THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PICTURE SERIES AS A MEDIA IN IMPROVING STUDENTSÂ’ WRITING SKILL OF THE SECOND YEAR AT SMK PGRI PANDAAN
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PICTURE SERIES AS A MEDIA IN
IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL OF THE SECOND YEAR
AT SMK PGRI PANDAAN
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to fulfill one of the requirements to achieve Sarjana
Degree in English Education
By:
YAYI WAHYU ILMILLAHDINI
09360147
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
2014
This thesis written by Yayi Wahyu Ilmillahdini was approved on April 30, 2014
By:
Advisor II,
Drs. Munash Fauzie A, M.M
Advisor I,
Puji Sumarsono, S.Pd, M.Ed
This thesis was defended in front of the examiners of the Faculty of Teacher
Training and Education of University of Muhammadiyah Malang
and accepted as one of the requirements to achieve
Sarjana Degree in English Education
on April 30,2014
Approved by:
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
University of Muhammadiyah Malang
Dean,
Dr. Poncojari Wahyono M. Kes
Examiners:
Signatures:
1. Riza Elfana, S.Pd, M.A
………………………
2. Wahyu Taufiq, S.Pd, M.Ed
………………………
3. Puji Sumarsono, S.Pd, M.Ed
………………………
4. Drs. Munash Fauzie A, M.M
………………………
MOTTO AND DEDICATION
“maka sesungguhnya bersama kesulitan ada kemudahan dan apabila kamu
sudah selesai (dari satu urusan) kerjakanlah dengan sungguh – sungguh
(urusan yang lain)” (Al-Insyirah: 5-8)
“saya tidak patah semangat, karena setiap usaha yang salah adalah usaha yang
maju” (Thomas Alfa Edison)
This thesis is dedicated to:
My beloved father and mother
My beloved sister
And my beloved friend
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillah, all Praise to Allah SWT, the Lord of Universe for blessing and
guiding that had been given to the researcher, so that she was able to finish this thesis.
The researcher would like to express her deepest gratitude to Mr. Puji Sumarsono M.
Ed, her first advisor and Mr. Munash Fauzie M.M, her second advisor for their suggestion,
patience, guidance, correction, and advice during the consultation to complete this thesis.
Moreover, the researcher wants to send her great thankfulness and deep appreciation
to her beloved parents, sisters (Puput, mbk Cincin, Dea), and my beloved (Rifky Apridianto
S.H, M.Hum)who have supported her morally and spiritually so that she can finish her thesis.
Special thank is also given to all her friends especially her friends in C1 class Kiki,
Tika, Manda, Agus Mawardi, Dino Sugiarto, Yessi, Uud, Desi, Fara, Mbk Ayu, Ghanes, Riva
and my beloved friends in the boarding house Mbak Depi, Mbk Iis, Mbk Ike, Ipit, and Dila
thank you for help, support, and motivation.
Malang, 29 April 2014
Yayi Wahyu Ilmillahdini
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Approval ............................................................................................................................ i
Legalization......................................................................................................................... ii
Motto and Dedication ......................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. iv
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. v
Table of Content ................................................................................................................. vi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study ................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of Problem................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Purpose of Study .......................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Hypothesis of the Study ............................................................................................... 7
1.5 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................. 7
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study .............................................................................. 8
1.7 Definition of the Key Terms ........................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Teaching Learning Process .......................................................................................... 9
2.2 Writing ......................................................................................................................... 10
2.1.1
The Teaching of Writing in EFL Class .......................................................... 12
2.3 Students’ Problem in Writing ...................................................................................... 13
2.4 Types of Writing .......................................................................................................... 15
2.5 Procedure Paragraph .................................................................................................... 17
2.6 Scoring Rubric of Procedure Paragraph ...................................................................... 19
2.7 Media ........................................................................................................................... 20
2.8 Picture Series .............................................................................................................. 20
2.8.1 Procedure of Using Picture Series ..................................................................... 22
2.9 The Advantages of Using Picture Series ..................................................................... 23
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design .......................................................................................................... 25
3.2 Population and Sample ................................................................................................ 26
3.3 Research Instrument .................................................................................................... 27
3.3.1
The Writing Test in Procedure Paragraph .................................................. 27
3.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 29
3.5 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Findings......................................................................................................................... 35
4.1.1 The Mean Scores of Pre test of Experimental and Control Group ..................... 35
4.1.2 The Mean Scores of Post test of Experimental and Control Group ................... 37
4.1.3 The Analysis ....................................................................................................... 39
4.2 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 46
5.2 Suggestions .................................................................................................................. 47
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II
APPENDIX III
APPENDIX IV
APPENDIX V
APPENDIX VI
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, M. & Anderson, K. 1997a. Text Types in English 1. South Yarra, Victoria:
MacMillan.
