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ABSTRACT

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTEXTUAL TEACHING LEARNING (CTL) IN TEACHING GRAMMAR AT THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF

SMA KARTIKATAMA METRO By

Gali Iswadi

Learning grammar is the basic knowledge for students to master the language skills. The students have to understand many rules and patterns which are different from Bahasa. The result of the pre observation done by the researcher when the students were at the 1st semester of the 1st grade was most students who learnt English have difficulties in structure when they do not know the rules of language being learnt. At that time, the teacher asked his students to tell their past holiday in written form, the teacher assumed that his students must be able to do that because they just write their experience when they were holiday,

unfortunately, most of them just translated word by word from their dictionary without thinking about the rules. It is a miserable condition since according to English curriculum for Senior High School; the students must have been able to make functional text such as narrative, recount and procedure. The researcher would like to propose Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) as a technique in teaching grammar. By implementing the seven components of CTL the researcher hopes that CTL will be helpful to improve the teaching learning process in general and grammar especially.

The aim of this research was to investigate the implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning used during teaching grammar, precisely to see whether Contextual Teaching Learning can improve not only students’ grammar

achievement significantly but also students’ activities and teacher’s performance. Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) is the concept of learning which helps teacher relate the materials being taught to the students real world and motivating the students to relate their knowledge in their daily lives by implementing all seven main components or elements in teaching learning process. The seven components of CTL are constructivism, inquiry, questioning, learning community, reflection, and authentic assessment.

The research was conducted at SMA Kartikatama Metro. The subject of the research was students of first year (class X B) in the academic year 2008/2009.

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In this classroom action research, the researcher acted as the observer; meanwhile the teacher of SMA Kartikatama taught her own students by implementing

Contextual Teaching Learning. The researcher made the lesson plan and told the teacher what she would perform in the class based on the lesson plan. So, during the research, the researcher observed everything occurred in the classroom when they were learning grammar.

There were two cycles done in this research since the indicators have been achieved in the second cycle. Concerning the result of grammar achievement, in cycle 1 there about 25 or 65.79 % students whose scores are 60 or more. It means that the result of the grammar test cannot fulfill the indicator of the research. Furthermore, in the second cycle there are approximately 32 students or 84.22 % students get 60 and even more than 60. It means that the indicator of learning product has been achieved in the second cycle. In addition, from five kinds of students’ activities observed by the researcher, there were two activities which did not fulfill the indicator; paying attention to the teacher’s explanation (73.86%) and responding to the teacher’s questions (26.32%). Therefore, it was fulfilled in the second cycle. The number of students who paid attention to the teacher’s

explanation and also respond the teacher’s questions increased; Paying attention to teacher’s explanation increase from 73.86% to 86.84% in the second cycle while responding to the teacher’s question increase from 26.32% to 86.84%. Moreover, the teacher got 73 for her teaching performance. It means that the target had not reached. Fortunately, after doing some betterment in some aspects, in the cycle 2 the target had been able to fulfill. The teacher got 83 in the second cycle. It means that the teacher got very good for her teaching performance. Referring to the result of the research above, it can be concluded that Contextual Teaching Learning is applicable to improve students’ grammar achievement, students’ activities and teacher teaching performance. It was done because Contextual Teaching Learning has seven components that are believed to be able to improve not only learning product but also learning process

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V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

In reference to the result and discussion of the research, the researcher tried to give conclusion and suggestion as follows:

A. Conclusions

1. Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) is applicable to improve the students’ English achievement especially grammar. By constructing the students’ previous knowledge (entry behavior) with the new one, stimulating them in inquiry process and providing the suitable materials which is related to the real world situation, the implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning successfully improve the students’ grammar achievement.

2. By implementing the seven components of Contextual Teaching Learning, the students become more active to follow the class and they become more comfortable in learning grammar. Since in Contextual Teaching Learning the students are seated in group. They share their knowledge with others. By sharing knowledge, the student who knows will tell the others who do not know or the students who do not know will ask the students who know. In addition, in the authentic assessments the students are allowed to present their works in front of others students. It must have stimulated the students to be active in teaching learning process and the interaction between students to students, or even the students to teacher.

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3. Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) approach contributes a positive effect toward teacher’s teaching performance in the class. Since Contextual

Teaching Learning is the concept of teaching in which the teachers are asked to be able to relate the materials in the classroom with the students’ real world situation. The teachers are asked to formulate the techniques that stimulate the students’ participation in teaching learning process so the learning product as a measure of successful learning can be achieved. Moreover, the teachers are demanded to create the interesting media materials since the interesting media and materials will easily attract the students’ attention and

participation.

B. Suggestions

Based on the conclusions above, the following recommendations were put: 1. For the teachers in general and particularly SMA Kartikatama Metro that

want to improve the learning product, especially students’ grammar

achievement, by implementing Contextual Teaching Learning should be able to construct the students’ knowledge (entry behavior) based on the students’ real world situation before going deeper to the materials. Besides, the teacher should be able to create the interesting materials, of course, based on real situation. Since it will ease the students to make a connection between the materials being taught with their previous knowledge.

2. In improving students’ activity in teaching learning process, it is suggested for the teachers to know well each student’s ability in the classroom. Because it is very useful for dividing students in learning community. Additionally, in

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correcting students’ error, it is better for the teacher to use peer correction first than direct correction. Because some students are afraid of making mistake. Besides, the interaction will be more active through peer correction.

