English instructional speaking materials using task based learning for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta - USD Repository

  

ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONAL SPEAKING MATERIALS

USING TASK BASED LEARNING

FOR THE STAFF OF BANK MANDIRI YOGYAKARTA

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

  

By

Patricia Angelina Lasut

Student Number: 041214017

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

  

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2009

  

ABSTRACT

  Angelina Lasut, Patricia. 2009. English Instructional Speaking Materials Using Task

  

Based Learning for the Staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta: English

Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

  Bank Mandiri as one of the well-reputed banks in Indonesia has realized the

  importance of English mastery for their staff. Bank Mandiri had asked for an English course that would suit their needs. Most of the staff of Bank Mandiri in Yogyakarta have some difficulties to communicate with the foreign customers, which hinder the process of the service. Therefore, this study attempted to develop English instructional speaking materials for the staff of Bank Mandiri in Yogyakarta using the principles of task-based learning.

  This study was aimed to find out the answers of the following two research questions: (a) how English instructional speaking materials using task-based learning for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta are designed, and (b) what the designed materials look like.

  To answer the first problem, the writer adapted Kemp’s instructional design model (1977) comprising eight flexible, interdependent steps. Those steps, subsequently, were put under the umbrella of Borg & Gall’s (1986) Research and Development (R&D) method. Due to time and resource limitations, only five out of ten steps of the R&D model were employed, which were: (1) Research and information collecting, (2) Planning, (3) Developing preliminary form of product, (4) Preliminary field testing, and (5) Main product revision.

  To acquire required information for developing the materials, the writer distributed needs analysis questionnaire to twenty staff of Bank Mandiri, Yogyakarta. After the materials were designed, expert validation and user validation questionnaire were distributed to two instructors and two lecturers to obtain feedback and evaluation on the designed materials. The evaluation results showed that the materials were well-designed and applicable, indicated by the means ranging from 3.25 to 4.00 from the scale of 1 to 4. Five suggestions were accepted to revise the materials: adding instructions in every section of the unit, changing the phrase “Don’t Stop

  

Now!” into “Prepare Yourself!”, numbering each activity contained in each section,

  adding the teaching and learning media, evaluation and references, and stating explicitly the aim of “It’s Time to Write” in the overview of the materials.

  To answer the second question, the writer presented the revised version of the designed materials. The materials covered eight units. Each unit consisted of five sections, namely “Do You Remember?”, “Prepare Yourself!”, “Can You Do These?”, “Let’s Learn!”, and “It’s Time to Write”.

  In conclusion, due to its means ranging from 3.25 to 4.00, the designed materials were considered well-developed and ready to be used by the staff of Bank

  

Mandiri Yogyakarta. Lastly, it was expected that the materials could improve the

speaking skill of the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta.

  

ABSTRAK

  Angelina Lasut, Patricia. 2009. English Instructional Speaking Materials Using Task

  

Based Learning for the Staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta: Program

Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

  Bank Mandiri sebagai salah satu bank yang mempunyai reputasi baik di Indonesia telah menyadari pentingnya penguasaan Bahasa Inggris bagi staff mereka. Bank Mandiri meminta diadakannya kursus Bahasa Inggris yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan mereka. Banyak dari staff Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta mengalami kesulitan untuk berkomunikasi dengan pelanggan asing, dan hal tersebut menghalangi proses pelayanan. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini mencoba untuk mengembangkan materi instruksional Bahasa Inggris Speaking untuk staff Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta menggunakan prinsip task-based learning.

  Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mencari jawaban dari 2 rumusan masalah berikut ini: (a) Bagaimanakah materi instruksional Bahasa Inggris Speaking menggunakan task-based learning untuk staff Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta dirancang?, dan (b) Bagaimanakah penyajian materi Speaking yang telah disusun tersebut?.

  Untuk menjawab masalah pertama, penulis mengadaptasi model perancangan instruksional yang dikembangkan oleh Kemp (1977) yang mencakup delapan langkah yang saling bergantung dan fleksibel. Langkah-langkah tersebut kemudian diletakkan di bawah kerangka metode Educational Research and Developmet (R & D) Borg dan Gall (1986). Oleh karena keterbatasan waktu dan sumber, hanya lima dari sepuluh langkah dari model R & D yang digunakan, yaitu: (1) Penelitian dan pengumpulan informasi, (2) Perencanaan, (3) Pengembangan bentuk awal produk, (4) Pengujian awal di lapangan, dan (5) Revisi produk.

