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a slower rate; however, refinement of these skills can certainly be reinforced. http:ezinearticles.comEnglish-Teaching-Strategies-Especially-for-Teacher
Based on the explanation about characteristics of adolescents above, I concludes that the age of students in junior high school has a period of changing
from children to adult. So, they need something special task in education. School and teachers should provide opportunities for them to explore and experiment in a
stable and supportive atmospheres, because they learn new experience, new role, and this range of age is one of the most challenging times in life. They also like to
be encouraged to respond to the texts and situation with their own thought and experiences, rather than just by answering questions and doing abstract learning
activities. The teachers have to give the students tasks that they are able to do.
2.4 Teaching English Spelling in Junior High School
There are some general meanings of spelling: 1
Spelling is the forming of words through the traditional arrangement of letters. Mercer and Mercer, 1989:412
2 Spelling and pronunciation are relevant only to written English, which is itself
derivative from spoken English. Brand, 2004:4 3
Spelling mastery has a close relationship with the mastery of phonetic skills. Mercer and Mercer, 1989:412
4 Spelling is the act of forming words correctly from individual letters Hornby:
1995
15
From the explanation above, I conclude that spelling is the forming of words through the letters which are very important to the student because it has a close
relationship with the mastery of phonetic and writing skills. In teaching spelling, I have to prepare the student introduce the English
alphabets. Indonesian students who learn English as a foreign language have difficulties in mastering the inconsistency of the English spelling patterns. Based
on the scope of the English 1994 Basic Course Outline, language components like structure, vocabulary, sound system and spelling can be taught to improve the four
basic skills listening, speaking, reading and writing not to master the components themselves.
In contrast with the point mentioned above, Brand 2004:15 states that for many years a fierce debate raged over whether spelling is taught, or whether it is
‘caught’ learned accidentally by alongside their learning to read and write. He further says that accurate spelling may be one manifestation of general proficiency
in the language since it is sometimes assumed that improving reading skills will automatically improve spelling, and for this reason teacher does not need to
bother with the direct teaching of spelling. Various teaching methods and strategies may be used to help the students in
improving their spelling mastery. Since learning is hard work, an effort should be made to help and encourage the students to sustain their interest. I think that
teaching the spelling rules, analyzing words building and teaching homophones and similar pairs can be boring activity. Therefore, games help the teacher to
create the contexts in which language is useful and meaningful, while the students
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respond in definite way. If they are amused, challenged, intrigued, or surprised, the content is clearly meaningful to them. Thus, the language learners will be
more vividly experienced and therefore, better remember.
2.5 The Problem of Spelling
