By MARIA MELANI WIDIANINGSIH Student Number: 031214116 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
A SET OF ENGLISH STORIES FOR CHILDREN TO TEACH
VOCABULARY IN AN ENGLISH EXTRACURRICULAR CLASS
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
In English Language Education
By
MARIA MELANI WIDIANINGSIH
Student Number: 031214116
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
i
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
DEDICATION PAGE
“Setiap kamu punya mimpi atau keinginan atau cita-cita, kamu taruh di sini, di
depan kening kamu…jangan menempel. Biarkan dia menggantung, mengambang 5
sentimeter di depan kening kamu…Jadi dia ga akan pernah lepas dari mata kamu. Dan
kamu bawa mimpi dan keyakinan kamu itu setiap hari, kamu lihat setiap hari, dan
percaya bahwa kamu bisa. Apa pun hambatannya, bilang sama diri kamu sendiri, klo
kamu percaya sama keinginan itu, dan kamu nggak bisa menyerah. Bahwa kamu akan
berdiri lagi setiap kamu jatuh, bahwa kamu akan mengejarnya sampai dapat, apa pun
itu, segala keinginan, mimpi, cita-cita, keyakinan diri…
Biarkan keyakinan kamu, 5 sentimeter menggantung, mengambang di depan
kening kamu. Dan, sehabis itu yang kamu perlu cuma …
Cuma kaki yang akan berjalan lebih jauh dari biasanya, tangan yang akan
berbuat lebih banyak dari biasanya, mata yang akan menatap lebih lama dari biasanya,
leher yang akan lebih sering melihat ke atas, lapisan tekad yang seribu kali lebih keras
dari baja, dan hati yang akan bekerja lebih keras dari biasanya, serta mulut yang akan
selalu berdoa…
Dan kamu akan selalu dikenang sebagai orang yang masih punya mimpi dan
keyakinan, bukan cuma seonggok daging yang hanya punya nama…
Percaya pada 5 sentimeter di depan kamu…”
By: Dhonny Dirgantara
The author of “5 cm”
I CAN IF I THINK I CAN!
Be the Brightest for People around You!
This thesis is dedicated to:
My Lord, Jesus Christ
My lovely family: Dad, Mom, my sisters, my nephews and nieces.
My Key
My beloved best friends
v
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to give my greatest gratitude to my Lord Jesus
Christ Almighty, for His endless love, blessings, mercy and guidance in every
breath that I take. I thank Mother Mary for all the amazing things in my life and
for being beside me every time and everywhere, especially until I accomplish my
thesis.
I also want to give my sincere gratitude to my major sponsor Caecilia
Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd., and Ch. Lhaksmita A. S.Pd., M.Ed., as my cosponsor, for their guidance, suggestions, criticism and being patient when I was
accomplishing my thesis.
I am deeply thankful to Dr. Retno Muljani, M.Pd. as my academic
advisor and to all PBI lecturers for the teaching, guidance and support during my
study time. I also would like to thank Laurentia Sumarni S.Pd., Markus
Budiraharjo S.Pd., M.Ed., Christina Kristiyani, S.Pd., M.Pd., and Dr. FX.
Mukarto M. S. for being my research respondents and giving feedback for my
thesis. Next, I thank PBI secretariat staffs (Mbak Dani and Mbak Tari), for the
assistance and the support during the last five years.
I would like to give my special gratitude to the Headmaster of SD Kanisius
Demangan Baru, Dra. K. Yamini for allowing me to conduct the research in the
school and to Lucia Rina Tri K. S.Pd., the English teacher in SD Kanisius
Demangan Baru, for the assistance, guidance and the kindness during my
research.
vi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
My deepest gratitude, I would like to address to my beloved parents F.L
Murbanun S. and C. Melly Sesa for their love, prayers, patience, and financial
support given to me. My special thank I give to my lovely sisters, Mbak Rita,
Mbak Lia, Mbak Trin, Mbak Lusi (for always being beside me) , and Mbak
Endah for the love, prayers and financial supports given to me during my study
and for being my great sisters.
My special gratitude I give to my Key, Albertus Vembri Astanto for the
love, attention, patience, and support given to me.
Next, I dedicate my deepest gratitude, to my best friends Dudunk (for the
amazing drawings), Timur (for being a great thesis partner), Cipok, Cherli, Adit,
Priska, Nina, Atik, Kiki, Grace, and Uri who support me and share their
happiness, sadness and the unforgettable experiences. I thank all PBI friends,
especially Dian, Rinma, Christine, Titik, Ema, Dono, Adit curly, Indra, Dera,
Chandra, Siwi, Bunga, Ajenk, Febri, Ardi, Winny A., Intika, Winny, Tony,
Ji’i, Patrick, Gaby, Tika, Ratri, Ipat, Genjix, and Pujek for the friendship,
support and knowledge given to me and for the beautiful moment that we have
during my study.
I would like to thank all Tunggorono Crews, Bapak Wasno and family,
Sinta, Neria, Anie, Diana, Novi, Retno, Hony, Ulis, Avie, Lia, Ndari, Bertin,
Poppy, Dian, Deta, Ira, Prima, Desy, Dizan, Mela, Lena, Adis, Monic, Q-wot,
Tommy, Lintang, Nunus, Lala, and Gerbang Community for the spirits,
advice, suggestion and supporting me to do my thesis.
vii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
I thank my P3W/Mitra friends, Henni, Titis, Bambang, Irene, Sarah,
Merli, Fandi, Iis, Putri, Banu, Eko, Wiwied, Markus, Tari, Nani, Eva, Novi,
Zico, and all new Mitra members and USD Library employees for always
reminding and motivating me to accomplish my thesis.
At last, I thank those who I cannot mention the names that assist and
support me to accomplish my thesis. God bless them.
Maria Melani Widianingsih
viii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ..............................................................................................
i
APPROVAL PAGES ..................................................................................
ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...........................................
iv
DEDICATION PAGE .................................................................................
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..........................................................................
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................
ix
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................
xii
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................
xiii
ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................
xiv
ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................
xv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................
1
A. Research Background ............................................................................
1
B. Problem Identification ...........................................................................
3
C. Problem Formulation ...........................................................................
4
D. Problem Limitation ...............................................................................
4
E. Research Objectives ...............................................................................
5
F. Research Benefits...................................................................................
5
G. Definition of Terms ...............................................................................
6
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................
9
A. Theoretical Description .........................................................................
9
1. Vocabulary ......................................................................................
9
2. Children and Second Language Acquisition ..................................
11
3. Stories and Storytelling ...................................................................
14
4. Listening Activities .........................................................................
18
5. Materials Development ...................................................................
20
6. Curriculum 2006 ..............................................................................
21
7. Task-Based Learning for Beginners and Young Learners ..............
23
ix
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
8. Dick, Carey, and Carey’s Instructional Model ...............................
28
B. Theoretical Framework .........................................................................
30
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................
34
A. Research Methods ..................................................................................
34
1. Research and Information Collecting .............................................
34
2. Planning ..........................................................................................
35
3. Development of Preliminary Form of Product ...............................
36
4. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
36
5. Main Product Revision ....................................................................
37
B. Research Respondents ...........................................................................
1. Research and Information Collecting ..............................................
37
37
2. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
37
C. Setting ...................................................................................................
38
D. Research Instruments ............................................................................
38
1. Research and Information Collecting .............................................
38
2. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
39
E. Data Gathering Techniques ...................................................................
40
F. Data Analysis ........................................................................................
41
1. Research and Information Collecting .............................................
41
2. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
43
G. Research Procedures .............................................................................
45
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................
48
A. Identify Instructional Goals ..................................................................
48
1. Competence Standard ......................................................................
48
B. Analyze Learners and Contexts ............................................................
49
1. Data Presentation ............................................................................
49
a. The Results of the Questionnaires for the English Teacher ......
49
b. The Results of Interviewing the Parents ....................................
51
c. The Results of the Class Observation .......................................
56
C. Write the Performance Objectives ........................................................
59
x
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
1. Basic Competency............................................................................
59
D. Develop Instructional Strategy...............................................................
62
E. Develop and Select Instructional Materials ...........................................
63
F. Design and Conduct Formative Evaluation ..........................................
63
1. Data Presentation ............................................................................
64
2. The Respondents’ Comments and Suggestions Toward the
Designed Materials ..........................................................................
66
3. Implement One-to-One Evaluation with Learners ..........................
67
G. Revise the Instruction ............................................................................
70
H. The Presentation of the Designed Materials .......................................
71
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ..........................
74
A. CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................
74
B. SUGGESTIONS ...................................................................................
76
REFERENCES ............................................................................................
78
APPENDICES .............................................................................................
81
Appendix A: Letter of Permission ...............................................................
81
Appendix B: Surat Keterangan Penelitian ..................................................
82
Appendix C: Questionnaire of Research and Information Collecting .........
83
Appendix D: List of Interview Questions.....................................................
87
Appendix E: Observation Sheet ..................................................................
88
Appendix F:.Permohonan Pengisian Kuesioner .........................................
90
Appendix G: Questionnaire of Materials Evaluation ..................................