Ary, Donald. 2010. Introduction to Research in Education. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Bachtiar, & Cicik K. 2007. Pegangan Guru Bahasa Inggris. Klaten: Intan Pariwara.
Best, Khan. 2006. Research in Education. United States of America: Pearson Education Inc.
Broughton, G et al. 2003. Teaching English as a Foreign Language. London and New York:
Routledge.
Brown, Douglas. 2001.teaching by principles an interactive approach second edition.
California: Longman.
Departemen Pendidikan Nasional. 2006. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan. Jakarta:
Departemen Pendidikan Nasional.
Finocchiaro, Bonomo. 1973. The Foreign Language Learner. New York: Regents Publishing
Company.
Fraenkel, Wallen. 2009. Design and Evaluate Research in Education. Beth Media.
Harmer, Jeremy. 2004.How to Teach Writing. Essex: Longman.
Heaton, J.B. 1991. Writing English Language Tests. New York: Longman.
Jun, Zhang. 2008. A Comprehensive Review of Studies on Second Language Writing. Applied
Language Studies. Anhui University.
Kasbollah, K. 1995. Instructional Media for Young Learners of EFL. Malang: Universitas
Negeri Malang.
Meyers, Alan 2005. Gateways to Academic Writing: Effective Sentences Paragraph, and
Essays.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Nunan, D. 1999. Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle
Publisher.
Nunan, David.1991. Language Teaching Methodology. Sydney: Prentice Hall.
Oshima,Hogue. 2007. Introduction to Academy English. United States of America: Longman.
Raimes, Ann. 1983.Teachnique in Teaching Writing. Oxford: Oxford American English.
Richards, Jack C. & Willy A. Renandya. 2002. Methodology in Language Teaching.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schreiber, Asner-self. 2011. Educational Research. Library of Congress catalog in
Publication Data.
Suryawan, I. 2008. Improving the Ability of the Second Year Students of MTs Muhammadiyah
Wangon in Writing Recount Paragraph Using Picture Series. Unpublished Thesis.
State University of Malang.
Rahmawati, Dwi Prihatin. 2005. Using various pictures to improve elementary school
Students' interest in learning English. Unpublished Thesis.Muhammadiyah University
of Malang.
Riyanto. 2001. Peningkatan Kemampuan Menulis Paragraph Singkat Bahasa Inggris yang
Koheren dengan Menggunakan Pertanyaan Terstruktur, Siswa Kelas 3 SLTP Negeri 3
Palembang. Malang: Buletin Pelangi Pendidikan.
Wright, Andrew. 2004. Pictures for Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Zulfainah. 2007. The Effect of Using Sequenced Pictures on the Writing Narrative Ability of
the First Year Students at SMAN 2 Batu. Unpublished Thesis.Muhammadiyah
University of Malang.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This introduction presents and discusses the background of the study, the
research problem, the objective of the study, hypothesis of the study, the significance
of the study, the scope and limitation of the study, and the definition of the key terms.
1.1 Background of the Study
Mastering English as a foreign language is increasingly important in
globalization era. Due to the importance of mastering English, the Indonesian
government considers English as one of foreign language to be taught in school from
the elementary level up to the university level. The teaching and learning activities
should be oriented toward the mastery of four language skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing. The teachers should always make every effort to engage the
students in language activities using the language for communication. The objective
of teaching English is to enable students to communicate in English orally and in a
written form. Based on the 2006 School Based Curriculum, the objective of English
teaching is to enable students to master the four language skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing.
