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their future career. Furthermore, they said that they couldn’t express their thoughts or ideas with suitable expressions because of lack of vocabulary and because of the different
grammar structure. Moreover, they said that they were not brave enough to speak English, they were afraid of making mistakes, so sometimes; they spoke Chinese, instead
of English in the speaking class.
C. The Method of the Research
In this study, the researcher will apply the action research to conduct this study. According to Ebbutt in Hopkins, 1985: 45 , action research is about the systematic
study of attempts to improve educational practice by groups of participants by means of their own practical actions and by means of their own reflection upon the effects of those
actions. Watts 1985: 118 also states that action research is a process in which participants
examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research. It is based on the following assumptions:
1 Teachers and principals work best on problems they have identified for themselves
2 Teachers and principals become more effective when encouraged to examine and
assess their own work and then consider ways of working differently. 3
Teachers and principals help each other by working collaboratively. 4
Working with colleagues helps teachers and principals in their professional development.
In the book of A Teacher’s Guide to Classroom Research, Hopkins 1985: 44 notes that action research combines as substantive act with a research procedure; it is an
action disciplined by enquiry, a personal attempt at understanding while engaged in process of improvement and reform. He also cited several definitions of action research
from others in his book: 1
Rapoport in Hopkins, 1985: 44 said that action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the
goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework.
2 Kemmis in Hopkins, 1985: 44 writes: action research is a form of self-reflective
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enquiry undertaken by participants in social including educational situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of a their own social or educational
practices, b their understanding of these practices, and c the situations in which the practices are carried out.
3 Elliott 1991: 69 notes that Action-research might be defined as ‘the study of a
social situation with a view to improve the quality of action within it’. it aims to feed practical judgment of action situations, and the validity of the’ theories’ or
hypotheses it generates depends not so much on ‘ scientific’ tests of truth, as on their usefulness in helping people to act more intelligently and skillfully. In
action-research ‘theories’ are not validated independently and then applied to practice. They are validated through practice.
From all the definitions above, we know that action research is a worthwhile pursuit for educators for a number of reasons. Foremost among these is simply the desire
to know more. Good teachers are, after all, themselves students, and often look for ways to expand upon their existing knowledge.
D. The Procedure of the Research
