TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS.

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Hasni Annisa, 2013

TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING

DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

(A descriptive study of the 10th grade teachers at a senior high school in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung)

A Research Paper

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Sarjana Pendidikan degree

By

Hasni Annisa

(0603759)

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

2013

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Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching Writing

Descriptive Texts

(A descriptive study of the 10

grade teachers at a senior high school

in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung)

Oleh Hasni Annisa

Sebuah skripsi yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Sarjana pada Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni

Agustus 2013

Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang.

Skripsi ini tidak boleh diperbanyak seluruhya atau sebagian, dengan dicetak ulang, difoto kopi, atau cara lainnya tanpa ijin dari penulis.

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Hasni Annisa, 2013

TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

PAGE OF APPROVAL

TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE

TEXTS

(A descriptive study of the 10th grade teachers at a senior high school in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung)

By: Hasni Annisa

0603759

Approved by:

Prof. Fuad Abdul Hamied, M.A, Ph.D NIP. 195008211974121001

Riesky, S.Pd., M.Ed. NIP. 198105252005011002

Head of the Department of English Education Faculty of Languages and Arts Education

Indonesia University of Education

Prof.Dr.H. Didi Suherdi, M.Ed. NIP.196211011987121001

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Bangka Belitung)

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to investigate the teachers’ difficulties in teaching writing descriptive texts to the 10th grade students and their strategies to overcome the difficulties. The participants of the study were two English teachers at a senior high school in Pangkal Pinang. This was a descriptive case study using qualitative method as the approach. The data in this study was collected using two techniques: classroom observation and interview. This study yielded two results. In teaching writing descriptive texts, the teachers faced eight difficulties. Those difficulties were related to the students, to the teachers, to the writing itself, and to the school’s policy. It was also found that the teachers used six strategies to overcome those difficulties, including one-to-one guidance during the learning process, motivating students through encouraging stories, maximizing the utilization of students’ workbook, continuing to learn outside of school (through various media), sharing their teaching experiences with other teachers, and joining training and development programs.

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TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………. i

STATEMENT……….. iii

PREFACE………. iv

ABSTRACT……… . v

TABLE OF CONTENT………. vi

LIST OF FIGURES………... ix

LIST OF TABLES……….. x

LIST OF APPENDICES………... .xi

BIOGRAPHY………. xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………. 1

1.1Background……….. 1

1.2Research Questions……….. 3

1.3Aims of the Study……….... 4

1.4Significance of the Study………. 4

1.5Research Methodology………. 4

1.6Clarification of Terms………... 5

1.7Organization of Paper………... 6

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FOUNDATION……….. 7

2.1 Writing………. 7

2.1.1 Definition of Writing……….. 7

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2.2 Genres and Types of Text……… 12

2.2.1 Descriptive Texts……….... 13

2.2.1.1 Definition of Descriptive Texts………. 13

2.2.1.2 Characteristic and Linguistic Features of Descriptive Texts…………. 14

2.2.1.3 Example of Descriptive Texts………... 15

2.2.1.4 Assessment of Descriptive Texts………... 15

2.3 Teaching Writing Strategies………. 17

2.4 Teaching Writing Descriptive Texts………. 23

2.5 Difficulties in Teaching Writing………... 24

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………... 29

3.1 Research Questions………... 29

3.2 Research Methodology………. 30

3.2.1 Research Design……….. 30

3.2.2Research Site and Participants………..30

3.2.2.1 Research Site……….. 30

3.2.2.2 Participants of the Study………. 31

3.3 Research Instruments……… 32

3.4 Data Collecting Procedures……….. 34

3.5 Data Analysis……….. 36 3.6 Validity……… ..37

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4.1 Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching Writing Descriptive Texts……….. 38

4.2 Teachers’ Strategies in Overcoming the Difficulties in Teaching Writing Descriptive Texts………... 57

4.3 Summary of Findings and Discussion………... 67

CHAPTER V: CONSLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions………. 68

5.2 Suggestions………. 69

BIBLIOGRAPHY……….. 71

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter contains a brief explanation of the introduction to the area of research. It covers the background of the study, research questions, aims of the study, the significance of the study, research methodology, clarification of terms, and organization of the papers.

