ON THE 11 TH GRADE STUDENTS RE ADING … · viii understanding, patience, sacrif ices, trust, determination, and education have given me strength and courage to live my life. I would

THE INFLUENCES OF CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTATION

IN THE INTERNATIONAL CLASS OF SMAN 3 YOGYAKARTA

ON THE 11TH GRADE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION

A Thesis

Presented as the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By:

Elizabeth Bara Christina

Student Number: 041214022

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2009

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

i

THE INFLUENCES OF CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTATION

IN THE INTERNATIONAL CLASS OF SMAN 3 YOGYAKARTA

ON THE 11TH GRADE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION

A Thesis

Presented as the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By:


Student Number: 041214022

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2009






vi

PAGE OF DEDICATION

There are fine things which you mean to do someday, under what you think will

be more favourable circumstances. But the only time that is surely yours is the

present, hence this is the right time to speak the word of appreciation and

sympathy, to do the generous deed, to forgive the fault of a thoughtless friend, to

sacrifice self a little more for others. Today is the day to express your noblest

qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long

postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of someone less

fortunate. Today you can make your life significant and worthwhile. The present

is yours to do with as you will. – Grenville Kleiser

This thesis is dedicated with lots of gratitude, love and appreciation to:

My beloved parents, Maximianus Bagyo Nugroho, S.E. and Endang Suhartini,

My friends of PBI 2004,

My friends and best-friends from SMAN 7 Yogyakarta and Sanata Dharma

University,

And to Yohannes Jatmiko Yuwono.


vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

With endless gratitude and love, I would like to thank everyone who helped

me complete this thesis. Firstly and most importantly, I would like to thank

Almighty God for His never-ending love. His blessings gave me the inspiration

and determination to remain focused and complete this study.

My biggest gratitude goes to Mr. Paulus Kuswandono, S.Pd., M.Ed., my

thesis advisor, for giving much of his time, attention, guidance, patience, and

encouragement as his contributions to the completion of this study. My gratitude

also goes to Mr. Fidelis Chosa Kastuhandani, S.Pd. for giving me his advice

during the completion of the study. Furthermore, I would like to thank all lecturers

of English Language Education Study Programme for their help, advice, and

education since the first day I studied in Sanata Dharma University.

My big appreciation goes to the big family of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta,

especially to Mr. Kusworo, Mr. Budi Setyawan, Mr. Ichwan Aryono, Mrs.

Ninik Sutarsini, and Mrs. Terry, for being very cooperative in giving me the

permission to conduct classroom observations and being very helpful in providing

me with as much information as needed during the observation. I would like to

thank the students of XI IPA 1 for providing me with their opinions and thoughts

during the interview sessions.

My love and appreciation go to my parents, Maximianus Bagyo Nugroho,

S.E. and Endang Suhartini, for giving me their unconditional love and support

during my lifetime, and to my brother, Joseph Abrahm Prima, S.T. Their


viii

understanding, patience, sacrifices, trust, determination, and education have given

me strength and courage to live my life.

I would like to thank my partners in this collaborative research,

Chrysogonus Siddha Malilang, S.Pd., Ratna Paramita, and Brigitta Andriani

Lestari for the time which was shared together, from the hectic preparation of the

research to the help and support during the completion of the study.

My greatest affection goes to Yohannes Jatmiko Yuwono for being there

for me, especially during the hard times of completing this study. His presence,

trust, support, understanding, and love have contributed a lot, not only to the

completion of the study, but also in my day-to-day life.

I would like to thank all my friends from English Language Education

Study Programme, especially to An, Ibam, Yason, Oon, Nora, Vina, Lani,

Ochan, Rini Woro, Adit Margono, Wiwin, Dhee, and many other friends which

I cannot mention one by one. I thank Antonius Jody, S.Pd. for the grammar

correction. I thank Theresia Vina Indriyani, S.Pd. and Andreas Haris Cahyo

Raharjo, S.Pd. for their support, and to Azhar Akhmad, S.Si. for his advice and

support. Lastly, I would like to thank every single person who helped me

throughout the study, whose names cannot be mentioned one by one.



ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE............................................................................................ i

PAGES OF APPROVAL.......................................................................... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY......................................... iv

LEMBAR PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI............................................... v

PAGE OF DEDICATION........................................................................ vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................... ix

LIST OF APPENDICES........................................................................... xiv

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................. xv

ABSTRAK................................................................................................ xvi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................... 1

1.1 Research Background..................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem Identification.................................................................... 4

1.3 Problem Formulation...................................................................... 5

1.4 Problem Limitation......................................................................... 5

1.5 Research Objectives....................................................................... 5

1.6 Research Benefits........................................................................... 6

1.7 Definition of Terms........................................................................ 7

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.................. 9


x

2.1 Theoretical Description.................................................................... 9

2.1.1 Content-Based Instruction....................................................... 9

2.1.1.1 The Definition of Language in Content-Based

Instruction........................................................................ 10

2.1.1.2 The Principles of Content-Based Instruction.................. 11

2.1.1.3 The Objectives of Content-Based Instruction................. 12

2.1.1.4 The Role of Teacher and Learners................................... 13

2.1.1.5 Comprehensible Input: Material and Delivery................ 13

2.1.1.6 Content-Based Instruction Teaching Models.................. 15

2.1.1.7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Content-Based

Instruction........................................................................ 16

2.1.2 International Class................................................................... 17

2.1.3 Reading................................................................................... 19

2.1.3.1 The Nature of Reading.................................................... 19

2.1.3.2 Reading Comprehension.................................................. 21

2.1.3.2.1 Provide Direct Instruction and Model When and

How to Use Multiple Comprehension Strategies..... 22

2.1.3.2.2 Model Questioning Strategies.................................. 23

2.1.3.2.3 Teach Students to Connect Prior Knowledge with

New Information...................................................... 24


xi

2.1.3.2.4 Teach Students Strategies for Monitoring Their

Own Comprehension............................................... 25

2.2 Theoretical Framework.................................................................. 26

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY...................................................... 29

3.1 Research Method............................................................................ 29

3.2 Research Participants...................................................................... 30

3.3 Research Instruments..................................................................... 31

3.3.1 Field Notes.............................................................................. 31

3.3.2 Interview Checklist................................................................. 32

3.4 Data Gathering Technique.............................................................. 33

3.5 Data Analysis Technique................................................................ 34

3.6 Research Procedure........................................................................ 35

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.......... 38

4.1 Content-Based Instruction Implementation in the International

Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta........................................................... 38

4.1.1 The International Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta..................... 39

4.1.1.1 The Brief Overview of Content-Based Instruction

Implementation................................................................ 39

4.1.1.2 The Teaching Activity in the International Class............ 40

4.1.1.3 The Emphasis on the Language Use............................... 41


xii

4.1.2 The Implemented Principles of Content-Based Instruction

in the International Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta.................. 43

4.1.3 The Role of Teacher and Learners.......................................... 44

4.1.4 Comprehensible Input: Material and Delivery....................... 46

4.1.4.1 The Material Delivery within the Teacher’s Class.......... 47

4.1.4.2 The Modules.................................................................... 47

4.1.4.3 The Material Delivery within the Lecturer’s Class......... 49

4.1.4.4 The Handouts Given within the Lecturer’s Class........... 49

4.1.5 Content-Based Instruction Teaching Models........................ 50

4.2 The Influences of Content-Based Instruction Implementation on

Students’ Reading Comprehension................................................ 51

4.2.1 The Correlation between Reading Comprehension and

Content-Based Instruction..................................................... 52

4.2.2 Reading Skill in the International Class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta............................................................................ 53

4.2.2.1 Reading in the English Reading Class........................... 53

4.2.1.2 Reading in Science Classes............................................ 54

4.2.3 The Influences of Content-Based Instruction on Students’

Reading Comprehension....................................................... 55

4.2.3.1 Provide Direct Instruction and Model When and How


xiii

to Use Multiple Comprehension Strategies.................... 56

4.2.3.2 Model Questioning Strategies........................................ 58

4.2.3.3 Teach Students to Connect Prior Knowledge with New

Information.................................................................... 59

4.2.3.4 Teach Students Strategies for Monitoring Their Own

Comprehension.............................................................. 60

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.................... 61

5.1 Conclusions.................................................................................... 61

5.2 Suggestions................................................................................... 64

REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 66


xii

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Recommendation letter from Sanata Dharma University.... 70

Appendix 2: Permission letter from Dinas Perizinan............................... 72

Appendix 3: Excerpt of Biology module.................................................. 74

Appendix 4: Excerpt of Physics module................................................... 79

Appendix 5: Example of Chemistry handout............................................ 84

Appendix 6: Interview checklist............................................................... 90

Appendix 7: Biology field notes............................................................... 93

Appendix 8: Chemistry field notes........................................................... 96

Appendix 9: Physics field notes................................................................ 100


xiii

ABSTRACT Christina, Elizabeth Bara. 2009. The Influences of Content-Based Instruction Implementation in the International Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta on the 11th Grade Students’ Reading Comprehension. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Programme, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

International class as a way for Indonesians to learn English more thoroughly makes use of the principles of Content-Based Instruction (CBI). CBI refers to an approach in teaching, in which the learners learn the target language through the content of the learning on regular subjects, not through the teaching of the target language. Through CBI, the learners are expected to be familiar with many real-life uses of the target language.

This research aims to see how CBI is implemented in its natural environment, the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. This research also aims to seek the significant influences of CBI implementation in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta on the eleventh grade students’ reading comprehension. Reading is chosen as the skill being observed because its objective is comprehension. Thus, a good reading comprehension is then perceived as the indicator of a successful English learning in the research.

The research is a qualitative research, making use of descriptive study as the method. The research participants were twenty of the eleventh grade students of the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, chosen randomly. The data were gathered by employing field notes and interviews with the respondents. The data were then analyzed by comparing and contrasting the teaching-learning activities taking place in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta with the existing theories of CBI, international class, and reading comprehension.

The research resulted that the principles of CBI were only implemented in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta by exposing the students with English modules, exercises and guest lecturers who were teaching in English. Also, the research resulted in the fact that there was no significant improvement on students’ English reading comprehension through CBI in the international class. This is because the teachers of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta did not explicitly teach and model students the ways to enhance their reading comprehension.

The researcher provided two suggestions in accordance with the results of the research. First, schools should review and learn the basic principles of CBI before implementing it in the international class. Second, teachers should explicitly teach and model students the ways to enhance their reading comprehension to improve their reading skill mastery. Key words: CBI, international class, reading comprehension


ABSTRAK Christina, Elizabeth Bara. 2009. The Influences of Content-Based Instruction Implementation in the International Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta on the 11th Grade Students’ Reading Comprehension. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Kelas internasional sebagai sebuah cara bagi orang-orang Indonesia untuk belajar bahasa Inggris secara lebih menyeluruh menggunakan prinsip-prinsip Content-Based Instruction (CBI). CBI merupakan sebuah metode pengajaran di mana pembelajarnya mempelajari bahasa sasaran melalui isi pembelajaran dalam mata pelajaran reguler, bukan melalui pengajaran terhadap bahasa sasaran. Melalui CBI, para pembelajar diharapkan untuk terbiasa dengan bermacam-macam penggunaan bahasa sasaran dalam kehidupan nyata. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana CBI diimplementasikan dalam lingkungan aslinya, yaitu di kelas internasional di SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. Penelitian ini juga bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh signifikan implementasi CBI di kelas internasional SMAN 3 Yogyakarta terhadap pemahaman membaca siswa-siswa kelas sebelas dalam Bahasa Inggris. Kemampuan membaca dipilih sebagai kemampuan yang diteliti karena tujuan membaca adalah untuk mendapatkan pemahaman, maka suatu kemampuan membaca yang baik dipandang sebagai indikator keberhasilan pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris dalam penelitian ini. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif, dengan menggunakan metode pembelajaran deskriptif. Peserta penelitian adalah dua puluh siswa kelas sebelas dari kelas internasional SMAN 3 Yogyakarta yang dipilih secara acak. Data diperoleh melalui catatan lapangan serta wawancara dengan responden. Data tersebut lalu dianalisa dengan membandingkan dan mengkontraskan kegiatan belajar-mengajar yang terjadi di kelas internasional SMAN 3 Yogyakarta dengan teori-teori mengenai CBI, kelas internasional, dan pemahaman membaca. Penelitian ini menghasilkan kesimpulan bahwa prinsip-prinsip CBI hanya diterapkan dengan memberikan modul dan latihan dalam bahasa Inggris serta adanya dosen tamu yang mengajar dalam bahasa Inggris kepada siswa kelas internasional di SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. Selain itu, penelitian ini menghasilkan kesimpulan bahwa tidak ada peningkatan yang berarti dalam pemahaman membaca siswa dalam Bahasa Inggris dengan implementasi CBI di kelas internasional. Hal ini terjadi karena guru-guru SMAN 3 Yogyakarta tidak mengajarkan dan memberi contoh secara eksplisit cara-cara untuk meningkatkan pemahaman membaca kepada para siswa yang penting dalam meningkatkan penguasaan kemampuan membaca mereka. Peneliti mengajukan dua saran sehubungan dengan hasil penelitian ini. Pertama, sekolah-sekolah harus mengkaji dan mempelajari prinsip-prinsip dasar dalam CBI sebelum mengimplementasikannya pada kelas internasional. Kedua, guru harus mengajarkan dan memberikan contoh secara eksplisit kepada para siswa cara-cara untuk meningkatkan pemahaman membaca untuk meningkatkan penguasaan kemampuan membaca siswa.


