CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Problem
The materials of teaching and learning of English in junior high schools contain too little local culture. Indeed, local culture is important to be taught to
students, so they can get to know themselves and where they belong into. Unfortunately, most materials taught in junior high schools come from the text
books that do not necessarily contain the local culture that is suitable as a teaching material.
Besides the problem of materials containing very little local culture, teaching English in a monotonous way also becomes a barrier for students in
understanding English. For example, teachers often become the center of learning in class, yet the students do not participate much in the class. The teaching and
learning of English in junior high schools focus on text books. Furthermore, it is the teacher who becomes the center of learning, not the students, that is not ideal
for achieving successful learning target. Based on the problems above, a digital learning media development
project should be done to support learning English in junior high schools. The project focuses on developing a learning media that has close links with the art
and culture of Indonesia. In this study, the digital learning media developed for junior high school students will be in the form of Ramayana story, transformed
into a teaching and learning material. Ramayana story was chosen because it is one of famous cultural products of Indonesia in the form of folklore.
The history of puppet of the Ramayana story has long been known by Javanese people and still favored and watched until now in the form of puppet
performance, the play of Ramayana story, Ramayana dance. The performance of Ramayana in the form of fragments is often presented as classical performing arts,
especially in Yogyakarta. Nowadays, the story of Ramayana also has been shown on a TV programme, even though the story is slightly different from the
Ramayana story in Java version. The high rating of Ramayana series on TV also has proven that the series is favoured by many people in Indonesia.
The other reasons, as the story of Ramayana has been very familiar among all people in Java, it is assumed that the story can be used in junior high schools as
the learning media. This learning media inserts a cultural content. By using Ramayana story as the learning medium, it will also introduce and preserve the
ancient culture of Java through puppet story.
B. Identification of the Problem
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