THE USE OF ENGLISH COMIC TO IMPROVE THE STORYTELLING ABILITY OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS AT YASPA ENGLISH TRAINING (YET) TRENGGALEK

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INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents background of the study, statement of the problem, hypothesis, and purpose of the study, significance of the study, scope and limitation, and definition of key terms.

1.1 Background of the Study

Humans are social creatures that cannot fulfill their needs themselves. Therefore, humans need communication in order to live. In this case, humans need a means of communication which is called language. Communication is the exchange of information through spoken and written language and non-verbal language. How well you understand the communication process affects your ability to send or to receive message effectively (Hulbert, 1991:12). Therefore, language is learnt in order to be utilized in interaction, conversation, and communication with it (Harmer, 1998:32).

English is an international language that is widely-used in the world. English is considered one of the most important languages since it deals with most aspects of human lives including culture, technology, science, economy, etc. Moreover, English becomes dominant whether in the national or in the international media, such as Radio, TV, magazines, newspaper, and internet.

In Indonesia, English is taught in schools as a foreign language. However, in practice, the teaching and learning of English in Indonesia has some weaknesses. According to Setyadi (2012)” teachers in Indonesia mainly focus on teaching grammar,

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writing, and reading, but they seldom teach listening and speaking”. As a result, the students master reading and writing to pass the final examination, but they lack of speaking ability and just learn English from formal schools without practicing it in the real life. Many students study English only because they have to! English is a part of school curriculum because of a decision has been taken by someone in authority that it should be so (Harmer, 1998: 2).

Some personal observations have been conducted at Yaspa English Training Course. In this Training course, it was found that the students felt ashamed if the teacher asked them to speak up even in answering the teacher’s simple question although they knew the answer. Mostly the students kept silent when the teacher started asking them questions. It seemed that they were really hard to speak although they mastered language component such as tenses. “Can we say that we know a language if we are unable to speak it?” (Ball, 1960:33). Therefore students are expected to master not only language components but also language skills including speaking in order to build good communication, at least for their daily conversation.

For speaking class, the materials given were almost similar from time to time. The students were usually given some dialogues whose topics dealing with daily life, environment, sport, technology, science, and other topics. The teacher used listen and repeat technique to make students understand the dialogues and to improve their vocabulary and their fluency in speaking English. They repeated the dialogues according to teacher’s instruction. Then, the students had to memorize the dialogues and present

them in front of the class in pairs or monologue to increase the students’ confidence in speaking English. However, although at first the students were enthusiastic to follow this activity, many of them were discouraged when they had to memorize long dialogues and present them in front of the class orally. They were eventually reluctant to join this class and decided not to come to the class.

Facing those phenomena, it is concluded that the reason why students are more passive on speaking is because they feel bored with the teaching and learning technique used by their teacher, which is similar from time to time. Suyanto (2007: 18) states that young learners tend to get bored easily due to their short attention and concentration span.

Comic could be one of good media that is used in teaching speaking. Comic could attract the students’ attention because mostly the students at Yaspa English Training like reading a comic. Thus, it is expected that the use of English comic can enrich the students’ experience while studying English. A previous study conducted by David (2011) found that the use of comic in teaching speaking is effective to improve the students’ speaking skill in telling a recount text by improving the students’ interest in learning English. Thus, through comic as a medium, the students of Yaspa are expected to have a new spirit in learning English, especially in speaking activity.

There are many kinds of techniques in teaching speaking. One of the techniques in teaching speaking is storytelling. In this study, storytelling in teaching apeaking is used because it has more values than just common oral presentations in speaking class. The students have their style to present what they have read from a comic. They can use

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gesture to represent the characters in the comic and tell riddles or jokes (Kayi, 2006). Moreover, If the students feel ashamed in acting through the body language, at least they can express their ideas and feelings of the story freely.

The previous researcher, Royanti, (2007) stated that using English comic as a means for teaching story retelling could be very interesting for the students. The students will be active as participants and have more chances to express their minds, emotions, feelings and attitudes. The difference between Royanti’s and this study is in the activity that is being taught, namely story retelling and storytelling.

The comic that is used in this study has funny story. The comic is not only funny but also ridiculous for the readers, so it may entertain the readers. The vocabulary used in the story is familiar with less difficult words. The expression used in the dialogue is easy and understandable. Thus, it is expected that the students would be interested with the comic and help the students improve their speaking ability because they will keep in their mind what the story tells about, even in sequence, the first up to the end.

