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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background In this section you need to present three items: (1) a brief introduction to the general area to be addressed by the study; (2) the problems to solve or phenomena to figure out and their urgency to deal with; and (3) reason(s) for choosing the topic. In one to two paragraphs, introduce the general area to be addressed by the study. Use the description to create a sense of interest in the topic. In ELT research, these introductory paragraphs can be written by showing the high certain teaching techniques, media, material, etc. to succeed English teaching. The following example hopefully helps you write an introductory paragraph for your case study report. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has increasingly played a major role in the second/foreign language teaching and learning. The beginning of this trend can be traced to the 1930s when instructors used audiovisual tools to deliver content in the classroom (Roblyer, 2002). Later, the use of audio recordings, television, films, video, and computers in the trials to bring the target language and culture to students in the 1960s has made ICT linked closer with foreign language teaching. Then, the shift of language teaching pedagogy during the 1980s to 2000s to communicative language teaching, with an emphasis on sociocultural variables, cooperative group learning, and student engagement in authentic, meaningful, and interactive contextualized discourse (Warschauer and Meskill, 2000; Brown, 2000), necessitates more sophisticated educational technologies, and the internet and its related applications seem to be a good response to meet this need. One of the most recent but rapidly popular internet applications is the weblogs, (also known as blogs), which began to exist in the cyberspace community in 1998 but had been used by over 200 million of bloggers in 2009. Although blogs were initially created as a tool for people to create online journals, their ease of use and their offer of free powerful online publishing house have immediately attracted educators to use this new internet application in language teaching and learning. Many researchers and teachers see that when used in language classes, blogs may show tremendous advantages both to teachers and students, because they provide learners with genuine writing practice (Brooks, Nichols, and Priebe, 2004); offer a venue in which they can reflect, comment, question, review, and communicate outside the classroom in an authentic
Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

environment (Pinkman, 2005; Bella, 2005) provide an alternative way of communicating with teachers and peers (Mynard, 2007); and provide an opportunity to create a virtual collaborative classroom environment (Zorko, 2009; Philip and Nicholls, 2009). Reveal the real problems and show why it is urgent to solve them. Use factual data (obtained by researchers observation or quoted from valid references) to support the urgency of carrying out studies to solve the problem. Relevant results of previous researches are also good to write here. Check these paragraphs. Many features of blog make it very advantageous to use in writing classes. Blogs allow learners to communicate directly, inexpensively, and conveniently with other learners without time, place, and technical restrictions. Therefore, the use of this internet application is very potential to motivate students intrinsically, to enable them to exert a measure of control over their learning, to provide them with a number of authentic materials, and to allow them to communicate with real audiences. However, the use of blogs in writing classes is still in its stage of infancy. To use it effectively for developing our students writing skills, we need to have appropriate theoretical basis. We need to have a sound knowledge on the what and the how of the new technology. We also need to grasp how it can fit with our understanding of writing development and how it can best support our pedagogical practice. Last but not least, we need to know what our students think and feel about the use of the new technology. Therefore, the researcher hopes that the results of this novel study on students interest and perception on the use of BALL (Blog Assisted Language Learning) as an additional component in writing skills development will enrich the insights for incorporating blogging as a tool to develop students writing skills.

Before closing this background section, provide reason(s) for choosing the topic. Write a paragraph to accommodate this. The following sample might inspire you to write your own. As one of the lecturers who are keen of using BALL as an additional component in writing skills development, the present writer was interested to whether the students have or have not interests and positive attitudes on it. By getting such information, the writer will have more consideration before deciding to proceed, modify, or stop BALL in writing classes.

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

B. Research Questions (for qualitative or mixed method only) List 1 or 2 problems identified from the background in interrogative sentences. See the following. The problem to be addressed in this study is the students perception and interest in the use of blogs to develop writing skills. Although the nature of blogs emerge them advantageous to be used to develop writing skills, blogs are a relatively new internet application. Thus, using them in writing classes without exploring the students perspectives is fundamentally risky. Thus, knowing what students think and whether they are interested in the use of blog or not is very crucial before implementing them in writing classes. The problem is formulated as follow: 1. What do students think of the use of blogs to develop writing skills? 2. Are students interested in the use of blogs to develop writing skills? C. Research Objectives Write down the specific, clear and to the point statements of intended outcomes from the research to undertake. Do this transforming the questions in the problem statement section into positive form. Look at the followings. The goal of this study is: 1. To discover and examine the students perception on the use of blogs to develop writing skills. 2. To investigate whether the students are interested in the use of blogs to develop writing skills. D. Research Significances List what advantages could be expected from the researchs result to as many parties as possible, e.g. to students involved in the study, to teaching practice, to ELT theories, and to the researchers themselves. The researcher wills this study could gives useful information and contributions to the teachers, and other researchers. 1. To teachers, the results of this study will hopefully provide information about students perception and interest in the use of blogs to develop writing skills. 2. To other researchers, the results of this study can provide a basis for conducting researches on the same area.

