i THESIS
IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL OF NARRATIVE TEXTS
BY USING SHORT VIDEOS
(A Classroom Action Research at the Eighth Grade Students of SMP
Negeri 2 Temanggung in the Academic Year of 2009/2010)
By:
NUNUN INDRASARI
NIM K2206027
This thesis is submitted to fulfill the requirement for Undergraduate Degree in English Department Teacher Training and Education Faculty
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY
SURAKARTA
ii ABSTRACT
Nunun Indrasari. K2206027. IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL OF NARRATIVE TEXTS BY USING SHORT VIDEOS (A CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH AT THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 2 TEMANGGUNG IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2009/2010). Thesis, Surakarta: Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University, May 2010.
This research aims to find out whether short videos can improve students’ writing skill and how far the short videos can improve students’ writing skill at the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung. It is also aimed to find out the strengths and weakness of using short videos in the writing class.
The approach used in this research is a classroom action research. The action research was conducted in two cycles, in which in the first cycle there were 4 meetings and in the second cycle there were 3 meetings. Every cycle consisted of four steps; planning, implementing, evaluation, and reflection. In collecting the data, the researcher used observation, questionnaires, interviews, field notes, photographs, and tests. The tests were conducted before the action (pre-test) and after the action (post-test). The researcher analyzed the mean score of each test to find out the improvements of students’ writing skill after the action was conducted after the action. The mean scores of the test result are 68.22 for the pre-test, 75.58 for the post-test in cycle 1, and 78.31 for the post-test in cycle 2. By watching the videos, the students get the stimulus about certain topics so that they can easily construct and generate the ideas into a narrative story based on the video given. They can also arrange better paragraphs based on the generic structure of narrative text. From the t-test computation in the students’ test score, it is showed that the improvement of the students writing skill by using short videos is significant. The t-test computation between the pre-test and the post-test 2 was 8.77. Meanwhile, the t table (tt) for 34 students is 2.04. Since (to)2 is higher than tt, it means that there is a significant difference between the score in the pre-test and post-pre-test 2.
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This thesis has been approved to be examined by the board of the Thesis Examiners of the Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Undergraduate Degree of Education in English.
On : By :
Consultant I Consultant II
Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum
iv
This thesis has been examined by the board of the Thesis Examiners of the Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University
of Surakarta and has been accepted to be one of the Requirements for the Completion of Undergraduate Degree of Education in English
on 2010
Board of Examiners:
1. Chairman : Drs. Muh. Asrori, M.Pd. NIP. 19601015 198702 1 001
2. Secretary : Endang Setyaningsih, S.Pd, M.Hum NIP. 19800513 200312 2 002
3. Examiner 1 : Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd NIP. 19520307 198003 1 005
4. Examiner 2 : Teguh Sarosa, S.S, M.Hum NIP. 19730205 200604 1 001
Teacher Training and Education Faculty Sebelas Maret University
The Dean,
v MOTTO
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
vi
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to:
1. My beloved Mom and Dad, thanks for your care and prayer for me every where and every time.
2. My elder sister and my little brother who give me cheers in my life.
3. My luphie who always motivate me to be a better person.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Praise be to Allah the Almighty who has given His blessing so that the writer can finally finish this thesis as a partial fulfillment in achieving the Undergraduate Degree of English Education.
The writer realizes that this thesis could not be achieved without the help and assistance from others. Therefore, in this occasion the writer would give her appreciation to the individuals and institutions who have given their help during the process of writing so that this thesis is finally finished. She would like to express her deepest gratitude to the following:
1. Prof. Dr. M. Furqon Hidayatullah, M.Pd, the Dean of Teacher Training and Education Faculty.
2. Drs. Suparno, M.Pd, the Head of the Art and Language Education Department.
3. Drs. Martono, M.A, the Head of the English Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty.
4. Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd, as the writer’s first consultant for his guidance and advice.
5. Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum, as the writer’s second consultant for his guidance and advice.
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7. Bening Angga Dita, SS, the English Teacher of class VIII F for his collaboration in doing this research.
8. All of the students in class VIII F SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung for participating well in this research.
9. Her beloved Mom and Dad for their caring, love, and sincerity; her elder sister and younger brother for this cheers and beautiful life; her special person for accompanying her to understand the real life and who always gives her spirit when she was down.
10.Her lovely friends in the English Dept’06. Thanks for accompanying her with this beautiful moment in this last four year.
11.Her dearest friends in Marching Band UNS who have given fun memories in her life and made her stronger. Thank you very much for this wonderful challenge. This would never be forgotten. UNS JAYA!!! 12.Her beloved friends in kost Barokah 1 who always accompany her in
fun and sadness. Thanks for this friendship.
13.The last, thank you very much for every one who has ever played role in her story of life.
Surakarta, May 2010
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TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE... Error! Bookmark not defined. ABSTRACT ... Error! Bookmark not defined.i APPROVAL...iiError! Bookmark not defined.
LEGALIZATION ... iv
MOTTO ...v
DEDICATION ... vError! Bookmark not defined. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... viError! Bookmark not defined. TABLE OF CONTENT ... ix
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xiError! Bookmark not defined. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ... Error! Bookmark not defined. A. Background of the Study ... Error! Bookmark not defined. B. Limitation of the Problem ...7
C. Problems Statement ...7
D. Objective of the Research ...8
E. Benefits of the Study ...8
CHAPTER IIREVIEW TO THE RELATED STUDY...10
A. Review on Writing ...10
1. Writing Skill ...10
x
4. The Purpose of Writing ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 5. The Aspects and Micro Skills of Writing .. Error! Bookmark not defined. 6. Criteria for Good Writing ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 7. The Problems of Writing... Error! Bookmark not defined.
