DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLSIH CONVERSATION AS A LOCAL CONTENT MATERIAL FACED BY THE EIGHTGRADE STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 1 JETIS MOJOKERTO
DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLSIH CONVERSATION AS A LOCAL CONTENT
MATERIAL FACED BY THE EIGHTGRADE STUDENTS OF
SMP NEGERI 1 JETIS MOJOKERTO
THESIS
By:
HAPSARI RATIH WARDANI
06360135
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
2011
DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLSIH CONVERSATION AS A LOCAL CONTENT
MATERIAL FACED BY THE EIGHT GRADE STUDENTS OF
SMP NEGERI 1 JETIS MOJOKERTO
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to meet one of the requirements to achieve
Sarjana Degree in English Education
By:
HAPSARI RATIH WARDANI
06360135
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
2011
This thesis written by Hapsari Ratih Wardani was approved on January 24, 2011
By:
Advisor II
Advisor I
Dra. Dwi Poedjiastutie, M.A
Drs. Jarum, M.Ed
i
This thesis was defended in front of the examiners of the Faculty of Teacher
Training and Education of University of Muhammadiyah Malang
and accepted as one of the requirements to achieve
Sarjana Degree in English Education
on January 24, 2011
Approved by:
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
University of Muhammadiyah Malang
Dean,
Drs. H. Fauzan, M.Pd.
Examiners:
Signatures:
1. Drs. Hartono, M.Pd
1. ……………………….
2. Rina Wahyu, S. M.Ed
2. ……………………….
3. Drs. Jarum, M.Ed
3. ……………………….
4. Dra. Dwi Poedjiastutie, M.A
4. ……………………….
ii
MOTTO AND DEDICATION
“ Segala sesuatu pasti berakhir, begitu juga dengan masalah. Meski
menyakitkan, bertahanlah. Percaya bahwa Allah selalu bersamamu”
“Allah is my lord, Islam is my life, Qur’an is my guide, prophet Muhammad is my
role model, and Heaven is my goal”
“Berdoalah, bersabarlah. Kita bukan tidak berhasil, tapi belum
diberikan kepercayaan olehNya. Sooner or later, saat itu akan datang”
Dedication:
1. My inspiration
“MOTHER” Hj. Siti mawarni M.pd
2. My lovely
3. My lovely sister
father H. prayitno
Hendarti novia wardhani
4. People who loves me
5. My soulmate
(meme,mumu,momo,nana)
Thank you for everything
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim
Alhamdulillahirobbil aalamiin, this thesis has been completed with the blessing of Allah
SWT. It is a pleasure for the writer to acknowledge the following people for their contributions
to the writing of thesis. In addition, she would like to express gratitude to those who have helped
and given motivation and encouragement in finishing her thesis.
The writer would like to say a lot of thanks to Drs. Jarum, M.Ed and Dra. Dwi
Poedjiastutie M.A as the first and second advisors for their guidance, understanding, advice
during the consultation period, and their correction in completing the thesis. Moreover, the writer
also thanked to the Head of English department and the secretary, and to all of English
Department lecturers for their encouragement in forming her self confidence.
Finally, a special thank goes to her beloved mother (Hj. Siti mawarni M.Pd), father
(H.Prayitno), sister (Henny), and all my family. Also thankfully to all of her friends: 1. Writer’s
soul mate; meme Kristina, momo Izza, mumu Rizka. 2. Writers’ friends in boarding house
“power rangers”; Nana, Limar, Ntun, Uwi, Vita, mbak Via, mbak Shalma, Hera. 3. Writers’
friends in campus; Aniz, Citra, Shela, Chacha, Didit, Fastha, Ghea, Rhea, Rosita, Reny.
4. Writers’ close friends; Angga, Gandy, Sandy, Dony, Nanang, Monster for their
encouragement love, care, and prayer so that he can finish this thesis.
