Background of The Study

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of The Study

It is important to children to start learning English as soon as possible. Nowadays, the students of the elementary school have begun to study English as a foreign language. SDN Masaran 2 Sragen is one of the elementary school which is starting to introduce English to the students from the first grade till the sixth grade. Brewster, Ellis and Girard 1992: 24 says that the reason most commonly put forward for starting to teach a foreign language early is indisputable fact that young children have a greater facility for understanding and imitating what they hear than adolescents, not to mention adults. It means that children are in the golden age when they acquired their mother tongue naturally. It seems a reasonable strategy to try to take advantage of such favorable circumstances. Vocabulary is the primary aspect in learning language because of that ones who want to learn language have to learn vocabulary first; it is also used for learning our mother tongue or for learning others language. Vocabulary is a central to language and words are of critical importance to the typical language learner Zimmerman in Huckin and Coady, 1997: 1. It means that vocabulary is the first aspect in learning language before able to use the language. Because of that before learning a language the learners commit to user 2 2 have to learn vocabulary. The students in the elementary school are beginners, thus they have to learn vocabulary first before they can use the language to communicate. The students of the elementary school have begun to study English as a foreign language. SDN Masaran 2 Sragen is one of the elementary school which has started to introduce English to the students from the first grade till the sixth grade. One of the classes which are learns English are the students in the third grade. Based on English curriculum 2004 in Central Java, the students in the third grade have to be able to pronounce the words, to respond and understand the instructions given by showing the picture, and to spell the words related to the topic. In fact, the students get difficulties to pronounce the words, to memorize the words and the meaning of them, to respond and understand the instructions given, and to write the name of the picture. From the illustration above, the students in the third grade get a problem in learning vocabulary. The students problems in learning vocabulary can be seen from some indicators when the researcher thought them in the class as follows: 1 when the teacher asked them to pronounce the words some of them got difficulties to pronounce the words given; 2 when the teacher gave them command the students got difficulties to understand what the command were; 3 they also got difficulties to memorize the words given and also the meaning them; 4 and the students got difficulties to spell the words related to the topic. commit to user 3 3 There are some indicators that the researcher found from the situations in the class when the teaching learning process went on: 1 The situations in the classroom were noisy; 2 some of the students talked with their friends; 3 some of them did not write the materials given in their note books; 4 some of the students walked and run in the class; 5 and they like took a pee when the teaching learning process went on. From pre observation, the researcher found the sources of the problem: 1 the teacher’s technique, she only used drilling; 2 the teacher’s role only explain the meaningtranslating; 3 Students did not pay attention to the teaching learning process. To overcome the students’ problem in learning vocabulary which is signed by some indicators above, the researcher takes a solution by utilizing children’s song video through Total Physical Response to improve the students’ vocabulary acquisition. Children’s song video is a video which contain children’s song that uses audiovisual media. It needs a television and a player or uses a computer to operate the video. Children’s song video contains moving pictures and sounds. This media close to the children’s world because it is fun. According to Richard Rodgers, 2001: 73 Total Physical Response is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action; it attempts to teach language trough physical motor activity. Total Physical Response is method which combines information and skills through the use of the kinesthetic sensory system. This combination of skills allows the student to assimilate information and skills at a rapid rate. The basic tenets are; 1 Understanding the spoken language before commit to user 4 4 developing the skills of speaking, 2 Imperatives are the main structures to transfer or communicate information, 3 the students is not forced to speak, but is allowed an individual readiness period and allowed to spontaneously begin to speak when heshe feels comfortable, confident in understanding and producing the utterances. Utilizing children’s song video and Total Physical Response as a media and a method to teach vocabulary will make the children more interesting to the teaching learning process. Children’s song video is an interesting media because it is not only make the students listen to the song but also they can see the moving pictures in the video. Besides that children’s song video closes to children’s world. It makes the students feel happy, enjoy, and comfort in whole their activities in the teaching learning process. Combining children’s song video through Total Physical Response will make the students doing some activities such as role play. Whole of the activities in the class will make them learn the song in the video. They are not realizing that they are learning a language. Thus all the activity will make them fun and decrease the students stress because they are learning while playing. Based on the illustration above, the researcher is interesting in carrying out a study on “Utilizing Children’s Song Video to Improve Students’ Vocabulary Acquisition through Total Physical Response A Classroom Action Research at the Third Grade of SD Negeri Masaran 2 Sragen in the Academic Years of 20102011.

B. Problem Statement