1.1 Background

Writing is one of the ways we can use to communicate to each other. Fairbarn &

Winch (1991) stated that writing is about “transferring meaning by selecting words

and putting them together in a written or printed form.” Thus, the writing product has

to be easily understood by the readers, in order to convey the message and to make a good communication.

In foreign language mastery, writing is known as a complex task that needs enormous time and skill to master. According to Harmer (2004), different from the other language skills, writing tends to be a well-formed and pre-organized one. Furthermore, Brown (2001) argued that writing is a culturally specific and learned behavior. It means that writing skills are needed to be learnt (or taught) and depends on the cultural context of the learner. For that reason, most of the foreign language teachers think that teaching writing is difficult.

Reid’s study (2009) found that one of the problems of teachers teaching

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TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

(1995), Reid also stated that “the best teachers are probably those who have achieved

their skill mastery, knowledge, and intellectual fluidity only after periods of struggle

and anxiety” (p. 201). It means that writing teachers have to go through a long period

of time, and have a considerable amount of experience, to furnish their mastery of writing and teaching writing, and to perfect their techniques both in writing and in teaching it.

The previous study found that the difficulties faced by writing teachers may come from internal problems (the teachers themselves) and the external factors (the

environment of the teaching). The internal difficulties may stem from the teachers’

qualification (including their mastery of writing and their preferences to teach writing). The external factors may include the problems posed by the government (school policy, curricula), the school (the lack of support and resources to allow a good teaching), the students (the lack of motivation and ability), the language gap (the difference between English language and Bahasa Indonesia that often confuse the students), and the society (the lack of support and understanding of how to help

teachers improve the students’ ability) (Reid, 2009; Supriatna, 2012; Wang, 2010).

These difficulties are what the teacher face when teaching English writing to their students. This study will investigate about the difficulties encountered by the teachers in teaching English writing to 10th grade students, especially in teaching writing descriptive texts.

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1.2 Research Questions

The following research questions are formulated to analyze the difficulties that the teachers face in teaching writing descriptive texts to 10th graders.

1. What are the difficulties faced by the 10th grade teachers in teaching writing descriptive texts?

2. What are the strategies used by the teachers to overcome the difficulties in teaching writing descriptive texts?

1.3 Aims of the Study

This study is aimed to:

1. Identify teachers’ difficulties in teaching writing descriptive texts.

2. Find out some strategies that have been done to overcome, or minimize, the difficulties in teaching writing descriptive texts.

1.4 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study are expected to give the information concerning the difficulties faced by 10th grade English teachers of teaching writing descriptive texts at a Senior High School in Bangka. This information is critical for teachers to help them to minimize the difficulties of teaching writing descriptive texts and to improve their mastery in teaching writing descriptive texts. Besides for the teachers, the

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findings of the study are expected to give contributions for the students in learning writing descriptive texts.

1.5 Research Methodology

In this research, descriptive case study is used as the research design. Yin (2003:13)

defined case study as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary

phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.” This research discussed one case of teachers’ difficulties in teaching writing descriptive text and displayed a brief description of the phenomenon based on the data collected.

The data for this study are collected using two techniques, observation and interview. After collecting all data from the observation and interview, the data will be analyzed using some following steps adapted from Miles and Huberman (1984) which includes data reduction, data display, and conclusion/verification. This study will also use triangulation. To triangulate the data in this research, the writer will crosscheck the data with the theory of teaching strategies as outlined in the theoretical framework.

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1.6 Clarification of Terms

Some terms in need to be clarified in purpose of avoiding misunderstanding of the problem investigated. The terms are as follows:

1. Teachers’ difficulties. It is defined as the difficulties or challenges that the teachers face in the process of teaching writing descriptive texts.

2. Teachers’ Strategy. It can be defined as the methods to approach the problem used by the teacher. It can also be defined as specific effort, initiative, or plan used by the teacher to achieve expected learning objectives in a skillful way (Mintzberg, 1994). In this case, the problem is teaching writing to students. 3. Descriptive text. It can be defined as a text that describes and lists something

about its characteristics, parts, qualities, and any other which is interesting to explore (Anderson & Anderson, 2003).

1.7 Organization of the Paper

This paper will be presented in five chapters. The chapters will be divided into subtopics to elaborate the issue given.

