The Definition of Tense The Method of Teaching in the Experimental Class

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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter discusses five topics. The first is simple past tense. Then, definition addressed the short story. The third is previous study. The fourth is implication for this study. The last is the hypothesis. These topics are aimed to strengthening the writer’s research and guide relevant theories. In addition, these topics introduce and describe theories that explain the research problem under this study.

A. The Definition of Tense

Before discussing simple past tense, it is better to know what tense means in English. By tense, the students can know the time when the actions occur, and understand the correlation between the form of the verb and their concept of time. Tense is defined as the time at whi ch the verb’s action occurs. The action can occur now present tense, before past tense, or after future tense. 1 It can be known by looking at the verb of a sentence. For example, the verb writes can be identified as a present tense form while the verb wrote is known as a past tense form. In this case, tense is different from time, which refers to a point in real life at which something occurs, and tense refers to the grammatical form of a verb. 2 Moreover, In addition, tense classifies verb in some categories. There are simple present, simple past and simple future based on the time that verb is used. 3 Therefore, tense is divided into four groups namely, simple tenses, continuous tenses, perfect tenses, and perfect continuous tenses. Each of them consists of present, past, and future tenses which have their own function. 1 Penelope Choy. et, al., Basic Grammar and Usage for Canadians, Ontario: Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited, 2007, 2 nd Edition, p. 5. 2 Evelyn P. Altenberg and Robert M. Vago, English Grammar, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 156. 3 Graham Lock, Functional English Grammar: An Introduction for Second Language Teachers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 149. Related to the above definition, tense is a way to know when the action is happened, it can be at past, present or future. In tense, there are simple tenses, which are classified into simple past, simple present and simple future tense.

B. Simple Past Tense 1. The Definition of Simple Past Tense

Concerning the simple past tense, it refers to an event, an activity or situation began and ended at a particular time in the past. If a sentence contains conjunction when and has the simple past in both clauses, the action in the when clause happens first. 4 Referring the definition above, it is concluded that simple past tense is a sentence which is used to talk about complete activities, events, actions or states that occur and end or that is true at a certain period of time in the past, without any connection with present. It is often accompanied with such expression yesterday, last week, last year, two days ago, etc. Moreover, simple past tense can be used in two clauses which the activity first happen is a clause which contains a conjunction like when. Meanwhile, the addition of –ed to the base form to produce a verb’s past and past participle is can be defined as regular verb, whereas irregular verbs is not produced with the regular inflections. 5 It means that irregular verbs do not form their past tense predictably. Therefore, in using simple past tense learners need to remember the past form of verbs whether they belongs to regular or irregular verbs by looking them up in a dictionary. 4 Betty Schrampfer Azar, Fundamental of English Grammar, 3 rd Edition, New York: Pearson Education., 2002, p. 25. 5 Martha Kolln and Loretta Gray, Rhetorical Grammar, Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2010, p. 10. Moreover, regular verbs have some rules. Regular verbs have some different pronunciation although they have same adding –ed in the past tense. The following are three pronunciation of regular verb with adding -ed: 6 1. ɪ d after bases ending in d and t, eg: Pad → padded -dɪ d pat → patted -tɪ d 2. d after bases ending in voiced sounds other than d, including vowels, eg: Buzz → buzzed -zd budge → budged -dƷ d Call → called -ld tow → towed -ǝ ʊ d 3. t after bases ending in voiceless sounds other than t, eg: Pass → passsed -st pack → packed -kt Another resource also stated that most verbs in English are regular, but many common verbs have irregular past forms. 7 Therefore, regular verbs are more than irregular verbs, but a small number of verbs which are also commonly used are irregular verbs that have different forms from regular one. The irregular verbs do not take an –ed ending in the simple past and past participle. In summary, it can be said that irregular verbs form of the past and the past participle is unpredictable. In other words, irregular verbs do not have certain rules of their changing. However, a regular verb is usually added an –ed or –d inflection to form both its simple past and past participle without any changing of the vowel. Therefore, it is necessary for the English learners to memorize the irregular verbs by looking them up in a dictionary.

