The use of picture series for teaching students to write narrative texts in class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta

THE USE OF PICTURE SERIES FOR TEACHING STUDENTS

TO WRITE NARRATIVE TEXTS IN CLASS VIII F OF SMP

NEGERI 10 SURAKARTA

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

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

in English Language Education

By

Floriberta Ratih Dewanti N. Student Number: 101214102

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

i

THE USE OF PICTURE SERIES FOR TEACHING STUDENTS

TO WRITE NARRATIVE TEXTS IN CLASS VIII F OF SMP

NEGERI 10 SURAKARTA

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

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

in English Language Education

By

Floriberta Ratih Dewanti N. Student Number: 101214102

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

vi

DEDICATION PAGE

But those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint

(Isaiah 40: 31)

And whatever you ask in prayer,

you will receive, if you have faith.

(Matthew 21:22)

I dedicate this thesis to:

My Almighty Jesus Christ

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ABSTRACT

Dewanti, Floriberta Ratih. (2014). The Use of Picture Series for Teaching Students to Write Narrative Texts in Class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta.

Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

English is one of subjects in Indonesia. It becomes the first foreign language that has to be taught in every school in Indonesia. Students have to master four language skills in it: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In order to master English, the students have to comprehend those four skills. Unfortunately, many students think that writing is the most difficult skill to be mastered. Based on the preliminary study which was conducted by the researcher, the students of VIII F class of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta had difficulties in writing narrative texts.

This research was aimed to overcome the problems encountered by the students of VIII F class of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta by using picture series. Picture series was offered as a solution because it gives many advantages in learning writing. The formulated problems of this study are: to what extent does picture series help students VIII F class of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta in writing narrative texts? How is the use of picture series implemented in writing narrative texts toward students VIII F class of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta to improve their writing skills?

This research employed classroom action research to help the students improve their writing skills in composing narrative texts. The participants of this research were 26 students in VIII F class of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta. The researcher employed two cycles. In cycle one, the researcher conducted two meetings, while in cycle two, the researcher conducted one meeting. The data were obtained by using several research instruments: observations sheets, field

notes, students‟ writing, questionnaire, and interview.

The results of this research showed that the use of picture series improved

students‟ writing skills in composing narrative texts. The significant improvement

could be seen from the students‟ scores of the preliminary study until the second cycle of this study. The number of the students who reached the passing grade of English subject increased. Picture series becomes the appropriate technique to help the students improve their writing skills in narrative texts.

viii

ABSTRAK

Dewanti, Floriberta Ratih. (2014). The Use of Picture Series for Teaching Students to Write Narrative Texts in Class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta.

Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

Bahasa Inggris adalah salah satu mata pelajaran di Indonesia. Bahasa Inggris menjadi bahasa asing pertama yang harus diajarkan di setiap sekolah di Indonesia. Siswa harus menguasai 4 kemampuan yaitu mendengkarkan, berbiara, membaca dan menulis. Untuk dapat menguasai Bahasa Inggris dengan baik, siswa harus memahami ke-empat kemampuan tersebut. Sayangnya, banyak siswa berpikir bahwa menulis merupan kemampuan tersulit untuk dikuasai. Berdasarkan studi awal peneliti, siswa kelas VIII F di SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta mengalami kesulitan dalam menulis teks naratif.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengatasi masalah siswa kelas VIII F di SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta dengan mengunakan gambar berseri. Gambar berseri ditawarkan sebagai satu solusi karena memberikan banyak keuntungan dalam pembelajaran menulis. Rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah: sejauh mana gambar berseri membantu siswa kelas VIII F di SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta dalam menulis teks naratif? Bagaimana penggunaan gambar berseri diterapkan untuk menulis teks naratif kepada siswa kelas VIII F di SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta untuk meningkatkan kemampuan menulis mereka?

Penelitian ini menggunakan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK) untuk membantu siswa dalam meningkatkan kemampuan Bahasa Inggris dalam menyususn teks naratif. Peserta dalam penelitian ini adalah 26 siswa dari kelas VIII F di SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta. Peneliti membuat dua siklus dalam penelitian ini. Siklus satu peneliti melakukan dua pertemua, sedangkan pada siklus dua, peneliti melakukan satu pertemuan. Data dalam penelitian ini diperoleh melalui beberpa instrument: lembar observasi, catatan lapangan, hasil tulisan siswa, kuisioner, dan wawancara.

Hasil analisa dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwaa penggunaan gambar berseri meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa dalam menyusun teks naratif. Peningkatan yang signifikan dapat dilihat dari nilai siswa dari studi awal hingga siklus kedua. Jumlah siswa yang dapat mencapai kriteria ketuntasan minimal dari mata pelajaran Bahasa Inggris meningkat. Dengan demikian, gambar berseri merupakan teknik yang sesuai untuk membantu sswa meningkatkan kemampuan Bahasa Inggris mereka dalam menulis naratif teks.

Kata Kunci: classroom action research, writing skills, narrative texts, picture

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to send my gratefulness to the Almighty God,

Jesus Christ for having made everything possible by giving me strength and

courage to do this thesis. He always makes me believe in the power of hopes and prayers so that everything was done in His right time.

I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my advisor, Drs.

Pius Nurwidasa Prihatin, M.Ed., Ed.D., for his extreme patience and support

during the completion of this thesis. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to do research and providing invaluable guidance throughout the process of finishing this thesis. His encouragements, life values, sincerity, empathy, and motivation have deeply inspired me to be a better person. I then thank my examiners, Dr.

Retno Muljani, M.Pd. and V. Triprihatmini, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A. for their

fruitful feedback.

My deepest gratitude was also addressed to the headmaster of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta, Bambang Edy Kusumo Mardiyanto, S.Pd., M.Pd for giving me the opportunity to conduct my research in the school. I also thank to the English teacher of class VIII F, Saptowati, S.Pd., because she always gave me comments and support so I could conduct the research successfully. My deep gratitude also goes to class VIII F students for their cooperative participation in this research.

I also send my sincere gratitude to my uncle for his willingness to proofread my thesis, Drs. V. Sudarna Hadi S., M.Pd. and his family for always supporting me in conducting this research. I thank him for his corrections,

x

suggestions, and advice of my thesis so that finally I could revise errors and mistakes that were found.

I am extremely grateful to my parents, my beloved father Robertus

Isbudiyanto, my beloved mother Roberta Maria Imbar Windyarti, and my

beloved brother, Yustinus Sigit Pinda Sadewa, my beloved aunt and uncle,

Bulik Ririn and Om Manuel for their love, care, prayer, and advice to educate

and prepare me for my future. There is no word which can express my happiness belongs to this family. Also, my great gratefulness belongs to Mas Jo‟s family:

FX. Saring, Martha Rahayu Kanti Suprihatingsih, and Yakobus Emanuel

Guntur for their love, care, and encouragement so that I could finish my thesis.

I would also express my gratitude to all my best friends: Gistha, Anin,

Siwi, Ajeng, Mbak Nay, Yeskha, Dyah, Dhea, Susi and Tika for their treasured

friendship. I thank them for their support and sharing throughout the good and bad times. My gratefulness also belongs to Firdy Siwi, Riska, Sandra, Aulia, Epi,

Pritha, Ikha, There, and to those who always support my thesis with their own

ways.

I would send my deepest gratefulness and love to my partner in life,

Philipus Yonathan Eko Nugroho. I thank him for his uncounted love, patience,

care, and encouragement during the good and bad times. I thank him for his advice in teaching me to keep hoping, struggling, and praying.

