CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This study is aimed at developing English learning materials for Grade X students of Beauty Study Program at Vocational High Schools. This chapter
discusses about background, identification, limitation, formulation, objectives, and significance of the study.
A. Background of the Study
Vocational High Schools are designed to prepare the students to work right after they graduate. The fresh graduate students of Vocational High School
are expected to master the skills of their expertise. Besides, English becomes very important since most of the job vacancies put English proficiency, both written
and spoken, as one of the requirements. Moreover, the development of global communication and information era brings a strict competition among the job
seekers. The students will get advantages if they master English of their expertise. In terms of education, English is always considered as one of the subjects to be
taught in almost all levels of education. Considering the facts above, English has become an important skill to master by students of Vocational High School. In
this case, students of Beauty Study Program. SMK N 3 Magelang is one of the Vocational High Schools. It provides
students with many kinds of study programs to master a specific skill of their interest. The study programs provided are Akomodasi Perhotelan, Tata Boga,
Tata Busana, and Tata Kecantikan. In this case, the researcher only concerns on Beauty Tata Kecantikan Study Program. As stated above, English is one of the
important subject to help students to face the global competition. Regarding these, the English for Specific Purposes is required to support their English proficiency
based on their expertise. Therefore, the teachers should consider English learning
materials which are suitable for the students’ needs.
The regulation of National Education Minister 2006 states that English teaching at the Vocational High School should aim at equipping the students with
English communication skills in order to help them communicate in the context areas of their expertise. It means that English teaching at Vocational High School
should consider the English required in the target situation of each study. It fact, the English learning materials of Beauty Study Program at SMK N
3 Magelang are not related to the students’ needs. Harsono 2005 says that
English teachers usually teach their students by using available textbooks. However, the English learning materials which are really suitable with the needs
of the students are not always available. The students of Beauty Study Program cannot get the appropriate exposure
of English which is needed for their future. There are no considerations about the target situation and the target needs of the students. Moreover, the texts or inputs
are taken from general English course books. As a result, the course books contain very general input which are not contextualized for Beauty Study Program.
Concerning these, the English learning materials should be designed based on
the students’ needs in order to support the English learning process. Besides, the learning materials should be contextualized based on their study program.
B. Identification of the Problems
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