The use of cue cards to improve the speaking ability of the students in X `Kimia Industri` SMK Negeri 2 Depok.

1 ABSTRACT

Fortinasari, Paulina Besty. (2015). The Use of Cue Cards to Improve the Speaking Ability of the Students in X “Kimia Industri” of SMK Negeri 2 Depok. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

It is important for vocational students to adequately master the competence of speaking skill since they will be part of the global era community. However, many vocational students consider that speaking in English is difficult. The students in X

Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok also experienced the same thing. They did not have enough time to practice and were not accustomed to speaking English. They also had very limited English vocabulary and could not develop their ideas about what they were going to speak in the conversation. For that reason, the students were not confident to speak in English. The students admitted speaking in English was very hard and scary.

This research aimed to help the students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok overcome the problem of developing ideas during the speaking by proposing and using the cue cards. Cue cards which contained texts or pictures could motivate the students to speak confidently. The problem that the researcher proposed was how do cue cards help X Kimia Industri (X KI) students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok to improve their speaking skill.

This research was in essence Classroom Action Research (CAR). The research participants were 32 students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta in the 2014/2015 academic year. There were three cycles in this research. Cycle one consisted of one meeting while cycle two and cycle three consisted of two meetings respectively. Cycle one focused on conditioning the students to speak in English. Cycle two and cycle three focused on developing the students’ ideas during the speaking activity. There were five instruments used to gather data, namely field notes, observation checklist, questionnaires, interview, and speaking tests.

The data gathered were analyzed using data triangulation. Through the interview and questionnaire, the students admitted that they felt more confident in speaking English. They were more accustomed to speaking in English and not afraid of making mistakes. The students could develop their ideas for speaking so they could speak fluently and naturally. In addition, the students’ speaking scores were improved from cycle one until cycle three. The average of the speaking scores in cycle one until cycle three were 69.17, 75.30 and 81.40. In the students’ speaking scores, the improvement of their skill aspects was also followed by their improvement of their attitude aspects, for example they were more polite when they spoke to the peers and teacher. They were also more enthusiastic in learning English. From the data analysis, it was concluded that cue cards could help the students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok solve their problems in English speaking. Keywords: classroom action research, speaking skills, cue cards

2

ABSTRAK

Fortinasari, Paulina Besty. (2015). The Use of Cue Cards to Improve the Speaking Ability of the Students in X “Kimia Industri” of SMK Negeri 2 Depok. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

Menguasai ketrampilan berbicara sangat diperlukan oleh siswa sekolah kejuruan karena mereka diharapkan bisa berpartisipasi pada era globalisasi. Namun banyak siswa sekolah kejuruan menganggap berbicara Bahasa Inggris sulit. Kesulitan tersebut juga dialami oleh siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri SMK Negeri 2 Depok. Para siswa tidak memiliki banyak waktu untuk berlatih berbicara sehingga mereka tidak terbiasa berbicara Bahasa Inggris. Para siswa juga tidak memiliki perbendaharaan kosakata Bahasa Inggris yang cukup sehingga mereka tidak bisa mengembangkan ide. Hal ini membuat mereka tidak percaya diri untuk berbicara Bahasa Inggris dan menganggap berbicara Bahasa Inggris adalah hal yang menakutkan.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengatasi permasalahan terkait kemampuan berbicara siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok.Cue cardsdipilih sebagai solusi untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut. Cue cards yang dikombinasikan dengan teknik pengajaran ketrampilan berbicara tertentu dapat mendorong siswa untuk belajar dan membuat mereka percaya diri. Permasalahan yang ingin diselesaikan oleh peneliti adalah bagaimana cue cards dapat membantu siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara mereka.

Penelitian ini adalah Penelitian Tindakan Kelas. Responden penelitian ini adalah 32 siswa dari kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta pada tahun ajaran 2014/2015. Penelitian ini terdiri dari tiga siklus. Siklus pertama dapat diselesaikan dalam satu pertemuan sedangkan siklus kedua dan ketiga dapat diselesaikan masing-masing dalam dua pertemuan. Instrumen penelitian yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data yaitu lembar observasi, catatan lapangan, kuesioner, wawancara dan ujian lisan.

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwacue cards dapat membantu siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok mengatasi permasalahan dalam ketrampilan berbicara. Melalui kuisioner yang didistribusikan dan wawancara yang dilakukan oleh peneliti, siswa mengaku lebih percaya diri dan tidak takut lagi untuk berbicara Bahasa Inggris. Siswa dapat mengembangkan ide tentang apa yang sedang dibicarakan dengan mudah. Rata-rata nilai tes berbicara dari siklus satu hingga siklus tiga adalah 69.17, 75.30 dan 81.40. Meningkatnya aspek ketrampilan ternyata diikuti dengan meningkatnya aspek sikap. Mereka lebih sopan dalam berbicara dengan teman maupun guru serta lebih bersemangat dalam mengikuti pelajaran Bahasa Inggris.

THE USE OF CUE CARDS TO IMPROVE THE SPEAKING

ABILITY OF THE STUDENTS IN X

“

KIMIA INDUSTRI

”

SMK NEGERI 2 DEPOK

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Paulina Besty Fortinasari Student Number: 101214089

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

i

THE USE OF CUE CARDS TO IMPROVE THE SPEAKING

ABILITY OF THE STUDENTS IN X

“

KIMIA INDUSTRI

”

SMK NEGERI 2 DEPOK

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Paulina Besty Fortinasari Student Number: 101214089

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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I dedicate this thesis to:

My Jesus Christ, my beloved ones whom I mentioned in the

acknowledgements, and everybody who believes the art of teaching

STATEPIENT OF WORK'S ORIGNALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work

or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotatians aridthe

references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarla, 5 Februar], 2015

Paulina Besty Fortinasari

101214089

The Writer

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IBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBIJIKASI KAIRYA ILⅣ

IIAII UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEⅣ

IIS

Yang beltanda tangan di ba、vah iniっ saya lYlahasis、va lJniversitas Sanata Dharlllal

Nama

Nomor Mahasiswa

:Pa■llina Besty Fortinasari

:101214089

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharmakarya ilmiah sayayang berjudul .

THE IISE OF CUE CARIDS TO IMPROVE THE SPEAKING

ABILITY OF TⅡ

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maupun lllelllberikan foyalti kepada saya, selama tetap lllencanttlmk‐ an nama saya

sebagai penulis

Dcnllkian pernyataan inl saya buat dellgan sebenarnva Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal:5 Febltlari 20i 5

Paulina Bestv Fortinasari

vii ABSTRACT

Fortinasari, Paulina Besty. (2015). The Use of Cue Cards to Improve the Speaking Ability of the Students in X “Kimia Industri” of SMK Negeri 2 Depok.

Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

It is important for vocational students to adequately master the competence of speaking skill since they will be part of the global era community. However, many vocational students consider that speaking in English is difficult. The students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok also experienced the same thing. They did not have enough time to practice and were not accustomed to speaking English. They also had very limited English vocabulary and could not develop their ideas about what they were going to speak in the conversation. For that reason, the students were not confident to speak in English. The students admitted speaking in English was very hard and scary.

This research aimed to help the students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok overcome the problem of developing ideas during the speaking by proposing and using the cue cards. Cue cards which contained texts or pictures could motivate the students to speak confidently. The problem that the researcher proposed was how do cue cards help X Kimia Industri (X KI) students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok to improve their speaking skill.

