Improving SMA Santo Mikael Sleman students` ability to construct simple sentences by using jumbled words.

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vii

ABSTRACT

Xenia, Tia. 2012. Improving SMA Santo Mikael Sleman Students’ Ability to Construct Simple Sentences by Using Jumbled Words. Yogyakarta: English Language Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

Writing cannot be separated from sentences. Constructing sentences is a start to write a composition since it has levels of difficulties starting from words to sentences, sentences to paragraphs, and paragraphs to longer composition. The quality in constructing sentences is needed to convey information clearly. Therefore, it is important for students to be able to compose sentences correctly. However, most of the students had problem in constructing simple sentences. They had lack of ability to construct simple sentences correctly. The error commonly occurred in the students’ writing was the sentence fragment. For that reason, the researcher used jumbled words as the solution to this problem.

The primary aim of this research was to improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences by using jumbled words. There were two research problems in this research, namely, how jumbled words were applied in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman and whether jumbled words could improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences.

The researcher conducted Classroom Action Research (CAR) to solve the research problem. There were two cycles conducted in the research. The number of the participants was 13 XB students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. The researcher used some instruments to obtain the data as well, such as observation sheet, field notes, questionnaires, interviews and the students’ writing.

Jumbled words, as one of the grammar games, helped the students to write simple sentences correctly since those motivated the students’ to learn and increased the students’ interest. As a result, they were willing to think and learn the language in enjoyable learning. Moreover, the use of jumbled words could improve the students’ ability since there was repetition in the learning process. It provided drill exercises. In addition, the use of jumbled words was easy to understand. As a result, more than half of students improved their ability to construct simple sentences. It was shown from the error percentage of the students’ writing. Moreover, the average of error percentage of the students’ writing in simple sentences decreased significantly. It was concluded that the use of jumbled words could help the students to improve their ability to construct simple sentences.

The researcher suggested English teachers apply jumbled words in the class to improve the quality of sentences which the students wrote. The researcher also suggested students practice their ability by using jumbled words.

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viii ABSTRAK

Xenia, Tia. 2012. Improving SMA Santo Mikael Sleman Students’ Ability to

Construct Simple Sentences by Using Jumbled Words. Yogyakarta: Pendidikan

Bahasa Inggris, Sanata Dharma University.

Menulis tidak dapat dilepaskan dari kalimat. Menyusun kalimat adalah tahap awal untuk menyusun sebuah karangan karena dalam menyusun karangan terdapat tingkat kesulitan yang berawal dari penyusunan kata menjadi kalimat, kalimat menjadi paragraf dan paragraf menjadi karangan yang lebih panjang. Kualitas dari menyusun kalimat sangat dibutuhkan untuk menyampaikan informasi dengan jelas. Oleh karena itu, kemampuan siswa dalam menyusun kalimat dengan benar sangatlah penting. Namun, sebagian besar siswa memiliki masalah dalam menyusun kalimat sederhana. Mereka kurang mampu dalam menyusun kalimat tunggal dengan benar. Kesalahan yang sering terjadi dalam tulisan siswa adalah sentence fragment atau lebih dikenal kalimat tidak lengkap. Oleh karena itu, peneliti menggunakan jumbled words (kata acak) sebagai solusi untuk menyelesaikan masalah.

Tujuan utama dari penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan siswa untuk menyusun kalimat sederhana dengan menggunakan jumbled words. Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua rumusan masalah. Yang pertama adalah bagaimana jumbled words diapplikasikan di SMA Santo Mikael Sleman dan apakah jumbled words dapat meningkatkan kemampuan siswa untuk menyusun kalimat sederhana.

Peneliti menggunakan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK) untuk menyelesaikan rumusan masalah. Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua siklus. Jumlah responden dalam penelitian ini adalah 13 responden dari siswa XB di SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. Peneliti menggunakan alat penelitian untuk mendapatkan data seperti lembar tulisan siswa, lembar observasi, catatan lapangan, kuesioner, dan wawancara.

Jumbled words sebagai salah satu dari permainan tata bahasa dapat

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Peneliti menyarankan kepada guru Bahasa Inggris untuk mengapplikasikan jumbled words di kelas untuk meningkatkan kualitas dari kalimat tulisan siswa. Peneliti juga menyarankan siswa untuk melatih kemampuan mereka dengan menggunakan jumbled words.

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IMPROVING SMA SANTO MIKAEL SLEMAN STUDENTS’

ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT SIMPLE SENTENCES BY USING

JUMBLED WORDS

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Tia Xenia

Student Number: 081214031

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS AND TRAINING EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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i

IMPROVING SMA SANTO MIKAEL SLEMAN STUDENTS’

ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT SIMPLE SENTENCES BY USING

JUMBLED WORDS

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Tia Xenia

Student Number: 081214031

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS AND TRAINING EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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vii

ABSTRACT

Xenia, Tia. 2012. Improving SMA Santo Mikael Sleman Students’ Ability to Construct Simple Sentences by Using Jumbled Words. Yogyakarta: English Language Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

Writing cannot be separated from sentences. Constructing sentences is a start to write a composition since it has levels of difficulties starting from words to sentences, sentences to paragraphs, and paragraphs to longer composition. The quality in constructing sentences is needed to convey information clearly. Therefore, it is important for students to be able to compose sentences correctly. However, most of the students had problem in constructing simple sentences. They had lack of ability to construct simple sentences correctly. The error commonly occurred in the students’ writing was the sentence fragment. For that reason, the researcher used jumbled words as the solution to this problem.

The primary aim of this research was to improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences by using jumbled words. There were two research problems in this research, namely, how jumbled words were applied in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman and whether jumbled words could improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences.

The researcher conducted Classroom Action Research (CAR) to solve the research problem. There were two cycles conducted in the research. The number of the participants was 13 XB students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. The researcher used some instruments to obtain the data as well, such as observation sheet, field notes, questionnaires, interviews and the students’ writing.

