The Application of Small Group Discussion Method in Dokkai Class

by Using Nama Kyouzai as the Learning Media

Dini Maulia

Japanese Language Departement, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia

Keywords: Dokkai, Small Group Discussion, Nama Kyouzai.

Abstract: Dokkai is a course that is given to a 6th semester university student of the Japanese department at Andalas

University. The literal definition of Dokkai is “to read”; but in practice, the subject is designed to improve

student’s reading capability in understanding texts which are written in Japanese. Even though the main

purpose of the subject to improve the Japanese reading skill, it also includes kanji mastery, Japanese sentences

patterns, as well as general oral and written Japanese competency. In the previous semesters the learning

process is teacher centered. However, this method is inappropriate for the educational aims of Dokkai. This

essay proposes a Student Centered Learning (SCL) approach in the form of small group discussions by making

use of available electronic and conventionally published Nama Kyozai (learning materials).This method

succeeded in improving student’s reading capability as the students became more active within the classes.

As the result, students improved their Japanese language skills and examination mark.

1 INTRODUCTION

Dokkai (SJP 332) is given to Japanese department

students in Andalas Universtity in their 6

semester,

the course is worth 2 credits. Dokkai literally means

“to read” and the course is proposed to improve the

reading ability of students. As the students improve

their reading skill they will also be able to improve

other language skills including:

a. The ability to understand kanji, words, the

structure of Japanese sentences.

b. The capacity to interpret Japanese text

c. The ability to discuss texts that are written in

Japanese.

d. Skills to convey and to deliver the content of

the text in Japanese

Dokkai is given to the students to complement

Chuukyuu Nihongo course (intermediate to Japanese

language structure), Chuukyuu Sakubun

(intermediate to Japanese composition), Chuukyuu

Kaiwa (intermediate to Japanese speaking), and

Hyouki II (understanding Japanese kanji). In other

words, Dokkai is given to the student to improve their

language ability in term of understanding kanji,

words, and sentences structure. The aims of the

courses are described as follow:

a. Students can understand kanji, words, and

intermediate Japanese language structure

b. Students may give an argument about the theme

of the Japanese texts and then discuss it in front

of the class

c. Students escalate their Japanese language skill

in both speaking and writing

d. Students are purposely designed to improve

their soft skill in both intrapersonal

(independency, critical and analytical thinking)

and interpersonal skill (tea works and oral

communication), as well as basic values

including integrity, discipline, hard work,

politeness, and confidence)

The Japanese department of Andalas University

uses the KKNI curriculum that prepares students for

the N3 level in Nouryoku Shiken (Japanese Language

Proficiency Test) which has a range of levels from N1

(highest) to N5 (lowest). Nouryoku Shiken (Japanese

Language Proficiency Test) is a Japanese government

exam and it is conducted at the same time around the

world. One of the main aspects that are examined at

every level of the Japanese Language Proficiency test

is Dokkai. This reflects the fact that Dokkai plays a

primary role in Japanese language curriculum system,

even though it is an elective course. Encouraging

students to take a Dokkai course will eventually help

Maulia, D.

The Application of Small Group Discussion Method in Dokkai Class by Using Nama Kyouzai as the Learning Media.

DOI: 10.5220/0008678600160021

In Improving Educational Quality Toward International Standard (ICED-QA 2018), pages 16-21

ISBN: 978-989-758-392-6

them to improve their ability in understanding

Japanese text. As students become familiar with text

in Japanese language, they will undoubtedly perform

better in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. If

students can pass the Japanese Language Proficiency

Test then the Japanese Language Department will

also have fulfilled the KKNI curriculum standard.

The Dokkai course was previously conducted

using Teacher Centered Learning (TCL). The

lecturer prepared the course materials such as books

written in Japanese language which were then

discussed during each meeting by the entire class. The

types of texts that are given to the students included

narrative texts, folklore texts, and any other type of

books that are available for Dokkai course. The books

that have been given to the Japanese Language

Department Students of Andalas University so far

are: Minna no Nihongo Chukyu 1 - 6, Dokusho no

Jikan, The Nihongo Journal, “Naze Nihonjin wa

Kinben, Kiyou, Yuufuku nano?”, as well as texts

from the Japanese Language Proficiency

examination. Texts from Nouryoku Shiken are given

so the students can be familiar with the Dokkai

section of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.

TCL requires the teacher to actively transfer their

knowledge to the students; students only passively

follow the teacher's instruction by translating the text

in small sections or word by word individually. After

the reading process, the students are required to

answer the questions regarding the texts that have

been read in group. However, this teaching method is

considered a less optimal way to achieve the

expected outcomes of the Dokkai Course that

correspond to the KKNI standard.

