Background of Study INTRODUCTION

what the learner knew; it can only be built on what he knows.” 2 This quotation from William Mackey supports the previous quotation from Harold. Students do not expect forgetting, even a little part of language learning. What students know in the past is not important anymore because when they forgot it, it would be useless and could not help them to communicate. Their ability is what they know right when they need it. The second factor after ‘who’ is ‘how’. The method to teach in teaching- learning process is important, but not always fit for every situation. Harmer says in his book, “Many approaches and methods are based on a very western idea of what constitutes ‘good learning’”. Some people think the best way how to learn English is by changing the new method or technique especially that successfully applying in western education, but actually method and technique is only the tools for teacher to make their students understand. Method and technique are important, but it will not become the first and the only factor to make students easy to write something in target language. “There is no one way to teach, no one method that is clearly the best.” 3 The explanation of this quotation is really clear that English has many sub-skills and component that would encourage us to find an effective technique in order to learn them, but let’s emphasize that there is no technique could overcome all situation. We have to find the exact technique, which proper with what we want to learn. To find the best technique, we have to consider these two important things, firstly we have to consider and remember that there is no method that suit for all teaching learning problem. Second, in the classroom, we have heterogenic students who have different mind, intelligent, emotion, interest and types of learning. Many techniques in teaching learning process that developed by many teachers to make student easy in writing. They are using video, picture, story and many other media and technique. Writing narrative text as one of many texts in junior high school should consider the feature and characteristic. As a 2 William F. Mackey, Language Teaching Analysis, New York: Longman, 1967, p. 8 3 Stephen Krashen , Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, California: Pergamon Press, 1987, p. 27 story, narrative has to be organized well in order to make the reader easy to read and understand the content. From so many techniques, one of them is guided questions. Guided questions is series of question which guide the student to write the paragraph in good organizing. Thus, with this technique, the students can hopefully write narrative text well organize as well as grammatically correct. The third factor is ‘where’. Even formal education or some informal instances like course always have certain place where to study. They always prepare a class for teaching and learning process. Starting from fifteen people per class till forty people per class is available. We could not make it in language learning. Language is wider. The students only have several hours a day in class and the entire hours will be their native language role. When someone gets their native language, they did it naturally. They hear and write it again and again every day since they did not even know another language. Comparing to acquisition in second language, it would be a tiny portion of time if we just concern in classroom learning. “Second language classes are best thought of as places to gain comprehensible input in early stages .” 4 This means that classroom activities are only to prepare students to make next movement in learning second language. Using guided questions is hopefully encouraging students to make the almost same pattern of question in writing narrative not only in school but also in their own home. The last factor is ‘when’. The last factor is to support the third factor that students could write narrative and practice it by using guided question everywhere, even in their own house by making the same pattern question. If every student could do some practice outside gradually, it would be-at least- almost equal with mother tongue acquisition. To sum up from the four factors above, we can see that the students’ is the first way to attract student in learning. They would follow the subject efficiently if they know where the material goes. Thus, the teacher should be 4 Stephen Krashen, Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, California: Pargamen Press, 1987, p. 16 creative in adapting a useful and enjoyable classroom activity but also can encourage students to focus in what they have to learn. From many methods and technique to improve, develop, and understand target language English, and many problem rises in teaching learning activity to learn foreign language, the writer uses guided questions technique in increasing students’ writing of narrative text in eighth grade students of junior high school, with hope that this will encourage the students’ confidence to answer with their own words, and also indirectly, it would make them automatically memories the pattern and easier to write their own story. By those statements, guided questions as a series of question to guide the students in writing the organized story by their own, the question is raised. Then, rising from much explanation above, the researcher would do research entitle “THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GUIDED QUESTION IN TEACHING STUDENTS’ NARRATIVE WRITING” .

B. The Identification of the Problem

Based on the background above the problem that covered the research can be identified as followed: 1. There are many skills in English that students have to master 2. Students have difficulties in memorizing the material 3. Students find difficulties in writing some texts in English subject 4. Students do not understand well some features of text 5. Students find difficulties in mastering narrative text 6. Teachers are difficult in selecting the appropriate technique in teaching writing

C. The Limitation of the Problem

From the identification of the problem, this research would have the limitation in order to make the research focus. Thus, the problem would be limited on: the effectiveness of guided questions in teaching students’ narrative writing.

