TEACHING WRITING OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY COMBINING FOUR SQUARE METHOD AND CRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE
METHOD FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
By
Chintia Ichsafitri *)
**) Suharni, M.Pd Staff Pengajar Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat
ABSTRAK
Writing adalah suatu proses menuliskan ide dan pikiran dalam bentuk tulisan.
Didalam pengajaran writing, banyak yang mengalami kesulitan dalam menyusun ide sampai dengan menuliskannya dalam sebuah paragraf sehingga kebanyakan siswa menganggap pelajaran writing merupakan pelajaran yang sulit. Maka, seorang guru harus mengunakan metode pembelajaran baru untuk dalam pembelajaran writing.
Metode yang cocok digunakan untuk permasalahan tersebut yaitu dengan menggabungkan metode Four Square Method dan Critical Incident Questionnaire Method. Metode gabungan ini ditujukan untuk mempermudah siswa dalam menyusun dan menuliskan ide dalam bentuk paragraf. Dalam strategi ini siswa bekerja secara berpasangan atau berkelompok. Kegiatan yang dilakukan, guru memperlihatkan sebuah gambar kepada siswa dan guru menyuruh siswa untuk menuliskan apa yang mereka bayangkan dalam pikiran mereka. Gambar yang diperlihatkan guru berhubungan dengan teks yang akan dibacakan, itu bertujuan untuk memudahkan siswa dalam memahami teks. Dengan mengunakan strategi diatas diharapkan dapat meningkatkan motivasi mereka, siswa dalam memahami teks bahasa inggris khususnya teks deskriptif.
Key word: Four Square Method, Critical Incident Questionnaire Method INTRODUCTION
At the academic school especially in Junior High School, each student is demanded to be able to learn about writing beside other skills such as listening, speaking, and reading. In writing, all students should be able to
arrange, organize, and produce a simple paragraph with their own words.
Teaching writing cannot be separated from teaching sentences, teaching paragraph and text. In Junior High School the students have to learn
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several texts, that are descriptive text, narrative text, recount text, and procedure text, and etc. As stated in curriculum 2006 for Junior High School, the students demand to show the meaning in a simple interpersonal or transactional text of writing in several text those are recount, narrative, descriptive, and procedure in daily life.
The spelling out from the curriculum 2006 before specifically, the eighth grade of Junior High school students should be able to arrange a short and simple descriptive text about people, animal, and thing which is appropriate with purpose and structure of language based on the context.
Meanwhile, before leading the students to write, the teacher has to apply several processes of writing.
Thus, most teachers have to pay attention with the steps of writing.
Hence, most teachers do not apply all of the processes above because of that many students do not understand how to arrange a simple paragraph.
In fact, based on the writer’s observation at Kartika Junior High School 1-6 Padang, the students have some problems in learning writing.
From the students’ side, the students
could not construct their idea into a sentence and arranged it into a good paragraph. They did not have enough vocabulary to construct the paragraph.
Meanwhile, from the teachers’ side, the teacher could not use an appropriate method to lead students’ idea in writing activity. So, it made the students could not arranged and explored their idea into a paper. Then, if the teacher used appropriate method in teaching learning of writing, it may help the teacher to let the students know steps of writing, so they can write, arrange, and organize the sentence with their own word.
To decrease the problem above, the teacher may change the way of teaching method in teaching learning of writing. There are several methods that can be used by the teacher in teaching learning of writing they are Four Square Method. Gould and Burke (2002:61) states that Four Square Method is a simple open-ended graphic organization method that was designed to help students focus, organize and support their writing with detail. Third, Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) Method.
Brookfield (2005:44) states that CIQ is a method to help students embed
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accurate information in learning writing.
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
A. The Nature of Writing 1. Definition of Writing
Writing is an activity that can help the students to express the opinion, or feeling and deliver it into written form. According toWallace, Stariba, and Walberg (2004:15), writing is the final product of several separate acts that are hugely challenging to learn simultaneously. Among these separable acts are note-taking, identifying a central idea, outlining, drafting and editing. So, in writing the people especially for the students can express and deliver their idea, opinion, or feeling into written form to make communication with others.
So, it can be concluded that writing is an activity to express and deliver idea into a written form. Then, it is complex process in writing something into a piece of paper based on the context in order that the writers can narrow their idea in one context appropriately. Finally, if the writers do
the writing activity based on the context, the readers can get the information.