  Untuk mendapatkan informasi yang dibutuhkan guna mengembangkan materi, penulis menyebarkan kuesioner analisis kebutuhan kepada dua puluh orang staff Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta. Setelah materi selesai disusun, kuesioner untuk validasi ahli dan validasi pengguna diberikan kepada dua instruktor dan dua dosen guna mendapatkan masukan dan evaluasi terhadap materi yang telah disusun. Hasil evaluasi menunjukkan bahwa materi telah disusun dengan baik dan dapat digunakan, yang diindikasikan oleh nilai rata-rata yang berkisar anara 3.25 sampai 4.00 dari skala 1-5. Lima macam saran diterima untuk merevisi materi: menambah instruksi di setiap seksi unit, mengubah frase “Don’t Stop Now!” menjadi “Prepare Yourself!”, memberi nomor pada setiap aktivitas yang ada di dalam tiap seksi, menambahkan sarana pengajaran dan pembelajaran, evaluasi dan referensi, serta menyatakan secara eksplisit tujuan dari “It’s Time to Write” pada ikhtisar materi.

  Untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua, penulis menyertakan materi yang telah disusun setelah revisi. Materi mencakup delapan unit. Setiap unit terdiri dari lima seksi, yaitu “Do You Remember?”, “Prepare Yourself!”, “Can You Do These?”, “Let’s Learn!”, dan “It’s Time to Write”.

  Sebagai kesimpulan, karena nilai rata-rata yang berkisar antara 3.25 sampai 4.00, materi yang telah disusun dianggap telah dikembangkan dengan baik dan siap untuk digunakan oleh staff Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta. Akhir kata, diharapkan bahwa materi tersebut dapat meningkatkan kemampuan Speaking staff Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta.

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my Lord, Jesus

  

Christ, for His mercy, guidance, and blessings so that I was able to finish my

  thesis. He always makes a way when there seems to be no way. There is nothing impossible in Him.

  Next, I would like to address my sincere gratitude to my major sponsor,

  

Christina Kristiyani, S.Pd., M.Pd. and my co-sponsor Made Frida Yulia,

S.Pd., M.Pd. for their willingness to share their knowledge and expertise. They

  have been extraordinary in their invaluable supports, criticism, and suggestions to my thesis. In addition, I am very grateful to Drs. J. B. Gunawan, M. A. and

  

Gregorius Punto Aji, S. Pd., M. Hum. for willingly spending their time

evaluating my designed materials.

  I warmly thank the English instructors of Global Lingua Yogyakarta, Ms.

  

Doktrin and Ms. Siska, for their help, guidance, as well as useful suggestions to

my designed materials.

  I am deeply grateful to all lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University for their guidance, dedication, and knowledge they have shared for the past four years. I also thank Mbak Danik and

  Mbak Tari for their countless service and help during my study.

  I wish to thank all my classmates for willingly sharing the joy and spirit during my study in this university. I am very grateful to the following for their help in the finishing of my thesis: Oktavianus Gresasis Primantoro Putro,

  

Agnes Nora, Antonius Jody, Chrysogonus Siddha, Kevin Bain, Billy

Gunterman, Arsita Nindya, Yosepha Rini, Vina Andriani, Anggraeni

Suryana, Melania Setyorini and Theresia Vina. In addition, I warmly thank my

  best friends: Sukma, Cahya, Riana, Bertha, Risa, Elly, Oon, Icha, Mietha,

  

Christina, Tya, Joni, Adit, Yason, Aan, Pak De, Elizt, Lin-Lin, Bambang,

Bram, Yosan and Harris for their precious friendship. I also thank the people

  who are special for me, my students and also my true friends: Aldy Christianto,

  

Adi Nugroho, Justin Jaya, Ferry Haryono, Jeffry Alexandra and Shafura

Febriana for their endless support and care.