D. Formulation of the Problem

The writer would analyze whether the using of guided questions technique is appropriate in teaching writing of narrative text in eighth grade students of MTs Pembangunan UIN Jakarta. The writer proposes the general question “is the guided questions technique effective in teaching narrative writing for eighth grade students’?”

E. The Objective of the study

The objective of the research is trying to investigate whether or not the guided questions technique effective in teaching students’ writing of narrative text, especially in eighth grade students of MTs Pembangunan Tangerang Selatan.

F. Significant of the Study

This research hopefully will give any advantage for some people: 1. The English teacher, the people who will hold the English lesson in class and would have the first responsibility in increasing students’ ability in English skills 2. The formal institution, for example school, and especially MTs Pembangunan Tangerang Selatan, it could be a consideration in increasing students’ writing of narrative text if the research proves that the technique is effective. 3. The next research, as a reference and also consideration to hold another similar research.

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Literature Review

1. Writing

a. Definition of Writing Talking about definition of writing, it would be include some book and some expert. Writing as a skill of English is a process of discovery, involving a series of steps. It is way of remembering and way of thinking well. We usually know that writing is formal form of speaking. When slang and informal grammar is used in speaking, writing considers many aspect of the language itself. Raymond defined, “Writing is an instrument of both communication and self-expression” 1 . This statement is supported by Grenville when she said that writing was when you let your surrounding quite enough, chewed the pan, and put all of you thought and what in your mind on a piece of paper. 2 It means that writing is used as an instrument to communicate and show one’s self-expression which comes from personal thinking. Someone may have some ideas or feeling that sometimes it can not be showed as speaking. Writing is another instrument to communicate besides speaking. Another definition comes from Byrne in a “Teaching Writing Skill”, stated that “Writing can be said to be the act of farming these symbol making marks on a flat surface of some kind.” 3 Then, in another book which has almost same idea said that writing is work on paper or onscreen. 4 Both of theory emphasize on media of writing. People can put their idea on paper or onscreen using particular symbol in their own understanding. In this case, 1 Anita Pincas, Gillian and Charles Hadfield, Writing in English, London: The Macmillan Press Limited,1982, p.100 2 Kate Grenville. Writing from Start to Finish, A Six Step Guide, Miller St: Griffin Press, 2001, p. 6-7 3 Dom Byrne. Teaching Writing Skill. London: Longman. 2006, p. 156 4 Paul Kei Matsuda and Christine M. Tardy. The St. Martin’s Handbook, Boston: St. martin’s, 2010, p. 23 8 understanding means the language and the rule that people used and they know it well in their area. In Ryan book’s, he said, “writing is a skill, and skills are learning by doing.” 5 We can’t learn writing by the theory. We have to understand every part of writing itself. In writing narrative, we have to understand the characteristic and have to arrange it grammatically well. Besides, we can not only write once then master it; we have to write gradually in order to make it better and better. From the other book, writing defined as a way of remembering and a way of thinking as well. Writing makes words permanent, and that expand the collective memory of human beings from the relative small store. 6 From many definitions the writer infer that writing is a human communication besides speaking through particular rule with particular equipment such as paper and pen in order to show people feeling and to produce people’s mind into a work, and in the process it can help people to sharpen their memory. b. Classroom writing activity In teaching writing, the researcher should consider what kind of writing activity in the class room. Some of writing activity is explained by a book with a title “From Language Learner to Language Teacher”, they are: 7 1 Copying 2 Dictation 3 Note-Taking 4 Speed Writing 5 In-Class Essay 6 Dialogue Writing 7 Stories 5 Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. The Art of Writing. California: Alfred Publisher. 1981, P. 12-13 6 James C. Raymond, Writing Is an Unnatural Act, New York, Harper Row Publisher Inc, p.2 7 Snow, Don. an Introduction to Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Venice: TESOL Publications, 2007, p. 152-157