Last but not least, I would also thank those whose names cannot be mentioned one by one. May the Almighty God richly bless all of them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGE ... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK‟S ORIGINALITY ... iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... v

DEDICATION PAGE ... vi

ABSTRACT ... vii

ABSTRAK ... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xi

LIST OF TABLES ... xiv

LIST OF FIGURES ... xv

LIST OF APPENDICES ... xvi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Research Background ... 1

B. Research Problems ... 6

C. Problem Limitation ... 6

D. Research Objectives ... 6

E. Research Benefits ... 7

F. Definition of Terms ... 8

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoretical Description ... 13

1. Writing Skills ... 13

2. Text-Based Approach ... 21

3. Narrative Text ... 24

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5. Classroom Action Research ... 28

B. Theoretical Framework ... 33

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Research Method ... 36

B. Research Setting ... 37

C. Research Participants ... 37

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique... 38

E. Data Analysis Technique ... 48

F. Research Procedure ... 51

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. The Preliminary Study ... 54

1. Classroom Activities in the Preliminary Study……… 55

2. Students‟ Activities in the Preliminary Study………. 56

3. Researcher‟s Reflection in the Preliminary Study………. 58

B. Picture Series Technique as a New Strategy ... 60

1. The Implementation of Picture Series in Cycle 1……….... 60

a. Planning………... 61

b. Action……….. 66

c. Observation………. 71

1) The Analysis of Observation Checklist and Field Notes of Cycle 1 ... 72

2) The Analysis of Students‟ Score and Questionnaire Of Cycle 1... 76

d. Reflection ... 84

e. Changes in Cycle 2 ... 85

2. The Implementation of Picture Series in Cycle 2 ... 87

a. Planning ... 88

b. Action ... 91

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1)The Analysis of Observation Checklist and Field

Notes of Cycle 2 ... 94

2)The Analysis of Students‟ s Score and Questionnaire of Cycle 2 ... 96

d. Reflection ... 105

3. Lesson Learned after the Implementation of Picture Series Technique to Improve Students‟ Writing Skills ... 106

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions ... 109

B. Recommendations ... 112

REFERENCES ... 114

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

3.1 Instruments and Data Collection ... 38

3.2 Result of Questionnaire ... 43

3.3 Criteria of Mean Score ... 43

3.4 Analytic Scoring Rubric of Writing Ability ... 47

4.1 Students‟ Achievement Score in Preliminary Study ... 56

4.2 Students‟ Achievement Score in Cycle 1 ... 77

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LIST OF FIGURE

Figure Page

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Page

A.Covering Letter for the headmaster of

SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta ... 118

B. Research Statement of Data Safety ... 120

C. Research Instruments... 122

1. Observation Sheet ... 123

2. Field Notes... 125

3. Writing Scoring Rubric ... 126

4. Questionnaire ... 128

5. Interview Guide ... 132

D. Lesson Plan and Teaching Material ... 133

1. Lesson Plan and Teaching Material in Cycle 1 ... 134

2. Lesson Plan and Teaching Material in Cycle 2 ... 149

E. Observation Sheet Results ... 159

1. Observation Sheet from the Researcher in the Preliminary Study ... 160

2. Observation Sheet from Observer A in Cycle 1Meeting 1 ... 162

3. Observation Sheet from Observer B in Cycle 1Meeting 1 ... 164

4. Observation Sheet from Observer A in Cycle 1 Meeting 2 ... 166

5. Observation Sheet from Observer B in Cycle 1 Meeting 2 ... 168

6. Observation Sheet from Observer A in Cycle 2 ... 170

7. Observation Sheet from Observer B in Cycle 2 ... 172

F. Field Notes Results ... 174

1. Field Notes Cycle 1 Meeting 1 ... 175

2. Field Notes Cycle 1 Meeting 2 ... 178

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G. Questionnaire Results ... 182

1. Questionnaire Result of the Preliminary Study ... 183

2. Questionnaire Result in Cycle 1... 185

3. Questionnaire Result in Cycle 2... 189

H. Writing Rubric Result... 194

1. Students‟ Achievement in the Preliminary Study ... 195

2. Students‟ Achievement in Cycle 1 ... 196

3. Students‟ Achievement in Cycle 2 ... 197

I. Samples of Students‟ Draft and Revised Draft ... 198

1. Sample of Students‟ Draft in Cycle 1 ... 199

2. Sample of Students‟ Revised Draft in Cycle 1 ... 200

3. Sample of Students‟ Draft in Cycle 2 ... 201

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher discusses the introduction of the study. There are six sub-chapters which are explained in this chapter. Those sub-chapters are the research background, research problems, problem limitation, research objectives, research benefits, and definition of terms used in this study.

A. Research Background

English is one of subjects in Indonesia. It is the first foreign language that has to be taught in every school in Indonesia. To master English, students must be involved into four skills in it, i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Bright & McGregor, 1973). Students‟ mastery in English could be measured through their performances of productive skills. Students‟ performances in speaking and writing skills, as the productive skills, indicate their achievements in learning English. Students are expected not only speaking fluently but also writing properly. Like speaking skills as a direct communication, writing skills are the forms of indirect communication which need knowledge and experience to be mastered by students (Darmadi, 1996).

Writing is a complex skill therefore it is considered as the most difficult skill in language to be learnt. Students have to learn complex knowledge in writing in order to be able to produce good writing. Nunan (2003) states “Writing is the mental work of inventing ideas, thinking about how to express them, and

organizing them into statements and paragraphs that will be clear to a reader”

skills in English which has an important role in students‟ ability. It is also said by Tiedt (1989), “…of all the language skills, writing is the most difficult and it is a

hard work.” (p.6). The students will produce a long process to obtain the good writing products which require mental works in writing and the knowledge of English. The students have to deal with the mental works in writing such as finding ideas, expressing the ideas, organizing statements and paragraphs which will be supported by the knowledge of English such as grammar, idiom, and vocabulary that have been taught by the teacher.

In the Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) or curriculum 2006, it is explained English as a subject for junior high school should elaborate several kinds of texts. Those texts are mentioned in the competency standard (Standar Kompetensi) and the basic competence (Kompetensi Dasar) of the curriculum. To be particular, the texts that must be taught for eight graders of junior high school are descriptive, recount, and narrative. To master the writing skills of those texts, Feez and Joyce (2002) define text-based approach or genre- based approach as the effective approach which is employed based on the need of English language teachers to teach whole texts. In order to achieve the writing competence, text-based approach helps the teachers to teach students by using its stages in composing the texts.

This research was conducted in the school in which used curriculum 2006 or KTSP. Therefore, the researcher used the protocol of curriculum 2006. Meanwhile, after conducting the research, the curriculum has changed. Every school in Indonesia starts to employ the newest curriculum, curriculum 2013.

Curriculum 2013 is the new curriculum which is established in the academic year 2013/ 2014 and also the developing of the last curriculum (Fadlillah, 2014). The change of curriculum 2013 basically focuses on improving and balancing between soft skills and hard skills. Moreover, curriculum 2013 requires the soft skills and hard skills could be balanced and be simultaneous to be applied in daily life (Fadlillah, 2014). Mulyasa (2013) states that through balancing the hard skills (knowledge) and soft skills, students become more productive, creative, innovative, and affective.

In the curriculum 2006 (KTSP), there are two parts namely competency standard (standar kompetensi) and the basic competence (kompetensi dasar). The competency standard, in the curriculum 2006 (KTSP), is made based on the subjects. In other words, the competency standard is made after deciding the competency standard which is different for each subject. On the contrary, the competency standard which is changed into main competency (kompetensi inti) in the curriculum 2013 is made for all subjects. In other words, the main competency is made first before deciding the competency standard so that all subjects have the same main competency. Basically, curriculum 2006 (KTSP) andcurriculum 2013 has the same basic competences. The topic of materials which are taught in the curriculum 2006 and curriculum 2013 are same. To be particular, though the curriculum has changed, narrative text as one of topics in the English subject is still taught for eight grade of junior high school.