Jumbled words, as one of the grammar games, helped the students to write simple sentences correctly since those motivated the students’ to learn and increased the students’ interest. As a result, they were willing to think and learn the language in enjoyable learning. Moreover, the use of jumbled words could improve the students’ ability since there was repetition in the learning process. It provided drill exercises. In addition, the use of jumbled words was easy to understand. As a result, more than half of students improved their ability to construct simple sentences. It was shown from the error percentage of the students’ writing. Moreover, the average of error percentage of the students’ writing in simple sentences decreased significantly. It was concluded that the use of jumbled words could help the students to improve their ability to construct simple sentences.

The researcher suggested English teachers apply jumbled words in the class to improve the quality of sentences which the students wrote. The researcher also suggested students practice their ability by using jumbled words.

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viii ABSTRAK

Xenia, Tia. 2012. Improving SMA Santo Mikael Sleman Students’ Ability to

Construct Simple Sentences by Using Jumbled Words. Yogyakarta: Pendidikan

Bahasa Inggris, Sanata Dharma University.

Menulis tidak dapat dilepaskan dari kalimat. Menyusun kalimat adalah tahap awal untuk menyusun sebuah karangan karena dalam menyusun karangan terdapat tingkat kesulitan yang berawal dari penyusunan kata menjadi kalimat, kalimat menjadi paragraf dan paragraf menjadi karangan yang lebih panjang. Kualitas dari menyusun kalimat sangat dibutuhkan untuk menyampaikan informasi dengan jelas. Oleh karena itu, kemampuan siswa dalam menyusun kalimat dengan benar sangatlah penting. Namun, sebagian besar siswa memiliki masalah dalam menyusun kalimat sederhana. Mereka kurang mampu dalam menyusun kalimat tunggal dengan benar. Kesalahan yang sering terjadi dalam tulisan siswa adalah sentence fragment atau lebih dikenal kalimat tidak lengkap. Oleh karena itu, peneliti menggunakan jumbled words (kata acak) sebagai solusi untuk menyelesaikan masalah.

Tujuan utama dari penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan siswa untuk menyusun kalimat sederhana dengan menggunakan jumbled words. Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua rumusan masalah. Yang pertama adalah bagaimana jumbled words diapplikasikan di SMA Santo Mikael Sleman dan apakah jumbled words dapat meningkatkan kemampuan siswa untuk menyusun kalimat sederhana.

Peneliti menggunakan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK) untuk menyelesaikan rumusan masalah. Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua siklus. Jumlah responden dalam penelitian ini adalah 13 responden dari siswa XB di SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. Peneliti menggunakan alat penelitian untuk mendapatkan data seperti lembar tulisan siswa, lembar observasi, catatan lapangan, kuesioner, dan wawancara.

Jumbled words sebagai salah satu dari permainan tata bahasa dapat

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Peneliti menyarankan kepada guru Bahasa Inggris untuk mengapplikasikan jumbled words di kelas untuk meningkatkan kualitas dari kalimat tulisan siswa. Peneliti juga menyarankan siswa untuk melatih kemampuan mereka dengan menggunakan jumbled words.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express gratitude to Jesus Christ as all of His blessing, helping hands, love, encouragement, and believing in doing this research, so that I could pass all of the obstacles both when I conducted the research and when I reported all in thesis. I thank God for all of His strength given to me when I went through the difficulties.

I would also thank my best supervisor, C. Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd. for her time, guidance, suggestions, patience, encouragement, support and motivation when I was doing the research and reported into thesis. My supervisor always opened my mind when I got stuck in doing my thesis.

I also thank Sri Purwantoro, S.Pd., the principal of SMA Santo Mikael Slemanwho gave permission to conduct research in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. I would address my gratitude to Drs. A. Agus Wijayanto who had permitted me to conduct the research in his classroom. I truly thanked to Veronica Widi H, S.Pd.,

M.Hum. for her help, support, and suggestion from the very beginning of the

research until the end of the thesis process. Moreover, I thank XB students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman for their help and cooperation in conducting research in their class.

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This is my biggest gratitude for my beloved family. I thank my wonderful parents, Bapak Rudiyatno and Ibu Sih Widayati for their understanding, patience, love, pray and support. They let their children live their own life. I love them very much. I also thank my beautiful sister, Stephanie Otie Anggarani for accompanying me and caring me in doing this thesis. She always supports me when I am down. I also thank my beloved aunt, Mbak Ndari for supporting me to go on, and for praying for my success.

I am grateful to Stefanus Eko Ardiyanto and Yohannes Jatmiko Yuwono, S.Pd. for all of their kindness, time, suggestion and willingness to be my proofreader for this thesis. I also thank my beloved partners, Bernadeta Diah R.A. and Agnes Siwi P. for working together, sharing ideas, and supporting each other from the very start of conducting research until finishing this thesis.

I would like to address gratitude to my beloved, FX. Adityo Nugroho, S.T. for his support, motivation, love, encouragement, jokes and happiness, so I could smile and forgot all of the burdens for a while. I also thank my besties, Sely (Silly), Diah (Didi), Sepsi, Niken (Nican) for sharing happiness, support, jokes, motivation, and strength. I express my gratitude to Mas Sedik and Mas Marshel for being my wonderful seniors in PBI. I also thank to all of my friends whose names I cannot mention one by one.

I also thank Mbak Dhanniek, Mbak Tari and the librarians in Sanata Dharma University for all of their help during the process of research.