This research was in essence Classroom Action Research (CAR). The research participants were 32 students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta in the 2014/2015 academic year. There were three cycles in this research. Cycle one consisted of one meeting while cycle two and cycle three consisted of two meetings respectively. Cycle one focused on conditioning the students to speak in English. Cycle two and cycle three focused

on developing the students’ ideas during the speaking activity. There were five instruments used to gather data, namely field notes, observation checklist, questionnaires, interview, and speaking tests.

The data gathered were analyzed using data triangulation. Through the interview and questionnaire, the students admitted that they felt more confident in speaking English. They were more accustomed to speaking in English and not afraid of making mistakes. The students could develop their ideas for speaking so they could speak fluently and naturally. In addition, the students’ speaking scores were improved from cycle one until cycle three. The average of the speaking

scores in cycle one until cycle three were 69.17, 75.30 and 81.40. In the students’

speaking scores, the improvement of their skill aspects was also followed by their improvement of their attitude aspects, for example they were more polite when they spoke to the peers and teacher. They were also more enthusiastic in learning English. From the data analysis, it was concluded that cue cards could help the students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok solve their problems in English speaking.

Keywords: classroom action research, speaking skills, cue cards

viii ABSTRAK

Fortinasari, Paulina Besty. (2015). The Use of Cue Cards to Improve the Speaking Ability of the Students in X “Kimia Industri” of SMK Negeri 2 Depok.

Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

Menguasai ketrampilan berbicara sangat diperlukan oleh siswa sekolah kejuruan karena mereka diharapkan bisa berpartisipasi pada era globalisasi. Namun banyak siswa sekolah kejuruan menganggap berbicara Bahasa Inggris sulit. Kesulitan tersebut juga dialami oleh siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri SMK Negeri 2 Depok. Para siswa tidak memiliki banyak waktu untuk berlatih berbicara sehingga mereka tidak terbiasa berbicara Bahasa Inggris. Para siswa juga tidak memiliki perbendaharaan kosakata Bahasa Inggris yang cukup sehingga mereka tidak bisa mengembangkan ide. Hal ini membuat mereka tidak percaya diri untuk berbicara Bahasa Inggris dan menganggap berbicara Bahasa Inggris adalah hal yang menakutkan.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengatasi permasalahan terkait kemampuan berbicara siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok.

Cue cards dipilih sebagai solusi untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut. Cue cards

yang dikombinasikan dengan teknik pengajaran ketrampilan berbicara tertentu dapat mendorong siswa untuk belajar dan membuat mereka percaya diri. Permasalahan yang ingin diselesaikan oleh peneliti adalah bagaimanacue cards

dapat membantu siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara mereka.

Penelitian ini adalah Penelitian Tindakan Kelas. Responden penelitian ini adalah 32 siswa dari kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta pada tahun ajaran 2014/2015. Penelitian ini terdiri dari tiga siklus. Siklus pertama dapat diselesaikan dalam satu pertemuan sedangkan siklus kedua dan ketiga dapat diselesaikan masing-masing dalam dua pertemuan. Instrumen penelitian yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data yaitu lembar observasi, catatan lapangan, kuesioner, wawancara dan ujian lisan.

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwacue cards dapat membantu siswa di kelas X Kimia Industri di SMK Negeri 2 Depok mengatasi permasalahan dalam ketrampilan berbicara. Melalui kuisioner yang didistribusikan dan wawancara yang dilakukan oleh peneliti, siswa mengaku lebih percaya diri dan tidak takut lagi untuk berbicara Bahasa Inggris. Siswa dapat mengembangkan ide tentang apa yang sedang dibicarakan dengan mudah. Rata-rata nilai tes berbicara dari siklus satu hingga siklus tiga adalah 69.17, 75.30 dan 81.40. Meningkatnya aspek ketrampilan ternyata diikuti dengan meningkatnya aspek sikap. Mereka lebih sopan dalam berbicara dengan teman maupun guru serta lebih bersemangat dalam mengikuti pelajaran Bahasa Inggris.

ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My greatest gratitude goes to My Jesus Christ, for His marvelous grace, everlasting love and endless guidance throughout my life. Without Him, I could not have passed the hard times in completing my thesis.

I am particularly indebted to Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd., as my advisor, who has been willing to devote her valuable time to read, correct and give suggestions to my thesis patiently. I would like to send my gratitude to all PBI lecturers who have shared their knowledge and wisdom. Without them, I would not finish my thesis.

It is an honor for me to thank the teachers and staff of SMK Negeri 2 Depok for their hospitality and help when I was doing my research. I personally thank Heri Afrahatu, S.Pd. for her patience, encouragement, and chance so I could conduct the research in her class and finish my thesis. My sincere gratitude is also sent to the students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok academic year 2014/2015 who enthusiastically responded and became the participant for the whole steps of finishing this thesis. They have given me inspiration in teaching.

I am greatly indebted to my beloved parents Yohanes Pemandi Suparjo and Margareta Susilawati for their love, trust, prayer and endless support. I owe my beloved little sister Patricia Dwi Harmani, who always gives me spirit and energy to complete this thesis. My special gratitude also goes to Erlangga Madya Pratama for his attention and motivation to enjoy every single step of finishing this thesis.

I am really grateful to my beloved friends in the English Language Education Study Program 2010 who show wonderful friendship and a lot of meaningful values of life. My deepest thank goes to Riska, Paula, Arnis, Rini, Gaby, Galuh, Venni, Regita, Wisnu, Ardi, Marino, Yulia, Tito, Yoga, Kapuk Estu, Ratri, Siwi, Vina, Jipi Siska, Fani, and Mela for coloring my study with laugh and love. I also appreciate the togetherness of all friends, seniors, and juniors in PBI and the other study programs.

x

I also express my gratitude to teachers and staff in ALPHA English Course and Realia Language Culture Center for giving me precious experiences in teaching. I thank them for the sharing, support and understanding.

Lastly, I thank everyone whom I cannot mention one by one for their help and support.

xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ………. i

APPROVAL PAGES ………. ii

DEDICATION PAGE ……… iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ……….. v

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI………... vi

ABSTRACT ………... vii

ABSTRAK………... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.………... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...……….... xi

LIST OF TABLES ...………... xiv

LIST OF FIGURES ..………... xv

LIST OF APPENDICES ………... xvi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Research Background …... 1

B. Research Problem …... 5

C. Problem Formulation …... 6

D. Research Objective …... 7

E. Research Benefits…... 7

F. Definition of Terms …... 9

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoretical Description …... 11

1. The Nature of Speaking …... 12

a. The Definition of Speaking …... 12

b. The Characteristics of Speaking …... 13

xii

d. Speaking Accuracy and Fluency …... 15

2. Teaching Speaking …... 16

a. The Nature of Teaching Speaking ... 16

b. The Aims of Teaching Speaking …... 18

c. The Problems in Teaching Speaking ... 18

d. The Principles of Teaching Speaking ... 20

3. The Use of Cue Cards as Teaching Media …... 24

a. The Nature of Cue Cards ... 24

b. The Advantages of Using Cue Cards ... 25

c. Speaking Activities Using Cue Cards ... 26

4. English for Vocational School in the 2013 Curriculum ... 30

B. Theoretical Framework …... 33

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Research Method …... 36

B. Research Setting ..…... 39

C. Research Participants... 39

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique ... 40

E. Data Analysis Technique ... 47

F. Research Procedure …... 51

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. The Description of the Use of Cue Cards ... 53