Malang, 24 Januari 2011
Hapsari Ratih Wardani
TABLE OF CONTENTS
iv
APPROVAL ……………………………………………………………….
i
LEGALIZATION …………………………………………………………
ii
MOTTO AND DEDICATION …………………………………………...
iii
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………….
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ………………………………………………….
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………
vi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study ………………………………
1
1.2 Statement of Problems ………………………………....
6
1.3 Purposes of the Study ………………………………….
6
1.4 Significance of the Study ………………………............
7
1.5 Scope of Limitation …………………………………….
7
1.6 Definition of Key terms ………………………………..
8
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 English Conversation Theory …………………………..
10
2.1.1 Characteristic of Conversation ……………………
12
2.1.2 Function of Conversation …………………………
12
2.1.3 Conversational Principles …………………………
13
2.1.4 Conversational Exchanges ………………………...
13
2.1.4.1 Adjacency Pair …………………………….
14
2.1.4.2 Question and Answer ……………………...
14
2.2 ESP (English for Specific Purposes) …………………….
15
2.2.1 What is ESP? ……………………………………....
16
2.2.2 The Development of ESP ………………………….
17
2.3 Speaking Learning activity ………………………………
18
v
2.4 The Students’ Difficulties of Language Learning ……….
21
2.4.1 Problems of Speaking ………………………………
22
2.4.1.1 Linguistic Difficulties ………………………
22
2.4.1.2 Non-Linguistic Difficulties …………………
23
2.4.2 The Structure of Pragmatic PCS ……………………
27
2.5 The Problem solving in learning Conversation …………..
27
2.5.1 Speaking Strategies …………………………………
28
2.5.2 Conversational Strategies …………………………..
28
2.6 Conversation for Tourism and Industries as a LCM ……..
30
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METODOLOGY
3.1 Research design ………………………………………….
31
3.2 Population and Sample …………………………………..
32
3.3 Research Instrument ……………………………………..
33
3.3.1 Questionnaire ………………………………………
33
3.3.2 Observation ………………………………………..
34
3.4 Data Collection ………………………………………….
36
3.5 Data Analysis ……………………………………………
36
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Research findings ……………………………………….
38
4.1.1 The Students’ linguistic Difficulties ………………
38
4.1.2 The Students’ Non-linguistic Difficulties …………
42
4.2 Discussion ……………………………………………….
44
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION
5.1 Conclusion ………………………………………………
vi
48
5.2 Suggestion ……………………………………………….
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
vii
49
REFERENCES
Allen and Guy 1978: Conversation Analysis; the sociology of talk. New York: Mc.
Graw-Hill.
Arikunto, Suharsini. 1992. Prosedur Penelitian: Suatu Pendekatan Praktik. Edisi revisi. Jakarta:
PT. rineka Cipta.
Ary, Donald; Jacobs, Lucy C & Razavieh. 2002. Introduction to Research in Education. Sixth
Edition. New York: holt, Rineharth, and Wadsworth, Inc.
Brown, H. Douglas. 2000. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Fourth Edition. New
York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Cohen, Louis. 2000. Research Methods in Education. Fifth Edition. London and New York:
International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall.
Harmer, Jeremy. 1983. The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York: United States
of America by Longman, Inc.
Harmer, Jeremy. 2007. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Fourth Edition. New York:
United States of America by Longman, Inc.
Komariyah, Siti. 2010. A Study on Linguistic Learning Problems Faced by Students in Joining
English Conversation Class (an Extracurricular Program) at SMAN 2 Batu. Unpublished
Thesis. Malang. UMM Malang.
Sadtono, E. 1995. Perspektif Pengajaran Bahasa Inggris di Indonesia. Malang: Seksi Kajian
Bahasa dan Seni FPBS IKIP Malang.
Taylor, Insup. 1990. Psycholinguistic: Learning & Using language. United States of America:
Pretice-hall International, Inc.
Ur, Penny. 1991. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Verdeber, Kathleen S. and Verdeber Rudolph F. 2002. Communicate. United Stated of America:
Thompson Learning, Inc.