The researcher conducted this research in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta. The rationale was the researcher had experiences in teaching English in this school.

The researcher as the English teacher of extracurricular activity in this school taught students of eight grades who become the participants of this research. While the researcher taught English extracurricular, the researcher observed the students. Most of the students faced some problems related to the writing skills. These problems also occurred in the preliminary observation which was conducted the researcher in the beginning of this research.

Based on the classroom observation which was done once by the researcher in the preliminary study on April 15th, 2014, the researcher found that students VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta faced some problems in writing. First, the researcher observed the teaching- learning process between the English teacher and the students. The researcher found that the students did not show their enthusiasm while acquiring the lesson. Second, the researcher also observed the class condition. The class was not supported by some devices as the media to teach the students such as Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Overhead Projector (OHP). There were only two whiteboards as the media which were available in the class. The students and the teacher also used handbooks which covered the

materials. The lack of media usage also influenced the students‟ attention which will affect their understanding of the lessons.

Moreover, while the teacher asked the students to compose recount text, most of the students had difficulties when they tried to write something in English. They needed much time to start writing the ideas. Also, when they already had the ideas, they found difficulties in organizing them into a good story. Furthermore, they had limited English vocabulary. Meanwhile, they were asked to

be able to produce sentences. They also faced difficulties in the use of simple past tense and minimum requirements. It can be said that the result of their task in writing was not good enough.

Based on the problems which were found, the researcher conducted this study. The problems faced by class VIII F SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta lead the researcher to propose a technique for developing their writing skills. The researcher chose picture series as the way to improve students‟ writing ability. The reason was that picture series has many advantages to teach writing narrative texts. It is stated by Kreidler (1968) that a series of pictures can be used for retelling a story. Raimes (1983) adds that pictures are valuable to provide vocabulary and common language forms. He also adds that pictures bring the outside world into the classroom in a vividly concrete way. Moreover, Raimes (1983) adds that a set of parallel pictures– pictures that show a similar scene or tell a similar story– provides materials that offer guidance in vocabulary, sentence structure, and organization yet lets the students write about the new subject matter; in this case the research focuses on narrative writing. It is expected that by means of picture series, the skill of writing especially writing narrative text can be improved.

Hence, in this research the researcher will discuss the use of picture series to teach writing narrative text to class VIII F SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta. Through Classroom Action Research (CAR), the researcher intends to find the effective

teaching strategy that can be implemented to improve students‟ skills in writing

B. Research Problems

In this research, the researcher aims to find out the answer of the problems below:

1. To what extent does picture series help class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta in writing narrative text?

2. How is the use of picture series implemented in writing narrative text toward class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta to improve their writing skills?

C. Problem Limitation

The research, which is intended to describe the improvement of students‟

writing skill by using picture series technique in VIII F Class of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta, used Classroom Action Research (CAR). The researcher implements planning, implementing (acting), observing the action and reflecting the data collected from the teaching and learning process and the students writing product. The subjects of this research were 26 students of VIII F Class of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta in academic year 2013/ 2014.

D. Research Objectives

Considering the formulation of the problems, the objectives of this research are:

1. To figure out how picture series as one of writing technique helps class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta in writing narrative text.

2. To figure out whether picture series is helpful in teaching writing narrative text class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta.

E. Research Benefits

There are several benefits of conducting this research to several participants who are involved in this research.

1. The researcher

By doing this research, the researcher as a practitioner is able to answer the research problems. Moreover, by conducting classroom action research (CAR),

the researcher obtains and learns new experience in improving students‟ writing

skill. Therefore, it is expected that the researcher as an English teacher become more creative in discovering the new technique and strategy to teach the students so that they can achieve the English competences.

2. The English teachers in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta

After conducting this study, the English teachers in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta are able to help the students in improving their writing skills. It is expected that the English teachers are able to facilitate the students by promoting the other techniques and strategies. Therefore, the students willproduce the good writings in their English subject.

3. Class VIII F students in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta

By conducting this research, the students are able to improve their skills of writing. Also, by implementing the technique, the students are expected to enjoy the writing activities so that they are able to produce the good writings not only in the narrative text but also in other kinds of writing.

4. The further studies

The researcher also looks that this study can be functional for the further studies. The results of this research can be used as the data for other researchers in the same topic in order to get the better improvement of the classroom practice.

F. Definition of Terms

There are some terms which are used in this research. The terms are defined to avoid misinterpretation in the meaning. They are explained as follows. 1. Writing Skills in Classroom Action Research

Writing is one of skills that have to be learnt by students in learning English. As stated by Nunan (2003), “Writing is both physical and mentalact.”

(p. 88). Nunan (2003) states that as the physical act, writing is an action of committing words or ideas to some media whether it is hieroglyphics inked onto parchment or an e-mail message typed into a computer. As the mental act, Nunan (2003) states that writing is inventing ideas, thinking about how to express them, and organizing them into statements and paragraphs. It means that in writing skills, students have to organize their physical and mental activities. These activities cannot be separated because one and the other maintain the process of writing itself.

Nunan (2003) states writing deals with process and product. To produce the good writing products, students are involved in the process of composing it.

He also says, “Its purpose is both to express and to impress” (p. 88). “To express” here means that writing is the real work of delivering idea or feeling to the reader.

Meanwhile, “to impress” means that a writing product can affect into the level of the readers.

As for, “how” to make a good writing, we have to know the process to

work on it so that we can produce a good writing. Also, it can be said that the effect of writing is not only to influence the writer but also the reader, not only expressing the real idea but also impressing the reader through the writing results. 2. Teaching Writing in Classroom Action Research

Teaching is a process which is conducted to help the students achieve the goals. According to Brown (2007), teaching is a superior job because it is a demanding job. Teaching requires the teachers to do the demanding tasks such as modifying the approaches, syllabus, techniques and exercises to adapt and maximize the learning of a class.

Teaching is a powerful job. To be successful in teaching, teachers have to find the appropriate techniques which can be used in their classroom. Therefore, teaching is not easy because teachers have to maximize the students‟ understanding in learning certain subjects in order to get the best result.

In addition, to teach writing, a teacher has to know the principles of teaching writing. According to Nation (2009), there are four principles to teach writing: meaning – focused input, meaning – focused output, language – focused learning, and fluency development.

3. Narrative Text

One of the texts that are taught to eight grader students is narrative text. The basic understanding of narrative text is to tell a story. According to Guzzetti,

“Narratives are stories that are most often written to entertain and excite the reader. A story usually has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Narratives have an internal structure that usually consists of several main components including characters, setting, theme, plot and resolution” (2002, p. 386.)

Thus, the elements are incorporated in the generic structure of the text which according to Gerot and Wignell (1995) namely orientation, evaluation, complication, and resolution.

4. Classroom Action Research

Action research is a research which is conducted to get the information how the teaching-learning process goes well. According to Mills (2011), “Action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school conselors, or other stakeholders in teaching/ learning environment to gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how

well their students learn.” (p. 5)

There are many versions of the model action research cycles. In this research, the researcher will use the Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) cycle model. The cycle consists of planning, action, observation, and reflection. By conducting classroom action research, the teachers need to know what is happening in the classroom, to collect the data, to evaluate the teaching process, and to find the solution to solve the problems.