  I dedicate this thesis to Melly Nangoi, my beloved mother, for her endless love and support. I am very grateful to my mother for her irreplaceable care and advice. She always inspires me to live this life sincerely and grow through the pain. I am also very grateful to my sister Kresentia Elizabeth Lasut for her countless help and support.

  Lastly, I would like to apologize if I have inadvertently omitted anyone to whom the appreciation is due.

  Patricia A. L.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Page TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................ i APPROVAL PAGES .................................................................................... ii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...............................................iv ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................v

  

ABSTRAK.........................................................................................................vi

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................viii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................x LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................ xv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................xvii LIST OF APPENDICES ………………………………………………….xviii

  CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study………………………………………………… 1 B. Problem Formulation…………………………………………….………. 4 C. Problem Limitation…………………………………………….………… 4 D. Purposes of the Study ………………………………………….………... 4 E. Benefits of the Study………………………………………….…………. 5 F. Definitions of Terms……………………………………………..………. 6

  1. Instructional Materials...………………………………..……………. 6

  2. Speaking………………………………………………….….………. 6

  3. Task……………………………………………………………………6

  4. Task Based Learning…………………………………………………..7

  5. The Staffs of Bank Mandiri……………………………………………7

  CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Theoretical Review…………………………………………….…………..8

  1. English for Specific Purposes (ESP)…………………………………...8

  2. Speaking………………………………………………………………10

  a. Nature of Speaking……………………………….……...………10

  b. Principles for Teaching Speaking…………….……...…………..11

  3. Task Based Learning…………………….………………...…………..11

  a. Definition of Task Based Learning………….…………………...11

  b. Types of Tasks……………………………………….…………..13

  c. Framework of Task Based Learning…………………….……….17

  d. Learner’s Roles in Task Based Learning………………....……...20

  e. Teacher’s Roles in Task Based Learning…………….….…….....21

  4. Journals in Language Teaching and Learning……………….………..22

  5. Material Adaptation ……………………………………….……….…24

  a. Definition………………………………………………….….….24

  b. Principles of Materials Adaptation…………………………..…..25

  c. Techniques for Materials Adaptation………………………..…..25

  6. Instructional Design Model……………………………………….…..26

  B. Theoretical Framework……………………………………………….…..31

  CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Method of the Study………………………………………………………36

  1. Research and Information Collecting…………………………………38

  2. Planning……………………………………………………………….38

  3. Development of Preliminary Form of Product………………………..39

  4. Preliminary Field Testing……………………………………………..39

  5. Main Product Revision………………………………………………..40

  B. Research Participants..…………………………………………………….42

  1. Research and Information Collecting Participants …………………...43

  2. Preliminary Field Testing Participants ……………………………….43

  C. Research Instruments……………………………………………………...44

  D. Data Gathering Techniques………………………………………………..46

  E. Data Analysis Techniques…………………………………………………47

  1. Needs Analysis Questionnaire…………………………………………48

  2. Expert Validation and User Validation Questionnaire……….……….48

  F. Research Procedures……………………………………………………….51

  CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Process of Designing English Instructional Speaking Materials ………….53

  1. Research and Information Collecting…………………………………..53

  a. Learners’ Characteristics………………………………………………53

  b. Pre-Assessment………………………………………………………...59

  c. Support Services……………………………………………………….61

  2. Planning………………………………………………………………..61

  a. Stating Goals, Topics and General Purposes ………………………….61

  b. Specifying the Learning Indicators ……………………………………63

  c. Listing and Organizing Subject Contents ……………………………..65

  3. Developing Preliminary Form of Product …...………………………..66

  4. Preliminary Field Testing……………………………………………...71

  5. Main Product Revision………………………………………………...77

  B. The Presentation of the English Instructional Speaking Materials for Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta …………………………………………... 79

  CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions………………………………………………………………..82 B. Suggestions………………………………………………………………..85

  1. Suggestions for Material Users………………………………………..85

  2. Suggestions for Future Research………………………………………85

  REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………..87 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………90

