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in form of descriptive, narrative, recount, procedure, report and anecdote text.
4 Writing: expressing various meaning interpersonal, ideational, textual
using rhetorical development of various written text especially in form of descriptive, narrative, recount, procedure, report and anecdote text.
2006 English curriculum states that the year seven students of junior high school should master listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in the form of
description and procedure text.
2.3. Characteristics of the Year Seven Students of Junior High School
Junior high school students have special characteristics that make them different from younger and older students. The students of junior high school have
a period of changing from children to adult. In this period, they are more interested in thinking and doing something, but they also still have children
emotions, such as interested in playing games. They learn everything in this mature period slowly. So, they should be taught to get more responsibility without
ignoring their childness. The range of the age of junior high school students varied between thirteen
to fifteen years old. They are in the process of changing from children to adult. Brand 2004:11 comments that “the children of thirteen and fifteen seem to be
less lively and numerous than adults. They are so much less motivation and they show outright discipline problems. ”
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As a teacher it is essential for to understand their characteristics, so that will be able to design the appropriate and adequate programs to fit the particular
requirements of individuals in this age group. According to David and Tom 1993:30 as quoted by Purwaningsih 2008:11, certain psychological and
psychological characteristic of youngster in the 11 to 14 years old group require a set of educational conditions in the school.
Moreover, Wendy 1990:2-4 states the characteristics of children of eleven to fourteen years of age as follows:
1 They are competent users of mother tongue.
2 They can tell the difference between fact and fiction.
3 They love to play and learn best when they enjoy themselves. But they
also take themselves seriously and like to think that what they are doing is real work.
4 They are enthusiastic and positive about learning.
5 They are able to work with others and learn from others.
In addition, according to Pennington in his article, he states that by ages 12, 13, and 14, most students have begun developing the ability to understand
symbolic ideas and abstract concepts. According to Moore 1983:21 classification, students will range in development from the concrete operational
stage of development to the ability to the formal operational stage of development to the ability to the formal operational stage. In fact, studies show that brain
growth slows down during these years, so cognitive skills of learners may expand at a slower down during these years, so cognitive skills of learners may expand at
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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