8. Teaching Writing ...19
9. Overview of Narrative Writing ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 10. Construct of Writing Skill ... Error! Bookmark not defined. B. Review on Video ...29
1. The Nature of Media ...29
2. Videos as Teaching Media ...32
C. Teaching Writing by Using Videos ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1. Techniques in Teaching Writing by Using Videos ...36
2. The Importance of Improving Writing Skill by Using Video ...38
D. Rationale ...38
E. Hypothesis ...40
CHAPTER IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...41
A. The Method of the Research ...41
B. Setting of the Study ...43
C. The Subject of the Study ... 4Error! Bookmark not defined. D. Models of the Research ...45
E. Procedures of the Research ... Error! Bookmark not defined. F. Technique of Collecting Data ...49
xi
H. Technique of Analyzing Data ...52
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ...55
A. Introduction ...55
B. Research Findings ...56
C. Discussion ...75
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, SUGGESTION ...80
A. Conclusion...80
B. Implication...82
C. Suggestion ...83
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...85
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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Syllabus ...88
Appendix 2. Lesson Plans ...101
Appendix 3. List of Students’ Name ...123
Appendix 4. Researcher’s Field Note ...124
Appendix 5. Observer’s Field Note ...144
Appendix 6. Students’s Pre-test and Post-test Scores ...150
Appendix 7. T-test Computation ...168
Appendix 8. Samples of Students’ Questionnaires ...175
Appendix 9. Data Analysis of Students’ Questionnaire ...185
Appendix 10. Photographs ...186
Appendix 11. Drafts of Students’ Interview ...190
Appendix 12. Research Diaries ...202
Appendix 13. Samples of Students’ Worksheets ...205
xiii CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Nowadays, in modern society, English becomes more important as a means of communication. Thus, it has been taught to the students since they were in elementary school. Students have been introduced to English language in the earlier stages because it is considered that English is an important language in society as a part of knowledge and skills which can help in attaining of satisfactory professional life later on.
Teaching English in early stage of schooling is very important. Brewster (1992: 23-24) states the reasons of starting to learn a foreign language earlier. First, teaching English for children is aimed to increase the total number of years spent learning the language. Second, the indisputable fact that young child has a greater facility for understanding and imitating what they hear than adolescent. Third, the aim of early foreign language learning is to prepare children linguistically, psychologically, and culturally for language learning.
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education level and even in the field of work that demands them to understand English in communication.
In teaching learning English at school there should be language practice in each language skill, including writing skill. Writing will help students master the other skills and of course in mastering English completely. Sometimes students are afraid and shy to express their ideas in speaking but they can tell what they want to say by writing it down on a paper before speaking. Then, the students themselves or possibly the reader will understand it. While, there are still some English teachers who haven’t given attention to this case completely. However, English writing, as a basic language skill for students, should get close attention.
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In fact, in some cases, writing tends to be a neglected area in English language teaching at school. It seems that competent writing was frequently accepted as being the last language skill to be acquired both for native speaker of the language and for foreign/second language learners at school. Teaching learning process held in a classroom is more concerned at acquiring the other skills.
The researcher did preliminary class observation to find the problem in class VIII F SMP N 2 Temanggung. Based on the observation, the researcher got the data of the students’ problem. The students had a problem in writing a text because they learnt writing without using a good approach and treatment. They were just asked to write a composition based on the topic that had been prepared in the text book. Sometimes, the students didn’t understand a certain instruction of a text for example the generic structure of the text, purposes and the language feature of the text. Organization of the text, generating ideas, language use, content of writing, and vocabulary still become the difficulties faced by the students.
Some factors that cause the students to have low proficiency in writing are the students themselves rarely write in English and the teachers don’t facilitate them well to develop their writing skill in classroom activities.
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students to plan and compose their assignments outside of class. It means the students have a little practice in writing at school. However, the students tend to do writing only if they have been asked by their teachers. Even, when the teachers have asked their students to make a composition outside of class, they don’t do any corrections or evaluation on students’ assignment in classroom. Sometimes the students only got a certain mark of their writing without knowing the strengths and the weaknesses of their compositions so that they don’t know how to improve their writing to be a better one.
Another factor that causes the problem in students’ writing is the motivation and interest of the students. Writing seems to be a boring activity, indicated by the responses of the students when they have been asked to write a composition.
Based on the questionnaires which had been filled in by the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung, the researcher finds out some problems dealing with writing skill:
1. There were 23.5% students disliked English writing class, 3% students greatly disliked English writing, 64% said neutral, and only 8.8% students liked English writing.
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3. No student agreed that making a composition needs a short time. 76.47% students still needed very long time in composing paragraphs. The rest students said neutral.
Based on the questionnaires, it can be seen that the low motivation in English class, especially English writing, still occurred in the eighth grade students in SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung. They also feel that English writing is a difficult lesson.
The varieties of teaching learning English writing accomplished by the teachers also influence the students’ achievements of writing. When the teachers use inappropriate or monotonous techniques in teaching writing, the students can be bored and unmotivated to learn. It directly influences the product of students’ achievement of writing. Somehow, teachers play an important role in teaching learning process and responsible on the students’ achievements in English. To motivate the students to think critically and creatively in facing the learning problem is also the duty of teachers.
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being facilitators are guiding and assisting the students to take a part in teaching learning process.
There are many various techniques that can be used by the teachers to help the students in organizing the ideas and lessen their boredom in writing. The teaching learning process can be facilitated by some teaching media. Media are very important in teaching learning process. They help the teacher as a means of communication to convey the message more concretely and also motivate the students in learning English. One of the media that can be used in teaching English writing is video. The use of video in a classroom can guide the students’ activities in an interesting way. Video provides information to eyes and ears, so students can see communication in action (Edge, Julian.1993:58). Video can present language in a lively way. Thus, it can increase the interest and motivation of the students. Video can also be used as a means of communication. A video sequence used in class makes students more ready to communicate in the target language.