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

E. Research Scope In a paragraph, describe the exact area of the research, such as period of time, unit of analysis (e.g., policy, programs, activities, actual behaviors etc.). Keep in mind that those items should be in line with the title. Due to the researcher time and budget constraints, the participants in this study will be limited to students of the English Education Study Program of UKI only. In addition, the data will be collected through a survey and interview at one point in time (cross-sectional study). Therefore, the findings may be valid only to students in the single study program. It cannot be generalized to other students in other institutions. F. Operational Definitions Take some words from the title which you think could possibly be multiinterpreted by different readers (three to five terms will do) and define each of the words in accordance with the context of the study.

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW, CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, AND HYPOTHESIS A. Literature Review Summarize relevant concepts provided by experts as references to the undertaken study. In this section you need to cite from some external scientific works which will add credibility to your ideas. However, any time you cite from external materials, you are required to identify the sources in the form of systematic references. However, any time you cite from external materials, you are required to identify the sources in the form of systematic references. This identification will not only give credit to the ideas and work of other scientists (and thus, prevent plagiarism) but also provide the readers with access to these sources. To get a guidelines for doing this, see Citing and Referencing in Research Papers. B. Conceptual Framework In one to two paragraphs relate the background to the problems and show how the action research conducted will hopefully provide solutions to the problems. C. Hypothesis (for quantitative or mixed method only) State the hypothesis in the form of null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis.

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Question Restatement (for qualitative or mixed method only) Restate the research questions to make it easy to check that the methodology used was consistent with the questions to answer. B. Research Design Briefly but concisely describe (two paragraph will suffice) the research design used e.g., survey or mixed method and argue why that design is used. If the method is survey, explain whether the study is cross-sectional or longitudinal, and relate the types choice to the goal of the study. C.1. Population and Sample (for quantitative or mixed method only) Describe the population and the sample drawn for the study. Explain what sampling technique was employed and why it was. C.2. Research Participant (for case study only) Describe the individual(s) or group(s) participated in the study. D. Data Collection Procedure In this section, describe how the data will be collected, including the specific technique, its procedure and the instruments for collecting data. If, for instance, the data will be collected using tests, describe the feature of the tests and how they will be administered. Do the same to questionnaire, observation and interview if they will also be used. E. Validity and Reliability (for quantitative method only) Describe how the instrument (e.g. questioner, tests) employed to obtain the data were tested to guarantee its validity and reliability. If the instrument to be used was designed by someone else, then describe the previous validity and reliability. In qualitative research, this section is entitled with triangulation (see G below).

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

F. Data Analysis Technique Briefly but concisely describe the research data analysis technique to be used i.e. descriptive analysis and the statistical analysis (e.g. t-test)if one will be used. G. Data Triangulation (for qualitative or mixed method only) Describe each of the data triangulation techniques to be used to guarantee the data validity. If, for instance, theoretical and time triangulation will be used, provide the rationale of employing them.

HI. Research Procedure List the general steps of conducting the action research, beginning from the step of forming the research teamwork, asking permission from the school headmaster (if necessary), conducting the research, and writing the report.

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In a single paragraph, provide a comprehensive introduction to this chapter. List what you are going to present successively. The following is a sample of an introductory paragraph. This chapter presented the collected data during the action research and discussions on them. It starts with the presentation of the data were obtained through direct observations, observation sheet filled in by the observer(s) during the learning activities, pre-test and post-tests, interviews and questionnaire filled in by the subjects. (Make sure the data sources are consistent with what you wrote in section E of Research Methodology section explaining about the instruments).