Waters Alan; Hutchinson, Tom. 1987. English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2010. Indonesian Language. http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Conversation. Accessed on Februari 06, 2010.
www.CompellingConversation.com. Accessed on Februari 06, 2010.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides the basic idea related to the study. It
discusses background of the study, statement of the problems, purpose of the
study, significance of the study, scope and limitation and definition of the key
terms.
1.1 Background of the Study
Language is primarily used for communication. The term language is
defined as a formal system of sound, words, and grammatical structures and as
a communicative system. In addition, English is language mostly learned by
people around the world. English has become a world language. It is the
means of international communication. English is now taught as the “second
language” in most schools in the world (Harmer, 2007:13).
Nowadays, English is so important that our government tries to apply it in
communication as effectively as possible. Therefore, English is a compulsory
subject in Indonesia which has been taught formally to Indonesian students
since they were in Junior High School. The English subject consists of four
skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. One skill which is very
important in communication is speaking. Speaking is one of the basic skills in
language, and it must be paid attention as one of the subject matters at school.
People use language in a real life situation not only in printed pages but also in
oral activities (Harmer, 1983:15).
1
Further, students believe that learning English opens new possibilities for
talking to tourists and better job opportunities, for traveling abroad and even
for living abroad. Of course, learning second language provides an
opportunity to see the world with different sounds and words. English,
however, plays a far more significant role in opening societies today than
many other languages (www.compellingconversation.com).
Speaking skill has become the first priority to be taught among the four
skills since the communicative approach implementation has been influential
in foreign language learning (Depdiknas,2006). English teachers should create
active learning condition and develop their technique to help learners
communicate more effectively by considering suitable activities for each
group of learners. In order to have a good speaking skill, one should
experience and collect as much as language input to be the basic knowledge of
their speaking. One can only speak if he knows what should be spoken. Thus,
broad exposure to the target language is very much needed in order to supply
enough input to support the development of speaking skill. Language input
can be received from too many information sources, such as mass media,
electronic media, review on literature, somebody else’s speaking, and some
other sources. Considering speaking skills, the importance of language input is
obviously seen from the need for conveying the messages so that they are
perfectly received input indeed very much determines the success of human
life. Of course, with lots of input, one will be confused to use language for
communication.
2
In line with the need for having enough input, English learners need
enough time and opportunity to be exposed to the target language. The
problem with Indonesian learners mostly lies in their unwillingness to study
and find the input by themselves. They need to be forced to explore the
language. Concerning the problems that occur, education, institutions,
especially schools, need a brilliant breakthrough in the speaking pedagogy
KTSP or school based curriculum has been introduced recently to fulfill the
need to choose and determine their own materials and teaching strategy to be
fixed to their need.
According to Sadtono (1995:53-55), there are two major of categories
which influence the success of learning and teaching English; they are
linguistic problem and non-linguistic problem. In addition, some problem
faced by students may come from linguistic or non-linguistic such as
pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, language style, dialect, sound system
and also the language culture background. The linguistic problems have some
primary categories; they are pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
Another background is non-linguistic problems; there are some items such as
the students, the teacher, method, motivation, materials, frequency of lesson
time, socio-cultural factors (tradition to read, poor library), and facilities.
Considering the lack of students exposures to English environment, some
school have established English conversation as one of the local content
materials to provide the students with English learning environment. Through
this activity it is expected that the students have such an environment to
practice their speaking abilities. By having the English conversation the
3
teacher can encourage the students to use English as target language in
communicative way. For the students, they will have more time in expressing
their ideas using the target language.
SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto has two programs in English class; they are
regular class and local content class. For regular class, English is given four
hours every week while local content class is given two hours every week. In
a process of language teaching regular class it is different from a local content
class. The students in local content class more focus and practice for
communication than learning about English for generally. SMP Negeri 1 Jetis
Mojokerto is one of the schools which established English conversation as a
local content material, which aims at improving student’s English speaking
ability. Actually, this program has started for three years in SMP Negeri 1
Jetis Mojokerto. It is designed in order that the students can use English
communicatively to support the development of student’s productive skills.
