Furthermore, Anderson 2006 also suggests some tips that can we used to make our role plays work. According to Anderson, there are some aspects
that we have to take into account. Some of those aspects are the lead-in, demonstration, classroom dynamics, props and mime, intonation, and trust in
the class. We have to consider those aspects because they will improve the degree of success that any role play has.
B. Relevant Studies
Prof. Dr. Jassim Mohammed Rayhan 2014 from Babylon UniversityCollege of Basic Education investigated the impact of using role play
on improving students speaking ability for the primary school. From the data analysis, it was found that the mean of the experimental group
’s post-score was 57.7333, which was higher than the mean scores of the control group that was
found to be 48.1000. This showed that role play was more useful for them in teaching speaking skill since the
students’ achievement in the experimental group was better than that of the control group.
Furthermore, Nurdiana Mahdalena Sinurat and Willem Saragih 2012
investigated how role play can improve the speaking skill of vocational high school students. This study was conducted by using classroom action research.
Based on the students’ speaking score, it was found that the students’ score kept
improving from the first test to the third test. In the pre-test, the mean score was only 37.66, then in the first cycle of the test, the mean score was 48.33, and in the
second cycle of the test, the mean score was 57.33.
Based on the data obtained from field notes, observation sheets, questionnaires and interviews, it was also found that the students agreed that role
play helped to encourage them to speak, to express the language through
appropriate expressions, and to think that speaking is not difficult.
C. Conceptual Framework
As stated in the previous chapter, the speaking skills of grade X Nursing class students of SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Klaten Tengah were relatively low.
There were some factors that caused these problems. The first factor was the students. The students were hesitant and lacked confidence to speak in English
as they were afraid of making mistakes and have difficulties in pronouncing certain English words. The students also still have low vocabulary mastery that
makes them hard to be able to speak in English. The second factor was the teacher. Th
e teacher’s way of teaching was monotonous and caused the students’ boredom. Also, the facilities provided by
the school were so limited and di d not support the students’ practical works.
Based on those problems, the researcher wanted to implement role play to improve the speaking skill of grade X Nursing class students of SMK
Muhammadiyah 3 Klaten Tengah. The action was carried out in the first semester of the Academic Year of 20152016
. The use of role play was
chosen since it provided opportunities for the students to get involved in speaking English. It helped to gain the
students’ confidence and make the students practice the language in real world context.
In addition, videos were also used as the input for the students. The researcher decided to use video as the input because video can give students
realistic models to imitate for role-play. It can increase awareness of other cultures by allowing the students to look at situation far beyond their
classroom, creation and motivation. Furthermore, since role play could be done in pairs or groups, the
students would learn speak without worry and they could naturally improve their ability in speaking. They could get advice and monitor their own language
through the help of their friend during the role play. By doing this, they would not be afraid of making mistakes and they could improve their English.
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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
A. Research Design
The design of this research study was action research. This action research aimed to find a way to solve a problem related to the improvement
of speaking skills of grade X Nursing class of SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Klaten Tengah. Also, there are various definitions of action research stated by some
experts. The first definition of action research comes from Carr and Kemmis.
Carr and Kemmis 1986 in Burns 2010: 5 describe action research as a self- reflective analysis done by the participants aimed to improve the rationality
and justice of their own educational practices, their understanding of these practices and the situations where these practices are performed.
The statement given by Carr and Kemis is supported by Burns. According to Burns 2010, by conducting action research, a teacher can gain
more understanding about him or herself, the students, as well as the situation of the classroom, and it can encourage teachers to find solutions for their
classroom issues. Furthermore, Kemmis and McTaggart 1988 in Burns 2010 state that
action research typically involves four broad phases in a cycle of research —
planning, action, observation, reflection. The first cycle may become a
