THE EFFECT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GUIDED INQUIRY LEARNING MODEL ON STUDENTS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Abstract

This study aims to determine the effect of the implementation of the guided inquiry learning model on students’ conceptual understanding in learning English, specifically on descriptive text material, among tenth-grade students of SMAN 18 Palembang. The research employed a quasi-experimental method with a pretest-posttest control group design. The subjects consisted of two classes: the experimental class (X MIPA 2, 27 students) taught using the guided inquiry learning model, and the control class (X MIPA 3, 25 students) taught using conventional methods. Data were collected through pretests and posttests and analyzed using normality, homogeneity, independent sample t-test, and N-gain tests with the help of SPSS. The results showed an improvement in conceptual understanding in both classes, but the increase in the experimental class was more significant, with a mean posttest score of 81.36 and an N-gain of 0.7655 (high category), while the control class had a mean posttest score of 55.45 and an N-gain of 0.3885 (medium category). The t-test results indicated a significant effect of the guided inquiry learning model on students’ conceptual understanding (sig. 0.000 < 0.05). Therefore, it can be concluded that the guided inquiry learning model is more effective than the conventional method in improving students’ conceptual understanding of English, particularly in descriptive text material.