relationship each other. In order to mastering writing, for example, we also should master three of them.
Learning to write is not the same as learning to speak, which can be acquired subconsciously. Learning to write is considered to be more difficult than
learning to speak. It means that students should get something, which make them more interested in studying writing.
Generally, writing is a complex process that involves a range of skills and tasks because by writing students need frequent opportunities to write and to
apply the stages of the writing process, each of which focuses on specific tasks. Just like Laurer et. al. 1981:1 stated that “Writing can be said as a systematic
visible permanent representation of the auditory and transient phenomena of speech”.
Wishon and Bursks 1980 : 379 stated “Descriptive writing reproduces the way things look, smell, taste, feel or
sound; it may also evoke moods, such as happiness, loneliness, or fear”.
Descriptive writing is one of the writing texts. Descriptive writing is taught by teacher in order to make students know how to describe themselves and
their surrounding although it is still in a simple way. Allen 1983 : 33 stated that the teaching of English to the beginner should
need the techniques to make the English lesson more exiting. Based on the statement above, the teachers are expected to be imaginative and creative in
developing their teaching techniques.
1.2. Reason for Choosing Topic
Teaching medium is one of the components involved in teaching learning process. The teachers make use of teaching media to support the presentation of
the material in the classroom. The textbook is a powerful teaching tool that provides many benefits to
teachers. Recently, textbooks have begun to include more authentic materials. Teachers are also using more and more authentic materials to supplement the
textbook. Authentic materials are those used in the target culture for actual communicative needs.
Here are some reasons for using authentic materials in the classroom, stated by Opp-Beckman, J. Klinghammer 2006:85:
1 They enable the learner to hear, read, and produce language as it is used in the target culture.
2 They reflect real use of language in culturally appropriate contexts. 3 They are interesting and motivating.
4 They can be chosen according to learner interests or needs, or be chosen by learners themselves for their own purposes.
5 Thorough their use, learners can begin to develop survival language skills, learning to develop a tolerance for what they cannot understand in
order to get as much information as they can from what they do understand.
Furthermore, Gerlach and Elly 1979:240 stated that “the basic rule for media selection is : A medium of instruction must be selected on the basis of its
potential for implementing stated objectives”.
One of the functions of teaching media is to engage the students’ motivation. By using teaching media during the teaching - learning process, it is
hoped that the teacher will be able to motivate the students to learn and pay attention to the material the teacher present.
There are several kinds of teaching media. In this final project the experiment is focused on the use of teaching media which is related to the
students’ visual sense. The writer’s consideration is supported by the statement of Finocchiarto and Bonomo which says:
“The students understand and retain the meaning of a word better when they have been shown or have touched some objects associated with it”
Finocchiarto and Bonomo, 1973 : 163.
Realizing the importance of the authentic materials, the writer is interested in investigating whether or not authentic materials can be used to teach descriptive
text effectively to the eight students of SMP N 26 Semarang in academic year of 2008 - 2009.
I only focus on the study on the use of the authentic materials as media for teaching writing. I used authentic materials to improve the students’ descriptive
writing. The reasons for choosing topic are as follows: 1 The availability of pictures as media for teaching writing in the text book is
not enough for achievement for writing works. 2 The authentic materials can help the students associate what they see with
their real life experience. So, it is helped that teachers can get the optimal result in teaching writing through the authentic materials as media of
teaching.
3 The teacher can also guide the students to create words and to arrange the words into paragraphs in their minds that they get from the authentic
materials. 4 Pictures media can be used as a good technique for classroom teaching to
develop the students’ writing skills especially for descriptive text.
1.2. Statement of the Problems