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in SMP N 2 Temanggung with students’ purpose of writing to be able to make a composition better than before.
B. Limitation of the Problem
In avoiding deviation from the topic, the researcher focuses the study on improving writing skill of the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung by using short videos. The writing skill that is observed in this research is limited in generating ideas and organization of the text. The text type used is narrative text.
C. Problems Statement
Based on the background above, the problems that come up in this study are formulated as follows:
1. Can short videos improve writing skill of narrative texts at the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung?
2. To what extent do short videos improve writing skill of narrative texts at the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung?
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D. Objective of the Research
The objectives of the research are:
1. To find out whether or not short videos can improve students’ writing skill.
2. To find out how far videos can improve students’ writing skill.
3. To find out the strengths and the weaknesses of using short videos in teaching writing.
E. Benefits of the Study
The result of the study is expected to be able to give some contributions for the teachers, the students, and the researcher. The following are the significant contributions of the study:
1. For the Teachers
Through this study, it is expected that the teacher will get more information about writing and its problems during teaching and learning process in writing. Besides, this study is expected to give an alternative technique in teaching writing.
2. For the Students
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also gives the students an effective technique in learning writing. Finally, it is expected that the students can improve their writing skill. 3. For the Researcher
xxii CHAPTER II
REVIEW TO THE RELATED STUDY
A. Review on Writing
1. Writing Skill
Writing is one of important skills that language learners need to learn as an essential component not only for their academic practice but also later in their professional life. Writing can be defined in various ways. There are some definitions of writing proposed by experts.
Byrne (1997:1) says that on one level, writing can be said to be the act of forming symbols; making marks on a flat surface of some kind. Graphic symbols here include letters or combinations of letters that relate to the sound people make when they speak. The symbols have to be arranged, according to certain conventions, to form words, sentences, and/or paragraph. But actually writing is more than the production of graphic symbols. He also states that writing involves the encoding of a message of some kind; that is translating thoughts into language.
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Olshtain in Celce-Murcia (2001:207) defines writing as an act of communication which takes place between the writer and the reader via the text in an interactive process.
According to Olson (1982:4), someone is writing when she puts her thoughts and feeling into words and puts those words onto paper. Olson also states that writing is more than that; however, those thoughts on paper must make sense to someone else, in this case, the reader.
From the definitions of writing above, it can be concluded that writing is an act of putting the thoughts and feeling into a set of signs or symbols and putting them onto paper which can be understood by the reader.
Meanwhile, skill is defined by Hornby (1995:1109) as the ability to do something well. According to Webster (1981:2133) skill means technical competence without insight or understanding or the ability for further elaboration or development.
To conclude, writing skill is the ability to put the thoughts and feeling into a set of signs or symbols and put them onto paper which can be understood by the reader.
2. The Stages in Writing
Hamp-Lyons (1987:135) states that there are three stages in the process of writing, those are pre-writing, writing, and rewriting.
a. Pre-writing
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on a way to respond to it, and selecting the appropriate ideas and information to use in a response. The pre-writing stage should be very active, with discussion of the topic area to make sure everyone has something to write about.
In planning, students involve the activities, such as reading, viewing the video, mind mapping, discussing, fast writing, questioning, encourage them before they write their sentences in the first draft. In this stage the teacher can use some media to brainstorm the learners about a topic in order to integrate the ideas which will be drafted to their writing. By this way, students would get motivation to write because they feel that they have something matter to say.
b. Writing
Writing is the stage where actually the writer makes a draft of their writing based on the pre-writing stage that they have done before. S/he finds the right words and concentrates more on what they want to say through paper. S/he also needs to arrange the draft in such way that the reader can follow his/her thought easily. The content might be written without considering the grammatical aspect first.
c. Rewriting
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critical look at their writing in order to be sure that the written product, the outcomes of the writing process, is as they intended it to be.
In this stage, the students review a draft to check content and organization based on the feedback from him or herself and teacher or peers. The teacher helps the students through the revision to shape and reshape the text into final form, and it’s focused more on organization, content of writing, sentence structures.
Proofreading simply means re-reading the text and correcting minor errors such as miss-spelling, verb tense consistently and punctuations. The students check their final text for some mistakes they have made.
3. Techniquesfor Generating Ideas
It is necessary for the students to know the techniques for generating ideas before they start writing. In pre writing stage, the students are required to find out what topic that they would write down so that they have something to say through paper. Ruggiero (1981:24-28) states about three techniques for generating ideas. Those are as follows:
a. The Brainstorming Approach
Brainstorming was developed by an American industrialist, Alex Osborn. The theory was that one idea would stimulate another, and those two ideas a third, and so on, eventually producing a valuable insight or solution to a problem that might not otherwise have been expressed.
xxvi b. Imaginary-Dialogue Approach
The imaginary-dialogue approach requires that one see the subject through someone else’s eyes. Naturally, it is impossible to enter other people’s perspectives totally.
c. The Background-Reading Approach
The background reading approach consists of getting factual information to stimulate and direct the writer’s thinking. This is what actually the students do in generating ideas in this research. The students would get the stimulus from what they watch in the video. They get a matter to think and then put their thinking into writing.
4. The Purpose of Writing
McMahan, et al. (1996: 8) mentions the purposes of writing as follows:
a. To express the writer’s feeling
The writer wants to express his feeling and thought through the written form, as in a diary or a love letter. It is what is so called as expressive writing.
b. To entertain the readers
The writer intends to entertain the reader through written form, and he usually uses authentic materials. It is called as literary writing.
c. To inform the readers
xxvii d. To persuade the readers
The writer wants to persuade or convince the readers about his opinion or concept or idea. It is called as persuasive writing.
In addition, Byrne (1997:2) in his book “Teaching Writing Skill” said about the purpose of writing: “it is helpful to keep in mind some of the many uses we are likely to make of writing”. On a personal level, people use writing to make a note of something, for example shopping list, diaries, etc., and used to keep records of things to be remembered. Writing is also used to send messages in the forms of letters, memos, and many kinds of writing to deliver the messages from one to others.
