THE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENT’S CONCEPT OF LEARNING ENGLISH THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora ( M. Hum.) in English Language Study by Nurchotimah 056332021 THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDY SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2008 THE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENT’S CONCEPT OF LEARNING ENGLISH THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora ( M. Hum.) in English Language Study by Nurchotimah 056332021 THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDY SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2008 i ii iii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that all ideas, phrases, sentences, unless otherwise stated, are the ideas, phrases, and sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences including degree cancellation if she took somebody else’s ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper references. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to show my greatest gratitude to Allah, the Merciful and the Compassionate, for everything granted to me so that I have finished this thesis. Thesis writing is the hardest task I have ever experienced in my life. Total commitment, tough effort, persistence to fight against the difficulty, and uncountable contribution from my sincere teachers in the Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma Yogyakarta, were mixed together for the accomplishment of this thesis. I am truly grateful to Dr. Novita Dewi, M.S., M.A., my thesis supervisor, for her real support and guidance. I will never forget her motherly care given to me when I was down facing a hard life. I am awfully sorry for missing the target of the thesis accomplishment before she went abroad. In particular, I wish to thank Dr. J. Bismoko, who was then my thesis supervisor. The breadth and the depth of his current and global perspectives in English Language Education has broadened and sharpened my perspectives in teaching English even though it took me long time to understand because of my limitation. I also thank Drs. F.X. Mukarto, M.S., Ph.D. for his great contribution and helpful suggestion. He has raised my spirit to keep on trying and show to resolve the difficulties. My gratitude also goes to Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A., the Head of the Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University. I thank him for being punctual, well-prepared classes, and his great concern on giving useful feedback during the lecturing process. I also thank Prof. Dr. Soepomo Poedjo Soedarmo, I learnt much from their classes and got some rich and precious experiences. A word of many thanks goes to LPMP (Lembaga Penjamin Mutu Pendidikan) Yogyakarta and BKD (Badan Kepegawaian Daerah) Sleman Regency for the scholarship and the funding support given to me. It was a great honour and luck for me to have a chance to pursue my self-professional development by joining the Graduate Program in Sanata Dharma University. It seemed to me that I would never have studied in this prestigious University unless v both government institutions had provided the scholarship. I also thank Dinas Pendidikan Sleman, who helps me much with official administration. I am thankful to my research participants: Devi, Puji, Yustinus, and Ana, who spent their time to join this project in spite of their full school activities. Their stories from their personal learning experiences at school and outside the classroom have really become rich and valuable sources of the narratives I wrote in this thesis. I also thank Mbak Lelyana, the administration staff of the Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University for her assistance to overcome some technical problems in my study. My love gratitude also goes to my friends in same batch in English Language Studies for the togetherness during my academic years in this school. The moments we shared together full of joy, laughter, and jokes, were unforgettable. Special thanks go to Mbak Rin Surtantini, my senior, who involved me as one of the participant in her study. This was a kind of learning by doing. I learnt how the research should be done through this project and she did it perfectly. I would also like to thank the headmaster of SMK Muhammadiyah I Tempel, Drs. Akhid Yusroni and all teachers. They have supported me to finish the study as soon as possible. I am fully aware that the accomplishment of this thesis was not separated from deep understandings of my children, Ibrahim Alhanif, Nida’ul Hanifah, Ibnu fuad Alhanif and their father, Mas Suradi S. Ag. I thank them so much for everything. The last gratitude is addressed to my parents, Bapak Komari and Ibu Katirah, for their prayers. I promise to be a faithful daughter to always accompany in their elderly time and pray for their happiness forever. Yogyakarta, January 11, 2008. Nurchotimah vi TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE …………………………………………………………. i APROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………… ii THESIS DEFENCE APROVAL PAGE ……………………………… iii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY…………………………………… iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………… vii LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………. ix LIST OF TABLE ………………………………………………………. x ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………. xi ABSTRAK ……………………………………………………………… xii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION …………………………………… 1 A. Background of the Study ……………………………………………. 1 B. Problem Identification …. ………………………………………… 4 C. Problem Limitation ……………………………………………. 5 D. Research Questions ……………………………………………. 6 E. Research Goals and Objectives …………………………………… 6 F. Research Benefits ……………………………………………………. 7 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………. 9 A. Theoretical Review ……………………………………………. 9 1. Vocational school ……………………………………………. 9 a. Characteristics ……………………………................................ 10 b. Student ………………………………….................................. 12 2. Student’s concept …………………………………………………. 14 a. Definition of ‘concept’ ………………………………………... 14 b. Definition of learning ………………………………………….. 17 3. Learning English …………………………………………………. 19 a. Learning English at vocational school ………………………… 24 b. Factors affecting learning English …………………………….. 28 4. Progressive qualitative research ...................................................... 36 B. Theoretical Framework …………………………………………… 38 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY …………………………………… 42 A. Research Method ……………………………………………………… 42 B. The Nature of Data ……………………………………………………. 43 C. Data Sources …………………………………………………………... 43 D. Data Gathering Instruments and Data Presentation …………………… 45 E. Research Procedure and Data Processing ……………………………... 47 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ……………………………………………. 53 A. Data Analysis …………………………………………......................... 53 1. Procession class observation data …………………………………. 53 2. Improving the blueprint for interview ……………………………… 55 3. Conducting in-depth interview to gain interview data ……………... 56 4. Processing observation and interview data ………………………… 57 vii 5. Thematizing the relationships between student’s actions and student’s reasons ……………………………………………... 58 6. Constructing the tentative profile of each personal concept …......... 59 7. Conducting individual student’s reflection ……………………….... 60 8. Analyzing the contribution to the learning success ……………....... 60 B. Findings ………………………………………………......................... 61 1. The profile of Dea’s concept ………………………. ..................... 61 2. The profile of Sri’s concept ……………………….......................... 63 3. The profile of Yonas’ concept …………………………….............. 65 4. The profile of Putri’s concept …………………….......................... 67 C. Discussion ………………………………………………………......... 69 1. Individual concept of language learning in interpreted narratives........................................................................................... 69 a. Dea’s personal concept …………………………...................... 69 b. Sri’s personal concept ………………………............................ 76 c. Yonas’ personal concept ………………………………............ 81 d. Putri’s personal concept ………………………….................... 89 2. The contribution of their concept to the learning success ................ 96 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS………………………......................... 104 A. Conclusions …………………………………....................................... 104 B. Implications ........................................................................................... 106 C. Recommendations ................................................................................. 107 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................... 109 APPENDICES …………………………………....................................... 112 Appendix 1: Observation Data ……………………………………............ 112 Appendix 2: Interview data / Transcript of Interview ……………………. 123 Appendix 3: Research Journal ……………………………………………. 158 Appendix 4: Category of Interview Data (1) ……………………………... 167 Appendix 5: Category of Observation and Interview Data (2) …………… 177 Appendix 6: Data Gathering Schedule …………………………………… 197 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Theoretical framework for student’s concept, action and reflection ………………………........................ 40 Figure 3.1 Vocational student’s concept of language learning from various viewpoints from different data sources …………... 46 Figure 3.2 Building a picture of vocational student’s concept of learning English …........................................................... 48 Figure 3.3 Data gathering and processing ………………………......... 52 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1.1 Blue print for class observation …………………………. 49 Table