The TCL teaching method presently used in the

Dokkai course is only applicable to improve student

understanding of Kanji, Japanese words and language

structures along with an intermediate level of

interpretation and translation of Japanese texts.

However, it cannot fulfill two of the main aspects of

the Dokkai course: to improve student’s ability in

discussing a Japanese text producing a written text

and oral speech to convey the content of Japanese

text. This is because the students only work with the

exact content of the text during each meeting; they are

only encouraged to understand the text, but are not

trained to discuss the text orally or in written form. As

the result, the actual outcomes of Dokkai course may

be less suited to the current curriculum.

The aspects of Dokkai course that are not coverted

in the current TCL approach consist of making an

argument and using Japanese oral and written

language and intrapersonal and interpersonal soft

skill competencies. The cause of this shortcoming

comes from the fact that students are not required to

speak in Japanese during Dokkai course sessions.

Students work individually instead of in discussion

groups, so the student can not practice and improve

their interpersonal soft skills. It can be implied that

this TCL approach for the Dokkai course is not

suitable in fulfilling the purposed outcomes and a

different teaching approach is required to fit KKNI

curriculum.

A pass in a Dokkai course was easier when the

TCL appraoch was used as evidenced by the results

of the previous semester before the SCL approach

was trialed. The following record is taken from 46

students from Dokkai course of the previous

semester.

Table 1: Students grade in Dokkai Last Semester

Course Result

A-

B+

B-

C+

C-

Number of

Students

Percentage

10.8 %

8.69%

6.52%

15.22%

13.04%

17.39%

6.52%

8.69%

13.04%

No students got an E grade, but 6 students got D and

the mode was C+. This result indicates that TCL does

not distributed the knowledge evenly which is

represented by the student’s record.

Bloom (quoted in Cotton: 2001) stated that critical

thinking has the following dimensions:

a. Knowledge (C1)

b. Understanding ( C2)

c. Application (C3)

d. Synthesis-analysis (C4)

e. Evaluation (C5)

f. Creativity (C6)

The TCL approach in the Dokkai course will only

address the learning outcomes up to C2, to know and

to understand. As the result, it might inhibit the ability

of the students to reach the KKNI standard.

This research proposes an alternative teaching

method to deliver the Dokkai course to students. This

is a SCL approach that uses small group discussion

and could be expected to better fulfil the aims and

outcomes of the Dokkai course.

The purpose of this research was to examine the

effectiveness of using small group discussion as a

teaching method for the Dokkai course. The merits of

The Application of Small Group Discussion Method in Dokkai Class by Using Nama Kyouzai as the Learning Media

this research lie in its ability as teaching method

reference for Dokkai as well as being a case study of

small group discussion methodology in classes.

2 METHOD

The TCL approach used by the Japanese Department

of Andalas University is considered no longer

appropriate to the current situation (Brewer, 1997;

Cotton, 2001; Kenz and Greg, 2000). As the result,

this research focuses on an alternative Student

Centered Learning method adjusted to the needs of

the Dokkai course that was titled nama kyouzai. The

success of this approach was measured.

The research is conducted from February to June

2018 over 5 months. This research is classified as

classroom action research, as the lecturer was the

researcher who monitored the implementation of the

small group discussion approach. It should be noted

that the Dokkai course only took place within the

classroom.

The implementation of the nama kyouzai Dookai

course was planned for during syllabus arrangement

and discussed in a team teaching discussion forum

before the actual implementation.

The small discussion approach was implemented

after the midterm examination. There were 6

meetings where the students were required to find

their own learning materials (nama kyouzai) from

various available sources.

At the first class meeting, the lecturer explained

the class syllabus and the class plan. From the 2

the 7

meeting, the TCL teaching approach was used

so students could understand the type of texts used

during the Dokkai course. This approach helped the

student to be able to find their own learning materials

for nama kyouzai to be presented in front of the class

later in the course. The materials given to the students

during the TCL teaching phase were taken from the

Japanese Language Proficiency Test to give the

students familiarity with the examination. By mid

semester, students were expected to be familiar with

the type of texts and questions that were usually

discussed during Dokkai course and the small group

discussion phase was implemented.

The midterm examination took place after the 8

meeting and was based on the texts and questions that

had been discussed in class. It was designed to

measure students’ understanding of this materials that

had been given by the lecturer. On the 9

meeting, the

lecturer explained the implementation of small group

discussions. The lecturer informed the students about

how to obtain their own reading materials, present

their findings and formulate their own questions

which would then be discussed within the classs.