In addition, there is no doubt that writing is the most difficult skill for L2
learners to master. The difficulty lies not only in generating and organizing ideas, but
also in translating these ideas into readable text. The skills involved in writing are
1
highly complex. L2 writers have to pay attention to higher level skills of planning and
organizing as well as lower level skills of spelling, punctuation, word choice, and so
on. The difficulty becomes even more pronounced if their language proficiency is
weak (Richards & Renandya, 2002: 303).
L2 writing is a complex process of discovery which involves brainstorming,
multiple drafting, feedback practices, revision, and final editing. It is different from
L1 writing, because L2 writers have more than one language at their disposal (Wang
& Wen, 2002 in Jun, 2008:8).
According to Broughton et. al (2003: 116-117), there are four general
problems usually faced by L2 learners in English writing; First Mechanical problems
with the script of English. A great deal of the writing that occurs in the foreign
language classroom is not primarily concerned so much with developing writing
skills as with reinforcing the teaching of particular structures; Second, problems of
accuracy of English grammar and lexis. The poor knowledge possessed by the
students concerning the complicated rules of English especially if they are so
different from their L1 grammar makes them difficult to compose correct and good
sentences; Third, Problems of relating the style of writing to the demands of a
particular situation. Some students feel so difficult determine whether they have to
write by using narrative, recount, expository or others in expressing their ideas; The
last, Problems of developing ease and comfort in expressing what needs to be said.
This happens because the students lack of courage to do mistake in their writing.
2
The problems faced above are not solely caused by the inability of the
students to write, but also by the inappropriate strategy implemented by the teacher in
the teaching and learning process. These conditions also happened in SMK PGRI
Pandaan. Based on the early observation conducted in January 2013, it shows that
every time the students of that school are asked to make writing assignment, they feel
reluctant to do that. Their results of writing English assignment are not as good as
other English language skills. The results show that from the standard minimum of
passing of the school, namely, 7.6, the average of the class only reached 5.0 in
writing. Compared with the other three skills, it was still unsatisfactory; speaking has
average score 6.6, reading 7.8, and listening, 7.7. This data was taken from the final
score of the students from the last whole semester. From the early observation, the
researcher concludes that one of the problems is caused by the using of a
conventional technique of teaching. This condition triggers boredom of the students
and they do not have any spirit to join the learning activity since it cannot increase the
students’ motivation for learning. Therefore, the teachers as the facilitators should
attempt to find the solution of the problem. They should change and develop their
teaching strategy in writing, so satisfaction from teaching and learning activities can
be obtained and students’ motivation can be increased.
Due to that condition, the researcher tries to find out a kind of technique that
can help students write sentences or a simple paragraph and motivate them to actively
participate in the writing activity. The researcher assumes that one of the good ways
of teaching writing is by using instructional media. Instructional media are important
3
in teaching and learning processes since they can enhance and promote learning and
support the teacher’s instruction.
There are many kinds of instructional media that can be used in the teaching
and learning processes. One of them is picture. According to Raimes (1983) in
Suryawan (2008: 5), pictures can be the basis for fairly mechanical controlled
compositions, sentence combining exercises, or sequencing of sentences, writing of
original dialogues, letters, reports, or essays.
Pictures as the instructional media are very useful for teaching English. One
of the roles of media is to attract the students’ attention and to deliver information
(Kasbollah, 1995). The use of pictures as a visual media in the teaching learning
process is intended to make the teaching learning more effective and efficient so that
the quality of learning outcomes can be improved. So, in teaching writing, the teacher
can use picture series to motivate the students to write and to give information for
students in controlled work, to help, to stimulate and to guide students to write a
paragraph.
Related to the use of pictures in teaching and learning writing have been
conducted by some other researchers. Rahmawati (2005), for example, conducted the
development of picture series to improve elementary school students' interest in
learning English. She concluded that the chalkboard is such kind of picture that
attract the students’ interest in learning English; and the students gave good responses
during the lesson. In line with Rahmawati, Zulfainah (2007) applied sequenced
pictures on the writing narrative ability of the first year students at SMAN 2 Batu.