1. Cycle One ... 55

2. Cycle Two ... 69

3. Cycle Three ... 82

B. Contribution of Cue Cards to Improve the Students’ Speaking Ability ... 94

xiii

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Conclusions …... 101

B. Recommendations..…... 102

REFERENCES ……….. 104

xiv

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

Table 3.1 The Rubric for Speaking Tests……..……….. 46 Table 4.1 The Students’ Speaking Scores

before the Implementation of Cue Cards ..………. 56 Table 4.2 The Students’ Speaking Scores in Cycle One ……… 66 Table 4.3 The Results of the Questionnaire in Cycle One….…………. 68 Table 4.4 The Students’ Speaking Scores in Cycle Two ……… 81 Table 4.5 The Results of the Questionnaire in Cycle Two….…………. 82 Table 4.6 The Students’ Speaking Scores in Cycle Three ……….. 92 Table 4.7 The Results of the Questionnaire in Cycle Two….…………. 93

xv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

Figure 3.1 Kemmis’s Approach to Classroom Action Research ………. 37

Figure 4.1 A Cue Card in Cycle 1 .…....………... 62

Figure 4.2 The Illustration of the Conversation ……..………. 63

Figure 4.3 A Cue Card in Cycle 2 ……..……….. 74

Figure 4.4 The Illustration of the Conversation .……..……… 75

Figure 4.5 Communication Cards in Cycle 2 ………... 77

Figure 4.6 A Cue Card in Cycle 3………. 87

Figure 4.7 The Illustration of the Conversation ……..………. 88

Figure 4.8 Communication Cards in Cycle 3 ..………. 89

Figure 4.9The Comparison of the Students’ Speaking Scores from Cycle One until Cycle Three ………... 97

xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

Appendix 1 Letters of Permission ……….. 108

Appendix 2 Lesson Plan of Cycle One ...…...……… 111

Appendix 3 Lesson Plan of Cycle Two…...……… 129

Appendix 4 Lesson Plan of Cycle Three ...………. 149

Appendix 5 The Blue Print of Questionnaire ………. 171

Appendix 6 The Sample of Questionnaire ………..………… 174

Appendix 7 The Raw Data of Questionnaire..………. 177

Appendix 8 The Interview Guide Used before the Implementation of Cue Cards ………. 187

Appendix 9 The Summary of Interview Conducted before the Implementation of Cue Cards…… 189

Appendix 10 The Interview Guide Used after the Implementation of Cue Cards .……… 192

Appendix 11 The Summary of Interview Conducted after the Implementation of Cue Cards ... 194

Appendix 12 Observation Checklists ……….…..………... 198

1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher would like to discuss six major points. Those include research background, research problem, problem limitation, research objectives, research benefits and definition of terms. Further, the discussion about each part of this chapter will be presented below.

A.Research Background

According to Harmer (2007, p. 13), English has been used by many people in this world as an international means of communication. It is spoken in many countries in this world and used to communicate in various fields such as business, finance, politics, industry and education. Based on that phenomenon, most Indonesians want to be able to speak English well.

Since the 1994 Curriculum being applied, Depdiknas has included English as the compulsory subject in all stages of education in Indonesia. All of the students are expected to learn English. By acquiring English, students can communicate with other people around the world. However, the students are demanded to master English skills to have communication in English. There are four skills that should be mastered, namely listening, writing, reading and speaking skill.

From those skills, speaking is classified as productive skill which then becomes the most important skill to be actively involved in oral communication.

Walter (2004, p. 204) states that the ability to use a language in communication is more important than to understand the language. Therefore, when students are learning English, the students not only comprehend the language but also show the ability to use the language in oral communication. Speaking skill is the ability which shows that the students can use the language in oral communication.

However, many people consider that speaking English is very difficult. Bailey (1994) as cited by Nunan (2003, p. 48) states that speaking in a new language is harder than reading, writing, and listening. This consideration is caused by two reasons. The first reason is that speaking happens in real time. When two people are talking, the first person is speaking and second one is listening and waiting for the first person to speak right then. The second reason is when people are speaking, they cannot revise and edit what they have spoken. In addition, when people speak fluently, people are demanded to be able to speak in a range of different genres and situations. Harmer (2007, p. 343) states besides the ability to pronounce words correctly and use appropriate intonation patterns, the ability to speak in a range of different genres and situations is needed. Those abilities are needed to be able to survive in typical functional exchanges.

The condition of considering that learning speaking English is very difficult was also found in SMK Negeri 2 Depok. Most of the vocational students also considered that speaking was the most difficult skill. Through the observation that was done by the researcher, the students admitted that speaking was very hard. Most of the students were shy and afraid of making mistakes to speak English. The students realized when they were speaking, they were demanded to use

grammar, pronunciation and dictions appropriately. In addition, the students admitted that speaking in spontaneous condition was very difficult, for example on daily conversation. The students realized that sometimes they did not have any idea about what they were going to speak in the conversation. The students realized that their vocabulary range was limited.

During the observations, the researcher also found that the students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok tended to speak in Indonesian or local language although they were studying English. When the students wanted to go to the restroom, they tended to ask permission in Indonesian. If the students were asked to say it in English, they did not know what the appropriate expressions of asking for permission were. Students also tended to answer the teacher’ questions in Indonesian or local language rather in English although the teacher had asked the questions in English. On the other hand, when the students had to practice speaking in the class, they also showed that they could not use English spontaneously. They would like to ask the teacher to give extra time to write the script down before they practiced. Thus, the students tended to memorize the script. Sometimes some of them forgot what they said in the middle of the conversation or speech. As a result, the students’ speaking test for the first topic was not satisfiying. None of the students got scores more than the minimum score, 75.

In order to solve the problems that were faced by the X Kimia Industri

students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok, the researcher planned to conduct a classroom action research. Borg, Gall and Gall (2007, p. 599) mention that the purpose of

classroom action research is to solve a problem or achieve a goal in current practice. In this research, the researcher has a purpose to solve the problem faced among the X Kimia Industri students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok. The problem was that the students in X Kimia Industri had difficulties to acquire speaking skills, especially in having transactional and interpersonal conversation. From the observation in that school, the researcher realized that those problems came because the students did not have enough time to practice. The time allocation for English lesson in 2013 Curriculum is only one meeting each week, in which one meeting consists of 90 minutes. It is really not enough for them because they also have to learn other skills. Thus, the teacher has to be creative to make the meeting as meaningful, effective and efficient as possible for the students to study English. One of the solutions in language teaching is using media. Media offer effective, efficient and meaningful teaching and learning in the class. According to Gerlach, Donal and Melnick (1973, pp. 241-242), media have four general functions. The first function is media can help to simplify the teaching process. The second one is media can be the machines that allow the teacher to practice the principle of object teaching and illustrations. The third function is media help the students to reduce the use of their mother tongue. Then, the last one is media can be the instruments of motivation to stimulate the teaching and learning process.

There are many kinds of media that can be used to help the students to increase their speaking ability. Cue card is one of the teaching media. Cue card

can help the teacher to improve the students’ speaking skill through fun and

given to help a learner complete a recitation or solve a problem. It can also be

defined as an indirect form of “guidance” stopping short of supplying the missing

word or solution. In addition, Mora (1994, p. 36) states that physically a cue card is 12 cm x 7 cm in size which contain legible text and pictures. The text and pictures on the cue card can guide the students to produce utterances in their conversation. Those text and pictures will be the prompt and supply the idea to make the students to keep talking without writing the whole dialogue.