The 10

meeting was conducted differently from

the previous meetings; the students are required to

find their own nama kyouzai and given to their

lecturer one day before the presentation. Students

usually collected texts from the following sources

a. Japanese restaurant menus

b. Advertisements about tourist destinations in

Japan

c. Advertisements about amusement parks in

Japan

d. Advertisements about tour packages in Japan

e. Product Advertisements

f. Advertisements selling Japanese food

The materials could be chosen freely, as the students

could access them from the internet. The

advertisements that were collected by the students

were mostly downloadable leaflets. Before presenting

the advertisement, the entire small group were

required to discuss the selected materials.

The result of this discussion was then presented in

Japanese. The students were encouraged to deliver

the message of the text using simplify Japanese

language and formulate 3 to 5 questions to be

answered by other students during their presentation

to ensure that their presentations were understood by

the class members. These questions were written in

Japanese and had to relate to the text that was

presented by the group. The other groups answered

the questions through group discussion, the answers

were then given to the presentation group to be

cohered? and marked.

The final examination was conducted on the 16

meeting and was not conducted as a written text.

Instead, each student prepared their own presentation

video about a certain Japanese product before this

date. The presentation was conducted in Japanese to

allow the students to express their creativity. The

videos were collected on the day of the examination.

During the implementation of the small group

discussion approach on Dokkai course, the lecturer

focused on how the student presented their ideas in

front of the class. Observations were made regarding

the students' ability to use Japanese language, the

compatibility of the chosen nama kyouzai and their

understanding of the text as well as the format of the

questions given to the other class members.

Observation was required to measure students'

understanding of the nama kyouzai.

The lecturer also recorded observations during

question and answer sessions. The answers to the

ICED-QA 2018 - International Conference On Education Development And Quality Assurance

questions given by the presentation group were then

collected and marked. The lecturer observed the

suitability of the questions and their answers as a way

to judge the presentation group's ability to formulate

questions.

Evaluation was conducted in every meeting at the

end of the small group discussion. As the questions

from the presentation group were discussed and

answered in groups the lecturer was able to conduct

an evaluation to measure each group's understanding

of the presented materials (Sagala, 2007). Their

ability to answer correctly indicated their capacity to

read the Japanese text and listen to the presentation in

Japanese. The presentation group's ability in

formulating the questions and responding to the

answers which were given by other participants was

also evaluated.

The questions were used to measure the level of

understanding of the presented text, the answers were

marked based on the comprehension of the questions.

The responses to the answers were not to only be

about whether they were right or wrong but also to

indicate the cause of the misunderstanding and to give

a more appropriate answer. Their ability to look for

the cause of misinterpretation was part of the

evaluation criteria for the presentation group.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Learning Achievement

Based on the learning outcomes, it can be concluded

that the small group discussion approach using nama

kyouzai was successful in achieving all the learning

outcomes for the Dokkai course. Students took

responsibility for finding their own reading materials

and presenting them in front of the class as part of a

group project. During the presentation, each members

of the group presented their own parts in Japanese.

In presenting the text, the student needed to

understand the content of the text. In other words,

student should have achieved the required

intermediate level of kanji, vocabulary and Japanese

language structure. The nama kyouzai encouraged the

students to study in groups to interpret the text,

vocabulary and Japanese language structure.

As the student understood the content of the text,

they present them in front of the class using simplified

Japanese, that is using their own words and not those

from the nama kyouzai text; except when those words

were standard words which were irreplaceable. Each

group member presented their part in Japanese and

the ability to do this indicated a second level of

language achievement, as they demonstrated ability

to deliver their argument about certain texts in their

own words.

The third language level achievement was

fulfilled when the student could speak and write in

Japanese as the preparation and delivery of the

presentation improved their capacity in using

Japanese language. TCL was unable to fulfill this

aspect, but small group discussion can easily achieve

this level as the students were not only required to

present the text but also answer the questions given.

The student had to write down their answer on a piece

of paper by using appropriate Japanese language so

providing opportunity to improve their writing skills.

Development of student intrapersonal and

interpersonal soft skills can only be gained through

student centered learning method. Group discussion

allows each student to interact and to improve their

critical thinking and discussion ability. Their

capability to communicate and work in team is a

positive value that can only be gained through group

discussion. Group presentations require

responsibility, discipline and independency. Students

will realize that the negligence of one student will

negatively affect the entire group, so responsibility

was required during this Dokkai course.