91
Appendix H: Gambaran Umum Materi .......................................................
94
Appendix I: Teacher’s Guidance ................................................................
97
Appendix J: Syllabus ..................................................................................
100
Appendix K: Lesson Plan ............................................................................
104
Appendix L: Presentation of the Materials .................................................
130
xi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 2.1 A Material Design Model ..........................................................
21
Figure 2.2 A Task Based Learning Framework for Beginners and
Young Learners ..........................................................................
24
Figure 2.3 Dick, Carey, and Carey’s Model of Instructional Design .........
30
Figure 2.4 The Adapted Instructional Design Model...................................
33
xii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 3.1 The Format of Observation Sheet ................................................
43
Table 3.2 The Format of Second Questionnaire ........................................
44
Table 3.3 The Format of the Resulted Data .................................................
44
Table 4.1 The Result of the Questionnaire for an English Teacher ............
50
Table 4.2 The Result of Interviewing the Parents .......................................
52
Table 4.3 The Result of the Class Observation............................................
56
Table 4.4 The Indicators .............................................................................
61
Table 4.5 The Presented Data of Materials Evaluation ...............................
65
Table 4.6 The Final Version of the Materials .............................................
72
Table 5.1 The Units in the Materials ...........................................................
75
xiii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRACT
Widianingsih, Maria Melani. 2008. A Set of English Stories for Children to
Teach Vocabulary in An English Extracurricular Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
This research was conducted to design a set of English stories for children
to teach vocabulary. The designed materials were intended to 7 up to 11 year-old
children. There were two questions formulated in the problem formulation that
were 1). How is a set of English stories for children to teach vocabulary was
designed? and 2). What does the designed English learning materials look like?
To answer the research questions above, the researcher applied five steps
of Research & Development theory. They were: (1) Research and Information
Collecting, (2) Planning, (3) Development of Preliminary Form of Product, (4)
Preliminary Field Testing, and (5) Main Product Revision. The data gathering
techniques used were questionnaire, interview and observation.
To answer the first question, the researcher adapted the Dick and Carey’s
instructional design model that consisted of eight steps. The adapted steps were:
(1) Identifying instructional goals, (2) Conducting the instructional analysis, (3)
Analyzing learners and contexts, (4) Writing the performance objectives, (5)
Developing instructional strategy, (6) Developing and selecting instructional
materials (7) Designing and conducting formative evaluation of the instruction (8)
Revise the instruction. The researcher also adapted Task-Based Approach for
beginners and young learners in designing the materials.
After being designed, the designed materials were evaluated by
distributing the second questionnaire to an English teacher of SD Kanisius
Demangan Baru and several lecturers of English Education Study Program Sanata
Dharma University. The researcher used the Central Tendency formulation to
analyze that data. It was resulted that the score of the Mean were 3.8, 4.6, 3.6, 4.2,
4.4, 4.2, and 4. The result showed that all score of the Mean were more than 3.5.
Therefore, it could be concluded that most of respondents agreed that the designed
materials were acceptable and appropriate to be implemented. Moreover, the
researcher also implemented a unit to a 9 and an 11 year-old-children to ensure
that the materials were appropriate and applicable to be implemented. However,
there were some revisions that need to be conducted to improve the designed
materials.
To answer the second question, the researcher presented the final version
of the designed materials after making some revisions and improvements based on
results of the designed materials evaluation. The materials consisted of eight units.
They were The Animals, The Fruits, The Colors, The Shapes, The Transportation,
The Family, The House, and The Outer Space. Each unit consisted of three main
parts, which were Introduction, Let’s Enjoy the Story, and Review.
Finally, the researcher expects that the designed materials will help
children to learn vocabulary effectively through the enjoyable way, which is story.
The research also expects that the designed materials will be useful for the English
teachers and the future researchers.
xiv
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRAK
Widianingsih, Maria Melani. 2008. A Set of English Stories for Children to
Teach Vocabulary in An English Extracurricular Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
Penelitian ini dilaksanakan untuk merancang seperangkat cerita berbahasa
Inggris untuk anak-anak untuk mengajar kosa kata. Materi yang dirancang
ditujukan untuk anak-anak usia 7 sampai 11 tahun. Terdapat dua pertanyaan
rumusan masalah yaitu 1). Bagaimana seperangkat cerita berbahasa Inggris untuk
anak-anak untuk mengajar kosa kata dirancang? dan 2). Bagaimanakah bentuk
seperangkat cerita bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak untuk mengajar kosa kata
tersebut?
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan rumusan masalah diatas, peneliti menerapkan
5 langkah Research and Development (R & D) yaitu: (1) Pengumpulan penelitian
dan informasi, (2) Perencanaan, (3) Pengembangan bentuk awal dari produk, (4)
Pengujian awal di lapangan, dan (5) Perbaikan produk utama. Peneliti
menggunakan kuesioner, wawancara dan observasi untuk mengumpulkan data.
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama, peneliti mengadaptasi langkahlangkah sebuah model perancangan pembelajaran dari Dick and Carey. Langkahlangkah yang diadaptasi antara lain: (1) memperkenalkan tujuan pembelajaran, (2)
melaksanakan analisis pembelajaran, (3) menganalisa pelajar dan keadaan (4)
menulis tujuan pelaksanaan (5) mengembangkan strategi pembelajaran, (6)
mengembangkan dan menyeleksi materi pembelajaran, (7) merancang dan
melaksanakan evaluasi dan (8) memperbaiki materi pembelajaran. Selain itu,
peneliti juga mengadaptasi teori pendekatan pembelajaran berbasis tugas (TaskBased Learning) untuk pelajar yang masih muda dan pemula.
Materi yang telah dirancang kemudian dievaluasi dengan menyebarkan
kuesioner yang kedua kepada guru bahasa Inggris SD Kanisius Demangan Baru
dan beberapa dosen Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma. Untuk
menganalisa data yang didapat, peneliti menggunakan rumus Central Tendency.
Dari analisis data diatas, Peneliti menemukan bahwa nilai rata-rata atau
Mean adalah 3.8, 4.6, 3.6, 4.2, 4.4, 4.2, dan 4. Hasil evaluasi tersebut
menunjukkan bahwa semua nilai Mean atau nilai rata-rata berada di atas 3.5.
Dengan demikian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa sebagian besar responden setuju
bahwa materi pembelajaran ini sudah sesuai dan dapat diterapkan. Disamping itu,
peneliti juga mempraktekan satu unit cerita kepada dua anak yang berusia 7 dan
11 tahun. Hal ini dilakukan untuk memastikan bahwa materi ini sudah sesuai
untuk diterapkan. Namun, masih diperlukan beberapa perbaikan dan peningkatan
dalam proses perancangan materi dan bentuk materi.
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua, peneliti menyajikan versi akhir dari
materi yang telah dirancang setelah melalui beberapa perbaikan dan peningkatan
berdasarkan hasil evaluasi diatas. Materi tersebut terdiri dari 8 unit. Kedelapan
unit tersebut adalah the Animals, the Fruits, the Colors, the Shapes, the
Transportation, the Family, the House, dan the Outer Space. Masing-masing unit
terdiri dari 3 bagian besar yaitu Introduction, Let’s Enjoy the Story dan Review.
xv
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Akhirnya, peneliti berharap bahwa materi yang telah dirancang dapat
membantu anak-anak untuk belajar kosa kata bahasa Inggris dengan efektif dan
menyenangkan. Peneliti juga berharap bahwa materi tersebut dapat berguna bagi
para guru dan peneliti berikutnya.
xvi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter explains the background of this research, problem
identification, problem formulation, problem limitation, research objectives, and
research benefits as well as the definition on terms.
A. Research Background
English as the international language is used by many people in many
places, countries, and in many media of information or communication. It is
important for people to acquire English in order to communicate with foreigner
and to get information which is available in English. Therefore, many people are
aware that English should be introduced earlier to children. Children are in the
appropriate age to be introduced and to be taught English. When children learn
English, they will acquire pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary easily because
they are still in the Critical Period, “a period during which language acquisition is
easy and complete and beyond which it is difficult and typically incomplete”
(Ellis, 1997:67). Critical period helps children to learn and to acquire a language,
which is not only the first language but also the second language.
In learning and acquiring a language, vocabulary is the first thing to be
considered. Vocabulary is important because it is the basic feature of a language.
A learner usually knows the vocabulary and its meaning first, and later the
1
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2
pronunciation, structure and the other skills. Therefore, in this research, the
researcher emphasizes on the vocabulary to teach English to children.
Children are in the age when they like stories and have their own
imagination. Many storybooks for children are available in the bookstore. Some
of these storybooks are created creatively to give much information about new
vocabulary to the children. These books have successfully attracted children’s
attention. Through these storybooks, they learn new vocabulary in an enjoyable
way. However, some of the books do not consist of additional activities for
children to practice using the new vocabulary after they read or listen to the story.
Considering this case, the researcher tries to design a set of English
learning materials in the form of English stories for children to teach vocabulary
in an English extracurricular class. The materials will be applied by using
storytelling. Storytelling attracts children’s attention and motivates them to learn
English because storytelling can stimulate children’s imagination. The topics of
the stories should be interesting.
