Instructional writing materials using task-based language teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta.

INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING MATERIALS USING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

FOR SMK BOPKRI I YOGYAKARTA

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

YOHANA IKA HARNITA SARI Student Number: 03 1214 024

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING MATERIALS USING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

FOR SMK BOPKRI I YOGYAKARTA

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

YOHANA IKA HARNITA SARI Student Number: 03 1214 024

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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I dedicate this thesis to:

Mother Mary and Her Son

my beloved parents

my great and unique brother

my lovely RX

and all of my wonderful friends

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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that the thesis which I wrote does not contain the works or parts of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a scientific paper should.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Allelluia. Praise the Lord. Finally I have finished this thesis well. I could be in this point, not only because of my own effort but more because of God’s blessing and support from many people who love me.

Firstly, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my Jesus Christ and Mother Mary for the blessings to my life and for always listening and answering my payers, especially in accomplishing this thesis.

My deepest gratitude is addressed to Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd., my major sponsor, for her kindness and patience in guiding me to write my thesis. Her corrections, suggestions, and criticism were beneficial for me. My sincere gratitude goes to Laurentia Sumarni, S.Pd., my co-sponsor, for her patience in reading and correcting every page of my thesis. I could say that they were my inspiration.

I am grateful to Markus Budiraharjo, S.Pd., M.Ed., C. Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd., and Drs. Pius Nurwidasa P., M.Ed., who were willing to give their valuable comments on my designed materials. I also thank my academic advisor, Drs. P. Garanim Purba, M.Pd., in guiding me during my study. My appreciation goes to all of the English Language Education Study Program lecturers and secretariat staff and to all of the librarians.

I would like to express my gratitude to Drs. Y. Sarip Hidayat, the headmaster of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, for permitting me to carry out my research. My special thanks go to the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, Drs. FX. Sri Suwantoro and Drs. C. Suprantiyo, to the members of

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2 AK and 2 AP 2006-2007, and to the big family of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta who really helped me in doing my research.

I thank my beloved parents deeply, A. Adolf Sarjana and Ch. Sri Haryanti, for their endless love, prayer, support, patience, and everything. They are the reason why I should be successful. I want to be a daughter they can rely on and be proud of. I love them. I also thank my great and unique brother, Y. S. Gunawan Wicaksana, for his support and love. He always motivates me to graduate earlier than he does. I will always miss him, wherever he is.

I express my gratitude to the big family of TK/SD Kanisius Kalasan and SD Kanisius Kadirojo. I thank them for the understanding and motivation when I finished this thesis. I learned many things from them.

I express my thanks to all of PBI-03ers, especially Nila, Arum, Lala, Ardi, Lintang, and Gabo. I thank them very much to BEEs, Ratrex, Titin, Monchie, Ayu, Layung, and Emil. I express thanks to my friends in STM Pembangunan 15 boardinghouse, Uuth, Iyak, eMeM, and Agnest. I also express my huge thanks to the big family of UKM Kerohanian Sanata Dharma University and Bolo’T Community, Icha d, Papi, Paus, Kiki, Gaga, and Mama. I thank them for the time we shared together. They are the best friends I have ever had.

The last, I would like to express my deepest affection and gratitude to my dearest Eric Aji Wibowo, SE., for his never ending support and love in finishing my study.

May God always bless us.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE OF PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGES ... ii

DEDICATION PAGE ... iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii

LIST OF FIGURES ... xi

LIST OF TABLES ... xii

ABSTRACT... xiii

ABSTRAK... xiv

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 3

C. Problem Limitation ... 3

D. Objectives of the Study ... 4

E. Benefits of the Study ... 5

F. Definition of Terms ... 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 7

A. Theoretical Description ... 7

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2. Teaching Writing ... 9

a. Writing ... 9

b. Writing Model ... 11

c. The Principles of Teaching Writing to the Second Grade Students of SMK (Vocational School) ... 12

3. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) ... 15

a. Definition of Task... 17

b. The Characteristics of TBLT ... 18

c. Writing in the Task-Based Learning Framework ... 21

d. Teacher’s and Learners’ Roles ... 21

4. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) ... 22

B. Theoretical Framework ... 22

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 26

A. Research Method ... 26

B. Research Participants ... 28

C. Research Instruments ... 30

D. Data Gathering Technique ... 32

E. Data Analysis Technique ... 33

F. Research Procedures ... 35

CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ... 38

A. The Steps of Designing Instructional Writing Materials for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta ... 38

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B. The Results of the Surveys ... 44

C. The Presentation of the Instructional Design Materials ... 51

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 56

A. Conclusions ... 56

B. Suggestions ... 58

REFERENCES ... 59

APPENDICES Appendix A : Surat Permohonan Ijin Penelitian ... 62

Appendix B : Surat Keterangan ... 63

Appendix C : Proposal Penelitian ... 64

Appendix D : Questionnaire for Students ... 69

Appendix E : Interview Guideline ... 73

Appendix F : Questionnaire for Teachers or Lecturers ... 74

Appendix G : The Results of the Needs Survey ... 77

Appendix H : Syllabus ... 80

Appendix I : Silabus ... 84

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 : The Aspects to be Considered in Writing ... 10 Figure 2.2 : Task-Based Learning Framework ... 20 Figure 2.3 : The Writer’s Instructional Model Adapted from ASSURE

Model... 25 Figure 4.1 : Task-Based Learning Framework of the Designed Materials 43 Figure 4.2 : The Outline of the Final Version of the Designed Materials .. 54

xii LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 : Respondents of the Survey on the Designed Materials ... 30

Table 3.2 : Points of Agreement of the Respondents’ Opinions... 35

Table 3.3 : The Data of the Respondents’ Opinions (Blank) ... 35

Table 4.1 : The Topics and the Basic Competencies ... 40

Table 4.2 : The Topics and the Indicators ... 42

Table 4.3 : The Data of the Respondents’ Opinions ... 49

1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the writer would like to discuss the background of the study, problem formulation, problem limitation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms that are employed in this study.

A. Background of the Study

In this globalization era, people are demanded to communicate with other people throughout the world using international languages. English is the most widespread language among other international languages and it makes learning English very important. There are four skills that must be acquired in learning English as a second or foreign language; they are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Writing is considered as an important skill in language learning since writing skill is needed in many fields. People need to write invitation letters, application letters, work contracts, papers, essays, and many others. Moreover, communication nowadays is often done in written form, such as fax and e-mail. Based on the details above, writing needs to be mastered well in order to communicate successfully.

Dealing with the need for successful communication, Indonesian government now applies KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan), in which it gives autonomy to every school in every level of education to construct its own curriculum, including vocational schools. In fact, almost every school puts an emphasis on communicative competence as the main point of learning English at

school. In vocational schools, the students are expected to be able to communicate in English on novice level (for the first grade students), on elementary level (for the second grade students), and on intermediate level (for the third grade students) (Syam, 2006: 2-3).

Unfortunately, the students’ performance in communication using the target language, especially in written, is still far from the expectation. Many students say that writing is a difficult subject to learn. Tribble (1996: 3) agrees that “…writing is a language skill which is difficult to acquire.” Moreover, Nunan (1999: 271) states similar opinion, “in terms of skills, producing a coherent, fluent, extended piece of writing is probably the most difficult thing there is to do in language.” Many students find it difficult to express their ideas in written language. They do not know how to write what they want to say and even they have no idea about what they will write. Furthermore, they have to deal with some elements to be covered in writing such as grammar, diction, spelling, and punctuation. Those problems make writing become a difficult skill.