2. The Form of Simple Past Tense

There are three forms of simple past tense which have their own rules. Each of forms is divided into positive and negative forms. Commonly, the form of simple past tense is divided into three parts; statements, yes or no question and informative question. They are as following: 8 6 Sidney Greenbaum and Randolph Quirk, A Student’s Grammar of the English Language, Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited, 2003, p. 27. 7 Azar, op.cit., p. 29. 8 Marcel Danesi, Basic American Grammar and Usage, Hauppauge: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 2006, p. 141 –142.

a. Statements

Statements in English are divided into two, affirmative and negative statements. An affirmative statement is a sentence that state something in a straightforward way. Meanwhile, a negative statement is to denay, contradict, or refuse something. Each of them is different formed. 1. An affirmative statement is formed with: Example: I played tennis yesterday. We went to the movies last night. Example: The weather was nice last week. You were late yesterday. 2. A negative statement is formed with: Example: I did not play tennis yesterday. We did not go to the movies last night. Example: The weather was not nice last week. You were not late yesterday.

b. YesNo Questions

Another kind of simple past tense is YesNo question. Like form of statement, YesNo questions in English are also divided into two parts, affirmative and negative questions. 9 9 Kirn, op. cit., p. 110. Subject + Verb 2 +…. Subject + did not + Verb 1 + … Subject + be was or were + …. Subject + be was or were not + … 1. An affirmative is formed with: Example: “Did it rain on last Sunday?” “Yes, it did.” “Did your parents have a good trip?” “Yes, they did.” Example: “Was Felix at work yesterday?” “Yes, he was.” “Were Amy and Matt at the party?” “Yes, they were.” 2. A negative question is formed with: Example: “Did not it rain on last Sunday?” “No, it did not.” “Did not your parents have a good trip?” “No, they did not.” Example: “Was not Felix at work yesterday?” “No, he was not.” “Were not Amy and Matt at the party?” “No, they were not.”

c. Informative Questions

In simple past tense, there is an informative question, which is usually used to get full information about activities, events or situation that do in the past. Informative questions use interrogative words, such as why, where, when, who, what, or who to elicit specific details. 10 Besides, many simple past tense informative questions use did before the subject; why can also have did not before the subject. When who or what is the subject of the sentence, the main 10 Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, Understanding English Grammar, Eighth Edition, Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 2010, p. 56. Did + Subject + Verb 1 + … Waswere + subject + adjective … Did not + Subject + Verb 1 + … Waswere not + Subject + … verb is in the simple past tense and did is not used before the subject. The following is the example of informative questions: 11 1. The positive form: Example: “Where did your relatives stay?” “They stayed in the upstairs bedroom. 2. The negative form: E xample: “Why did not you order in pizza?” “I wanted a home-cooked meal.” From the description above, each form of simple past tense is different whether it is affirmative or negative forms. The positive form of simple past tense is formed by –ed regular verbs and many different changes for irregular verbs based on the verbs. For negative, it is formed by did not for infinitive and waswere not for -be. Then, interrogative sentence, it is also formed by diddid not for infinitive and waswere or waswere not for -be.