5. The Aspects and Micro Skills of Writing
Writing involves many different aspects. According to Gower (1995), the aspects of writing are as follows:
a. Handwriting
The writing should be easily read by the readers. The neatness and legibility is important in writing.
b. Spelling
Spelling means the writing of a word accepted in standard order. In second language learning, errors spelling are often found.
c. Punctuation
xxviii d. Sentence construction
The construction of sentences that is grammatically correct, using the correct word order.
e. Organizing a text and paragraphing
It involves dividing the information into paragraphs, starting a new paragraph, and ordering the paragraphs to present a logical order.
f. Text cohesion
The appropriate use of linking words and phrases so that the organization of the text is clear to the reader.
g. Register / style
Using language (structures and vocabulary) appropriate to the formality and style of the text.
In addition, there are some micro skills involved in writing. The writer needs to:
a. Follow conventions of spelling, punctuation and capitalization. b. Use an acceptable core vocabulary and appropriate word order.
c. Use acceptable grammatical systems (i.e. tense, agreement), patterns and rules.
d. Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms, with a variety of sentence structures.
e. Use cohesive devices in written discourse.
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g. Appropriately accomplish the communicative functions of written texts according to form and purpose.
h. Convey links and connections between events. Communicate such relations as main ideas, supporting ideas, new information, given information, generalization and exemplification.
i. Correctly convey culturally specific references in the context of the written text.
j. Develop and use a battery of writing strategies, such as accurately assessing the audience’s interpretation, using pre-writing devices, using paraphrases and synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor feedback and using feedback, for revising and editing (http://newterra.chemeketa.edu). 6. Criteria for Good Writing
Fachruddin Ambo (1988:8) in his book “Dasar-Dasar Ketrampilan Menulis” states about the good writing: “tulisan yang baik ialah tulisan yang dapat berkomunikasi secara efektif dengan pembaca kepada siapa tulisan itu ditujukan.”
Enre (1988:9-11) also states the criteria for good writing as follow: a. Meaningful
xxx b. Clear
It can be said as a clear writing if the intended reader can read in constant speed and catch the meaning. Clear writing shouldn’t have been simple, but mustn’t be more difficult than the situation as it ought to be.
c. Coherent
Other characteristic of good writing is coherent, it means that the information is clearly connected and arranged. It has been organized systematically so the reader can follow the composition easily.
d. Economic
If the main purpose of the writer is giving information, s/he should avoid pleonasm. In a good writing, the words used are appropriate, and the sentences are clear, concise, emphatic, and correct. So, it doesn't waste the reader's time by veering away from focus without reason.
e. Cohesive
It means that the writing doesn't contain tons of grammar or spelling errors. It uses appropriate grammatical patterns, substitution, elliptical construction, preposition, conjunctions to relate among the clauses within paragraphs.
7. The Problems of Writing
xxxi a. Psychological Problems
Writing is essentially a solitary activity and the fact that people are required to write on their own draft, without the possibility of interaction or the benefit of feedback, in itself makes the act of writing difficult. Writers have no immediate feedback to let them know how they are doing and whether they should change their approach. There is no immediate interaction between the producer and the receiver. b. Linguistics Problems
Different from oral communication, the language used in written language is either simplified (list, telegram, note, etc.) or more elaborate, more formal. In a foreign language this process is all the more difficult as there may be interference on a cultural level, not just the linguistics, between mother tongue and the foreign language. c. Cognitive Problems
Writing is learned through process of instruction. The written form of the language and certain structures, which are less used in speech, should be mastered and learned. The way to organize the ideas is also important for effective communication which has to be learned in writing.
8. Teaching Writing
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little portion and even tends to be slighted. In fact, writing has some important roles in human life; either in academic purposes or in other aspect of life.
a. Reason for Teaching Writing
The most important reason for teaching writing is that it is a basic language skill. Byrne (1997:6-7) gave the reasons of teaching writing in the early stages. Writing serves a variety of pedagogical purposes as follows:
1) The introduction and practice of some forms of writing enables the learners to provide for different learning styles and needs. Some learners, especially those who do not learn easily through oral practice alone, feel more secure if they are allowed to read and write in the language. For such students, writing is likely to be an aid to retention, if only because they feel more at ease and relaxed.
2) Written work serves to provide the learners with some tangible evidences that they are making progress in the language. It is not likely to be a true index of their attainment, but it satisfied a psychological need.
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4) Writing provides variety in classroom activities. It increases the amount of language contact through work that can be set out of class.
5) Writing is often needed for formal and informal testing. b. Approaches in Teaching Writing
There are some varieties of approaches in teaching writing which can be conducted by the teacher in classroom.
1) The Controlled-to-Free Approach
This approach stresses three features of grammar, syntax, and mechanics. It emphasizes accuracy rather than fluency or originality. The controlled-to-free approach in writing is sequential: students are first given sentence exercises, then paragraphs to copy or manipulate grammatically by, for instant, changing questions to statements, present to past, or plural to singular. They might also change words or clauses or combine sentences. They work on given material and perform strictly prescribed operations on it.
2) The Free-Writing Approach
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free writing and perhaps comment on the ideas the writer expressed, or ask students to read aloud to the class. Concern for “audience” and “content” are seen as important in this approach, especially since the free writings often revolve around subjects that the students are interested in, and those subjects then become the basis for other more focused writing task.
3) The Paragraph-Pattern Approach
The paragraph-pattern approach stresses feature of organization. This approach is based on the principle that in different cultures people construct and organize their communication with each other in different ways. So even if students organize their ideas well in their first language, they still need to see, analyze, and practice the particularly “English” features of a piece of writing.