From the writer’s experience in her teaching practice (PPL II) in SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, the students (especially in the second grade) also faced those problems. Moreover, they did not have any handbook to study and many of the existing books were too difficult for them. Because of that, they had no chance to develop their writing ability. As a consequence, they needed tasks to develop their writing skill. It was believed that the tasks given will also motivate them to learn. It is also said by Richards and Rodgers (2001: 229) that “tasks are also said to improve learner motivation and therefore promote learning.” Some tasks with guided writing were good for them with the topics related to their daily life or

experiences. The model given by the teacher would help them to express their thought and ideas. Richards and Renandya (2002: 319) agree that “teachers should model the writing process at every stage and teach specific writing strategies to students through meaningful classroom activities.”

Based on the facts that writing is an important but difficult skill and that the students, unfortunately, did not have any handbook, the writer thinks that it is necessary to design materials to teach writing. In this study, the writer intends to design instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. Those materials, hopefully, enable the students to develop their writing ability through many tasks given so that they can communicate through written language well.

B. Problem Formulation

Considering the previous explanation, the problems are formulated as follows.

1. How are instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta designed?

2. What do the designed instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta look like?

C. Problem Limitation

The writer focuses the study on designing instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, especially for the second grade students. The writer chose SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta

because she wanted to give a contribution to that school as a follow- up action of her teaching practice (PPL II) seeing that the students really needed that. Then, the writer chose the second grade students and writing materials since they had interest in writing but they had no chance and media to develop their writing ability.

Furthermore, the writer chose Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) especially Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) because by using TBLT, the students had chances to explore and develop their writing ability through the tasks given. It is hoped that they will be able to communicate in written language well. Besides, the tasks given will also motivate them to learn, as it is said by Richards and Rodgers (2001: 229) that “tasks are also said to improve learner motivation and therefore promote learning.” Moreover, this materials is aimed to be used in the first semester of the second grade classes of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, Accounting (Akuntansi / AK) class and Office Administration (Administrasi Perkantoran / AP) class, which focused on general English. The writer did not intend to implement or test them to find whether the designed materials are effective or not. Therefore, the writer will only present the designed materials.

D. Objectives of the Study

Two objectives will be achieved in this study. They are stated as follows. 1. To find out how instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language

Teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta are designed.

2. To present the designed instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta.

E. Benefits of the Study

The writer expects that the results of this study may give some benefits to the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, the writer herself, and other researchers.

First, the results of this study are able to provide materials for the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta that can help them to develop their writing ability through many tasks. Second, the result s of this study will provide instructional materials for the English teachers SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta to teach writing and inspire them to employ TBLT in other teaching- learning processes. Third, this study will give the writer knowledge, experience, and real example of designing instructional writing materials. Fourth, it is hoped that the results of this study can be used as a reference to support future relevant studies done by other researchers.

F. Definition of Terms

There are four terms that are used in this study; they are Instructional Materials, Writing, Task-Based Language Teaching, and SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta.

1. Instructional Materials

According to Dick and Reiser (1989: 3), instructional materials are “materials planned or designed by the teacher for the teacher instructions.” In this study, instructional materials refer to materials designed by the writer that will be used by the teacher and the students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta for conducting the teaching- learning process which will help the students in acquiring

the writing ability. 2. Writing

Writing is “a method of expressing idea about any subject content” (Tiedt, 1989: 1). In this study, writing refers to a skill to express ideas in a written language communicatively. This skill can be reached through the tasks given in the teaching- learning process.

3. Task-Based Language Teaching

Richards and Rodgers (2001: 223) define Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) as “an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instructions in language teaching.” Furthermore, Richards and Rodgers (2001: 224) say that Task-Based Language Teaching “proposes the notion of ‘task’ as a central unit of planning and teaching.” In this study, Task-Based Language Teaching is an approach that becomes the soul of the designed materials.

4. SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta

SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta is a vocational school which is located at Jl. Cik Di Tiro no. 37 Yogyakarta. It has six classes as each grade is divided into two departments; they are accounting and office administration. This study focuses on the second grade classes since it intends to design the materials for them.

7 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the writer reviews the literature related to the study in two parts, theoretical description and theoretical framework.

A. Theoretical Description

In this part, the writer describes the theories used in this study. They are instructional design model, teaching writing, Task-Based Language Teaching, and Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP).

1. Instructional Design Model

There are many instructional design models used in designing materials. One of them is ASSURE model. ASSURE model is an instructional design that is constructed by Robert Heinich and Michael Molenda from Indiana University and James D. Russell from Purdue University in 1982. The ASSURE model is defined as:

an ISD (Instructional Systems Design) process that was modified to be used by teachers in the regular classroom. The ISD process is one in which teachers and trainers can use to design and develop the most appropriate learning environment for their students (in http://www.unca.edu/education /edtech/techcourse/assure.html accessed on 2nd March 2007).

The name of this model, ASSURE, is taken from the acronym of six steps or procedures that should be considered to implement this method. The steps of the ASSURE model are analyzing learner characteristics; stating the objectives; selecting, modifying, or designing materials; utilizing materials; requiring learner response; and evaluating (Heinich, Molenda, and Russell, 1982: 34-35). The

explanations of the six steps are as follows. a. Analyzing Learner Characteristics

The first step is identifying the learners. There are two types of characteristics that should be identified; they are general characteristics, such as grade, age, economic level, sex, and many others, and specific entry characteristics, such as knowledge, skills, and attitudes about topic.

b. Stating the Objectives

The next step is stating the objectives as specifically as possible. The objectives may be derived from a course syllabus, stated in a textbook, taken from a curriculum guide, or developed by the teacher. A well-stated objective should include three elements; they are performances, conditions, and criteria. c. Selecting, Modifying, or Designing Materials

After identifying the learner’s prior knowledge, skills, and attitudes and stating the objectives of the teaching- learning process, it is necessary to ‘build a bridge’ between these two points; i.e., designing materials. There are three ways in designing the materials; they are selecting available materials, modifying existing materials, and designing new materials.

d. Utilizing Materials

Present ing the materials is the core of this step. Before the presentation is conducted, preparation should be done. The preparation itself includes previewing the materials, preparing the environment where the presentation will take place, and preparing the learners as the audience.

e. Requiring Learner Response

To assure learning, the students must practice what they are expected to learn and they should be reinforced for the correct response. The students are expected to perform the behaviour stated in the objectives. There should be activities within the lesson that allow students to respond to the materials correctly and to receive feedback on the appropriateness of their performances or responses.

f. Evaluating

After completing the previous steps, it is necessary to evaluate the impacts and effectiveness of the steps. To obtain the total picture, evaluating the entire instructional process is needed. Although ultimate evaluation must wait to the completion of all instructional processes, evaluation is an ongoing process. Evaluations can be made before, during, and after the instructional processes.