The researcher creates the stories based on the research and information
collecting. The researcher also adapts cartoon characters that are familiar to
children to attract children’s interest. The stories are supported by colored pictures
to help children to imagine the events in the story and to get description of the
new vocabulary. The storytelling materials are also supported by practice
activities such as, drawing pictures, pronouncing the words, sharing the ideas and
some simple games to help children to be more familiar and to memorize the new
vocabulary easily. The pictures and the practice activities are also used to attract
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3
children’s attention and to prevent them from boredom during the teachinglearning process.
Through storytelling, children are expected to learn certain vocabulary in
English, to comprehend short paragraphs and to respond by answering the
questions related to the story. Thus, children can learn English vocabulary in an
enjoyable and an interesting way.
B. Problem Identification
Designing a set of English learning materials for children especially by
using stories will involve many factors. Many children still have difficulties in
reading and understanding a story in English. Therefore, the material and
vocabulary should be made simple and appropriate, so that children can
comprehend the story easily. Nevertheless, in designing the material, the
researcher also considers and adapts the curriculum for the first grade up to the
fifth grade students of Elementary School. Besides, the researcher uses TaskBased approach to design the materials.
The theme in the stories should be interesting and varied. Not only the
theme, but also the format of the storytelling should attract and motivate children
to learn. Every event and key word in the story will be illustrated in form of
pictures. Pictures are used to make the meaning of the words clear and easy to be
understood by the children. The pictures will be inserted in the middle of each
story. The storytelling can use the characters that children are familiar to, so that it
will ease them to imagine.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4
Another consideration is the teaching-learning activity in the class. The
activity should not stop after the children have already comprehended the story,
but it should be continued with other activities as the next step for the vocabulary
acquisition. Through this activity, children are expected to practice their
memorization of the story and the vocabulary.
C. Problem Formulation
The researcher formulates the problems in teaching vocabulary through
storytelling as follows:
1. How is a set of English stories for children to teach vocabulary in an English
extracurricular class designed?
2. What do the designed English learning materials look like?
D. Problem Limitation
The researcher focuses on designing a set of English learning materials in
the form of English stories for children to teach vocabulary in an English
extracurricular class. In this case, the term children refers to young learners
between the ages of seven and eleven. The learning materials are in the form of
stories. That is because children like stories and they are still in the age of having
their own imagination. The researcher also considers the curriculum for
Elementary School students and the Task-Based approach that will influence the
designed materials. This research emphasizes on the enhancement of vocabulary
acquisition by developing interesting stories which are appropriate for children.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
5
E. Research Objectives
This research aims to:
1. Design a set of English stories for children to teach vocabulary.
2. Present a set of English learning materials.
F. Research Benefits
This research will bring the benefits for people who are concerned with
teaching-learning technique, they are possibly as follows:
1. Teachers
Teachers have a new way of teaching. They can also implement the use of
storytelling for enhancing the children’s vocabulary acquisition in the classroom
and make the classroom situation more interesting.
2. Children
Children have more new stories. They can enjoy the teaching-learning process
more because it uses storytelling. Children can also acquire the vocabulary easily
through the storytelling, because in the storytelling, the vocabulary is taught in an
interesting context.
3. The Researcher
The researcher would have knowledge and experience to design a set of English
learning materials in the form of English stories for children particularly for
improving vocabulary.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
6
4. The Parents
Parents can be directly involved in teaching foreign language to their children by
practicing the storytelling at home.
5. Other Researchers
The researcher expects that this designed materials will be useful for those who
want to do similar research, they can use it as their references.
G. Definition of Terms
In this research, there are many specific terms, which are being used.
Therefore, the researcher provides the meaning of some uncommon words that are
often being used in this research to help the reader understand the meaning and to
avoid misunderstanding.
1. Learning Materials
According to the Collins, “learning is the process of gaining knowledge through
studying” while “material is the thing that you need for a particular activity”
(Collins, 2001: 879). Learning material in this research refers to a set of English
stories for children to teach vocabulary. Therefore, in this research, learning
materials are the topics or things that should be learned by the children, which
emphasize on the vocabulary acquisition.
2. Children
“Child is young person from birth to the age of full physical development”
(Hornby, 1995: 192). In this research, children refer to young learners between the
ages of seven until eleven.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
7
3. Story
Story is “a narrative account of a real or imagined event or events” (McWilliams,
1998: 1). In this research, the story refers to the sequenced events that involve
some vocabulary to be learned by children. The stories will be in the form of
printed-stories, which are supported with colored pictures to help children imagine
and understand the stories, particularly the vocabulary. The researcher also uses
cartoon characters which are familiar to children as one way to attract children’s
interest.
In the stories, there are not only the meanings, but also explanation and
information about the vocabulary related to the topics. Hopefully, through this
story, children do not only learn new vocabulary, but also get new information
that can improve their knowledge related to the topic. The topics of the stories will
be determined from the result of research and information collection.
4. Storytelling
Storytelling is the original form of teaching, as Pedersen said that “a simple
narrative will always be the cornerstone of the art of teaching” (1995: 1).
Meanwhile McWilliams (1998: 1) based on National Storytelling Association in
1997, said that “storytelling is the art of using language, vocalization, and/or
physical movement and gesture to reveal the elements and images of a story to a
specific, live audience”. However in this research, storytelling refers to the media
which uses stories to teach English for children and emphasizes on the vocabulary
acquisition. The teacher then becomes the storyteller who tells the story
attractively and expressively. While telling the story, the teacher uses bilingual
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
8
language to help the children understand the story and the meaning of the
vocabulary.
5. Vocabulary
According to Hornby, “vocabulary is the total number of words in a language”
(Hornby; 1995: 1331). Meanwhile, Burton said that vocabulary is “considered as
a stock of words in language that can support the learners to the skills of the
language“ (Burton, 1982: 98-99). In this research, vocabulary refers to the English
words of certain topics which will be learned by the children through storytelling.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter discusses the theories on which the research is mainly based on.
This chapter has two main parts, which are theoretical description and theoretical
framework.
A. Theoretical Description
In conducting the research, the researcher takes into account some basic
theories about teaching vocabulary, children and second language acquisition, stories
and storytelling, listening activity, material development, curriculum 2006, taskbased learning for beginners and young learners, and instructional design model.
Therefore, this part explains and describes the basic theories of this research.
1. Vocabulary
According to Hornby (1995: 1331), “vocabulary is the total number of words
in a language”. This definition means that every word in a language is included in
vocabulary. When someone learns a language, he or she must deal with the
vocabulary of the language. Learning vocabulary is the first step to do before
learning the other skills or elements as Decarrico (2001) said in Celce (2001:285)
that “vocabulary learning is central to language acquisition, whether the language is
first, second, or foreign”. Vocabulary is important in a language. It seems that
vocabulary is the core of the language, for without vocabulary, someone must not be
able to learn a language. Nunan (2003:133-134) explained four backgrounds for
9
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
10
teaching vocabulary. The four backgrounds were learning from meaning-focused
input, deliberate learning, learning from meaning-focused output and fluency
development. In this research, the researcher uses one of the backgrounds that is
deliberate learning. The deliberate learning is sometimes called language-focused
learning. It involves paying attention deliberately to language features such as
sounds, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, or discourse that are presented out of context.
The most familiar learning technique is learning new vocabulary by memorizing the
first language translations.
Nunan (2003: 135-140) also stated the principles for teaching vocabulary.
They are as follows:
a. Focus on the most useful vocabulary first. According to Nunan (2003: 135), the
most useful vocabulary of every language that learners need whether they use the
language for listening, speaking, reading, or writing, or whether they use the
language in formal and informal situations is the most frequent 1000 word families
of English. It means that the teacher should teach the vocabulary, which is mostly
used by people or the high frequency words, to help learners to cope with English in
written or oral form.
b. Focus on the vocabulary in the most appropriate way. In this principle, we can
use four strategies to learn vocabulary. Those are using word parts, guessing from
context, using word cards, and using dictionaries. However, since this research uses
stories as the media and children as the subjects, the strategies that are used by the
researcher are guessing from context and using word cards. From the story, children
can guess the meaning of words that they do not understand. Teacher can also help
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
11
them to understand and to memorize the meaning of words by using word cards. In
this research, word cards refers to small cards whose sides are written the English
word on one side and the first language translation on the other.
c. Give attention to high frequency words across the four strands of a course. The
words which are used should be the commonly used words in communication
through writing, listening, speaking and reading skills.
d. Encourage learners to reflect on and to take responsibility for learning. The
learner should be responsible for their own learning so that their learning will not be
useless. Since the subjects in this research are children, teacher can encourage them
by providing the opportunity to practice and to train their English.
The theories above give the information on strategies in teaching vocabulary.
Therefore, the researcher can design and apply the material designed to teach
vocabulary for children through stories appropriately.
2.