There are several studies about cue cards that have relation with speaking skill. The first study was a journal study written by Mora in 1994. The journal showed how cue cards could be used to give students practice speaking and writing English in daily situation. The second study was an undergraduate thesis written by Habsari in 2012. It was classroom action research which was used to know the effectiveness of the cue cards to teach speaking fluency in senior high school. The participants were the students of grade XI in senior high school. The third study was also an undergraduate thesis written by Kusumastuti in 2012. It

was a study about students’ perception on the use of cue cards in the speaking

activity of the vocational students grade XI. Although there have been several studies about cue cards, this research is different from the previous studies. This research is classroom action research dealing with how the cue cards improve the

students’ speaking skill in X Kimia Industri in SMK Negeri 2 Depok.

B.Research Problem

To solve the problems that have been shown in the research background, there is a research question that will be answered. The research question is:

How do the cue cards help X Kimia Industri (X KI) students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok to improve their speaking skill?

C.Problem Limitation

In this research, the researcher would like to use cue cards in order to help X Kimia Industri students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok to increase their speaking skill. This research is categorized into classroom action research because the purpose of classroom action research, which is to overcome the problems appearing in the classroom through some stages, is suitable with the purpose why the researcher conducted this research. However, in this research, there are some limitations in order to create deeper and more meaningful result.

The first limitation is on the participants of this research. The participants of the research are the students in grade X Kimia Industri in SMK Negeri 2 Depok academic year 2014/2015. Through the observation, the students showed that they have problems in acquiring the English skills. However, they still kept their enthusiasm to study English. The students realized that they needed help to improve their English skills.

The second limitation is on the language skill that will be the focus of the research. The researcher does not explore all of the skills. From the four English skills, the researcher decides to focus on speaking skills. It is because most of the X KI students consider that speaking is the most difficult and important skill to be mastered. The students realize that acquiring speaking skill is really demanded in this modern and globalization era.

The third limitation in this research is on the media that will be used to solve the problems faced by X Kimia Industri students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok. The media that will be used to improve the student’s speaking skill are cue cards. The reason why researcher chooses cue card as the media is because of its effectiveness and efficiency. The researcher expected that cue cards can create fun learning and motivate the students to speak English fluently and naturally.

The fourth limitation is on the speaking material or topic that can be explored using cue cards. The speaking material will be elaborated from the standard competency in the 2013 Curriculum. The researcher will focus on the transactional and interpersonal function which will be taught in the first semester in grade X. The topics of the function in this research are Expression of Asking and Responding to Request, Expression of Giving and Responding to Compliments, and Expression of Plans and Intentions.

D.Research Objective

The objective of this research is to overcome the problems related the speaking skill among X Kimia Industri students in SMK Negeri 2 Depok. By implementing cue cards, the students are expected to improve their speaking ability. Therefore, the students are able to communicate in English more fluently, accurately and confidently, especially in the transactional and interactional function for daily life communication.

E.Research Benefits

There are several benefits which can be obtained from this research. The researcher expected that this research can give benefits to the students, the English

teachers in vocational school, the students of English Language Education Study Program (ELESP) and future researchers. Therefore, those benefits can be clarified as follows.

1. To the Students of X Kimia Industri SMK Negeri 2 Depok Sleman

Participating in the class in which the cue cards are implemented, the students will be able to improve their speaking skill. Cue cards are expected to help the students to speak English fluently. Combining the cue cards with the appropriate teaching and learning methods and activities, the students can learn speaking effectively and efficiently with more fun and meaningful ways. Therefore, they can be vocational graduates who master the spoken language well in order to communicate with other people actively.

2. To the English Teachers in Vocational School

This research will give the English teachers in vocational school an alternative solution to solve the problems in teaching speaking. This research helps the teachers to explore effective and efficient teaching media that can be

used to increase the students’ motivation to speak English.

3. To the Students of English Language Education Study Program (ELESP) The researcher hopes that this research gives more information to the students of ELESP about the effective and efficient teaching media which can be used to teach speaking. The students can try to implement and explore cue cards to teach their students when they are having microteaching and teaching practice program.

The researcher hopes that this research can be useful for everyone who wants to conduct research or study related to the cue cards, speaking skills and vocational school in the context of English teaching and learning. The researcher also hopes this research can give future researchers insights to study deeper about the use of cue cards in order to enrich the development of English teaching media.

F. Definition of Terms

In order to have clear understanding on this study, the researcher includes the definition of terms used in this research. Moreover, this section defines keywords or phrases especially used in this research, in attempting to clarify concept, avoid misinterpretation and misunderstanding. It will help the readers understand terms used in this research easily. The keywords and also the phrases will be defined related to the research. Therefore, in this section, it is important to define the following terms.

1. Cue Cards

Mora (1994) states cue cards are thin cardboards containing legible printed texts or pictures. The size of the cards is like poker card around 7 cm x 12 cm. In this research, every card will contain texts and pictures. The texts on the card can be a single word or phrase. The pictures on the cards are the pictures that related to the word. Therefore, both the words and the pictures can be the clues of what the students are going to say. In this research, the content of the cue cards will be adapted depending on the expressions that will be learned by the students in X

Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok in the first semester academic year 2014/2015.

2. Speaking Skills

Bailey (2003) states that speaking is the productive aural or oral skill that consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning. Having good speaking skill means that the person can communicate to the other person well. He or she can understand what the other says and involves in the conversation. In this research, acquiring speaking skill is determined by producing expressions and involving in the meaningful conversation.

3. X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok

X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok is one of the classes in SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta. This class usually deals with the chemistry product and marketing. There are 32 students in this class. The students in X

Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok are the participants of the class in which the cue cards are implemented. Through the observation and interview, the students in X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok showed that they have difficulties in speaking. They were afraid of speaking in English and not confident. They tended to use Indonesian or local language rather than English. Therefore, X Kimia Industri of SMK Negeri 2 Depok is the setting in which cue cards are implemented

11 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter includes a discussion of the related literature review. It presents theoretical research which consists of two main parts, namely theoretical description and theoretical framework. Theoretical description discusses some theories related to the study which are needed to conduct Classroom Action Research. This chapter consists of some sections. They are The Nature of Speaking Skills, Teaching Speaking, The Use of Cue Cards as the Teaching Media, and English for Vocational School in Curriculum 2013.

The theories discussed will be used as the bases to establish the theoretical framework of this research. Theoretical framework discuses major relevant theories which help the researcher implement the cue cards to improve the

students’ speaking ability of X Kimia Industri in SMK Negeri 2 Depok.

A. Theoretical Description

This part gives the appropriate theories implemented in this research. It is aimed to give the foundation from related literature review and written sources to conduct this study. There are four sections that are discussed in this part. The first section is The Nature of Speaking Skill, which leads the researcher to do this research. The second section is Teaching Speaking Skill. The third section is The Use of Cue Card as the Teaching Media and the fourth one is about English for Vocational School in the 2013 Curriculum.

1. The Nature of Speaking

This part presents some theories related to speaking skill. The theories discussed in this part are the definition of speaking, characteristics of speaking, types of speaking and the discussion of speaking accuracy and fluency. Further discussion about the theories related to the speaking skill will be described as follows.

a. The Definition of Speaking

Bailey (2003) as cited by Nunan (2003, p. 48) states that speaking is the productive spoken skill consisting utterances to give meaning. Spoken language is different from written language. Brown and Yule (1983) state that “the nature of spoken language is distinguishing between spoken and written languages” (as cited in Nunan, 1999, p. 226). Spoken language consists of short, often fragmentary utterances, in range of pronunciation. Nunan (1999) states that

“communicative competence includes not only linguistic competence, but also a range of other linguistics and conversational skills that enable the speaker to know how to say what to whom, and when” (p. 226). It means that the speakers need to know not only what they are going to say but also the setting when they speak and the person to whom they speak. Thus, speaking is an ability to produce the language orally in order to communicate with others. Speaking is important to be accomplished by people because it is the basic skill in communication. In speaking, a speaker needs to be able to deliver what he or she intends to speak to others by using the most appropriate form of language.

b. The Characteristics of Speaking

Speaking is an ability to produce the language orally in order to communicate with others. According to Nunan (1999, p. 49), there are four characteristics of being communicative. The first characteristic is knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language. The second characteristic is the rules of speaking which consist of the knowledge to talk about different topics to different people in different situations. The third characteristic is the knowledge of how to use and respond to different functions of language like requests, apologies, thanks and invitation. The fourth characteristic is the knowledge of how to use the language appropriately.