2. Teaching Writing

Ideas, thoughts, and feelings can be communicated through writing but many students think that writing is difficult. Seeing the fact, the teachers need to understand the nature of teaching writing in order to teach writing successfully since writing is “a teachable and learnable skill” (Nunan, 2003: 106). Thus, the writer would like to describe three important points; they are writing, writing model, and the principles of teaching writing to the second grade students of SMK (Vocational School).

a. Writing

paper.” Writing and speaking are different processes. Learning to write is not as simple as learning to speak a language, even “many adult native speakers of a language find writing difficult” (Raimes, 1983: 4). In fact, a writer should deal with many aspects in order to produce a good piece of writing. Those aspects are illustrated in Figure 2.1.

SYNTAX CONTENT

sentence structure, relevance, clarity,

sentence boundaries, originality,

stylistic choices, etc. logic, etc.

GRAMMAR THE GRAMMAR

rules for verbs, Clear, PROCESS agreement, articles, fluent, and effective getting ideas, pronouns, etc. communication getting started,

of ideas writing drafts, MECHANICS

handwriting, AUDIENCE

spelling, the reader/s

punctuation, etc.

ORGANIZATION PURPOSE

paragraphs, WORD CHOICE the reason for writing topic and support, vocabulary,

cohesion and unity idiom, tone

Figure 2.1 The Aspects to be Considered in Writing (Raimes, 1983: 6)

Writing is “a method of expressing ideas about any subject content” (Tiedt, 1989: 1). Moreover, Tiedt (1989: 2) says that writing is “one way of expressing what we think.” The students may use written language to express their ideas, opinions, and thought. Writing is also seen as a personal activity done by the writer to convey his message to others. Since the writer cannot communicate face to face with the reader, the writer should be able to convey his message accurately

and interestingly in order to hold the reader’s attention. Furthermore, McCrimmon (1984: 6) says that writing is “also opportunity: to convey something about yourself, to communicate ideas to people beyond our vicinity, to learn something you did not know.” Besides, by writing the students are not only able to communicate their message and express their ideas, but also able “to explore a subject, to record experience, and to become familiar with the conversation of written English discourse (a text)” (Raimes, 1983: 3). He further adds that there are some advantages of learning writing. They are as follows.

First, writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms, and vocabulary that we have been teaching our students. Second, when our students write, they also have a chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned to say, to take risk. Third, when they write, they necessarily become very involved with the new language; the effort to express ideas and the constant use of eye, hand, and brain is a unique way to reinforce learning.

b. Writing Model

There are many aspects to consider in order to produce a good piece of writing as illustrated in Figure 2.1. Besides, there are some other aspects that influence the writing. In 1980, Hayes and Flower summarized those aspects in a writing model and it was reorganized into a new writing model. The new writing model has two major components. They are the task environment and the individual (Indrisano and Squire, 2000: 9-11).

The task environment consists of a social environment and a physical environment. The social environment includes the audience and other texts that the writer may read while writing, in which the writing functions as a means of communication. The physical environment includes the text that the writer has

produced so far and writing media, such as word processing, e- mail, and World Wide Web.

The individual component integrates motivation and affect, cognitive process, working memory, and long-term memory. In the writing process, the writer should have goals of writing that are able to motivate and affect him/ her in producing a piece of writing. Besides, the writer will deal with cognitive process; i.e., text interpretation, reflection, and text production. Moreover, the writer should manage his/her working memory and long-term memory. Working memory is the writer’s memory related to phonology, spatial, and semantics; while the long-term memory is the writer’s memory related to the topic, genre and linguistic knowledge.

From the writing model above, it could be said that environment and individual play important role in writing process. Those two components are interdependent. In brief, Indrisano and Squire (2000: 11) conclude that:

Indeed, writing depends on an appropriate combination of cognitive, affective, social, and physical conditions if it is to happen at all. Writing is a communicative act that requires a social context and a medium. It is a generative activity requiring motivation, and it is an intellectual activity requiring cognitive processes and memory.

c. The Principles of Teaching Writing to the Second Grade Students of SMK (Vocational School)

SMK stands for Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan. In English term, it is Vocational School. It is a level of education that should be finished in three years which prepares the students to have certain skills in order to be ready to face the working world. Hence, it usually has some departments, such as accounting, food

science, dressmaking, office administration, mechanical engineering, and some others. Those departments prepare the students to be ready for particular jobs.

The SMK students are about 16 to 19 years old. Therefore, the second grade students of SMK are equivalent with the eleventh grade students of Senior High School. They are considered as adolescents who search for identity and stable values. They have strong idealism, want to be independent, and need to be recognized (Medinuss and Johnson, 1969: 742-743). In this stage, they like to get along with their peers and build group relationship, as stated by Fleming (1955: 164) that not only intellectual and physical growth but also their personal and social development determine their successful schooling.

Thus, these characteristics influence their learning styles and the teacher should be aware of these. The teacher also needs to recognize their strength and weaknesses in learning to make them independent and creative. It is important as well to make their relationship with others as their motivation of their learning.

Considering the importance of writing and the characteristics of second grade students of Vocational School, the teachers need to encourage the students to be active learners. However, in many schools, the English teachers do not teach how to write well. They assume that their students understand how to write and only focus on the writing errors such as syntax, grammar, mechanics, and organization, rather than on content. In fact, the students’ writing ability is far from satisfactory. Therefore, the teachers need to understand the principles of teaching writing so that the teaching- learning process will be successful.

Tiedt (1989: 2) sees the process of writing as a ho listic process. A process where the students think, feel, and experience as they produce a piece of writing.

According to McCrimmon (1984: 10-11), there are three stages of writing process. They are planning, drafting, and revising. Planning is a pre-writing process to find and produce information in writing. Drafting is a process to organize and develop a piece of writing. Revising is a post-writing process to re-examine and re-evaluate the piece of writing. As a writing teacher, the job is not simply to ask the students to compose a written text and after that check the grammatical errors, but encourage the students and give chances for them to work through all the processes in writing activity.

According to Nunan (2003: 92-96), there are some principles that should be considered by English teachers in teaching writing. First, the teachers should understand the students’ reasons for writing. It will result in satisfying writing when the teachers’ goals of writing match the students’ goals and vice versa. Moreover, it will be better if the teachers’ goals and the students’ goals of writing match the school’s goal or curriculum. Second, the teachers are supposed to provide many opportunities for the students to write. Writing requires a lot of practice since writing will not improve without practice. The teachers should provide the students with different types of writing as well. Third, helpful and meaningful feedback is provided. If the teachers write comment on the students’ writing, they ought to be careful with the tone of the comment so that the students understand it well. It will be better if the teachers provide opportunities for the students to have discussion or consultation. At last, it is good if there is a clarification for the students how the ir writing will be evaluated. Clear explanation about the detailed assessment used to evaluate their writing is necessary.

3. Task-Based Language Teaching

Learning a language means learning how to communicate in that language. For that reason, the writer applies Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) especially Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). CLT is a broad and philosophical approach in language learning and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is the realization of this philosophy (Nunan, 2004: 10). Moreover, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is one of the approaches that makes communication plays important role in language learning (Larsen-Freeman, 2000: 137).