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

Table 4.1. The Error Percentage in the Students’ Writing of Simple Sentences in Preliminary Study ... 42 Table 4.2. The Error Percentage in the Students’ Writing of Simple Sentences

in Cycle 1 ... 54 Table 4.3. The Error Percentage in the Students’ Writing of Simple Sentences

in Cycle 2 ... 67 Table 4.4. Improvement of the Students’ Ability to Construct Simple

Sentences ... 69 Table 4.5. The Students’ Opinions toward Jumbled Words ... 72 Table 4.6. Whether Jumbled Words Helped the Students to Construct

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Page

Appendix 1. Covering Letter for the Head of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman ... 85

Appendix 2. Research Official Statement from SMA Santo Mikael Sleman ... 87

Appendix 3. Lesson Plan and Teaching Materials of Preliminary Study ... 89

Appendix 4. Field Notes of Preliminary Study ... 95

Appendix 5. Observation Sheets of Preliminary Study ... 100

Appendix 6. Lesson Plan and Teaching Materials of Cycle 1 ... 105

Appendix 7. Field Notes of Cycle 1 ... 110

Appendix 8. Observation Sheet of Cycle 1 ... 117

Appendix 9. Lesson Plan and Teaching Materials of Cycle 2 ... 122

Appendix 10. Field Notes of Cycle 2 ... 127

Appendix 11. Observation Sheet of Cycle 2 ... 134

Appendix 12. Questionnaire ... 137

Appendix 13. The Raw Data of Questionnaire ... 140

Appendix 14. Interview Guide ... 143

Appendix 15. Interview Transcripts ... 145

Appendix 16. Sample of the Students’ Writing in Preliminary Study ... 150

Appendix 17. Sample of the Students’ Writing in Cycle 1 ... 153

Appendix 18. Sample of the Students’ Writing in Cycle 2 ... 156

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1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher shows the research background, the research problem, the problem limitation, the research objectives, the research benefits, and the definition of terms.

A. Research Background

English becomes a universal language in which it is used around the world. It follows that learning the language is important in order to have the capability to communicate with other people throughout the world. Since mastering English is important, the Government of Indonesia includes English as school subject.

In learning English, there are four skills to be mastered. One of them is writing. Writing cannot be separated from sentences. Brewton et al. (1962) add that writing cannot be separated from sentences since they are a habitual part of writing (p.189). For that reason, the quality in constructing sentences is needed to convey information clearly. Therefore, it is important for students to be able to compose sentences correctly.

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Based on the researcher’s observation when she was doing Program

Pelaksanaan Lapangan (PPL) held in July to October 2011/2012, many English

teachers do not take much time for the students to improve their writing skill. The majority of the learning process in the school is focused on reading. The students read a lot of passages and answer the questions given by the English teachers. The students do not have many writing practices.

Since they do not have much time to practice in writing skill, they have difficulties in composing simple sentences and make many grammatical mistakes. Besides, many English teachers still apply the traditional methods. In the process of teaching grammar, the teachers speak, explain, and write the materials in the front of the class while the students copy the materials given by the teachers from the whiteboard to their notebooks. They follow the teachers’ instruction to do the exercises given.

Tenth graders of the XB class in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman had lower ability in writing skill. They had not achieved the writing objectives of senior high school in which the students are expected to write a text. The problem was because they had difficulties to construct simple sentences. They did not put a subject or a verb in each sentence and did not convey one complete idea. It could be seen that the students had not understand yet what a sentence is.

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3 These are the students’ results on the mid-test in essay section which the students were asked to change the affirmative sentences to negative and interrogative sentences.

Student 1:

(+) They travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (-) Did not travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (It is missing a subject)

(?) (This student did not answer this part) Student 2:

(+) They travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (-) The travelled in a comfortable coach not with a toilet, music & video.

(It is missing a subject)

(?) In a comfortable coach with a toilet, music & video, they travelled? (It is missing a verb)

Student 3:

(+) They travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (-) The toilet, music, and video they travelled in a comfortable with coach. (It is missing a verb)

(?) Where a toilet, music, and video? (It is missing a predicate verb) Student 4:

(+) The body of an octopus looks like a big balloon. (-) Did not looks like big balloon. (It is missing a subject) (?) What did the body of an octopus looks like

Most students tend to make the errors in constructing simple sentences. Mostly, the error that the students wrote in their writing was sentence fragment. More than 10 students did not put a subject and a verb in each sentence. It cannot be called a simple sentence if it does not only have a subject and a verb but also convey a complete thought.

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Research (CAR) in the class. CAR is an action research conducted in the classroom to solve a problem (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2008, p. 589). For this reason, the researcher conducted CAR to help the students of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman to improve their ability to construct simple sentences which means they are able to write sentences correctly, so they do not find any difficulties in constructing simple sentences anymore.

When the researcher was doing her PPL, she implemented jumbled paragraphs in the class. It turned out that the students were so happy, active, and enthusiastic in arranging jumbled paragraphs. All of them took part in arranging jumbled paragraphs. Having known the students’ reaction when the jumbled paragraphs were implemented, the researcher conceived that using jumbled words as grammar games could be implemented in the class as the solution to the problem.

The use of jumbled words is aimed to improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences. Since jumbled words are included in grammar games, jumbled-words game motivates the students to learn the language since they will learn the language in enjoyable way. The students will be more active and take part in the learning activities. Subconsciously, they learn how to construct simple sentences correctly. Moreover, their mind will be guided in arranging a sentence since there is repetition in the learning process. Therefore, by this step, they will be able to understand how to construct simple sentences correctly.

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5 teaching and learning activities become enjoyable in learning grammar. Playing and learning English can be integrated, so learning English will not be boring for the students when they deal with grammar. It means that the students can take part in the learning activities and can be motivated in learning. Hence, they can really understand the process of constructing simple sentences.

This research is worth studying because it can improve the quality of the students’ writings. It will avoid the sentence fragment occurred in the students’ writing. The current study explores the use of jumbled words as grammar game in order to improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences which express one idea in a sentence.

B. Research Problems

The research questions formulated would be as follows. 1. How are jumbled words applied in SMA Santo Mikael?

2. Do jumbled words improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences?

C. Problem Limitation

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one complete idea as well. The researcher also concerns with simple sentences using past tense in the learning activities since the topics were in news item and recount text. Therefore, the students are also expected to be able to understand the tenses used in the topic. In the teaching and learning process, the students learn the sentence patterns inductively.