The material of conversation focuses on industries and tourism in Mojokerto.
The activity is mainly intended only for VII & VIII graders since they have
wider opportunities to spend their time for practicing, English compared to the
IX graders who are in preparation program for the national final examination.
However every student experiences difficulties in learning English. They
must adapt with English conversation as a local content material. According
to the information from one of English conversation teachers, mostly students
more passive in practice dialogue in conversation class. The previous
research was conducted by Komariyah (2009) about A Study on Linguistic
Learning Problems Faced by Students in Joining English Conversation Class
4
(an Extracurricular Program) at SMAN 2 Batu. The study found that the
students got linguistic difficulties, they were: pronunciation, grammar, and
vocabulary and the students’ strategies to overcome the linguistic problem.
The most dominant learning strategy used by the students was achievement
strategies.
Based taking into all the aspect mentioned above, the writer wants to
conduct the research to follow up the previous research findings with the
objective to identify the linguistic and non-linguistic difficulties faced by the
students in English conversation as a local content material in SMPN 1 jetis
Mojokerto. It is important for teacher to detect some problems so that can
improving English conversation ability. This kind of study is worth doing
because the findings are important especially for the school teachers,
instructor, and students of SMPN 1 Jetis Mojokerto as well as for the other
education elements in general.
1.2 Statement of the Problems
Based on the statement stated above, the problems of the study can be
formulated as follow:
1. What linguistic difficulties are faced by the eight grade students of
SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation as a local
content material?
2. What non-linguistic difficulties are faced by the eight grade
students of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation
as a local content material?
5
1.3 Purposes of the study
Referring to the formulation of the questions above, the specific objectives
are follows:
1.
To know the linguistic difficulties faced by the eight grade students
of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation as a local
content material.
2.
To know the Non-linguistic difficulties faced by the eight grade
students of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation
as a local content material.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The result of this research is expected to give valuable contribution to:
1. The students
The result of this study is expected to recognize their difficulties in
learning English conversation.
2. The teacher
This study has purpose to give information about the difficulties in
learning English conversation. The English conversation teacher is
expected to get feedbacks about the difficulties. Therefore, the teacher
might be able to develop, apply, and modify the current technique
match with the level of students’ ability. Hopefully, this research is
beneficial in teaching learning process and helps the teachers who
teach English conversation to investigate the difficulties, the root cause
of the problems, and they will able to anticipate their teaching
problems to have better classroom.
6
3. The headmaster
Finally, the headmaster will get input or feedback of the other school
in which that feedback will be useful as a stepping stone to conduct
training, workshop, or seminar related to English conversation.
1.5 Scope of Limitation
The scope of this study would involve the linguistic and non-linguistic
difficulties in learning English conversation as a local content material. And
the limitation of this study is the eight grade students of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis
who join English conversation as a local content material.
1.6 Definition of Key Term
Some concepts are used throughout this study. In order to avoid
misunderstanding that might be caused by those concepts, it is necessary to
provide the following definitions:
¾ Difficulty
Difficulty is the students’ difficulties of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in
learning English conversation.
¾
Linguistic difficulty
A linguistic difficulty is the factor which comes to the language itself
encountered by one who is studying the language, such as pronunciation,
grammar, vocabulary, grammar, language style, and the first language
interference (Sadtono, 1995:23).
¾
Non-linguistic difficulties
Non-linguistic difficulties are the difficulties that influence the language
learning, such as students, teacher, method, material, facilities and
7
frequency of lesson time, native speaker, society, exposure, goal’s, and
government policy (Sadtono, 1995:23).
¾ English conversation
Marloo (in Allen and guy, 1978:135) says that Conversation is a
continuing and social process which fundamentally involves verbal
exchanges between two or more persons. Conversation refers to activity of
speaking in English which there are: (1) participants such as the speaker
and hearer; (2) message form and content; and (3) setting
¾ Local content Material
Local content material is the curricular activity that is suitable with the
characteristic and potentials of the region to develop the competence of
students.