Children and Second Language Acquisition
Children are chosen as the appropriate participants to be introduced to
English. In this research, the term “children” refers to the young learners between 7
and 11 years old. The ages are chosen because it is considered as the concrete
operational period as stated by Piaget that this period extended from age 6 to about
age 11 or 12 (Vasta, 1995: 276). Piaget as cited in Vasta, (1995: 254), also stated that
“concrete operational is the period of development in which the children come to
understand various forms of conservation, as well as classification and relational
reasoning”. In this period, children’s logical thought are under heavy development in
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
12
which they will learn the second language more easily through various types of
learning media for example story. There are surveys in neurological and affective
aspects conducted by the experts showing that children have many advantages that
help them to acquire a second language more effectively than adults do.
According to the neurological consideration, the studies of a human brain and
its lateralization, there is a theory about both hemispheres of the brain. “Intellectual,
logical, and analytic functions appear to be largely located in the left hemisphere,
while the right hemisphere control functions related to emotional and social needs”
(Brown, 2000: 54). Brown (2000: 54) also stated that “language functions appear to
be controlled mainly in the left hemisphere”. It means that the human’s brain,
especially the right and the left hemispheres, have particular function. In this case,
the left hemisphere involves the ability to produce and to comprehend a language.
Moreover children also have Critical Period, which is “a period during which
language acquisition is easy and complete and beyond which it is difficult and
typically incomplete” (Ellis, 1997: 67). Critical period helps children to learn and to
acquire a second language better than adult. This critical period exists along the
children’s growth or before the puberty. Penfield and Roberts (1959) argued that “the
optimum age for language acquisition falls within the first ten years of life. During
this period, the brain retains plasticity, but with the onset of puberty this plasticity
begins to disappear” (Ellis, 1985: 107). That is also why children between the ages of
7 up to 11 years old are at the appropriate age to learn and acquire second language.
After children have their puberty, they will no longer be in critical period for
language learning that can help them to acquire language easier especially in the
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
13
pronunciation of the language. In children’s brain, the hemispheres keep the brain
plasticity for acquisition of any languages. Therefore, children will be better in
pronunciation, speaking and listening than adult.
Under affective consideration, “a child’s language ego is dynamic, growing,
and flexible through the age of puberty” (Brown, 2000: 65). It makes younger
children less frightened because they are less aware of language forms and the
possibility of making mistakes in those forms.
Child learners, for example, playing with other native young children, can
enjoy their language interaction. They can speak loudly, they can ask anytime
and anywhere, and they do not have to worry about making mistakes. Adult
learners, on the other hand, have difficulties in participating in natural
language interaction when they learn a foreign language (Nagai, 1997: 5).
Most children are braver in trying to speak in a second language without
being afraid of making mistakes. This makes the children more fluent than adults in
producing a second language, especially if the children learn the second language for
a long time. Peer pressure is also the affective factors of second language acquisition.
Children are pressured to be like other children. In the target language situation, for
example, children are pressured to understand and to communicate in the target
language. This pressure makes a child highly motivated to be like the native children.
As Ellis said that “children, who learn the second language, are strongly motivated to
become part of the first language community and require a native-like accent to
achieve this” (Ellis, 1985: 110).
From the children’s psychological side, Chuang (2001), a researcher who did
a study on teaching English to kindergarten children in Taiwan, said that “young
children love rhymes, chants, songs and stories” (2001: 75). Therefore, in teaching
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
14
English to children, teacher should make the lesson interesting and fun. Teacher
should vary the activity to prevent the children from getting bored during the
teaching learning process. One of the variations in teaching learning process is
through storytelling. Chuang (2001: 76) in her research quoted the Scott and
Ytreberg’s statement about storytelling in teaching English to children as follows:
When it comes to telling stories in the English classroom, Scott and Ytreberg
(1993: 21) give some suggestions: “… when we are talking and the children
are listening, it’s important to say things clearly, and to repeat them. When
you are telling a story, for example, you don’t have to tell it from beginning
to end without breaks. You can re-tell it again and again as you go along.” In
fact, many stories are full of repetition in themselves. It helps children
remember the words and sentences (Scott and Ytreberg, 1993: 97).
Teaching the children by using the stories in foreign language learning can
help them to remember words and sentences. Stories can attract their interest and
attention to learn English. Meanwhile, pictures can help children to imagine and to
understand the stories. Children are highly motivated to learn English. However, the
variety of activity in the classroom and the material topics are important to prevent
the children from getting bored.
3. Stories and Storytelling
The researcher uses stories to teach English vocabulary which will be applied
by using storytelling. Maley stated that “stories are comfortingly familiar; there is a
‘grammar’ of stories which can be followed by children even if they do not
understand every word” (Wright, 1995:2). This statement meant that although the
children do not understand each word, they can still follow the stories and understand
what the stories are about. Another expert in storytelling, Wright (1995: 3), stated
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
15
that “stories offered a major and constant source of language experience for
children”. He said that stories were motivating, rich in language experience and
inexpensive. That is why, according to Wright (1995), stories can be used whether in
teaching mother tongue or foreign language. Besides, Wright (1995: 4-5) also gave
the important reasons why stories should play a central role in teaching a foreign
language to children. They are as follows:
a.
Motivation
Children have a constant need for stories and they will always be willing to listen or
to read, if the right moment is chosen.
b.
Meaning
Children want to find meaning in stories, so they listen with a purpose. If they find
meaning, they are rewarded through their ability to understand, and are motivated to
try to improve they ability to understand even more.
c.
Fluency
The stories also influence the children’s fluency on four skills. In listening and
reading fluency, these fluencies are based on a positive attitude to not understand
everything and the skills of searching for meaning, predicting and guessing (p. 4).
Children can do this on their own language well but they need time and
encouragement to do this in the foreign language. Meanwhile, in speaking and
writing fluency, the children should be encouraged not to be afraid of making
mistakes. For many children, stories can be a natural way to learn a foreign language.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
16
d.
Language Awareness
Stories help children become aware of the general ‘feel’ and sound of foreign
language. Stories also introduce children to language items and sentence construction
without their necessarily having to use their productivity.
Another statement about storytelling comes from National Storytelling
Association in 1997, (McWilliams, 1998: 1). According to National Storytelling
Association, “a story is a narrative account of a real or imagined event or events
while, a telling, is the live, person-to-person oral and physical presentation of a story
to an audience.” It also gives the definition of storytelling in which it is the art of
using language, vocalization, and/or physical movement and gesture to reveal the
elements and images of a story to a specific, live audience (McWilliams, 1998: 1).
The teller’s roles are to prepare and to present the language items, the language use,
and the activity in the teaching-learning process. Therefore, the objectives of the
course can be achieved. In this research, the teller refers to the English teacher of
elementary school and parents.
Robinson, one of the experts in storytelling, says that experts in education
have discussed the implementation of storytelling in language teaching as cited by
Forest (2000: 1). The experts said that storytelling is appropriate to be used in
teaching learning process because they have known that the arts can contribute to
student academic success and emotional well-being (Forest, 2000: 1). Robinson also
says that the ancient art of storytelling is especially well suited for student
exploration and as a folk art, storytelling is accessible to all ages and abilities. This
means that the storytelling is open for all people especially children in various ages
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
17
and skills. He also states that “as a learning tool, storytelling can encourage students
to explore their unique expressiveness and can heighten a student's ability to
communicate thoughts and feelings in an articulate, lucid manner” (Forest, 2000: 1).
Moreover Robinson as cited in Forest (2000: 1-2), explains the reason why
storytelling is appropriate to be used in language teaching. Some of them are gaining
the verbal skills, using the imagination, and passing on wisdom. Firstly, storytelling
is able to gain the verbal wisdom. It is such a skill that is needed to express thought
or feeling lucidly. Storytelling usually deals with children; therefore, we need to say
something appropriately in front of children. Secondly, it involves imagination. Both
telling a story and listening to a well-told tale encourage students to use their
imaginations. Storytelling can help students to develop their imagination. Developing
students’ imagination can improve students’ creativity in inventing new ideas and
contribute to students’ self-confidence to make their dreams and hopes come true.
The last reason is passing on wisdom. Storytelling based on traditional folktales is a
gentle way to guide young people to have the examples of both wise and unwise
actions; therefore, students can learn how to behave wisely in their daily life.
In telling the stories, there are some techniques that can be used by the
storyteller as stated by Raisen and Isbell (1999: viii). The techniques are the
followings:
a. Paying attention to the children during telling the story, and making clarification
if it is necessary.
b. Supporting the children to interact and participate during the stories.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
18
c. Modifying the story to adjust the experience and the development level of the
children who listen to the story.
d. Using variation of sounds, facial expression, gestures and repeated words to
involve the children into the story.
e. Using the right words and description to help the children imagine the event of the
story.
f. Repeating the story can help children’s comprehension toward the story.