  LIST OF TABLES

  Table Page

  2.1 Nunan’s Task Classification……………………………………………..16

  3.1 The Writer’s Data Collection.…..………………………………………. 46

  3.2 The Writer’s Data Gathering Techniques…………………………...…...47

  3.3 Points of Agreement …………………….………………………………49

  3.4 The Form of the Description of Expert Validation Questionnaire Participants …………………………..49

  3.5 The Form of the Description of User Validation Questionnaire Participants …………...………………..49

  3.6 The Form of the Results of Expert and User Validation Questionnaire…………………………...….50

  4.1 Data of the Participants ..………………………………..………………54

  4.2 The Importance of English for the Staffs of Bank Mandiri ……………..54

  4.3 Participants’ Interest in Taking an English Course …….……………….55

  4.4 Teaching Learning Media and Activities ……………………………….56

  4.5 The Results of the Chosen Topics ………………………………………58

  4.6 Necessities, Lacks and Wants of the Learners ….......……………...…...59

  4.7 Educational Background ………………………………………………..59

  4.8 Difficulties in Communicating Using English ……………………….... 60

  4.9 The Learning Topics of the Materials…………………………...………62

  4.10 The General Purposes…………………………………………………...63

  4.11 The Learning Indicators of the Materials………………………….…….64

  4.12 The Organization of Subject Contents……………………………….….66

  4.13 The Description of Participants for Expert Validation Questionnaire…..72

  4.14 The Description of Participants for User Validation Questionnaire ........72

  4.15 The Results of the Questionnaire for Expert Validation and User Validation ………………...………………………………… 73

  4.16 The Results of Essay Questions ………………………………………. 76

  5.1 The Arrangement of the Materials ……………………………………. 84

  LIST OF FIGURES

  Figure Page

  2.1 The Branch of English Language Teaching………………..…………...……9

  2.2 Willis’s Task-based Learning Framework …………………………………19

  2.3 Kemp’s Instructional Design Model..............................................................27

  2.4 The Writer’s Theoretical Framework Chart .................................................35

  3.1 The Writer’s R & D Adopted Cycle Collaborated with Kemp’s Adapted Model .......................................................................42

LIST OF APPENDICES

  Appendix Page

  Appendix A: Questionnaire for Needs Analysis …………………………… 91 Appendix B: Questionnaire for Expert Validation and User Validation …….97 Appendix C: The Results of the Questionnaire for Expert Validation and User Validation …………………..101 Appendix D: Teacher’s Guide……………………………………………. ..104 Appendix E: The Final Version of the Designed Materials………………...153

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter elaborates six essential parts of this study: background of the

  study, problem formulation, problem limitation, purposes of the study, benefits of the study, and definitions of terms.

A. Background of the Study

  As a developing country, Indonesia is expanding many fields of work to an international scale, which automatically forces companies to keep up with the demands. Thus, many companies are now trying to increase their staff’s competence in English.

  Banks are also the ones that demand their staff to be more competent in English. The ability to master English is crucial for the bank staff because they deal with the customers directly. Bank Mandiri as one of the well-reputed banks in Indonesia has realized the importance of English mastery for their staff and has wanted to improve their English competence by conducting an English course.

  The writer chooses the staff of Bank Mandiri as the participants because of two reasons: Bank Mandiri asks the writer for an English course that will suit their needs and the writer also has an access to conduct the needs analysis and the process of teaching there.

  2 Most of the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta have some difficulties to communicate with the foreign customers who visit the bank. These difficulties hinder the process of the service. Based on that, it is clear that English speaking ability is needed and is important for them in order to provide the best service to the customers.

  Considering the fact that they have very limited time to study English because of their work, it can be concluded that it will be very difficult for them to learn English from the basic level. Therefore, the most appropriate materials for them are the materials that are practical and applicable to their working situation. This emergence of English learning needs in the working fields prompts the writer to design English learning materials based on the needs and interests in the target situation which the learners experience.

  In other words, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), particularly English for Banking, is the one that suits their needs best. ESP is an approach which is based on the learners’ needs. It means that all the decisions related to the designing of the materials will be based on the learners’ needs and interests. The result of ESP is a kind of materials that match directly with the condition that they are going to encounter in their working field.

  This study is important because it aims to present appropriate materials to help the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta in particular to improve their English speaking ability. By providing the materials which are practical and applicable to their working field, they will be able to communicate with foreign customers well and provide qualified service to them. They will not have to learn English from the basic

  3 level, which is highly impossible due to their heavy working hours, to fulfill the increasing demands of having good English competence.