4
She found that picture series of her research on the teaching of narrative writing
showed that the students achieve better performance in writing narration after being
prompted with sequenced pictures than before. The present research is similar to
Zulfainah’s research, that is, it relates to picture series to be applied in the teaching of
narrative writing, but there is a little difference. This study is applied in teaching of
procedure writing and this study takes SMK students as the object of the study.
SMK or vocational school for it is so different than general senior high. These
differences do not mean to downgrade the quality of one of them, but there some
characteristics of SMK which become points of benefits than SMA; First, SMK is
prepared for those who wants to either continue his study to a higher level of
education, university level, or seek a job, since in the SMK curriculum has more
practical study than theoretical which aims to create graduators who are ready to
compete in the job world. Second, since the orientation of the SMK curriculum is
prepared for workers, so the learning activity is dominated in job field than in the
class. The class is only used for giving the necessary materials for facing the job field.
Therefore, all the materials given to the students are mostly related to jobs and of
course English is not an exception, and that becomes the third benefit.
In this research, the researcher tries to implement the picture series media into
the teaching of procedure paragraph. Procedure paragraph is designed to describe
how something is achieved through a sequenced of actions or steps. It explain how
people perform different processes in a sequenced of steps (Bachtiar B. & Cicik K.,
2007: 34). To write a procedure paragraph, there are three important things should be
5
paid attention to. First, make sure that the steps in the process are complete.
Following a procedure whose steps are incomplete will fail to produce the expected
result. Second, present the steps in the right sequence. Finally, use correct transitional
words to indicate the sequence of the process you are writing (Scarry S. & Scary J.,
2011: 415). To make a good procedure paragraph, it would be better if the teachers
use picture series to make the steps clear, and the students will arrange the sentences
in a procedural order. The researcher believes that picture series is applicable for the
students in of the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan because it may guide, help and
encourage students to express their ideas, opinions, and thoughts onto paper.
Moreover, SMK students usually learn a lot of things about procedure of doing
something such as procedure to build computer, to install software, to cook, etc.
Based on the unsatisfactory condition of the teaching and learning of writing
skill and the consideration that pictures can be one of the useful instructional media in
the teaching and learning process, this research is to be conducted in order to find a
good way to improve the students’ writing skill. This research focuses on the
improving of the teaching of procedure paragraph writing using picture series.
6
1.2 Statement of Problem
Does picture series as a media improve students writing skill of the second
year at SMK PGRI Pandaan?
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to know whether picture series as a media
improves students writing skill of the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan or not.
1.4 Hypothesis of the Study
-Null hypothesis (Ho) : Picture series does not improve students writing skill
of the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan.
-Alternative hypothesis (Hi) : Picture series improves students writing skill of
the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan.
1.5 Significance of the Study
1. For the students
The students are motivated to write as they get new ideas from the picture
series given, therefore their vocabulary mastery will be improved as a result students’
English writing skill is improved.
7
2. For teachers
It can motivate teachers to find some new methods or media which are
appropriate in teaching writing. It also encourages the teachers to develop their
creativity to improve teaching learning process.
3. For future researcher
The researcher hopes this research can be used as a reference for other
researchers who wants to conduct a similar research with different topic.
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study
There are two variables that will be investigated in this research. Those are
dependent variable (students’ achievement of writing test after classroom activities)
and the independent variable (the picture series teaching strategy of writing). This
research is restricted to study the effectiveness of Picture series to improve students’
skill in writing procedure paragraph at SMK PGRI Pandaan.
1.7 Definition of the Key Terms
To avoid misunderstanding, the researcher presents definition of the key terms
used in this study.
-
Writing in this study refers to a process of putting ideas down on paper to
transform thoughts into words to sharpen main ideas and to give them
structure and coherent organization (Peha, 2003: 58)
8
-
Procedure/ process paragraph is designed to describe how something is
achieved through a sequenced of actions or steps. It explain how people
perform different processes in a sequenced of steps (Bachtiar B. & Cicik K.,
2007: 34).
-
Picture series in this study refers to series of pictures in which each has
certain stories that has strong correlation between one and another that is used
as media of teaching (Raimes in Suryawan, 2008: 5).