4. Listening Activity
As quoted by Brownell (1996: 45), the definition of listening is “the process
of receiving, constructing meaning from and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal
messages (Emmert, 1994).” It can be assumed that the process of listening involves
the reception and processing of sounds. In listening process, a listener hears a sound
or message, understands the meaning, and gives the appropriate responses toward the
sounds or the message. The definition also supports the Brownell’s statement that
“listening is prerequisite to effective com
A SET OF ENGLISH STORIES FOR CHILDREN TO TEACH
VOCABULARY IN AN ENGLISH EXTRACURRICULAR CLASS
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
In English Language Education
By
MARIA MELANI WIDIANINGSIH
Student Number: 031214116
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
i
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
DEDICATION PAGE
“Setiap kamu punya mimpi atau keinginan atau cita-cita, kamu taruh di sini, di
depan kening kamu…jangan menempel. Biarkan dia menggantung, mengambang 5
sentimeter di depan kening kamu…Jadi dia ga akan pernah lepas dari mata kamu. Dan
kamu bawa mimpi dan keyakinan kamu itu setiap hari, kamu lihat setiap hari, dan
percaya bahwa kamu bisa. Apa pun hambatannya, bilang sama diri kamu sendiri, klo
kamu percaya sama keinginan itu, dan kamu nggak bisa menyerah. Bahwa kamu akan
berdiri lagi setiap kamu jatuh, bahwa kamu akan mengejarnya sampai dapat, apa pun
itu, segala keinginan, mimpi, cita-cita, keyakinan diri…
Biarkan keyakinan kamu, 5 sentimeter menggantung, mengambang di depan
kening kamu. Dan, sehabis itu yang kamu perlu cuma …
Cuma kaki yang akan berjalan lebih jauh dari biasanya, tangan yang akan
berbuat lebih banyak dari biasanya, mata yang akan menatap lebih lama dari biasanya,
leher yang akan lebih sering melihat ke atas, lapisan tekad yang seribu kali lebih keras
dari baja, dan hati yang akan bekerja lebih keras dari biasanya, serta mulut yang akan
selalu berdoa…
Dan kamu akan selalu dikenang sebagai orang yang masih punya mimpi dan
keyakinan, bukan cuma seonggok daging yang hanya punya nama…
Percaya pada 5 sentimeter di depan kamu…”
By: Dhonny Dirgantara
The author of “5 cm”
I CAN IF I THINK I CAN!
Be the Brightest for People around You!
This thesis is dedicated to:
My Lord, Jesus Christ
My lovely family: Dad, Mom, my sisters, my nephews and nieces.
My Key
My beloved best friends
v
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to give my greatest gratitude to my Lord Jesus
Christ Almighty, for His endless love, blessings, mercy and guidance in every
breath that I take. I thank Mother Mary for all the amazing things in my life and
for being beside me every time and everywhere, especially until I accomplish my
thesis.
I also want to give my sincere gratitude to my major sponsor Caecilia
Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd., and Ch. Lhaksmita A. S.Pd., M.Ed., as my cosponsor, for their guidance, suggestions, criticism and being patient when I was
accomplishing my thesis.
I am deeply thankful to Dr. Retno Muljani, M.Pd. as my academic
advisor and to all PBI lecturers for the teaching, guidance and support during my
study time. I also would like to thank Laurentia Sumarni S.Pd., Markus
Budiraharjo S.Pd., M.Ed., Christina Kristiyani, S.Pd., M.Pd., and Dr. FX.
Mukarto M. S. for being my research respondents and giving feedback for my
thesis. Next, I thank PBI secretariat staffs (Mbak Dani and Mbak Tari), for the
assistance and the support during the last five years.
I would like to give my special gratitude to the Headmaster of SD Kanisius
Demangan Baru, Dra. K. Yamini for allowing me to conduct the research in the
school and to Lucia Rina Tri K. S.Pd., the English teacher in SD Kanisius
Demangan Baru, for the assistance, guidance and the kindness during my
research.
vi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
My deepest gratitude, I would like to address to my beloved parents F.L
Murbanun S. and C. Melly Sesa for their love, prayers, patience, and financial
support given to me. My special thank I give to my lovely sisters, Mbak Rita,
Mbak Lia, Mbak Trin, Mbak Lusi (for always being beside me) , and Mbak
Endah for the love, prayers and financial supports given to me during my study
and for being my great sisters.
My special gratitude I give to my Key, Albertus Vembri Astanto for the
love, attention, patience, and support given to me.
Next, I dedicate my deepest gratitude, to my best friends Dudunk (for the
amazing drawings), Timur (for being a great thesis partner), Cipok, Cherli, Adit,
Priska, Nina, Atik, Kiki, Grace, and Uri who support me and share their
happiness, sadness and the unforgettable experiences. I thank all PBI friends,
especially Dian, Rinma, Christine, Titik, Ema, Dono, Adit curly, Indra, Dera,
Chandra, Siwi, Bunga, Ajenk, Febri, Ardi, Winny A., Intika, Winny, Tony,
Ji’i, Patrick, Gaby, Tika, Ratri, Ipat, Genjix, and Pujek for the friendship,
support and knowledge given to me and for the beautiful moment that we have
during my study.
I would like to thank all Tunggorono Crews, Bapak Wasno and family,
Sinta, Neria, Anie, Diana, Novi, Retno, Hony, Ulis, Avie, Lia, Ndari, Bertin,
Poppy, Dian, Deta, Ira, Prima, Desy, Dizan, Mela, Lena, Adis, Monic, Q-wot,
Tommy, Lintang, Nunus, Lala, and Gerbang Community for the spirits,
advice, suggestion and supporting me to do my thesis.
vii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
I thank my P3W/Mitra friends, Henni, Titis, Bambang, Irene, Sarah,
Merli, Fandi, Iis, Putri, Banu, Eko, Wiwied, Markus, Tari, Nani, Eva, Novi,
Zico, and all new Mitra members and USD Library employees for always
reminding and motivating me to accomplish my thesis.
At last, I thank those who I cannot mention the names that assist and
support me to accomplish my thesis. God bless them.
Maria Melani Widianingsih
viii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ..............................................................................................
i
APPROVAL PAGES ..................................................................................
ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...........................................
iv
DEDICATION PAGE .................................................................................
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..........................................................................
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................
ix
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................
xii
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................
xiii
ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................
xiv
ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................
xv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................
1
A. Research Background ............................................................................
1
B. Problem Identification ...........................................................................
3
C. Problem Formulation ...........................................................................
4
D. Problem Limitation ...............................................................................
4
E. Research Objectives ...............................................................................
5
F. Research Benefits...................................................................................
5
G. Definition of Terms ...............................................................................
6
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................
9
A. Theoretical Description .........................................................................
9
1. Vocabulary ......................................................................................
9
2. Children and Second Language Acquisition ..................................
11
3. Stories and Storytelling ...................................................................
14
4. Listening Activities .........................................................................
18
5. Materials Development ...................................................................
20
6. Curriculum 2006 ..............................................................................
21
7. Task-Based Learning for Beginners and Young Learners ..............
23
ix
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
8. Dick, Carey, and Carey’s Instructional Model ...............................
28
B. Theoretical Framework .........................................................................
30
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................
34
A. Research Methods ..................................................................................
34
1. Research and Information Collecting .............................................
34
2. Planning ..........................................................................................
35
3. Development of Preliminary Form of Product ...............................
36
4. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
36
5. Main Product Revision ....................................................................
37
B. Research Respondents ...........................................................................
1. Research and Information Collecting ..............................................
37
37
2. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
37
C. Setting ...................................................................................................
38
D. Research Instruments ............................................................................
38
1. Research and Information Collecting .............................................
38
2. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
39
E. Data Gathering Techniques ...................................................................
40
F. Data Analysis ........................................................................................
41
1. Research and Information Collecting .............................................
41
2. Preliminary Field Testing ................................................................
43
G. Research Procedures .............................................................................
45
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................
48
A. Identify Instructional Goals ..................................................................
48
1. Competence Standard ......................................................................
48
B. Analyze Learners and Contexts ............................................................
49
1. Data Presentation ............................................................................
49
a. The Results of the Questionnaires for the English Teacher ......
49
b. The Results of Interviewing the Parents ....................................
51
c. The Results of the Class Observation .......................................
56
C. Write the Performance Objectives ........................................................
59
x
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
1. Basic Competency............................................................................
59
D. Develop Instructional Strategy...............................................................
62
E. Develop and Select Instructional Materials ...........................................
63
F. Design and Conduct Formative Evaluation ..........................................
63
1. Data Presentation ............................................................................
64
2. The Respondents’ Comments and Suggestions Toward the
Designed Materials ..........................................................................
66
3. Implement One-to-One Evaluation with Learners ..........................
67
G. Revise the Instruction ............................................................................
70
H. The Presentation of the Designed Materials .......................................
71
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ..........................
74
A. CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................
74
B. SUGGESTIONS ...................................................................................
76
REFERENCES ............................................................................................
78
APPENDICES .............................................................................................
81
Appendix A: Letter of Permission ...............................................................
81
Appendix B: Surat Keterangan Penelitian ..................................................
82
Appendix C: Questionnaire of Research and Information Collecting .........
83
Appendix D: List of Interview Questions.....................................................
87
Appendix E: Observation Sheet ..................................................................
88
Appendix F:.Permohonan Pengisian Kuesioner .........................................
90
Appendix G: Questionnaire of Materials Evaluation ..................................