3. The Use of Simple Past Tense

Simple past tense has some uses or functions. The central use of simple past tense is to locate the situation, or the part of it under consideration, in past time. 12 It means that the use of simple past tense is to express a repeated action or event in the past, and a completed action in the past. There are several expressions of past time such as yesterday, last week, last night, the day before yesterday, a year ago, two weeks ago, yesterday morning, a few minutes ago, a month ago, 11 Eline Kirn and Darcy Jack, Interaction 1 Grammar, 4 th Edition, New York: McGraw- Hill, 2002, p. 107 –111. 12 Rodney Huddleston, A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 46. etc., to make it clear that the period of time is finished. 13 According to Slamet Riyanto, the simple past tense is a verb form that is used to express: 14 1. One action which happen or take place at a particular time in the past:  She was a teacher in 1975.  She ate an apple a few minutes ago. 2. Repeated, habitual actions in the past:  I always went to mosque at night.  My mother cooked fried rice every morning. Referring the definition of the simple past tense in previous statements, simple past tense describes actions or situations that began and ended in the past. Therefore, there are two uses of simple past tense, namely to describe past actions and past situation. Time expressions often used with this tense include yesterday, last week mont, year, Monday, weekend, etc. 15 1. Past actions, for example:  I studied at a Japanese University for three years.  They bought a beautiful house a week ago. 2. Past situations, for example:  He enjoyed his classes.  We were happy for the party. Moreover, the use of simple past tense is not always signed by the time signal like, yesterday, last night, two years ago and others. The past tense can sometimes be used when no definite time then is easily apparent. Hello, how are you? They told me you were ill. In this situation, the speaker is thinking of a 13 Betty Schrampfer Azzar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, New York: Pearson Education, 1999, 3 rd Edition, p. 27. 14 Slamet Riyanto, A Handbook of English Grammar, Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 2007, p. 136-137. 15 Patricia K. Werner, Interaction2, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002, 4 th Edition, p. 20. definite time in the past. 16 In general, past tenses often replace the corresponding present tenses in such contexts. 17 1. Reported speech In keeping with the sequence of tense requirement of reported speech, when speech is reported, the simple present is succedded to the simple past. Thus, the verb be –am in simple present tense becomes verb be –was in simple past tense. The requirement for reported speech is followed especially in writing, for example:  John said, “I am a doctor.” quoted speech  John said that he was a doctor. reported speech 2. Unreal Conditionals In clauses introduced by if, the simple past expresses an unreal condition, for example:  If I made many mistakes in TOEFL test, I would get bad score. 3. Polite Requests and Questions Particularly with requests and questions, the simple past is often used instead of the simple present to express a more deferential, polite one, for example:  I want to ask you a favor.  I wanted to ask you a favor. more polite  Do you want to see me now?  Did you want to see me now? more polite According to the explanation above, it can be concluded that the use of simple past tense is no matter how long ago the event is, it can be a few minutes or hours in the past, and or million years in the past. Simple past tense is also used when the event is in the past and is completely finished. In addition, simple 16 Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik, A Communicative Grammar of English, London: Pearson Education Limited, 2002, p. 69. 17 Ron Cowan, The Techer’s Grammar of English, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, p. 359. past tense can be used in reported speech and unreal conditionals, and polite requests and questions.

C. Short Story 1. The Definition of Short Story

According to Natalie Hess in Literature in Language Teaching and Learning, “short story serves the purpose of language learning well because it is intense universaly in message and meaning; and best of all, truly a very short story, taking up about four pages. ” 18 The return of literature as a rich and worthwhile source for language study has been observed and appreciated over the last 20 years by the English as Second LanguageEnglish as Foreign Language community. It means that in a foreign language class, literary text can be used as a way for the teacher in explaining the material and giving the activities to the students. Moreover, second language was taught by using Grammar Translation Method GTM where the literature became one of its characteristics in the nineteenth century. The goal of foreign language study is to learn a language in order to read its literature or in order to benefit from the mental discipline and intellectual development that result from foreign language study. 19 Based on that statement, it can be said that literature had been used long time ago in foreign language teaching. Literature consists of poetry and prose and short story, which is a brief fictional narrative in prose. Edgar Allan Poe popularized the idea that a short story could be read in one sitting and would primarily focus on creating one effect. Then, it tells one event in a very concentrated way and describes something at a moment of crisis. It is about people who do not really exist and has a plot and 18 Jill Burton, Literature in Language Teaching and Learning, Alexandria: TESOL, Inc., 2006, p. 28. 19 Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approach and Methods in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, p. 3. characters that are somehow connected with each other. 20 It means that short story is a work of fiction, so it involves the imagination. In other words, short story is not really happen in life and it can be read in a short time. Moreover, short story typically shows character in dramatic scenes, in moments of action, and in exchanges of dialoges. The short story has traditionally been more concerned with revelation of character through flashes of insight and shocks of recognition than early fictional forms. 21 Considering the statements above, short story is defined as a short fictional narrative in prose about life which concentrates on a simple problem and an effect. In addition, the short story is a fiction that can be read in short time which aims to entertain readers as a part of pleasure.