-
Effectiveness in this study refers to the degree to which objectives are
achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved (Microsoft ®
Encarta ® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved).
9
IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL OF THE SECOND YEAR
AT SMK PGRI PANDAAN
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to fulfill one of the requirements to achieve Sarjana
Degree in English Education
By:
YAYI WAHYU ILMILLAHDINI
09360147
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
2014
This thesis written by Yayi Wahyu Ilmillahdini was approved on April 30, 2014
By:
Advisor II,
Drs. Munash Fauzie A, M.M
Advisor I,
Puji Sumarsono, S.Pd, M.Ed
This thesis was defended in front of the examiners of the Faculty of Teacher
Training and Education of University of Muhammadiyah Malang
and accepted as one of the requirements to achieve
Sarjana Degree in English Education
on April 30,2014
Approved by:
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
University of Muhammadiyah Malang
Dean,
Dr. Poncojari Wahyono M. Kes
Examiners:
Signatures:
1. Riza Elfana, S.Pd, M.A
………………………
2. Wahyu Taufiq, S.Pd, M.Ed
………………………
3. Puji Sumarsono, S.Pd, M.Ed
………………………
4. Drs. Munash Fauzie A, M.M
………………………
MOTTO AND DEDICATION
“maka sesungguhnya bersama kesulitan ada kemudahan dan apabila kamu
sudah selesai (dari satu urusan) kerjakanlah dengan sungguh – sungguh
(urusan yang lain)” (Al-Insyirah: 5-8)
“saya tidak patah semangat, karena setiap usaha yang salah adalah usaha yang
maju” (Thomas Alfa Edison)
This thesis is dedicated to:
My beloved father and mother
My beloved sister
And my beloved friend
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillah, all Praise to Allah SWT, the Lord of Universe for blessing and
guiding that had been given to the researcher, so that she was able to finish this thesis.
The researcher would like to express her deepest gratitude to Mr. Puji Sumarsono M.
Ed, her first advisor and Mr. Munash Fauzie M.M, her second advisor for their suggestion,
patience, guidance, correction, and advice during the consultation to complete this thesis.
Moreover, the researcher wants to send her great thankfulness and deep appreciation
to her beloved parents, sisters (Puput, mbk Cincin, Dea), and my beloved (Rifky Apridianto
S.H, M.Hum)who have supported her morally and spiritually so that she can finish her thesis.
Special thank is also given to all her friends especially her friends in C1 class Kiki,
Tika, Manda, Agus Mawardi, Dino Sugiarto, Yessi, Uud, Desi, Fara, Mbk Ayu, Ghanes, Riva
and my beloved friends in the boarding house Mbak Depi, Mbk Iis, Mbk Ike, Ipit, and Dila
thank you for help, support, and motivation.
Malang, 29 April 2014
Yayi Wahyu Ilmillahdini
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Approval ............................................................................................................................ i
Legalization......................................................................................................................... ii
Motto and Dedication ......................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. iv
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. v
Table of Content ................................................................................................................. vi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study ................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of Problem................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Purpose of Study .......................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Hypothesis of the Study ............................................................................................... 7
1.5 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................. 7
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study .............................................................................. 8
1.7 Definition of the Key Terms ........................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Teaching Learning Process .......................................................................................... 9
2.2 Writing ......................................................................................................................... 10
2.1.1
The Teaching of Writing in EFL Class .......................................................... 12
2.3 Students’ Problem in Writing ...................................................................................... 13
2.4 Types of Writing .......................................................................................................... 15
2.5 Procedure Paragraph .................................................................................................... 17
2.6 Scoring Rubric of Procedure Paragraph ...................................................................... 19
2.7 Media ........................................................................................................................... 20
2.8 Picture Series .............................................................................................................. 20
2.8.1 Procedure of Using Picture Series ..................................................................... 22
2.9 The Advantages of Using Picture Series ..................................................................... 23
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design .......................................................................................................... 25
3.2 Population and Sample ................................................................................................ 26
3.3 Research Instrument .................................................................................................... 27
3.3.1
The Writing Test in Procedure Paragraph .................................................. 27
3.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 29
3.5 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Findings......................................................................................................................... 35
4.1.1 The Mean Scores of Pre test of Experimental and Control Group ..................... 35
4.1.2 The Mean Scores of Post test of Experimental and Control Group ................... 37
4.1.3 The Analysis ....................................................................................................... 39
4.2 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 46
5.2 Suggestions .................................................................................................................. 47
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II
APPENDIX III
APPENDIX IV
APPENDIX V
APPENDIX VI
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, M. & Anderson, K. 1997a. Text Types in English 1. South Yarra, Victoria:
MacMillan.