Most of the students at YASPA English Training Course are young learners: elementary and junior high school students, so it is expected that learning English through comic would be interesting, relaxing, enjoyable, and encouraging students to speak up. Harmer (1998: 52) states that a good context of learning should be interesting for the students. It does not mean that the context that the students see or hear has to be wildly funny or incredibly inventive, but the students should at least want to see or hear the information. Besides, comic can be used not only in teaching speaking, but also

writing. They can also be used to teach a variety of language matters such as vocabulary, pronunciation, (McKeown & Beck, 2004).

The use of English comic to improve students’ speaking skill at Yaspa English Training Course is chosen because the students should be encouraged to use the language orally to communicate ideas, feelings, and opinions without much guidance. The students should be taught by using a technique that is more refreshing and interesting. Therefore, the choice of English comic as the media and storytelling as the technique of teaching is used in this study.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Regarding the background of the study, the problem of this study is stated as follows:

 Could the use of English comic improve the storytelling ability of second year students at YASPA English Training (YET) Course, Trenggalek?

1.3 Hypothesis

The hypotheses employed in this study are H1 and H0, each of which is stated

as follows:

(H1) The use of English comic improves the storytelling ability of students at

Yaspa English Training (YET) Course, Trenggalek.

(H0) The use of English comic does not improve the storytelling ability of

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1.4 Purpose of the Study

This study is aimed to investigate whether the use of English comic could improve the storytelling ability of students at YASPA English Training (YET) Course, Trenggalek.

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is expected to be able to enrich the teaching techniques of YASPA English Training teachers and English teachers in general as well, particularly in teaching speaking. Hopefully, the students of Yaspa English Training will be more motivated in learning English especially speaking skill and other skills as well. It is also hoped that future researchers will conduct similar researches on speaking in other settings and learning institutions to know whether or not the storytelling technique can be used in order to solve the students’ speaking ability problems.

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study involves one class at YASPA English Training (YET) Course, Trenggalek consisting of second graders of Junior High School who are around 13 – 14 years old. This class was chosen because, from personal observations, it was found that the students were bored with the teaching technique used by the teacher. The choice of comic, which has funny story with less difficult words, is appropriate to the level of second grader which are able to convey the message from the comic. The scope of this study is English comic as a media in a storytelling activity of speaking class. It is limited on the use of funny story comic entitled “Tinkle Digest” in a

storytelling class of Yaspa English Training (YET). 1.7Definition of Key Terms

The aim of defining key terms is to avoid the misunderstanding that may exist in this study. The terms, which are needed to be defined, are as follows:

 Comic

A pictorial story in magazines, or books that is usually easy to understand and funny (Nashir, 2002: 22).

 Teaching technique

Implementation of methods which actually take place in classroom. It is particular trick, strategy, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective (Anthony 1963, in Mackenzie, 2006).

 Storytelling

The art or craft of narration of stories in verse and or prose, as performed or led by one person before a live audience (Pellowski, 1997).

 Storytelling Ability

A skill to tell a story in words, gesture, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment.(Pellowski, 1997)

 Yaspa English Training

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THE USE OF ENGLISH COMIC TO IMPROVE THE STORYTELLING ABILITY OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS AT YASPA

ENGLISH TRAINING (YET) TRENGGALEK

THESIS

This thesis is submitted to meet one of the requirements to

achieve Sarjana Degree in English Education

By:

INTI ROFINGAH

08360235

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG

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W hen you ar e t old t o make r oom in t he assemblies, (spr ead out and) make r oom. Allah will give you r oom (f r om His Mer cy). And when you ar e t old t o r ise up (f or pr ayer s, or f or any ot her good deed), r ise up. Allah will ex alt

in degr ee t hose of you who believe, and t hose who have been gr ant ed knowledge. And Allah is W ell-Acquaint ed wit h what you do.

