Overcoming Junior High School Students' Reluctance to Speak English in Class at Aces.

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ABSTRACT

Saat ini, bahasa Inggris telah menjadi bahasa komunikasi

internasional. Penggunaannya sebagai bahasa utama di dunia untuk komunikasi internasional telah jelas berkelanjutan selama beberapa dekade. Hal itulah yang membuat para siswa, sarjana, pengusaha, pejabat pemerintahan, dan juga tenaga pendidik perlu memiliki

kemampuan berbahasa Inggris yang kompeten. Namun, banyak dijumpai di sekitar kita para siswa yang enggan untuk berbicara dalam bahasa Inggris, termasuk para siswa yang kursus di ACES, tempat saya

menyelesaikan masa magang saya tahun lalu. Hal tersebut menjadi suatu persoalan yang ingin saya temukan solusinya, agar para siswa dapat memiliki ketrampilan berbahasa Inggris yang lebih baik dari sebelumnya. Setiap masalah selalu memiliki sebab dan akibat. Adapun penyebab-penyebab terjadinya masalah tersebut adalah kekhawatiran para siswa apabila mereka membuat kesalahan, kesulitan para siswa untuk berpikir saat mereka harus berbicara bahasa Inggris, dan para siswa cenderung untuk menggunakan bahasa Indonesia dalam proses belajar mengajar serta dalam percakapan ringan di kelas terhadap guru bahasa Inggris mereka. Sedangkan tiga akibat yang timbul dari masalah tersebut adalah kemampuan berbahasa Inggris para siswa akan sulit untuk bertambah baik, adanya komplain dari pihak orang tua yang merasa kemampuan berbahasa Inggris anak mereka tidak meningkat, dan waktu yang para murid habiskan untuk menterjemahkan ide mereka cukup banyak terbuang pada saat mereka hendak berbicara dalam bahasa Inggris. Selain beberapa sebab dan akibat tersebut, masalah yang dibahas dalam Tugas Akhir ini juga memiliki beberapa solusi yang berpotensi untuk diterapkan di dalam kelas. Ketiga solusi tersebut adalah saya mencoba memberikan tugas kelompok untuk mendiskusikan sebuah topik yang menarik dalam bahasa Inggris, saya juga memberikan tugas untuk membuat ulasan dari sebuah film, dan saya menerapkan English Immersisn yaitu agar para siswa hanya berbicara dalam bahasa Inggris selama proses belajar mengajar di kelas.

Setelah melalui berbagai pertimbangan, solusi yang terpilih adalah memberikan tugas kepada para siswa untuk membuat ulasandari sebuah film untuk diceritakan secara lisan di depan kelas serta menerapkan

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

English becomes one of the key factors in this era of globalization. A great number of foreign companies have made investments and expanded their branches in various fields in Indonesia. To deal with this situation, the young generation in our country are supposed to master both receptive and productive English skills.

However, to realize this is not an easy job, especially for those who are reluctant to speak in English. They are afraid of making mistakes since English is not their mother tongue and English is rarely used in their daily activities.

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Hence, in this term paper I have the intention to take up the topic of overcoming junior high school students’ reluctance to speak English in class at ACES by analyzing its causes and effects, giving some potential solutions, and choosing the best solution.

B. Identification of the Problem

The problem which will be discussed in this term paper is stated as follows:

1. Why were most junior high school students taking an English course at ACES reluctant to speak English?

2. How did this problem affect the students’ English skill and their parents’ satisfaction to the institution?

3. How should I overcome their reluctance in speaking English?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

According to the problem of my term paper, the objectives of my research are to find out why most junior high school students taking the English course at ACES were reluctant to speak English, to find out how this problem might affect their English skill and their parents’ satisfaction to the institution, and to find out how I can assist junior high school students to overcome their reluctance in speaking English.

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students in ACES will be more active and can reduce their reluctance to speak English. This thing will give a positive image to the institution which educates students outside the school. The benefit for the readers of my term paper is if they find a similar case to my issue, they will be able to find a potential solution to solve their problem. The last benefit is for me that I will be able to handle students who are reluctant to use English in my class later if I work at an English course or give some private English tuition.