Ary, Donald. 2010. Introduction to Research in Education. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Bachtiar, & Cicik K. 2007. Pegangan Guru Bahasa Inggris. Klaten: Intan Pariwara.
Best, Khan. 2006. Research in Education. United States of America: Pearson Education Inc.
Broughton, G et al. 2003. Teaching English as a Foreign Language. London and New York:
Routledge.
Brown, Douglas. 2001.teaching by principles an interactive approach second edition.
California: Longman.
Departemen Pendidikan Nasional. 2006. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan. Jakarta:
Departemen Pendidikan Nasional.
Finocchiaro, Bonomo. 1973. The Foreign Language Learner. New York: Regents Publishing
Company.
Fraenkel, Wallen. 2009. Design and Evaluate Research in Education. Beth Media.
Harmer, Jeremy. 2004.How to Teach Writing. Essex: Longman.
Heaton, J.B. 1991. Writing English Language Tests. New York: Longman.
Jun, Zhang. 2008. A Comprehensive Review of Studies on Second Language Writing. Applied
Language Studies. Anhui University.
Kasbollah, K. 1995. Instructional Media for Young Learners of EFL. Malang: Universitas
Negeri Malang.
Meyers, Alan 2005. Gateways to Academic Writing: Effective Sentences Paragraph, and
Essays.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Nunan, D. 1999. Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle
Publisher.
Nunan, David.1991. Language Teaching Methodology. Sydney: Prentice Hall.
Oshima,Hogue. 2007. Introduction to Academy English. United States of America: Longman.
Raimes, Ann. 1983.Teachnique in Teaching Writing. Oxford: Oxford American English.
Richards, Jack C. & Willy A. Renandya. 2002. Methodology in Language Teaching.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schreiber, Asner-self. 2011. Educational Research. Library of Congress catalog in
Publication Data.
Suryawan, I. 2008. Improving the Ability of the Second Year Students of MTs Muhammadiyah
Wangon in Writing Recount Paragraph Using Picture Series. Unpublished Thesis.
State University of Malang.
Rahmawati, Dwi Prihatin. 2005. Using various pictures to improve elementary school
Students' interest in learning English. Unpublished Thesis.Muhammadiyah University
of Malang.
Riyanto. 2001. Peningkatan Kemampuan Menulis Paragraph Singkat Bahasa Inggris yang
Koheren dengan Menggunakan Pertanyaan Terstruktur, Siswa Kelas 3 SLTP Negeri 3
Palembang. Malang: Buletin Pelangi Pendidikan.
Wright, Andrew. 2004. Pictures for Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Zulfainah. 2007. The Effect of Using Sequenced Pictures on the Writing Narrative Ability of
the First Year Students at SMAN 2 Batu. Unpublished Thesis.Muhammadiyah
University of Malang.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This introduction presents and discusses the background of the study, the
research problem, the objective of the study, hypothesis of the study, the significance
of the study, the scope and limitation of the study, and the definition of the key terms.
1.1 Background of the Study
Mastering English as a foreign language is increasingly important in
globalization era. Due to the importance of mastering English, the Indonesian
government considers English as one of foreign language to be taught in school from
the elementary level up to the university level. The teaching and learning activities
should be oriented toward the mastery of four language skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing. The teachers should always make every effort to engage the
students in language activities using the language for communication. The objective
of teaching English is to enable students to communicate in English orally and in a
written form. Based on the 2006 School Based Curriculum, the objective of English
teaching is to enable students to master the four language skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing.
