Background of the Problem

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Problem

Celce-Murcia, Dornyei and Thurrell 1999 say that language is a tool to communicate. Learning a language means that the learners are emphasized to be able to communicate in the target language. In this case, the target language is English. Learners should have communicative competence to be able to master the target language, both the written and spoken forms. Therefore, the instructional process should be emphasized on developing the four language skills, that is, speaking, reading, listening, and reading. However, the fact in field shows that teachers mostly used conventional method in the classrooms. Students were taught about the language rule, grammar in the written form, while the spoken form became the second priority. That fact happened in SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Wates. Students did not have any chance to develop their speaking skill, both inside and outside the classrooms. Most of the students gave little attention to the lesson and got bored. Larsen-Freeman 2000: 121 reports that although students can produce sentences accurately in a lesson, they could not use them appropriately when genuinely communicating outside of the classroom. Students may know the linguistic usage, but be unable to use the language. It becomes clear that communication requires students to perform certain functions as well, such as promising, inviting, and declining invitations within the social context. Therefore, the teacher as a facilitator should facilitate the learner with a strategy to make them involve in the activity and communicate in the classroom. In reference to the observation and the interviews conducted by the researcher, many students of SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Wates still got difficulties in speaking lesson because of some reasons. One of them was the improper teaching technique used by the teacher. Her teaching technique tend to be monotonous and conventional. She mostly showed the materials using the handbook and did not give students the opportunity to speak. Then, he sometimes used the LED and let the students see and have notes on it. Consequently, the nature of speaking tends to be put aside in a speaking lesson because the activity does not engage students’ opportunity to speak. As a result, it is difficult to improve their speaking ability. This teaching strategy cannot also arouse their motivation and involvement in the speaking activity. The problems found in SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Wates have motivated the researcher to conduct an action research study in order to improve the students’ speaking ability through the use of photographs and paintings in which the students can help themselves to interpret some images to generate their idea. It is expected that the application of photographs and paintings can improve the students’ speaking ability in SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Wates. Harmer 2001 states that teachers have always used pictures or graphics – whether drawn, taken from books, newspaper, magazines, or photographs – to facilitate learning. Pictures or images can be used in a multiplicity of ways to engage students to speak such as describing activity and story-telling.

B. Identification of the Problem