Kata-kata kunci: CBI, international class, reading comprehension


1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the elaboration of the introduction to the research

being conducted. In detail, this chapter contains seven sections, namely research

background, problem identification, problem formulation, problem limitation,

research objectives, research benefits, and the definition of terms. Further

elaboration of each section mentioned above will be given in detail.

1.1 Research Background

The need of being able to master oral and written English is essential in the

globalization era, where English is used as the main language of communication.

In this era, English mastery is an important requirement for someone to be referred

as a qualified human resource. For that reason, people from non-speaking English

countries employ many ways to learn and master English.

Indonesia is one of the non-speaking English countries, in which English

functions as a foreign language. Considering the position of English in the

Indonesian society and the need for English-mastering competitive human

resources, the Minister of Education has tried to implement some strategies for

Indonesians to learn English. One of the strategies is by implementing the

international class, which is an immersion class in which every subject of the

school curriculum is taught by the use of English as the medium of instruction.

In Indonesia, international class soon gained its popularity in a relatively

short period of time. However, despite the instant popularity, there are


2

controversies behind the implementation of international class in Indonesia. Some

people questioned the feasibility of the implementation of international class. They

questioned whether or not such class would bring any benefit to the students and

whether or not the teachers are competent in teaching the subjects in English.

However, regardless the controversies, the international class has brought

about the implementation of Content-Based Instruction (CBI). CBI refers to an

approach of second language teaching by integrating the learning of language with

the learning of some other content, often academic subject matter (Larsen-

Freeman, 2000). With such approach, it is expected that students improve their

English skills gradually.

In conducting this study, after seeing the problems exist in relation with

international class and CBI, the researcher chose the research setting and

participants. The researcher then chose SMAN 3 Yogyakarta as the research setting

because this school gave the most exposure of English in its international class

compared to other high schools in Yogyakarta. In addition, the researcher chose

the eleventh grade students of the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta as the

research participants. They were chosen because they have more experience,

bigger amount of the exposure of English, and broader knowledge compared to the

tenth grade students. They were chosen also because they were not as busy as the

twelfth grade students in preparing themselves for the national examination.

This research was conducted because the researcher wanted to know how

CBI is implemented in the international class in Yogyakarta. Also, the researcher

would like to know how CBI, which was implemented in the international class,


3

contributes to students’ English mastery. These two reasons in choosing the

research topic would be the researcher’s motivation in conducting this research.

To limit the topic, the researcher focused the research into seeking the

influence of CBI implementation in the international class on students’ reading

mastery, or to be specific, on students’ reading comprehension. Reading was

chosen as the object of research for several reasons. One of the reasons was that

amongst the other skills, reading is considered as the focus of learning. This is due

to the fact that reading is an essential skill to master in order to ensure success in

learning in any content class where reading in English is required (Anderson, 2003

as quoted in Nunan, 2003). In addition to that, reading combines the information

from the written text with the readers’ background knowledge on the topic to build

meaning from the text or to obtain comprehension. Hence, reading comprehension

is seen as the key in mastering the learning in the international class, where reading

in English is required.

In accordance with the aim of international class to prepare competitive

human resources in this globalization era and the importance of English skills

mastery, the researcher would like to start a study of CBI implementation in the

international class on the eleventh grade students’ reading comprehension.

Considering that no sufficient research studies have been conducted on this topic,

the researcher expected that this research will give insight into other researchers in

conducting research studies related to the same or similar topic.

1.2 Problem Identification


4

Seeing the importance of mastering English in this globalization era,

alongside with the emergence of international classes on high schools as one of

many ways in learning English, the researcher would like to conduct a research

study based on this particular topic. International class makes use of a specific

approach of teaching in conducting the teaching-learning activities, namely

Content-Based Instruction (CBI). In CBI implementation, English is taught

through content areas. In this context, content areas refer to any subjects other than

English.

With the implementation of CBI, students are getting familiarized to

English through the learning of content subjects. By experiencing such

familiarization way to English, it is expected that the students who enrol into the

international class will improve their English gradually yet significantly. The

researcher then would like to see how CBI implementation in the international

class takes part in improving the students’ English mastery.

To limit the study, the researcher focused on seeking the influences of CBI

implementation in the international class on students’ reading mastery, or to be

specific, reading comprehension. Reading is chosen because reading activities

aimed at comprehension, whereas reading mastery led to the mastery of other

skills, and thus the students’ English reading mastery can be seen through their

reading comprehension. As the research participants, the eleventh grade students

of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta were chosen because they have had sufficient exposure to

English compared to the tenth grade students, and also because they were not

busily preparing themselves for the national examination.

1.3 Problem Formulation


5

Considering the research background and problem identification, the

researcher is going to answer two questions as the guideline of conducting and

writing this study. The questions are:

1. How is Content-Based Instruction (CBI) implemented in the international

class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta?

2. How does CBI implementation in the international class influence the

eleventh grade students’ reading comprehension?

1.4 Problem Limitation

In order to help the researcher address the formulated problems easily, this

research specifically discusses the influence of Content-Based Instruction (CBI)

implementation in the international class on the students’ English reading

comprehension. Hence, the research focuses on CBI as the teaching approach

which is used and on reading comprehension. The population used as the sampling

of the research is the eleventh grade students of the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta. Further elaboration on the research participants will be discussed in

Chapter III.

1.5 Research Objectives

This research has two objectives in accordance with the formulated

problems. The objectives are:

1. To provide a clear and critical analysis of the implementation of the basic

principles of Content-Based Instruction (CBI) in the immersion class, or to be

specific, international class.


6

2. To seek significant influences of CBI implementation in the international

class on the eleventh grade students’ reading comprehension.

1.6 Research Benefits

This research has three benefits in accordance with the objectives of the

research. The benefits are:

1. Other researchers

The research is expected to give insight into Content-Based Instruction

(CBI) implementation in the international class. It is also expected that the

research will be helpful for everyone needing it for further research studies on

the same or similar topic, especially considering that not many research studies

have been conducted on this topic.

2. Policy makers

The research is expected to give suggestions and guidelines for the

evaluation of the education policy. Thus, with this research, the policy makers

will be able to review the existing policies in education that will lead into a

better quality of education in Indonesia.

3. Teachers

The research is expected to give a clear evaluation on CBI

implementation so that teachers will be able to make necessary improvement in

implementing the approach. It is expected that through this research, non-

English teachers as well as English teachers can learn about CBI and will be

able to implement it well.


7

1.7 Definition of Terms

Below are the list of the terms which are used in this research and the

definitions of the terms.

1. Content-Based Instruction

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) is an approach to second language

teaching in which the teaching of content or information in the language being

learned with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the language itself

separately from the content being taught (Krahnke, 1987 as quoted in Richards

& Rodgers, 2001).

From the definition proposed by Krahnke, the researcher defines CBI as

an approach of teaching second or foreign language in which the target

language is learned by using it as the instructional language instead of using it

as the focus of learning (the materials being taught).

2. International Class

Lightbown & Spada (2000) define immersion class, which is the

principle of international class, as an educational program in which a second

language is taught via Content-Based Instruction (CBI). The definition

proposed by Lightbown & Spada (2000) is considered to be the most suitable

definition, especially in accordance with the focus and the limitation of the

study. Therefore, the researcher refers to the definition by Lightbown & Spada

in this research study, in which international class is defined as an educational

program in which a second language is taught via CBI.

3. Reading Comprehension


8

Reading comprehension is defined by Partnership for Reading (2005)1

as an activity of “understanding a text that is read, or the process of

‘constructing meaning’ from a text”. This definition is related with the

definition of reading stated by Anderson (2003 as quoted in Nunan, 2003), “a

fluent process of readers combining information from a text and their own

background knowledge to build meaning”, which implicitly stated that the goal

of reading activity is to build comprehension. Therefore, the researcher refers

to the definition of reading comprehension as stated in Partnership for

Reading, and defines reading comprehension as a process of constructing

meaning from a text.

4. The eleventh grade students

The eleventh grade students in this study refer to the second-year

students enrolled to the international class of SMAN Negeri 3 Yogyakarta, a

state high school in Yogyakarta.

5. SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta in this study refers to the state high school in

Yogyakarta whose international class is considered to be the one fulfilling the

most characteristics of international class as defined by Lightbown & Spada

(2000).

1 Taken from http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/ as quoted in Reading Comprehension, http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Reading_comprehension, accessed on June 26, 2009.


9

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of two sections, namely the theoretical description

and the theoretical framework of the research. The theoretical description section

covers the elaboration of each theory related to the research topic, namely the

elaboration of Content-Based Instruction, immersion class, and reading theories.

Other than that, this chapter provides the theoretical framework section as the

elaboration of the theories which will be used in conducting the research study.

2.1 Theoretical Description

The theoretical description consists of three main theories related to the

research topic. One of the main theories is about Content-Based Instruction (CBI)

as the approach being observed. Other theory is about the nature of the

international class as the medium of CBI implementation. The next theory is about

the nature of reading and reading comprehension.

2.1.1 Content-Based Instruction

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) emerged from “the situation in which

learners need to improve their second language skills for purposes of university

study unites second language instruction with real and present functional needs”

(Brinton, Snow & Wesche, 2003: 5). CBI is an approach to second language

teaching in which the teaching of content or information in the language is learned

with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the language itself separately from


10

the content being taught (Krahnke, 1987 as quoted in Richards & Rodgers, 2000).

In other words, by using CBI implementation in an immersion class, students learn

a second language or foreign language implicitly throughout the teaching-learning

activities conducted in classroom.

2.1.1.1 The Definition of Language in Content-Based Instruction

In Content-Based Instruction (CBI), language is defined as text-based and

discourse-based, which is considered as the medium of teaching-learning activities

or content learning. In this approach, language learning is regarded as the by-

product of the content learning. The focus of the teaching-learning activities is how

meaning and information are communicated and constructed through various texts

and discourses.

The second definition of language in CBI is the combination of several

skills, and thus it makes use of draws on integrated skills. In the implementation of

the approach, students are often involved in various activities which link the skills,

according to how the skills are generally involved in the real life context. This is

supported by one of the CBI principles proposed by Larsen-Freeman, which said

that “communicative competence involves more than using language

conversationally. It also includes the ability to read, discuss, and write about

content from other fields” (Larsen-Freeman, 2000: 140).

The third definition of language in CBI stated that language is regarded as

something purposeful and may be used for specific purpose. The purpose in this

context may be academic, social, recreational, entertaining, etc. However, it should

give direction, shape, and meaning to discourse. Hence, in order to receive the


11

optimal benefits from CBI, students need to be clearly in tune with its purposes

and the language codes that signal and link these expressions of purpose (Richards

& Rodgers, 2001).

A brief yet clear illustration of the approach being discussed can be seen

from the three definitions of language in CBI as elaborated above. The illustration

also involves insight into the main principles of CBI as stated by Richards &

Rodgers. The elaboration of CBI principles will be given in the next section.

2.1.1.2 The Principles of Content-Based Instruction

There are two main principles of Content-Based Instruction (CBI)

according to Richards & Rodgers. The principles are:

a. People learn a second language more successfully when they use the

language as a means of acquiring information, rather than as an end in itself.

b. CBI better reflects learners’ needs for learning a second language.

(Richards & Rodgers, 2001)

From the two main principles of CBI stated by Richards & Rodgers, it can

be seen that CBI as an approach deals mainly with the content rather than the

language which is used in delivering the content during the teaching-learning

activities. Richards & Rodgers (2001: 204) also argued that “an ideal situation for

second language learning would be one where the subject matter of language

teaching was not grammar or functions or some other language-based unit of

organization, but content, i.e., subject matter from outside the domain of

language.”