D. Research Objectives

The objectives of this study are to overcome the problem faced by the students of XB of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman in constructing simple sentences. This research will find out how jumbled words are applied in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman and whether jumbled words improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences or not.

E. Research Benefits

This research will give contribution for the people as follows. 1. The Students of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman

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2. The English Teacher of SMA Mikael Sleman

The benefit of this research is that it will be helpful for the English teacher to use jumbled words in teaching and learning process, especially when the students deal with grammar.

3. The Researcher

By conducting this research, the researcher can answer the problem which occurs in the classroom. Besides, this will be useful for the researcher to find out the new strategies in learning English. For further researcher, they are able to develop more activities and improve the students’ ability.

F. Definition of Terms

There are some terms used in this study. They are: 1. Jumbled Words

Jumbled words are sentences in which the words are in the wrong order and will be arranged into a good sentence. In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2000: 732), it is defined that the word “jumble” itself is “untidy or confused mixture of things.”

2. Simple Sentence

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subject and one predicate” (p. 71). Therefore, a subject and a verb take an important role in each simple sentence.

3. XB Students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman

SMA Santo Mikael is one of the senior high schools which are located in the remote area in Sleman. Mostly, the students are from outside Jogjakarta. Most of them moved from other schools. They brought their own problems in the school.

Ten B (XB) is one of the classes in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman, which consists of 13 students. There are seven boys and six girls. The ages of the students are between 15-17 years old. The number of the students in the class XB was reduced from 22 students in the first semester into 13 students in the second semester since there was school’s policy which required some students to move to other schools.

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9 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the researcher would like to put some theories which are relevant to the problem of the research. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is theoretical description and the other is theoretical framework.

A. Theoretical Description

In this theoretical description, the theories which are relevant to the research are discussed. They are the meaning of composition, sentences, teaching grammar, and Classroom Action Research (CAR).

1. The Meaning of Composition

Mallery (1957) explains that “Composition is concerned with “putting together” of parts to form a whole: words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into longer units such as essays and narratives” (p. 2). Writing has levels of difficulties from constructing words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into longer composition.

2. Sentences

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a. The Definition of Sentence

Brewton et al. (1962) define a sentence as a word or a group of words containing a subject and a verb and delivering one idea (p. 191). Mallery (1957) states that subject is “the word or words naming the person or thing about which something is asserted” while predicate is “the word or words which assert something about the subject” (p. 3). The subject and the predicate take important role in every sentence which is built.

b. Four Sentence Structure Classifications

Mallery (1957: 71) classifies a sentence according to its structure into four. They are simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.

1) The Simple Sentence

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11 Therefore, students are expected to be able to construct simple sentences since it is the simplest sentence structure classification. This is the example of a simple sentence taken from Mallery’s book (1957) entitled “Grammar, Rhetroric and Composition”.

The tired, dirty, and footsore hikers struggled wearily across the old bridge, up the hill, and finally, into the camp in the pine forest.

The example provided by Mallery is considered as a simple sentence because there are only one subject and one finite verb even though it contains many words.

An imperative can also be called simple sentence even though there is not a subject in that sentence. The subject in imperative sentence is implicit. As a deduction, the meaning of the sentence is implied. It can be shown from the following examples.

Sit!

Open the door! Close the window! 2) The Compound Sentence

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The example of the compound sentence is provided below.

Daniel Defoe was one of the earliest journalists, and his newspaper was extremely influential. (Mallery, 1957)

3) The Complex Sentence

Mallery (1957) states that “a complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses” (p. 73). Murcia and Freeman (1999) define a complex sentence as a sentence containing a main clause and one or more subordinate clause (p.20). Independent clause expresses the complete thought. However, dependent clause cannot stand by itself. It depends on the independent clause.

The examples of the complex sentences taken from Mallery’s book (1957) entitled “Grammar, Rhetoric and Composition” are provided below.

When the century began, there were many coffee-houses in London.

We know that these gathering led eventually to the formation of a great insurance firm

4) The Compound-Complex Sentence

The compound-complex contains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause (Mallery, 1957, p. 73). This kind of sentence is more complex than the other types of sentence since it has two or more independent clauses and one dependent clause. Henceforth, it is called compound-complex sentence.

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13 Although their influence was, for the most part, a good one, the coffee Dependent clause

houses sometimes fell into disrepute, and the authorities more than once Ind. clause

complained that they were being used for seditious gatherings. Ind. clause

c. Four Sentence Errors

There are four sentence errors which commonly occur in students writing (Mallery, 1957, p. 112). They are the sentence fragment, the comma splice, the fused sentence, and the dangling modifier.

1) The Sentence Fragment

The error which commonly occurs in students’ writing is sentence fragment. A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. Some fragments are incomplete because they lack either a subject or a verb, or both (“The Writing,” 2012). Moreover, a fragment is a phrase or a dependent clause as it is thought as a complete sentence (“Sentence,” n.d.). Complete sentence is a sentence which has a subject and a verb in a sentence and conveys one idea. A sentence is considered as a sentence fragment when it lacks a subject, a verb, or both.

Mallery (1957) clarifies a sentence as “a group of words expressing one complete thought” (p. 112). Therefore, a sentence which expresses a complete thought is a complete sentence which has a subject and a verb in a sentence. Hence, a writer has to keep in mind that a sentence expresses a complete thought and have a subject and a verb in it.

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1. Do not write a dependent clause as though it were a complete sentence. 2. Do not write an appositive (introduced by such expression as that is, for

example, or namely) as though it were a complete sentence.

3. Do not write a participial phrase as though it were a complete sentence. (Mallery, 1957, pp. 113-114)

It is clear that a sentence must express a complete thought. If the sentence is incomplete, it is considered as a sentence fragment. Besides, a dependent clause is not considered as a complete sentence as well as it does not represent a complete thought. They are provided in the following examples:

Accompanied by some nurses in the hospital. (It is missing a subject) Information from television. (It is missing a verb)

Because the weather is not good. (It is an incomplete thought)

These examples are considered as sentence fragment because it does not have a subject and a verb in the sentence and do not express a complete thought either.