2. Types of Short Story

According Dr. Henry Guntur Tarigan, types of short story are divided into two types as the following: 22 1. Types of short story based on total of words: a. Short-Short Story It is the story consists of fewer than 5000 words or consist about 16 pages which can be read in 15 minutes. b. Long-Short Story It is the short story which has 5.000 until 10.000 words: the minimum word is 5.000 words and the maximum word is 10.000 words. This type of short story consist about 33 pages and can be read in 30 minutes. 2. Based on the value of literature, short story can be divided as the following: a. Literature Short Story b. Funny Short Story 20 Gillian Lazar, Literature and Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 73. 21 Robert DiYanni, Literature, Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2004, p. 41. 22 Henry Guntur Tarigan, Prinsip-prinsip Dasar Sastra, Bandung: Angkasa, 1985, p.176. In line with those definitions, short story is a story of about two thousand words or fewer. The reader usualy reads a short story in a single sitting, and though it has an immediate and concentrated impact and the reader pauses a moment and savor its emotional and intellectual effect, they can rarely recall all its detail. 23 Resuming the statement above, it can be said that short story is divided into two categories, according the total of words and the value. Therefore, it can be concluded that short-short story is more suitable for students because its word is not too much. Therefore, the students are assumed not to be stressful to find the idea of the story. In addition, short story can be read in one sitting, which means the reader only needs a short time to finish their reading.

3. The Elements of Short Story

As mentioned on the previous definition, short story is kind of fictional narrative in prose. This that means short story is not real story and tells the events in the past. All the elements of a story work together to convey feeling and embody meaning. Generally, in the short story, there are six elements. Typical features of short story include the following:

a. Plot

Plot is the arrangment of events that make up a story. A story’s plot keeps the readers turning pages: we read to find out what will happen next. For a plot to be effective, it must include a sequence of incidents that bear a significant causal relationship to each other. In other word, a plot refers to a series of interrelated events, during which some conflict or problems are resolved. Plot can be looked at for purposes of discussion as if isolated from the people concerned with those events and that conflict or problem. 24 Referring the statement above, plot is a sequence of events in a story that is correlated to each other. Then, the plot should has sequences to make the reader 23 Jerome Beaty, et al., The Norton Introduction to Literature, Eight Edition, New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2002, p. 401. 24 DiYanni, op. cit., p. 43. know where is the part of introduction, problems and resolution of the story. Therefore, the reader can understand the story easily.

b. Character

Character is someone who acts, appears, or is referred to as a playing a part in a literary work. The most common term for the character with the leading male role is hero or good guy. The leading female character is the heroine. A character is sometimes called antihero because she is not heroic in stature or perfection. An older and more neutral term than hero for the leading character, a term that does not imply either the presence or the absence of outstanding virtue is protagonist, whose opponent is the antagonist. The major or main character is a person who takes more part in the story. This character also becomes the reader’s focus – everything story about him. Then, minor character is no longer takes part in the story. This character is not as important as a mean character. 25 According the statements above, it shows that a character is the feature of an actor in the story or moral quality of person. In the short story an actor just has one character that is major character, and the supporting character is minor character. The character can be known through what an actor does in the story.