8
MATERIAL FACED BY THE EIGHTGRADE STUDENTS OF
SMP NEGERI 1 JETIS MOJOKERTO
THESIS
By:
HAPSARI RATIH WARDANI
06360135
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
2011
DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLSIH CONVERSATION AS A LOCAL CONTENT
MATERIAL FACED BY THE EIGHT GRADE STUDENTS OF
SMP NEGERI 1 JETIS MOJOKERTO
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to meet one of the requirements to achieve
Sarjana Degree in English Education
By:
HAPSARI RATIH WARDANI
06360135
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
2011
This thesis written by Hapsari Ratih Wardani was approved on January 24, 2011
By:
Advisor II
Advisor I
Dra. Dwi Poedjiastutie, M.A
Drs. Jarum, M.Ed
i
This thesis was defended in front of the examiners of the Faculty of Teacher
Training and Education of University of Muhammadiyah Malang
and accepted as one of the requirements to achieve
Sarjana Degree in English Education
on January 24, 2011
Approved by:
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
University of Muhammadiyah Malang
Dean,
Drs. H. Fauzan, M.Pd.
Examiners:
Signatures:
1. Drs. Hartono, M.Pd
1. ……………………….
2. Rina Wahyu, S. M.Ed
2. ……………………….
3. Drs. Jarum, M.Ed
3. ……………………….
4. Dra. Dwi Poedjiastutie, M.A
4. ……………………….
ii
MOTTO AND DEDICATION
“ Segala sesuatu pasti berakhir, begitu juga dengan masalah. Meski
menyakitkan, bertahanlah. Percaya bahwa Allah selalu bersamamu”
“Allah is my lord, Islam is my life, Qur’an is my guide, prophet Muhammad is my
role model, and Heaven is my goal”
“Berdoalah, bersabarlah. Kita bukan tidak berhasil, tapi belum
diberikan kepercayaan olehNya. Sooner or later, saat itu akan datang”
Dedication:
1. My inspiration
“MOTHER” Hj. Siti mawarni M.pd
2. My lovely
3. My lovely sister
father H. prayitno
Hendarti novia wardhani
4. People who loves me
5. My soulmate
(meme,mumu,momo,nana)
Thank you for everything
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim
Alhamdulillahirobbil aalamiin, this thesis has been completed with the blessing of Allah
SWT. It is a pleasure for the writer to acknowledge the following people for their contributions
to the writing of thesis. In addition, she would like to express gratitude to those who have helped
and given motivation and encouragement in finishing her thesis.
The writer would like to say a lot of thanks to Drs. Jarum, M.Ed and Dra. Dwi
Poedjiastutie M.A as the first and second advisors for their guidance, understanding, advice
during the consultation period, and their correction in completing the thesis. Moreover, the writer
also thanked to the Head of English department and the secretary, and to all of English
Department lecturers for their encouragement in forming her self confidence.
Finally, a special thank goes to her beloved mother (Hj. Siti mawarni M.Pd), father
(H.Prayitno), sister (Henny), and all my family. Also thankfully to all of her friends: 1. Writer’s
soul mate; meme Kristina, momo Izza, mumu Rizka. 2. Writers’ friends in boarding house
“power rangers”; Nana, Limar, Ntun, Uwi, Vita, mbak Via, mbak Shalma, Hera. 3. Writers’
friends in campus; Aniz, Citra, Shela, Chacha, Didit, Fastha, Ghea, Rhea, Rosita, Reny.
4. Writers’ close friends; Angga, Gandy, Sandy, Dony, Nanang, Monster for their
encouragement love, care, and prayer so that he can finish this thesis.
Malang, 24 Januari 2011
Hapsari Ratih Wardani
TABLE OF CONTENTS
iv
APPROVAL ……………………………………………………………….
i
LEGALIZATION …………………………………………………………
ii
MOTTO AND DEDICATION …………………………………………...
iii
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………….