  The main point of task based learning lies in the experiential learning in which the learner’s prior experience becomes the starting point which will improve along with the task completion in the classroom. By doing the tasks, learners will be exposed to the target language. When the learners encounter problems, they will be involved in the discussion which will broaden their opportunity to use the target language. They will also have the chance to fill in the gaps in their language competence through the feedback in the discussion; which will improve their language mastery. Furthermore, tasks are also said to be motivational, as they require learners to use authentic language, vary in format and operation, often include physical activities, involve partnership and collaboration, may call on learners’ past experience and tolerate as well as encourage a variety of communication styles (Richards and Rodgers, 2001).

  Hence, this study intends to design English instructional speaking materials for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta using task based learning. Since the biggest difficulty that the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta experience is to communicate with the foreign customers who visit the bank, the designed materials will be focusing on the speaking skill.

  4

B. Problem Formulation

  This study aims to answer two problems in order to present English instructional speaking materials using task based learning for the staff of Bank

  Mandiri Yogyakarta. They are stated into two questions:

  1. How are English instructional speaking materials using task-based learning for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta designed?

  2. What do English instructional speaking materials using task-based learning for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta look like?

  C. Problem Limitation

  In order to enable an in-depth study, the scope of this study has to be narrowed by some limitations. Firstly, this study focuses on designing English instructional materials on speaking ability. Secondly, this study focuses on designing speaking materials for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta. Finally, the pedagogical methodology underlying the designed materials is task based learning.

  D. Purposes of the Study

  The purposes of this study are to answer the questions stated previously on the problem formulation. The purposes of the study are as follows:

  1. The study aims to find out how English instructional speaking materials using task-based learning for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta are designed.

  5

  2. The study aims to present English instructional speaking materials using task- based learning for the staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta.

E. Benefits of the Study

  The results of this study are expected to be beneficial for the staff of Bank

  

Mandiri as well as the future researchers in particular, and for the English instructors

for bank employees and the staff of other banks in general.

  1. The staff of Bank Mandiri The designed materials are expected to be helpful for the staff of Bank

  

Mandiri to facilitate them in learning English in a motivational and meaningful way,

  so that they will be able to improve their speaking ability to communicate with foreign customers.

  2. The instructors for bank employees The writer hopes that the designed materials may enrich their teaching resources, so that they will have more alternatives to apply in their teaching-learning activities.

  3. The future researchers The results of this study can be used to carry out another study on English for specific purposes. The materials can be used as references in designing further materials. They can implement the designed materials to see whether the materials are effective or not.

  6

F. Definitions of Terms

  In order to have a clear understanding of the study, the writer includes the definitions of some important terms. The definitions are as follows:

  1. Instructional Materials Instructional materials are defined as a set of units that are used by teachers and learners as the focus of the discussion in the teaching learning process. It could help teachers and learners to organize the teaching and learning process and to provide a stimulus to learning (Briggs, 1987). In this study, instructional materials refer to materials which are used to facilitate teaching and learning process. They allow the students to interact and focus on the discussion so that they could develop their speaking skill.

  2. Speaking According to Clark and Clark (1977), speaking is an instrumental activity in which speakers talk in order to have some effects on their listeners. In speaking, a message is transferred from a speaker to a hearer. The speaker produces the message and the hearer receives the message. Speaking is considered accomplished when both the speaker and the hearer exchange their knowledge, thoughts and feelings. In this study, speaking is a productive skill used in order to convey meaning to make the listeners understand what the speakers mean.

  3. Task According to Willis (1996), a task is a meaningful activity in which learners use the target language for communicative purposes in order to achieve a certain

  7 outcome or goal, rather than to focus on the language form. In this study, a task is an activity that requires learners to use the target language in a meaningful way.

  4. Task-based Learning Task based learning refers to a pedagogical approach derived from communicative language teaching approach, which utilizes the use of language tasks as the central key in learning (Richards and Rodgers, 2001). In this study, task based learning is a method that uses tasks for learning.