CLT is an approach in language learning that help the students to improve their communication ability in the target language since it has communicative competence as the goal of the language learning. Larsen-Freeman (2000: 121) says that Communicative Language Teaching aims “broadly to apply the theoretical perspective of the Communication Approach by making communicative competence the goal of language teaching and by acknowledging the interdependent of language and communication. ” Moreover, Brown (2001: 69) says that:

Communicative competence is the goal of a language classroom, instruction needs to point toward all its components: organizational, pragmatic, strategic, and psychomotor. Communicative goals are best achieved by giving due to attention to language use and not just usage, to fluency not just accuracy, to authentic language and contexts, and to students’ eventual need to apply classroom learning to previously unrehearsed contexts in the real world.

Richard and Rodgers (2001: 155) state that there are two aims of CLT; they are “to make communicative competence the goal of the language teaching and to

develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication.” Brown (2001: 43) offers six interconnected characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching. Those characteris tics are:

1) Classroom goals are focused on all of the components (grammatical, discourse, functional, sociolinguistics, and strategic) of communicative competence.

2) Language techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, and functional use of language for meaningful purpose.

3) Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques. At times the fluency may have to take on more importance than accuracy in order to keep learning meaningfully engage in language use.

4) Students in a communicative class ultimately have to use the language, productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts outside the classroom. 5) Students are given opportunities to focus on their own learning process

through an understanding of their own styles of learning and through the development of appropriate strategies for autonomous learning.

6) The role of the teacher is as a facilitator and guide, not an all knowing best owner of knowledge and students are encouraged to construct meaning through genuine linguistic interaction with others.

Although TBLT is called as a branch of CLT, TBLT has its own focus. According to Richards and Rodgers (2001: 223), Task-Based Language Teaching

(TBLT) refers to “an approach based on the use of the tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching.”

a. Definition of Task

Task plays the most important role in TBLT. Richards and Rodgers (2001: 224) state that Task-Based Language Teaching proposes “the notion of ‘task’ as a central unit of planning and teaching.” Skehan (1996) (cited by Richards and Rodgers, 2001: 224) proposes this definition:

Tasks … are activities which have meaning as their primary focus. Success in tasks is evaluated in terms of achievement of an outcome, and tasks generally bear some resemblance to real- life language use. So task-based instruction takes a fairly strong view of communicative language teaching. Some linguists attempt to group tasks into categories as a basis for task design and description. Willis (1996: 26-27) originates six types of task. They are as follows.

• Listing

The processes in listing task involve brainstorming and fact-finding. In brainstorming, the learners draw on their own knowledge and experience either as a class or in pairs/group. In fact-finding, the learners find things out by asking each other or other people and referring to books or the others.

• Ordering and sorting

These tasks involve four main processes. They are sequencing items, actions, or events in a logical or chronological order; ranking items according to personal values or specific criteria; categorizing items in given groups or grouping them under given headings; and classifying items in different ways, where categories themselves are not given.

• Comparing

Comparing task processes involve matching to identify specific points and relate them to each other; finding similarities and things in common; and finding differences.

• Problem solving

In problem solving tasks, learners are to deal with analyzing real or hypothetical situations, reasoning, and decision making.

• Sharing personal experiences

These tasks encourage learners to talk more freely about themselves and share their experiences with others.

• Creative tasks

These tasks involve learners in some kinds of freer creative work. They can involve combinations of the other task types.

b. The Characteristics of TBLT

Feez (1998) as quoted by Richards and Rodgers (2001: 224) summarizes the key assumptions of Task-Based Instruction. First, the focus of Task-Based Instruction is on the process rather than the product. Second, its basic elements are purposeful activities and tasks that emphasize communication and meaning. Third, the learners learn language by interacting communicatively and purposefully while engaging in the activities and tasks. Fourth, the activities and tasks can be either those that learners might need to achieve in real life or those that have a pedagogical purpose specific to the classroom. Fifth, the activities and tasks of a task-based syllabus are sequenced according to difficulty. The last, the

difficulty of a task depends on a range of factors including the previous experience of the learner, the complexity of the task, the language required to undertake the task, and the degree of support available.

Moreover, Nunan (2004: 35-38) proposes seven principles for Task-Based Language Teaching. They are as follows.

1) Scaffolding

Lessons and materials should provide supporting frameworks within which the learning takes place. At the beginning of the learning process, learners should not be expected to produce language that has not been introduced either explicitly or implicitly.

2) Task dependency

Within a lesson, one task should grow out of, and build upon, the ones that have gone before.

3) Recycling

Recycling language maximizes opportunities for learning and activates the ‘organic’ learning principle.

4) Active learning

Learners learn best by actively using the language they are learning. 5) Integration

Learners should be taught in ways that make clear relationships between linguistic form, communicative function and semantic meaning.

6) Reproduction to creation

Learners should be encouraged to move from reproductive to creative language use.

7) Reflection

Learners should be given opportunities to reflect on what they have learned and how well they are doing.

Besides, Willis (1996: 38) proposes three components in TBLT framework to create optimum conditions for language acquisition. Those three components are pre-task, task cycle, and language focus. The components are presented in Figure 2.2.

Pre-task

Introduction to topic and task

Teacher explores the topic with the class, highlights useful words and phrases, helps students understand task instructions and prepare.

Students may hear a recording of others doing a similar task. Task Cycle

Task

Students do the task in pairs/small group.

Teacher monitors from a distance.

Planning

Students prepare to report to the whole class (orally or in writing) how they did the task, what they decided or discovered.

Report

Some groups present their reports to the class, or exchange written reports, and compare results.

Language Focus Analysis

Students examine and discuss specific features of the text or transcript of the recording.

Practice

Teacher conducts practice of new words, phrases and patterns occurring in the data, either during or after the analysis.

c. Writing in the Task-Based Learning Framework

As stated in writing theory, it is necessary to find out the students’ needs and want to set the tasks. Thus, writing could help the students develop their writing skill. Willis (1996: 61) states that writing is a learning process. It helps people to express and create ideas. Arranging the ideas into writing in the target language demands their current language mastery since it forces them to deal with many aspects of language.

Furthermore, Willis (1996: 61) argues that “in a Task-Based Approach, writing constitutes a natural part of the cycle.” Due to that statement, writing is useful and important skill in the task cycle. Sometimes, the end products of the tasks are in written. Willis (1996: 62) states that “this end product will first be introduced orally or through reading in the pre-task phase, then discussed as an integral part of the task stage, drafted collaboratively at the planning stage and finalised for the report stage.”

d. Teacher’s and Learners’ Roles

Some of the teacher’s and learners’ roles in TBLT overlap with the roles in CLT. There are some additional roles for teacher in TBLT. They are selecting and sequencing the tasks, preparing learners for tasks, and raising learners’ consciousness to learn (Richards and Rodgers, 2001: 236). Besides, Richards and Rodgers (2001: 235) mention primary roles of learners that are implied by task work; they are:

1) Group participant. Many tasks will be done in pairs or small group.

of facilitating learning.

3) Risk-taker and innovator. Many tasks will require learners to create and interpret messages for which they lack full linguistic resources and prior knowledge.

4. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP)

The educational program is described in a curriculum. Today’s curriculum in Indonesia is Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) in which every school in every level of education has autonomy to construct its own curriculum. This curriculum is developed from Competency Based Curriculum (CBC). Thus, its focus is still on communicative competence but the achievement indicators are determined by the schools.

Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK) or vocational school is one of the educational institutions in Indonesia which has the same level as Senior High School. The Indonesian government has competency standard for SMK. The first grade students of SMK should be able to communicate in English on novice level, the second grade students of SMK should be able to communicate in English on elementary level, and the third grade students of SMK should be able to communicate in English on intermediate level (Syam, in http://www.psmk. net/index.html, accessed on 2nd March 2007).

B. Theoretical Framework

In this part, the writer relates the theories presented above and describes the steps used in designing the instructional materials.

In this study, the writer adapts ASSURE model and employs Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Teaching. The writer does not apply all elements of these theories. However, the writer employs some of them which can contribute to the processes of designing instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta.

Since this study focuses on designing writing materials, the writer employs the writing process in the activities used in the designed materials. It includes planning (pre-writing process to find and produce information in writing), drafting (a process to organize and develop a piece of writing), and revising (a post-writing process to re-examine and re-evaluate the writing activities). It is hoped that the students can develop their writing skills through this process. Moreover, the students should deal with many aspects in order to produce a good piece of writing, such as purpose, content, organization, grammar, and mechanics, as illustrated in Figure 2.1. Besides, the students should recognize the environment and individual components in producing a piece of writing which include social environment, physical environment, motivation and affect, cognitive process, working memory, and long-term memory.

Because the designed materials focus on communicative competence, the writer applies Communicative Language Teaching. This approach helps the students in achieving the goals of Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) SMK, which put emphasis on communicative competence. The materials are designed to encourage the students to use English language in communication, especially in writing. The designed materials guide the students to deal with

English in their daily life and in working world.

The writer also uses Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) since TBLT is an approach which uses tasks as the core or the main activity in the teaching-learning process. Tasks become the primary focus in the designed materials; thus, there are many tasks given in the designed materials that demand the students to write more. The tasks cover three components stated in the Task-Based Learning Framework. They are pre-task, task cycle, and language focus. The components are presented in Figure 2.2. The task itself is aimed at developing their writing skill. It is also believed that tasks can motivate students to learn in order to reach the learning objectives. Moreover, the teachers and the students have their own roles in the teaching- learning process to achieve the learning objectives.

The curriculum employed was Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP). Since the materials were designed for the second grade students of SMK, the writer adopted the competency standard for the second grade students of SMK stated in KTSP; i.e., the students of SMK are able to communicate in English on elementary level. Then, the writer elaborated the topics based on this competency standard.

The writer adapts ASSURE model in the process of designing the materials since the steps in that model are simple and the processes are very clear. The writer employs the first, second, third, and sixth steps in ASSURE model as those four are essential in designing materials. Those steps are analyzing learner characteristics; stating objectives; selecting, modifying, or designing materials; and evaluating. In step two, the writer lists the topics and states the objectives. Moreover, the writer does not only select or modify or design materials but select,

modify, and design materials. The writer adds revising action in step six. As stated in the theoretical description that evaluation is an ongoing process, the revisions are also done before, during, and after instructional processes. Thus, the writer’s instructional model has four steps as presented in Figure 2.3. They are (1) analyzing learner characteristics; (2) listing the topics and stating the objectives; (3) selecting, modifying, and designing materials; and (4) evaluating and revising the materials.

Analyzing Learner Listing the Topics & Selecting, Modify ing, Evaluating and Characteristics Stating the Objectives & Designing Materials Revising the Materials

Evaluation and revision line

26 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the writer would like to discuss some important points of the research method, research participants, research instruments, data gathering technique, data analysis technique, and research procedures which are emplo yed in this study.

A. Research Method

This study attempts to find out the answers to the two questions as stated in the problem formulation. First, it is aimed at designing instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. Second, it is aimed to present the designed materials.

This study employed educational research and development (R & D) method. Sometimes, it is called research-based development. Borg and Gall (1983: 772) define educational research and development (R & D) as:

A process used to develop and validate educational products. The term ‘product’ includes not only materials object, such as textbooks, instructional films, and so forth, but it is also intended to refer to established procedures and processes, such as a method of teaching for organizing instruction. There are some steps in this process which is called R & D cycle. The R & D cycle (Borg and Gall, 1983: 772) consists of:

Studying research findings pertinent to the product to be developed, developing the product based on these findings, field testing it in the setting it will be used eventually, and revising it to correct the deficiencies found in the field-testing stage.

They are (1) research and information collecting, (2) planning, (3) developing preliminary form of product, (4) preliminary field testing, (5) main product revision, (6) main field testing, (7) operational product revision, (8) operational field testing, (9) final product revision, and (10) dissemination and implementation.

In this study, the writer only employed step 1 to step 5. It was because of the writer’s limitations of time to do all the steps and the limitation of place to do all the field tests. Thus, in step 4 (preliminary field testing), the writer did not conduct a test in the school but conducted expert and user verification on the designed materials. The verification was done by some lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University as the experts of designing materials and by the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta as the users of the designed materials. This step was in accordance with survey on the designed materials. It will be explained further on the survey on the designed materials.

Furthermore, the product in this study refers to the instructional materials that were developed. To develop the materials, the writer conducted surveys. The surveys functioned as the means to gather the data from qualified respondents that were used to support the materials development. There were two kinds of survey conducted in this study; they were needs survey and survey on the designed materials.

1. Needs Survey

Needs survey was a pre-design survey since it was conducted before the writer designed the materials. It was in accordance with step 1 of R & D cycle;

i.e., research and information collecting. It was aimed to find out the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles in learning English writing skill. In gathering the data, a questionnaire and an informal interview were used. The writer distributed the questionnaire to the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. After distributing the questionnaire, the informal interview was conducted to the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. It was intended to enrich the data from the questionnaire.

2. Survey on the Designed Materials

Survey on the designed materials was conducted after the materials were designed; hence it was called post-design survey. It was in accordance with step 4 of R & D cycle (preliminary field testing) as stated before. It was aimed to obtain the evaluations and feedback on the designed materials. In this post-design survey, a questionnaire was used. The questio nnaire was distributed to English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and some lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University.

B. Research Participants

In this section, the writer describes the respondents of the needs survey and those of the survey on the designed materials.

1. Respondents of the Needs Survey

In designing the materials, the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles are important things to be considered in the research. The writer distributed the questionnaire to the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta to

know their needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles. The samples were Accounting (2 AK) class and Office Administration (2 AP) class. The total number of the students was 53. The classes were chosen as the samples since the students had enough experience in learning English and understood their needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles. Moreover, to enrich the data about the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles, the writer conducted an informal interview with two English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. The English teachers were chosen as the respondents because they knew the students’ needs and the teaching- learning process in the class.

2. Respondents of the Survey on the Designed Materials

To evaluate the designed materials and to obtain the feedback of the designed materials, the writer distributed the questionnaire and the designed materials to two English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and three lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. The English teachers were chosen as the respondents because they had experiences in dealing with the students so that they understood the students’ needs and characteristics. They also had experiences in designing and implementing materials. Besides, three lecturers were cho sen as the respondents as they knew well the theory of designing materials and taught some subjects related to designing materials; they were writing, instructional design, language teaching strategy, and language teaching methodology. The respondents were asked to evaluate whether the designed materials were suitable to the students’ needs or not and to give feedback on the designed materials. The description of

the respondents of this survey is presented in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Respondents of the Survey on the Designed Materials Educational

Background

Teaching Experience (in year) Group of

Respondents

D3 S1 S2 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 =26

English Teachers

- _{1 1 - - - - 1 1}

English Lecturers

- _{- 3 - 1 1 1 - -}

C. Research Instruments

Research instruments are needed in conducting surveys. There were two instruments that were used in the study; they were questionnaires and an interview guideline.