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ………………………………………………….
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………
vi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study ………………………………
1
1.2 Statement of Problems ………………………………....
6
1.3 Purposes of the Study ………………………………….
6
1.4 Significance of the Study ………………………............
7
1.5 Scope of Limitation …………………………………….
7
1.6 Definition of Key terms ………………………………..
8
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 English Conversation Theory …………………………..
10
2.1.1 Characteristic of Conversation ……………………
12
2.1.2 Function of Conversation …………………………
12
2.1.3 Conversational Principles …………………………
13
2.1.4 Conversational Exchanges ………………………...
13
2.1.4.1 Adjacency Pair …………………………….
14
2.1.4.2 Question and Answer ……………………...
14
2.2 ESP (English for Specific Purposes) …………………….
15
2.2.1 What is ESP? ……………………………………....
16
2.2.2 The Development of ESP ………………………….
17
2.3 Speaking Learning activity ………………………………
18
v
2.4 The Students’ Difficulties of Language Learning ……….
21
2.4.1 Problems of Speaking ………………………………
22
2.4.1.1 Linguistic Difficulties ………………………
22
2.4.1.2 Non-Linguistic Difficulties …………………
23
2.4.2 The Structure of Pragmatic PCS ……………………
27
2.5 The Problem solving in learning Conversation …………..
27
2.5.1 Speaking Strategies …………………………………
28
2.5.2 Conversational Strategies …………………………..
28
2.6 Conversation for Tourism and Industries as a LCM ……..
30
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METODOLOGY
3.1 Research design ………………………………………….
31
3.2 Population and Sample …………………………………..
32
3.3 Research Instrument ……………………………………..
33
3.3.1 Questionnaire ………………………………………
33
3.3.2 Observation ………………………………………..
34
3.4 Data Collection ………………………………………….
36
3.5 Data Analysis ……………………………………………
36
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Research findings ……………………………………….
38
4.1.1 The Students’ linguistic Difficulties ………………
38
4.1.2 The Students’ Non-linguistic Difficulties …………
42
4.2 Discussion ……………………………………………….
44
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION
5.1 Conclusion ………………………………………………
vi
48
5.2 Suggestion ……………………………………………….
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
vii
49
REFERENCES
Allen and Guy 1978: Conversation Analysis; the sociology of talk. New York: Mc.
Graw-Hill.
Arikunto, Suharsini. 1992. Prosedur Penelitian: Suatu Pendekatan Praktik. Edisi revisi. Jakarta:
PT. rineka Cipta.
Ary, Donald; Jacobs, Lucy C & Razavieh. 2002. Introduction to Research in Education. Sixth
Edition. New York: holt, Rineharth, and Wadsworth, Inc.
Brown, H. Douglas. 2000. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Fourth Edition. New
York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Cohen, Louis. 2000. Research Methods in Education. Fifth Edition. London and New York:
International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall.
Harmer, Jeremy. 1983. The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York: United States
of America by Longman, Inc.
Harmer, Jeremy. 2007. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Fourth Edition. New York:
United States of America by Longman, Inc.
Komariyah, Siti. 2010. A Study on Linguistic Learning Problems Faced by Students in Joining
English Conversation Class (an Extracurricular Program) at SMAN 2 Batu. Unpublished
Thesis. Malang. UMM Malang.
Sadtono, E. 1995. Perspektif Pengajaran Bahasa Inggris di Indonesia. Malang: Seksi Kajian
Bahasa dan Seni FPBS IKIP Malang.
Taylor, Insup. 1990. Psycholinguistic: Learning & Using language. United States of America:
Pretice-hall International, Inc.
Ur, Penny. 1991. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Verdeber, Kathleen S. and Verdeber Rudolph F. 2002. Communicate. United Stated of America:
Thompson Learning, Inc.