A. Results 1. Data Description a. Descriptive Analysis Compare interesting and relevant points obtained in each cycle. Direct them to show the learning improvements or progress resulted by the action from the initial condition to the end of cycle1, from cycle one to the end of to cycle 2, and so on. Depending on the focus of your action research, the learning improvements or progress may take place in the students attitudes (enthusiasm, diligence, interest, and so on) and/or learning achievement (as shown by the scores increase). Use the data obtained via observation sheet, questionnaires, and interviews conducted in each cycle to prove the progress or improvement. You should also refer these findings (the progress or improvement) to relevant theories provided in Chapter 2. The findings may justify, support, strengthen, or, on the other hand, reject or dispute. The following illustration is quoted from the descriptive analysis of an action research entitled Vocabulary Enrichment Using Pictures among Fifth Graders.
Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

The 40 items of the vocabulary test in each of post test-1 and post test-2 were designed to comprise of 20 concrete words and 20 abstract words. It was found that all students could do all the concrete word items correctly in both post test-1 and post test2, but none of them correctly answered all the abstract word items. This indicated that pictures are very effective to use for teaching concrete words but less valuable to teach abstract words. This is in line with McCarthys (2007) premise that pictures are insufficient media to illustrate the meaning of abstract words (p. 115)

b. Hypothesis Test Report the final result of the statistical calculation used to test the hypothesis. Based on these figures, state which hypothesis (Ho or H1) is accepted and which is rejected. After the hypothesis acceptance and rejection statement, in some sentences express reasonable interpretation. In most cases, this statistical result is shown to support each other with the learning improvements described in the previously descriptive analysis section. Look at the following sample. Having analyzed the data of pre-test and post-test of cycle-2 by using t-test formula, the result shows that the coefficient is 13,420. It means that there is a significance increase in the students achievement in the teaching of vocabulary using colors. This means that the alternative hypothesis (Ha), which states that the teaching of vocabulary using colors can provide better achievement in students, is accepted, and the null hypothesis (Ho) which states the teaching of vocabulary using colors cannot provide better achievement in students is rejected. B. Discussion In this section, explain the results you have previously described. You should interpret the results in light of other published results, by adding additional information from sources you cited in the Literary Review section as well as by introducing new sources. Make sure you provide accurate citations. Relate your discussion back to the objectives and questions you raised in the Introduction section. However, do not simply re-state the objectives. Make statements that synthesize all the evidence (including previous work and the current work).

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

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CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS

A. Conclusions Briefly but concisely summarize the results you have presented in Chapter IV. As a practical guide, just remember that the conclusion(s), plain and simple, is (are) the answer (s) to the research question(s) and/or the hypothesis. After that, in another paragraph, interpret the findings, including the hypothesis test result, by indicating whether the results confirm, totally or in part, your original expectations or predictions. The following paragraphs might inspire you to write conclusion section of your skripsi. As revealed through the findings of this study, a majority of the respondents basically viewed the use of BALL to develop writing interesting and effective. More than a half of them admitted they wrote more productively after joining BALL. The internet facilities (authentic articles and writing manuals) they could easily access while writing in the blog were very helpful to produce good writing. They also used fellow students works as a mirror to prevent errors. The greatest motivating factor for the respondents in writing in the blog is their realization that their works were visible to many people in the world. This awareness motivated them to check word choice and spelling more carefully. Responses disparities found among the four groups revealed degree of interest and perception. Successively, the group that acknowledged to have got many advantages of, showed the highest interest, and responded most positively to the use BALL to develop writing skills was the seniors, juniors, sophomore, and freshmen. By relating this to the length of accessing internet and the students level of writing skills, it is obvious that the students familiarity with internet browsing skills and their level of writing mastery affected their interest and perception on the blogging activities. The statistical analysis revealed that the students interest and perceptions were positively and significantly correlated, and both variables significantly affected each other. Thus, it is a good idea to design a BALL as interestingly as possible to students before using it to develop students writing skill. B. Recommendations A recommendation is what you believe should be done in future research to clarify the results, as well as where you believe a solution to a problem might be. In this section, you have the opportunity to present and discuss the actions
Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

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that future researchers should take as a result of your study. A well-thought-out set of recommendations makes it more likely that your readers will take your recommendations seriously. In other words, make a formal recommendation regarding the alternative that is best supported by your study. Look at the following example. This study concentrates only on students interest and perceptions with limited respondents from a single institution. As a consequence, more research needs to be done to determine how to most effectively use blogs in order to make better use of this interesting and authentic computer-based resource. One prospect for future research is to compare student learning outcomes between classes using a blended learning approach versus those using traditional instruction. Another possibility is to examine user perceptions of online learning modules where the online learning units are considerably shorter in length than those employed in this study.

Outline of ELT Case Study and Survey-Based Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)