1. Questionnaires

There were two questionnaires that were used in the study. The first questionnaire was for the needs survey. It was distributed to the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta to gather information about their needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles. The first questionnaire was written in Indonesian. The purpose was to make the students understand the meaning of the questions well so that they could answer the questions appropriately. The questions stated in the first questionnaire were in the form of closed-ended questions, in which the respondents should answer the questions by choosing the provided options. The questions were about the students’ learning style, their

difficulties in learning writing and how they solved the difficulties, and the activities and media they wanted in learning writing. Whether the tasks given by their teacher helped them in developing their writing skill was also asked in the first questionnaire.

The second questionnaire was for the survey on the designed materials. It was distributed to the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and three lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. The aim of the second questionnaire was to obtain evaluations and feedback on the designed materials.

The second questionnaire was divided into two parts; they were part A and part B. Part A contained closed-ended questions, in which the respondents should answer the questions by choosing the provided options. The questions were to ask whether the materials were well developed, whether the designed materials were relevant for the students, and whether TBLT was well developed in the materials. Moreover, part B contained open-ended questions, in which the respondents were free to express their comments about the overall designed materials, to mention the strengths and weaknesses of the designed materials, and to give suggestions to improve the designed materials.

2. Interview Guideline

The writer conducted an informal interview with the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. The questions asked in the interview with the English teachers were about the students’ learning style, the topics that were interesting for the students, the students’ difficulties found in learning writing, the

students’ performance in writing, the strategies to solve the problems / difficulties and the strategies to develop the students’ writing skill, and the method applied in teaching writing. The questions were in the form of open-ended questions, in which the respondents could answer the questions freely since there was no provided options.

D. Data Gathering Technique

There are two important points to be discussed in the data gathering technique. They are data gathering technique of the needs survey and data gathering technique of the survey on the designed materials.

1. Data Gathering Technique of the Needs Survey

To gather the main data for designing the materials, the writer came to SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta, especially 2 AK class and 2 AP class, and distributed the questionnaire to the students. The students were asked to answer the questionnaire in the class and the writer waited for them. It was done in order to make the survey accurate. On the next day, the writer interviewed the English teachers to enrich the data about the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles.

2. Data Gathering Technique of the Survey on the Designed Materials

After designing the materials, the writer conducted a survey on the designed materials. In the survey on the designed materials, the writer met the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and three lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University and asked them to give evaluations and feedback on the designed materials. The writer distributed

the designed materials and the questionnaire to them. Two weeks later, the writer met them to take the designed materials and questionnaire back in order to be analyzed and the results were used to revise and produce the final version of the designed materials.

E. Data Analysis Technique

There are two things that will be discussed in this part. They are data analysis technique of the needs survey and data analysis technique of the survey on the designed materials.

1. Data Analysis Technique of the Needs Survey

After gathering the data from the first questionnaire, the writer analyzed them. The data were calculated using percentage method. The formula is as follows.

n

x 100% N

Note: n = the number of students who chose a certain option N = the total number of students

Then, the writer gathered additional data by using an informal interview. The data of the informal interview were used to enrich the data from the questionnaire. Based on the results, the writer designed instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta.

2. Data Analysis Techniques of the Survey on the Designed Materials

In the survey on the designed materials, the writer obtained the evaluations and feedback from the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and three lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University by using the second questionnaire. The second questionnaire was divided into two parts; they were part A and part B. Part A contained closed-ended que stions and part B contained open-closed-ended questions.

In part A the respondents were to give their opinions by choosing the provided options. The details of the options are in Table 3.2. The data of part A were calculated and analyzed by using the central tendency, that is mean, of the respondents’ opinions on the designed materials. According to Brown and Rodgers (2004: 128), mean is “the sum of all the values in a distribution divided by the number of values.” The formula is written as follows.

S x X = N Note:

X = mean

Sx = the sum of values

N = the total number of values

After the writer analyzed the data, the results were presented in Table 3.3.

In part B the respondents were free to give their opinions and feedback. The data obtained from part B of the second questionnaire were in the form of comments, criticisms, and suggestions on the designed materials. Then, the overall data of part A and B of the second questionnaire were used to evaluate,

revise, improve, and make the final version of the designed materials. Table 3.2 Points of Agreement of the Respondents’ Opinions Points of

Agreement Meaning

1 If the respondents strongly disagree with the statement 2 If the respondents disagree with the statement

3 If the respondents neither agree nor disagree with the statement (doubt)

4 If the respondents agree with the statement

5 If the respondents strongly agree with the statement

Table 3.3 The Data of the Respondents’ Opinions (Blank)

Central Tendency

No. Respondents’ Opinions on N

Mean

F. Research Procedures

In this part, the writer would like to discuss the procedures in conducting the research. The procedures were divided into three parts. They were pre-design activities, design activities, and post-design activities. Those three parts were in accordance with the five steps of R & D cycle.

1. Pre-design Activities

were used to gather the data; they were questionnaires and an interview guideline. After that, the writer conducted the needs survey to know the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles by distributing the first questionnaire to the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and interviewing their English teachers. These activities were in accordance with step 1 of R & D cycle; that is, research and information collecting. Then, the writer analyzed the data from the questionnaire and interview.

2. Design Activities

In this part, the writer designed instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. The writer used the results of the needs survey as the basis of the materials development. In designing the materials, the writer selected available materials, modified existing materials, and designed new materials. These activities were in accordance with step 2 and step 3 of R & D cycle ; i.e., planning and developing preliminary form of product.

3. Post-design Activities

After designing the materials, the writer distributed the second questionnaire and the designed materials to the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and three lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University to gather evaluations and feedback on the designed materials. It was in accordance with step 4 of R & D cycle; that is, preliminary field testing. Then, the writer analyzed the data from the evaluations and feedback given by the respondents. The results of the survey on the designed materials were used for the next steps; i.e., revising and making the final version of the instructional writing

materials design. These last steps were in accordance with step 5 ofR & D cycle; that is, main product revision.

38 CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is the steps of designing instructional writing materials for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. This part answers the first question in the problem formulation. The second part is the results of the surveys conducted by the writer. In this part, the writer elaborated the results of the needs survey and the survey on the designed materials. The last part is the presentation of the designed instructional writing materials for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. It is the answer to the second question in the problem formulation.

A. The Steps of Designing Instructional Writing Materials for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta

The writer applied four instructional design steps in designing the writing materials for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. The steps were analyzing learner characteristics; listing the topics and stating the objectives; selecting, modifying, and designing materials; and also evaluating and revising the materials. The writer discusses each of the instructional design steps as follows.

1. Analyzing Learner Characteristics

In this step, the writer identified the learner characteristics by conducting a needs survey. The needs survey was conducted by distributing a questionnaire to the second grade students, 2 AP class and 2 AK class, of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta on 17th and 21st May 2007. Moreover, to obtain additional information about the learner characteristics, the writer conducted an informal

interview with the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta on 28th May 2007.