Bailey (2003) as is cited by Nunan (2003, p. 48) presents other characteristics of spoken language which are stated by Van Lier. Van Lier (1995, p. 88) states that spoken language is an auditory skill. As an auditory skill, spoken language has the characteristic of a temporary. Spoken language needs immediate reception and feedback. The rhythm, stress and intonation are included in spoken language and it needs immediate feedback. In spoken language, the speakers have limitation of planning on what they are going to say and limitation of editing on what they have been said.

c. Types of Speaking

Brown and Yule as cited in Nunan (1999, p. 27) draw a useful distinction between two basic language functions. These are the transactional function, which is primarily concerned with the transfer of information, and the interactional

function, in which the primary purpose of speech is the maintenance of social relationships.

Scoot Thornbury (2005) as cited in Harmer (2007, p. 343) suggests that there are various dimensions of different speaking events to differentiate speaking genres. Based on the purpose of speaking, speaking can be categorized into two types. They are transactional function and interpersonal function. Harmer (2007)

explains “transactional funtion has its main purpose in conveying information and facilitating the exchange of goods and services, whereas the interpersonal functional is all about maintaining and sustaining good relations between people” (p. 343).

Harmer (2007) also shows another categorization of speaking. They are interactive and non-interactive. Interactive speaking is the conversation done by two or more people in which each person speaks. Each person will give and receive the information. The example of interactive speaking is the conversation that takes place between the seller and the customer in the market. While non-interactive speaking is the conversation that involves two or more people but there is only one person who is the most dominant. The example of non-interactive speaking is leaving message on the phone.

The last categorization that is shown by Harmer (2007, p. 343) is planned and unplanned speaking. Planned speaking is the situation when the speaker can prepare what he or she is going to speak. The example of planned speaking is a lecture or wedding speech. Unplanned speaking is the situation when the speaker

directly and spontaneously gives respond or reaction to the other speakers. The example of unplanned speaking is bumping into someone on the street.

Brown (2004, pp. 141-142) proposed five basic types of speaking. The first type is imitative speaking. In this type of speaking, the speakers are supposed to have the ability to simply parrot back (imitate) a word or phrase or possibly a sentence. For instance, the speaker parrot back short stretch of language retained by a native speaker or recording. The second type of speaking is intensive speaking. It deals with the production of short stretches of oral language designed to demostrate in a narrow band of grammartical, phrasal, lexical, or phonological relationships such as prosodic elements-intonation, stress, rhythm, and juncture. The examples of intensive speaking are sentence and dialogue completion, directed response task and the like. Responsive speaking, which is the third type of speaking, requires the speakers to be able to give the correct and expected answer of certain question verbally. This speaking can be used for interaction and test comprehension by in the limited level of very short conversations, standard greetings and small talk, simple requests and comments, and the like. The four type of speaking is interactive speaking which is to maintain the social relationships. The fifth type of speaking is extensive speaking. It requires the speakers to produce a monologue, oral presentations, or story-telling.

d. Speaking Accuracy and Fluency

Bailey (2003) as cited in Nunan (2003, p. 55) suggests that there are two important aspects that should be paid attention on speaking. They are speaking

the extent to which speakers use the language quickly and confidently, with few

hesitations or unnatural pauses, false starts, word searches, etc…” (as cited in Nunan, 2003, p. 56). Moreover, speaking fluency deals with the ability to respond to what other people say to them directly. On the other hand, speaking accuracy is

the extent to which students’ speech matches what people actually say. Speaking accuracy also deals with the ability to use grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation accurately. From those aspects above, each speaker is expected to use the language based on its function to the right person in the right situation.

2. Teaching Speaking

This part presents some theories related to teaching speaking. The theories discussed in this part are The Nature of Teaching Speaking, The Aims of Teaching Speaking, The Problems of Teaching Speaking and The Principles of Teaching Speaking. Further discussion about every part will be presented as follows.

a. The Nature of Teaching Speaking

Harmer (2007) states that “students are expected to be able speak in a

range of different genres and situations, and they will have to be able to use a range of conversational and conversational repair strategies. They will need to be able to survive in typical functional exchanges” (p. 343). It means when the students learn speaking, the students are expected to be able to speak to anyone and anytime.

Harmer (2007) also states three main reasons for teaching speaking to the students in the classroom. He states that:

Firstly, speaking activities provide rehearsal opportunities-chances to practice real-life speaking in the safety of the classroom. Secondly, speaking tasks in which students try to use any or all of the language they knowprovide feedback for both the teacher and the students. And finally the more students have opportunities to active the various elements of the language they have stored in the brain, the more automatic their use of these element becomes (p. 127).

From the explanation above, speaking practices done by the students in the class give opportunities for them to speak English in real-life. Having practice everyday, the students can improve their speaking skill. Having reflection is also needed because it helps the students recognize their problems in speaking. Thus, the students will be accustomed to using the language sand speak spontaneously.

b. The Aims of Teaching Speaking

Brown (2007) states that “the benchmark successful teaching speaking is there is demonstration of an ability to accomplish pragmatic goals through interactive discourse with their other speakers of the language” (p. 322). It means that teaching speaking will be considered successful if the learners in speaking class can show their ability to speak and reveal their idea.

Nunan (2003, p. 56) notes that the goals and the techniques for teaching speaking are extremely diverse, depending on the students, teachers, overall contexts of techniques in the interactive classroom. The teacher can deal with both interpersonal (interactional) and transactional dialogue. In brief, the aim of teaching speaking is to help the students to use the language in oral communication.

c. The Problems in Teaching Speaking

Many problems in the teaching and learning English are faced by the teacher and students. Before discussing the problem in teaching speaking, the researcher will show the reason why speaking looks difficult. Brown (2003) states eight reasons of what makes speaking difficult. They are “clustering, redundancy, reduced forms, performance variables, colloquial language, rate of delivery, stress-rhythm-intonation, and interaction” (pp. 270-271).

On the other hand, Gebhard (1996, p. 186) states three main problems usually faced by the students and teachers in the teaching and learning speaking.

They are the students’ unwillingness to speak, the teachers’ errors on giving feedback and the perception that native speaker can teach speaking better.

1) The Students’ Unwillingness to Speak

There is the fact that the students in any classes, beginners or even some students who are in advanced level do not have willingness to speak. There are two reasons why the students do not want to speak. The first reason is the students are shy, anxious and not confident. Most of them are afraid of making mistakes. The possibility to improve their confidence is by giving them trust. The students must have feeling that the teacher is on their side. In this case, the teacher can start using some warm-up activities. The second reason is the students only have limited time to practice speaking English. They are not accustomed to speaking English. Therefore, students must have many opportunities to practice speaking in the class to solve this problem.