5. Picture Series

There are two things which are being discussed in this part. They are the definitions of picture series and the advantages of picture series in writing.

a. The Definitions of Picture Series

According to Heinich (1982), pictures are photographic, representative of people, places, and things that are available in the most subject areas and levels from kindergarten to adults. It is added by Kreidler (1968) that some of the pictures indicate that something unusual has already happened. Pictures, with more details of several objects and several people performing different actions, all relating to the same general themes, can also be used as a device for simulating compositions. The several actions depicted may allow a sequence of events.

b. The Advantages of Picture Series in Writing

Pictures can be one of good media to teach writing because they have many advantages. It is stated by Kreidler (1968) that a series of pictures can be used for retelling a story. Raimes (1983) insists that pictures are valuable to provide vocabulary and common language forms. Raimes also adds that pictures bring the outside world into the classroom in a vividly concrete way. Pictures are valuable resources because they provide experience in the classroom, necessities for common language, forms to use in the classroom, variety of tasks, focus of interest for students.

Furthermore, pictures are very useful to build students‟ imagination of the

story. It is supported by Hobson, as cited by Dunn and Finley (2010, p.34) who states that the use of images could help the students who given those pictures which constitute more compact and efficient storage units of ideas, in the

pre-writing phases. Art offers the illustrations to the students as a way to develop the ideas of the story.

The researcher guided the students by providing the picture series as one of teaching media. As stated by Raimes (1983) that a set of parallel pictures– pictures that show a similar scene or tell a similar story–provides material that offers guidance in vocabulary, sentence structure, and organization let the students write about the new subject matter; in this research it focuses on narrative writing.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the researcher presents a discussion on some theories which constitute the foundation of this research. This chapter is divided into two major parts: theoretical description and theoretical framework.

In the theoretical description, the researcher discusses the writing skill, picture series technique, and classroom action research. Meanwhile, the second part is about the theoretical framework. It will discuss the synthesis and the summaries of the theories which will be used by the researcher to solve the problems.

A. Theoretical Description

In the theoretical description, the researcher discusses the theories which are related to the study. The theories are the writing skill, narrative text, picture series, and classroom action research. The followings are the explanations of those theories employed in this research.

1. Writing Skill

Writing skills become the major point discussed in this research. This part will discuss the theories of writing skills. There are two sub-points related to the theories, namely the nature of writing and the teaching of writing. The nature of writing discusses the definition and the process of writing, whereas the teaching of writing will elaborate the reason why the teachers have to teach writing as one of skills and the approach of teaching writing

.

a. The Nature of Writing

Writing is one of the language skills which have to be learnt by students. Nunan (2003) defines writing as, “physical and mentalact.” (p. 88). Furthermore,

Nunan (2003) states that as a physical act, writing is an action of expressing words or ideas to some media whether it is hieroglyphics inked onto parchment or an e-mail message typed into a computer. As the mental act, Nunan (2003) states that writing is inventing ideas followed by thinking about how to express them and organizing them into statements and paragraphs. According to Elbow (1998), writing has two skills which deal with mental processes: creating and criticizing. In other words, writing engages the ability to create the words and the ideas out and also engages the ability to criticize them in order to decide which one to be used. In addition, it is also supported by Brown (2007) that writing

“…requires learners to produce a correct written language” (p.335). Brown (2007) also mentions, “Written products are often the result of thinking, drafting and revising procedures that require specialized skills…” (2007, p.335). Here, it can be said that writing is an ability which is engaging with some steps as the processes in order to be able to produce a good writing product.

To produce a good writing product, the writers have to know the purpose of writing. Nunan (2003) mentions, “Its purpose is both to express and to impress.”

(p. 88). “To express” here means that writing is the real work of delivering idea

or feeling to the reader, whereas “to impress” means the writing product can affect the level of the reader. Moreover, Nunan (2003) elaborates that writing

deals with process and product (2003, p.88). As for how to make a good writing, we have to deal with the process of working on it so that we can produce a good writing.

Writing is a complex skill to be mastered by students. Therefore, writing becomes a quite difficult skill. Tiedt (1989) even says, “…of all the language skills, writing is the most difficult and it is a hard work.” (p.6). It is also proved

by Elbow (1998), “ There is no hiding the fact that writing well is a complex, difficult, and time-consuming process” (p.3). Therefore, the teachers and the students have to deal with the efforts to deliver and master this skill.

In order to produce a good written product, writers or students employ some steps as the process of writing. It is agreed by Harmer (2004), who states that

“Writing process is the stages a writer goes through in order to produce something in its final written form” (p.4). Harmer (2004) adds the process is affected by the content (subject matter) of the writing, type of writing, and the

medium it is written in. It is also supported by Brown, “Written products are

often the result of thinking, drafting and revising procedures that require

specialized skills…” (2007, p. 391).

Harmer (2004) emphasizes the discussion writing process into four main stages: planning, drafting, editing, and final revision. In the first stage, namely planning, students plan what they are going to write. Students may start to write down the preliminary notes of their ideas. Harmer (2004) also suggests three main issues that are possibly thought by the students in the planning stage; the

purpose of the writing, the audience of the writing, and also the content structure of the writing.

After planning the ideas, the students go on the drafting stage. In this stage, students may produce some or many pieces of texts since they try to compose sentences and paragraphs. Afterwards, the students move to the editing stage in which they will read through what they have written. Harmer also adds that in this stage students may need some reflecting and revising which are often done by the other readers, in this case teachers have an important role to help the students in making the appropriate revisions.

In the last stage, namely final revision, students may revise their work after getting the feedback from the teacher. Students may change their writing product in order to produce the good product of writing.

b. Teaching Writing

Teaching is the main role of teachers to give the students guidance to reach goals.

1) The Background of Teaching Writing Skill

Teaching is a process in which the teachers deliver the guidance in order to help the students to reach the goals. According to Acero, Javier, and Castro (2007), teaching is a process of actions to produce and stimulate learning and eventually to succed in learning. Teaching is a deliberate process. Teachers have the important role of setting the planning of the teaching, the process of the whole teaching, and also the achievement of the teaching. To do a teaching is not easy.

There are many things that should be prepared by teachers to present the whole process of teaching.

Raimes (1983) states the most important thing to be taught in writing is that

“writing helps our students learn” (p. 3). Furthermore, Raimes rationalizes the statement by giving three reasons. First, writing strengthens the grammatical structures, idioms, and vocabulary that have been taught by the teachers. Second, through writing students have the chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned to say, to take risks. In the other words, students can build their confidence in writing through having the real experience on it. Third, when the students write, they reinforce their learning through getting involved in the new language. It deals with the struggle of the students in improving their writing skills.

The teachers also must know that writing has the important role to be learnt by students through the rationales which are stated by Venkateswaran (1995). According to Venkateswaran (1995, p. 104), they are three reasons for getting students to write in the classroom (all are direct quotes :

a) Writing helps to solidify the students grasp of vocabulary and structure and complements the other skills.

b) Appropriacy can be developed only through writing. c) The goal of writing is to develop the students ability to

write up to the point at which written homework can be given.

Venkateswaran (1995) also explains the goal of writing into two points:

“Psychologically, students are more impressed by exercise that

are to be written and handed in than by those that are to be learned. Reallistically, the teacher knows that writing home work exercises and other written activities help the students to

acquire the vocabulary and the grammar of the lesson.” ( p.

104)

In writing skills, the principal purpose is getting the students able to write in the classroom. It is not easy for the teachers to make the students enjoying the writing activity. Writing is the most difficult and it needs a hard work (Tiedt, 1989). Nevertheless, it becomes the teachers‟job to make the students enjoy their writing process.

