The Subject Research IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS THROUGH PICTURE SERIES IN GRADE 8TH SMP NEGERI 1 GAMPING.

CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER III III III III RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH METHOD METHOD METHOD METHOD A. A. A. A. The The The The setting setting setting setting of of of of the the the the study study study study SMPN 1 Gamping is located in the uptown of Yogyakarta. It has 12 classrooms. The size of each class is 5x6 m 2 . The school is not big and being renovated. The facilities are quite good for having their own language laboratory and sophisticated teaching media like LCD projector, personal computers, internet connection etc, which can be used by the students based on their schedule. There are 32 students for each class. The students are around the age of 13 to 15. Most of them are Javanese and come from low-middle economy class families. Their behavior is influenced by Javanese culture which tends to make most of them seems to act and behave passively. The students have their English class 4 hours a week, and they do not have contact with English outside the classroom. The purpose of their study is to pass the exam and the teaching process is based on national curriculum. The material for teaching and learning process usually based on text books B. B. B. B. Subject Subject Subject Subject of of of of the the the the research research research research This research study was carried out in the year 2013 using 31 students of eight grade of SMPN 1 Gamping as the subjects of the research. C. C. C. C. Research Research Research Research design design design design As stated in Madya 2006:67, there are four phases that are used to conduct the action research: 1. Reconnaissance In this step, the researcher determined problems and analyzed the situation by doing observation in the class. She conducted depth interview to the students and the English teacher. After getting the information, the researcher collaborated with the English teacher to have plans. 2. Planning After determining the problem, the researcher planned some actions in improving the writing skills of the students using picture series such as finding appropriate and interesting activities for the students 3. Acting After planning the actions, the English teacher and the researcher used the media in the teaching learning process. The action implemented in two cycles in two meetings for each cycle. Then, during the action, the researcher and the English teacher observed and recorded the process. 4. Reflection Based on the observation in the acting, the reflection was done after each cycle of acting. It was done by discussing the improvements and obstacles of the processes with the English teacher before doing the next cycle. D. D. D. D. Types