D. Description of the Institution

Based on the personal interview on 16 August 2012 with Ms. Rhimelda as a superintendent and also the owner of ACES English course, I got some information about the history and also the vision of the institution. ACES is an English course located at Jln. Pandu 6A, Bandung. ACES was established in Bandung on 1 April 2002, located at Jln. Padjadjaran 87. Because there were many enthusiasts who wanted to learn English at ACES, this English course moved into a bigger location, which is the recent location.

The vision of ACES is to make their students master their English well, not only focus on daily conversation, but also understand the correct usage of English grammar, so that their students will have above average competence in English skills.

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have to be consistent in everything we do, from the start to the end, until we reach our ultimate goal.

E. Method of the Study

The data and information collected in writing this term paper are obtained from various resources, namely, library research, Internet research, a personal interview with Ms. Rhimelda, and observation that is recorded in my internship journal.

F. Limitation of the Study

The focus of my term paper is how to overcome junior high school students’ reluctance to speak English in class. The scope of participants in my research was junior high school students who studied at ACES English course in Bandung. The data gathering in the class was from 16 July 2012 to 16 August 2012, when I did my internship there.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

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which states my gratitude to all parties who have given me direct support and played a role during the writing of this term paper. The Table of Contents contains details of the chapters and sub-chapters, as well as the page number of each part.

The main contents of this term paper are divided into four chapters. The first chapter is the introduction of the study, which is the definition of topic discussed and obvious delineation of the problem. It contains Background of the Study, Identification of the Problem, Objectives and Benefits of the Study, Description of the Institution, Method of the Study, Limitations of the Study, and Organization of the Term Paper.

The second chapter discusses the analysis of the problem. It analyzes the causes and effects of the problem. This chapter analysis is supported by printed and electronic sources as references.

The third chapter discusses the potential solutions by analyzing both the positive and negative effects of each potential solution. The last chapter contains the Conclusion, giving the best solution to overcome the problem together with the effects resulted from the problem.

This term paper ends with the Bibliography, which contains information about the publication of all sources that have been cited and the

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

The previous chapters have analyzed the problem in overcoming the reluctance of junior high school students at ACES to use English in class

when I was doing my internship there. The problem was caused by their

worry of making any mistakes, their inability to think in English, and their

tendency to use their mother tongue instead of English. Besides this, the

problem brings some effects. First, the students’ speaking skill became

hard to improve. Second, the parents complained, because their children’s

speaking skill did not show any significant improvement. Third, it was time

consuming for the students when they had to translate what they wanted

to say into English.

I propose three potential solutions to overcome the problem. The first

potential solution is I will give the students a task to discuss in a small

group using English. It will increase the students’ talking time, even though

they might slip into their mother tongue during the discussion session. The

second potential solution is I will ask the students to make a short review

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front of the class. The last potential solution I will apply an English

Immersion, when the students have to speak English all the time on that

day.

The solution that I choose to overcome the problem is a combination of

the second and the third potential solutions. I will give the students a task

to make a movie review and ask them to read what they have made in

front of the class, while the setting is in an English Immersion. The reason

why I choose these two potential solutions is because these two potential

solutions are the most appropriate solutions to be applied at ACES, since

the class consists of many students from different ages. I believe that

applying these solutions in the class will result in good progress in

overcoming the students’ reluctance to speak English. In addition, an

English Immersion will not make them feel intimidated, because they will

spontaneously use English in telling their movie review. Once they can

improve their self-confidence in speaking English, they will find it easier to

overcome their reluctance to speak in English.

The reason why I do not choose the first potential solution is because

the classes at ACES consist of many students from different ages, and

their topics interest will be different. But, this potential solution will work

well in school’s classroom, since the students are in the same age level.

To end this chapter, I would like to mention that teaching will never be

separated from problems, whether they come from the students or from

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solutions are to get an appropriate movie and ask the students frequently

if they understand what I say or not. The movie has to be educative for the

students and has to be interesting for the students indeed, or else, they

will get bored watching that movie and the chosen solutions will not

produce a good result in the end. I also have to ask the students if they

find any unfamiliar words in my speech to make sure they are not getting

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Anderson, Marc. “Tips on How to Build Up Your Confidence When

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Interview