12

Richards & Rodgers stated that learning a second language should be done

by using the language as the means of conveying and acquiring information. It

means that the second language is mastered through incidental acquisition through

the assistance of other subjects. This approach makes use of the familiarization of

the target language by using it regularly. The target language in CBI which

functions as the medium of learning, then, is considered as a by-product of

learning about real-world content.

2.1.1.3 The Objectives of Content-Based Instruction

As an approach of language teaching, Content-Based Instruction (CBI) has

some objectives. The objectives are:

a. To activate and develop existing English language skills.

b. To acquire learning skills and strategies that could be applied in future

language development opportunities.

c. To develop general academic skills applicable to university studies in all

subject areas.

d. To broaden students’ understanding of English speaking peoples.

(Brinton et al., 2003)

It can be seen from the objectives stated by Brinton et al. that the

implementation of CBI is more appropriate in classroom of students with sufficient

knowledge or ability of the second language. The first objective proposed by

Brinton et al. stated that CBI is useful in activating and developing existing

language skills, hence the students’ background knowledge of the second language

will furthermore be used as the basis of the teaching. Other than that, the teaching-


13

learning activities using CBI are expected to develop both the content mastery and

the language mastery. Then, once the teaching-learning activities are done,

students are also expected to have a broad understanding of the people using the

target language (cross-culture understanding).

2.1.1.4 The Role of Teacher and Learners

The ideal role of learners in Content-Based Instruction (CBI) is as active

interpreters of input who are willing to tolerate uncertainty along the path of

learning and explore alternative learning strategies, also to seek multiple

interpretations of oral and written texts. Other than that, learners are seen as the

sources of content and joint participants in the selection topics and activities

(Richards & Rodgers, 2001). In short, learners are regarded as autonomous beings

responsible for their learning process.

Alongside the learners, the teacher (who sometimes in CBI is referred as

instructor) is the person responsible for selecting authentic materials for classroom

use, the students’ needs analysts, and the creator of truly learner-centred classroom

(Brinton et al., 2003). However, the most ideal role for teacher in CBI is as the

facilitator of the content learning. As a facilitator, teacher should be responsible in

keeping context and comprehensibility, especially in planning and presentation,

analyzing students’ needs, and creating a truly learner-centred class.

2.1.1.5 Comprehensible Input: Material and Delivery

According to Brinton et al. (2003), the content used in Content-Based

Instruction (CBI) may serve as a provider of rich context for the language


14

classroom, allowing the teacher to present and explain specific language features.

Rich context here refers to the comprehensible input, a challenging language that is

slightly above the current linguistic level of the students, or formulated by (i + 1),

which provides the foundation for successful language acquisition (Brinton, 2003

as quoted in Nunan, 2003). By placing the difficulty level slightly above the

students’ linguistic level, the input will be challenging in a way that the students

will be able to decode the message by utilizing extra linguistic context, knowledge

of the world, and the previous linguistic competence.

In accordance with Brinton et al., Krashen (1985) also stated that the

materials for the immersion class should be constructed by considering the

comprehensible input hypothesis. The comprehensible input will give respectable

impact on students’ language acquisition, especially in the international class,

which employs the principle of immersion class. Hence, sufficient exposure of the

input will give higher guarantee of achieving success in acquiring the language for

the students.

In the immersion class, the speech that takes place around the students is

also considered as the comprehensible input for the students. Therefore, by

exposing them to the constant trial of using the second language in the classroom,

students are allowed to improve their own proficiency with little emphasis on error

correction and grammatical accuracy. Other than that, students are allowed to give

responds in their first language during the early years of studying to gather

sufficient grammatical rules and vocabulary items of the second language.

Therefore, they are expected to be able to develop their communication and

opportunities of getting enough comprehensible input for the learning process.


15

2.1.1.6 Content-Based Instruction Teaching Models

In the development of Content-Based Instruction (CBI) implementation

across the time, there are three common teaching models of CBI which are widely

implemented in language immersion classes. According to Brinton et al. (2003) in

Content-Based Second Language Instruction, these models are:

a. Theme-Based Language Instruction

In this model, the class is structured around topics or themes, with the

topics forming the backbone of the course curriculum. The thematic content in

this model provides rich input for lessons that are either language-based or

skill-based.

b. Sheltered Content Instruction

In this model, the subject-matter teacher, who has had special training

in working with the second language, modifies the presentation style to help

the students comprehend the materials. This is due to the ongoing process of

students to acquire the second language. The objective of this model is to help

students master the subject matter, but at the same time, teacher spends more

time helping the students with language-related issue.

c. Adjunct Language Instruction

In this model, there have to be more than two instructors in the class.

These instructors teach the class the same materials but with two different

points of emphasis. One instructor uses the material to teach the content matter,

whereas the other instructor uses it to teach the language skills.


16

2.1.1.7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Content-Based Instruction

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) has some advantages in its

implementation, especially related to the content learning. The advantages are:

a. Learners are relatively more motivated in learning due to the variation of

the subject matters and contents.

b. The content of the study is selected according to students’ need.

c. The target language mastery happens subconsciously.

d. The approach seeks to build on students’ knowledge and basic experience.


Since the materials for the teaching-learning activities are chosen based on

students’ needs, it can be inferred that this approach can be more effective in

helping students master the second language compared to other approaches or

methods. By using this approach, students will be able to construct their

understanding of the second language based on their knowledge and basic

experience, combined with the materials that are chosen according to their needs.

Also, students will acquire the language in the context of its use, eliminating the

problem of transfer from instruction (Krahnke, 1987 as quoted in Richards &

Rodgers, 2001).

Regardless the advantages in its implementation, CBI also have some

disadvantages. The main disadvantage of CBI is the problem of adult learners in

learning the language. It happened because of adult needs’ of analytical and formal

instruction. This kind of problem is rarely encountered in children learners, most

possibly because of the existence of the brain lateralization process, following the

critical period theory.


17

The next theory which will be elaborated is the theory of immersion class

as the basis of international class. This is based on the reason that CBI is mainly

implemented in immersion class, which is also the focal point of this study. Due

to this reason, the researcher discusses the theories of immersion class to give an

insight into CBI implementation in the real life teaching-learning activities.

2.1.2 International Class

Immersion class, which is the basis of international class, is an educational

program in which a second language is taught through Content-Based Instruction

(CBI). In the immersion class, students study the regular subjects in the target

language. The emphasis is on the subject matter learning, and little time is spent

focusing on the formal aspects of the target language (Lightbown & Spada, 2000).

In Indonesia, the term international class may refer to several definitions.

Some define it merely as a classroom with English as the medium of teaching-

learning activities, whereas some define it as a classroom with English as the

medium of teaching either regular or international curriculum. Despite the

interpretations of international class, all of them refer to a similarity of principle,

which is the use of CBI as the teaching approach. Here, English as the target

language is seen as a device for the content instruction, not the subject of

instruction (Richards & Rodgers, 2001).

International class is supported by some goals which have been proposed

by Richards & Rodgers. The goals are:

a. Developing a high level of proficiency in the foreign language.


18

b. Developing positive attitudes toward those who speak the foreign language

and toward their culture(s).

c. Developing English language skills commensurate with expectations for a

student’s age and abilities.

d. Gaining designated skills and knowledge in the content areas of the

curriculum.


From Richards & Rodgers’ point of view, there are some goals which

support the popularity of international class globally. With its principles which are

implemented in the international class, CBI could develop students’ proficiency in

the target language gradually. Also, through international class, students will build

positive attitudes toward the target culture and the people using the target

language. These attitudes are important for the students to possess, in a way that

they learn not only the cognitive aspects of the language, but also other aspects of

the language, such as the social and cultural aspects of it.

The elaboration above is about the theories of immersion class and how

immersion class makes use of the principles of CBI in its implementation. The

study focuses on the significant influences of CBI implementation in the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta on the eleventh grade students’ English

reading comprehension, thus further elaboration focuses on the nature of reading

and reading comprehension.


19

2.1.3 Reading

In Practical English Language Learning, reading is perceived as a fluent

process of readers combining information from a text and their own background

knowledge to build meaning (Anderson, 2003 as quoted in Nunan, 2003). Reading

is a language skill which plays a major role among other language skills because

reading is considered as the core of the skills (Handayani, 1997: 1), thus the

mastery on reading skill may lead to the mastery of other language skills. Bright &

McGregor (1970: 62) as quoted in Handayani’s research even supported the

statement by saying that general knowledge depends on reading.

2.1.3.1 The Nature of Reading

The act of reading, or more appropriately referred as meaningful reading,

consists of four major parts: the reader, the text, strategies, and fluency. When a

reader reads a text, the reader combines his/her background knowledge of a

particular topic with the information that he/she gets from the text to build

meaning to get a comprehension. In reading the text, the reader employs a wide

variety of reading strategies, and to obtain the comprehension faster and better, the

reader uses his/her ability to read at an appropriate rate (fluency).

In the activity of meaningful reading, the overall goal other than

comprehension “is not to remember most of the specific details but to have a good

grasp of the main ideas and supporting ideas, and to relate those main ideas to

background knowledge as appropriate” (Grabe & Stoller, 2002: 11-12). It is also

important to notice that the primary focus in the classroom should be on getting

meaning from the printed materials.


20

Anderson proposed some principles for teaching reading in his work. The

principles are:

a. Exploit the reader’s background knowledge.

b. Build a strong vocabulary base.

c. Teach for comprehension.

d. Work on increasing reading rate.

e. Teach reading strategies.

f. Encourage readers to transform strategies into skills.

g. Build assessment and evaluation into your teaching.

h. Strive for continuous improvement as a reading teacher.

(Anderson, 2003 as quoted in Nunan, 2003)

There are several main points which are included in Anderson’s point of

view related to the principles for teaching reading, such as to “exploit the reader’s

background knowledge” (Anderson, 2003 as quoted in Nunan, 2003). This point

refers to the definition of reading, in which reading involves the activity of

building the reader’s background knowledge and combining it with the

information from the written text. Another important point is the one of “teach for

comprehension” (Anderson, 2003 as quoted in Nunan, 2003), in which it implicitly

states that reading is supposed to be for understanding and comprehension the

whole meaning of the written passage, not necessarily related to knowing the

meaning of each vocabulary items in the passage.

In addition to that, reading is an activity which requires the readers to read

critically. The requirement for the readers to read critically is then presented into

several sub-skills as mentioned by Abdullah. The sub-skills are:


21

a. The ability to evaluate deductive inferences

b. The ability to evaluate inductive inferences

c. The ability to evaluate the soundness of generalisation

d. The ability to recognise hidden assumptions

e. The ability to identify bias in statements

f. The ability to recognise author’s motives

g. The ability to evaluate strength of arguments

(Abdullah, 1994: 291 as quoted in Alderson, 2000: 21)

These sub-skills are essential for readers to possess. However, readers are

not usually aware of these sub-skills when the sub-skills occur in the process of

reading. This unawareness is mainly because the sub-skills usually occur

subconsciously during the process of reading. Furthermore, the sub-skills in the

ability to read critically lead to reading comprehension, which will be discussed in

the next section.

2.1.3.2 Reading Comprehension

As stated above, the general aim of reading activity is comprehension.

Comprehension in meaningful reading activity is formed by combining the

reader’s background knowledge and the information obtained from the reading

passage, whereas reading comprehension itself is defined as an activity of

“understanding a text that is read, or the process of ‘constructing meaning’ from a

text”.3

3 Taken from http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/ as quoted in http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Reading_comprehension. Accessed on June 26, 2009.


22

In educational institutions, one of the teacher’s roles is to help students

enhance their reading comprehension, which matches one of the teacher’s roles in

CBI that teacher should be responsible in keeping context and comprehensibility

(Richards & Rodgers, 2001) and the principles on teaching reading that teacher

should teach for comprehension (Anderson 2003 as quoted in Nunan, 2003).

According to the IRA (International Reading Association) Standards for Reading

Professionals as written in Armbruster & Osborn (2002: vii), there are four ways

that teachers can do to help students enhance their reading comprehension, in

which each of them will be elaborated below.

