Research Background Integrated english instructional materials for XI grade students of industrial electronics engineering.

1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This research is going to study Integrated English Instructional Materials for XI Grade Students of Industrial Electronics Engineering. This chapter introduces and describes the nature and content of the proposed study. It comprises six sections: research background, problem formulation, problem limitation, research objectives, research benefits, and definition of terms.

1.1 Research Background

Language as a means of communication plays an important role when people share their experience, and work together. But sometimes a language can create a problems whether serious or trivial. The difference lies in how people can solve the problem. There is a problem that is solved in a short time, so it does not need any research. However, the other needs research and takes a long time to solve. English as the first foreign language in Indonesia is regarded as an important means of absorbing and developing science, technology, art, culture, and establishing good relations with other nations, so English in general is expected to assume an international role in Indonesia. English in the secondary school is a compulsory subject which serves as a means of students’ self- development in science, technology, art, and culture. By mastering English, secondary school students are expected to grow and develop into citizens who are skillful, and ready to participate in national development programs. The government applies a new curriculum called Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan KTSP in which its operational curriculum is organized and implemented by each educational institution and school commitee. Richard 1986: 70, as reported by Nunan 1988: 21, explains that a curriculum “is a teaching guideline that covers all subjects in one situation”. In 20022003, the new academic reqirements stated that the minimum final grade must be 3.00 for each subject. The grade increases each year. This rule is aimed to increase qualifications in education. This means that many students at senior high school can hardly pass their final examination. The students do not comprehend English well. Another problem is that the English material used in SMK N2 Depok Yogyakarta is English for general use which is the same as those used in senior high school. There should be more specific materials for vocational high schools because vocational high school students are prepared to be able and skilled and ready to work in the field they are concerned with. So I am here designing the main materials for vocational high school students using some topics related to the field they are learning and the materials related to the functions that are able to support them in the area they are concerned with, that is industrial electronics engineering. Moreover, the curriculum of many vocational high schools is the same, even though there are many different departments in each school. Those are aimed at supporting the students’ skill in the field they are going to work in. I chose PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI SMK N2 Depok Yogyakarta because it is one of the best vocational high schools in Yogyakarta and it cooperates with many companies so that the graduate students can work directly in those companies with a form of contract as employees. This kind of research plays an important role in the academic system as it is going to be a pioneer of designing Integrated English instructional materials for vocational high school. I chose XI grade students of industrial electronics engineering because at this grade, the students start to have more practice. I chose industrial electronics engineering because it uses more English technical terms compared with other forms of engineerings. The English subject lesson has to support their skill, for example: mentioning all the tools in English and explaining clearly the procedures of operating some machines. It is important to conduct this study to find out the suitable design of Integrated English instructional materials for the XI grade students in industrial electronics engineering. This research will take the form of interviews with some English teachers, with industrial electronics graduates who have jobs in the industrial electronics area, and with experts in material design. This research is also supported by book references, articles, journals, magazines, cassettes and CDs.

1.2 Research Area