2) The Teachers’ Errors on Giving Feedback

Feedback from teacher is very important for students to improve their speaking ability. However, the fact shown by Gebhard (1996) is not all the teachers agree with that statement. Many teachers also believe that the students learn the grammar of a language by their own. There are many types of feedback that can be given to the students. Gebhard (1996) describes two types of feedback. The first feedback is direct feedback, which is given directly to the students. In

giving this feedback, the teacher will interrupt the students’ speech and correct the

oral errors. The second feedback is delay feedback, which is given later after the student finish their speaking.

The teacher should know which feedback is the best for the students. Gebhard (1996) emphasizes that the most effective feedback is the most needed by the students. Teacher has to give the feedback in the careful and meaningful ways in order to make the students pay attention to the feedback given to them and help them not to do the same mistakes.

3) The Perception that Native Speaker Teaches Speaking Better

Many people consider that all native speakers can teach speaking in English. However, people should be careful. Gebhard (1996) notices that native speakers can be the standard on how to use the language naturally although sometimes they are not qualified as teachers. Not all native speakers are guaranteed to have good ability in teaching. They need to improve the ability on the variety of skills in classroom management.

d. The Principles of Teaching Speaking

There are many principles in teaching speaking. Those will be the foundation for the teacher to design the classroom techniques and activities. Bailey (2003) as cited in Nunan (2003, pp. 54-56) states five principles of teaching speaking. They are:

1) Be aware of the differences between second language and foreign language learning contexts

Bailey (2003) notes that the challenge of teaching speaking in foreign language learning context is that the students will not have many opportunities to use the target language outside the classroom. It is because the target language is not the language used to communicate in their community. Since English is a foreign language in Indonesia, the students here also do not have many opportunities to use English to communicate. One of the opportunities in which they can speak in English is when they practice it in class. Therefore, teachers must be able to design the teaching and learning activities that enable the students to practice the language maximally.

2) Give students practice in fluency and accuracy

Students must be given the opportunities to use the language in order to develop their accuracy and fluency in learning the language. When the students speak in the target language accurately, it means that their speech in the target language matches the other speakers’ speech. Students speak in the target language fluently means that they speak in the target language quickly, confidently, with few hesitation or unnatural pauses, false starts and word

searches. In order to help the students to be fluent in speaking, teachers should give the students opportunities to speak. Teachers must provide various activities that can enable the students to use the language and practice it. Teacher should be able to allocate the time effectively. Moreover, if the only opportunity the students have to speak in English is just in the class during the English lesson. Teacher must give understanding that making mistakes is a natural part of learning a new language. Feedback that is given to the students should be in the correct way. Bailey (2003) states students cannot develop fluency if the teacher keeps interrupting the students’ speech to correct the students’ oral errors.

3) Provide opportunities for students to talk by using group work or pair work, and limiting teacher talk

In teaching speaking, teachers should minimize their domination to talk in the class. In other words, teachers have to give opportunities to the students to speak a lot. Bailey (2003) suggests that “pair work and group work activities can be used to increase the amount of time that learners get to speak in the target

language during lessons” (p. 55). It means that the pair work and group work are very effective to make the students speak when they learn the language in class. Students usually feel more comfortable, relaxed and free to speak with their friends in groups rather than in whole class. Therefore, teachers must provide many activities that enable the students to speak and practice the language with their friends.

4) Plan speaking tasks that involve negotiation for meaning

The negotiation for meaning is the ability to understand and to be understood by the other speakers in the communication of the target language. Bailey (2003, p. 55) adds that “by asking for clarification, repetition, or explanation during conversations, learners get the people they are speaking with to address them with language at a level they can learn and understand. They are natural in the speaking context. It is why memorizing is not the appropriate way to learn speaking. It makes the way of speaking look unnatural. The students need to learn how to speak naturally by involving the use of the negotiating for meaning. 5) Design classroom activities that involve guidance and practice in both

transactional and interactional speaking

Bailey (2003) mentions that the classroom activities for teaching speaking must cover transactional and interactional speaking activities, because those are the main purposes of speaking activities. Bailey (2003) also adds that “speaking activities inside the classroom need to embody both interactional and transactional purposes. Since language learners will have to speak the target language in both transactional and interactional setting” (p. 56). The teachers must create the teaching and learning activities that enable the students to use the language for both transactional and interactional purposes. To develop speaking techniques, Nunan (2003) states seven principles. They are:

a) Techniques that are used should cover the spectrum of learner needs, from language based focus on accuracy to message-based focus on interaction, meaning, and fluency;

b) Provide intrinsically motivating techniques;

c) Encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts; d) Provide appropriate feedback and correction;

e) Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening; f) Give students opportunities to initiate oral communication;

g) Encourage the development of speaking strategies. (Nunan, 2003, pp. 275-276)

Bailey (2003) as cited by Nunan (2003, pp. 56-58) notes five classroom technique and tasks in teaching speaking. Those five techniques and tasks could be used to enrich the speaking activities in this class. Therefore, the students have more opportunities to speak. Those techniques and tasks will be presented as follows.

a) Information gap

This speaking activity involves the students to exchange the information that they have in the target language.

b) Jigsaw activity

Bailey says it is “a bidirectional or multidirectional information gap” (p.56). This speaking activity involves the students to have negotiation for meaning. c) Role-plays

In this technique, the students are given particular roles to speak in the target language. It can be done in pairs or in groups.

d) Simulations

This technique is the elaboration of role-plays. In a simulation, there will be properties to provide a real environment and create the nuances.

e) Contact assignments

This technique involves the students to have an activity out of the classroom in order to talk to people in the target language. (Nunan, 2003, pp. 56-58)

3. The Use of Cue Cards as Teaching Media

This part presents some theories related to cue cards. The theories discussed in this part are the nature of cue cards, the advantages of using cue cards as the teaching media and speaking activities using cue cards. Further discussion about every part will be shown below.

a. The Nature of Cue Cards

Harmer (2007) defines cue as another word for “prompt” (p. 180). In one sense it means an action or behavior that starts a chain of events. It also means the significant elements in a situation. While Briggs (1977, p. xv) defines a cue is an indirect prompt given to help a learner complete a recitation or solve a problem. It can also be defined as an indirect form of “guidance” stopping short of supplying the missing word or solution. In short, cue is the prompt that is used to guide the speaker to speak fluently and give the solution when the speaker misses the words and does not have any idea.

Harmer (2007, p. 181) defines cue card is one of the forms of flashcards. Cue card is defined as small card which can be used in pair or group work. Apart

from flash cards with pictures on them, cards of all shapes and sizes are good choices. Harmer (2007, p. 179) also adds that cards should be appropriate not only for the purpose in hand by but for the classes they are being used for. It should be visible so it can be used more than once or reusable.

Teacher can make wall pictures, flashcards and cue cards in a number of ways. Teacher can take pictures from magazines and stick them on card. It is possible to find pictures of almost anything on the Internet and print them off. Physically, Mora (1994, p. 36) states that cue cards are thin cardboards contained legible printed texts or pictures. The size of the cards is like poker card around 7 cm x 12 cm. Every card usually consists of texts and pictures. The pictures on the cue cards could be very simple and designed to elicit a word or a phrase.

b. The Advantages of Using Cue Cards as The Teaching Media

Zarefsky (1996, p. 290) states note cards, which go under the name of cue cards in this study, are printed texts or pictures on thin card boards. It contains speaking outlines which are usually used by the speaker to deliver the speech. Note cards are very effective for speaking. “They are practical ways to use in a

speech because they are compact, studier, and less distracting” (Zarefsky, 1996, p.