2. Process of Writing
The teachers have to know about process of writing because in academic writing the students have to follow some stages to write down something in written form. Reimes in Hyland (2003:12) states that process of writing is achieve through setting pre-writing activities to generate ideas about content and structure, encouraging brainstorming and oulining, requiring multiple drafts, giving extensive feedback, seeking text level revisions, facilitating peer responses, and delaying surface corrections until final editing.
So, writer can conclude that in academic writing the students have to follow some stages to arrange the students written form be better. Then, the process is started from prewriting to brainstorm students idea or opinion into a paper, next process is making an outlining, then writing. The process do not stop until the writing stage. There are several stages that must be followed by the students; they are revising to check the students writing, editing to correct the mistake from the written
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form, and the process can be allowed by the students, the students can continue to the next step is publishing.
3. Teaching Writing
As a teacher, teaching writing is not easy, it is a hugely challenging to the teacher to conduct and control the students when the students do the activity. Moreover, according to Johari (2008:38), the best way to help students do these things is not through manipulative or controlled writing exersices but rather by paying attention to the process that contribute to a finished piece of writing. So, to make the students do the better activity, the teachers have to guide the students in order that the students can understand more about the material.
So, from the opinion of the experts above, there are many principles in teaching writing that can be applied by the teacher in teaching learning process. It has purpose to help the teacher to teach the students more clearly and make the students can be more attractive in learning process. The students have to understand about what the students need, provide many opportunities to write, and make a helpful and meaningful feedback.
B. Descriptive Text
At Junior high school, student’s certainly learn about the text. A descriptive text is activity that describe something, in which the students can explore the idea in describing something around of the students area in daily life activity. According to Knapp and Watkins (2005:97), descriptive text as categorization and classification of an almost infinite range of experience, observation, and interaction into a system that order them to immediate and future reference and allow the students to know either objectively or subjectively, depending on learning area or intent of the writer. There are two structures of descriptive text: first, general name or things. Subject or topic will be described. Second, classifies the attributes, behaviours, functions, and so on.
Referring to the explanation above, the writer concludes that descriptive text is a kind of text that tells about describing something, someone, or place where it has characteristic each other. Then, descriptive text have two generic structures are identification that it identifies subject or object that will
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describe and description tells about the describing the characteristic of the subject or object significantly. The students have to know about that before starting to write in writing activity.
C. The Four Square Method
1. Definition of Four Square Method As a teachers have to find a method to make teaching learning process can run well in order that the students can be more attractive in the class. Gould and Burke (2002:61) state that Four Square Method is a simple open-ended graphic organization method that was designed to help students focus, organize and support their writing with detail. It means, this method can help the students in writing activity by creating a simple graphic organization to arrange and construct a good paragraph
It can be concluded that Four Square Method is a method that can help the teacher in teaching learning process of writing, where this method uses graphic organization as a tool to lead students’ idea and it makes them can arrange their idea into a good paragraph. Then, this method can help the students to build their vocabulary
while write the paragraph. By using this method the students can develop their idea into paragraph. So, the teacher can use this method as a new one of teaching method in writing process.
2. Procedures of Four Square Method
There are several procedures that need to be followed by the teacher in using Four Square in the class.
According to Gould (2010:10) divides the Four Square Method Steps into four part, they are :
1. The teacher divides the students into a small groups and then guide the students into the brainstorming idea first, then make the topic into the box (1).
2. Next, in groups the students write down the supporting details into box (2,3,and 4)
3. Then, the students build summary sentence into box (5), it called wrap-up the sentence, it contain all the main idea to focus the future of writing.
4. Finally, the teacher can allow the students to build the wrap-up sentence into a thesis statement.
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3. Advantages of For Square Method The advantage of using the Four-Square in writing process is to help the students’ organizer their thought and ideas in writing. Four- Square method can be used as a writing accommodation for students. It is a great way to help students put similar ideas together to create a simple paragraph easily. There are several advantages by using Four-Square method from Gould (2010:10): helps organize thought or plan before writing, can be applied to expository, narrative, persuasive and descriptive form of writing, and can be modified to meet students’ needs.
D. Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) Method
1. Definition of CIQ Method
Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) is one of the method that stimulates the students based on the teacher question to develop their writing skill. Brookfield (2005:44) states that CIQ is a method to help students embed accurate information in learning writing. It means that in this method the teacher can help the students to think much about some information to
brainstorm their knowledge in their class.