4) The Grammar-Syntax-Organization Approach
This approach links the purpose of a piece of writing to the forms that are needed to convey the message. Writing task is devised in order to lead the students to pay attention to organization while they also work on the necessary grammar and syntax.
5) The Communicative Approach
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encouraged to behave like writers in real life and to ask themselves the crucial questions about purpose and audience: “Why I am writing this?” and “Who will read it?”
Teachers using the communicative approach, therefore, have extended the readership. They extend it to other students in the class, who not only read the piece but actually do something with it, such as respond, rewrite in another form, summarize, or make comments.
6) The Process Approach
In the process approach, the students do not write on a given topic in a restricted time and hand in the composition for the teacher to “correct” which usually means to find the error. Rather, they explore a topic through writing, showing the teacher and each other their drafts, and using what they write to read over, think about, and move them on to new ideas. Teachers who use the process approach give their students two crucial supports time for the students to try out ideas and feedback on the content of what they write in their drafts. They find that then the writing process becomes a process of discovery for the students: discovery of new ideas and new language forms to express those ideas.
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correction in grammar. The students were expected to be able to express their ideas, generate the ideas fluently and organize them into good composition.
c. Teaching Writing in SMP
Based on the Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan 2006 for SMP and MTs, the program of teaching learning English as a foreign language focuses on the aims to develop students’ skill in four language skills. The students are expected to achieve competencies to communicate orally and written by using suitable language variation, fluently, and accurately in interaction or monologue in the form of descriptive, recount, narrative, procedure, and report.
The teaching purpose conducted by the teacher should be based on syllabus of Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan 2006 for SMP and MTs. The expected learning outcomes outlined for the students of the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade on the writing skill are as follows: 1) Seventh grade: the students are able to (1) write simple functional
sentences, (2) write simple message, short and simple announcement, and card, (3) produce text in the form of a procedure and descriptive.
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3) Ninth grade: students are able to (1) write texts in the form of narrative, procedure, and report, (2) write short message, letter, advertisement, and announcement.
9. Overview of Narrative Writing
There are some approaches in teaching writing; one of them is genre based approach. The use of genre approach in solving the problem in students’ writing, particularly in generating ideas and organization is very effective way. According to Hartono (2005:4) the term “genre” is used to refer to particular text-types, not to traditional varieties of literature. It is a type or kind of text, defined in terms of its social purposes; also the level of context dealing with social purposes.
Based on the communicative purpose, Pardiyono (2007:93-98) classifies the text into eleven types, they are; description, recount, narration, procedure, explanation, discussion, exposition, news item, report, anecdote, and review. However in this study, the text will be focused on the narrative text.
Narrative text is a text which says the past activities or event which concerns on the problematic experience and resolution in order to amuse and even give the moral messages to the reader.
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conflicts and resolutions; resolution; stating the problem solving, and coda; concluding in order to give the moral values.
According to Hartono (2005:7), the language features used in narrative text are:
a. Focus on specific participants.
Narrative text focuses on the story of certain participant or character.
b. Use of past tense.
Tenses used in narrative text is past tense, because it tells about a story happened in the past. The formula of past tense is
S + V2 … or S + to be (was/were)...
c. Use of temporal conjunction.
The examples of temporal conjunction are: first, finally, then, when, next, last, before, etc.
d. Use of material (or action) processes.
Material process relates to the physical action done by the participants. The examples of materials process are:
The water flows. Participant process e. Use of mental process.
Mental process relates to the verbs which indicate the participants’ feeling, thinking, and perceiving, for example:
xxxix 10.Construct of Writing Skill
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that writing is an act of putting the thoughts and feeling into a set of signs or symbols and putting them onto paper which can be understood by the reader.
Writing skill is the ability to put the thoughts and feeling into a set of signs or symbols and put them onto paper which can be understood by the reader.
Writing has some micro skills that should be comprehended by the students in learning writing. These are some of them:
a. Reasoning
In their writing, the students should communicate such relations as main ideas, supporting ideas, new information, given information, generalization and exemplification.
b. Communication
The students should appropriately accomplish the communicative functions of written texts according to form and purpose. They should also use an acceptable core vocabulary and appropriate word order.
c. Organization
xl d. Convention
In writing a composition, the students should follow conventions of spelling, punctuation and capitalization and use acceptable grammatical systems (i.e. tense, agreement), patterns and rules.
The following are the criteria of scoring writing:
Table 1. The Scoring Writing Narrative Rubric
Aspects 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25
Reasoning Only a few
simple ideas
Use simple
ideas
Developed ideas well developed,
interesting ideas
Organization Has no clear
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According to Sumantri (2001:153), “Media Pengajaran atau Pembelajaran adalah segala alat pengajaran yang digunakan oleh guru sebagai perantara untuk menyampaikan bahan – bahan instruksional dalam proses belajar mengajar sehingga memudahkan mencapai tujuan pengajaran tersebut.” So, media is used in teaching learning as a means to convey the instructional materials to reach the objectives more easily.
Furthermore, Sadiman (2002:6) says his opinion about media: “Media berarti perantara atau pengantar pesan dari pengirim pesan kepada penerima pesan.” Media can be regarded as a mean to deliver the message from the giver to the receiver.
From the definition above, media can be defined as a means of communication used to convey the information from the giver to the receiver. Related to teaching and learning, media is meant by a means of communication used in the teaching learning process to convey the information such as teaching materials from the teacher to the students so that the students will be more interested in taking part in the lesson.
b. Kinds of Media
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Arsyad (2004:29) says that media is instructional component including message, person, and tool. In its development, teaching media have been influenced by the development of technology. Arsyad differs the teaching media based on technology development into some kinds.
