TEACHING WRITING BY COMBINING LOOPING STRATEGY WITH PRAISE- QUESTION-POLISH (PQP) STRATEGY AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Oleh:
Reni Marisa *)
**) Dona Alicia Staf Pengajar Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat
ABSTRAK
Penulisan makalah ini bertujuan membantu guru mengatasi masalah siswa dalam pengajaran menulis pada tingkat sekolah menengah atas (SMA). Adapun masalah yang dihadapi oleh siswa menengah atas (SMA) antara lain adalah siswa sulit membuat teks dengan baik karena mereka sukar menemukan ide yang akan siswa tulis. Selain itu, mereka juga jarang melakukan revisi dan pengeditan terhadap tulisan mereka sendiri. Untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut, penulis bermaksud untuk memberikan masukan bagi guru-guru bahasa Inggris dalam pengajaran menulis dengan menggabungkan dua strategi dalam satu pengajaran menulis teks, yaitu strategi Looping dan Praise- Question-Polish. Kedua strategi ini dapat mempermudah guru meningkatkan keinginan siswa dalam menulis dan mempermudah siswa menyampaikan ide mereka dalam bentuk tulisan. Kemudian, siswa diminta untuk melakukan revisi dan pengeditan terhadap tulisan mereka sehingga siswa bisa menghasilkan suatu text atau cerita yang baik.
Dalam makalah ini penulis berharap kepada guru, siswa, dan semua pihak yang terkait dapat
mengaplikasikannya dalam proses belajar mengajar dengan menggunakan penggabungan dari strategi ini.
Key words :Writing, Looping Strategy, and Praise-Question-Polish (PQP) Strategy
*) Penulis
**) Pembimbing
INTRODUCTION
Writing is process of transferring idea or information from the writer to the reader in written form. For the students, writing is one of skill that should be mastered beside listening, speaking and reading. Through writing the students can express their feeling, idea, opinion and thinking critically. In KTSP (Kurikulm Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan) 2006 teaching writing at Senior High School, teacher not only teaches the students how to write a sentence, but also teaches how to write a paragraph and even how to write an essay.
Based on writer’s observation at Senior High School 11 Padang where the writer did teaching practice, there were some problems found by students and teacher in writing. The problems for the students are students are difficult to find an idea to write, students also found difficulties to determine a title when the teacher asks them to write their own ideas, and after the students have finished making their writings, they rarely edit and revise their writing. The problem for teacher, teacher’s strategy in teaching writing is not motivate students, therefore the students feel borred and they are not interest to write.
To solve the problems, the writer suggest to combine Looping strategy and Praise-Question-Polish strategy in teaching writing. Looping strategy is a strategy that help the students focus to their thought on a subject so that the students can move from unfocused to focus writing. For editing and revising writing, teacher can use Praise-Question-Polish (PQP) Strategy that make the students work
with another. The combination of those strategy can make student become interested in writing.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Writing is not only a product because the students need to make a draft, revise, and edit with their peer editor. Hence, the students can take a long time to finish their writing. It is supported Sokolik in Linse (2003:98) writing is a combination of process and product. Then, Hyland (2003:8) defines writing is a way sharing personal meaning and writing course emphasize the power of individual his or her view on a topic. Furthermore, Harmer (2007:88) argues that writing is the mental work of inventing idea, thinking about how to express them and organizing them into statement and paragraph that will be clear to the reader. Therefore, a good writing is obtained from the process of choosing the words that it becomes a good sentence, the sentence developed into a paragraph that makes the reader understand about the writing.
In making a good writing, there are some process that will be done by the writer or the student during writing activities begin with the topic until creating the product in writing form. According to Allman (2000:36) divide the process of writing into five steps:
prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing. Moreover, Oshima and Ann (2007:15) explains there are four main steps in the writing process; prewriting, organizing, writing, and polishing (revising and editing). In addition, Nation (2009:114) states that in writing process the following seven
subprocesses in writing; considering the goals of the writer, having a model of the reader, gathering ideas, organising ideas, turning ideas into written text, reviewing what has been written and editing. The opinion of the experts have the same ideas about the writing process that include: prewiting, drafting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing. After the students know about the process of writing, the teacher should teach students in writing.
In teaching writing, the teacher does not only teach about how to put word into a piece of paper, but also student can enjoy to learn and have ability in writing. According to Harmer (2003:79) there are several reasons for teaching writing to students. They are reinforcement that is students do not acquire the language in oral way, but also in written language development, actual process of writing to help students learn.