(Q S. Al-Muj adilah: 11)

DEDI CATI ON: I dedicat ed t his t hesis t o: My beloved par ent s My siblings My big f amily

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THE USE OF ENGLISH COMIC TO IMPROVE THE STORYTELLING ABILITY OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS AT YASPA ENGLISH

TRAINING (YET) TRENGGLEK

ABSTRACT

The objective of the study was to find out whether or not English comic could improve the students’ ability in storytelling. This study covered the second grade students of Yaspa English Training (YET) in Trenggalek. This study was conducted at YET because the teacher used the similar teaching technique from time to time. Therefore, the researcher tried to use English comic as a medium to attract the students’ interest in learning speaking, mainly in storytelling activity.

To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher conducted a quantitative method in the form of quasi experimental research with non-randomized control group, pre-test and posttest control designs. The total number of sample in this study was 30 students. The data were collected through speaking test, evaluation rubric for storytelling, and questionnaire.

In solving the problems, the researcher carried out an experimental study using statistical method called t-test. The researcher used two groups: experiment group and control group. In the control group the researcher used written text story, while in the experiment group, the researcher used English comic.

The computation result of t-test was 4.50. The critical value of t was 2.04 for α = 5% and df = 28. Because t value was higher than the critical value (4.50>2.04), it could be concluded that there was significant difference in the achievement between the students who were taught using comic and students who were taught without using comic and it indicated that English comic could improve the students’ ability in storytelling.

Key words: English comic, storytelling, Yaspa English Training

Advisor I The researcher

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Praise to God, Allah SWT, the Almighty and Merciful. By his guidance and blessing, the writer can finish writing this thesis. May Sholawat and Salam will always given to the beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW who has guided us from the darkness to the lightness with the true religion, namely Islam.

The writer would like to give her deepest gratitude to Mr. Mas’udi, M.Ed as her first advisor and Ms. Dian Inayati, M.Ed as her second advisor, for their patience, willingness, and valuable guidance as well as suggestion for the completion of this thesis.

She also would like to give her deepest thanks to Mr and Mrs. Saechoni who have helped her in completing this thesis, and also the students of Yaspa English Training for their willingness as her respondents in the process of collecting the data. The writer also would like to thank to her friends who have given their support, care, pray, and love so that she can finish this thesis.

Malang, May 2, 2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPROVAL...i

LEGALIZATION...ii

MOTTO AND DEDICATION...iii

ABSTRACT...iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...v

TABLE OF CONTENT...vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION... 1

1.1 Background of the Study...1

1.2 Statement of Problem...5

1.3 Hypothesis...5

1.4 Purpose of the Study...6

1.5 Significance of the Study...6

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study...6

1.7 Definition of Key Terms...7

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...8

2.1 The Teaching of Speaking...8

2.2 Problem in Teaching Speaking...10

2.3 Comic as Instructional Medium...12

2.3.1 Strengths of Comic in Education...15

2.4 Storytelling as a Teaching Technique...17

2.4.1 Benefits of Using Storytelling in Classroom Activity...18

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CHAPETR III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...24

3.1 Research Design...24

3.2 Population and Sample...25

3.3 Research Instrument...27

3.4 Research Procedure...32

3.5 Data Collection ...38

3.6 Data Analysis...38

CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND DISCUSSION...41

4.1 Research Finding...41

4.1.1 The Result of Pre-test...41

4.1.2 The Result of Post-test...42

4.2 The Result of Hypothesis Testing...43

4.3 Evaluation Rubric for Storytelling………..……….44

4.4 Discussion……….………...46

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION...48

5.1 Conclusion...48

5.2 Suggestion...48

REFFERENCES...50 APPENDIX

REFERENCES

Arikunto, S, Suhardjono, Supardi. 2008. Penelitian Tndakan Kelas. Jakarta: PT. Bumi Aksara

Ary, Donald. 2010. Introduction to Research in Education. Printed in Canada Ayuningtyas, D. 2008. Using Comic to improve the students’ storytelling at SMP 1

Bojong-pekalongan. Published thesis. Semarang: Faculty of Langue and Arts. Semarang: State University of Semarang.

Ball, N. J. 1960. Conversational English an Analysis of Contemporary spoken English for Foreign Students. London: Longmans, Green, and Co LTD. Best, J. W. 1981. Research in Education (4th edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Inc.

Brown, H. D. 2001. Teaching by Principles an Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Second Edition. NY: Adison Wesley Longman Inc.

Dudley, Berice. 1997. “What is Storytelling. Http://australianstorytelling.org.au. Australian Strytelling, n.d. Web. Accessed on semptember 2012.