2) The principles of teaching writing

To teach writing, the teachers need some principles of teaching writing in order to evaluate the writing process whether the students are getting a good range of opportunities or not. Nation (2009) proposes four principles to teach writing. They are:

a) Meaning-focused input

According to Nation (2009), in teaching writing the teachers should be able to lead the students to bring their experience and knowlegde to their writing. Writing will be successful and meaningful for the students if they

are well prepared for what they are going to write. The students‟ experience

can be brought about by giving them tasks. Nation (2009) states that students have to experience as many as posible writing tasks. The several effects of giving tasks in writing skills are (Nation, 2009, p.96):

“ First, it makes sure that learners are not overloaded by having

to think about several different things at the same time. Second, it allows the learners the chance to concentrate on the part of the task that they need to learrn. Third, it helps the learners perform a normal language activity in a normal waywith a high

b) Meaning-focused output

This principle is dealing with product. In order to produce a good product of writing, the students should practice lots of different kinds of writing. Biber states, “different genres use different writing conventions and draw on different language features and so it is useful to make sure that learners are getting writing practice in the range of genres that they will have to write in” (as cited in Nation, 2003, p. 93-94).

The expected results of this principles are mentioned as follows: First, the students write with a message-focused purpose. Hence, the students will get the aim of communicating a message to the reader, and the writer should have a reader in mind when writing. Second, writing should attract students and draw on their interests. Third, students should experience a feeling of success in their writing. Fourth, students should employ writing as an aid to increase their language knowledge. Fifth, in order to get wider the skill of writing, students have to master skill in the use of computer to increase the quality of speed of their writing. Besides, computer provide ways of providing feedback. Sixth, writing instruction should be considered on careful analysis such as what the students need to be able to do with writing, what they can do now, and what they want to do.

c) Language-focused learning

In this principle, there are some points underlined by Nation (2009). The students should have knowledge about the parts of the writing process and

are also expected to have conscious plans for dealing with the parts of writing process. The students have to be aware of clarity and fluency in producing the writing script. Furthermore, the teachers should provide and arrange feedbacks in order to encourage and improve the students‟ writings. d) Fluency development

Nation (2009) states this principle enlightens about writing speed. Students should increase their writing speed so that they are able to write very simple material in a reasonable speed. Fluency development can be done through repetitive activities of writing.

3) Teaching Technique

In order to help students to reach the goals in writing, the teachers are supposed to find the technique in delivering the lesson. According to Raimes (1983), to teach writing the teachers have to know the purposes of the techniques used in teaching writing:

1. To communicate with a reader

2. To express ideas without the pressure of face-to-face communication

3. To explore the subject 4. To record experience

5. To become familiar with the conventions of written English discourse (text)

According to Dhand (2008), the techniques of teaching are activities which are used day to day for a particular lesson. These activities or techniques affect to

the learners‟ understanding of the process. Moreover, the techniques used must have the potential to enhance and enrich the learning experience.

Furthermore, Dhand (2008) adds the teachers possibly will find, with experience, more than a single technique. The teachers will experience the most appropriate and effective technique by practicing some techniques first. The successful teaching techniques depend on the successful planning also.

2. Text – Based Approach

In this section, the researcher discusses the approach that is used in this study. There are two major parts in this section: the definition of the text–based approach and also the implementing of the text–based approach.

a. The Definition of Text – Based Approach

In this research, the researcher uses text–based approach. Text-based approach which has also been known as genre approach is an approach which is employed based on the need of English language teacher to teach whole texts. According to Feez and Joyce (2002), primarily concern of the text–based approach is what learners do with the language. Moreover, Feez and Joyce (2002) state, “A text–based approach is concerned with units of discourse called texts” (p.4).

Moreover, Feez and Joyce (2002) explain that this approach is based on an approach which involves teaching about structures and grammatical features of spoken and written texts explicitly, relating the spoken and written texts to the social and cultural contexts of its use, developing units of work which focus on building the skills in relation to the whole texts, arranging the guided practice to the students as they develop language skills for meaningful communication based

on the whole texts. In this research, the researcher employs this approach since the researcher has to teach the students who deal with several kinds of texts.

b. The Implementation of Text-based Approach

The implementation of text-based approach in this research is based on the teaching and learning cycle from Feez and Joyce (2002). The cycle consists of five stages.

1) Building the context

In this stage, firstly, the students are introduced to the social context of the text-type being learned; building their knowledge of the topic of the texts given. Secondly, the students explore the features of the general cultural context and the social purposes of the texts given. In this stage, the students can be invited to compare between the text learned and the other related texts.

2) Modeling and deconstructing the text

In this stage, the students discussed the texts given. They investigate the structural pattern and language features of the model texts. The teachers start using the technique in teaching the text. The activities in this stage are proposed by Feez and Joyce (2002, p.30):

“Text-level activities: focusing on cohesive devices such as sets of related lexical items, conjunction, modality, reference e.g. semantic maps, vocabulary networks, cloze, transparency overlays, etc.

Clause-level activities: presentation and practice activities relating to the grammatical features of the text.

Expression-level activities: oral-aural, pronunciation, decoding, spelling, handwriting or typing practice as needed for the use of the text- type.”

3) Joint construction of the text

The students are given chances to contribute to the construction of the text examples. The teachers reduce the contribution of the text in order to prepare the students to the next stage: independent stage. In this stage, the activities proposed by Feez & Joyce (2002, p.30) are (all in direct quotation):

a. Teacher questioning, discussing and editing whole construction, then scribing onto board or OHT

b. Skeleton text

c. Jigsaw and information gap activities d. Small group construction of texts e. Dictogloss

f. Self-assessment and peer- assessment activities 4) Independent construction of the text

In this stage, the students work individually. They compose the texts which have learnt individually. The students make their drafts as their individual writing product.

5) Linking to the related texts

In this stage, the activities invite the students to reflect what they have learnt in the text discussed during the lesson. The activities proposed by Feez and Joyce (2002, p.31) in this stage are: (in direct quotation)

a. Comparing the use of the text-type across different fields b. Researching other text-types used in the same field

c. Role- playing what happens if the same text-type is used by people with different roles and relationships

d. Comparing spoken and written models of the same text-type

e. Researching how a key language feature used in this text-type is used in other text-types.

3. Narrative Text

In this section, the researcher discusses the definition, the communicative purposes, the generic structure, and the grammatical features of narrative text.

a. The Definition of Narrative Text

Doyle, Goh, and Zhang (2004) state that narratives are storis which consist

of sequence of events. “Narratives have many complex structures although they

share many of basic future we have identified in recount” (p.60). In other words, narrative is a text that tells a story rather than tells the series of past experience; this is why narrative differs from recount text. Moreover, narrative consists of more complex generic structures than recount.

According to Guzzetti, “Narratives are stories that are most often written to

entertain and excite the reader. A story usually has a beginning, a middle, and an end as a goal based. Narratives have an internal structure that usually consists of several main components including characters, setting, theme, plot and resolution” (2002, p.386.)

Guzzetti (2002) states that the examples of narratives are short stories, novels, folktales, tall tales, myths, fables,legends, fantasies, and science fiction.

b. The Communicative Purpose of Narrative Text

The basic purpose is to amuse the reader. It is supported by Gerot and Wignell (1995) who state that the purpose of narrative texts is to relate an amusing or unusual experience in an entertaining way. Besides, Knapp and Watkins (2005) state that narrative texts have purpose to entertain the readers.

It is also used as a powerful social role. This second purpose of Knapp and Watkins relate to the purpose which is stated by Doyle et al. (2004) that narrative texts have didactic and satirical purpose. It can be used as educational text.

c. Generic Structure of Narrative Text

In composing narrative text, the writers (students) have to understand the structures of the text. The generic structures of narrative text according to Gerot and Wignell (1995) are:

1) Orientation

This part sets the scene and introduces the participants of the story which are usually specific and individual. Besides the participants, in this part the story shows the setting (time and place) of the story. In narratives, the orientation indicates with imaginary time sequencer such as once upon a time, long time ago, etc.