Based on the data from the questionnaire and the informal interview, the writer analyzed the learner characteristics including their needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles. From the analysis, the writer found out that the learners aged between 16 and 18 years old. They had learned English for about 5 to 9 years. Most of them came from low-class family. They had low motivation to learn. Moreover, they were slow and passive learners. Seeing those facts, they really needed guidance in learning English. The complete data of the needs survey are presented in Appendix G.

2. Listing the Topics and Stating the Objectives

As previously mentioned in the problem formulation in chapter I, this study focused on designing instructional writing materials using Task-Based Language Teaching for SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. Thus, the topics were developed from the KTSP of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. They were:

a. Daily Activities b. Hobbies and Interests c. Writing Messages d. Professions e. Curriculum Vitae f. An Application Letter g. Past Events

Then, the objectives were adopted from the KTSP of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. The general objective, which was called Competency Standard, was that the second grade students are expected to be able to communicate in English on elementary level. Furthermore, the specific objectives, which were called Basic Competencies, are presented in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1 The Topics and the Basic Competencies

Unit Topic Basic Competencies

1 Daily Activities 2 Hobbies and

Interests

The students are able to communicate using simple daily conversations with non- native speakers in the professional context and/or the personal context.

3 Writing Messages The students are able to write simple messages based on direct interaction and/or interaction through media.

4 Professions 5 Curriculum Vitae 6 An Application

Letter

The students are able to specify the jobs and the educational backgrounds of some professions orally and in written.

7 Past Events 8 Future Plans

The students are able to tell about past events and future plans.

Besides, it was necessary to state the indicators in order to make the students recognize the expected achievement after completing a particular unit. Heinich, Molenda, and Russell (1982: 37) state that a well-stated objective should include

three elements; they are performance, conditions, and criteria. An objective should always include what the learner is expected to be able to do after completing the course. Performance must be stated in an operationa l verb so that it is observable. Moreover, a statement of objective should include the condition of the performance and it should be relevant (Heinich, Molenda, and Russell, 1982: 38). Furthermore, a well- stated objective should include the criteria (or standards) of the acceptable performance that is observed. The criteria may be described in quantity or quality or both (Heinich, Molenda, and Russell, 1982: 39). Based on the explanations above, the writer took the achievement indicators from the KTSP of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and made suitable use of them to be used in designing the materials. They are presented in Table 4.2 (overleaf).

3. Selecting, Modifying, and Designing Materials

In this step, the writer selected and modified the materials from some resource books, internet sites, game books, a magazine and a newspaper. The writer also designed new materials based on her experience and knowledge. The designed materials generally contained three activities. They were “What do you think?”, “Let’s do it”, and “Attention, please!” Those activities were based on Task-Based Learning framework; i.e., pre-task, task cycle, and language focus.

Table 4.2 The Topics and the Indicators

Unit Topic Indicators

1 Daily Activities

1. The students are able to question using question word pattern in the context of daily activities correctly.

2. The students are able to answer the questions in the context of daily activities correctly.

3. The students are able to write their own daily activities correctly.

4. The students are able to write their partner’s daily activities correctly.

2 Hobbies and Interests

1. The students are able to talk about hobbies and interests using appropriate expressions.

2. The students are able to write their own hobby and interest correctly.

3. The students are able to write their partner’s hobby and interest correctly.

3 Writing Messages

1. The students are able to write messages based on telephone conversation correctly.

2. The students are able to write messages based on direct conversation correctly.

4 Professions 1. The students are able to explain the jobs of some professions in the form of Simple Present Tense appropriately.

2. The students are able to explain the educational

backgrounds of some professions in the form of Simple Past Tense appropriately.

5 Curriculum Vitae

1. The students are able to write a simple curriculum vitae correctly.

2. The students are able to write their partner’s curriculum vitae correctly.

6 An

Application Letter

1. The students are able to identify the form of a good application letter correctly.

2. The students are able to write an application letter well. 7 Past Events 1. The students are able to express past events using Simple

Past Tense correctly.

2. The students are able to write a personal letter about past events correctly.

8 Future Plans 1. The students are able to express future plans using Simple Future Tense correctly.

2. The students are able to write a personal letter about future plans correctly.

The details of the Task-Based Learning framework of the designed materials are presented in Figure 4.1.

What do you think? Introduction to topic

Brainstorming, answering questions, and sharing personal experiences Let’s do it

Write it down

Writing based on prior knowledge, personal experiences, and conversation.

Listing and ordering.

Think about

Preparing the report of the task.

Express it

Presenting the report.

Attention, please! Let’s analyze

Analyzing the language focus, comparing, and sorting.

Practice it

Practicing writing and revis ing the writing based on the analysis. Figure 4.1 Task-Based Learning Framework of the Designed Materials

4. Evaluating and Revising the Materials

After completing the materials, the writer evaluated the designed materials by conducting a survey on the designed materials. The survey was conducted by distributing a questionnaire to the respondents. The respondents were three lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University and two English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. The respondents were expected to give the ir evaluations and feedback on the designed materials. Then, the writer conducted some revisions based on the evaluations and

feedback proposed by the respondents to make the final version of the designed materials.

B. The Results of the Surveys

The writer conducted two kinds of survey in this research. The first was the needs survey in order to find the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles. The second was the survey on the designed materials in order to obtain the evaluations and feedback on the designed materials. The results of the needs survey and the survey on the designed materials are presented as follows.

1. The Results of the Needs Survey

To find out the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles in learning English writing skill, the writer conducted a needs survey. It was done by distributing a questionnaire and conducting an informal interview. The questionnaire was distributed to the 53 students of the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta on 17th and 21st May 2007. Moreover, the informal interview was conducted with the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta on 28th May 2007. It was to obtain additional data of the students’ needs, lacks, interest, and learning styles in learning English writing skill.

a. The Results of the Questionnaire

There were twelve questions in the questionnaire that should be answered by the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta as the respondents. The students gave their answer by crossing the choices based on their opinions. After that, the writer analyzed the data from the questionnaire. The data were calculated using percentage method. The detailed results of the questionnaire are

presented in Appendix G but the general results are as follows.

In the first question, the students were asked “Generally, do you like writing? ” Forty five (84.9%) students answered “yes” and only eight (15.1%) students answered “no”. It meant that generally they had interest in writing and it was a good starting point for them to develop their writing skill. Writing is an interesting skill to develop. Concerning question 2, whether they liked writing in English or not, thirty two students (60.4%) said “yes” and twenty one students (39.6%) said “no”. It showed tha t they liked writing in English.

Question 3 was “How often do you write in English? ” Most of the students; i.e., thirty four students (64.2%), said that they only wrote in English in English class. The writer concluded that they only wrote when the teacher asked or assigned them to write. Question 4 asked about the difficulties they usually faced when they were writing in English. Thirty six (67.9%) students mentioned that the difficulty they faced was lack of vocabulary. Twenty four students (45.3%) found difficulty in writing words correctly and thirty eight students (71.7%) found difficulty in arranging words into good sentences. Moreover, nine students (17%) said that they had no idea when they were asked to write.