Harmer, J. 1998. The Practice of English Language Teaching. NY: Longman Inc. Hronova, Katerina. 2011. Storytelling in Classroom. Pubished thesis. University of

Cezch

Hulbert, J. E. 1991. Effective Communication for Today. Ninth Edition. Ohio: South Western Co.

Kayi, H. 2006. Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language. (Online: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi TeachingSpeaking.html, accessed on August 3, 2012.

Lawtie, F. 2004. Teaching Speaking Skill to Overcoming Classroom Problems. (Online: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/teaching-speaking-skills-2-overcoming-classroom-problems, accessed on August 3, 2012). McCloud, Scout. 1993. The Invisible Art: Understanding Comics. Northampton MA

New York: Harper and Row Publisher.

Nashir, Setiawan. 2002. Menatar Panji Komik. Jakarta : Compas

Nunan, David. 1993. Research Method in Language Learning. Cambridge: University Press.

Pellowski, Anne.1997. The World of Storytelling. New York: Bowker

Sanjaya, Wina. 2008. Perencanaan dan Desain Sistem Pembelajaran. Jakarta: Kencana Pernada Media Group.

Shumin, K. 1997. Factors to Consider: Developing Adult EFL Students’ Speaking Ability. Forum. (Online: vol 35. No. 3

(http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vol35/no3/p.8.htm) accessed on July 15,

2012).

Sudjana, Nana dan Rifai, Ahmad. Drs. 2002. Media Pengajaran. Bandung: Sinar Baru Algensindo.

Sudrajat, A. 2008. Media Pembelajaran.

(Online:

http://akhmadsudrajat.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/media-pembelajaran/, accessed on June 19, 2012).

Ur, P. 1996. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yamin, M. & Ansari, B.I . 2008. Taktik Mengembangkan Kemampuan Individual Siswa. Jakarta: Gaung Persada Press.

Comics in the Classroom.

(http://www.teachingscomics.org/curriculum/chronicle.php. Accessed on august 2012)

Yang Gene -Comics in Education 2003

v

ABILITY OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS AT YASPA ENGLISH TRAINING (YET) TRENGGLEK

ABSTRACT

The objective of the study was to find out whether or not English comic could improve the students’ ability in storytelling. This study covered the second grade students of Yaspa English Training (YET) in Trenggalek. This study was conducted at YET because the teacher used the similar teaching technique from time to time. Therefore, the researcher tried to use English comic as a medium to attract the students’ interest in learning speaking, mainly in storytelling activity.

To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher conducted a quantitative method in the form of quasi experimental research with non-randomized control group, pre-test and posttest control designs. The total number of sample in this study was 30 students. The data were collected through speaking test, evaluation rubric for storytelling, and questionnaire.

In solving the problems, the researcher carried out an experimental study using statistical method called t-test. The researcher used two groups: experiment group and control group. In the control group the researcher used written text story, while in the experiment group, the researcher used English comic.

The computation result of t-test was 4.50. The critical value of t was 2.04 for α = 5% and df = 28. Because t value was higher than the critical value (4.50>2.04), it could be concluded that there was significant difference in the achievement between the students who were taught using comic and students who were taught without using comic and it indicated that English comic could improve the students’ ability in storytelling.

Key words: English comic, storytelling, Yaspa English Training

Advisor I The researcher

vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Praise to God, Allah SWT, the Almighty and Merciful. By his guidance and blessing, the writer can finish writing this thesis. May Sholawat and Salam will always given to the beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW who has guided us from the darkness to the lightness with the true religion, namely Islam.

The writer would like to give her deepest gratitude to Mr. Mas’udi, M.Ed as her first advisor and Ms. Dian Inayati, M.Ed as her second advisor, for their patience, willingness, and valuable guidance as well as suggestion for the completion of this thesis.

She also would like to give her deepest thanks to Mr and Mrs. Saechoni who have helped her in completing this thesis, and also the students of Yaspa English Training for their willingness as her respondents in the process of collecting the data. The writer also would like to thank to her friends who have given their support, care, pray, and love so that she can finish this thesis.