2) Evaluation

This part is a stepping back to evaluate the plight. The problems are faced but only in the surface. The climax just started to rise up in the story.

3) Complication

In this step, the crises arise. There are some problems which are faced by the characters. It can be more than one problem that happens within the story. In this part, there is a climax of the story. It can be more than one climax happened in the story.

4) Resolution

In this part, the crises are resolved for the better or for the worse situation. This part also presents that the writer shows how the problem solving and the end of the story. There are several moral values or life values which can be learned form the story.

d. Grammatical Features of Narrative Text

According to Doyle et al. (2004), the grammatical features of narrative are: using past tense to describe the events, using action verbs, using adjective to describe the characters and the places, using direct and reported speech to present the dialogue.

4. Picture Series

In this part, the researcher used several theories which are related to picture series.

a. The Nature of Picture Series

Pictures series are usually represents of objects and places which are presented in series arrangement depicting sequence events in the same theme. According to Heinich (1982), pictures are photographic, representative of people, places, and things that are available in most subject areas and levels from kindergarten to adults. Kreidler (1968) states that a number of pictures indicates that something unusual have already happened. Pictures with more details several objects, several people performing different actions, all relating to the same general themes can also be useful devices for simulating compositions. The several actions depicted may allow a sequence of events.

b. The Advantages of Picture Series

Pictures can be one of good media to teach writing because they have many advantages. As stated by Kreidler (1968) that a series of pictures can be used for retelling of a story. Raimes (1983) insists that pictures are valuable to provide vocabulary and common language forms. Moreover, pictures bring the outside world into the classroom in a vivid and concrete way. Pictures are valuable resources since they provide:

1. A shared experience in the classroom

2. A need for common language forms to use in the classroom 3. A variety of tasks

4. A focus of interest for students

Besides, Hobson, as cited by Dunn and Finley ( 2010, p. 34) states that the

use of images could help promote children‟s writing given those pictures to be

more compact and efficient storage units of ideas in the pre-writing phases. Art offers the illustration as a way to develop the ideas of the story. Fu and Shelton, as cited by Dunn and Finley (2010, p.34) tell that the teachers could use picture series technique in order to help the students to illustrate the initial story ideas which helped to promote their confidence, stamina, and writing skills.

Moreover, Raimes (1983) adds that a set of parallel pictures – pictures that show a similar scene or tell a similar story – provides material that offers guidance in vocabulary, sentence structure, and organization yet lets the students write about the new subject matter; in this research the focus is on narrative writing.

5. Classroom Action Research

This part will elaborate the classroom action research theories. There are four things discussed in this part: the definitions, the aims, the characteristics, and the model of classroom action research.

a. Definitions of Classroom Action Research

There are some definitions which are stated by some experts. According to Kemmis as cited by Hopkins (2008, p. 48), action research is a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken by the participants in a social circle. Burns (2010)

says, “It is related to the ideas of „reflective practice‟ and „the teacher as a

researcher‟” (p. 2). Furthermore, Mills (2011, p. 5) insists that action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by the teacher researchers to gather information about the ways that their particular school operates, how they teach, and how well their students learn. Richards (2005) says, “Action research refers to a systemic approach to carry out investigations and collecting information that is designed to illuminate an issue or problem and to improve classroom practice” (p.171). Moreover, Richards (2005) says that action research emphasizes not

only to seek the benefits of involving the process of the cycles but also “to

develop a deeper understanding of many issues in teaching and learning as well as acquire useful classroom investigation skills” (p.171).

In other words, action research is an appropriate research which can be conducted by the teachers as the researchers towards their own classroom in order to gain sufficient information of the condition faced by the classroom.

Subsequently, the teachers also find the solutions to overcome the problems faced. It also becomes the reflective way to the teachers as the researchers.

b. Aims of Classroom Action Research

Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen (2010) insist that action research aims to interpret events and to enable individuals or groups of people to formulate acceptable solutions to local problems, to seek viable, sustainable, effective solutions to common problems.

Hendricks, as cited by Ary et al. (2010), states that the aim of classroom action research is to improve classroom practice in the school.

c. Steps and Characteristics of Classroom Action Research

Mills (2011) states action research is a research which underlines how the teachers as the researchers are gathering as much as possible information about their classroom. “The information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effective positive changes in the school

environment, and improving student outcomes and the lives of those involved”

(p.5). Consequently, action research offers four basic stages based on Fraenkel and Wallen (2009) namely:

1) Identifying the research question

In the first stage, Fraenkel and Wallen state that an individual or group needs to carefully examines the situation and identify the problems. Moreover,

“Action research projects are (usually) quite narrow in scope.” (p. 571). The problems or issues which occur must be clear. It will help the teacher to examine the study. Frankel and Wallen add this research will be suitable if the teachers or

others involved in education to make it better, improve their practice, deal with a troublesome issue, or correct something that is not working (2009).

2) Gathering the necessary information

This stage deals with the method of collecting the data after identifying the problems. Fraenkel and Wallen (2009) mention the possible method to be used:

“Experiments, surveys, causal–comparative studies, observations, interviews,

analysis of documents, ethnographies.” (p. 571)

3) Analyzing and interpreting the information

The third is the following step of the previous step. After collecting the data, the teacher will analyze and interpret the data. The importance of this step is that the data which are examined should resolve the research questions or problems in which this research was conducted (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009).

4) Developing an action plan

In this step, the teacher as a researcher conducts the plan of the action to implement the changes into the findings. It becomes the control of the teacher in implementing the actions toward the classroom.

Action research has some characteristics. According to Ary et al. (2010, p.514), there are three main characteristics of action research (all in direct quotes):

1. The research is situated in a local context and focused on a local issue.

2. The research is conducted by and for practitioner.

3. The research results in an action or a change implemented by the practitioner in the context.

d. Model of Classroom Action Research

Kemmis and McTaggart(1988) assert, “Action research is a dynamic process in which these four moments are to be understood not as static steps, complete in themselves, but rather as moments in the action research spiral of planning,

action, observing, and reflecting” (p.15). The researcher uses the spiral steps of

Kemmis and McTaggartas presented in the Figure 2.1. as the guideline to conduct the classroom action research.

Figure 2.1: Kemmis & McTaggart’s cycle of Classroom Action Research (From Kemmis and McTaggart, 1988)

1) Planning

Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) state that the plan should help the researchers “…to go beyond present constraints and to empower them to act

more appropriately in the situation and more effectively as an educator” (p.12).

In this step, the researcher starts to make clear plans after knowing the problems.

The researcher considers the objects‟ strengths and weaknesses in order to decide the action or strategy that can effectively overcome the problem obtained.

2) Action and Observation

Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) affirm action step to be used as a platform for the further development. Furthermore, action should be synchronized with the plan which was done in the previous step. This step explores the researcher to apply the strategy in order to overcome the problems which happened. Action stage will be done simultaneously with the observation stage. The implementation of action cannot be separated from the observation.

The importance of observation step is to collect the evidences of the action in order to able to evaluate it thoroughly. The researcher observes the situation of the environment and tries to analyze the data. Kemmis and McTaggart (1988)

say, “Observation has function of documenting the effects of critically informed

action–it looks forward, providing the basis for reflection...” (p.13). Observation should be responsive, open-eyed, and open- minded.

According to Foster (1996), observation involves receiving data through the sense, processing, interpreting, and combinating the information in a complex way. Moreover, Foster (1996) says that through observing, the researchers obtain valuable information by soliciting the knowledge, experiences, and ideas.