290). Like in a speech, cue cards were very practical to use in some speaking activities. It has simple forms that will not disturb the speakers in doing the speaking activities. According to Sayer (2005), using cue cards in some speaking techniques like role-plays and diagram is a good combination of techniques to help the students practice speaking. Cue cards can help the students to produce utterances in their conversation without writing the whole dialogue. In line with

Zarefsky and Sayer, Littlewood (1981, p. 50) agrees that cue cards can be used in teaching speaking. Cue cards can help the students to create meaningful interaction by giving questions and responses in the spontaneous way. Littlewood (1981) states that:

This gives the interaction some of the uncertainty and spontaneity involved

in “real” communication because each learner must listen to his partner

before formulating a definite response. On the other hand, the cues enable them to predict a large proportion of what the others will say, and of course, to prepare the general gist of their own response” (p. 51).

Spontaneity requires a speaker to listen to what another speaker says before giving responses directly. Spontaneity in speaking is related to the fluency. The relation is when the speaker can give direct responses; they can speak quickly, confidently and without any hesitation or unnecessary pauses. Littlewood (1981, p. 51) states that cue cards can be used to study fluency in speaking because it supplies the idea for the speaker to speak spontaneously.

In addition, Boyd (2007) states cue cards are tools “used to help the patient restructure thought patterns” (p. 421). Cue cards allow the speaker to predict what other speakers say so that he or she can prepare his or her own responses. The pictures on the cue cards help the speaker to imagine what their situations are. Harmer (2007, p. 179) notes a picture can also be used for creative language use. It can invent the conversation taking place between two people in a picture.

c. Speaking Activities Using Cue Cards

Cue cards are effective and efficient media that can be used to improve the

students’ speaking ability. Sayer (2005) notices that using cue cards in some speaking techniques like role-plays and diagram is a good combination of

techniques to help the students practice speaking. Cue cards can be applied in some classroom activities. Littlewood (1981) notices “cue cards are eligible to be used in matching and ordering games and card games” (p. 55). The games, which use cue cards, can involve a pair of two students or groups. In line with Littlewood (1981), Harmer (2007, pp. 178-179) states that cue cards can be used in a multiplicity of ways, for examples, for drilling, communication games, prediction, understanding, ornamentation and discussion.

Pictures on the cue cards give important role in every speaking activity. Harmer (2007, p. 179) notices pictures help the students to be more creative in using the language because it helps the students to imagine what kind of situation they are. The conversation taking place between two people or in one particular role-play activity can be invented by putting pictures on the cue cards.

Beside role play, cue cards also can be used in communication drills. Communication drills are activities which provide the students to practice in repetition and variation of language segments. Rivers (1983) notices “….drill may be given the appearance of a game, or of elementary communication, by provoking the students into asking the teacher a series of questions in response to

cues …” (p. 44). From that statement, it can be concluded that communication drills can be given in the form of games. Communication drills can be applied using cue cards. Rivers (1983, p. 45) states that drilling done in the innovative way can make the students more interested in using the language.

Paulston (1970) as cited in Rivers (1983, p. 45) divides communication drills into three types. They are mechanical drills, meaningful drills, and

communicative drills. In mechanical drills, the students do not need to understand the meaning of the words or the sentences because there is a pattern to control the responses. The purpose of mechanical drills is the students can give responses completely in good sentence construction, proper pronunciation and intonation. An example of a mechanical drill would be presented as follows.

Pattern : I’m holding a book.

Cue : Magazine

Response : I’m holding a magazine.

Cue : Banana

Response : I’m holding a banana. (Rivers, 1983, p. 45)

In meaningful drills, the students must have understanding completely in grammar and meaning although there is still a pattern to control the responses. The students must understand the meaning of the cue to make a meaningful conversation. The following conversation is an example of a meaningful drill:

Question : When did you arrive this morning? Answer : I arrived at nine o’clock.

Question : When will you leave this evening?

Answer : I’ll leave at six o’clock. (Rivers, 1983, p. 45)

In communicative drills, the students must have understood completely in grammar and semantic but there is not any pattern to control the response. The students have free choices to answer. However, Paulston (1970) underlines

“..whatever control there is lies in the stimulus…. It still remains a drill rather

than free communication because we are still within the realm of the cue-response pattern” (as cited in Rivers, 1983, p. 46). An example of mechanical drills is presented as follows.

Answer : I had toast and coffee for breakfast.

OR

Answer : I slept late night and skipped breakfast so I wouldn’t miss the bus. (Rivers, 1983, p. 46)

Furthermore, Palmer (1970) as cited by Rivers (1983, p. 46) states communication practice drills are useful for teaching speaking. Communication practice drills provide the students find the response not only in linguistically acceptable but also in personally relevant to themselves and other people. Palmer (1970) underlines drills should be done carefully to build the students’ characters. This is the illustration of Palmer’s communication practice drills.

Pattern : I would tell him to shut the door.

Teacher : Karen, if you and Susan came to class at 8 a.m. and it was winter and the room was dark at 8 a.m., what would you tell Susan?

Karen : I would tell her to turn on the light.

Teacher : And how about you, Paul, if you were with Mary and you wanted to read, what would you do?

Paul : I would tell her to turn on the light.

Teacher : You as a boy would tell a girl to do that for you?

Now, if you came alone, and I was in the room, what would you do?

Paul : I would tell you to turn on the light. Teacher : Then I would throw you out of the class.

(Rivers, 1983, p. 46)

The illustration above shows that Paul’s response is mechanically correct but unfortunately he does not know the implication of his response in a certain setting. In social interaction, it is impolite if young people ask elder people to do

something. Teacher’s teasing in this drill is used to increase the students’ self awareness on using the language. Rivers (1983, p. 47) notes having training in such drills can help the students to be able to produce more original responses.

4. English for Vocational School in the 2013 Curriculum

Vocational education is known as a formal secondary education which has special characteristics among other educational institutions. The special characteristic of vocational school is organizing an educational program which is appropriate for various fields of work. According to Calhoen vocational education

is “an organized education program which is directly related to the preparation for

a career requirement other than baccalaureate or advanced degree” (as cited in Soeharto, 1988, p. 1). Supriadi (2002) states that “vocational education is aimed to produce productive human, not human who becomes a burden for his or her

family, community and nation” (p. 17). Based on Depdiknas (2003), there are four aims of vocational school. The first aim is vocational school prepares the students in the field of work and to develop a professional attitude. The second aim is to prepare the students in order to be able to choose their carrier, compete and develop themselves. The third aim is vocational school prepares the middle level labors for business world and industries at the present time and the future. The last one is vocational school prepares the graduates in order to be productive, adaptive and creative citizen.

Related to the objective of vocational education, Bryl Shoemaker and Thomas Arcy as cited by Soeharto (1988, p. 9) state the vocational education can be used as the preparation for the students before entering the job field. In short, it can be concluded that vocational education is not only an education for the students to have continuity education as an aspect of general education, but also as

FIELD NOTES

Cycle 2, Meeting 2 (12 September 2014)

The meeting was held on Friday, 12 September, 2014 at 08.30 AM – 10.00 AM in SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman. The participants of the research were the students in Kimia Industri Grade X. On that day, there was a student who did not come to the class. The teacher did not start the class at 08.30 AM because the class was still used by the previous teacher. The teacher opened the class at 8.50 AM. To start the class, the teacher greeted the students. The students responded the greeting friendly. Before introducing the topic that they were going to learn,

the teacher introduced the observer and asked about the students’ presence.