Waters Alan; Hutchinson, Tom. 1987. English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2010. Indonesian Language. http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Conversation. Accessed on Februari 06, 2010.
www.CompellingConversation.com. Accessed on Februari 06, 2010.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides the basic idea related to the study. It
discusses background of the study, statement of the problems, purpose of the
study, significance of the study, scope and limitation and definition of the key
terms.
1.1 Background of the Study
Language is primarily used for communication. The term language is
defined as a formal system of sound, words, and grammatical structures and as
a communicative system. In addition, English is language mostly learned by
people around the world. English has become a world language. It is the
means of international communication. English is now taught as the “second
language” in most schools in the world (Harmer, 2007:13).
Nowadays, English is so important that our government tries to apply it in
communication as effectively as possible. Therefore, English is a compulsory
subject in Indonesia which has been taught formally to Indonesian students
since they were in Junior High School. The English subject consists of four
skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. One skill which is very
important in communication is speaking. Speaking is one of the basic skills in
language, and it must be paid attention as one of the subject matters at school.
People use language in a real life situation not only in printed pages but also in
oral activities (Harmer, 1983:15).
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Further, students believe that learning English opens new possibilities for
talking to tourists and better job opportunities, for traveling abroad and even
for living abroad. Of course, learning second language provides an
opportunity to see the world with different sounds and words. English,
however, plays a far more significant role in opening societies today than
many other languages (www.compellingconversation.com).
Speaking skill has become the first priority to be taught among the four
skills since the communicative approach implementation has been influential
in foreign language learning (Depdiknas,2006). English teachers should create
active learning condition and develop their technique to help learners
communicate more effectively by considering suitable activities for each
group of learners. In order to have a good speaking skill, one should
experience and collect as much as language input to be the basic knowledge of
their speaking. One can only speak if he knows what should be spoken. Thus,
broad exposure to the target language is very much needed in order to supply
enough input to support the development of speaking skill. Language input
can be received from too many information sources, such as mass media,
electronic media, review on literature, somebody else’s speaking, and some
other sources. Considering speaking skills, the importance of language input is
obviously seen from the need for conveying the messages so that they are
perfectly received input indeed very much determines the success of human
life. Of course, with lots of input, one will be confused to use language for
communication.
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In line with the need for having enough input, English learners need
enough time and opportunity to be exposed to the target language. The
problem with Indonesian learners mostly lies in their unwillingness to study
and find the input by themselves. They need to be forced to explore the
language. Concerning the problems that occur, education, institutions,
especially schools, need a brilliant breakthrough in the speaking pedagogy
KTSP or school based curriculum has been introduced recently to fulfill the
need to choose and determine their own materials and teaching strategy to be
fixed to their need.
According to Sadtono (1995:53-55), there are two major of categories
which influence the success of learning and teaching English; they are
linguistic problem and non-linguistic problem. In addition, some problem
faced by students may come from linguistic or non-linguistic such as
pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, language style, dialect, sound system
and also the language culture background. The linguistic problems have some
primary categories; they are pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
Another background is non-linguistic problems; there are some items such as
the students, the teacher, method, motivation, materials, frequency of lesson
time, socio-cultural factors (tradition to read, poor library), and facilities.
Considering the lack of students exposures to English environment, some
school have established English conversation as one of the local content
materials to provide the students with English learning environment. Through
this activity it is expected that the students have such an environment to
practice their speaking abilities. By having the English conversation the
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teacher can encourage the students to use English as target language in
communicative way. For the students, they will have more time in expressing
their ideas using the target language.
SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto has two programs in English class; they are
regular class and local content class. For regular class, English is given four
hours every week while local content class is given two hours every week. In
a process of language teaching regular class it is different from a local content
class. The students in local content class more focus and practice for
communication than learning about English for generally. SMP Negeri 1 Jetis
Mojokerto is one of the schools which established English conversation as a
local content material, which aims at improving student’s English speaking
ability. Actually, this program has started for three years in SMP Negeri 1
Jetis Mojokerto. It is designed in order that the students can use English
communicatively to support the development of student’s productive skills.
The material of conversation focuses on industries and tourism in Mojokerto.