In addition, there is no doubt that writing is the most difficult skill for L2
learners to master. The difficulty lies not only in generating and organizing ideas, but
also in translating these ideas into readable text. The skills involved in writing are
1
highly complex. L2 writers have to pay attention to higher level skills of planning and
organizing as well as lower level skills of spelling, punctuation, word choice, and so
on. The difficulty becomes even more pronounced if their language proficiency is
weak (Richards & Renandya, 2002: 303).
L2 writing is a complex process of discovery which involves brainstorming,
multiple drafting, feedback practices, revision, and final editing. It is different from
L1 writing, because L2 writers have more than one language at their disposal (Wang
& Wen, 2002 in Jun, 2008:8).
According to Broughton et. al (2003: 116-117), there are four general
problems usually faced by L2 learners in English writing; First Mechanical problems
with the script of English. A great deal of the writing that occurs in the foreign
language classroom is not primarily concerned so much with developing writing
skills as with reinforcing the teaching of particular structures; Second, problems of
accuracy of English grammar and lexis. The poor knowledge possessed by the
students concerning the complicated rules of English especially if they are so
different from their L1 grammar makes them difficult to compose correct and good
sentences; Third, Problems of relating the style of writing to the demands of a
particular situation. Some students feel so difficult determine whether they have to
write by using narrative, recount, expository or others in expressing their ideas; The
last, Problems of developing ease and comfort in expressing what needs to be said.
This happens because the students lack of courage to do mistake in their writing.
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The problems faced above are not solely caused by the inability of the
students to write, but also by the inappropriate strategy implemented by the teacher in
the teaching and learning process. These conditions also happened in SMK PGRI
Pandaan. Based on the early observation conducted in January 2013, it shows that
every time the students of that school are asked to make writing assignment, they feel
reluctant to do that. Their results of writing English assignment are not as good as
other English language skills. The results show that from the standard minimum of
passing of the school, namely, 7.6, the average of the class only reached 5.0 in
writing. Compared with the other three skills, it was still unsatisfactory; speaking has
average score 6.6, reading 7.8, and listening, 7.7. This data was taken from the final
score of the students from the last whole semester. From the early observation, the
researcher concludes that one of the problems is caused by the using of a
conventional technique of teaching. This condition triggers boredom of the students
and they do not have any spirit to join the learning activity since it cannot increase the
students’ motivation for learning. Therefore, the teachers as the facilitators should
attempt to find the solution of the problem. They should change and develop their
teaching strategy in writing, so satisfaction from teaching and learning activities can
be obtained and students’ motivation can be increased.
Due to that condition, the researcher tries to find out a kind of technique that
can help students write sentences or a simple paragraph and motivate them to actively
participate in the writing activity. The researcher assumes that one of the good ways
of teaching writing is by using instructional media. Instructional media are important
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in teaching and learning processes since they can enhance and promote learning and
support the teacher’s instruction.
There are many kinds of instructional media that can be used in the teaching
and learning processes. One of them is picture. According to Raimes (1983) in
Suryawan (2008: 5), pictures can be the basis for fairly mechanical controlled
compositions, sentence combining exercises, or sequencing of sentences, writing of
original dialogues, letters, reports, or essays.
Pictures as the instructional media are very useful for teaching English. One
of the roles of media is to attract the students’ attention and to deliver information
(Kasbollah, 1995). The use of pictures as a visual media in the teaching learning
process is intended to make the teaching learning more effective and efficient so that
the quality of learning outcomes can be improved. So, in teaching writing, the teacher
can use picture series to motivate the students to write and to give information for
students in controlled work, to help, to stimulate and to guide students to write a
paragraph.
Related to the use of pictures in teaching and learning writing have been
conducted by some other researchers. Rahmawati (2005), for example, conducted the
development of picture series to improve elementary school students' interest in
learning English. She concluded that the chalkboard is such kind of picture that
attract the students’ interest in learning English; and the students gave good responses
during the lesson. In line with Rahmawati, Zulfainah (2007) applied sequenced
pictures on the writing narrative ability of the first year students at SMAN 2 Batu.