Related to question 4, in question 5 the students were asked whether the y needed to improve their writing skill. Almost all of the students; i.e., fifty two students (98.1%), stated that they needed to improve their writing skills and only one student (1.9%) said no. The writer concluded that they realized the importance of writing skill. Concerning question 6 “How do you develop your writing skill?”, thirty seven students (69.8%) said that they should read a lot, twenty seven students (50.9%) answered that they needed to practice writing

personally, and twenty four students (45.3%) preferred to practice writing in group. The writer concluded that they needed many exploration and tasks to develop their writing skill.

In the seventh question, the writer wanted to know whether the exercises or tasks given in the class were able to develop their writing skill. Fifty two students (98.1%) answered “yes” and only one student (1.9%) answered “no”. Moreover, question 8 asked their opinion “Can tasks develop your writing skill?” and the result was that 49 students (92.5%) agreed that tasks could develop their writing skill but four students (7.5%) did not agree. Then, question 9 asked their opinion whether listening, speaking, and reading in English class helped them in developing their writing skill. Fifty students (94.3%) said “yes” and three students (5.7%) said “no”. From those three questions, it was concluded that tasks and the other three skills were helpful in developing the students’ writing skill.

In question 10, the students were to choose opening activity they wanted in writing class. Thirty four students (64.2%) chose games, twenty eight students (52.8%) chose reading, and sixteen students (16%) chose listening. Then, in question 11 the students were to choose writing activity they like. Thirty four students (64.2%) chose making dialogue, 21 students (39.6%) chose ordering sentences/words (puzzle, crosswords), and nineteen students (35.8%) chose writing personal experiences/diary. In addition, for the last question, the writer asked about the media they wanted to use in writing class. Forty one students (77.4%) wanted TV/radio/tape recorder, 29 students (54.7%) wanted picture, and 27 students (50.9%) wanted magazine/newspaper as the media in writing class.

b. The Results of the Informal Interview

The writer prepared fourteen questions that were stated in the interview guideline. Since the English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta as the respondents of the informal interview were not willing to answer all of the questions prepared, the writer only obtained some additional data. The additional data were:

1) Most of the students came from low-class family. As a result, they had low motivation to learn and it was hard to motivate them as well. Because of that, the teachers needed to give extra assistance and have extra patience to assist them.

2) The students were interested to write if the topics to write were related to their life, their experiences, and the phenomena around them.

3) As the students did not have any handbook, the teacher worked very hard to deliver the materials. The teacher employed deductive and inductive methods to teach writing in English. In the deductive method, the students were given the pattern and example of paragraphs about certain topic and then they were asked to write based on the example. Another way was that they were given the topic sentence and then they were asked to continue the passage using 5W 1H questions. In inductive method, the teacher employed EGRA steps. They are exposure, generalization, reinforcement, and application. First, the students were given a piece of writing. Then, the students were to find the pattern of that writing, difficult words, and questions about that writing. After that, the teacher reinforced the students’ understanding about the material. Finally, the students did the tasks based on the pattern they had learned.

Moreover, the teacher often used Indonesian to convey the materials to make the students understand the materials well.

4) The common difficulties that the students often faced when they were writing have been stated in Appendix G point 4. In addition, they were often stuck when they were writing, they had many grammatical errors, and they spent very long time to write a very short paragraph. Thus, they really needed tasks to get them accustomed to writing in English and to improve their writing skill.

Based on the results of the surveys above, the writer listed the topics, stated the objectives, and designed the materials.

2. The Results of the Survey on the Designed Materials

To obtain evaluations and feedback on the designed materials, the writer conducted a survey on the designed materials by distributing a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to two English teachers of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta and to three lecturers of the English Language Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. The distribution of the questionnaire was conducted on 23rd to 27th August 2007.

The data gathered from the questionnaire of the survey on the designed materials were analyzed using central tendency. It was to obtain the mean. After being analyzed, the results showed that the mean ranged from 3.4 up to 4.4 in the scale of 5.0. It meant that the designed materials were appropriate for the second grade students of SMK BOPKRI I Yogyakarta. The detailed results of the respondents’ opinions are presented in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3 The Data of the Respondents’ Opinions

CT

No. Respondents’ Opinions on N

Mean

The Objectives

1. The indicators are well formulated. _3.8

2. The indicators are able to support the achievement of basic competence.

5

4

The Learning Approach

3. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is really developed in

the existing materials. 3.4

4. The activities using Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)

help the students to develop their writing skill. 3.6 5. The tasks facilitate the students to meet the objectives.

5

3.4

The Content of the Designed Materials

6. The topics are well selected and arranged. _4.4 7. The topics are interesting for the students to write. _4.2 8. The instructions are easy to understand. 4.2 9. The writing models help the students to write better. _3.8

10. The media are well developed. 3.6

11. The designed materials provide tasks needed by the students. 4.2 12. The learning activities help the students to develop their

communicative competence. 4.2

13. The designed materials are able to help the students to develop

their writing skill. 4

14. The designed materials meet the objectives stated in the

syllabus. 4.2

15. The designed materials are suitable and relevant for the second grade students of SMK.

5

4.4

Note : N = Number of respondents

Writin g Page 33

UNIT 8

I’M GOING TO GO ABROAD

W hat do you think?

Move around the class to list your friends’ future plans using the following form. Ask them the reason for proposing the plans.

Name Time Plan Reason

Wina N ext month (August 2007)

She will buy a new motorcycle.

Her motorcycle is already broken.

L et’ s do it W rite it down

O bserve the picture below.

Form groups of three. Each group, write a passage about Nicola’s holiday plans. She is going to have a holiday.

The rules are as follows:

1. You should prepare a piece of paper for each group. 2. You are not allowed to speak to each other.

3. Each of you should write a sentence based on the picture on the piece of paper.

4. After writing, pass the paper to the other friend and do not erase anything.

Writin g Page 34 5. You should keep writing until you form a passage.

N icola is going to have a holiday.

Taken from: Play G ames with English T hink about

Prepare your passage to be read in front of the class. Express it

O ne member of each group should read the passage in front of the class.

A ttention, please! L et’ s analyze

O ne group will write a passage on the black board to be analyzed together. Does that group use simple future tense to express the future plans? Do they use it properly? Underline the sentences that are expressed using simple future tense.

Writin g Page 35 After that, read the comic strips below and underline sentences that use simple future tense.

Taken from: Window on the World 2

Language Focus

Simple future tense is used when we write or talk about future plans. The patterns are:

(+) subject + will + verb 1 (present form) + adverb of time

(-) subject + will not (won’t) + verb 1 (present form) + adverb of time (+) subject + be going to + verb 1 (present form) + adverb of time (-) subject + be not going to + verb 1 (present form) + adverb of time

Besides, you may use

§ plan to + verb 1

§ intend to + verb 1

§ want to + verb 1

§ be planning to + verb 1

§ be intending to + verb 1

§ be thinking of + verb -ing

The examples of adverbs of time are tomorrow, later, soon, tonight, next, and

when….

Examples:

Writin g Page 34

He is not going to attend the meeting tonight. I intend to paint my room tomorrow.

Adapted from: Understanding and Using English Grammar

Writin g Page 36 Practice it

Individually, write a letter to one of your classmates about your future plans. When you finish writing the letter, ask him/ her to read your letter and give comments on it. If it is necessary, revise your writing.

Writin g Page 37

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