“Berdasarkan perkembangan teknologi tersebut, media pembelajaran dapat dikelompokkan ke dalam empat kelompok, yaitu (1) media hasil teknologi cetak, (2) media hasil teknologi audio-visual, (3) media hasil teknologi yang berdasarkan komputer,(4) dan media hasil gabungan teknologi cetak dan komputer” (Arsyad, 2004:29)
According to Arsyad, it can be concluded that teaching media can be classified into four kinds; those are printed media, audio-visual media, computer media, and printed-computer media.
In addition, Seels and Glasgow in Arsyad (2004:33-34) classified media into two categories:
1) Traditional Media
a.) Projected Visual (OHP, slides, filmstrips)
b.) Un projected Visual (picture, poster, photograph, chart,graphic, diagram)
c.) Audio
d.) Multimedia presentation (slide with audio, multi-image) e.) Dynamic Projected Visual (film, television, video)
f.) Printed media (text book, module, workbook, magazine, hand-out)
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h.) Real thing (model, specimen, manipulative-mannequin) 2) Technology Media
a.) Telecommunication-Based Media b.) Microprocessor-Based Media c. The Advantages of Media
Media is very helpful in teaching language learning. It helps the teachers motivate the students by bringing a slice of real life into the classroom and by presenting language in its more complete communicative context. Media also provides information such as cultural input which is impossible to be brought its real things in classroom. Celce-Murcia (2001:461) states about the advantages of using media in language learning:
a. Media serves as an important motivator in the language teaching process.
b. Audiovisual materials provide students with content, meaning, and guidance. They thus create contextualized situation within which language items are presented and practiced.
c. Media materials can lend authenticity to the classroom situation, reinforcing for students the direct relation between the language classroom and the outside world.
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e. By bringing media into the classroom, teachers can expose their students to multiple input sources.
f. Media helps students call up existing schemata and therefore maximize their use of prior background knowledge in the language learning process.
g. Media provides a means of presenting material in a time-efficient and compact manner, and of stimulating students’ senses, thereby helping them to process information more readily.
2. Videos as Teaching Media
a. The Definition of Video
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video, video is defined as the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.
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In the case of video as a teaching media in language classroom, it can be concluded that video is a medium of communication containing messages, images, and sounds used in teaching learning process.
b. Characteristics of Video
The characteristics of video in language learning are as follow: 1) Video displays the pictures and sounds (verbal symbols) 2) The sequence of pictures is constant, cannot be changed.
3) The program of video shows the three dimensions color and movement.
4) The advantages of video: a.) Can be used immediately b.) Can be used repeatedly
c.) Can display the materials which are impossible to be brought physically in class.
d.) Can display danger object e.) Can display detailed object f.) Doesn’t need dark place
g.) The speed can be adjusted (fast or slow) h.) Can be used in classical and individual i.) Display the colored pictures and sound
j.) Can display the animation with sound which shows an event or process.
xlvii a.) Difficult to be revised b.) Relatively expensive c.) Need a specific skill
c. The Importance of Video in Language Learning
Video can be used at every level, both as supplementary materials for language reinforcement and skill practice and as the main component of an intensive course or course module provided that suitable material is available (Stemplesky, 1990:4).
The use of video in teaching learning process has some advantages as follow:
1) increasing the students’ motivation in learning 2) reviewing the past lesson
3) providing learning stimulus 4) activating students’ respond 5) giving feedback
6) accomplishing good practice
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ready to communicate in the target language. Third, non-verbal aspect of communication can be presented by video. Video allows the viewer to see the non-verbal communication, such as gestures, expression, posture, etc. Finally, by using video, cross-cultural comparison can be done in language teaching. Video is a reach resource for communication in the language classroom including the cultural behavior.
d. Categories of Video in Language Learning
Stemplesky (1990:7) suggests the categories of video which is usually used in language learning classroom:
1) Drama: this broad category embraces most video, TV, and film material with scripted dialogue and/or dramatic elements, such as TV soap operas, drama series, plays, situation comedies, etc. it also includes feature films as a subcategory.
2) Documentaries: any material which is non-fictional and/or unscripted (e.g. a TV current affairs investigation of an issue as opposed to a scripted drama about the same issue). Subcategories include TV news programs, interviews and sport programs, and also the kind of TV talk shows.
3) TV Commercials: all kinds of TV or cinema advertising material or short promotional video.
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The category of video used in this research is drama. The researcher uses cartoon film materials with scripted dialogue as the teaching aid. Cartoon film is suitable for the young learners in junior high school. It contains simple complication or problems which is easy to be followed by the students. The visualization of this video is also interesting for the young learners so that they are expected to have high motivation in taking part in teaching learning process.
C. Teaching Writing by Using Videos
1. Techniques in Teaching Writing by Using Videos
Video has been used in two main ways in EFL: as an alternative to written or audio text, and as a tool for analyzing learners’ error (Cooper, 1991:3). There are some techniques to be conducted in teaching writing with videos.
a. Sound off/vision on (silent viewing): this techniques can be used either to stimulate language activity about what is seen on the screen (rather what is being said) or to focus on what is being said, by a variety of guessing or prediction task.
b. Sound on/vision off: students guess the setting, actions, characters, etc. this can be done by varieties of ways.
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1.) With sound on, pausing at strategic points in the plot or action, teacher asks students question about the situation (what was happened/what is going to happen).
2.) Pause at suitable moments of characters’ facial expression for students to suggest thoughts, feeling, etc.
d. Sound and vision on (viewing comprehension).
1.) Students are given a cloze passage of the dialogue or of a description of the scene and have to complete gaps while/after viewing.
2.) Students view and listen to the sequence then have to list the things they expect to hear, see, etc.
e. Jumbling sequences: students view each section of a sequence, presented to them out of sequence. The students have to determine what has happened or what will happen in each case and then fit the section into a correct or plausible sequence.
f. Split viewing: some students see a sequence but do not hear it; others hear but do not see. A variety of activities can then follow based on usual information-gap procedures.