2.1.3.2.1 Provide Direct Instruction and Model When and How to Use

Multiple Comprehension Strategies

According to the National Reading Panel (2000 as quoted in Armbruster &

Osborn 2002), the term ‘comprehension strategies’ refer to the “specific

procedures that guide students to become aware of how well they are

comprehending as they attempt to read and write”. The direct instruction of the

comprehension strategies includes three phases. The phases are:

a. Identifying, explaining, and modelling the strategy

In this phase, teacher defines what strategy will be used, explain why

and how students should use the strategy, and teach students how to apply the

strategy.

b. Guided practice

In this phase, students are supposed to be more active in applying the

strategies given on the first phase. During the reading, teacher encourages the


23

students to apply the strategy actively. Teacher’s guidance in this phase

includes providing students with corrective feedback.

c. Independent practice and application

In this phase, students can independently apply the strategy to the new

materials. However, teacher still should monitor the comprehension.

(Armbruster & Osborn, 2002)

In dealing with the comprehension strategies, teacher is expected to choose

from various possible activities to help students understand the content of the

reading materials better, for example by retelling, drawing inferences, getting the

main idea, summarizing, and visualizing. From this point, it can be seen that there

should be some balance in the teaching-learning activities in the classroom,

especially in the reading activity. In a program where students are expected to be

active and be autonomous learners, and that teaching-learning activities should be

student-centred, teacher should also play a significant role in enhancing students’

reading comprehension by choosing the most appropriate activity. This way,

students’ reading comprehension level would be increased with the support from

the teacher.

2.1.3.2.2 Model Questioning Strategies

Questioning strategies in this context refer to both questions from the

teacher and students’ self-questioning activity. There are two major ways in using

the questioning strategies. First is to encourage the students to apply this strategy

before, during, and after reading. Before reading, the students should be taught to

question, “What do I already know about this topic?” This way, they would


24

activate their background knowledge and thus the process of combining the

background knowledge and the new information from the passage can be done

optimally. During reading, the students should be taught to monitor their

comprehension, by using questions such as, “What does this mean?” or “Is there

anything unusual here?” (Armbruster & Osborn, 2000: 79). Also, students can also

try to predict what happens in the next section of their reading. After reading, the

questioning strategy should involve the review to the reading. Questions such as

“What do you get from the reading passage?” can help the students not only to

understand the passage, but also to relate the information they obtain from the

passage with the real life situation.

The second way of questioning strategies is by using probing questions.

Probing questions refer to questions which require someone to analyze the answer

of the questions deeply. By using the probing questions, the students are

encouraged to think at the higher level. This technique can be used by asking

students some questions related to the reading, and later on asking them to clarify

their answer.

2.1.3.2.3 Teach Students to Connect Prior Knowledge with New Information

The definition of reading, or meaningful reading, involves the process of

combining reader’s background knowledge and the new information obtained from

the reading passage to build meaning. One of the teacher’s roles in helping the

students enhance their reading comprehension is to teach how to connect their

background knowledge with the new information obtained from the reading

material to build meaning.


25

Before reading, teacher should activate students’ background knowledge. It

can be done by using questioning strategies as elaborated on previous section, by

asking, “What do you know about this topic?” Other than using the questioning

strategies, the teacher can also notify the students with some vocabulary items that

may appear in the reading passage, to help the students predict the content of the

passage.

In addition to that, the connection between background knowledge and new

information should be improved by some post-reading activities. Again,

questioning strategies can be very useful by posing the students to questions that

require them to analyse the reading. Also, in-pair discussion or classroom

discussion can be done so that students can exchange their opinion or

understanding of the reading passage. Another activity which can be done to

strengthen the connection between students’ background knowledge and the new

information is by asking students to relate the information from the passage with

their daily life or with real life situations.

2.1.3.2.4 Teach Students Strategies for Monitoring Their Own

Comprehension

After teaching and modelling students the ways to enhance their reading

comprehension, teacher should teach strategies to monitor students’ reading

comprehension. It consists of: (a) being aware of the quality and extent of

students’ understanding of text, and (b) when comprehension fails, knowing what

to do and how to do it. These strategies are important to ensure that the students


26

really comprehend the reading passage thoroughly and are able to employ other

strategies when they fail to comprehend a particular passage.

This step is important in ensuring that students really comprehend their

reading. In this phase, teacher should model and encourage students the strategies

to monitor their own comprehension. Again, questioning strategies can be

implemented by employing whilst-reading questions, such as, “What have you

learned so far?” or “What do you think about the passage so far?” If students fail to

comprehend the reading, teacher should encourage them to reread the passage or to

consult other resources related to the given topic. For example, when failure is

caused by difficulty in understanding the new vocabulary items, teacher should

encourage students to guess the meaning of the word according to the context or to

consult the dictionary.

The researcher focuses the research study to the significant influences of CBI

implementation on students’ English mastery from their reading comprehension.

This is due to two reasons. First, the general aim of reading activity is

comprehension. Second, the mastery of reading may lead to the mastery of other

language skills. Thus, in this study, the success of CBI is determined by the level

of students’ reading comprehension.

2.2 Theoretical Framework

In conducting the research, the researcher employed two main theories,

namely the theory of Content-Based Instruction (CBI) principles and the theory of

reading comprehension. The first and main principle of CBI states that people

learn a second language more successfully when they use the language as a means


27

of acquiring information, rather than as an end in itself. The statement is supported

by two main advantages of CBI implementation, namely: Learners are relatively

more motivated in learning due to the variation of the subject matters and contents

and that the target language mastery happens subconsciously.

These theories of CBI are related to its implementation in the international

class, since the principles of CBI are also serving as the basis of the teaching-

learning activities taking place in the international class. One of the goals of

immersion class is to develop a high level of proficiency in the foreign language,

which can be obtained through CBI implementation. This is due to the reason that

through CBI, the learners are expected to be more motivated in mastering the

target language due to the variation of contents.

Seeing the principles and advantages of CBI in accordance with its

implementation in the international class, the researcher sought the influences of

CBI implementation in the international class to students’ reading mastery, or to be

specific, reading comprehension. Reading is chosen as the skill being observed in

the research because meaningful reading combines the reader’s background

knowledge with the information that he/she gets from the text to build

comprehension. Also, it is considered that general knowledge depends on reading.

These statements are important in accordance with one of CBI objectives, namely

to activate and develop existing English language skills, which can be done

through meaningful reading.

Seeing the importance of reading in accordance with language learning in

the international class, and in an attempt to seek the significant influences of CBI

implementation on the students’ English reading comprehension, the researcher


28

employed the second theory in the research. The second theory is the theory of

reading comprehension. The theory of reading comprehension in this research

refers to the four steps which should be taken by teachers to help students enhance

their reading comprehension. Furthermore, the success of CBI implementation in

this research is defined through the success of students’ reading comprehension.


29

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the description of the methodology employed in

conducting the research. In detail, this chapter describes the method and the steps

taken in completing the research. There are elaborations on research method,

research participants, research instruments, data gathering technique, data analysis

technique, and also the research procedure.

3.1 Research Method

In conducting the research, the researcher employed qualitative research.

The decision to employ qualitative research was due to two reasons. First,

qualitative research is considered to be the most appropriate research to employ

when facing several different variables in the cases being researched (Ary, Jacobs

& Razavieh, 2002). Second, qualitative research is considered to be able to give

thorough and trustworthy result to the research. Hence, by employing the

qualitative research and considering the variables in the research, the researcher

expected the results of the research to be dependable, reliable and valid, and have

minimum research bias.

The researcher used descriptive study as the research method used to

address the formulated problems. In the research, the descriptive study served as

the primary study of the research because the researcher wanted to gain the

understanding of the problem being observed in its natural setting, the international

class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. This is also due to the fact that descriptive study


30

pays attention to the context of the events, the subjects’ point of views, reasons for

the events, and the phenomena that need more exploitation and explanation,

especially when facing several variables correlating to each other. Other than that,

descriptive study is appropriate to be used in this research study since it “aimed at

ascertaining the status of a set of variables, ... without any critical analysis or

attempt to test casual hypotheses”.5

3.2 Research Participants

The subjects of the research were the eleventh grade students of the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. The eleventh grade students were

chosen because they have had the sufficient amount of the exposure of English, the

experience and the broader knowledge compared to the tenth grade students. Also,

they were not as busy as the twelfth grade students in terms of the preparation for

the final examination.

The background knowledge of the research participants is considered quite

good, especially in relation with the research. This is due to the selection test that

they had to take before enrolling into the international class. Thus, the researcher

assumed that their basic ability in English is relatively better than students in

regular class.

In conducting the research, the researcher employed random sampling, in

which the researcher chose a number of students to be observed randomly. The use

of random sampling was due to the reason that random sampling is a fair

technique, in which each member of the population has an equal opportunity to be

5 Taken from http://www.answers.com/topic/descriptive-study. Accessed on June 26, 2009.


31

chosen as a sample. Therefore, it is expected that the result would be the best

reflection of the population’s characteristics.

Determining the number of research participants in this research was quite

difficult. This is due to the fact that there is no exact formula on determining the

number of participants for a research. In fact, it highly depends on the type of the

research being done. However, due to a general concession, the researcher decided

to employ the 50 + 1 principle, which is formulated by n = (N / 2) + 1. Here, n is

the number of the research subjects and N is the total number of population. The n

is generated randomly from the class attendance list.

The total number of students in the class is 38 (N). So, the number of the

samples is:

n = (38 / 2) + 1

= 20

Seeing the result of the calculation, the researcher decided to take twenty

students out of the whole population.

3.3 Research Instruments

The researcher utilized two instruments in completing the research. The

instruments were field notes and interview checklist. Further elaboration on each

instrument will be discussed below.

3.3.1 Field Notes

As a way to ensure the objectivity of the research, the researcher employed

field notes as one of the research instruments. Field notes were chosen because


32

they have two important components. The first component, the descriptive part,

includes a complete description of the setting, the people and their reactions and

interpersonal relationships, and accounts of events (who, when, what was done).

The second component, the reflective part (also referred as observer comment or

OC), includes the observer’s personal feelings or impressions about the events,

comments on the research method, decisions and problems, records of ethical

issues, and speculations about data analysis (Ary et al., 2002).

The two components of field notes are helpful in bringing about a

successful outcome of the study because they provide more comprehensive and

provided accurate details. By having the reflective part of the observation, the

researcher could also avoid the observer bias, a situation when the observer’s

personal attitudes and values affect the observation and/or the interpretation of the

observation, so that the research became more valid and reliable. The field notes

were mostly important in answering the first formulated problem, namely to see

how Content-Based Instruction (CBI) is implemented in the international class.

3.3.2 Interview Checklist

As the other research instrument, interview checklist was employed as the

guideline in conducting interviews with the research participants. The use of

interview checklist was important because it focused the data gathering directly on

the topic of the research (Yin, 2002). The interview checklist was developed as a

way to gather data from the research participants. Due to these reasons, interview

checklist has the most advantage of supplying large volumes of in-depth data

rather quickly, especially when compared to other research instruments, and is


33

related to the second formulated problem, namely the influences of CBI

implementation in the international class towards the eleventh grade students’

mastery of English reading skill.

In detail, the interview checklist was divided into three sections, namely the

Students’ Characteristics section, International Class section, and Reading section

(see Appendix 6 pp. 90-91). The divisions were made to help the researcher use

the appropriate data in addressing the formulated problems.

The two instruments were relatively equal in providing the researcher with

sufficient sources and data in conducting the research study. The outcome of each

instrument being used could not provide all data that were needed in fulfilling the

research study. Therefore, rather than emphasizing one research instrument over

another, the researcher combined both instruments to obtain the best results of the

research so that the outcome would be more valid and reliable.

3.4 Data Gathering Technique

Data gathering was conducted by employing several techniques. The first

technique was by employing field notes. The researcher employed this technique

by conducting classroom observations and reporting the observation results in

forms of field notes. Since this technique was important in ensuring the objectivity

of the research, the researcher only reported the actual events taking place during

the observations whereas the researcher’s opinions and comments were put in the

OC (observer’s comment) part of the field notes. In addition to that, the researcher

employed the non-participant observation.


34

The other technique was the interviews with twenty students from the

international class, who were chosen randomly. The interview was meant to know

the students’ perspective about the teaching-learning activities conducted in the

international class and their personal opinion on how their learning in the

international class helped them improve their reading comprehension. Hence, the

result of the interviews is expected to give the study the data needed in a detailed

way.

3.5 Data Analysis Technique

In analyzing the data obtained through the interviews and field notes, the

researcher made use of the existing theories as the basis. The theories related to the

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) and international class were compared and

contrasted with the data gathered from the interviews and field notes to obtain the

result. In an attempt to address the first formulated problem, the researcher

compared the teaching-learning activities being observed in SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

with the principles concerning ideal CBI implementation in immersion classes.