2) The Comma Splice

The sentence error comes from the use of comma to join two clauses or complete sentences, whereas comma is a separating mark (“Sentence,” n.d.). The example is provided below.

Two children cook turkey behind their house, the turkey is well-cooked in the pan.

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nor or semicolon while to avoid error of comma splices in complex sentences, the

writer is able to put subordinating conjunctions, such as because, since, when,

while, etc if the dependent clause is in the first part.

3) The Fused Sentence

Mallery (1957) notes “two or more sentences run together with no mark of punctuation between them are said to be fused” (p. 115). Therefore the way to avoid it is by separating them and punctuating them appropriately. The example is in the following.

I work in the office every day I drive my own car after I have breakfast. 4) The Dangling Modifier

Dangle can be explained like “if a participle, for example, cannot be thus connected with its antecedent in the sentence, it is called dangle” (Mallery, 1957, p. 116). It means dangling modifier is not really clear seen what it modifies. Dangling modifiers describe nothing and dangle in the sentences (“Sentence,” n.d.). It occurs when the modifier is put in the wrong place. The example is provided below.

Hanging from the ledge high over a mountain, Danielle saw the tree with their brightly colored fall leaves (“Sentence,” n.d.).

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d. Improving Sentence Structure

Brewton et al. (1962) write that improving sentence structure can be done by avoiding fragments (p. 249). This error is commonly occurred in students’ writing. Brewton et al. (1962) add that “The sentence fragment is considered a very serious error in writing because it shows the writer’s misunderstanding of what a sentence is” (p. 249). The writer has made improvement of constructing sentences if the writer is able to write complete sentence.

Brewton et al. (1962) state that “To write sentences which express your ideas effectively, you must strive for unity and clarity” (p. 251). The subject must be clear and related to the predicate. Then, clarity in a sentence is achieved. Brewton et al. (1962) write “A sentence has unity when all the ideas expressed are closely related and contribute to a single impression” (p. 252). Therefore, unity is included to the criteria of effective sentences.

3. Teaching Grammar

It is important to teach grammar since producing good writing is related to the students’ ability in grammar. Cobbet (1819) states that to compose good writing, it cannot be separated from grammar. Grammar can teach the students how to make use of words in the proper manner (as cited in Nunan, 1999, p. 96).

a. The Meaning of Grammar

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17 to Paulston and Bruder (1976), grammar is “the possible forms and arrangements of words in phrases and sentences” (p. 1). Grammar contains rules which are related to forms and arrangements of words. As a result, grammar helps the writer to produce good sentences which have relationship between words and have different function.

Besides, Nunan (1999) defines grammar as

(1) An analysis of the structure of a language, either as encountered in a corpus of speech or writinhhhg (a performance grammar) or as predictive of a speaker’s knowledge (a competence grammar). A contrast is often drawn between a descriptive grammar, which provides a precise account of actual usage, and a prescriptive grammar, which tries to establish rules for the correct use of language in society. (2) An analysis of the structural properties which define human language (a universal grammar). (3) A level of structural organization which can be studied independently of phonology and semantics (p. 97).

From the definitions above, it is clear that writing is related to grammar. Since grammar is related to writing, it is called performance grammar. It is called competence grammar if it is found in speaking. Therefore, grammar is important in learning language because it is related to many aspects.

b. The Methods in Teaching Grammar

Nunan (2003) divides the methods in teaching grammar into two methods (p. 158). The first one is deductive and the second one is inductive. Those will be listed as follows.

1) Deductive Method

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explain the grammar rules, and then the students make phrases or sentences using new language. The students do not have much time to take part in the teaching learning activities.

2) Inductive Method

In inductive method, it focuses on practicing than generalizing the rule in teaching grammar. It means that the students have much time to practice in learning grammar. They see the example of the language, and then they try to practice by themselves.

c. Teaching Grammar through Games

According to Harmer (2007: 60), “in recent years the researchers have turned their attention to the area of language humour and language play.” The examples of language play are songs, games, etc. Therefore, songs and games are used to achieve the target language.

1) Definition of Games

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19

2) Advantages of Using Games in Language Learning

Using games in language learning brings many advantages in teaching language. One of the advantages is increasing students’ motivation to learn language. In 2003, Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby states that “Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work” (p. 2). Harmer (2007) states that “Students might be motivated by the enjoyment of the learning process itself or by a desire to make themselves feel better.” (p. 98). Games motivate the students to follow and practice the teaching learning process in the class. Because of that, games stimulate the students to think and take part in the activities. As a result, learners direct their own learning.

Students’ motivation becomes an important part of learning activities in the classroom. The obstacle of the process of learning activities in the classroom is when students have no motivation to study. Harmer (2007) states that “the motivation is essential to success... Without such motivation we will almost certainly fail to make the necessary effort.” (p. 98).

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this could be the teacher’s methods, the activities that students take part in…” (p. 20).

Moreover, using games in the class does not only tend to motivate and be fun but can also improve the students’ skill, grammar, pronunciation and others. According to Brewster, Ellis (2004), “Games are not only motivating and fun but can also provide excellent practice for improving pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and the four language skills” (p. 172). Cook (2000) notes “language play includes mimicry and repetition” (as cited in Harmer, 2007, p. 60). Harmer (2007) adds, “In language play, there is often repetition of structure and lines, and the use of meaning puns to create effects” (p. 60). Since in language play there is repetition, it will be able to achieve learning goal. Besides, students experience by themselves in learning language.