c. Point of View

An author’s decisions about who is to tell the story and how it is to be told are among the most important he or she makes. In a story with an objective point of view, the writer shows what happens without directly stating more than readers can infer from its action and dialogue. It is the method of narration that determines the position, or angle of vision, from which the story is told. 26 In conclusion, point of view is important for the writer and the reader because the reader can be known who is telling the story. Moreover, it is an attempt to understand the relationships that exist between the narrator and the 25 Beaty, op. cit., p. 102 –103. 26 Beety Mattix Dietsch, Reasoning and Writing Weel A. Rethoric, Research Guide, Reader and Handbook, Ohio: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003, p. 429. characters and events in the story. Therefore, it will make the reading more rewarding. Furthermore, the story can be seen more logically and can be easier interpreted.

d. Setting

Setting is also defined as the location of the story occurs. Basically, setting is an environment for the action and the characters. Setting is sometime minimized by the writer to emphasize other elements of the story. In certain stories the reader will not be aware of all setting, because the writer has never specified the time or place of the story. 27 In summary, setting is the place that the actions in the story happen. Seting is also important thing in a story since it make reader easily to know where the places and the times are taken for the story.

e. Symbol

One of the chief devices for bridging the gap between the writer and the reader is the symbol. It is something that stands for something else: a flower, for example, may be seen as symbol of a particular state. Symbols are generally figurative. We must remember that symbol do not disappear from the story, our memory, or our response once their meaning has been sucked out of them. 28 From the above statement, it can be defined that symbol is another important element of short story. It can enable the reader to interpret easily the meaning of the story. Symbols also help the reader to solve the gap with what the writer means from the story.

f. Theme

Theme is related to the other elements of fiction that are plot, character, point of view, setting, symbol, more as a consequence than as a parallel element 27 Larry M. Sutton, Journeys: an introduction to Literature, Boston: Holdbrook Press, Inc., 1971, p. 6. 28 Beaty, op. cit., p. 186 –187. that can be separately. In other words , a story’s theme is its idea or poin formulated as a generalization of the story. The theme of short story is its implied view of life and conduct. To be clear about theme, the readers should distinguish it from plot and from subject, what the story is generally about. 29 In conclusion, theme should illustrate what attitude should take toward any statements of the story. Theme can be as a general idea of story. However, this generalization should have relation with all the features of the story.

4. The Advantages of Using Short Story in Learning

There are many advantages of using short story in learning activities. Its practical length means they can usually be read entirely within one or two class sessions. It is also less daunting for a foreign reader to tackle or to reread on his or her own, and are more suitable when set as home tasks. Students get that feeling of achievement at having come to the end of a whole work, much sooner. Moreover, it offers greater variety than longer texts. A teacher can choose very different short stories, so that there is a greater chance of finding something to appeal to each individual’s tastes and interests. 30 According to Mary Alice Burgan, the short story is interesting. Usually it is “realistic,” and usually its setting is the modern world which the students know. And the modernity of the short story as a form which has only recently been accepted in its own right not only makes it interesing, but make it interesting in a certain way. The readers are all relatively familiar with the idea that the most important experiences of life occur on the inside; heroic action, painted on a grand scale, is interesting to us only so long as it gives us intimations for hero’s inner action goes. Furthermore, a hypothesis about the essential nature of the short story does not pretend to be completely definitive, but it is suggestive. 31 29 DiYanni, op. cit., p. 85. 30 Joanne Collie and Stephen Slater, Literature in the Language Classroom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 196. 31 Philip Applemant, et al., On Teaching Literature, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1979, p. 38 –39. In addition, a form of short story is more realistic than the tale, and the main event is written in greater fullness. According to William Faulkner, he has put the case well in an interview with students at the University of Virginia: “In a short story that’s next to poem, almost every word has got to be almost exactly right. In the novel you can be careless but in the short story you can’t. You have less room to be slovenly and careless. There’s less room in it for trash. It’s got to be absolutly impeccable, absolutly perfect. 32 Therefore, short story is stronger. The readers can remember almost all, the details. Yet, if the readers are strongly impressed, they may read the story again immediately. Other advantages in teaching the short story is because it has no strict conventions and it is short enough to be talked about in terms of its organic, natural and formal principles. Concerning teaching and learning, Penny Ur suggested some procedures in teaching simple past tense by using short story. First, it can be used for listening comprehension and slot-filling; oral. The teacher should tell the students a story which has plenty of action and be easily comprehensible to the students. Get them focus on past forms by asking occasionally for a translation of an irregular form, or by stopping and getting them supply the verb. After that the teacher has to finish, ask the students recalling some of the sentences in the past that were mentioned in the story. 33 In line with the statement above, teaching short story has also allowed the teacher to integrate the four skills listening, speaking, reading and writing, produce a lot of interesting language activity. In this case, the teacher reads aloud a short story and the students listen to it. After that, the students are asked to retell the story and write down the answers of the questions about that story. 32 X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, Literature : An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, San Francisco: Longman, 2010, p. 15. 33 Penny Ur, Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, p. 213. Furthermore, it is also stimulate reflection, bring out different opinions, and energize absorbing thought process. 34 From the explanation above, it can be concluded that through the short story students will enjoy because the story has a sensible and practical idea of what can be expected. Then the setting of story is familiar with the students. Thus, the setting makes interesting for them and easy to understand what the story about. Meanwhile, a good story offers elasticity for evocative stretching that moves students toward interesting language use. Thus, good literature, while promoting language learning, also inspires emotion, provides models and materilas for teaching foreign language. Besides, almost every word needs the students’ care to find the meaning of the short story. So, the students also care with the sentences that use simple past tense because short story often uses it. Therefore, it make students more familiar with the formula or rules of simple past tense. Moreover, the short story can be used to retain students’ vocabulary of regular and irregular verbs because the students will find many past verbs in the short story.