The techniques will be used in this research are pause/freeze frame control and viewing comprehension. The students are expected to get the main idea and understand the whole story by active viewing and listening to the video.
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In the writing activity, video can be used in building the creativity of the students in composing or summarizing the sequence. It can be formed as cartoon, short films, TV commercials, et cetera. Advantages of using video in language learning are that they are relatively short to be understood easily by the students, and most contain a wealth of cultural material which can be exploited with little preparation. They also make the class livelier.
D. Rationale
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how they should start their writing. Sometimes the students stuck in a point and couldn’t continue their writing. They also seemed to be bored in writing lesson.
To solve the problem teachers can use some media in teaching English writing to help them in delivering the materials more easily. One of the media that can be used in teaching English writing is video. The teachers can find a valuable resource in video. Video has some advantages to be used in language learning in classroom. In writing class, video can give a stimulus for the students about something, so that they have a matter to say in their writing. Video provides a shared experience for students in the class, a common base that leads to a variety of language activities. The use of video can create the amusing, fun, and relaxing atmosphere in the classroom. Students are more motivated in learning because the learners, especially young learners, are usually interested more in watching animation or moving pictures than reading the text. Therefore, when they enter the class they will not feel any pressure and will enjoy in writing learning process.
So, it is assumed that using videos as teaching aids on students’ writing is effective for developing and promoting students' English writing skill. By watching the videos, the learners are guided in selecting the topic, so the learners get the ideas about what they are going to write. The main achievement is that the learners are expected to be able to generate ideas into a composition.
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Based on theories previously discussed in the rationale, the hypothesis is: the use of videos in language teaching can improve writing skill of the eighth grade students of SMP N 2 Temanggung in the academic year of 2009/2010.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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The method used in this study is classroom action research. There are some definitions of action research proposed by experts. Carr and Kemmis (1982) in Burns (1999:30) states that action research is simply a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situation in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding of this practices and the situations in which the practices are carried out.
While Mills (2000:6) defines action research as:
Any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in teaching or learning environment, to gather information about the ways that their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn. This information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school environment (and on educational practices in general), and improving students outcomes and the lives of those involved.
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In addition, Hopkins (1983:1) says that classroom research is an act undertaken by teachers either to improve their own or a colleague’s teaching or to test the assumptions of educational theory in practice.
Anne Burns (1999:30) suggests the characteristics of action research: 1. Action research is contextual, small scale and localized. It identifies and
investigates problems within a specific situation.
2. It is evaluative and reflective as it aims to bring about change and improvement in practice.
3. It is participatory as it provides for collaborative investigation by teams of colleagues, practitioners and researcher.
4. Changes in practice are based on the collection of information or data which provides the impetus for changes.
While Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) in Nunan (1992:17) argue that the three defining characteristics of action research are that it is carried out by practitioners (for our purposes, classroom teachers) rather than outside researchers; secondly, that it is collaborative; and thirdly, that it is aimed at changing things.
From the above definitions, it can be summarized that action research is a systematic research done by teachers, researchers, principals, school counselors, administrator or other educational professionals to solve problems in order to get better improvement.
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implementing the action research. The researcher teaches writing in the implementation of the action research. She discusses with the teacher about the topic, the homework, exercises and the test items. The teacher watches and observes the teaching learning process. The practical action the researcher used is the technique using video.
B. Setting of the Study
This classroom action research is carried out in SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung which is located at Jl. Jend. Sudirman 21 Temanggung. SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung is one of the favorite schools and one of the International Standard Schools in Temanggung. This school is located in the main street of Temanggung. The strategic location of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung makes it easy to reach. It is also near some public areas, such as bank, police station, and any other offices.
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There are so many two-storey buildings which are built to overcome the needs of classrooms and any other rooms to remember that the width of school area is narrow.
The research is conducted through teaching learning process in the classroom at the eighth grade students in the academic year of 2009/2010. This research is held by implementing the use of videos to improve students’ writing skill in generating and organizing ideas. Therefore, this research is based on KTSP of SMP which is aimed to help the students able to communicate in written a text correctly. The study is started from the beginning of February 2010.
C. The Subject of the Study
The subjects of this study are the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung in the academic year of 2009/2010. The classroom of VIII F is located in the back yard of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung, precisely in the north side of yard. There are 34 students consisting 14 boys and 20 girls in class of 8-F. This classroom is wide enough for 34 students.
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But, because this classroom looks out upon the yard, sometimes the situation in classroom during teaching learning process is disturbed by the noise of the students who do the sport out of classroom.
D. Models of the Research
The model of action research used in this research is the model developed by Kemmis and Mc Taggart in Burns (1999:32). According to them, classroom action research is composed of cycles consisting of four steps namely: planning, action, observation and reflections.
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Figure 3.1. Steps in Action Research
E. Procedures of the Research
In this classroom action research, each procedure takes some steps that form one cycle. The procedures of action research in this research are as follows:
1. Identifying the problem
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learning process, interviews, gives the pre-test and open-ended questionnaires to the students.
2. Implementing the action research
This research is conducted in two cycles. Each cycle uses video as teaching media in writing activity.
According to Kemmis and Mc Taggart, action research occurs through a dynamic and complementary process, which consists of four essentials ‘moments’: planning, action, observation and reflection (Burns, 1999:32). These moments are the fundamental steps in a spiraling process through which participants in an action research group undertake to: a. Planning
It includes the following activities:
1) Preparing material, making lesson plan, and designing the steps in doing the action.
2) Preparing list of students’ name and scoring. 3) Preparing teaching aids (video).
