studying much smaller group46. The smaller

group in the research is also called sample. So sample is the part of the

population which can represent the population.

1. Population

45
Meredith D Gall, et. al., Educational Research: an introduction, (pearson education, inc.,
Boston 2003), p.290
46
L.R gay, ____ , p.167
 47

The researcher conducts the research in SMAN I VII KOTO

SUNGAI SARIK . As seen in the table below:

No Class Students
1 XI IA 1 30
2 XI IA 2 32
3 XI IA 3 31
4 XI IA 4 31
5 XI IS 1 29
6 XI IS 2 33
7 XI IS 3 31
8 XI IS 4 31
Total 248
Gathered from the one of the officer in SMAN 1 VII KOTO SUNGAI SARIK

2. Sample

Sample is part of the population, which means researcher did

not take all of the population as the source data of the research. Based

on the data above there are 248 students in grade eleventh. As

Arikunto stated that if the subjects are less than 30, it is better to take

all of the subjects. But if the subjects are more than 30, it might be

taken between 10% - 15%, 20% - 25% or even more. 47 The researcher

will take 15% of the population as the sample of the research which

will be 37 students. The sample technique that will be used in this

research is random sampling, where the population has the same

chance to be chosen as sample. The researcher will randomize the

47
Sugiyono, Metode Penelitian Pendidikan, (Bandung:Alafabeta, 2016), p.125
 48

students by putting the names of students into a glass and put out 37 of

them randomly.

C. Instrumentation

Instrumentation plays an important role in a research. It is used to

collect data in order to answer the research question. Gay said that

instrument is a tool used for data collection. 48 The instrument that was

used in a research should be designed optimally in order to get the actual

data. The researcher will use questionnaire in order to gather the data

Questionnaire is a sequence of statements to measure responses of

individual or group.49 In order to know the students’ perception towards

online English club: debate activity in improving speaking skills, 20

statements questionnaire will be given to the students

In order to get the valid and reliable questionnaire, the

questionnaire will be through validly. The questionnaire is valid if it

measures what is supposed to be measured. Arikunto states that the

questionnaire is valid if it fixes the materials that are given to the students.

To validate the test, the researcher discussed it with the experts.

D. Technique Of The Data Collection

The researcher will use questionnaire in collecting the data. The

technique of data collection is needed to obtain the data in a research. The

aim of data collecting in conducting scientific research is to get the

48
L.R. Gay, ___ p.113
49
Suharsimi Arikunto, Managemen Penelitian, Rineka Cipta: Jakarta:2010, p.193
 49

materials needed. By using data that has been collected, researcher could

find the answer of research question which is the aim of the research.

E. Technique of Data Analysis

In this step, the researcher will analyze the data that would have been

collected to get the conclusion. Analysis of data is a process to analyze and

interpret the data to find the various information that are suitable with its

function.50 So that, the data must be clear and relates with the purpose of

the research.

This research was a descriptive quantitative research. The researcher

analyzed the data by using statistical analysis. Then, the researcher

describes the students’ perception towards online learning. It can be seen

in the following step:

a. Editing that recheck the correctness of the data that has been

gathered.

b. The respondents answer would be coded by the researcher.

c. Tabulating that is collecting and listing the data into the table.

d. Scoring the data

e. Putting the score into the distribution table.

f. Arranging into the table of rating scale. As the result, the

researcher used rating scale to arrange studetns’ perception toward

the application of group discussion technique in teaching speaking.

50
Wina Sanjaya, Penelitian Tindakan Kelas:2nd ed, Kencana Persada Media group, Jakarta:
2010, p.106
 50

The researcher will give interpretation of the result by using table

which is described as follow:51 The data interpretation:

Table. 3.2 The measurement of the Students’ Perception

Criteria of mastery Level of Perception

90 – 100 Excellent
80 – 89 Very Good
70 – 79 Good
60 – 69 Fair
50 – 59 Poor
0 – 49 Very Poor
Taken from Harris52

g. Concluding about the studetns’ perception toward the application

of group discussion technique in teaching speaking

51
Suharsimi Arikunto___p.319
52
David P. Harris. 1969. Testing English as A Second Language. New York: Mc. Graw-
Hill, p 134