Research Method

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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD This is a descriptive qualitative research. It tries to identify the actual constraints of the English teaching and learning process at SD Muhammadiyah Girikerto.

A. Setting of the Research This study takes place at SD Muhammadiyah Girikerto. The school is located in kecamatan Turi, kabupaten Sleman, Yogyakarta. SD Muhammadiyah Girikerto has six classrooms. The size of each classroom is 6 x 7 metres. Besides, there is an office for headmaster, a common room for the teachers, a library, and a kitchen. The total number of the teachers at SD Muhammadiyah Girikerto is 14. The average class size is about 30-40 students. In this study, the researcher focuses on class IV up to class VI where English is taught.

B. Subject of the Research The subjects of the research are the English teacher, students of class IV up to IV, the headmaster, and some teachers of SD Muhammadiyah Girikerto who can give information about the constraints in the English teaching and learning process.

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C. Data Collection Technique The data of the research are information about the constraints in the English teaching and learning process. The information is in the form of words, actions, and the description of certain situations. The data are collected through observations and in-depth interviews with the subjects of the research. The observation is conducted during the English teaching and learning process in the classroom. The observation result is written in the form of field note. The in-depth interview used to confirm and enrich the data which are obtained from the observation. The interview result is written in the form of interview transcript. Finally, by considering the results of the observation and interview, the researcher continued collecting the data until the data become redundant.

D. Research Instrument 1. The main instrument of the research is the researcher herself. Moleong (2001: 121) states that in qualitative research the researcher plays the role as the designer, the data collector, the analyst, and the data interpreter. In the observation process, she acts as the observer. While in the in-depth interview she acts as the interviewer. 2. Interview Guide The interview guide is provided as secondary instrument (Moleong: 2001: 121). The interview guide is a list of points of topics, which the interviewer must cover during the interview. It consists of three parts; they

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are the headmaster, teachers, and students. The items of the questions are outlined below: a. The interview guide for the headmaster, including: 1) the background study of the headmaster, 2) the headmaster’s experience in English teaching, and 3) the headmaster’s preparation in English teaching. b. The interview guide for the teacher 1) The background of the teacher 2) The teacher’s experience in the English teaching, including experience in: a) the teaching and learning process, b) choosing the material, c) managing the students, d) using time, e) using media, and f) using method. c. The interview guide for the students, including: 1) the students’ background, 2) the

students’

difficulties

in

learning

English, and 3) the students’ feeling in learning English.

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E. Data Analysis The process of the data analysis was started when the researcher collect the data in the classroom. The processes of analyzing the data were as follows: 1. Putting all the data collected from observation in the form of sentences into several cards. 2. Categorizing the data and giving a topic to each category 3. Deciding focuses of the research in the categories available 4. Doing in-depth interviews with the students and the teachers based on the focuses. 5. Sharpening and strengthening each focus until the data became redundant. (Moleong, 2001: 172)

F. Triangulation Burns (1999: 169) states that triangulation is one of the most commonly used and best known ways of checking for validity. The aim of triangulation is to gather multiple perspectives on the situation being studied. Silverman in Burns (1999: 169) defines triangulation as: Comparing different kinds of data (e.g. quantitative and qualitative) and different methods (e.g. observation and interview) to see whether they corroborate one another… this form of comparison, called triangulation, derives from another navigation, where different bearings give the correct position of an object. In this study, the triangulation technique was used to get the trustworthiness by analyzing and by comparing the collected data from

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headmaster, teachers, and students.