This can be done by noting down what the researcher saw, heard, and experienced

during the teaching-learning activities in the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta, such as the noting down the type of CBI being implemented, the

comprehensible input, the role of teacher and learners, and so on.

The objective of this research study was not to compare the existing

teaching-learning activities in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta with

the ideal implementation of CBI in immersion classes. However, comparison and

contrast is considered important in seeing the extent of CBI implementation in the


35

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. By doing this, it is expected that this

research study could be used as a stepping stone in reviewing and improving the

existing CBI implementation in the international class.

In analyzing the students’ reading comprehension, the researcher combined

the data gathered from the field notes and the interviews. The data were then

compared and contrasted with the existing theories related to reading

comprehension, especially with the ones proposed by the International Reading

Association (IRA). By doing this, the researcher expected to see whether the

theories of reading comprehension were fully implemented, to seek the significant

influence of CBI implementation to students’ reading comprehension.

3.6 Research Procedure

In conducting this research, the researcher employed the steps of doing the

descriptive research which was given by Ary et al. (2002). These steps are:

1. Selecting the problem and the topic of the research

The reason of choosing the problem and the topic of the research has

already been elaborated on the first chapter of this research study.

2. Identifying the information needed to solve the problem

In this step, the researcher listed what information should be collected.

The review of the literature which served as the basis of the research was also

conducted here. Next, the researcher chose the most suitable theories for the

research to be put into the theoretical framework as the guiding theories in

conducting the research.


36

3. Selecting or developing instruments for gathering the data

In this step, the researcher began selecting and developing appropriate

instruments used in gathering the needed data. The choice of the instruments

was based on the formulated problems, so that the obtained data were really the

data needed to answer the problems. Considering the formulated problems, the

researcher then developed the interview checklist as the guidelines of the

interviews and employed field notes as two means of answering the formulated

problems. Since the data required field notes from classroom observations, the

researcher requested a recommendation letter from Sanata Dharma University

(see Appendix 1 page 70) and then requested a permission letter from Dinas

Perizinan to conduct research in SMAN 3 Yogyakarta (see Appendix 2 page

72) before started conducting observations and interviews in SMAN 3

Yogyakarta.

4. Identifying the target population and determining any necessary sampling

procedure

In this step, the researcher looked for the information needed to identify

the characteristics of the research participants. The researcher then conducted a

discussion with the teachers in charge of the international class. The method of

random sampling was chosen due to the reasons as elaborated in the Research

Participants section.

5. Designing the procedure for data collection

In this step, the researcher arranged the practical schedule with the

teachers in charge of the international class to obtain the sample and conduct

class observations.


37

6. Collecting the data

This step began with the observations to the international class. Then,

the researcher reported the observation results in forms of field notes (see

Appendices 7-9 pp. 93-101) to write down all the necessary data. Besides that,

modules and handouts (see Appendices 3-5 pp. 74-88) from the Science classes

were also obtained in this process. The data gathering continued into the deeper

level by employing the interview (see Appendix 6 pp. 90-91) technique, so that

the personal data from the students may be collected.

7. Analysing the data

Data analysis was conducted by comparing the field notes observation

results and the existing theories on Content-Based Instruction (CBI),

international class, and reading comprehension. Further analysis was made by

comparing the field notes from classroom observations and the interview

results. The comparison was needed to see whether CBI really played a

significant role in improving the students’ reading comprehension.

8. Preparing the report

Within this step, the researcher started to arrange the obtained data and

process all data into a report.

By implementing these steps, the result of the research is expected to be

organized and structured in a logical order. The result and the discussion of the

results will be elaborated in the next chapter.


38

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the research results and the answers to the formulated

problems. This chapter contains two main sections, namely the discussion of

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) implementation in the international class of

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta and the influences of CBI implementation to the eleventh

grade students’ reading comprehension. Each analysis is discussed in accordance

with the theories stated in the review of related literature section, field notes, and

also the interviews conducted with the research participants and the teaching team

of the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta.

4.1 Content-Based Instruction Implementation in the International Class of

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

This section discusses Content-Based Instruction (CBI) implementation in

the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. The discussion includes the basic

nature of the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, the roles of teacher and

learners during the classroom activities, the analysis of the authentic materials used

in the teaching-learning activities based on the principles of comprehensible input,

and the type of CBI which is implemented. This discussion is expected to give a

brief yet clear portrayal of the teaching-learning activities in the international class

of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta that the researcher encountered during the research. Thus,

this section addresses the first formulated problem.


39

4.1.1 The International Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

This section discusses the overview of the teaching-learning activities

taking place in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta throughout the

research. The overview covers the brief overview of Content-Based Instruction

implementation, the teaching technique of the international class, and the emphasis

on the language use.

4.1.1.1 The Brief Overview of Content-Based Instruction Implementation

The international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta did not implement Content-

Based Instruction (CBI) in all subjects being taught. CBI implementation only took

place in Science classes, namely Physics, Chemistry, and Biology classes.

According to the teaching team of the international class, the consideration on

implementing CBI only in those classes was mainly because the terms which were

used in those subjects were not too different from the translated terms which are

generally used in Indonesian. Several examples found in the modules and handouts

were terms such as ‘sodium carbonate’ and ‘acetate ion’ in Chemistry (translated

as sodium karbonat and ion asetat) (see Appendix 5 pp. 84-88), ‘moment of

inertia’ and ‘kinetic energy’ in Physics (translated as momen inersia and energi

kinetik) (see Appendix 4 pp. 79-82), and also ‘cell membrane’ and ‘Golgi body’ in

Biology (translated as membran sel and badan Golgi) (see Appendix 3 pp. 74-77).

The teaching team of the international class in SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

expected the system of translation as elaborated above could lead the students into

a better understanding of the materials, especially considering the similarity found

in the terms. Thus, it is expected that through the system of translation, the


40

students can master the materials more easily, especially in terms of the vocabulary

items related to the subjects, and furthermore it would lead them to acquire and

master the target language more easily.

4.1.1.2 The Teaching Activity in the International Class

The activity of teaching in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

was different from the ideal teaching technique of international class as proposed

by Krahnke (1987 as quoted in Richards & Rodgers, 2000), where all content

subjects should be taught in the target language. There were two kinds of teaching

activities in the international class, namely the teaching with the assistance of the

regular subject teachers and the one with the assistance of guest lecturers from

notable universities in Yogyakarta.

The first kind of teaching employed the assistance of the regular subject

teachers of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, in which it was the Science teachers who were

teaching. According to the interview with the teaching team of the international

class, the material delivery in the classroom made use of Indonesian, and so was

the class discussion. However, the modules for the subjects and the given exercises

were given in English. The modules and exercises given to the students were

usually the ones compiled by the regular subject teachers, taken from some books

related to the topic being discussed. This kind of teaching was employed since the

regular subject teachers of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta were not fully prepared to teach in

English.

The second kind of teaching employed the assistance of guest lecturers

from notable universities in Yogyakarta. Once a month, SMAN 3 Yogyakarta


41

invited some lecturers from several universities in Yogyakarta to teach the students

of the international class. In this kind of teaching, the guest lecturers were expected

to conduct the teaching-learning activities in English, covering the material

delivery, class discussion, and exercises. However, based on the observations

made by the researcher, it was rarely ideally employed.

According to the researcher’s observations, only one out of three observed

guest lecturers mostly utilized English in the material delivery. It happened in

Chemistry class, where the guest lecturer used English in most of the material

delivery, notes given, exercises and class discussion (see Appendix 8 pp. 96-98).

In Biology class, at first the guest lecturer promised to teach bilingually in English

and Indonesian, but she ended up using Indonesian in the material delivery.

However, the video which was projected during the teaching-learning activities

and the class discussion were mostly done in English (see Appendix 7 pp. 93-94).

While in Physics class, the guest lecturer fully utilized Indonesian in the material

delivery and question-and-answer session. The exposure to English towards the

students was only given through the PowerPoint material slides provided and the

given exercises (see Appendix 9 pp. 100-101).

4.1.1.3 The Emphasis on the Language Use

Unlike the general needs of English with the emphasis on speaking skill,

the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta put the emphasis on written English

rather than the spoken language. In the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta,

the students are expected to use English in writing practicum reports and doing the

exercises and tests, but they are not expected to conduct class presentations in


42

English. The spoken English was mainly emphasized in one class only, namely the

English Conversation class which was taught by two teachers at one time.

According to the teaching team of the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta, the emphasis on written English rather than on spoken English was

due to two reasons. The main reason was because according to the teaching team’s

assumption, the students would mainly deal with written English in their further

education rather than the spoken English. The assumption came from the fact that

students would be dealing with many books, modules, or other scientific literature

in English rather than dealing with oral communication in English, especially

when the students were planning to study abroad. Hence, the modules used in the

teaching-learning activities in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta were

written in English as a way to familiarize the students to written English.

Another reason on putting the emphasis on written English rather than on

spoken English was due to the fact that the Science teachers of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta were not fully prepared to deliver their materials in English, whereas

guest lecturers who were supposed to teach in English only come to SMAN 3

Yogyakarta once a month. According to the teaching team, an improvement in the

implementation of the international class would be made every year. The

improvement would cover the preparation made for the regular subject teachers to

teach in English, although its main concern would be to increase the exposure of

English in the international class. Therefore, within the next few years, it is

expected that the regular subject teachers would have been ready to teach in

English and thus lead the emphasis on the spoken English as well as the written

language.


43

4.1.2 The Implemented Principles of Content-Based Instruction in the

International Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

Based on the observations, the researcher could see that the teaching-

learning activities taking place in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

reflected the implementation of the two main principles of Content-Based

Instruction (CBI) as proposed by Richards & Rodgers. The first principle, which

stated that “people learn a second language more successfully when they use the

language as a means of acquiring information, rather than an end in itself”

(Richards & Rodgers, 2001) could already be seen in the teaching-learning

activities taking place in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. This was

proven by the use of English as the instructional language, especially when

lecturers from several notable universities in Yogyakarta come to teach in English

at least once a month. It was also proven by the use of English in the modules,

handouts and exercises given in the classroom. However, since the regular subject

teachers did not employ English as the instructional language in daily classroom

activities optimally, and thus could not give corrective feedback to the students,

the students’ acquisition of English could not be optimally achieved.

The second principle of CBI, which stated that “CBI better reflects

learners’ needs for learning a second language” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001), could

also be seen in the teaching-learning activities in the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta. According to the teaching team, the international class was initially

intended to support the increasing needs for students to study abroad. Therefore,

although it may seem that the international class was merely a preparation class, it

aimed at improving students’ ability in English with the emphasis on the


44

effectiveness of English learning and improving the speed of learning and mastery

of the content areas.

4.1.3 The Role of Teacher and Learners

In Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, Richards & Rodgers

(2001) discussed the role of teacher and learners in Content-Based Instruction

(CBI) implementation. According to their interpretation, the ideal roles of learners

in CBI are as active interpreters of input, who are seen as autonomous beings

responsible for their own learning. From the observations conducted in the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, the researcher could see that the

students have already regarded themselves as autonomous beings who were

responsible for their own learning process. This is due to the fact that even though

the teachers have already given sufficient exposure on the target language, the

teachers did not give the explanation on the language use, and thus left the students

having to master the language use by themselves.

As autonomous learners, the students learnt and acquired the target

language subconsciously by using the language as the medium to obtain

information from the modules or to write practicum reports in Science classes.

However, their role as active interpreters of input was not fulfilled yet. This is due

to the fact that the teaching-learning activities in the international class possessed

the characteristic of teacher-centred style of teaching. This style of teaching left the

students passively involved in the teaching-learning activities, whose roles were

mainly to provide satisfying answers whenever they were given questions by the

teachers.


45

According to Brinton et al. (2003), the most ideal role for teacher or

instructor in a class implementing CBI is as the facilitator of the content learning.

This role, however, was hardly found in the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta. Ideally, as the facilitator of content learning, teacher should be

responsible in keeping context and comprehensibility, analyzing students’ needs,

and creating a learner-centred class. However, based on the observations

conducted in the international class, these roles were not optimally fulfilled yet.

Throughout the observations, the researcher noticed that both teachers and

guest lecturers focused only to the material fulfilment; their duty and obligation

were only to ensure that the materials were all delivered. Even when they were

supposed to support the students’ acquisition of the target language, they failed to

provide the students with the opportunity to employ the target language during the

classroom activities. In most teaching-learning activities, the question-and-answer

sessions were conducted mainly in Indonesian, in which teachers and lecturers did

not encourage the students to ask or answer using English.