3.2 Final Mark Distribution

The number of students who took Dokkai course

during this semester was around 54 students, an

increase from the previous year where number of

students was 46 students. The implementation of the

small group discussion on Dokkai course resulted in

changes in the spread of the students’ final marks, as

it is showed in table 1.

3 students obtained an E result, not because of

their incompetence, but, due to a less than 50%

attendance.

Table 2: Students Final Mark

Final Mark

Distribution

A-

B+

B-

C+

C-

Number of Student

Percentage

18.5%

42.6%

27.8%

1.8%

3.7%

5.6%

The Application of Small Group Discussion Method in Dokkai Class by Using Nama Kyouzai as the Learning Media

3 students obtained a C because they did not come

during the presentation, only one of them who asked

for an opportunity to improve their grade with an

extra assignment . However, they did not do well in

this so the student only achieved a C+ for the course.

Generally, the implementation of small group

discussion on Dokkai course could be regarded as a

successful practice. The percentage of students who

got A grades for the course has increased by 7.7%,

and the percentage of students who got A- increased

by 33.9%. An improvement as also shown in the

percentage of students who got B+ which increased

by 21.28 %. In this semester, no student got B and B-

for their Dokkai course.

3.3 Students Respond toward the

Teaching Method Innovation

The application of small group discussion in the

Dokkai course had a positive response from the

students. The students were more active during the

classes and less dependent on their lecturer. The small

group discussions improved student confidence in

delivering their arguments as well as improving their

Japanese language capability.

The use of nama kyouzai also proved successful.

The students selected their own reading materials, so

they could choose the text based on their interests and

consequently fluently present the content of the text

in front of the class more easily. During Dokkai class

they not only learnt how to present their ideas for the

first time, but also discuss as they learnt to clarify

misunderstandings using the Japanese language. In

addition, students also learnt how to promote

products in Japanese language.

At first, the presentation only consisted of one

written text, but over the next few weeks the amount

of reading material was increased, and the level

became more complex.

IV Conclusion

Small group discussion is learning method that is

based on a Student Centered Learning approach.

During the process, one or more topics will be

discussed in group of 3 to 4 students. During the

discussion, each member will disscuss the topic. As

the method was applied in the Dokkai course, it

showed significant success in terms of students'

grades as well as students’ response.

Even though Dokkai is provided as an elective

course, it has a primary role in Japanese language

curriculum system. It is considered as a main aspect

of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. As the

number of students with higher Japanese language

proficiency level increases, stakeholders demands for

competency in Japanese language graduates of

Andalas University will also increase. Dokkai has the

highest point in determining student level in Japanese

language, so the course should be prepared

comprehensively.

The application of small group discussion

succeeded in fulfilling the entire course aims and

purposes. The course gave each student an

opportunity to look for their own Japanese language

reading materials (nama kyouzai) based on their

interests usually from the internet. Most commonly

they were

 Japanese restaurant menus

 Advertisements about tourist destinations in

Japan

 Advertisements about amusement parks in

Japan

 Advertisements about tour packages in Japan

 Product Advertisements

 Advertisements selling Japanese food

Small group discussion fulfils each level of language

learning aspects that have been designed including

understanding of Kanji, word, and Japanese language

structure. Nama kyouzai is presented in front of the

class by using their own words to make them easily

understood by other participants. As the result,

students can deliver their ideas in Japanese while

improving their language skill.

Each group is also required to formulate 3 to 5

questions that should be answered by other class

members. The answer should be written in Japanese

which is then collected and marked by the

presentation group. It fulfils the element of language

learning about improving the ability to write in

Japanese.

Students not only work in group but also

individually, as each member must present their own

part. It will fulfill the learning outcomes of improving

soft skill in both inter and intrapersonal, since each

student learns how to take responsibility of their own

action.

4 CONCLUSION

The result shows an increasing percentage on

student who got A for 7,7%, 33,9% for student who

got A-, and 21,28% on student who get B+ which are

a lot better than the previous semester.

ICED-QA 2018 - International Conference On Education Development And Quality Assurance

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Brewer, W. Ernest. 1997. Proven Ways to Get Your

Message Across: The Essential Reference for

Teachers, Trainers, Presenters, and

Speaker.California: A Sage Publication Company.

Cotton, K. 2001. Teaching Thinking Skills. Northwest

Regional Educational Laboratory.

Kenz, M. A. and Greg, J. B. 2000. Effective in Theory and

Practice. Massachusetts: A Person Education

Company.

Sagala, S. 2007. Konsep dan Makna Pembelajaran.

Bandung: Alpabet

The Application of Small Group Discussion Method in Dokkai Class by Using Nama Kyouzai as the Learning Media