3. The teacher should motivate students to be active in the classroom by giving them the activities that can stimulate interaction and the interesting media and materials which are related to the students’ real world situation.

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INTRODUCTION

A. Background of The Problem

The aim of someone learns a language is to be able to communicate both in spoken and written form. To make the spoken and written form understandable, someone must make the sentences in a correct order of grammar. In Indonesia, English is as the first foreign language. English becomes a compulsory subject for Indonesian students. Based on English Educational Unit Curriculum 2006,

students should master the language skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing. Meanwhile, the language components; pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar are the tool for students in supporting their mastery of those four skills. Since we learn English, we also must learn and understand the grammar of the language. Gleason (1973:125) mentions that language is the systematic structure, to learn language is to learn structure.

Based on the theory of language, that is structural view, language is a system of structurally related elements for coding meanings. The target of this learning is the mastery of elements of this system, which are generally defined in terms of

phonological units, grammatical units, grammatical operations, and lexical items (Richard and Rodgers, 1986; 17).

Based on the statement above, it can be concluded that language is not only a matter of vocabulary and its meaning, but also consists of system grammar that

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finally influence the meaning. In other words, it can be said that grammar is important because grammar has an important role in decoding meaning or it can be said that grammar has relationship with the meaning.

Moreover, Sriwidodo (1995) states that most students who learnt English have difficulties in structure when they do not know the rules of language being learnt. Learning grammar is the basic knowledge for students to master the language skills. The students have to understand many rules and patterns which are different from Bahasa Indonesia. However, in fact, the students face many problems to master the rules and patterns.

The fact above is also supported by the result of the pre observation done by the researcher when the students were at the 1st semester of the 1st grade. At that time, the teacher asked his students to tell their past holiday in written form, the teacher assumed that his students must be able to do that because they just write their experience when they were holiday, unfortunately, most of them just translated word by word from their dictionary without thinking about the rules. It is a miserable condition since according to English curriculum for Senior High School; the students must have been able to make functional text such as narrative, recount and procedure.

Due to the problem faced by the students, that is the low grammar ability especially in making simple functional text. While the researcher was doing the pre observation, the researcher tried to find out the cause of that problem. From the pre observation, the researcher assumes that, one of the causes of that problem

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is the inappropriateness of teaching method used by the teacher in teaching grammar.

During the teaching and learning process, the teacher only focused on explaining the pattern of sentences to the students while occasionally asked them to retell the formula of the sentence and the meaning of some words they found. In other words, she just taught her students about the language like tenses and some English words, but she ignored teaching her students how to comprehend and produce the language. For that reason, the students are only good at mentioning the pattern of the sentences not at producing the sentences.

It is essential to keep in mind that language teacher is not to inform what language is but facilitate the students and enable them to use the language. So far, our education is still dominated by the view that knowledge is a set of fact to be memorized. Our class focuses on teachers as the only learning sources and speech is as the main learning strategies. Therefore, there should be a new learning strategy that can expose the students’ language competence. Contextual Teaching and Learning is considered as an alternative.

Further, the philosophy of Contextual approach is emphasized on the students’ interest and their experience. Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) is the concept of learning which helps teacher relate the materials being taught to the students real world and motivating the students to relate their knowledge in their daily lives by implementing all seven main components or elements in teaching learning process (Diknas:2002). The seven components of CTL are

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constructivism, inquiry, questioning, learning community, reflection, and authentic assessment.

Considering the statement above, the writer would like to propose Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) as a technique in teaching grammar. The writer hopes that CTL will be helpful to improve the teaching learning process in general and grammar especially.

B. Formulation of the Problem

Based on the background above, the writer tried to state the problem as follow: Based on the research background above, the writer formulates the problem:

 How can the implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) improve grammar achievement of the first year students’ of SMA Kartikatama Metro?

 How can the implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) improve students’ participation during the teaching learning process?  How can the implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL)

improve the quality of teacher’s teaching performance? C. Objective of the Research

In relation to the formulation of the problem above, the objective of the classrooms action research was to find out how:

 The implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) can improve grammar achievement of the first year students’ of SMA Kartikatama Metro.

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 The implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) can improve students’ participation during the teaching learning process.

 The implementation of Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) can improve the quality of teacher’s teaching performance.

D. Uses of the Research

This research aims at having such uses as follows: Theoretical uses:

 To verify the previous theory dealing with the theories of Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL)

 To be used as a reference for the next researcher who will concentrate on students’ grammar achievement, students’ participation in teaching learning process and teacher’s teaching performance.

Practical uses:

 As the information concerning with whether there is improvement of students’ grammar achievement, students’ participation in teaching learning process and the quality of teacher’s teaching performance in the implementation of Contextual Teaching learning (CTL).

 As a help to English Teachers in finding an appropriate way to increase students’ grammar achievement, students’ participation in teaching learning process and their teaching performance.

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E. Scope of the Research

This research was conducted at SMA Kartikatama Metro, while the subject of the research was the first year students of Senior High School. The class was ten (X) B that consist of 40 students. The focus of this research were students’ grammar achievement, students’ participation during teaching learning process and the quality of teacher’s performance in implementing Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL).

The material of grammar taught was simple past tense in form of recount text. The reason why the researcher chose this material because recount text is one of kind functional text that should be mastered by students in this level.

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