In relation with the facilitator’s duty to create a learner-centred class, the

teachers and lecturers of the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta did not

fulfil this role optimally as well. This is due to the fact that the teaching-learning

activities were mainly in the form of lecturing, in which the teachers or lecturers

stood in front of the class to deliver their materials. Their duty was considered

finished when they could deliver all materials for the day. The students could only

participate in question-and-answer session or exercises without being encouraged

to use English in conducting the sessions.


46

Besides serving as the facilitator in the classroom, teacher should serve as

good role model for the target language. This is due to the principle that in

immersion classes, the speech taking place around the students is considered as the

comprehensible input for the students. However, most of the time both teachers

and lecturers failed to optimally serve as good role models for the students,

especially in terms of the grammar and pronunciation of English. It happened

mainly when the guest lecturers were supposed to teach in English, in which they

seemed to have problems with the pronunciation of several English words. This

pronunciation problem might be harmful for the students, for they would imitate

the lecturers’ pronunciation and thus lead the students into incorrectness in English

pronunciation. Also, the lecturers did not serve optimally as good role models

since they were unprepared to use the target language as the medium to convey the

materials, which can be observed from the use of incorrect grammar or code

switching to Indonesian whenever they could not find an appropriate term in

English.

4.1.4 Comprehensible Input: Material and Delivery

There were several types of input which were utilized in the teaching-

learning activities taking place in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta.

These types of input will be elaborated one by one thoroughly in accordance with

the ideal nature of comprehensible input as proposed by Krashen (1985) and

Brinton et al. (2003). The elaboration covers the material delivery within the

teacher’s class, the modules, the material delivery within the lecturer’s class, and

the handouts given within the lecturer’s class. The elaboration will be able to


47

provide a clear portrayal of the input within the material design utilized by the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta.

4.1.4.1 The Material Delivery within the Teacher’s Class

According to the interview with the teaching team of the international class

of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, the material delivery within the teacher’s class was done

in Indonesian, although ideally English should be used as the language of

instruction. The use of Indonesian in the classroom was not only in the material

delivery but also in the form of the notes made by the teacher. This was because

the Science teachers of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta were unprepared in utilizing English

as the medium to deliver the content learning.

Based on Krashen’s (1985) theory of comprehensible input, the speech

which takes place around the students is considered as the comprehensible input.

The material delivery within the teacher’s class was understandable for the

students since it was done fully in Indonesian. However, it was not comprehensible

according to Krashen’s theory of comprehensible input since the teachers did not

utilize English as the language of instruction.

4.1.4.2 The Modules

The modules for the teaching-learning activities in the international class of

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta were prepared by the regular subject teachers for the

classroom use. The modules were compiled from various written sources of the

materials and written in English. Since the modules used many vocabulary items


48

which were not greatly different to the ones of Indonesian, the students would not

find many difficulties in mastering the materials in terms of the vocabulary.

However, although the modules made use of simple vocabulary items, the

researcher found some parts of the materials to be rather difficult to understand in

terms of the grammar or sentence structure. The researcher found many incorrect

sentence structures which might lead the students to face misconception of the

sentence meaning. This kind of problem was mainly encountered when the

modules were compiled by the subject teacher himself/herself, not by the teaching

team. One of the examples of the incorrect sentence structure found in the Physics

module was “The moment of inertia of an object about an axis is that property of

the object that causes it to resist a change in its angular velocity about that axis”

(see Appendix 4 page 79), in which the incorrectness might be caused by a wrong

choice of conjunction or because of the teacher’s first language interference in the

translation process.

Thus, the modules for the classroom used in the international class of

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta were hardly considered as comprehensible input since they

did not serve as challenging language needed for the students to tap towards higher

linguistic level. In addition, despite the many incorrectness found in the modules,

the modules did not employ Krashen’s (1985) (i + 1) principle since the language

found in the modules were only slightly higher than the students’ linguistic level

(see Appendices 3 and 4 pp. 74-82).


49

4.1.4.3 The Material Delivery within the Lecturer’s Class

According to the observations result, the material delivery within each

lecturer’s class resulted in different kinds of output. In Biology and Chemistry

classes, the guest lecturers employed both spoken and written English in an

adjusted linguistic level so that the students could understand the given materials

(see Appendices 7 and 8 pp. 93-98). The adjusted linguistic level was expected to

help the students tap towards higher linguistic level to eventually lead them to

acquire and master the target language more easily. However, the Physics lecturer

did not employ English in an adjusted linguistic level. In the materials given from

the PowerPoint slides, the presented materials were taken from the textbooks for

the university level, and thus could not help the students to understand the

materials and the target language more easily (see Appendix 9 pp. 100-101).

4.1.4.4 The Handouts Given within the Lecturer’s Class

The given handouts contained neither misspelled words nor incorrectness

in the sentence structure. This is due to the fact that the materials for the handouts

were taken from various authentic materials, mainly from textbooks for college

level. Since the handouts contained no misspelled words or incorrectness in the

sentence structure, the students would not face any misconception related to the

language use in understanding the materials. However, since the materials were

taken from textbooks for college level, the linguistic level of the materials was

beyond the students’ English level (see Appendix 5 pp. 84-88). Hence, the given

handouts were not comprehensible according to Krashen’s (1985) theory of

comprehensible input because it did not fulfil the (i + 1) principle.


50

4.1.5 Content-Based Instruction Teaching Models

Based on the classroom observations in the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta, the researcher noticed that none of the three Content-Based

Instruction (CBI) teaching models as stated by Brinton et al. (2003) was fully

employed in the teaching-learning activities. The international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta only took little characteristics from each of CBI teaching models and

combined them into the implementation of CBI in the international class.

Referring to the observations conducted by the researcher, the international

class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta did not employ the first instruction, the Theme-Based

Language Instruction. This is due to the fact that there were no specific themes or

topics used as the basis for the teaching-learning activities which provided rich

input for lessons to take place. Besides the absence of the theme or topic as the

starting point for the teaching-learning activities, there were no efforts made by the

teachers to cover the language skills needed by the students, since the regular

subject teachers were not fully prepared to use English as the medium of

instruction in the international class.

The second teaching model, the Sheltered Content Instruction, was not

fully implemented in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta as well. This is

due to the fact that the regular subject teachers of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta were still in

the process of training related to the target language being used. The guest

lecturers, who were expected to device English as the instructional language, were

quite successful in delivering the materials in the target language. However, they

did not fulfil the objective of Sheltered Content Instruction to help the students

master the subject matter and help the students with language-related issue at the


51

same time. This is due to the fact that they did not encourage the students to use

English in classroom activities and did not provide the students with necessary

feedback to help them improve their English. In fact, the guest lecturers did not

optimally serve as good role models for the students in terms of the target language

use.

The third teaching model, the Adjunct Language Instruction, was not fully

implemented in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta as well. This is due

to the fact that in the ideal implementation of Adjunct Language Instruction there

were two instructors teaching the same materials with two different points of

emphasis, namely the content matter and the language skills. In terms of the

instructors, there were two instructors in the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta, namely the teacher and the lecturer. However, although ideally they

were expected to focus both on the content matter and the language skills, they

focused only on the content matter and did not cover the language skills.

4.2 The Influences of Content-Based Instruction Implementation on Students’

Reading Comprehension

This section addresses the second formulated problem in the Problem

Formulation section. The discussion presented in this section covers three main

points, namely the correlation between reading comprehension and Content-Based

Instruction (CBI), the discussion on how reading is perceived in the international

class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, and the influence of CBI implementation in the

international class towards students’ reading comprehension.


52

4.2.1 The Correlation between Reading Comprehension and Content-Based

Instruction

Seeing from the nature of both reading and Content-Based Instruction

(CBI), there is a strong correlation between reading comprehension and CBI. The

activity of reading requires the readers to possess the sub-skills in the ability to

read critically, namely the ability to evaluate inferences and the strength of

arguments, to recognise hidden assumptions and author’s motives, to evaluate the

soundness of generalisation, and to identify bias in statements (Abdullah, 1994 as

quoted in Alderson, 2000). These sub-skills are important to possess in order to

obtain a thorough comprehension of the reading materials. CBI, on the other hand,

requires the learners to possess problem-solving ability as a part of autonomous

learning, in which CBI learners are expected to be responsible for their own

learning and try to solve the problems in their learning by themselves.

The process of problem-solving takes place in reading activity. The seven

sub-skills presented by Abdullah (1994: 291 as quoted in Alderson, 2000: 21)

explicitly mention the kinds of problem-solving activity which happens in the

process of reading. Furthermore, to present the strong correlation between reading

comprehension and CBI, Alderson (2000: 21) stated that “many aspects of reading

represent problem-solving, and that problem-solving strategies are useful for the

resolution of many difficulties in reading, for example the deduction of the

meaning of unknown words”. Hence, problem-solving is the key to the correlation

between reading comprehension and CBI. Both reading and CBI require the person

engaged to the activity to possess problem-solving ability, which is also one of the

characteristics of both reading comprehension and CBI.


53

4.2.2 Reading Skill in the International Class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

This section covers the description of the activity of reading in the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. The description consists of the activity

of reading taking place in the English reading class and the ones in Science classes.

4.2.2.1 Reading in the English Reading Class

In SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, reading is taught separately from other English

skills. There are three English classes in SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, namely Writing

class, Reading class, and English Conversation class, whereas grammar is only

taught when the students require further explanation of the language use. However,

although ideally meaningful reading should take place in every subject in the

international class, it only takes place in English reading class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta.

The activities in the reading class usually consist of the teacher distributing

some articles, then asking the students to answer some comprehension questions,

explain the main idea of the articles or retell the content of the articles with the

students’ words. The articles were prepared by the teacher herself, which quite

varied on the topic; from health, science, entertainment, and so on. However, the

class was more teacher-centred, in which the teacher merely chose the articles

without asking the students’ opinion on what topic should be chosen next (see

Appendix 6 pp. 90-91).


54

4.2.2.2 Reading in Science Classes

The activity of meaningful reading did not optimally take place in the

Science classes of the international class in SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. The activity

merely consisted of students reading the modules, which are written in English,

without the assistance from the teacher or lecturer in charge of the class. The

teacher’s or lecturer’s explanation on the module covered only on the content or

the registers used in the module, not on the language aspect. Students were then

given exercises which are written in English. However, the class discussion or the

question-and-answer session made use of Indonesian rather than English.

Based on the observations made in Science classes, both teachers and

lecturers did not make sufficient efforts in explaining the language aspect on the

subject, leaving students having to understand the modules by themselves. Only

Physics and Biology teachers made some glossary of the subjects to help students

master the vocabulary items used in the subjects better. The lack of efforts by the

teachers to explain the language aspect of the module and also the use of

Indonesian in the class discussion happened because the teachers were not ready to

optimally employ English in the teaching-learning activities.

However, reading the modules without the assistance of the teachers or the

lecturers was quite difficult for the students. This was not only because students

were left to understand the modules by themselves, both in the content and the

language aspects, but also because they had to correct the mistakes found in the

modules by making prediction. As the researcher has elaborated on previous

section, the modules were developed by the teacher in charge of a particular

subject by compiling from several source textbooks or translating some chapters


55

from Indonesian to English by himself/herself. This translation process was

imperfect due to the teacher’s unpreparedness of employing English, as proven by

many typographical errors and mistakes in the sentence structures (see Appendices

3 and 4 pp. 74-82).

In dealing with the mistakes in the modules, the students usually correct the

mistakes by predicting the most appropriate term or meaning of the part being

questioned. For example, when dealing with typographical errors, students looked

for a particular term which has the closest meaning or form with the term in

question, whereas when dealing with the mistakes in sentence structure students

tried to find the most logical meaning of the sentence in question. Especially when

dealing with the mistakes in the sentence structure, the students were not able to

ask the teacher to correct the mistakes for the teacher himself/herself was not

usually aware that he/she made a mistake in translating the modules. This kind of

problem was harmful for the students, as stated by some students in the interview

that during the examination they made several miscalculation on Physics and

Chemistry due to the mistranslation of some registers in the subjects.