The objective of the material was the students were able to practice the Expression of Giving and Responding to Compliment in the daily conversation. At first, the teacher asked whether the students remembered the previous material or not. Most of the students remembered the previous material but they failed to make Expression of Giving and Responding to Compliment in the form of “

how”. To remind the students about Expression of Giving and Responding to

Compliment, the teacher asked the students to identify how to make Expression of

Giving and Responding to Compliment using “how” and “what”.

After the students remembered on how to make Expression of Giving and Responding to Compliment, the teacher gave examples of Expression of Giving and Responding to Compliment in Bahasa Indonesia to some students. Most of the students did not respond the expression. There were a few students who said

“terimakasih”. After asking some students, the teacher asked the whole class to

compare the Expression of Giving and Responding to Compliment in Indonesia and Western cultures. There was one student who answered that sometimes they felt uneasy if they got compliment. They were afraid if the other people thought that they were arrogant. It was a nice discussion. It helped the student to build their characteristic as young people.

After that discussion, the teacher asked the students to read a dialogue provided in PowerPoint slide. Then, the teacher asked two students to be

they had to perform a dialogue using cue cards provided in front of the class. The teacher explained how to use the cue card briefly.

Some of the students understood what they had to do. Some of the students

did not understand and needed peer’s or teacher’s guidance. Teacher gave 3

minutes for the students to prepare the dialogue. During the preparation, the teacher allowed the students to ask about difficult words or about pronunciation. After 3 minutes, the students practiced the dialogue two by two. There were 15 groups that practiced speaking in front of the class. One dialogue consisted of 2-5 minutes. Some of the groups used the expression appropriately with some elaboration. They could speak fluently. However, there were a lot of mispronunciations that the students made. Fortunately, the teacher was aware about that and sometimes she corrected the mistakes.

After all the students performed the dialogue, the teacher reviewed what they had studied. According to the performances, most of the students could understand how to give and respond to a compliment correctly.

Generally, the teaching steps were conducted very well. The activity that had been prepared could attract the students to speak actively. The thing that

should be improved from this teaching and learning process was students’

pronunciation. There were a lot of mispronunciations that I heard. If the teacher did not have much time to give feedback, teacher could ask the students to bring dictionary. So, whenever students were not sure about the pronunciation, they could consult on the dictionary.

FIELD NOTES

Cycle 3, Meeting 1 (19 September 2014)

The meeting was held on Friday, 19 September, 2014 at 08.30 AM – 10.00 AM in SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman. The participants of the research were the students in Kimia Industri Grade X. On that day, everybody came to the class. The teacher did not start the class at 08.30 AM because the class was still used by the previous teacher. The teacher opened the class at 8.45 AM. To start the class, the teacher greeted the students. The students responded to the greeting friendly. Before introducing the topic that they were going to learn, the teacher introduced the observers.

To open the topic, the teacher asked what day it was. The students answered it enthusiastically. Then, the teacher asked what they were going to do the next day. There were a lot of answers from the students. After that, the teacher asked the students to come in front of the class and wrote their plans in front of the class. There were 10 students who wrote their plans on the black board. From those answers, the teacher asked the students to conclude what they were going to study. Most of the students could answer correctly. The teacher had successfully guided the students to observe the material.

After the students knew about the topic, the teacher explained how to

make future plans using “will” and “be going to”. The discussion was very deep.

The students could make the negative, the interrogative for yes/no questions and question-word questions. The students were very active and enthusiastic when the teacher asked them to do in front of the class.

After observing step, the teacher distributed the handout.The teacher gave 2 minutes for the students to read the handout. After 2 minutes, the teacher

checked the students’ understanding by giving the questions. Most of the students

could answer the questions well. There was a short discussion about the social

function of “will” and “be going to”. It was useful for the students’ knowledge.

In the next activity, the teacher played a recording. The students were asked to listen and repeat the recording. The recording was about 5 words. The

write the correct words in front of the class. The students were enthusiastic. There was a student who failed to write the words correctly. This activity was good for the students. It helped the students a lot to familiarize the English sound.

After listening to the English words, the teacher challenged the students to listen to English sentences. The sentences that the students were going to listen were related to the expression of plans and intentions. The first listening, the students listened and repeated the sentences. The second listening, the students listened and took a note. The third listening, the students confirmed on what they had listened to. After that, the students were asked to write the correct sentences in front of the class. There was a sentence which was not complete and correct. Basically, the activity was so simple but the teacher successfully gave deeper understanding about the expression.

The next activity was listening to the dialogue. The students were asked to listen and complete a dialogue. To complete the dialogue, the students need to listen 3 times. After that, the teacher and the students discussed the dialogue. After discussing the dialogue, the teacher asked some students to read the dialogue loudly.

Today’s material was challenging enough for the students. However, the

teacher helped the students to understand the material very well. At the end of the class, the teacher told the students that in the next meeting they would continue this material.

FIELD NOTES

Cycle 3, Meeting 2 (26 September 2014)

The meeting was held on Friday, 26 September, 2014 at 08.30 AM – 10.00 AM in SMK Negeri 2 Depok, Sleman. The participants of the research were the students in Kimia Industri Grade X. On that day, there was a student who did not come to the class. The teacher did not start the class at 08.30 AM because the class was still used by the previous teacher. The teacher opened the class at 8.45 AM. To start the class, the teacher greeted the students. The students responded the greeting friendly. Before starting to the material, the teacher did short friendly talk to create warm atmosphere in the class.

First, the teacher asked the students to imagine that they would have one week holiday. After around 3 minutes, the teacher asked the students to share their imagination. There were 3 students who shared their imagination. Their imagination was interesting. The three students could reveal their imagination using simple present tense and future tense. However, there were some mistakes. When the students made mistakes, the teacher directly corrected the mistakes and asked the students to repeat the correct sentences. This technique successfully helped the students to remind them about the previous material. Observing step

ended after reviewing the use of “be going to” and “will”.

After the teacher made sure that the students understood the use of “be going to” and “will”, the teacher asked the students to look at the picture on the

slide and made future tense based on the cue provided on the slide. On that slide, there were two words and a picture. For example, there were a picture of chain

and words of “chain” and “fix”. The students were expected to make future tense

using those clues. Most of the student could guess that they would play card games. They were so enthusiastically after knowing that they would play card games. In this case, the teacher explained the rules briefly because the rules were the same as the previous ones. Before distributing the cards, the students read the vocabulary provided on the slide. The teacher asked the students whether they did not know the meaning of the words or did not know how to pronounce the words

practiced the speaking. It was not difficult to ask the students to speaking. The students had been accustomed to on this game. After 20 minutes, the teacher asked the students to stop the game and collected the cards. While collecting the cards, the teacher asked who won the game and how far their understanding in making future tense was.

After that activity, the teacher showed a slide which was provided a dialogue. The students were asked to read the dialogue quickly. After that, the teacher chose two students to read the dialogue. After the students finished reading, the teacher gave some comprehension questions. All of the students could answer the questions so it could be concluded that the students understood the dialogue well. Then, students were divided into two big groups. First group would be character A and another group would be character B. After that, the students were asked to work in pairs. The students had to make dialogue based on the cue provided. The theme was about holiday and it was very interesting. Most of the students were happy and enthusiastic with those speaking cards. The teacher gave 5 minutes for the students to prepare the dialogue. During the preparation, the students asked on how to pronounce words well. On the dialogue, the students were expected to make questions in future tense and answered the questions completely.

The learning and teaching process could be conducted well. The learning objectives that the students could identify future tense, produced future tense and practiced speaking well could be reached. All the students could practice speaking in front of the class. The fluency of the students was getting better. There was less unnecessary pauses so that the students could speak more naturally.