3) Reflection

Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) affirm, “Reflection has an evaluative aspect– it asks action researchers to weigh their experience– to judge whether the effects were desirable and to suggest ways of proceeding” (p.13). After the researcher getting the results of the analysis, the researcher tries to assess what she/he has done by the object and propose the next action for the next cycle.

B. Theoretical Framework

English, as the first foreign language which should be taught in Indonesia, has four skills; listening, reading, speaking, and writing. In order to use English as a language that can be applied by the students well, the researcher focuses on the productive skills which are shown in students‟ performances. One of the skills

that directly showed students‟ performances is writing skill. As stated by Tiedt (1989) that writing skill is the most difficult skill and needs hard work, it is alsi faced by the students. The students consider writing is difficult skill to be mastered.

Referring to the purpose of the curriculum, the students should be able to write various types of text. Narrative is one of the texts that have to be taught in junior high school level. Based on the observation, Class VIII F students in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta faced difficulty in writing narrative text. The thought that writing is difficult skill to be learnt lead them to face some problems because of the lack of English competence. In the preliminary observation, the researcher found several problems encountered by the students such as grammar, vocabulary, mechanics, fluency (style and quality of expressions), and form (organization). As a result, the students‟ performance in writing text is not satisfying enough.

The problems in writing faced by class VIII F students in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta motivate the researcher to conduct the action research. The researcher plans to conduct classroom action research (CAR). The purpose of conducting the classroom action research (CAR) is that to answer the research problems and to improve classroom practice (Ary et al., 2010; Richard, 2005; Kemmis &

McTaggart, 1988). There are four stages to conduct CAR stated by Kemmis and McTaggart (1988, p.15) the dynamic and complementary process, namely: planning, action, observation, and reflection. Specifically, the researcher conducts

CAR based on Kemmis and McTaggart‟s cycle model as presented in the Figure 2.1. The researcher does the cycle twice. Therefore, there are two cycles which

are done in this research.

To overcome the problem, the researcher offers to use picture series to teach writing narrative text. Picture series is chosen as the problem solving, knowing that it provides many advantages. As the researcher stated above, according to Raimes (1983), pictures are valuable to provide vocabulary and common language forms. Besides, Raimes also states that the use of picture series is really helpful, because it provides: experiences in the classroom, the need for common language forms to use in the classroom, a variety of tasks, and also a focus of interest for students. Picture series provide a number of pictures with its several objects, several characters performing different actions which all relating to the same general themes. I t can be helpful for the teacher to be used as device to teach composition of texts (Kreidler, 1968). The use of picture series also motivates the students to produce words (vocabulary). Therefore, they are guided to produce sentences in good structure then lead they organize the idea into a good story (Dunn & Finley, 2010; Raimes, 1983).

In order to improve the classroom practice, the researcher employs instruments as the tools to obtain the evidences of this study. By using the evidences, the researcher could reflect the practices whether they are satisfactory

or not. The researcher as a practitioner of the classroom action research (CAR) will improve her practice if the results are not satisfactory based on the reflection because the goal of the classroom action research is to implement the action and reflect of the action so that the classroom practice improved (Ary et al, 2010; Burns, 2010; Richards, 2005).

36

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researcher discusses the research methodology. The researcher divides this chapter into several sections. The sections are the research method (method which was used in this research), research setting (when and where the research was conducted), research participants (who were involved in the research), instruments and data gathering technique (what the data were and how the data were collected), data analysis technique (how the data was analyzed), and also research procedure (how the research was conducted).

A. Research Method

In this section, the researcher discussed the method which was employed in this study. Based on the problems which were found in class VIII F of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta, the researcher conducted this study to find out to what extent the use of picture series helps the students to write narrative texts and how picture series is implemented toward the students. Richards (2005) says that action research refers to a systemic approach in carrying out investigations and collecting information which is designed to overcome an issue or problem and to improve classroom practice. Therefore, the researcher applied classroom action research (CAR) methodology to overcome the questions formulated in the study. The researcher intentionally designed several steps to collect the data in order to solve the problems faced by the students.

The researcher adopted the Kemmis and McTaggart‟s research model of

Classroom Action Research (1988). In this model, the researcher implemented four steps for each cycle. There are planning, action, observation, and reflecting. The researcher conducted two cycles in this research.

In this classroom action research, the researcher collected data form the students. The researcher needed research instruments in collecting the data. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative instruments in collecting the data. The researcher used data triangulation technique to analyze the data gathered.

B. Research Setting

This research was conducted in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta in the even semester of the academic year of 2013/ 2014 from April to June 2014. There were two cycles which were applied in this research. Cycle one was conducted in two meetings. Cycle two was conducted in one meeting. The researcher conducted the research with the procedure which agreed between both sides: the researcher and the school.

C. Research Participants

The participants, who were involved in this research as the population, were the teacher and the students of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta. They are all the members of SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta who deal with English.

1. The teachers

There were three English teachers in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta. The researcher took one teacher who was also the English class teacher of VIII F. The

English teacher as the participant of this research gave the opinions and suggestions about the technique of picture series in writing activity. The researcher asked her comments on the observation sheets of each cycle.

2. The students

The researcher was conducted in SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta in VIII F class in the academic year 2013/2014. The VIII F class consisted of 26 students. There were 12 girls and 14 boys in VIII F class. They constituted the participants of this research. Based on the preliminary research, the researcher found that the students got difficulties in writing skill. It became the basic aim of this research to overcome the problems by finding the solutions to be applied in the classroom.

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique

This section elaborates the instruments which were employed in the classroom action research in order to collect the data. The instruments were

observation sheet, field notes, questionnaire, interview, and also students‟ draft in

writing. These five kinds of instruments were chosen because of their effectiveness and efficiency. The following is the table of the used instruments in this research.

Table 3.1 Table of Instruments and Data Collected

Instruments Data Collected

Time Preliminary

Study Cycle 1 Cycle 2

Observation checklist (Self Reflection)

Teacher‟s activities and

students‟ activities

April 15th, 2014

Meeting one: April 24th, 2014

Meeting two: April 29th, 2014

May 13th, 2014

and students‟ activities 2014 April 24th, 2014

Meeting two: April 29th, 2014

2014

Questionnaire Students‟ perception of the materials

April 15th, 2014

April 29th, 2014

May 13th, 2014 Interview The detail data of

students‟ perception - -

May 14th, 2014

Students‟ Drafts

Students‟ Revised

Written

Students‟ score in

their drafts of narrative texts.

Students‟ score in

their final narrative texts.

April 15th, 2014

-

Meeting one: April 24th, 2014

Meeting two: April 29th, 2014

May 13th, 2014

May 13th, 2014

May 19th, 2014

1. Observation checklist

Observation is used to know the situation happened in the classroom during the implementation. Observation is very important in conducting this research to gather information of what happens during the teaching- learning process. According to Morison, the researcher is able to gather data on:

a. The physical setting (e.g. the physical environment and its organization)

b. The human (e.g. the organization of people, the characteristic and makeup of the group or individual being who is/ are observed)

c. The interactional setting (e.g. the interaction that are taking place, formal, informal, verbal, non-verbal)

d. The program setting (e.g. the resources and their organization, pedagogic style, and curricula)

(as cited in Cohen, Manion, and Morisson, 2000, p. 305)

The importance of the observation is also stated by Koshy (2005) that through an observation sheet we can record behavior patterns and the number of actions and

interactions. Observation checklist is also used to gain any feedback and comment from the observers toward the teaching and learning process. In addition, the following are the advantages of employing observation for the research study according to Creswell (2009, p. 179)

1. Researcher has a first-hand experience with the participant. 2. Researcher can record information as occurs.

3. Unusual aspects can be noticed during observation.

4. Useful in exploring topics that may be uncomfortable for participants to discuss.

Thus, by using the observation sheets, the researcher expects that she can collect as many data as possible. The form of observation sheet which is used by the researcher is checklist form. According to Sloan and Sloan (2013), “Checklists should be not too board. It is better to have a narrow focus at any one time and

observe more frequently than to try to cover too many areas of observation” (p.23). The observation checklists will be in the form for observing teacher‟s activities and students‟ activities. The teacher‟s activities observation checklist

will be used for the researcher‟s self-reflection toward the activities given to the

students. Meanwhile, the students‟ activities observation checklist will be used to

obtain the information from the students when the researcher implements the action.