4.2.3 The Influences of Content-Based Instruction on Students’ Reading

Comprehension

From the elaboration given on the previous section, it can be seen how the

activity of reading is done in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, both in

English class and in Science classes. Furthermore, in accordance with one of the

teacher’s responsibilities to keep context and responsibility (Richards & Rodgers,

2001) and one of the principles of teaching reading that teacher should teach for


56

comprehension (Anderson, 2003 as quoted in Nunan, 2003), the researcher sought

whether the teachers of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta have already fulfilled their ideal role

in terms of teaching reading comprehension to the students. Serving as the

guideline for the researcher to seek how teachers of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta teach

reading comprehension in the international class was the four ways proposed by

the International Reading Association (IRA) as listed in Reading Instruction and

Assessment: Understanding the IRA Standards (Armbruster & Osborn, 2002). The

four ways were the ways proposed by IRA for the teacher to help the students

enhance their reading comprehension. Each of the four ways will be elaborated

below.

4.2.3.1 Provide Direct Instruction and Model When and How to Use Multiple

Comprehension Strategies

In the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, the teachers and lecturers

in charge of the international class did not provide enough support that the students

need to enhance their reading comprehension. This situation happened because

there was no direct instruction of the comprehension strategies. Daily activities in

the class mainly consisted of: (a) The teacher or lecturer delivered the material

from the modules, usually in Indonesian or half-English; (b) The teacher or

lecturer gave some exercises in English; (c) The students got the exercises done;

(d) The teacher or lecturer led the class discussion, mostly in Indonesian. These

activities were carried out with the assumption that the students have read the

modules before the class, and thus there were no comprehension strategies which

were employed in the class, especially because the material for the class discussion


57

was mostly came from the teacher’s or lecturer’s explanation, not from the

students’ reading.

However, the activity of drawing inference, an example of activities

involving comprehension strategies, can be found in Biology modules as one of

many exercises. From Modul Biology for XI Class Semester 1 which was compiled

by Budi Setyawan and Didik Purwaka, the Biology teachers of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta, most exercises expect the students to draw inference from the

elaboration of the materials. Some examples are:

Example 1: “... Suggest reasons why microvilli are only possible in animal cells but not in plant cells. (1 mark) ...” (Modul Biology for XI Class Semester 1, Chapter I: Cell Structure)

Example 2: “... Although prokaryotes are more numerous and widespread than eukaryotes, their level of complexiti and efficiency is restricted. What has enabled eukaryotes to become more complex? (2 marks) ...” (Modul Biology for XI Class Semester 1, Chapter I: Cell Structure)

Despite the mistakes in the spelling and in the English sentence structure,

these exercises are good in teaching students how to draw inference from what

they have read in the modules. By exposing students to these kinds of exercises,

the students are then trained to select the most suitable information from the

reading to answer the questions given. Unfortunately, this kind of exercise can

only be found in Biology module. Physics module and Chemistry handouts both

contained exercises that mostly required the students to do some calculations.

Some examples are:


58

Example 1: “... Estimate the moment of inertia of a tennis ball for rotation about a diameter. A tennis ball has a mass of 0,70 kg, an auter radius of 32 mm and a thickness of 5 mm. ...” (Physics for XI Level, Chapter 6: Equilibrium of Rigid Body)

Example 2: “... A door has a height of 2.1 m, a width of 1.1 m, a thickness of 42 mm, and a uniform density of 0.88 x 103 kg/m3. What is the moment of inertia of the door about an axis along its hinges? ...” (Physics for XI Level, Chapter 6: Equilibrium of Rigid Body)

4.2.3.2 Model Questioning Strategies

Other than merely choosing the most appropriate post-reading activity, it is

also important for teacher to teach students the questioning strategies to enhance

their reading comprehension. However, the teachers of the international class of

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta did not model or teach questioning strategies to their students

optimally. From the classroom observations, the researcher did not see any pre-

reading, whilst-reading, or post-reading questioning strategies. The students were

only exposed to questions when they have to do the exercises from the teachers.

And even though the exercises involved questions that required the students to

draw inferences or to analyze the information found in the modules, they were not

exposed to questions to monitor their reading comprehension.

In class discussion, however, probing questions often appeared. Teachers

or lecturers, when leading the class discussion, often asked the students to answer

some questions, then asked them to explain or clarify their answers by asking,

“How do you know?” or “Can you explain your answer?” With these probing

questions, the students learned to think in higher level, and thus led them to

improve their analysis skill based on their comprehension. Unfortunately, the


59

content of class discussion mainly came from the teachers’ or lecturers’

explanation of the material, not from the written modules, so it could not be

justified whether or not the questioning strategies related to reading

comprehension really take place.

4.2.3.3 Teach Students to Connect Prior Knowledge with New Information

Reading comprehension takes place when the reader is able to combine the

background knowledge with the new information obtained from the text to

generate meaning. Thus, one of the teacher’s roles in enhancing the students’

reading comprehension is to teach them how to connect background knowledge

with new information. However, during the classroom observations in the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, the researcher did not find any specific

effort made by the teachers or lecturers in activating the students’ background

knowledge before reading or in strengthening the connection between the

background knowledge and the new information from the reading passage after

reading.

In the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, there were no pre-reading

activities which usually included questioning activities to activate background

knowledge. When the students were assigned to read a particular reading material,

they directly go the whilst-reading activity, without being engaged to the pre-

reading. However, since the post-reading activity mostly consisted of class

discussion, the students could strengthen the connection between background

knowledge and new information through the exchange of information that took

place within the class discussion.


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4.2.3.4 Teach Students Strategies for Monitoring Their Own Comprehension

One of the ways to monitor the students’ comprehension is by employing

whilst-reading questions. However, since questioning strategies could not

explicitly be found in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, it was

difficult for the students to monitor their own comprehension. When

comprehension failed to take place, the most common way which could be

observed in the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta was that the students

raise questions to the teacher.

However, this activity did not usually happen in the classroom discussion.

The students were rather reluctant in asking questions to the teacher about the

things that they did not understand. Usually, when their own comprehension failed,

they asked their friends to explain the materials to them. Another way that the

students usually did when their own comprehension failed was to browse the

explanation they needed from the Internet or other sources. By either asking their

friend to explain the material for them or referring to the Internet or other sources

to look for the specific information which is needed, the students could overcome

their difficulty in understanding the materials.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter contains two major parts of the research. The first part covers

the conclusions of the research. The conclusions were obtained by comparing and

contrasting the theories related to Content-Based Instruction (CBI) in the

international class and reading comprehension with the results of the field notes

and interviews. The second part of this chapter is the suggestions for a better

implementation of CBI and in improving students’ reading comprehension.

5.1 Conclusions

The conclusions of the research were drawn after the researcher compared

and contrasted the theories of Content-Based Instruction (CBI) in the international

class and reading comprehension with the teaching-learning activities as portrayed

in SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. The conclusions address the two formulated problems.

First is related to CBI implementation in the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta, and second is related to the influence of CBI implementation in the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta on the eleventh grade students’ English

reading comprehension.

To answer the first formulated problem, the researcher made some field

notes from classroom observations and made comparison and contrast of the

theories related to CBI in the international class as elaborated in Chapter II with

the teaching-learning activities taking place in the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta. Based on the observations which were conducted, the researcher


62

could see that the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta implemented CBI

only in Science classes, namely Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes. In those

classes, there were two kinds of teaching activity taking place. First is the one with

the assistance of regular subject teachers, in which the teaching was conducted in

Indonesian. Second is the one with the assistance of guest lecturers from several

universities in Yogyakarta, who were expected to teach in English.

The international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta put the emphasis on written

English rather than spoken English. The emphasis is employed by familiarizing the

students with modules and exercises which were written in English. Also, students

were expected to write practicum reports from their Science classes in English.

In terms of the role of teacher and learners, the students of the international

class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta have already fulfilled their role as the autonomous

beings who were responsible for their own learning process. Teacher’s role,

however, was not fully fulfilled yet since they have not acted as the facilitator of

the content learning due to their unpreparedness in using English as the

instructional language. In addition to that, the international class of SMAN 3

Yogyakarta did not implement any of the three CBI teaching models proposed by

Brinton et al. (2003). The international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta only took

little characteristics from each of the teaching models and combined them in the

teaching-learning activities done in the classroom.

In short, although the two basic principles of CBI as proposed by Richards

and Rodgers (2001) have already been implemented in the international class of

CBI, the exposure of English as the target language in the class was not optimal.

This is due to the fact that the exposure of English was only in the forms of


63

modules and exercises which were written in English, and also in the form of guest

lecturers who teach in the international class with English as the instructional

language.

To answer the second formulated problem, the researcher concluded that

there was only little influence of the international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta on

the students’ reading comprehension. This conclusion was based on the interview

conducted by the researcher, in which the students did not perceive their learning

in the international class improve their reading comprehension.

Other than that, the researcher found three points in the international class

of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta which were related to reading. First, the modules, which

are written in English, contained many typographical errors and mistakes in the

English sentence structure, which might be harmful for students’ English learning.

Second, not many efforts were done by the teachers in enhancing students’ reading

comprehension. Teachers or lecturers, who were supposed to model techniques in

enhancing students’ reading comprehension, did not optimally do the effort. The

students were left to comprehend the reading passage and overcome the problems

in reading on their own, without given any explicit model by the teachers on how

to ensure and enhance reading comprehension. Third, the teachers did not

encourage the students to make reading a habit, especially outside the classroom.

In addition to that, the English teachers did not fully encourage the students to read

from various kinds of reading passages, whereas in Science classes most reading

activities actually took place outside the classroom.

As the conclusion, there was only little yet insignificant influence of CBI

implementation in the international class in improving students’ reading


64

comprehension. This is due to the imperfect implementation of CBI in the

international class of SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. Other than that, it is caused by the

absence of explicit model and supervision by the teachers in teaching the students

the ways to enhance their reading comprehension.

5.2 Suggestions

Related to the results of the research, the researcher has two suggestions

concerning Content-Based Instruction (CBI) implementation in the international

class. These suggestions are applicable not only to SMAN 3 Yogyakarta, but also

for schools in general. The researcher expected these suggestions to be helpful for

further improvement of the quality of education in Indonesia.

1. Suggestions towards schools

The suggestions towards schools are mainly related to CBI implementation.

The researcher suggests that schools having an international school should review

the implementation of CBI in the international class. The review can be done by

learning the basic principles of CBI and then revising the existing system of

international class in accordance with the basic principles of CBI.

Other than that, the researcher suggests that schools which plan to start an

international class should learn the basic principles of CBI before starting the

international class. By doing this, it is expected that the international class would

portray an ideal international class in accordance with the principles of CBI. Also,

it is expected that the appropriate and ideal implementation of the basic principles

of CBI in the international class would lead the students to improve their English

more gradually.


65

2. Suggestions towards teachers

The suggestions towards teachers are mainly related to the improvement of

students’ English reading comprehension. Seeing that students cannot enhance

their reading comprehension without any assistance, the researcher suggests that

the teachers should employ the four ways proposed by the International Reading

Association (IRA) as elaborated in Chapter IV of this research study to help the

students enhance their reading comprehension. Also, teachers should explicitly

teach and model the ways to enhance the students’ reading comprehension and

monitor the results of the reading. Related to reading in general, teachers should

encourage the students to improve a habit of reading both inside and outside

classrooms. By employing these suggestions, it is expected that the students will

enhance their reading comprehension thoroughly.


66

REFERENCES

Alderson, J.C. (2000). Assessing Reading. Cambridge: University Press.

Anderson, N. (2003). Reading. In Nunan, David (ed.). Practical English Language Teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill/Comtemporary.

Armbruster, B.B. and Osborn, J.H. (2002). Reading Instruction and Assessment: Understanding the IRA Standards. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Ary, D.; Jacobs, L.; Razavieh, A. (2002). Instruction to Research in Education. (6th Edition). Belmont: Wadsworth Thomson Learning.

Brinton, D. (2003). Content-Based Instruction. In Nunan, David (ed.). Practical English Language Teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary.

Brinton, D.; Snow, M.A.; Wesche, M.B. (2003). Content-Based Second Language Instruction. New York: Newbury House Publishers.

Grabe, W. and Stoller, F.L. (2002). Teaching and Researching Reading. Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited.

Handayani, M.M.I. (1997). Techniques of Teaching Reading and the Uses of Reading Texts to Teach Other Language Skills in Sekolah Menengah Umum. Unpublished Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

Krashen, S. (1985). Inquiries and Insight: Second Language Teaching Immersion and Bilingual Education Literacy. Englewood Cliff: Alemany Press.

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. (2nd Edition). China: Oxford University Press.

Lightbown, P.M. and Spada, N. (2000). How Language Are Learned: Revised Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Yin, R.K. (2002). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. (3rd Edition). California: Sage Publications, Inc.


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References from the Internet

__________. Reading Comprehension. (2009). Taken from http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Reading_comprehension. Accessed on June 26, 2009.