3) Grammar Games

Harmer (2007) states that “grammar games will engage students and encourage them to use the target structures with enthusiasm” (p. 223). Grammar games will build students’ enthusiasm in following the learning activities. The students will enjoy the teaching learning process since the learning process will be fun. These are the examples of grammar games that can be implemented in the classroom (Harmer, 2007, p. 223).

a) Ask the Right Question

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21 forces the students to think extremely carefully about the exact construction of the questions they are asking” (p. 223).

b) Putting Sentences back together again

Putting sentences back together again can also be called jumbled word. Jumbled word is word ordering. Therefore, in this game the students are given sentences in which the words are in the wrong order, and then they arrange the wrong words order into good sentences. The example is did / love / she / exercises / doing / not / English then the students arrange it into She did not love doing

English exercises. This game helps students to set their mind to the natural order

and unnatural order of a sentence. In natural order, the subject comes first, the verb comes after the subject, and the other elements follow while in unnatural order, “all or part of the predicate precedes the subject” (Brewton et al., 1962, p. 195). It means that jumbled words are able to help the students to write sentences since they have known and understood the right order. Besides, those will help the students to realize that each sentence needs a subject and a verb.

c) One Question behind

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4. Classroom Action Research

In this part, the researcher would discuss the definition, the aim, the characteristic and the model of Classroom Actio n Research.

a. The Definition of Classroom Action Research

Fraenkel and Wallen (2008) state that “action research is conducted by one or more individuals or groups for the purposes of solving a problem or obtaining information in order to inform local practice” (p. 589). Action research has essential method that is “trying out the ideas in practice as a means of improvement and as a means of increasing knowledge about the curriculum, teaching, and learning” (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1982, p. 5). The aim of Classroom Action Research (CAR) is to improve educational practice in the certain situation which is conducted by groups or participants for the purpose. The result will be the improvement which occurs in the classroom.

b. The Principles of Action Research

McNiff and Whitehead (2002) state that action research can be conducted in several contexts, social and caring sciences, education, organization and other related studies (p. 15). Kemmis and McTaggart (1988), as cited by McNiff and Whitehead (2002), add that:

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23 Lewin (1946), as cited by Kemmis and McTaggart (1982), adds that the process of the research begins with an observation of the circumstances and fact found in the circumstances (p. 6). From the explanation, it can be concluded that to conduct action research, the fact problems or practices in the particular situation that need attention are underlying the research. Thereafter, researchers take action to make improvement.

c. The Advantages of Action Research

There are five advantages of action research (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2008, p. 596). Those are provided in the following advantages.

Action research is flexible. It can be conducted by any professional, in any type of school, at any grade level, and solving any kind of problem occurred in the particular area.

Action research can improve educational practice. Teachers can practice their expertise in effective ways.

Action research can help teachers identify problems systematically. Action research can build up a small community of research-oriented individuals within the school itself.

d. The Model of Classroom Action Research

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plan and it will be con in the figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. Model

B. THEORETICAL

In theoretical f the current research. They are simple, com focused on the simple by the students was abilities in constructi Indonesia as they did

According to M sentence fragment, t

conducted in next cycle. The model of action re

del of Action Research (Kemmis and McTaggart

AL FRAMEWORK

al framework, the researcher would like to relat h. There are four kinds of sentences (Mallery

ompound, complex, and compound-complex. ple sentences which the students wrote since the

as about constructing simple sentences. The cting simple sentences, even some students w id not know how to write the sentences in Engli to Mallery (1957), there are four sentence erro

, the comma splice, the fused sentence, an

research is shown

art, 1982, p. 6)

late the theories to lery, 1957, p. 71). x. The researcher the problem faced They had lack of s wrote in Bahasa

glish.

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25 modifier (p.112). Based on the data, the error that commonly occurred in the XB students’ writing was the sentence fragment. The sentences were missing a subject or a predicate verb or both. They did not construct simple sentences correctly. By constructing a complete sentence, the students had improved the quality of the sentences they constructed.

Cobbet (1819) states that to compose good writing, it cannot be separated from grammar (as cited in Nunan, 1999, p. 96). There are two methods of teaching grammar, deductive and inductive methods. In the first, the researcher used inductive method. She would let the students to practice by themselves through jumbled words. After that, the researcher used deductive method. She would explain and ask the students to construct sentences on a particular topic.

The researcher would like to apply putting sentences back together again as known as jumbled words to improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences. Harmer (2007) states that “grammar games will engage students and encourage them to use the target structures with enthusiasm” (p. 223). The researcher implemented the grammar game to achieve the target structures which is constructing good simple sentences.

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in grammar game, the students learn the materials in a fun way. They would be enthusiastic in following the learning process. For that reason, using games in the class can stimulate the students’ interest. Therefore, they are willing to learn how to construct good simple sentences. The students are going to set their mind in the order of constructing good sentences and it leads the students to construct good simple sentences. The use of jumbled words is able to increase the students’ motivation since they learn the language in enjoyable way.

According to Brewster and Ellis (2004), “Games are not only motivating and fun but can also provide excellent practice for improving pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and the four language skills” (p. 172). Games are good to be implemented in learning grammar because it is not only fun and motivating but it can also improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences since there is repetition of the learning, so that the students will remember how to construct good sentences. As a result, they could improve their ability to construct simple sentences.

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27 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology used in the research. The researcher describes the research method, the research setting, the research participants, the research instruments, the data gathering technique, the data analysis technique, and the research procedure.

A. Research Method

The aim of this research was to find out how jumbled words were applied in SMA Santo Mikael and to find out whether jumbled words could improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences or not. In order to find out the answers of the research problems, Classroom Action Research (CAR) was conducted in the current research.

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Classroom Action Research (CAR) to give solution to the problems faced by XB students of SMA Santo Mikael in constructing simple sentences.

The researcher used practical action research in conducting the current research. Mills (2000), as cited by Fraenkel and Wallen (2008), states that practical action research is “intended to address a specific problem within a classroom” (p. 590). The researcher used it since she would seek solutions to the students’ problem occurred in the XB class SMA Santo Mikael Sleman.

Lewin (1946) describes that action research is in a spiral steps (as cited in Kemmis and McTaggart, 1982, p. 6). There are four steps in conducting action research which are planning, action, observation, and reflection. The next step was taken if there was additional and revising plan that would be implemented in the next cycle.

