The Students’ Perceptions on the Engagement of Using Small Group Discussion Technique in English learning at High School

Abstract

Perceptions are interpreting the information process. The study subject was 11th grade EFL students, SMKN 1 Banjarmasin. Therefore, 108 EFL students were taken as the sample by implementing a purposive sampling method. This study was aimed to analyze the EFL students’ perceptions of the engagement of applying the technique of Small Group Discussion (SGD) in learning English. It is crucial to know how EFL students’ perceptions of engagement during the implementation of the method of SGD for helping the EFL teacher evaluate their learning strategy. To solve the study problem, the researcher implemented a descriptive method and a qualitative approach.

Meanwhile, the researcher implemented the three instruments, namely observation, documentation, and the questionnaire in data collection. In analyzing the data, the researcher did three stages; data display, data reduction, as well as conclusion drawing. The study findings showed that the EFL students had a good perception of the engagement of implementing methods of SGD in learning English. The EFL students believed that the technique of SGD was suitable to be implemented in learning English. They stated that their collaboration with the EFL teacher and classmates become closer. Small group discussion method also impacted their self-efficacy, self-regulation, and their motivation in learning English. However, this method still had a weakness during its implementation. The EFL students were complaining about the passive member of the group and the noise, which made the learning activity no longer conducive. Therefore, the EFL teacher was suggested to be more active in handling the class.