__________. Taken from http://www.answers.com/topic/descriptive-study. Accessed on June 26, 2009.


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APPENDICES


69

APPENDIX 1 Recommendation Letter from Sanata Dharma University


70


71

APPENDIX 2 Permission Letter from Dinas Perizinan


72


73

APPENDIX 3 Excerpt of Biology Module


74


75


76


77


78

APPENDIX 4 Excerpt of Physics Module


79


80


81


82


83

APPENDIX 5 Example of Chemistry Handout


84


85


86


87


88


89

APPENDIX 6 Interview Checklist


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INTERVIEW CHECKLIST

Learners’ Characteristics

1. Have you joined any English course outside the school? How long have you

been studying English?

2. How did you deal with problem solving and deduction?

3. Are you nervous in making mistakes or sounding silly when speaking English?

If so, how did you deal with the problem?

4. Is there plenty of time available for the English learning to take place? Is there

plenty of contact or interaction with proficient speakers of English? Are you

encouraged to use English outside the class?

5. Do you receive corrective feedback from your teachers?

6. What are the difficulties you found in learning English? So far, how did you

overcome the difficulties?

International Class

1. What are the difficulties you found in the international class, especially

because the teachers and lecturers teach different materials not fully in English

while the modules and exercises are given in English? What do you do to

overcome the difficulties?

2. Do you find your English improving more rapidly in the international class? If

so, in what skill do you find any improvement in your English?

3. In your opinion, what are the differences between learning English in a regular

class and international class?


91

4. Do you find sufficient exposure of English in the international class?

5. What do you think about the international class in your school? What are your

suggestions towards the international class?

6. Do you find it interesting to study in the international class? Why or why not?

7. Do you prefer to have the class discussion in Science classes in English or

Indonesian? Why?

Reading

1. What are the activities that take place in Reading class?

2. Who compiled the modules for Science classes? What are the difficulties in

understanding the modules?

3. How did you overcome your difficulties related to the vocabulary items and

grammar (English sentence structure) in reading the modules, which are

written in English?

4. Do you find your reading skill improved through the international class? Why

or why not?

5. What are your suggestions towards the teacher in accordance with reading

activity?


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APPENDIX 7 Biology Field Notes


93

FIELD NOTES

Date: Saturday, May 3, 2008

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

Biology Class

Topic: Reproduction

Through a short conversation, the observers were able to observe other

Science class that will have a guest lecturer, Biology class. The guest lecturer is

from UGM, along with the guest lecturer in Physics class. (OC: It seemed that the

lecturer had her doctoral degree in Biology.) The guest lecturer presented the

materials from the topic from her own notebook. She chose a good way to explain

about the cell reproduction with a lot of pictures and videos. (OC: I think, the

videos were very helpful in giving the students a better explanation on the cell

reproduction rather than using only pictures.) The materials, pictures and videos

were in good English regarding their complex sentence structure, diction and

vocabulary for they came from the authentic material resources. At first, the guest

lecturer looked so promising to me since she said that the lecturing will be

conducted in English, along with the materials, pictures and videos.

Next, the guest lecturer opened the class with moderate English and

Javanese-like pronunciation with several errors in diction and sentence structure.

(OC: At this point, I appreciated her effort in using English rather than simply

using Indonesian.) She started to explain the topic in English and used the pictures

and videos to help the students understand the materials. But unfortunately, while

the teaching-learning activities were in progress, she used less and lesser English,

and she ended up by keep explaining all materials in Indonesian.

The guest lecturer first explained all the materials for the topic to the

students. She tended to rely on the videos and the pictures a lot to explain to

students. She did not explain deeply about the cell reproduction and only gave

short explanation about the register and the process. (OC: It was as if she used the

videos to substitute herself in giving the explanation.) The students were already

having a basic knowledge about the topic for they were able to comment on the

videos and pictures with correct answers and responses. The teaching-learning


94

activities were teacher-centered, in which the guest lecturer did not ask questions

or hints that enable the students to get involved in the teaching-learning activities.

Some of the students did not pay attention to the lecturing. One of the students

sitting on the back row was even able to sleep. (OC: The lecturer did not pay

attention to this.) This situation happened because the guest lecturer was only

paying attention on the continuation of materials presentation and she neglected

the students’ condition. She only paid attention on the students in the nearest row

with her. (OC: It gave other students the opportunity to do something else, such as

sleeping or chatting with their friends.)

When the lecturing was over, the teacher gave questions that needed

impromptu answers in relation to the cell reproduction topic to see the students’

comprehension for the topic. She chose the students randomly. She asked several

questions in Indonesian and the students answered them in Indonesian also. After

that, she selected several explanations that were in English and had been given

before. Then, she chose students randomly again to explain the English sentence to

the students’ own understanding in Indonesian. The students who read the

materials in English were lack of good pronunciation and afraid of making

mistakes in pronouncing the words. The students had difficulties to explain them

in Indonesian although they had enough vocabulary items.

From the exercises given by the guest lecturer, I noticed that the majority

of the students were having good comprehension for the topic and they were able

to restate them again with their own language and knowledge. The class was ended

without the guest lecturer gave other tasks for their homework. I also noticed lately

that the regular teacher did not involve in the lecturing process for he didn’t stay in

class during the teaching-learning activities. (OC: It seemed that when the guest

lecturer doing the teaching, the regular teacher was never in charge of the class. I

think, at least the regular teacher should stay in the classroom to observe. Other

than that, I did not see any reading activities taking place in this classroom. I

think, other than simply listen to the lecturer’s explanation or watch the videos,

students should read their books and modules to help them understand the

materials better.)


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APPENDIX 8 Chemistry Field Notes


96

FIELD NOTES

Date: April 14, 2008

9.45 – 10.30

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

Chemistry Class

At around 9.45, we followed Bu Ninik, the Chemistry teacher, who was

walking towards the Multimedia Room alongside with a woman. It seemed that

this woman was the guest lecturer for Chemistry today. We entered the room

together after taking off our shoes outside the class since the room were covered in

a thick layer of carpet.

Mita and I sneaked to the back of the class and sat on two empty seats. I

noticed that Bu Ninik sat in the front row, handing the entire class to the guest

lecturer. While the guest lecturer was still preparing for her lecture and students

were still walking here and there to find a better seat, I looked around to notice

that the Multimedia Room consisting of four noise-proof walls, a wide LCD

screen, a viewer, a big television set, and a whiteboard. (OC: I was impressed by

the room. The room could really support the teaching-learning activities. It would

be a shame not to function the Multimedia Room optimally).

Soon, the guest lecturer started her lecture that day. It appeared to me that

the first Chemistry period was being used to Bu Ninik to deliver her material,

while the second Chemistry period was given to the guest lecturer. However, I did

not hear the lecturer greet the class or introduce herself to the class. And neither

the lecturer nor Bu Ninik introduced Mita and I to the class. (OC: It made me

wonder: Did the lecturer greet the class and introduce herself to the class but I

could not hear that due to her low voice or because I did not pay enough attention

on her? In general, however, I think her voice was too low).

The material of the lecturer’s Chemistry period was Acid-Base Titration.

She, then, gave out some handouts for the students. It was a five-page handout, all

written in English. Afterwards, she started to deliver the material of Acid-Base

Titration in English. (OC: At this point, I must say that I was impressed. Her

English was quite good). Her English fluency was quite good, although Mita and I


97

agreed that she needed to improve her grammar and pronunciation. (OC: The

lecturer sometimes took a moment of silence before she was going to utter a

sentence. I think she was just trying to get the sentence out right. And anyway, her

pronunciation sounds a bit too Javanese). During the material delivering, the

lecturer mostly spoke English to the class. She only used Indonesian to put

emphasis on some points of her teaching.

Despite the use of English in the teaching-learning activity, the lecturer did

not seem to know how to handle the class well. She did not take any effort to keep

the students focus on the materials given. She even ignored some students who

were busily talking to their friends or sending text messages through cell phones.

Some male students even put their cell phones on the table and sending text

messages or playing games and she did not even notice that. (OC: I must say that it

seemed a bit extreme to me). Bu Ninik did not do anything either. (OC: I guess she

was thinking that the class is totally the lecturer’s responsibility at that time.

However, I found it a bit irresponsible).

When it came to the exercise session, I was surprised to find the lecturer

led the session in Indonesian. She did not expect the students to answer in English

as well. However, some students managed to answer the questions in English, with

correct use of English terms. (OC: I actually expected the lecturer to lead the

session in English to encourage the students to speak English more). The lecturer

gave a positive feedback towards the students’ answer, but none of the feedback

was a compliment that the students were using English. (OC: I thought that the

whole idea of an international class is also for the teacher to encourage the

students to speak English, right?). During the exercise session, I noticed that Bu

Ninik was busy helping the students who were facing difficulties in finishing the

exercise. (OC: Well, at least the regular teacher paid some contribution to the

ongoing teaching-learning activities).

After a short wrap-up session as the closing session of the Chemistry

period, the class was finally over. The lecturer said, “Anak-anak, sebelum keluar

kelas tolong handout-nya dikumpulkan di meja saya ya.” There was a loud bell

interrupting the class and the students did not wait for the lecturer to stop; they

simply packed their belongings, hand in the handouts and leave the room. Mita


98

and I waited until most of the students have left the room before approaching the

lecturer. We thanked her for letting us doing our observation in her classroom and

asked whether or not we were allowed to borrow one of the handouts to copy it.

(OC: There was no reading activity which could be seen from the teaching-

learning activities. All classroom activities were based on the lecturer’s

explanation. The explanation was based on the handout, of course, but students

paid attention only to the whiteboard, not to the modules or handouts).


99

APPENDIX 9 Physics Field Notes


100

FIELD NOTES

Date: Friday, April 18, 2008

SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

Physics Class

Teacher: Mr. Triyana from UGM

Topic: Thermodynamic, Theory and Approach

The guest lecturer, as far as I know, was a lecturer from Physics

Department in UGM. He presented the materials using his notebook and OHP

while he was also explaining some important things from his materials. The

materials presented were all in English, with several schemes, pictures, and tables,

which gave more clearly explanation for the students. (OC: I noticed that the

PowerPoint file had so many pages of materials. Could he deliver all the materials

in less than two hours?) The materials were having some mistakes in sentence

structure, diction and vocabularies; for example, it was written ignitation instead

of ignition.

Unfortunately, the guest lecturer barely used English as his communication

language in the class. He only used English in several words and register which

were familiar to the students. Prior the class, the guest lecturer had a small

conversation with the observers and he said that he had difficulty in using English

for he did not speak English well. He also said that he was afraid that the students

have difficulties in understanding the materials. (OC: This is the first guest

lecturer who literally had a conversation with the observers. It was good that he

admitted that he could not speak English well, which in my opinion made him

sound genuine and nice.)

Regarding the materials given to the students in this session, apparently,

the materials were not the continuation from the regular materials given to the

students by the regular teacher. So, the students had to learn something new

brought by the guest lecturer in a very short time. Moreover, the guest lecturer did

not give enough and thorough explanation related to the topic (OC: It seemed to

me that the lecturer just walking here and there, giving some hints to students who

were copying the materials from the slideshow). Next, the students were then had


101

to do the exercises using English. The exercises seemed having no relation to the

topic given that day.

The teaching-learning style in this Physics class was pure teacher-centered

for the guest lecturer explained all the materials and asked some questions to the

students to build their eagerness and attention. The students were very passive.

Only few of them asked questions, sadly in Indonesian, and answered briefly by

the guest lecturer. Several students were not given enough attention by the guest

teacher because he apparently only paid attention to the closest row with the

teacher’s desk and neglected the other rows. This situation caused some students

in the back to be able to do other activities and did not pay attention to the

materials. One student in the back row was even able to open her personal

notebook and got busy with it during the class before the regular teacher, who

were sitting behind her, asked her to shut the note book down. (OC: But even when

the teacher was sitting behind her, she could make herself busy with her own

notebook? What happened with students nowadays?)

Although the guest teacher had given the exercise in English, the class did

not have enough time to have a thorough class discussion. So, the class was ended

and the students were asked to do the exercise at home and they were asked to

submit it to their teacher, not to their guest lecturer (OC: In general, I did not see

this class implement CBI at all. The explanation and discussion were conducted in

Indonesian and there was no reading activity in English that really took place. I

think, the lecturer should learn to device English as the instructional language).


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ON THE 11 TH GRADE STUDENTS RE ADING … · viii understanding, patience, sacrif ices, trust, determination, and education have given me strength and courage to live my life. I would