Even though they are from the same grade secondary level, but they are characteristically different. As stated in the Act of the Republic of Indonesia on
National Education Systemthat students from general school are prepared for high education, and vocational students are prepared to work. Meanwhile students from
Islamic based school are required to have religious knowledge.
5
MA student has lesson burden more than SMA because their focus is not only general lesson, but
also religious subject. According to Ministry of religious affair, MA is a school which Islamic lesson is the main subject learned beside general lessons.
6
Thus, automatically their focus is not only in general subject, but religious subject
cannot be overlooked. Based on those different characteristic, each school has different
student who has different ability and language level. The students’ differences will be an obstacle in learning process, and it influences their
achievement. This statement supported by the updated research found on the book What
Works in Schools indicates that effective schools generally have fairly substantial impact on student achievement “the finding from studies that use appropriate
students achievement measure provide strong evidence for the differential effectiveness of school; differences in school characteristics do contribute to
differences in achievement”.
7
Based on the description above, the writer is interested in analysing the students’ educational background and itsinfluences on students’achievement in
learning English. This research is conducted in the second and fifthsemester students of English Education Department at State Islamic University of Syarif
Hidayatullah Jakarta.
5
Act of the Republic of Indonesia on National Education System Number 20, Year 2003, p. 44
6
Haidar Putra Daulay, Pendidikan Islam Dalam System Pendidikan National di Indonesia Jakarta: Kencana, 2004, p. 55.
7
Marzano, op. cit., p. 7.
B. Identification of the problems
Based on the explanation above, the writer is interested in analysing whether educational background of second semester and fifth semester students
of English Education Deapartment influences their achievement in learning English?
C. Limitation of Study
The writer limits the problem on analyzing educational background of secondand fifth semester students of English Education Department especially students who
have graduated from SMA and MA, and its related to their achievement in learning English.
D. The Formulation of the Study
Based on the description above, the writer formulates the study that is discussed on the Skripsi is: “Does the students’ educational background, especially from
SMA and MA, influence their English learningachievement?
E. The Objective of Study
The writer wants to know whether students’ education background influences or
not on students’ achievement in learning English.
F. The Significance of the Study
The results of this research are expected to give contribution to: a.
The Department of English Education The writer expects that the research can contribute to the department of
English education to determine what to do with the students from different
educational background, or determine what educational background is appropriate with English major to maximize
students’ potential in learning English.
b.Further researchers The result of this study is expected to be used as reference for the next
researchers who are interested in developing this study.
7
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Language
Communication is very importance for us. The ability in which we develop an efficient and effective communication system has a significant effect on the quality of our
life. Developing an efficient and effective communication system is by mastering the language as a medium to communicate. As stated by Broughton and friends that “from
babyhood onwards, everybody starts and never ceases to learn how to communicate effectively and how to respond to other
people’s communications. Some people are better at communicating than others, but every normal human being learns to communicate
through language”.
1
Language has a central role in intellectual, social, and emotional developments of students and it is one of the tools in succeeding to learn some studies. As stated by
Bartlett and Burton that “As language is such an important part of our means of communication the ability to use and understand language will be a significant factor in
success in educa tion”.
2
In addition Ciccarelli said “language is a system for combining symbols such as words so that an infinite number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose
of communicating with others. Language allows people not only to communicate with one another but also to represent their own internal mental activity. In other words,
language is a very important part of how people think”.
3
Amanda also stated that “language is a fundamental part of how humans interact with each other and the
environment around them. We use language to understand and learn about the world. Without language, it might have been impossible for humans to develop an advanced
civilization”.
4
From explanation above, the writer agrees that language is used, developed, and shared by the human being as a part of live. As a nature of live, people need to interact
1
Geoffrey Broughton. et.al., Teaching English as a Foreign Language, 2
nd
ed, London and New York: Taylor Francis e-Library, 2003,
p. 30.
2
Stave Bartlett and Diana Burton, Introduction to Educational Studies, London: SAGE Publications, 2007, p. 151.
3
Saundra K. Ciccarelli, Psychology, New Jersey: Person Education, Inc., 2009, p. 296.
4
Amanda A. Sleeper, Speech and Language, New York: Chelsea House, 2007, p. 1.
among others through communication, and language is a medium to communicate. Thus language has important role in the life to express idea, opinion, thought, and socialize
among human being. Through language, people can develop relationship, learn such as culture, knowledge, and discover the world.
The language that has important role in the international world is English. It cannot be avoided that English is the most widely spoken language in the world.
The spread of English all over the world was very fast. The higher economical growing of English people and the successful of colonization, made many people
relied on English as common language used for communication in the global world. No matter as first, second or foreign language.
As stated by Meyer: English is currently the most widely spoken language in the world.
Mandarin Chinese may have more speakers, but no language is spoken in more parts of the world than the English language. The global reach of English is one
reason the language has more non-native speakers than native speaker. The popularity of English, it must be emphasized, has little to do with the languge
itself, and more to do with geopolitical considerations: the initial spread of English world-wide as a consequence of British colonization, and the rise of
the twenty century of the United States as an economic and political power in the world.
5
In addition, Harmer stated, “although English is not the language with the largest number of native or first language speaker, it has become a lingua franca.
A lingua franca can be defined as a language widely adopted for communication between two s
peakers whose native language are different from each other’s and where one or both speaker are using it as second language”.
6
Thus, as a lingua franca, English has important role in global world that is used to communicate in the international relationship. In More than Native
Speaker book mentioned “the growing role of English as the world’s international
language make its mastery especially important in a world brought ever closer together by globalization”.
7
Again this book mentioned that: …learning English means developing the ability to understand and interact
with a universe that is largely inaccessible to those who don’t know English.
5
Meyer op. cit., p. 1.
6
Jeremy Harmer, The practice of English Language Teaching, 3
rd
ed, Harlow: Person Education Limited, 2001, p. 1.
7
Ellen Garshick ed., More Than a Native Speaker, Arlington: TESOL, Inc., 2006, p. 6.