Furthermore, Hyland (2003:4) explains that teaching writing predominantly involves developing learners skill in producing fixed pattern, and responding to writing means identifying and correcting problems in the students’ controls of the language system.
In addition, Nunan (2003:92-94) states in teaching writing, teacher simply run the rules and principles of teaching writing to students in order to produce a good writing. Some of the principles as follow. (1) Understand your students’ reasons for writing. (2) Provide many opportunities for students to write. (3) Make feedback helpful and meaningful. (4) Clarify
for yourself, and for your students, how their will be evaluated.
For that, the teacher need some strategy to make students interest in writing. One of the strategies is looping strategy. According to Atlee (1995:26) Looping strategy is the effective strategy that will be able to help open the writers’ thinking. Moreover, Leki (1998:28) defines that lopping strategy is a strategy that can help the writer focus their thought on a subject, find the core or center of their thought, and pinpoint a main idea on which to elaborate.
In addition, Elbow in Gallgher (2006:38) states that Looping strategy is a useful strategy to help students exploring their thinking through writing and this strategy also enable a student to move from unfocused to focused writing.
In other word, looping strategy is the good strategy that can be used for the teacher in teaching writing process to explore students’
writing achievement. Not only the teacher explores students’ ideas in writing, but also teacher enables student to move from unfocused to focused writing. This strategy is usefull strategy for the students when they are trying to write everything that they have in their mind.
The strategy also can help the students to explore their ideas in writing process where this strategy has advantages. Atlee (1995:26) mentions that if this strategy works for the writer, it will help the writers to explore the topic in some depth. Moreover, Gallagher (2006:39) states this strategy can help students extend their thinking writing. In this case, the
students develop their ideas in writing.
Therefore, the students focus on the subject in their mind to be written and students can develop their ideas.
Beside looping strategy, the teacher can be combined the strategy with another teaching strategy that is Praise-Question-Polish strategy.
The strategy that used to help students revise their writing. According to Neubert &Mc.Nells (1990:52) praise-question-polish is revising strategy appropriate for a second round of revision and editing during which students work with another. It is supported by Lyson in Teich (1992:204) that praise-question-polish is a good strategy for peers to edit each other’s writing work. Lewin (2003:38) explains that praise-question-polish is a teaching strategy to assist struggles with the memo feedback writing assignment. In other word, praise- question-polish is a strategy for revise and edit a writing. The students work in group or in pairs to revise what have been writing. It forces students to think critically in their writing and correcting outcome their friend.
Praise-Question-Polish strategy have same advantages in teaching writing. Neubert and Mc.Nelis (1986:58) explains the advantages of praise-question-polish strategy consists of five. The first, provide focused, informative, specific feedback. The second, emphasize use of specific content of process language. The third, describe what was done and not done. The next, reinforce, encourage and support personal writing. The last, establish relationships of mutual respect. In addition, Lewin (2003:38) explains that the advantages
of praise-question-polish strategy are to critique of the writer or author.
In here, writer tries to combine looping with praise-question-polish strategy. After the writer reads each of the procedures in each strategy, the writer decide to combine both strategies. Both strategies which the writer chosen from several procedures based on the experts. The writer combines these strategy by choosing each procedure from the expert and unites the procedure into a good strategy as the writer wants. In looping strategy the writer chooses the procedure from Nazario, Deborah, and William (2010:168). In praise-question- polish strategy, the writer chooses Steven’s (2004:183) procedure.
The procedure of teaching writing by combining Looping strategy with Praise- Question-Polish strategy are: first, teacher gives a topic which will be written by the students on paper. The second, the teacher lets the students write for five minutes, stop and review that have been written. The third step, the students select and circle the centre of gravity sentence.
And then, the students copy the word or phrase that has been circled or selected from loop one and free write on this key point for five minutes. After five minutes they stops and review what they have written. Select and circle a different centre of gravity word or sentence. It means that students must do the same step with the second step, but they have to choose or circle a new centre of gravity sentence. And then, the teacher asks them to circle a final centre of gravity sentence. After students completed the writing of a text, the teacher
divided the students into pair-work. The next, the teacher ask the students to exchange their writing in the pair work. After that, the teacher guides the students to assess their writing friend with distribute PQP form. Then, The students read writing of their friend aloud and then, fill in the blank sheet of Praise-Question-Polish form. After that, the students do editing and revising the writing’s friend based on sheet of Praise-Question-Polish above. The next, the teacher asks the students to collect their task.
