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THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BLENDED LEARNING IN THE

ACADEMIC WRITING SUBJECT

(A Case Study of the First Semester Students of Masters Degree Program in

the Academic Year 2017/2018)

By

Fatma Indratama

S891602012

THESIS

Written as a partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for Graduate Education

Degree in English Language Teaching

GRADUATE PROGRAM OF ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2018

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MOTTO

“Fa-biayyi alaa’i Rabbi kuma tukadzdzi ban”

“So which of the favors of your lord would you deny?”

(Q.S. Ar-Rahman)

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DEDICATION

This thesis is whole-heartedly dedicated to:

My Parents, Zainuri and Sri Sumiati and my dearest brother, Hanan Adi

Wirawan

Thank you for the everlasting love, prayers, and support

My Husband, Diki Riswandi

Thank you for the love, care, and support

Myself

You still have a long journey

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ABSTRACT

Fatma Indratama. S891602012. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BLENDED

LEARNING IN THE ACADEMIC WRITING SUBJECT (A Case Study at the

First Semester Students of Masters Degree Program in the Academic Year

2017/2018) First Consultant: Dra. Dewi Rochsantiningsih, M. Ed, Ph.D. Second

Consultant:Dr. Nur Arifah Drajati, M. Pd. Thesis. Surakarta. Teacher Training

and Education Faculty. Sebelas Maret University. 2017.

The aims of this case study are (1) to describe the implementation of

Blended Learning in teaching Academic Writing at the graduate students in the

first semester and (2) to find out the students’ Academic Writing achievement

when using blended learning. The main subject of this research is the first

semester of graduate students in one of the university in Surakarta, Indonesia. The

data were obtained from the observation during the research, interview with the

students and the lecturer, questionnaire, and students’ writing production. The

data were in the form of interview transcripts, field notes, and students’

manuscript.

Based on the findings, it shows that: (1) Blended Learning which is applied

in the first semester of Masters Degree Program class runs well. The practice of

Blended Learning is implemented in three stages: initial stage, implementation

stage, and final stage. The lecturer applies four learning methods in Blended

Learning implementation which consists of face to face learning, massive open

online course (MOOC), blogging, and writing literacy. In learning Academic

Writing through Blended Learning, the students not only get a deep understanding

of the material that is given in the classroom but also the students can get the

support in getting free-flowing information by socializing with people. Besides

those advantages, there are also some effects in blog activities: facilitates students’

critical thinking, provides examples for students for modeling and learning,

affects students’ quality of writing, facilitates meaningful learning, and gives

students a purpose of writing. Meanwhile, writing literacycan support students’

academic literacy.(2)The students’ achievement during the learning process by

using Blended Learning was analyzed and observed by the researcher. The

improvement of students’ writing in producing manuscript could be seen in all

aspects of Academic Writing (suitability, content, vocabulary, written expression,

and format/ logical organization). Blended Learning helps the students to improve

their skill in writing a manuscript which isgrammatically correct, the content is

relevant, current, and interesting, and the logical organization is well organized.

By employing Blended Learning in Academic Writing teaching and learning

process, the lecturer facilitates the learning so that the learning goal and objectives

can be achieved effectively. The result of this research implies that lecturer needs

to focus on providing more guidance and also the facilities need to improve so

that the value of Blended Learning can improve.

Keywords: blended learning, academic writing, in-class learning, online learning

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillah that Allah SWT has given his priceless gift to the writer so

that through a long process of education she can accomplish this thesis. In

addition, the writer is fully aware that her thesis can never be completed without

the help of others during the process of writing. Therefore, she would like to

express her deepest gratitude to:

1. The Dean of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of SebelasMaret

University for his permission in conducting this research.

2. The Head of English Education Department of Graduate

ProgramSebelasMaret University for giving permission to write this thesis.

3. Dra. DewiRochsantiningsih, M. Ed, Ph.D. as the Consultant I for her

supervision, advice, encouragement, criticism, and guidance of every step in

the process from the very beginning of the project.

4. Dr. NurArifahDrajati, M.Pd. as the Consultant II for her permission to write

this thesis and for her guidance from the very beginning process of research

planning to research reporting.

5. All the lecturers of English Education Department of Maters Degree Program

inSebelasMaret Universityfor their countless knowledge and inspiration

during my study.

6. The greatest thanks are also directed to the writer’s best friend,

InsyirahAnwari, for her understandingduring the process of this research.

7. The special thanks are also given to the writer’s friends in class Salebes

Teram of Maters Degree Program. Thank you for loves, motivation, and

laughs.

The researcher hopes this research provides a contribution for quality

development of educational practice, especially for teaching Academic Writing

subject.

