Students’ Perception of Project-Based Learning Implementation in Teaching English to Young Learners Class

Abstract

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan persepsi siswa tentang penerapan Pembelajaran Berbasis Proyek (PjBL) di kelas Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL). TEYL adalah mata kuliah wajib untuk mahasiswa tahun ketiga sebagai penciri jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris sebuah universitas swasta di Indonesia. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian tersebut, data diperoleh melalui angket dan observasi. Hasil temuan penelitian ini diharapkan dapat memberikan kontribusi terhadap body of knowledge penelitian tentang TEYL dan secara khusus memberikan wawasan lebih bagi para peneliti di TEYL. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain penelitian kualiitatif dan dilaksanakan di kelas TEYL dengan 32 mahasiswa sebagai responden. Angket digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data tentang persepsi mahasiswa terhadap implementasi PjBL dan lembar observasi digunakan untuk mengetahui keterlibatan mahasiswa di kelas. Kuesioner dibuat berdasarkan teori Robbins and Judge (2013). Data kemudian dianalisis secara tematik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa mempersepsikan proyek secara netral untuk tiga aspek perciever, target dan situation. Para siswa tidak terlalu termotivasi dan terlibat dalam proyek karena tantangan Covid 19 terjadi dalam waktu bersamaan pada pelaksanaan penelitian. Mereka dipaksa untuk melaksanakan pembelajaran online dan melaksanakan proyek secara individu dengan pembimbingan secara luring yang kurang intensif.

This research is aimed to portray the students’ perception of the implementation of PjBL in a Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL)  class. To answer the questions, the data are obtained through a questionnaire and observation. The findings of the research are expected to contribute to the body of knowledge of research on TEYL and specifically to give more insights to researchers in TEYL. Using qualitative research design, the study was implemented in a TEYL class with 32 students as the participants of English Education Department of Universitas Muria Kudus in the academic year 2019/2020. A questionnaire was used to collect the data and was analyzed thematically using percentage. The research reveals that the students perceived the project neutrally for three aspects of perceiver, target and situation. The observation shows that the students have limited access to their group members out of classroom discussion. In addition, the lecturer only gave minimum assistance before and after the completion of the project. During the project completion, either the lecturer and students or the students and the students seemed not connected. Further factors that might contribute to the success of PjBL should be taken into account, such as the teacher’s role as facilitator, the use of various technological learning media and effective communication between students and teacher and among students themselves.