Chapter 1 Introduction, this chapter provides the background of the research and other aspects in conducting the research, including research questions, aims of the study, the significance of the study, research methodology, clarification of terms, and organization of the paper.

Chapter 2 Theoretical Foundation. In this chapter, the theoretical framework will be presented to support and explain the study.

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TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

Chapter 3 Research Methodology. This chapter provides methodology and procedures in conducting the research.

Chapter 4 Findings and Discussion. In this chapter, the collected data will be presented systematically in order to make it easier to discuss the findings.

Chapter 5 Conclusions and Suggestions. Some conclusion will be drawn in this chapter based on the data analysis. This chapter will also provide suggestions for further research.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter elaborates the research methodology which has been introduced in chapter I. It also describes the procedures and sequences involved in this research. In detail, this chapter explains research problems, research design, participants, research instruments, data collecting procedures, and data analysis.

3.1 Research Questions

The study is conducted to investigate the teachers‟ difficulties in teaching writing

descriptive texts at a senior high school in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung. The problem to be investigated is formulated into two research questions as follows.

1. What are the difficulties faced by the 10th grade teachers in teaching writing descriptive texts?

2. What are the strategies used by the teachers to overcome the difficulties in teaching writing descriptive texts?

3.2. Research Methodology

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TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

3.2.1 Research Design

This research attempts to investigate the kind of difficulties in teaching writing descriptive texts faced by the 10th grade teachers. The approach used in this research belongs to the qualitative approach because it fits perfectly with the following description and explanation. According to Creswell (2007), in qualitative approach, a case is for a specific period of time using a detailed and in-depth data collection, and produces the final result of a case description.

In this research, descriptive case study is used as the research design. Yin (2003:13) defined case study as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between

phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.” This research discussed one case (teachers‟ difficulties) and displayed a brief description of the phenomenon based on the data collected.

3.2.2 Research Site and Participants

3.2.2.1 Research Site

This study was conducted in a senior high school in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung. The school was chosen mainly because of its accessibility to the researcher. Although Pangkal Pinang was the capital of Bangka Belitung Province, the city itself was not as big and advanced as metropolitan cities like Bandung or Jakarta, yet it was not too small or isolated. Itwas assumed that this condition would provide a unique circumstance to the schools, which was another consideration to conduct the study

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there. The school chosen for this study was not as advanced as other big cities in Indonesia, in terms of school facilities, other supporting facilities, and its social environment. It meant that the students and teachers in the school might have a more difficult situation, in terms of supporting facilities, resources, and social context of schooling, compared to other schools in big cities.

3.2.2.2 Participants of the Study

The participants in this study were two English teachers in a senior high school in Pangkal Pinang who taught the tenth grade students. Tenth grade students in Indonesia typically face a new learning environment, which is more demanding and more complex than what they encounter in junior high school. Furthermore, the students were supposed to have had some experiences and knowledge about English from their study in junior high school, which might affect the teachers‟ level of

expectation, and thus the teachers‟ strategies, in teaching them. The teachers were

chosen for this study for several reasons: first, they had experience as English teacher for several years; second, they were of different group age, which might provide different views on the matter being studied; and finally, they were willing to fully participate as respondents in this study.

In order to keep the anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents, a coding method was used to describe the teachers involved in this study. Table 3.1 contained the profile of the teachers.

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TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

Table 3.1

English Teachers’ Profile in a Senior High School in Pangkal Pinang

a. T1

T1 has been working as an English teacher in the school chosen as the site of the study for 5 years. T1 has three years experience of teaching English to the tenth graders of this school.

b. T2

T2 has been teaching English for about 20 years, the last three of which were in the school chosen as site of the study. T2 has experience of teaching English in elementary school, junior high school, and, mostly and for the longest time, to senior high school students.

3.3 Research Instruments

There are two instruments used for collecting data in this research; observation and interview.