Malang, May 2, 2013

vii

APPROVAL...i

LEGALIZATION...ii

MOTTO AND DEDICATION...iii

ABSTRACT...iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...v

TABLE OF CONTENT...vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION... 1

1.1 Background of the Study...1

1.2 Statement of Problem...5

1.3 Hypothesis...5

1.4 Purpose of the Study...6

1.5 Significance of the Study...6

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study...6

1.7 Definition of Key Terms...7

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...8

2.1 The Teaching of Speaking...8

2.2 Problem in Teaching Speaking...10

2.3 Comic as Instructional Medium...12

2.3.1 Strengths of Comic in Education...15

2.4 Storytelling as a Teaching Technique...17

2.4.1 Benefits of Using Storytelling in Classroom Activity...18

viii

2.6 Review of Previous Study...22

CHAPETR III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...24

3.1 Research Design...24

3.2 Population and Sample...25

3.3 Research Instrument...27

3.4 Research Procedure...32

3.5 Data Collection ...38

3.6 Data Analysis...38

CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND DISCUSSION...41

4.1 Research Finding...41

4.1.1 The Result of Pre-test...41

4.1.2 The Result of Post-test...42

4.2 The Result of Hypothesis Testing...43

4.3 Evaluation Rubric for Storytelling………..……….44

4.4 Discussion……….………...46

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION...48

5.1 Conclusion...48

5.2 Suggestion...48

REFFERENCES...50 APPENDIX

Arikunto, S, Suhardjono, Supardi. 2008. Penelitian Tndakan Kelas. Jakarta: PT. Bumi Aksara

Ary, Donald. 2010. Introduction to Research in Education. Printed in Canada Ayuningtyas, D. 2008. Using Comic to improve the students’ storytelling at SMP 1

Bojong-pekalongan. Published thesis. Semarang: Faculty of Langue and Arts. Semarang: State University of Semarang.

Ball, N. J. 1960. Conversational English an Analysis of Contemporary spoken English for Foreign Students. London: Longmans, Green, and Co LTD. Best, J. W. 1981. Research in Education (4th edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Inc.

Brown, H. D. 2001. Teaching by Principles an Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Second Edition. NY: Adison Wesley Longman Inc.

Dudley, Berice. 1997. “What is Storytelling. Http://australianstorytelling.org.au. Australian Strytelling, n.d. Web. Accessed on semptember 2012.

Harmer, J. 1998. The Practice of English Language Teaching. NY: Longman Inc. Hronova, Katerina. 2011. Storytelling in Classroom. Pubished thesis. University of

Cezch

Hulbert, J. E. 1991. Effective Communication for Today. Ninth Edition. Ohio: South Western Co.

Kayi, H. 2006. Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language. (Online: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi TeachingSpeaking.html, accessed on August 3, 2012.

Lawtie, F. 2004. Teaching Speaking Skill to Overcoming Classroom Problems. (Online: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/teaching-speaking-skills-2-overcoming-classroom-problems, accessed on August 3, 2012). McCloud, Scout. 1993. The Invisible Art: Understanding Comics. Northampton MA

Naremore, R. C. and Hopper, R. 1990. Children Learning Language. Third Edition. New York: Harper and Row Publisher.

Nashir, Setiawan. 2002. Menatar Panji Komik. Jakarta : Compas

Nunan, David. 1993. Research Method in Language Learning. Cambridge: University Press.

Pellowski, Anne.1997. The World of Storytelling. New York: Bowker

Sanjaya, Wina. 2008. Perencanaan dan Desain Sistem Pembelajaran. Jakarta: Kencana Pernada Media Group.

Shumin, K. 1997. Factors to Consider: Developing Adult EFL Students’ Speaking Ability. Forum. (Online: vol 35. No. 3

(http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vol35/no3/p.8.htm) accessed on July 15, 2012).

Sudjana, Nana dan Rifai, Ahmad. Drs. 2002. Media Pengajaran. Bandung: Sinar Baru Algensindo.

Sudrajat, A. 2008. Media Pembelajaran.

(Online: http://akhmadsudrajat.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/media-pembelajaran/, accessed on June 19, 2012).

Ur, P. 1996. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yamin, M. & Ansari, B.I . 2008. Taktik Mengembangkan Kemampuan Individual Siswa. Jakarta: Gaung Persada Press.

Comics in the Classroom.

(http://www.teachingscomics.org/curriculum/chronicle.php. Accessed on august 2012)

Yang Gene -Comics in Education 2003