The Use of English in Learning Mathematics for Grade 7 Junior High School

There are still many people think that learning Mathematics in English causes students difficulty in obtaining a good score. Therefore, the authors conducted research related to the use of English in learning Mathematics, for grade 7 junior high school students in a private national plus school. The purpose of this study is for the reader to open up further insights related to the topic above.

This research was carried out with experimental design, by doing different treatment between classes at the same level. The subjects of the study consisted of 63 students spread into 3 classes, 7 Amos, 7 Esther, and 7 Jonah. Class 7 Jonah was a control group, using Bahasa Indonesia (mother tongue) in learning Mathematics. Class 7 Amos and 7 Esther were the experimental groups, where 7 Amos was in English and 7 Esther used bilingual ​​(English and Indonesian).

Results of the study included the following: the use of English was not detrimental to the students in score achievement, shown by the average of the final score of Mathematics that were not significantly different. The obstacles that arise in learning Mathematics needs to be reviewed from the process, readiness, independence, motivation of students and needs to be followed up critically so that students can achieve good results. Programs of short and long term need to be created and observed in order to support the learning process of Mathematics for students, such as training teachers to be able to teach Mathematics in English, in supporting action research by teachers, managed by the school.

(Published in 2017)