Observation is used to understand the perspective of the conducted as a way to understand the perspective held by study populations, to understand the relevant contexts in which the study participants live, and to check the participants‟ subjective

Teacher‟s

Age Gender Certified/ Not Certified

Years of Teaching Experience

T1 26 Female Not certified 5

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reporting of what they believe and do (Mack, et.al. 2005). Kothari (2004) stated that

to become a scientific tool and a method of data collecting, observation must serve „a

formulated research purpose and is systematically planned and recorded.‟ In this

method, the researcher gathers information through „direct observation without asking from the respondents‟ (Kothari, 2004). The observation is conducted in classrooms where, and when, the respondents teach writing descriptive texts. It is aimed to gain information on the difficulties the 10th grade teachers have when teaching writing descriptive text in the classrooms.

To gain further information to complete and to compare the data from the observation, interviews are conducted. Mack, et. al. (2005) stated that the interview is used to obtain a vivid picture of participant‟s perspective on the research topic. Meanwhile, Kothari (2004) defined interview as a method of collecting data

involving „presentation of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal

responses.‟ In an interview the researcher is a student who is eager to learn

everything the participant can share about the research topic and who collect information personally from the sources concerned (Mack, et. al., 2005; Kothari, 2004). It means that the questions of the interview must be formulated to elicit information from the participants in such a way that the information gained is complete and thorough to be able to address the research questions.

In this study, the respondents are interviewed separately. The interview is designed as a semi-structured interview, which means that an interview script is

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prepared as guidance in conducting the interview, but will be adjusted and modified according to the need during the actual implementation of the interview.

3.4 Data Collecting Procedures

In collecting the data, there are some procedures employed. The first step is preparing the instrument. The second step is making appointments with the respondents. The third step is conducting classroom observation, and the final step is interviewing the respondents.

The instrument prepared before conducting research in the school is the interview script. The interview script is used to assist in conducting the interview. It

contains some questions pertaining to the topic of teachers‟ difficulties in teaching

writing descriptive text. These questions serve as a guideline to interview the respondents, and when needed, there may be some questions removed from or added to this script.

The second step that needs to follow is making an appointment with teachers. In the meeting with the respondent, the nature and purpose of this study were

explained and the respondents‟ genuine participation in this study was asked. Both teachers agreed to participate as respondents in this study. The teachers‟ permission was also asked so that the respondents could be observed while they were teaching the subject of descriptive text to the tenth grade students; particularly the writing of descriptive text. With their agreement, it was decided when and where the observation could be conducted.

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On the agreed time and date, the respondents were observed in their classes, separately. Both respondents had two meetings to teach and discuss the topic of descriptive text in their respective classrooms. In total, five (5) classroom observations were conducted on separate dates and times. In each session or meeting, the observation technique used was an outsider-observer technique, which meant that the ongoing classroom activities were observed without any kind of intervention from the observer. The focus of the observation was the teachers‟ activity in the class when teaching writing descriptive text. It was expected that, by doing so, a picture of the difficulties the teachers faced in the classroom and an understanding concerning the context of the classroom and teaching-learning activities there could be gained. The observation was recorded as a field note.

The purpose of interviewing the respondents is to find out the difficulties, if any, the teachers face in teaching writing descriptive text to tenth graders and to obtain information concerning what the teachers do to overcome those difficulties. In this study, the respondents were interviewed separately on the agreed date and time. The questions asked in the interview were those that pertained to the research topic, e.g. the purpose of teaching writing descriptive text in the class, the difficulties faced by the teacher as a foreign language speaker teaching writing descriptive text, and the strategies the teacher used to address or overcome the difficulties. Appendix 2 contains the complete list of interview questions.

Besides the questions above, there were some questions added based on the situation and the responses provided by the respondents to gain further information.

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TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

3.5 Data Analysis

Both the data from classroom observation and the interview are analyzed using the Miles-Huberman Analysis. Following the three steps from Miles and Huberman (1984 in Ekawati 2011) (Figure 3.1), the data are reduced and displayed before the conclusions are drawn.

a. Data Reduction

The information obtained is reduced to classify the data that are really appropriate to the purposes of the research so that the research questions could be answered. In data reduction step, the data from classroom observation is selectively analyzed to find the important points related to the study. Meanwhile, the data from the interview is transcribed to interpret the source of the difficulties and to find out the description of the implementation of the efforts they use to overcome those difficulties.

After the data are reduced, the main data that will help to answer research questions, namely the difficulties faced by the teachers and the efforts to minimize them, are obtained. This data is then displayed for analysis.