91
Appendix H: Gambaran Umum Materi .......................................................
94
Appendix I: Teacher’s Guidance ................................................................
97
Appendix J: Syllabus ..................................................................................
100
Appendix K: Lesson Plan ............................................................................
104
Appendix L: Presentation of the Materials .................................................
130
xi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 2.1 A Material Design Model ..........................................................
21
Figure 2.2 A Task Based Learning Framework for Beginners and
Young Learners ..........................................................................
24
Figure 2.3 Dick, Carey, and Carey’s Model of Instructional Design .........
30
Figure 2.4 The Adapted Instructional Design Model...................................
33
xii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 3.1 The Format of Observation Sheet ................................................
43
Table 3.2 The Format of Second Questionnaire ........................................
44
Table 3.3 The Format of the Resulted Data .................................................
44
Table 4.1 The Result of the Questionnaire for an English Teacher ............
50
Table 4.2 The Result of Interviewing the Parents .......................................
52
Table 4.3 The Result of the Class Observation............................................
56
Table 4.4 The Indicators .............................................................................
61
Table 4.5 The Presented Data of Materials Evaluation ...............................
65
Table 4.6 The Final Version of the Materials .............................................
72
Table 5.1 The Units in the Materials ...........................................................
75
xiii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRACT
Widianingsih, Maria Melani. 2008. A Set of English Stories for Children to
Teach Vocabulary in An English Extracurricular Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
This research was conducted to design a set of English stories for children
to teach vocabulary. The designed materials were intended to 7 up to 11 year-old
children. There were two questions formulated in the problem formulation that
were 1). How is a set of English stories for children to teach vocabulary was
designed? and 2). What does the designed English learning materials look like?
To answer the research questions above, the researcher applied five steps
of Research & Development theory. They were: (1) Research and Information
Collecting, (2) Planning, (3) Development of Preliminary Form of Product, (4)
Preliminary Field Testing, and (5) Main Product Revision. The data gathering
techniques used were questionnaire, interview and observation.
To answer the first question, the researcher adapted the Dick and Carey’s
instructional design model that consisted of eight steps. The adapted steps were:
(1) Identifying instructional goals, (2) Conducting the instructional analysis, (3)
Analyzing learners and contexts, (4) Writing the performance objectives, (5)
Developing instructional strategy, (6) Developing and selecting instructional
materials (7) Designing and conducting formative evaluation of the instruction (8)
Revise the instruction. The researcher also adapted Task-Based Approach for
beginners and young learners in designing the materials.
After being designed, the designed materials were evaluated by
distributing the second questionnaire to an English teacher of SD Kanisius
Demangan Baru and several lecturers of English Education Study Program Sanata
Dharma University. The researcher used the Central Tendency formulation to
analyze that data. It was resulted that the score of the Mean were 3.8, 4.6, 3.6, 4.2,
4.4, 4.2, and 4. The result showed that all score of the Mean were more than 3.5.
Therefore, it could be concluded that most of respondents agreed that the designed
materials were acceptable and appropriate to be implemented. Moreover, the
researcher also implemented a unit to a 9 and an 11 year-old-children to ensure
that the materials were appropriate and applicable to be implemented. However,
there were some revisions that need to be conducted to improve the designed
materials.
To answer the second question, the researcher presented the final version
of the designed materials after making some revisions and improvements based on
results of the designed materials evaluation. The materials consisted of eight units.
They were The Animals, The Fruits, The Colors, The Shapes, The Transportation,
The Family, The House, and The Outer Space. Each unit consisted of three main
parts, which were Introduction, Let’s Enjoy the Story, and Review.
Finally, the researcher expects that the designed materials will help
children to learn vocabulary effectively through the enjoyable way, which is story.
The research also expects that the designed materials will be useful for the English
teachers and the future researchers.
xiv
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRAK
Widianingsih, Maria Melani. 2008. A Set of English Stories for Children to
Teach Vocabulary in An English Extracurricular Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
Penelitian ini dilaksanakan untuk merancang seperangkat cerita berbahasa
Inggris untuk anak-anak untuk mengajar kosa kata. Materi yang dirancang
ditujukan untuk anak-anak usia 7 sampai 11 tahun. Terdapat dua pertanyaan
rumusan masalah yaitu 1). Bagaimana seperangkat cerita berbahasa Inggris untuk
anak-anak untuk mengajar kosa kata dirancang? dan 2). Bagaimanakah bentuk
seperangkat cerita bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak untuk mengajar kosa kata
tersebut?
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan rumusan masalah diatas, peneliti menerapkan
5 langkah Research and Development (R & D) yaitu: (1) Pengumpulan penelitian
dan informasi, (2) Perencanaan, (3) Pengembangan bentuk awal dari produk, (4)
Pengujian awal di lapangan, dan (5) Perbaikan produk utama. Peneliti
menggunakan kuesioner, wawancara dan observasi untuk mengumpulkan data.
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama, peneliti mengadaptasi langkahlangkah sebuah model perancangan pembelajaran dari Dick and Carey. Langkahlangkah yang diadaptasi antara lain: (1) memperkenalkan tujuan pembelajaran, (2)
melaksanakan analisis pembelajaran, (3) menganalisa pelajar dan keadaan (4)
menulis tujuan pelaksanaan (5) mengembangkan strategi pembelajaran, (6)
mengembangkan dan menyeleksi materi pembelajaran, (7) merancang dan
melaksanakan evaluasi dan (8) memperbaiki materi pembelajaran. Selain itu,
peneliti juga mengadaptasi teori pendekatan pembelajaran berbasis tugas (TaskBased Learning) untuk pelajar yang masih muda dan pemula.
Materi yang telah dirancang kemudian dievaluasi dengan menyebarkan
kuesioner yang kedua kepada guru bahasa Inggris SD Kanisius Demangan Baru
dan beberapa dosen Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma. Untuk
menganalisa data yang didapat, peneliti menggunakan rumus Central Tendency.
Dari analisis data diatas, Peneliti menemukan bahwa nilai rata-rata atau
Mean adalah 3.8, 4.6, 3.6, 4.2, 4.4, 4.2, dan 4. Hasil evaluasi tersebut
menunjukkan bahwa semua nilai Mean atau nilai rata-rata berada di atas 3.5.
Dengan demikian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa sebagian besar responden setuju
bahwa materi pembelajaran ini sudah sesuai dan dapat diterapkan. Disamping itu,
peneliti juga mempraktekan satu unit cerita kepada dua anak yang berusia 7 dan
11 tahun. Hal ini dilakukan untuk memastikan bahwa materi ini sudah sesuai
untuk diterapkan. Namun, masih diperlukan beberapa perbaikan dan peningkatan
dalam proses perancangan materi dan bentuk materi.
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua, peneliti menyajikan versi akhir dari
materi yang telah dirancang setelah melalui beberapa perbaikan dan peningkatan
berdasarkan hasil evaluasi diatas. Materi tersebut terdiri dari 8 unit. Kedelapan
unit tersebut adalah the Animals, the Fruits, the Colors, the Shapes, the
Transportation, the Family, the House, dan the Outer Space. Masing-masing unit
terdiri dari 3 bagian besar yaitu Introduction, Let’s Enjoy the Story dan Review.
xv
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Akhirnya, peneliti berharap bahwa materi yang telah dirancang dapat
membantu anak-anak untuk belajar kosa kata bahasa Inggris dengan efektif dan
menyenangkan. Peneliti juga berharap bahwa materi tersebut dapat berguna bagi
para guru dan peneliti berikutnya.
xvi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter explains the background of this research, problem
identification, problem formulation, problem limitation, research objectives, and
research benefits as well as the definition on terms.
A. Research Background
English as the international language is used by many people in many
places, countries, and in many media of information or communication. It is
important for people to acquire English in order to communicate with foreigner
and to get information which is available in English. Therefore, many people are
aware that English should be introduced earlier to children. Children are in the
appropriate age to be introduced and to be taught English. When children learn
English, they will acquire pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary easily because
they are still in the Critical Period, “a period during which language acquisition is
easy and complete and beyond which it is difficult and typically incomplete”
(Ellis, 1997:67). Critical period helps children to learn and to acquire a language,
which is not only the first language but also the second language.
In learning and acquiring a language, vocabulary is the first thing to be
considered. Vocabulary is important because it is the basic feature of a language.
A learner usually knows the vocabulary and its meaning first, and later the
1
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2
pronunciation, structure and the other skills. Therefore, in this research, the
researcher emphasizes on the vocabulary to teach English to children.
Children are in the age when they like stories and have their own
imagination. Many storybooks for children are available in the bookstore. Some
of these storybooks are created creatively to give much information about new
vocabulary to the children. These books have successfully attracted children’s
attention. Through these storybooks, they learn new vocabulary in an enjoyable
way. However, some of the books do not consist of additional activities for
children to practice using the new vocabulary after they read or listen to the story.
Considering this case, the researcher tries to design a set of English
learning materials in the form of English stories for children to teach vocabulary
in an English extracurricular class. The materials will be applied by using
storytelling. Storytelling attracts children’s attention and motivates them to learn
English because storytelling can stimulate children’s imagination. The topics of
the stories should be interesting.