5. The Disadvantage of Using Short Story in Learning

Short story has a disadvantage for students as the readers. As a fiction, short story tells many unreal characters and settings. When the short story tells a strange place, the students have to be hard to imagine it. Therefore, to make successful presentation of short story, care and preparation are needed. As this statement, short story is extremely compressed. This makes the students such a delight. When a short story writer is successful, he or she encapsulates experience with a masterly economy of language and imagery. The readers are invited to see the setting for example the universe in grain of sand. But this compression can make it difficult for foreign readers to appreciate the quality of the work, even when they understand its surface meaning. When the readers look at a grain of 34 Burton, op.cit., p. 29. sand, they must be helped to see universe within it, and to respond to it on an emotional level. 35 Based on the statements above, it can be conclude that the students can be difficult to imagine the characters or settings if the writer uses the strange words that can be understand for the students but it is hard to convey. Therefore, when the students asked to retell the short story, they are confused to select the appropriate verb.

D. The Method of Teaching in the Experimental Class

A method is the way for teacher to deliver the material in teaching and learning process. There are some methods in teaching English as a Foreign Language. Some of those methods are Grammar Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching. The writer uses those methods to convey the lesson about simple past tense by using short story in the experimental class. First, GTM as a method enable the teacher to teach the students by reading and translating the literature to achieve the learning goal. 36 Therefore, in this study, the teacher asks the students to read the example of short story first, and translating the difficult words to make them easier undertanding the text. After that the students should change the verbs past to the verbs present in order to make them familiar with the verb past. In addition, they also asked to change the form of past tense like positive into negative or interrogative one. In this method, the students practice their reading and writing skills. Second, the method of this study is CLT which aimed the students to speak target language communicatively. 37 In this case, the students are asked to retell the short story which they have watched in a video. This activity enable the students to use simple past tense and practice it in speaking and listening skill. 35 Collie, op. cit., 36 Diane Larsen-Freeman, Teaching and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 11. 37 Ibid., p. 121. In summary, Grammar Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching is appropriate for the teacher in teaching simple past tense by using short story as a teaching aid. The teacher can give the examples of simple past tense not only in a text of short story, but also in a video of short story to explain the form and the use of simple past tense. Moreover, the students also practice their four English skills namely listening, speaking reading and writing by those activities.

E. The Method of Teaching in the Control Class