4) Preparing sheets of classroom observation (to know the situation of teaching-learning process when the method or technique or mode is applied).
lxi b. Action
The included activities were: 1) Giving pretest
2) Teaching in the classroom
3) Giving occasion to the students to ask any difficulties or problems 4) Asking the students some questions
5) Guiding students to do the task 6) Giving post test
c. Observation
Observation is one of the instruments used in collecting data. The researcher observes the students’ activities while teaching-learning process occurs. The results of the observation are recorded on observation sheets as useful data. The researcher is helped by the teacherto observe students’ activities and give inputs and suggestions. d. Reflection
The results of the observation are analyzed to remember what have happened and have been recorded. Meanwhile, the researcher evaluates the teaching learning process during the implementation phase. From this, self reflection can be done. And from the tests, the students’ improvement can be known.
3. Doing Evaluation
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whether or not there is an improvement of the students’ writing skill, the researcher gives the students pre-test and post-test. Pre-test is held at the beginning of the first cycle to measure students’ writing skills before implementing the action and post-test is held at the end of every cycle to measure the improvement of students’ writing skills after the action. After giving the test, the researcher analyzes the result of the test by scoring it. In scoring the data of writing skill, the researcher uses rubric evaluation of writing. The researcher also needs help from one who is regarded to have enough capability in scoring writing. The researcher asks the English teacher in SMP N 2 Temanggung to be the second corrector. It is done to minimize subjectivity of scoring.
F. Technique of Collecting Data
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essentially introspective, that is, they invite personal and individual accounts of events, attitudes, and beliefs.
Burns adds there are two roles of observation, namely non-participant and participant observation. Non-participant observation means watching and recording without personal involvement in the research context. On the other hand, participant observation involves entering the research context and observing oneself as well as others in that context. The researcher became a member of the context and participates in its culture and activities. In this research, the researcher uses participant observation to get the data. The researcher enters the class as teacher.
G. Instruments
There are five instruments used in this research to collect the data: notes or field notes, researcher’s diaries or journals, open-ended questionnaires, photographs and writing tests.
1. Notes or field notes
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Collaborative observer’s notes or field notes are used to take notes on important activities related with students’ writing skill.
2. Researcher’s diaries or journals
Diaries or journals are an alternative to field notes, or a supplement, if time permits. They provide continuing accounts of perceptions and thought processes, as well as critical events or issues which have surfaced in the classroom. Diaries and journals contain more subjective and personal reflections and interpretations than the relatively formulized recordings of notes. In this research, diaries or journals are written by the researcher as the teacher to record her analysis, interpretation, and reflection. They are used to observe the students’ behavior and development, materials, lesson plans, and everything related with teaching activities.
3. Open-ended questionnaires
Open-ended questionnaires are several questions expected to be answered by the participants in order to collect the data. The participants are quite free to answer the question. In this research, they are used to know the students’ felling, perception and opinions to the English teaching activities happen in the class.
4. Photographs
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language classroom task and activities where visual aids are an invaluable support in learning. In this research, photographs are used to record activities happen in the class as it can give real description about the teaching learning process.
5. Writing tests
Test is a set of questions or exercises or other instruments to measure knowledge, intelligence, ability or aptitude of groups or individuals. The researcher conducts tests consisting of post test 1 and post test 2. Post test 1 is done after the first cycle ends and the post test 2 is held in the end of the second cycle. The tests are used to measure students’ writing skill from the achievement side.
H. Technique of Analyzing Data
After collecting the data, the next step of the study is analyzing the data. The data are analyzed by qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
1. Qualitative
The data of pre-research observation report, research diaries, field notes, and the photographs of teaching learning process are analyzed by constant comparative method. There are four stages of analyzing classroom research data according to Becker in Hopkins (1985:107), those are:
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b. frequency and distribution of concept; c. incorporation of findings into models; d. presentation of evidence and proof. 2. Quantitative
In analyzing the test score of the written test, a statistical technique is used to find the students’ mean score. The data from the test are analyzed in order to prove whether or not teaching writing using video can improve students’ writing skill.
In this research, the students’ mean score of the post test 1 is compared to the students’ mean score of the post test 2 to know whether there is an improvement of the students’ writing skill.
The formulas used to compute the mean scores are:
N
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t : the t-value for non-independent (correlated) means D : the differences between the paired scores
D : the mean of the differences
2
D
S : the sum of the squared differences scores n : the number of pairs
lxviii CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. Introduction
The research was conducted with the collaboration of the English teacher of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung. In this research, the researcher became a practitioner who implemented the action in teaching learning process in the classroom and the English teacher was the observer and facilitator who observed the teaching learning process from the beginning until the end of the research. The schedule of the research can be seen in the table 2.
Table 2. The Schedule of the Research
Activities Date Purpose
Interview January, 8th 2010 Identifying teacher’s problems in
teaching writing.
Observation January, 8th 2010 Identifying the problems during teaching learning process
Giving the first
Questionnaire
January, 9th 2010 Identifying students’ problems in
writing.
Pre-test February, 11th 2010 Identifying students’ writing skill.
Cycle 1:
Measuring the students’ writing skill
after the action.
Cycle 2:
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Measuring the students’ writing skill
after the action before the action was done. In this pre-observation she found some problems of writing skill. The students had the problems in writing a text because they learnt writing without using a good approach and treatment. They were just asked to write a composition based on the topic that had been prepared in the text book. Sometimes, the students didn’t understand about a certain instruction of a text for example the generic structure of the text, purposes and the language features of the text.
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4. There were 23.5% students who disliked English writing class, 3% students much disliked English writing, 64% said neutral, and only 8.8% students liked English writing.
5. There were 55.6% students who still found it difficult to generate ideas into composition. Only 8.8% students agreed that generating ideas was easy. The rest students said neutral.
6. There was no student who agreed that writing a composition needs a short time. 76.47% students still needed very long time in composing paragraphs. The rest students said neutral.
After finding the problems faced by the students in English class, the researcher conducted a pre-test. The pre-test was done before doing the teaching learning process. The test was done in order to know the writing skill of the students. The mean of the students’ scores in the pre-test was 68.22.