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She found that picture series of her research on the teaching of narrative writing
showed that the students achieve better performance in writing narration after being
prompted with sequenced pictures than before. The present research is similar to
Zulfainah’s research, that is, it relates to picture series to be applied in the teaching of
narrative writing, but there is a little difference. This study is applied in teaching of
procedure writing and this study takes SMK students as the object of the study.
SMK or vocational school for it is so different than general senior high. These
differences do not mean to downgrade the quality of one of them, but there some
characteristics of SMK which become points of benefits than SMA; First, SMK is
prepared for those who wants to either continue his study to a higher level of
education, university level, or seek a job, since in the SMK curriculum has more
practical study than theoretical which aims to create graduators who are ready to
compete in the job world. Second, since the orientation of the SMK curriculum is
prepared for workers, so the learning activity is dominated in job field than in the
class. The class is only used for giving the necessary materials for facing the job field.
Therefore, all the materials given to the students are mostly related to jobs and of
course English is not an exception, and that becomes the third benefit.
In this research, the researcher tries to implement the picture series media into
the teaching of procedure paragraph. Procedure paragraph is designed to describe
how something is achieved through a sequenced of actions or steps. It explain how
people perform different processes in a sequenced of steps (Bachtiar B. & Cicik K.,
2007: 34). To write a procedure paragraph, there are three important things should be
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paid attention to. First, make sure that the steps in the process are complete.
Following a procedure whose steps are incomplete will fail to produce the expected
result. Second, present the steps in the right sequence. Finally, use correct transitional
words to indicate the sequence of the process you are writing (Scarry S. & Scary J.,
2011: 415). To make a good procedure paragraph, it would be better if the teachers
use picture series to make the steps clear, and the students will arrange the sentences
in a procedural order. The researcher believes that picture series is applicable for the
students in of the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan because it may guide, help and
encourage students to express their ideas, opinions, and thoughts onto paper.
Moreover, SMK students usually learn a lot of things about procedure of doing
something such as procedure to build computer, to install software, to cook, etc.
Based on the unsatisfactory condition of the teaching and learning of writing
skill and the consideration that pictures can be one of the useful instructional media in
the teaching and learning process, this research is to be conducted in order to find a
good way to improve the students’ writing skill. This research focuses on the
improving of the teaching of procedure paragraph writing using picture series.
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1.2 Statement of Problem
Does picture series as a media improve students writing skill of the second
year at SMK PGRI Pandaan?
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to know whether picture series as a media
improves students writing skill of the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan or not.
1.4 Hypothesis of the Study
-Null hypothesis (Ho) : Picture series does not improve students writing skill
of the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan.
-Alternative hypothesis (Hi) : Picture series improves students writing skill of
the second year at SMK PGRI Pandaan.
1.5 Significance of the Study
1. For the students
The students are motivated to write as they get new ideas from the picture
series given, therefore their vocabulary mastery will be improved as a result students’
English writing skill is improved.
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2. For teachers
It can motivate teachers to find some new methods or media which are
appropriate in teaching writing. It also encourages the teachers to develop their
creativity to improve teaching learning process.
3. For future researcher
The researcher hopes this research can be used as a reference for other
researchers who wants to conduct a similar research with different topic.
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study
There are two variables that will be investigated in this research. Those are
dependent variable (students’ achievement of writing test after classroom activities)
and the independent variable (the picture series teaching strategy of writing). This
research is restricted to study the effectiveness of Picture series to improve students’
skill in writing procedure paragraph at SMK PGRI Pandaan.
1.7 Definition of the Key Terms
To avoid misunderstanding, the researcher presents definition of the key terms
used in this study.
-
Writing in this study refers to a process of putting ideas down on paper to
transform thoughts into words to sharpen main ideas and to give them
structure and coherent organization (Peha, 2003: 58)
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-
Procedure/ process paragraph is designed to describe how something is
achieved through a sequenced of actions or steps. It explain how people
perform different processes in a sequenced of steps (Bachtiar B. & Cicik K.,
2007: 34).
-
Picture series in this study refers to series of pictures in which each has
certain stories that has strong correlation between one and another that is used
as media of teaching (Raimes in Suryawan, 2008: 5).
-
Effectiveness in this study refers to the degree to which objectives are
achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved (Microsoft ®
Encarta ® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved).
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