Thus, in can be summarized that Critical Incident Questionnaire is one of methods that can be used by the teacher in teaching writing. Then, this method is one way to teacher to develop students idea by giving some questions to get some accurate information that relevant with the text. Finally, by using this method the teacher can change the way of teaching writing to improve students ability in writing.
2. Procedure of Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) Method
There are several procedures that need to be followed by the teacher in using Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) Method. Brookfield (2000:2) states that there are some procedures of CIQ, they are first, the students prepare a paper that consist a carbon. Second, all the students focus on critical moments or actions in program or class as judged by the learners. Third, the teacher gives a space for the students to write down whatever they think.
Fourth, the teacher allows the students to review their responses over length of the course and to notice habitual
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preferences, dispositions, and points avoidance in their learning. Fifth, the teacher collect students task.
It can be conclude that CIQ Method has some procedures starting from the teacher prepare the question that it will give to the students. Then, give some accurate information to the students, after that the students write the paragraph based on the question as information to the students in order that the students can build a good paragraph from it. Until the end, the teacher checks the students’ writing task.
3. Advantages of Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) Method
The advantages for using the CIQ in writing process is to help the students develop their ideas by establishing information from some questions that given by the teacher in writing activity. According to Brookfield (2006:47), there are some advantages in using CIQ in teaching writing. First, they alert the teacher to problems before they are disasters, using C.I.Q helps teachers detect early on in a course any serious problems that need addressing before they get out of hand. The C.I.Q. provides a direct,
unfiltered account of students' experiences that is free from the distortions usually caused by the power dynamic between teacher and taught.
C.I.Q is particularly helpful in providing teachers with accurate information about the extent and causes of resistance to learning. Second, the advantage of the C.I.Q. lies in its encourage students be a reflective learners. Third, this method can help the teacher to build a case for diversity in teaching. The last is this method can suggest possibilities for teacher development in teaching writing.
Finally, C.I.Q. responses can be a very effective way of forcing us to confront our own shortcomings and blind spots as teachers.
It can be concluded that CIQ is one of method that can be used by the teacher in teaching writing. CIQ gives some advantages to the teacher and students, such as, it can give solution to the teacher in making creative class in order that the students feel comfort during teaching learning process. Then, teacher and students can build good relationship in trust by doing the activity.
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DISCUSSION
Combining Four Square with Critical Incident Questionnaire Method
In this paper, the writer chooses to combine Four Square and Critical Incident Questionnaire Method, that proposed by Gould (2010:10) and Barkley (2010:328). As new procedures after combining are:
1. The teacher divides the students into a small groups and then guide the students into the brainstorming idea first, then make the topic into the box (1).
2. The teacher creates a form that has some questions related to the topic.
3. Teacher gives some accurate information to the students.
4. Next, in groups, the students write down into box (2,3,and 4) as a supporting detail by group / pairs 5. Then, the students build summary
sentence into box (5), it called wrap-up the sentence, it contains all the main idea to focus the future of writing.
6. The teacher can allow the students to build the wrap-up sentence into a thesis statement.
7. Students write a story based on information (pairs/group).
8. Teacher should handle the students in doing the task.
9. Teacher asks students to collect their writing task.
10. Students collect their task and then the teacher will assess and evaluate the students’ written form.
Conclusion
Writing is one of the important skills that should be learned by the students particularly for Junior High School students beside other skills such as listening, speaking, and reading. In writing, all students should be able to arrange, organize, and produce a simple paragraph with their own words. To get that point, students need the teacher’s help to explain and guide them in writing. Teaching writing is the way of teacher to teach the students when do the activity in the class especially in writing activity, because it is hugely challenging for the teacher to teach the students to write.
There are many methods that can be used by the teacher in teaching writing. However, in this point, the
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writer focuses on using combining of Four Square Method and Critical Incident Questionnaire Method. Based on explanation in previous chapter, Four Square Method helps students to organize thought or plan before writing.
CIQ method helps the students develop their ideas by establishing information from some questions that given by the teacher in writing activity
Suggestion
The writer would like to give some suggestions to the English teachers. First, teachers should be more selective in choosing the appropriate media that needed by the students.
Second, in teaching learning process of Junior High School, the teachers have to make the students to be more creative, in order that purpose of the lesson can be achieve. Third, making groups when the students do exercise, can make them share their idea each other it also can build up sociality between students themselves.
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