Moreover, the researcher asked for help from two “peer- observers”

(Zepeda, 2014, p. 51). The term “peer- observer” was used to represent the other observers who invited during the teaching and learning process in order to collect

at why the focus is important and what types of information about his/ her practice

would help bring into “focus” the area being analyzed” (p.51).

Furthermore, the term of “peer review” (Norton, 2013, p. 143) emphasizes on the method of peer-observer. According to Norton (2013), “A peer review evaluation is the method of having one or more teachers evaluates a teacher‟s performance. The term peer implies that the evaluator will be an individual who has similar teaching responsibilities as the teacher being evaluated” (p. 143). Therefore, the researcher asked for help from the English teacher of class VIIF SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta and also a student of English Language Education Study Program (ELESP) of Sanata Dharma University.

2. Field Notes

Field notes are used to know the teaching-learning process during the implementation. The researcher uses field notes as the tool to help the researcher to reflect on the condition of teaching-learning process. Therefore, the researcher thinks that field notes are helpful to reflect the implementation. The same view is also emphasized by Tomal (2010) who states that field notes are very useful because the researcher could collect the information by observing the phenomena in its natural setting, such as a classroom or school. Through the field notes, the researcher gets the report of the observation and the reflections about whether the teaching and learning process is done well or not. In this research, the researcher asked for help to the class teacher and one student of ELESP of Sanata Dharma University to make the field notes based on their observation during the implementation.

3. Questionnaire

In this research, the researcher employed questionnaire as one of instruments to obtain the data. The researcher distributed questionnaires to all students of class VIII F. According to McKay (2002), a questionnaire is a set of written questions that deal with particular topic. There are three types of questionnaire according to Burns (1999): closed items, scale items, and also open-ended items. The form of the questionnaire which is employed in this research was scale items.

The researcher made the questionnaire items through presenting statements which needed response in the form of agreement and disagreement. The respondents give the responses based on the agreement and disagreement of the questionnaire items using Likert scale. McDonough and McDonough (1997)

say, “One familiar type, the Likert Scale, presents not questions but statements

and asks for degrees of agreement” (p.176).

Furthermore, the researcher also employed the central tendency to analyze the questionnaire result. Brown and Rogers (2002) state, “Central tendency, the trend of a set of numbers that clusters around a particular value, is a

convenient way if summarizing data of nominal categories such as Likert scale”

(p.74). Moreover, Boone (2012: 12) states that:

Likert scale data are analyzed at the interval measurement scale. Likert scale items are created by calculating a composite score (sum or mean) from four or more items; therefore, the composite score for likert scales should be analyzed at the interval measurement scale. Descriptive statistics recommended for interval scale items include the mean for central tendency.

According to the statement, the researcher aimed to use the nominal data which would be measured using the mean of central tendency and categorized using the interval scale. The results would be presented in the form of description. Therefore, the researcher employed the table as the form and the formula to measure the data as follow:

Table 3.2 Table Result of Questionnaire

No. Statements Frequency of Points of Agreement Central Tendency

1 2 3 4 N Mn

N = Number of respondents Mn = Mean

The formulation to get the mean score of the data: X = n x (points of agreement)

x = the total scores

n = number of the respondents who answer the certain statement Mn =

= The total of all scores

In the data analysis, the researcher used three kinds of criteria because there were three different topics in the questionnaire. The following table shows the list of the criteria:

Table 3.3 Table of Criteria of Total Mean Score

Topic Range Meaning

1

5.00 – 8.75 8.76 – 12.50 12.51 – 16.25 16.26 – 20.00

Useless Less useless Useful Very useful

13.51 – 21.00 21.00 – 28.50 28.51 – 36.00

Low achievement High achievement Very high achievement

3

4.00 – 7.00 7.01 – 10.00 10.01 – 13.00 13.01 – 16.00

Very low Low High Very high

4. Interview

In this instrument, the researcher collected the data orally with the students. Cannel and Kahn state the definition of interview as follows:

“The research interview has been defined as „a two-person conversation initiated by the interviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research- relevant information, and focused on context specified by research objectives of systematic description, prediction, or explanation” (as cited in Cohen, et al., 2000, p. 267).

To obtain the data which could not be seen orally, the researcher employed interview as one of the instruments. This instrument was used to support other instruments which had the written result. Patton states:

“We interviewed people to find out from them those things we cannot directly observe. We cannot observe feelings, thoughts, and intentions. We cannot observe behaviors that took place at some previous point in time. We cannot observe how people have organized the world and the meanings they attach to what goes on in the world. We have to ask people questions about

those things” (as cited in Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009, p. 446)

Moreover, according to Cohen, et al. (2000, p.268), there are three purposes of conducting a research interview. First, it can be used as the principal means of gathering information of the research objectives. Here, the researcher could measure what the students know, what the students like and dislike, and

Students’ Achievement in Cycle 2

No Student Number Individual drafts Cycle 2 G ra m V oc

Mech _Flu Form _{Revised written}

Noted

1 Student 1 73.33

6

5

5

5

5 86.67 Successful 2 Student 2 50.00

4

4

4

4

4 66.67 Successful 3 Student 3 70.00

5

5

5

4

4 76.67 Successful 4 Student 4 63.33

5

6

5

5

6 90.00 Successful 5 Student 5 80.00

4

5

5

5

4 76.67 Successful 6 Student 6 43.33

4

4

4

3

4 63.33 Failed 7 Student 7 73.33

5

5

4

4

4 73.33 Successful 8 Student 8 73.33

5

6

5

4

4 80.00 Successful 9 Student 9 53.33

4

5

5

4

4 73.33 Successful 10 Student 10 50.00

3

4

5

4

3 63.33 Failed 11 Student 11 60.00

3

4

5

3

4 63.33 Failed 12 Student 12 66.67

5

5

4

4

4 73.33 Successful 13 Student 13 43.33

5

3

4

3

4 63.33 Failed 14 Student 14 53.33

5

4

5

5

5 83.33 Successful 15 Student 15 83.33

5

5

5

5

6 90.00 Successful 16 Student 16 70.00

4

4

4

4

4 70.00 Successful 17 Student 17 70.00

5

4

4

5

4 73.33 Successful 18 Student 18 76.67

5

4

5

5

5 80.00 Successful 19 Student 19 63.33

4

4

5

4

5 73.33 Successful 20 Student 20 90.00

6

6

5

6

5 93.33 Successful 21 Student 21 83.33

6

6

5

5

5 90.00 Successful 22 Student 22 70.00

5

5

5

5

5 83.33 Successful 23 Student 23 56.67

5

5

4

3

3 66.67 Successful 24 Student 24 53.33

4

4

4

3

4 63.33 Failed 25 Student 25 66.67

4

5

4

4

4 70.00 Successful 26 Student 26 46.67

4

4

4

4

4 66.67 Successful

198

APPENDIX I

Samples of Students’ Draft and Revised Draft

1.

Sample of Student’s Draft in Cycle 1

2.

Sample of Student’s Revised Draft in Cycle 1

3.

Sample of

Student’s Draft in Cycle 2