The teacher returns the results of the student who has edited and revised by other students.
Finally, the teacher asks the students to write again based on the correction of their friend.
DISCUSSION
In applying these strategies, there are two aspects will be discussed that should be prepared by the teacher before coming to the class, they are preparation and implementation.
Before starting to teach, the teacher should have some preparation. Those are the important because it determine whether the teaching and learning will run or not. They are some activities that should be done by the teacher to apply looping with praise-question- polish strategy in teaching writing. Those are activities as follow: selecting material, selecting media, and time allocation
In implementation of teaching learning process by combining looping strategy with praise-question-polish strategy, there are some activities that will be done by the teacher. They are pre-teaching activity, whist-teaching activity, and post-teaching activity. The
strategies are done in whilst teaching, as follows: the first, pre-teaching activities are done to build students’ motivation, background knowledge, and stimulating the students to be active in the classroom. For examples : the teacher greets to the students and the teacher checks students attendance and ask how the students’ feeling.
In whilst-teaching activity, the teacher applies the procedures of looping strategy and praise-question-polish (PQP) strategy. The procedures in whilst teaching activity as follows: The first, teacher distributes a text about hortatory exposition. The second, teacher reads the text and asking some questions about the text. And Then, teacher gives a topic the students that will students’ develop in their writing. The teacher asks the students start to write their “initial thinking” in first paragraph based on a topic that has given by the teacher for five minutes. Before the students start to write, the teacher determines and limits about how many paragraphs that the students may write.The teacher asks the students to write the first paragraph which non stop for five minutes.
After five minutes, the students stop to write and the teacher asks the students to reread what they have been written so far. As the students read, they are searching for a central idea of the paragraph. The teacher asks the students to begin with this new sentence, asks students to write again for five minutes. In this activities the students will write again for five minutes, the writer’s thinking will move and develop to the new ideas. And then, the students are required to write the next
paragraph which contains the second argument of the topics they write for five minutes. After five minutes, the students were asked to do loop two by circling the word that became the central idea of the paragraph and write back the paragraph.
The next paragraph, the students asked to write the last argument about their topic in the writing for five minute and then, they do loop three by circling of the central idea of paragraph, after that they write back the paragraph. The last paragraph, the teacher asks the students to make recommendation or conclusion about what they have explained.
After students completed the writing of a text, the teacher divided the students into pair-work.
The teacher guides the students to assess their writing friend with distribute PQP form like :
Furter, the students read writing of their friend aloud and then, fill in the blank sheet of Praise-Question-Polish form. After that, the students do editing friend's writing by
checking spelling, grammar and punctuation.
The next, the teacher asks the students to collect their task. The teacher returns the results of the student who has edited and revised by other students. Finally, the teacher asks the students to write again based on the correction of their friend.
CONCLUSION
There are some strategies that can be used by the teacher in teaching writing. These strategies are combining looping strategy with praise-question-polish strategy. The writer choose these strategies to help students’
difficulties in writing.
Looping strategy is usefull strategy for the students when they are trying to write everything that they have in their mind. This strategy will be able to help students in writing from unspecific to specific paragraph.
Meanwhile, praise-question-polish is a strategy for revise and edit a writing. The students work in group or in pairs to revise what have been writing.
Both of the strategy have some activities which can be used in teaching learning process. There are some steps should be followed by the teacher and students. The students write the text by using looping strategy. After that, the students use praise- question-polish strategy to revise and edit the text with their friend. The students as a peer editor will correct their friend’ writing.
Praise-Question-Polish
_____________ _________________
(Writer’s name) n (Editor’s name) Praise:
The part I like best is
________________________
Question:
I do not understand_______________________
Polish:
Maybe you should add____________________
Maybe you should get rid of_______________
SUGGESTION
The writer suggests to the English teacher. The writer suggests the teacher can use the combination of strategy to teach writing because this way is really helpful the teacher to lead the students in writing so that writing subject will be pleasured activity for the students. The teacher can use the combination of Looping strategy with Praise-Question- Polish strategy in teaching writing. These strategies can make students more interesting in learning, they can improve the writing ability, and can get the knowledge or information how to write well.
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