1. Planning

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29 Having known the problem, the researcher started to design plan of action that would be implemented in the class to improve XB students’ ability to construct simple sentences.

2. Action

In this step, the researcher implemented the jumbled words that would be used to solve the students’ problem in constructing simple sentences. In action step, the researcher would apply the learning scenario within the classroom.

3. Observation

The observation was conducted at the same time when the action was implemented. The researcher asked two co-observers to help her observe the classroom while the implementation. It was aimed to find out what was going on during the implementation, what interactions happened in the class, what the students’ conditions were, and what the situation in the class was. Besides, the researcher could know the situations that the researcher could not see in the classroom while she was teaching in the class.

4. Reflection

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B. Research Setting

This research was conducted in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman on April 23 – May 30, 2012. The researcher chose XB class to conduct the research.

C. Research Participants

The participants of this research were 13 students of XB in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman in the 2011/2012 academic year. Most of the XB students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman were the students who moved from other schools. Each of them had their own personal problems that they brought to the school.

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31 D. Research Instruments

The researcher used some instruments to conduct this study. They were students’ writings, observation sheets, field notes, questionnaires, and interviews.

1. Students’ Writings

This was the main source of the data. In the preliminary study, the students were asked to write news. They could choose the topic given by the researcher. After that, in the first cycle the researcher implemented the jumbled words in the classroom. Then the students wrote a news about accidents. It was still in news item text since the researcher followed the topic from the school. In the second cycle, the activities were same as the first cycle. In the end of the second cycle, the students were asked to write about their experiences in joining school competition. Therefore, the researcher conducted two cycles in this study. Since the researcher wanted to know the students’ ability not only in a particular genre of text (news item), she also implemented jumbled words in another genre of text (recount). However, it would not affect any result of the research because the researcher did not change the essence of the research. The focus was the simple sentences.

2. Observation Sheets

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activities when the jumbled words were implemented. The researcher could know the activities’ comments given by the observers.

3. Field Notes

Field notes were used to know what was going on in the classroom in the preliminary study and during the implementation in detail. Fraenkel and Wallen (2008) states “In educational research, this usually means the detailed notes researchers take in the educational setting (classroom or school) as they observe what is going on…” (p. 506). In the preliminary study, field notes were used to know the students’ condition in the classroom. Besides that, the researcher asked an outside observer to help her in observing the class. Field notes were used during the implementation to know what was going on in the class, and the interaction happened in the class when the jumbled words were implemented in the class. The researcher asked for help to two co-observers to observe the class. The observers would write down everything that happened in the class, what they heard, saw, experienced and thought during the implementation.

4. Questionnaires

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33 The questions were in the form of close-ended questions and open-ended questions. There are advantages of using close-ended questions and open-ended-questions. Fraenkel and Wallen (2008) have described about the advantages of using close-ended that it is “easy to use, score, and code”, while the advantages of using open-ended are “it allows more freedom of response and it is easier to construct” (p. 396).

5. Interviews

The researcher asked four students of XB class to have interview. The researcher chose the participants randomly. According to Kemmis and Mctaggart (1982), “Interview allows more flexibility than questionnaires and therefore useful for issues which are being explored rather than clearly defined from the outset” (p. 41). Therefore, the researcher wanted to know the students’ opinions of using jumbled words in the class. It was aimed to know further about the implementation of jumbled words whether it could improve and help the students of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman class XB to construct simple sentences based on the students’ opinions. Besides, the researcher could find other benefits of the implementation of jumbled words.

E. Data Gathering Technique

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decreased or not. It was aimed to know whether the students improved their ability to construct simple sentences or not.

The other instrument was observation sheets. The observation sheets were used to know what was going on in the class when the implementation was carried out. It was aimed to know the situation in the class. It also helped the researcher to know further about the teaching learning process in the class, so that she could fix what did not work well during the class. The researcher asked for help to the two co-observers to observe the class. They were from the 8th semester of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. The observation sheet was the same as the lesson plan used by the teacher. However, the outside observers could give comment or note besides the check list. Therefore, she could know the activities existed or not.

The researcher used field notes to obtain the situation in the class during the implementation of the research. The researcher asked two co-observers to describe the condition in the class. It included the situation of the students, the condition of the class, the learning activities, and the interaction that happened in the class. Therefore, the researcher could see the improvement of not only the students’ ability to construct simple sentences but also the students’ respond toward the learning process.

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35 researcher could know what the students thought about using jumbled words in the class.

The last instrument was interview. The researcher chose four participants to conduct the interview. The researcher chose the participants randomly. There were no specific purposes of conducting the interview. It was aimed to know further the students’ opinions toward the use of jumbled words.

F. Data Analysis Technique

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After the researcher obtained the students’ writing, she analyzed sentence by sentence. Then the researcher gave error score in each sentence. The criteria of error used by the researcher to give error score in the students’ writing are following:

The error score: 1

The students constructed incomplete simple sentence which has no subject or verb, or both (Mallery, 1944, p. 112). It is included in sentence fragment.

The error score: ½

The students constructed good sentence, but there was inappropriate tense (simple past tense) and misspelling that was difficult to understand. The researcher gave error score ½ because she gave explanation to tenses, especially past tense which was related to the topic.

The error score: 0

The students constructed a simple sentence correctly. If there were other mistakes in dictions, spellings, passive voices, and articles, the researcher did not pay attention to those since the researcher focused on the good simple sentences. If there were misspellings, but they were still understandable, it would be acceptable.

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37

Note:

X : the percentage mistakes in students’ composition

N : the number of wrong simple sentences that the students made N : the sum of simple sentences that the students made

In order to figure out that the research was successful or not, the researcher counted the average of error percentage from the students’ writing in XB class in the preliminary study until cycle 2. After that, she filled it in the table to see the improvement of the students’ ability to construct simple sentences. Therefore, the researcher could see whether the average of error percentage of the students’ writing decreased or not.

