Reasons for Choosing the Topic

5.2 Reasons for Choosing the Topic

According to school-based curriculum, grammar is taught as a secondary competence which is included in four skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It means that grammar is not the main material that should be mastered by students although it is a crucial factor in studying English. Grammar is learnt along with dialog transactional and interpersonal conversation, short functional text, and monolog text. Unfortunately, sometimes students face some problems in studying grammar. Teaching method helps the teacher and students to solve this problem. In this case, I choose single slot substitution drills as the method. To specify, I have chosen simple present tense as the object of the study. Therefore, some reasons for choosing the topics are given. First, single slot substitution drills which are used as a teaching technique is a kind of drills in audio-lingual method. According to Larsen- Freeman 2000: 48 in single slot substitution drills the teacher says a line, usually from the dialog. By using this technique, students will learn grammar through dialog. Dialog is closely related to the students‘ daily life. Students can express their feeling, opinion, and thoughts using dialog. So, I assume that single slot substitution drills can be used as an alternative technique in teaching simple present tense. Second, single slot substitution drills can be easily applied to a grammar orally and directly because Larsen-Freeman 2000: 48 states that in single slot substitution drills the teacher says a word or a phrase called the cue. The students repeat the line the teacher has given them, substituting the cue into the line and its proper place. Considering the time allotment for English subject in junior high school is quite limited, it is important to choose an effective technique. What I mean as an effective technique is that the teachers do not take a lot of time in teaching materials of study. In addition, the technique should ease the students to learn the material. I believe that single slot substitution drills fulfill those requirements. I hope after the treatment by using single slot substitution drills, the students will try to explore the use of this technique in studying grammar. Third, I choose simple present tense as an ability that is treated because I assume that the seventh grade students‘ mastery in using simple present tense, especially in SMP Negeri 1 Bawang, needs to be developed. Forth, I have chosen simple present tense as an object of the study because based on School-Based Curriculum, the seventh grade students of junior high school have to master grammar, including simple present tense as a secondary competence. Fifth, by using single slot substitution drills, I expect that the result of this study will be useful for both the teacher and readers to improve their ability in teaching, especially in the use of teaching technique. Sixth, I hope that the result of this study will be a motivation and variation for the students in learning English. Finally, it will lead them to a better result of studying English in general.

1.3 Statement of the Problems