  5. The Staff of Bank Mandiri The staff of Bank Mandiri are defined as a group of Bank Mandiri employees whose positions are as the Security, Customer Service Officer, Teller, Financial

  Advisor and Branch Manager.

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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW This chapter discusses the theories which support this study. It consists of two

  sections: theoretical review and theoretical framework. The first section discusses the English for Specific Purposes, Speaking, Task Based Learning, Materials Adaptation, Instructional Design Models, and Journals in Language Teaching. Meanwhile, the second section elaborates the framework synthesized from the discussed theories.

A. Theoretical Review

  In this section, the writer discusses some theories of designing the speaking materials. This part provides the information relevant to the study, which will be used as a foundation for the writer to design the instructional speaking materials using task-based learning.

  1. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) The staff of Bank Mandiri Yogyakarta have very limited time to study English because of their work. Consequently, it will be very difficult for them to learn English from the beginning. Therefore, the most appropriate materials for them are the materials that are practical and applicable to their working situation. In other words, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), particularly English for Banking, is the one that suits their needs best. ESP is an approach to language learning, which is based on the

  9 learners’ needs. It means that all the decisions in deciding the materials will be based on the learners’ needs. The result of ESP is a kind of materials that match directly with the condition that they are going to encounter in their working field. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) divided ESP into two main types according to the reasons why the learners require English for. They are English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for work or training (EOP/EVP/VESL: English for Occupational Purposes/English for Vocational Purposes/Vocational English as a Second Language). They propose the branch of English language teaching based on the learners’ purpose as seen in Figure 2.1.

  

English Language Teaching

English as LT 1 English as Foreign English as L2 (EMT) Language (ESL)

  Fig General English English for Specific (GE) Purposes (ESP)

  English for Occupational English for Academic Purposes (EOP)

  Purposes (EAP)

  English for banking

ure 2.1: The Branch of English Language Teaching

(Hutchinson and Waters, 1994)

  10 The writer should be aware of the branch of English language teaching before designing the materials. English for banking is included into the EFL, in which there is very little opportunities to use the target language outside the classroom. Therefore, the context will be different from designing materials for ESL, in which the target language is used for daily communication in society.

  There is also another thesis on designing English materials for banking staff. It was made by Veronica Widi Handoyowati (2004). This previous thesis used Communicative Language Teaching approach, while this thesis focuses on using Task Based Learning.

  Since the designed materials will be focusing on the speaking skill, it is also important to know the theories related to the teaching of speaking.

  2. Speaking Speaking is the main skill that will be learned in this study. Therefore, it is important for the writer to know about speaking in depth.

  a. Nature of Speaking Speaking is one of the four basic skills, along with listening, reading and writing. Speaking and writing are classified as active or productive skills whereas listening and reading are considered as passive or receptive skills. Nunan (2003) states that in learning a language, speaking can be considered as the hardest skill to be learnt among all skills for two reasons. First, the person whom we are talking to is waiting for our response right then. Second, we cannot edit and revise what we wish

  11 to say, as we can do in writing skill. The writer needs to know the characteristics of speaking in order to be able to select appropriate activities to improve speaking ability.

  b. Principles for Teaching Speaking There are five principles for teaching speaking as stated by Nunan (2003, pp.

  54-56): (a) be aware of the differences between second language and foreign language learning contexts; (b) give learners practice with both fluency and accuracy; (c) provide opportunities for learners to talk by using group work or pair work, and limiting teacher talk; (d) plan speaking tasks that involve negotiation for meaning; (e) design classroom activities that involve guidance and practice in both transactional and interactional speaking. Having understood the principles for teaching speaking, the writer can now design suitable activities by taking the principles for teaching speaking into consideration.

3. Task Based Learning

  a. Definition of Task Based Learning Task based learning is an approach which uses tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching (Richard and Rodgers, 2001). Task based learning perceives language as a mean of making meaning, so it is taught best when it is used to transmit messages, not when explicitly taught for conscious learning (Krashen and Terrel, 1983). The main characteristic of task based learning lies in the experiential learning where the learner’s past experience becomes the

  12 starting point in learning, while their personal experience when doing the tasks becomes the central point of learning (Nunan, 2004).

  In task based learning, tasks are central in immersing learners in a meaningful communication using the target language, which in consequence, promotes learning.