There were two criteria of success in this research.

More than half of the students improved their ability to construct simple sentences that could be shown from the error percentage of the students’ writing.

The average of error percentage of the students’ writing decreased.

G. Research Procedure

The research found out the problem of constructing simple sentences which was faced by XB students when she did PPL (Program Pelaksanaan

Lapangan) in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman which was held on July to Oktober

2011/2012. Having known the problem, the researcher decided to help the students of XB class in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman to improve their ability to

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construct simple sentences. After that, the researcher asked permission from the principal of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman.

To ensure the problem that XB students faced, the researcher conducted the preliminary study on April 23, 2012. She obtained the students’ writing and analyzed it. Therefore, it aimed to make sure the research problems.

After observing and analyzing the students’ writing in the preliminary study, the researcher began to plan the action. The researcher prepared the lesson plans, Power Point for the teaching process, the worksheets, jumbled words and the instruments such as observation sheets, field notes, questionnaires, and interview guidelines.

After that, the researcher collected data on April 30 and May 7, 2012. The first cycle was conducted on April 30 and the second cycle was conducted on May 7, 2012. The questionnaires were distributed at the end of the teaching and learning process of the second cycle. It was aimed to make the students feel easier to fill in the questionnaires since they still remembered what they had experienced using jumbled words. Several days later, the researcher conducted interview to four participants. Then, the researcher analyzed the data and gained the result of the research.

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39 CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the researcher would like to present the implementation of jumbled words in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman, the improvement of the students’ ability to construct simple sentences, and other findings.

A. The Implementation of Jumbled Words in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman The researcher conducted Classroom Action Research in two cycles. However, before the implementation, the researcher conducted the preliminary study to ensure the problem of the students’ ability to construct simple sentences by asking them to write news item text. After having ensured the students’ problem, the researcher implemented jumbled words as solution to improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences.

In this part, the researcher would like to present the preliminary study and the implementation of jumbled words in two cycles.

1. Preliminary Study

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In the preliminary activities, the researcher firstly focused on the reading skill for 40 minutes. She talked about news item and distributed the model of news item text. After that, the students stated true or false in some statements given by the researcher based on the text. After the researcher and the students discussed together the answers, the researcher began to focus on the writing skill. The researcher asked the students to write news item text. They could choose the topics which were given. The topics were sport events, criminal, education, technology, contest, and tragedy. After they had finished, they submitted their writing products to the researcher.

After they had submitted their writing products, the researcher started to identify the problem faced by the students by analyzing them. It was really clear that they had difficulties to construct sentences, even in the simple sentences. Most of the sentences were missing a subject and a finite verb. They did not write simple sentences correctly. Because they did not convey a complete thought, the sentence error which commonly appeared in the students’ sentences was the sentence fragment.

These are the sentences that the students wrote. The names of the students were changed into the name of countries. It was aimed to keep the students’ privacy and to avoid racism.

England

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41 Vietnam

- Now in Indonesian wonderful. ( It was missing a subject and a verb) - Example: Handphone, computer, dll. (It was missing a subject and a

verb. She also wrote etc in Bahasa Indonesia ‘dll’ ) Wales

- The many childrens down old. (It was missing a verb)

- The criminal in Indonesia very publication is Televisi. (It was difficult to understand)

- Banyak anak dibawah umur yang diperkosa akibat pemikiran seseorang yang kurang waras. (The student wrote in Bahasa Indonesia)

Most of them had difficulties to construct the simple sentences, even one of them wrote the text in Bahasa Indonesia. Moreover, according to 63.64% students taken from the questionnaires, the students thought that constructing sentences was difficult. It meant most of XB students failed to construct simple sentences correctly.

In the questionnaires, the researcher asked them about the difficulties they faced when they were asked to write a story in English. The difficulties that they faced were constructing sentences (4 students), translating from Bahasa Indonesia to English (4 students), defining the verb (1 student), lack of vocabulary (2 student), and no difficulties (1 student). Each student had his/her own obstacle in the writing skill.

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[image:63.595.106.518.152.681.2]

Table 4.1. The Error Percentage in the Students’ Writings of Simple Sentences in the Preliminary Study

No. Name of the Student

Number of wrong sentences

The sum of sentences

The percentage of errors in students’ writings

(preliminary study)

1. Albania 6 6 100 %

2. Angola 3.5 6 58.33%

3. Bolivia - - Absent

4. Brazil 2 3 66.67%

5. Canada 1.5 4 37.5%

6. Denmark 1 1 100%

7. England 4.5 7 64.29%

8. Finland - - Absent

9. France 0 1 0%

10. Japan - - Absent

11. Oman 1.5 4 37.5%

12. Romania 4.5 9 50%

13. Russia - - Absent

14. Venezuela 0 2 0%

15. Vietnam 6 7 85.71%

16. Wales 4 4 100%

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43 By conducting the preliminary study, the researcher could obtain information about the students’ conditions and situations from the field notes. Observer A wrote:

“They began to talk to their friends and they went outside the class. Some of the students just sat at their seat, they looked confused and did not do anything. The situation of the class became noisy. They talked each other and they were not enthusiastic to write a news item text. The researcher motivated the students to write. She asked the students to write and concentrate again. It could be seen from the students’ behavior that they needed something fun to grab their attention.”

(Field note in the preliminary study, see appendix 4)

They felt bored easily. They needed something new and interesting in their learning activities. As a result, they had willingness to learn in which they enjoyed the teaching and learning process in the classroom.

2. First Cycle

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The researcher started to implement jumbled words in the first cycle. The first cycle consisted of four steps. They were planning, action, observation, and reflection.

a. Planning

The first step was the researcher’s identification of the general idea that something might be improved. Having known the fact-finding about the students, the researcher would like to help the students to improve their ability to construct simple sentences. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to improve the students’ ability to construct simple sentences.

Having known the purpose of the research, the re