The activity is mainly intended only for VII & VIII graders since they have
wider opportunities to spend their time for practicing, English compared to the
IX graders who are in preparation program for the national final examination.
However every student experiences difficulties in learning English. They
must adapt with English conversation as a local content material. According
to the information from one of English conversation teachers, mostly students
more passive in practice dialogue in conversation class. The previous
research was conducted by Komariyah (2009) about A Study on Linguistic
Learning Problems Faced by Students in Joining English Conversation Class
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(an Extracurricular Program) at SMAN 2 Batu. The study found that the
students got linguistic difficulties, they were: pronunciation, grammar, and
vocabulary and the students’ strategies to overcome the linguistic problem.
The most dominant learning strategy used by the students was achievement
strategies.
Based taking into all the aspect mentioned above, the writer wants to
conduct the research to follow up the previous research findings with the
objective to identify the linguistic and non-linguistic difficulties faced by the
students in English conversation as a local content material in SMPN 1 jetis
Mojokerto. It is important for teacher to detect some problems so that can
improving English conversation ability. This kind of study is worth doing
because the findings are important especially for the school teachers,
instructor, and students of SMPN 1 Jetis Mojokerto as well as for the other
education elements in general.
1.2 Statement of the Problems
Based on the statement stated above, the problems of the study can be
formulated as follow:
1. What linguistic difficulties are faced by the eight grade students of
SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation as a local
content material?
2. What non-linguistic difficulties are faced by the eight grade
students of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation
as a local content material?
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1.3 Purposes of the study
Referring to the formulation of the questions above, the specific objectives
are follows:
1.
To know the linguistic difficulties faced by the eight grade students
of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation as a local
content material.
2.
To know the Non-linguistic difficulties faced by the eight grade
students of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in English conversation
as a local content material.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The result of this research is expected to give valuable contribution to:
1. The students
The result of this study is expected to recognize their difficulties in
learning English conversation.
2. The teacher
This study has purpose to give information about the difficulties in
learning English conversation. The English conversation teacher is
expected to get feedbacks about the difficulties. Therefore, the teacher
might be able to develop, apply, and modify the current technique
match with the level of students’ ability. Hopefully, this research is
beneficial in teaching learning process and helps the teachers who
teach English conversation to investigate the difficulties, the root cause
of the problems, and they will able to anticipate their teaching
problems to have better classroom.
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3. The headmaster
Finally, the headmaster will get input or feedback of the other school
in which that feedback will be useful as a stepping stone to conduct
training, workshop, or seminar related to English conversation.
1.5 Scope of Limitation
The scope of this study would involve the linguistic and non-linguistic
difficulties in learning English conversation as a local content material. And
the limitation of this study is the eight grade students of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis
who join English conversation as a local content material.
1.6 Definition of Key Term
Some concepts are used throughout this study. In order to avoid
misunderstanding that might be caused by those concepts, it is necessary to
provide the following definitions:
¾ Difficulty
Difficulty is the students’ difficulties of SMP Negeri 1 Jetis Mojokerto in
learning English conversation.
¾
Linguistic difficulty
A linguistic difficulty is the factor which comes to the language itself
encountered by one who is studying the language, such as pronunciation,
grammar, vocabulary, grammar, language style, and the first language
interference (Sadtono, 1995:23).
¾
Non-linguistic difficulties
Non-linguistic difficulties are the difficulties that influence the language
learning, such as students, teacher, method, material, facilities and
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frequency of lesson time, native speaker, society, exposure, goal’s, and
government policy (Sadtono, 1995:23).
¾ English conversation
Marloo (in Allen and guy, 1978:135) says that Conversation is a
continuing and social process which fundamentally involves verbal
exchanges between two or more persons. Conversation refers to activity of
speaking in English which there are: (1) participants such as the speaker
and hearer; (2) message form and content; and (3) setting
¾ Local content Material
Local content material is the curricular activity that is suitable with the
characteristic and potentials of the region to develop the competence of
students.
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