The researcher creates the stories based on the research and information
collecting. The researcher also adapts cartoon characters that are familiar to
children to attract children’s interest. The stories are supported by colored pictures
to help children to imagine the events in the story and to get description of the
new vocabulary. The storytelling materials are also supported by practice
activities such as, drawing pictures, pronouncing the words, sharing the ideas and
some simple games to help children to be more familiar and to memorize the new
vocabulary easily. The pictures and the practice activities are also used to attract
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3
children’s attention and to prevent them from boredom during the teachinglearning process.
Through storytelling, children are expected to learn certain vocabulary in
English, to comprehend short paragraphs and to respond by answering the
questions related to the story. Thus, children can learn English vocabulary in an
enjoyable and an interesting way.
B. Problem Identification
Designing a set of English learning materials for children especially by
using stories will involve many factors. Many children still have difficulties in
reading and understanding a story in English. Therefore, the material and
vocabulary should be made simple and appropriate, so that children can
comprehend the story easily. Nevertheless, in designing the material, the
researcher also considers and adapts the curriculum for the first grade up to the
fifth grade students of Elementary School. Besides, the researcher uses TaskBased approach to design the materials.
The theme in the stories should be interesting and varied. Not only the
theme, but also the format of the storytelling should attract and motivate children
to learn. Every event and key word in the story will be illustrated in form of
pictures. Pictures are used to make the meaning of the words clear and easy to be
understood by the children. The pictures will be inserted in the middle of each
story. The storytelling can use the characters that children are familiar to, so that it
will ease them to imagine.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4
Another consideration is the teaching-learning activity in the class. The
activity should not stop after the children have already comprehended the story,
but it should be continued with other activities as the next step for the vocabulary
acquisition. Through this activity, children are expected to practice their
memorization of the story and the vocabulary.
C. Problem Formulation
The researcher formulates the problems in teaching vocabulary through
storytelling as follows:
1. How is a set of English stories for children to teach vocabulary in an English
extracurricular class designed?
2. What do the designed English learning materials look like?
D. Problem Limitation
The researcher focuses on designing a set of English learning materials in
the form of English stories for children to teach vocabulary in an English
extracurricular class. In this case, the term children refers to young learners
between the ages of seven and eleven. The learning materials are in the form of
stories. That is because children like stories and they are still in the age of having
their own imagination. The researcher also considers the curriculum for
Elementary School students and the Task-Based approach that will influence the
designed materials. This research emphasizes on the enhancement of vocabulary
acquisition by developing interesting stories which are appropriate for children.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
5
E. Research Objectives
This research aims to:
1. Design a set of English stories for children to teach vocabulary.
2. Present a set of English learning materials.
F. Research Benefits
This research will bring the benefits for people who are concerned with
teaching-learning technique, they are possibly as follows:
1. Teachers
Teachers have a new way of teaching. They can also implement the use of
storytelling for enhancing the children’s vocabulary acquisition in the classroom
and make the classroom situation more interesting.
2. Children
Children have more new stories. They can enjoy the teaching-learning process
more because it uses storytelling. Children can also acquire the vocabulary easily
through the storytelling, because in the storytelling, the vocabulary is taught in an
interesting context.
3. The Researcher
The researcher would have knowledge and experience to design a set of English
learning materials in the form of English stories for children particularly for
improving vocabulary.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
6
4. The Parents
Parents can be directly involved in teaching foreign language to their children by
practicing the storytelling at home.
5. Other Researchers
The researcher expects that this designed materials will be useful for those who
want to do similar research, they can use it as their references.
G. Definition of Terms
In this research, there are many specific terms, which are being used.
Therefore, the researcher provides the meaning of some uncommon words that are
often being used in this research to help the reader understand the meaning and to
avoid misunderstanding.
1. Learning Materials
According to the Collins, “learning is the process of gaining knowledge through
studying” while “material is the thing that you need for a particular activity”
(Collins, 2001: 879). Learning material in this research refers to a set of English
stories for children to teach vocabulary. Therefore, in this research, learning
materials are the topics or things that should be learned by the children, which
emphasize on the vocabulary acquisition.
2. Children
“Child is young person from birth to the age of full physical development”
(Hornby, 1995: 192). In this research, children refer to young learners between the
ages of seven until eleven.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
7
3. Story
Story is “a narrative account of a real or imagined event or events” (McWilliams,
1998: 1). In this research, the story refers to the sequenced events that involve
some vocabulary to be learned by children. The stories will be in the form of
printed-stories, which are supported with colored pictures to help children imagine
and understand the stories, particularly the vocabulary. The researcher also uses
cartoon characters which are familiar to children as one way to attract children’s
interest.
In the stories, there are not only the meanings, but also explanation and
information about the vocabulary related to the topics. Hopefully, through this
story, children do not only learn new vocabulary, but also get new information
that can improve their knowledge related to the topic. The topics of the stories will
be determined from the result of research and information collection.
4. Storytelling
Storytelling is the original form of teaching, as Pedersen said that “a simple
narrative will always be the cornerstone of the art of teaching” (1995: 1).
Meanwhile McWilliams (1998: 1) based on National Storytelling Association in
1997, said that “storytelling is the art of using language, vocalization, and/or
physical movement and gesture to reveal the elements and images of a story to a
specific, live audience”. However in this research, storytelling refers to the media
which uses stories to teach English for children and emphasizes on the vocabulary
acquisition. The teacher then becomes the storyteller who tells the story
attractively and expressively. While telling the story, the teacher uses bilingual
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
8
language to help the children understand the story and the meaning of the
vocabulary.
5. Vocabulary
According to Hornby, “vocabulary is the total number of words in a language”
(Hornby; 1995: 1331). Meanwhile, Burton said that vocabulary is “considered as
a stock of words in language that can support the learners to the skills of the
language“ (Burton, 1982: 98-99). In this research, vocabulary refers to the English
words of certain topics which will be learned by the children through storytelling.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter discusses the theories on which the research is mainly based on.
This chapter has two main parts, which are theoretical description and theoretical
framework.
A. Theoretical Description
In conducting the research, the researcher takes into account some basic
theories about teaching vocabulary, children and second language acquisition, stories
and storytelling, listening activity, material development, curriculum 2006, taskbased learning for beginners and young learners, and instructional design model.
Therefore, this part explains and describes the basic theories of this research.
1. Vocabulary
According to Hornby (1995: 1331), “vocabulary is the total number of words
in a language”. This definition means that every word in a language is included in
vocabulary. When someone learns a language, he or she must deal with the
vocabulary of the language. Learning vocabulary is the first step to do before
learning the other skills or elements as Decarrico (2001) said in Celce (2001:285)
that “vocabulary learning is central to language acquisition, whether the language is
first, second, or foreign”. Vocabulary is important in a language. It seems that
vocabulary is the core of the language, for without vocabulary, someone must not be
able to learn a language. Nunan (2003:133-134) explained four backgrounds for
9
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
10
teaching vocabulary. The four backgrounds were learning from meaning-focused
input, deliberate learning, learning from meaning-focused output and fluency
development. In this research, the researcher uses one of the backgrounds that is
deliberate learning. The deliberate learning is sometimes called language-focused
learning. It involves paying attention deliberately to language features such as
sounds, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, or discourse that are presented out of context.
The most familiar learning technique is learning new vocabulary by memorizing the
first language translations.
Nunan (2003: 135-140) also stated the principles for teaching vocabulary.
They are as follows:
a. Focus on the most useful vocabulary first. According to Nunan (2003: 135), the
most useful vocabulary of every language that learners need whether they use the
language for listening, speaking, reading, or writing, or whether they use the
language in formal and informal situations is the most frequent 1000 word families
of English. It means that the teacher should teach the vocabulary, which is mostly
used by people or the high frequency words, to help learners to cope with English in
written or oral form.
b. Focus on the vocabulary in the most appropriate way. In this principle, we can
use four strategies to learn vocabulary. Those are using word parts, guessing from
context, using word cards, and using dictionaries. However, since this research uses
stories as the media and children as the subjects, the strategies that are used by the
researcher are guessing from context and using word cards. From the story, children
can guess the meaning of words that they do not understand. Teacher can also help
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
11
them to understand and to memorize the meaning of words by using word cards. In
this research, word cards refers to small cards whose sides are written the English
word on one side and the first language translation on the other.
c. Give attention to high frequency words across the four strands of a course. The
words which are used should be the commonly used words in communication
through writing, listening, speaking and reading skills.
d. Encourage learners to reflect on and to take responsibility for learning. The
learner should be responsible for their own learning so that their learning will not be
useless. Since the subjects in this research are children, teacher can encourage them
by providing the opportunity to practice and to train their English.
The theories above give the information on strategies in teaching vocabulary.
Therefore, the researcher can design and apply the material designed to teach
vocabulary for children through stories appropriately.
2.