S T A R T Data Collection Data Reduction Data Display Conclusion F I N I S H

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b. Data Display and Analysis

The data from observation and interview are displayed in the form of narrative text and tables. As Miles and Huberman (1984, in Sugiyono, 2009) stated, narrative text is the most common form to be used in displaying data in qualitative studies. This data are displayed and analyzed at the same time to facilitate an easier reading of the data and analysis.

c. Conclusion Drawing

In the next step, by summing up the main data, a brief picture of the difficulties in

teaching writing descriptive texts and teachers‟ efforts to minimize the difficulties

will be provided as the findings. The research questions will be answered through the conclusion drawn from the data display and will be presented in the next chapter.

3.6 Validity

The data gained from the observation and interview is analyzed and cross-checked by using triangulation in order to: (1) minimize the risk of limited or insufficient conclusion under the certain methods and data sources; and (2) increase the validity in order to broaden the domain analysis (Alwasilah, 2002). The triangulation is important to avoid biased data. To triangulate the data in this research, the data will be crosschecked with the theory of teaching strategies as outlined in the theoretical framework.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

In this chapter there are two main parts presented: the conclusions derived from the findings of this study and the discussion of those findings, and suggestions for the teachers and further researches.

5.1 Conclusions

the students (students’ English and writing skills, students’ motivation, and students’ willingness to participate in classroom activities), to the teachers (teachers’ English skill, teachers’ motivation and expectation), to the writing (the

inherent difficulties of writing), and to the school’s policy (the limited amount of time to teach and teachers’ opportunity to join training and development

program).

Secondly, the strategies used by the teachers to address the difficulties concerning the students in teaching writing descriptive texts in SMA Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung includes one-on-one guidance during the learning process, motivating students through encouraging and motivating stories, and maximizing the utilization of students’ workbook. Thirdly, the strategies used by the teachers to address the difficulties of teaching writing descriptive texts in

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difficulties or problems due to the school’s policy (insufficient time allocated for

teaching and schools policy on teachers’ training and development program).

5.2 Suggestions

From the findings, there are a few things that can be suggested to the teachers to improve the teaching of English, especially writing descriptive texts. Firstly, teachers needs to stay current with the students’ needs and conditions by updating their knowledge and skills, not only the English skills but also other skills that could help in teaching English. Secondly, teachers need to find ways and/or strategies to effectively address the school policies that hinder the teaching of English. Thirdly, teachers need to be professional, in terms of not letting personal feeling or expectations hamper the teaching of English. Such feelings or expectations need to be used effectively and positively to support the teaching.

From this study, there are at least two areas that might and need to be explored further. Future researchers might look into the impact of school policy towards the effectiveness of English teaching and towards the teachers. Future researchers might also look into the aspect of the local language, in terms of its influence on the teaching of English. Finally, in terms of generalizability of the

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result, this kind of study would benefit even better when conducted in and from a wider scope of research.

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Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

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writing descriptive text. Bandung: Unpublished paper of Indonesia University of Education.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

5.1 Conclusions

Concerning the teachers’ difficulties in teaching writing a descriptive text and the strategies to overcome those difficulties, there are at least three conclusions to be drawn from this study. Firstly, the difficulties faced by teachers in teaching writing a descriptive text in SMA Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung are related to the students (students’ English and writing skills, students’ motivation, and students’ willingness to participate in classroom activities), to the teachers (teachers’ English skill, teachers’ motivation and expectation), to the writing (the inherent difficulties of writing), and to the school’s policy (the limited amount of time to teach and teachers’ opportunity to join training and development program).

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SMA Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung; concerning the teachers and the writing; includes continuing to learn outside of school (through various media), sharing with other teachers, and joining training and development programs. Finally, it is concluded that there was no strategies found in this study to overcome the difficulties or problems due to the school’s policy (insufficient time allocated for teaching and schools policy on teachers’ training and development program). 5.2 Suggestions

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result, this kind of study would benefit even better when conducted in and from a wider scope of research.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alwasilah, A. C. (2002). Pokoknya kualitatif: Dasar-dasar merancang dan melakukan penelitian kualitatif. Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya.

Macmillan.

Anggitasari, M. (2010). Teacher’sstrategy in assisting students’ learning English grammar using MUF work. Bandung: Unpublished paper of Indonesia University of Education.

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