Surakarta, January 2018

Fatma Indratama

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE OF THE RESEARCH ........................................................................... i

PRONOUNCEMENT ...................................................................................... ii

SUBMISSION ................................................................................................ iii

THE APPROVAL OF THE CONSULTANTS .............................................. iv

LEGITIMATION ..............................................................................................v

MOTTO .......................................................................................................... vi

DEDICATION ............................................................................................... vii

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................x

TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................. xii

LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................xv

LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................... xvi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study .................................................................... 1

B. Problem Statement ............................................................................. 5

C. Objectives of the Research ................................................................. 6

D. Significance of the Research .............................................................. 6

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Blended Learning in Language Teaching and Learning .................... 8

1. Techniques in Teaching Language .............................................. 8

2. Blended Learning in Teaching Language ................................... 9

3. Definition of Blended Learning .................................................. 9

4. Characteristics of Blended Learning .......................................... 9

5. Types of Blended Learning ....................................................... 10

6. Advantages of Blended Learning .............................................. 10

B. Writing for Academics ..................................................................... 11

1. Definition of Writing ................................................................... 11

2. Process of Writing ....................................................................... 12

3. The Difficulties in Writing .......................................................... 12

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4. Principles of Academic Writing .................................................. 13

5. Indicators of Academic Writing .................................................. 14

6. The Difficulties of Academic Writing ........................................ 14

C. Blended Learning in Teaching Academic Writing .......................... 15

1. Challenges in Academic Writing Subject .................................. 15

2. Designing Blended Learning in Teaching Academic Writing ... 15

D. Review of Related Research ............................................................ 16

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Setting of the Research ..................................................................... 22

B. Subject of the Research ................................................................... 22

C. Method of the Research .................................................................... 23

D. Source of Data ................................................................................. 24

E. Technique of Collecting Data ......................................................... 25

F. Trustwothinness ............................................................................... 27

G. Technique of Analyzing Data ......................................................... 28

CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

A. Description of the Research Setting/ Object .................................... 31

B. Research Findings ............................................................................ 32

1. The Implementation of Blended Learning Approach in

Academic Writing Class ................................................................ 34

a. Teaching Academic Writing Documents for Master Students

in the First Semester ................................................................. 34

b. The Practice of Blended Learning Approach in Academic

Writing Class ............................................................................. 37

c. Classroom Climate .................................................................... 46

d. The Role of Lecturer and Students in Blended Learning

Approach During Academic Writing Class .............................. 48

e. The Difficulties in Conducting Blended Learning Approach

in Academic Writing Class ....................................................... 56

2. The Students’ Academic Writing Achievement When Using

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Blended Learning Approach .......................................................... 61

a. The Process of Students’ Writing.............................................. 61

b. Students’ Writing Improvement ............................................... 63

C. Discussion ....................................................................................... 67

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion ........................................................................................ 76

B. Implication ....................................................................................... 81

C. Suggestion ........................................................................................ 82

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 84

APPENDICES ........................................................................................... 88

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Research Timeline...........................................................................22

Table 4.1 The Summary of Research Findings ...............................................32

Table 4.2 The Description of Academic Writing Learning Using Blended

Learning Approach ........................................................................ 37

Table 5.1 Blended Learning Activities in Academic Writing Class ...............76

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LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX I ................................................................................................ 88

1. Transcript of lecturer’ interview ........................................................ 91

2. Transcript of students’ interview ...................................................... 98

APPENDIX II ............................................................................................ 124

1. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 1 ......................................................................................... 125

2. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 2 ......................................................................................... 128

3. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 3 ......................................................................................... 131

4. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 4 ......................................................................................... 134

5. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 5 ......................................................................................... 137

6. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 6 ......................................................................................... 140

7. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 7 ......................................................................................... 143

8. Field note of classroom observation in academic writing class

Meeting 8 ......................................................................................... 145

APPENDIX III ........................................................................................... 147

1. Students’ activity in MOOC ........................................................... 148

2. Students’ writing production (original article, reviewing, and

revision article) ................... .................. .................. .....................151

3. Student’s writing check in Grammarly .......................................... 159

4. Student’s KM writing ..................................................................... 161

APPENDIX IV ........................................................................................... 162

1. Result of questionnaire ................................................................... 167

APPENDIX V ............................................................................................ 170

1. Curriculum .................................................................................... 171

2. Syllabus ......................................................................................... 179

APPENDIX VI ........................................................................................... 184

1. Rubric for Academic Writing ....................................................... 185

APPENDIX VII ......................................................................................... 189

1. Photographs ................................................................................... 190