Children and Second Language Acquisition
Children are chosen as the appropriate participants to be introduced to
English. In this research, the term “children” refers to the young learners between 7
and 11 years old. The ages are chosen because it is considered as the concrete
operational period as stated by Piaget that this period extended from age 6 to about
age 11 or 12 (Vasta, 1995: 276). Piaget as cited in Vasta, (1995: 254), also stated that
“concrete operational is the period of development in which the children come to
understand various forms of conservation, as well as classification and relational
reasoning”. In this period, children’s logical thought are under heavy development in
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
12
which they will learn the second language more easily through various types of
learning media for example story. There are surveys in neurological and affective
aspects conducted by the experts showing that children have many advantages that
help them to acquire a second language more effectively than adults do.
According to the neurological consideration, the studies of a human brain and
its lateralization, there is a theory about both hemispheres of the brain. “Intellectual,
logical, and analytic functions appear to be largely located in the left hemisphere,
while the right hemisphere control functions related to emotional and social needs”
(Brown, 2000: 54). Brown (2000: 54) also stated that “language functions appear to
be controlled mainly in the left hemisphere”. It means that the human’s brain,
especially the right and the left hemispheres, have particular function. In this case,
the left hemisphere involves the ability to produce and to comprehend a language.
Moreover children also have Critical Period, which is “a period during which
language acquisition is easy and complete and beyond which it is difficult and
typically incomplete” (Ellis, 1997: 67). Critical period helps children to learn and to
acquire a second language better than adult. This critical period exists along the
children’s growth or before the puberty. Penfield and Roberts (1959) argued that “the
optimum age for language acquisition falls within the first ten years of life. During
this period, the brain retains plasticity, but with the onset of puberty this plasticity
begins to disappear” (Ellis, 1985: 107). That is also why children between the ages of
7 up to 11 years old are at the appropriate age to learn and acquire second language.
After children have their puberty, they will no longer be in critical period for
language learning that can help them to acquire language easier especially in the
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
13
pronunciation of the language. In children’s brain, the hemispheres keep the brain
plasticity for acquisition of any languages. Therefore, children will be better in
pronunciation, speaking and listening than adult.
Under affective consideration, “a child’s language ego is dynamic, growing,
and flexible through the age of puberty” (Brown, 2000: 65). It makes younger
children less frightened because they are less aware of language forms and the
possibility of making mistakes in those forms.
Child learners, for example, playing with other native young children, can
enjoy their language interaction. They can speak loudly, they can ask anytime
and anywhere, and they do not have to worry about making mistakes. Adult
learners, on the other hand, have difficulties in participating in natural
language interaction when they learn a foreign language (Nagai, 1997: 5).
Most children are braver in trying to speak in a second language without
being afraid of making mistakes. This makes the children more fluent than adults in
producing a second language, especially if the children learn the second language for
a long time. Peer pressure is also the affective factors of second language acquisition.
Children are pressured to be like other children. In the target language situation, for
example, children are pressured to understand and to communicate in the target
language. This pressure makes a child highly motivated to be like the native children.
As Ellis said that “children, who learn the second language, are strongly motivated to
become part of the first language community and require a native-like accent to
achieve this” (Ellis, 1985: 110).
From the children’s psychological side, Chuang (2001), a researcher who did
a study on teaching English to kindergarten children in Taiwan, said that “young
children love rhymes, chants, songs and stories” (2001: 75). Therefore, in teaching
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
14
English to children, teacher should make the lesson interesting and fun. Teacher
should vary the activity to prevent the children from getting bored during the
teaching learning process. One of the variations in teaching learning process is
through storytelling. Chuang (2001: 76) in her research quoted the Scott and
Ytreberg’s statement about storytelling in teaching English to children as follows:
When it comes to telling stories in the English classroom, Scott and Ytreberg
(1993: 21) give some suggestions: “… when we are talking and the children
are listening, it’s important to say things clearly, and to repeat them. When
you are telling a story, for example, you don’t have to tell it from beginning
to end without breaks. You can re-tell it again and again as you go along.” In
fact, many stories are full of repetition in themselves. It helps children
remember the words and sentences (Scott and Ytreberg, 1993: 97).
Teaching the children by using the stories in foreign language learning can
help them to remember words and sentences. Stories can attract their interest and
attention to learn English. Meanwhile, pictures can help children to imagine and to
understand the stories. Children are highly motivated to learn English. However, the
variety of activity in the classroom and the material topics are important to prevent
the children from getting bored.
3. Stories and Storytelling
The researcher uses stories to teach English vocabulary which will be applied
by using storytelling. Maley stated that “stories are comfortingly familiar; there is a
‘grammar’ of stories which can be followed by children even if they do not
understand every word” (Wright, 1995:2). This statement meant that although the
children do not understand each word, they can still follow the stories and understand
what the stories are about. Another expert in storytelling, Wright (1995: 3), stated
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
15
that “stories offered a major and constant source of language experience for
children”. He said that stories were motivating, rich in language experience and
inexpensive. That is why, according to Wright (1995), stories can be used whether in
teaching mother tongue or foreign language. Besides, Wright (1995: 4-5) also gave
the important reasons why stories should play a central role in teaching a foreign
language to children. They are as follows:
a.
Motivation
Children have a constant need for stories and they will always be willing to listen or
to read, if the right moment is chosen.
b.
Meaning
Children want to find meaning in stories, so they listen with a purpose. If they find
meaning, they are rewarded through their ability to understand, and are motivated to
try to improve they ability to understand even more.
c.
Fluency
The stories also influence the children’s fluency on four skills. In listening and
reading fluency, these fluencies are based on a positive attitude to not understand
everything and the skills of searching for meaning, predicting and guessing (p. 4).
Children can do this on their own language well but they need time and
encouragement to do this in the foreign language. Meanwhile, in speaking and
writing fluency, the children should be encouraged not to be afraid of making
mistakes. For many children, stories can be a natural way to learn a foreign language.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
16
d.
Language Awareness
Stories help children become aware of the general ‘feel’ and sound of foreign
language. Stories also introduce children to language items and sentence construction
without their necessarily having to use their productivity.
Another statement about storytelling comes from National Storytelling
Association in 1997, (McWilliams, 1998: 1). According to National Storytelling
Association, “a story is a narrative account of a real or imagined event or events
while, a telling, is the live, person-to-person oral and physical presentation of a story
to an audience.” It also gives the definition of storytelling in which it is the art of
using language, vocalization, and/or physical movement and gesture to reveal the
elements and images of a story to a specific, live audience (McWilliams, 1998: 1).
The teller’s roles are to prepare and to present the language items, the language use,
and the activity in the teaching-learning process. Therefore, the objectives of the
course can be achieved. In this research, the teller refers to the English teacher of
elementary school and parents.
Robinson, one of the experts in storytelling, says that experts in education
have discussed the implementation of storytelling in language teaching as cited by
Forest (2000: 1). The experts said that storytelling is appropriate to be used in
teaching learning process because they have known that the arts can contribute to
student academic success and emotional well-being (Forest, 2000: 1). Robinson also
says that the ancient art of storytelling is especially well suited for student
exploration and as a folk art, storytelling is accessible to all ages and abilities. This
means that the storytelling is open for all people especially children in various ages
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
17
and skills. He also states that “as a learning tool, storytelling can encourage students
to explore their unique expressiveness and can heighten a student's ability to
communicate thoughts and feelings in an articulate, lucid manner” (Forest, 2000: 1).
Moreover Robinson as cited in Forest (2000: 1-2), explains the reason why
storytelling is appropriate to be used in language teaching. Some of them are gaining
the verbal skills, using the imagination, and passing on wisdom. Firstly, storytelling
is able to gain the verbal wisdom. It is such a skill that is needed to express thought
or feeling lucidly. Storytelling usually deals with children; therefore, we need to say
something appropriately in front of children. Secondly, it involves imagination. Both
telling a story and listening to a well-told tale encourage students to use their
imaginations. Storytelling can help students to develop their imagination. Developing
students’ imagination can improve students’ creativity in inventing new ideas and
contribute to students’ self-confidence to make their dreams and hopes come true.
The last reason is passing on wisdom. Storytelling based on traditional folktales is a
gentle way to guide young people to have the examples of both wise and unwise
actions; therefore, students can learn how to behave wisely in their daily life.
In telling the stories, there are some techniques that can be used by the
storyteller as stated by Raisen and Isbell (1999: viii). The techniques are the
followings:
a. Paying attention to the children during telling the story, and making clarification
if it is necessary.
b. Supporting the children to interact and participate during the stories.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
18
c. Modifying the story to adjust the experience and the development level of the
children who listen to the story.
d. Using variation of sounds, facial expression, gestures and repeated words to
involve the children into the story.
e. Using the right words and description to help the children imagine the event of the
story.
f. Repeating the story can help children’s comprehension toward the story.
4. Listening Activity
As quoted by Brownell (1996: 45), the definition of listening is “the process
of receiving, constructing meaning from and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal
messages (Emmert, 1994).” It can be assumed that the process of listening involves
the reception and processing of sounds. In listening process, a listener hears a sound
or message, understands the meaning, and gives the appropriate responses toward the
sounds or the message. The definition also supports the Brownell’s statement that
“listening is prerequisite to effective com